when it comes to naomi, maggie never stops trying to make her smile. it doesn’t matter if she goes days and days without making her break, every time they see each other is filled with bonafide antics from maggie. “you can enjoy a quiet night some other time, i don’t know the meaning,” she teases, consolidating the trash into one bin before turning back to wash her hands and join naomi. a little makeshift coworker date hadn’t been maggie’s intention, but she’d never say no to naomi. and not because she fears her wrath, though that might be part of it. “you’re too good to me. what would i ever do without you?”
maggie pops up onto the bar, her favorite seat in the house, and steals another fry. they could describe every night as a fuck fest and maggie would agree. she’s well aware of their clientele and what happens in the back, far more aware than she should be, but that’s what she signed up for. the allusion to maribel makes maggie’s shoulders slump for a moment, but she wouldn’t be maggie if she didn’t pretend to bounce back right away. “you know me, i do just fine on my own. i’m nobody. neither side gives a fuck about me,” she insists with a shrug, busying herself by snatching up a pickle spear. the thought occurs to her that maribel probably thought the same thing, which leaves ice in maggie’s veins, but she doesn’t say as much.
she finally lets herself laugh, although she doesn’t forget to roll her eyes while she does. “alright, alright, i get it. you’re a firecracker, a real riot, thank you for saving me from a boring night all by my lonesome.” she takes a sip of soda, wrinkling her nose slightly at how diluted it is. usually, her customers are too drunk to care about watered down soda, but naomi decides she should stash a couple of cans of proper soda for occasions like these. “you would be fine without me,” she says, because it’s the truth. but just because maggie can take care of herself doesn’t stop naomi from wanting to look out for her all the same. “the only thing i really do for you is handle the creeps who get a little too handsy, but i’m sure you could handle it on your own if you had to.”
both of them know that’s not really true. if someone like maribel, who had been uninvolved in the shady underbelly of the town, could find herself on the wrong end of someone else’s gun, then nobody was safe, much less someone like maggie, who had ties to both sides without truly belonging to either one. naomi doesn’t refute her statement though, only hums softly in response, before adding, “well, for what it’s worth, i give a fuck about you.” those who didn’t know her would find it hard to believe that she was capable of caring about other people, but the truth is naomi has always cared, maybe even a little too much at times, even if she’s not the best at showing it. grabbing the plastic knife, she cuts the burger in half before offering one half to maggie, “eat.”
