Amy was downstairs in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with her ankles crossed in an uncomfortably Dream Amy kinda positions. But there was no smoothie in sight.

Karma checked. Twice.

Amy was in her kitchen and Lauren was in her bed and Karma was sure she was in one of the lower circles of hell. One reserved for people who (almost) fucked their soulmate's stepsister.

Soulmate.

Yeah, like she knew what the fuck that meant.

Amy stood there, leaning against the counter and Karma, for the first time in her life, found herself utterly and completely speechless. It wasn't for lack of anything to say. There was too much. Did she get out in front of it and confess all? Did she pretend and wait for Amy to make a move (and hope, sorta, that said move was not pinning her against the wall and using her tongue like Dream Amy had.) Did she run away and lock her bedroom door and huddle under the duvet with Lauren and pretend they were the only two people left in the world.

Karma caught sight of the look in Amy's eyes and, for the briefest of brief moments, she was Dream Amy and yeah, that whole hiding under the covers option was sounding mighty good.

In the end, Karma settled for simple and calm (on the outside) and she stood across the room, keeping Molly's little rolling kitchen island between them. "Hey," she said. Friendly, casual, non-committal. Perfect.

"Hey," Amy said back and Karma had to bite her tongue to keep from apologizing and begging forgiveness and declaring that it was none of Amy's business all at once. They were off to a roaring start but there were no exploring tongues or roaming hands and her nipples were still untouched and Karma was totes counting that as a win.

And if that wasn't oddest criteria for a win, ever…

"So… um… what's up?" Karma asked, leaving off the 'besides, you know, me and Lauren and you and Reagan and what you may or not may know about all of the above if, you know, this was a test and the answers were listed and so one could be above another and…

For fuck's sake. Her rambles had rambles.

"I was kinda hoping we could talk," Amy said. And unlike Dream Amy she made no move toward Karma so maybe she really did mean talk.

And that was a relief. And a bit of a let down.

Yup. Circle of Hell.

"Sure," Karma said, still leaning on the island like it had become a part of her and she was gripping it hard enough that she imagined it might actually be fused to her. "Anything in particular? School? The weather? Presidential election? I know we're supposed to be all about Hillary but I gotta say, I'm kinda feeling the Bern, though either of them would obviously be better than -"

"I broke up with Reagan."

There was a time when Karma would have killed to hear that. When she might have died to hear it, when she would have definitely sold a kidney on the black market (maybe even one of hers), when she would have done a little victory dance right there in the kitchen and then pushed the island out of the way, shoved Amy up against the counter and kissed her till neither of them could breathe.

That time was somewhere between the tears she cried into her popcorn and 'can I kiss you?' and long before 'you're my girl' and Lauren asleep in her bed (and Karma took a quick look behind her cause Lauren was sneaky quiet and the last thing any of them needed was the tiny blonde slipping up behind her) and so, now, well past that time, she stayed rooted to her spot and she kept both kidneys and there was no dancing and definitely no kissing.

"You did?" she asked and Amy nodded and took a step away from the counter which was a step toward Karma and the redhead remembered Dream Amy all too well and she shifted, rolling the island a little to the left, keeping it between them. "Why did you do that? I thought you two were happy?"

It's you, Reagan. It's always been you and it always will be. And no matter what I have to do, I'll prove it to you.

So fucking happy.

Amy stopped moving and she stared at the floor as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "She just… it wasn't… and I felt like…" She shook her head, trying to clear maybe come up with an actual complete thought. "I didn't love her," she said, finally. "And I wasn't going to, so it seemed like the right thing to do."

Karma nodded, because again there were too many words fighting to get out (words like 'why now?' and 'did she tell you?' and 'do you know and if you do why haven't you said anything?' and 'you couldn't have figured this out in the fucking movie theater?') and she didn't trust her mouth or her brain, so silence seemed the best plan.

"Way I see it," Amy said, "Reagan and I were hot and hot kisses and sexy makeouts and sneaking around are all great. But they're nothing compared to being with someone you love."

Amy looked up then and stared right into Karma's eyes and Karma's hands slipped from the edge of the island and she stumbled forward, bumping it to the right before grabbing ahold of it again. "You and Reagan had to sneak around?"

Amy shook her head. "No," she said. "We didn't."

Amy already knows

Score one for Reagan, Karma thought. And score like a negative one thousand cause she got dumped.

Karma tried to feel bad. But not too hard.

"Well, that… sucks," she said. "I'm sorry Aimes. I know you really wanted things to work out this time."

Amy took another couple steps forward, resting her hands on the other side of the island. "I did," she said. "But sometimes… I don't think we know what we really want until we get something… less, you know?"

Karma didn't say anything and she didn't move. Not even when Amy's hands slipped across the island and rested on top of hers. Dream Amy had been a little more overt but Real Amy wasn't exactly subtle.

Even Karma could pick up what she was laying down. Though she didn't really pick it up. She got it, but she left it right where she found it.

