Archive of Our Own

Tori never expected to see Jade out in the wild during the summer, much less when the woman is working, but here she is. Standing right in front of Jade's booth, grinning at the look of complete and utter disdain that immediately crosses Jade's face. Out of all the places Tori expected Jade to work, an amusement park was not one of them. It wasn't even in her top five places. And yet here they are, Tori grinning at her, Jade looking like she's on the verge of death itself. Really, Tori thinks, that's basically been their dynamic from day one.

Tori technically came here with Trina, but that doesn't really mean much of anything, given how Trina is long gone and has been for at least an hour now. Tori realises that that means she can quite literally spend hours harassing Jade, and Jade can't even leave . Which is generally a thought process she tries to avoid, but whatever. 

"Well, well, well!" Tori flashes the woman the brightest grin she can manage, laughing at how Jade immediately groans, narrowing her eyes. "I didn't know you worked here!"

"Did you ever consider that was for a reason?" Jade shoots back, rolling her eyes. "God, please tell me you're alone at the very least."

Tori snorts, holding up her hands. "I'm alone, as far as I'm aware," she confirms, glancing at the stall that Jade's running. It's one of the games that requires you to pop all the balloons, and Tori happens to be very good at it. She's good at basically all of these games though, so that isn't saying much. "Unless you count Trina, but I haven't seen her in an hour, so I think you're good."

"I don't count Trina as a person," Jade mutters, leaning on the counter a little. "What are you even doing here, Vega? You don't have anything better to do?"

"It's an amusement park," Tori helpfully reminds her, arching an eyebrow at Jade. She rolls her eyes when Jade immediately matches her look, looking way more offended than she really should be looking. "I'm allowed to go where I want, Jade. I know that's probably hard for you to understand."

"I'm not a very big fan of it," Jade confirms, heaving a sigh. Tori can't help but laugh a little, resting her hands on her hips. "You're weird for being here alone."

"I'm not— you know what? Tori scowls at her. "Absolutely not. I will not be engaging with you."

Jade grins, and Tori can't help but grin back, feeling herself melt a little. Jade has always been pretty, even from before Tori had a crush on her. Though to be fair, Tori developed a crush on that damn woman pretty quickly. It only took her maybe two or three weeks, and then it was over for her. And instead of going away, it's only gotten way worse, which Tori isn't super surprised about. Jade is shockingly likeable, and Tori definitely likes her. Tori likes her a lot, actually.

"Cool," Jade says with an easy smile, making a motion with her hand. "Then stop engaging with me and go away."

"I will also not be doing that," Tori grins, laughing at the way Jade groans, heaving another sigh as if this is the worst thing that's ever happened to her. Tori thinks that it's funny how adamant Jade is on acting like they're not friends, or like they're not even close when they totally are. "I've got the unlimited wristband," Tori happily informs the woman, feeling like she's floating at the way Jade's eyes widen. "I'm gonna be here all day."

"No," Jade disagrees. "I'll just quit. You're going to get me fired, Vega."

"For what?" Tori asks, giving her a look.

Jade flashes her a grin. "Jumping over this counter and strangling you."

"Whatever," Tori rolls her eyes, sauntering right up to the aforementioned counter, leaning against it for a few seconds. "Can I have my darts now?"

Jade looks at her. "No."

"Jade."

"Fine!" Jade huffs, and Tori laughs again at the way Jade spins around on her heels a second later. Tori used to be really interested in why exactly Beck was with Jade, but now? She definitely sees the appeal. She's seen the appeal for over a year now, and that appeal has only grown more and more each day. It isn't her fault that Jade is charming, funny, drop dead gorgeous, and just generally interesting. Tori has never met anyone like her, and she's constantly impressed by everything about Jade. "There. You better win fast."

Tori beams at her, picking up the darts. She knows that she could win. She could win very easily. Tori is incredibly confident in her abilities to absolutely kick ass at this game, because she's always kicked ass at this game. Carnival games are the easiest thing in the world to her. 

