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artificialqueens · 3 years ago

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Potluck Challenge Entry (Raja/Willam) - Dartmouth420

summary: Willam only decided to host a potluck for everyone from the office because it’s the ideal situation in which to hit on her unprecedentedly attractive coworker, Raja. But the recipe for vegan canapés she found online is a dud, and no one’s being very helpful… Lesbian AU, Raja/Willam. Featuring: Alaska, Bianca, Adore, Courtney, Latrice, Jinkx and Dela. 2180 words.

A/n: V, this one is for you ;) cw: weed (weed is legal here in Canada but idk what's going on in America so take this with a grain of salt!)

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“A good idea? A potluck is a great idea!” argued Willam, looking frantically from the photo header of the online recipe on her phone to the misshapen and bizarre vegan canapés in front of her. They didn’t look like they were supposed to. “This recipe is obviously defective! They’re getting a one-star rating.”

Alaska, her roommate and official best friend, rolled her eyes, and replied dryly, “Well, I’m not gonna say I told you so… but inviting all your coworkers over for a potluck when you know for a fact you can’t cook is asking for trouble.”

Alaska, of course, had made a truly spectacular grilled vegetable bruschetta, and had somehow found the time to make fresh sourdough garlic bread, and marinara sauce on the side. God damn it.

Willam huffed, but she was completely and utterly out of time, so she just took the tray and put it on their shared kitchen table. Then she rushed to the bathroom mirror to check her reflection, because she knew where her priorities lay. She looked good, her lipstick and eyeshadow were impeccable, her cleavage was industrial-grade, and she fluffed her loose blonde hair.

There was only one reason Willam wanted to host a potluck anyway; as an excuse to get to know her hot new coworker, Raja. Raja was confident, smart, and moved with a subtle intentionality that made Willam really want to get bent over a desk and railed with a strap-on. She was tall, had beautiful high cheekbones, dark sensual eyes, elegant grey-streaked hair, and was incredibly hot. Raja made an office-appropriate blazer look like sex on wheels.

Oh, and she was really fucking funny, too.

Willam had barely been able to concentrate at the office for weeks, because Raja kept saying incredibly sexy and suggestive things to her like, do you have the wifi password? and oh yeah, I just moved here from L.A., and the coffee is pretty good with oat milk, and hey, can you pass me the stapler?

Clearly, the office element of the office romance was getting in the way. So, Willam’s plan to seduce her at the potluck held in her own home was genius, the only problem was that the canapés looked idiotic, probably tasted terrible, and she didn’t have time to fix them.

The doorbell rang. Alaska mildly walked over and reached for the door handle…

Willam whirled out of the bathroom, darted up to the door and reached around her, “Do not hog my light-!”

Alaska crossed her arms and pursed her lips, stepping back from the door. Willam laughed, leaned sexily in the doorway, and pulled the door open.

“A potluck? What kind of an idea is that, we all know you can’t cook, bitch,” said Bianca dryly, standing on the step, holding a glass casserole dish against her hip.

“Oh, it’s you,” said Willam, disappointed.

“You bet it’s me,” announced Bianca, pushing past her inside, and leaning in to kiss Alaska’s cheek, murmuring suggestively. “Hey darling, haven’t seen you in a while…”

“Stop hitting on my roommate.”

Alaska giggled and purred, “Oh hi Bianca, it has been a while hasn’t it? How’s Courtney?”

“Didn’t you hear? We broke up…”

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, I had no idea..."

Willam made a retching sound.

Bianca came into their home and deposited her beautiful, decorated lasagna, thick with cheese and meat, next to Willam’s dubious canapés. It looked amazing, and smelled delicious.

“Wow, these are… something,” said Bianca, looking up from the canapés with a shark-like smile. “I’ll give you a gold star, honey, you did try.” She noticed the bruschetta, bread and sauce set out. "Alaska, this must be yours, looks fantastic! I can't wait to, ah, get a little taste of it on my tongue."

“And I can’t wait to taste your dish either, Bianca,” said Alaska, fluttering her eyelashes at Bianca and reaching for a plate.

“No, not yet!” insisted Willam, even as her stomach growled. Everything had to be perfect for Raja, who would probably bring something unbelievably impressive. On top of being incredibly hot, she was probably also a five-star chef.

Bianca rolled her eyes.

The doorbell rang again, and more people from the office arrived in rapid succession. They were a timely bunch, apparently. Latrice, Courtney, Adore, Dela and Jinkx, everyone was here! And all of the conniving assholes she had once considered friendly coworkers had shown Willam up, each bringing something creative and impressive and homemade. Courtney in particular seemed determined to compete with her ex, having brought a vegan cashew and mushroom pasta casserole in a nearly identical glass dish to Bianca's lasagna. Even Adore brought her home-brewed beer, for fuck’s sake. Between all of them there was enough food for the vegans and the non-vegans, and probably all of Willam’s other neighbours on the block too.

Luckily, people seemed fine to linger and talk and start the drinking early. Several more minutes passed, and Raja didn't appear.

“Who are we still waiting for?” asked Adore, looking around the room.

“Yeah, I’m getting hungry,” added Dela.

“Everything looks fantastic,” added Latrice.

“Except for the canapés,” snarked Bianca.

“We’re waiting for Willam’s crush…” teased Alaska, nudging Willam in the side.

Courtney rolled her eyes, “You’re starving us because Raja is late? As usual?”

“Hey!” snapped Willam, “She’s probably like, making an actual wedding cake or something. You know her. She’s talented!”

“Now a wedding cake is something I can get behind…” commented Jinkx, looking suggestively to Dela. Dela ignored her.

"Did they break up again?" whispered Latrice to Willam. Willam shrugged, she had no idea.

But Raja still wasn't here, and Willam was sweating through her deodorant with nerves! Ugh, at this rate she was never going to get laid.

“Let’s just go ahead and start,” said Willam, diplomatic, which she thought was extremely admirable of her given the high-stakes nature of this casual potluck. “If she’s late, then she’s late and she can’t complain if she doesn’t get first choice.”

“And if she’s lucky, the canapés will be long gone,” commented Bianca, nudging Latrice, who laughed along before glancing longingly at Dela, and they stepped up to fill their plates.

People filed around the table, chatting and giving one another compliments on what fantastic creations they’d brought, even Adore’s home brew. Though to Willam, the nine-percent-alcohol beer tasted like a yeasty grapefruit had been left out in the sun for too long.

Willam sighed, and leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms with disappointment. Maybe Raja wasn’t going to come to the potluck at all. Maybe she hadn’t picked up on Willam’s highly subtleindications that she wanted to get railed, or worse… wasn’t interested?!

But then the doorbell rang.

Willam leapt up from her slump against the counter, and sprinted to the door. She adjusted her skirt and pushed her tits up a little further in her bra, counted fifteen seconds down, and opened the door.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” said Raja, with a casual grin that could charm a rocket to Mars. Willam nearly fainted with the force of it.

“Oh, uh, welcome!” said Willam, stepping back and holding the door open, noting that Raja had a tote bag over her shoulder. Raja entered, looking around curiously. She wore a very normal outfit of a button-up and jeans, but it was somehow the sexiest thing Willam had ever seen, and she wanted to tear her clothes off with her teeth.

“Nice place.”

“Thank you, it’s cheap,” replied Willam, leading her into the kitchen, and hoping Raja was taking the opportunity to look at her ass.

“Look who’s here!” said Willam as they entered the room, and everyone turned to look. Willam hadn’t expected that. But maybe she shouldn’t have announced it.

“Hey guys,” said Raja, putting her tote bag down on the kitchen island, tucking her long, sensual, elegant hair over one shoulder. “So… an office potluck, that’s a fun idea.”

“It sure is,” replied Bianca, raising her eyebrows, “Why don’t you come over here and check out Willam’s canapés…”

“No!” said Willam, hurrying to change the subject. “Uh… Raja, what did you bring?”

“Let me see…” Raja dug around in her bag, and took out a package of the cheapest grocery store brand chips available.

Alaska blinked with surprise. Courtney scoffed. Bianca and Latrice looked at each other and winced.

“Nice, I love chips,” said Adore, nodding contentedly.

But Raja didn’t seem embarrassed at all, or even aware of the anyone else’s judgement. What a sexy quality. Plus, she was still digging around in her bag.

“Oh yeah, and this,” said Raja. Willam’s heart beat quickly with anticipation.

It was a bottle of cheap chardonnay. Only two-thirds full.

“She didn’t drive here, did she?” whispered Dela to Jinkx. Maybe they were back together?

“Hang on…” continued Raja, giving Willam a knowing wink.

Willam wasn’t sure she could handle the anticipation; her pits were damp, and so was her pussy. If Raja didn’t pull something truly impressive out of her bag, her standing in the office would be ruined forever! But the silver lining, considered Willam, was that her disastrous canapés wouldn’t be nearly as memorable compared to Raja’s chips and wine.

With a flourish, Raja pulled one final thing out her bag and slapped it on the table.

Everyone leaned in to see what it was.

It was a plastic ziplock bag, full of dense, deep green, rich buds of weed. It had to be at least an ounce. Willam nearly drooled, the weed looked so good; fresh and sparkling with crystal-like feathers on the dried, curled leaves, likely to produce a wonderful, mind-bending high.

“I didn’t have time to make it into brownies,” said Raja, shrugging, “I hope this is okay…?”

“Oh, this is more than okay!” said Alaska, clapping her hands together gleefully. “I’ll get my bong…”

“Wow,” said Courtney, coming over to look at the baggie. “Is that local…?”

“Like so local, I grew it on my balcony,” replied Raja proudly.

“And I thought growing tomatoes on my balcony was impressive,” commented Dela.

“No way, I grow balcony tomatoes too!” added Latrice, turning to Dela with a delighted smile. “But only the cherry vine variety, what about you?”

“Well, I just learned about this dwarf variety out of Florida called the ‘micro tom,’" replied Dela, glowing with Latrice’s attention. "And they’re specifically designed to thrive in pots…”

"I can't grow a vegetable to save my life," commented Raja.

“Don’t talk to me about gardening,” deadpanned Bianca. "I hate dirt."

“But then why do you love telling me I'm such a dirty girl…?” replied Courtney smugly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Bianca seemed lost for words, a rare occurrence.

“This is way better than chips,” sighed Adore, happily.

“Raja, you’re really taking the cake tonight,” declared Jinkx, before looking longingly at Dela again. "But apparently vegetables are the way to go…”

"Pretty sure tomatoes are fruits, Jinkx," said Adore, putting her arm around her. Jinkx raised her eyebrows, turning to Adore affectionately. Romance, or maybe it was just drama, was in the air tonight.

Alaska came back out with her bong, clean and polished and ready to rip.

Willam, personally, had been rendered speechless. Everyone went back into motion at once, the group splitting up to grind the buds and roll joints, and load up food on plates, and they all started talking at once. They complimented the dishes, sampled everything, and successfully kept track of what was vegan and what wasn’t, etc. It occurred to Willam, as she stood there with her mouth half-open and her friends milled around her, that this was actually a really successful potluck. Everyone was eating, drinking, smoking, (or choosing not to drink or not to smoke, whatever their preference) and having a great time. Wow.

“Here,” said Alaska, dryly, pushing a plate of food into Willam’s hands.

“Oh, right,” said Willam, and looked down, remembering she was hungry. She wolfed in what was on the plate. Everything was absolutely wonderful, except her canapés, which were dubious.

After talking to Bianca about an upcoming meeting, complimenting Adore’s strange homemade beer, sliding past Latrice and Dela as they bonded flirtatiously over the nuances of tomato husbandry, accepting a hug from Jinkx, and replying vaguely when Courtney asked in a hushed tone if Bianca 'had been flirting with' Alaska, Willam finally made her way over to the sink to deposit her empty plate. Someone, ideally Alaska, would do the dishes tomorrow.

“The canapés were pretty good,” said a low voice behind her, and Willam turned to see Raja with her own empty plate, and a coy little smile on her mouth. “And thank you for inviting me, by the way.”

“Oh, you liked the canapés? Really?”

“Of course I liked them, you made them, after all… and in case it isn't obvious, I can't cook either,” replied Raja, putting her plate in the sink, and leaning in close to Willam as she did so. "I spent like forty-five minutes panicking over what to bring."

Willam breathed in sharply, wildly aroused by Raja’s sheer proximity, and the sexy smell of weed and perfume that drifted from her. Multiple crevasses were getting damp again, and Willam might need to take a breather…

Raja plucked a joint from her chest pocket, and held it between her slim, tattooed fingers, and said, “So, do you want to go smoke this in the back yard and make out?”

“I thought you’d never ask!” replied Willam, unable to suppress her delight, and barely able to believe her luck. She took Raja’s hand and quickly led her out of the room, while everyone was occupied talking amongst themselves, enjoying the shared gifts of food and weed.

End

#rpdr fanfiction #willam belli #raja gemini #raja x willam #bianca del rio #alaska thunderfuck #rare pair #potluck #group fic #fluff #fic challenge #lesbian au #dartmouth420

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coronerra · 7 years ago

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ranking drag race queens imo season 1-10

1 Manila Luzon 1 Aquaria 3 Yara Sofia 4 Adore Delano 5 Monét X. Change 6 Chi Chi DeVayne 7 Aja 8 Sharon Needles 9 Jinkx Monsoon 10 Alaska 11 Willam 12 Shangela 13 Tyra Sanchez 14 Jujubee 15 BenDeLaCreme 16 Shea Couleé 17 Asia O'Hara 18 Trinity Taylor 19 The Vixen 20 Monique Heart 21 Stacy Layne Matthews 22 Mariah 23 Latrice Royale 24 Lineysha Sparx 25 Roxxxy Andrews 26 Sahara Davenport 27 Tammie Brown 28 Shannel 29 Nina Flowers 30 Coco Montrese 31 Ivy Winters 32 Jessica Wild 33 Blair St. Clair 34 Bob The Drag Queen 35 Peppermint 36 Nina Bo'Nina Brown 37 Tatianna 38 Alexis Matteo 39 Alexis Michelle 40 Chad Michaels 41 Raja 42 Violet Chachki 43 Kennedy Davenport 44 Katya 45 Ginger Minj 46 Miss Fame 47 Max 48 Trinity K. Bonet 49 Bianca Del Rio 50 Jade Jolie 51 Vivacious 52 Alyssa Edwards 53 Detox 54 Mayhem Miller 55 Jaidynn Diore Fierce 56 Thorgy Thor 57 Morgan McMichaels 58 BeBe Zahara Benet 59 Acid Betty 60 Dida Ritz 61 Phi Phi O'Hara 62 Joslyn Fox 63 Jasmine Masters 64 Courtney Act 65 Darienne Lake 66 Gia Gunn 67 Mrs. Kasha Davis 68 April Carrion 69 Milk 70 Laganja Estranja 71 Nicole Paige Brooks 72 Sonique 73 Pandora Boxx 74 Dusty Ray Bottoms 75 Vanessa Vanjie Mateo 76 Mimi Imfurst 77 Carmen Carrera 78 Delta Work 79 Jaymes Mansfield 80 Farrah Moan 81 Kimora Blac 82 Valentina 83 India Ferrah 84 Rebecca Glasscock 85 LaShawn Beyond 86 Milan 87 Jiggly Caliente 88 Laila McQueen 89 Dax ExclamationPoint 90 Kalorie Karbdashian Williams 91 Eureka 92 Kim Chi 93 Yuhua Hamasaki 94 Honey Mahogany 95 Charlie Hides 96 Mystique Summers Madison 97 Akashia 98 Naysha Lopez 99 Naomi Smalls 100 Cynthia Lee Fontaine 101 Victoria (Porkchop) Parker 102 Jade 103 Derrick Barry 104 Kenya Michaels 105 The Princess 106 Monica Beverly Hillz 107 Robbie Turner 108 Tempest DuJour 109 Kandy Ho 110 Sasha Belle 111 Madame LaQueer 112 Vivienne Pinay 113 Magnolia Crawford 114 Kelly Mantle 115 Pearl 116 Venus D-Lite 117 Alisa Summers 118 Penny Tration 119 Serena Cha Cha 120 Miz Cracker 121 Kameron Michaels 122 Ongina 123 Phoenix 124 Raven 124 Trixie Mattel 124 Sasha Velour

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artificialqueens · 3 years ago

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The Big Date Night, Part 1 (Ravjanilaskianncadoramey) - Albatross

AN: You read that right.

Ravjanilaskianncadoramey.

This will hopefully become a short series. The AU is that all the women are in a very loose polyamorous arrangement. The main relationships are Ravjila, Willaska, Tatiadore, and Bitney but in the arrangement each is free to ask out/date/whatever anyone else in the agreement at any time the involved parties wish. Once a month, they all come together for a date night where the pairs are randomly selected and the odd woman out can choose who she’d like to tag along with for the evening.

“Alright,” Raja began, flashing a brilliant smile to the group, “Is everybody ready?”

A few eyes glanced down to the phone in her hand but within seconds a number of agreeable murmurs or warm smiles filled the room. There was an air of electric excitement as everyone waited for Raja to press the button on her phone and start the app.

This was the beginning of the group’s special monthly date night; a night where everyone in their poly relationship was to go on a date with someone and the fairest way, as it was soon decided, was to leave the ‘who’ up to chance. Courtney and Alaska had found the randomizer app and shared it with everyone else; after all, it was a bit easier than drawing names from a hat every single time. And most importantly, no one could argue that the results were biased in any way.

Raja gave a showy little twirl with her finger, earning an expressive eye roll from Bianca, and set the randomizer into action. Faster than she could blink, the matches for this evening were displayed on her screen and Raja couldn’t help but take a quick sneak peek. As soon as she read the final match in the listing, she found herself snickering.

Bianca’s interest was immediately piqued and quite unceremoniously, she pulled Raja’s hand and phone close to her for a look. As she read the results even she was smirking at the outcome.

“Well, tell us already!” Manila called out, antsy to find out who her match was for tonight.

“Yeah c’mon!” Adore and Willam chimed in.

Alaska remained silent but was wriggling in her seat with anticipation. Even Tatianna was anxious to hear the results. As the odd girl out this month, she would be able to choose who she wanted to tag along with. She already had an idea of sticking with her girlfriend but the matchups might turn her favor to someone else.

