Work Text:
The first time Brenda talked about Teresa, Minho barely noticed it.
It wasn’t because he hadn’t been listening, or anything. Even if he was doing something while she talked, Minho always made an active effort to pay attention to the stories Brenda told him, whether it was about her day at work or something that happened to a friend. He still often felt lucky to be with her, even after two years, and he never took anything she said for granted.
But Brenda also loved to ramble to Minho about whatever she had on her mind, so not everything stuck to his memory or stood out.
So while Minho was folding the laundry, she was complaining about some new hire at work -- which seemed to be a common theme as of late.
“And like, she’s the fifth fucking person we’ve gotten in the last few months,” Brenda ranted, pacing back and forth on the other side of the bed. “As soon as I get them trained up, they’re gone, and I have to go through it all over again.”
“You’re just like Sisyphus,” Minho mumbled as he eyed a very strappy, but tangled, piece of lingerie with a brow raised. Brenda grabbed it from him and began untangling it.
“I’m literally just like Sisyphus. But now I’m getting my hopes up again that I can reach the top of the mountain because this girl seems smart, and a hard worker. She’s kind of Type A almost to a fault, you know? Like she’s always a little too pressed-in on all sides. Too tight.”
“Could be a good thing. You could use some tightening.”
Brenda stopped mid-detangle. “...I’m not sure what you meant by that. And I don’t think I want to know.”
Minho just smiled. Brenda rolled her eyes and threw the lingerie back at him before taking a breath and looking off to the side. “Her name’s Teresa. She’s our age, which is cool. Really pretty.”
“That’s nice,” Minho said as he made his best attempt at controlling the lingerie. “How do you even get this thing on?”
“Well, I’d show you, but you said I was too loose already.”
Minho grimaced. “I take it back?”
Brenda just turned and left the room, leaving Minho to his laundry.
The second, third, and fourth times Brenda brought up Teresa, Minho started to pay attention.
Brenda had a lot of coworkers and friends, but he was able to pick up on some recurring names: Beth, Aris, Alby, Rachel. Now Teresa had come up multiple times, and in the span of a few short weeks, no less.
“Teresa’s doing really well,” Brenda mentioned the second time as Minho was driving them to dinner. “She picks up on things really quickly, which I thought she would. Honestly, she might be overqualified. Hopefully, she doesn’t realize that, or she’ll quit. And I don’t want her to quit.”
“I hope she doesn’t, either,” Minho agreed. “You deserve some actually competent coworkers that can pick up some of the slack for you.”
“She has been, as much as she can. It’s nice.” Brenda smiled to herself as she looked out the window, and Minho was happy at the way she looked a little more relaxed.
A few days later, Teresa came up again.
“She brought in cookies,” Brenda said. “They were amazing. She said she’s really bad at cooking, but she’s a great baker.”
“Maybe she should move in, since we’re both shit at baking.”
“But great cooks.”
“Mhm.”
“Should I make her something? Would that be weird?”
Minho shook his head. “I don’t think so. If she brought food, you can bring food.”
Brenda came home from work the next day beaming.
“She loved it!”
Minho looked up from the couch. “Who? What? Teresa?”
“Yes!” Brenda pranced over and plopped down on Minho’s lap. “She said it was some of the best food she’s ever had.”
“Well, duh. You made it.”
“Oh, hush,” Brenda joked.
“I’m serious. The second best thing I ever ate was your carne asada.”
“What was the first?”
Minho smirked and reached around to slap Brenda’s ass. Brenda cackled, her head tilting back.
“Okay, well, I can’t exactly offer that up to Teresa.”
“Why not?” Minho rebuked without thought.
Brenda paused, her smile faltering slightly. She tilted her head in confusion.
“Did you forget that we’re dating again?” she asked, somewhat teasingly.
“That was ONE TIME, and I was drunk. And I thought we were MARRIED, which is still dating.”
“Well, either way. I’m a loyal girl.”
“I know, man. I’m just saying, your hall pass is still unused.”
Brenda raised an eyebrow. “The hall pass is supposed to be for if Lucy Liu randomly shows up at my job and is begging to sleep with me.”
“It’s not set in stone. It can be rewritten.”
Brenda made an odd expression, lightly pushing Minho’s face away.
“You’re weird,” she said with a mix of disgust and fondness. Which was a summary of their whole relationship, really.
Despite Brenda’s reaction, Minho continued to notice after the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and additional times that Teresa was mentioned. She became a common name in Brenda’s stories, if not the most common. Not only had Teresa stayed at the job, she quickly became Brenda’s closest friend there.
“She invited me out for drinks with some of her friends,” Brenda explained over the phone. “If you want, you can meet us there.”
“I promised Newt I’d help him move tonight, since his leg is still healing.”
“Oh right, that is tonight. Do you want me to come help you?”
Minho smiled to himself. She’d hate to be called sweet for offering, so he didn’t say it.
“Nah, we’ll be fine. Go, have fun, get blasted, show the bartender your tits for free drinks.”
