Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Marcy realized that she’d gotten distracted again when she heard a slight cough behind her. Yelping slightly, she shut her book, one that she was supposed to be putting back on the shelf and turned to face the customer. They hardly made eye contact and simply moved past to grab a book that she’d been blocking and moved off. She sighed and moved to put the book back where it belonged.

The day had been a long one, with multiple angry customers and tons of books to restock that more often than not she started to read and get distracted by. Marcy was thankful though because now it was almost over, it was six and there was only an hour left before she got to close up shop. The owners were nice too as they let her study in the space after she’d locked up, so long as she left before eleven though, they didn’t fancy finding her passed out in a pile of books when they came to open up shop in the morning.

The final hour passed quickly enough though, once the evening hit most people didn’t tend to drop into the bookstore, or at least not on a cold winter night like today. That’s why Marcy was pleasantly surprised when she entered.

They were tall and pale, like a vampire she thought, and their long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. They were brushing snow off their jacket as they stepped in, looking around with the sort of flushed dizziness that one gets when they move from somewhere really cold to somewhere really warm fast. Marcy realized she was staring when the other girl met her eyes, both their faces flushing red. The heater must have kicked into overdrive when she let in that cold air Marcy thought. She collected herself quickly and got out a response.

“Hi, I’m sorry, but I’m going to close up in about ten minutes, so you won’t have much time to browse.”

The girl regarded her blankly for a moment, as if fully registering that she was in a bookstore and not simply some place where she could warm her hands.

“Oh, um, yeah that’s no problem,” the girl said.

“Was there anything specific I could help you find maybe? If you know the title or author, I can probably find it for you?” said Marcy.

“Uh, not off the top of my head, is there anything you recommend?”

Marcy grinned widely, as if she’d just been given the key to the world, “Why yes, I’ve got plenty of recommendations, any genre in particular?”

“I guess like fantasy?”

“Awesome, fantasy’s my favorite genre! Follow me and I’ll show you the section,” Marcy said, sliding from behind the counter, beginning to disappear through the shelves of books, hardly waiting for the girl to follow her.

She threaded her way through the different sections and past the open reading space, with its large oaken tables that she’d spent plenty of time with (maybe too much time), and towards the back of the shop.

The owners had put the fantasy section in the far back, they’d told Marcy that it gave it an air of adventure, and Marcy had to agree with them. It was like stepping into an ancient wizard’s library. Shelves towered over head and the old yellow light bulbs mirrored that of lamplight. She led the girl through the dimly lit row, the smell of aged paper and wood now thick in the air.

“So, any series in particular,” Marcy said stopping in front of one shelf and beginning to search.

“Not really, got any recommendations?”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve read Lord of the Rings, Earthsea, and stuff like that?”

“Actually, I haven’t read any of those,” the girl rubbed her neck sheepishly.

Marcy let out a little gasp on accident and the girl looked away in embarrassment. Marcy composed herself.

“I’m sorry, most people I get here have read almost everything we have, so usually I have to really dig for something new, but this is great! I get to introduce you to the classics,” and Marcy began pulling books off the shelf, creating a sizeable stack that she then dumped in the other’s arms. The girl dipped under its weight for a moment, knees buckling like a powerlifter before straightening back out.

“Ok, so that should be a good start, we can check you out at the register,” and Marcy began to walk back the way they’d come.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but I don’t think you told me your name,” the girl said.

“It’s Marcy.”

“Well, Marcy. I’m thankful that you picked these out for me, but I can’t actually afford them all.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so so sorry. I wasn’t even thinking,” and she began to quickly take back the books from the other’s arms

“The name’s Sasha by the way, and it’s totally fine, I’ll just take this one,” she said, taking a copy of The Hobbit from Marcy’s arms.

“A perfect choice. I’ll get these reshelved and meet you back at the register.”

It only took her a few moments to get things put back properly before she rushed back to the front. The girl, Sasha, she told herself, was leaning against the counter, absent mindedly reading the book she’d selected.

