A/N: This idea popped into my head whilst working on a wedding fic for my other OTP and I just had to get it somewhere. The rain pouring outside also got me into a serious writing mood. This is very different from "Labels" but I hope you enjoy it. :)
Franky was tapping a pencil to her chin impatiently, checking her wristwatch for the millionth time, as she chewed on her gum a bit too loudly. If anyone was in her proximity, she was pretty sure they'd ask her to tone it down (and not very politely). Luckily, it was just her, chilling in the office out back, with her feet up on the desk like no one's business, ruffling some paperwork she really wasn't in the mood to look over. Taxes? Invoices? Who the hell came up with that stupidsystem again?
Oh, right, capitalism. The sweet joys of the free market.
Only half an hour left and she could finally leave work, she thought, exhaling less heavily than a few agonizing hours earlier, but still bored out of her skull, judging by her pouted lips and faraway expression. Least her not so professional stance right now was one perk of being the boss that she could enjoy. It did compensate for the other super boring parts of the job, even if just a little.
Sure, it was nice to say it, to shove it in people's faces if nothing else – Franky Doyle, restaurant owner and general manager, but she was also not the kind of boss to leave early just because she held the grand title that allowed her to do so without repercussions.
Another, more believable excuse would have been – I'm getting hitched, I'm busy. No one would go against that. In fact, everyone around her, from employees to close friends was even more ecstatic than her when she broke the news of the upcoming, blessed event, shedding a healing light upon her only recently put together life.
To this day, she had no clue how she got the job and the house and the girl, given her not so fortunate past and previous history, relationship-wise. She also didn't have the slightest clue which Gods she pleased in a previous life to ever land a woman like Bridget Westfall in her corner – refined, elegant, sophisticated, both in appearance and in speech. Everything she wasn't - brash, loud, impulsive, those attributes defined her.
They were like salt and pepper. But maybe opposites did attract after all – and Bridget saw so much more in her than she ever did, even when she was at the lowest point on the moral scale of the world. For that, she could only be thankful and she couldn't wait for the rest of their lives to start.
Her thoughts were so domestic right now she could have punched herself square in the face, if she wasn't too busy acting giddy like a school girl. She only did that when no one saw her, of course.
But her previous thoughts and the images they brought in her mind still made her all warm inside, smiling like a moron every single time she glanced at the polished, elegant ring gracing her finger, like it belonged there - a beautiful reminder of how far she's come, how far they've come, a reminder that this was actually real, it was happening to her, a cherished token she was gazing at no less than 50 times a day, to be exact.
Not that she'd ever tell Gidge that.By all intents and purposes, she was supposed to be the badass in the relationship, not the softie - and she took that self-designated role very seriously. It would ruin their whole bloody dynamic if she didn't. She couldn't have that.
When the final minutes of her work day passed – painstakingly slow, at that - Franky closed up and grabbed her car keys, before crossing the sidewalk, yawning. She wasn't supposed to see Bea for another 20 minutes, so she settled for grabbing two coffees on the way before she drove to their scheduled meeting spot.
Knowing Red, she'd probably need it just as much as her. She had to be just about done with her shift at the salon too by now – and if she had even half the clientele she usually did during full wedding season, then she'd most definitely need it. Red was almost as cranky as her without that much needed daily dose of caffeine. If she didn't fill that specific quota, all hell broke lose – and you didn't want to get in between that crossfire.
She couldn't take any risks – she barely, and begrudgingly so, convinced Red to join her on some wedding errands she needed to run. Given that her best friend was also maid of honor, Bea couldn't tell her to piss off – and she used that pretext every single time she could. Let's call it a bargaining chip. Franky took full advantage of it – you never knew when the opportunity would arise again. If ever.
There was no one else she'd bestow that privilege upon in a lifetime - that of being her right-hand woman, of course. Bea was anything but a fan of weddings but they had history, she'd never say no to the offer. As expected, she didn't.
But Franky also knew she needed to be wary of asking too many favors from a sleep-deprived Bea. Thankfully, their first errand shouldn't be too tiring – all they needed to do was check up on some floral arrangements. She needed Bea as her extra set of eyes today.
