Emerald & Ruby

Stevie Nicks was hopeful. It was a strange feeling these days as the Tusk tour began to take its toll. The band was about to finish the first USA leg of the tour, taking a break before leaving for Japan in February. The booze and drugs were available in abundance to counteract the tension and exhaustion, and Stevie took to doing cocaine when the pressure to be perfect felt too overwhelming to deal with. This was growing scarily frequent and Stevie hoped the break would give her the opportunity to get herself together.

Tonight, Stevie was sober and her head felt clearer in days. She wondered if her band mate and friend, Christine McVie felt the same. Christine certainly looked cheerful when she had asked Stevie after the show whether she would like to hang out in her room later. Stevie was surprised by the offer. While her relationship with Christine on this tour was more stable than those she shared with some of her other band mates, Stevie felt like something had changed. She had originally attributed the distance to Christine's investment in keeping her relationship with Dennis Wilson afloat, but the keyboardist's Dom Perignon induced glassy eyes during shows suggested she was suffering just as much as Stevie was.

"Bring some magazines and nail varnish." Were Christine's instructions. Stevie grabbed her nail kit and a stack of Vogue magazines and exited her hotel room, making her way to Christine's door down the hallway. She knocked, praying that her favourite band mate hadn't already fallen asleep.

"Coming!" Came Christine's voice from inside. The door opened and Stevie was greeted by Christine's smiling face. Her eyes were devoid of that burdened look and her shaggy blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun. Stevie took in the oversized white t-shirt she wore that extenuated her long, bare legs. It were times like this that Stevie wondered why she was labelled as the band's sex symbol when Christine looked the way she did so effortlessly at 1am after a big night.

"Hi, love, come in." Christine said warmly, opening the door wide for Stevie to enter.

"I'm glad you didn't fall asleep on me and forget our date." Stevie said, dumping the magazines and nail kit on Christine's bed and sitting down.

Christine scoffed incredulously and flopped down on the bed, taking a magazine and flipping through it idly. "I'm old, but not that old. Plus I wanted to see you, it feels like it has been too long and I miss you."

Stevie blinked, not expecting Christine's admission. Though the tone had been casual, Stevie knew Christine never made declarations like that unless it was sincerely how she felt. She could have easily rolled her eyes and brushed Christine off with a sarcastic 'You saw me two hours ago.' but that wasn't Stevie's style.

"I miss you too," Stevie said quietly. She lay down next to Christine and propped herself on one elbow, watching the older blonde intently as she continued to flip through Vogue. "How are you?"

Christine sighed, setting the magazine aside and turning to face Stevie. "Honestly, not fantastic. I'm just looking forward to our break so I can go home, spend time with Dennis and my family, and enjoy drinking again without feeling like I need it to be happy."

"You didn't drink tonight." Stevie offered encouragingly.

"No, I didn't. I think because the end of the leg is in sight, I don't need to as much."

Stevie nodded. "I know what you mean; I stayed away from the coke tonight. I hope it's a sign that things are getting better. I need to get away from the boys, too. Lindsey is doing my fucking head in but what's new."

Christine's eyes were full of concern. "I'm sick of the guys' shit as well. I think this break will be good for all of us. But if you need help, you know you can always count on me for whatever you need. I'm sorry I've been so absent lately." She leaned over and gently ran her finger down the younger blonde's cheek; Stevie closed her eyes at the comforting touch, trying not to think too deeply about the stirring feeling she felt in her stomach. You've had a rough time lately and you're sensitive to kindness, that's all.

Christine was still gazing at her with a small, sad smile on her face. Stevie's heart beat wildly and it took a second to compose herself. Rough time. Sensitive. She repeated to herself firmly and slowly sat up.

"I'll be okay Chris, and don't apologise for being absent, I've been all over the place, too." She looked at Christine over her shoulder and smirked, attempting to dissolve the intensity. "So are we going to paint each other's nails and pretend we're 27 again, or what?"

"Correction, you were 27. I was 32. But hey, who's counting when you're this gorgeous." Christine sat up and dramatically flipped her fringe causing Stevie to giggle; she had missed her friend's humour.

Half an hour later Christine was meticulously gliding the nail polish brush across Stevie's fingernails, which was now a brilliant shade of emerald green. Christine's nails were sporting a ruby red colour that matched her sexy late night dishevelled look.

"You know what this colour reminds me of?" Christine said as she continued to work. "Remember when I did those green highlights for you in '76?"

Stevie laughed. "I can't imagine having that hair now; it was fun but a bitch to maintain and it didn't stay that pretty green colour for long, it ended up looking and feeling like seaweed."

"I don't remember seaweed," Christine dipped the brush back in the bottle before applying a coat onto Stevie's ring finger. "I remember you sitting on that old sofa in my condo with the tinfoil in your hair complaining about something Lindsey did."

Stevie grinned sheepishly. "That hasn't changed." It both depressed and amused her at once.

The rest of their conversation was continually punctuated with "Remember when..." and "I miss how..." and Stevie yearned for that time of her life when she was bright eyed and ready to take on the music world with her new big sister by her side. And when the clock on the bedside table clicked to 3am, the pair was still talking, their legs leaning against the headboard waiting for their freshly painted toes to dry.

Stevie listened as Christine spoke freely about her relationship with Dennis, her worries about John and her homesickness for England. Stevie was getting the sense that Christine hadn't spoken like this in a long time; she hid her personal struggles well while Stevie sometimes struggled to contain her emotional outbursts that were later used against her.

But Stevie knew that Christine would keep her secrets safe. She talked openly about everything, from feeling on edge due to Carol Ann's presence to how much she missed her dog. Christine murmured offerings of advice in response until she noticed Stevie's eyelids drooping steadily as sleep threatened to overtake her enthusiasm to chat.

"You should stay." Christine offered, swinging her legs over the bed and getting up to turn off the room's light.

"Are you sure?" Stevie asked, though she was already settling in under the duvet.

"Don't be silly," Christine climbed into bed and reached over to switch off the bedside lamp. She told Stevie she loved her and the smaller blonde mumbled the sentiment back before falling into the first proper sleep she had had in a while.

Sometime later, dawn was beginning to shimmer through the Californian night sky. But Stevie and Christine slept on; their bodies intertwined as they held on to each other, even in dreamland.

A/N: Hi, this is the first time I've published a fic. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future Stevie/Christine stories, please let me know. I hope y'all enjoyed reading this! X