Only Raven sat calmly in her place on the couch. Her expression read as perfectly content or perhaps a bit bored. She certainly liked the potential of going on a date with a different partner each month but so far (and it’d been about 8 months since they all agreed to this collective poly arrangement) she hasn’t really connected with anyone other than her girlfriends, Raja and Manila, and to some extent, Alaska. She liked the other girls well enough...most of them anyway...in controlled doses. But she didn’t feel anything beyond friendly interest and that was quite frustrating, both for her and them.

“Okay, okay,” Raja cut through the growing chatter of impatience. There was a hint of laughter in voice that she was trying very hard (and failed) to fully suppress. “First up, is of course, me,” she began, ignoring the playful kick to her shin, courtesy of Manila, “And my lucky lady tonight, will be...drumroll, please.”

“Raja!” came the collective groan of the group.

Laughing to herself, Raja continued on with, “Bianca!”

“Lucky, my ass,” the woman in question grumbled. Anyone who knew her could see she was quite pleased with the result. Already a smile was forming at the corner of her lips...or maybe she was just thinking of what kinds of wine they’ll be sharing shortly.

Raja glanced down to her phone and read off the next pair, “Next we have...Alaska and...Manila!”

A wave of giddiness washed through Alaska’s body and a happy little sigh passed her lips. Manila wasted no time in bounding over to her spot on the loveseat and dropping herself down into her lap. Slinging an arm around Alaska’s shoulders, Manila initiated a brief kiss before they both turned their attention back to the rest of the announcements.

“Who’s mine?” Willam interrupted. There was an odd feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

“In a minute,” Raja assured her. An unsettling twinkle was present in her eyes that did nothing to set Willam’s nerves at ease. Especially as Bianca stifled a sudden burst of laughter at the statement.

No….there’s no way.

“Courtney,” Raja teased, darting her eyes back to Willam for a short moment, “Tonight you’ll be with…”

Please say me or Raven, please say me or Raven.

“...Adore.”

Damn it!

Willam let out a huff. She knew who was left. Everyone knew who was left. But still Raja just had to go and say it. “So that leaves Willam and Raven as our final couple of the night.”

Fucking rigged, Willam thought bitterly. But wait...Tati hasn’t made her choice yet!

Willam rushed over to the woman just a few short feet away. Ignoring the way her head was already shaking in refusal, Willam whispered in a hushed, panicked tone, “I’ll pay you.”

Now that caught Tatianna’s attention. “How much?”

“$100.”

Tatianna scoffed at the figure. Rolling her eyes, she considered for a moment what she would ask for. Then a thought came to her. “Give me your purse and I’ll go with you.”

Willam’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she asked carefully, “Which one?”

“The blue one.” she said simply.

“That’s Versace!” Willam whispered in indignation. “No!” Then thinking of her situation again, she offered, “I’ll let you borrow it. Whenever you want.”

“Mm,” Tatianna mused, “No.” Still not good enough. “How about those silver heels?”

“The Loubs?” Willam nearly yelled. If there was anything she was less willing to part with than her handbags, it was her shoes. Why couldn’t Tatianna just accept cash...or ask for a dress or something? Willam had no problem getting rid of those. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“That’s my price,” Tatianna smirked. She knew Willam was caught. Either she’d have to pay up or suffer in solitude.

Willam stayed quiet...she really, really did not want to go on this date alone...but was it worth the price of those shoes or handbag?

Ugh, damn it!

Willam let out a defeated sigh and shook her head. “$250, final offer.”

“Have fun with Raven!” Tatianna sang and she flitted away to join Adore and Courtney in their plans.

Fucking rigged!

******* “Mm,” Alaska mused softly, slipping her arms around Manila’s waist as she wriggled in her lap, “How about a movie? There’s a few trailers that looked good.”

Manila loved the idea. It’d been so long since she actually went out to see a movie from somewhere other than someone else’s couch. Not to mention there were plenty of options to choose from right now, whether it be the latest blockbusters as Alaska suggested or even an Indie film from one of the locally owned theaters.

“And dinner?” Manila suggested. “There’s the bistro on 7th we both like.”

Alaska’s eyes lit up with excitement. "Perfect!" She could already taste their handmade raspberry lemonade.

****** Courtney and Adore were deep into planning their date when Tatianna joined the conversation. A number of ideas had already been thrown around and then quickly shot down. “We need to go somewhere fun...” Courtney reiterated, “Oh! There’s a meditation seminar downtown!”

Adore and Tatianna’s eyes quickly shot to one another. “That’s...no,” Tatianna finally said.

“Beach?” Adore offered with a shrug.

“But we’d only have an hour or two of daylight...” Courtney countered. They were silent for a moment, still thinking of other options, until Courtney added in, “Although, we could move to the boardwalk after that.”

A wicked little grin rose to Adore’s lips as she mentioned, “They just opened a haunted house where that old arcade used to be.”

“Or we could go on the ferris wheel!”

“And the spinning cups!”

Although Tatianna was all for walking along the beach and even spending the rest of the evening at the boardwalk, she was absolutely and utterly against going on any of those rides Adore and Courtney mentioned. She didn’t like being scared, she didn’t like spinning around at high speeds, and she absolutely loathed heights. Despite how frequently or vehemently someone might assure her that the rides were safe, she just couldn’t convince herself it was true. Instead she just imagined all the ways the ride could go wrong...not exactly a fun night for her. No, she needed to think of something else they could do. And quick.

But soon she was pulled from her thoughts by her girlfriend asking, “Tati, what do you think?”

A moment of panic and dread gripped Tatianna’s heart. She had nothing to offer and Adore was looking at her so sweetly, waiting for an answer.

Wait...she did have one idea. “We haven’t gone skating in a while,” she said.

Courtney let out a little squeal of excitement and Adore pressed a happy, sloppy kiss to her cheek. “Yes!” Courtney agreed. “Oh, this is gonna be amazing.”

****** It was hard not to overhear some of Adore, Courtney, and Tatianna’s planning, particularly as they grew more and more excited about all of the rides the boardwalk has to offer. Neither Raja nor Bianca had an interest in those particular activities, however, but their conversation did give Raja an absolutely delicious idea.

“Wine on the beach?”

Bianca grinned. “Red or white?”

****** Within a few minutes of the match results being announced, everyone had finalized their plans and made their way out the door. Everyone but Raven and Willam. Once the cars had disappeared down the road, Raven was the first to break their night-long silence towards each other.

“Delivery?” she asked, already sounding bored to death, as she pulled out her phone.

Willam sighed, “Sure,” and made her way to Raven’s side, keeping a respectful distance between them.

Raven skillfully tapped away on her phone, already knowing her order by heart, it seemed, and then tilted the screen towards Willam for review. “What do you want?”

Willam stared down at the screen. Something was off at first but she didn’t know what. Then it hit her. These were all drinks...All alcoholic drinks. This was Drizly’s order screen.

Not what I had in mind, Willam smirked as she scrolled through the options, but this’ll work.

****** Alaska was mulling over the menu options long after Manila had placed hers back on the table. She just couldn’t decide what to get. Her drink; that was easy, but food...that required more serious thought. “I don’t want to eat anything too heavy…” she explained with an apologetic smile.

“Saving room for popcorn, huh?” Manila teased. Alaska loved how her eyes sparkled whenever she was having fun.

Unable to keep herself from laughing, Alaska could only shake her head in denial. “Candy?” Manila suggested with a knowing glint in her eyes.

“Maybe,” Alaska replied in that special, vague tone. The devilish little grin that followed confirmed Manila’s hunch.

Manila picked up her menu again and took a closer look at the entrees. “How about a wrap?” she offered after some thought. “That doesn’t look too filling.”

Alaska’s gaze darted back to that section. Definitely some good options there. The chicken, cranberry, and walnut wrap sounded delicious...minus the chicken, of course.

“And we could walk to the theater from here,” Manila added in like an afterthought, “That’ll probably make you hungry again.”

“Oh, right!” Alaska agreed, placing her menu down with relief and satisfaction. “Thanks!”

“Anytime, doll.”

****** With their orders for both drinks and food placed, Willam and Raven returned to their comfortable silence.

Almost comfortable.

Each felt they ought to try to talk to the other. Make some sort of effort to get along, for the night, at least, but neither was sure what to say to break the ice. Willam pretended to be occupied with selecting a show from the TV guide while Raven stared at her phone, meticulously tracking their orders as they inched closer to their destination. She sat at the edge of her seat, ready to jump up and meet the driver.

Oh, well. Maybe later.

****** Bianca and Raja drove with Tatianna, Adore, and Courtney to the boardwalk. It was a bit cramped in the car but the conversation was fun and the ride, quick. While the others busied themselves with removing their shoes, Bianca and Raja said goodbye and made their way towards the entrance of the ‘Wine on the Beach’ section. It was a neatly roped off little area that offered a decent selection of wine, as well as a few mixed drinks. The main appeal, apart from the relative quiet at this end of the beach, was the fabulous view of the ocean. Every so often you could see ships out in the distance or wind surfers but unlike the rest of the beach, this area was uncluttered with sunbathers or loud families. Truly just an ideal place to drink some wine and watch the waves or enjoy some nice conversation. Although in Bianca’s case, the conversation was more amusing than anything else.

She was still working on her second glass of wine but next to Raja sat two bottles; one empty and one well on its way to becoming empty.

“I used to be real scared of you, you know?” Raja said with that cute lopsided grin she always wore when she drank.

Currently she was pointing a fry soggy with cheese at Bianca yet still managed to hold her glass with a certain air of grace and class. It was an odd picture and then combined with that statement, seemingly coming from nowhere, Bianca couldn’t help but laugh.

“What? Why?”

“Cause you were always just sooo,” Raja twirled the fry around, almost like a wand, as she tried to come up with the right words. Failing, she shrugged and popped the fry into her mouth. She contemplated for a second or two until finally offering, “put together, I guess.”

“Terrifying,” Bianca agreed. Her smile was stretched from ear to ear.

“It was intimidating!” Raja stressed before snatching up another fry. “I never met someone that confident before. That could actually back it up, y’know.” Chewing slowly, she studied Bianca. It felt a little too acute for someone who had just finished off a full bottle of wine by herself. Bianca wondered what all was actually going through her mind.

Raja took another sip from her glass and set it back down. Her voice grew more serious as she recalled, “You always breezed through getting your models dressed and ready to shoot. Everyone else was just running around like rabbits on crack. But you’d get them to me, like hours, before anyone else even showed up...I actually had to be on time for you!” She began laughing again and Bianca felt a release of tension in her shoulders.

Strange, she thought. She hadn’t noticed it was there before. A few early memories of them first meeting, Raja as an established makeup artist and Bianca just starting out as a stylist after a long-overdue career change, filled her mind. She hadn’t thought about that in years. Who would’ve guessed it’d lead to their current relationship?

Before she could dwell on those thoughts for long, Raja’s voice, now struggling not to laugh, brought her back to the present. “And God-forbid if someone said shit about your models. You made that one guy cry, remember?” She did. “I mean, he was an ass anyway but still. You pointed out for everyone,” she really stressed that word, “everywhere he tried to cut corners. With the makeup or the hair; any place he fucked up on...And you were right! I didn’t even notice until you said something.”

A swell of pride filled Bianca’s chest. To her, those mistakes were so obvious, so why shouldn’t she point them out? But it felt pretty good, looking back on it now, that even someone as experienced as Raja hadn’t noticed as quickly as she did.

Bianca brought the glass back to her lips as Raja stole another couple of fries from their basket. Finishing her shallow sip, she smirked and asked, “Well, what do you think now?”

“Fuck,” Raja sighed, “I’m still scared.”

Bianca had to set her glass down and hold it firm, she was laughing so hard.

****** The remaining hours of sunlight quietly slipped away as Courtney, Tatianna and Adore walked along the shoreline. Light, easy chatter passed back and forth between them until it was nearly too dark to see the footprints they’d left behind. By the time the sun had begun its descent beneath the waves, they were more than ready to move on to their second activity of the night. The plentiful lights along the strip of shops and rides made it easy to navigate to one of the many entrances of the boardwalk.

“Ugh, how is there still sand between my toes?” Adore complained as she washed her feet under one of the many leaky showerheads placed just beyond the wooden stairs leading to the beach.

“Sand’s magic that way,” Courtney beamed as she sat on the nearby bench and watched some of the passersby. “You just never get rid of it. You’ll find it days later in your car, your clothes...your home.”

Adore chuckled as she rotated each foot one more time under the spray. Still there was a grainy sensation left over now matter which direction she turned. Sighing, she turned off the water and gave up trying to get completely clean. Tatianna gently nudged her in the side with her elbow. “I think there’s some wipes in the car,” she offered with a sympathetic smile. “Let’s go grab our shoes and check.”

“And go eat,” Adore cheerfully added in, bouncing over to Courtney and helping her up from the bench.

Playfully latching on to Adore’s arm, Courtney agreed, “And go eat.”

The threesome debated a few nearby food choices as they made their way to the parking lot. They had almost come to an agreement when Courtney thought to ask, “And then...walk down to the rink? Or should we drive?”

A very good question, Tatianna mused. Unlocking her phone, she murmured, “Let me text the others.”

She received a reply from both Raja and Bianca by the time they reached the car. Raja’s text was an indecipherable mess of emojis and almost words. Shortly after a slightly blurred selfie came through as well. “Helpful,” Tatianna noted as she shared the picture with her girlfriend and Courtney.

Bianca’s reply was much more lucid.

“Bianca said ‘Go ahead, we’ll walk down and meet you later’,” Tatianna announced as Courtney and Adore hunted for the wet wipes in the trunk and backseat, respectively. An amused grin appeared as she added, “She misspelled ‘meet’.”

“Drive it is then!” Courtney laughed out. A mere second later she let out a delighted little noise of triumph and held the Wet Wipes up high like a trophy.

Adore rushed around the side of the car and claimed the container with a sigh of relief and satisfaction. Without these, she was sure the feeling between her toes would have driven her nuts before long. While cleaning off the lingering sand, a forgotten thought returned to her, “But where are we gonna eat though?”

******* “Can’t you find something?” Raven asked impatiently.

True, she’d been staring at her phone for most of their night together but now that their food had arrived she was ready to watch something else. Willam, however, was still scrolling through all of the channel options for the second or third time. How hard can it be to find a decent listing?

“Got any suggestions?” Willam snapped back. “I’m telling you there’s nothing on.”

Rolling her eyes, Raven picked up the cocktail she made (thank you Drizly) and took a long swig. As she set the glass back down, she grumbled, “Just pick something. As long as it’s not one of those stupid documentaries, I’m fine.” She reached out for one of the take out containers left on the coffee table, hoping food would lighten her mood. Searching through the Lo Mein for a piece of shrimp or pork, she grumbled to herself, “Fucking reruns of Jersey Shore even.”

The guide flipped to a new page and immediately one of the listings caught Willam’s eye. She scoffed as the read the summary out loud, “You mean an ‘in depth review of historical child labor practices and its impact on modern consumer culture’ doesn’t sound like an absolute thriller?”

“Do I look like Courtney to you?”

“Don’t have to twist my arm,” Willam smirked. She flipped through a few more pages before finally giving up and opening the Netflix app. Glancing back at Raven, she slowly scrolled down the list of new releases, and asked if anything grabbed her attention.

“Keep going…” Raven murmured distractedly. She scanned each new icon until finally one seemed interesting enough to consider. “Stop. Go back one.” Without being told, Willam opened up the summary for the movie. There was a drawn out pause, long enough for Willam to finish the last quarter of her own drink before Raven made her verdict. “This’ll do.”

“Aren’t I considerate?” Willam teased as she pressed the ‘Play’ option.

Raven scoffed but a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Sure. I mean at least you asked. Tatianna would just put something on and tell you you’ll like it."

"For like 10 minutes as the movie's playing so you can’t hear shit even if you wanted to," Willam muttered in agreement.

Scooting closer to the coffee table Willam, refilled her glass and grabbed one of the spring rolls from the container. While she munched away, Raven added in, "And Adore would sit here hogging all the lo mein until there’s like 3 noodles left."

"Or Bianca with her ‘fancy’ wine," Willam laughed, nearly spilling her drink as she tried to make air quotes.

Raven let out a burst of laughter before breaking off into a short coughing it as a piece of lo mein caught itself in the back of her throat. After she washed it down with a few sips of her drink, the pair fell silent again. This time it wasn't so uncomfortable. In fact, there was almost a warming sensation in the air…or maybe that was just the alcohol?

When Willam stole a glance towards Raven she was surprised to find the other woman still smiling.

A thought soon formed in her head. "Hey," she asked casually, "What do you think of Pandora? Did you see her last post on Facebook?"

"Did I," Raven huffed, rolling her eyes like dice. Her gaze fell back to Willam and a devilish smirk appeared.

Maybe they'd have some fun together yet.

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artificialqueens · 4 years ago

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Galactica, Chapter 30 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Dramaaaa tonight, enjoy! Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Willam finally got into Fame’s office, and Pearl got back on track with Violet--or so she thought.

This Chapter: Courtney and Pearl are both in for a very rude awakening, but someone is in the right place at the right time.

***

Courtney hurried out of Fame’s office, shutting the door firmly behind her.

“Oh, hey.” Alaska looked up from her desk, where she was writing a note. “I thought you’d stepped out, so I was...is everything okay? You look like you’ve been running.”

Courtney hated to lie, and especially to Alaska, who’d been so wonderful to her, but she didn’t know what else to do.

“Oh, yeah, I was just, um, doing some deep cleaning so that everything will be nice when Miss Fame comes back. More strenuous work than I expected…” She gave a nervous laugh.

“Okay…” Alaska pressed her lips together, clearly not 100% convinced, but thankfully willing to let it drop for now. “I came to talk about Miss Fame’s schedule, because we’re starting that campaign and she’s the most important part of it.”

“Right, of course.” Courtney scurried into her desk chair, trying not to worry about Willam, trapped in Fame’s office, just hoping he’d stay quiet until Alaska’s business was through, when she’d hurry him out.

It was a terrible idea, inviting him here, and she already regretted it. When they spoke this morning, she thought that having him come by would be a nice break in the day, something that would make her feel good, but instead the whole thing was just an anxious nightmare, completely not worth it.

Alaska dragged over a seat and pulled out her notebook as Courtney opened her calendar. It took them a few minutes, but finally, she seemed satisfied with the tentative dates that Courtney provided.

