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Chapter Text

It's a mildly warm Friday afternoon. It's supposed to rain and it feels humid outside, the dark clouds hovering above the city and the threatening thunders roar in a distance. Katya walks fast towards her black Cadillac CTS parked in the "faculty only" spot. It has been a stressful day in the classroom, too many entitled rich boys thinking they know better than their professor, whispering misogynistic things to each other when she calmly corrects them in the topic she has been studying her whole life. It is always like that with younger female professors, especially in the law field; they never get taken seriously. There will be a few girls in the classroom that look up to them and aspire to be like that someday, but that's only when there are a good number of girls in the class. It's usually upper middle class boys who got into university with the help of their influential fathers. Katya has had to fight for her spot in the field, to be recognized and respected for the professor she is, and not just because of her last name. Harry Doncaster, a 50 year old english man and one of the most notable professors in the state, also happens to be Katya's husband. She doesn't know if being married to him has helped or hurt her reputation, especially considering how their relationship started, but she has done and still does whatever she can to be seen as her own person, and not just Harry Doncaster's wife. She drives home praying the rain doesn't catch her until she is under the hot shower, washing her short hair and probably bringing in a vibrator along to fully decompress, since she won't get that from her husband anyway. Rush hour stress combined with post class stress drives Katya insane every time she has to work all day, and her head hurts at every red light she stops at, but she begins to relax once she gets to her neighborhood. She nearly goes over the speed limit, eager to get home, when an unfamiliar pastel pink building catches her attention and she slows down. It's apparently a new bakery, a bakery that looks like it came from a dollhouse commercial. Katya doesn't usually find flowers and pastel colours appealing in any way, but something about the ethereal place gives her a sense of peace and coziness that drives her to park her car on the first spot she sees and go into the place. She smells the sweet cinnamon scent coming from the bakery that now she sees it's called "The Pink Bakery". Very redundant, Katya thinks. She usually prefers darker coffee shops or even bookstores that happen to have a coffee bar, but she doubts they would serve such wonderfully smelling cupcakes, donuts and cinnamon rolls the way the pink place does. Katya catches herself mesmerized by the beautiful baked goods and the overall beauty of the place, and although she wasn't planning on eating anything, she finds herself indecisive about what she is going to order.

"Hello! I'm sorry, I didn't hear you walk in, I was in the kitchen. What can I get for you today?" Katya's snapped out of her sweet hypnosis just to enter another one. The most beautiful woman she has ever seen smiles at her, her rosy cheeks standing out on her doll-like face and her little honey brown eyes shine at the touch of the vague sunset sunlight that's invading the room. She looks like she has been busy, for there is a little bit of flour on her forehead and a lot of it on her pastel pink apron, with an embroidery that says "Trixie", and despite the slightly messy look, her blonde hair is up in a thick neat ponytail, tied with a satin baby pink scrunchie. Katya cannot believe a human being can actually look like this, just perfect.

"Oh, it's okay! I just got here. Um, is this place new? It looks incredible!" She hasn't felt nervous around a woman since her first year of college, the last time she was single. She is managing to keep it cool, though. Or so she thinks.

"Oh, thank you so much! Yes, we just opened a couple of days ago!" the woman, whom Katya assumes it's called 'Trixie', takes off her apron and hangs it in a little golden hook behind her. Katya notices she has a funny unique accent, but can't quite decipher where it's from.

"Congratulations, it looks amazing! And to be honest, I still haven't decided what I want, all of these look really good. All I have decided on so far is some coffee."

"Well, why don't you take a sit and I'll bring you your coffee, and then you can take your time to decide what you want?" Trixie's smile. Trixie's smile is heartbreakingly beautiful.

"That sounds good! Thank you so much, uh..."

"Trixie! I'm the owner, by the way!" the woman says with a sweet giggle, then holds her hand out to Katya, who is scared of feeling how soft Trixie's skin must be.

"I'm Katya!" And she was right. Softest hand she's ever touched.

"Alright, you can sit wherever you want, uh, how do you like your coffee?"

"Black! Nothing in it!"

"Awesome! I'll bring it to you in a minute."

Katya sits down at one of the small white wooden tables with matching chairs and admires the center piece; a small glass vase with two pink roses in them. She feels bad for a second for letting herself get so mesmerized by the baker girl. She is, after all, married. And she also has a kid. But the thrill of having her heart beat faster than usual at the sight of a beautiful woman makes her forget about that for a few seconds. Especially considering that not only does her husband not give her any sort of affection, but he is also cheating on her. And she knows it. She hasn't said or done anything about it for many reasons; for starters, she is scared of what getting a divorce would do to her reputation. She doesn't want to be known as the woman who "used" her man to get some sort of advantage in her career and then dumped him when she became successful. She is also scared of how being a child of divorce could affect her 9 year old, Madison. She is a sensitive child who barely gets any attention from her father already, and Katya is scared of what could happen if she didn't get attention from him at all. It's a hard choice to stay in an unhappy and unsuccessful marriage, but her fears and insecurities always seem to get the best of her.

But Katya is only human. The thought of possibly having an affair haunts and thrills her at the same time, but she pushes the stupid thoughts away when Trixie brings her her coffee.

