Chapter Text
Slice’s head instinctively snaps up when she hears the sound of Maya’s keychains jangling and the door creaking open. “Honey, I’m home!”
She watches the door shut behind Maya, who drops to one knee and unties the shoelaces of her black sneakers. Slice sets her laptop aside, standing up in favor of holding out her arms and letting Maya run into her arms. Grinning, she wraps her arms around Maya’s waist and spins her girlfriend around in a circle.
“At last, my lover has returned from war,” Slice jokingly says, kissing Maya before letting her feet touch the ground again.
“Of course. I’ve been a very brave girl, just for you,” Maya replies, standing on her tippy toes to kiss Slice on the forehead before grabbing her hand and leading her to the kitchen. Slice bites back a smile as she sees Maya make a beeline for the pie ingredients. As enthusiastic as Maya is about her new hobby of baking pies, she isn’t the best at it. But Slice will dutifully eat every slice that she gets offered (haha, get it?).
“How’s the job search going?”
Pushing herself onto the kitchen counter, Slice kicks her dangling legs back and forth as she watches her girlfriend mill around, opening cupboards and drawers and searching for cooking supplies. She tries not to groan as she thinks about how soon she is to graduating college, meaning she has to find a job that isn’t sitting at the student center desk.
Plus, she has to find her own place after getting thrown out of the student dorms, though she’s been spending so much time at Maya’s lately that her dorm room is practically gathering cobwebs. “It’s whatever. I think I’ll send in some resumes to some places tomorrow.”
“Speaking of which,” Maya says while nonchalantly holding up a rolling pin. “I got the video game tester job! They called me while I was out and—”
Maya doesn’t get to finish her sentence because Slice hops off the counter and rushes over, hair flying in the wind. She envelopes Maya in another warm hug and peppers kisses all over the girl’s face. Maya makes a disgusted sound, but the way she squirms with joy and smiles toothily indicates that she’s having the time of her life.
When she’s finally kissed every inch of her girlfriend’s face, Slice finally says, “No fucking way! I’m so proud of you. This is huge!”
“I’ll finally be the breadwinner.” Maya giggles, and Slice can’t help but swoop back in for another kiss. They’ve been dating for over a year now, and there’s still no end in sight to their honeymoon phase. “Plus, I won’t have to spend as much money on video games since I’ll be getting them for free.”
“Did I ever mention how cool and amazing you are?” Slice snakes her arms around Maya’s waist. Maya shakes her head, her bleached curls bouncing, and Slice rolls her eyes. “Your ego is getting too big for that head of yours.”
“Hey, one of our egos has to be big, Miss I’m Getting My Bachelor’s Degree Next Month And It’s No Big Deal.”
“Please don’t embarrass me at my graduation. I need to uphold my reputation as the mysterious girl in class,” Slice begs.
“You won’t be too embarrassed if I bring a giant sign that says “I heart Slice,” right?” Maya asks, to which Slice exaggeratedly pouts at. She laughs and turns around to wash her hands at the kitchen sink. “Speaking of big changes, I have a big question.”
Slice feigns visible distress, pressing her hand to her forehead as she responds, “Are you pregnant? Shit, I swear we used protection. But I guess we can raise the baby together if you want.”
“Shut up. This is serious!” Maya flicks droplets of water from her wet fingers at Slice, who barely manages to shield herself in the nick of time. “I was wondering if you want to move in together.”
The question hits Slice like a brick landing straight on her chest. She blinks once, twice, and stares at Maya owlishly. Maya nervously picks at the purple nail polish on her fingers that Slice had lovingly painted for her only a few days ago. “I was planning to bring it up, like, last week, but I didn’t want to ask before I officially got the job. You also don’t have to say yes now.”
“Yes. I’ll do it. I’ll move in with you,” Slice replies, words coming out so quickly that they’re almost all smushed together.
“You will?” Maya sounds like she’s in utter disbelief at Slice’s answer, and something in Slice’s heart squeezes ever so delicately.
Slice laughs and kisses Maya on the top of her head. “Yes, I will, you idiot. I thought you’d never ask.”
“Well, someone has to be,” Maya lowers her voice to imitate the man who made an arrogant comment that resulted in Slice punching him and giving him a fresh black eye in the middle of an Applebee’s in Nevada, “the man in this relationship.”