“That doesn’t work as often as you’d hope it would.”
“Damn. Well, try anyway. And text me if you need a ride.”
“I won’t. I’m gonna drive drunk and crash into a school zone.”
“Sounds good. Love you, bro.”
“Love you, dude.”
Minho proceeded to get updates on Brenda’s evening through texts and her Instagram story. His original impression of Teresa had been that she was maybe kind but boring. Now, from the glimpses he could see in Brenda’s pictures and videos, she seemed to be a lot of fun, too.
She also was, as Brenda had put it, really pretty. Minho tried not to think about other people while he was dating Brenda, but Teresa’s beauty could be neither ignored nor understated. He found himself compelled to go to her Instagram and start mindlessly scrolling through. She didn’t seem to post much, but he was able to glean a bit more about her: she had a twin brother named Thomas, she did figure skating, she was definitely overqualified for her job, and she did a lot of her baking for local hospitals and other organizations.
In short, she kind of seemed like an angel. It was as though she was a puzzle piece designed to perfectly fit into all of the opposites of Brenda. Not to say that Brenda was demonic or uncharitable (okay, maybe she was a little demonic at times, in a good way), but it was seemingly a perfect “opposites attract” sort of situation. No wonder they were quickly becoming such good friends.
It was definitely not an opposites attract situation with Brenda and Minho. They were very similar, sometimes too similar, to the point of bringing out the best and worst of each other simultaneously. After two years, they had managed to work out a lot of the kinks and get systems going that worked for them, but it wasn’t always perfect. Minho sometimes wished that Brenda had a bit more Type A in her, so she could be more organized with her things or be better at remembering dates.
Minho wasn’t a saint. He knew there was aspects of the relationship where he could improve, too. He also couldn’t deny that a part of him wondered if Teresa would start to rub off on Brenda at all. He wouldn’t have been against it.
Teresa did start to affect Brenda, in more ways than either of them probably noticed.
But Minho had been listening to Brenda wax poetic about her for months, and he’d gone out drinking with them and some mutual friends a few times, too. He’d seen in person the way they interacted together, the way they slid so naturally into conversation, even how they moved together on the dance floor.
Minho had observed Brenda’s friendships with both girls and guys before, and he appreciated the support network she had. But never had he found one of her friendships…attractive?
The base level of it was that he’s attracted to women. Beyond that, though, there was something undeniably compelling about the two of them together. It was beyond what Brenda had with her other friends. There was a potent chemistry between the two of them. It felt like they were made to dance together, to move around each other both in conversation and in real space.
When Teresa wasn’t even around, Minho saw how Brenda had been changed by her. She started bringing in food to all of her coworkers more regularly, and complained about work less. She suddenly took up an interest in women’s figure skating. She even started cleaning up more around the apartment. Brenda hadn’t changed anything about her personality, but it was like she had been brightened a bit. Like some of the duller parts of her were buffed. Which was saying a lot, considering how great she was already.
Minho kept all of this information in the back of his mind on a low burner, until one day when Brenda was doing the dishes, and her favorite topic of conversation happened to come up.
“Alby joked that she was my work wife,” Brenda recalled, her mouth curled upwards, “but I said that was too much commitment.”
“What, you don’t want to get her a ring?” Minho countered, watching her from where he sat at the dining table.
“No, no. It’s all too soon!” She moved a plate to the drying rack and started washing a mug. “I agreed that she could be my work girlfriend though. Much lower stakes.”
“Hm. What does it mean, exactly? I’ve never really had a work…anything.”
“It’s basically just another way of saying your best friend at your job, I think. Honestly, I’m not really sure myself, but it’s fun to say. ‘Work girlfriend.’ It’s got a fun ring to it.”
Minho took a moment to observe her. She was sort of quietly smiling to herself. On the surface, it would seem to be in amusement at the term “work girlfriend,” but the low burner in Minho’s mind was still going. Swallowing some nerves, he turned up the heat.
“I mean. What if she was, you know, also your actual girlfriend?”
Brenda’s hands froze around the mug. She looked over her shoulder at Minho.
“Pardon?”
“What if you actually asked her out? Like, outside of work.”
Brenda continued to sort of stare, sort of glare at Minho from her limited position. He couldn’t tell if she was surprised, angry, or amused. Maybe all three. Eventually, she turned back to the sink and continued washing the mug.
“You keep making these weird jokes,” she said. “Why did you say that?”
“Because I really want you to. I’m not joking.” Brenda froze again. Minho got up from his chair and stood next to her at the sink, reaching across her and turning off the water. She looked up at him. “Bren, I think you really like this girl. And I feel like you two would be good together.”
Brenda’s eyes darted around as if looking for something concrete to grasp onto. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she was able to get words out.
“Are you breaking up with me?” she finally asked, her tone a little angry but mostly nervous. “Did I make you jealous, or something? Or feel like you weren’t enough? Because I really wasn’t trying to-”
“I know you weren’t. And I’m not jealous.”
