Carrot Cake 28, Coffee 1: Never Seen A Sight So Fine
Title: Never Seen a Sight So Fine
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Carrot cake 28 (learn), coffee 1 (coffee).
Word Count: 1361.
Rating: PG.
Summary: "Been ten years waiting but it's better late than the never we've been told before." City Hall, Vienna Teng.
Notes: In honor of this, some happy to make you feel better after the last one. Inspired by City Hall. Uh. Very obviously. Beta'd by the lovely eponymous_rose.
It was a beautiful morning-- golden rays of early-morning sun slanting into the living room, pigeons cooing and fluttering outside the window, the kind of morning one usually only read about in books. Gina sat on the couch in the sunlight and basked for a moment: she loved the quiet, before everything really got started. Time to herself was such a rarity some days that she treasured every scrap of it that she could get.
She smiled up at the sun, then shook her head and reached for her nail polish remover. The last coat was getting a little ragged around the edges, and she ought to touch it up while she had time. But not the blush pink she'd used last time. She wasn't in a pink mood today-- more blue, she decided, as the old coat came off in ragged smears. Subdued, quiet blue, to match her eyes and Ivy's and the clear sunny sky. Blue for tranquility. Yes. Definitely blue.
She tossed the pink-smeared cotton ball and put the top back on the polish remover, then chose the proper shade of blue and uncapped it. Spreading the fingers of her left hand, she began to stroke the paint on, and hummed a soft song as she did.
Morning peace was a rare and lovely thing.
It ended, naturally, as soon as she thought that. A car honked outside, the neighbors next door began to bang something in their kitchen, and Ivy shuffled out of their bedroom at approximately the same time as the phone started ringing.
Gina lifted her head and scowled at it. "Ivy, can you get that? My nails are still wet." She waved a hand in the air by way of illustration.
"Not even a good morning?" Ivy asked, and yawned hugely. "Blech. Coffeeee."
"I started it ten minutes ago," Gina replied. Almost ten years with Ivy, and her girlfrind had never managed to break her caffeine addiction. Some things you got used to very quickly. "It should be ready. But get the phone first."
"But... but coffee, Gina, I haven't had my coffee," Ivy said, plaintively. "You should get it. You're all cheerful and stuff. I'll just shout."
"Yes, well, anyone who calls at..." Gina glanced at the clock, "...seven-fifteen probably deserves to be shouted at."
Ivy wrinkled her nose. "Seven-fifteen is an ungodly hour, invented by some demon just to torment people like me."
"Only if you're not a morning person." Gina bent her head to her nails again. Her right pinky's polish was not as smooth as it could be. "Get the phone, Ivy."
Ivy made a face, but headed for the phone. "You're insane, you know," she told Gina, picking up. "All you morning people are. I really don't understand how you can function at this hour. Hello, whoever you are, I haven't had my coffee yet so make it fast."
That was Ivy all over. Gina hid a grin, and wiped the excess polish off the brush. Now, if she was very careful...
Ivy let out a shriek just as she touched the brush to her nail.
Gina jumped, painting half her finger blue, and only barely kept the nail polish from spilling all over the couch. "What is it?" she asked, scrambling to her feet. "What's wrong?"
Ivy paid no attention to her for the moment. "Are you serious?" she demanded. "'Cause if you're fucking with me I'm going to kill you."
Whoever it was evidently was not fucking with her, because she let out another shriek, then half-covered her mouth and whispered, "Oh my God. Oh my God, this one's for real. Oh my God!"
Gina recapped the nail polish securely before throwing it back on the couch and hurrying the three steps to her girlfriend. "What is it? Ivy, what is it?"
"It passed," Ivy said to her, awe in her voice, and then added, "Oh, shut up, Jake. Fine. Mr. Pedantic here says it hasn't passed yet, but it's going to. They're voting this afternoon and they've got enough votes in the Senate. It's really going to pass, Gina. This is for real."
"What pa--" Gina's voice died mid-sentence, as she realized just what Ivy had to be talking about.
New York had had a number of bills introduced to legalize gay marriage in the past few years, but they'd always been shot down in the state senate. The last one had been frustratingly close; the night it failed they'd all gone out and gotten drunk, and Russell, for once completely sober, had railed at length about 'those bastards' until someone got a beer into him and he'd started crying instead. They'd been so close, so many times.
But this time...
"Is he sure?" Gina asked, faltering. "I thought... I thought they were voting next week."
Ivy relayed the question, and the answer came back. "He's sure. Or his friend in Albany is. Erica's really, really good about knowing who's going to vote where. The only way this fails is if twelve senators change their minds between now and this afternoon, and the lobbyists don't know they moved the vote up yet. They're not going to have enough time to stop this. They did it. My God, Gina, they did it."