But if she wins right away, she realistically isn't going to spend the next five hours just getting every single prize from this stand. Tori could probably just awkwardly stand off to the side the entire time and harass Jade whenever any other customers left, but still. It's not the same.

And so Tori lines up the shot for a few seconds, squinting at the balloon she is absolutely going to miss on purpose. Tori breathes in, throws the dart, and grins a little when the dart embeds itself in the wall right behind the balloon.

"So close!" Tori grins, turning to look at Jade, who looks completely and utterly horrified. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Tori asks, grabbing another dart. She misses again, almost laughing at the way that Jade lets out an incredibly pathetic sound of misery, as if this is actually causing her pain. "It's okay! I've got all day!"

"That's the problem!" Jade hisses out, and this time Tori does laugh, throwing the third dart, biting down on her lip to stop herself from grinning when it hits the wall and falls down onto the ground. "Oh my fucking god, Vega. There is no way that you're being serious right now."

"What?" Tori asks, picking up the fourth dart. "I don't think that I'm doing anything wrong," she says, shrugging. She throws the dart, feeling borderline prideful at the way she manages to miss again. "I'm just playing the game!"

"Badly!" Jade snaps, but there's no actual bite in her voice. Tori has noticed the way that Jade's insults have become significantly less sharp, less snappy. How there's less venom in them. It makes Tori feel all warm inside, and it also makes her want to roll her eyes, because Jade is still pretty intensely pushing the notion that they are not friends under any circumstances. Which is simply not true. "I saw you play pingpong, Vega," Jade says, pointing an accusing finger at her. "There's no way that you're this bad."

Tori shrugs, holding up her hands in mock defense. "That was a while ago. Maybe my skills have deteriorated?" She offers as convincingly as she can. Judging by the way Jade is squinting at her, it's not working, but it isn't like Jade can do anything about it, so Tori's going to take that as a win. "You should probably get me another round of darts," Tori says, laughing at the scowl from Jade that she gets instead. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Then stop sucking!" Jade shoots back, glaring at her. "Oh my god. This cannot be happening to me right now," Jade mutters, and Tori laughs at how ridiculous she's being. This isn't the first time that Jade has had this reaction to Tori just existing within her vicinity, and Tori knows it absolutely won't be the last. She enjoys it — she's always been a pretty big fan of their back and forth. Tori thinks that it adds to Jade's charm. "You're the worst person alive."

"Thanks so much," Tori laughs, picking up the fifth and final dart. She easily misses, getting herself into a decent motion. "My darts?"

"Vega, I'm going to throw them at you if you don't start getting better."

"You can't rush greatness," Tori shrugs, laughing at the pure misery on Jade's face. She swears to god that she's never seen the woman look so completely defeated. "My darts?" Tori asks again, grinning.

"I'm gonna kick your ass," Jade mutters, but Tori does eventually get her darts, much to her surprise. She shifts on her feet, doing her best to not burst out laughing despite how badly she wants to. "Oh my god. Stop acting like you're not going to miss. Oh my god. This is killing me."

Tori does laugh this time, tightening the grip she has on the dart. "I'm not going to miss!" Tori assures Jade, and then proceeds to miss. "Well," Tori grins, clicking her tongue. "Seventh times the charm!"

The groan she gets in return is enough to make her laugh again. Tori definitely is starting to get just why Jade enjoys making people suffer, because honestly, Tori could see herself doing this every single day of the rest of their summer vacation. Sure, it'd only cost her maybe ten thousand dollars for the unlimited wristbands, but it'd be worth it. Tori is almost convinced that she could just sneak into this place — it doesn't exactly have great security and there's about ten billion people here right now, so she thinks she could probably do it.

The things that she does for the woman she has a crush on. 

"You know what?" Jade suddenly asks. "Maybe I'm going to just bash my skull against this counter until I'm unconscious. I think that'd be way less painful than this."

