There was a reason Velvet had reacted so negatively to Maggie's suggestion about proposing to Niko. The writing was on the wall. And it was particularly awful because it wasn't as if Velvet no longer loved her girlfriend, nor vice versa. Niko was a beautiful, wonderful, amazing human being with two adorable dogs. She had all these hopes and dreams, and she was filled with these idealistic expectations about life.
And Velvet knew that sooner or later, things would break. But she was also willing to stay with her for as long as she possibly could. So when Niko called Velvet, asking her to come over, saying they needed to talk, she got the distinct impression that the fissures were splitting wider.
Niko's apartment was always such a strong contrast to Casa Calamity. Things were so clean and orderly, save for Orthie and Russ being their usual selves. As she strolled through the door, she made sure to give each pup the attention they deserved. But the look on Niko's face was so serious as she motioned back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind them so they could have some appropriate peace and quiet. They sat down on the edge of her bed and Niko instantly reached out to take Velvet's left hand. She always held her left hand. It was one of the things Velvet loved the most about her. When they met back up after so many years apart, she didn't care about the things that had changed. She showed that she cared about Velvet completely, every part of her, scars and all.
"I... got a new job. As a head chef."
Velvet nodded her head, waiting for the other shoe.
"...in Stonebury."
And there it was. Velvet took a long, deep breath. Even doing her best to prepare herself for the day something like this happened, it still felt painful. "That's fantastic. I know it's been killing you, stuck as a sous-chef for so many years without any room to grow. But... Stonebury, that's..."
"It's not exactly nearby. And it's quite small. But I know you understand, sometimes you just have to take an opportunity. What it is your friend Eizen is always saying? Seizing the wheel of your own ship and all that?" She looked so sad as she spoke, and Velvet got the impression that she was putting off the difficult part of this conversation for as long as possible. "Would you... Is there any way... I-I mean if you were to come with me..."
Shit. Already Velvet could feel a few tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, and Niko was in a similar state. "I can't. My home is here. My family is here."
Niko gently squeezed her hand, leaning in with eyes wide. "Dammit, Velvet, why can't I be your family? Am I not enough? W-We can move to Stonebury together, we could both work at this restaurant, adopt more dogs, get married, build a life together. Please. Please...?"
There was a part of herself, the old Velvet, who was screaming at her to say 'yes' and draw her girlfriend into her arms and never let her go. But the old Velvet died the day Arthur blamed her for Celica and Laphicet's deaths. And there was simply no way she could ever live that kind of life. She took Niko's hand between her own and lifted it, kissing her knuckle softly. "...no. You have earned this opportunity. You're going to go out there and make your mark. You've always wanted to live in a small town again where you can own your own perfect cafe. And you're going to have a perfect house with a million perfect dogs. And someday, some perfect woman is going to come in and fall in love with your perfect food. And then she'll fall in love with you. And you'll have a perfect wedding and a perfect life."
Finally Velvet let go and stood up from the bed, hugging herself lightly. "You deserve that, and more. But I'm not perfect. I'm messy and chaotic and angry and I have a lot of things to work through. I can't give you what you really need. But I'm trying to be content with the fact that I could give you what you wanted. For a little while."
Niko sniffled softly before drawing herself upright, and actually began to laugh. "You're always so hard on yourself, Velvet. You never see all your wonderful qualities. Look at how responsible you're being. How self-sacrificing and honest." She closed the distance between them again and drew Velvet into a tight hug. "These last few years have been so amazing. I'm... I-I'm going to miss you so much..."
Unable to help herself, Velvet leaned in for one last kiss. It was slow and soft and full of all the sadness both of them felt, neither one bothering to hold back the tears anymore. Even after they pulled away, she didn't stray too far yet. "Me too..." She hated hearing her voice sound so weak, but... perhaps sometimes there was cause for weakness.
The next few days were spent lost in a fog, everything more or less blending together. It was burning the shit out of her hand at her job that finally shocked her back into the real world. To some extent, it felt like the time between leaving Niko's apartment and the sudden searing pain didn't even exist. She recoiled from the offending grill, clutching her good hand (her right hand, she mentally corrected herself; both her hands were perfectly good), releasing a string of curses. "Damn hell shit fuck!"
Unlike Niko, Velvet didn't work in a nice establishment. This was little more than a glorified diner. And while cursing was far from frowned upon, the sheer volume of her swearing caught her boss's attention. With a dramatic sigh, he stepped away from his own project to pull her aside. "Velvet, I know you're in a tough spot right now, but we got people that come in here with their kids and all. Grab the first aid kit and patch yourself up. Then take the rest of the day off, get your head together, have a drink, get laid if that's what you need. And then come in tomorrow, ready to get back in the groove. I'm not takin' no for an answer on this one. Go on, get outta here. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."
Velvet knew pretty instinctually when she could win a fight with the disgruntled old cook and when it was hopeless. So she did as she was ordered and made her way back home. It wasn't a great feeling.
