AN: Thanks to Lightleadingme for helping me get out of a rut. :)
"Erin's still oblivious," said Abby, popping a piece of popcorn into Jillian's mouth. They were sitting on her couch, waiting for the latest episode of The Flash to start.
"She still in shock from losing her job," said Holtz. "She's slowing unraveling."
"Ain't that the truth," muttered Abby. "Very slowly."
"Has she always been this uptight?" asked Holtzmann. Abby nodded. Holtz grinned. "She probably shoots out diamonds when she farts."
The snort that came out of Abby's nose delighted Holtz as she snagged more popcorn from the bowl. Abby fanned her face.
"God, I love you."
"I'm not sure I can share you with another god Abs. I'm a deity of sex and all things pleasurable. I don't think the two will balance out."
"I'll take you and science over religion any day," said Abby. She leaned to kiss Jillian, who took Abby's lips eagerly. Abby patted Jillian's knee when they broke apart.
"Now come on, we've got to see if they're ever going to let Cisco gain his full powers."
While both Abby and Jillian had loved the firehouse when they first saw it, it was just not feasible on their budgets at 21,000 a month in rent. The thought of making out in those big rooms had excited them both. Then they could be kissing like they had often done at Higgins in their basement lab, away from the rest of the world. But the Chinese place where they had ended up instead... there was just no room. They couldn't get away from Erin no matter how much they tried. And they had tried.
Abby then had the bright idea of looking for a receptionist, much to Holtz's displeasure. Kevin, while even more oblivious than Erin, did at least give them a little breathing room. He let them be while they talked lowly over Holtz's designs or discussing supernatural things that had come up on Ghost News or Reddit.
But, then came another problem. A rather sizable problem by the name of Patty Tolan. The MTA worker had a piercing stare that left the both of them privately wondering if they had any secrets left as she had given them once over the first time they met. Thankfully ghosts had become an even bigger problem and they found some relief. Neither Erin nor Patty had figured out their secret yet. Stolen kisses behind the building were all they had to make it through the day.
The first big bust had almost turned into a nightmare for their plan. While they had both had agreed after the ghost at the Aldridge Mansion that it'd be best if they didn't mention they were dating to Erin, Abby was still afraid it'd scare her off if she felt like a third wheel. Holtzmann had understood that. Abby had been her first real friend, Erin had been Abby's. She had wanted to hold onto that friendship. But it had left Holtzmann in an interesting position of observer to a friendship and partnership that she felt at times was based on need than actual closeness. They had bonded because they needed friendship at a bad time in their lives. Holtz had never felt that with another person and was fascinated by the idea. She could see the same thing in Patty. Holtz couldn't even begin to imagine seeing that prison ghost on her own and turning to complete strangers to prove to herself that she wasn't crazy. She had a need for a friend.
So Jillian asked Patty out to dinner that night. To start a friendship. Abby had squealed when Holtzmann had told her than she thought she had made a new friend when she had come home that night back to their shared apartment. Patty was a good asset to their budding team, but was almost part of undoing their promise of keeping things a secret. After they had caught the ghost at the rock concert, Abby and Holtzmann had celebrated by taking a chance and kissing in the bathroom. It had been a big moment for them personally. They had caught a ghost and they could study it. It was her Abby's dream to be right for once, and Holtzmann's equipment had brought it to fruition. They had gotten so caught up that Abby had forgotten to lock the door behind her. But Holtz had noticed the hand opening the door and blocked Patty's entrance while Abby had buttoned her shirt. She had followed Holtzmann out of the bathroom, apologizing to Patty and low key mentioning that they were working on a practical joke to play on Erin through pretend giggles. Holtz pretended to want to make an electrocuting ghost trap, which Abby pretended to say no too. When Patty just shook her head and went into the bathroom, the both of them ran away from the bathroom laughing and headed back into the main room where Erin was trying to convince Kevin that yes, writing down messages was good. They were both still giddy at nearly getting caught by their new friend. But the small crisis had been averted. Abby smiled at Holtz from across the room, which left the blonde's heart aflutter, feeling more in love than she could imagine.
