I'd Be Happy Just To Meet Ya

by ThisRandomBoi

Summary:

When Agatha has a run in with a cute dogwalker in the park, will making a missed connections post about it spell disaster and embarrass her into the next life, or will she get lucky and find the woman of her dreams?

Chapter 1

Notes:

The inspiration for this fic came from a TikTok post
https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSAYPubBV/

Breathing in the fresh air, Agatha leaned back against the park bench, turning her face to the sun. If she wasn't stuck in her studio, she was either trapped in the showroom or her windowless office. Coming to the park for lunch was sometimes the only way she was able to enjoy the day. Setting her iced coffee and the now empty sandwich wrapper on the bench beside her, Agatha pulled out her phone. She'd become rather engrossed in an oped about an artist she was familiar with when she felt something lick her ankle. Looking down after jumping out of her skin, the cutest little eyes stared back up at her. A little dog had managed to get her legs tangled up in their leash and was now excitedly demanding Agatha's attention.

“Sorry! Sorry!”

Agatha opened her mouth to brush off the apologies but quickly shut it again when she saw who gave them. A woman with a backwards cap, athletic shorts and a vintage muscle tee was kneeling at her feet trying to untangle the leash. Three other dogs were hooked up to a belt around her waist, one very large, one as tall as her knees and another little one, waiting patiently while she dealt with what was clearly the problem child.

“C’mon Sebastian, leave the nice lady alone.”

Agatha watched her unclip the rainbow leash from her belt, carefully using the end to untangle them and deftly clip it back. Flashing her a smile as she stood, the woman’s honey brown eyes nearly made Agatha's heart stop. Sebastian licked her leg again, reminding her to shut her gaping mouth, before putting his front paws on her knee and demanding to be pet. Agatha gave in, scratching his little head as the woman looked at her apologetically.

“Sorry. I don't like pulling them on the leash if I can help it. Sebastian, C'mon. Let's go!” She gave a little whistle and Sebastian jumped away from Agatha and ran back towards the pack.

“It's no problem, really. Do you wa-” Agatha stopped speaking when she realized the woman had just turned and walked away from her, continuing on down the path.

Agatha stared after her for a while in disbelief before it dawned on her. The woman was wearing earbuds and was clearly listening to something, her voice having had that slight tone of not quite knowing how loud you are to everyone else. Shaking off the awkwardness of the encounter’s end, Agatha got up, collected her things and headed back to work.

Work, where she stood behind the showroom counter for the rest of the day while the occasional person came in and perused the art. Work, where her mind kept drifting to other things. Toned arms, deft fingers, sun kissed skin.

“Hey! Earth to Agatha!”

Agatha jumped as a catalogue landed with a slam beside her, bringing her back to the real world. Wanda, her bestfriend and coworker for the day, stood looking at her expectantly.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

“Jesus, Agatha. What's got you so distracted this afternoon? You've just been staring out the window since you came back from lunch.”

The showroom was empty but for them, so Agatha groaned, dramatically collapsing against the counter. “Something happened at the park.”

“What kind of something?” Wanda got excited at the prospect of a good story. “Good something? Bad something?”

“Weird something.” With a sigh, Agatha pushed herself back to standing and looked at Wanda. “There was a girl.”

“Okay, I already like where this is going.” Wanda urged her on with her hands and Agatha rolled her eyes.

“Well there was a dog first. He got all tangled up in my legs and then the girl showed up to get him loose. And she was… really pretty…” Agatha felt the warmth rush to her face at the admission.

“And then what?”

“And then she totally blew me off! Just left once she freed him and didn't give me a second thought!”

“Is that what really happened?” Wanda tilted her head, seeing through Agatha's dramatics.

“Well, she might have been listening to something and didn't hear me… but that's not the point.”

“Then what's the point, hon?”

“I mean… am I not interesting enough for someone to want to stop and talk to? I'm hot, aren't I?” Agatha wasn't usually one to have self-esteem issues, but something had her doubting.

“You're smoking hot, babe. But have you considered that you were dressed like this?” As Wanda gestured at her clothes, Agatha frowned. She was wearing what she usually wore to the showroom, a pencil skirt, silk blouse and stilettos sharp enough to kill a man. “She probably thought you didn't want to be bothered.”

Agatha hated it when Wanda was right. She was dressed like a high end bitch, of course the woman didn't want to talk to her. It's not even like she was her type, so why was Agatha so bent out of shape about it. She didn't usually go for masc women, but that smile and those eyes kept replaying over and over in her mind.

“You know, you could do one of those missed connection things.” Wanda brought the conversation back hours later as they locked up the showroom for the day, heading towards their cars.

“What? Like an ad in the paper? No thank you, I'm not seventy.” Agatha scoffed at the idea, pulling her keys from her purse.

“No, you idiot. Online. If you really want to talk to her, make a post and see if the internet can find her.”

“That's assuming that I do want to talk to her. It's really not that big of a deal. I'm not desperate Wanda.”

But as Agatha lay awake in bed that night, she began questioning if that was really true. She couldn't get the woman out of her head, their five minute interaction on a loop. With a groan, she threw her covers back, changed out of her PJs and went to do something about it.

Flipping the light on in her home studio, Agatha surveyed her prepped canvases before pulling a suitable one out and setting it on an easel. She turned on her stereo, cranked the volume and set to work, opting for something a little high octane to get her frustrations out. Letting the music guide her paintbrushes, Agatha got lost inside herself for a while. Each splatter, each stroke, each smear of paint had a purpose, and as she sat on her stool and stared at what she had made, Agatha resigned herself to her fate. Reaching for her phone, she groaned for the hundredth time that day. She really hated it when Wanda was right.

 

Chapter 2

“...and that was the last time anyone saw Annie. Or was it? Authorities managed to find CCTV footage from the parking complex her car was abandoned in, showing her leaving the building with another person.”

Rio tapped her watch, pausing the audio in her ears as she climbed the front steps of a townhouse and rang the bell. The barking was immediate, growing louder just before the door opened, releasing an excited Sebastian. With a chuckle, Rio squatted to say hello and let him lick her face.

“Hi, Sebastian! You ready for Walking Club?”

“Hey Rio. Thanks for adding him on such short notice. I didn't think I had to go in today.” Maria, Sebastian's mom who was some sort of high powered business woman, looked frazzled as she got his things together.

“It's no problem. You know you can call me whenever, you're just down the block from me now.” Moving to this area of the city had been the best decision for Rio’s business. She was now so much closer to most of her clients and there were some really great parks in the area. Plus, it meant she could do home pickups now instead of everyone having to drop their dogs off halfway across the city.

“Are you sure you're okay to take him? I don't want to take advantage of your kindness.” She handed Rio his collar, which she clicked around his neck before clipping him onto his leash.

“Maria. It's all good. I wouldn't say yes if I couldn't. Besides, today's a slow one for me. I've just got two, well and Sebastian makes three. Are you ready to go play with Lucky and Fanny?”

Sebastian barked excitedly, his whole body shaking with how hard his tail was wagging.

