Maggie squeezed Sydney's hand as they waited outside her mother's apartment door.
"It'll be fine. She'll like you, and she hasn't had a problem with any of the other women I brought home," Maggie said sedately, laughing when Sydney turned to her in confusion. "Joke! It was a joke! She hasn't met any of the other women." Sydney stared at Maggie in indignation.
"How many have there been?" She asked quickly, hearing footfalls behind the door, but Maggie just raised an eyebrow aggravatingly.
At that point the door opened, and Sydney squeezed Maggie's hand harder, tight smile on her face. Maggie's thumb stroked over her knuckles and she relaxed, smiled like she meant it.
"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Lin," Sydney said, extending her hand which was summarily ignored.
"You're late," Mrs Lin said, and turned to walk back into the apartment. Sydney stared wide-eyed at Maggie and Maggie squeezed her hand again, led her into the apartment and shut the door behind them. "Tea?" Mrs Lin asked from another room.
"Coffee, mum," Maggie called, sitting on a couch next to Sydney.
The coffee was hot and strong, and Sydney enjoyed it. The conversation was stilted on her part, and Mrs Lin sent Maggie to look for an old photo album to show Sydney a picture of Maggie's baby butt.
"You won't leave her?" Maggie's mother asked as soon as they were alone. She sternly eyed Sydney with an air of disapproval.
"I know I might not be what you expected for your daughter," Sydney started, but she was cut off with an impatient wave.
"I do not care about that. You left her, you left her broken. You leave her again, I will break you." Sydney shifted uncomfortably at the dining room table, willing Maggie to find the photo album her mother had sent her to look for quickly.
"It was more complicated than that. My parents…"
"Not as understanding as me?" Mrs Lin barked with laughter.
"To say the least. I had to figure it out on my own, I didn't want to… complicate her life any more. I thought it was for the best if I didn't… confuse her, because I didn't know if I could come out and lose my family, my community. I thought she would be better off if I left. I know I was wrong now, but I was very… alone… when I made that decision."
"Those decisions," Mrs Lin reminded her. "Twice now you leave her. I do not trust you."
"That seems fair, but I can promise you - even if you won't believe me - that I do want the best for your daughter. And when I left, I didn't think I was good for her; good for anyone." Mrs Lin eyed Sydney considerately.
"You will be good to her?"
"As good as I can be. If she hadn't said she'd come with me, I wouldn't have gone," Sydney said, surprised at the truth behind the statement.
Mrs Lin nodded. "Drink," she said, gesturing to the coffee she'd put in front of Sydney. She drank obediently, wondering if this was a sign of approval. Maggie came in then, with the photo album, and blushed at her terrible highschool hair and naked bath photos, glad her mother wanted to show them to Sydney, glad she seemed to have accepted her.
Maggie woke up at the sound of the front door and rolled over in bed, halfway through a week of earlies while Sydney was on lates. She watched the bedroom door, listening for the familiar sound of Sydney's evening routine: green tea, a warm shower, leftovers in front of a quiet TV. When the bedroom door quietly creaked open, Maggie peeked through her mostly closed eyelids, watched as Sydney walked to the dresser in her dressing gown, shrugging it off and hanging it behind the door before rummaging through a drawer. She shrugged on an oversized tee and Maggie huffed in disappointment. Sydney turned at the noise.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Sydney asked, walking toward the bed.
"No," Maggie lied. The shirt was part of a system they'd worked out. It meant they'd just be sleeping. Maggie had had to mention how distracting she found waking up with Sydney's naked body pressed against her; her sleep had been affected. Sydney turned off the hall light, an LED strip in the walk in robe dimly illuminating the room.
"What's kept you up? You have to get up in…" Sydney checked her watch, "four hours."
"Just thinking." Maggie said noncommittally.
"... about?" Sydney asked, wanting elaboration.
"You," Maggie said honestly. "About how I wish you hadn't put that shirt on."
Sydney had put her knee on the bed, readying herself to get in, but she stood, pulled the shirt back over her head. Maggie caught her breath, even though the sight was familiar by now, even in the dim light, and scooted back against the wall to make room for Sydney in front of her. Sydney slid into bed facing Maggie, tangling her bare legs with Maggie's.
"I thought we were holding off until we got back on normal shifts?" Sydney asked as Maggie's arms slipped around her, rubbing her back.
"We can if you want. I just miss your skin. I miss these." Maggie cupped Sydney's breasts.
"But you need your sleep. And I know how you like to take your time with me, I don't think you're going to get enough sleep if…"
Maggie cut Sydney off with a kiss. "If you don't want to…" Maggie started, but Sydney cut her off with another kiss.
"I always want to, I just want to make sure you're well rested."
"I took a nap when I got home, check my app." Sydney raised her eyebrows; Maggie always tried to get long blocks of sleep at home, and only napped when she was in the on-call room out of necessity. "I miss spending time with you when you get home," she said a little shyly. They might be moving to another country together but Maggie was still wary of letting her emotions be known.
Sydney smiled. "I do too. I miss you too," she said, leaning in to kiss Maggie, tangling her hands in Maggie's hair, letting Maggie's hands wander from where they cupped her face then slipped down to her waist. "Mmm, this is nice."
"You're nice," Maggie said, nipping at Sydney's ear. "These are nice," she followed on, cupping a breast.
Sydney rested her head on Maggie's chest, one hand squeezing at the boob that wasn't cushioning her head. "I like these," she said. "I really like these."
"Comes with being gay, I guess," Maggie said, bemused and a little worn out.
"No, I mean… I thought about it a lot, when I met you. How they'd feel in my hands, if they'd be different to mine," said Sydney. "And when I hugged you that time…"
"Oh my god, you were trying to feel me up!" Maggie said indignantly, but not so indignantly that she felt she had to move Sydney's hand as it toyed absently with a nipple.
"Sorry I was so duplicitous. I didn't know how I'd be received or if I was ready for that kind of life change yet… I just wanted to…"
"Be all pressed up against all this?" Maggie said cockily.
"Well, without clothes in the way you can certainly see the merits," Sydney lightly joked. "But I do like these. I don't feel like mine measure up that well to yours."
"Yours are as perfect as I thought they'd be," Maggie said, quieting Sydney's protest with a kiss. "Just perfect."
"And when did you start thinking about them, Doctor Lin?" Sydney said teasingly.
"The moment I met you," Maggie said honestly. "The way you were tugging at those stirrups made them… jiggle…"
Sydney giggled into Maggie's shoulder. "Go to sleep, idiot," she said, pleased. "You've only got 3 hours before you have to get up."
"Oh, I'll get something up, alright," Maggie said suggestively, leering at Sydney, who raised her head. "Alright, alright, goodnight." Maggie gave in, kissed the soft lips Sydney raised to hers, tucked Sydney in closer against her.
Notes:
There is at least one more chapter coming up. As always, thanks for reading and leave a review if you'd like; help me improve my fanfic game y'all