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artificialqueens · 3 years ago

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Galactica, Chapter 68 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

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

Previously: Bianca left Fame’s Christmas party before dinner was served, and Fame was not pleased about it.

This Chapter: The aftermath.

***

Bianca’s absence at dinner felt like an elephant in the room, but Juju wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. No way. Not if you gave her a million bucks.

Juju folded her hands under her belly so she at least had something to do with them, the tense silence while the servers put down the salad plates almost unbearable. She wished she could take her food and go upstairs with the kids, but she had a feeling that two people leaving would be more than Fame could take.

It was the sound of wine being poured that finally broke her, and she couldn’t keep her mouth shut anymore.

“So, uh…” Juju cleared her throat. “I guess we should-”

“She just left!” Everyone turned at the same time to look at Fame, who was clutching her napkin, patches of pink on her cheeks, her face a twisted mess between broken and rage.

“Darling,” Patrick reached out, trying to put his hand on her arm, but Fame pulled away, refusing the comfort.

“No, I’m sorry,” Fame looked around the table, “but I can’t pretend that it wasn’t absolutely fucked for her to do that!”

“You’re right,” Raja took her glass of wine, leaning back in her chair as she put an arm around the back of Raven’s, what looked like boredom on her face, even though Juju knew her well enough to see that it was annoyance mixed with a healthy dose of anger. “It was.”

“Well-” Adore spoke up, and while Juju felt bad for herself, she felt a million times worse for Adore.

“You,” Raven’s head whipped to the side, looking at Adore, her grey eyes icy cold, tone extremely pointed, “are not seriously gonna defend her. Are you?”

“Well, you guys were being dicks.”

“Adore!” Fame gasped, “You think it’s acceptable that Bianca, who has given every single person at this table,” Fame looked around, and Juju saw Violet visibly shrink, the poor girl sitting as still as a statue and likely desperately wishing that she wasn’t there, “more shit than anyone else, can’t handle a few jokes about her absolutely ridiculous little affair?”

“Cheers to that,” Detox raised his glass and took a big gulp, and Juju wanted to kick him.

“Well…yeah, that’s true, but-” Adore bit her lip, but she was still determined to stand up for her sister, even though it looked like she was on her own. “You know, I guess they really like each other, so-”

“Are you kidding us with that shit?” Raja cut in, interrupting Adore. “You really think this is anything more than Bianca doing her typical Bianca thing with the nearest willing blonde?”

“Amen,” Raven nodded, Raja’s hand resting on her upper arm, the two of them like an unbreakable unit.

“Yeah,” Adore fiddled with her fork, “I dunno, it seems like they really-”

“They really what?” Fame raised a brow, “Have a deep, meaningful connection? Come on.”

“Well-”

“And I don’t even care about any of that,” Fame waved her hand, “but just abandoning us like that? This is a new low for your sister.”

“And after I flew in from London to be here!”

Juju shot Karl a glare, but he was simply smirking behind his wine glass, the man clearly enjoying the entire thing. She guessed that it was a lot easier to see the humor in Fame’s abandonment issues when you knew you could leave without ruining her world.

“Look, I get what you’re saying,” Adore huffed, the argument clearly starting to get on her last nerve, “but maybe this one is just different-”

“Sweetheart,” Juju hadn’t said anything since she accidentally started this entire debate, but her mother’s heart couldn’t handle it anymore. “How many relationships has Bianca had that lasted more than a month?”

“I know, but-”

“The answer to the question is zero.” Detox had crossed his arms, his fingers tapping on his elbow. “To be honest, I don’t know if she’s broken 2 weeks in the last decade. Definitely not 3. Your girl’s time is running out, fast.”

“If I were you, Adore?” Juju chimed in, backing up Detox’s point, doing her best to keep her voice calm and gentle, “I’d warn your friend what she’s in for.”

“And tell her not to get used to those long romantic strolls down the red carpet.” Raven was combing through her hair with her fingers, looking at her ends, clearly bored with the entire thing.

“And that she’d have better luck with someone her own age…” Fame had lifted her wine glass for the first time, taking a sip of the alcohol. “After fashion week, of course.”

“I’m being serious though.” Juju wished she could reach out, that she could take Adore’s hand, that she could show her that she wasn’t alone in her wish to defend her sister, but what Bianca was doing was stupid and unfair to Courtney. “She seems like a really sweet kid, and the way she was looking at Bianca last week? She’s in for a world of hurt.”

“Alright, alright alright.” Adore sighed, holding up her hands, clearly giving up and giving in.

“Hey, everyone, I have a proposal.” Karl smiled, “How about a new rule? No more talk about Bianca or her trick for the rest of the night?”

