trixie-windsor:

It’s not just that, I don’t think that I’ve ever met anyone with as many backwards ideas before you. It’s an option because I made it an option.  

“Backwards”? Traditional is not backwards! Why do you have to insult my views? I’ve done nothing to you. You can’t just make things options!

text: zombie girl

Bo: I care, Zombie. I don't wanna be a dad. Especially not to someone else's kid. You bet it's unfair. Hope the government sees that too.

Bo: What? You tellin' me that you marked that you liked girls on your form? Maybe you've got more balls than I thought, Soloman.

Leah: Like ever? Never? I doubt they will but you're welcome to try.

Leah: It was a mistake I don't want to be reminded about. I am supposed to marry a woman.

TEXT: Perfect

Perfect: I'm still not living in your attic.

Leah: Well. I'm not coming out to my parents.

stripawaytheperfect:

Oh, thank god. Perfect absolutely beamed at the praise, lighting up like a Christmas tree. “You’re too kind.” She said, smiling a little bit.

 “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, it’s fine.” She assured her quickly. “It was just nice of you to come and see me. But I know this isn’t exactly everyone’s… kind of space.” She said, shrugging a little. Not a ton of people were comfortable in this kind of atmosphere, she found, which she was okay with. She didn’t need a ton of people she knew in here all the time, anyway. It was her job, after all.

“Um, some of it I learned taking dance classes at the Boys and Girls Club, but then some of it I just learned on my own by watching music videos and stuff.” She admitted. “I learned ballet, tap, and hip-hop in the classes, and then everything else I did on my own… I really like dancing, though. It’s my favorite thing in the world… When I was little I used to tell people I was gonna be a ballerina when I grew up.” 

Leah shook her head, “I’m far from kind.” She hugged herself, knowing it to be true.

“Are you sure?” She asked, “I t-thought it might be nice to spend time with you...i-if you’re okay with it!” She smiled meekly, picking at her sleeves, playing with the fabric under her nervous fingers. “I don’t mind being here,” she lied, unsure how to bring up that she’d felt out of place. 

“Oh, I see,” Leah smiled, “I think your passion really shows through when you dance!” She nodded, tilting her head in curiosity. “Why didn’t you become a ballerina?”

don’t mind | leah & perfect

stripawaytheperfect:

Perfect didn’t even register it until after the performance was over, too busy on her rush. But once the dancing was over and it was someone else’s turn, and she came back to earth, she realized that Leah hadn’t participated at all. And she immediately began to worry. A lot. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe Leah hated her now.

 She seriously considered covering up before going to see her, but then she pushed the thought off. Why? She wasn’t ashamed of what she did, and she never covered up after a perofrmance before. Besides, if she wore something more conservative, she wasn’t going to get any more attention or requests for the night. And she wasn’t ready to sacriicce her livliehood for Leahs’s comfort.

 Eventually, she wandered over to Leah’s table again, offering her a grin, though a tiny bit forced. She knew how to fake a smile. “So? Did I do good?” She questioned, raising a brow.

Leah bounced up, shaking her thoughts away. “You did great!” she beamed, trying to force her mother’s voice out of her head for Perfect’s sake. The last thing she wanted was to spill her insecurities out for the other woman to see. “I loved it a lot actually, you’re really good and it was like getting sucked into a whole other world. Like it was just you up there dancing and nothing else.” She smiled, nervously picking at her shirt. “I don’t think this is really my kind of place though...” she confessed in a small voice, “I’d feel strange if I watched other women dance, I mean. And I’m not sure what drink to order and I forgot to give you the money,” she trailed on, trying to come up with some excuse for something. In truth, she’d felt like she’d never be able to be the wife Perfect would want, or the child her parents wants. In the end, she was nothing. But she could pretend to be something, she just wasn’t sure what yet. 

“How’d you learn to dance like that?” She decided on asking instead.

don’t mind | leah & perfect

TEXT: Perfect

Perfect: I won't tell them. I promise not to ever take you to restaurants without vegetarian options.

Leah: Really? REALLY!? Gosh, you're the best! I promise to make you coffee every single day! When we get married, and you're in the attic.

TEXT: Perfect

Perfect: Oh my gosh, I can't believe we have that in common! :D That's wonderful! Between the two of us, maybe people won't drag us to restaurants without meatless options so much? Strength in numbers and all that.

Leah: Neither can I! What are the chances of that. Oh, I don't know. I always get dragged to places that only have breadsticks for me to eat...I'm kind of sick of breadsticks...don't tell the breadsticks I said that!

stripawaytheperfect:

“I mean. Kind of. But if my clients don’t like it, then I get less tips, and then I have less money.” She pointed out. “I think your hair is really cute. It suits you.” She added in, smiling a tiny bit.