Gina, utterly speechless, put a hand to her mouth and blinked back tears.
"God bless you, Jake," she heard Ivy say. "I forgive you for calling so early. Let us know when it's official...? Thanks. You're the best."
He must have said something flippant, because Ivy smiled, then hung up, tossed the phone on the table and turned to Gina.
"It's really happening," Gina said. Her hands were shaking with excitement as she reached out and took Ivy's. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We're really going to be able to do this."
"We really are, aren't we?" Ivy asked, as if it was just now dawning on her. "My God, we're going to get married. I never thought I'd get married."
"You can take back the proposal if you want," Gina said, attempting to look noble and self-sacrificing. It was hard to do when half-crying from joy and she wasn't very sure of her success.
"Fuck no," Ivy said, as Gina had expected. She squeezed her hands, quickly. "That's not what I meant. It's like... in high school, when all the other girls were talking about what kind of wedding dresses they'd wear and who would be their bridesmaids, I'd always be on the outside, going, 'well, that's never going to be me.' Except it is. Oh my God. That's such a weird feeling." She smiled, suddenly, one of those enormous, full-on, heartstopping smiles that she'd gotten from her father. "Gina, we're going to get married!"
Gina laughed, then pulled Ivy close and kissed her, hard. "I love you," she said, because it seemed relevant, then added, more pragmatically, "I'm calling in sick. Can't work on a high like this."
"Good idea," Ivy said. "Let's stay home and plan our wedding. I'm not wearing white. I look terrible in white."
"No, no white," Gina agreed. "It's not like either of us is a virgin anyway. Wear green. It makes your skin look fabulous." She considered. "I wonder if red would scandalize my family too much..."
Ivy grinned. "Darling, if you wear red to our wedding, I will be forced to drag you off and ravish you in a closet. And that would scandalize both families and probably scar my father for life."
"Sounds like a plan," Gina said, feeling a matching grin spread across her face. "You call in first, love. I have to repaint my nails."
"But you just-- okay, never mind, I won't question the beauty regimen." Ivy picked up the phone again and dialed her office, shaking her head, as Gina headed back to her nail polish.
The bill hadn't passed yet, but she trusted Jake and his judgment-- he wouldn't have got their hopes up if it wasn't a virtual certainty. This was really going to happen.
Blue was out. She definitely wasn't feeling tranquil anymore. Gina pulled out the bottle she wanted, and settled in to paint her nails red.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Carrot cake 28 (learn), coffee 1 (coffee).
Word Count: 1361.
Rating: PG.
Summary: "Been ten years waiting but it's better late than the never we've been told before." City Hall, Vienna Teng.
Notes: In honor of this, some happy to make you feel better after the last one. Inspired by City Hall. Uh. Very obviously. Beta'd by the lovely eponymous_rose.
It was a beautiful morning-- golden rays of early-morning sun slanting into the living room, pigeons cooing and fluttering outside the window, the kind of morning one usually only read about in books. Gina sat on the couch in the sunlight and basked for a moment: she loved the quiet, before everything really got started. Time to herself was such a rarity some days that she treasured every scrap of it that she could get.
She smiled up at the sun, then shook her head and reached for her nail polish remover. The last coat was getting a little ragged around the edges, and she ought to touch it up while she had time. But not the blush pink she'd used last time. She wasn't in a pink mood today-- more blue, she decided, as the old coat came off in ragged smears. Subdued, quiet blue, to match her eyes and Ivy's and the clear sunny sky. Blue for tranquility. Yes. Definitely blue.
She tossed the pink-smeared cotton ball and put the top back on the polish remover, then chose the proper shade of blue and uncapped it. Spreading the fingers of her left hand, she began to stroke the paint on, and hummed a soft song as she did.
Morning peace was a rare and lovely thing.
It ended, naturally, as soon as she thought that. A car honked outside, the neighbors next door began to bang something in their kitchen, and Ivy shuffled out of their bedroom at approximately the same time as the phone started ringing.
Gina lifted her head and scowled at it. "Ivy, can you get that? My nails are still wet." She waved a hand in the air by way of illustration.
"Not even a good morning?" Ivy asked, and yawned hugely. "Blech. Coffeeee."
"I started it ten minutes ago," Gina replied. Almost ten years with Ivy, and her girlfrind had never managed to break her caffeine addiction. Some things you got used to very quickly. "It should be ready. But get the phone first."
"But... but coffee, Gina, I haven't had my coffee," Ivy said, plaintively. "You should get it. You're all cheerful and stuff. I'll just shout."
"Yes, well, anyone who calls at..." Gina glanced at the clock, "...seven-fifteen probably deserves to be shouted at."
