One Look From You and I Would Fall From Grace
Request: Hannah and Kim (the tow truck driver) 90's AU Femslash
Hannah had always been a good Angel. She'd done as she was told, she'd followed the directions left by God, even in his absence. She had abided by the rules unquestioningly, for thousands and thousands of years.
Heaven was a good place, it really was. But on her last stop off on Earth, she'd heard something that she couldn't get out of her thoughts. Music. She'd never given a whole lot of thought to humans. It was her job to protect them; they were her Father's favorites, after all, though she, like many other Angels, could never really figure out why. They were so flawed. So careless. They cared too much, or too little. They obsessed over trivialities, or gave no thoughts to huge problems. They smelled. Their lifespans were too short to accomplish anything. But their music, oh their music. She couldn't escape it. How she'd lived for millenia and never noticed until 1995, she would never know. But she had. And on one of her errands, she'd been in a coffee shop. She'd been tasked with saving a little girl. The little girl had a brain tumor, but no one knew it yet. It was a simple job, just a quick walk by, brush her hand over the girl's head, walk away. The cleansing had gone off without a hitch, but as she'd gone to leave the shop, the first strains of a song on the radio had begun to play, and they'd caught Hannah's ear. She had done something she had never done before. She had stopped, and she had listened, mesmerized, to the entire song. People entering and leaving the shop had stepped awkwardly around her, and when the song was done, she had gone up to the barista and asked what the song was.
The barista, a short teenage girl in a large flannel and ripped up jeans, had told her. It was a song by PJ Harvey called "Down by the Water." It wasn't all that popular. Hannah didn't much care whether anyone else liked the song... she decided then and there that she needed to find this PJ Harvey and see her sing it. What kind of person could create like that? Maybe humans weren't as trivial as she'd thought after all.
Hannah had returned the vessel she had been borrowing back to it's family, and returned to Heaven, though she began planning a quick getaway to Earth from that very day.
Somewhere in the Midwest
Kim was used to working late fixing cars at the old shop, but she was leaving early tonight. She had a concert to go to, and she wasn't going to miss it. The dark haired 25 year old had told her boss two weeks ago that she had to be off by six tonight- no staying late to make sure someone's brakes were done by morning or that a last minute alternator was replaced. Someone else could do it. It wasn't easy being the only female mechanic at the shop, and she felt like she had to put in 110% a lot of the time just to be taken seriously, but one day she was going to own her own place, she was sure of it.
At six o'clock she locked herself in the restroom, scrubbing the grease and grime from her nails and hands with orange soap, and changed her clothes. Black jeans, black top, black Doc Martens. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and painted on some dark eyeliner, not unlike the grease that surrounded her constantly at work. When she was done she headed out, closing up the shop for the night. She got into her old truck and headed into the city. PJ Harvey was playing at a small venue, and she'd had her tickets for a while. She was excited to go, but her best friend had bailed at the last minute, sick with the flu. So she was heading out alone.
The concert was in full swing. Hannah was still getting used to the vessel she was in. The young woman was tall and lithe, with brown hair and an aquiline nose. She had found her in a hospital, and appeared to her in a dream. It seemed so cliché, even to her- an angel appearing to someone in a dream. But the girl had been in a bad crash, and Hannah could heal her. And Hannah really, really wanted to go and experience what the humans called "live music." So they had struck a deal. Hannah could borrow the young woman's body for while, experience some of what humanity had to offer, and when she was healed, she'd vacate the premises. The doctors had been very surprised when she'd woken up, and more surprised when she'd walked out of the hospital. They'd chased her down, but to no avail. Hannah didn't understand why they wanted her to fill out all of the paperwork that they were handing her. She reached into the memories of the woman, found her car, her apartment, and was soon standing in front of the venue. She took a deep breath. No one in Heaven knew she was missing, and truly, no one would suspect Hannah to play hooky for a while. She was always following the rules.
She gave the large man at the door her ticket and showed him her ID, and went into the dimly lit club. There were musicians on the stage, but they weren't the band she was hoping to see play.
"This opening band sucks." She overheard a man with a blue Mohawk say to his girlfriend. His girlfriend nodded, taking a drink from her beer bottle.
"An opening band." Hannah repeated to herself. She had to admit, what they were playing only resembled music as far as she was concerned. But she was here for the experience. The good, and the not so good. She approached the bar, and stood, looking at the menu of drinks. She must have stood there for a long time, because a voice next to her shook her back to reality.
"Having trouble deciding between which shitty beer you want to drink?" A woman all in black stood beside her. Hannah regarded her cautiously, but her body was doing something strange. Her heart was racing a little bit, and her palms were a little bit sweaty. This was odd.
She continued to look down at the woman. She was possibly the most beautiful being Hannah had ever seen. Her eyes were rimmed in deep black kohl, and her skin was pale, with her hair pulled back haphazardly. Hannah finally realized she should probably say something. "The choices are a bit overwhelming. And, uh, I'm not a big drinker."
The young woman nodded. "I'm Kim." She said, extending her hand out to Hannah. Hannah shook it, and the moment their fingers touched, it was like fireworks. She pulled her hand away quickly. She wasn't sure what she was experiencing. "If I were you, I'd stick to the Corona or the Pacifico, if you aren't a big drinker. They aren't as bad as some of the other beers on there." She waved at the bartender to get his attention. "And for God's sakes, stay away from the Natty Ice." The bartender approached. Kim turned to Hannah. "I'll buy this round." She winked and ordered two beers, and when they came, handed one to Hannah.