“Ok, sorry about the wait, that’ll just be fifteen dollars,” Marcy said, typing the purchase into the cash register.

“Don’t you need to scan this?” Sasha said, holding the book up quizzically.

“Nope, I’ve got most of the prices memorized, just need to record the purchases.”

“Wow, that’s impressive, like if I pulled a random book, you’d be able to tell me the price,” Sasha asked as she handed over the money. Her eyes had an attentiveness and interest that Marcy hadn’t seen before when she’d told previous customers that fact. Her face felt warm, she’d have to make sure to turn down the heat before she left.

“Yeah, maybe, though I don’t know everything in here, just some of them,” Marcy took the cash, did the math, and then was handing the change back to her.

“Still,” Sasha said taking her change and folding it into her pocket, letting that single word hang in the air.

They fell silent. Sasha looked outside and Marcy could tell that she wasn’t keen on going back into the cold but before she could say anything Sasha spoke up.

“Hey, do you think that when I finish this you could give me another recommendation.”

“Totally,” Marcy felt herself smile, “Just let me know what you think of it.”

“I will,” she said with a grin before taking the book and stepping out of the shop.

Marcy watched her walk into the light snow that was still swirling around, slowly disappearing into a haze of snowflakes and darkness. She had a feeling that she’d be seeing a lot of Sasha in the future, and for some reason she felt warm again. She’d have to ask the owners to check out the furnace tomorrow morning.

Chapter Text

Marcy thumbed through an old book on plants. The pages themselves were old leaves, yellowed and frail, threatening to fall apart under her touch. She sighed. It was another slow day in the shop, and she’d already read this book cover to cover, twice. She pushed the book to the side, resting her head on crossed arms. She couldn’t fall asleep but at least with no customers around she didn’t have to hide her boredom.

It'd been a week and Sasha still hadn’t come around. She had to admit that it had only been a week, and who knows, maybe she didn’t read all that much. She probably hadn’t finished the book yet, once she finished it, she’d come though.

Looking about listlessly, she traced her eyes from the hallway that led to the back stacks, then back to the front entrance, and finally to the grinning face of Sasha in front of her. Marcy nearly leapt out of her chair in surprise. Her sudden movement causing her to tumble backwards and off the stool she’d been sitting on.

“Oh my god, are you alright?” Sasha said, peering over the counter and down at Marcy, who was crumpled up backwards in a small pile of books.

“Oh, yep, yep!” she said, rebounding up just as quickly as she had fallen. It was as she stood now that she was able to look past Sasha and see that there was another girl behind her, quietly looking around the store, her hands in her jacket pockets.

The hair that escaped from under her cap was wild and frizzy, a scrunchie barely holding it into a ponytail. The jacket she sported, Marcy realized, was for the St. James College tennis team. The college wasn’t terribly small, but Marcy was surprised that she’d never noticed her before, after all, she did walk by the recreation center and the tennis courts on her way to the bookstore.

“Dude, why’d we come here again?” asked the girl, now turning her attention to Sasha and Marcy.

“Anne, we came here to get some recs from my favorite bookstore clerk, Marcy,” she said with a smile, glancing from Anne to Marcy with a look Marcy couldn’t quite place.

“For some reason, I get the feeling that I’m the only bookstore clerk you know,” Marcy said, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“Doesn’t mean you still can’t be my favorite.”

“I’m sure, hey wait, you’re here, so does that mean you finished the book?” Marcy felt a small surge of excitement beginning to build in her chest.

“Mhm,” Sasha hummed.

“Finished, man, she tore through it! Finished it in a day but was too nervous to come back,” said Anne, playfully punching Sasha’s shoulder.

“Hey! But yeah, she’s right, it was really good,” she said, the faintest blush tinting her cheeks.

Marcy felt herself grinning from ear to ear.

