Chapter Text
1994, Early April
Vaggie slowed the little blue coupe to a stop at the curb, amused to see Charlie bouncing on her feet as she loitered outside of her dorm building. She waved enthusiastically as she trotted up while Vaggie leaned across to unlock the door and shove it outward. Grinning, Charlie pulled it open and settled herself neatly in the passenger seat.
“I thought Amber was our ride,” the blonde remarked cheerily as she clicked her seatbelt into place.
“She had to dip. Not sure why.”
“Aww, well, I'm glad you got the car. Mom doing stuff at home again?”
“Nah, she's off at a church thing all day. I think it's a bake sale? Flea market? Like, a raising money kind of thing,” Vaggie said with a shrug as she coaxed the car into motion. “I don't really know. Told her I needed to hit the big art store up north for some stuff. Just gotta be back to pick her up by like six.”
“Oh, that shouldn't be a problem.” Charlie nodded and pulled in a deep breath, slapping her hands lightly on her thighs as she gave Vaggie a brief glance and then turned her attention out the window.
“Yeah,” Vaggie agreed.
“Anything new on your end?”
Vaggie snorted. “Uh, not since we talked… yesterday,” she said drolly.
“You never know!” Charlie huffed, amused.
Vaggie chuckled and turned her full attention back to the road.
There was an extended silence that was beginning to get awkward when Vaggie decided to switch on the radio. She would need to remember to change it back to AM when she picked up her mother, but this drive was long and she wasn't going to subject Charlie to an hour of nothing but her own shitty conversational skills and the unpleasant thrum of road noise. Vaggie tuned it to a modern hits station and caught the delighted smile spreading across her friend’s face in her peripheral vision. Something poppy was currently on the air and Charlie’s shoulders began swaying minutely to the music.
Vaggie grinned softly to herself, eyes returning to the road. She was quite content to just quietly enjoy Charlie’s presence and her friend seemed occupied by the music and the world rolling by. It wasn't until about a half-hour later, when the car merged onto the highway north, that Charlie broke the comfortable silence.
“Thanks for humoring me again, Vaggie. I cannot tell you how glad I am to get out of that dorm,” the blonde groaned as she tossed a glance over to her friend. “I really want the weather to warm up properly.”
“Honestly, I'm happy to be chauffeur,” Vaggie responded with amusement as she eased the car into a comfortable cruising distance behind another vehicle. “This is very high on my list of things I’d rather spend a day doing,” she added casually. Vaggie managed a brief glance at Charlie under the guise of checking the passenger side mirror and felt a spark in her guts. That familiar, beautiful smile was on her friend’s face, as she expected, but Charlie’s cheeks were a bit redder than they had been and she seemed lost for words. Vaggie self-consciously snapped her eyes forward. Shit. It was the legitimate truth, but maybe she should have kept it to herself. Vaggie hoped she hadn't freaked Charlie out just then.
Thankfully, neither got the opportunity to dwell on it. The radio jockey announced the next set of songs and Charlie perked up, reaching across to tweak the volume higher as the first began. “I love this one!” she offered with excitement as her shoulders began to sway to the beat.
“You’re a real tough cookie with a long history, of breaking little hearts like the one in me,” Charlie began to sing in perfect unison with Pat Benatar’s vocals, cutting off Vaggie’s chance to respond and sending an extremely pleasant shiver down the entire length of her body.
“That’s okay, let’s see how you do it. Put up your dukes and let’s get down to it. Hit me with your best shot,” Charlie’s voice was restrained but confident and cut through the extraneous sounds around Vaggie. It lingered in her ears. “Why don’t you hit me with your best shot? Hit me with your best shot, fire away!”
Vaggie couldn’t help the way her lips quirked up and suddenly her friend’s voice rose enthusiastically.
“You come on with it, come on, you don’t fight fair. That’s okay, see if I care. Knock me down, it’s all in vain, I get right back on my feet again,” Charlie continued before launching into the chorus once more.
Vaggie was completely absorbed in the moment and had to fight to keep her grin contained. Charlie had such amazing control of her voice and was able to replicate nuance in the way the song was sung that Vaggie had never bothered to notice before. There were playful and aggressive inflections on some words, but it was the way Charlie lifted her voice coming out of the end of others that really captured Vaggie's attention… and imagination.
It took effort for her to consciously derail her brain lingering on what Charlie might sound like in other, more intimate situations, but Vaggie didn't manage it in time to stop the burst of fire in her guts or the flush of heat to her cheeks. Vaggie was suddenly very intent on the goings-on through her own side mirror, hoping that Charlie hadn't noticed. It would absolutely freak her friend out of she had any inkling of the thoughts that had just crossed Vaggie's mind, she had no doubt.
