Work Text:
“We’ve got a big one guys! Suit up!” Abby called on her megaphone that she’d found lying around the empty Firehouse soon after they moved in. Erin had tried (and failed) to confiscate the annoying tool but she was certain Abby slept with the damn thing just so Erin couldn’t.
“Where we goin’?” Patty asked, helping Erin load up the ECTO-1 as Holtzmann, late as per usual, came sliding down the fire pole, her favorite mode of transportation throughout the entire house zipping up her overalls.
“Empire State Building, they’ve got at least three Class-four apparitions that suddenly popped up outta nowhere so we’re gonna have our work cut out for us,” Abby explained as she took shotgun. Holtzmann slid into the drivers’ seat and Abby flipped on the sirens as they exited the Firehouse and headed West toward the largest tourist attraction in the City.
Holtzmann began tapping out the beat on the steering wheel to the sounds of Bohemian Rhapsody that streamed in through the radio while Patty read up on any paranormal facts about the Empire State Building that she could find on her tablet.
“There are one-hundred and three flights in that building, how do we want to work this out, Abs?” Erin asked, leaning over the seat behind Holtzmann to get a clearer view of the traffic that had learned to make way when the ECTO-1 was on the streets.
Probably because Holtzmann drove like a bat out of Hell, Erin mused with a quiet grin.
“I’ve got bad knees y’all, I’m just puttin’ that out there-” Holtzmann smirked at Patty in the rearview mirror at the historian’s confession.
“Patty – my sweet, chocolate truffle bumpkin, I’ll carry you to the ghosts,” the mad scientist half-joked. Erin figured it was only a half-joke because she wasn’t really sure if Holtzmann wouldn’t attempt to carry their tallest member up 103 stories.
“Don’t call me that,” Patty glowered over her tablet, but her voice was about as threatening as a newborn kitten.
“We’ll have to work our way up and down, Erin you and Holtz can start at the top and Patty and I will meet you from the bottom, there’s bound to be a chance that we’ll catch all three that way-” Abby stated as Holtzmann skidded to a halt outside of the giant building near the Starbucks on the corner.
“Let’s go!” Erin grabbed her gear and headed up the stairs to the main entrance with Holtzmann, Patty and Abby following along.
“We’ve managed to clear everyone above the 92nd floor, but we’re still moving people out so just – don’t shoot anyone?” the manager said, eyeing Erin’s trigger finger. It was well known since Erin had punched that wannabe reporter outside of the Mercado months back that her temper seemed to guide her actions a bit more than the other three.
Erin rolled her eyes and Holtz smirked, passing him her trademark two-fingered salute as they made their way past the manager who guided terrified and grouchy tourists through the marble entrance. While Erin made her way toward the stairwell where people were still flooding down, Holtz split from her side and the physicist paused, eyeing the blonde who had pushed the call button and was waiting for the elevators, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Holtz, what’re you doing?” blue eyes blinked back at Erin with a blank look that she read as though the answer were obvious.
“Taking the elevators… It’ll be easy once we’re at the top to head down, but I’m not climbing a hundred and three flights – no ma’am!” Erin sighed.
“Holtz, this way is quicker, c’mon-” Erin said just as a family of seven seemed to come barreling through the stairwell, the infant her mothers’ arms wailing. Erin blanched, but she would suffer the long-winded feeling and burning muscles in her legs rather than be trapped in a tight space for more than a few minutes at a time.
“Erin! Now’s not the time! Get in that elevator with Holtz, let’s go!” Abby rushed past her with Patty and they headed up the stairs, Patty grumbling about wanting to take the elevator, too.
Erin sighed and Holtz nodded toward the elevator with a smile, doors opening with a soft ‘ding’. She scurried over as Holtzmann held the door for her with a semi-bow and a sarcastic quip of “m’lady” before the doors shut and Erin took in a deep breath through her nose as the box ascended one floor at a time.
26… 27… 28…
She focused on watching the electric neon red numbers above the door that signaled each floor they passed as Holtzmann hummed along to the cheesy elevator music and bopped her head, entertaining herself.
50… 51… 52…
Holtzmann began whistling along now and Erin shut her eyes, releasing the air built up in her lungs and took in another deep breath, this time more so to calm herself from wanting to strangle the eccentric munitions expert as they continued to ascend each level. Why did it smell like cheese in here?
83… 84…
Erin yelped, falling against the wall to her right as the elevator came to a sudden halt, knocking her off balance. The doors attempted to open but then shut again after only cracking about half an inch, they attempted to open again but didn’t budge. The electric screen above the door stuck at 84 and Erin’s eyes widened as fear gripped her heart in a vice-liked grip.