“You’re lucky I love you,” Slice sighs, watching Maya wash the blueberries.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear what you just said. Can you repeat that?”
Before Slice can reply, she suddenly freezes as she hears the front door click and unlock. Maya tenses up too, and Slice instantly goes into protective mode, picking up the nearest object (the rolling pin) and bracing herself to attack whatever walks out of that door. The doorknob rattles again, and a woman Slice has never seen before steps into the apartment.
“Surprise!” the woman says, holding her arms up victoriously. She has frizzy hair that looks surprisingly similar to…
Slice lowers the hand clutching the rolling pin and realizes that this might be the worst possible way to be first introduced.
“Mom? What are you guys doing here?” Maya seems just as shocked as Slice is, which is a good sign because if she had planned for her mom to come visit and forgot to mention that to her girlfriend, that would be a very big problem.
Unfortunately, Maya’s mom is still very much here, and Slice most definitely just almost attacked her with a baking tool.
~
Somehow, Slice ends up eating dinner with Maya and her mom at the very diner where they had their first date. She had tried very hard to back her way out of it to let Maya sort things out with her mom without her being an additional nuisance, but Maya’s mom insisted she come to dinner. So, now, she’s sitting in a booth next to her girlfriend, facing her girlfriend’s mom.
It turns out that Maya’s mom had an extra key to Maya’s apartment, which is why she thought it would be fantastic to show up without a warning.
“So, what are you girls up to? Maya rarely calls home nowadays. She’s so busy. It’s crazy how fast you kids grow up,” Maya’s mom shakes her head.
Noticing that Maya very much looks like she wants to hide her face in her hands, Slice quickly answers, “Maya just got a job as a video game tester.”
“Really? That’s fantastic, sweetie. You were always so interested in video games.” She reaches across the table to pat Maya on the shoulder, causing the girl to blush in embarrassment even further. “And what about you, Slice?”
Slice tries to hide her surprise at Maya’s mom knowing her name, though she supposes it makes sense that Maya talks to her mom about her girlfriend. “I’m about to graduate, so I’m just looking for jobs right now.”
“Look at you! Am I invited to graduation?”
“Mom!” Maya protests, her face turning a deep shade of red even Slice has never seen before.
“You can absolutely come if you want to. It would be nice to have you there,” Slice says, and Maya groans, burying her face in her girlfriend’s shoulder.
“Fantastic! If you’ll excuse me, I need to run to the bathroom really quick before the food arrives.” Maya’s mom offers a polite smile and stands up.
Slice watches as Maya’s mom walks over to the diner counter and asks the waitress about the bathroom. There’s something endearing about the way Maya’s mom cares about Maya, even if Maya thinks it’s a little bit overbearing.
“I’m so sorry about her. I literally had no warning she was coming. I should’ve prepared you more,” Maya mumbles.
Slice shrugs and reassuringly runs her hand through Maya’s hair. “That’s okay. Your mom’s nice. Besides, not everyone gets to have parents like that.”
There’s a heavy beat of silence. Slice has mentioned her parents before, how they haven’t been the most accepting people, and how she’s gotten into so many arguments with them that she’s finding a way to afford college with a shitload of student debt and working overtime at minimum wage paying jobs. Maya’s mom is the type of parent Slice wishes she had been raised by.
Maya softens as she takes in Slice’s quiet sorrow. “You’re right. Maybe she’ll make us her famous lemon tarts that she’s always been so good at baking.”
Managing a grin, Slice echoes, “Maybe.”
Although Slice manages to brush off those negative feelings at the moment, self-doubt makes its fabulous return later that night when she’s over at Agnes’ place for their Friday movie nights. Usually, Maya would join, but she’s absent tonight on account of her mother.
Agnes puts on The Grand Budapest Hotel and makes a wonderful bowl of popcorn with his ridiculously fancy popcorn machine, which he barely ends up eating anyway because he spends most of the movie fiddling with an old camera he bought at a flea market. He had briefly explained what minor defects the camera had, but it completely flew over Slice’s head.
“I met Maya’s mom today,” Slice says as she grabs a handful of popcorn.
“Meeting the parents. Big deal,” Agnes remarks, all while still staying laser-focused on his camera. “How’d it go?”