"Whatever!" Tori snorts, happily missing her eighth shot. "You're still getting paid, you're fine. I didn't ever think that you'd work somewhere like this."

Jade looks at her, and for a very brief second, she looks less murderous. She almost looks at ease. That ends as soon as Tori misses her ninth dart, and then Jade looks absolutely devastated all over again. "It's easy money," Jade eventually says, shrugging. "I just stand here for six hours and then I leave. No big deal."

"It's hot," Tori points out, pausing for a second. "The weather," she quickly clarifies, though Jade is definitely really hot. "You're also pretty."

Tori really didn't need to say that, but she did, and it isn't like she can take it back, so whatever. She's allowed to compliment Jade if she wants to — it just means that her cardiovascular system is going to shut down and explode for a few seconds, that's all. No biggie.

"How sweet," Jade snorts, but she doesn't say anything else for a few seconds. "It is hot," she eventually confirms. "But it could be worse. I've learnt to appreciate the usual nineties after that fucking hell we went through in Beck's RV."

Tori shudders at the god awful memory, missing her tenth shot in honour of that horrific day. To be fair, she did get to see Jade in less than usual, which was the literal only saving grace of that entire day. "I can get behind that," Tori agrees, smiling a little when Jade is already bringing out another round of darts. "Does it pay well at least?"

"Better than anything else," Jade flashes her a grin. "I get to stand around all day and get paid more than I would anywhere else. It's pretty sweet."

"Well," Tori beams right back at her, feeling stupidly warm at how Jade smiles at her. She's been figuring out what Jade's different smiles mean. Tori has also just generally been figuring out that Jade has different smiles, and that they're all very different and situational. This one is soft, and it isn't one Tori has seen often. Maybe once or twice? Either way, it's enough to make her melt on spot. "That does sound pretty sweet. I've been meaning to get a job."

"They're hiring here," Jade tells her, and Tori looks at her for a few seconds. "The duck bobbing booth? On the other side of this entire park? Yeah, that's open."

Tori snorts, missing two more shots. "I was surprised that you even said anything, given the, you know," she waves her free hand. "Adamant hatred you clearly felt when you saw me. That makes a lot more sense."

"It's not like you can bother me if you're also working," Jade helpfully says, beaming. "I'm pretty strategically keeping you as far as possible."

"I'd still be in the same park," Tori shoots back. "That's not that far."

"Far enough," Jade mutters, and Tori grins, feeling an overwhelming wave of butterflies hit her. It's not fair at all how easy it is for Jade to make her feel like this, but Tori's not exactly complaining. "There's a Jet Brew hiring. The one I usually go to."

"I'd have to ask Trina to take me," Tori heaves a sigh, missing another round of darts. "And that's probably going to be a no."

"You could totally just get your li—"

"Nope!" Tori cuts her off, grinning at the glare Jade gives her for that. "Unless you plan on driving me, I don't know if Jet Brew is happening. That's a morning job."

Jade shrugs. "If it got me free coffee I'd do it."

Tori feels a little warmer at that, wondering just how this shifted from her tormenting Jade to Jade making her feel all ridiculously soft. "Well," Tori beams at the woman, missing again. "I'll apply. You could just make your own coffee, you know that, right?"

"Nah," Jade says, shrugging again. "I don't have a coffee machine. I'm not exactly too interested in hanging out with Andre's grandma just so I can use theirs."

"My house is also an option," Tori tells her. "You basically come over for everything else. Coffee is the least damning thing you could come over for."

Jade looks at her for a second, and there's another wave of butterflies hitting Tori all over again. "Sure. But you've just opened up your house to me at all hours of the day. Leave the door unlocked."

"You sound like a vampire," Tori teases, laughing at the way Jade grins at her, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight. She really is so unfairly pretty. "I can just make you a key," Tori shrugs, missing again. She has to remind herself to actually throw the damn darts — she's way too focused on Jade West. Which really isn't even her fault. Jade is stupidly pretty and funny and Tori can't control either of those things. "I'm also mostly in my house."