“I think we can make it work,” she sighed, sitting back. “I didn’t think about what a logistical nightmare this would be when I pitched the idea.”

Courtney smiled. “It’s a good idea, though. I mean, that’s why people are buying Galactica makeup, right? So that they can pretend, even just for a little while, that they’re as glamorous as Miss Fame?”

“Exactly.” Alaska smiled at her. “So…I believe we owe ourselves a tea party, don’t we?”

“Oh, um…” Courtney’s gaze shifted to Miss Fame’s office, where she knew Willam was still waiting.

“Come on, you can take a little break. After all, it’s almost 9 pm in Paris, right?”

“Yeah, true.” Courtney sighed. Willam would be fine, he’d just have to wait. “I’ll go turn on the kettle.”

She rose and walked towards the little kitchenette, Alaska following her to assist, helping her get cups and saucers down from the shelf, putting everything on a tray. Alaska was truly different than the other executives at this company, who always expected to be served. It wasn’t that Courtney minded doing it--after all, that was her job--it was just that some people had the tendency to look right through her, barely acknowledging her as a person. It got a little tedious after awhile.

Alaska was different, despite being a department head. She always looked right into her eyes when they spoke, always said thank you when anyone gave her anything, and lent a hand whenever she could.

“So...how’s it been going? You’re been here for awhile, are you settling in okay?” Alaska asked.

“Yeah, it’s been...I think I’m starting to get the hang of things.”

“I bet you’re enjoying the freedom of having the boss lady out of town, huh?” Alaska’s brown eyes twinkled conspiratorially.

“Well, uh...actually, it’ll be nice to have them back,” Courtney said honestly. “I mean, I’ll definitely be super relieved when Violet’s back.”

“Yeah, I imagine that running the office on your own is a handful,” Alaska said, stirring her tea thoughtfully.

“Mmhmm…” Courtney took a sip of her tea, wishing once again that she worked for Alaska. She was so kind and understanding.

The sound of muffled, distant clattering made Alaska’s head snap up sharply, and Courtney cringed inwardly.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Courtney asked, twirling a lock of blonde hair in her fingers.

“It sounded like it was coming from inside Miss Fame’s office,” Alaska said.

“Oh, um, I don’t think that’s…” It was no use. The bright pink flush creeping into her cheeks was a dead giveaway, and as Courtney trailed off, Alaska put her hands on her hips.

“Who’s in there, Courtney?”

Courtney gulped, admitting, “My boyfriend…”

“Ugh, Courtney…” Alaska clucked disapprovingly, walking over to the door, using the key card clipped to Courtney’s skirt to open the door. “You!”

She pointed at Willam, who was busily cleaning up papers he’d somehow knocked off Miss Fame’s desk.

“Playtime’s over. Say goodbye and be on your way.” Alaska snapped her fingers and Willam hurried out of the office.

“I’m sorry, Alaska, I know it was stupid, please don’t tell-” Courtney began, but Alaska was scrutizing Willam with narrowed eyes.

“What’s your name?” she asked, and he blanched, but Courtney quickly stood in front of him.

“It’s not his fault. I’m the one who suggested we go into the office. I just wanted a few minutes of privacy, but I know it was dumb.” She turned to Willam, saying, “You should go. I’ll call you later.”

Willam nodded, bolting from the office quickly, practically running to get to the elevators. Even though that’s what Courtney had asked him to do, she couldn’t help be a little annoyed at how eagerly he’d gone, a strange spring in his step, not looking the slightest bit regretful. But there wasn’t time to dwell on that right now.

Courtney faced Alaska again, steeling her shoulders, prepared for the worst.

“Are you gonna tell on me?”

Alaska tapped her long nails against Courtney’s desk, thinking.

“I know that kid.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, but I just can’t remember how…” She squinted, trying to place him.

“Well, maybe you-”

“Oh, shit.” Alaska pulled up her phone, tapping away on the screen, making Courtney grow agitated.

“What are you doing?”

“Hoping I’m wrong, for your sake…” Alaska finally found what she’s looking for, heaving a deep sigh. “Here.”

She slid the phone across the desk, over to where Courtney stood.

“I knew I’d seen him around. His husband is an accountant, he does my taxes.”

“Husband?” A terrible, terrible feeling began to creep into Courtney’s stomach. Willam was married? To a man?

“Yeah.”

Courtney picked the phone up slowly. That was Willam, alright. Willam with his arms wrapped around a handsome older man, Willam with the same man and a group of other guys on the beach, Willam with the man and a huge Saint Bernard.

A million confusing thoughts swirled in Courtney’s head, and she sat down heavily, trying to make heads or tails of them. Was Willam cheating on his husband with her? And if he was, why the slow, chaste, Victorian courtship? Even today, in Miss Fame’s office, she was the one who took things to the next level. She was the one grinding against him, trying desperately to feel something, to prove to herself that this was more than just a platonic relationship.

She’d known, of course, that their (lack of) chemistry was weird. But she thought it was due to Willam being respectful, and to her own hang-ups about guys. She swallowed down the lump in her throat.

“I think you better ask your boyfriend some questions, Courtney,” Alaska said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah.”

What she really needed was to talk to someone about this. Someone who understood her, someone who could help her sort through her confusion. After Alaska left the office, she immediately went to her purse to pull out her personal cell, calling the one person she knew could help her feel less alone.

***

“And this one,” Pearl grinned. She was showing Violet the photos she had taken that day, their legs pressed together. “Matches her dog perfectly.”

“What?” Violet looked up from her vodka cranberry, a smile on her lips, and Pearl couldn’t get over how sweet she was, how beautiful she looked.

They were sitting at the bar at an overly fancy cocktail hour, both of them waiting for Fame. They were on the outskirts of the party, everyone else rubbing elbows and kissing ass, but Pearl didn’t care about any of that, not when she had Violet’s attention.

It felt great to finally be okay again, to be them. Pearl flirted with a lot of different women, and had slept with quite a few since that fateful night at the Fashion Fund party, but this was something else, something special.

“I’m serious.” Pearl smiled, and Violet reached out, trying to grab the phone, her chest bumping against her arm.

Pearl didn’t want to be too forward in her advances, they had a week in the city of love after all, but if the way Violet’s eyes shone was any indication, if the giggle in her voice held any promise at all, they’d be curled up in bed together soon enough.

“Damn pumpkin, getting frisky huh?” Pearl raised an eyebrow, making sure that Violet saw that she was attempting to look down her top.

“Pearl-” Violet groaned, sitting up straight, holding a hand in front of herself to make sure Pearl couldn’t see anything at all.

“Just wanted to check if you were wearing a bra.” Pearl grinned, the fact that Violet was blushing the exact reaction she had gunned for.

It felt great to be back on track, to be able to play Violet again, the other woman so perfectly easy once Pearl wormed her way under her skin.

“You do know that Galactica has a strict policy about appropriate public behavior.” Pearl reached for her drink, making sure that her leg was glued to Violet’s. She couldn’t remember much from when Violet had fixed her up, but she did remember the other woman nagging her about the company guidelines.

“Please.” Violet rolled her eyes, but Pearl could see the smile lurking in the corner of her mouth. “Like you ever cared for a policy in your life.”

“Oh I care, Violet.” Pearl smirked. “I care very, very deeply.”

Violet snorted, a short laugh leaving her. “Show me the photo.”

“Ask nicely.”

“You’re so annoying.” Violet went for the phone again, but Pearl put an arm around her back, her hand resting on her hip.

“You love me.” Pearl grinned as she tilted her phone, showing Violet the photo of a woman who was wearing an outfit entirely with black and white polkadots, a dalmatian sitting by her side.

“Oh my god.” Violet looked up, a gigantic smile on her lips. “This is amazing!”

Pearl grinned, turning slightly so she could rest her cheek against Violet’s head, the smell of her hair in her nose. It was incredibly intimate, Violet flicking through her phone.

She could stay here forever, Violet commenting on everyone’s outfits, fashion a subject she could discuss endlessly.

“So,” Pearl used her free hand to reach up, gently touching Violet’s hair as she tucked it behind her ear.

“Hey,” Violet giggled, trying to twist away , but Pearl held her close, “that tickles-”

“Violet,” Pearl twisted her upper body, Violet looking straight at her. “Do you want to-”

In that exact moment, Violet’s phone started vibrating, and Pearl groaned.

Violet raised a brow, clearly not understanding why Pearl was acting that way as she reached for her phone.

“You don’t have to take the call.” Pearl tried to put her hand on top of Violet’s, “We’re having fun, right?”

“Pearl,” Violet sighed, evading her hand. “Please.”

Violet took her phone, turning the screen. Pearl had expected it to be Fame, for Violet to look exasperated, but instead, her entire face lit up as she accepted the call.

“Hello?” Violet smiled.

“Who are you talking to?”

Violet ignored Pearl, not answering her question.

“Mmh. Yes. Yes, I’m at the bar. Where are you?”

She stood up, shaking Pearl’s hand off before she turned around.

“Ah!” Violet grinned. “I see you.”

Without as much as looking at her, Violet left, not even giving Pearl the chance to say anything else.

Pearl turned, confused and annoyed at what could possibly have captured Violet’s attention so thoroughly.

Violet was making a beeline towards Sutan Amrull, stopping in front of him, eyes bright as she eagerly chatted. Pearl had no idea they even knew each other, and Violet never talked like that to anybody, barely even her.

Sutan was Raja’s twin though, so Pearl decided to let it go, the two of them probably discussing something boring and business related.

She had decided not to watch, when Sutan placed an arm around Violet's waist, pulling her in, and Pearl felt her body light on fire.

She was ready to get up, willing to make it a fight if she had to, no one else allowed to touch her Violet like that, good reputations be damned, but then, insteading of struggling to get away, Violet leaned in, placing a sweet but quick kiss against Sutan’s lips, causing Sutan to laugh.

Pearl felt her jaw drop, her fingers tightening around her glas.

What the fuck? Was Violet with Sutan?

Pearl bit her lip, hurt rushing over her, her stomach clenching.

Had she been acting a fool?

Pearl Liaison always got what she wanted, but as she watched Violet, a sense of dread settled over her.

Sutan had to have been the man at the bar. There was no other way around it, all the puzzle pieces falling into place.

Pearl emptied her drink in one big gulp, the alcohol burning on its way down. She flagged the bartender, ordering another drink, determined to drown her sorrows.

She had decided on alcohol, had figured that would be the quickest way to forget how humiliated she felt, but as Pearl made her way through her third cocktail, she spotted Adore from across the bar, the other woman in deep conversation with Raven.

***

Adore was in ecstasy, finally getting the attention from Pearl that she’d been craving, not even caring that it was happening pressed against the sinks in a club bathroom. Her mind was empty of everything except Pearl’s fingers expertly working her into a quivering mess, those sleepy, knowing eyes raking over her body as she arched into Pearl’s touch.

It was so hot, the way Pearl had caught her eye and then marched over, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her roughly into the nearby restroom. The dominant, brooding energy she was exuding right now was everything Adore wanted, made her heart pound with excitement and just a perfect hint of fear.

“Someone’s obsessed with you,” Pearl murmured into her ear, making her shiver.

“Mmm?”

“You’re buzzing out of control,” Pearl clarified, gesturing to the phone in Adore’s jacket pocket.

“Oh...sorry.”

Adore pulled the phone out, quickly shutting it off and stuffing it back into her pocket just as Pearl’s fingers curled against her g-spot, making her cry out. Whoever was trying to reach her would just have to understand.

“Omigod, Pearl, yes! Right there…” Adore moaned.

“Come for me, baby,” Pearl husked into her ear, then sank her teeth into a particularly tender spot on her neck.

Adore gasped, hips rolling, fingers tangled in Pearl’s hair.

“I’m coming, I’m coming...oh gooood…”

***

Willam was so screwed. On the subway, he’d gleefully clicked through all of the pictures, only to have his heart fall further and further with every one. The whole mission had been absolutely futile. Page after page of design ideas, marketing notes. The only thing remotely scandalous was a vibrator in the bottom drawer of her desk, a locked part he had to jimmy open with a paperclip, but even that amounted to a big Who Cares.

Certainly not groundbreaking journalism.

But he couldn’t give up. Not when he’d come so far. There had to be something. So he took a deep breath and fired off a few texts to Courtney.

WILLAM: Hey beautiful, so sorry for racing out like that

WILLAM: I hope I didn’t get you in trouble

WILLAM: Are you okay, baby?

The response had been entirely unlike her. ‘Meet me at Radicchio. 7.’

No emojis, no exclamation points - nothing cute or flirty to tell him that things were still good. Which meant that they probably weren’t. That this wasn’t gonna be a nice, normal date, but in fact a Serious Talk, which was just not something Willam had prepared for in this plan.

Part of Willam thought he should just ignore it. Cut ties, walk away, be done with the whole thing. File this one as a loss and move on. But the stubborn part still didn’t want to give up. He’d lost his fucking job over this story, how could he just drop it without a second thought? So she might be mad, he might need to do a little damage control. He could handle that, right?

When Courtney entered the restaurant, he was already sitting at a booth waiting, hands folded in front of him. He jumped up, moving to give her a hug, but she avoided him and instead sat down, stone-faced.

Courtney didn’t remove her jacket or take her purse off her shoulder. More very bad signs.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Willam asked carefully, reaching for her hand. “I’m sorry for leaving you, I didn’t think it would help you to make a scene, I just-”

“Are you married?”

Willam flinched. He’d been so incredibly careful to mask his personal life. He’d deleted his Facebook account, only communicating through that fake Instagram he’d set up to talk to her. How could she possibly have found out?

“Why would you...why would you ask that?” he ventured.

“Oh god.” Courtney closed her eyes briefly. “It’s true, isn’t it? You’re married. To a man.”

“Well, I-listen. It’s not a traditional marriage, we have an open-”

“Then why not tell me?” Courtney demanded, then answered her own question, shaking her head. “Are you even attracted to me? You’re obviously not. I guess I knew, but I just wanted so badly for this to be real, I’m such an idiot-”

“Courtney, listen-”

“No! I don’t get it, is this just some kind of sick game? Why? Why all the lies? Why pretend that you like me?”

Willam shut his eyes. A million excuses were on the tip of his tongue, lies to cover up lies, but none of them would work. None of them would satisfy her. He could see that clear as day.

“I’m sorry. Okay? Really. I didn’t mean for it to go on this long, I thought I’d get something I could use much quicker-”

“Something you could use?” Courtney’s eyes suddenly widened as she put the pieces together, and that’s when Willam understood, until that moment she wasn’t even thinking about his job, about the fact that he was a journalist, about how much she’d told him.

“I would probably have dropped it, but then I got fired, and I needed something, Court, I really-”

“So all of this...all of this was for a story?” she spit out.

“I...yeah.” Willam swallowed, looking at the horrified expression on her face, the single tear that slid down her cheek. God, what a mess. There was nothing he could say now to win back her trust, so he might as well unburden himself.

“I really thought there was something, something big that Fame was hiding, especially after Detox got so angry, and-”

“Oh god.” Courtney covered her mouth. “And I left you in there, alone. I’m not even supposed to be in there alone. What did you do? What did you find? Oh god, I’m gonna be fired.”

She was starting to panic, gripping the edge of the table, breathing growing shallow. Willam shook his head vigorously.

“Nothing! Okay? I found nothing. Here, look for yourself…” Willam opened his photos and shoved his phone across the table. “It’s just fucking fabric samples and design notes and marketing plans. That’s it. I can delete it right now if you want.”

“And how do I know this is everything? How do I know you’re not gonna fuck me over?” Courtney asked, green eyes red and watery.

Willam hung his head for a moment. He didn’t mean for this to happen. She was just a nice kid, maybe a little too trusting, maybe a little over her head, and seeing her brokenhearted face made him feel more wretched than he ever had.

“You don’t,” he finally said, looking directly into her eyes for the first time that night. “You don’t, you just have my word, which...I guess you already know is worth jack shit.”

Courtney handed Willam’s phone back to him, shaking his head.

“It would serve me right if I did get fired,” she said, voice breaking. “Because I was stupid enough to think you were a nice guy.”

“Courtney-”

“Goodbye, Willam.”

She stood up abruptly and walked quickly to the door, leaving Willam with nothing but his own guilt.

***

Courtney stood in her tiny studio apartment, looking at her face in the old, scratched-up mirror. She couldn’t remember ever being this humiliated. She felt like an absolute idiot. A grade-A fucking moron. And the worse part, the worst part was that she’d known all along that something wasn’t right.

She’d known it, from the beginning, but she’d gone ahead and trusted him anyway, because he said all the right things and told her everything she wanted to hear. That she was beautiful, she was talented, she was going somewhere.

All of it had been a lie.

And now, she was back to square one, but it was even worse, because she’d allowed herself to voice her deepest fears, about what if she really didn’t have what it takes, what if she’d never make it, what if she was doomed to be a mediocre girl in a mediocre job for her whole life? She’d allowed those thoughts, the ones that used to be buried deep, to come to the surface and rear their ugly heads and now she had to face all of it.

She wasn’t an aspiring actress, or on a path to becoming a musician. She wasn’t anything but an assistant, and even that wasn’t guaranteed, if anyone at Galactica even got a whiff of how majorly she’d fucked up by allowing Willam to get so close. Or if he’d been lying, if he really had gotten something to use and publish--it would immediately be traced back to her. So there was something to keep her awake at night, as if she didn’t have enough.

She closed her eyes, hot tears burning down her cheeks, feeling more alone than she ever had. She was lucky, actually, that Adore didn’t answer earlier, because once she found out Willam’s real reason for playing her, she realized that she could never ever tell Adore, or their other mutual friends, for fear that it would get back to Miss Fame somehow.

That was when Courtney made a promise. She would do whatever it took to make this job work. So she wasn’t Violet, she wasn’t some robotically perfect assistant. Well, she wanted to be an actress, so she’d act like the perfect assistant. She’d show all of them that she could do this job, that she was valuable, and if she really took it seriously, maybe there was a snowball’s chance in hell that she wouldn’t be fired, deported, and sent back to Brisbane a miserable failure.

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artificialqueens · 5 years ago

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Galactica, Chapter 21 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Hello darlings! So, this chapter marks us getting through 10% of the story. Yay? Yay! We are so grateful for people who are following along and giving feedback. Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Fashion Week began with no major crisis in sight (well, except for Courtney’s pink hair).