Brenda blinked, waiting for him to say something else. When he didn’t, she took a breath.
“So what are you saying?” she asked. “You want me to, like, ask her to be our third? Or whatever it’s called.”
“Well, she’s a lesbian, so no. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable. But I feel like you guys have chemistry. I’ve seen it. It’s sort of like when we started dating, but more…”
“More what?”
“Feminine? I guess? I know you’ve mentioned how you miss being with a woman.”
Brenda’s face fell slightly. “I meant sexually. I’m not bored of you.”
“I know, I know.” Minho sighed, wishing he could articulate himself better, if that was even the issue. “Look, we’ve never really talked about it, but I’m fine with having an open relationship, as long as you’re with someone who makes you really happy. I don’t feel…entitled to you, or anything. I don’t own you.”
“But you make me really happy,” Brenda countered. She put the mug back in the sink and dried off her hands before wrapping them around Minho’s waist. “I know I never say it because we’re us, but it’s true. I don’t need anyone else. I like being yours.”
Minho smiled. Maybe there had been a small part of him that had felt neglected in all of this, but if it was there, it was gone now. Even more reason for him to continue with what he was suggesting.
“Yeah, maybe you don’t need anything. But it’s okay to want other things. There’s lots of cool people out there who can offer you something new. You deserve to have it all! As long as you still want to be with me at the end of every day, I’ll be satisfied.”
Brenda hesitated, swaying back and forth on her feet as she held onto Minho for balance. She looked down, biting her lip as she reflected on what he’d said.
“None of this really matters if you aren’t interested in Teresa,” Minho continued when she hadn’t spoken. “But I feel like you are.”
Brenda looked back up to meet Minho’s eyes. He looked back, almost challenging, until she broke contact with a huff.
“Shit.”
“Putting it together, eh?”
“Well, I hadn’t exactly been thinking like that until now.”
Minho laughed. He pulled Brenda in for a hug, her face nestled into his chest.
“I’m not gonna force you, but you should at least think about it,” he said. “She’ll be good for you. She already is.”
“You’re good for me,” Brenda mumbled, somewhat defeatedly, against his shirt.
“Thank you.” He leaned down and kissed her head. “But also, you could benefit from some…womanly connection.”
Brenda pulled back, an eyebrow raised.
“‘Womanly connection?’” she echoed in a flat tone.
“Yeah, man. Women stuff. Women time. You know.”
“Women time.”
“My favorite time, really.”
Brenda’s expression fought between amusement and annoyance. She broke away from Minho’s hug and turned the water back on, washing the mug she had left.
“If you think me asking her out is gonna give you a pass to watch us fuck, you’re wrong.”
Minho grimaced. “I mean, I didn’t think she would want that, anyway.”
“Good.” She put the mug on the drying rack, then sighed as she watched the water running down the drain. “So, we’re gonna do this? Have an ‘open relationship’?”
“If you want.”
She pursed her lips. “I…I think. I’ll sleep on it, but. Probably. Yeah.” A pause. “She’d have to say yes, though, is the thing.”
“She will. I’m pretty certain.”
Brenda glanced at him with an almost shy smile.
“Well, if there’s any men you’ve been secretly wanting to ask out, now’s the time to reveal them.”
Minho chuckled as he walked back to the dining table.
“Not yet, but I’ll start looking.”
***
Why did Alby have to call her my work wife?
Teresa frustratedly squeezes one of her stress balls as she watches Brenda train another new hire. She’s been frustrated ever since that day, actually. Especially when Brenda joked that they were work girlfriends , and the implication of that word suddenly hit Teresa smack in the face and made her realize some horrible, terrible things.
Like that she wants to be Brenda’s real girlfriend. Quite badly.
This is a problem for several reasons:
- Brenda is her coworker, and from what Teresa has seen and heard, relationships with coworkers tend to end badly for all involved and surrounding parties.
- Teresa has almost no game when it comes to flirting with women, even more so when the woman in question is as confident and bold as Brenda.
- Brenda has a fucking boyfriend.
If the first two reasons weren’t deterrents enough already, the third is practically a sledgehammer to any of Teresa’s most self-indulgent hopes and dreams. And it’s not even like it’s a situation where the guy is an asshole, so you can hope in secret that they break up, or even encourage it, if you’re feeling reckless.
No, the fourth reason is that Brenda’s boyfriend is a really good guy.
Teresa’s hung out with Minho a few times when Brenda has brought him along. They’ve gone drinking together, they’ve gone out to eat, they even went to a few hockey games. He’s really funny, and charming in a sort of effortfully-effortless way.
Him and Brenda are also quite sweet together, though that word doesn’t seem quite right. They’re honestly kind of weird, almost like they’ve invented their own language. But Brenda practically glows when Minho’s around, and he looks at her like if he blinks too hard, she might disappear altogether.
Even if Teresa was the bold and reckless type, she could never break them up.
