Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kima has her drink carrier with two coffees in hand and the dry cleaning bag over her shoulder as she rushes along the street and the uneven sidewalk.

She’s running late because she forgot to order the coffee online, and doing her best not to run because all that will lead to is her tripping on the snagged tooth sidewalk pavers and losing the coffees.

There’s a brilliant white federal style house on the corner of the street. It takes up what would today be four properties with a grand house and lots of glasswork and a large yard in the back.

She gets there to find the door already unlocked, and, as expected for this morning, she’s the last one there.

“Good Morning!” Kima calls as she opens the door.

Drake is in front of a mirror fixing his costume and making sure his beard is neat. He raises an eyebrow at her because normally she’s the first one in as she lives nearby. “Good morning. None for me?” He asks, eyeing the two coffee cups.

“You don’t even like coffee,” Kima says as she approaches the butler’s pantry turned staff changing room.

“It’s the thought that counts,” Drake says, fixing his cufflinks and being a pain as per usual.

“Not for $4, buddy,” Kima says as she knocks on the door and waits to be invited in.

She doesn’t have to wait long and she quickly enters and shuts the door back behind her. Allura is in her chemise and stays so everything is covered, but Kima still looks at the floor to be polite even if it would make Dohla laugh at her.

Allura is holding up a burgundy colored dress and frowning slightly at it. It fits her, most all the costumes they have do, but Kima knows she hates that one because it sinches things up a little too well when added to all the other layers she has to wear. She looks gorgeous in it, and that might be part of why she doesn’t wear it to avoid the comments that seem to come with it.

“Tell me I’m a good friend,” Kima says, holding up the coffee she got for Allura.

“You are an amazing friend,” Allura says as she does not quite drop the red dress in favor of grabbing the cup.

“I got this on my way here, too,” Kima says, holding up the dry cleaner bag.

She unzips it to show her the blue dress freshly cleaned, and the stain Sirus got on the skirt removed.

“Oh, Kima, you are the best,” Allura breathes as she sets her coffee down to take the dress. She inspects the skirt carefully her smile growing each moment. “I thought I’d ruined it, I had started to set aside money to pay Salda for the costume.”

“Well we can’t have you living off of dollar packets of ramen,” Kima says as she tries not to smile too much.

Allura bends to give Kima a hug and, much to Kima’s shock, a kiss on the cheek, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I owe you so much.”

Allura gets up to put on the blue dress, it’s somewhere between royal and navy blue, and brings out the color of her eyes. She looks lovely in anything but best when she’s happy. So what if it took getting up an hour and a half early to make sure she had time to snag the dress and the coffee and still be on time, Kima was going to do it.

Kima helps Allura tie up her dress and quickly gets into her own costume. It’s a break from the Tal’Dorei’s usual allowances, all the girls in dresses and men in pants, but she finally won them over and got the right to wear ‘men’s clothes’. She hates the cravat, but she does look damn good in the gold colored vest and blue coat. Drakes has teased her more than once for trying to match Allura, but the black jacket just doesn’t fit her shoulders right and he always takes the red one.

“Hang on,” Allura says, carefully kneeling next to Kima as she’s putting on her second boot and hopping towards the door. “Your cravats not on right.”

Allura carefully undoes it, and she smooths it before tying it back properly and tucking it neatly in Kima’s vest. It’s moments like this that Kima has to remind herself that Allura is not into girls. The little smiles, and laughs, and the way she’ll fix Kima’s clothes don’t mean anything. Kima shakes herself and thanks Allura before holding the door open for her. They hurry over to the desk where Drake is waiting, and she gets the tablet ready while Allura inspects Drake’s costume.

As the tablet pings to let Kima know it’s ready, Allura and Drake come to flank her desk and stand already in character. Drake stands one foot slightly forward and his pocket watch in hand. Allura waits with her usual perfect posture shoulders back, hands folded in front of her demurely, and a soft smile on her face.

The first few visitors are walking up the gravel path, and Kima unlocks the door and welcomes them in.

****

The fourth round of tours is almost over when the bell from the library dings. The house is pretty good sized, and the bells are set up so that if any of the guides need help they can let the person at the desk know.

Kima leaps up from her chair and runs up the stairs and to the library. She can see into the library before she reaches it: Allura is with her group and there’s a young man who’s too close to her. She has one hand up trying to make him keep some distance and the other tugging discreetly at the bell pull. Most of the group doesn’t care, likely his friends, and only one or two people seem to be willing to call him out on his shit.

“Come on now, beautiful, why won’t you tell me where the people used to go to make out?” He moves to stand in Allura’s personal space.

“Because such places are not part of a guided tour.”

“You don’t have to show them,” he said pointing his thumb at everyone else, “Just me.” He reaches out like he’s going to touch Allura.

“Hey! Hands off my girlfriend,” Kima shouts as she marches in from the hall. She’s not sure what possessed her to say that, shock value maybe, but it’s out of her mouth and she can’t take it back, especially in front of the creep.

He jumps and looks at Kima, and for a split second Kima thinks that proclaiming Allura as hers might be worth it.

