i don't know if you read that fic in AO3 "Sit" that's a modern AU where Abby and Dina are actresses but if you did, you think you can make fanart for it? That's almost no Abby/Dina content and that would be cool. Thank you for your art! đ„°
The office breakroom buzzed with the low voices, the bitter scent of burnt coffee lingering stubbornly in the air, the overhead lights flickered faintly casting a cold, sterile glow over the cramped, cluttered space. Posters about workplace behaviour peeled at the corners, and passive-aggressive sticky notes with âPLEASE CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF!! â scrawled in the unmistakable slant of their floor manager's handwriting.
Dina sat by the round table near the window, cradling a cup between her hands, the steam brushing the edges of her glasses, fogging them up. The warmth was welcomed, a small comfort from her morning. Opposite to her, Tanya and Nadjiaâs hushed voices filled the space.
âDidya hear about James?â Tanya asked, voice dropping to a whisper, eyes darting over her shoulder as she leaned forward âhe missed the client meeting on purpose, knew the deal was falling apart and didnât wanna get chewed out by Abbyâ
Dina gasped leaning closer âGod, didnât he blame it on traffic?â
âOh he did,â Nadjia snorted, âbut likeâŠcâmon you know he saw the numbers tanking and bailed.â
Across the room the coffee machine hissed, like it agreed. Dina stood up pouring herself one more cup. She didn't need it, not really just needed to move, to do something with her hands. Just as she turned back to the table, the break room door swung open with a soft thud.
The soft whispers continued until she, Abby, coughed. Leaning against the door frame, her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, exposing the toned strong forearms, muscles taut as usual and a prominent vein that ran down the length of it, leading your eyes down to her hands, dusted with light freckles, the kind you only notice if you were really looking. And god had Dina been looking.
She crossed her arms slowly, the cotton of her shirt pulling slightly across the strong plane of her shoulders.
âBreaks been over for 15 minutes guysâ she huffed, an eyebrow quirking as she swept look over the concerningly full break room, trying to ignore the way her breath hitched at the sight of Dina. Subtly⊠almost missable.
Dina didn't miss it. Of course she didn't.
She could feel the weight of Abbys gaze on the red deep blouse that hugged her just right, she knew it did, had picked it on purpose, even if she'd never admit it. Abby's stare dipped right to her open collar, tracing the plane of her throat. Dina watched her cheeks shift just a little too pink for someone trying to play it cool, watched a flush creep up the blondes neck.
The workers started shuffling out of the room, chairs scraped, groaning underneath their breaths, the usual mutterings of âwhateverâ and âmicromanagerâ following them out
âYeah, yeah i get itâ Abby muttered rolling her eyes, as employees filled out. Yet Dina stayed at the table, still rummaging through her purse, even though she knew damn well her report was already sitting on her desk. Abby lingered, eyes trailing her form mindlessly.
âI uhh..â Abby hesitated, finally meeting Dina's eyes quickly clearing her throat âyou having a good day?â she smoothed the hem of her shirtâtwice. Adjusted her sleeve for no reason, then lifted her hand rubbing at the back of her neck, her soft blue eyes staring back at Dinas past her glasses.
Dina looked up slowly, head tilted slightly, a loose curl spilling over her shoulder. The neckline of her blouse had slipped slightly askew, enough to be noticed. She hadn't meant to flirt, not really, but she wasn't exactly stopping herself either. Abby's gaze lingered on the exposed skin of her collarbone, her jaw tightening. It was impossible not to notice and Dina hated how satisfying it was to be noticed, especially by her.
âA great day,â she said, voice sweet with something far too close to sarcasm,
âMs Andersonâ she added, lashes fluttering.
Abby coughed, an actual honest-to-God cough as if her body didn't know how to react, hand grasping the doorframe as she took a step back, like she'd been physically shoved. Dina rose smoothly, slipping her purse over her shoulder and brushing past her with a smile that almost couldâve been passed off as innocent. She didn't look back, not when Abby's breath caught again, not even when she could feel the heat of her gaze pinned to the back of her neck.
The rest of the day dragged by in a blur of half finished emails, unread spreadsheets and the sound of Tanya whispering far too loudly about âtensionâ and âthose twoâ, Dina had to pretend she didn't hear, trying and failing to ignore her words.
âTanya câmonâ she muttered, not even looking up from her keyboard âyou know me and Ellieââ
âBet she barely touches youâ Tanya cut her off, without missing a beat, eyes still scanning the latest budget draft. Dina gasped laughing bitterly as she swapped at the air near Tanyas head
âOh donât you make me involve HRâ Tanya just rolled her eyes, flipping a page. Dina went to continue until a folder was dropped in front of her with a thud. The report. She opened it, flipping through until her eyes landed on the handwritten note at the bottom of the final page.
âCleaner formatting next time. Otherwise, good jobâAâ
The âotherwiseâ was underlined. Twice.
No smiley face, No thank you, No signature. Just an initial. Just âAâ. A single letter pressed into the page like a weight, almost a dismissal.
Her hands crinkled the edge of the paper. Dina stared at the note for too long, a bitter feeling settling on her shoulders as she haphazardly shoved the paper into her drawer and slammed it shut.
By the end of her shift Dina was just as exhausted as she'd been that morning. Her expression had settled into a permanent frown, she had barely registered Tanya's parting wave.
The keys rattled loudly in the bowl as she slammed the apartment door shut behind her. She didn't bother bother turning on the lightsâ just kicked her heels off, one after the other, and wandered through the dark aimlessly.
The apartment was quiet.
Too quiet.
She reached the bedroom, their bedroom. One side of the bed was already made, as if it had been smoothed over out of spite. Ellie hadnât been back, Or if she had she hadn't stayed
No text, No note.
Just an empty pillow and the scent of her shampoo starting to fade. Dina let her purse slide from her shoulder, hitting the floor with a quiet thump. She stood there a while, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the bed, unmoving, unblinking.
Then her phone buzzed. She scrambled for itâ hands fumbling with the lockscreen, breath tight in her chest.
A quiet, bitter laugh escaped her.
She let the phone fall back into her purse, and slumped into the messy side of the bed, not even bothering to take off her blouse.
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