"You'd make me a key?"

"Did I or did I not just say that?" Tori teases, laughing at the look on Jade's face. "It'd be way easier than you just breaking in via my window. I don't really expect you to, like, I don't know, burn down my house. I think you're pretty trustworthy. You're way more trustworthy than Robbie. Or Cat," Tori mutters, remembering every single goddamn time one of them almost killed her or destroyed something in her house. "So, yeah."

And also Tori has a crush on her. But that's whatever, she doesn't really need to add that on. Not right now, at least. Maybe in seventy years when she's on her deathbed.

"Well," Jade starts, clearing her throat. "Cool, then. Are you ever going to manage to actually fucking hit one of these?"

Tori laughs, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe at some point! When does your shift end?"

Jade gives her a look. "Are you a stalker or what, Vega?"

"I'm a curious individual," Tori beams at her. "So? When does it end?"

"An hour from now," Jade eventually relents. "Is it gonna take you that long to be less shitty at this?"

"Maybe," Tori says, grinning. "I'm gonna go win every single other game here. Anything you want?"

Jade snorts, arching an eyebrow. "After seeing your spectacular abilities here? I'd be surprised if you even could win."

"I'll take that as a challenge."

"It is a challenge," Jade tells her. "One that I'm absolutely going to win."

Tori laughs, stretching her arms above her head. "Sure, Jade. Do you want anything? Any fifty foot teddy bear you've just been dying to get your hands on?" Tori asks, feeling a wave of excitement wash over her at the amusement that's so clearly shining in Jade's eyes. She cannot wait to prove this woman wrong.

"There was this black grim reaper bird at the ring toss," Jade muses. "I want that."

"Got it," Tori says, winking at the woman. "You're gonna be so impressed."

"I really do not have high hopes for you!" Jade calls after her, and Tori only grins.

Tori's first stop is obviously the ring toss. She spots the stuffed animal that Jade was talking about, seeing that there's actually two variations of them. Tori very easily demolishes at ring toss, and happily tucks both birds under her arms, making her way to the ladder climb game. Tori specifically mastered this one when she was seven years old and wanted to show Trina up. 

Which she was very successful at, and it ended up making her realise that she was very good at winning at rigged games.

Tori wins an all-too-massive Pikachu from that one, happily adding him to her collection. Next is the shooting one, and Tori aces that. She picks out a black frog with purple spots, figuring that that's pretty Jade-esque, all things considered. Tori goes to the basketball game next, winning a small coffee plushie that she thinks Jade will definitely appreciate. 

Tori finds that it's actually really difficult to move while carrying four decently sized prizes, but whatever, she's madly in love and is doing this out of sheer willpower and lesbianism, she can survive a little longer.

After about fifty minutes of bouncing around from game to game, Tori is all too happy to shuffle her way right back to Jade's booth, catching the woman's eyes from about thirty feet away. Tori laughs at the way Jade's eyes widen, how she looks absolutely shocked.

"No fucking way."

"Yes, way!" Tori laughs, stumbling over to the booth. She sets half of the damn things on the counter, stretching her arms out in front of her. "Ye of little faith," Tori teases, grinning at the disbelief on Jade's face. "I'd like some darts."

"You're fucking insane," Jade says instead of giving her the darts, which makes Tori roll her eyes. "These games are rigged, Vega, you know that. What the hell? Did you bribe them?"

"Give me my darts and find out," Tori beams, practically giddy as she takes them right out of Jade's hand. She hits every single balloon with practiced ease, puffing out her chest a little, laughing at how completely shocked Jade looks. "I'm actually really good at these games!"

"You weren't an hour ago!" Jade shoots back. "What the hell, Vega?"