"Sometimes," Amy said, "we have to try things out and… experiment… a little, even if whatever we're doing turns out to be... not so real. You know, so we're ready when when the re -"

"And sometimes," Karma cut her off, pulling her hands out from under Amy's. "Sometimes the 'not so real' turns out to be a lot more real than you thought." She took a step back from the island and then another, stopping only when her back bumped into the wall. "Sometimes it ends up being pretty great and yeah, not without its challenges, but… worth it." She brought her gaze straight to Amy's. "So very worth it."

Amy slid the island out of her way and took three quick steps to Karma. She didn't pin her against the wall or even touch her, but she was so close Karma could feel her breath on her skin and she could see the way Amy's pupils dilated as she stared (just a little too long to be anything but intentional) at Karma's lips.

"Maybe it seems that way now," Amy said. "But what if that's only because you haven't had the real thing yet? What if that's because you don't know how good it could be?"

Amy's hands slipped onto the wall on either side of Karma, effectively trapping her though Karma had to admit it was kinda impossible to trap the willing.

Or the maybe willing.

"It's never been real, Karma," Amy said, "not for you and me. Not at the same time." Karma had never heard that tone before and as much as she didn't want it to, her body responded and fuck all if this is what a few months with Reagan could do for someone like Amy, maybe she and Lauren should hunt Reagan down and ask if she wanted to be in a thruple…

Lauren. Body responding or not, Karma's mind (and heart) didn't seem like they wanted to wander too far. Not from her.

Not from Lauren.

Karma ducked down and slipped out from under Amy's arms and scooted across the kitchen, leaning against the table, talking even as Amy made to follow her. "Maybe not," she said as Amy drew closer. "Maybe it's never been real for you and me but that doesn't mean it isn't real for…" She squeezed her eyes shut. This was it. "Us."

Amy stopped. She froze. She stalled out like the Good Karma truck when Lucas flooded the engine and it took a good day and a half to get it moving again.

Karma didn't think she'd have that much time.

"Us," Amy said. "So you're an… us… now?"

Shit.

Karma discreetly pinched herself, hoping she'd wake up and Lauren would be there next to her and she could just snuggle up next to her and this would have all been a dream. Again.

"Pinch yourself all you want, Karms," Amy muttered. "This is no dream. A nightmare, maybe, but that would be mine anyway."

"Amy," Karma said, her heart breaking for her best friend. "This isn't how I wanted -"

"Of course it is," Amy snapped. "This is exactly how you wanted it. You and Reagan and your little plan in the theater didn't work. She gave up. But not you. No, not Karma. You never give up on a plan, not until it works."

"That's not what this is," Karma said. "We are not a plan. We are -"

"Stop!" Amy yelled. "Stop saying 'we'. There is no fucking we. There's a you. And there's a her. And there's a me."

"And until like an hour ago there was a Reagan," Karma hollered right back. "A Reagan you chose. A Reagan you vowed to prove yourself to. A Reagan you loved."

"Because I couldn't… because you weren't… and now, you apparently are… and…" Amy ran her hands through her hair and tugged at it, like she was going out of her mind which, Karma figured, she probably was. "Fuck. It." she said and she took those last few steps and clutched Karma's cheeks in her hands and kissed her.

Dream Amy's kiss had been hard and unyielding and demanding, her tongue like an invading army, claiming territory and winning hearts and minds and it had made Karma's heart race and her palms sweat and had soaked her to the point where Dream Amy had already fucking won.

Real Amy?

That was different.

Real Amy's kiss was slow and soft and her tongue was tentative (almost fucking shy) and her hands stayed put, just barely touching the soft skin of Karma's cheeks and Karma could feel it, she could feel every bit of love Amy had for her and every bit of raw, naked need, the sort of thing that only came from loving someone for so long and finally having your moment.

But that was all it was. A moment.

Karma put her hands on Amy's arms and pushed her back (and it was a struggle, when Amy's lips left hers, not to chase after them, but Karma held her ground.) "No," she said. "Just… no."

Amy stepped back and Karma could see it, could see it all - the life, the air, the hope, the everything - just drain out of her and all Karma wanted to do was take her in her arms and promise it would be OK.

But she didn't want to lie. Not anymore.

"I thought it was Reagan," Amy said softly. She took another step back and stumbled but brushed Karma's hand away when she reached to help. "I thought it was Reagan because it couldn't be you, even with your stupid plan because that was just you thinking you were going to lose me."

Karma didn't argue. That would have been missing the point.

"But then I realized I might lose you," Amy said. "When I saw you kissing that… her… I just couldn't…" Amy took another step, this one toward Karma and whatever she had lost, it seemed to be filling her back up again with every word. "It's all so clear now. It's you, Karma, and it always has been and always will be." Amy leaned in and Karma tried to move but the blonde caught her by the arms and held her as she pressed one soft kiss to the redhead's cheek. "No matter what it takes," Amy whispered against Karma's skin. "I'll prove it to you. I'll prove to you that the only real we is you and me."

Karma didn't get the chance to ask Amy if she even heard herself, if she even recognized the words coming out of her mouth and how much - how exactly much - they sounded like the ones from the theater. The ones that had broken her heart. She never got the chance to ask because Amy was already out the door and gone and Karma was left there, alone.

Except for the tiny blonde who'd watched the whole thing from the stairs.