Charlie finished the song and was quietly beaming to herself as the next track immediately began to play, her fingers tapping along with the beat.
Vaggie had mercifully managed to keep her raunchy musings at bay long enough for the blood to leave her face. She tossed Charlie a glance. “I really like hearing you sing,” Vaggie offered. “Your voice is beautiful.” She hurriedly put her eyes back on the road. Shit. Beautiful? Of all the words to choose…
“Thank you,” Charlie answered, a strange tenderness in her voice, “I'm glad I finally got a chance to sing just for you. I'd be happy to anytime you want. Just gotta ask.”
Vaggie swallowed as Charlie's thoughtful tone coaxed a flock of butterflies to life in her stomach. “Okay, I'll, uh, keep that in mind,” she responded, knowing it would take an act of God to give Vaggie the nerve to actually ask Charlie to sing for her.
“So, um, did you need something specific? At the mall, I mean,” Vaggie inquired after a few more beats of silence.
“Yes, actually! I want to hunt down some black and white Fujifilm stuff. I can only seem to find Kodak around town and wanted to play around with something new for a project we just got.”
“Okay. I'm sure we'll be able to find something, even if the mall doesn't have it.”
“I hope so! What about you? Anything you need?”
Vaggie pursed her lips in thought as she merged around a slower car. “I really could use some art supplies,” she chuckled. “I've got a list in my pocket.”
Charlie nodded, looking thoughtful for another beat. “I was also hoping we could wander around again. Amber was telling me this place is fuckin’ huge,” the blonde continued, her voice shifting to mimic the aforementioned friend.
Vaggie couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of her chest and left a grin on her face in its wake. “Ahaha, yeah, absolutely. Haven’t had much of a chance to hang out up here, so this’ll be new for me, too.”
“Oh!” Charlie chirped, a genuine note of giddiness coloring her voice. “Well, now I’m extra excited!”
Vaggie bit the inside of her cheek, her grin mellowing to a pleasant curl of her lips. She found herself so incredibly torn. The way Charlie made her feel was very nearly intoxicating and Vaggie couldn’t help but look forward to being around her. Another part of Vaggie wished she could just get over whatever kind of crush this was so that she didn’t end up feeling so flustered and awkward constantly. It was a miracle that Vaggie had somehow managed to keep her physical attraction to Charlie contained, even in spite of her slip-up with the scarf back in December.
Vaggie still cringed thinking about the shocked and embarrassed expression she had noticed on Charlie’s face after she’d stepped back. Maybe the cold had been the cause of her friend’s flushed face, but Vaggie’s anxiety refused to accept that explanation. Why the fuck hadn’t she just shown Charlie how to loop the scarf instead of invading her personal space like a creep? Charlie actually accepting her offer of a hug on New Years was assuredly only a testament to the fact that Charlie had been extremely upset.
That fucking hug… Vaggie swallowed as the memory of how it felt set off a firecracker in her guts. Damn it. Why couldn’t her brain stop fixating like this? She was going to blow out her adrenal glands at this rate.
“So, how much longer ‘til we get there?” Charlie inquired with anticipation.
Vaggie blinked, the question mercifully knocking her thoughts aside. She lifted her arm with a shake to force her jacket sleeve back enough that she could read her wrist watch. “Uh, we’re over half way there. So, twenty minutes or so?”
Charlie let out an excited ‘eeee’ and tapped her fingers on her thighs in time to the music that had just picked up again after a block of advertisements, the abrupt opening to Journey’s ‘Any Way You Want it’ immediately catching her attention.
Vaggie could hear Charlie’s quiet humming begin to pick up in volume as the song progressed. It wasn’t much longer before the chorus started, and the blonde simply couldn’t contain herself as she began to sing enthusiastically. Vaggie tried to temper her smile as her head bobbed along with the beat.
“I was alone, I never knew what good love could do,” Charlie crooned as her head started swaying back and forth. “Oh, then we touched, then we sang about the lovin’ things!”
Vaggie was delighted by Charlie’s rendition of this extremely familiar and absurdly catchy song, and as the pre-chorus approached, she found herself compelled to join in.
“All night, all night, oh, every night!” they sang together, and as Vaggie glanced across to the passenger-side mirror she managed to catch the exuberant expression that crossed Charlie’s face. “So hold tight, hold tight, oh baby, hold tight.”
The chorus repeated and Vaggie managed to keep up her part of the duet until the bridge of the song took over, an electric guitar solo taking the place of vocals. Vaggie caught another glance of Charlie’s uncontained excitement and she couldn’t hold back a genuine laugh, her face flushing.
“You sang!” Charlie squealed as the song continued on in the background. She was practically bouncing in her seat. “It was really good!”
“Pff,” Vaggie said with a dismissive shake of her head.
