Tamsin opened her eyes slowly, having been awake for five minutes already but she had spent the last four and a half trying to rehearse what she was supposed to say to Lauren. She wasn't really a stay the night kind of girl. She was half pleasantly surprised when she found the other side of the bed empty and half disappointed, but she pushed that half out of her thoughts.
The Valkyrie had spent the last four months trying to bury the emotions the human stirred up in her. Or fuck them out, she wasn't sure. She could tell something had changed in her when she found that when she went home, she spent far less time raging at herself for repeatedly engaging with a human (and property of the Light Fae at that) and more time wondering when she would see the doctor again.
It was irritating, she thought, stretching and getting out of bed to throw on her clothes. She didn't really like to get involved with anyone. Love em and leave em. That was the best way. The safest way. But the other blonde had wormed her way under her skin somehow. Maybe it was her looks. Tamsin wasn't stupid, she had eyes, and she knew Lauren as attractive long before they even toyed with the idea of sleeping together. If she was honest with herself, there was something about the human though. The way they were both trapped by circumstance, both running away from their pasts…she could relate to that and she rarely related to anyone.
The blonde Fae made her way downstairs, led on by the smell of coffee into the kitchen where Lauren was standing over the stove, frying bacon and wearing loose pants and a shirt. Tamsin slid into a chair at the dining table wordlessly, still unsure of how to even greet the other woman. The doctor half turned when she heard noise behind her and smiled slightly before moving away from the stove and pouring a cup of coffee for the Valkyrie and setting it in front of her.
"Morning." Lauren greeted, going back to the stove.
Tamsin gave a nod at her and picked up the warm mug. "Hey."
"How did you sleep?"
The question was offhand, but the other woman thought about it for a moment. Truthfully, she hadn't slept that well in a long time, but Lauren didn't need to know that. "Okay, I guess. Whatcha making?"
"Omelettes and bacon, is that okay?"
Tamsin couldn't remember the last time she actually had breakfast. Breakfast for her usually consisted of several cups of coffee at the cop shop. "Sure." She watched Lauren work in silence, resisting the urge to fidget. She was not one to squirm and the itch to do it was making her uncomfortably annoyed. She knew what to do when they were having sex; that was easy. She knew how to navigate the banal conversation they would toss back and forth at the Dal before ducking out to go to Lauren's apartment. She knew how to hold a conversation when it had to do with an official case, but this was new. It wasn't that she had never had a real conversation with the human; it was that it had never occurred the morning after, which made all the difference somehow. Regardless, she was acutely aware of her anxiety about the matter and it was pissing her off.
The cop gave a nod of thanks as the doctor set food in front of her and took a place on the opposite end of the table with her own plate and cup of coffee. They ate in silence for several minutes until Tamsin felt like she was going to scream in frustration. She allowed her fork drop out of her hand where it clattered against her plate noisily and let out a loud sigh, causing Lauren to look up quickly, concern etched on her features.
"Look," the Valkyrie started, squeezing her eyes shut momentarily in disbelief at what she was about to say. "I'm not good at this, okay?"
The doctor's face contorted from concern to mild confusion. "Good at what?"
Dammit, she was going to make her say it. "At…this." She gestured to the air between them. "The next day thing? I don't really…that's not my thing, doc. I'm drowning, here." She watched as the side of Lauren's mouth went up in a quick smile, causing Tamsin to scowl though she saw no derision on her face.
"Well, we're going to have to eventually talk about what's been going on." Lauren replied diplomatically though the Fae could detect the slight nervous pitch in her voice.
"…Eventually." Tamsin agreed reluctantly. "Yeah, I know."
"Let's just eat and figure the rest out later, okay?" the doctor offered, noting the other woman's half pained expression but not mentioning it. She was actually flattered that Tamsin let her walls slip a little.
The Valkyrie gave a quick, barely there smile and picked up her fork again. "Okay, yeah, that's doable." This time the silence between them was comfortable for Tamsin, but the need to fidget nervously intensified as she thought of their upcoming discussion. She had been avoiding vocalizing her feelings for Lauren even internally; she didn't know how she was going to handle an external conversation with the object of so many of her thoughts. She would worry about it later when it came up, she decided, picking up a forkful of egg. For now, she was going to eat and enjoy the company of the woman who made her feel…something.