“Awesome! You’re going to have tell me what you thought about…” and the words began to tumble out of her mouth. Surprisingly, Sasha didn’t seem fazed by it and dutifully answer each question she posed and gave her thoughts in response. Anne too, while only able to chime in occasionally with a joke, still didn’t seem to mind. Finally, as she came back down from cloud nine, she realized that she had piled another stack of books into Sasha’s arms, just like last time.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Sasha. I didn’t even realize what I was doing,” she said, relieving her of the stack and setting them to the side.

“Hey, hey, it’s all good. I’ll just take one off the top,” she said, snatching a thin book.

“Here, let me ring it up for you,” Marcy said and began punching the purchase into the register. While Marcy was distracted Anne took this window to nudge Sasha.

“Dude, I thought you were going to invite her out.” Anne whispered to Sasha.

“I will, hold your horses. Also, I thought you said that this, and I quote, ‘was going to be a total drag’?” Sasha said.

“Well, you didn’t tell me the bookstore clerk was so cute.”

“Girl, I totally-,” but Sasha was cut off by Marcy handing the book back.

“Here you are! I really want to know what you think about this one. It’s in my top ten.” Marcy said.

“For sure, girl! By the way, I was wondering if you wanted to join me and Anne for coffee after your shift was over?” Sasha said.

“Oh, um, I,” Marcy felt herself stuttering for words. Coffee with them sounded like a great idea so why was she wavering. Her mouth spoke before her brain in this case, “I’m sorry but I don’t get off till like seven, I doubt there’s any coffee shops open that late, and I don’t want to prevent you guys from going, I’m really really really sorry.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, and she cringed inwardly at them as she saw the slightest bit of disappoint cross Sasha’s face before the smile returned.

“It’s no problem, I get it, here,” and Sasha took a pen from the counter and flipped her receipt over, quickly scribbling before folding it and passing it back to Marcy, “if you get some free time.” She gave her a quick wink before grabbing Anne’s hand and pulling her out of the store before she could protest. Anne was able to give Marcy a quick wave before she was unceremoniously tugged out onto the street, nearly tripping with Sasha’s speed.

Marcy watched them move down the sidewalk. She’d messed it up again. A heavy and sick feeling paced and padded around like a cat before settling into her stomach. She felt like she was going to cry, that is, until she looked down at the paper, carefully unfolding it. Along the back of the receipt, written in fine curly handwriting was, “My number XXX-XXXX.”

Chapter Text

Sasha was moping on the couch. Her arms curled around a soft pink throw pillow that she had smushed into her face. Her phone sat on the coffee table a foot away. She’d grown tired of staring at it, thus the pillow in the face. This technique didn’t muffle sound though, and the noise of the television continued to drift into her ears. It seemed that Anne was watching the latest of Suspicion Island. It sounded interesting from what she could hear, but for some reason she just wasn’t in the mood. She let out an involuntary groan before rolling away from the phone. In response she heard the click of a remote and the sound of the TV go to mute.

“Aw, is somebody upset that a pretty girl won’t call her?” said Anne.

“No,” Sasha said, but with the pillow in her face it came out as a muffled, “Nmmf.”

“Come on, girl.”

“Ok fine,” she said, ripping the pillow away from her face, “so I’m a little upset, is that a crime? I thought for sure we were hitting it off.”

“Hey man, so you strike out sometimes, it happens. You’ve still got me though,” Anne said with a grin, pointing a thumb back at herself.

Sasha gave a soft smile in return, “Yeah, and what would I do without you?” She got up and moved over to where Anne was resting, their banter somewhat beginning to relieve her somber mood. Sasha felt her tension start to drift away as they cuddled together, all before her phone let off a loud buzz and she immediately fell off the couch almost taking Anne with her as she scrambled for her phone.

“Hey, calm down!” Anne yelled as Sasha clutched her phone in her hands.

“It’s her! Oh my god, Anne, she actually responded!”

“Nice, dude! So, what’s your plan?”

            It was a few days later that Marcy found herself sitting on a small café on the east side of town. The interior was subtly lit, and the air was thick with the scent of coffee and cedar. She sat in a small booth along the front window. She watched the people pass by and wondered what they were rushing to. Maybe it was a job, a party, or a date like the one she was about to be on she thought. She continued to nurse her second cup of coffee which was sweetened heavily with sugar. She’d finished her first in record time, she blamed nerves, and so with this one she tried to take it slow.