This Chapter: Someone gets fired, someone gets lucky, and the Galactica collection gets presented to the world.

***

Willam took a deep breath before knocking decisively on Detox’s door. To say that he was not excited about being summoned to an unplanned meeting with his boss would be a huge understatement. But here he was.

“Come in!”

Detox was on the phone when Willam entered. He gestured for him to sit, receiver still pressed to his ear. Willam obeyed, rolling his eyes internally. That was such an amateur power move. Oh, look at me, Mr. Big Bad Editor, I’m so busy and important.

Willam’s eyes drifted towards the window. OK! Magazine was on the 10th floor of their midtown building: not the best view, not the worst. Everything about this place was middling to Willam. Including Detox, who was now finishing up his oh so important phone call. In his ugly green sport coat.

Detox hung up the phone, then leveled his gaze directly at Willam.

“I assume you know why you’re here.”

“‘Cause I’m getting a raise?” Willam asked hopefully.

Detox trained his eyes on the ceiling for a brief moment before saying, “No. What did I tell you about Galactica and Miss Fame last week?”

“You said that there was no story and that I should drop it, but-”

“So why the fuck do I hear rumors that you’re still nosing around?”

Rhea. That fucking bitch.

“Because! I know you’re wrong!” Willam exclaimed. “You know that in all the years Galactica has been in business, there is not one tiny shred of bad press? Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

“Will-”

“I know she’s your friend, okay? And I don’t know what you’re trying to hide, but I will find it.”

“Great,” Detox said. “Find it for someone else.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re fired, Willam. Clear out your desk by the end of the day.”

Willam opened his mouth, then stood up in a huff.

“You know, when you hired me, you said that you wanted tenacious reporters who would challenge you.”

“I did,” Detox said, his tone bored as he opened a folder and began to scan through it. “I guess I changed my mind.”

“Fuck you, Detox!” Willam spat, storming from the office and slamming the door behind him. He strode down the hall to his own office, righteous anger rising as he went. There was a story, a good one, Willam was sure of it. And when he found it, he would make Detox eat his fucking words.

***

DETOX: Hey, I know you’re busy right now, but just wanted to give you a heads-up. I had to fire a reporter today who’s been poking around Galactica looking for dirt. (A futile effort, I know, but still annoying.) His name is Willam Belli.

FAME: Thank you darling. Don’t worry, my staff knows better than to talk to reporters without approval.

DETOX: Good girl. See you Thursday.

FAME: XO

***

“Hey baby.” Katya smiled, crawling on top of Trixie’s lap. He had come home from the second day of Fashion Week, practically collapsing into the bed the second he had opened the door. Katya had taken one look at Trixie, grabbed the phone, ordered pizzas from Trixie’s favorite place and found their collection of Disney films before Trixie had even kicked off his pants.

“Ouch, careful!” Trixie laughed, trying to move so he could shift Katya’s weight, taking the pressure off his stomach, but it only held him down. The two of them had watched Beauty and the Beast and then The Little Mermaid and now they were just lounging around, half-naked and lazily kissing.

“My big, strong designer man.” Katya leaned down to kiss Trixie’s cheek before pulling away slowly, her hand trailing down his face, gently caressing it.

“You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.” Trixie smiled, his eyes filled with love as he looked up at Katya.

“Even after you’ve spent the day looking at models?” Katya’s tone was teasing, but Trixie could see the insecurity in her eyes, which broke his heart.

“The most beautiful woman in all of the world.”

Katya leaned down again, kissing Trixie, her hands buried in his hair as she started to slowly rut against him.

Trixie moaned, letting Katya take complete control of their movements, letting her grab his hands and hold them above his head.

“Let me see you, baby…” he whined, but Katyas simply smiled, biting Trixie’s lip.

“Say it again.”

“I want to see you, please, let me see you.”

Katya laughed and straightened her back, Trixie keeping his hands above his head without her having to tell him. She pulled her shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor.

“Please- Katya.” Trixie felt like he was about to vibrate out of his skin, he wanted her so badly, wanted to be inside her.

“Sssh, ssh.” Katya smiled. She felt powerful, so beautiful, she felt like she could do anything as she looked into Trixie’s eyes, saw the love in them as she guided Trixie inside of her, took him all the way in before she leaned forward again, crashing their lips together.

Trixie moaned, drowning in the scent and feel of Katya. She rode him and he dug his hands into her hips and grabbed her perfect tits. Trixie felt pleasure crash over him and he finished with a roar, Katya slapping her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.

She sank down on his chest, giggling uncontrollably, panting with the aftermath of her own silent orgasm.

“Ssh, ssh baby, ssh, Pearl is home, ssh.” Katya’s laugh sounded like the sweetest music in Trixie’s ears. He felt drunk on happiness, sleepy and completely at peace with the world.

“I love you so fucking much” he groaned.

Katya gave him a wet, messy, final kiss. “I love you too.”

***

Pearl stood outside, leaning on the side of the building, a cigarette hanging from her mouth as she scrolled through her phone.

There was a light rain, more like a gentle mist, collecting in her hair and on the outside of her leather jacket, even as she clung to the side of the building, a narrow eave above her head offering little. Adore watched her, her own hair protected by a big fur hood, trying to stop her stomach from doing flips.

She’d known Pearl casually for a while now, and known of her even longer. She knew all the stories, was well aware of her reputation as a player and a heartbreaker, but Adore didn’t care about any of that. Especially when Pearl looked up, catching her eye as she strolled through the courtyard, the smile she flashed at her making her insides twist with excitement.

Pearl was fucking hot, and even though Adore felt like a basic bitch for pining after her, she couldn’t control herself. She wanted her. Wanted to taste her filthy smoker breath, wanted Pearl’s face buried in her pussy.

“Hey, Adore,” Pearl said as she approached.

“Hi Pearl,” Adore replied with a smile. “What are you doing out here?”

“I’m waiting for Max, Max Malanaphy.”

“Really? That’s dope.”

“You know him?” Pearl asked, head cocked.

“Not at all.”

Pearl laughed, which made Adore blush, lowering her eyes demurely.

“Do you want a cigarette?” asked Pearl, and Adore nodded, relieved for the distraction.

“Yeah, sure, hit me.”

Adore took one of the cigarettes from Pearl, placing it between her lips, patting her pockets to look for a lighter, but Pearl was already one step ahead.

“Let me get that for you.”

Adore could practically feel her stomach do backflips as she leaned in, Pearl’s hands so close to her face as she protected the flame from the wind. Adore knew it was dumb, knew it was embarrassing, but what was she gonna do? The heart wanted what it wanted.

***

Willam paced around the courtyard at Bryant Park, trying to look inconspicuous and casual, waiting for Courtney to arrive at the tent where Galactica would be showing that afternoon. He wore his press badge from last year, hoping that she wouldn’t notice the difference.

After fuming and pouting about being fired for almost a day, Willam had gotten down to business. He found Courtney’s social media accounts on every platform, following her and doing a deep dive into her posts going back several years.

He learned everything about her: her aspirations in life, the names of her family, her favorite foods and music and books, her college major, and who her friends were.

Random things that could be meaningless found grave importance, stored away for future use: that she was a vegetarian who frequented the kind of music festivals where basic white girls wore flower crowns, that her brother was a mildly successful Sydney-based drag queen, that her longest relationship in college had been with an insufferable-looking football player (he made a point to butch it up a bit today, as much as he could) and that she apparently had some kind of psychotic habit of eating kiwis whole, skin and all.

He felt prepared, armed with a bouquet of her favorite pink roses.

Luckily, the pink hair made it easy to spot her out of the corner of his eye, and as she climbed the steps towards the tent, he beelined straight for her, a big smile on his face.

“Hey there, I was hoping to find you here!” he exclaimed, holding out the roses.

She looked shocked and predictably delighted.

“Hi! What’s all this for?”

“Well, I know you’re probably having a stressful week, and didn’t want you to forget about me.” He winked at her, careful not to seem too soft or feminine. She liked cocky assholes, after all.

“That would be a bit tough,” she laughed, twirling her hair, inhaling the scent of the roses.

“I love the new hair, by the way. You look like a pop star.“ Willam knew that it was cheap to use her own hopes and dreams against her, but he was a little proud of himself regardless.

“Really?!” she asked, face lighting up with joy.

“Totally,” Willam said. God, she was putty in his hands.

“Um...are you coming to the show?” she asked, gesturing to the tent.

“No...unfortunately, I have to cover Naeem Khan. Maybe we could hook up later?”

“Oh,” Courtney bit her lip. “Well, I have the afterparty...I’d try to get you in, but only have one extra ticket and I promised it to my friend Tati. She’s a model, so it’s really important to her, and-”

“Loyalty is very important,” Willam said with a grin, and she gave a relieved sigh. He knew that showing up at a Galactica party would be risky--Detox would probably be there, after all, so better to stay away and work her from behind the scenes. It also probably helped for him not to seem too terribly eager. “But when am I gonna see you again?”

“Maybe Saturday?”

Excellent. Right into his trap.

“Um, sure. I was actually planning to catch this show in Brooklyn. There’s a band I love playing this little club in Williamsburg.”

“What band?”

“You’ve probably never heard of them,” Willam said, chuckling softly before carefully saying the name of the weird Icelandic band that he’s been practicing in the mirror all morning. “Sólseturstríðsmenn--they’re this kind of-”

“I love them!” Courtney squealed, eyes wide. “Omigod, my and my best friend saw them at a festival a few years ago, I had no idea they were in New York!”

“Yeah? You should come.”

“That sounds amazing!” She glanced towards the tent, clearly anxious about work.

“I know you probably have more important things to do than talk to me right now,” Willam said, hanging his head with false modesty. “I’m sorry to be hounding you at work, I just...I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

He was going too far and he knew it. But her face softened. Compliments were obviously the ticket.

“I, um...I’ll message you later, okay?” she asked, and he nodded.

As she turned to leave, he exclaimed, “Wait!”

“Yes?” She turned back toward him, her expression one of total naive innocence, and it almost made him feel guilty. Almost.

“I just...needed to see your face one last time.”

She giggled, then leaned forward to kiss him. Uh oh. This was escalating way too fast. After a slight, momentary panic, he took hold of her shoulders and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. Pulling away, he tried to assess if that had been the right move. She was smiling, her green eyes soft and dreamy. Perfect.

“See you Saturday.”

***

“Done!” Alaska smiled at the model she had just finished painting, and raised her hand, flagging down Fame who was walking around the backstage area of their Bryant Park tent.

“Yes?”

It was Thursday at Fashion week, and Galactica was one of the last shows to happen that day, which meant that everyone was trying their best to get it all together and end the day with a bang worthy of their brand.

“Approved?” Alaska had just finished with the first model, her hair and makeup all done. While a lot of other department heads would probably have left the actual makeup application to someone beneath them, Alaska loved creating, and never passed up on a chance to use her skills. Not to mention the fact that with their staffing nightmare, she wanted to make sure that she was as hands-on as possible.

Fame scrutinized the model carefully, then nodded.

“Looks good.” Fame said, then huffed slightly, fanning herself. “Violet!”

Alaska couldn’t help smiling to herself when Violet immediately appeared at Fame’s side as if by magic, Courtney on her heels, both of them looking like they belonged in Page Six, though they were in vastly different styles.

“Yes, Miss?”

“Can you please explain to me why it’s hotter than the surface of the sun in this tent? I’m sweltering.”

Courtney opened her mouth to reply, but Fame held up a hand.

“Don’t answer.” Fame flicked her wrist, clearly dismissing them. “Just fix it!”

“Yes Miss!” Violet exclaimed, then scurried off, pulling Courtney with her.

Fame’s attention was already gone, but Alaska continued to watch as Courtney leaned in, doing a very bad attempt at whispering.

“Maybe we should have told her to just take off her cape-”

The blonde was cut off with a squeal, as Violet pinched her, and Alaska shook her head, not envying them in the least.

***

“Trixie!”

Trixie felt his blood freeze as he heard Blu wailing from the other side of the tent, the noise cutting through everything, the entire room stopping for one, long, dreadful moment.

“Here!”

Trixie ran, Blu’s eyes filled with tears, the young designer standing beside a model who looked just as pale, her dress ripped.

“It all happened so fast-” Blu pointed to her busted zipper and torn seam, the fabric still caught in the model's heel.

“Shit!” Trixie exclaimed, surveying the damage to the dress, his hands touching the models hip.

“I-”

Trixie looked up, meeting the gaze of the young girl. She looked like she wanted to die, her expression filled with absolute mortification, and Trixie tightened his grip slightly.

“You’re okay.” Trixie held her gaze. “We’re fixing this, and you’re okay. Okay?”

The model nodded, and Trixie did as well.

“Gia!”

The designer was already at his side, the woman one of their fastest sewers when no one from tailoring was available. Trixie was grateful for her efficiency. He’d learned early on with her that she held up better than most under pressure, and boy had she been under pressure many times in this job.

“Blu, help her if needed, but Gia has this one.”

“Yes!” Gia wasted no time, moving the model a few feet before she grabbed her kit and got to work.

Trixie left her side, fairly confident that she had the situation under control but making a mental note to check back in a few minutes.

He resumed his final checks, walking around and examining every garment on every girl, making sure that there were no loose threads or unfinished seams showing, checking the styling carefully, giving out last minute instructions to his team.

He’d just finished speaking to Alexis when he looked up and noticed Violet gazing at the commotion wistfully.

Trixie smiled to himself; Fame had informed him over a month ago of her plan to move Violet to design, and after taking a look at her spectacular portfolio, he was 100% in favor of it.

Seeing how longingly she looked at them scrambling to get everything done for the show simply confirmed to him that design was where she was meant to be.

***

Fame took a deep breath, watching the models on the backstage monitors. No matter how many times they did this, she always had butterflies as if it was her first time. But objectively , she had to admit that she was more than satisfied with this collection.

Beside her, Raja let out a soft chuckle.

“What?”

“Well, it’s just...when you said you wanted to redo the whole collection, I thought you were nuts,” Raja said.

“I know.”

“But...I have to admit, this is a spectacular show.” Raja slipped an arm around her shoulders.

“I know.” Fame grinned wryly up at her, and Raja laughed, laying a kiss on her forehead.

Fame sighed happily, smoothing down her skirt, getting ready to step out onto the runway. Kim scurried over to her to touch up their makeup, making sure that they were as flawless and dewy-fresh as they’d been this morning.

After they were both powdered and fluffed and declared finished, Fame took Raja’s hand and walked with her to the head of the runway, waiting for their cue. She exchanged a happy glance with Raja before they stepped onto the runway. They’d done it again.

5 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 7 years ago

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Say My Name Part 3 (Rajaska) - Albatross

AN: it’s finally finished…the main story anyway…when i first started writing this fic i only intended for it to be rajaska but as i worked on it, i kinda realized that the pairing is even cuter when you throw a third person into the mix (you can guess who). at least i think it’s cuter that way…so i’m gonna write up a (hopefully) short sequel some time in the next few weeks. aside from that, i’m looking to finish off AAA girls fic in about 2 weeks and i’ve started a third/fourth series (that phrasing will make more sense later on). thanks to everyone who’s been showing support as i finish up this story, i’m sorry the updates haven’t been as frequent as they could have been. love you guys so much <3

“Go get her!” Willam shouted through the window of his car as Alaska rushed into the terminal to catch her plane in time.

True, she wasn’t late just yet but after spending so much time in airports flying from one gig to the next, Alaska knew how unpredictable flight departure times could be. She and Willam had put together a quick carry-on bag and made it out the door in under 30 minutes but the traffic leading to the airport was much heavier than either of them would have expected. Still, her plane wasn’t scheduled to leave for nearly another hour so she felt rather safe now that she was standing in line at the counter to check in and receive her boarding pass.

She easily fell back into the well practiced motions of working her way through security and finding the correct departure gate, it was almost second-nature to her at this point. This was such a routine experience that she barely noticed the time passing by until she heard the boarding announcements over the intercom and took her place in the queue to enter the plane’s cabin. Even as she took her seat and listened to the mandatory safety instructions, this hardly felt any different from any other trip she had taken. She was almost at ease in the familiar setting but that soon changed once the plane roared to life and began to roll down the runway. As the aircraft ascended it felt like her stomach had been left on the ground and her brain finally seemed to comprehend the gravity of her situation.

She had decided to do all of this on a whim; booking a hotel and flight out to Raja’s next show to try and apologize again in person. It was so incredibly risky Alaska couldn’t believe she gone through with it with so little planning. It hadn’t even been a full 24 hours since the events at Fubar, yet here she was flying across the country just to make up with Raja. Yes, she had shown concern for her by asking Willam to reach out with an update after he had checked on Alaska but by no means did that mean she was any less upset from earlier. If anything Alaska’s irrational actions might have pissed her off even more. And now here she was, showing up out of the blue to one of her gigs without even so much as a head’s up text? God, she could be so short-sighted…

No.

She wasn’t going to think like that. Raja means a lot to her. Its not love, not yet, but maybe it could be and if she waited until Raja’s touring was over before fixing this, she knew she would never forgive herself for it. She had to push aside her anxiety if she was going to pursue this relationship. Yes, it was going to be uncomfortable but she knew that Raja was more than worth it…even Willam agreed with her. If he felt that this wasn’t something that would be in her best interest, he would not hesitate to tell her, she was certain of that.

To distract herself from any more intrusive thoughts or self-doubt, she decided to focus on what she would say to Raja. Everything she came up with felt lazy and incomplete at first; like there would never be enough words in any language to describe how sorry she was or how much she wanted to build a true relationship with her. But slowly little by little, Alaska pieced together what she felt was almost the perfect apology or at least somewhere to start the dialogue. It had taken more time than she cared to admit just to reach a point where she was satisfied with what she would use to open the conversation but by the time the plane pulled into the airport for a not-so-brief layover, Alaska felt confident she at least had the groundwork laid out for what she felt would be one of the most potentially life-altering conversations of her life.

Booking the flight so last minute meant that she had the very last pick of available tickets. She felt rather lucky that she managed to find even an economy seat for a flight with only one stop before reaching its destination. Granted this wasn’t the busiest time for people to be traveling (the first plane had left LAX just a bit after 9 PM) and the layover time reflected that…she had roughly 5 hours to kill, so long as there were no delays with the connecting flight. She took that time to grab a quick bite to eat and consume enough coffee to keep her awake until she was back on the plane.