“Seconded!” Patrick looked incredibly grateful, and Juju was glad that the argument seemed to be over, even though Fame was clearly still thinking about it, a gray cloud over her head as they all picked up their cutlery to finally dig into the food.

“Fame, this salad is...inspired.” Juju smiled, doing her best to force the conversation to pick up. “I can’t even imagine what’s coming up if this is how we’re starting!”

“Oh this?” Fame smirked, thankfully picking up her own fork. “We have got quite the menu in store for you.”

“It’s delicious,” Sutan smiled, “It reminds of of that place in the Hamptons with all the ivy-”

“Omigod,” Raven cut in, a piece of winter vegetable on her fork, “I love that place!”

“Sutan, I’m so impressed!” Fame grinned, “That’s the restaurant where chef Jean used to work!”

“What can I say?” Sutan wiggled his brows, making Fame laugh, “I’ve got a very discerning palate.”

Karl snickered into his wine, muttering, “If you say so.”

“Hey!”

Juju laughed, relieved that the conversation had finally turned. Maybe the evening could be salvaged after all.

***

The weariness that Bianca felt after that uncomfortable party, the tension in her shoulders, even the guilt nagging at her chest--all of it was washed away when she saw Courtney. Bianca had asked Carson to let her up, and she was thrilled to see that she’d made herself at home, changing into a pair of ass-hugging yoga pants and a cute top from Bianca’s shamefully neglected drawer of workout clothes. She was in the bedroom when Bianca walked in, kneeling on the ground beside her fireplace.

“Hey there, sunshine,” Bianca said, and was rewarded with a brilliant smile as Courtney turned around, jumping up to run and greet her. “I’ve got food on the way and...hi.”

“Hiii,” she cooed, melting into Bianca’s arms, the two of them holding each other tightly for a few delicious moments, the rest of the world fading away.

After a brush of a kiss to her lips, Bianca gestured towards the fireplace and asked, “So, what were you up to?”

“Well, I wanted to turn it on so it’d be nice and warm when you got home, but...I feel like an idiot. There’s gotta be a switch or something, right?”

Bianca smiled, strolling over to her nightstand and pulling out a remote. She pressed a button, the fireplace immediately turning on. “Ta da.”

“Wow…” Courtney settled on the bed, a starry-eyed grin on her face as she gazed up at Bianca. “What else can you do?”

“Lots of things,” Bianca replied, her smirk deepening her dimples. She kicked off her shoes and reached behind to unzip her dress.

“Let me help with that.” Courtney kneeled up on the bed, moving closer, and Bianca turned around, letting her pull the zipper down slowly. “So...how was your party?”

“Not bad, but...I’m glad I’m here now.” Bianca closed her eyes slightly, enjoying the feel of Courtney’s fingers trailing over her skin before shrugging out of the dress, letting her move on to unfasten her necklace.

“Me too,” Courtney said, and Bianca inhaled as soft lips were pressed to the back of her neck, fingers undoing the clasp of her bra.

“The delivery guy will be here in ten, angel. Don’t start something we can’t finish.”

“Oh, alright,” came Courtney’s disappointed reply.

She turned around, taking Courtney’s face in her hands, thumbs brushing over her cheeks as she leaned in to kiss her, slow and soft. When they broke apart, she was smiling, gazing up at Bianca with such joy and softness that it made her heart ache.

But there was something else, too. That insidious, nagging doubt that her friends had planted earlier--even though she’d done her best to ignore it, part of her still felt unsettled. She cleared her throat, pulling a silk robe from a nearby drawer and putting it on, trying to think of the most delicate way to bring it up. Tactfulness was not her strong suit, so she had to be extra careful.

“So, um...you know how old I am, right?” she asked slowly.

“Yeah, I was at your birthday party, remember?”

“I remember,” Bianca said, eyes locked on hers, a brief flash of how fucking sexy she’d looked that night making her smirk. Courtney seemed to read her mind, a naughty look in her eyes as she licked her lips, pulling Bianca onto the bed beside her.

“Why do you ask?” Courtney settled back against the pillows, arms around Bianca’s waist.

“Uh, it’s just that you never mentioned that you’re...21?”

“Is that bad?” she asked, eyes widening slightly.

“I mean...not for you.” Bianca offered a smile, taking Courtney’s hand to try and reassure her that she wasn’t mad or annoyed, just surprised.

“How old did you think I was?” Courtney asked, slightly puzzled.

“Well, I don’t know,” Bianca said. “You look young, but you act...you just seemed older than Adore to me.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true...but let’s be honest, that’s a pretty low bar to clear.”

