#going home to eat lunch & i gotta mow the front lawn

[spacenintendogs]

ok maybe smth is off

[bixbythemartian]

about the bullshit

so I had a tire go out a couple weeks ago, put the spare on whatever I'll get to it when I get to it. a friend took me to lunch on Weds and I looked at the spare and was like YIKES. that fucker was smooth as a baby's bottom. so today I was like 'okay I got a little money I can go to the cheap tire place and at least get the tire fixed' and then I was gonna mow the lawn because it's one of the things I can do (we've got one of those reel lawn mowers with no engine, and if I push it right it doesn't hurt my back to use too much)

anyway I get to the tire place, they're cash only which I had forgotten, pull out to go to the convenience store up the street and the spare gives up the ghost

but I've got to go a couple of blocks at low speed, I'll drive on the flat, it'll be fine. Not great, not what I want to do, but I will get there and back. pulled enough money to replace the tire and the spare, if they have it, went back, it's cool. they replace the tire, replace my spare, I'm looking at my other front tire and it's looking a little bald, so I was gonna ask the guys to rotate it to the back for me, he looks and he's like 'you see the wires sticking out?'

fuck. me.

so they put the new spare on for me to go to the fucking convenience store again and pull out more money to replace the other tire

I very clearly used up my miracle of today to get to the tire place. if that spare had gone on the highway my day would have been much worse (and possibly injury inducing, losing a tire on the highway is fucking dangerous), and because of where I live, the highway is literally unavoidable. And I have to have a car, I live rural and my roommate is basically never home. 120 bucks is not bad for replacing three tires, and again, today went better than it could have by SO much, but that and atm fees and the gas I'm gonna have to put in the car has entirely eaten my grocery money for the month. my roommate gave me some pizza though so I'm gonna eat and cry a little bit and see if I can summon like a spoon because I still gotta mow the goddamn lawn

[artificialqueens]

Uprooted, Chapter 2: Tree's Company (Branjie) - writworm42

A/N: IT’S FINALLY HERE! Last chapter, Brooke and Vanessa hooked up to celebrate Vanessa getting a new job. This chapter, Vanessa and Brooke find out that they haven’t seen the last of each other…

I super apologize for the wait on this chapter, guys. It’s been tough balancing my personal/work life w the 283972 multichaps and 47382 one-shots I have going on LOL. I’m going to be putting things out more slowly for the next while, but I hope to be posting things at least once a week!

Thank you to holtzmanns for beta-ing <3

No matter how many times Vanessa visited, West Nurseries was never anything short of breathtaking. It was the largest nursery in the state, and had been Vanessa’s dream workplace ever since she was a five year old girl playing hide-and-seek with her brother behind rows of planter pines. West Nurseries was where she had first fallen in love with the waxy smell of leaves in the summer and the damp crunch of soil under her feet and squelching through the soles of her shoes. It was where she had traded her first wad of lawn-mowing money for a sapling of her very own, and where she had returned almost any chance she could get to ask for advice on how to nurture it.

It was where she had felt her first pang of nostalgic loss, driving away from town four years ago, knowing she was leaving something so safe and familiar behind, something that might not be there when she got back.

Thankfully, though, when she pulled up into the parking lot on her first day, everything was still exactly as she’d left it. The owner, Nina, still came to the gate to open and wave at the early-morning customers, and the rows of flowers were still organized by type and colour. There were still birds nesting in the rafters, and the sound of sprinklers whirring still reverberated off the walls of every greenhouse. Nina chatted Vanessa’s ear off as they walked through each area of the nursery, explaining in detail all the ins and outs of not just caring for trees, but of teaching others how to do the same. Vanessa absorbed everything with divided attention, half mentally noting every fact, figure, and tidbit, and half still as awe-struck by the facility as the first time she’d stepped foot in it.

Finally, they reached the arboretum, and Vanessa’s heart sped up with excitement. Once again, everything was exactly how she remembered it—the pines were still arranged in neat rows, and netting and fencing still marked off different types of saplings and planters. Ornaments and bird-feeders still hung in the corners, beckoning customers to look, to smile, to take them home.

The only thing that was different was the tall blonde potting saplings in the corner. The tall blonde who turned around when she heard Nina’s voice, only to freeze with a look of horror on her face as she caught sight of Vanessa, whose own heart stopped.

“Vanessa, this is the arboretum manager, Brooke.”

Oh, fuck.

–

“Pharmacy, really?” Brooke pulled Vanessa into the storeroom after mumbling some excuse to Nina about showing her the process for keeping inventory, her voice low and furious.