As she waited on the other side facing the shop whilst taking large sips of her coffee, she started playing with her ring again, unconsciously. Fuck, she loved that thing. Scratch that, she loved the woman who gave it to her more.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." – a smirking Bea greeted from behind her, causing Franky to nearly choke on her coffee and spill it all over herself, as she was pulled from her pleasant daydream a little too harshly for her liking. In response, her hazel-green eyes shot daggers in her best friend's direction.
"Fuck's sake, Red, in Sydney we wave first." – she snapped, her usual snark as intact as her signature eyeliner.
"Yeah, whatever." – Bea waved her hand around dismissively, completely ignoring her, her eyes settling on the paper cup holder Franky was carrying. "That for me?"
"You know it." – the brunette answered, neutrally, no hint of the previous fire in her voice, handing Red her steamy cup of coffee. When the latter let out an audible, pleasant moan as she drunk the heavenly sent liquid, Franky couldn't help but take her usual smirk and shit-eating grin ten notches up.
"You know, I can do a better job than that coffee—"
"Jesus, Franky." – Bea rolled her eyes, flushing just a little. She was used to Franky hitting on her constantly but it still took her aback sometimes. "So, I'm here, what'd ya need me for, again?"
"Anything you want, babe."
This time, Bea snickered, rolling her eyes even more.
"Oh come on, Red, you're just making it too easy on me."
She was suddenly looking at her idiot best friend like she didn't understand something. Not a moment later, she voiced that confusion in her head.
"How can anyone see you do…" – she pointed at Franky's frame, incredulously. "You..and think – yeah, I would loooove to put a ring on that?"
"I'll have you know plenty of women still find me charming, especially with this on my finger."– the tattooed woman chuckled, no offense taken, sipping the last drops of her coffee, before throwing the paper cup carelessly in a nearby trashcan. Bea reluctantly trailed along beside her, like the lost puppy she was.
"And first stop is flowers." – Franky specified, dutifully. "It's just down the street."
"Seriously, the cheesiest part of a wedding?" – Bea asked, blinking once or twice, hoping she hadn't heard her right. "And you ask me to come with you, of all people? You've gotta be kidding-"
"You're my maid of honor, stop whining." – Franky replied, linking her arm around Bea's and bumping her shoulder as she did. "Also, spoiler alert - the cheesiest part is gonna be the vows, just you wait."
"Ugh, gag me." – Bea grumbled even more, using her index finger to feign a gag reflex.
Franky merely laughed, ignoring everything Killjoy Bea shot at her from her seemingly endless arsenal of complaints.
She was too happy to care about any of that today but the ring resting on her finger, like a security blanket. If her best friend was in her head right now, hearing even a tenth of her thoughts, she'd probably combust.
"We're here." – Franky announced, as Bea inched her eyes upwards, instinctively.
The place seemed a tad too large and fancy compared to her idea of a usual flower shop but she could tell it was elegant and put together, judging by the classy window display and the stylish, cursive letters adorning it. That, and, for some reason, the place seemed to have a homey vibe to it, something inviting that drew you in.
As Bea walked in with Franky trailing close behind, she started to look around, curiously, like a child in a toy store. There were floral arrangements everywhere, alongside wedding magazines, artwork and refined decorations, giving the shop a cozy, yet sophisticated look at the same time.
She was snapped out of her fascinated, almost enthralled staring by the sound of a beautiful voice echoing from behind her.
"Sure, it will be delivered at 12:00 PM stat, no delays. Yes, the center pieces too. Alright, talk to you later."
On impulse, her head jerked in the opposite direction, almost too swiftly and Franky merely raised a teasing eyebrow at her, clearly amused. The brunette followed her jumpy friend's stare until they were both faced with the image of a chirpy blonde, scribbling the last remains of some notes in her agenda, before hanging up on her previous caller.
"Why, hello there." – she greeted, casually and excitedly at the same time, recognizing Franky's tattoos from a mile away, even when fully engulfed in another conversation.
It was then that she noticed the brunette had company…or better yet, she had company, too.