No… Nonono… this cannot be happening…
“This cannot be happening!” Erin echoed, flying over to the panel and slamming her thumb against the open door button, again and again. The doors didn’t budge, only groaning in supposed protest with a loud ‘crrreeeaaaakkk.’ She stopped her attempts and instead began hitting the red Emergency Call button, whimpering under her breath. She felt her lungs stop catching enough air.
“Hello? Hello!? Can anybody hear me?!” Erin shouted into the call box. Nothing.
Was it this hot in here a moment ago?
“Welp,” Holtzmann’s lips popping on the ‘p’ as she spoke up. “Those ghosts aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.” She plopped down onto the cold marbled floor, shrugging her shoulders free of the proton pack. Erin whirled around, frantic.
“How can you be calm about this?!” she screeched. Beginning to pace the (literal) three steps back and forth between the doors and the back wall of the elevator.
“Not the first time it’s happened to me – it’ll be fine, Gilbert, there’s nothing we can do right now but wait,” Holtzmann shrugged, with a small smile.
A low whine escaped from Erin’s chest, but it sounded distant even in her own ears as her heart began pounding painfully against her ribcage and beads of perspiration began to appear along her hairline and brow.
“Nooooo, no, no, no…” her vision began to spot and she shut her eyes, trying to breathe in but her lungs just took in short puffs before she had to exhale, she wasn’t getting enough oxygen… she was probably going to suck it all in and kill them both…
OhShitOhShitImgoingtodieinthismetaldeathtrap…
“Erin… Erin – whoa,” Holtzmann stood, realizing that the physicist was indeed not okay. At first she figured Erin would panic a little but this was an entirely new level of terror that honestly had the blonde’s heart aching for the redhead.
She unclipped and pulled Erin’s proton pack off of her back and set it down next to her own and then reached for Erin’s hands that were beginning to fan herself at a rapid pace and she crossed her arms over her chest, pressing Erin backwards.
Erin whimpered as genuine tears began streaming down her cheeks and Holtz held her arms against her chest with one hand and cradled one of Erin’s cheeks with the other.
“Erin… hey, look at me, Gilbert – c’mon, I need you to look at me, all right?” Erin’s eyes opened but her pupils were dilated and they were unfocused, they ran over Holtz’ form once, twice.
“Look at me,” she took one of Erin’s hands and placed it on her chest. “Feel my chest? Feel it move up and down with even breaths? Do that, c’mon you can breathe – it’s okay, it’s just you and me, just breathe, Erin.”
Erin’s unfocused eyes remained trained on her hand that Holtz placed just above her sternum where she tried to take in a few breaths, her head grew dizzy and she felt as though she might faint but there was something solid behind her. Where was she? What was happening? What day is it?
“You’re Erin Gilbert, doctor of particle physics and kicker of ghost-ass, say that with me?” Erin hadn’t realized she spoke aloud but she apparently had and Holtzmann…
Holtzmann was with her… the blonde’s worried blue eyes shone behind her infamous yellow glasses as she held Erin up against the wall of the elevator, one hand holding Erin’s against her chest, the other two hands twined over Erin’s own chest.
“I’m – I’m Er-Erin Gilber – Gilbert…” she gasped, tears still flowing freely. “I’m-I’m a ghostbu-buster-”
“No, you’re a kicker of ghost ass, say it…” Holtzmann’s pink lips lifted into their usually charming smirk as Erin nodded and opened her mouth, trying to breathe in again, feeling Holtz’ chest and her own and tried to match the rhythm.
“I’m Erin Gil-Gilbert, and I’m a d-doctor of part-particle physics and a-a-”
“A kicker of ghost ass,” Holtzmann reiterated with a patient smile.
“A kicker of gh-ghost ass…” Erin wasn’t sure if the chuckle she heard after that was from Holtzmann or herself but she felt her breathing begin to finally even.
“Again…” Holtzmann commanded, though not unkindly.
“I’m Erin Gilbert, I’m a doctor of particle physics and-” she took in her first really full breath. “I’m a kicker of ghost ass.” Holtzmann snorted and Erin felt a breathy chuckle release itself from her own chest as her vision began to clear and her head stopped spinning.
She breathed in and then out, then in again and closed her eyes in relief.
Holtzmann dropped her hand from Erin’s chest and her own but kept their fingers laced together.
“C’mon, sit with me,” Holtzmann said in a calmer, quieter voice. Erin obeyed and sat on the far wall next to Holtzmann, pressed to her side, their legs spread out in front of them and Erin’s eyes trained back on the monitor above the door that was still showing ‘89’.