"There you go! Black coffee, nothing in it!" Now that Trixie is standing in front of her, and not behind a counter, Katya can take a good look at her statuesque figure and her heart beats hard and fast against her ribs. Her slim waist, large hips, breasts and ass make her look even more unreal to Katya. She curses fate for putting such a beautiful woman before her when she can't have her.

"Thank you so much!" Katya takes a sip of her coffee that is served in a delicate floral teacup and her face doesn't flinch at the bitterness, already used to it.

"So, have you decided what you're having today?"

"Yes! I'll go with the cinnamon roll."

"Great choice! They're probably my favorite ones to make, to be honest with you." Trixie says as she walks towards the glass display and carefully places the beautiful cinnamon roll in a small plate that matches Katya's teacup, then brings it over to her.

"Thank you!" Katya smiles at her, adjusting her own glasses so she can see Trixie's face more clearly and tries to memorize that absurdly cute smile of hers.

"No problem! I will be in the kitchen, you can ring that little bell by the cash when you're ready to pay and I'll come over!"

"Perfect! Thanks again!" Katya is self conscious about how many times she has thanked Trixie already.

Trixie smiles at her and struts back into her kitchen. Katya bites her lip so hard watching Trixie walk away that it bleeds a little. Good, she deserves it. The cinnamon roll is as amazing as it looks, just as Katya expected it to be. She is pretty sure she can never eat baked goods anywhere else in her life, for nothing could ever come close to tasting as good as this. Trixie is not only pretty, but she is also talented. She managed to have the most beautiful place that serves the tastiest sweet treats ever, and that takes a really talented person. Katya is convinced Trixie must have a dead body hidden in her house, there is absolutely no way someone can achieve this level of perfection and still be a good person. There's gotta be something wrong with her. Katya feels like she'll have a hard time finding it in Trixie, though.

After she finishes her coffee and cinnamon roll, Katya brings the dishes to the counter and rings the aforementioned bell, which prompts Trixie to quickly walk back to the cash.

"So, did you find everything okay?" She asks, visibly eager for a positive review.

"Oh, okay would be an understatement. This is probably the best cinnamon roll I've ever had, and I proud myself to be an amateur cinnamon roll connoisseur."

"Oh, really? So you just go around town trying every cinnamon roll there is and rate them?" Trixie smiles sweetly.

"That's exactly it! It's a passion of mine." Katya giggles along with Trixie. "And yours happen to be the best ones so far, so you're winning."

"Well, thank you for your wonderful review of my cinnamon roll, Katya, I'm honored." Katya's brain numbs out for a second at the sound of Trixie's voice saying her name out loud.

"I'm still bummed I didn't have enough room in me to have some of your other treats, though."

"Well, I guess you have no choice but to come back here and try all of them." Trixie blushes when she says it. Katya tells herself she did not notice it. She doesn't wanna go there, she doesn't wanna start feeding into silly fantasies. If she could only help it.

"I guess you're right." A smile forms in the corner of Katya's mouth when she says it. There is a brief second where they stare at each other, but then look away, back to the real world. Katya pays for her coffee and treat and dreads having to leave that little magical pink place that has brought her so much temporary joy. Especially the woman that came with it. "I'll see you soon, Trixie."

"See you soon. Thank you for coming to my bakery." she says. Katya wants to scream with how cute this woman is. She smiles back at Trixie, her heart filled with sweetness, so much that she doesn't even bother getting soaked in the rain on her small walk back to her car.

The drive home is grey, as usual. Grey houses, grey skies, grey neighborhood. But Katya's mind is set on that small piece of colour that had appeared like a miracle to make her smile on that rainy day, that soft pink that invaded her mind and reminded her that she is still capable of feeling like that; excited, young, silly. It's a nice thing to have. Something to fantasize about, to picture the infinite fake scenarios before bed of a life she can't have, that she doesn't have. Entering the big dark house with books and tapestry everywhere is a harsh reminder of reality. A wealthy yet boring and unfulfilling life next to a person she doesn't love. At least Katya still has a little piece of colour and brightness in her real life to keep her going.

"Mom! You're all wet!" Madison says after hugging her mother.

"Yeah, I got caught in the rain for a little bit. How was school today, baby?" Katya says while hanging her trench coat by the door and leaving her black stiletto pumps there as well.

"It was fine..." the girl sounds bummed.

"It doesn't sound like it was fine. Did something happen?" Katya gently pulls her daughter to the big dark green suede couch, where they sit. Katya doesn't let go of her hand.

"I don't wanna talk about it..."

"Maddie, I'm your mom. All I want is for you to be ok. I'm not gonna force you to talk to me if you don't want, but I want you to know that you can. I'm always here for you."

Maddie takes a deep breath. "These girls are picking on me. I didn't do anything, I promise! They just won't leave me alone."

"What are they doing to you, sweetie?" Katya strokes her daughter's thin blonde hair.

"They just make fun of me. I think it's because they know I'm gonna cry so they can call me a crybaby. But I don't know how to stop crying!" The girl is teary eyed.

"Oh, baby, come here." Katya hold her tightly for a few seconds, then kisses the top of her head. "You're not doing anything wrong, I want you to know that. And crying is not a bad thing, if you're feeling sad you need to let yourself be sad. Don't try to repress your feelings just because other people make fun of you. There is definitely something wrong with them, but not with you."