“Okay, okay.” Maria bent down to kiss a squirming Sebastian on the head. “You have fun with Rio today. And be on your best behaviour!” She grabbed her bag, closed the front door and rushed down the steps with a wave behind her as she hurried towards her car.

“Alright buddy, how about we go pick up some friends?”

A little while later, with three dogs now clipped in to her belt, Rio made her way towards a little enclosed dog park that she knew would be empty this early in the day.

“With her remains washing up on the shore the next day, authorities were absolutely dumbfounded by what could possibly have happened.”

As she sat watching Sebastian chase Lucky around the park, her podcast was interrupted by an incoming text. Hitting pause, she looked down at her watch.

Maria Hill deposited ($30) into your account.
Maria: lunch is on me!
Maria: also… dis you?
Maria: shared a [video link]

With a confused frown, Rio pulled out her phone and opened the link.

“Ugh this is so embarrassing! Apparently I need the Internet's help with something. Umm…”

A woman was talking to her phone screen inside what looked to be some sort of art studio. It looked like she'd been painting, her hair up in a messy bun and her clothes splattered with paint.

“I was in Academy Park today… if you were the cute girl with the backwards hat that was walking four dogs on rainbow leashes and one of those dogs, Sebastian I think his name was, got tangled up in my legs while I was sitting on the bench and you came over to get him, but you were clearly listening to something in your earbuds that was probably really cool and smart so when I went to ask you a question you didn't hear me and you left… if that was you… do you think maybe Sebastian knew exactly what he was doing? Umm… anyways, I eat my lunch on that bench pretty much everyday so… yeah.”

Rio stared at her screen for a while, the video looping a couple of times before she paused it. She hadn't recognized the woman, her appearance so drastically different from the woman on the bench. When Sebastian had managed to get himself stuck, Rio had been internally cursing about his choice of victim and was fully prepared for an entitled rant from her. She figured it was best to get in and get out and apologize the whole time. Had she really been so blind? The woman who looked up at her through her screen seemed so soft, a speck of blue paint smeared against her cheek. She'd called her cute.

Rio nearly choked when she looked at the video again. It had over two thousand likes, half as many shares and so so many comments. The comments were a lot of the same, lauding the story as a meetcute worthy of a romcom and desperately wanting an update as soon as she found said cute girl. What the fuck was happening? When did her life become the plot of a cheesy movie?

When noon rolled around, Rio considered her options very carefully. She could go to the bench, sure. She could properly meet this woman. They could talk and hit it off, or more likely talk and realize they had nothing in common. She wasn't exactly Rio's type, although if you actually asked Rio she wouldn't be able to actually say what her type was. She felt the weight of thousands of people on the internet on her shoulders and turned in the other direction, heading towards a different park in a different neighbourhood.

After dropping Sebastian back at home, Maria being a bit tired for too much teasing, Rio just had the other two to deposit before she could go home. Ringing the buzzer, she unclipped Lucky and Fanny so they could run inside as soon as the door opened, one of their moms greeting them.

“Hi babies! Did you have fun with Auntie Rio?” Kate ruffled their heads, Lucky licking her face before they both went looking for Yelena. “Mama’s upstairs guys. Hey Rio.”

“Hey. I had a surprise Sebastian today so they'll probably be pretty tired the rest of the day. He really put them through the wringer.”

“Awesome. Afternoon naps all around! Thanks.”

Rio smiled and turned to leave when Kate called her back.

“Hold up a sec. Have you seen this video that's going around?” She held her phone out and Rio was once again confronted with a now familiar face.

“Uh yeah. I've seen it.” Her phone had been semi blowing up the rest of the day with various people sending it to her.

“Are you going to meet her? Did you go today?”

“No. Probably not.” Rio shrugged, hands awkwardly in her pockets.

“What?! Why not?”

“Are you chicken?” Another voice came from behind Kate as Yelena appeared at her shoulder.

“I don't… I don't know. I barely even remember what happened yesterday.” That was a lie. She'd been going over the events at the park all day in her head, remembering more than she realized. Blue eyes, little freckles over her cheeks.

“Rio! This woman made herself vulnerable on the internet for you! The least you can do is say hi. At least let her down easy.”

“My Kate is such a romantic.” Yelena kissed the side of Kate's head, wrapping her arms around her middle and resting her chin on her shoulder. “But she's right, it seems cruel to leave her hanging.”

“Look.” Kate handed Rio her phone, having tapped on her profile. “It says here she works at House of M. That's that art gallery on fourth, across from the park. My mom goes there.”

Rio's eyes were glued to the profile picture. It was a professional photo for sure, the woman looking glamourous and artsy as she stared into Rio's soul. Agatha Harkness.

Shaking her head she handed Kate back the phone. “I don't know, I'll think about it. See you guys.”

“You should! Oh, come out for drinks on Friday! I'll text you!” Kate called after her and Rio raised a hand to show she'd heard before plugging her earbuds back in and heading off down the street.

“The authorities only had two suspects in mind, but they both had fairly solid alibis at the time. However, everything they knew about the case was about to crumble, as a new testimony hit their desk.”

Notes:

I wanted to give you both perspectives to begin but felt that they worked better split up rather than lumping them into the same chapter. I hope you stick around to see what comes of Agatha's little stunt!

<3

Chapter 3

“I'm gonna delete the video.”

It had been three days since Agatha's insomnia induced video went live, and three days of her anxiously sitting on a bench that nobody was coming to.

“What? Why?” Wanda put down her broom, stopping fake sweeping so she didn't have to help Agatha wipe down the surfaces during their end of day clean.

“Because she's not coming and it's starting to feel like an invasion of privacy. I posted it so that she would see it, not so that internet sleuths could track her down for me.”

Her comment sections and DMs were full of people claiming they knew who the woman was. That's my dog walker! I think I went to college with her! But Agatha refused to look at any of the profiles she was sent. The woman needed to come to her, she wasn't about to hunt her down, and clearly she didn't want to.

“I think it's time to just drop it. Take the hit and move on.” Agatha scrunched up her face at her friend.

“Are you sure about that? You're just going to give up?” Wanda had given up all pretense of helping clean at this point, instead leaning against the counter.

“It's not giving up if there was nothing there to begin with. I'm a big girl, I'll survive.”

Agatha would be lying if she said it didn't hurt. She'd never been so outrightly rejected before and it definitely stung.

“Okay fine, but you're coming out for drinks tonight and I'm not taking no for an answer. We’ll find something to take your mind off of it, or someone.” Wanda grinned and dodged the cleaning cloth flung in her direction.

Agatha pulled out her phone, opened her video and deleted it. Thousands of comments and views, gone. She had to admit it felt good, like a tiny weight off her shoulders that she hadn't known was there. She felt foolish for even posting it in the first place.

The bell chimed, announcing the appearance of what would be the last customer of the day, the gallery minutes from closing.

“Hello, welcome to House of M. Is there anything we can help you find?” Wanda's cheery voice gave Agatha permission to grab the discarded broom and disappear into the back. God forbid a prospective art purchaser were to see the evidence of a clean establishment.

