Resonate
Title: Resonate
Pairing: Erin Maxick/Katie Kay
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,600
Disclaimer: Not real, not mine.
Notes: How long have I wanted this pairing? Too terribly long. So long that I actually wrote something. And I didn't want a crazy, insane fic to eat my life again. Just something small and warm. Thanks to hellodolly123 for the read-through, and distractionz for being crazy-awesome and making it work in words the way it did in my head. I love them both forever and ever, amen. <3
Summary: It was a fragile intimacy. So much so that Erin knew it was only a matter of time before it dissolved into something more casual, something more like how a friendship was supposed to be.
Katie Kay was a creature to behold, with or without clothes. She was especially magnificent in them, what with her bizarre sense of fashion. Erin liked her best when she got to see the lines and curves hidden under fabric.
Her skin was a canvas, covered in myriad etchings of ink. There was still some that Erin had never heard the story behind, Katie’s very skin a mystery designed for her to someday solve. She liked to trace the dark lines with the blunt edge of her fingernail, softly, as if she were painting them herself with the tip of that finger. The wings of the sparrows on Katie’s chest couldn’t have felt softer if they’d had real feathers.
* * *
Erin defied basic physics when it came to relationships. She was never attracted to an opposite.
This realization first struck her was when she suddenly realized she was in love with Abby, a girl from her freshmen Chemistry class.
Abby was not eye-catching in a conventional way. She knew very little about the girl besides that her hair was made up of soft, strawberry blonde waves (that Erin had admired from a posterior angle for most of that year), and that she laughed in a high, spritely sort of way (that had always drawn a smile from Erin, whether Erin was aware of it or not). But what really made Erin look was the way she had walked down the halls of the school, shoulders pulled back on either side of a straight spine, toes pointing in a dancer’s step instead of walking heel-toe.
Abby was not, by any means, her opposite. Erin was smitten.
* * *
Katie stirred next to her, skin prickling with goose bumps along her arm as Erin brushed along the bars of color. She tossed her head over to look at Erin and smiled drowsily, pale lips revealing a strip of ivory teeth. Erin’s heart fluttered and she smiled back, her eyes falling half-shut with her own sleepiness.
It was still early morning. Katie had long since destroyed any notions about a normal sleep schedule, but Erin still seemed to be able to rise early without issue, no matter how late the performances or after parties were. Katie loved to sleep and, on a day off like this was, she could finally afford it.
“Food?” Katie said hopefully.
“Later,” replied Erin.
Katie reached up and twisted a finger in Erin’s hair. “Atlanta tomorrow. Long drive we have this afternoon,” she said, voicing aloud how she was always thinking about what came next, how she was running this show.
Turning her head, Erin kissed the thin, silken skin of Katie’s inner forearm. “But now, we sleep.”
* * *
Working in a business like the one Erin did, she met plenty of artists who she either did not respect or did not enjoy. She’d spent plenty of time working with impossible costume designers and incompetent dancers who knew their stuff, but Katie walked onto the scene like she had invented (or could very well reinvent) how things were done. Katie was an artist in more ways than just dance or fashion. She was always spitting out pearls of wisdom or speaking in such beautiful pictures that Erin’s mind never stopped reeling.
Truth be told, Katie intimidated Erin at first. Not because of her demeanor or her reputation, but rather the talent she carried so nonchalantly. She’d won Erin’s respect after the few hours together in the same room.
But then, Katie had to go the second mile and turn out to be an entirely lovely person.
It was no wonder Erin stuck to her like glue. Just like with Abby, the realization that she was completely in love was an abrupt one. How could she not be?
* * *
While Katie dozed off for another couple of hours, Erin stayed mostly awake. The weight of Katie’s hand on her stomach was just concrete enough to keep her from falling back asleep.
* * *
It was a tour full of people who loved each other. No matter what bus Erin was on or who she sat next to at 2 a.m. for a late meal, the whole group constantly exuded a good vibe.
The Hush Sound was a like family, so warm, accepting, and always there for each other without ever having to think about it. It sometimes felt as if The Dolls were in love in their own peculiar way, so wrapped up in themselves. Maybe it wasn’t so peculiar, though. Panic was also made up of a team of little lovers.