“Fair point,” Bianca laughed, shaking her head.

“I’ll be 22 in February, does that help?” Courtney said, a bright smile on her face, lashes fluttering.

“Oh yeah, total, gamechanger,” Bianca told her. She pulled her in close, curling up together on the bed, a kiss to her temple another assurance that she wasn’t upset.

After a few moments, Courtney ventured, “So...if my age came up...I guess that means you were talking about us?”

“A little bit. Or, well, not talking so much as being lectured and called a cradle robber.”

“Oh.” Courtney paused, swallowing, before asking softly, “Does it bother you? That they don’t approve?”

“Nah. They’ll be supportive when they see how serious it is.” Bianca ran a hand through Courtney’s soft hair.

“You think?” Courtney asked, another beaming smile spreading across her face.

“Yeah, I do. And if not...fuck em.” She tucked a lock of hair behind Courtney’s ear, unable to tear her eyes away as warmth filled her chest. “They can’t tell me who to fall in love with.”

Courtney’s mouth opened, her green eyes going round as saucers. She got up on her knees, staring at Bianca in disbelief, chest rising and falling with rapid, shallow breaths.

“I’m sorry, what?” she squeaked out.

Bianca grinned, a hand going to Courtney’s cheek to caress her face. She nodded slowly, and as Courtney’s face dissolved from shock into something like euphoric joy, she found herself even more certain than ever that they were on the right track. That this was the person she was meant to be with; none of the other bullshit mattered.

“What?” she asked lightly, dimples deepening. “You didn’t know?”

Courtney lunged forward, kissing her with fierce intensity, gripping the fabric of her robe.

“B…” she whispered urgently, “You know I love you too, right?”

“I had a sneaking suspicion. Nice to hear out loud, though,” Bianca said. Nice was an obvious understatement--it was more like a drug, and once Bianca had a taste, she couldn’t get enough. “Say it again.”

“I love you,” Courtney murmured against her lips, “ I love you, I love you, I love you…”

***

Violet couldn’t remember the last time she had been this grateful for the blessed quiet in Sutan’s bedroom, her pillow perfect and cold against her overheated cheeks, her bones aching with exhaustion.

The day had started off fine, but had quickly gone sour when tailoring had brought them the first batch of finished pieces for February's fashion week. They had changed the hem on one of Violet’s skirts, making it several inches longer and while she had ripped the tailor in charge a new one for not consulting her about it, there was nothing she could do, everything already in production.

She could hear Sutan in the bathroom, her boyfriend barely able to concentrate on brushing his teeth since he was texting Karl, making plans for the week to come.

Violet sighed, turning on her side and pulling the duvet up to her chin, the ache in her stomach finally starting to disappear.

Tonight had been a catastrophe, to put it mildly, and she hadn’t even wanted to go in the first place, her body aching before she had even left, the only reason she had shown up at all Sutan’s obvious enthusiasm and excitement.

Violet had expected the Courtney thing to blow up. She wasn’t stupid, her limited knowledge of Sutan’s friend group more than enough to predict disaster from the moment they arrived, but the evening had gone beyond her wildest imagination.

Dinner had been tense and uncomfortable, Violet’s heart in her throat until they were halfway through the main course.

Violet had never been proud of the fact that she wasn’t a talker, but on nights like tonight, she was beyond relieved that no one expected her to be the life of the party.

She heard the footsteps before she felt the bed dip, a gentle kiss pressed against her shoulder as Sutan put an arm around her.

“Hey.”

“I don’t think I’ve said it already, but you looked absolutely ethereal today.”

Violet turned around, careful not to kick him with the cast even though she felt like he deserved it for dragging her to that terrible party.

“You think so?”

“Mmmh,” Sutan hummed, his hand finding her hip, a delighted smile on his face. “My gorgeous woman.”

She looked at him, their faces mere inches apart, and she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

Violet was an idiot for ever believing that she could fit in amongst Sutan’s friends, that she could somehow make them accept her, but she had to try, the thought of actually losing him, flaws and all, was absolutely unbearable.

“Yours.” Violet pressed a sweet kiss against his lips, and she could practically feel Sutan grin, glints in his eyes when she pulled back.

“Mine?” Sutan tightened his grip on her hip, his fingers digging in and Violet swallowed a moan as he pushed, forcing her on her back before releasing her, the duvet falling off, the straps of her thin silk top slipping down her shoulder. “I like the sound of that.”

He got on top of her, holding himself up on one hand, the other sliding down her side, a full body shudder running through Violet as he stretched her leg to the side, making sure that her foot was out of harm's way.