She raised the mug to her lips, her eyes now tracking a small stray cat that was strutting up the sidewalk. As she sipped, she heard someone slip into the seat across from her and in a velvety voice, one that she was becoming all too familiar with, speak.

“Hey, I’m glad you were able to make it,” said Sasha as she set down her own mug, inside it swirled simple black coffee. Honestly, Marcy wasn’t expecting that. She figured Sasha more for the thirty-dollar order type of girl, guess she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. As she thought this, she realized that she hadn’t responded to her greeting, and instead had simply paused in her next sip.

“Yeah, me too, I mean you too! Ugh” She responded, floundering for a proper response as she set her drink to the side.

Sasha merely laughed it off, “You’re good, I get the sentiment. How have things been going?”

“Oh, you know, just working at the bookstore, doing classwork. Got this killer bio exam coming up that I’m studying for.”

“What’s your major?”

“I’m actually a double major, Biology and Studio Art.”

“Very cool, are you like interested in painting cells, planning on illustrating a textbook?”

“Hahaha, kind of. My parents wanted me to really go the science route, but it’s a bit much and I just wasn’t having as great time as I thought I would with it Art classes helped give me a break and soon I realized that I was taking enough to get a major.”

“Ugh, I know the feeling, parents am I right? I’m glad you’re able to do something you like though.”

“Thanks! What’s your major by the way?”

“Oh, I’m still undecided actually,” Sasha scratched at the back of her head, “for a while I was thinking about dropping out. College wasn’t looking like my thing, but uh, I’ve started taking more psych classes so maybe that might turn into something. Enough of that boring stuff though, what do you like to do for fun?”

Marcy noted the obvious subject change but decided to ignore it. Asking why somebody thought about dropping out of college wasn’t really a stellar date question. That thought hit her again, reminding her that she really was a on a date, or at least, it had to be right? She felt herself flush in the face, hard, and sipped from her drink hoping Sasha would think it was the heat. After a long sip she realized she still hadn’t answered her question.

“Besides drawing, I like reading, though you probably already guessed that. What with the bookstore gig and all. Oh, I also like playing video games. Have you heard of Vagabondia Chronicles, it’s probably one of if not my all-time favorite games!”

“I haven’t, what’s it about?”

“Well, it’s a series and they get kind of convoluted but basically it came out in the 90s, and the premise is that…” and before Marcy realized it, she had spent the next half hour rambling to Sasha about the game. She eventually checked herself though, stopping her ramble on how the thief was actually the princess in disguise and how she had to recruit a young boy who was also an eternal spirit like her in the fight against the evil warlock who was taking over the kingdom. Well, only stopping herself after she had finished that thought.

“I’m sorry, I kind of went on there for a moment. Sometimes I forget that people aren’t as into it as me.”

“You’re all good, girl! I’m actually kind of interested now, where should I start,” said Sasha, and Marcy could tell that she was speaking genuinely. It was weird. This was the first time that Marcy had felt that somebody was actually listening to her ramblings, not just nodding along. Well, besides the other members of the Vagabondia lore forum that is.

“Just start with the first game actually, it’s perfect.”

They conversed for another hour or so, Vagabondia coming up quite a few more times and Sasha never indicating that she was bored of hearing it. She did ask Marcy to stop a few times, more because she was worried about spoilers at this point rather than being disinterested.

As the conversation began to wind its way down Sasha excused herself for an appointment she’d almost forgotten. She made it very clear to Marcy though that she’d had a great time and really wanted to do this again. They agreed on meeting next week, same time, though next time Sasha would take her out for a movie instead. She also mentioned possibly bringing her friend along with them, the one she had briefly met in the bookstore, Anne. That was only if Marcy would like that of course.