So now her stupid work crush is lingering over her like a taunting cloud, and she has no idea what to do. She watches as Brenda laughs at something the new hire says, and the sight of it is so goddamn cute that Teresa literally has to faceplant into her keyboard to avoid blushing.
She tries to meditate in the darkness here for a moment, doing some calming breaths to try to clear her mind. When someone eventually speaks up next to her, she’s startled.
“Gee gee gee gee…” Brenda reads out from Teresa’s screen. Teresa pops her head up to see that her keyboard has been typing the letter G for several minutes. “This is really poetic stuff, Reese. You should submit this somewhere.”
Teresa’s initial attempt to hide a blush fails when Brenda calls her by the nickname she gave her. She turns her head down, hoping some of her hair will cover her face.
“I really put my soul into it,” she tries to joke. “I’m glad you like it.”
Teresa can see Brenda smile out of the corner of her eye as she leans back and takes a sip of some coffee.
“You might need this more than me,” Brenda mentions. “I’ve never seen you fall asleep at your desk.”
“I wasn’t sleeping. I was…meditating?” Teresa looks back up at Brenda with a grimace.
“Weird place to meditate.”
“It felt right in the moment.”
Brenda chuckles, then tilts her head a bit as she looks at Teresa. She somewhat tentatively reaches forward and moves some hair away from where it had stuck to Teresa’s face. She laughs softly.
“You’ve got the letter ‘G’ imprinted in your forehead.”
Teresa knows this is a very silly and embarrassing thing that was just said to her, but all she can focus on is the way Brenda’s hand felt as it swept across her skin, and the quiet but fond look she’s giving her now.
Teresa realizes that Brenda is probably waiting for her to respond, and, in a panic, says the first thing she can come up with:
“It’s because I’m a real G?”
There’s a beat, and then Brenda is cackling, her head thrown back. Teresa can’t help but join in, regardless of the looks it garners from some of their coworkers.
Brenda’s laughter subsides, and she looks down at Teresa with a curious smile. After a moment, she closes her eyes, takes a breath, and then opens them again.
“Do you wanna go out with me sometime?”
Teresa blinks in surprise. If this were anyone else, she would assume that the go out part implied a date. But there is a very nice Minho-shaped reason that this is likely not the case, and Brenda misspoke. Still, the idea of it gives her heart a flutter.
“Uh, sure. We can get drinks again this weekend, if you want.”
“No, no,” Brenda shakes her head, putting her coffee mug down on Teresa’s desk. “I should be specific. I’m asking you on a date.”
Well now Teresa is really confused. It must show on her face, because Brenda suddenly looks nervous.
“Minho?” Teresa spits out in an attempt to speak. She clears her throat. “Aren’t you still dating Minho?”
Brenda exhales, then grabs a nearby chair and pulls it closer, sitting on it backwards so she’s eye-level with Teresa.
“Yes, I am. If you’re uncomfortable with that, it’s cool, but he’s fine with this. He’s actually the one who told me to ask you.”
“Huh?!”
Brenda chuckles. “Yeah, that’s about how I reacted. We had never really talked about it, but we both realized we were okay with having an open relationship. And he thinks we have good chemistry, which I’m inclined to agree with. Do you?”
Teresa blinks again. Maybe she did fall asleep on the keyboard, and this has all been a very realistic dream. She glances at the screen for a sense of grounding, since she can never properly read computers in her dreams. But everything is all there, clear as day.
“Um,” she says, having less game than usual.
“You can say no. That’s fine. This is a lot to spring on you, anyway. Probably a bad time.”
“No!” Teresa counters hurriedly, feeling the opportunity to go on a date with Brenda slipping out of her grasp. “Now’s a great time. Really.”
Brenda raises an eyebrow. Teresa continues.
“To answer your question, yes. I do think we have chemistry.”
“Great,” Brenda smiles. “But you did have a weird look just now.”
Teresa sighs. “Well. I’ve never dated anyone who was already in a relationship. It would be new territory for me.”
“If it’s any consolation, this is new for me, too. And Minho.”
“Right.”
Teresa sees Alby attempting to look like he’s not eavesdropping in the distance, and smiles to herself.
“Listen, how about you put me in as a ‘yes,’ but we’ll talk about it more later,” she says. “Is that alright?”
Brenda’s smile grows. “More than alright by me.”
Teresa ends up walking Brenda to her car after work. They stand there a bit awkwardly for a moment as their other coworkers filter out, Alby especially taking quite a long time to get to his car and find his keys. He finally finds them when he probably realizes he isn’t going to hear anything.
Brenda watches him leave with a squint against the setting sun, then turns to Teresa.
“So. Have you thought any more about it?”
“Basically all day, honestly,” Teresa admits.
Brenda bites her lip. “In a good way, or bad way?”
“Mostly good. I mean, I already said yes.”
“I know. I just thought you might change your mind. It is kind of a weird situation to be in.”
“Yeah, it is.” Teresa kicks her feet from where they dangle off the back of Brenda’s truck bed. “A part of me does feel unsure about you being with someone else that isn’t me. Mostly because I’m not used to it.”