“Hi… umm.”

Agatha paused at the voice, eyebrows scrunching as her ears picked up something familiar about it.

“Actually… I was looking for uhh…Agatha?”

“Oh, right. She's just in the back, she should be out in a minute! Agatha!” Agatha could tell Wanda was as confused as she was. Was this one of her clients? Maybe someone she hadn't dealt with in a while?

Dusting off her hands and straightening her outfit, Agatha pushed through the door with an air of professionalism, her customer service smile perfectly in place.

“Hi! What can I help you w-” Agatha felt her heart plummet to her feet as her eyes went wide. In front of her was actually the stupidest thing she had ever seen.

Just by the door stood the woman, the golden hour sun outside streaming through the floor to ceiling windows and backlighting her like she was a goddamn angel. An angel in high waisted jeans and a cropped button up that was unbuttoned just a little too much.

“Hi.” Agatha's voice sounded breathy as she forced air back through her lungs.

“Hi…”

Wanda looked between them, the awkward silence confusing her for a moment before everything dawned on her.

“Ooooh. I’ll be in the back, if you need me for anything.” She passed by Agatha with a far too excited poke to her side that she had to slap away, before disappearing through the door.

“So… you work here?” The woman looked around at the showroom and started slowly strolling around, inspecting the art that was displayed.

“I do. I'm also an artist myself. We all are. We curate our own work as well as some others and help obtain pieces our clientele might be looking for. But I don't get commission for selling my own work, otherwise we'd all be pushing our own stuff on people.”

Agatha internally kicked herself for rambling. She didn't need the whole LinkedIn job description. The woman paused to look at a sculpture, gently raising a finger to prod at one of the points coming off of it before stopping herself and tucking her hands in her pockets with a nod.

“Cool.” Turning back towards Agatha, the air thick again, she tapped her toe on the ground before reaching a hand out towards her. “I'm Rio, by the way.”

“Agatha.” She closed her eyes as she shook her hand, mentally kicking herself again, but Rio just chuckled.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Right. Look, I'm sorry about the video. I didn't mean for it to blow up like that. I actually just deleted it two seconds before you walked in, and I know it's probably too late and you've had to deal with whatever fallout from it that's come your way…”

“What video?”

Agatha choked on her words, mouth agape before she saw the sparkle in Rio's eyes and a grin growing on her face.

“I'm messing with you. Did you know that you talk a lot?”

“I don't normally. Normally I'm very succinct and to the point.”

Rio considered that, wandering over to lean against the counter with another nod. “I'm sorry if you've been waiting for me. I uh… well I didn't think I was going to come.”

“Oh… why did you?” Agatha didn't know if she wanted the answer. Was it to tell her to leave her alone? To let her down easy?

“Curiousity I guess. What did you say? Maybe Sebastian knew exactly what he was doing?” Their eyes met and Rio bit her lip, fiddling with her fingers anxiously. “Listen, I'm meeting up with some friends at the bar on the corner across the park. You should come by… if you want.”

Before Agatha could open her mouth to either accept or decline, the door behind her burst open and Wanda was at her side. “What a coincidence, we’re also going there with some friends tonight!”

“Cool. Um… I guess I'll see you later then.” Rio smiled politely at Wanda before meeting Agatha's eyes again. Everytime she did that, it was like a zap of electricity went through her body. She nodded and watched as Rio backed out of the showroom, door jingling at her exit as she wandered back down the street.

Wanda at the very least had enough tact to wait until Rio was out of sight before turning and excitedly slapping Agatha's arm. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! She came!”

“Stop it!” Agatha grabbed her wrists and held them down at her sides. “Would you be normal?”

“Okay, okay!” She calmed down, Agatha letting go of her wrists when she stopped bouncing on her heels. “I'm just excited for you. Tonight's gonna be so fun!”

“I need to go home and change.” Agatha looked down at her outfit and cringed. She guessed it couldn't be too bad, Rio had still invited her out, but business chic was not the vibe she wanted to give off.

“You go. I'll lock up. Text me if you need help.”

Agatha nodded, bolting for the door and stopped with her hand on the handle. Turning back to face her friend, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. “Hey Wanda… She came.”

Notes:

I hope you love loser lesbian Agatha as much as I do. Rio's the only person who makes her nervous.

<3

Chapter 4

Rio didn't think she'd ever been more anxious in her life. As she sat at a table with her friends, nursing her drink and facing the front door of the bar, she couldn't help but bite at her fingernails. Is this how Agatha had felt all week? She'd have to make an effort to apologize again for that.

“Hey, you okay?” Yelena leaned over to gently check on her, clearly worried about how quiet she was.

“Yeah. I'm good. Just… I kind of invited Agatha.”

“You what?!” Kate, who had been subtly eavesdropping lunged over her girlfriend at her. “Tell me everything!”

“There's not really anything to tell. I stopped by her work earlier and suggested she should come by and her friend said that they were actually already planning on coming so… they're probably gonna show up.”

“Oh my god, that's so exciting! What was she like? Was she as adorable in person?”

“I don't know, she was at work. But like… yeah she was cu-” Rio's head swiveled as the door opened, a group laughing as they strode through. Cute was nowhere near the right word for the woman who's just walked in. Hair perfectly curled, fluffed and pushed over one shoulder, Agatha was wearing a black sleeveless dress with a deep v in the front that left very little to the imagination. There were only two words that would come to Rio's mind. Fucking hot.

“Holy shit.” Rio snapped her mouth shut, swallowing thickly as she watched Agatha saunter towards the bar.

“This is your woman?” Yelena craned her neck to get a better look, letting out an appreciative whistle that was promptly followed by a punch to her arm. “Hey! I am just looking. You can't even tell me that you don't agree.”

“Dammit, she's right. Go talk to her before someone else does!” Kate reached over to push Rio out of her seat.

Wiping her now sweaty palms against her jeans, Rio made her way through the people milling around near the bar, pausing only for a moment to assess the group and figure out a course of action.

“And you, miss?”

“I'll have a Manhattan.” As Agatha reached into her purse to pay, Rio slid up beside her.

“Make it two and put it on my tab.” She smiled at the bartender, who got to work making their drinks, before turning towards Agatha.

“You didn't need to do that.” Agatha clicked the clasp on her purse shut and leaned her hip against the bar.

“Consider it another apology for keeping you waiting.”

“Now you're making me sound like a woeful, desperate woman who sat on a bench all week and did nothing else with her life.”

“Well then I guess I owe you another drink.”

Rio grinned at Agatha, who reciprocated it in kind. She felt a lot less awkward than earlier, probably helped by the fact that she hadn't been ambushed in her place of employment. The glint in her eye was playful, a symptom of their banter, making Rio blush.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Rio knew she was grinning like an idiot, but she couldn't stop. Their drinks landed on the bartop accompanied by two pink coloured shots.

“Shoooots! Agatha, shots!” Agatha’s redheaded friend from the gallery held up her own pink shot, mirrored by the rest of the group.