"I wanted to hang out with you!" Tori laughs, holding up her hands in her defense. "And so maybe I just pretended to suck a little."

Jade stares at her. "You missed thirty times to hang out with me? Vega," Jade laughs, and it makes Tori beam. "That's..."

"I did what I had to do," Tori shrugs, motioning to the absolute pile of prizes she's won. "And I also got you a bunch of cool stuffed animals, so I'm counting that as an additional win. I made some educated guesses with a few of them, but I think you'll like most of them."

"You're unbelievable," Jade mutters. "I can't believe you're actually good at this."

Tori flexes a little, grinning widely at her. "I'm really good at this," she boasts. "Do I get to pick my prize?"

Jade looks at her for a few seconds, and Tori wonders if it's just because it's horrifically hot or what, but she swears that Jade is blushing. Maybe not blushing, but her face is definitely red. Tori blinks a little when Jade hops up onto the counter, swinging her legs over the edge of it. 

"Your prize is right here."

Tori gives her a look, ignoring how she feels like she's been set entirely ablaze. "That's what you're going with?"

"Vega."

Tori doesn't need to be warned more than once. She laughs, but she absolutely does not let that stop her from sauntering right on up to Jade, grinning as she pushes herself up onto her toes. She presses a soft kiss to Jade's lips, pulling back after a few seconds. Tori is pretty convinced that she's going to burst into flames, but she's also pretty convinced that she wouldn't care even a little if that did actually happen. "Maybe I should have just done that earlier."

"Do you always have to be so goddamn talkative?" Jade asks, sounding a little breathless, which makes Tori's heart flutter even more. "You're not surprised?"

"Jade," Tori laughs, giving her a look. "I've liked you for like, a year now. I'm a little in shock, but come on."

"What do you mean come on?" Jade demands. "A year? You didn't say anything for a year? You let me think I was going insane for a—" Jade snaps her jaw shut, and Tori can't help but grin, arching an eyebrow. "Don't you dare look at me like that, Vega."

"I'm not looking at you like anything!" Tori protests. "I'm just...interested," Tori laughs, tilting her head to the side. "You're coming over to my place after your shift," Tori informs her. "You know what? I'll just ride back with you."

Jade looks away, and Tori is worried that she might have pushed too hard, but the woman eventually clears her throat, turning back to face her. "Fine. I can't believe how— how calm you're being about this."

"I'm not about to maul you in an amusement park," Tori says. "It also hasn't fully processed yet," she adds on, letting out a breathless laugh. "So there's that. I guess one of us has to be calm," Tori teases, laughing at the sharp glare that she gets from Jade at that. "So. A year?"

"Less," Jade mutters, not looking anywhere near her. Tori does her best to not laugh at that also, figuring that Jade is already going through enough right now. "Seven months."

"You're been keeping track?"

"Tori!"

Tori grins, wondering if this is really what it's like to be so unbelievably head over heels in love with someone. "Sorry!" Tori offers, holding up her hands again. "It's been over a year for me," Tori eventually says. "A year and four months?" She offers after a couple of seconds. "Something like that. It's basically been forever," Tori laughs, settling on that instead. "You didn't know?"

Jade stares at her. "Clearly not! I thought you were going to, I don't know, laugh, or something! I didn't think you'd actually— kiss me."

"Well," Tori shrugs. "I wasn't going to waste an opportunity. You're a really good kisser, by the way."

"Jesus Christ," Jade breathes out. "Come on. We're going back to your place. I'm not dealing with this at my job."

Tori snorts, but she's definitely not complaining as she scoops up half of the stuffed animals that she's won. "You're so romantic, did you know that?" She teases, tucking a few of the damn things under her arms all over again. "You're the pinnacle for romance, actually."

"Tori," Jade groans, giving her a look. "I feel like I'm going to pass out and I'm freaking the fuck out. Can you give me a break?"

