Is this love?
AU version of the romance between Bianca and Marissa.
What if Marissa wasn't so oblivious to her feelings? What if Bianca never decided to play Cyrano for JR? What would have happened? (I also made Ricky a lot meaner.)
I've been brewing this story for a while and it's been distracting me from After the First Shot so I decided this weekend I would write it all down. I hope you like it. It turned out a lot longer than I expected – but then my stories seem to do that these days.
…
It was at the after Easter Treasure hunt that JR suggested setting Bianca up on a date. He added that if she didn't want to do it alone then he and Marissa could make it a double date. Marissa could see right through his motives. He'd been trying for a long time to wheedle his way back in. Trying to get her to move back to the mansion. So far she was managing to resist him, but it was getting harder to do. Thank god for Bianca, who was a good friend and was happy to be a willing ear; ready to listen and sympathise with her JR woes.
Marissa was determined she wasn't going to fall for any of JR's tricks, but she also wanted to do something nice for Bianca. Her friend was very down after the divorce and with the worry of her missing mom… and the problems at the Miranda Centre… Bianca deserved the chance to have fun and maybe move on from all this heart-break.
Despite her reservations about spending time with JR, the thought of seeing Bianca happy overrode everything else. So Marissa agreed to the date.
Bianca meanwhile looked doubtful about the whole idea, but she let Marissa persuade her.
…
Marissa got to the bar early. Louise was already waiting and walked up to her with a big smile on her lips.
"You must be Bianca."
Marissa was strangely flattered to be confused with her good friend, but she was quick to correct Louise on her mistake.
Bianca arrived a little later; around the same time as JR. She looked worn down despite her wide smile. Marissa began to have a creeping suspicion that Bianca wasn't quite up for a date. Despite her attempts to put up a good front she clearly had other things on her mind. They ordered their meal and JR joked that she and Bianca had clearly been spending too much time together when they asked for the exact same thing - Caesar salad, with dressing on the side and extra croutons. Marissa just grinned back saying that they simply had the same exceptional good taste!
…
The date itself turned out to be a disaster. JR disappeared early on to check up on AJ because he'd forgotten to take his medicine. Marissa felt that might actually be a good thing. She didn't have to keep her guard up against JR's smooth tongue, she just had to concentrate on her friend. But Bianca's head just wasn't on the date. She had clearly been having a nightmare day with the backers at the Miranda centre, who still giving her grief about the Griffin murder enquiry. Louise wasn't making it any easier with her unhelpful suggestions… And then, first chance she got, the woman bailed… leaving Bianca all alone. Marissa couldn't believe someone would do that!
She hoped that Bianca would at least stay for the concert, but Bianca just wanted to go home. She had a new expression of devastation on her face. Marissa felt awful. She just wanted to give her friend a big hug and say sorry, but Bianca wouldn't let her. She just wanted to get away. It's not like Marissa could blame her. This was supposed to be a fun date to take her mind off of the divorce and she had gotten rejected all over again. If Marissa hadn't wanted to see the Adele concert so much she would have gone home too at that point. She wasn't looking forward to an evening alone with JR.
…
That night Marissa's mind went back over Bianca's date. She wondered what could have gone wrong. She couldn't believe that Louise would just walk out on someone as amazing as Bianca… That she wouldn't have gone out her way to see her happy and smiling, not sad and quiet.
If she'd been in Louise's place…
Marissa's half-dreaming mind took her just where she wanted. Now she was on the date with Bianca and she was going to pull out all the stops to make sure it was a good one! She did all she could to make her friend smile… laughing at her jokes… dancing with her at the concert as they sang along with Adele at the top of their lungs… holding her hand as she walked her home… and then they paused under the porch light, grinning together after their fantastic evening…
"I had a good night." whispered Bianca.
"Me too." said Marissa, grinning at how great this all felt.