Agatha looked at her and shrugged, picking up the glass and downing it to a cheer from her friends. With a shake of her head, Rio followed suit and immediately regretted it. She nearly choked it back up, the sickly sweet liquid burning the back of her throat.

“Oh god! What was that?” Coughing, she took a sip of her drink to try and chase the flavour away.

“Who knows. Wanda orders the weirdest shit sometimes, especially when she's on a mission. And tonight that mission is fun.”

“I'm all for fun, but I think I have to veto whatever kind of fun that was.”

Agatha laughed and Rio knew in that moment that she would spend the rest of the night trying to hear that sound as many times as she could.

“These are my friends by the way. You've already met Wanda. That's Jen.” She pointed to the woman who was trying to wrestle the shot menu away from Wanda, followed by the grungy looking girl beside her. “And Alice.”

Rio nodded as the friends waved at her. “Cool. Uh, mine are over there.” She gestured back to the table she'd been at. “Yelena and Kate. That's Bob in the corner, and Walker. And that's Ava. And Yelena's sister Nat and Clint are over playing pool I think.” Kate was the only one actively watching them and waved over excitedly.

“Do you guys come here a lot?” Agatha sipped her drink, settling in to the conversation.

“This is only my second time. I actually only just moved to this area a couple weeks ago. I used to live across town. Kate's been trying to get me to come out more. What about you?”

“I don't go out very often. Wanda’s usually the one who drags me out of my home, especially when I'm spending too much time in the studio.

Rio looked over Agatha's shoulders at her friends, who were now trying to get the bartender to talk Wanda out of the next round of shots. “Are you guys all artists? Do you all work at the gallery?”

“Yeah. Jen’s been there forever, that's how Wanda and I got in. And Alice does some really cool stuff that doesn't really get featured there because it's pretty edgy. She actually has a show next week… if that's something you'd be interested in.” Agatha scrunched up her lips, clearly feeling vulnerable by making the invitation.

“I could be interested.” Rio blushed even more at how keen she sounded. She tried to cover it by sipping her drink, but caught a peek over Agatha's shoulder of the bartender. “Uh oh. Looks like they ordered another round.”

Agatha looked behind her, made a face at what was being poured and picked up her drink. “C’mon. Let's make a break for it.” Rio's heart nearly jumped into her throat as Agatha's hand wrapped around hers and pulled her away from the bar. Tightening her grip and holding on for dear life, Rio let herself be maneuvered through the crowd towards a small empty standing table closer to the back of the bar.

“There. I think we’ll be safe here for now.” Agatha placed her drink down and casually let go of Rio's hand.

“Your friends won't miss you?” Rio tried not to flex her fingers, her hand feeling cold without Agatha's touch, and instead rested her arms on top of the table.

“The mission is fun. Right now I'm here with you, so I'm on mission.”

Rio chuckled and nervously pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “Fair enough. You'll let me know if we go off mission?”

“Don't worry… you'll know.” Agatha punctuated her statement with a gentle pat to Rio’s forearm. She left her hand there for a couple of beats, allowing Rio to admire the dainty and elegant rings adorning her fingers. Feeling bold, Rio reached out to catch her hand when she pulled it away.

“Wow, these are nice.”

“Mmm, thank you. Are you really using one of the oldest tricks in the book?” Agatha tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Maybe. Is it working?” Rio couldn't help the smirk that came when she saw Agatha's cheeks darken before she pulled her hand away.

“Shut up.”

Rio's eyes flicked up as the overhead lights dimmed a couple of notches and the music playing in the bar got louder. Dinner was officially over, the vibe switching over into something more akin to a club. Looking back at Agatha, she furrowed her brow as she realized the woman was saying something.

“Sorry, what?” She raised her voice to be heard over the music, not able to discern what Agatha was saying.

Agatha could have also just raised her voice, but Rio couldn't help as her breath hitched when she took the other option. Stepping closer, occupying Rio's space, Agatha leaned in to speak closer to her ear.

“I asked if you walk dogs as your job.” Agatha’s voice was almost like a purr, the most mundane question about her life nearly sending Rio into a spiral.

“Uh… yeah. I run my own business.” Agatha didn't move away as Rio began talking, nodding as she listened, their faces inches apart. “I have about thirty dogs on my roster but only half of them are regular clients. I also occasionally dogsit for people when they go out of town, but only if I really like their dogs. I dogsit Kate and Yelena’s dogs pretty regularly, but that's more like babysitting my niece and nephew… and I'm talking too much.” Rio suddenly became very aware of how much she'd just said after a single question, but Agatha just smiled at her.

“Don't get me talking about art or you'll never get me to shut up.” Her hand came back to rest against Rio’s wrist, thumb gently stroking her skin. “You're clearly very passionate about it. Don't worry, I like that.”

Rio couldn't stop her eyes from flicking down to Agatha's mouth, her lips so soft and kissable, all she had to do was lean forward…

Snapping herself out of it, Rio finished her drink instead. “Do you want another drink?”

Agatha smiled again, softly and nodded her head, so Rio slid away towards the bar. She'd needed an excuse to step away, to breathe and collect herself. She was acting like a fool, after what? Two minutes with this woman? Someone showing the bare minimum amount of attention towards her? She needed to calm down.

Notes:

Don't mind me, pushing my background character ship agendas.

<3

Chapter 5

Sure, Agatha’d had a crashout over what to wear to the bar, calling Wanda over for help and doing pregame shots while sitting in a pile of clothes on the floor. She wanted to show Rio that she wasn't some corporate bitch, high strung and tightly wound. That's how they settled on the little black number she was wearing, Wanda assuring her that Rio would be drooling over her and if she wasn't they'd find her someone else. But standing in the dimly lit bar, close enough to feel the warmth of the other woman’s body, Agatha felt bold. Reaching out to touch here and there, each time sending electricity through her fingertips. It wasn't until she was sure she'd been seconds away from kissing Rio, that she'd shaken some sense into herself.

Agatha had smiled as Rio offered to get another round of drinks and took a deep centering breath as soon as she left the table. She needed to chill. She was coming on too strong after already making a fool of herself. She was starting to feel predatory towards Rio and was worried about scaring her off if she came on too strong. She needed to let Rio make a move.

That was easier said than done. Everything about the woman was pulling Agatha in. They stayed there all night, drinking and talking about everything and nothing, heads together so they could be heard over the music and the rest of the bar patrons. Rio was funny, in that wry, sardonic kind of way, making Agatha burst out laughing more than once. At the very least, Agatha could see them being friends should nothing else happen, if she could get over that incessant need to touch her, to feel her skin under her fingertips.

“Hey!” One of Rio’s friends, the dark haired girl that was either Kate or Yelena, came bounding over to them. “Bob wants to go get burgers, so we’re gonna wander down to that place a few streets over before it closes. You wanna come?”

Agatha glanced down at her watch and was startled to find that it was nearly midnight, having spent all evening engrossed in Rio. She searched around for her own friends. When she found them on the semblance of a dancefloor still having a good time and clearly not missing her, she felt her body relax. At least she could go back to them when Rio ditched her.