“I’m serious! You were right on the notes. Vaggie, you sounded fantastic. I didn’t know you could sing!”
“I know the words and you were having fun,” Vaggie shrugged, trying to ignore the fresh hit of adrenaline pouring into her veins that the tone of Charlie’s voice had triggered. “I figured I’d join in.”
“I’m very glad you did!”
The heat in Vaggie’s face grew more intense as whatever errant mood that had encouraged her to join in dissipated and left her feeling incredibly self-conscious. She let out a nervous chuckle and anxiously checked the mirrors again as the next track began to play. ‘Rio’ by Duran Duran this time.
Charlie was beaming as she settled herself neatly back into her seat and quietly resumed humming to the music. A sign rushing by them provided a merciful distraction and prompted Vaggie to merge onto an off ramp. Vaggie mentally thumbed through the directions Amber had given her when she’d called to let Vaggie know she was flaking. She was glad they were nearly to their destination. Vaggie needed to move to shake off the jittery energy writhing in her chest.
Charlie had to really fight down the urge to continue singing as the car slowed to a stop at the base of the exit ramp. She saw Vaggie checking for cross traffic and could plainly see how dark her friend’s face had gone after her deluge of compliments. Charlie hadn’t meant to embarrass Vaggie; she had been genuinely thrilled that the woman had opted to join in on that impromptu karaoke session.
Amber backing out of this jaunt last-minute and Charlie finding out that it would just be her and Vaggie had already skyrocketed her mood. Hearing her friend sing unprompted had sent it out of orbit. Charlie ran her fingernails over her thighs, trying to give herself some kind of sensory input to help dispel the oversaturation of excitement writhing around in her.
Fuck, Charlie wished Vaggie had come out to her already. She had to forcefully expel the mental image of herself pinning Vaggie to a nondescript wall in some solitary corner of wherever they were heading. The burst of electricity in her guts caused by the daydream burned into her limbs and compounded the excess of energy. Charlie felt like she could run a marathon.
“So, um, how much longer until we’re there?”
“Uh, like, two minutes or so?”
“Excellent!” Charlie replied with delight. She willed herself to settle and resumed watching the world outside the car. Traffic had grown much more heavy than she was used to back at school. The car eased through a gently-curving intersection and suddenly the sprawling bulk of the mall appeared before them. Charlie’s eyes went wide. “Oh, it is fuckin’ huge.”
“Definitely bigger than the one back home,” Vaggie agreed as she directed the car along the smaller road that skirted the outside of the massive parking lot. She flicked on the turn signal and slowed to a stop to let a line of approaching vehicles pass. “Hopefully we can find that film for you.”
“Hopefully!” Charlie agreed with a nod as the car crossed into the parking lot. “But even if we can’t, this’ll be fun anyway.”
Vaggie navigated carefully and parked the car. Once more she managed to get around to Charlie’s door before the blonde had extricated herself from the cramped seat, and the two were soon on their way toward the building. They approached the entrance they had chosen and Charlie couldn’t help her eyes lifting to regard the enormous multi-storied structure that made up the central hub of the mall. The architecture was very geometric, the rectangles and triangles forming the majority of it interspersed liberally with broad glass panels. It was certainly a far more impressive sight than she had imagined.
The pair opted to take a more leisurely approach for this endeavor than they had back in November, ignoring the directory and instead meandering in a roughly-clockwise rotation to check out the available shops on each level before repeating the process on the next. They chatted idly here and there, but Vaggie seemed quite content to walk in silence and Charlie once more found her attention lingering on her friend rather than the goings-on around them.
Charlie was enjoying Vaggie’s quiet presence, but the energy that had gathered during their drive and dispersed after they had parked was creeping back into her chest. Charlie wanted to talk with Vaggie,—properly talk, not small talk—but was perturbed to find herself at a loss for words. Not knowing what to say to start a conversation was an unfamiliar problem unique to discussions with Vaggie and the frustration was only feeding the unpleasant jitteriness. Charlie cast her eyes about, hoping to catch sight of something that might give her a spark of inspiration. There were some clothing shops, a small kiosk that looked like it was shilling cheap, poorly-made weaponry and knives, and off in the distance what appeared to be a toy store. Hm. That might work.
“I want to go in there!” Charlie pointed, abruptly taking a few long strides as she gestured ahead of them. She turned an excited smile on her friend.
“Okay, sure,” Vaggie said with a nod, a faint smirk on her face as she matched Charlie’s increased pace.
They moved through the threshold of the storefront, skirting around a gaggle of kids who were clustered excitedly around a low, partially-enclosed table. The surface was chaotic with small motorized plastic toys frantically bumping into each-other. Charlie chuckled and then turned her eyes up as they moved further in.