Her gaze instantly settled on the brown-eyed woman standing next to Franky, shifting her weight from one leg to another almost awkwardly and she felt her throat dry out on the spot and her heart rate speed up. She licked her lips nervously, clutching onto the pen she just used to write a bit too hard, as she opened her mouth to say something, anything. But she suddenly couldn't remember a single word. Or even her own name. What was today's date, again? What was she even writing?
Thankfully, the usually loud and brash, now also smirking and all-knowing tattooed woman did the job for her.
"Red, this is Allie, the finest flower girl in all of Sydney, if you know what I mean." – she introduced her to the stunning redhead she just spent half a minute gawking at in true Franky fashion – with a deliberate drop in tone and batting her eyelashes. Allie was too busy feeling like junior prom all over again with all the jitters taking over her body to even register the brunette's lame attempt at flirting.
Fortunately, Franky's much quieter, composed and gorgeous companion, if you'd ask the enchanted blonde, didn't seem to notice a single thing about her inner struggle.
"Don't mind her, she's getting married—"
If Allie was nervous before, adding a voice to the alluring beauty before her only made it worse. A very raspy and sexy voice, if you'd ask her. The flower girl eventually cleared her throat and gave herself a pep talk to woman the hell up, dropping the pen on the desk, unceremoniously.
Not that she even cared about that. Not even the slightest bit.
"Yeah, I kinda figured that part out, lovely." - Allie laughed, earning a soft smile from the redhead before her.
Bea also cleared her throat, shyly, unconsciously gripping her coffee cup like a lifeline. What both of them failed to notice was Franky contemplating the weird, yet equally charged staring contest going on between them like she knew something they didn't. She bit her bottom lip to stop all the smartass remarks she probably had in her mind, ready to fire at any point.
As luck would have it, for once, the brunette stayed quiet – but only because she wanted to see the events unfold.
"Hi, I'm Allie. Allie Novak, nice to meet you." – the younger woman introduced herself, extending her hand politely. She just hoped that it wasn't too clammy. It suddenly felt too warm in this room and she knew for a fact it couldn't be the air conditioning – they just fixed it. A fewhours ago, to be exact.
"Bea..Bea Smith." – the redhead returned the gesture, gingerly, smiling briefly before avoiding Allie's gaze like it physically burned her, instead focusing on some floral arrangement right above her head.
She was looking like she cared but she couldn't make up a single color if anyone asked.
"This one over here is also my maid of honor." – Franky gushed, appreciatively, breaking the sudden tension she felt between the two, like a sledgehammer. Of course, knowing her, she probably did it on purpose. She also didn't waste a single moment giving Bea an encouraging side hug and more or less messing up her hair.
The older woman only glared in response, but the blonde could tell there was no ill intent behind it. If anything, these two seemed to bicker like sisters.
"Well, in that case you'll have a very beautiful wedding." – Allie pointed out with no filter, biting her lips as soon as the words passed them. She couldn't help it, flirting was her second nature.
Judging by the redhead's lack of reply and lack of eye contact, she could've sworn she didn't even hear her. Maybe it was for the best – or so Allie thought, until she saw a faint trace of blush taking over Bea's pale cheeks, dismissing her initial assumption. Eventually, she did search her gaze again, a split second contact, before she looked down at the floor.
It was more than enough to steal Allie's breath away.
"Nicely played, blondie, but I'll have you know not even my hot best friend can steal my thunder. All eyes will be up here, if you know what I mean-" – Franky boasted, pointing to her cleavage with a smug look on her face.
"No intention of that from me, anyway." – Bea cut in, rolling her eyes at her friend's antics.
"She hates weddings. But she's doin' it for me, that's love, blondie." – Franky added, this time touching her heart, dramatically.
"Ughh.." – the redhead pretended to puke, as the brunette gave her another side hug, effectively embarrassing her. She did reciprocate though, only reluctantly so.
"Which reminds me, sweet-cheeks.." – Franky trailed off, letting go of her best friend's frame, her gaze refocusing on Allie. "Hit me, you got 'em ready for me?"