“Bullshit.” He yells, laughing at Kima as she steps into the library, “You’re with Barbie, and I’m the fucking king.” He looks over at Allura and makes a kissy face at her. “Come on, babe, why don’t you come for a drink with me. If she is your girlfriend I can definitely show you a better time.” He reaches out to grab Allura and Kima steps up grabbing him by the wrist and twisting.

“Don’t even think about it. Thanks though, that’s all I need to kick you out, and if you don’t leave right the hell now I’m gonna have you arrested.” She glances over at Allura from the corner of her eye, “Why don’t you go downstairs?”

She nods and turns to leave. She is shaking just slightly as she begins to walk away. The creep puts a foot forward and stands on the hem of Allura’s dress. Allura stops dead at the sound and turns her head to see the skirt of her dress torn at the waistline seam. It gaps open showing the white chemise under the dress and as he reaches forward like he’s going to grab it Kima steps forward and grabs him by the other wrist.

“Okay, that’s this tour done!” Kima says firmly. She pushes the creep backwards moving his foot up off the skirt freeing Allura. “You go get changed,” she says, to Allura not letting go of the creep.

“You, sir, we’ll use the term super loosely, and your friends, are to leave the premises, and please be aware that I’m going to make sure you are banned. You will not be welcome at this Emon Historical tour site and I can’t make promises about any of the others. Hope you didn’t buy other tickets, because I will make sure that you don’t get a refund. Gotta cover the cost of the dress you see.”

She wants to say so much more; to call him out for being a piece of shit, or better yet drop kick him off the roof, but she needs the job and Allura needs her more than Kima needs to kick his ass.

The creep opens his mouth and Kima ignores him to address the three other people. “I apologize for this inconvenience, but it is my job to look out for the tour guides. I can offer you a tour here at any of the other scheduled times today, or I can make a few calls and see what other arrangements we can make for you.”

She leads the bunch of them out, keeping a very close eye on the creep. She sees the load of them out the door and goes to check on Allura.

She knocks on the door to the staff changing room and knocks again when she gets no answer. After a pause she eases the door open, “Allie, are you ok?”

She pokes her head in just a bit and can see Allura sitting on the little bench in the chemise holding the dress in her hands.

The rip somehow looks worse with the dress off Allura.

“Allura.”

“I guess I do owe Salda for a new dress.” She doesn’t look at Kima, and her heart drops. Allura doesn’t like girls, Kima would remember if Allura had talked about a crush, and she’d gone and proclaimed herself Allura’s girlfriend while she already had someone else making unwanted advances.

Kima took a step back towards the door, ready to leave if Allura asked. “No, you don’t. There’s no way she’d make you pay, and if she does I’ll split the cost with you.”

Allura just shakes her head.

“I’m sorry I let it get to me. He’s an idiot and anything he says shouldn’t matter, but the twenty minutes of ridiculous comments just got to me.”

“Wish you would have called me earlier. It may not have saved the dress, but you don’t deserve to have to listen to him be a slime ball.”

Allura shrugs, “I should be able to handle one frat boy, Kima.”

“If he’s getting to you then it doesn’t matter.”

Allura smiles a little, “I’ll try to remember that.” She still hasn’t looked at Kima, and there’s an awkward tension between them as Kima stands in the door.

“Are you mad at me for saying I was your girlfriend? I’m sorry, it’s just the first thing that came to mind to make him leave you alone. I know you’re straight, and I didn’t mean anything by it I swear. You’ve got enough creeps to deals right I’m not trying to add on.” She’s terrified that she’s ruined her friendship with Allura because of a split-second decision.

Allura gives her an odd look, “I’m not upset you said that, I understood why, and I appreciate you trying to get him to leave me alone.” She pauses and chews her lip, “and, for the record, I am not straight.”

“What?”

Allura points to her bag, it has the usual ribbons three tied to the strap, and for the first time Kima understands why they’re pink, purple, and blue.

“Oh, oh shit, I’m an idiot.”

Allura chuckles, “Don’t feel bad, a lot of people assume, and I don’t tend to shout my sexuality from the mountain tops. Well unless I’m at Pride.”

“Still, I’d be pissed if someone said I was straight.”

“I think I can forgive you,” Allura says, “if you meet me at Ramones tonight for a slice or two.” Her cheeks are pink, and she’s staring at the dress as her fingers nervously play with the ripped seam.

“Ramones? Wait like a date?”

Allura just nods and finally glances at Kima. There’s a nervous look in her eyes and Kima’s heart soars as she realizes what Allura means, “If I’m not reading all of this wrong.”

“No! No you’re not reading anything wrong. I mean— I wasn’t trying to flirt before I swear— I just wanted to do something nice. I—“ Kima stops herself and lets out a tense breath. “I would love to get pizza with you, but I promise I wasn’t trying to do things to get a date before.”

“I realized that when you said I was straight,” Allura says with a smile. “I get off at two and have class until seven if you are free tonight.”

Kima nods dumbly with a goofy smile on her face. “Ramones at eight?”

“At eight,” Allura says as her blush deepens and it’s got to be the cutest thing Kima has ever seen.

Kima turns to head back to her desk and let Allura change into a different dress, but she’s stopped by a gentle hand. She turns and looks up and sees Allura as she bends slightly and kisses Kima’s cheek. “Thank you for helping me.”

The rest of Kima’s day is just a waiting game until eight.