She closed her eyes again and tried not to think about the fact that she was stuck in the middle of the Empire State Building, over eighty stories up and that Abby and Patty were probably not even away that they were stuck…
Her eyes snapped open.
“Abby! Patty!” Erin reached into the front pocket of her overalls and pulled out her phone with a relieved laugh. She unlocked her phone and her smile immediately fell.
No Signal.
“FUCK!” Erin swore and Holtzmann’s eyes widened at the uncharacteristic display from the redhead.
“My, oh my! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth, Dr. Gilbert?” Holtzmann chuckled. Erin locked her phone with an honest pout and looked over to the blonde, dejected.
“Do you have any service?”
“I never bring my phone anywhere, actually I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen the thing in weeks, pretty sure it’s lost…” Holtz shrugged, emptying her front pockets to reveal 32 cents in change, a few pieces of hard candy that was goodness knows how old and some lint. Erin’s head fell back against the wall again with a ‘thud’ and a groan.
“Are you really terrified of heights? Closed spaces? Or elevators in general?” Holtzmann piped up a moment later, breaking through the stillness. Erin’s eyes opened a fraction and she let out a breath.
“All of the above, look Holtzmann, I don’t want to have another panic attack so can we just – be quiet for a minute? Or at least until we get out of this elevator?” Erin pleaded, feeling guilty already for having broken down in front of the younger scientist. Erin had never been good at handling emotions and she always hated being seen as ‘weak’ or ‘unable to care for herself.’
Holtzmann said nothing… Erin’s eyes shut again and she thought she’d get some relief, but then she could hear Holtzmann shuffle… Then again, and she brushed up against Erin’s side and Erin snapped.
“Holtzmann!”
“What?” Holtz looked over at Erin with honest confusion written on her features. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to get comfortable!” Erin shut her mouth and tried not to glare at the blonde as she continued to shuffle around and find a more comfortable position.
“Please just – try to hurry, ok? I really can’t right now-” Erin sighed and Holtzmann let out a sigh of frustration.
“We’re already trapped in here, Gilbert, I doubt it could get any -”
The power shut down. Erin’s eyes were closed, but she could sense the darkness and then the emergency red lights come on from behind her eyelids.
“You had to say it, didn’t you?” Erin whined. Holtzmann actually snorted at that.
“Well… I guess it just got worse!” Erin threw her hand out and swatted Holtzmann, a little harder than she intended as she heard Holtzmann’s chuckle suddenly wheeze as the back of Erin’s hand collided with her stomach.
“Damn, so violent…” Holtzmann coughed.
“You had that coming,” Erin snipped back, still aggravated at the blonde who still seemed to be taking this situation far too lightly.
Silence settled over them once more and Erin could actually hear her heart pumping in her chest, slowing down to a calm melody that began to lull her gently into a meditative state.
Ziiiiiiiiipppp. Erin’s eyes flew open at the sound of Holtzmann undoing her coveralls.
“Seriously?” Erin snapped, her voice low but Holtzmann shrugged at her in the soft glow of the red lights overhead.
“Power’s out, and it’s getting warmer – I may not be freaking out but I’m not about to die of a heat stroke either,” Holtzmann pulled her arms out of the sleeves, wearing nothing but a grease-stained white wife beater and… Erin’s eyes bugged.
Oh… My…
“Are you seriously not wearing a bra right now?!” Holtzmann winked at Erin with a saucy grin. The physicist now grateful for the dim lighting because she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks from under her collar.
“Well, it’s not like I’d planned ahead-” Holtzmann answered.
“You should always wear a bra, Holtzmann, I don’t even know how you can stand not-” Erin admitted with a blush starting to really make her feel hot and she regrettably unzipped her own coveralls, but did not shuck them yet.
“Why am I not surprised that you, Erin Gilbert have never freeboob’d?” Erin rolled her eyes and blushed even harder at Holtzmann’s leering smile.
“I may not have much but I learned fast just how uncomfortable it is to walk around without the support,” Erin sighed.
It was true that even as a pre-teen when she’d first worn a training bra, she immediately noticed how much more comfortable she felt having the support there to help as her chest expanded, and as she got older she only noticed that they ached more after extended weekends where she’d not leave her room and therefore wouldn’t wear a bra and felt sore afterwards.
“Incredible… y’know my Mom was a real flower child, she was all about the movements in the seventies for women’s rights and the burning of the bras; To this day I think she still doesn’t wear one,” Holtzmann chuckled.