"Of course, yeah. " – the blonde swallowed the knot stuck in her throat, deciding to get down to business to distract herself from Bea's eyes peering into her own, casually, yet almost intrigued, at the same time. They seemed to follow hers like a magnet and the last thing she wanted was to look like a creeper to this beautiful stranger. "And it's Allie. Follow me, ladies."
With that, the florist led them to the back, where even more floral arrangements were displayed, in a more organized fashion, just about to be shipped to another event. In the center of the room, there was another large desk with scattered photos all over it.
"Sorry about the mess." – Allie apologized, bashfully, before removing the offending items and grabbing another set of prints from a high drawer above.
Her shirt lifted a bit as she stretched, exposing her abdomen, and Franky had to physically bite her tongue to stop herself from saying anything when she noticed her very straight, redheaded friend staring a little too hard to be just casually observing.
She was checking flower girl out.
I knew you had it in ya, ya fox.
As Allie returned with the prints, she took a seat, nonverbally signaling to her guests to do the same, placing them on the table, a bit nervous since her work was about to be scrutinized. The fact that she also caught a whiff of the redhead's perfume as she resumed her spot didn't help her anxiety in the slightest. Of course she smelled good too, why wouldn't she?
The universe was really cruel today. But she could keep it professional, piece of wedding cake, she was a grown woman after all, not a teenager. She did not get crushes on people, that was so high school.
"So, I've narrowed the arrangements to these three choices right here, you mentioned not wanting anything quote unquote stick-up-the-ass formal for you and your lady." – Allie explained, not missing Bea's look of approval mixed with silent amusement as she did. For a moment, she nearly lost her train of thought, but then she caught Franky's eyes on her, urging her to continue. "So I got these ready for ya, based on what you and Bridget liked last time. Not that my opinion really matters, but I'd go for number three, classy but not too extravagant because of the white roses and—"
"I'mma stop you right there, goldilocks." – Franky interrupted, lifting her palm in the air, almost comically. "I don't know shit about flowers but I trust ya and your artistic sense or whateva. I also happen to agree, think these look really cool. " – she added, appreciatively, as her fingers traced the last photo in the bunch. "Hey, Red, get your ass over here, what'd ya think?"
Her friend's expectedly untactful approach earned her another glare, boring into Franky's back, that the preoccupied brunette apparently missed. Allie didn't, however, and she couldn't help but smile sincerely at the sight – they really were acting like sisters. Wordlessly, Bea looked over Franky's shoulder, letting out a quiet, almost inaudible gasp as she did.
Of course, of all people, only Franky picked up on it. She had to refrain from teasing until they were out of this place but it was proving to be a much harder task than she initially thought.
"Wow uh…these look really nice, Allie, all of them." – Bea studied all the exquisite arrangements down to the last detail in almost sheer awe. "You came up with..all that?"
"Don't look so surprised, Bea." – Allie joked, teasingly and modestly at the same time.
It was too easy.
"No, I, I didn't mean it like that—" – the redhead instantly panicked, thinking she had offended her or something.
But why did she care so much if she did?
"Just kidding, don't worry. I know you didn't. " – the quirky blonde clarified, making all of her fears go away in a flash. "And it's kinda what I do. Deliver happiness, one petal at a time." – Allie added, her tone betraying self-mocking and just a touch of sarcasm.
Bea merely rolled her eyes at her. It had to be obvious to everyone by now that she really, really couldn't stand weddings. As if reading her mind, the younger woman spoke again, this time only looking at her.
"Come on, Bea, lighten up. Weddings can be fun, there's alcohol there."
She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a jolt of electricity running through every inch of her skin right then.
That was…new.
"Good point." – she answered back, a bit weaker and breathier than she wanted.
"Red, an opinion?" – Franky cut in once again, her voice betraying a not-so-subtle streak of frustration.
Those two giddy idiots were acting like she wasn't even there.
The nerve.
"I'd go with number three, too. Because of the classiness and whatever Allie just said. I don't know anything about flowers either but..that's my favorite too."
Thankful that Bea finally took her job as a maid of honor seriously, the tattooed woman decided to shut the hell up and let her off the hook. For now.