"You think so, mommy?"

"I know so. You're a wonderful person, Maddie. No matter what anyone says to you. I know you better than anyone, and I can tell you that firsthand."

"Thank you mommy! But how do I make them stop making fun of me?"

"I can talk to the principal next week, let her know what is going on so she can keep an eye out for those bullies. What do you think?"

"I think that's good."

"Then it's settled!" Katya high five's her daughter and hugs her again. "I love you, Maddie."

"I love you too, mom."

"Is your dad in his office right now?"

"No, dad left right before you got home. He said he was gonna wait for you to get home so he could go out but since you took too long he just left."

Katya feels a hole in her stomach. "Did he say where he was going?"

"He said he was going to meet up with some friends, I think." the girl says innocently.

"Oh, okay." Katya knows there are no friends. She knows he is going out to cheat on her. And he had the nerve to leave their 9 year old alone in the house so he wouldn't leave his mistress waiting. She gets furious, but doesn't show. The last thing she needs is Maddie knowing that her father is a cheater. "Well, I'm gonna go take a shower. Wanna pick a movie for us to watch together after?"

"Yes!" the girl shouts, then grabs the remote and starts looking through the catalogue of films on Netflix, really concentrated on the task.

Katya goes upstairs and almost immediately strips out of her buttoned up burgundy shirt and black dress pants, and then her underwear once she gets to the bathroom. She  tries to let the hot water wash away all of the negative feelings that hit her at once in the past ten minutes; finding out her kid is being bullied and then realizing her husband is out there having an affair. But then her brain goes a little further back on her day and she sees her. The beautiful, angelic Trixie smiling at her, bringing her the strong bitter coffee and then the perfectly sweetened cinnamon roll. She misses her very brief time in the pink paradise she found earlier. She wants to go back, she needs to go back. There is too much bitterness in Katya's life; she needs that sweet pink heaven.

Later in the night, Katya is nearly asleep when Harry walks into their room, a few minutes before midnight.

"Where were you?" she whispers in the dark, trying to sound casual instead of suspicious.

"Just hanging out with my mates. Having a little happy hour. I was going to tell you when you got home but you took so bloody long to get here..."

"Yeah, I stopped at this bakery for some coffee. I had a rough day."

"You should have texted me, Katya." he says, changing from his clothes full of sin into his soft pyjamas.

"Well, I didn't know you had plans. It's not like you tell me everything..."

"It's alright, Katya. We're both home, that's all that matters." He cuts her off impatiently as he lays down next to her on their king sized bed. Katya was never been more thankful for having such a massive bed, that way she doesn't have to touch him at all.

"Goodnight." she whispers, trying not to cry out of exhaustion and frustration.

Harry doesn't give her a goodnight kiss. He stopped doing that a couple of years ago and Katya's surely noticed. She doesn't reach for it anymore. She won't beg for affection like she once did.

"Goodnight." He mumbles, facing opposite from Katya and quickly falling asleep.

Katya has a hard time falling asleep. She detests the amount of angst Harry's presence causes her. The feeling of being unimportant, undesirable, disposable. She wishes she could go back in time and tell her 19 year old self not to get involved with her university professor, a man fifteen years older than her, a married man. But she didn't know any better. And she was in love, of course she was. She loved him so much she ended up in the trap of not loving him anymore, and still having to sleep next to that man every single night. She lets the warm tears roll down her cheeks towards the pillow as she replays her moments in the pink heaven and the blonde angel in her head, giving her some sense of peace and relief so she can finally rest.

Chapter Text

Trixie spends the entire weekend thinking about the beautiful woman she served at her bakery on Friday. She promised herself several times she would not even think about getting romantically involved with anyone until she was established with her business, but something about that woman in black pumps, dark clothes and round glasses sparked a special interest inside of her that she's never had with any of her few casual booty call relationships. Katya is intriguing, mysterious and extremely, extremely beautiful. Trixie wonders how she didn't drown into those piercing blue eyes of hers. There is only one small detail holding her back from flirting with the red lipped woman; she saw a ring. And not just any ring, a wedding band on her left hand. Of course a gorgeous woman like that is married, there is no way in the world someone that gorgeous would not be taken, and it breaks Trixie's heart a bit. And either way, Trixie has no idea if Katya even likes women, so it's not like she can go out of her way to actively flirt with her.

But that doesn't stop Trixie from daydreaming about the woman in the most teenage crush way possible.

"Trix, hey!" Pearl, Trixie's young cousin and also her employee snaps her out of her fairytale.

"Huh?"

"I asked how many ounces of flour I need to use on this."

"Um, there is a guide I put on the kitchen walls with instructions that have the exact measures you need, that'll tell you better than I will, off the top of my head."

"Alright, thanks!" Pearl turns to go back to the kitchen but then walks right back to where Trixie is daydreaming by the cash. "What is up with you today? You're never this distracted."

"I'm just, um...I didn't get good sleep last night.  I'm a little tired."

"Trix, don't bullshit me. What's going on?"

"Hey, watch your language!" Pearl rolls her eyes at her. "It's nothing, really, go back to the donuts!"

"I bet you have a crush on someone." Damn 17 year old girls and their psychic powers.