“Are you saying you never wear a bra?” Erin squeaked, she cleared her throat, unsure why she suddenly felt so shy asking a question about her co-worker. She found herself unconsciously beginning to pull at her shirt beneath her coveralls to try and let some air hit her skin.
“Oh, no I do! Maybe not as much as I should – I don’t always feel like pulling one on after waking up after only a couple hours of sleep… Heck, y’all are lucky I even wear pants every day!” Holtzmann laughed as Erin averted her gaze back to the opposite wall.
Another moment of silence passed over them, but this time Erin couldn’t blame Holtz when she broke it.
“See something you like, Gilbert?” Erin’s eyes slammed shut and she whipped her head back to the front, she’d not realized how long she’d been staring but somehow her eyes had fallen back to the engineers’ chest and she couldn’t help but be curious at the small knot that looked suspiciously like – No, Erin… don’t even go there!
“You – ah… Your breast-” Erin pointed, feeling herself grow painstakingly hot under the collar as she kept her eyes trained forward.
“Hm? Oh,” Holtzmann realized with a smart grin what Erin was referring to. “My piercing? Phew, that was a fun night!” Erin pulled her arms out of her coveralls and left them behind her on the marble floor, she straightened up and pressed her back against the cool metal of the wall behind her, wishing that she wasn’t so easily prone to embarrassment.
“Did – did it hurt?” Erin finally asked after a moment of (slightly uncomfortable) silence.
Instead of answering, Holtzmann remained silent and when Erin finally looked back at the engineer, she had a quizzical look on her face, hands perched together, she hunched over Indian style and had twisted her body to face Erin’s, pressing her chin against her linked hands.
“What?” Erin squirmed, feeling practically naked under Holtzmann’s penetrating stare.
“How about this, I’ll answer your question, but you have to answer mine first, deal?” Holtzmann asked with a smarmy grin.
Erin rolled her eyes.
“What is this, twenty questions?” she felt like she was suddenly trapped with a child – oh, wait…
“Exactly!” Holtzmann reached over to her titanium duffel and rummaged for a moment and procured a bottle of water. She handed it to Erin who took it gratefully and slugged back a good quarter of the lukewarm water.
“Whoa, that’s my only bottle so make it last,” Holtzmann stated, not at all unkind. Erin spluttered and apologized, handing Holtzmann the drink and Holtzmann took a few precious sips before capping it back and reaching behind her for a can of her favorite treats: Pringles.
“Holtz, those things are loaded with salt, you’ll only make yourself thirstier!” Erin argued. Holtzmann shrugged though and popped the top, grabbing a few chips and passing Erin a few.
“Only if I eat too many, but this is the only snack I’ve got – unless you want to try your luck on the lemon drops from my pocket?” Holtzmann offered her a chip and Erin rolled her eyes again and reached for the chip. Holtz pulled it back though, Erin’s head tilted, puzzled.
“Are you going to answer my question?” Holtz grinned.
“You haven’t asked me one yet,” Erin pointed out.
“Yes I did, earlier – when you were coming down from your panic attack…” Erin’s eyebrows furrowed as she tried to recall the moments after her brain cleared of the terror that had taken over her body.
“Are you afraid of heights…?” Holtz reminded her. Erin took the chip from Holtz’ outstretched hand and remembered, munching on the salty parabola. She shook her head.
“I told you, it was a little bit of all of the above,” Erin conceded, not really comfortable talking about her fears. She’d spent years in therapy with a man who’d listen to her tell him her deepest fears only to turn around and tell her parents and act like he empathized with her. Needless to say, she had trust issues.
Holtz shrugged at her answer.
“Okay, I’ll let it go – for now,” Holtz winked and then ate a chip of her own. “Yes.”
Erin blinked.
“Pardon?”
“That’s my answer… to your question: Yes, it hurt… so much so that I didn’t let the guy pierce my other nipple,” Holtzmann stated, nonchalant and Erin blushed as her eyes immediately betrayed her and fell back to Holtzmann’s chest where her right nipple seemed to have a small bump that protruded from behind the thin wife beater.
“Does that ever bother you?” Erin found her mouth operating ahead of her brain and she bit down on her lip to shut her mouth as she took another chip from Holtzmann who only smiled at the redhead.
She unhooked her glasses from one ear and let them dangle from the other as she leaned back on her hands and shrugged.
“Not really, I’ve had a few lovers in the past who asked why I never got the other pierced, but trust me, once was enough – I don’t really have an OCD issue so it doesn’t really bother me on that front, if that’s what you meant,” Erin nodded, looking down at the ground and counting the scratches along the marble.
