A quick little number to address a dangling plot thread. You would really benefit from reading Closed, first. Onward~!

They hadn't been alone together in weeks.

King had made sure of that when she created the work schedules for herself and her employees at Illusion. Through careful crafting and manipulation, she was able to make sure that her and her best bartender, Sally, didn't have any opening or closing shifts alone together. Not after what happened between them. King always had somebody else working with the pair - but she couldn't keep it up forever. As she counted down the drawer for the night she took deep breaths that were designed to help her stay composed: Sally was just outside, cleaning up the bar. She was probably moving quickly, as she always did, so that the pair could each leave work in a timely manner, especially since the place had closed early for New Year's.

King carefully sealed the night's earnings away and threw the deposit bag into the heavy safe. She turned her attention back to the paperwork that was on the desk, looked it over one last time, and slowly rose from her seat. There was absolutely no avoiding it now: she needed to go out front. She grabbed her leather jacket from its place on the nearby loveseat, threw it on, and walked out of the office.

"Hey, Boss," Sally greeted King somewhat distractedly as she carried a tray full of empty shot glasses toward the counter.

"Hey," King answered. She picked up a couple of empty beer cans from a nearby table and walked them toward the large bag of recyclables Sally had set up. She tossed them in. It was now or never.

"We should talk," King said, a little louder than she intended.
"Yes - definitely."

King sat down on a bar stool and rested her chin on her hands as Sally walked behind the counter. There was a loaded silence between the two as Pulp began playing on the stereo. King instantly flushed; it was the same song that played on Halloween. She instantly recalled that goddamned makeout session: It had stirred up all sorts of feelings of confusion, bewilderment, and good, old fashioned sexual frustration, but she couldn't just tell Sally all of that; it would be way too personal. Nevertheless, they needed to address it already. King just wasn't really sure of how.

"I'm sorry," Sally said quickly as she set the tray off to the side. "I know I've said it before, but what I did was uncalled for. I'm not even into women. I just…"
"You were drunk and I'm pretty," King shrugged. She was trying her best to act as nonchalant as possible.
"You are pretty! I'm glad you see that."
"...Huh?"
"You hadn't really been yourself," Sally started as she hopped up onto the wooden surface. "You said you weren't sleeping well, but I feel like there was something else on your mind. I don't think you realize how down you seemed."
"Okay, but that doesn't change what happened. Down or not, what I did wasn't okay," King sighed. "I'm not a drunken sorority girl - I'm your boss. It never should have gone that far."
"You didn't do anything. I'm the one who went all ham."

King laughed. Going "all ham" was an interesting way of putting it.

"So… can you stop avoiding me now?" Sally asked point blank.
"I wasn't avoiding you," King tilted her head. "I was avoiding this conversation. There's a difference."
"You've never been one to avoid things."
"Yeah, well…"

King trailed off. She pressed her lips together in a thin line as she stared at the wall of liquor behind Sally. She fixed her eyes on a bottle of Jameson before speaking again.

"I've been having… some... issues. Massive issues that are too personal to get in to. And what happened between us, well… it made me think about things I hadn't wanted to think about for a long time. Part of me almost wanted to thank you. I probably still should. So… thank you, I guess."

Sally appeared a little confused, but smiled anyway.

"Ummm, you're welcome?"
"Listen," King looked away from the bottles. "What happened… You know that we can't… I don't feel -"
"I don't either," Sally interrupted. "I was just being stupid. I mean… you? You're my boss!"
"Even if I wasn't, we could never…!"
"Nope! Never!"

King smiled up at Sally, grateful that they could both be mature adults about the whole situation. She stuck her hand out.

"Bygones?"
"Yes!" Sally flashed a brilliant grin as she took King's hand and shook it.
"Okay -" King released Sally's hand and stood up - "Why don't we save the dishes for when we get back from the holiday? It's not like anyone's going to be here."
"Are you sure?" Sally asked.

King nodded as she turned away.

"It's fine. Come on."

Sally turned off the stereo and grabbed her purse before walking out from behind the counter. King draped her arm across her shoulders and looked down at her as they approached the exit.

"Just so you know… If you hadn't been such a good kisser I would have fired you on the spot."

Not much to dissect here:

* On King wearing a leather jacket: she has a bomb-ass purple leather number for her more casual dress. I sketched it out for tumblr once but, like, I don't remember what I tagged it as, so. Anyway, King doesn't always have to be in a tux or a suit...

* The song that was playing was Pulp's "Death Goes to the Disco," which, of course played when Sally was attacking King on the table on Halloween.

And, with that, I'm out. Thank you all for a nice year of reading and reviewing. I have enjoyed getting to know you regulars, and I have doubly enjoyed bringing my bullshit into the KOF ficsphere! As always, reviews and feedback are always welcome! Happy New Year!