Chapter Text
Gideon Nav worked some pretty shitty jobs after she finished high school. She worked a few shitty jobs while she was in high school as well, but it felt like it mattered less when she was still in school. She was going to enlist in the military once she was out of school- the Army, or maybe the Air Force because there were more women there.
Some annoying, try-hard girl in her history class kept pointing out negatives about the military- funding never seemed to help those who served, veterans weren’t given adequate care, the whole thing was a colonialist, capitalist endeavor. And, like, fuck off Harrowhark, not everyone has parents who will pay for them to go to an ivy league school after graduation.
But maybe some of it had stuck with Gideon. She didn’t enlist. She worked a string of shitty jobs until her last foster parent Aiglamene had emailed her a job listing from the sanitation department. No way was Gideon going to pick up trash for a living! She just knew if she waited a little longer, she’d find something cool.
“Who gives a fuck about cool when you have heath insurance?” Aiglamene had told her dryly. “And sick leave, paid holidays, vacation time, and a pension plan.”
And okay, the starting pay was a lot more than Gideon was making at the athletic shoe store at the mall. So she’d applied and didn’t hear back.
Whatever. At least Aiglamene was off her back.
And then four months after she applied, once she’d forgotten all about it, they emailed her for an interview. She interviewed, then heard nothing.
“It’s the government, Nav,” Aiglamene said. “Slower than molasses, but solid benefits.”
She started three months later. At first, it kind of sucked. So much training, and she couldn’t even drive the truck until she got her commercial driver’s license. And they kept pairing her with Babs who never lifted a fucking finger to help her unless he absolutely had to.
But she started to get pretty good at it. She loved the physical aspects. Her favorite was picking up large items for disposal. Each resident got to have three larger items disposed of a year. They would load them up in a special truck, and Gideon loved figuring out how to maximize space. Her brain was always good at puzzles. She’d never really had a strong sense of smell, but it sure beat picking up trash.
Between her job and the sweet, sweet gym discount, her arms got massive. She started work early (always her preference), got done in the early afternoon, and had the rest of the day to herself. She was even able to buy a house. It was kind of a fixer-upper, but she loved a good project After a few years she settled into a happy routine of work, gym visits, and home repair projects. Her social life was even starting to thrive due to her regular schedule. Between the rugby team with Cam, weekly dinners with Aiglamene, and bimonthly game nights with Magnus and Abigail, her schedule was pretty booked, although she was pretty sure she could squeeze a girlfriend in there if she met the right woman.
At the end of her shift on a Tuesday, she and Babs (ugh) were finishing up with the oversized items truck. The last stop was two large items in her neighborhood, at the creepy goth house. It was just a block down from her house, but she'd never seen the face of the woman who lived there. The local kids said it was a witch. Maybe they were right. She always gardened with a massive black sun hat on.
So when Gideon knocked on the door, she certainly wasn’t expecting Harrowhark Nonagesimus to open the door.
“The desk is in the back room,” Harrow said, and then she turned to walk down the poorly lit hallway of her weirdly cozy witch house.
Harrow had been annoying in school, but unfortunately, she’d grown up to be ridiculously hot. She still wore too much black eyeliner, but now she knew how to get the wings to match. Instead of an oversized band tee, she was wearing a black turtleneck and fitted black pants. Extremely well fitted pants, she found out when Harrow turned around. Somehow, she’d grown an ass since high school. So Harrow was sexy now, and she lived in a spooky house that maybe gave Gideon a little bit of a fear boner.
Every wall that Gideon could see was covered with dark, intricately patterned wallpaper, then crammed with ornately framed photographs and art. No wonder Harrow needed to get rid of furniture- when Gideon walked past the sitting room, it was stuffed full of antique furniture. She walked quickly behind Harrow. It was surprisingly difficult to keep up with her, even though Gideon had nearly a foot on her. Naberius followed languidly behind them.
“That’s the desk,” Harrow announced. It was massive, and it appeared to be solid oak.
“Why are you getting rid of this?” Gideon asked. She had never owned something as nice as this desk. The beautiful, intricate carving must have been done by hand.
