"Momma B Momma B Momma B!"
It was Friday night, an entire five days since Bette had held her blonde lover in her arms. Her daughter was bouncing off the walls, her toys strewn around her room, and to say that the brunette was on edge was an understatement.
"Angie honey, you think you could sit down on the sofa for me? You're gonna break something if you keep running round like that" she warned, trying to keep her tone light and not snap at her daughter.
"But Momma Beeeee I'm excited!" the little girl called, twirling round in the living room, narrowly missing a vase that was on display.
Bette scooped her daughter up in her arms before she really did break something and sat down with the little girl in her lap.
"Baby, I know you're excited to see everybody but you've got to calm down"
"Momma it's family night!"
"I know sweetie but you've got to be good else you won't be allowed to stay up with everyone"
Angelica's eyes went big and she stuck out her bottom lip "But I wanna play"
The older Porter took a deep breath, her patience wearing thin "You can play when people get here Angie, but only good girls get to stay up late"
"Momma T will let me"
"Don't you even try that one"
Angelica was reaching that age when she realised the possibility of playing her mothers off against each other. However, unfortunately for her, the fact that her mothers had reconnected meant that she had little chance of separating them.
"You're mean Momma"
The little girl folded her arms and pouted, wriggling along so that she was sat at the other end of the sofa from her mother. Bette raised an eyebrow and decided to play her daughter at her own game. She mimicked her daughter's pose, and the years that she had on her daughter meant that she had had the time to perfect her pout. They sat there, staring each other down in silence until the doorbell rang.
Angie jumped off the sofa and ran to the door, flinging it open and grabbing hold of the legs of the figure that she found there.
"Momma T!" she cried out, squeezing her blonde mother tightly.
"Hey little one, what's going on?"
"Momma B is being mean"
Tina raised an eyebrow and made eye contact with her lover who had stood up from her position on the sofa.
"And what is Momma B doing to be mean?" the blonde asked her daughter.
"She says I can't stay up and play with everyone at family night" the little girl complained, her voice muffled by the fact that her face was buried in her mother's leg.
Bette rolled her eyes and shook her head at her lover.
The blonde knelt down so that she was at Angie's level and pried the little girl away from her leg "Did she actually say that Angie?"
Angelica paused for a moment before shaking her head.
"What did Momma B say?"
"That if I wasn't good I didn't get to stay up"
"And what did you do that wasn't good?"
"I runned around and didn't put away my toys" Angie responded quietly, looking down at the ground.
"You think maybe you should go clean up your room before everyone gets here?" the blonde suggested sweetly to her daughter.
"Then can I stay up?"
"If both your Momma and I decide you've been good, then yes you can stay up"
Angie's face brightened and she ran off towards her bedroom, leaving her mothers in each other's company.
"You're a life saver" smiled the brunette, closing the space between herself and the blonde.
"Sometimes you just need a Tina shaped peacekeeping force" the blonde grinned, her arms wrapping round Bette's neck.
"I need a lot of Tina shaped things"
The blonde laughed as she pulled the brunette down into a kiss. Bette pulled their bodies together, burying her head in the blondes neck.
"Has she been playing up for long?" Tina asked softly.
"Ever since I collected her. I think the excitement of having all her aunts round is too much for her"
The blonde chuckled "Well at least maybe she'll have worn herself out"
"You think that'll make any difference once Alice gets here and winds her up again?"
"True. What time is motor mouth getting here?"
"Everyone should be arriving in…" Bette checked her watch "about ten minutes"
"So you asked me to come early huh?"
"Maybe…"
"And why's that?"
"So I could do this"
The brunette cupped her lover's cheeks, leaning down to take her upper lip between hers. She ran her tongue along the blondes lip, causing Tina to open her mouth. Taking that as an invitation, Bette slid her tongue into her lovers mouth, caressing, dancing, talking in the way that she knew best.
"I missed you" she whispered, her forehead resting against the blondes.
"I missed you too babe" Tina confessed, her hands tangling into the brunettes curls "I'm sorry I've been so busy this week"
"I can hardly criticise you for putting in long hours at work now can I?"
"I guess not. Still, I wish I'd got to see more of you"
"You're still staying tonight though, right?"
"Of course. It's what's kept me going all week"
"I hope you've been conserving some energy for me" the brunette asked with a sly smile.
"Oh I always find energy when it comes to you babe"
They kissed again and the passion between them grew slowly, both of them trying to keep their libidos in check. When they pulled apart both of them were visibly panting, unable to conceal the effect that they had on one another.