An unknown feeling bubbled inside of Marcy, one she couldn’t put a name to at the moment, but she knew she wasn’t upset, so she acquiesced. As Sasha left the café she said be in touch, and to let her know if there was a movie she particularly wanted to see. Both her and Anne would be happy to see whatever.

Marcy watched Sasha leave, waiting a few minutes before paying her own bill and exiting the café. The winter breeze caused her to shiver involuntarily but like that night in the book some weeks before, she felt warm and giddy despite it. As though it weren’t really winter but actually summer. Marcy liked this feeling, she hoped that if she continued hanging out with Sasha that it would always feel like summer. She wondered now what season Anne would feel like.

Chapter Text

It was cold outside, and Marcy could see her breath forming into wispy clouds that were soon blown away by the frigid wind. She shivered involuntarily as she stood beneath the streetlight outside the movie theater. She’d gotten there early but hadn’t wanted to wait inside, worried that Sasha and Anne would think she’d ditched them if they couldn’t see her immediately. Marcy knew she was overthinking things a little, ok, actually a lot. They would just check inside first, and if she wasn’t there, simply give it some time before jumping to that conclusion. She continued to wait outside still.

Marcy leaned her head forward, cusping her mouth between her hands before blowing a hot breath. Marcy wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the cold out here, it was so much different than an LA winter, not to mention the snow. As she continued to think about the cold, intermittently blowing warm air into her hands, she began to hear the crunch of boots on snow and people chatting nearby. Marcy tried not to bring her back up in a snap as she saw the approaching figures of Anne and Sasha. They were laughing and making jokes, but too far away to hear what they were joking about. As they got closer, they broke away from their conversation as they noticed Marcy.

“Oh my god, girl. Have you been waiting out here for us?” said Anne.

“Yeah, but it hasn’t been that bad,” Marcy said, though her chattering teeth instantly betrayed her.

“C’mon, let’s head in and warmup,” said Anne, tugging Marcy through the theater doors with Sasha following closely behind.

The three of them stood just inside the entrance rubbing their hands together and trying to get the shivers out of their bodies. The scent of popcorn surrounded them as they took in the dim theater. The lobby was almost devoid of other patrons besides the trio. After they had sufficiently warmed themselves up, they began to discuss what movie they should watch, slowly making their way to the box office where the list was displayed.

Sasha was in favor of a recent horror flick, but Anne was adamantly against it, instead pushing a remake of a classic mystery movie. They bantered back and forth for another minute, asking Marcy what she’d like to watch, who suggested an entirely different film. A sci-fi movie about giant mechs fighting colossal alien monsters. Marcy had personally been wanting to watch it for a while, so she was overjoyed that the others agreed to it.

Sasha offered to buy them some popcorn and drinks if the other two wanted to go on ahead and find them some good seats. Marcy hesitated; she hardly knew Anne. How was she supposed to keep a conversation with somebody she barely knew? Her interactions with the other girl had been going fine so far, but was that only because Sasha was here? Anne though didn’t seem phased by the prospect of awkward social interaction and Marcy felt herself nodding as well.

The two of them wandered down the carpeted hallways of the theater, soft and colored deep purple with neon squiggles that jumped out in the dim lighting. They had to take two turns before they found their room. It was nearly empty as they made their way in and gazed out over the array of seats. Anne hurriedly pointed at position though refrained from shouting, it was a theater after all, before pulling Marcy after her.

Marcy to her credit didn’t fall flat on her face after the sudden jerk, instead her shoes squeaked and slapped loudly against the floor. Their commotion drew a few angry stares from the other movie goers. Marcy felt her face begin to heat up as the two of them took their seats. Her face began to cool just as quickly though as the gazes wandered away from her and began to focus on the previews that continued to roll. Once she was sure that everyone’s eyes had focused on something else, she allowed herself to sink into the seat and relax her shoulders, a small sigh escaping her lips.