 Perfect absolutely gasped at that news, her eyes widening like saucers. “Oh my god, we get to walk around with the butterflies?! Oh my god! Yes! Yes please! That sounds amazing!” She gushed, resisting the urge to hop up and down like a little kid.

“It is?” She beamed with a flush, touching her hair before she remembered what happened last time she allowed herself to get swayed by Perfect’s compliments. Instead, she coughed and moved on.

“Yeah!” she said, stepping out of her car. “I’m glad you like the idea,” Leah chuckled, “I wasn’t sure at first but wikihow said to just take you on a date that I’d like and...I like butterflies.” She smiled and held her hand out for Perfect to hold...or ignore, as she saw fit. “Shall we?”

clever title | perfect & leah

stripawaytheperfect:

Oh boy. Perfect wasn’t gonna lie and say that she wasn’t nervous, but… She shook it off. Why should you be? she asked herself. She loved dancing, and she always had a good time doing it. Leah being here wouldn’t change that. Besides, this was a routine she had done a million times before. She knew it would be good. And she loved it when she got to do solo routines. Often, when they were busier, there were multiple girls up on stage and in the crowds just… doing whatever and getting paid. But when she got to do a full routine? That was the best. That felt wonderful.

 There was a bit more waiting to do before finally, the announcement for her turn on the stage was played, accompanied by some scattered applause and some whops. And then the music began.

 One of the reasons why Perfect loved this routine was because it was to one of her favorite songs, which meant it was Los Ageless, by Torres. A lot of the other girl’s routines were way faster paced, but Perfect always liked slightly slower songs. She liked to drag it out. She liked it when she got to actually dance.

 Now, it would be a bit tedious to describe the dance exactly as it happened. You’ll have to use your imagination a bit. But what I can tell you is that Perfect is a very good dancer. She is very flexible. She did the splits. At multiple points, she did a move she similar to the bend-and-snap. There was a lot of hair-flipping and bending over. And as the song went on, she lost a lot of clothes, moving from the stage to the crowd, moving past tables and collecting money. Moving past her match’s table.

 She may have had a pretty skimpy outfit to begin with, but at least it was an infant. By the end of the song, she had a black thong, black ‘X’ pasties over her nipples and… Not a lot else. But Perfect didn’t care. Dancing was when she felt confident. She felt sexy and powerful and talented. And taking off clothes didn’t bother her one damn bit. It was really more a question as to whether it bothered Leah. 

Leah watched, mesmerized. To say she was entranced would not be accurate, she’d been sucked into another dimension in which there was no one but her and a very scantily clad Perfect. So this is what everyone had been clamoring about. She shook her head and looked around, seeing that everyone was looking too felt odd...and then made her swell with pride. She wasn’t sure if it was the right response in the moment, but Perfect had said this dance was for her and it didn’t matter how they looked---it was for her. Proud to see a woman so clearly talented, and proud to see everyone else seeing it too.

Then her mother’s voice entered her mind. She remembered what she’d called strippers like Perfect, and she sunk into her seat. Was she doing something wrong? Surrounded by less-than-decent men and a half-naked fiancee...she wasn’t sure. She knew her parents would hate it, and looking at them as a beacon of truth for so long, she began to feel out-of-place. And then finally, like this was all wrong. Like she was doing something wrong. 

As Perfect moved, Leah kept her eyes trained on the ground, she’d forgotten all about giving her money in response to her internal monologue. When the dance was over, she jumped to her feet to clap but sunk down the moment she found she was the only one clapping as the rest of the men whistled. “I don’t belong here, do I,” she mumbled, falling back into her seat. Where did she belong?

She sat there, simply waiting, trying to get Perfect’s attention to tell her the dance was good. Because, despite it all, it was.

don’t mind | leah & perfect

TEXT: Perfect

Perfect: Oh that's good!!! And that's really wonderful because I'm a vegetarian!!! Have I said that already...?

Leah: You're a vegetarian? I'm a vegetarian! I could eat meat if its kosher but I'd just rather be vegetarian because eating meat is weird. But I'm so glad you are too! We can eat breadsticks at restaurants that don't have any vegetarian options together! Or that really bad salad they have sometimes.

TEXT: Perfect

Perfect: I dunno. I think I could convince him, though... After the snow melts I'll ask. And I do. We are really close and I want you to meet him!

Leah: My parents won't let me buy a motorcycle so there's no other way to get one. Okay, I seem to have been talking to him online so there's that. We should all go out to a nice restaurant together! There's this great place with really good soup, and the vegetarian options are good!

dariusrufus:

That means “As Fuck”. Heating pads are nice. You’re so sweet! you don’t have to do that. You like to bake? That’s me! Leah? Oh! Leah! Wow! I’ve been dying to meet you and here we are!  It’s so great to be finally talking to you!