But love hadn't stopped it from nearly dying along with the rest of her body when Abby had dropped her out the window. She had watched helplessly as Patty bravely fought off her girlfriend from breaking her neck. She had been scared when Patty had finally gotten her pulled up about what she would find. Something supernatural had a hold on her lover and she wasn't prepared for it, not in the least. Her Abby, her sweet and loving Abby had tried to kill her. Relief had filled her body and soul when a ghost had flown out the window. Possession was something she could deal with. It could patch the holes in her psyche, to put the puzzle back together again. She could still feel Abby's fingers on her neck and the cold, dead stare in her eyes as she let go. Love had been the thing that had stopped Abby from crying later when all was said and done that she had nearly killed people under Rowan's influence. Trying to console her had taken a lot of convincing that no, she was fine. Patty was fine. Rowan had been the one in control and not her. And now he was dead, completely and utterly dead. Holtz knew she'd never forget that one fucking moment for all her days, but the tender way Abby had held her in her arms and kissed her neck gently for hours made up for it completely.
Which brought them to the present. They had finally gotten everything moved into the firehouse. It looked great. Now they had more of a work space, an office, and a lab space. Everybody could settle in where they wished. They even had their own little living area upstairs if they found it necessary to fall over after working a bust.
It was all going great, except for the fact that Erin and Patty still thought that Abby and Jillian were just friends and nothing more. Abby leaned against Holtzmann, looking around the lab.
"You ready for this?" Jillian took her hand.
"And blow both their minds?" grinned Holtzmann. "Always." She leaned in and kissed Abby, wrapping her arms around her.
"Come on, let's go tell our friends." Abby intertwined their fingers together. It was the first time they held hands openly in the firehouse. Jillian kissed the back of her hand, lovingly pressing her lips to each knuckle. Abby felt warm and she tugged on Jillian to head downstairs. Patty and Erin were sitting at the conference table, looking bewildered at the stack of paperwork the city had sent over for them to fill out. She took a deep breath, glancing at Holtz for a second.
"Erin, Patty..." began Abby. They both looked up at their names being called.
"We have something we need to tell you," began Holtz.
"Right," said Abby. "Um, well... the thing with Holtzmann and I is that while we are friends... we're more than friends. We've been seeing each other for three years now. We didn't want to say anything because the team was just coming together and then with all the ghosts..."
Holtzmann broke in. "So what my wonderful, beautiful girlfriend is trying to say is that we're ready to be out to you guys about our relationship."
Patty and Erin looked at each other for a moment, then went back to the paperwork. Erin picked up a pen and starting writing.
"Nothing, really?" said Abby, feeling slightly exasperated. She looked sideways at Jillian, who looked surprised. She had been expecting more of a reaction.
A loud snort came from Patty, which sent Erin into a fit of giggles. She had to hide her face in the paperwork while Patty was clapping her hands and cackling, laying her head against the back of the chair.
Now both Abby and Holtzmann were really confused.
"Abby-baby. Holtzy," said Patty, struggling to gain control of herself and wiping her eyes. "We love you, and we appreciate that you tried to think of us while everything was going on... but I've got to say this: You two are not subtle."
"That is an unequivocally true statement," said Erin, her eyes still dancing in laughter. "Subtlety thy name is not." She beamed at her best friend.
"How long have you guys known?" asked Holtz, putting her hands on her hips.
"Since, like the beginning?" said Patty. "The way you two always went off together, knew everything about each other... I know you two worked together at that school, but really?"
"Plus, when you said that Holtzmann had met your mother, Abby, it was a little suspicious," said Erin. "You don't tell your mom anything unless it's really important. Now your dad..."
Abby sighed. "That was a bit of a slip up on my part." Holtz grinned widely.
"I charmed Momma Yates. I let her know that Abby was in good hands."
"I have no doubt," said Erin, smiling. "But yes, you two, not so subtle." She stood up and went over and hugged the both of them.
"Patty and I are both happy that you two are together. We've been looking forward to this day, actually."
"Really, why?" asked Abby. Feeling Erin close and her acceptance was a relief to her. Erin looked back at Patty, who had stood up.
"Because we couldn't wait to tease you for the rest of your days. You know the back windows on the Chinese place?" Patty grinned at the pair.
"Yeah, why?" said Abby.