As she settled in, she felt someone lean in close to her, almost startling her out of her seat. It was just Anne though, who whispered to her, “Dude, what do you think about that movie, it looks sick!” Marcy began to focus on the screen again and she had to admit that Anne was right. She whispered her affirmation back to her. They continued to watch the previews with Anne and Marcy whispering excitedly back and forth, gushing over characters and effects. Marcy felt herself slow inching closer towards Anne as they continued to talk. The air conditioning of the movie theater faded from her senses as she felt the warm air of Anne speaking into her ear.

Marcy had felt unsure when she first met Anne. Not that she had considered Anne a bad person, not at all! She was so nice, but she was nerdy ‘ole Marcy. Someone who preferred to bury themselves in a book rather than strike up a conversation. A far cry from when she’d been younger.

Her parents still liked to reminisce about how outgoing Marcy had been as a little kid. All the friends she’d made back then, how much she had liked to talk, and it wasn’t that Marcy didn’t like or want that anymore but nowadays it was different. It wasn’t necessarily difficult for her; it was just different. She still liked to talk, and she made friends, it was just more…niche. Not everybody wanted to analyze the themes of a fantasy epic with novels a thousand pages long each, but there were still some.

That was why she was surprised to find herself clicking with Anne. The girl who sat next to Marcy now was clearly a jock. Disregarding the obvious lettermen jacket, Marcy hadn’t failed to notice the tone to her muscles and the way she carried herself. One of the nicer ones she would have guessed but being nice didn’t mean that their interests were aligned. When she talked with Anne, she couldn’t say that she was wrong in that regard. Their interests weren’t the same, but for some reason, that didn’t seem to prohibit Marcy from connecting with her nor Anne with her. There was something happening that Marcy couldn’t quite name yet, either way she was happy that things were going smoothly, so smoothly that she didn’t even notice Sasha sit down. It was only when she looped her arm around Marcy that the other girl realized she had arrived.

“So, what’re we talking about here?” asked Sasha, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth before passing the bucket over to Marcy.

“Oh, we were just talking about the previews,” said Marcy, who felt that familiar heat return to her face. Marcy unknowingly let her body lean more into the girl’s arm. The movement did not escape Sasha’s notice though and she let herself grin giddily when she was sure Marcy and Anne weren’t looking at her.

“Yeah dude, you missed a lot of good stuff,” said Anne.

“Well, at least I still made the movie,” said Sasha as the lights began to dim and the three of them hushed their conversation as the movie began to play.

They all watched the film, completely enraptured. They let out cries of joy, fear, laughter, and anguish in chorus with the audience as the movie progressed. The film did end eventually and the lights came back on and the girls alongside everybody else picked up their stuff and filed their way out. The three of them chatted excitedly about the end of the movie and their thoughts on it.

They found themselves standing outside the theater again. The winter chill hadn’t abated and if anything, the temperature had only dropped further. They shuffled down the sidewalk towards where Sasha had parked her car. She’d offered Marcy a ride and she had gladly accepted, not wanting to wait outside for the bus to come.

The drive seemed to pass quickly, more quickly than Marcy wanted. She now found herself standing outside her apartment with Anne and Sasha behind her. They’d had to park a few blocks away, so they’d offered to walk her the rest of the way. Now, she turned to them.

“Tonight, has been great,” said Marcy grinning at them both, “I had such a good time. I’d really like to do this again if you’d like that.”

“I’d love that,” said Sasha.

“Me too, dude,” Anne agreed.

Marcy smiled even wider and opened her mouth to say something but stumbled. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. There was something that was on the tip of her tongue that she couldn’t quite get off. As if sensing her jumbled thoughts Sasha stepped forward, her smile softer now.

She cupped Marcy’s face in her hands and slowly brought their lips together. She gave time for Marcy to pull away, to say no. She didn’t. Marcy wanted this and let herself be guided into the kiss. They stayed there for a moment before they parted. Sasha moved away and stepping into her place came Anne.

She moved similarly to Sasha, allowing her time to say no, but she didn’t. Marcy accepted and moved into the kiss herself. It felt like a parting gift to her. Then they pulled away and all three smiled at each other. Anne, Sasha, and Marcy stood out in that blistering cold for another moment before saying goodbye and promising each other to do this again, soon