“Sutan-“ Violet reached down, hooking her fingers on the edge of Sutan’s white t-shirt.

“You want it off?” Sutan raised a brow, a teasing tone in his voice, and Violet felt a flash of annoyance.

“Off.”

“Your wish,” Sutan sat back on his knees between her spread legs, quickly pulling his shirt over his head, “is my command, lovely eyes.”

He grabbed her hips, dragging her up and Violet’s eyes widened, her fingers scrambling to catch a hold of the sheets as he put her leg over his shoulder.

“Hey,” Sutan smiled, and Violet realized they had slotted together perfectly, her breasts falling out of her top, her heat pressed against him, her back arched. “Love the view.”

“You just like my tits.”

“Ha,” Sutan snorted, a wide grin spreading on his lips, his hand cupping her entire breast, his thumb rubbing her nipple. “They are excellent tits,” he smirked, leaning forward, essentially folding her in half, his teeth closing around her breast.

“Ah!” Violet closed her eyes as he bit down, pain and pleasure shooting through her like a lightning bolt, a shaky moan leaving her, Sutan’s tongue flicking over her nipple.

“Oh,” Violet groaned, her mouth falling open, her hips thrusting up, and she couldn’t take it anymore, her entire body burning hot.

“Condom, we need-“ Violet twisted, reaching for the bedside drawer, her fingers catching the gold handle and pulling it open, the need to get fucked into next week coursing through her.

***

Detox walked back and forth, Julia on his hip, his phone held between his shoulder and chin.

“I don’t care if you don’t have a story, Rhea! You have a deadline! Yes, yes. I am very well aware that I am not at the office, thank you for noticing,” Detox hissed. “But unlike you, I have a family that needs looking after and if you ask my four-year-old, I’m sure she didn’t actively choose to spend the night throwing up everywhere.”

He groaned, bumping Julia up on his hip, his daughter refusing to be put down even though she was burning with fever. Owen had woken them up at 2 am when he’d thrown up off the side of the bunk bed, and ever since then, they’d taken turns vomiting several times every hour. Just an absolute firestorm of puke. It was no wonder they’d been cranky the night before at Fame’s house. Detox was feeling quite cranky himself, and he wasn’t even sick...yet.

“Are we clear? Okay. Now make something up, and it better be online the next time I open my email or you’re fucking fired.”

Detox hung up, the only reason he didn’t throw his phone the fact that he was sure Julia would tell on him, Juju always up his ass when he got too angry in front of the kids.

“Daddy?”

It wasn’t ideal to be working from home, but the nanny had called in sick early that morning, with the same stomach bug that the kids had, and Juju had several high-end clients that couldn’t be rescheduled, so it was up to him to juggle everything.

“Do you need to throw up again?”

“Uh uh,” Julia shook her head.

“Good.” Detox pressed a gentle kiss against her sticky hair, squatting down to get the teddy bear they had come in to collect before his phone rang.

He had told everyone at work not to call him unless the building was on fire, which was a memo they apparently hadn’t gotten, maintaining anything even resembling a work life balance practically impossible when you were the boss.

“Let’s go check on Owen.”

Detox knew he was living on borrowed time, the stomach flu probably getting him soon too, but for now he would do everything he could to make sure that Juju wasn’t going to catch it, even if it meant that she had to stay at a hotel overnight.

“Hey little man.”

Detox sat down on the couch where Owen was cuddled up under his blanket, watching the TV. He scooped him up, a twin under each arm, Julia no longer squirming around now that she had her teddy.

“I’m hot…” Owen groaned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

“I know champ,” Detox ran a hand through his hair. “Do you want another ice pop?”

Owen had already had four, but It was the only thing he had been able to tempt his kids with. Detox knew that other parents might judge him for it, but he was a lone soldier on a battlefield, and in war, you did what you had to do.

***

“No!”

Jovan looked over, only to see Violet standing up, a stack of packages from tailoring on her desk.

“Look at this!”

Violet was holding a beautiful white silk shirt, the sleeve between her fingers. It was one of the more expensive ready to wear pieces in the collection, since Fame refused to use any kind of artificial silk, rayon and viscose, two words that were completely banned on the design floor.

“Look!” Violet thrusted it forward, but as Jovan gave it a once over, he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“... What am I looking at?”

The shirt was a great fit for the collection, the easy elegance of the piece matching the ‘wine tasting in France’ vibe to perfection.

“This!” Violet showed him the sleeve, her thumb nail tapping one of the flowers that were embroidered on it, a delicate vine with little roses looping around the cuff. “I specifically said butterscotch when they asked me about thread color. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together and a functioning pair of eyes can see that this is royal gold!”