“That’s fair.”
“But Minho’s also a great guy, so I’m happy that he’s the one you’re with.”
Brenda smiles. Teresa lets out a quick breath.
“So. The conclusion I came to is that we should just go on the date and figure out everything else after.”
“Like what?”
Teresa shrugs. “Like boundaries, I guess. Expectations. Saying what we’re all comfortable with, and such.”
“Are we gonna 50 Shades of Grey it and sign a contract?”
Teresa laughs. “I don’t think it’s that serious. Besides, we could go on the date and decide we actually have horrible chemistry, and should never speak again.”
“That might make working together a bit awkward.”
“One of us would have to quit, I think.”
“Oh, I’ll volunteer for that,” Brenda chirps, as if waiting for an excuse. Teresa giggles, lighting bumping shoulders with her.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Would it be weird to ask you how I look?”
Minho hears Brenda call to him from down the hall. He turns to see her head poking out from their bedroom door, the rest of her out of sight. She has a sheepish smile on her face, which is rare.
“You do that all the time,” Minho calls back from where he’s sitting.
“I know, but…” Brenda looks down. “I’m asking my boyfriend how I look for my date with someone else. It feels weird.”
Minho shrugs. He pauses his show, stands up and walks closer.
“I mean, yeah, it’s a little weird. I think it all will be for a while, but we’ll adjust. We’ve handled worse.”
Brenda nods. “Like the time I accidentally set your car on fire.”
“Wasn’t what I was thinking of, but, sure. Like that.”
She walks out of the room, spreading out her arms to show her outfit.
“Alright. So, how do I look?”
Minho looks at her. She’s got on her star-patterned shorts, some fishnets, her Doc Martens (so she’ll be closer to Teresa’s height, smart choice), and a crop top with additional fishnet underneath. Her hair is up in a very stylized bun, for lack of a better term. She also has a fun, smoky makeup look.
Of course, she looks great. He expected nothing less.
“You look great,” he says. “I expected nothing less.”
“It’s not too much?” She turns around to show him all sides.
“Babe, you’re kind of always too much. It’s what we all like about you.”
She smiles, then walks up and drapes her arms around his neck.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever understand that. I still don’t get how I might be lucky enough to have two partners by the end of the night.”
Minho rests his arms around her lower back, fiddling his fingers through the fishnet.
“People hit on you all the time. I don’t see how this is surprising.”
“That’s one thing. Having two genuinely cool people be interested in me and also be fine with me dating the other person is, like, an anomaly.”
“You’re an anomaly of a woman. Makes sense to me.”
Brenda grins, then gives him a kiss. He can taste some sort of strawberry-flavored lip balm, and remembers that Teresa has a tendency to make strawberry flavored desserts. His heart does a little skip on Teresa’s behalf for how cute of a gesture it is.
“Go have fun,” he says with a chin tilt. “I’ve got Newt coming over soon, so don’t worry about me.”
“Good.” Brenda lets go of Minho and starts walking toward the door. She pauses with her hand on the doorknob. “You know, if you and Newt ever wanted to…”
Minho laughs, shaking his head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Also, I don’t think he could handle all this.” He spreads out his hands as if to indicate his impeccable body.
“I think he’d handle it just fine. Bye!”
She heads out the door before Minho can answer. Probably for the best.
Minho finds out that Brenda is back from her date when the front door opens with a SLAM.
He’s relaxing in bed by this point in the night, Newt long gone, so he’s startled when he hears it. His first instinct is that it’s a burglar, but he heard Brenda use her keys before she opened the door, so it’s probably not that. His second thought is that the date went horribly wrong, and Brenda is storming in the apartment with rage.
Then she calls out, “I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND AGAIN!” and it all makes sense.
Minho smiles to himself as he hears Brenda approaching. When she comes in the door, he sees that she looks mostly the same as when she left, only the layer of nervousness over her has shedded, and her usual confident glow has replaced it. Also, her lipstick seemed to have been rubbed off throughout the night. He observes that with a raised brow that goes unnoticed as Brenda gleefully jumps on and sprawls over the bed.
“You were right,” she admits. “About all of it.”
“I’m always right. You’re just catching on?”
Brenda reaches up behind her head and smacks him with a pillow.
“Don’t rub it in. But yes, you were right. I had a great time.”
“I knew you would. She’s a great girl.”
Brenda sighs dreamily, then looks up at him over her shoulder.
“How was your night? I don’t wanna just talk about me.”
Minho takes a breath. “Well, me and Newt fucked for three straight hours, and now I’m here.”
Brenda sits up with a gasp .
“What? Are you serious?”
“No!” Minho laughs. “We played Baldur’s Gate for a bit, ate pizza, and then he left.”
Brenda playfully smacks him on the leg.
“You asshole.”
Minho rolls his eyes as he pulls Brenda towards him, embracing her in a cuddle.
“Really, it’s not about me tonight. Tell me about the date.”