“If you had the option to choose how you were to die, what would it be?” Erin’s eyes snapped up at the engineer, mouth falling open in shock but Holtzmann wasn’t smiling, not really. She looked serious.
“What?” Erin asked, flabbergasted. “We’re stuck in a small metal box, nearly eighty stories up and there’s no telling when we’ll be getting out of here or if… and you ask me how I picture my death?”
Holtzmann shook her head.
“Every day is a ticking time bomb, Gilbert… I work around enough of them on a daily basis that could level New York, and I don’t mean just the City,” Erin nodded in understanding. “So I take precautions, but sometimes even those could not be enough – yeah, I’m asking you if you had the option to really choose how you’d die, what would it be?”
Erin remained silent, never having been asked this sort of question, even from her therapist as a kid. She’d never really thought of dying, not that she didn’t understand the life cycle and how no day was a guarantee, after her Dad died six years back and suddenly, at that, she knew that nothing was a guarantee and that we all live like we have forever, when really it could be over in less than a minute. Erin let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“Quickly, I suppose?” she glanced up at Holtzmann, who nodded, but didn’t seem satisfied with that as a full answer, so she backtracked. “I can tell you I wouldn’t want it to be something like cancer or some other debilitating disease that would only make me suffer – my Dad… he-” Erin shook her head.
She was getting off track and she hated to think about her Dad’s death, it still stung to this day to know that her father died still not believing in his daughter’s childhood fears of seeing a ghost at the end of her bed.
“Spontaneous combustion is how I’d like to go, if I had my say,” Holtzmann interrupted her musings, making an explosive motion with her hand and a sound from her mouth to go along with it. “Boom, over before I could realize it even happened, y’know?” Erin nodded and sniffed, she wiped her eyes, surprised to find unshed tears and shook her head, sending Holtz a small smile to reassure her friend who looked on, worriedly.
Holtzmann took another small drink from the water bottle and passed it to Erin, who fought to think of a question to ask Holtzmann. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of static though and both women’s heads immediately looked up at the panel where a voice crackled through.
“Hello, is there anyone in there?” Erin flew up from her spot on the floor at a near inhuman speed to press the call button.
“Yes! Thank goodness, hello!” Erin could cry from the relief that swelled in her chest. “Can you hear me? My friend and I are stuck on level 84-!”
“Hello? Hello…” static. Erin panicked briefly. “Listen, our comm’s system seems to be malfunctioning, we know your elevator is stuck, we’re working to get it fixed as fast as--” static cut through and Erin waited on baited breath but nothing came after and Erin slouched back to the floor, chin falling into her chest and she took in a shaky breath.
“Hey… Gilbert?” Holtzmann’s hand landed on Erin’s back and Erin felt her skin jump under the gentle touch, but she didn’t move, nor did the engineer’s hand. “Stay with me, c’mon back here… you heard them. They’re working on it…”
Holtzmann’s voice was interrupted once more by the sound of a loud creaking around them that sounded like metal that was straining under a heavy weight and Erin whimpered, curling up into the fetal position.
“This isn’t happening… this can’t be happening… no-” Erin began to rock as panic started creeping up her chest. Holtzmann’s hand left Erin’s back and immediately after two thin, yet strong arms wrapped around Erin from behind and tugged Erin back. Having been crouched, she practically fell back and right into Holtzmann who sat Erin between her legs, pressing her front to Erin’s back and rested her cheek on Erin’s shoulder, shushing her.
“Stay with me, Gilbert… just breathe, c’mon,” Holtzmann rocked with Erin and the tension slowly leaked out of the physicists’ body until she basically just sagged back against the younger woman.
“Tell me something good,” Holtzmann queried, still holding Erin from behind. Erin was grateful because at this point her body felt like it would simply float away if Holtzmann wasn’t anchoring her down, she was so tired and her body just ached from the panic attacks and the tension and the stress.
“Abby and I – we…” Erin straightened a little and sat up to get more comfortable but didn’t leave Holtzmann’s embrace, she settled back against the shorter woman and continued. “We have matching tattoos.”
“Whaaaaat?” Holtzmann’s voice deepened at the shocking revelation much like it had that day they’d been taken to the Mayor’s office and learned of them knowing about the ghosts. “Erin Gilbert, you’ve been holding out on me! I want deets! Where is it? What is it? Please tell me it’s barbed wire! Ooh, or maybe a Sailor Jerry heart with MOM written in bold letters?”
Erin felt herself laugh, despite the direness of their situation and she couldn’t stop. It just kept coming up, from her belly, her chest… she laughed and laughed until she about damn near cried.
