A/N: I am surprised that Brook/Poussey fanfiction hasn't taken over the internet because they are the sweetest and should have their own spinoff. Here's a simple one-shot to get the ball rolling.
When Brook wakes she is surprised and relieved to find herself carefully tucked into her own bed, far from the library. Her head is spinning and Chang is muttering at her to get up and she thinks it might be nicer just to close her eyes and sink back into her paper-thin pillow. Then a gentle hand nudges her shoulder. Soso turns to see Poussey crouched next to her, and realizes that she must be the one who brought her back to bed.
"Hey Brook," she says in a low, soothing voice, "I know you probably want to go back to sleep but you need to eat something and we don't need the COs asking questions."
"I don't even know if I can stand up..." Brook mumbles as she labours to pull herself out of bed.
"That's okay," Poussey assures her, "I've got you."
Brook's first few steps are shaky; true to her word, Poussey holds her steady.
At breakfast Brook leans into Poussey, struggling to stay awake while she listens to the women of the table discuss her predicament as if she isn't even there. Her mind is a haze, but there is something innately comforting about Taystee's laugh, Cindy's sarcastic voice and Suzanne's vow to protect her from psych. Most comforting of all is that feeling she gets when she melts into the spot where Poussey's neck meets her shoulder. She knows she is supposed to stay awake but every time she lets her eyes close she gets to sink back into the other woman's body and it feels so warm and soft and safe. After breakfast Poussey walks her back to her bunk and makes her drink another glass of water before promising to check on her later.
By the time the prisoners make their exodus to the lake, Brook can feel the fog in her head starting to clear. She still feels lonely as she watches the others splash around; she'd like to approach the Black women to thank them for earlier but she's too shy and opts to lay back and float by herself. Then she feels someone else's fingers take hold of hers and when she sees it's Poussey she can't help but feel a twinge of warmth in her chest. For a few minutes they float together, joined at the hands like a couple of otters, and then Poussey stands and pulls her up.
"Come on," she beckons, cautiously wrapping her arm around Brook's shoulder as she leads her toward Taystee and the others. Soso dares to hope that maybe this is the beginning of something.
Later, when they are all face down on the sand, waiting to be escorted home to the prison, Brook ought to feel depressed by this jolt back to reality, but she looks over at Poussey, who is still joking around with Taystee even as the guards shush them, and feels a warm sense of calm.
The next day, Brook stands in the cafeteria lineup with Black Cindy and Taystee. They're friendly but she still isn't sure how to interact with them. Cindy is excited at the prospect of her first kosher meal as a Jew and Soso can't help but comment. "It started off as a quest for better food and you ended up finding spiritual nourishment. It's really poetic."
Taystee and Cindy glance at each other with eyebrows raised and for a second Soso worries that she may have overstepped. The new convert finally smiles. "That's a good way of putting it," she agrees.
"You know," Taystee interjects, "we're playing Uno outside after work detail. Poussey would probably be really happy if you joined us."
"Okay." She blushes a little. Taystee and Cindy smile and exchange a knowing look.
Brook steadily settles into the Black social circle as the next few weeks pass. She is quieter now, but it's a nice kind of quiet. Gone is the naive oversharer who nervously talked and talked but never connected with others. A more thoughtful, calmer woman has taken her place. She develops an easygoing rapport with the others, and they follow Poussey's lead and address her by her first name. She's a little nervous around Watson but when Leanne mocks her as 'a fake Black girl' it is Janae who gets up and loudly tells her to 'step the fuck away before I make you.'
Soon Bertie returns and arranges for Brook to be transferred out of the laundry, away from Leanne and Angie. She ends up working as a janitor with Suzanne and the two discuss the finer metaphysical details of The Time Hump chronicles and various possibilities for its conclusion. At meals she sits next to Poussey. They line up at the commissary together. They sit together at movie night and their fingers inch closer together until Poussey's hand is gently covering hers. When Poussey and Taystee launch into a spirited rendition of Aaliyah's 'Are you that somebody?', Poussey catches her gaze and points at her boy-band-style for a brief and charming moment.
Poussey and Soso never talk about that night in the library until one afternoon, a couple of months later, when Brook spots Poussey taking a leisurely stroll around the track and decides to join her. Poussey's face lights up as it always does when she sees Soso and right on cue an irrepressible grin spreads across the younger woman's cheeks. They chat for a while about their wish list for the new library and then settle into a comfortable silence. After a while they plunk down on the ground next to the track and watch the women working in the garden across the yard.
"I never thanked you for that night," Brook finally works up the nerve to say, looking down at the grass beneath her. "And I never apologized for putting you in that position."
"You don't have to thank me or say sorry. This place pushes all of us to the edge and I'm just glad you're okay."
Brook reaches for her hand and laces their fingers together. "That was the first time that I really felt like someone in here actually cared about me."
Poussey bites her lip and Soso can tell she wants to say something but isn't sure if she should. But she can't resist and the words tumble from her lips. "I do care about you."
"I like you too."
Poussey gives her a timid nod, unsure of how she should interpret that.
"I mean, I like you."
Poussey looks away bashfully. "I hope that you don't feel like you owe me anything cause of what happened. It isn't like that for me."
"I know. You're like the one person in here who doesn't want to use me." She thinks back to Piper's attempt to pimp her out to Boo for a blanket.
Poussey's eyes are fixed on the other woman's lips and she has halfway worked up the courage to lean in for a kiss when Brook slides forward and presses their lips together. She lets out a satisfied sigh and a pleasant shiver creeps up her spine. Poussey runs a hand through her hair and thinks to herself that Brook tastes so much better than alcohol.
Rare are the moments when either woman is able to forget that she's in prison, but this is one of them.