Brenda hums. “I took her to this interactive art exhibit downtown. It was kind of like an adult playground…thing? Like there were no kids, but there were swings and stuff. It was fun!”
“Then what?”
“Then we went to a show where one of my friends was playing. I got her to mosh a little bit, which was cool.”
“Seems like you were trying to get her to loosen up.”
“Ha,” Brenda chuckles. “Yeah, pretty much. She’s always working so hard, I felt like it was something she could use.”
Minho nods. It’s starting to dawn on him how Brenda could rub off on Teresa, as well.
“Good idea. What else happened?”
Brenda shrugs against his chest.
“Nothing, really.”
Minho looks down at her incredulously. “Nothing?”
“Nope.”
“Bren, I can see that your lipstick is gone.”
Brenda smirks. She rolls over so she’s laying fully on top of Minho, her chin resting against his chest. She beams up at him with vexing eyes.
“Yeah, we made out a little. But I kept it chaste. It’s only our first date.”
“How chivalrous.”
Brenda sighs, loosely drawing shapes on Minho’s skin.
“You know, I’m still in a good mood. And I didn’t get laid tonight.”
Minho locks his phone and puts it on the nightstand.
“Yeah?”
“But, well. You said this night wasn’t about you.”
“I lied,” Minho says with dramatized sadness. “I’m feeling quite neglected, actually. Very lonely. Very sad.”
“Oh, if that’s the case…” Brenda gets to her knees and sits up, taking off her crop top. Minho gets excited, but then hesitates.
“Teresa’s fine with this?” he asks. “I mean, on the same night, and everything.”
“We haven’t discussed the details yet,” Brenda explains. “But I’m sure she would be. Or, rather, she has to be. This-” she points her finger back and forth at the two of them, “-is non-negotiable.”
Minho’s worries subside. “Then say less.”
So she does. And then she says a lot more, but that’s between them.
I have a girlfriend again!
That thought has been gleefully repeating itself in Teresa’s mind since her and Brenda’s first date a few days ago. It’s been a while since she’s had a girlfriend -- longer than she’d like to admit, really -- and to have it be Brenda of all people is still something she hasn’t quite wrapped her head around.
To be honest, she still hasn’t really grasped the fact that her girlfriend also has a boyfriend. But this is what she’s currently heading to Brenda and Minho’s apartment to discuss. She’s both excited for the solidifying of her new relationship but also nervous as to how the conversation is actually going to go. She’s imagining it will probably be awkward, but they’ve all agreed to do it. That helps, a little.
She reaches the door of their apartment and knocks.
“It’s open!” Brenda calls from the inside.
“Oh,” Teresa mumbles to herself. Steeling her nerves, she turns the handle and opens the door.
When she walks inside, she finds Minho and Brenda in a fervor in the kitchen, clearly in the middle of cooking some sort of elaborate meal. Minho is managing several pots and pans on the burners while Brenda is chopping ingredients with a frankly alarming amount of skill. A blast of different smells hits Teresa’s senses, various herbs and spices that she could never identify if asked, but none the less combine to make something pleasant. It gives her a brief flash of a memory of visiting her aunts and uncles, and the food they would make.
In short, it smells like home. She breathes it in with a smile, already feeling calmer.
“I told you she would be early,” Minho says over his shoulder to Brenda.
“I forgot how long it takes to cook this,” Brenda replies. She looks up at Teresa with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Reese. I wanted this to be ready when you got here.”
“That’s alright.” Teresa returns the smile and hangs her jacket up on the coat rack near the door. “Can I help at all?”
Brenda looks around at her hectic countertops. “Um…”
“You can start setting the table,” Minho suggests. “Upper right cabinet has the plates and bowls, below that is the cups, and below that is the drawer with the silverware. Napkins are on the table already. We need one bowl and one plate each. Oh, and forks, knives, and spoons.”
Teresa nods, immediately getting to work on setting the table. She can’t help but notice the authoritative tone Minho had when giving instructions, and suspects that he’s been in leadership positions before. It feels familiar.
“So, how was your day?” Minho asks while Teresa grabs some cups. “I know Bren was telling me about some weird guy you had in the parking lot.”
“Oh, yeah. He comes by every now and then. He’s technically harmless, just creepy.”
“Well, if you ever need someone to scare him away, you know who to call.”
“I could scare him away,” Brenda retorts. “Easily.”
“No one’s questioning that,” Minho says. “But you’re liable to getting fired if you do something like that. I don’t work there.”
“More of a reason for me to do it.”
“That’s the second time you’ve joked about leaving,” Teresa comments. “You cannot leave me alone there.”
“I won’t. Not yet, anyway. But I am trying to work on leaving.”
Teresa sighs. “Can’t blame you, I guess.” She puts her hands on her hips as she surveys the finished table. “Anything else I can do?”
Minho eyes the little bartending table set up in the corner.
“You know how to make any drinks?”