She eventually had to sit up in order to breathe properly and Holtzmann let her go but Erin remained sitting between the blonde’s legs. Once she got her breathing back under control she shook her head, smiling still and turned around, pressing her back against the wall and throwing her legs over Holtz’ left so she could see the woman a bit clearer.
Her eyes grew used to the dimness of the red lights and she could see every facet of Holtzmann as the younger woman waited for her to say something and Erin raised an eyebrow.
“I told you something already… now it’s your turn,” Erin smirked. Holtzmann scoffed.
“Oh, such a tease, Gilbert – you’re gonna break my heart,” Holtzmann winked and Erin rolled her eyes, letting her head rest back against the cool metal of the elevator wall once more.
“Tell me something… something nobody else knows about you?” Erin asked. Holtzmann made a show of thinking, tapping her fingers together and then a few times against her lips as she furrowed her brow.
“Something nobody else knows, eh?” Holtzmann grinned. “I hate broccoli.” Erin snorted.
“What? No, that’s not a good answer!” Erin argued with a laugh as the blonde chuckled.
“I’m serious! Nobody else – not even my Ma knew that I detested the green vegetable with the burning passion of a thousand suns!” Holtzmann dramatized with a hand against her forehead. Erin laughed harder.
“You’re incorrigible,” Erin laughed. Holtzmann shrugged.
“There are worse things to be, so… tell me, what is this tattoo? I cannot believe I didn’t know Abby had a tattoo!” Holtzmann shook her head, filing away this little piece of information for later.
“You promise not to laugh?” Erin side-eyed the blonde who grinned and shook her head.
“Nope,” she cackled, popping the ‘p’ once more. Erin shook her head.
“Of course not,” but she lifted her left leg anyway and pulled up her coveralls, pushing down her black sock, revealing a sliver of her ankle where a slightly dated, but still clean-black outline of a simple cartoon ghost was permanently etched into Erin’s skin.
It was no larger than an inch and Holtzmann felt her heart swell with pride at the tiny badge of honor Erin carried with her, despite denying her belief for years that Ghosts were real.
“You really are a Ghost Girl, then,” Holtzmann smiled, sincere in her regards to the title that Erin knew Holtzmann used as a form of compliment unlike her childhood bullies. Erin nodded with a warm smile.
“We both have birthdays in August and we turned eighteen the summer after we graduated high school. Abby insisted we do something to commemorate it and she came up with the ideas and talked me into it, my parents never found out,” Erin smiled at her shared secret, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of her chest.
She remembered sitting in the chair the day after her birthday, panicking as Abby held her hand, already having finished with her tattoo and insisted to Erin that it was no big deal, that this is something they’d be able to remember and possibly laugh at years down the road.
The process on its own hadn’t been as bad as Erin had expected, despite the tenderness afterwards. It was the healing part that had driven her insane, it itched so bad and Erin had worried when it began to peel but Abby reminded her that it was normal and she fought her OCD not to pick at it until it had completely healed on its own.
“Do you have any tattoos?” Erin asked, curious when the blonde engineer reached forward and etched the outline of the tattoo with her finger, a gentle smile playing on her lips.
Holtzmann blinked as if from a trance.
“Me? Noooo,” Holtzmann chuckled, sitting back and cracking her knuckles casually, one at a time. “I hate needles, always have, I had to be completely blitz’d before I could even get my nipple pierced!”
“So why’d you do it?” Erin continued, realizing it was no longer her turn, but Holtzmann obliged her.
“I was 19 and stupid… I was dating this biker chick I met at a club I’d managed to sneak into and I wanted to prove that I wasn’t wet behind the ears as she put it, she was hardcore,” Holtzmann sighed, but Erin noticed that she didn’t seem to remember this fondly, a small frown gracing her face.
“Needless to say, we got stoned with a bunch of her loser roommates and she challenged me to get my nipples pierced, the first one hurt so bad I started bawling and she left me at the parlor then and there-” Holtzmann shrugged.
“She left?” Erin balked.
“Never saw or heard from her again… I think she was screwing her roommates anyway, and they were all dudes so good riddance,” Holtzmann slapped at her knees.
“I-I don’t even know what to say to that…” Erin shook her head, disbelieving that someone would just be so callous.
“You don’t have to say anything, past is in the past… and besides, several of my future girlfriends loved it, so yay me!” Holtzmann high-fived herself and Erin gave the blonde another lazy eye roll and a smile.
“You’re a glorious weirdo, you know that?” Erin smirked. Holtzmann just returned the remark with another shrug.