“Good, I think,” Slice responds, drawing her knees up to her chest. “Maya also asked me to move in with her.”
This catches Agnes’ attention. The photographer finally glances up and raises an eyebrow. “Wow, that’s, like, pretty official.”
“Yeah. I bet you never imagined it. Me, slutty Slice who impulsively goes on random road trips and has no life plan at all, finally settling down with a nice girl in a committed monogamous relationship.” Slice shakes her head. “I used to be young and spontaneous, and now I’m old and boring.”
“First of all, you’re 24, so get it together,” Agnes retorts without malice in his voice. “Second of all, I don’t think it’s unpredictable or anything. You’ve always seemed like the type to want something like that.”
Slice scoffs in disbelief. “Me? Who literally could not hold down a relationship that wasn’t a one-night stand or a one-month situationship until I met Maya?”
Returning his focus back to the camera, Agnes replies, “Yeah. I mean, you were doing all that because you felt lonely, and I think you were just looking for someone who finally could make you feel less alone.”
“Ouch, what are you? My therapist?” Slice winces at her instinctive defensiveness. “Sorry, you’re right. I think Maya’s it for me.”
“I know I’m right,” Agnes smugly says, and Slice throws a pillow at him, nearly hitting the glasses off his face. “Speaking of moving, Chuck was asking to move in with me.”
“Did his mom finally kick him out?”
“I think she’s about to. He mentioned that he almost blew up her kitchen with one of his rocket experiments again, and she’s probably just about had it. Chuck is great, but I’m not turning my darkroom into a bedroom for him.”
“That’s fair. Maybe he can find a way to live in NASA’s basement instead.” Agnes stops fiddling with his camera. “Oh, that reminds me. I found a Polaroid camera at the flea market, too. Do you want it? I know you’ve been looking for one.”
Slice inhales deeply and states, “Agnes, if I wasn’t a raging lesbian in love with her girlfriend, I would literally kiss you on the lips right now.”
Scrunching his face up, Agnes sticks out his tongue in disgust. “Ew, I don’t want that. I’ll give it to you if you promise to keep your mouth away from the general vicinity of my face.”
“Deal.”
~
Slice sleeps over on Agnes’ couch after the two friends end up binge-watching a few more Wes Anderson movies after finishing The Grand Budapest Hotel . She checks that she looks presentable (just in case Maya’s mom is still over) before she returns to Maya’s apartment.
“Hi,” Maya shyly greets. From Slice’s position at the door, it seems like the apartment is mom-free, which is sort of a relief because Slice isn’t sure that she’d be the best company in the early morning.
“Hi.” Slice kisses Maya on the cheek and steps into the apartment. There’s a strange tension, though it’s not necessarily negative, hanging in the air between them.
“Sorry about my mom, again. I hope it wasn’t too stressful.” Maya picks at her nail polish again, and Slice gently reaches over, placing her hands on Maya’s in reassurance.
“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. Wanna get some breakfast in our systems before we go apartment hunting?”
Maya’s warm brown eyes light up. “You still want to move in with me?”
“Of course, knucklehead,” Slice says, leaning over to kiss Maya on the cheek. “It’s not like one surprise mom visit is going to change how about feel about our future.”
“Our future,” Maya repeats, testing the way the words roll off her tongue. She breaks into a grin. “I like how that sounds.”
The next week few weeks are a flurry of apartment tours and wrapping up everything of their previous separate lives in preparation for their soon-to-be conjoined lives. Slice and Maya find a nice apartment in late spring and move in between the end of finals and graduation.
It’s a tedious process involving lots of cardboard, duct tape, and stuffing Slice’s car to the brim with belongings. They even do a special moving trip to move all of Maya’s houseplants with care to their new apartment.
Eventually, everything gets to the new apartment. Although most items are still in the boxes by the time they finish moving, it feels victorious enough for commemoration. On the sunny afternoon that they complete the move, Slice takes a photo of Maya posing with her houseplants and boxes piled up in the background with the Polaroid camera Agnes had given her.
When the photo comes out, Slice watches the emptiness of the film develop into Maya’s smiling form.
“How does it look?” Maya questions as she sets her plants down and makes her way over to her girlfriend.
Even though the photo hasn’t finished developing, Slice smiles and promises, “It’s perfect.”