Teresa does, in fact, know how to make some drinks. Ever since she was a kid, she loved creating new drinks. They started as mocktails when she was under 21, but eventually became proper cocktails. Drink making, she thinks, is a sort of science, or even alchemy. Combine the right ingredients into your cauldron (shaker) and you’ll get a potion (margarita)!
So she can bartend and she can bake, but she still can’t cook. That doesn’t matter, since Brenda and Minho’s cooking is just as delicious as every other time she’s tasted it. Maybe even more so tonight, but that might be the alcohol talking.
And in terms of talking, they seem to all forget almost immediately that they’re supposed to be discussing their relationship situation, and instead fall into discussion about anything and everything that can come up. The air is light and the conversation is pleasant. Teresa feels bubbly, and forgets that she ever had anything to be nervous about at all.
She’s looking at Minho as he talks, and maybe it’s her slightly blurry vision giving the light around him a halo effect, but he really is glowing. If Teresa was attracted to men, she would be in love with him in an instant. But she is rather taken with him, in a different way. Part of it is how good he is to Brenda. He’s also a great cook, charismatic, funny, hardworking, perceptive. Teresa’s found out that he volunteers for the local Eagle Scout organization, too, which explains the leadership qualities.
“I gotta piss,” Brenda suddenly says, breaking up the conversation and Teresa’s thoughts. “I’ll be back.” She gets up and heads down the hall to the bathroom, leaving Teresa and Minho alone for what might be the first time. Teresa watches Brenda go to make sure she’s out of earshot.
“Always blunt, that one.”
Minho chuckles before taking a sip of his drink.
“Yup. It has its charm, sometimes.”
“I appreciate it. There’s never any having to guess with her. You’ll always know what she’s feeling.”
“Exactly. Most people I’ve dated have…not been like that.”
“Same.”
There’s a moment of silence, then, as the topic of dating has been brought up. It’s like the word punctured an invisible bubble in the air, dropping them back into reality. But Teresa doesn’t feel nervous anymore. She knows what she wants.
“Hey, Minho?”
“Yeah?”
Teresa takes a breath, then straightens in her chair.
“I don’t want you to just be my girlfriend’s boyfriend. I don’t think that’s fair to you or me.”
Minho takes that in for a moment, then nods.
“Okay,” he hums. “What do you want me to be?”
“...I want you to be Minho.”
Minho blinks. Teresa continues.
“You already know the obvious. I can’t really be… with you the way I can with Brenda. I’ve tried with men before, I really have. But I just can’t.”
“Of course,” Minho says, his tone free of judgment or disappointment.
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t be important to me. If we’re going to be around each other a lot, I don’t see why we should try to limit ourselves to anything. Do you know what I’m saying?”
Minho purses his lips.
“I want to say yes,” he answers. “I think.”
“I just want you to see me as more than the person your girlfriend is dating. And you should be more than the person my girlfriend is dating. I feel like we have the capacity for that. Right?”
Minho nods again. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”
“Great,” Teresa smiles. She turns to see Brenda emerging from the bathroom.
“So,” Brenda starts, “you guys wanna talk about this for real?”
“We already are,” Minho says. Much to Brenda’s confusion.
The conversation really didn’t take as long as any of them probably expected. At least, it didn’t take as long as Teresa had feared it would. As it turned out, they were all pretty much on the same page.
Brenda is dating Minho. She is now also dating Teresa. That pretty much sums it up, right there.
They went over some quick boundaries and expectations, mostly involving sex and everyone keeping themselves healthy, tested, and openly communicating. Other than that, there wasn’t much to say.
Teresa had left that night with a full belly and a fuller heart. She was surprised at how easily everything came together, and how comfortable she was with the idea of dating someone who was taken already. She wasn’t sure if it was her getting older that had caused the shift, or just how amazing Brenda and Minho were. Either way, it didn’t really matter.
She was stumbling headfirst into this new chapter of her life with no expectations and an open mind. And for once, it wasn’t scary.
Months go by, and the entire time, Brenda cannot fully wrap her head around the fact that she has TWO amazing partners.
Brenda knows she’s a catch, but she also knows she has a big mouth and (sometimes) a small mind, so she’s constantly surprised that not only has she not messed this up, but she’s somehow worthy of even having it.
It feels a little unfair, sometimes. She gets the luxury of having an amazing boyfriend and an amazing girlfriend, but the two of them only get to have her.
These thoughts tend to manifest more on work days like today, when Brenda and Teresa don’t have matching shifts. Brenda observes Alby from across the room as he works, silently sipping her coffee and wondering if he would be a good fit for Minho. They’ve hung out a couple times when he was Brenda’s plus-one to various work events, and the rapport they seem to have is one of lighthearted banter. They could maybe have something special.
She switches her glance over to where Beth is working. She’s pretty. She hasn’t seen her and Teresa interact much, since they’re in different departments, but Beth has a calmness and a steadiness to her that would probably be a nice contrast to Brenda’s chaotic nature. It would flow more with Teresa’s personality.