“Well excuse me, Mary, but this ain’t sales either, so–”

“What do you mean, it isn’t? We’re selling trees, aren’t we?” Brooke huffed, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly. Vanessa narrowed her eyes.

“You ain’t wanted me to think that and you know it.”

“Whatever.” Brooke rolled her eyes, dropping her posture to an almost drooping slump. “Doesn’t matter. Either way, we’ve got to work together, so let’s just… Make it work.”

“It was only a one-night stand anyway.” Vanessa agreed, watching as the words re-inflated and settled Brooke. “We ain’t gotta make it a big deal.”

“Right.” She nodded, “Not a big deal.”

Before Vanessa could say another word, Brooke was gone, retreating back outside to the larger area where customers were beginning to file in.

It was only a one-night stand. A blip on their radar, some meaningless fun that had been nothing to worry about the next morning. It was not a big deal, not a big deal at all.

So why was Vanessa wet?

–

As it turned out, working alongside Brooke was a very, very big deal.

It wasn’t that Brooke was an unfair boss–quite the opposite, in fact. She was direct and kind, and always seemed to walk the line between strictness and perfect understanding. It was that same professionalism, though, that made working with her torture.

How was Vanessa supposed to focus when Brooke was so careful with her work that she potted and re-potted plants without getting a single smudge of dirt on her cheek? And how in the world was she supposed to put the customer first when she could instead watch Brooke interact with them, freeing Vanessa to remember just how much of a way with words the blonde actually had?

The worst part, though, was that in all of Vanessa’s watching, wishing, and wanting, Brooke had done her best to freeze Vanessa out. She kept her responses to Vanessa’s questions short and to the point, and always seemed to disappear at lunch instead of eating with everyone else. At staff meetings, she made sure to sit as far from Vanessa at possible, and whenever Vanessa was scheduled to work stock, Brooke quickly rearranged things so that she herself was working the floor.

But that didn’t mean that Vanessa didn’t notice the looks Brooke flashed her, lingering and full of need and fascination. And Vanessa was far from oblivious from how when they did talk, Brooke’s face seemed to fall a little every time they had to end their conversation. Not to mention that sometimes, Vanessa swore she could hear her name being whispered, only to look up and see Brooke beet red while her friends giggled around her.

Brooke was a professional; she would never let a one-night stand come between her and her job.

Fortunately, Vanessa didn’t hold herself to the same standards, and the glimpses of interest she got from Brooke only made it more tempting to push her limits just a little.

“How does Brooke feel about me?” Vanessa cornered one of Brooke’s friends, Plastique, after their shift one day, arms crossed in front of her chest as if to hide the insecurity she felt snaking into her chest. To her relief, though, Plastique just laughed.

“Girl, she’s like, completely obsessed with you. Like honestly, I’ve never seen her so into someone.” Plastique rolled her eyes. “Honestly I’m like this close to locking you in the stockroom until you make out.”

Vanessa breathed out deeply. If that really was the case, then she should have no problem giving Brooke a little encouragement.

She started out slowly, going out of her way to talk to Brooke and ask her questions with a coy smile. Bit by bit, though, she got a little bolder; one day, she’d wear a tank top that would get her in trouble anywhere else under her apron, savouring the way Brooke seemed to suddenly fall out of focus when looking at her. The next, she’d ask Brooke to help her lift something she didn’t actually need help with, watching with glee as Brooke blushed at a purred compliment about how strong and helpful she was.

It was the most impulsive of these decisions, though, that finally brought things to a head.

Brooke was too detail-oriented not to notice the smudge of soil on Vanessa’s cheek; Vanessa was well aware of that. And she was too kind, too motherly, not to take care of the smudge herself, especially when she saw how equally dirty Vanessa’s hands were.

Vanessa would be lying if she said she wasn’t counting on that.

“You have such soft hands, mommy.” Vanessa whispered under her breath as Brooke’s thumb grazed her cheek. “But we both been knew that, ain’t we?”

“Vanessa, I—“ but Brooke never got a chance to finish before Vanessa’s hand was curled around her wrist.

“I think we might wanna take this somewhere more private.” Vanessa rose up on her toes to whisper in Brooke’s ear, letting out a husky laugh when Brooke responded with a whimper.

“My place, tonight?” Brooke’s voice was weak and breathless with need, and the contrast between this Brooke and the one who had been pinning her down and making her forget her own name was too fun not to play with.

“Sounds good,” Vanessa loosened her grip, letting her fingers linger and trace a burning trail on Brooke’s skin as she pulled away. “See you tonight, mommy.”

She knew everyone in the arboretum had heard it, and the thought of how she’d pay for it later was enough to keep her buzzing with want and excitement until she was finally knocking on Brooke’s door.