Erin liked to watch them together, especially right before or after a show. When their confidence was either wavering or at its peak, they seemed completely captivated with each other. They would cling to one another in the way one desperate for something solid amidst an earthquake would. Once things had settled down again, it was like it never occurred to them to let go.
They were all more lover than fighter, but Brendon in particular evidenced it best. A boy after Erin’s own heart, he was one of those people who, despite how daring or rebellious he might have thought himself, it was still obvious that he had been brought up to behave like a gentleman. Erin could remember the video shoot and his honest desire to be friendly and decent to all of the dancers, like he was lucky to have them on set. How, during the lap dance that they went through every night on tour, she could sometimes see a blush coloring his face a little redder than the heat and the lights already had.
Erin was already past thirty and, thus, well past being embarrassed. Still, it was refreshing to be around someone who made her feel innocent again, like that naivety was contagious. She hoped Brendon would hold onto it, that he wouldn’t lose that light to the years like she’d done.
With the all the devotion that abounded on that tour, Erin didn’t want it to end.
* * *
“Amanda wanted to know if we felt like getting breakfast with her and Brian before we got out on the road,” Katie said. She slid her cell phone closed as she spoke, it having beeped moments before with a text message alert.
“Since when do you have Amanda’s number?” Erin asked amusedly.
“Since the day we figured out that we’re soul mates. They say giving out your personal phone number is the highest expression of love for a celebrity,” Katie said very seriously. “By normal standards, we’re practically getting married.”
Erin threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, I’d like to eat before we get going.”
* * *
When the world wore pinstripes, Erin wore lace and Katie put feathers in her hair. They were kindred spirits in their artistry, their eccentricity.
* * *
The Denny’s booth the four of them filed into was cracked open in spots, revealing the yellowing foam underneath its cheap covering; Erin’s menu was stained around the corners; the edges of the table had nicks in them. But it wasn’t the worst place in town and, anyway, she kind of liked it. Erin reasoned that anything battered or broken must have seen plenty and had lots of valuable life experiences.
What with the general populace’s notions about the glamorous life of the dancer, she couldn’t help smiling.
Brian was wearing pajama pants with a bubbles and ice cream cones design. How a man could possibly wear that and still come off so unmistakably masculine was beyond her; it didn’t stop him from managing it. Erin liked Brian, but this wasn’t saying much. She had an inclination toward what would conventionally be described as weird people.
Next to Brian was Amanda, of course, whose hair was greasy and pulled back. The only make-up on her face was the pair of simple, thin lines above her eyes, and Erin still thought she looked beautiful. The way she leaned into Brian’s shoulder when she laughed with Katie Kay made Erin’s heart go light.
It was rare to find someone loved by so many people who loved so many back. No matter how crowded the room, Amanda made everyone feel like they mattered to her. It went without saying that it was absolutely impossible to avoid loving her.
Though Erin loved that about her too, she loved Amanda best for the way she made Katie laugh.
* * *
It was hard to be around anyone on tour without feeling like she was breathing in their gaseous love. Erin let it seep into her until it buzzed beneath her skin, like the first drink of that night.
Maybe that’s why it was so easy for Katie to twine her fingers between Erin’s before the show in some anonymous city, standing behind her and resting her chin on Erin’s high shoulder. And maybe that’s why Katie didn’t move away when Erin leaned in and kissed her inside the hotel elevator. Though, it was probably something else entirely that drove Katie to slip her fingers down Erin’s sweatpants and it was certainly something else that possessed Erin to pull Katie’s shirt over her head.
But Erin still liked to blame it on the bands.
* * *
“Amanda’s been talking about the next Dolls tour. She wanted to know if we’d be interested,” Katie said, on the bus now bound for Atlanta.
Erin’s mouth stretched and her eyes lit until she was smiling wide and genuine, “Another tour with crazy Amanda Palmer? Most definitely.”
Katie laughed and pushed her bangs from her forehead. “Featuring the incredible, unstoppable Katie Kay and Dusty!”
* * *
It was a fragile intimacy. So much so that Erin knew it was only a matter of time before it dissolved into something more casual, something more like how a friendship was supposed to be.
But, just as was true for the crappy booths at a Denny’s she remembered less and less with each passing mile, Erin was okay with it. Whatever they were and whatever they became, as long as Katie was there, Erin was okay with it.
