Work Text:
Alicia unlocked the door to her apartment after a particularly long day at the Women’s Center with a yawn. She paused after stepping in, there were no lights on but the room was still bathed in a warm orangish glow. She glanced around, seeing candles lit on every available flat surface, before her eyes landed on Leighton, who was standing next to the table, wearing a red knee-length wrap dress. Alicia blinked then shook her head, suddenly wide awake as her eyes scanned her girlfriend’s body.
“Did you break into my apartment?” she finally asked.
“No,” Leighton said, shaking her head before she paused. “Well, yes. I took your key one night while you were asleep and got a copy made.”
“Kind of obtrusive but somehow how not entirely surprising,” she said with a laugh. “So what’s all this? Other than a fire hazard?”
“First of all, it’s called ambience, and dinner,” Leighton told her, motioning to the meal laid out on the table. “I figured we could have a meal that doesn’t come in cardboard containers.”
“You cooked?” Alicia asked doubtfully as she took off her coat.
“Oh hell no,” Leighton said quickly. “It’s technically take-out but it’s from Taverne De La Forte.”
“That place you went on parents weekend? I thought you hated that.”
“Oh, I did,” she said, nodding. “The food was great though. It was everything else that was a dumpster fire.”
Alicia laughed lightly and nodded. “Okay. So did I miss something? What’s the occasion?”
“Well, Valentine’s Day is next week and I figured this is far enough away to not be considered a Valentine’s date, but I wanted to do something. I’m sure you think Valentine’s is just a corporate holiday designed to demean women by encouraging them to buy lingerie to appeal to the male gaze. By the way, I did get lingerie and it is extremely demeaning,” Leighton said, motioning to a pink shopping bag on the bed. “But it was my choice to buy it and it will be my choice to wear it, which makes it empowering. I think.”
Alicia laughed softly, glancing over her shoulder to look at the bag Leighton pointed out then nodded. “Okay, then. Maybe you should stop hanging out at the Women’s Center so much.”
“Yeah, I was kind of scaring myself there.” Leighton shook her head quickly. “Anyway, hungry?”
“Actually, yeah.” Alicia nodded and walked to the table, pausing when Leighton pulled out the chair for her. “Oh, I’m getting the full girlfriend treatment tonight?” she asked as she sat.
“Yeah, don’t get used to it. This is a one-time thing,” Leighton told her as she poured them both a glass of wine then sat across from her.
“Of course,” Alicia said with a laugh. “You look beautiful, by the way. That dress is… wow.”
“If you think the dress is wow, wait until later,” she teased, biting her bottom lip.
Alicia’s mouth went dry, thinking about what was in that pink bag behind her. “Leighton Murray, I’m pretty sure you’re gonna be the death of me,” she told her, taking a sip of her wine.
“What a way to go,” Leighton said with a grin.
They ate their dinner, talking about their days. Leighton admitted to having been planning this for weeks, with the dress and lingerie hiding under her bed nearly that long. “Oh, speaking of me planning this whole thing.” She got up and went to her purse at the foot of the bed, returning and putting a key down in front of Alicia before sitting down again. “You can have that back.”
Alicia picked up the key and passed it between her fingers before she put it back on the table and slid it towards Leighton.
“What?” Leighton asked, her eyes flashing between Alicia and the key.
“Keep it,” Alicia said. “I don’t need two and since you went through the trouble to copy it illegally, you should keep it. Use it sometime. Oh and, not to ruin the surprise or anything, but I do have reservations for us at a restaurant in Newport on Valentine’s Day.”
Leighton’s fork almost missed her mouth as she went to take a bite of food. “Really?”
“Is that okay? I figured we’d be far enough away from town that…”
“That sounds amazing,” Leighton told her, cutting her off. “I can’t believe you did that though.”
“Well, contrary to what you might have thought, I don’t hate Valentine’s Day. It’s our first, of course I wasn’t going to just let it pass without doing anything.”
“Our first?” Leighton repeated, smiling at the thought there could be more.
“Yeah.” Alicia nodded. “First.”
Leighton bit back her smile as she put down her silverware. “You know what, I think I’m ready for dessert.”
“There’s dessert?” Alicia asked. Leighton almost laughed, tilting her head meaningfully, Alicia’s eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, that kind of dessert. Yeah. I’m ready for dessert.”
Leighton laughed softly as she rose from her seat, pausing as she passed Alicia to lean down to kiss her, slowly and deeply. “You clean this up,” she whispered against her lips. “Meet me in bed.”
Alicia watched her walk towards the bathroom, picking up the pink bag from the bed without missing a step, letting it hang off one finger. Leighton glanced over her shoulder, smiling at her before stepping into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Alicia turned back to the table, frowning at the plates and glasses. She quickly gathered everything and dumped it into the sink before going to the bed, laying down as she waited for the bathroom door to open again.