...okay? What’s “eating the booty like groceries” mean? I would like to, if it’s alright with you. Perfect says you’re like a brother to her so I’d like to thank you for being such a wonderful friend to her. I love baking! Dying to meet me? oh, well I’m afraid I’ll let you down. I’m a rather plain person. You like motorcycles?

stripawaytheperfect:

“It’s fine, Leah, really. Don’t worry about it. Staring is kind of a thing here, and I don’t think anyone will be getting good pay if you tell them off.” She warned.

She hesitated a bit, and then shrugged at Leah’s response. “Okay. If that’s what you want, then that’s okay. I’m gonna be going on in a few minutes but you’re not keeping me. Just, like… Find a seat and watch, you know? And I’ll dance for you.” She said, offering a smile. 

“O-oh,” she might not have understood it, but she didn’t want anyone to lose pay for it so she nodded and smiled like she got it.

“It is,” she smiled, “I’ve never seen a stripper before so I want you to be my first.” She nodded again, reaching out to cup Perfect’s cheek. “Is break a leg appropriate to say to strippers?” She smiled, quickly pecking Perfect on the cheek before anyone could see, and then stepped back. “I’ll be sitting right at the front there, good luck!” She bounced over to her spot, still unsure what being danced for meant. “Good luck” she mouthed again. Excited to see her future wife do...whatever it was she did. 

don’t mind | leah & perfect

text: zombie girl

Bo: But you respond anyway.

Bo: She is, ain't denying that. But I'm getting out of this law. She's got a kid already, no need to be here in the first place. Once that's sorted, I'm hightailing it to Canada.

Bo: Who's the guy?

Leah: Shut up.

Leah: Who cares if she has a child already? Although it's certainly unfair that she still needs to be included in this law...

Leah: ...are you making fun of me? "guy", Bo?

TEXT: Perfect

Perfect: Motorcycles are cool, though! I don't have any sort of license... We should ride together some time. Darius can help us. But we should DEFINITELY do lunch. It'll be good. I want you to talk with him a lot.

Leah: Oh. I guess I can drive then. Would Darius lend us a bike? We probably should ride when the snow melts... Oh, yeah, of course. Uh...you do? You two must be really close! I'm a little jealous.

stripawaytheperfect:

Oh, no. A tame cabaret… The Sapphire was not.

 It wasn’t anywhere near as seedy or awful as a lot of the strip clubs in New York were, actually. This was one of the better establishments and was pretty popular, and Perfect’s bosses, at least, treated her and her co-workers fairly well. The patrons she couldn’t always say the same for, but it was whatever.She took what she had to to get paid.

 The night had been going fairly well so far, actually. She had almost forgotten, for a second, that Leah was coming, discussing work plans with a co-worker before she heard her name and saw Leah, smiling at her and waving her over… Only to immediately be fussed over, her future-wife covering her up.

 She immediately flushed, a sharp wave of shame spiraling through her gut. She usually didn’t feel this way when she was working. When she was dancing, in the club, it was one of the places where she felt confident. But this suddenly made her feel very out of line, and it made her hesitate a second before she pushed the jacket off.

 “This is what everyone who works here wears, Leah. It’s like… a uniform.” She explained. She didn’t even think what she was wearing was that bad… It was this baby pink bralette thing and a black leather mini skirt, and heels, of course. I mean. She wouldn’t be wearing this much for much longer, but…

 “I mean. Staring is kind of just… the vibe, here. It’s not that big of a deal.” She said, waving Leah’s concerns off. “Um. Are you sure you wanna, like… Be here? For the show, and everything?” She was wondering if this had been a good idea.

Perfect was far less thrilled about the jacket than Leah figured. She took her jacket back with a small pout that she quickly erased. She knew there was a lot she wasn’t understanding here, there was a whole world she’d only ever read about. “Okay,” she mumbled, “A-are you sure? If you don’t feel comfortable I can...talk to them.” She said, untruth, she was the one that felt a little uncomfortable. The way people looked, it was as if their minds were filled with less than respectful ideas. Leah didn’t like it, but perhaps a strip club was not the place to go looking for respectful people.

“No!” She shook her head, red hair bouncing around. “I want to support you! I broke a twenty so I could have some dollar bills to give you. I can’t expect to be your wife if I can’t come to your work to...uh...watch?” She tucked a hair behind her ear. “Are you going to go up soon? I’m not keeping you am I?”

don’t mind | leah & perfect

dariusrufus:

Not a problem. If you ever need help figuring one out, just hit a guy up. Haha! I know! It’s fine. Really. I’m not old but my bones are definitely hurting with this cold! I’d like to try that someday. Aw well that’s really kind of you. What’s your name? I’m Darius. Girl, me too!

Okay. What’s “AF” mean? I see people use it. Having a heating pad is a good idea for this kind of the cold, or one of those squishy heat things. Heat packets? They’re squishy and hot! I can send you a cold care-package. I like making those. Some soup, squishy heat things...and cookies! Oh...Darius? I’m Leah. I’m...I know your friend Perfect.