Violet threw her hands up, dumping down in her chair.

“Are they trying to make sure that I don’t trust them?!”

“Violet,” Jovan reached out, taking the shirt from her grip so he could hold it up to the light, the little yellow rose that was freaking Violet out one amongst many--lavender, pink, red and green making the mistake completely invisible. “Are you sure you’re not-”

“Don’t you dare tell me I’m overreacting.”

“So you just want me to keep my mouth shut?” Jovan raised an eyebrow.

“If that’s your attitude. Yes.” Violet sighed heavily, crossing her arms. “I hate working with people who aren’t me.”

Jovan snorted, the words so stupidly Violet it was hilarious. He watched as she turned to her computer, opening it up.

“I’ll send them a strongly worded email never to do this again.”

“That’ll teach them.” Jovan smiled and Violet rolled her eyes as she started typing, her fingers dancing over the keyboard with the speed of an assistant.

Jovan knew he should probably get back to his own work, that he had his own mountain of clothes to approve, but there was something about Violet that seemed more frazzled than usual, something in her energy that deviated from the norm.

“Are you nervous about your dress?”

It was only a guess, but from the way she paused, it seemed like he had hit the nail on the head.

Jovan had seen Violet turn her dress over to tailoring that morning, had seen how painful it clearly was for her, his coworker talking and talking and talking, saying more than he had ever heard her say before, as she tried to explain how to finish her garment.

“If they change anything on that dress without consulting me, I’m going to go full psycho.” Violet’s tone was completely serious, her eyes fixed on her screen as she was still typing, her email to tailoring nearing a worrying length. “I spent too much time for them to fuck it up just because they’re incompetent, and-“ Violet cut herself off, taking a hard breath through her nose as she spun around in her chair. “Do I sound like a madman?”

“A little.” Jovan grinned.

“Great.” Violet huffed, pushing a bit of hair behind her ear. “What was it that you guys used to call me again? Storm Cloud of Doom?”

“Who said we’ve stopped?”

Violet raised a brow, and then they both started giggling, the tension finally disappearing.

***

“Courtney!” Fame called out, drumming her nails on the desk while she waited for her to respond. It seemed quicker than usual, her assistant bounding into her office, bright-eyed, a spring in her step that Fame couldn’t help but find infuriating, under the circumstances.

“Yes, Miss?” Courtney asked, notebook at the ready.

Fame studied her, eyes taking her in much more carefully than usual. It was the shoes she noticed first, the black stiletto ankle boots that were unmistakably Bianca’s, a pair she wore far too often given the massive selection she had to choose from. Then, of course, the skirt, that Balmain miniskirt, Courtney’s narrow hips doing a poor job of filling it out the way Bianca’s did. And her jewelry...the necklace, at least, looked familiar, and the earrings were obviously much higher quality than Courtney’s usual H&M trinkets.

Although she was still incredibly annoyed, she couldn’t help the strange sense of satisfaction she got, seeing the smile on Courtney’s face falter, then fade into an uncertain expression as she shifted from one foot to the other.

Finally, she spoke again, asking, “Did you need anything, Miss? Have you had a chance to look at the holiday-”

“I need to talk to Jaida,” Fame announced, and Courtney nodded.

“Sure, I’ll tell her to come up-”

“No need,” Fame said, rising from her chair and striding forward. “I’ll head there now.”

She brushed past Courtney quickly, not paying attention to the way she scrambled behind her to get to the phone, knowing that she was going to warn Jaida’s office about the drop-in, hopefully quickly enough that her CFO would be ready by the time she appeared in her doorway less than two minutes later.

“Hi, Miss! What can I do for you?” Jaida asked as Fame breezed into her office.

“I need an increase to my office budget for next year,” Fame declared.

“Oh, alright. What is it that you’re-”

“Things ran much more efficiently when I had two assistants. I’d like to make the second assistant position permanent.”

“Ah. Okay, that’s no problem, I’ll just move some things around. Same salary as Courtney?”

Jaida opened up a file on her computer and began typing while Fame briefly considered the question.

“No. Better bump it up a bit. I’d like to hire someone a bit more...experienced.”

“You got it, Miss,” Jaida said, face impassive.

“Tell Rita to start putting out feelers, I’d like to have some interviews in January,” Fame instructed, lips pursed as Jaida made a note on her pad.

“Alright. And have you thought any more about about Courtney’s holiday bonus-”

“That’s all,” Fame said, whirling around and leaving the office, feeling only slightly better than she had when she’d arrived. But she supposed it was better than nothing.

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