Work Text:
Today was particularly more annoying than it had been in the last week or so. If it wasn’t the menagerie of local tween boys shuffling in after school and leaving every corner the store a complete disaster with both grubby hands and prepubescent body odor, it was juggling back-to-back phone calls in the midst of tending to snippy customers in dire need of reeds and rosin. While normally it would have been less of a pain to deal with all hands on deck, Ian had so graciously left the rest of the crew to deal with the tornado of utter bullshit as he suffered through a hangover.
And of course, like any retail employee who fears the wrath of their boss, Ian had begged Sarah through a text message for her to answer the store phone before her father could.
“Aw c’mon Sar’. You know I only call out when I’m spewing outta both ends! How often does that happen?”
“Oh, I don’t know Ian. Maybe every time Bear and I tell you to slow the fuck down on the drinks after getting only one answer right in trivia?”
There’s a pause in conversation. Sarah can totally picture the stupid puzzled look he has on his face right now, grin tugging at her corners of her mouth as she relishes in her verbal checkmate.
“... Okay but how many other people knew the answer to how many nipples Harry Styles has?”
(The answer was a lot. Nearly every single person that night knew that answer. He was getting too sloshed to realize it).
“It was totally worth it.”
The smile drops. Sarah pinches the bridge of her nose out of mild irritation.
“Ian–”
“Aaaaanywayyyy. It’s not like I’m the only one who called out right? Nikki was going shot for shot with me–”
Not for the reason you think.
“And she held her liquor better than you did.”
“WHAT!” Sarah pulls the phone away from her ear and cringes as his voice peaks through the speaker, cautiously settling it a few inches away from her head thereafter. “No fucking way–”
“Uh, yes fucking way. Look. Just –” A sigh, heavy and laced with clear annoyance. It wasn’t even opening hours yet and this is what she has to deal with. “- go spend the rest of your day drinking Gatorade and trying not to shit yourself like a toddler. I’ll tell my dad you’ll be in tomorrow, alright?”
“Psh… Yeahhhhh alright."
"… Thanks, Sarah.”
“Anytime.”
The entirety of the shift remained a stress-ladened blur as Sarah went through the motions. Bear had spent most of his time in and out of the backroom as he’d stocked and reorganized what was being actively displaced or bought, hardly finding the time to stop and debrief with his coworkers. With Ian not around to be distracted by Nikki it was easier for her to exercise her unofficial position of personality hire. Everyone and anyone in this little town knew they could count on her to spread a little positivity within any interaction that had taken place. She was personable and incredibly helpful; the complete opposite of judgmental if you hadn’t given her a reason to think you’re a total creep. Her kind disposition alone lightened any mood that had threatened to dampen the space around them. Hard-working, creative, independent… Nikki Freeman had been nearly everyone’s “it-girl”. It was well-deserved as her reputation precedes her.
Not like Sarah was an idiot either when it came to the reality of the situation at large. Nikki had been one of very few reasons which kept people coming back to Cassell’s for more. For her personality, of course. Or… her “personality”.
That wasn’t really fair, was it? Nikki was one of the most genuine, down to earth people Sarah had the pleasure of knowing. Nothing near saint-like by other standards, surely. But her sweetness had made Sarah sick to her god damn stomach. A sugary poison that coated the lining of every cavity within her body, looking to seep into each crevice and entrail it could possibly seek to find and rot away with a featherlike touch.
… Not the point here. As much as Sarah had been aware of just how much of a treat it had been to get to look at Nikki every day, she had only wished that those around them could see far beyond her pretty face.
That stupid– disgustingly pretty face with those big, brown eyes of hers; incredibly warm and doe-like, using them to her advantage when she’d crane her neck to look up at Sarah and teasingly plead her for an extra ten minutes on her lunch. The way her nose would crinkle with delight whenever they’d been giggling a little too long about some stupid inside joke about one of the boys, playfully pushing at each other and gently curling fingers into each other’s forearm to stay afloat.
How sometimes, and only when she had been making a point to search for it, Sarah could tell Nikki was wearing that new lip gloss she told her to try since “I think it’d look nice on you”. It made her lips just a touch more wet and plush, used only as a weapon in her favor to win Sarah over whenever Nikki would pout at her over something. Or whenever she asked f–
BRRRRRRACK!
Shit–!
Sarah’s brain comes crashing back down from the daydreams drifting throughout her mind. She perks up to see one of the local teenagers who had fallen into the drum set that was on display for a sample run. Her dad barrels out of the manager’s office in a rush to witness the teen’s little friends hoot and holler while trampling out of the door, rubbing at her face as her father’s hot-tempered scolding fades into obscurity. Bear stares dumbly at the set strewn to pieces on the carpet with the boy still tangled in it. Sarah and Nikki share a look with each other, the latter smiling apologetically with a little shrug.