“I can’t imagine why you would think that would be any of your business,” Harrow said haughtily.
And oh, yeah, it had been a decade since high school, and Gideon forgot.
Harrow was a total cunt.
And Gideon got paid pretty well, but she didn’t get paid well enough to deal with Harrow for any longer than she needed to. She put on her customer service face: dead eyes and a fake smile.
“Right, we’ll get it loaded up. Wasn’t there another item?” Gideon asked.
“There’s a chair I’d like removed from my bedroom. Once you’ve finished with the desk, I can show you. I imagine one of you can handle it alone.”
Naberius gave Gideon a look that she knew too well; she’d be carrying the chair by herself.
Which was fine. With any luck, she should be out of here in ten minutes, then they’d be able to unload the truck in less than an hour, and she’d be home in time for a late lunch. A shower (during which she would not think about a mean, know-it-all from her school days, nice ass or not), a nap, and then it would be time for rugby practice.
She wasn’t going to let Harrow or Babs ruin her day.
Gideon passed Naberius one of the lifting straps she’d brought. He never remembered, and always bitched that he was going to throw out his back. Once the straps were in place, they lifted the desk.
And Harrow was still in the fucking doorway.
She moved once Gideon took a step toward her, but her eyes were locked on Gideon’s biceps.
And oh, okay.
Harrow might be a total cunt, but Gideon could work with that. They told her in elementary school "you are what you eat", so maybe it would even work out in her favor.
She knew she looked good right now, with just a little sweat dripping down her temple. A slight adjustment to her grip showed off her protective fingerless gloves, and she knew it made her arms look huge. Once they got the desk out the door and loaded in the truck, Naberius went directly to the driver’s seat without a word.
When she walked back into Harrow’s front door, Harrow turned and led her up the stairs. And maybe being led to a hot girl’s bedroom got Gideon going just a little bit, who’s to say?
(If her boxers could talk, they would summon emergency assistance due to flash flooding.)
So Gideon followed Harrow into her bedroom, where she kept her massive four poster bed, unmade. Her black sheets looked like they would feel silky against Gideon’s skin, but Gideon wasn’t thinking about that. She was a professional. She had a chair to move.
“Where’s the chair?” Gideon asked.
“In the corner,” Harrow answered with a nod in the direction of a wooden chair that Gideon would easily be able to lift. Her eyes never left Gideon’s.
Gideon stepped toward the chair. She began to mentally calculate the sexiest way to pick it up.
“You must be very strong,” Harrow said as Gideon hefted the chair. “I could never move that by myself.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Gideon said. “And I work out.”
“It shows,” Harrow said.
Gideon barely had time to set the chair down- Harrow surged forward and kissed her. In an instant, Gideon wrapped her arms around Harrow, holding her close. Harrow’s body, feverishly hot, pressed in tight against hers. Her mouth was wet and hot and Gideon just wanted to toss her onto that big bed and show her what else those muscles could do.
But fuck, Gideon was on the clock.
And she really didn’t want to lose this job.
Plus, she could really use a shower. She had been handling junk all day. She needed to wash off before she handled Harrow's junk.
“Harrow,” Gideon muttered against chapped lips. Harrow kissed her again, and she tried to remind herself why this was a bad idea. “I have to finish the job. But I should be done in an hour and a half. I live-”
“On the next block,” Harrow interrupted. She was still pressed tight to Gideon, and why did Gideon find the angular press of Harrow’s boney body so hot? “I’ve noticed you.”
“Wait, what?” Gideon said. She hadn't know that Harrow lived here until today. If Harrow knew where she lived-
“Come back once you’re done,” Harrow ordered, totally ignoring Gideon’s question. She kissed Gideon again, hard. And, really, questions didn’t seem so important right now.
Gideon loaded the chair into the truck and told Tern to hurry up. It was weird that Harrow had a kitchen chair in her bedroom, but Harrow had always been weird. She unloaded the truck in record time, so she could get home. She had a mean goth to fuck.