After the final ascent into the air, Alaska allowed herself to fall asleep for the remaining 4 hours of her flight. Even though the time difference wasn’t more than three hours, she wanted to be completely awake for the long night ahead. It was a troubled sleep but that was to be expected between her own fears of what would happen when she faced Raja and the unpredictable tilting and rocking of the plane as it hit periodic patches of turbulence. When the plane finally touched down it was just about noon on the Eastern coast and Alaska was starving with just a hint of jet lag to boot. Thankfully, she only had her carry-on containing her luggage but it still took nearly 45 minutes before she was able to work her way through the airport and leave for the hotel.

The very first thing she did upon entering the building was make her way to their cafe area, ordering yet more coffee and something to fill her stomach for lunch. But as much as she wanted to eat, her stomach was still uneasy and she could only bring herself to finish about half of the meal she ordered. Pushing the plate away with a sigh, she checked in at the front desk and made her way up to her room. Throwing herself onto the mattress, Alaska pulled out her phone to text Willam that she had made it there safely. Within five minutes, he sent a short reply wishing her luck and warning her not to chicken out. Part of her wondered if he ever got around to calling Raja back and if so, would he mention where she was. The answers were almost certainly ‘Yes’ and 'No’ but as curious as she was, it didn’t feel quite right to ask him.

Every so often she would replay exactly what she intended to say to Raja, making minor adjustments here and there, to ensure she wouldn’t forget it. As the minutes ticked by the butterflies she felt seemed to multiply exponentially. Not even performing before massive audiences was she ever this nervous. She toyed with the idea of trying to reach out to Raja before the show but every time her fingers hovered over her contact information, her mind dove into all of the potentially disastrous outcomes. It would be best just to wait until they were face to face…

When it finally came time to leave for the venue she felt a strange combination of relief and impending dread. As she waited for the Uber driver to pick her up, she was genuinely tempted to cancel the request. The three things that prevented her from doing so were that 1. it would just be plain rude when he was already so close to her location, 2. Willam would never let her hear the end of it if he found out and of course 3. Raja. No further explanation needed on the last one.

By some stroke of luck the club was only a 10 minute ride from the hotel and if she had been inclined to, she probably could have walked there with little effort. But given that she was not all too familiar with this area it was probably safer just to be driven to the show. Even though she hadn’t performed in this location more than maybe once or twice, she was almost immediately recognized by the manager who was assisting at the bar that night. They engaged in a bit of small talk as Alaska ordered her drink which ended with Alaska emphatically asking her if it would be possible for other queens not to be told that she was in the audience tonight. With an understanding smile, she assured Alaska she would do her best keep any mention of her from appearing in the dressing room. Gratefully, Alaska thanked her and asked hopefully if it might also be alright for her to speak with Raja after the show.

“Of course!” she replied as she worked on mixing another drink. “There’s the meet and greet right after, but if you don’t mind waiting till she’s done, you’re absolutely welcome to go back there.”

Shooting her a wide smile, Alaska promised to take her up on the offer and disappeared into the crowd with a slightly more positive outlook. She made sure to stick to the shadows and remain as far out of sight as possible but no less than 8 people spotted her and asked for a picture. Obliging, she posed with each requester and prayed that nothing would alert Raja to the fact that she was here. It was one of the many times she was glad a queen wasn’t as active on social media as they could be. Eventually the show began and Alaska became just another face in the crowd. Watching Raja perform was mesmerizing and it reminded her all over again what had attracted her in the first place. Of course Raja was an amazing artist, but it was Sutan that had kept her interested beyond a strictly professional level. It was always the times when it was simply 'Justin and Sutan’ that held the fondest memories for her.

And maybe it was just a bit of wishful thinking, but when Alaska starting analyzing every detail of Raja’s numbers, her face always seemed to be tinged with the slightest hint of sadness, even during the most upbeat songs when she would plaster the widest smile on her face. The entire show ended up being quite long thanks to the sheer number of artists performing that night but Alaska barely noticed the ache in her feet until the queens exited the stage for the last time and the lights came back on. She found her way back to the bar and ordered another drink as the hostess gave the usual announcements regarding the different meet and greet tiers and of course, plugs for other upcoming shows. Most of the general audience quickly dispersed due to the late hour, aside from those trying to fit in one last drink or hit on someone they had been eyeing throughout the show.

Alaska absently watched the other attendees file out as she sipped her drink, turning around every so often for a picture with the few fans still sober enough to recognize her. She was in a partially dazed state when the manager saddled up next to her over an hour later to escort her backstage. Startled back to reality, Alaska refocused herself on her mission and tried to mentally prepare for anything that might happen in the next few minutes. Coming upon the dressing rooms tucked away in the back of the building, the manager stopped halfway down the passage and motioned to the second door on left. “She’s right in there. Should be alone, most other queens have left by now except for some of our regular girls who always use the rooms down at the end.”

“Thanks,” Alaska replied gratefully as she paused a few feet from the door.

“Not a problem. We’re still open for another hour to clean up, so take your time.”

With that, she gave Alaska a bright smile and turned heel to run back to the bar. Alaska waited until she was out of sight before daring to face the room. She half-expected to find Raja standing behind her but to her mild relief the only indication that anyone else was left in this part of the building was the light chatter filtering from further down the hall. Shuffling quietly into the open doorway, she paused just outside threshold to watch as Raja absently removed her makeup in front of the large mirror sitting on the counter top. With each pass of the cloth over her face, more of Sutan emerged and even from where Alaska stood, she could see just how tired and listless she was as she went through the de-dragging process in a mechanical, near auto-pilot mode.

While she worked up the courage to make her presence known, Alaska remarked to herself just how similar this situation was to the one that began this whole chain of events. She wondered if Raja had felt this nervous before she had knocked on her door as well. It was hard to imagine anyone as confident as Raja being shaken by anything but there always seemed to be a hidden depth to her personality that Alaska had yet to fully experience.

Forcing herself into action now that Raja’s face was entirely makeup-free, she knocked lightly on the door frame and called out with far more confidence than she actually felt, “Sutan?”

The instant the name passed her lips, Raja seemed to come back to life and glanced at the doorway through the mirror. Her face was truly a study at that point. As hard as she tried to stifle it; a smile was determined to spread over her lips while her eyes flashed between conflicting emotions. The most readily identifiable ones were surprise, pain, and to Alaska’s relief; joy. Spinning around sharply, she stared at the man in front of her as though she didn’t trust what she was seeing and whispered in disbelief, “Alaska?”

With a firm tone, she corrected her, “Justin.”

“Justin…” Raja repeated slowly.

“It’s next time,” she said hopefully, chewing on her bottom lip in apprehension. Raja’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the statement until she remembered the last thing she texted to Alaska. “Can I…?” she trailed off timidly.

Fixing a neutral expression on her face, Raja straightened her posture and nodded for her to continue. Alaska nervously stepped inside the room and stopped just a few feet in front of Raja. She didn’t dare come any closer or to make any assumptions that she would be forgiven tonight. All the same, she hoped that at the very least Raja would see her sincerity and they could at least resume their friendship.

Pushing down a heavy swallow, Alaska started to recall her heartfelt apology but the moment her eyes had locked again with Raja’s; she felt her mind go blank and instead of a well-rehearsed, flowery speech, the first thing that actually left her mouth was, “I’m gonna fuck up, probably a lot.”

And with that, the verbal diarrhea she had tried so hard to contain came spilling out once more. Raja’s eyebrow had arched at the opening statement but even if she wanted to say something, there was no chance Alaska would have heard it over her own outburst. Much like how it had been at Fubar; once started, she found herself unable to control her own rambling until it reached the point where she wanted to rip out her hair in frustration.

She had spent hours preparing for this, how could she have forgotten everything so easily?

She was almost in tears with the thought of idiotic she must have looked as she stumbled over her words until she saw Raja covering her mouth with her hand and shaking with hidden laughter.

“What?” Alaska whined, realizing too late how childish she sounded.

“I’m sorry,” Raja said amused as she closed the distance between them, “You just…really suck at this.”

“I know!” she lamented with a groan, no longer caring how immature she appeared. Raja gave her a sympathetic smile and ran her hand over Alaska’s arm as she went on to explain, “I had it all planned out, I swear! I was practicing it on the plane, at the hotel, even up to when your show started…then once I tried to tell you…it was gone. You just looked at me and I blanked…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Raja consoled her, running her fingers through Alaska’s hair as she fiddled with the sleeve of her jacket. “Just take a moment and then start with whatever you can remember.”

Alaska nodded and took in a deep breath as she relaxed into Raja’s touch. She wanted to bury herself in Raja’s arms more than anything but it was still much too soon for that. Instead she indulged herself in the feather-light strokes through her messy locks and tried to recall even a single line of her original script. In the end, all that she could remember were random bits and pieces but it was better than nothing, she supposed. Once she found herself able to think clearly again, she looked up into the patient gaze that had been watching her the entire time.

Noticing she was ready to try again, Raja encouraged her with a gentle, “Go on.”

Haltingly, Alaska began with, “I…I talked with Willam…He explained some things to me…” Raja’s lips twitched at the name but didn’t make a comment as Alaska moved forward with her apology.

“At first, I didn’t really get why the name pissed you off so much,” she confessed, “but I think I do now…I’m gonna mess up, I know I will. I’ll slip and call you the wrong name but I’m not gonna stop trying. I will get better, I promise…I will learn. And at Fubar, I’m more than sorry about what happened - ”

“Justin, it wasn’t really the name that upset me.” Raja interrupted with a soft sigh. “We’ve known each other for a really long time now…We’ve pretty much always been 'Raja’ and 'Alaska’ to each other…It’s how we met, how we spend a lot of our time together…I know how much used to idolize me-”

“Still do,” Alaska interjected with a shy smile.

Returning her own fond grin, Raja continued on to admit, “I just…I wanted to be sure that you’re seeing all sides of me before we get into this…I…I don’t want to get more attached just to have you discover that only liked 'Raja’.”

Alaska could hardly believe what she had just heard. Never would she have guessed that Raja had that concern; it seemed so foreign to her that Raja could be insecure about anything…but the fact that she felt comfortable enough to expose that vulnerability meant the world to her. Deciding to take a chance, she pressed a fleeting kiss to Raja’s lips and assured her, “I do like 'Raja’…but I like 'Sutan’ a lot more. I always have. And as much as I love seeing 'Raja’ perform…I’d much rather just hang out with 'Sutan’ any day.”

The tension around Raja’s eyes slowly melted away until her gaze was a soft as her smile. Resting her forehead against Alaska’s, she suggested cautiously, “I think maybe we should slow things down just a little…get to know each other again…is that alright?”

“Absolutely,” Alaska whispered as she returned her own smile. It wasn’t exactly how she had pictured the situation being resolved but it works. If Raja wants to take it slow, then she would only move at snail’s pace until she heard otherwise.

The hand in her hair removed itself and tilted her chin up as a light kiss was pressed to her lips. She stepped closer, closing what little gap remained between their bodies and clutched Raja’s sides like she was the last solid thing left in the world. Raja’s tongue was lazily tracing against her lips when the queens were jolted back to reality by the sound of the dressing room door being hurriedly shut.

Alaska pulled away just enough to question quietly, “Wonder who saw that…”

Nervously, Raja asked, “Do you mind?”

Shaking her head with a breathy laugh, Alaska replied, “No, not really.”

“Good,” Raja whispered with a relieved grin as she captured Alaska’s lips for a brief kiss. “Cause when the time comes, I’m telling everyone…just try and stop me.”

Alaska rolled her eyes at the definitive statement and jabbed her thumb towards the doorway. “C'mon, let’s get out of here before they see something they can never unsee.”

“Or hear,” Raja teased with a wink as she haphazardly began shoving her make up back into her bag, “From what I remember…you get quite loud.”

Alaska let out a mock offended gasp and playfully slapped Raja’s arm as she reminded her, “Well, from what I recall; you were the one who wanted me to be that loud.”

Raja spun away from the counter with a mischievous grin and pulled Alaska closer by the front of her shirt. Slipping an arm around her waist, she brushed her lips over Alaska’s and whispered sweetly, “Maybe I just like hearing your voice.”

With a tint of pink in her cheeks, Alaska rolled her eyes again and shot back, “Then buy my albums.”

“Already have…got nothing on the real thing though…”

Their lips met again for a mere second before Raja pulled away to continue clearing off her workspace. “God, you’re so fucking sappy,” Alaska grumbled, not even trying to hide her beaming face.

“Get used to it, sweetie,” Raja promised as she zipped her bag closed and hauled it off the countertop.

Grabbing the remaining wardrobe bag sitting on the floor, Alaska asked, “Did you get a hotel room?”

Shaking her head, Raja replied, “No, plan was to head right to the airport and wait for my flight.”

“Want to come back to mine? It’s walking distance…” Alaska offered with hopeful gaze.

With a smirk, Raja reached over to intertwine her fingers with Alaska’s and whispered in her ear, “Lead the way, then.”

The pair walked out of the club hand in hand and eventually found their way back to the hotel after deciding to rely on Google Maps for directions rather than Alaska’s foggy memory. Once inside the room, the two collapsed on top of the covers and spent their remaining hours just talking about anything that came to mind. If either one cared to admit, there were far more stolen kisses than conversations that night but it was a starting point. Close to the time when Raja would have to leave to make her flight, a text from Willam came through asking how things had gone, specifically; 'You two fuck yet?’

With a smirk and an eye roll, Raja pulled the phone from Alaska’s hand and told the younger queen, “Roll up your pant legs.”

Curious, she asked why but Raja only gave her a vague reply of, “You’ll see.” Giving an exaggerated sigh, she did as instructed and waited as Raja did the same with her own outfit. As soon as enough skin was showing, Raja entangled their legs together and pulled up the camera app for Alaska to see her plan in action. She positioned the phone until just their bare legs showed on the screen and snapped a quick picture with a triumphant smirk spread over her lips.

“God, you’re awful,” Alaska laughed out as Raja sent the slightly blurry photo to both Willam and herself.

“What?” she asked innocently, “I didn’t say 'yes’.”

Alaska arched a sarcastic eyebrow and replied, “Just implied it.”

Running her fingers over Alaska’s arm, she asked softly, “Mad?”

“No, but I am telling her you were the one who sent that.”

Raja’s easygoing smile returned as she shrugged nonchalantly and said, “That’s fair. She’ll probably figure it out herself anyway…alright, so next question…”

********************************************

An hour later Alaska accompanied Raja to the airport, staying with her as far as security measures would allow anyone not currently holding a ticket. Pausing just before the queue to pass through the metal detectors, the two shared one more kiss and promised to call or text once their respective planes had landed. Remaining in same spot where they parted for nearly 20 minutes, Alaska watched until Raja was lost in the sea of people before heading back to the hotel to try and get some rest before her own flight. As tired as she was, sleep was elusive and she only managed to nap for an hour before giving up to pack the few belongings she had brought with her. The rest of her time was filled with mindless TV shows from anything that seemed remotely interesting on the hotel’s limited channel selection.

About halfway through her own navigation of the airport, a text from Raja came through letting her know she had arrived without issues and was on her way to the venue of the day. Smiling to herself, Alaska kept the conversation going until the boarding for her flight was announced on the PA system. Once in her seat, she barely made it through take off before she felt herself falling in and out of a semi-conscious stupor as her lack of a proper night’s sleep caught up with her. Even after dozing for two hours, she hardly felt anything like her normal self as the plane began its descent.

Keeping her promise, she called Raja almost immediately after the landing and chatted with her while she painted herself for the night’s show. Try as she might, Alaska couldn’t hide her yawning for very long and the other queen quickly caught on. “You need to go to bed, Justin,” she pressed for the third time.

“Can’t. Don’t think the driver would appreciate me sleeping in his car,” she replied with a drowsy smile as she watched her Uber driver try his best to keep a straight face as though he weren’t listening.

“Once you get home,” Raja said firmly.

“I will,” she promised as she stifled another yawn, “Just like talking to you…”

Alaska could practically hear the eye roll that went with the smile in Raja’s voice as she muttered, “And I’m the sappy one…”

“Heard that,” Alaska drew out lazily.

“Meant you to,” Raja shot back. “I mean it though; soon as you get home, get some sleep. I’ll hang up the phone myself if I have to.”

“Okay, okay,” she relented. “We’re pulling up in just a minute, I promise I’ll go to bed.”

“Good. Call you tomorrow morning?” she asked.

“You better,” Alaska mumbled sleepily, “I want a full review of your show…Make me feel like I’m right there with you.”

“I can do that…” Raja agreed softly, undoubtedly smiling as she added, “Miss you.”

With her own content smile, Alaska murmured into her phone, “Miss you too…night.”

“Night.”

Sluggishly, Alaska ended the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket just as the car pulled up to her house. Thanking the driver, she grabbed her bag and made her way up to the front door. She barely felt conscious as she tried 3 times to unlock her door before realizing she was using the wrong key.

The first thing she noticed once the door was open was that her house was not as empty as it should have been. Camped out in her living room, she found Willam comfortably lounging on the sofa eating popcorn straight from the bag as he worked on his laptop and left the TV playing softly in the background. Looking up from the screen, he greeted her casually, “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” she returned with an amused smirk. “How come you’re still here?”

“Watering your plants?”

Arching an eyebrow in disbelief, she stated, “I don’t have any plants…”

“Smoking some plants…?” he offered with a sheepish shrug.

“Now that I believe,” she laughed softly before a yawn cut her off. Walking off towards her bedroom, she called out, “’M heading to bed, keep the volume down, okay?”

“Not kicking me out?” he asked in confusion as he scrambled off the couch to follow her. Turning back around for a moment, she shook her head as she yawned into her hand and continued on down the hallway.

Still trailing close behind, Willam asked curiously, “How’d it go?”

A fond smile played across her lips as she dropped her bag just inside the doorway and gave a short recap of the previous night’s events. While telling the story, she changed into a pair of sweatpants and crawled beneath the covers of her welcoming bed. Nestling in among the pillows, she found Willam carefully sitting himself on the edge in order to better hear as her voice dropped lower and lower. Moving over to allow him space to lie down, she informed him, “Remote’s on the nightstand…”

He turned on the TV as he laid down on top of the sheets beside her but almost immediately he pressed 'mute’ as she ended her story. “So we’re taking things slow for now…” she mumbled sleepily into his side as her arm wrapped around his waist and yawned out, “Sutan sent that picture by the way.”