Pairing: Erin Maxick/Katie Kay
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,600
Disclaimer: Not real, not mine.
Notes: How long have I wanted this pairing? Too terribly long. So long that I actually wrote something. And I didn't want a crazy, insane fic to eat my life again. Just something small and warm. Thanks to hellodolly123 for the read-through, and distractionz for being crazy-awesome and making it work in words the way it did in my head. I love them both forever and ever, amen. <3
Summary: It was a fragile intimacy. So much so that Erin knew it was only a matter of time before it dissolved into something more casual, something more like how a friendship was supposed to be.
Katie Kay was a creature to behold, with or without clothes. She was especially magnificent in them, what with her bizarre sense of fashion. Erin liked her best when she got to see the lines and curves hidden under fabric.
Her skin was a canvas, covered in myriad etchings of ink. There was still some that Erin had never heard the story behind, Katie’s very skin a mystery designed for her to someday solve. She liked to trace the dark lines with the blunt edge of her fingernail, softly, as if she were painting them herself with the tip of that finger. The wings of the sparrows on Katie’s chest couldn’t have felt softer if they’d had real feathers.
* * *
Erin defied basic physics when it came to relationships. She was never attracted to an opposite.
This realization first struck her was when she suddenly realized she was in love with Abby, a girl from her freshmen Chemistry class.
Abby was not eye-catching in a conventional way. She knew very little about the girl besides that her hair was made up of soft, strawberry blonde waves (that Erin had admired from a posterior angle for most of that year), and that she laughed in a high, spritely sort of way (that had always drawn a smile from Erin, whether Erin was aware of it or not). But what really made Erin look was the way she had walked down the halls of the school, shoulders pulled back on either side of a straight spine, toes pointing in a dancer’s step instead of walking heel-toe.
Abby was not, by any means, her opposite. Erin was smitten.
* * *
Katie stirred next to her, skin prickling with goose bumps along her arm as Erin brushed along the bars of color. She tossed her head over to look at Erin and smiled drowsily, pale lips revealing a strip of ivory teeth. Erin’s heart fluttered and she smiled back, her eyes falling half-shut with her own sleepiness.
It was still early morning. Katie had long since destroyed any notions about a normal sleep schedule, but Erin still seemed to be able to rise early without issue, no matter how late the performances or after parties were. Katie loved to sleep and, on a day off like this was, she could finally afford it.
“Food?” Katie said hopefully.
“Later,” replied Erin.
Katie reached up and twisted a finger in Erin’s hair. “Atlanta tomorrow. Long drive we have this afternoon,” she said, voicing aloud how she was always thinking about what came next, how she was running this show.
Turning her head, Erin kissed the thin, silken skin of Katie’s inner forearm. “But now, we sleep.”
* * *
Working in a business like the one Erin did, she met plenty of artists who she either did not respect or did not enjoy. She’d spent plenty of time working with impossible costume designers and incompetent dancers who knew their stuff, but Katie walked onto the scene like she had invented (or could very well reinvent) how things were done. Katie was an artist in more ways than just dance or fashion. She was always spitting out pearls of wisdom or speaking in such beautiful pictures that Erin’s mind never stopped reeling.
Truth be told, Katie intimidated Erin at first. Not because of her demeanor or her reputation, but rather the talent she carried so nonchalantly. She’d won Erin’s respect after the few hours together in the same room.
But then, Katie had to go the second mile and turn out to be an entirely lovely person.
It was no wonder Erin stuck to her like glue. Just like with Abby, the realization that she was completely in love was an abrupt one. How could she not be?
* * *
While Katie dozed off for another couple of hours, Erin stayed mostly awake. The weight of Katie’s hand on her stomach was just concrete enough to keep her from falling back asleep.
* * *
It was a tour full of people who loved each other. No matter what bus Erin was on or who she sat next to at 2 a.m. for a late meal, the whole group constantly exuded a good vibe.
The Hush Sound was a like family, so warm, accepting, and always there for each other without ever having to think about it. It sometimes felt as if The Dolls were in love in their own peculiar way, so wrapped up in themselves. Maybe it wasn’t so peculiar, though. Panic was also made up of a team of little lovers.