She walked in through the front door and made a beeline for the alcohol collection, grabbing up a bottle of cheap whiskey and taking a long drink. This was followed swiftly by the distinct sound of Maggie dramatically clearing her throat in the living room. She wandered in to find her sitting there with Bienfu on her lap. The cat was so impossibly huge that Velvet was certain it put her roommate in pain to have him there. But still the two humored one another out of some bizarre sense of camaraderie. Velvet could respect that.
"That's quite a bandage. Did the great cook sustain an injury in the line of duty today?
For a moment Velvet sat down, drinking her whiskey and not responding. The issue with Maggie was that if you talked to her, she would talk more. And if you didn't talk to her, she would talk more. It was an impossible kind of situation. But saying nothing gave her more room to invent insanity, so responding was the lesser of two evils, so to speak. "Burned the ever-loving crap out of my hand on the grill. Boss-man told me to take the rest of the day off."
Maggie gave one of her trademark dramatic sighs. "My dear sweet Corvus Chiffon... There's no shame in a mourning period, all things considered. But you've been a real zombie lately. You need to get out of the apartment for something other than work and food. As it so happens, I actually have a teeny, tiny, nigh infinitesimal set on stage tonight. Perhaps yourself and the young Miss Hume might come and cheer me on?" Velvet's face was no doubt showing her uncertainty, because Maggie immediately began to pout. "Okay, well at the very least you can hang around to see if I choke or blow it, and then you can have a good laugh at my expense?"
Velvet went to take another sip from the bottle, only to look down and see that it was now empty. Perhaps she really was taking this harder than she was willing to admit. "Yeah... Yeah, I guess we can come watch your terrible stand-up act tonight. But only so I can laugh at you."
"Naturally."
"Alright, so Velvet is a cook. And Maggie, you're... well, I guess technically your usual job is bar-tender, but you're trying to become a stand-up comedian?" Eleanor was musing from the back seat as she continued to try and correlate all the little bits and pieces of information she got with each passing day.
"Mmm, I prefer to think of myself as a performance artist~" Maggie interjected with a little chuckle as she guided the car down a side street.
Velvet scoffed, mostly staring out the window as she focused on keeping her brain and heart from spiraling somewhere dangerous. "Just because you do the occasional card trick or throw glitter for punch lines doesn't make you a performance artist, Mags."
It was good to know that Maggie could always be depended upon to take jabs with a wink and a nod. "I beg to differ. Comedy is a cut-throat game and you have to take your edge wherever you can get it. I gotta do something to set myself apart."
"Well," Eleanor interjected with her usual mediating tone, "I'm looking forward to it. I can only imagine how inventive you must be, Maggie."
That put an end to the banter for the time being. Maggie parked her car in a nearby lot and the three of them walked over to the club. As they grew closer, Eleanor made a rather odd noise while glancing up at the sign out front. "...The Cackle Tabernacle?"
Maggie just shrugged and led them in through the front door. "It's a Jewish neighborhood. I make no apologies for any jokes tonight that go over your sweet, gentile heads."
Velvet shared a concerned look with Eleanor, but they were here now and backing out would just be shitty. The inside was... well, it was pretty much exactly what one would expect. Low lights, plenty of tables, a stage, a bar. It was a bar, with the intent purpose of hosting comedians. But it really was a rare thing for Maggie to actually get a chance to perform, and even if Velvet wasn't in a laughing mood, being here would make the woman happy.
"First round's on me!" Maggie chimed eagerly. Rather than simply going over and placing an order, she made an entire production out of vaulting over the bar and making a collection of suspicious drinks before bringing them over with practiced care. "Alright, that's a classic cosmo for the comely comedienne. A whiskey sour for the wistful senorita. And for the skeptic scholar, a saccharine sangria to slake her thirst. Enjoy!"
They all clinked their glasses together and drank, though Velvet and Eleanor were somewhat hesitant at first. But it turned out that Maggie really had been getting good at her job because it was damn near the best drink she'd had in a while. If Eleanor's face was anything to go off of, her fruity wine was just as amazing.
As it turned out, the entire line-up for the night was composed of employees. Despite Velvet's intention to save her laughter for when her friend went up on stage, there was something about the mood that night that managed to snake its way inside her. A lot of the jokes were incredibly sardonic and snarky, the observations and witticisms sharp and biting. There were no cheap lines about airline food or how men and women were different. There was a lot of honesty on display, and she found herself chuckling more than a few times.
The question was whether her friend could hope to match up to all the hype that was building. The emcee took the mic from the last comedian and encouraged the audience to keep up the applause. "Closing out the night, it's everyone's favorite lesbian. She'll charge you triple for a double and then seduce your girlfriend, Maggie Mayvin!"
"Ladies, prepare yourselves for an experience," she purred mysteriously before jogging up to the stage to steal the microphone. Velvet honestly had no clue what to expect. But she had to admit she actually felt kind of excited to see what the maniac had in store.