"We should stop…" Tina said regretfully.
"It'd be one way to announce ourselves to Alice"
"She'd never let us live it down" the blonde pointed out.
"True. In that case I'll just have to keep you on ice for later"
"You can count on it" Tina smirked "I'm gonna go check on Angie"
The brunette watched her lover walk away before making her way to the kitchen and taking two beers out of the fridge. She removed the caps and took a long swig of her beer, waiting for the inevitable chaos that would ensue when her friends arrived.
And in the end she didn't have to wait long. The doorbell rang and she opened the door to find Kit, Alice and Helena on her doorstep.
"Ladies" she said with a mock bow.
"Enough of that shit Porter, I need a beer" Alice scoffed, pushing past Bette.
"Well hello to you too Al"
"Hey baby girl" smiled Kit, pulling her younger sister in for a hug.
"Hi Bette" Helena greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
"Come in guys, can I get you a drink?"
"I've got the wine if you have a corkscrew and a glass" Helena replied, holding up the bottle that was in her hand.
"I'll have an ice tea" Kit responded.
"Sure thing" Bette nodded, taking the wine from Helena and heading back to the kitchen "Al, I assume you've helped yourself?"
"I'd have died of thirst otherwise" Alice retorted "Anyway, whos is that beer?"
"Tina's" Bette responded nonchalantly "she's in with Angie"
Both Kit and Helena smiled to themselves.
"Have you spoken to Shane?" the hostess asked her friends.
"Yeah she'll be over in a minute with more beers" Alice replied, considering herself to be the font of knowledge.
"Bette?" called a certain blonde from the direction of Angelica's room.
"Excuse me a moment" the brunette left her friends.
She made her way to her daughters room and found the little girl standing proudly next to her blonde mother, with no sign of the earlier mess.
"I'm impressed" the brunette said with a smile "so what do you reckon T, has Angie been good enough to stay up and see everyone?"
"Hmm I dunno" the blonde teased.
"Please please please Mommas!" Angie begged them both.
The two women laughed.
It was Bette who relented first "You did a good job sweetie, you want to come and say hello to your aunts?"
"Yes yes yes!" the little girl jumped up and down excitedly.
With smiles on their faces the Porter-Kennard clan made their way out to the living room where they found that the gang had been joined by Shane.
"Hey Miss Angelica!" called Alice.
"Auntie Alice!"
The two began pulling faces at each other and the others wondered which of the two was the child. Bette and Tina stood together, the brunette resting her hand on the small of the blondes back when she knew that Alice wasn't looking. These occasions meant so much to them, just sharing an evening with the women that they thought of as family. After a moment Bette removed her hand, knowing that while they were still expecting to keep their relationship under wraps, they should be acting as though they were nothing more than friends.
"Hey Angie?" Alice asked in a stage whisper from her cross legged position on the floor "You think you could sneak me another beer from the fridge?"
"Okay!" the little girl responded cheerfully, skipping off to the kitchen.
"Alice" warned Bette "my daughter is not a barmaid"
"I need to rest my legs Porter, I'm getting old"
"Something we all agree on for once Al" Tina responded with a grin.
"Uh uh, I'm not having you pair ganging up on me" Alice waved a finger at the two women.
"Momma B?" Angie asked, approaching her mother with a bottle of beer in her hand.
"Yes baby?"
"I can't get the top bit off" she said in frustration.
Bette chuckled, taking the bottle from her daughter "That's because beer isn't meant for children"
"Why not?"
The older Porter took the cap off the bottle "Because it makes grown ups do silly things"
Angie wrinkled her forehead, deep in thought as she watched her mother pass the beer to Alice.
"Auntie Alice?" she asked curiously "You must drink lots of beer"
"And why's that Angie?"
"'Cause you always do silly things"
Everyone burst into fits of giggles at Alice's expense. It was always amusing when the joke was on Alice, but even more so when she was made to look stupid by someone so young.
"You're too much like your mother, mini Porter" Alice retorted, a slight scowl on her face.
"I'm like both my Mommas" Angie replied proudly.
"Angie" hissed Shane "Alice is just jealous 'cause you're smarter than her"
"Hey!" Alice attempted to protest as the little girl started giggling.
The night proceeded in much the same manner, with Alice usually the target of the gangs jokes. They were working their way through the supply of beer and wine, although Bette and Tina took care to keep relatively sober while their daughter was still up. Alice, notably, had put away more than her fair share of both supplies of alcohol.
