Thursday, May 4th 2023

“What is going on with Stacie?” Tiffany whispered to her girlfriend, her arms wound around Jessica from behind, chin resting on the blonde’s shoulder, peering over as the older woman put the finishing garnishes on her duck and shallot au vin.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s being very antagonistic…it’s not usually like her…”

“Stacie is a lot more complex and sensitive than she lets on. She’s not an unkind person and I’m sure you know this. I think perhaps your friend Aubrey’s prim and proper demeanor may just be…pushing some buttons and perhaps insecurities.”

Tiffany bit her lip in contemplation. Aubrey definitely could come off as standoffish and aloof, especially with the rigid sense of propriety she almost always carried herself with. If they were still in olden day times, Aubrey would most definitely have been royalty of sorts. There was a way of detached elegance about the woman, something intimidating and unreachable. Where Stacie was flamboyant and down to earth, Aubrey was cold and distant. Where Stacie used her crass and garish personality as a shield, Aubrey used her pedantic decorum as a wall. Though clashing, Tiffany didn’t think the two were as dissimilar as they themselves perhaps thought. But this was definitely the most undeservedly belligerent she had seen the tall brunette. Characters like the ten inch Neanderthal called for it, but this was…different. Tiffany hoped dinner would not dissolve into a cesspool of endless bickering and verbal sparring that was even now taking place as they speak.

“And you never told me you invited Aubrey over tonight.”

“I thought it would be a nice surprise. I am trying to be a good girlfriend you know. She’s your friend and she clearly cares about you. I thought it wise to clear the air.”

“Jessica Jung. Commitment-phobe extraordinaire. Will wonders never cease?”

Jessica turned her head to brush her lips over the corner of Tiffany’s mouth, murmuring “You’ve been a terribly distracting sous-chef, hardly helped me with anything apart from chopping up some parsley as garnish…” Tiffany giggled into Jessica’s lips before kissing her fully, “Then I’ll go set the table to make it up to you, chef.” Jessica hummed and smiled into Tiffany’s lips, nipping them teasingly and making the younger girl sigh dreamily before she pulled away.

“Go. Make yourself useful. You are terrible at this babe.”

Tiffany stuck out her tongue in response and went to go get the table set while Stacie and Aubrey continued their verbal sparring in the living room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over dinner, Jessica and Aubrey explicitly addressed the standoff situation they had couple weeks prior. Both blondes actually really appreciated someone who could stand up to bull, someone who was blunt and spoke their mind. Jessica and Aubrey were both accustomed to being viewed as closed off, perhaps even ‘frigid’ by some, and both couldn’t really care enough to be bothered. They were used to being avoided, Jessica for being different and usual, Aubrey for being intense and intimidating. They both were very highly self-driven individuals and gave off a prickly demeanour to those they didn’t care to know.

Not to mention both of them clearly had Tiffany’s best interest at heart, so that alone drew the two together.

All the while, Tiffany was just enjoying getting to know Aubrey more. She had never been super close to the prima ballerina per say, seeing as she was pretty lower tier in the company. But she knew Aubrey always looked out for her, gave her tips and pointers where she could. And in a world where competition w