She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her wrist, fingers lightly moving against her pulse, and looked back at Rio, who was smiling at her friend. “Actually, I'm happy here. You guys have fun.”

The friend nodded and wrapped her arms around Rio, speaking into her ear before grinning and running back to the group with a cheery “Bye!”

“You don't have to stay. I'm a big girl, y’know.”

Rio leaned closer, speaking directly into her ear. “I want to.” Pulling away, she smiled at Agatha, hand still gently stroking her wrist. “But if you want to go back to your friends, I can still catch up with mine.”

Agatha shook her head, looking down at her arm and turning it to catch Rio's fingers in her own. “I'm happy here.”

Unable to help as her eyes, for the one millionth time that night, fell towards the other girl's lips, Agatha watched her smile as she parroted her words back to her. She also couldn't help as her eyes fell lower, drawn again towards Rio’s indecently unbuttoned shirt, the way she was leaning forward making it clear she wasn't wearing a bra underneath.

It was a few minutes, or maybe hours, later when Agatha felt a hand slide around the back of her neck, sending the wrong kind of shiver down her spine, and a giggle in her ear.

“Wanda, what the fuck! Don't do that. Sorry, Agatha. I'm gonna take these two home.” Alice appeared beside her, clearly the most coherent of the three friends. Wanda and Jen were hanging off of each other, laughing about something.

“Oh, okay. Are you good?”

“Yeah! Real good. I'll call a car and we’ll probably all just crash at Wanda's. Are you good?” Alice looked down at their entwined hands before side-eying Rio.

Agatha felt the blush climb her face and nodded. “Real good. Text me when you get settled somewhere?”

“Ditto. C’mon you two.” Alice scooped her arm around Wanda and started leading the group towards the door before calling over her shoulder. “Hey, invite her to my show! I'll put an extra ticket aside!”

With a wave of acknowledgement, Agatha watched the trio laugh their way through the crowd and chuckled. It looked like Mission: Fun was a success.

The patrons around them began dwindling as the night got later, but neither of them noticed until the barbacks announced last call.

“Shit, we should probably go.” Rio pulled out her phone to check the time and Agatha saw her cringe at the missed notifications on her screen.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Leaving their fingers laced together, she typed out a text with one hand before shoving her phone back into her jeans. “They're just checking to make sure you haven't murdered me.”

“Now wouldn't that make an interesting podcast episode?” Agatha had been tickled when Rio told her she'd been enthralled by a murder podcast when they met and genuinely hadn't heard her speaking.

“Hmm… the Viral Video Vanquisher? Villainess?”

“Ooh, I like villainess. It sounds sexier.” Agatha smirked, catching Rio's eyes raking down her chest before clearing her throat.

“Villainess it is.”

They paid Rio’s tab, Agatha insisting on at least paying the tip, and made their way onto the sidewalk. While she dug in her purse for her phone to order a car, Rio awkwardly rocked on her feet.

“I'm just gonna get a car, you?” Agatha opened the app and glanced back at Rio.

“Oh, I'm just gonna walk.” She gestured her thumb behind herself. “It's just a few blocks.”

Thumb hovering over the order button, Agatha clicked her phone shut, looking up and down the street. She didn't like that. It was late, and while this wasn't a dangerous part of town, anything could happen.

“Oh… would you let me walk you home? I can get a car from there just as easily.”

“Um sure but… in those heels?”

Agatha looked down at her shoes and scoffed. “I'll have you know that I wear heels almost everyday. I think I'll be fine.”

Rio held up her hands defensively. “I don't doubt it, but… I kind of lied. It's more than just a few blocks. It's like a fifteen minute walk.”

“Oh.” It was one thing to stand in these shoes, walking on what would probably be uneven pavement was another. She could do it, but her feet wouldn't thank her for it.

“What size are you?”

“What?”

“What size are your feet?”

Furrowing her brow, Agatha answered cautiously. “8… and a half.”

Rio dropped to one knee and began untying her converse.

“What are you doing?”

Once one sneaker was untied, she pulled it off and dropped it in front of Agatha before starting on the next. “Put them on, I'm wearing socks.”

“I'm not going to make you walk home in socks!”

Rio pulled her other shoe off and stood up straight, closer than Agatha had anticipated. “I thought you wanted to walk me home?”

Agatha bit her lip as she glared at Rio before placing a hand on her shoulder for support and leaning down with a grumble to take off her own shoes. She pulled on the sneakers, which were a little big and required some extra tightening. Straightening again, she puffed out a little huff at the realization that she now had to look up a little to meet Rio’s gaze.

Tongue against the inside of her cheek, Rio surveyed her new look with a grin. “Don't worry Agatha, you're still hot.” She bowed down to hook Agatha's heels with her fingers and started walking, presumably in the direction of her home, in socked feet.

Rio had lied. It was definitely more than a few blocks and Agatha was glad she'd decided to accompany her. She was also glad Rio had so chivalrously offered up her shoes, her feet perfectly comfortable in the slightly larger sneakers. Rio swung Agatha's heels between them as they walked, which was annoying because Agatha had wanted to hold that hand. She settled instead on occasionally brushing their hands together, twitching each time she made contact as Rio’s skin sent sparks through her own. They were mostly quiet, the night air refreshing after the sweaty bar, their ears adjusting from the din of revelry, but it was a comfortable quiet, neither feeling the need to fill it.

Rio slowed as she made a final turn, the front door of a smallish complex warmly lighting the sidewalk.

“This is me.” She said the words like she was disappointed, wishing she lived further away so their walk didn't have to end. “Thanks for keeping me safe.”

“I owe you a new pair of socks.” Agatha accepted her heels back from Rio's raised hand.

With a laugh, Rio looked down at her feet, wiggling her toes. “I never liked these ones anyways.”

Agatha chuckled and pulled out her phone, checking the app. Nearest car - 5 minutes. “This was really nice, Rio. I'm glad you came into the gallery today.”

“Was the mission a success?”

“I would say I had fun, so yes.”

Rio chuckled, fiddling with her keys clipped to the front of her jeans. “I'm uh… I'm glad you made that video, Agatha.”

“You are?” Agatha couldn't understand that, sure that it was over the top embarrassing.

“Yeah. If you hadn't I might never have been able to do this.” Rio took a step forward, closing the gap between them and raising her hand to slide against Agatha's jaw before leaning in and carefully pressing their lips together.

Agatha gasped against her lips, not prepared for how strong the feeling between them was. What started as a gentle first kiss quickly turned into something more. Letting her heels slide from her grip and hit the pavement, she moved her hands to rest on Rio's hips, following as the other woman pulled her closer. Backing herself against the building, Rio's hands tangled in Agatha's hair, humming as their bodies pressed together. Agatha found her fingers sliding under her cropped shirt, skin warm to the touch, inviting her in. It took everything in Agatha's power to stop, chest heaving as she pulled their mouths apart.

“I don't… I don't fuck on the first date.” Agatha tried to grasp at her sanity, but Rio made it hard, hands running along her neck, fingers tucking hair behind her ear. Those eyes, her gaze kiss drunk.