What a fucking day.
Sarah casually leans over the railing along concrete steps behind Cassell’s. Her head is hung low as she allows for the cool evening air to glide along her skin, the ever-ugly work shirt slung over a bare shoulder. Her dad had gone home and left the rest of the group to put the shop back together for tomorrow morning. A nearby streetlight flickers as it threatens to extinguish itself for the fourth day in a row, now stuck in Sarah’s peripheral as she attempts to ignore it. Just when she’s reaching for something in her back pocket, the door behind her hurriedly swings open with a furious CLUNK’ing noise against the brick of the building. She pulls her hand away before the other person can notice.
“Whoa, shit. Um– S-sorry Sarah.” Bear rubs the back of his head sheepishly, looking over his shoulder briefly as the door clicks shut with another heavy thud. “I thought uh… I-I thought you might’ve gone home already.”
A dark and curious brow of hers raises, eyes darting around like there’d been anyone else he could be talking to. She twists her upper body around to make eye contact with him while continuing to lean against the railing, lacing her fingers together loosely with a shrug. “Nah, not yet. I was just decompressing before getting in the car.”
“Riiiight, right.” It’s Bear’s turn to look around this time, though he seems to be actually searching for something. Not in a paranoid way. Not even in a way where he’s trying to find excuses to get out of the conversation. It’s as if he’d been looking for–
“Did Nikki come out here?”
Of course.
“I didn’t hear her when I was inside, so I thought maybe I’d–”
“I got it.” Sarah cuts him off before he can start. Maybe just a bit out of character for her in that moment, evident the way Bear attempts to blink away how incredulous he looks. As if she has the audacity to stop him from speaking.
“You… Got it?”
“... Sorry, not, like–” She shakes her head. “That came out wrong.” She smiles up at him to try and ease the sudden tension, watching his face melt back down into that awkward boyish look he wears with ease. “I meant I’ll drive her home tonight. You don’t have to stay here longer than you need to.”
“Oh. I mean, I don’t mind–”
“Plus you’ve left Sandy home alone all day. She’s probably, like. Eating your couch by now. Or whatever cats do when they’re hungry.”
Bear searches Sarah’s eyes in silence for a few beats. It’s as if he’s trying to figure out if he’d been smart enough to keep his swollen crush a ruse between the only two girls in his small friend group. So what if he wanted to give Nikki a ride home so they could finally be alone together after today? So what if he was going to try, on one of his various failed attempts, to take another shot and tell Nikki about his feelings for her? So fucking what?
Why can’t he just fucking have her this without there being some sort of roadblock?
( Leave it to a mediocre man to think he can outsmart a woman he’s been friends with for years now ).
“... Okay.” He manages to plaster a warm smile on his face, doing his best not to let his reluctance seep through the cracks of his shoddy boyish facade. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.” Sarah returns the sentiment with a smaller grin as she watches Bear trudge to his car, waving when he backs up and out of the parking lot to make his way home.
Her smile drops once he’s out of view. She can only shake her head with another sigh as she pulls a blue and white carton out of her pocket to pluck a cigarette from, lighting it within a few clicks of a dying zippo. Sarah only has but another few moments to take her first drag before the door behind her opens up again.
The motion is mindful this time around. It’s somewhat clunky as Nikki pushes her way through the exit, letting out an exasperated sigh as she leans against it to shut close with all of her body weight. “Godddd-uh.” Her head tips back to gently knock against the metal door, closing her eyes momentarily to block out the flickering lamp beside them both. Sarah looks over her shoulder with mild amusement.
“I thought today would never end.” She throws her work shirt over the railing for now so her hands stay free. Sarah watches as Nikki’s brows scrunch together a bit tighter, bottom lip jutting out into that same pouty look she knows all too well. “And we have to come back tomorrow?” Nikki pops her eyes open as she stares up at the sky dotted with dying stars. “Please, God– Jesus. Whoever’s out there. I’ll take whatever hangover Ian has so I can get the day off. I promise—”
She seems to be pleading to whatever higher power will hear her out, causing Sarah to snort at the dramatics. It’s only with that sentiment that Nikki finally ceases the banter to snap her gaze at her friend. The cigarette smoke wafts into her senses with ease; gross and nearly headache-inducing as always, made just a bit more tolerable as Sarah’s floral perfume mingles with it so perfectly. Nikki can only grimace at her for a few more seconds before she suddenly pushes herself off of the door, trying to take the cigarette from her grasp as Sarah holds it high above her head and out of reach.
“You promised me you’d stop doing that!”
“Nuh-uh-uh– This one doesn’t count.”