"They had a full view of behind the building. looking straight down," said Erin, demonstrating.
Holtz frowned, not understanding.
"Oh, fudge buckets," said Abby, shaking her head and resting her fingers on either side of her nose, just beneath her glasses.
"Those breaks weren't quite so much breaks as they were excuses to make with the kissy faces," said Erin, grinning. "Abbbb-bbbby."
"I didn't realize I had an audience or I would have upped by game," said Holtzmann, contemplating the thought. Abby turned and stared at Jillian, who grinned wickedly at her girlfriend.
"Abby, babe..."
"No."
"We could have put on a show."
"Holtzmann."
"Holtzy, you'd better listen to your girlfriend. It was cute, but we're not the voyeuristic type," said Patty.
"Although we did joke about taking photos and plastering them up in the firehouse so that maybe you'd get the hint that we knew," added Erin.
"Oblivious, we were," said Holtz, imitating Yoda.
"It was cute, although the bathroom thing, not so much," said Patty.
"Bathroom thing?" repeated Abby.
"The day we caught the ghost when Patty..." said Holtz, her face scrunched up in concentration. "But... nothing happened?"
"You do realize the bathroom mirror is aligned almost perfectly to see inside when you open the bathroom door?" smirked Patty. "Abby has a nice rack, Holtzy. I can see why you'd have your hands all up on that."
Holtz puffed up in pride, looking pleased. Abby had one hand across her face and an arm across her chest. Her face was turning many shades of red. Erin was laughing and had her head leaning against Patty's shoulder, who was laughing hard herself.
"You two have been having fun with this, I gather," said Abby after a moment.
"Tons," said Erin. She went over and wrapped her arms around her best friend.
"You two should have been honest with us," said Erin. "Neither one of us would have really minded." She rubbed Abby's shoulder.
"Although you and I are having a talk later about Sarah. You lied to me back then."
"Sarah?" asked Patty. Abby looked sheepish, scratching her scalp and not saying anything.
"An exchange student from Poland in Abby and Erin's senior year. Blonde hair and blue eyes," smirked Holtz as she glanced at Erin and glanced even harder at her girlfriend. Abby was trying to avoid looking at any one. "She was Abby's first kiss."
"Which someone vehemently denied," said Erin, leaning her head to the side and looking at Abby.
"I had to," said Abby, after a moment. "Her host family..."
"Didn't approve," said Erin. "I know that. Sarah told me."
"She-" began Abby, her brow furrowing as she frowned. "She told you that?"
"You might not have confided in me, but she did," said Erin. "Because she knew I was your best friend."
"And you never said anything?" said Abby.
"I was planning on confronting you about it, but then she had to go home when her dad got sick to help her mom with her brother and sisters. I kind of gathered you weren't ready to talk about it, especially after she left without saying goodbye to you."
"My babe has a thing for blondes," grinned Holtzmann, leaning into Abby's shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist.
"Clearly," said Abby with a sigh, looking at Holtzmann practically wrapped around her.
"Did I tell you that she found me on Facebook about two weeks ago?" Abby said, looking at Erin.
"Really?" said the redhead. "That's great, Abby."
Holtzmann let off a low growl.
"Down girl," said Abby, rubbing Holtz's ear. She whimpered and whined.
"She saw the saving the world thing and recognized us, Erin. So she started looking online and found me."
"So keeping secrets is sort of a set pattern when it comes to Abby's love life," observed Patty.
"Just when it comes to me, apparently," smirked Erin, crossing her arms.
Holtzmann seemed to consider this for a moment as she let go of Abby and looked at Erin before turning back to her girlfriend.
"I'm sorry honey, but this is a closed relationship. I know you love Erin, but..."
"Holtz," said Abby warningly. Holtzmann kissed Abby's cheek, which made her shake her head and lovingly rub Holtz's face.
"I need to know how this whole crazy relationship works," said Patty. "Because you two are nuts."
"Nuts is a relative term," said Abby. "I think I'm quite well adjusted, thank you."
"Ghost raps," fake sneezed Erin. Abby sighed.
"Coffee?"
"I think we're all gonna need some," agreed Patty. "I have a feeling this is going to take hours."