“Was this a date? I thought it was more of a casual, maybe she'll show up, maybe she won't kind of thing.”

She wanted to cave so badly, to let Rio take her upstairs and continue with where this was going, but it was a bad idea. With a groan, she pushed herself away, but not before kissing her one last time. Tapping the order button on her phone was the final nail in the coffin.

“Here, give me that.” Rio held her hand out expectantly for Agatha's phone and turned it towards herself when it hit her palm. She fiddled around for a bit before typing something in and handing it back. She'd added her name to her contacts and Agatha stared down at the screen.

💀Rio💚

“Text me when you get home. And send me the info for Alice’s thing. We can make it a date, if you're up for it.”

Agatha tried to tamp down the smile growing on her face, scrunching her nose. “Okay.”

A shiny sedan pulled up on the street in front of them and Agatha double checked the app.

“This is me. Oh, shit, your shoes.” She bent to untie them but Rio's hand on her arm stopped her as she handed her the heels.

“Don't worry about it. I know where to find you.” She opened the door for Agatha, making sure she was in before closing it and tapping on the roof of the car. Shooting her a final wave, Rio disappeared inside her building and Agatha drove off for home.

When she got through her door, Agatha pulled out her phone to send a couple of texts. First was to Alice, who had ended up crashing at Wanda’s with Jen, letting her know she was home. The next was to her new contact.

Home safe. Thanks for the fun.

Rio replied with a picture. A selfie of her brushing her teeth in what Agatha would assume were her pajamas, a muscle tee and shorts, giving her a thumbs up. She chuckled and tucked her phone away to get ready for bed herself. As she laid in bed, she couldn't help but pull the picture back up, a goofy grin on her face as she stared at the contact name.

Why the skull emoji?

| Because you're killing me Harkness.

Notes:

Hehe surprise, two chapters! I didn't wanna leave you hanging on the events of the night.

<3

Chapter 6

Rio knew Agatha was right. Jumping into bed together was a bad idea. But just because she was right, didn't mean that Rio hadn't gone to bed that night with a severe case of blue balls. The next morning was welcomed with a string of texts to the new contact in her phone: 🔪Agatha💜

Oh god.
I think your friend tried to kill me.
I haven't been this hungover in forever.

Rio somehow felt immeasurably better when the response came fairly quickly.

| Haha Wanda is not for the faint of heart.
| We shouldn't have let her keep sending drinks over.

 

Consider the lesson learned.
I'll know better for next time now.

Anxiety hit as she hit send, the thought that there would even be a next time feeling presumptuous. Those three dreaded dots appeared and disappeared as she watched the screen.

| I'll make sure Wanda is on better behavior next time.
| But I make no guarantees for any times after that.

Rio had a grin plastered on her face for the rest of the day after that. She didn't know what it was about this woman, but every time her phone buzzed with a new notification, she felt giddy. Agatha really was going to be the death of her at this rate.

“So when are you seeing her again?”

Rolling her eyes at Kate's not so subtle change of subject, Rio shifted in her seat and took a sip of her mimosa. They were sitting on a patio, having brunch on Monday morning, Fanny laying at Yelena's feet and Lucky with his head happily in Rio’s lap. She scratched his head, addressing him directly. “Your mom is so nosy.” Lucky huffed a little agreement before going back to his nap and Rio chuckled. “If you must know, I'm going to her friend's art show on Friday.”

“Ooh, an art show! That's fancy! Is it a date?”

“I mean… I said it could be, kind of off handedly. But she also said that things like this are also kind of work for her. I guess it's a good networking thing for her, but she's also trying to promote her friend. I don't know. She said I could invite a few people if you guys wanna come.”

She was a little bit worried that she'd just end up being in the way, not wanting Agatha to feel like she had to babysit her. Friends would help.

“Shit! I have that stupid thing with my mom on Friday.” Kate looked genuinely upset to not be available and Rio knew she'd much rather do anything than whatever obligation she had with her mom. “Yel's free though. You should go, babe.”

Rio ignored the telepathic conversation the couple was having, focusing instead on the dog in her lap.

“I guess I could bring Natasha. Natasha likes art, I think.”

“Only if you want to. I don't need you to come.”

“I want to.” Yelena smiled at her, but her eyes were serious. “And then if you want to leave, you have escape route.”

Smiling down at Lucky, Rio felt the warmth grow in her chest. The love she felt from her friends being protective reminded her why they were her friends in the first place.

“Cool. Yeah, thanks. I think there's also free champagne so it could be fun.”

“Okay, stop rubbing it in.” Kate grumbled, stabbing her fork at the food on her plate and Rio couldn't help but laugh.

Her phone buzzed from where it sat facedown on the table and Rio quickly grabbed it in case it was a client. But it wasn't a client.

| Does this look ugly to you?
| [IMG7268.jpg]
| Oh, it's not mine, you can be honest.

Rio tapped in to the conversation and the photo Agatha sent opened. It was a rather large painting hanging in what Rio could assume was the showroom of the gallery, dark colours splashed across the canvas in messy strokes.

Um… do I get more context?

 

| The context is that a cunt of a client told me I had shit taste and that this painting was ugly.

 

Ah, I see.
I don't think it's ugly.
It's loud, but not ugly.
But I don't know anything about art…

 

| Neither does he, but at least you have taste.
| Thanks.
| 😘

 

“Wow.”

“What?” Rio looked up at Kate, clicking her phone shut and putting it back facedown next to her plate.

“I just don't think I've ever seen you look like that before.”

Rio frowned, trying to imagine what she'd looked like. “Look like what?”

Kate and Yelena exchanged a look, the latter gesturing at Rio’s face with her fork. “You lit up just now, little grin and everything. You look…”

“Happy.” They said the word in unison, smirking at Rio as they sipped their drinks.

Notes:

Just a lil short one today.

I don't think I like the texting format but I'm making peace with it, otherwise I'll sit on this chapter forever.

<3

Chapter 7

“Will you fucking help instead of texting your girlfriend?!”

Agatha stuck her tongue out as Jen and Wanda walked by, carrying a massive canvas past her. “Chill. She's not my girlfriend.” She hit send on her message, feeling bold at the prospect of seeing Rio that evening.

| Hey so what's the vibe of this thing? What should I wear?

The vibe is usually like a low-key elegant, snooty thing.
But also it's art so there's not really rules.
And also it's Alice so there's really not any rules.

| So that's super unhelpful. Thanks.

You could wear anything.
You’ll still be the hottest one in the room.

 … 

| Not if you're there.

 

“Agatha! I swear to God!”

Agatha rolled her eyes and tucked her phone away, cheeks warm as she went to help her friends load in. It had been like this all week. Little moments of her day made better just from talking to Rio. They hadn't seen each other in person since Rio had closed the car door for her. Agatha had hoped she might make an appearance in the park, but even she had spent less days there this week, Alice’s show keeping them all busy.

