#dodgerleierin

Standing there with Dodger in front of Buckingham Palace, Erin felt overwhelmed by all the feels; so many new experiences. She smiled. Acting on impulse--and fueled by memories of last night--she put her arms around her friend's neck and began a gentle caress of her cheek.

Dodger squirmed like a cat not wanting to be held, "Not in public! Baka!" But the effectiveness of her protest was somewhat lessened by her uncontrollable giggles.

Dodger's hands gently caressed the 'do not disturb' sign, as she turned off the light.

"Press it! Press it!" Erin's eager whisper sounded close, her lips almost bushing Dodger's ear.

"But I can't see the rest of the buttons." She pressed the button, ensuring their evening would go uninterrupted, and then switched the lights back on, adjusting them to a soft warm glow.

"Remember when you asked what all the mirrors were for?" Dodger's grin was clearly visible in the dim light. "How about tonight we add another thing to your list of 'firsts'?"

Somewhere in an alternate version of Los Angeles, Dodger is meeting her former fiancé, HappiLeeErin. For 10 long days, the Yakuza held Dodger locked away from the world--trapped in her own bedroom, and without access to the internet. Her entire Steam library tantalizingly out of reach. Even her best friends, a faithful husky she had known since high school and her ever-cleaning Roomba--Ro for short--had been kept from her. During all that time, she had not Skyped with another living human. Her only connection to the world outside was her twitter account and the chinese takeout that was slipped under her door twice a day.

It’s cold, with a light rain lingering in the late afternoon. Dodger stares at the damp sidewalk beneath her feet. “I never wanted to run away from you. Believe me!” Her gaze shifts to Erin’s face. “I can’t tell you what happened...”

“I believe you... You never lied to me before!” Erin voice grows stronger as she starts to overcome the shock of seeing her long-lost friend, or more-than-friend!

Dodger looks away, but doesn’t pull back from the warmth of Erin’s grasp.“You’re married now. I don’t want to come back and break up your new life. I want you to forget about me and move on.”

A smile flickers across Erin’s face, as if she realizes how Dodger’s time away has changed her. She used to be the worst friend ever, but now she is thinking of others before herself. 

She may not be my girlfriend anymore, but she has become a most passable friend, Erin realizes.