"Yeah, kinda. It's no big deal, I only saw her once and it was really fast. She's just beautiful and I'm a little shaken because I am hopelessly gay, that's all."

"What's her name?" Pearl leans against the wall behind the cash, extremely invested in her cousin's love life.

"Katya." Trixie blushes when she says her name out loud. "She is just a customer that had some coffee and a cinnamon roll last week."

"Oh, was it Friday? Cause that's when I'm not here, so..."

"Yeah, it was just me and her in here. I swear to God, Peal, she is so beautiful I have no idea how I was able to act normal. I've never seen a woman like that in my whole life." Trixie sounds frustrated.

"But?" Pearl notices something's wrong.

Trixie sighs. "She's married."

"Oh, shit..."

"I know. I'm so lucky." she says sarcastically, leaning against the cash register.

"But was she flirting with you, or something?"

"No. I mean, I don't know. I don't think so. There was something going on there but I don't know what exactly. Either way, I'm not that girl. I'm not gonna get all in love with a married woman just to have my heart broken when I'm inevitably faced with the harsh reality that I'm the other woman and that's all I'll ever be."

"Hi!" Trixie freezes when she hears a familiar voice behind her. She wants to look at her, refresh her memory of that modern goddess she was just talking about, but more than that, she wants a hole to open beneath her and suck her into the ground with how embarrassed she is.

But maybe Katya didn't even hear her. Maybe it didn't even cross her mind that Trixie could be talking about her, after all, they've only met once. Yeah, Trixie is definitely overthinking all of this. She slowly turns around to finally look at her again and is caught by surprise when she sees that Katya isn't alone.

"Oh hey there! Good to see you again!" Trixie is really good at pretending she wasn't just talking about the woman standing right in front of her.

"This is my daughter, Maddie." Katya looks at the little blonde girl beside her, holding her hand.

"Hello Maddie, it's nice to meet you! I'm Trixie!" Luckily, Trixie loves kids and has always been great with them, that way she can hide how startled she is at the fact that Katya is not only married, but has a child too.

"You look like my barbies." the little girl says, smiling. Trixie blushes, shy and happy with the sweet compliment.

"Well, thank you so much! I do love pink a lot, as you can see."

"Me too! My mom only likes red and dark colours, but I love pink! It's my favourite colour!" Katya rolls her eyes while smiling at Maddie.

"You have very good taste." Trixie high fives the girl, who is clearly starstruck by her pink figure and her little pink heaven.

"She begged me to bring her here when I told her about this place, now you know why." Katya says to Trixie, smiling.

"I want the strawberry cupcake and two strawberry macarons!" Maddie says enthusiastically.

"I'm gonna guess you like strawberry, huh?" Trixie says, making the girl and her mother giggle.

"Just a little bit." Katya jokes.

"And what can I get for you?" Trixie suddenly feels like she's been punched in the stomach when she is finally talking directly to Katya. She is even more beautiful than she remembers, her above the shoulder straight blonde hair and perfectly trimmed bangs right above her glasses looks even shinier in the morning light.

"I'm gonna have a slice of the red velvet cake today. And black coffee. Oh, and also some water for this little girl, she gets thirsty when she eats anything sweet." Katya says, barely taking her eyes off of Trixie's.

"I do!" Maddie says.

"Perfect!" Trixie thinks she has her usual customer service voice when she says it, but she is nearly whispering and slightly distracted by Katya's blue eyes. "Um, you two can sit wherever you feel like, I'll bring everything to your table in a second."

"Thank you so much!" Katya says, smiling. Her cheeks are slightly flushed.

"Thank you Trixie!" Maddie says, making both her and Katya giggle at her sweetness. "Mom, she is so pretty!" she says after they sit down.

"She is, right?" Katya sighs after agreeing with her daughter.

"Yeah. You should be with her, she's better than dad."

"Madison! What are you talking about?" Katya is startled at her daughter's bold affirmation.

"There is a boy in my class that has two moms! I think that's really cool. Dad is too boring, you should be with a girl."

"Maddie, don't talk about your father like that." Katya tries to hide the fact that she agrees with her child.

"But it is the truth, though."

Katya has a hard time disagreeing with Maddie. She would love to leave Harry and be with someone like Trixie, for example. That would be ideal. But she also doesn't wanna reinforce Maddie's negative feelings towards her dad, or talk poorly about him to her. "Ok, that's enough of that now, baby. No more, ok?"

"Alright..." Maddie says, distracted with the roses on the center of the table.

"Here you go ladies! Strawberry cupcake and macarons for Maddie and red velvet cake and black coffee for Katya! Oh, and your water bottle." Trixie says, delicately and neatly placing every item on the table.

"Yay, thank you!" Maddie says.

"Thank you so much, Trixie!" Katya discreetly hands Trixie a 20$ tip, which she tries to refuse but Katya doesn't take the bill back.

"Well, enjoy!" Trixie says and mouths a 'thank you' to Katya before walking back to the kitchen.

"If you were dating Trixie we would eat cupcakes every day..." Maddie mumbles.

"Maddie, what did I tell you?"

"I know, I know...I'm just saying."

The mother and daughter eat their incredibly delicious treats, and Maddie makes sure to be very vocal about how much she loves everything. Trixie giggles in the kitchen when she hears the girl being happy and loud. She wonders if Katya is also like that when she is among friends.