"Righto, then. " – Allie announced, taking the agreed upon prints away and setting them aside from the rest. "So, Franky, you want me to give you this or set it aside, will Bridget be joining us?"
"Nah, blondie, she trusted me to handle the flowers. I want it to be a surprise. And I think Gidge will dig this." – Franky said, not even realizing the softness and sheer love in her tone at the mention of future Mrs. Doyle.
"That's very sweet of you." – Allie remarked, almost surprised. "And romantic, if I may add."
"Oh yeah, that's Doyle for ya, a garden variety romantic." – Bea quipped, sarcastically, breaking whatever touch of magic the previous moment had, the clever pun not missed by Allie.
A massive grin spread all over the blonde's beautiful face and Bea could have sworn her heart jumped out of her chest.
"Flower puns, I'm impressed, Bea. " – Allie tipped an imaginary hat her way, like a gentleman.
A woman after my own heart.
… was what she really wanted to say.
"Thanks, Allie." - was all Bea could bring herself to voice out loud, averting her eyes timidly and fixing her collar like it decided to tighten around her all on its own.
"Don't mind her, flower girl, she's just mad she didn't get to put a ring on…"– Franky cut into what felt like a private conversation once again with no trace of tact or finesse, pointing to herself proudly. "All of this first." – she finished up by sticking her tongue out.
Like the arrogant, boastful lil shit she was.
"To tell you the truth, I am in physical pain right now. And it has everything to do with this conversation."
With that, Bea effectively shut her up. But she swore right there that she would turn the cards around in her favor as soon as they walked through those doors.
"Thank you for your time, blondie. I'll just grab stick-in-the-mud over here and we'll be out of your hair in no time." – Franky informed, swinging an arm over Bea's shoulder, annoying her on purpose. "If there's anything else, think I'll send this one to handle it, do some maid-of-honor-ing."
Even if she couldn't see her face clearly from that position, Franky could have sworn her red haired pal's body tensed on the spot. If you'd ask her, she probably sported a look of dread too.
The cheeky brunette was obviously loving this.
"I wouldn't mind that at all." – Allie reassured a fidgeting Bea, the sudden nervousness she saw in her gestures warming her heart more than she felt comfortable admitting. "And you're fine, Bea, don't worry. Unlike the next 5 bride-zillas I have scheduled for today. But don't tell anyone."
"I won't. I don't exactly hang around those circles." – the redhead waved her free arm dismissively, allowing a hint of contempt to slip into her voice. She considered wedding planners and bachelorettes different species, closely related to humans but still not a crowd she'd ever want to be a part of willingly, without a gun pointed to her head, that is.
The irony of it all was that she was doing wedding planning now, too. Franky was an asshole but she was her asshole – if there was anyone she'd walk the extra mile for, it had to be her. Bea owed her a lot, including her own life.
"Me neither, usually, unless those circles waltz in here, demanding crazy combos that ruin flowers for everyone. " – Allie complained, almost with a hint of outrage, completed by frustrated hand gestures. Apparently, she was really passionate about flowers – it had to be obvious by now but Bea was still surprised by her mini-rant because she looked funny all the way through it.
She really got riled up. And mad just didn't seem natural on Allie. Bea tried not to stop and wonder why that thought slipped into her head, but she failed to do so.
She didn't know this woman, why was she even having it?
"I'll see you ladies later." – said woman lowered her gaze just a little, nodding at both of her guests, a little more pointedly at Bea, not that she'd notice. She was too busy absentmindedly staring at some artwork on the wall. "Nice to meet you again, Bea."
Only when her name was called out did she stop being a rude dumbass and managed a tentative smile in return.
"You too, Allie."
Franky exhaled heavily – internally, of course – all the while mentally preparing the avalanche of verbal punches blended with teasing that was soon to unfold on her unsuspecting best friend.
"Later, blondie." – the all-knowing brunette waved, her gaze filled with something Allie couldn't quite figure out, before she winked at her.
She was more than happy to dismiss whatever that was, for the time being. She had to get back to work.
But something told her she wouldn't be able to get a single thing done for the rest of the day.