Ivy wrinkled her nose. "Seven-fifteen is an ungodly hour, invented by some demon just to torment people like me."
"Only if you're not a morning person." Gina bent her head to her nails again. Her right pinky's polish was not as smooth as it could be. "Get the phone, Ivy."
Ivy made a face, but headed for the phone. "You're insane, you know," she told Gina, picking up. "All you morning people are. I really don't understand how you can function at this hour. Hello, whoever you are, I haven't had my coffee yet so make it fast."
That was Ivy all over. Gina hid a grin, and wiped the excess polish off the brush. Now, if she was very careful...
Ivy let out a shriek just as she touched the brush to her nail.
Gina jumped, painting half her finger blue, and only barely kept the nail polish from spilling all over the couch. "What is it?" she asked, scrambling to her feet. "What's wrong?"
Ivy paid no attention to her for the moment. "Are you serious?" she demanded. "'Cause if you're fucking with me I'm going to kill you."
Whoever it was evidently was not fucking with her, because she let out another shriek, then half-covered her mouth and whispered, "Oh my God. Oh my God, this one's for real. Oh my God!"
Gina recapped the nail polish securely before throwing it back on the couch and hurrying the three steps to her girlfriend. "What is it? Ivy, what is it?"
"It passed," Ivy said to her, awe in her voice, and then added, "Oh, shut up, Jake. Fine. Mr. Pedantic here says it hasn't passed yet, but it's going to. They're voting this afternoon and they've got enough votes in the Senate. It's really going to pass, Gina. This is for real."
"What pa--" Gina's voice died mid-sentence, as she realized just what Ivy had to be talking about.
New York had had a number of bills introduced to legalize gay marriage in the past few years, but they'd always been shot down in the state senate. The last one had been frustratingly close; the night it failed they'd all gone out and gotten drunk, and Russell, for once completely sober, had railed at length about 'those bastards' until someone got a beer into him and he'd started crying instead. They'd been so close, so many times.
But this time...
"Is he sure?" Gina asked, faltering. "I thought... I thought they were voting next week."
Ivy relayed the question, and the answer came back. "He's sure. Or his friend in Albany is. Erica's really, really good about knowing who's going to vote where. The only way this fails is if twelve senators change their minds between now and this afternoon, and the lobbyists don't know they moved the vote up yet. They're not going to have enough time to stop this. They did it. My God, Gina, they did it."
Gina, utterly speechless, put a hand to her mouth and blinked back tears.
"God bless you, Jake," she heard Ivy say. "I forgive you for calling so early. Let us know when it's official...? Thanks. You're the best."
He must have said something flippant, because Ivy smiled, then hung up, tossed the phone on the table and turned to Gina.
"It's really happening," Gina said. Her hands were shaking with excitement as she reached out and took Ivy's. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We're really going to be able to do this."
"We really are, aren't we?" Ivy asked, as if it was just now dawning on her. "My God, we're going to get married. I never thought I'd get married."
"You can take back the proposal if you want," Gina said, attempting to look noble and self-sacrificing. It was hard to do when half-crying from joy and she wasn't very sure of her success.
"Fuck no," Ivy said, as Gina had expected. She squeezed her hands, quickly. "That's not what I meant. It's like... in high school, when all the other girls were talking about what kind of wedding dresses they'd wear and who would be their bridesmaids, I'd always be on the outside, going, 'well, that's never going to be me.' Except it is. Oh my God. That's such a weird feeling." She smiled, suddenly, one of those enormous, full-on, heartstopping smiles that she'd gotten from her father. "Gina, we're going to get married!"
Gina laughed, then pulled Ivy close and kissed her, hard. "I love you," she said, because it seemed relevant, then added, more pragmatically, "I'm calling in sick. Can't work on a high like this."
"Good idea," Ivy said. "Let's stay home and plan our wedding. I'm not wearing white. I look terrible in white."
"No, no white," Gina agreed. "It's not like either of us is a virgin anyway. Wear green. It makes your skin look fabulous." She considered. "I wonder if red would scandalize my family too much..."
Ivy grinned. "Darling, if you wear red to our wedding, I will be forced to drag you off and ravish you in a closet. And that would scandalize both families and probably scar my father for life."
"Sounds like a plan," Gina said, feeling a matching grin spread across her face. "You call in first, love. I have to repaint my nails."
"But you just-- okay, never mind, I won't question the beauty regimen." Ivy picked up the phone again and dialed her office, shaking her head, as Gina headed back to her nail polish.
The bill hadn't passed yet, but she trusted Jake and his judgment-- he wouldn't have got their hopes up if it wasn't a virtual certainty. This was really going to happen.
Blue was out. She definitely wasn't feeling tranquil anymore. Gina pulled out the bottle she wanted, and settled in to paint her nails red.