"So, was that her?" Pearl asks.

"Yep." Trixie blushes with embarrassment when she remembers Katya walking in while she was going off about not wanting to be with a married woman.

"Yikes. Did she notice you were talking about her?"

"I don't think so. We barely even know each other, I don't think she would assume I was talking about her."

"She really is gorgeous, by the way. I can see why you fell in love with her."

"I've seen the woman twice, Pearl. I'm not in love with her, I just find her attractive."

"Yeah, right."

Trixie hears the bell ringing. "You get back to work or I'll tell your mom you're smoking weed in my kitchen."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me!" Trixie says right before leaving the kitchen. Katya is standing alone by the cash while Maddie waits for her at the table. "So, are you also a red velvet cake connoisseur?" she asks Katya and it comes out flirtier than she intended.

"Actually, I am! And I can confidently say that yours is still the best one I've ever had."

"I'm honoured! And did the little one enjoy her treats?"

"Oh, she is already begging me to come back here every day!" the women giggle.

"Well, you're always welcome here." Trixie blushes and smiles.

"Thank you so much! You know...she is going through a lot right now at school, with bullies and stuff, so thank you for helping me make my little girl happy today."

Trixie sighs at the unexpected earnest moment. "Oh, I'm happy I could help. She seems like a really sweet kid, it's so sad that she's getting bullied..."

"She really is. My heart breaks every time she mentions it, but I'm gonna talk to her principal about it today."

"That's great! So...is it just the two of you?" Trixie asks even though she already knows the answer.

"No..." Katya sighs. "I'm still married to her father, and...let's just say he's not the most emotionally available person, if you know what I mean. Ugh, I'm so sorry, we barely know each other and I'm ranting to you like that..."

"No, don't apologize, please! No worries at all. You seem like you could use someone to talk to." Trixie takes a risk and tries to take that step closer to Katya. There is nothing wrong with being friendly, after all.

"Yeah, I do..." Katya sighs once again and her face holds a slightly sad look.

"Would you maybe want to hang out sometime? I don't wanna impose anything, I know you don't really know me but I'm just suggesting, you know, in case you feel like you..."

"I'd love to." Katya's expression quickly changes to a happier one. "I haven't gone out with a friend in a very long time, because of my job, and my kid, but...that would be really nice." she smiles at Trixie who smiles right back. "Can I have your number?"

"Of course!" Trixie tries to pretend her hands aren't extremely shaky when she grabs Katya's phone to type in her number. Katya has her number. The fact that this is actually happening drives her insane, but she keeps it cool and reminds herself that she is a married woman and her kid is standing right there. This is a friendship.

"Awesome! I'll text you soon!" Katya saves the contact and puts her phone back in her Prada bag.

She pays for everything and leaves another generous tip for Trixie to give to Pearl. Maddie says her goodbyes and tells Trixie she will tell all of her friends from school about her beautiful bakery, which makes the woman smile for the rest of the day.

Trixie doesn't get a text from Katya until two days after the last time they saw each other, when Trixie decides to close the bakery early to go see her parents. She was starting to make up numerous reasons why she hadn't gotten the text; that Katya had regretted agreeing to go out with her, or that she never really liked her and was just being polite (which sounds insane, she thinks, but doesn't completely discard the possibility), and all of those fade when her phone lights up on a Wednesday afternoon.

UNKNOWN NUMBER

Hey, it's Katya! The cinnamon roll connoisseur hahaha. I'm sorry I didn't text you sooner, I have been kinda busy lately and totally forgot about it! I hope you are still down to go out soon?

Trixie smiles like a teenager at the text and immediately saves the number and texts back.

TRIXIE

No worries at all!! And yes, I'm still absolutely down to go out! The bakery is closed on Sundays, if that's a good day for you!

Trixie barely puts her phone down after texting and gets a reply.

KATYA

Sunday's perfect. You can pick the place, I'm down for anything, really

Trixie needs to keep reminding herself that this isn't a date, because her entire body is reacting like it is, especially her silly smile.

TRIXIE

Centennial park at 11am? i'll bring some treats and we can sit at one of the picnic tables

KATYA

perfect!

"Hey, what's making you smile at your phone like that, huh? Got a girlfriend?" Trixie's mother, Lisa, says.

"What? No! I just saw a funny meme..."

"On your text messages?" Lisa signals to the open conversation on Trixie's phone, which she immediately locks.

"Mom, stop being so nosy, for God's sake."

"I can't help it, dear! I'm your mother, I wanna know everything about your life."

"I'm 28, mom. Calm down."

"So, what's her name?" Lisa asks. She knows her daughter better than anyone.

"There's no one..."

"Beatrice."

"Oh my God, ok. I'm gonna tell you but you need to promise me you will not bring this up to dad."

"But why not?"

"Just...promise me?"

"Alright, alright! What's going on?"

Trixie looks around to make sure her father isn't nearby. "Okay, so, I just need you to know a couple of things first. One is that I only saw this woman twice. I do have a bit of a crush on her but it's platonic, and that's because...she is married."

"Married?!" Lisa exclames.

"Shhh, mom!"

"Sorry!" she whispers. "A married woman, Trixie?"