“Figured,” he replied with a light chuckle, stroking his fingertips across her shoulder in an absent manner. He paused for a moment, looking down at the bedspread as he asked quietly, “Did you two…?”

Shaking her head slightly as sleep finally won her over, she whispered, “Mn-mm, not yet…G'night….and thanks.”

“No problem…” he replied distantly, “…Night.”

**************************************************************************************************

After nearly six weeks of nothing but digital communication, Alaska was more than excited that Raja was finally coming back to LA today. Throughout their separation from one another, they had made sure to check in at least once a day, often times allowing their conversations to span several hours either by text, calling, or FaceTime. Each conversation had left Alaska feeling closer and closer to Raja despite the actual distance between them. Alaska felt particularly grateful that they were in separate states as it allowed her and Raja a chance to ask each other the most pressing questions they had without the temptation of pushing the thoughts aside in favor of physical contact. One of the first topics they discussed was when to call each other by their actual names and when to use their drag names. It was going to take some getting used to, both agreed, but each would do their best to be patient and understanding during the adjustment.

Other topics discussed were fairly normal things; personal pet peeves, likes and dislikes, known schedules for out of town events…Each of them were booked and gigged in various countries but they managed to plan a few dates in the upcoming weeks, the first of which would be today after Alaska had picked up Raja from the airport. Her flight was due to arrive in the late afternoon leaving Alaska to feel decidedly giddy for most of the day as she rushed through her errands to ensure she’d arrive well before Raja’s plane touched down.

Aside from the fact that tonight would be their official 'first date’, Alaska had another reason to feel nervous; she was also going to broach the one subject they both had been avoiding for the past few weeks. She knew they would have to talk about it sooner or later but part of her felt that perhaps it might still be too soon for her to bring it up. The last thing she wanted to do was push Raja too quickly or lead her to think that she was only interested in sex…

The pros and cons weighed in her mind as she waited in the arrival lounge for Raja’s plane to deboard. She was almost bouncing in her seat by the time she saw Raja strolling behind a large crowd carefully searching the area for her. The instant their eyes connected, Raja’s face lit up and Alaska pushed her worries aside to greet her partner. She jumped from her seat and ran over to Raja with an uncontrollable grin as she wrapped her arms around her tightly. Mirroring her smile, Raja returned the gesture for a few seconds before Alaska broke away to relieve her of one of her bags. Raja thanked her with a small kiss and laced their fingers together as they left the terminal for Alaska’s car.

The entire ride back to Raja’s home was filled with light chatter and stolen kisses at nearly every red light. It was only when they had pulled into the driveway and began walking towards the house that Alaska felt her nerves acting up again. She fell mostly silent by the time they reached the front door, supplying vague comments where appropriate as she tried to figure out when the best time would be to bring up such a sensitive subject.

“You can just drop the bag anywhere,” Raja told her brightly as she pushed the door open and propped her bag along the wall of the entryway. Alaska gingerly placed the bag she had been carrying beside the other one and nervously followed after Raja as she made her way to the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, she asked Alaska, “Want something to drink? I’ve got soda, water, wine, or…well, damn…that’s pretty much all I’ve got in here.”

Chuckling, Alaska accepted a can of Pepsi as Raja scratched the back of her head sheepishly and explained, “Sorry, kinda forgot I emptied out the fridge right before I left…”

The familiarity of that situation made Alaska’s eyes crinkle in amusement as she assured Raja that it was fine. She was quite used to coming back after long tours to find her own fridge lacking in anything that spoiled after a few days.

Leaning against the granite counter top behind her, she toyed with the loose tab as Raja went on to describe their dinner plans for the night. “I was thinking we could go to that new bistro that opened across town…shouldn’t be too busy; their opening was like three months ago now. Or did you have somewhere else in mind?”

“No, that sounds good,” Alaska said distractedly, flicking her eyes in Raja’s direction before swiftly dropping down to her hands as she developed a deep interest in the can she was holding.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Raja asked worriedly, taking a step closer and running her fingers over Alaska’s upper arm.

“Yeah!” she blurted out as her head shot up and a light pink bloomed across her cheeks. She hadn’t realized her anxiety was that obvious but then again, Raja always seemed to have a talent for noticing when she had something on her mind.

Unconvinced, Raja’s brow furrowed as she brushed away a few locks of hair from Alaska’s eyes and asked again, “You sure? You seem a little out of it…”

“Positive,” Alaska reaffirmed with a skittish smile. “Just…maybe we could…wait like an hour or two before going out?”

“Of course,” Raja reassured her, “Not hungry yet?”

Breaking what little eye contact there was, Alaska drew her finger around the top of the can and mumbled vaguely, “That’s not…quite it.”

Giving a noise of questioning, Raja tilted her chin up and tried to draw Alaska’s gaze back to her. “Justin?” she inquired softly, “What’s up? Was there something else you wanted to do tonight?…Or talk about?”

Feeling her cheeks turn just a shade darker, Alaska set the Pepsi down on the counter and glanced up towards Raja’s concerned stare. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she pressed her body into the older queen’s and guided one of Raja’s hands down to rest over her hip. Hovering just a few inches away from Raja’s lips, she whispered tentatively, “I was thinking…if you want to tonight…I’m ready…”

Raja’s eyebrow knit in confusion as she began to ask, “Ready for wha-oh…”

The look of realization that passed over her face was almost comical as she spluttered, “You mean like 'ready’ ready…right now?” and blushed as Alaska nodded bashfully and bit her bottom lip. Raja’s eyes seemed to bore deep into her soul as she stared down at the younger queen in a contemplative silence. Almost immediately, Alaska’s anxiety kicked in at full force and she drew back, hurriedly following up her previous statement with, “No pressure, really! We can wait until-”

She was cut off as Raja cupped her cheek delicately and placed her thumb over her lips to silence her outburst. Leaning in with hooded eyes, Raja lingered just close enough for Alaska to feel the warmth of her breath as she asked huskily, “Do you want to?”

Alaska nodded slowly, speaking softly against the thumb running lazily across her bottom lip, “Only if you do…”

Tightening her grip on Alaska’s hip, she breathed out, “How can I say 'no’ to you?” and pushed their bodies together until Alaska was trapped between her and the counter top. Leisurely, Raja’s hand left her face to slide down her neck and tangle itself loosely in the hair at base of her head.

Alaska’s eyes dropped to Raja’s lips as she tried to bridge the small gap that remained between them. As soon as they touched, Raja pulled back just a few millimeters out of her reach. Annoyed, Alaska leant in again and received the same result. “Sutan,” she whined quietly.

Smirking just slightly, Raja closed the distance herself and allowed Alaska to take control for the time being. Their bodies seemed to melt into one another so completely it was hard to tell where one queen ended and the other began. Alaska’s hands slipped down Raja’s chest and tugged at the hem of her shirt. Breaking the kiss for a moment, Alaska paused to ask, “Can I?”

Raja gave her a short nod and assisted in pulling the shirt past her arms and over her head. Once free, she tossed it casually to the side and turned back around to be met by Alaska’s eager lips again. Their second kiss was far more passionate than the hesitant, testing-the-waters lip lock they had shared only a moment ago but it barely lasted more than a few seconds before Alaska was kissing her way down the other queen’s neck and chest as she slowly dropped to her knees. Before she had even made to Raja’s midsection, the hand in her hair tightened and stopped her from going any lower. She looked up at Raja with apprehension, worried that she might have moved too fast after all but to her relief the older queen only whispered “Bedroom,” before firmly reconnecting their lips and pulling her away from the counter.

Despite either’s better judgement, they remained securely attached to one another as Raja clumsily led them backwards towards the master bedroom. Alaska could hear miscellaneous objects being kicked or knocked around by Raja’s unsure movements but her enthusiasm was never dampened as she led them almost blindly towards her bed. Thinking they must be close by now, Alaska opened her eyes for a quick peek just in time to see Raja collide with the mattress and fall backwards onto the sheets in an awkward mess. The look of shock on her face was too much and Alaska couldn’t help but to snicker at her expression.

Recovering from the unexpected surprise, Raja chuckled as she pulled Alaska closer by her shirt until she was almost sitting in her lap and joked, “Shut up. We’ll see how graceful you are when we try this at your place!”

Pressing a quick kiss to the older queen’s lips, she teased, “Is that a challenge?”

Smirking, Raja replied smoothly, “Might be,” and gently pushed Alaska away from her so she could work on removing her pants.

Her remaining clothing was stripped off and kicked aside in a matter of seconds but to her displeasure Alaska had only managed to remove her own shirt in that same amount of time. She was fiddling with her belt when Raja pulled her entirely into her lap and took over the task herself. “You were taking too long,” she taunted as she skillfully unbuckled the belt and set her hands to work on the button and zipper. Once free, Raja flipped their positions and left Alaska laying on her back with a flushed face as she tore away the jeans and underwear.

As soon the final article of clothing was thrown to the floor, she paused her actions in order to rake her eyes over the smaller queen beneath her. For a moment Alaska laid disturbingly still as she tried to catch her breath, but as Raja’s gaze traveled lower and lower, she found herself squirming in embarrassment. Raja was so gentle as she traced her fingers over Alaska’s body; every light stroke resulted in a shiver as the cool air replaced the heat emanating from Raja’s presence. Alaska tried to will her body to relax into the touch but every imperfection she felt she had seemed amplified as she compared herself to the tan and toned body above her. The clenching in her stomach worsened as she felt the angel-soft caress slip over her thighs. Out of habit, she found herself crossing her ankles tightly as soon as Raja’s hand had dipped below her knees.

Almost immediately, Raja’s head shot back up in concern but Alaska pointedly avoided her look. Her cheeks were burning as she felt Raja turning her face back to hers. “Hey, you’re beautiful,” she told her with a sincere smile. Running her fingers across Alaska’s calf, she added softly, “All of you…”

It didn’t feel possible that her face could get any hotter, but as usual Raja proved her wrong. To distract herself from completely losing it over the tender words, she pulled Raja in for another kiss. Her arms slipped around the older queen’s shoulders as she felt a soothing hand running over her waist. For several moments they stayed like that; letting their kiss convey everything they couldn’t find the proper words to say. When Alaska felt calm enough, she pulled away to ask, “Can we keep going?”

“Anything you want,” Raja murmured as she nuzzled into the crook of her neck. She busied herself with leaving fresh love bites to replace the ones that had faded in their time apart. This time she made sure place them lower so as to be easily hidden but nothing was going to stop her from focusing heavily on Alaska’s known weak spot. She had purposefully avoided the area until she felt the other queen relax but try as she might, she couldn’t stop her lips from curling in satisfaction as Alaska moaned her name once the slightest amount of pressure was applied to the pulse point.

In under a minute, she had Alaska reduced to the writhing mess she loved and Raja felt her hands frantically clutching at her hair, urging her to do more. Without batting an eye, Raja continued to leave her mark on Alaska’s skin, grazing her fingertips over Alaska’s V-line but always deterring before reaching too far south. Fed up with Raja’s teasing, Alaska tried twice to flip their positions, but Raja easily held own against the weak attempts. She hardly spared them any attention to Alaska’s ever growing frustration. “C-Come on,” she whined quietly. “That’s not fair.”

“Shh,” the older queen hushed her. “It’s our first time together…Want to take it nice and slow.”

“Want you to go faster,” Alaska argued impatiently.

“Want you wearing a gag right now,” she shot back as she rolled her eyes at the other queen’s restlessness. She almost missed the slight hitch in Alaska’s breath but the way she suddenly froze up was much harder to ignore.

Moving back to watch her reaction, she teased the younger queen, “Oh, would you like that too?”

Alaska hesitated for a moment as the color rose to her face again but just noticeably she gave a small nod. Smirking, Raja hovered over her and promised between soft pecks, “Well, that’s something we can explore later…but for now, I’m taking my time with you…so stop pouting; you’ll get wrinkles.”

Alaska let out an offended gasp and tried one final time to gain the upper hand. Effortlessly, Raja held her in place and watched Alaska’s struggle in blatant amusement. After a few moments, Alaska gave up with huff and muttered through gritted teeth, “Not…fucking…fair.”

Smiling sweetly, Raja informed her, “Get used to it,” and pressed her lips over Alaska’s. The brief kiss mollified her for the time being but she was still unhappy at being so easily subdued. For the next 5 minutes, Raja proceeded to kiss her way over nearly every inch of Alaska’s neck, chest and stomach, purposefully avoiding the area she knew Alaska was desperate to feel her mouth on. Alaska was sure this was Raja’s idea of punishment but part of her was confident Raja would have done this anyway.

The subtle torture finally came to end as Raja worked her way back up to Alaska’s lips and instructed her to turn over. All too eager, she complied to the demand, propping a pillow beneath her hips as Raja slipped away to retrieve the lube and condoms from inside her nightstand. Even knowing what to expect, Raja felt unprepared for the sight that laid in front of her as she turned around. Alaska had purposefully repositioned herself so as to be fully displayed for the older queen once her attention was back on her. Glancing over her shoulder with a knowing smirk, she gave a showy shake of her hips, welcoming Raja to continue.

Somewhat goaded by Alaska’s cockiness, Raja abandoned her initial plan of laying immediate claim to Alaska’s body in favor of teasing her just a little bit more. Settling on the bed behind her, Raja ran a lone finger down Alaska’s spine before slowly spreading her cheeks apart while she kissed a light trail towards the tight ring of muscle. As hard as she tried to suppress it, Alaska shuddered at the contact and shook her hips again as she urged Raja on, “Sutan, do something already…”

Rolling her eyes, Raja gave her a gentle reminder of “Patience,” proceeded to lick light circles around Alaska’s hole as she popped open the bottle of lube with her free hand. Sweat was already forming on Alaska’s forehead in anticipation of what was to come but her hands gripped the sheets in frustration at continually being denied what she wanted. Finally after what felt like hours, she felt a well lubed finger pressing on her entrance.

“Still doing alright?” Raja asked softly as she pushed the first digit in.

“Yes,” she groaned, impatience getting the best of her. “I’d be doing better if you’d hurry the fuck up.”

“So feisty tonight,” Raja commented as she slipped in a second finger in at a painfully slow pace. “Maybe we should reconsider that ball gag since you want to keep running that mouth of yours.”

Gasping at the slow scissoring motion inside of her, Alaska shot back, “Thought you…liked hearing my voice.”

“I’d like it even better if it were moaning my name,” Raja replied in amusement as she drank up the younger queen’s desperation.

Turning her head around as much as possible behind her, Alaska challenged, “Then give me something to moan about.”

Raja’s trademark smirk returned in full force as she slid in a third finger watching Alaska’s toes curl and the fight drain from her eyes as she slowly built up a suitable pace. “How’s that?” she mocked.

“Not enough,” Alaska muttered as she dropped her head into her arms unwilling to let Raja see her fall apart so easily even as she rocked her hips back against the fingers.

“Soon,” Raja assured her, kissing her way up Alaska’s back until she just close enough to nip at the shell of her ear. “Don’t want to hurt you by going too fast…”

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Alaska resigned herself to having to wait just a little bit longer. “I promise it’ll be worth it, sweetie,” Raja murmured into her ear.

Alaska felt her cheeks heating up again at the pet name and sharply turned her head towards Raja for a weak glare. “You love it,” Raja insisted, trying but not very hard to keep her lips from forming into yet another smirk.

Refraining from making a smart ass comment that would almost certainly backfire on her, Alaska focused instead on the almost-but-not-quite-enough drag of Raja’s fingers as they ghosted close to her prostate. It felt like she was going to rip the sheets with the death grip she held on them as she endured the delicious torment Raja inflicted upon her. Precum was beginning to drip onto the pillow below her when Raja finally removed her fingers and rolled the condom down her length. Lining up her hips with Alaska’s, she asked, “Ready?”

Hesitating for a second, Alaska replied, “Um…h-hold on…”

“Justin?” Raja asked in concern as she pulled away to give the younger queen some breathing room. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Alaska mumbled in embarrassment as she awkwardly turned herself over. Feeling the pink settling on her cheeks again, she admitted, “I just…kinda wanted to see you.”

Raja let out a sigh of relief and pressed a languid kiss to Alaska’s lips. “That’s all you had to say…” she whispered. “Don’t be afraid to tell me what you want.”

Alaska nodded and returned the kiss as Raja re-arranged herself for the new position. Placing herself outside Alaska’s entrance once more, she asked again if it was alright to begin pushing in. Upon receiving confirmation, she slowly entered Alaska, pausing every so often when she felt her body tense too much. Once fully inside she stopped all movement to study the younger queen. She hadn’t even begun moving yet but already Alaska looked wrecked; her eyes were glazing over, hair was sticking to her forehead, her lips were parted just slightly as she tried to hide her panting. In short, she was absolutely beautiful in Raja’s eyes.

Allowing time for Alaska to get used to the new feeling, Raja dusted her face and neck with a multitude of kisses, feeling her body relax more and more with each caress. Once the tension had disappeared and Alaska’s breathing was under control, she got to work setting a careful, rhythmic pace. Alaska’s hands found their way to her face and pulled her in for a sloppy but fiery kiss to match the slowly increasing thrusts. Their hips continually met each other in an ever shortening time span until one particular thrust caused a falter in Alaska’s movements and her breath caught in her throat.

Taking the cue, Raja focused her attention on hitting that same angle with every thrust, quickly reducing Alaska to a whimpering, gasping mess. A casual string of swearing slipped from Alaska’s lips, peppered every so often with pleading calls of “Sutan.” She felt her body going limp as she inched closer and closer to the edge with each brush against her prostate. Raja’s nails dug into her hips creating an addicting contrast from the fire than felt like it was slowly consuming her from the inside out. She knew she wasn’t going to last much longer. She only hoped Raja was as close as she was when gasped out a broken warning. Immediately following it, she heard a forceful command in her ear for her to touch herself and found herself obeying without another thought.