Erin liked to watch them together, especially right before or after a show. When their confidence was either wavering or at its peak, they seemed completely captivated with each other. They would cling to one another in the way one desperate for something solid amidst an earthquake would. Once things had settled down again, it was like it never occurred to them to let go.
They were all more lover than fighter, but Brendon in particular evidenced it best. A boy after Erin’s own heart, he was one of those people who, despite how daring or rebellious he might have thought himself, it was still obvious that he had been brought up to behave like a gentleman. Erin could remember the video shoot and his honest desire to be friendly and decent to all of the dancers, like he was lucky to have them on set. How, during the lap dance that they went through every night on tour, she could sometimes see a blush coloring his face a little redder than the heat and the lights already had.
Erin was already past thirty and, thus, well past being embarrassed. Still, it was refreshing to be around someone who made her feel innocent again, like that naivety was contagious. She hoped Brendon would hold onto it, that he wouldn’t lose that light to the years like she’d done.
With the all the devotion that abounded on that tour, Erin didn’t want it to end.
* * *
“Amanda wanted to know if we felt like getting breakfast with her and Brian before we got out on the road,” Katie said. She slid her cell phone closed as she spoke, it having beeped moments before with a text message alert.
“Since when do you have Amanda’s number?” Erin asked amusedly.
“Since the day we figured out that we’re soul mates. They say giving out your personal phone number is the highest expression of love for a celebrity,” Katie said very seriously. “By normal standards, we’re practically getting married.”
Erin threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, I’d like to eat before we get going.”
* * *
When the world wore pinstripes, Erin wore lace and Katie put feathers in her hair. They were kindred spirits in their artistry, their eccentricity.
* * *
The Denny’s booth the four of them filed into was cracked open in spots, revealing the yellowing foam underneath its cheap covering; Erin’s menu was stained around the corners; the edges of the table had nicks in them. But it wasn’t the worst place in town and, anyway, she kind of liked it. Erin reasoned that anything battered or broken must have seen plenty and had lots of valuable life experiences.
What with the general populace’s notions about the glamorous life of the dancer, she couldn’t help smiling.
Brian was wearing pajama pants with a bubbles and ice cream cones design. How a man could possibly wear that and still come off so unmistakably masculine was beyond her; it didn’t stop him from managing it. Erin liked Brian, but this wasn’t saying much. She had an inclination toward what would conventionally be described as weird people.
Next to Brian was Amanda, of course, whose hair was greasy and pulled back. The only make-up on her face was the pair of simple, thin lines above her eyes, and Erin still thought she looked beautiful. The way she leaned into Brian’s shoulder when she laughed with Katie Kay made Erin’s heart go light.
It was rare to find someone loved by so many people who loved so many back. No matter how crowded the room, Amanda made everyone feel like they mattered to her. It went without saying that it was absolutely impossible to avoid loving her.
Though Erin loved that about her too, she loved Amanda best for the way she made Katie laugh.
* * *
It was hard to be around anyone on tour without feeling like she was breathing in their gaseous love. Erin let it seep into her until it buzzed beneath her skin, like the first drink of that night.
Maybe that’s why it was so easy for Katie to twine her fingers between Erin’s before the show in some anonymous city, standing behind her and resting her chin on Erin’s high shoulder. And maybe that’s why Katie didn’t move away when Erin leaned in and kissed her inside the hotel elevator. Though, it was probably something else entirely that drove Katie to slip her fingers down Erin’s sweatpants and it was certainly something else that possessed Erin to pull Katie’s shirt over her head.
But Erin still liked to blame it on the bands.
* * *
“Amanda’s been talking about the next Dolls tour. She wanted to know if we’d be interested,” Katie said, on the bus now bound for Atlanta.
Erin’s mouth stretched and her eyes lit until she was smiling wide and genuine, “Another tour with crazy Amanda Palmer? Most definitely.”
Katie laughed and pushed her bangs from her forehead. “Featuring the incredible, unstoppable Katie Kay and Dusty!”
* * *
It was a fragile intimacy. So much so that Erin knew it was only a matter of time before it dissolved into something more casual, something more like how a friendship was supposed to be.
But, just as was true for the crappy booths at a Denny’s she remembered less and less with each passing mile, Erin was okay with it. Whatever they were and whatever they became, as long as Katie was there, Erin was okay with it.