“So ne – whoa!” Holtzmann yelped and Erin’s eyes watered at the sudden onslaught of light that came back on without warning. The elevator music seemed to return momentarily and Holtzmann pulled her glasses back on, cursing under her breath but after another moment and a frightening lurch from the elevator, the power died again and Erin felt another whimper escape her, despite herself.
“You okay?” Holtzmann reached for Erin and rested her hand over the physicists’. Erin nodded, blinking as she adjusted her eyes once more to the dim lighting of the emergency lights.
“I wonder if Abby and Patty have caught the ghosts yet and realized we’re missing,” Erin tried to focus on something other than the predicament they were stuck in.
“Most likely… I can hear Patty now – cursing my name and swearing that I would have probably had something to do with the elevator breaking down just so she’d have to climb every flight of stairs,” Holtzmann smirked.
“You didn’t though, right?” Erin’s eyes narrowed.
“As romantic as the idea of sitting in a smelly elevator in the middle of the Empire State Building is with you, Gilbert? I have a little more class than that,” Holtzmann joked. Erin blushed at having even considered that Holtzmann would have anything to do with their current predicament, and secondly at Holtz’ notions of being ‘romantic.’
“Who’s turn is it now?” Erin asked moments after the silence had become too loud in her own ears and she wanted to keep her mind from thinking of worst case scenarios.
“I believe yours,” Holtzmann responded. Erin nodded and tried to think, but then an idea caught her eye when Holtzmann unclipped her glasses again.
“What’s with the glasses? I mean, all of your goggles I understand, but even your glasses are yellow?” Erin asked, having been curious about the engineer’s specs since they first met.
“Ah, yes,” Holtzmann nodded and looked at the steampunk-like glasses in her eyes. “I was born prematurely… and my Ma was a bit of a hippie and didn’t believe in modern medicine or anything like that… but my eyes were a little underdeveloped, among some other things-” Erin stored that information away to ask about later. “But I would get the most outrageous migraines as a kid and the only thing that helped would be when I’d steal a pair of my mom’s flower-power glasses and wore them.”
Erin nodded, smiling at the idea of a young Holtzmann walking around with rose-colored lenses that probably were shaped like peace signs or actual flowers.
“I found out much later that I have a condition called photophobia AKA just an extreme sensitivity to white light, it’s actually quite common though, so I don’t always have to wear glasses like say an albino person would in the sunlight, but it helps and amber lenses are best at refracting UV light, just a bonus that my favorite color happens to be yellow,” Holtz winked.
“What about your Dad?” Erin asked and Holtzmann clicked her tongue.
“Now, now, Gilbert. You’ve had two questions answered, so it’s my turn,” Holtz grinned and reached over to the can of Pringles that had recently lay forgotten.
“Fine, ask away,” Erin shook her head, but readied another question in her mind.
“Who was your first kiss? And I don’t mean some random peck on the lips from Little Timmy across the street – I mean your first real kiss, the kind that made your toes curl?” Holtz smiled, eyes glazing over fondly but she blinked and refocused on Erin who squirmed under the scrutinous gaze.
Erin fiddled with the sleeve of her coveralls and tried to really think back, but she knew that it was no use lying so she answered… quietly.
“I can’t hear you, Gilbert? And it’s REALLY quiet in here so that’s quite a feat,” Holtzmann rose her eyebrow after she thought she heard Erin mutter something.
“I said I’ve never had that sort of kiss before!” Erin burst out, her blush burning all the way up to her ears. Silence followed and she crossed her arms over her chest in a protective manner as she felt Holtzmann stare at her.
“You can stop staring, it’s really not that big of a deal,” Erin said a little snippily. She rarely opened up about her personal life and Abby knew more than most, but this was one thing that Erin wasn’t exactly best at discussing.
It’s not that she’d never been kissed and yes she’s had sex before, more than once even, thank you very much. She wasn’t about to be a repeat of the 40... well 42-year-old virgin. But she knew the kind of kiss that Holtzmann was describing; the kind that you witness in the movies that make you see stars or fireworks explode behind your eyes and leave your nerve endings on fire from the mere pressure of lips on yours and would leave you breathless despite that the human body was still very capable of breathing correctly while initiating a kiss, but merely because the sheer emotion behind it would just take your breath away.
“Your turn,” Erin blinked up at Holtzmann who looked back at her as though her confession was no big deal and Erin wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or affronted by this.
“Your fa - !!!” a scream released from her throat as the elevator let out a sickening lurch and the sound of metal scraping against metal sounded all around them in the box and all of Erin’s calm flew out of the window.