The friction quickly became too much and she found herself swearing a blue streak wrapped around Sutan’s name as she came over her hand and stomach. Raja’s own climax followed shortly after, burying herself next to Alaska’s ear as she called out her name. If Alaska hadn’t already finished, hearing Raja’s voice would have certainly done the job for her. As she came down from cloud nine, she found Raja murmuring sweet compliments against the shell of her ear as she carefully withdrew from inside her and removed the condom. Closing her eyes for a moment to take in everything that had happened, she felt Raja’s weight settled down beside her and instinctively she curled towards the warm body waiting for her with open arms. Her eyes fluttered open as Raja pushed away her sweated-slicked hair and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

“Been waiting for this for so long,” Raja confessed as she brushed her lips against Alaska’s.

“Yeah?” Alaska murmured, lips curling in pleasure. “How long? Since that first show?”

Raja shook her head as her voice dropped to a guilty whisper, “Since you and…you know…the breakup.”

Alaska felt her eyes widen in surprised as she tilted her head and asked, “Why didn’t you say something back then?”

“You were still so new, so shy…just getting used to the sudden stardom…And you weren’t exactly in the best place at that time…” she reminded the younger queen gently.

It pained her to have to agree but Raja was right. Jumping into another relationship so quickly after her breakup would have probably ended in disaster. She did need that time to recover and find stability on her own. “Still,” she admitted, “I kinda wish I had known sooner…”

Chuckling lightly, Raja continued on, “Honestly, I thought I was being so obvious about it; always eager to hang out with you, always showing up to your gigs…and you know, always flirting with you on stage…”

“I thought that was just part of the act or you know…alcohol.”

“Well,” Raja relented, “The drinks did give me a bit of the liquid courage I needed to make a move, cause you sure weren’t.”

“No,” Alaska agreed with a laugh, tracing her fingers absently over Raja’s tattoos. “I’m glad you did though…What made you finally do it, besides the wine I mean? What convinced you?”

Smiling down at the smaller queen, she said simply, “Cause you said, 'yes’. When I called you that night looking for a last minute fill-in, you didn’t even think about it…You didn’t check your schedule, you just agreed without a second thought…Even when I’ve asked Manila and Rav for the same favor before, they still looked at their calendars first but you…you were ready to drop everything just to help me so I thought maybe…there was something more there…and maybe it’d be worth it to finally take a shot and make a move.”

Alaska felt herself flushing as Raja went on to admit sheepishly, “God, I was so nervous that I was misreading everything…it felt so reckless and stupid cause I was just basing everything off of one wild thought-”

“Hey,” Alaska interrupted softly, “No more reckless and stupid than flying across the country.”

“I’m so glad you did though,” Raja told her adamantly, “I was fucking miserable I left it like that…I wanted to call you back after you left that message but I panicked. As much as I hate to say it, thank fucking God for Willam…I got so worried when he said you weren’t answering your phone.”

Nodding her head, Alaska agreed with the statement and apologized for causing her additional stress. “I’m really glad this all happened though,” she confessed. “I really like you.”

“I really like you too.”

Neither wanted to call it 'love’ yet; that would make it too real, too fast but for now 'like’ was enough for them.

They shared another kiss, running their hands over each other skin as they pointedly ignored the mess that was still painted over their bodies. Alaska quietly moaned Raja’s name into her mouth as she felt her fingertips lightly brushing against the nail marks left over her hip. Pulling away, Raja asked softly, “Can you say it again?”

“What?”

“You know what…” she trailed off with a smile.

Chuckling, Alaska took the hint and whispered close to her lips, “Sutan?”

Her eyes crinkled at the edges as she closed the distance and replied, “I love it when you say my name.”

#albatross #raja gemini #alaska thunderfuck #willam belli #smut #rpdr fanfiction #alaska x raja #say my name #canon compliant

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artificialqueens · 7 years ago

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Say My Name Part 2 (Rajaska) - Albatross

AN: First off, I really want to thank everyone that gave feedback on the first chapter. It means a lot as a new writer on here and I really appreciate you guys for taking the time to do that. I’m hoping this next part lives up to what you were expecting. It took a lot longer to write than I thought it would because I kept going back and changing things trying to get up to what you all deserve. The whole story I plan to have broken out into two more chapters. Originally, this chapter was going to be a hell of a lot longer and would finish off the story but I really wanted to get an update out there since I’ve been having a hard time finding motivation/free time to write. I’m hoping that posting this will give me the kick I need to get the rest of the story done soon. And as more of a side note, I am taking some strong (and generous) creative liberties with Fubar’s bathroom situation for this story…like a lot of liberties…

