V & V (wlw)

Epilogue

"Maybe you just need a nap? But you can't nap now, save it for later."

"I don't need a nap, I said I wanted time with her and not deal with everyone here."

"Trust you to be grumpy at your own anniversary party," said Celia. "Be glad Victoria finds you charming."

Across the room of the bar-turned-café turned-bar-again (but only for the night), Victoria leaned against the counter, near where they usually put the pastries on display, and raised her glass at them.

They began the celebrations with dinner at a nice restaurant that Victoria's parents frequented. They had been invited, but when the party moved to a second location, they had not been given the address.

Now they were in the establishment Vic had bought and turned into a café, and someone was pulling out the shot glasses.

Ron crossed the floor and stood in front of her wife, settling her hands on Victoria's hips. "Hi."

"Hey, you."

"Wanna come home with me?" Victoria laughed, and Ron pouted. "Come on. We can sneak out, and no one will notice."

"People will notice, actually. And we have the key to close up."

"We can give the key to my sister. They'll be fine."

"Why," said Vic, setting her drink down and putting her arms around Ron's neck. "Can't wait to have me all to yourself?"

Veronika pressed their foreheads together. "I always did have you, hadn't I?"

Vic smiled against Ron's lips, but pulled away. "Speaking of your sister."

Victoria strode to the middle of the room, which was like three steps for her, and plucked Ruth's fifth shot from her hands.

"Nooooooo," Ruth said soberly, because she had downed the previous four in quick succession and the alcohol was yet to hammer in. "I was having that."

"You can't get wasted too early into the night, Ma has to babysit you if you do," said Vic, handing the shot to Ron. Ron winced and passed it to Jan, who had drifted over beside them. Jan took it and drank.

"Ma," said Ron.

"What? You gave it to me," said Jan, before hurrying away to join the dance floor, because Jess was on DJ duty and had started playing the macarena.

The congregation was well-drunk and it was at the point in the night where no one was embarrassed to move to the music. Ron turned to Victoria and said, "Shall we join them?"

"We could," Vic mused. "But I had a different idea."

Taking her by the arm, Victoria had led them both into the walk-in freezer, kicking a box into place to stop the door from closing on them, because she was always afraid it would lock them in.

"You'll let the cold out," said Ron.

"Fuck the cold." Veronika took Ron in her arms and they swayed in a slow dance, completely inappropriate for the faint music slipping through the gap in the door. "I've always wanted to dance like this with you. Do you remember prom?"

"You didn't go with anyone," said Ron, arms settled around Victoria.

"And you didn't go with anyone. And you kept looking at me."

"Because I was wondering why you were alone. Especially after stealing away all of the girls I wanted to ask out." Ron slapped her on the shoulder, gently.

"Did you ever wonder if it was because I wanted to ask you out?"

"No. I mean, yes, but I thought that was stupid. So I wrote it off." Ron put her cheek against Vic's collarbone. "Why didn't you just confess?"

"You didn't like me. At all, even as a friend."

"Because I thought you didn't like me." Ron hid her face in Victoria's shirt. "And I wasn't going to chase after you or anything like that. I was a teenager, not desperate."

Victoria sighed, and Ron felt her chest swell and heave. She held Vic tighter. "I'm glad we figured it out this time."

Vic murmured into her hair. "Me too."

When they had gotten to the point where they were waltzing with each other among boxes of frozen ice cream bars and refrigerated syrups, Ruth shouldered the door open further from the outside and found them.

"Why the fuck are you two in the freezer?"