What am I doing?! Brenda suddenly thinks, shaking her head. I’m spending my shift daydreaming about how my partners could get more partners.
She sighs to herself as she looks away from Beth and sets her coffee down. Maybe trying to expand their circle was not the solution to Brenda’s guilt. It would be a never ending chain of people.
One of the few things they made clear those months ago was that they all needed to communicate with each other. And if Brenda is feeling guilty or uncomfortable, she should make it known to them. That’s what you’re supposed to do in these situations, right?
She spends the next hour or so trying to think about what to say, but even in her head, she can’t get the words quite right. But it’s also the only thing she can think about, as if she won’t be able to focus until she gets this off her chest.
So she does what any reasonable woman feeling guilty about her polyamorous relationship would do, and pretends to be sick so she can leave work early.
Not that she needed much of an excuse to do that.
She stops by the grocery store to pick up some of Minho’s favorite treats, since she’s already going to surprise him by being home early. Might as well fully commit. She also grabs some strawberries for Teresa for whenever she’s over next. If she’s going to be their only partner, she has to be the best one she can.
Brenda gathers her grocery bags in one arm as she fumbles with her keys in the other. She finally gets the door open, setting the bags down on the entryway table with a huff. She kicks the door shut behind her for good measure, then takes her jacket off, and then her shoes.
Only after all that does she finally notice Teresa and Minho staring at her from the couch.
She stares back at them, the only sound in the room that of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood continuing in the background. Eventually, Minho reaches down and pauses it.
“Hi?” Teresa greets.
“Hey?” Brenda echoes back.
“You’re home early,” Minho comments. “You feeling alright?”
“Well, I…” Brenda starts, eyeing the groceries she brought home. “What are you guys doing?”
“Oh, we’re watching Fullmetal Alchemist . We usually watch it on Saturdays, since you’re at work. Did you not know that?”
Brenda blinks. Minho blinks. Teresa looks back and forth between the two of them.
“Have we really not said anything?” Teresa asks. “He’ll usually pick me up after his morning workout, we’ll grab some lunch, and then we’ll watch a few episodes. I didn’t want to at first, but he convinced me.”
“How far in are you?”
“Season three, I think,” Minho shrugs. “But seriously, are you okay? Why are you home?”
Brenda pauses, looking at the two of them. Suddenly feeling sort of stupid, walks over and sprawls herself out on both their legs, resting her head on Teresa’s thighs.
“You feeling sick?” Teresa asks, resting the back of her hand on Brenda’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”
“My coworkers think I am. So let’s pretend I am.”
Minho pokes her belly. “What’s going on? Talk to us.”
Brenda sighs. “I couldn’t shake the feeling at work like you guys were given an unfair deal. That I get to have two partners, but you both only have one. And I couldn’t get any work done, so I…left.”
Teresa looks down at Brenda with a confused expression, her face sort of scrunched up.
“Minho’s my partner, too, you know,” she says. “At least, that’s what I call him, anyway.”
Now it’s Brenda’s turn to look confused.
“Huh?”
“Yeah.” Teresa smooths some of Brenda’s hair back. “If anyone asks, that’s what I say. It feels true to me.”
“And me, too,” Minho adds, nudging Teresa’s shoulder.
“But…” Brenda starts.
Teresa chuckles. “Yes, I’m still a lesbian. I know who I am. People can assume what they want about me, I really don’t care. Minho’s important to me. He makes sure I’m fed when I get too caught up with work, he listens to me ramble when you’re busy. He even chased the parking lot creep away last month.”
“Is that why I haven’t seen him?”
“I made it pretty clear he shouldn’t come back,” Minho explains. “Anything for my girl. And my girl’s girl. Who is also my girl. But in a different way.”
Brenda closes her eyes. “Maybe I am sick. I’m feeling dizzy.”
Teresa leans down and gives Brenda a kiss on the forehead.
“Still not warm. Really, Bren, it’s not that complicated.”
That’s Minho’s nickname for me, Brenda thinks. I guess Teresa picked it up from him.
“So…” Brenda draws out. “You guys aren’t feeling horribly lonely and unbalanced in your relationships with me?”
“We would have told you by now if we were,” Minho replies. “This was my idea, remember?”
“Well, it was exciting and new at the beginning. I thought maybe things had changed.”
“Only for the better,” Teresa hums. She reaches up and playfully ruffles Minho’s hair.
“That’s good. That’s relieving. But it does mean I skipped work for nothing.”
“Not nothing.” Minho grabs the remote and hits play. “You can watch our show with us.”
“Okay,” Brenda smiles.
She tries to stay awake, to enjoy this time with the two of them, but she’s seen this show multiple times, and Teresa’s hand brushing through her hair and Minho playing with the wrinkles of her jeans slowly relaxes her. Her anxieties feel silly and far away. She is maybe the luckiest person in the world. Why measure their relationship on any metrics but their own? What they have is uniquely theirs. The thought alone is enough to comfort Brenda into falling asleep.
She knows they’ll still be there when she wakes up.