When the queens finally found their way into Fubar, they were immediately offered several rounds of drinks by a number of the other patrons. Both accepted with grateful smiles but Alaska made a note to herself to watch how much she would be drinking that night. The last thing she wanted was for Raja to find her a drunken mess and ruin the last chance she had to spend time with her for the next few weeks. She also knew that she would need to keep a level head in order to prevent herself from acting like a love-sick puppy around her friends. Part of her had a foreboding feeling that Willam would piece together the clues before the night was over and just the thought of that caused her stomach to clench nervously. She didn’t entirely understand why it made her so anxious but deep down she knew that if she wasn’t careful, she could easily end up hurting Willam one way or another. As the night went on, Alaska made good on the promise to herself to monitor her alcohol consumption but at the same time she was certainly suffering the consequences from it. The actual show had finished over 20 minutes ago but there was still no sign of Raja any where. She was sure if the other queen was in the club she would have heard whispers of it floating around by now but so far the only queens not on the night’s set list were her, Willam, and two other local queens well known for bar-hopping in the area. Her habit of checking her phone for any new messages was steadily becoming more frequent until it reached the point where every half hour became every 3 minutes and her battery life was rapidly dwindling into the single digit range. She tried telling herself that Raja was the kind of person who would at least give her a heads up if she couldn’t make it but already her mind was diving into all the possibilities for why she hadn’t show up yet. The recurring favorites so far were ‘Filming ran too late and she’s already on her way to the airport’, 'She got caught up in packing and completely forgot about coming’, and the ever so popular, 'She just doesn’t care.’ The last one was so successful it even had multiple spin offs, each designed to leave Alaska feeling like utter shit in new, fun ways. Well, she never said rational thinking was her strong suit but when the voices became too loud, alcohol was always there to provide a temporary relief. Luckily, she was in just the right place for it. After checking her phone one last time with no better luck than before, Alaska shoved it back into her pocket and decided to take the plunge and order a few shots to dull the growing ache in her chest. The first two went down easily but as she tried to get the bartender’s attention for a third, a warm body was suddenly pressed against her side and a comforting scent filled the air around her. Her heart fluttered for a brief moment until she realized the person currently invading her space was much too short to be one she was waiting for. Slapping on as sincere of a smile as she could managed, Alaska turned to face her equally buzzed friend. “Hey, girl!” Willam greeted brightly. “Rhea killed it tonight, huh?” Doing her best to keep a cheerful voice, Alaska agreed, “Yeah…one the best shows I’ve seen here in awhile.” Unconvinced, Willam’s expression shifted to a concerned one and he placed a hand on her upper arm as he asked, “Why are you looking so down? Something wrong?” Alaska faltered as she was torn between full blown denial or breaking down to tell her friend everything. The shots certainly had their intended effect of quieting her thoughts but it also left her tongue feeling a bit too loose. While she did her best to debate the pros and cons of honesty, she saw Willam’s eyes peer into the distance behind her and the grin on his face brightened immensely. Enthusiastically, he signaled for someone to come over and leaned in towards Alaska to exclaim, “You’ll never guess who’s here!” Almost immediately following the statement, Alaska heard Rhea’s excited voice yelling close behind her, “What’s up, bitches? Look who finally dragged her ass out here to support her daughter!” “Yes,” came the mocking reply, “the Diamond Crowned Queen has decided to grace this bootleg pageant with her illustrious presence.” For the second time that night, Alaska felt her heart skip a beat as she heard Raja’s voice and immediately spun around to meet her. Her eagerness was swiftly checked by her unstable feet and she crashed forward into the body nearest her. A familiar pair of arms caught her by the waist and pulled her in much closer than she’d allow most other people to get away with. Her cheeks were burning from the embarrassment of her own clumsiness but even more so when she heard a teasing whisper in her ear, “Falling for me already?” Thankfully no one else could hear what Raja had said over the pounding of the music but Alaska was very much aware that anyone in the club see her turning into a blushing mess if they cared to look. The incident had also caught Willam’s attention and even with his own alcohol-induced balancing issues, he did his best to help steady her. “You ok, girl?” he asked worriedly as he assisted in getting her standing straight again. “Yeah,” Alaska replied as she tucked her hair behind her ears, “just a bit klutzy tonight…” Willam nodded and slowly backed away now that she appeared to be stable on her own again. As he withdrew, his hand brushed against Raja’s, who still made no move to release her hold on Alaska. Neither of them said a word but even Alaska could feel the unspoken tension as their eyes connected and Willam’s concerned expression transformed into a vaguely confused one. Sobriety had it benefits and as soon as Raja deciphered the way Willam was staring at her, she let the arm wrapped around Alaska’s front drop back down to her side. One thing that didn’t escape Alaska’s notice was the hand Raja had left resting on her lower back. The fingers clutched at Alaska’s shirt in a protective manner, almost as if she was daring someone to try and pull Alaska away from her. The rest of her body relaxed into a casual stance as she turned her attention back to Rhea, complimenting her on the new direction she had taken with her makeup tonight. Rhea basked in the praise she was receiving from her drag mother, a feeling Alaska was all too familiar with. Raja even made an attempt to pay a similar compliment to Willam, who certainly out-shined most of the people in the club with his own flashy outfit that night. Distractedly, he thanked her but continued to make no effort to disguise the puzzled look on his face as he studied the two queens’ body language. Alaska felt like a small bug caught under a magnifying glass, wishing that something would provide an opportunity for her to escape or at least for his attention to be diverted elsewhere. She had to fight against her own instinct to grab Raja’s hand for support so she wouldn’t break her composure. She hardly dared to make direct eye contact with him for the fear that her expression would give everything away…as if he hadn’t figured it out already. Raja herself looked like the picture of serenity as she held up her conversation with Rhea without even batting an eyelash at Willam’s now accusatory gaze. He made no comment on the subject but his expression left little doubt that he suspected the hidden meaning behind the queens’ brief interaction. Raja did little to dispel those suspicions when her arm snuck its way further around Alaska’s waist and she slipped her fingers just under the hem of the other queen’s shirt. Willam’s eye twitched as he watched Raja trace her fingertips over Alaska’s skin, eliciting a slight shiver at the contact. The final straw came when Raja shot a small secretive smile towards Willam that seemed say, 'What are you going to do about it?’ Willam’s cheeks flared in indignation and he let out a little huff before grabbing Rhea’s hand and pulling her towards the crowd, citing that some trade had caught his eye. Rhea’s interest was immediately piqued by his announcement and willingly allowed him to usher her away from the other queens. Alaska heard her calling out a short goodbye before disappearing into the sea of bodies currently sprawled across the dance floor. Just as they were out of sight, Raja turned back to Alaska with a mischievous grin and jerked her head in the direction of the restroom. The implication took a second to register but soon Alaska found herself fervently nodding and being led towards the one small shot at privacy they would have that night. They had scarcely finished checking the room for any other occupants before Raja was shuffling them into the lone handicap stall and skillfully locking the door behind her. She left little opportunity for commentary as she crashed her lips against Alaska’s and guided her back towards the furthest corner. A feeling of Déjà vu swept over Alaska as she found herself pressed firmly against the adjacent wall while Raja’s hands possessively enclosed around her hips. She clung to the front of Raja’s shirt, unwilling to let her slip from her hold again tonight. She was determined to make their time together last for as long as possible. Air always seemed to become issue much too quickly and after a few moments, the queens were forced to break apart to catch their breath. Raja refused to let a single second go to waste and whispered an apology between brisk pecks to Alaska’s lips, “Sorry I’m late…shoot went longer than planned…barely packed…shoved some shit in a suitcase…'nd ran over here…” She paused one more time, lips brushing against Alaska’s as she said in a low, guilt-ridden voice, “I’m really sorry, I should’ve watched the time closer.” As Raja’s eyes flickered down to meet Alaska’s, she thought to herself she’d never see a more sincere pair than the ones she was looking at in that moment. The remorseful look helped soothe any doubts Alaska might have regarding Raja’s feelings towards her. They certainly needed to talk about this later, but for now, Alaska felt it could wait. She cupped Raja’s cheek and murmured against her lips, “Just glad I got to see you…” Raja leant back in to close the remaining gap for a languid but heartfelt kiss. Any words they might have spoken were instead expressed through their calculated movements against one another. Without warning, Raja’s hands twitched in hesitation and her hold on Alaska’s hips relaxed as she broke away to rest her forehead against the younger queen’s. “Why’d you stop?” Alaska asked breathlessly. “Want to make sure-” Raja began softly before cutting herself off to start over. “We don’t have to do anything…” she insisted, “We can just sit outside…talk.” Alaska’s heart felt close to bursting as she pressed another slow kiss to Raja’s lips and ran her hand through Raja’s hair, tugging gently at her natural locks. Pulling away just enough to speak, she reaffirmed with a hint of a whine in her tone, “Want to…” “You sure?” Raja asked again with clear uncertainty in her voice. “We’re in a fucking bathroom that was last cleaned…Fuck, I don’t know if I ever saw it clean.” Alaska couldn’t help but to chuckle at the rather true statement and stated firmly, “Definitely…Besides…” she trailed off with hooded eyes as she ran her free hand down Raja’s stomach to toy with her belt buckle. “Need something to remember while you’re away…” Raja gave her a seductive smirk as her fingers hooked around Alaska’s empty belt loops and pulled her forward until their bodies were close enough to share a heartbeat. Alaska let out a small gasp as Raja ghosted over her lips and promised, “I think I can help with that.” Swallowing the small lump in her throat, Alaska challenged the older queen, “So do it.” Raja’s smirk changed into a devious grin as she attached herself to Alaska’s neck, much in the same manner as she had done that afternoon. The sudden assault to her skin caught Alaska by surprise and before she could stop herself, a choked whimper echoed through the stall. Raja had started to lick a light trail over the spot she knew would make Alaska melt into a wobbly mess but an all too familiar taste caught her attention. Pulling back to investigate, she saw a strip of dark red tinged with just a hint of purple peeking out from beneath the layers of cover up Raja had accidentally removed. Her eyes narrowed as she ran a finger over the exposed mark and questioned, “What’s this?” Alaska’s cheeks flushed with color as she admitted sheepishly, “Make up…Willam covered them…” Rolling her eyes, Raja remarked sarcastically, “Out of the goodness of her heart, I bet…” Alaska opened her mouth to try and explain the situation but the words died on her tongue as the bathroom door was loudly pushed open followed by fast, indistinct voices. Two pairs of heels clicked across the floor in the direction of the sinks causing Alaska to briefly wonder if they had entered the wrong bathroom by mistake. She cast a questioning look to Raja who motioned for her to stay silent while she tried to listen for clues to the identity of the new occupants. The parties speaking were so muffled by the music it was impossible to tell one way or the other as to which sex they could belong to. They seemed stay localized in front of the sink but as to why or how long they might remain, neither Alaska nor Raja had any idea. With few other options, Raja bent down for a cautious peak under the partition but swiftly stood back up with a slightly annoyed look on her face. “Speak of the fucking devil…” she muttered to herself turning to inform Alaska, “Red-bottomed heels.” Alaska took a quick look herself and immediately recognized the shoes in question. With an airy laugh in her voice, she commented, “Only she would wear those here…” Raja let out a beaten sigh and brought her hand up to push away the stray locks of hair that had fallen over Alaska’s face. After tucking the last piece behind her ear, she tilted Alaska’s chin up and asked gently, “Want to stop?” She shook her head and whispered, “Keep going…” “You mean after…?” Raja trailed off with an accentuating jerk of her head in the direction of the other queens. “Now,” Alaska persisted, pushing her body up against Raja’s just to make her point. Raja’s eyes shone with amusement as she bit back a smirk and murmured, “Full of surprises, aren’t you?” Alaska didn’t have time to supply a witty remark before she was pinned back against the wall with Raja’s hand slipping beneath her shirt. Warm fingers traced unplanned patterns anywhere they could reach until Alaska’s entire body felt like it was being consumed by the fire known as Raja. Lips and teeth grazed over her neck, undoubtedly uncovering the hidden bruises, which may well have been Raja’s intent anyway. She certainly didn’t seem to mind creating new ones for Alaska to find tomorrow. Even knowing they’ll be an absolute bitch to cover later, Alaska couldn’t care less about that so long they came from her. She would wear them with only a small amount of grumbling if Raja asked her to. Despite the attention she showered Alaska with, Raja didn’t seem to have any interest in having it returned…at least not yet. When Alaska had tugged on her belt, silently asking for permission to take it off, Raja just pushed her hand aside and assured her, “Later.” Alaska wanted to argue that it wasn’t fair to Raja, but she was struggling to hold back all the humiliating noises that threatened to reveal their presence to the other queens. She was almost to the point where she would just say “Fuck it,” and let herself be heard…but the guilt inside of her kept her from going that far. Raja on the other hand seemed eager to draw out any sound she could. Any time a pleading whimper or soft moan escaped, she would allow her hand to drop a little bit closer to the area Alaska was aching to have her touch again. Her grip on Raja’s waist tightened, urging her to do something more but she was only rewarded when her desperation became audible. She groaned to herself in exasperation, wishing that the intruders, or at least Willam, would leave the restroom so she wouldn’t have contain herself anymore. Raja genuinely seemed to enjoy her growing frustration, going so far as to pay special attention to Alaska’s weak spots in an effort to tease out anything she could from the younger queen. Both knew this wasn’t nearly enough for either of them, yet neither wanted to be the first to break. Alaska tried again to speed things along but Raja dismissed every attempt she made with enviable ease. Playing the position to her advantage, Raja toyed with the button of Alaska’s jeans as she kissed her way up to her ear, nibbling lightly at the lobe before whispering huskily against the cartilage, “Wanna hear you…Want you to say my name…” “You want Willam to hear me say your name,” Alaska argued in a choked voice as she fought back another moan. Alaska felt a smirk pressed against her ear for a split second before Raja cooly replied, “I want everyone to hear…” Those five words were all it took to finally break Alaska to Raja’s will. Any filter she might have had earlier in the night was gone and all that mattered to her was Raja. Her arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they wrapped around Raja’s shoulders again and her hands wove themselves into her hair as she pulled her down for another deep kiss. She gave a impatient tug and was pleasantly surprised to have earned a soft moan from the older queen. The noise ought to have been muffled by the close proximity of their lips but true to every bathroom in the known world; the sound seemed to be amplified far louder than what one would think is possible…or justified. Though there was still a noticeable amount of chatter coming from the other end of the room, it was definitely quieter than it had been just a minute ago and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they had most likely been heard by at least one of the other queens. Fighting against the overwhelming sense that someone was probably listening to them, Alaska broke the kiss to find Raja smirking down at her in victory. She needed this so bad it almost hurt; she had to feel Raja’s skin on hers again before the night was over or she might just lose it. Swallowing any pride she might have had left, she pouted in defeat, “Please…touch me.” The smirk faded into a smile as Raja expertly undid the button and drew down the zipper in what felt like just a mere second. “Keep going,” Raja encouraged as she slipped a finger around the waistband of Alaska’s briefs and gradually tugged them lower. Alaska’s grip tightened on Raja’s hair as she felt the cold air hit her exposed length. She bit her lip for a quick moment as a warm hand wrapped around her and paused. “More,” she begged, vaguely registering that the conversation from the other queens had now stopped entirely. Complying, Raja slowly began pumping her hand as she returned her attention back to Alaska’s neck. Her breath quickened as Raja worked her way from her jugular back to the dark bruise she had left over her pulse point earlier that day. Mimicking her actions from before, Raja gave the area a light lick before setting her lips back to work to ensure this hickie would stand out vibrantly tomorrow. A broken moan of “Sutan” erupted from Alaska’s mouth as she felt Raja’s free hand working its way around her backside to give her ass a slight squeeze. No more than a second passed before a pair of heels were heard storming out of the room, followed shortly after by a more hesitant pair. “Finally gone,” Raja commented as her hand sped up just enough to elicit another whimper from the other queen. Alaska nodded absently, barely able to think about anything other than the person touching her. Her mind felt trapped in a pleasure filled haze but it still wasn’t enough to give her what she needed. A chanting cry of “Please, please…” seemed to be the only thing she could bring herself to say. “'Please’, what?” Raja taunted, slowly swirling her thumb to spread around the bead of pre-cum that had begun dripping out. Alaska’s knees threatened to give way and her eyes started to water as she gasped, “Please, Sutan…faster.” Pressing a kiss to the younger queen’s cheek, Raja whispered, “Good boy,” and gave her what she asked for. As the hand stroking her picked up the pace, Alaska buried her face into Raja’s neck to hide the stray tear that had fallen. The slight wetness against her skin didn’t escape Raja’s notice nor did the effort Alaska made to stop her body from shaking as she inched closer to the edge. Alaska’s hold on her hair was sure to result in a few strands coming loose but it was well worth it to Raja to hear the younger queen crying out her real name. Running her free hand across Alaska’s back, she coaxed her gently, “C'mon, baby, that’s it…You’re getting so close, aren’t you, Justin?” Alaska was nodding feverishly, her mind struggling to process what Raja had said. She was acutely aware that she was hardly saying anything intelligible at this point, just a bunch of syllables mixed with strangled noises. Thankfully, Raja seemed know her body better than she did at the moment and everything she wanted to ask for was quickly provided. Nails scratching lightly over her back was the final touch needed to push her to the limit. As she came over Raja’s hand, she buried her teeth into Raja’s neck with a muffled cry of her name. In her post-orgasmic state, she clung to Raja like a lifeline, barely able to catch her breath even after releasing the skin from her mouth. She fell back against the wall, gratefully accepting the toilet paper offered to her as she cleaned herself up. Through the dying panting she apologized for the distinct bite mark she had left, knowing there was very little that could be done to hide it aside from high collars or maybe a necklace if it were bulky enough. “Don’t worry about it…I did a number on your neck anyway,” Raja reassured her as she pressed a small kiss to Alaska’s forehead. “And now I’ve got something to remember you by, too,” she joked. With a coquettish smile, Alaska traced her finger over the front of Raja’s pants and offered, “Could give you something else to remember…” Intrigued, Raja smirked down at her disheveled partner and asked, “Oh? Just what’d you have in mind?” With as much grace as she could manage while her legs felt as stable as half broken sticks; Alaska dropped to her knees and tugged again on Raja’s belt. Finding no resistance this time, she carefully undid the buckle and opened the fly. When she snuck a glance up to ensure it was alright to continue, she found Raja staring down with her eyes slowly glazing over and very light tint of pink on her cheeks. As she lowered herself closer to the bulge and placed several soft kissed down its length, a hand entangled itself in her hair and gave a soft tug. Stopping at the tip, she wrapped her lips around as much of the head as she could and sucked lightly through the thin cloth. A small moan echoed in her throat as the grip on her hair tightened and she could practically hear the smirk in Raja’s voice as she asked breathlessly, “You like that, huh?” She nodded her head just slightly and grazed her tongue against the slit, earning another firm yank. Before she could stop herself, a muffled groan of “Raja…” escaped past her lips and nearly the same instant, Raja’s grasp loosened in shock. Alaska’s eyes went wide as soon as she realized what had slipped out and desperately tried to apologize for the lapse but the damage had been done. Raja was already pulling away with her shoulders sunken in defeat as she zipped her pants closed again and re-latched the belt. Alaska scrambled to her feet, reciting every form of an apology that she could think of but Raja cut her off with a hand raised in the air signaling her to stop. She stumbled to the end of her sentence and waited anxiously for Raja to say anything. The look on her face was difficult to describe, her eyes flashed between hurt and frustration but also, and it killed Alaska to admit this, it looked like part of her had given up somewhere. The hand she held up was shaking but her voice came out surprisingly even, “It’s okay, Alaska.” Hearing Raja call her by her drag name was like a punch in the gut. Her voice caught in her throat as she tried again to speak but nothing would come out that could properly explain how sorry she was. Raja let out a heavy sigh and started to exit the stall. Alaska reached out to grab her hand, anything to keep her from leaving, but it was brushed off and Raja told her blankly, “It’s getting late and I need to catch my plane. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” She didn’t wait for a response before she opened the stall door and rushed from the bathroom. Everything in Alaska wanted to follow after Raja; to stop her before she even left the building to make sure everything was alright between them…but she was frozen to her spot. No matter how much she tried to will her body to move, she just stood there like a statue staring after Raja, feeling more alone than she could ever recall. Time seemed to escape her as she stared into the empty space. She had no idea how long had waited there after Raja left; maybe it was just a minute, maybe it was ten. The only thing that returned her to some form of reality was the door opening again. Her mind felt like it was on autopilot as she left the stall and walked out of the bathroom in a dazed stupor. She barely registered the hand that caught her upper arm and tried to stop her as she pushed her way through the crowd. Was it Willam? Rhea? Some fan? It didn’t matter. She didn’t stop for anything. She walked out of the club and down the street until the bright lights and loud music faded behind her. Only then did her senses come back enough for her to remember that she and Willam had drove there together. No part of her was tempted to face the other queen right now, not after what he must have heard in the bathroom. God, Alaska seemed to have a special talent for fucking things up tonight… Using the last of her battery life, she ordered an Uber and returned back to her horribly vacant house. She sent a quick text to Willam letting him know that she had left the club and placed her phone on the charger. Her eyes stayed glued to the black screen for what felt like an eternity before she picked it back up and fumbled through her contacts to find Raja’s number. Her hands twitched as she fought against the lump in her throat and pressed the call button next to Raja’s name before she had time to chicken out. Every second that passed killed her hope just a little bit more until the ringtone finally cut out. The message she left on the voicemail begged Raja to call her back, even if it would be in the middle of the night, but Alaska felt there was little chance of that happening. Ending the call, Alaska tried one more avenue to reach Raja and opened a new message to her. She slid her fingers along the touch screen, trying to find the right words to express how sorry she was for that thoughtless moment, but everything sounded wrong to her ears. Nevertheless, she sent the multi-page text anyway. Struggling not to break down any further, she left her phone on her nightstand and rushed to the kitchen, heading straight to the fridge for the one thing that might help her sleep tonight. Still resting on the bottom shelf, the bottle Raja had given her those few short months ago seemed to be the perfect nightcap for her situation. Some dark part of her mind taunted her that she’d never get the chance to share it with Raja now, so why waste it? It popped opened easily enough and soon Alaska’s lips were replacing the cork and draining the liquid with frightening speed. Finding her way back to bed with the bottle still in hand, she cast her sight down towards her cell. Her heartbeat quickened as the alert light was flashing to show she had a new message. The tears she hadn’t realized she’d been holding back finally fell as she read Willam’s name at the top of the message. Her vision became too blurry to see anything after that so she threw the phone aside and took another deep swig from the half empty bottle. She wanted to drink the entire thing and just pass out for the rest of the night but past experience was yelling at her that this was not the answer. Caught between both sides of her conscience, she allowed herself one final sip and pulled the bed sheets over her head in an effort to force herself to fall asleep. The heat beneath the covers was stifling but she knew that if she lifted them either the bottle or the phone would just tempt her into making yet another stupid choice. Her eyes finally started to close after an hour but dreams eluded her. When she awoke the next morning, dehydrated with a hint of a hangover, she pointedly ignored her phone, now blinking again with new alerts. Her main focus was to clean herself up, find something to eat, and nurse her headache before it became any worse. Once she felt something like her normal self, she braced herself as unlocked her home screen. Thirty-six texts, one failed FaceTime request, and 4 voicemails…all from Willam. Granted, most of the texts were simple phrases or even just a single word but none of them caught Alaska’s attention…though maybe they should have. Moving on, she found two missed calls, one voicemail, and eight text messages from Rhea. 'Girl, where are you?’, 'Willam’s worried sick.’, and 'Are you alright? Call us back!’ stood out the most. The final two alerts held Alaska’s attention the most; the first was a missed call from Raja, barely even three seconds. It was as if she tried to call but hung up midway through the first ring. As to why she gave up, Alaska could only speculate but her worst fear was that it was just a misdial in an attempt to remove Alaska’s messages from her phone. The last unopened text did little to calm her anxiety: 'we’ll talk next time’. No capitalization, no punctuation. The tone was undeniable though; she was still incredibly upset…but at least she responded. Having enough, Alaska buried herself back in her bed and lay there until she fell asleep again. Throughout the day she woke up intermittently, usually caused by her phone vibrating with a new message or attempted phone call almost exclusively popping up under Willam’s name. By mid-afternoon, she was sick and tired of seeing his name and turned her phone off for good before falling back into a restless slumber that she hoped would carry her well into the next day. Unfortunately, she was destined to be woken much earlier than she anticipated and of course the first thing that greeted her was Willam’s incredibly irritated face. ********************************** “Bitch…What does it take for you to answer your goddamn phone?” he spat out as he roughly shook her shoulder. Not exactly subtle and certainly not what Alaska was expecting to wake up to in her previously empty home. Panic immediately overwhelmed her as she was violently roused from her unconscious state and she scrambled to get as far away as her mattress would allow. After putting some distance between herself and the figure that had rudely awoken her, she recognized Willam’s silhouette against the fading light filtering through her window. Startled, she gasped out, “Wha-How’d you get in here?” His eyes narrowed as he stared down at her in mild contempt before slowly holding up a small, dull yellow object in front of her. Dropping the key next to the bottle on her night stand, he informed her scornfully, “Took all of five seconds to find it taped to the door frame.” “Oh,” she replied lamely, dropping her gaze to the sheets she was now tangled in. “Yeah, ’Oh’,” he repeated sarcastically. Even without looking, Alaska knew an eye roll almost certainly went with that statement. “Now you wanna tell me why you couldn’t be bothered to pick up your fucking phone?” he demanded. She chanced a quick glance up at Willam but quickly darted her eyes back to her lap as soon as she met his rightfully angry gaze. “I’m sorry-” she began shamefully only to be cut off by his heated rant. “Damn right, you’re sorry,” he interrupted furiously, “You should be! What were you thinking? You send one text, one! 'I’m leaving’ and that’s it? You don’t even say where you’re going or if you made it home? Just drop off the fucking grid without saying another word! I tried calling, tried texting, fucking FaceTimed and you still don’t answer? Not even when Rhea tried!” Alaska hugged her knees to her chest as he continued to read the Riot Act to her. She felt like a child being reprimanded by her parents again but he was absolutely justified in his tirade. She had been so caught up in her own pity party last night that she ignored one of the few people that always went the extra mile to look out for her. At the very least she should have sent him a response after she saw how many messages he had left her. But she was selfish…she only thought about how she had felt and she hated that about herself. Even now as he was scolding her, he made it a point not to yell nor to invade her space. He wasn’t even attacking her personally, just the thoughtless choices she had made last night. He was holding back so much of his anger that tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. Alaska had buried herself so deep in her own self-deprecation that she almost missed what he said next. “Fucking called Raja. Yes, Raja,” he reiterated, seeing Alaska’s head pop up at the name. “That was a shit load of fun,” he muttered, sarcasm dripping off every word as he sat down on the edge of the bed. His tone became much more subdued as he told this part of the story, “Caught her while she was still on the plane. Would barely speak to me…Snapped when I asked about you…Flight attendant got mouthy in the background 'bout her phone not being on airplane mode. We both bitched her out for a minute…” he added with a slight laugh. After a short pause Willam took a deep breath and side-eyed Alaska, seemingly debating whether or not to relay the next bit. With a hint of reluctance in his voice, he told her, “She wants me to call her afterwards.” Alaska stared at him in shock as the inference behind his words slowly sunk in. It almost seemed like a sick joke, like he was lying to make her feel better, but when she searched his face for any sign of dishonesty, she found none. She couldn’t believe that Raja was so worried about her after how much she messed up. Even though she was upset she still wanted to make sure Alaska was alright… Silently, she crawled over to Willam and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders. Immediately, he pulled her in closer and allowed her to rest her head in the crook of his neck as she took time to process all that he had said. It felt so unreal… just one sentence gave her hope that maybe she hadn’t fucked everything up beyond repair…maybe she could still make things right…with everyone. After taking a moment to collect herself, she pulled back and whispered, “Thank you…for telling me that and…I’m really sorry.” A doleful smile spread over his lips as he told her sadly, “I know…I’m still pissed…but I’ll get over it.” Both let out a little chuckle at his frankness and fell back onto the mattress, still wrapped in each other’s embrace. With a little maneuvering, they managed reposition themselves to be laying comfortably amongst the strewn bedding and pillows. Alaska moved her arm to drape over Willam’s midsection, trying her best not to shiver as he traced his fingertips lightly over the flexing muscles. Breaking the silence, he asked softly, “Raja, huh?” “Yeah,” she affirmed, unable to keep the melancholy from penetrating her voice. “Wow…” He stated with a tinge of amused disbelief. “Can’t say I blame you, just…damn…” She nodded her head against his chest and waited anxiously for the question she was dreading the most. Deciding to bite the bullet, he asked abruptly, “So what happened?” Toying with the loose fabric of his shirt, Alaska mumbled a few non-committal noises in a feeble attempt to avoid the topic for as long as possible. Grabbing her hand to stop the nervous fiddling, he told her firmly, “Don’t give me that. If want me to help…I gotta know.” Alaska couldn’t deny that a small jolt of warmth spread through her heart at his offer to help, blunt as it was. Still, it felt like it was crossing a line somewhat to be sharing the details without Raja’s knowledge, not to mention her own internalized shame of how she acted that night. With a little more gentle prodding, she relented and told him the majority of what had happened from the very first encounter up to the latest, leaving out of course the more risque details. Coming to the end, she admitted, “I accidentally called her Raja and she got really upset…I fucked up, I know…but I don’t really get why.” Willam mused softly for a moment before carefully suggesting, “I don’t think the name is really the issue, at least not entirely.” “Then what is it?” Alaska pressed. She needed to know, not just so she could fix things with Raja but so she could actually understand why it hurt her so much…so she could make sure she’d never do it again. “Well…” Willam hesitantly started off, “I think it’s more about what the name represents…Like…with Raja…Actually, let’s start with me-” “Of course,” Alaska said under her breath, ignoring the light tap to her arm after he heard the muttering. “With me,” he began again, going slow and deliberately as he tried to explain his thought process, “I go by the same name in and out of drag because it makes sense. There’s really not a whole lot of difference between the two…just better hair and cuter outfits but my personality is still pretty much the same…You and Raja are a bit more…polarized. With you, there’s definitely a personality difference. 'Alaska’ is much more of an extrovert than 'Justin’…but you’re just as fine being called 'Alaska’ out of drag as you are in. It’s almost interchangeable for you…Raja used to be like that…To me, she’s kinda like the midpoint between us…or maybe more like the third point in a triangle…Anyway…Like me, there’s a lot of similarities between her drag persona and how she acts is out of it but also some differences, too. Out of drag, she’s more reserved, but in…she’ll cut loose and take more risks, like you. Lately though, she’s been trying to separate those two sides more and I think that after moving from a working relationship with you to a more…'personal’ one, she’s worried that you’re not separating the makeup from the person behind it….like you’re only seeing 'Raja’ and not 'Sutan’. Does that make sense?” he asked with uncertainty, “It came kind of long winded….” “Yeah…it kinda does,” Alaska trailed off as she tried wrapping her head around Willam’s explanation. “You really need to talk to her,” he insisted. Alaska nodded in agreement and asked him to pull her phone from the charger. Once in her hand, she pulled up Raja’s contact information but paused before pressing the call icon. Turning to Willam, she said doubtfully, “…That’s not gonna cut it.” He gave her a patient smile and shook his head. She debated for a minute on what to do, grateful that Willam trusted that she could find an answer on her own rather than provide her with an easy way out. Deciding to take a huge risk, she navigated to Raja’s Facebook page in the hopes it would have the information she was looking for. Luck was on her side and with a few more clicks and the use of her credit card, she found her solution and set her plan into motion. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she set the phone aside with a relieved but shaky sigh. Willam ran his hand over her back in slow circles until she had calmed down enough to work up a nervous smile. His arms slipped around her shoulders for a loose hug and with a bittersweet grin of his own, told her, “I’ll drive you…now let’s pack.”

#albatross #raja gemini #alaska thunderfuck #willam belli #rpdr fanfiction #say my name #alaska x raja #canon compliant

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