A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to know what you're thinking! :)
The gravity of the situation didn't hit Erin until she had buckled into the freshly excavated passenger seat of Holtzmann's car. She was taking Holtz to her apartment. She suddenly felt a little dizzy, partly because the wacky blonde had gone around the corner a little too quickly, and partly because she hadn't invited anyone to her place in years. Erin had always been a bit of a loner. Ever since the whole "ghost girl" thing when she was younger, she didn't really go out of her way to form relationships that weren't necessary. Up until she had reunited with Abby and had met Holtz and Patty, her only "friends" were coworkers and the occasional man she'd try to date. Even then, she never felt very close to them. Erin's ability to keep a stable and happy relationship seemed to deteriorate as time went on. Perhaps it was because most men she dated had superiority complexes. Her last serious boyfriend called her emotionally draining before dumping her on Valentine's Day, so Erin usually found comfort in keeping to herself.
Erin now began rethinking inviting Holtzmann to stay over. She had had boyfriends come over and mock her for her obsession with cleanliness when it came to her apartment. She didn't know if she'd be able to handle Holtzmann saying anything negative about it, especially with how much she valued her opinion. Sure, the boyfriends came and went with minimal heartbreak, but what if Holtz thought differently of Erin after seeing her apartment? Erin began to get very anxious.
"Hey," Holtz interjected, bringing Erin back down to earth, "which way am I going?"
"Oh, um, take a right at the next light."
"Ay ay captain!" She saluted; then reached down and turned up the radio, which was playing Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. She swayed back and forth and tapped the steering wheel idly.
Erin recognized the tune quickly, "I love this song."
Holtz perked up, "You do?"
Erin nodded, "Yeah, I used to listen to it all the time when it came out."
"I still do," The engineer beamed, "can't beat the classics."
"Well, when you say it like that I feel ancient. Was 1983 really that long ago?"
Holtz shrugged, "Depends how you look at it. According to Abby I never left the 80s."
Erin smiled and let the song play between them. She repositioned her feet amongst the various snack wrappers on the floor. Despite being messy, the car didn't smell bad. It smelled like old leather and faint cologne, which, Erin assumed, was the scent Holtz was wearing. The seats were worn in leather and had oil stains and cigarette burns scattered all over them. Erin initially assumed that they were from the previous owner, but then again, maybe Holtz smoked every once in a while. She started to imagine the blonde in her leather jacket leaning up against the car taking a long drag on a cigarette, puffing out enticing clouds. Erin's cheeks felt hot.
"How about now, professor?" Holtzmann asked.
"Huh?" Erin snapped out of it.
"Which way am I going?"
"Oh, it's down this street, just go straight for a while."
Holtz chuckled and leaned back in her seat, "Easier said than done." She winked.
Erin didn't understand the remark, but then again, she never really picked up on any of Holtzmann's innuendos.
They didn't really talk for the rest of the car ride. The songs changed from Bonnie Tyler to Kansas and everything in between. At one point during the drive, Holtz had rolled down the windows, letting the crisp night air in. She dangled her left arm out the window and tapped out a beat on the steering wheel. Her leather glove squeaked occasionally when she rubbed it against the steering wheel cover of the same material. There was clearly a leather theme going on.
The cold air was drying out Erin's eyes and nipping at her nose, but she didn't really mind. It added to the whole atmosphere and was accented by the calm classics playing through tinny speakers. She felt goose bumps form up and down her bare arms, and she realized that she should have grabbed a jacket. Despite the sound of cars, sirens, and the dull roar that came with any city, she felt very distant from whatever was happening outside of the car. She felt relaxed, and she hadn't felt relaxed in a long time. It wasn't until Holtzmann spoke up that she remembered that their drive had a destination.
"How much further until we reach the pearly gates?"
Erin glanced around, "It's right up here, actually. Just pull into the parking garage across the street."
Holtz did as she was told and parked. It wasn't until they were walking up the path to the building that Erin's anxiety returned.
Holtzmann tagged along behind with a duffle bag slung behind her that smacked the back of her thighs while she walked. She let out a long, low whistle, "This place is the Ritz."
"Oh please, it's not that fancy."
Holtz shook her head, "You and I have two very different definitions of fancy, Gilbert." She noted; looking up at the crème colored building in awe.
The two women rode the elevator up to the top floor. It took all of Holtz's self control not to press every button on the panel as they rode up. The elevator came to a smooth stop at Erin's floor. As they left out the sliding doors, Holtzmann gave into her desire and pressed every single button before she left triumphantly. Erin pulled out her keys. She felt her heart rate skyrocket. She couldn't figure out why she was so nervous to show her apartment to her friend. She trusted Holtzmann with her life, but for some reason, this was almost too much for her. She willed herself through her doubt, keeping the inventor's unfortunate situation in mind, and unlocked the door with a shaky hand. She pushed the door open and walked in, turning on the lights, "Home sweet home."