“Don’t try to make–” Nikki pops up on her tiptoes to try and reach the cigarette. She presses a hand to Sarah’s chest to keep herself steady, the tip of her tongue sticking out with determination.
Fuck. She’s too cute.
“- excuses! It still counts outside the bar, and at a funeral, and if you’re offered one by an older woman!”
Sarah can only manage to scoff as she keeps her arm up and away from the girl trying to– for lack of better wording – climb her like a tree to take it from her. Eventually Nikki gives up with another harumph, letting her feet lay flat on the ground.
“Okay, but like.” Sarah motions with the cigarette between her fingers. “This is after a grueling shift at Cassell's, with one less person working today, and without any plan to go to Barkers. Can you really blame me?” She punctuates the question with mimicry; a sad little pout that’s nothing like her friend’s own, yet endearing all the same. Nikki is doing a very poor job of holding back a smile as she turns her head away from Sarah's attempt at buttering her up, rolling her eyes as she can only display faux annoyance.
“Whatever.”
Sarah smirks as the filter smudged in dark lipstick is put to her lips.
“That’s what I thought.”
And takes another drag.
She tilts her head back to blow the smoke upward as to be mindful of Nikki and her oh so incredible distaste for the vice at hand. One of which, Sarah is well aware of, that she too is weak-willed for whenever she decides to light one up. She’s actually surprised Nikki lasted as long as she has without asking for a hit.
And yet, unbeknownst to her, Nikki is stealing a purposeful glance as Sarah decides to keep her face glued to the navy sky for a while. Her eyes drag over every inch of skin she can drink her fill of in the limited amount of time she has to appreciate her. As annoying as that streetlight had been, it’d done a great service to Nikki when highlighting the contours of someone she’d been ogling.
Right… Right.
She can call it what it is, can’t she? This… Whatever this was that had been going on between them for the past several months was a better kept secret than Bear’s obvious crush on her. Being on and off with Ian as much as she has was exhausting. Completely and utterly stupid to keep it a thing, always getting into petty little fights here and there to keep the spark alive during sex.
Yet the spark she was chasing couldn’t be found within him anymore. Maybe not for the time being, maybe not ever. Maybe she didn’t want to look for it anymore. Or maybe this was just all one big messy mistake to ruin the friendship with benefits.
And Nikki knew that. Sarah knew that.
What they’ve created with each other could end at any moment, at any time, for any reason. Nikki could finally get out of here like she wanted to and find a writing job far away from all she’s ever known. Sarah could get accepted into the university of her dreams and become the best tattoo artist to come out of the damn state. They could part ways for years to come with only ever sending the occasional text to see how the other was doing, the ever-dwindling flame being snuffed out completely due to lost time and distance alone. It had been a scary and inevitable reality they would both need to face within the coming weeks of their drastic life changes.
… But this was enough for now. There had been an incredibly different spark that started the wildfire roaring within their feeble bodies, starving and eager to be nourished with desire until the collective inferno swallowed both of them whole.
Nikki bites the inside of her cheek as another sigh escapes alongside the cloud of dark smoke, tearing her eyes off of Sarah’s body the moment she ceases looking at the night sky. She offers the cigarette out towards her with a knowing smile, shaking it enticingly as if tempting a stray puppy with a treat. “Come onnnn… I know you want tooooo~”
The puppy in question does happen to take the bait. Just not in the way Sarah had intended for whatever unassuming reason.
Nikki reaches as if she’s going for the offering, opting to suddenly wrap her hand around her partner’s wrist decorated in charms and silver. It’s with a coaxing tug and another pop up to her toes that she presses her lips to Sarah’s own to share a much needed kiss. Although stunned only momentarily, Sarah’s eyes flutter shut while melting against the warmth of her mouth. A hand instinctively snakes behind to tenderly push her palm into the small of Nikki’s back, paying no mind to the ash crumbling off of her wasted Parliament in the other. The kiss just barely toes the line of dangerous territory with tongues brushing against each other before Nikki is the one to pull away and leave Sarah wanting more.
Sarah is searching, yearning – her own dark eyes frantically scanning her partner’s adorable face as she attempts to calculate her next move. Nikki stares up at Sarah innocently as she challenges her in silence, squinting in pure gratification when Sarah subtly swipes a tongue between her lips.
It’s that lip gloss I like so, so much…
She can only stop herself from diving back in when Nikki abruptly plucks the nearly-finished cig from her fingertips, leaning back into Sarah’s touch to be kept upright by a hand she’s come to trust.
“Take me home?”
A cheeky smile follows as she finally takes a drag to kill the entire thing, Sarah watching her in awe before a huff of amusement is expelled through her nose.
“I thought you’d never ask."