“Looking for something specific?” Vaggie inquired, her gaze lingering on Charlie’s face for just a moment before she tossed a glance down a nearby aisle.
“Not really. I just like looking at this kind of stuff. It’s fun,” Charlie answered with a shrug.
Vaggie’s smile grew deeper and she nodded, apparently expecting an answer of that sort.
They moved into an area containing shelves packed solidly with stuffed animals. Charlie couldn’t help but run her fingers over a few as they passed, delighted by the incredibly soft faux fur of a particularly floppy rabbit. She heard Vaggie make a thoughtful noise and turned to the opposite side of the aisle where her friend was peering at a collection of Ty brand toys.
“This one looks like that little dog you have on your bed. Just… big,” she commented, nodding her head toward a collection of large husky stuffed animals plopped on the shelf.
Charlie smirked, a little bubble of warmth bursting in her chest at the thought of Vaggie paying close enough attention to the things on her bed to recognize one small toy dog out of the numerous stuffed animals that were also piled up there. She made a duck-like face and picked one of the dogs up to look at it more closely. “It really does! Gosh, it’s super cute,” she commented as she brushed her hand over the extra long chest-fur. Charlie turned it over and the legs flopped with a soft rattling sound. “It has beans in its feet!” she observed with delight as she squeezed one of the paws, lifted, and then let it drop to replicate the sound.
Vaggie chuckled and Charlie managed to catch the clandestine glance directed at her face as she turned to put the toy back in its place on the shelf. She forced her eyes to linger on the toy rather than redirect her attention to Vaggie, not wanting make her friend feel awkward that she’d been caught staring.
“I’m surprised you aren’t getting it,” Vaggie remarked as they continued exploring leisurely.
“I mean… it is super adorable and looks snuggly, but I don’t need it,” Charlie offered hesitantly. “I could get you one, though,” she added with a grin.
“If you don’t need it, why would I?” Vaggie gave a dismissive huff.
“Everybody needs cute things that make them happy,” Charlie retorted, tossing a calculating glance over at her friend. “What? You don’t have any stuffed animals?”
“No, uh, I do.”
“Aw! Really?” Charlie's voice was eager. “What is it?”
Vaggie swallowed, hesitating. “It’s just a bear.”
“Something tells me you don’t keep it on your bed, though,” Charlie surmised as she paused to poke through a bin of rubber ducks before quirking an eyebrow at Vaggie.
“Not anymore."
That was the answer Charlie had been expecting, but she suddenly recognized opportunity in the direction the conversation had taken and jumped on it. “’Cause it’s a little kid thing?”
Another moment of hesitation. “I mean, yeah, kinda.”
Vaggie had confirmed her suspicions once more. Charlie scoffed lightly and shook her head, dropping a duck back in its bin. She straightened her back as she turned her gaze on Vaggie’s face. “You don’t need to hide the things you enjoy just because other people say it’s weird or bad, you know,” she stated, her voice taking on a softer, more serious timbre.
“Who cares what everybody else thinks? Do what makes you happy,” Charlie added with a gentle grin, eyes locked on Vaggie’s. The blonde hadn’t been talking about stuffed animals.
Vaggie seemed mildly stunned for a moment before she blinked herself out of it and shrugged dramatically, turning her body to continue moving in the direction the pair had been heading. “I mean… I just kinda grew out of it,” she explained, though she didn’t sound entirely convinced by her own words. “A-and sometimes it’s just… easier.”
It took effort for Charlie to maintain her pleasant smile and casual demeanor as Vaggie’s final statement hit her like a punch to the chest.
“Hm, maybe,” Charlie acquiesced. She didn’t know if Vaggie was aware of how accurately she had read into the hidden meaning behind Charlie’s declaration, but there was no doubt in Charlie’s mind of the intention of her friend’s words. Easier to hide herself meant she was probably afraid, for whatever reason, of coming out. Now Charlie couldn’t stop wondering why.
She took a few quick steps to ease back up to Vaggie’s side and tossed a discrete glance at her friend. Charlie could see the uncomfortable strain in how Vaggie was holding herself and suddenly felt bad about prodding at such a sensitive topic. Charlie pushed back her curiosity and sucked in a breath as she tossed a glance at her watch. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of hungry. Lunchtime?” she inquired cheerily.
“Yeah, I could eat,” Vaggie answered immediately, and Charlie caught the edge of relief in her voice. The beginnings of a smile curled the corners of Vaggie's mouth as she shot a sideways look at her friend.
“My treat?” Charlie asked, smirking.
Vaggie snorted with laughter and shook her head, having anticipated her friend’s offer.
Charlie sighed dramatically before a chuckle broke through. “You’re going to give in eventually, Vaggie. I know it."