“OhShitOhmyGoodnessOhHolyFuck, no please, I’m not ready-!” Erin felt tears sting her eyes and her breathing became labored and the lights flashed on and then off again and another lurch had her screaming and grabbing for anything she could hold onto.
Holtzmann was there and Erin was about to scream again but her mouth was occupied by another pair of very warm, very soft lips on her own. Erin’s eyes shot open at first as the scream died in her throat, but closed at the feeling of her body going slack in Holtzmann’s arms as the engineer pulled the redhead into her body and kissed her like crazy.
Erin didn’t see fireworks per say however, spots danced behind her eyelids and her hands shook as they settled behind Holtzmann’s neck and back(respectively) and she felt her body relax and come alive all at the same time as Holtz’ tongue swiped her bottom lip, seeking entrance that she happily granted and felt the breath in her lungs dissipate as she felt Holtzmann’s tongue slide along her own.
Tasting faintly of salt and something she couldn’t recognize, Erin’s brain just shut off. The noises around her softened to a dull roar and it didn’t matter if the world fell apart around her, just so long as Holtzmann just didn’t stop kissing her like that…
“Ahem,” an unfamiliar, irritated throat cleared above them and yet Erin still felt as though time had slowed to a crawl as Holtzmann’s face parted from hers, the engineer’s rough but steady hands still cupping her face with a tenderness she hadn’t known the blonde was capable of as they realized that they were no longer alone.
The lights were on and the doors, open and apparently they were back on the ground floor where the manager they’d spoken to earlier before the bust, stood in the open entrance with a look that crossed between aggravation and embarrassment.
“Ladies, you may take your leave now, your other halves are waiting outside for you,” he spoke stiffly and Holtzmann and Erin blinked, collectively before Erin’s brain caught up to the fact that A) she’d just shared the most passionate kiss of her life with Holtzmann of all people and B) she wasn’t ready for it to end… But it was anyway.
Holtzmann leapt up first and offered Erin a hand and the two women grabbed their proton packs and Holtz shouldered her duffel, replacing her glasses back on her face. She winked at the manager and offered him her cursory two-fingered salute as she and Erin passed him and some of the night guards on their way out of the elevator.
“Sorry about the mess!” Holtz called out over her shoulder, referring mostly to the crumbs they’d left from the Pringles. Erin blushed and continued to move forward, unsure of what else to say.
A hand stopped her movements, well – actually, Holtzmann’s hand had reached forward and grabbed hers and then Erin froze, Holtz stopping a moment later when she realized that Erin was staring down at their joined hands in shock.
Holtzmann’s smile dropped a fraction.
“Oh! I-I’m sorry…” Holtzmann moved to pull her hand back but Erin’s body thankfully reacted before her brain could come up with an excuse to make her stay and she laced their fingers together tighter and with a shake of her head.
“No.. it’s okay, really,” Erin met Holtzmann’s eyes that twinkled back at her from behind her yellow lenses and Holtz’ lips quirked up in a smile.
Holtzmann dropped her duffel and stepped closer to Erin, who felt her body react to the proximity as she leaned forward as well and her breath caught simply as Holtzmann’s free hand came up and brushed a strand of hair behind Erin’s ear.
“Could I - ? May I inquire as to finishing our game of twenty questions… over dinner, somewhere other than the Firehouse?” Holtzmann shifted from one foot to the next and Erin could tell it took a lot for her not to look away as she essentially asked Erin out on a date.
Erin felt her eyes water and she blinked the tears back with a heartfelt chuckle, shaking her head.
“Yes, I’d love that,” Holtzmann’s smile practically split her face in two and she leaned forward, pressing a sweet kiss to the side of Erin’s mouth. Erin’s eyes closed as she released a puff of air from her lungs at the tender affection. Holtzmann leaned back, eyes sparkling.
“It’s a date then,” she smiled, squeezing Erin’s hands.
“Holtzy! Erin! C’mon, you two have a ton of explaining to do for not helping us out!” Patty yelled as she came to stand right outside the doors of the building, hands on her hips and a scowl playing on her face, Abby was in the car behind her, behind the wheel with the lights flashing, waiting on the three others to hurry up, she honked the horn in aggravation.
“Patty! You tell those two they’ll have to get a cab back home if they don’t hurry their asses!” Erin snorted at her friends’ antics and Holtz shook her head, picking up the duffel and they walked out together, hand in hand. Patty and Abby oblivious to the shared looks and smiles the two kept sneaking the entire ride back to the Firehouse.
-Fin-