As she stood in the midst of fellow artists and art enjoyers alike, champagne flute in hand, Agatha couldn't help it when her eyes kept darting towards the entrance of the rented out warehouse. Her phone had been silent the rest of the day, no more fashion assistance requests, no announcements of arrival. Agatha tried to keep focused on the task at hand, talking up Alice’s show to a big spender, turning on the charm.

“Alice’s style is a lot more fresh and youthful than a lot of the work you'll see at a typical gallery, y’know. Her pieces are talking points, statements as well as aesthetically pleasing…”

Her attention snapped to the other side of the room inexplicably and the breath was nearly knocked out of her chest. For someone who didn't know what to wear three hours ago, Rio had definitely figured out the assignment. She wandered through the crowd, bracketed by two of her friends, smiling when she spotted Agatha. Having to snap her jaw shut, Agatha looked her up and down, thoroughly appreciating the outfit. She'd gone with a tight black pinstripe waistcoat with no shirt underneath and a pair of vintage style men's trousers. Agatha was gone for.

“But uh… don't just take my word for it. Please, take a look around, do a lap of the room. Everything is for sale, if you'd like to make an offer just look for one of the girls in red. If you'll excuse me.” Agatha flashed her politest smile as she disengaged from the conversation, heading instead towards the woman who was making her sweat.

“Hey!” Agatha should have gone in for a kiss as she greeted Rio with a hug, but she chickened out at the last minute and went for her cheek instead.

“Hi! Sorry, I hope we’re not late.” Rio looked around, clearly feeling a bit out of place.

“Not at all! This is the art world. Late doesn't exist as long as you're here before speeches. Oh, sorry.” Agatha raised her hand to gently rub the lipstick that had transferred onto Rio’s cheek, the woman blushing under her touch.

“Um, you didn't really meet my friends the other night. This is Yelena and Natasha.” She gestured to the blonde and redhead respectively and Agatha reached out to shake each of their hands.

“Hi, Agatha. Thanks for coming!” So the dark haired one must've been Kate. Agatha nodded, adding the new info to her memory bank. “Drinks and food are on the house and the girls in red have pamphlets about the art.”

“Thank you for inviting us. Rio, we’re gonna go look around.” Yelena waited for Rio to nod that she was okay with that before taking Natasha’s hand and disappearing into the crowd.

“I told you. Hottest person in the room!” Rio smirked at her, hand raising to steal the flute from her hand and take a sip of champagne before gesturing at Agatha's own outfit. Her dark purple dress with the deep plunging neckline that she'd had picked out for weeks to go with the theme of the evening.

“I'm sorry, did you look in the mirror? Because from where I'm standing, I know exactly who wins that title.

“I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.” As Rio took another sip, Agatha’s eyes locked on to her lips perfectly in line with the lipstick stain that she'd left there, tongue involuntarily darting out to wet her own.

“How about we look at some art!” Anything to distract herself from the thoughts sneaking into her head. Thoughts of dark corners and sinful hands.

“Okay. Um… so what's the story? Is that how it works?” Rio spun around looking around at the room, unsure where to go.

“Sort of. The show is called The Daughters of the Witches You Couldn't Burn: A Queer Exploration of Rage and Perseverance.”

“Fuck. Okay that's cool as hell. What the fuck?”

Agatha laughed at the reaction, confirming that Rio had probably thought of a museum gallery as soon as she heard art show.

“Hold your praise for after you've seen it, don't get your expectations too high.” Alice’s voice appeared over Agatha's shoulder as she and Wanda sidled up. “But I would like to hear your opinion after. It'll be a nice change of pace to hear from someone on the outskirts of all this.”

“I don't know Alice, this already looks amazing, but I guess I'll do my best.”

“Agatha, the hot redhead from the bar is here!” Wanda stretched up to speak closer to her ear and gestured towards the woman she was talking about.

“You mean Natasha?” Rio had turned to look at well, Natasha and Yelena looking at a particularly gruesome looking painting.

“You know her?” Wanda’s attention shot towards Rio.

“Rio brought her. She and Yelena are her friends.”

“Oh! Yeah she and her boyfriend were hustling the pool table at the bar the other night.”

Agatha had heard all about the hot redhead with the boyfriend the next day. She was one of the reasons Wanda had gotten so drunk that night, sad about someone she couldn't have.

“Oh, Clint's not her boyfriend! No, Clint's wife works nights at the hospital. They're just best friends, basically siblings.”

Wanda's eyes went even wider. “So she's… single?”

“Um… yeah? I think so?” Rio jumped when Wanda ran towards her and placed her hands on either side of her face.

“Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you!” She placed a kiss on Rio's forehead before releasing her, fixing the top of her dress so her boobs were more visible, and sauntering towards Natasha.

“I should probably have warned her that Yelena’s pretty protective of her sister.”

The three of them laughed as Wanda approached, Yelena giving her an up and down with a furrowed brow.

“That's her problem now! Okay, Agatha show her around, I've gotta go shmooz.”

Agatha waved Alice off and turned back to Rio grinning at her.

“What?”

“I like your friends. They seem cool.”

Agatha didn't know why, but Rio's approval made her chest tight. If she liked her friends, did that mean she'd be more likely to stick around?

“Ah, okay. Art! C’mon.” Agatha grabbed another flute off of a passing tray and Rio readily took her offered hand so she could lead her towards the ideal starting point.

Notes:

Now, I'm not personally WandaNat shipper myself but I do have friends who are, so call it fanservice. I'm very excited for the next chapter! I might have to slow down on updates though, because I'm quickly running out of backlog. I keep getting distracted from writing this one. Oops!

<3

Chapter 8

Rio had heard all about the hot redhead who had been eye fucking Natasha all night at the bar, but she hadn't pieced together that the hot redhead had been Agatha's friend. She held in laughter at the look on Natasha’s face when Wanda approached them, knowing Yelena was gonna be pissed if she ended up a third wheel.

She let Agatha lead her around the room, showing her the optimal way the show was designed to be seen. Rio tried to focus on the art, because it was truly cool art, but she was very distracted by Agatha's light touch at her waist as she leaned in to explain each piece.

“This one isn't her typical medium, but she wanted to tie it in to the expressionism movement of around the same time period, so there's some really cool mixed styles happening…”

Rio nodded like she knew what Agatha was saying, doing everything in her power to stop herself from shutting her up with her lips.

“Shit. Jen's waving me over. Are you okay for a sec?” Agatha knocked her out of her head with the question and she found herself looking blankly into her eyes.

“Uh yeah. Go! I'm good.” It would give Rio a moment to breathe.

“Okay. You keep going, I'll come find you when I'm done.”

Rio nodded again and watched as Agatha was lost to the sea of bodies. Biting her lip, she turned back to the piece they'd been looking at, tilting her head and trying to make sense of what Agatha had said. Continuing on down in the direction Agatha had been taking her, she found herself trying to take in each piece, but without the personal commentary, she felt lost. That was until she spotted one particular piece. She was transfixed by it, eyes gliding over each brush stroke like an old friend. She needed to know more about it. Looking around for help, Rio spotted one of the aforementioned girls in red and waved her down for one of the pamphlets. Flipping through the little book, she found the corresponding number for the painting and read the blurb underneath it.

