Through the dim, pulsing lights of the dive bar, the Golden Sun Saloon, Deborah could make out Angela's outline only inches away from her own. Not a soul in that dive bar would've guessed from the way that they were standing that they were anything other than strangers, but to call them strangers couldn't have been further from the truth. Or, well, perhaps…
Deborah was staring again, drifting in and out of focus with the flickering, shimmering lights, eyes glued to the other woman as she looked around nervously. The other woman seemed confused as to what she was supposed to be doing, but she looked enchanted by the music all the same. Deborah, meanwhile, was enchanted by her. She was enchanted by Angela's enchantment.
This woman was… nothing like what Deborah had expected. Although, at this point, she wasn't sure what she expected anymore either. All she knew was that although the room was crowded, she only had eyes for Angela. There was an indentation of her, not just a silhouette. Angela had left a mark so much deeper and darker on Deborah. But it was a beautiful mark, like a golden tattoo.
Neither of them spoke. The silence was even louder than the music. Why did Deborah feel like this? So tense and tightly wound! Was it the anxious, frantic beat of the music? Was that why her heart kept skipping its own? She fiddled around with anything and everything, having nothing else to do with her hands, which suddenly seemed to gain a life of their own, but all they wanted to do was…
All of this silence and patience, pining and anticipation; my hands are shaking from holding back from you…
"Deborah?"
Everything stopped. As soon as Deborah heard that voice calling her name, the whole dive bar seemed to melt away, save for Angela.
"Are you ok? You're… shaking." There was genuine concern in Angela's voice and Deborah cursed herself. The lights were down low, but clearly, they weren't low enough if Angela could still see Deborah's shaking hands.
"I'm fine, my little angel, I think it's just the music." Deborah tried to sound casual, but even she had to admit that her lie was pretty stupid.
"Well, I'm here if you ever need anything." Angela gave her a cautious look. It was clear she didn't buy Deborah's lie for a single second, but she wasn't going to push the other woman either. "We're best friends, remember?" Angela tried to sound as inviting as she could.
"Yes, Angela, thank you," Deborah muttered quickly. But I don't want you like a best friend. The two may have shared their first kiss a few nights ago, but after that night, they'd almost reverted back, first to friendship, and then to awkward strangers.
"You look lovely tonight, by the way," Angela said delicately, trying to steer the conversation away to safer waters.
"Thank you, my little angel." I only bought this dress so you could take it off…
More silence. It was starting to get annoying. Was every few minutes going to be like this? A constant jump between idle chatter and awkward silence? Had they reverted back to the versions of themselves at the gala, when they'd been too afraid to say anything to each other's faces? It seemed so, and Angela didn't look like she was about to make the first move. It made Deborah sigh in exasperation, but then a voice in the back of her mind couldn't help but ask why she was still here if Angela holding back from her was such a big deal.
Well, that was because, even though there were instances where Deborah felt annoyed, for a majority of her time spent with Angela, she found Angela quite inescapable. She'd made attempts in the past, and yet here she was tonight, so now, she wasn't even gonna try.
"And if I get burned, at least we were electrified," she whispered to herself, then she cleared her throat. "Angela?"
"Hmm?" Angela looked up at her intently.
"Would… Would… Would you… care to dance… with me?"
They lost track of time. They lost track of steps and of songs. They lost track of everything, including themselves, and except each other. There came a time when Deborah barely even remembered her own name, but she couldn't forget Angela's. And she could feel, as they moved across the dancefloor, Angela growing just as lost in her as she was lost in Angela. It was a secret moment only they could share, even though they were surrounded on all sides. But as far as Deborah and Angela were concerned, the only thing that existed in their world was each other.
Say my name and everything just stops. I don't want you like a best friend. Only bought this dress so you could take it off!
ooo
How much time had passed? Minutes? Hours? Deborah had no idea. All she was aware of were Angela's lips enveloping hers, and the warm water enveloping both of them. It was rare for the doctor to be so openly affectionate, but like Deborah, she was drunk. She giggled as she held Deborah's face, planting kisses on every inch. Deborah, meanwhile, lavished in the attention and affection.
She was lost in the currents of the hot tub, and Angela. As she adjusted her position to allow Angela greater access to her body, something slipped briefly from her hand. Drops of dark red stained the otherwise crystal-clear water, a priceless wine, but Deborah hardly even noticed. She was drunk enough on Angela. And Angela was worth more than any wine anyway, she was golden.
Through her slight double-vision, Deborah could see that Angela was much more at ease here and now than she'd been at the dive bar. She was smiling and laughing as she nuzzled and cuddled Deborah. What would the world think of them? Would they believe this strange, romantic tale between Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Lavish? No, no they would not. They would never truly, fully, understand, but… maybe Deborah was ok with that. This was a private, secret moment after all. It was all the better that the rest of the world had no idea about the real Deborah and Angela.
After long enough, though, the pair traded the tub for the bed. Angela's head was tipped back. She could see the headboard and bedposts. Deborah, meanwhile, was lying on top of her. She traced a finger on one of the bedposts, carving her name into it with a phantom blade.
"Right there, my little angel, right there. That's where I'd put it," she murmured as she traced out the names Deborah Jekyll and Angela Lavish.
"Well, it's a little inconvenient, don't you think?" Angela teased, tilting her head to remind Deborah of what an uncomfortable position she was in.
"Not for me," Deborah teased back, lowering her head just long enough to kiss the other woman's nose. "Besides, the time I most want you to see that, to remember whose names are carved on the bedpost, is in any time like this!" She suddenly thrust her hips forward, only a little, but it was just enough to make Angela gasp. On reflex, her head tipped back again. She could still see Deborah's finger resting on the invisible signatures.