"Sorry, sorry!" Tori laughs, offering Jade the most sincere smile she can manage. "I'm sorry. I'm also freaking out a little. It wasn't exactly on my agenda to kiss the girl I'm kinda really super into," Tori explains. "If it makes you feel any better, you pretty much always make me feel like I'm going to pass out."

Jade smiles a little, so Tori's going to take that as a sign that yes, it does make her feel better. "A little," Jade confirms after a few seconds. "God. I can't believe I kissed you at fucking work."

"Technically, I kissed you."

"Vega."

Tori grins, ducking her head. Yeah, she thinks that she could really, really get used to this. 

She resists the urge to say something that might make Jade even more embarrassed, though it's definitely difficult to restrain herself. Tori manages well enough, figuring that she'll have plenty of time to do that later.

Tori is content to stand there and wait for Jade to close up her booth, and she's even more content to trail out to Jade's car, shuffling the entire way there. She doesn't regret winning an insane amount of prizes, but she wouldn't complain about not having to carry them. 

Tori very quickly shoves all the stuffed animals into the backseat of Jade's car, texting Trina immediately after, just so she's not worried. Though, to be fair, Trina probably wouldn't even realise that Tori wasn't with her, so it's mostly for Tori's sake.

"Everyone knew," Tori says after a couple of quiet seconds in Jade's car. "Beck figured it out first. Then Andre, then Cat. Honestly, I'm not super sure if Robbie knows, but Rex probably does."

"Do not act like the literal puppet is a person," Jade tells her. "Beck knew. I can't believe that asshole didn't say anything!"

"They probably made bets," Tori mutters. "Andre vaguely mentioned something like that a while ago. I thought he was joking but he definitely was not."

Jade sighs, and even though it's nothing special, it still makes Tori's heart pound. Jade truly does have such an effect on her, it's unbelievable. "I'm going to kick their asses," Jade mutters, and Tori fully believes her. Tori is also very willing to help Jade out with that. "So."

"So," Tori agrees. "You still think you're going to pass out?"

"Kind of," Jade agrees back, running her hands through her hair. "I might be in the denial stage."

"I've been there," Tori assures her, laughing a little after. "I do like you, in case that's what you're in denial about," Tori says. "I'm really into you. I like you a lot. I like like you, Jade."

"I'm kind of wishing that you didn't all of the sudden," Jade mutters, and Tori snorts, rolling her eyes. "I'm, uh. Into you. Obviously."

"Obviously," Tori teases, resting her head against her hand. "We don't have to take it fast," Tori tells her after a couple of seconds. "We can take it pretty slow, if you want. I just want you, really. I don't care how it happens."

Jade turns to look at her, and Tori finds herself getting slammed into with another wave of butterflies because of how Jade's looking at her. Tori swears to god that she's never seen the woman look so flustered literally ever, and it's exhilarating. It's more than that, honestly. "Jesus fucking Christ, Tori. You just...you can just say shit like that?"

"It's true," Tori shrugs, beaming at Jade. "So...yeah. I want you. I'm fine with taking it slow and figuring it all out. It'd probably be better than us just jumping right into dating. I've wanted you for like, a year and a half, so waiting for a bit isn't going to kill me."

"Let's stop talking so I can breathe," Jade says, and Tori grins, ducking her head, but she doesn't say anything else. As exciting as it is to see Jade all flustered, Tori isn't trying to actually kill her. She'd definitely prefer Jade alive. Tori feels a wave of fondness hit her fully when Jade groans, putting her head into her hands. "This is so embarrassing."

"You're okay," Tori assures her. "Take your time, Jade. I'm literally in the same situation as you."

"It's just," Jade groans. "I don't get you. You've liked me for a year? Vega, you're..." Jade sighs. "You're so confusing."

Tori gives her a look, frowning a little. "You're you?" Tori offers. "I'm not surprised literally at all. You're funny and charming, you're really talented, you're actually pretty nice even if you do your best to not be," Tori teases. "I just like you. I like that you're you. I like that you're, you know, a little mean sometimes. That's part of the charm."

