Jade sat quietly at her lunch top, reading some article or another online. She kept glancing over at her roommate Tavros. He was doing the same thing, nervously darting his eyes to her and then back to his feet. Jade breathed a small sigh, shut her lunchtop, and walked over to the pile of stuffed animals.
"Hey Tav," she said. Tavros snapped his head up. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Oh, um, we don't have to, if you don't want to," he replied, a nervous grin tugging at his lips.
"But there is something you want to talk about?" Tavros nodded. "Then come over here." Jade smiled and patted the spot next to her on the pile.
Tavros smiled and walked over to Jade.
"What's on your mind, Tav?"
"Well, uh, we live together. And we get along pretty well, and we, uh, hang out a lot, and uh, sometimes you, uh, kiss me," the trolls stuttered, his face turning bright copper. "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I don't.. really.. know what we are.. I mean, quadrant-wise."
"Oh. Well. We're um... we're... Hm." Jade crossed her arms and stared into the distance in thought. She hadn't thought about what kind of relationship they had. She just knew she was happy with their current situation, and didn't want it to change any time soon. She could spend the rest of her life with Tavros, if he was ok with that. But at the same time, she knew there wasn't anything romantic about her feelings. She wasn't 'in love' with him. She loved him, sure, but strictly as a friend. A friend she could live with forever and maybe kiss sometimes.
"Does it have to be a quadrant thing?" Tavros's eyebrows bunched together in confusion. "I don't think there's a quadrant for our type of relationship."
"Oh. Well. Um, I guess that is ok, too." He wasn't looking at Jade, and she couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking.
"I mean, I think it would be wrong to try to force what we have into a quadrant. I really like how things are, Tavros. I just don't think there's a way to describe it."
He still didn't seem reassured.
"I like you a lot. I'm pretty sure I love you, in a friendly way, but I'm also pretty sure that this is more than just friends." Jade was rambling now, she knew it, but she couldn't stop. "And yeah, sometimes I want to kiss you, because I don't have any words for what I'm feeling at that moment, and because I'm an affectionate person, and kissing is nice. But I don't think there's a word for how we are." She paused for a second.
"How about we're just Jade and Tavros? Or Tavros and Jade, if you prefer."
Tavros gave her a small, but relieved smile. "Ok. That is a good plan."