And then, slowly, a sweet smile on her lips, Bianca leaned in to kiss her goodnight… soft lips, sweet breath, gentle tastes and muted sighs…
Marissa awoke with a start, strangely aroused. Her pulse was racing and her lips were tingling. Did her mind really just go there!?
Alarmed Marissa turned her head to check that Krystal was still sleeping. Having to share a room with you mother in a household as full as the Martins made having dreams like that a little awkward. But the fact she was having a dream like that about Bianca at all made her feel very unsettled. Bianca was her friend and Marissa had never… with a woman…
But her fingers traced her lips as the dream lingered.
But she wasn't… she couldn't…
They were friends, that was all. It was just a dream.
…
If was a few weeks later before Marissa met Bianca again. She wasn't exactly avoiding her… not for one fuzzy dream kiss… they had just been very busy. Bianca was still searching for her missing mom and dealing with the Miranda Centre crisis and Marissa had immigration on her back thanks to Tad and Cara's sham wedding. When JR offered her a chance to move into the mansion, for what felt like the hundredth time, Marissa knew this time she had to say yes… But not because of him… She was trying to save her law career by getting as far away from the illegal marriage as possible.
That day, Marissa had bumped into Bianca dropping AJ off at a kid's party. A friend from school, Amber, had invited the whole class to her birthday. Bianca offered to take her out for a coffee afterwards so they could catch up but Marissa broke the news that it was moving day for her. She was shifting her stuff out of the Martins house to the Chandler mansion. Of course Bianca was quick to offer her assistance and Marissa could hardly say no.
…
What unfolded later that afternoon highlighted once more how incredible Bianca could be. AJ and Miranda came back early from the party because AJ had been fighting. But it seemed the real victim was Miranda, being bullied because her mom was gay. Marissa could swear that she actually saw Bianca's heart break when Miranda told her what Amber had said. Bianca was so full of guilt that this was her fault and she should have done more to protect her child… but Marissa couldn't let her think that. Bianca was the most amazing mother… the most amazing person she had ever met! So she told her just that.
…
The next morning Marissa came down to a parlour to a grinning JR. He had had the room decorated with flowers and there was her favourite French pastries waiting on a plate for her breakfast. JR was certainly pushing the boat out on his seduction attempts.
Bianca chose that moment to interrupt. She needed a friend. She had arranged to meet Amber's mom, Tammy, to talk about the bullying and she needed back-up. Marissa followed her out of the house without a second's thought. JR looked so disappointed at her leaving though she did find herself giving him a brief kiss in the cheek as a thank you for his efforts.
When they got to Krystal's Marissa positioned herself behind the bar so she would be there if she was needed. It was quickly clear where Amber got her bullying techniques from. What came out of Tammy's mouth was one homophobic cliché after another. Marissa was itching to step in and spent the whole time glaring at Tammy in disgust. As the conversation got more heated Bianca, who had been trying so hard to stay calm and rational, exclaimed,
"I'm a mother just like you!"
The woman must have seem Marissa's glaring because she scowled right back,
"You are nothing like me, but you still think you should be able to marry your girlfriend over there…"
Before she knew what she was doing Marissa shouted back,
"Why shouldn't Bianca be able to marry whoever she wants?"
The woman got up in disgust them,
"Great; tag teamed by the lesbians!"
"She's not…" began Bianca.
"If you can't deal with people having a problem with it them maybe you need to go back into the closet!" Tammy cried before storming away.
"I'm not going anywhere!" exclaimed Bianca, although she finished rather lamely. "I'll see you at PTA!"
Bianca seemed a little mad that Marissa had stepped in when she did and was also worried that she'd been labelled a lesbian too by the bigot. But Marissa didn't mind… why should be worry about the thoughts of ignorant people.
"I'd be honoured and proud of people thought you'd choose me as your partner..!" she found herself saying. And then she realised she meant it. She wasn't gay… one dream kiss doesn't make you gay… but if she were, there wasn't a more incredible woman in the world than Bianca!
…