Born Evil
(Oil on canvas)
(Part of the Collaborators Collection)
we have the potential to be good, if only given the opportunity to learn
Artist: Agatha Harkness

“That's my favourite.” Rio jumped and turned to look at the speaker. Alice smiled at the piece before leaning towards Rio conspiratorially. “Don't tell the others.”

“I- I don't understand. Why-”

“Any time one of us puts on a show, we invite the others to collaborate on it. We’re like a little family that way. It's my fucking show and my favourite piece in it is Agatha's! That bitch.” The artist laughed, staring lovingly at the canvas.

“It's Agatha’s?” Rio felt like she was moving through mud, trying to catch up.

“You haven't seen any of her work before, have you?”

Rio shook her head, unable to pull her eyes away from the canvas. She'd never had a piece of art speak to her before, let alone leave her speechless.

“C’mon. Let's go save her from boring art people.” Alice's hand landed on her shoulder and gestured for her to head deeper into the warehouse. She barely noticed the woman lagging behind for a second before moving to lead her through the crowd.

“Hey!” Agatha immediately held her arm out upon seeing her and Rio obliged, sliding her own hand purposefully against her waist. “Were you enjoying the art?”

“Immensely.” Her voice was low and Rio saw Agatha’s expression shift at the look she was giving her.

“We came to rescue you guys, but I see we were too late.” Alice grinned at Jen, who chuckled.

“How chivalrous. Don't worry, we got rid of them on our own and made a couple of sales to boot. You're welcome.”

“Yes, thank you Jennifer. I can never stop thanking you. Shit, speech time. Can you tell the MC while I get ready.”

Rio only listened to Jen and Alice’s exchange in her periphery, her attention solely on Agatha, watching her eyes darken after Rio’s very overt glance down the neckline of her dress.

“Fuck. Come with me.” Agatha grabbed her hand in a vice like grip and pulled her away from everyone, tucking them through a door into a darkened hallway.

The click of the door shutting was like the snap of a too tight rubber band, the two of them colliding against each other. Rio felt herself pressed against a wall, Agatha's hands pulling against her hips as their lips glided together. Sinking her fingers into Agatha's hair, Rio deepened the kiss, arching her back to press them closer together.

Agatha broke away from her lips, pressing kisses against her jaw with a growl. “Fuck, I've wanted to do this all night. Ever since you walked in looking so fucking hot.” Rio tilted her head, giving the woman more space to continue sucking little kisses against her neck, letting out a quiet sigh.

“I've thought about this all week. Since you left me last Friday.”

Agatha made her way back up Rio's neck on the other side, tongue gliding against her pulse. “I shouldn't have left. I should've let you take me upstairs. Let you have your way with me.” Her eyes were nearly black, punctuating the last statement by locking their lips back together. Rio groaned at the thought, a hand falling to rest against Agatha’s thigh, fingers teasing at the slit of her dress. The woman hummed, pushing her hips tighter against Rio, coaxing her fingers under the fabric and further up her leg.

“God, Agatha. I’d fuck you right now if you’d let me.” The thought of other people being a mere door away from them vanishing from her mind.

“I'd let you.” Agatha's voice came out in a heavy whisper against her lips, a smirk crossing her face.

Something snapped in Rio, gripping Agatha's thigh as she swapped their positions, spinning her until her back hit the wall. Agatha slung her arms around Rio's shoulders as she licked into her mouth, pulling her leg up to wrap around her hip. Her hand slid against warm, smooth skin, her fingertips brushing against delicate fabric before hooking around it and pulling it away. Agatha gasped against her lips, tightening her grip on Rio's shoulders and pressing herself closer yet. Everything around them had ceased to exist, the only sensations that mattered were the ones being exchanged between them. At least until the door beside them clicked, the air whooshing as it was pushed open followed by a giggle.

“Listen, Wanda I'm all for making out in a dark corner but if you’re looking for more than that it's not going to happen tonight. I'm not a voyeur.”

Like deer in headlights, the four women all froze, making eye contact as the door slowly shut behind them. Wanda and Natasha quickly let go of each other's hands at the sight of them, but Rio and Agatha found themselves in a much more compromising position. With a clearing of her throat, Agatha lowered her leg so her foot was back on the ground and, not so much pushed as, gently moved Rio from where she was pressed against her.

“How about we call it a draw?” Natasha looked around at everyone with an awkward smile, lingering a moment longer on Rio, before grabbing Wanda and turning her back towards the door. “You uh … might wanna…” She gestured to Rio’s neck and Agatha's hair before they both disappeared back into the party.

Rio groaned, forehead falling to Agatha's shoulder as the other woman laughed.

“It's not funny! Natasha’s one hundred percent gonna tell Yelena, who’s gonna tell Kate, who's gonna tell everyone else and they'll never let me live it down!”

“I will admit that things got… out of hand, but it's not that big of a deal. It’ll just be a funny story a few months from now. C’mon. I need to clean you up before we go back out.”

Agatha grabbed her hand and Rio was once again being hauled to a new location, this time a bathroom. The first sight of herself in the mirror sent a shiver down Rio's spine. Agatha’s lips had certainly staked a claim on her, lipstick smudged up and down her neck. Agatha’s attempt to clean it off with a wet paper towel quickly led to more kissing. It took texts to both of their phones, asking where they were, to get them to break apart and speed up the cleaning process.

“Fuck, I made a mess of you. I'm sorry.” She threw the last paper towel into the garbage and turned to reapply her lipstick.

“Wait!” Rio reached out for her chin, pulling her in for one last kiss first so she didn't mess up her work again. “Mmm, I never want to stop doing that.”

Agatha chuckled, thumb brushing over Rio’s lips to clean up what little lipstick was left. “Then I'll have to find some better product. One that doesn't transfer.”

They made it back out to the party for its last legs, Agatha unseriously reprimanded for missing Alice’s speech. She gave the excuse of a lipstick emergency, to which Rio saw Wanda’s eyes narrow, but no more was said about it. Agatha was supposed to help with some of the aftermath, so Rio decided to stick around, telling Yelena and Natasha they were okay to go home.

Yelena left with a hug and a whispered threat. “You will be telling us about what happened.”

As everyone else was ushered from the warehouse, Rio wandered around, taking in some of the art that she'd missed. Agatha and her friends were taking stock of what pieces had sold and sharing notes about potential buyers for others. She learned that any piece that had sold during the show would now have a red dot sticker on its number card. They popped another bottle of champagne for themselves in celebration. Clearly Alice’s show had been a success.

As she did another lap of the room, Rio found herself drawn back to Agatha's painting. Her heart sank when she noticed it, a little red dot. Somebody had bought this beautiful painting, somebody who wasn't Rio. Somebody who wouldn't be able to appreciate it the same way.

“Hey.” Agatha’s hand ran across her shoulders before dropping to her waist. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” She leaned in and lowered her voice, her question just for Rio's ears. “Do you want to come home with me?”

“Oh god, yes.”

Notes:

🤭
<3