"Mom, there is nothing happening! Like I said, I've only met her twice, I just think she is beautiful and that's about it. She was just texting me cause...um..."

"Trixie, don't tell me you're going out with this woman."

"Not on a date, I'm not..."

"Trixie, baby, this is not gonna end well, I know you! You're gonna catch feelings for her and then it'll just break your heart!"

"We're just going out as friends, it's not like that. She's quite unhappy, I think. Her daughter is getting bullied and..."

"She has a kid?!"

"Mom, keep it down!" Trixie whisper screams.

"Sorry, sorry...A married woman with a kid? Really, Beatrice? There aren't enough single women in this city for you?"

"Mom, I'm not trying to flirt with her. I'm not doing anything. We're just becoming friends and, sure, I think she is beautiful, but that's all!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." No she isn't. Trixie doesn't have feelings for Katya yet, but she knows that her little crush has a great heartbreak potential, and she is ignoring the risk for the sake of being around Katya, talking to her, learning more about that fantastic woman.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Trix."

"I won't! I'm fine, really. It's not that big of a deal, I promise you."

"Okay. But if you need a shoulder to cry on, mama's always here, darling." Lisa puts her arm around her daughter, who laughs and jokingly shoves it away. "Let's go have some tea outside, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

Tea time has always been a tradition within Trixie's family, for she's an adopted child of very British parents (hence why her accent is a little messy). Lisa and Ken own a chain of fancy restaurants around town and also helped Trixie open her bakery. She worked for them for many years while she studied baking and everything, then saved up enough to buy the place she turned into her pink bakery and also the apartment above, that became her home. Her parents helped her settle until she was stable enough to keep going on her own, and now business is doing well so far. Trixie doesn't particularly like the idea of depending on her rich parents, especially now that she is approaching 30, but she appreciates her privilege and their endless efforts to help her succeed. As long as she visits them often for a nice cup of tea, they will always be her biggest supporters and best friends.

"Trixie, come here love!" Ken, her father, calls. He is sitting on a cushioned wooden love seat at their large back porch.

"Hey, dad! How's it going?" she says sitting next to her father, who hugs her then.

"I'm alright, just the same old stuff. The restaurant, the house, your mother..."

"What about me?" Lisa says as she sits near them on one of the chairs that matches the love seat.

"He just called you old." Trixie says and giggles.

"Well, if I'm old he is Methuselah himself." Lisa giggles while mixing her tea with a delicate golden spoon.

"She has a point." Trixie turns to her dad, who is giggling.

"And how's the bakery, darling?" Ken asks.

"It's not doing so bad, actually! I've been having customers every day since opening, nothing but good reviews so far. It's been nice."

"Oh, that's lovely! I'm so proud of you, Tris." Ken has always had his own little nickname for Trixie.

"Thanks dad. I honestly couldn't have done this without you and mom."

"Don't discredit yourself, though, Trixie. You're a very hardworking woman. We really are very proud of you." Lisa says, smiling at her daughter.

"You guys are gonna make me cry at tea time!" Trixie says, taking a sip of her tea that had been sitting in the coffee table before her for a few minutes.

Trixie goes upstairs to her childhood bedroom after the afternoon tea. She has always loved living here, in this beautiful, bright and shamelessly decorated in pink and florals house. She definitely got her taste from her mother, it was Lisa's idea to put roses as the center pieces on the tables at The Pink Bakery. Ken just wanted his wife and daughter to be happy, that makes him happy. Trixie can't believe sometimes how lucky she is for having such amazingly loving parents, even if they're not blood related. Of course, being depressed is a rocky road on its own, but having their support has always made it tolerable. Trixie sits on her bed, that at this point belongs entirely to her mother's two pomeranian dogs, and takes a deep breath. She has really lucked out a lot in this life, aside from being mentally ill, and hopes her luck is still with her next time she sees Katya. Trixie is aware that she should tap out of this before she catches feelings, which is the inevitable path if she keeps seeing Katya, but something tells her that she needs her. She knows they barely know each other at all, but Trixie has this newfound urge to be there for the woman, like she can sense that there is something wrong. Or maybe she's just trying to justify her interest in a married woman.

Both options are correct.

Chapter Text

Katya has to hold herself back from going to the bakery on the days that precede her friendly date with Trixie. Regardless of how the woman makes her heart jump, Katya can still appreciate the potential friendship that could come out of this. There aren't many women at the university where Katya works, unfortunately. It's a very expensive, very traditional place that has the infamous habit of hiring almost exclusively men, her and a few others being rare exceptions. She got the job as soon as they read 'Doncaster' after her first name, and also after a good recommendation from her husband. She feels like a fraud sometimes because of it, and the only reason she doesn't quit is because she would never get paid this well in any other state universities, and the thought of depending on Harry in any way terrifies her more than anything. She knows her husband is one step away from being abusive, but she has been good at spotting the harmful patterns and hitting his brakes, most times. The power dynamics between them was always something that bothered her, but she was too in love and too young to know that wasn't healthy. And now that she is a grown, independent woman, Harry doesn't care about her the way he used to. Part of her wishes he would be that fun, caring and loving man again, but the other part is more than ready to call it quits. 16 years together is a long time, so it is not a simple decision to make, especially when there is a child in the middle of it all.