But it was so much more than just that. It was so much more than playful dominance or dizzy dreams with carved bedposts. With the bed, Deborah had Angela's present. With the carved names, she had Angela's future. But it was Angela who held Deborah's past. The only reason they'd come this far at all was because Angela gave her a chance.
Flashback when you met me, our past fears and our fake scenes, but even in my worst times, you could see the best in me!
Flashback to my mistakes, my rebounds, my earthquakes. Even in my worst lies, you saw the truth in me!
After spending so long in a cutthroat world of snakes, liars, and monsters, Deborah had lost herself in the madness, but it was Angela who had the patience to wait for her to find a way back out again. Angela always had a second chance to give, and although Deborah didn't have the strength to say it out loud, she knew she didn't deserve any of it, but that was what made those extra chances all the more precious to her. How long had it been since she felt safe? Free to be herself rather than what the world wanted her to be?
Then along came Dr. Angela Jekyll, the very last person Deborah would've ever expected to make a good confidante, and yet here they were. Angela had seen Deborah for who she truly was, had seen all of Deborah's worst times, and she was still there. She hadn't run away or turned her back on Deborah. She'd only looked into Deborah's eyes, her own wide and full of understanding, and that was more than words could've ever said, for both of them. Finally, Deborah had someone who wasn't going to leave her if she wasn't perfect. Was this the end of all the endings?
And even after they tried to make amends, even when Deborah kept messing up and making mistakes (sometimes the same ones she'd made before), Angela never gave up on her, never said that she was finally on her very last chance, ever. Instead, Angela had only ever been able to see right through Deborah and her worst lies. Maybe it was Angela's glasses, or maybe it was Deborah's inability to keep a poker face around the doctor. Either way, there was nobody who saw Deborah like Angela did, and even more, there nobody who loved Deborah like Angela did.
It was thanks to Ambrose that the two had met, but he'd always been too passive for Deborah. Or rather, although she didn't realize it until much later, the kind of person she needed in her life was someone just a tad more dangerous than him, and that was Angela. That was not to say Ambrose was not enough, but sometimes he was too soft and sweet. Angela had just enough of a spark in her to challenge Deborah, and that was part of why Deborah found herself shaking from holding back from the doctor. No one else knew how to light her up the way her little angel did.
ooo
Deborah didn't remember falling asleep, but she must have, because the next thing she knew, there was a thin beam of morning sunlight streaming in through a nearby window. The singer rolled over to see Angela sleeping on her stomach, curled up with a pillow, back to Deborah. Deborah chuckled softly, reaching out to let her fingers graze against the sleeping woman's back.
"You saved me, my little angel, in the nick of time," she whispered. "I'm so glad you held on for me, because it gave me the strength to hold on for myself, and I woke up just in time." Yeah, I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side.
This was not a life she ever thought she would have, let alone enjoy, but the world always knew just what to do to surprise her the most.
Any longer and I may have been asleep forever. I may have never been able to open my eyes again and see the beauty of the world rather than just the pain and misery. I stopped being a monster just in time, turned away from my old ways just in time. She gave me the patience I needed to finally realize how stupid and stubborn I was being. She was like a lifeline…
What a blessing it was for Deborah to open her eyes and have Angela be the first thing she saw. Her hands were shaking again. It was the most beautiful pain to realize that she would never have the words to truly describe just what it was that Angela made her feel. After all her years of singing, public speaking, writing, and mastering multiple languages, she couldn't think of a single word that would truly explain what it felt like to be forgiven, accepted, and loved, especially since Deborah had done some bad things in the past.
It felt so good, Angela, to have someone still believe in the goodness in me that I'd long since forgotten about for myself. I thought it was over, that my career would not allow for me to be anything less than ruthless, but then you showed me the way… I know I used to think I didn't need your second chances, but now I realize that I didn't know just how MUCH I needed them. Sometimes it feels like I've been sleeping in a 20-year dark night, but now you are my daylight. You showed me that a life without violence and cruelty IS possible, thank you…
"Deborah?"
All of Deborah's thoughts immediately stopped.
"My little angel." Her own voice was a bit lower and rougher, but it was still full of complete and utter adoration.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, did you?"
"Mm-hmm." Angela finally rolled over to meet Deborah's eyes. For a moment, there was only silence, each woman overcome and uncertain of what she should say next. For a time, the silence was comforting, but as it dragged on, Deborah noticed Angela's eyes begin to dart around. That pulled Deborah out of her own stupor, and once again, she woke up just in time.
Curling a finger under Angela's chin, the singer drew her companion's face closer to her own. With her free hand, she gestured to the silvery, form-fitting nightgown she'd only just barely remembered to pull on before falling asleep the previous night. It wasn't even a fraction as grand as the gown lying in a heap on the floor, but at least this one was still on Deborah's body.
I don't want you like a best friend, only got this dress so you could take it off.
"I wore this just for you, you know? Figured I should look good outside and in," Deborah murmured, a smirk spreading across her face.
"Awww, you didn't have to." Angela was quick to start blushing. While Deborah had something silky and shiny, Angela was still naked.
"Well, unwrapping the present is half the fun, so the presentation must be perfect!" Deborah joked, but there was truth to her words. For her, half the fun did indeed come from having Angela unravel her layer by layer to see the real Deborah lying in wait underneath. It was thrilling, knowing how eager Angela was to explore every inch of her. Only bought this dress so you could take it off!
Before long, the bedpost was knocking softly, steadily, against the wall. It was a rhythm to match the lovers' song. It was the same dance they shared the previous night. Soon, there was going to be a permanent indentation in the bedsheets; but, even sweeter were the marks they left on one another. They were marks of love and passion, sometimes fierce and sometimes gentle. Bodies became mosaics, but before the golden tattoos could appear, the covers had to be removed first.
Only bought this dress so you could take it off…