Holtzmann followed her in and glanced around. Before she could take any more than two steps, Erin stopped her.
"Shoes please!" She chirped as she slipped off her own.
Holtz looked from Erin, to her dirty boots, then to the white carpet, "Oh, whoops, sorry." She bent down and started untying them while Erin scurried over to her coffee table to straighten up some papers she had sitting there. The apartment lay out wasn't very elaborate. The whole unit consisted of a joined kitchen and dining room to the right and a living room to the left. Straight ahead was a short hallway with a door on the left, which was Erin's room, and a door on the right, which was the bathroom. Everything was immaculate, and it gave the impression that perhaps no one was living there.
The inventor hopped up and started walking around in her mismatched socks, taking it all in.
"So," Erin had finished straightening papers and was now standing with her hands behind her back waiting for approval, "what do you think?"
Holtz nodded and shoved her hands into her pockets. She didn't match her surroundings. She was the sole pop of color against the light furniture and white walls; like a splatter of paint on a blank canvas.
"It's very… clean," She observed.
"Yep. I guess that's just me." She nervously rubbed her hands, "I run a pretty tight ship."
Holtzmann smiled warmly, "I like it. It suits you."
Erin felt great relief in her reaction, "Thank you. Are you uh… are you hungry of thirsty or anything?"
Holtz shook her head, "Nope, just a little sleepy."
"Oh, right," Erin went to the plush, white couch and pulled out a blanket from under it, "you can take the couch. Sorry it's not the comfiest couch in the world, but I suppose it'll have to do." She busied herself with fluffing the pillows.
Holtz dropped her bag on the ground beside the couch, "Well, I fell asleep on the roof of a Long John Silver's once, and I'm sure it can't be any worse than that."
"Why did you… how did you…?"
"Long story. Anyway, care to give me the grand tour of the Gilbert Manor? I'd love to see the rest of it."
Erin stopped fluffing, "Oh yeah, I suppose that's a thing you do with new guests. Sorry, I'm an awful host."
"Don't sweat it, you're doing great." Holtz assured in her calming voice.
Erin lingered for a moment on the compliment before leading her around the corner, "Well, here's the bathroom," She flipped on the lights, revealing the matching white bathroom, "There's more toilet paper under the sink and tampons in the bottom drawer if you need any. And feel free to take a shower whenever you need to."
"Noted."
Erin turned off the light and crossed the hall, "And here is my bedroom."
"Ah, so this is where the magic happens." The engineer smirked.
Erin laughed, "If by magic you mean reading until the wee hours of the night, then yes, this is definitely where the magic happens."
"Don't act so innocent Dr. Gilbert," Holtz elbowed her playfully, "Bow-chicka-wow-wow!"
Erin rolled her eyes, "You're ridiculous." She lead Holtz back into the living room, "So, I guess that was the grand tour. I'm assuming you probably want to be getting to bed so you're all rested up for that bust tomorrow."
Holtz made finger guns, "You bet. Thanks for letting me stay over. I really appreciate it."
"No problem." Erin assured, "That's what friends are for after all, right?"
"Right." She agreed with a huge grin on her face.
"Well you go ahead and get ready for bed or whatever you need to do."
Holtz nodded and immediately undid her belt and was about ready to pull down her trousers. She had barely pulled them down past her ass when Erin interrupted.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Erin exclaimed, quickly looking away, "At least wait until I leave the room."
She shrugged, "It's ok, I don't mind sharing."
Erin started to back out of the room awkwardly, her face beet red, "I'm going to bed now um, just wake me up if you need anything. Good night!"
"Nighty night." Holtz saluted.
Erin shut her bedroom door behind her and sat on the edge of the bed. She tried to forget about Holtz undressing in the next room and directed her attention somewhere else. Erin looked down at Holtz's t-shirt that she was wearing. It fit her nicely, and there was a splattered stain down on the lower half. She imagined what might have caused the stain. Oil? Ink? It was hard to tell, considering that the engineer got into nearly everything. She grabbed the bottom of the shirt and rubbed the soft fabric between her fingers. She knew she'd have to give it back later, but for some reason she didn't really want to. She liked the idea of wearing Holtz's clothes, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.
Erin changed into her pajamas and crept across the hall into the bathroom, resisting the urge to look around the corner to see if Holtzmann was still changing. When she finished, she opened the door to leave. She was startled when she almost bumped into the engineer whom was waiting right outside.
"Jesus, you scared me!"
"Yeah, I tend have that affect on people." Holtz admitted. She was now in slouchy sweatpants and a loose shirt, and she was clearly no longer wearing a bra. Her hair was still up, but much looser now. Erin had never seen her in such relaxed attire. She looked down and saw that Holtz had a toothbrush and toothpaste clutched in one hand and scooted to the side to let her in the bathroom, "Go ahead.''
Holtz winked and strutted in, "Thanks Gilbert."
Erin felt her face get hot again for what felt like the hundredth time that night.