"Don't forget we got golf on Sunday, Katya. Did you call your mother already to see if she can stay with Madison?" Harry asks while he puts his belt and blazer on.

"Uh, yeah, about that. I don't think I'm coming with you to the golf club this Sunday." she says, hating how much she fears his reaction.

"Why not?" His tone is dry and slightly over it.

"I'm going out with a friend. We're just going over to Centennial Park to chat and hang out. I haven't done this in forever, so I thought it'd be nice." Katya closes her briefcase and follows her husband down the dark wood stairs into their living room, walking towards the garage.

"What friend is this?"

"We met recently, she's the owner of that bakery I told you about..."

"You didn't tell me about any bakery." Katya swears his voice is giving her a stress headache. The couple enters his car.

"Yes I did, it's the one I took Maddie to two days ago."

"I don't recall that." he drives away, still sounding disinterested.

"Anyway...my mom said she will watch Maddie, so I'll drop her off there and then I'll go to the park."

"So you're not coming with me to the golf club?"

"No, not this time."

"Very considerate of you, Katya. You're always in my ear about how we don't do fun stuff together anymore, and then when we have something fun to do with our friends you just tap out. I seriously don't understand you sometimes." Harry sounds angrier now.

"Well, these aren't my friends, Harry, they're your friends! I barely know these people and..."

"Maybe if you came with me you could get to know them, but you prefer to go hang out with this random woman you barely know. It's fine, I see how it is."

"Harry, this is not a big deal. Why can't I do something I want, for once? I'm always coming with you to these golf games, these parties and every fucking thing you want to go to, but I can't have one single day off to myself? Are you fucking serious right now?"

"God, you're such a child." He mumbles.

"Oh, I'm a child? Are you really pulling that shit with me right now, Harry?"

"You're stressing me out, Katya, I'm driving."

"You're the one who started it..."

"Shut up!" he yells at her, the closed windows of the car making it ten times louder in her ears.

Neither of them dare to say a single word anymore until they arrive at the university. Katya spends the whole rest of the ride trying not to cry. She deeply regrets riding with him, for now she'll have to wait to go home with him as well. They don't acknowledge each other anymore, going their own ways towards their respective classrooms. Katya's first class of the day goes surprisingly smooth, and she is able to relax and take her mind off of the fight she had with her husband earlier. One of her few female students thanks her at the end of the class for being such a good professor and that alone changes her mood completely. This is why she does what she does.

The professors' cafeteria is packed with old men in suits discussing politics, sports and pornography. Katya hates it, but there isn't anywhere she can go to have lunch without her car, so she settles for the lion's den today.

"Katya, darling, come sit with us!" Harry says as if nothing had happened this morning. Katya is left with no choice but to sit at the table with him and three other men in their 50's. "I was just telling them that you'll not be joining us for golf this weekend."

"Yeah, come on sweetie, it's going to be fun!" Professor Hawk, a known face for Katya, says.

"I would love to, but I actually have other plans this Sunday." she tries to be as polite and casual as she can.

"If you don't go, your husband here is the one who's gonna have other plans, if you know what I mean." another professor says, making all of the other men, including Harry, laugh loudly. Katya's nails dig deep into the skin of her palm and she is pretty sure it's bleeding.

"Or maybe that's what her plans are too." Hawk says, and they make an echo of "Wooow"s as if they were teenagers in a classroom instead of 50 year old men.

Katya opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to think of what to say without telling them to go fuck themselves, but all the roads will lead her there, so she just stays silent, looking down.

"They're just joking, darling." Harry says, still laughing. He puts a hand on her shoulder and she immediately gives him a dirty look.

"I'm gonna go grab me some food." she lies, mumbling, then gets up and leaves the cafeteria. She'd rather be hungry all day then stay another second hearing those men talk.

On the ride home, Harry tries to call her out on the way she behaved at lunch, but she actively ignores him. She doesn't have the energy to deal with any man's bullshit anymore today. They pick Maddie up from her grandmother's house and go home, not saying a single word. Katya can't usually keep up with her daughter going off about her day, but the sweet sound of her kid's high pitched voice is bringing her an incredible sense of peace right now. She feels immensely grateful to have her.

At home, Katya is in her room undressing, ready to take a hot shower and watch some TV. She feels hands on her waist coming from behind her, when she is standing there wearing nothing but underwear. Harry holds her and kisses her cheek and neck, and Katya let's him for a few seconds, appreciating the touch she has been missing, but her mind suddenly goes back to him yelling at her to shut up and she takes a few steps away from him.

"Are you serious right now?" she asks.

"I'm trying to love you. If that's what you mean, I am very serious."

"Harry, you yelled at me today and didn't even apologize!"

"I was driving and you kept talking back at me..."

"Because you were being an asshole to me."

"I'm sorry, ok? Is that what you want me to say? I don't care, I'll say it, I'm sorry!" he walks towards her and once again puts his hands around her slim waist, this time facing her. Katya knows that is a terrible apology, but she's too tired to keep arguing, so she just leans her head against his chest and closes her eyes. Harry runs his hands up and down her back, something he hasn't done in a very long time, and that hits Katya right on her weak spot. She is very touch deprived, and that just makes her melt in her husband's arms and believe for a split second that he is changing.