"Thank you." Hannah took it, mimicking Kim, shoving the lime down into the neck and covering the opening with her thumb, tilting the bottle over. Then she took a long drink. It was bitter, but not altogether unpleasant. "Are you here alone, Kim?"
Kim nodded. "Yeah. My best friend got the flu, so I'm flying solo tonight." She smiled up at Hannah, and Hannah felt a little weak in the knees. What was going on? "Unless you'd like to join me?"
Hannah nodded. She found herself very much wanting to join this woman for the evening. "I'd like that. I'm alone, too."
The cover band finally stopped playing their "music" and the stagehands set up for the headliner. Kim could tell that Hannah was shy and new to the whole concert thing, and so, as the lights dimmed, she grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd up towards the front of the stage. They pressed themselves through the masses of bodies, ducking and weaving over and around people, Kim never letting go. They finally arrived up at the front, to the right of the stage, near a maintenance hall. Kim stopped and smiled at Hannah. "Best seats in the house."
"But we're standing." Hannah replied. She was unsure of human colloquialisms. She had looked around and was sure there were no seats.
Kim chuckled. "Yeah, we are." She dropped Hannah's hand, and Hannah's heart dropped a little as she did so. The music started, and PJ Harvey arrived on stage. The crowd surged forward, and soon the two women were pressed together at the edge of the stage, barely any room between them. Hannah drew in a breath; Kim seemed perfectly comfortable being so close. She reached over and rubbed Hannah's back comfortingly. "Calm down. It's always like this. It'll be fine." She grinned at her reassuringly. Hannah smiled back. She liked Kim's touch. Maybe this was what Angels were lacking. Intimacy.
The music kept playing and the beer kept flowing, and the bodies around them pressed tighter and tighter. Everyone began to dance. Hannah could feel herself loosening up, spinning to the music and smiling in the darkness with Kim, their bodies close, their hands eventually clasped together. She felt herself begin to sweat, another sensation she wasn't used to. Suddenly her song came on. "Down By The Water" began, and Kim turned to her. "This is my song!" she exclaimed, smiling so wide that Hannah's human heart began to melt.
"It's my favorite, too." She said quietly, but then realized she had to yell above the noise.
Kim looked at Hannah, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the service hallway. Hannah willingly trailed after her, hot on her heels. The music followed them, reverberating down the corridor. Kim turned and pushed Hannah up against the wall, pressing her ruby lips up against Hannah's unrouged ones. Hannah drew in a sharp breath. Kim pulled back. "Is something wrong? I'm sorry- I should have asked first-"
Hannah cut her off in mid sentence, pulling her back toward her, pulling her lips back to hers, slipping her tongue between Kim's red lips. To be human, to be fully human, this is what it feels like. To yearn for someone, for their touch, their skin, their passion.
The music kept playing, the woman kept singing, and Hannah and Kim kept kissing, their hands tangled in each others hair, exploring each others bodies, over shirts and under coats, breathless and panting. It had all happened so fast, Hannah barely knew what was going on, but she knew she liked it, whatever it was. She was drawn to Kim, to her strange dark beauty.
When the concert was over, they had one last beer, and left the venue holding hands, Hannah now wearing a good amount of Kim's lipstick, her eyes shining with new found life and knowledge. "You need a ride home?" Kim asked her, as they approached the parking lot.
"I... have a car." Hannah replied reluctantly. She didn't want the night to end. She wanted to stay with Kim, hang on and not let go. Was this how it was to be mortal? Everything was so fleeting, that you grabbed onto every moment as though it could be your last?
Kim nodded, a little crestfallen. "I'll see you around then." She began to walk towards her truck.
"Kim!" Hannah called out. Kim turned. Hannah quickly covered the distance between them with her new human legs. "I had a wonderful evening... I'm... I'm not from around here... It's a long story... I probably won't see you again." She felt she had to be truthful. Hannah was always truthful. "But if I could, I would."
She leaned down and kissed Kim one last time. Kim fell into her, their silhouettes merging into one. When they broke apart, Hannah made a hasty retreat. She sat in her car for a long time, trying to wrap her head around everything she'd seen and experienced that day. Music, beer, attraction, kissing, lust, affection, love... it was all so overwhelming.
She drove slowly back to her vessel's apartment. Her vessel was healed by now. She showered, letting the water cascade off of her body and basking in the sensation of the water droplets on her skin. She dressed for bed, and got into the clean sheets. Then she left her vessel, sleeping peacefully.
Looking down upon the body she'd just spent the night in, her only thoughts were of Kim. She wondered if providence would ever lead them to meet again. Highly unlikely, but one could never know with these things...
"I lost my heart
Under the bridge
To that little girl
So much to me
And now I'm old
And now I holler
She'll never know
Just what I found"
"That blue eyed girl "Oh help me Jesus "Little fish. big fish. Swimming in the water.
She said "no more"
That blue eyed girl
Became blue eyed whore
Down by the water
I took her hand
Just like my daughter
Won't see her again"
Come through this storm
I had to lose her
To do her harm
I heard her holler
I heard her moan
My lovely daughter
I took her home"
Come back here, man. gimme my daughter.
Little fish. big fish. Swimming in the water.
Come back here, man. gimme my daughter.
Little fish. big fish. Swimming in the water.
Come back here, man. gimme my daughter ... "