Jade snorts, but Tori takes the way that Jade is actually looking at her now as a win. "You're so weird."

"You're apparently into that," Tori beams at her, pretty giddy that that's actually true, holy shit. "I just like you, Jade."

"Yeah, and you're a fucking weirdo for it," Jade mutters back. "I like you. Obviously. Clearly. I think that...taking it slow would probably be the best thing we could do. But I don't really want to, I don't know," Jade heaves a sigh. "I don't want to act like I don't like you. I want to, you know. Hold your hand. And stuff."

"And stuff," Tori agrees, smiling a little. "Kissing?"

"I think that's already been established," Jade laughs, ducking her head. It makes Tori want to kiss her pretty bad. Tori always wants to kiss her pretty bad though, to be fair. "But, uh, yeah. Kissing."

"Kissing," Tori agrees again, grinning at her. "Can I kiss you right now?"

"Please," Jade sighs, and Tori is basically across the center console in a matter of seconds. Tori gently cups the side of Jade's face with one of her hands, tangling her other hand in Jade's hair. Tori kisses her softly, feeling almost like she's going to explode. She's kind of surprised that that hasn't happened yet, all things considered. Tori pulls back after a few seconds, adjusting so she's fully back in her seat. "Yeah," Jade breathes out after a few seconds. "Kissing's good."

"Thank god," Tori laughs, ruffling her hair a little. "I also don't want to act like I'm not super into you. I like touching," Tori laughs again, shaking her head a little. "You should stay over at my house more. It's summer! We have all the time in the world to figure it out."

"And by all the time in the world, you actually mean two months," Jade teases, and Tori only beams in return, because that's absolutely all the time in the world. It's close enough at the very least. "You're ridiculous. Were you serious about the key thing?"

"I was," Tori confirms. "Especially now."

Jade nods, looking away again. "Cool."

"Cool," Tori agrees, grinning. "My place?"

"Yeah," Jade confirms, dipping her head. "Yeah, your place. Um," Jade looks back to face her, and Tori can't help but stare at her for a few seconds, butterflies completely overwhelming her. God, she's gorgeous. "It was November 12th. When I figured it out."

Tori beams at her, feeling like she's floating all over again. Jade West truly does unspeakable things to her. The way that woman makes her feel is entirely unreal. "You remembered?"

"Hard day to forget," Jade says with a shrug, as if it's something casual. Tori is half-convinced she's going to freak out, so it's definitely anything but casual. "You wore this really, you know. Good...looking...jacket. And you sat next to me in Sikowitz's that day, and then you didn't stop, and I realised...some things."

"Jade," Tori says, feeling a little too breathless at that. "I really like you. Like, so much."

"Thank god," Jade snorts. "Because that's really fucking embarrassing for me to admit. I'm not...I've never been sappy. Not with Beck. You're just..." she shrugs. "Different."

"Thank god," Tori parrots, feeling like the happiest woman quite literally ever. Jade has always managed to make her feel completely exhilarated, even in their earlier months spent together. Jade is just like that. "You're different, too. Let's get back to my place. Like, now."

Jade laughs, a ridiculously bright sound that makes Tori grin, her face stupidly warm. "Okay, Vega."

It's somehow both the shortest and longest drive back to Tori's place ever, but that's okay. 

Tori focuses on the way that Jade's hand very tentatively reaches out and then backs off. Tori lets that go on for a minute or so before she just takes Jade's hand in her own, quietly laughing under her breath at how Jade immediately squeezes her hand. It does leave her breathless all over again, though.

And when they finally make it to Tori's place, she can't help but laugh when Jade hesitates to even walk through the front door. It's such a small, insignificant thing, but it's also not. Nothing with Jade is insignificant.

Tori thinks that this easily might be the best day of her life, and she silently thanks her seven year old self for getting really good at carnival games out of spite.