"Al, I sincerely hope you're not intending to drive home tonight?" Bette asked pointedly.
"Noooo I was thinking I could maybe crash here with you Porter"
"You're welcome to stay at mine" Shane jumped in, knowing full well that there was only one blonde Bette would want staying that night.
"Thanks Shaney" Alice smiled.
"Will you sleep naked?" Angie piped up.
Everybody attempted to stifle a laugh as Alice stared at her earth daughter wide eyed "Why would I sleep naked with that scrawny thing?"
"When Momma T stays at Momma B's house they sleep naked"
Silence.
Helena, Shane and Kit sat there, enjoying their front row seats for the reaction that they knew was coming. Bette and Tina were on the other sofa, gaping at their daughter. The little girl had no idea about what was going on around her.
Gradually the realisation dawned on Alice. Her mouth opened slowly as her eyes narrowed at the two women sat on the sofa opposite her.
"Are you two fucking?!"
"Alice!" both Bette and Tina scolded, nodding in the direction of their daughter.
"Sorry Angie" Alice apologised, belatedly covering the little girl's ears "Are you two doing the dirty?!"
"No" responded Bette lightly "we just like to sleep naked. Don't you sleep naked with your friends?"
"No I most certainly don't! You better tell me the truth right now"
"Okaaaay. Maybe we are F-U-C-K-ing" Tina spelt out, trying to suppress a grin.
"And?" Alice asked impatiently.
"And what?" Tina replied, knowing how wound up her friend was getting.
"And what's going on?"
"Can't two exes just have a little fun for old times sake?" Bette teased, running a hand up and down the blondes thigh.
"Some exes can. Not you two. No way. Waaaaay too messy"
"Sorry Al, but you're wrong. It'd been too long, so I thought why not get some from the best?" Tina smiled, her eyes still on Alice but her hand finding Bette's.
"Don't lie to me"
"We're not"
"You are"
"Does this look like a face that would lie to you?" Tina asked, putting on her sweetest smile.
"Yes"
"Ouch" Shane mumbled.
"Porterrrrrr" Alice whined.
"Aliiiiice" Bette mimicked her friends tone.
"You know better than to lie to me right?"
"I know you just insulted the mother of my daughter Al, I don't think you deserve the truth"
"Please? Please please please?"
It was Tina who took pity on Alice, knowing that however much she wound her up, Bette was capable of continuing all night "You want the truth Alice?"
"I'll love you forever"
"I think that's my job" Bette spoke up.
"What?" Alice looked repeatedly between the two women.
"We're back together Al" Tina told her.
A wide grin spread slowly across Alice's face "Are you serious? Promise me you're not joking"
"We're serious" Bette confirmed, squeezing Tina's hand.
"Oh my god!" Alice leapt up and threw herself at the couple.
"Auntie Alice, you had too much beer" Angie piped up, leaving the room in giggles again.
"Are you guys not going to say anything?" Alice turned to her remaining friends incredulously.
"No"
"Not really"
"Got nothing to say"
The inquisitive woman's eyes narrowed once again as she turned back to the couple "They knew, didn't they?"
The two women just shrugged.
"I can't believe you guys!" Alice exclaimed, standing up on her unsteady legs "All of you kept this from me!"
"It's not their fault Al" Tina pointed out "we asked them not to tell anyone"
"But I'm not just anyone!"
"When we said anyone, we meant anyone. And besides, Kit and Helena both found out by accident" Bette reasoned.
"You told Shane! You told her and not me?!"
"Al, I talked to Shane because I was confused about my feelings for Tina. We just wanted some time to figure things out for ourselves before we let everyone know"
Alice just stood there with her arms folded, a scowl on her face.
"Well I'm really happy for you guys" Shane stood up and moved to embrace her two friends.
"Me too" Kit grinned.
"Congratulations both of you" Helena added.
"I'm happy too!" Angie piped up, joining in the embrace with Shane and her mothers.
"Alice?" Helena asked, turning to her scowling friend.
"Fine. I'm happy for you" Alice offered begrudgingly "But next time I have a secret, you two are gonna be the last to know!"
"A secret about you?" Bette asked "There's no such thing"
"You're treading a thin line Porter"
Once again the room was filled with laughter, and it stayed that way for the rest of the night. For the first time Bette was able to show her affection for Tina in front of their friends. Of course, she kept a degree of restraint about her actions. She was content just to keep an arm around the blonde, keeping her close throughout the conversations with their friends. For the first time in a long time, it was a truly happy night in the Porter house.