"I need to go shower, baby, I'm exhausted." She says softly, looking up at him.

"Okay, darling." Harry gives her a small kiss and Katya immediately misses his lips when he pulls away. She hates how easily she falls for him when he gives her any sort of attention. "Hey, can you promise me one thing?" he says tenderly, his voice deeper and calmer.

"Yeah?"

"Will you think about Sunday? About going with me to the golf game? I just want you to be there with me." His deep and soft voice goes straight through Katya's heart and melts it right away.

"Yeah, I'll think about it." She smiles at him and he does the same.

"I love you, Katya."

"I love you too." She doesn't really believe herself when she says it, but it's muscle memory at this point.

Harry is husband of the year for the next days up until Sunday. He holds her hand everywhere, gives her unexpected kisses, brings home small presents he knows she'll love, just like he used to when they first started dating. Katya can feel it in her bones that he is not doing all of that out of love or care for her, but to get something in return. She feels it and she knows she's right, but the treatment is so nice and longed for that she allows herself to be oblivious of his intentions. On Sunday, Katya is all dressed up in a lovely red mid-length summer dress, something she rarely wears these days, and feels like she's been punched in the stomach when she gets a text from Trixie.

TRIXIE

I'm almost ready to go! Meet you by the picnic tables?

Katya holds her phone in her hands and doesn't know what to say. She hasn't fully made up her mind about what she's doing, for Harry is sure she is coming with him to the golf game, but she hasn't said anything to Trixie either. Thinking about the occasions alone, it's easy to decide which one is the most pleasant. She would much rather sit on a beautiful park with a beautiful woman, talk, get to know her and eat some of her delicious baked goods. That is a situation that would only get better if she could also kiss the beautiful Trixie, but she is content with the friendly date. Golf, however, is something she has never enjoyed. Not just the sport, but the company of Harry's pretentious rich friends who have nothing nice to say about anyone or anything. But it'll make her husband happy, and she likes it when he's happy, because that means she gets treated nicely.

Anxiety and heartache build up inside her the moment she makes a decision. She knows she will regret it, but hopes it doesn't do as much harm as she thinks it might.

Chapter Text

Someone once wisely said that expectations are just premeditated resentment. Trixie looks at the basket full of mini cinnamon rolls and then back at her phone and feels the very first slap in the face from reality.

KATYA

Hey, Trixie. I am SO sorry, but I completely forgot I already had plans for today, my husband just reminded me. I was really looking forward for today :( hopefully we can reschedule? Once again, I'm so sorry for canceling our plans on such a short notice. I will make it up to you!

Trixie feels stupid for crying over this. She doesn't even know Katya that well and also, it's not like she stood her up, at least she let her know beforehand. Well, if only Trixie hadn't spent the entire day before making those stupid mini cinnamon rolls for Katya. She hears her mother's voice in her head telling her that getting closer to Katya is a bad idea, and taking by her reaction to today's minor disappointment, she begins to think that perhaps her mother is right.

TRIXIE

It's alright! I'll see you around.

She wants to send something else so it doesn't seem like she's genuinely upset, which she is, but Katya doesn't need to know that. She types and erases several times and is thankfully interrupted by her father calling her.

"Hey dad, what's up?"

"Tris, are you still going out with your friend today?"

"Uh, not really. She cancelled last minute. Why?"

"Oh, cause your mother and I are going over to the golf club today, and I wanted to see if you wanted to come with us."

Saved by the bell. Now Trixie doesn't have to stay home drowning in tears and cinnamon rolls like an idiot. "Yes! I'm all dressed up and everything already since I was supposed to go out, so..."

"Perfect, we will be there to pick you up in ten."

"Cool! Thanks for inviting me, dad."

"Of course! We always want you around, Tris."

She waits for them in front of her pink building, bringing the basket of cinnamon rolls so they don't go to waste. Soon enough, she sees her father's car turn around the corner and gets in as soon as he stops in front of her.

"Hello, love!" Lisa says from the passenger side.

"Hey mom, hi dad!"

"Oh, this basket smells good, what is it?" Lisa asks.

"Just a few mini cinnamon rolls I made last night. I was going to share them with my friend, but since that's not happening I thought I might as well bring them to share with you guys and whoever else wants them."

"Oh, Tris, you're the sweetest girl ever." Ken says, smiling.

"I try." Trixie replies.

They get to the fancy golf club and are greeted by every employee they see. Ken and Lisa have been going there since before Trixie was born, and she has always thought it was pretty boring, especially during her childhood. She still thinks it is, but she'd rather be bored in this beautiful place under blues skies than at home overthinking the whole Katya situation. The three of them sit at a round patio table and Ken tries to decide which golf Club he'll use first. They are still waiting for two other old friends of theirs that will join them today, and there are other tables around with other groups of rich old people. Trixie soaks up the sunlight in her bubblegum pink dress and lets her long blonde hair loose, flowing with the warm spring breeze. She has her eyes closed, but for the split second that she opens them and looks to her right, she sees someone familiar, that prompts her to quickly get up from her chair.

"Mom." She says discreetly, poking her mother's arm.

"Hm?" Lisa turns to her, also distracted by the sun.

"She's here."

"Who's here?"

"The woman I told you about."

"Oh, your crush?"

"Shhhh, mom! But...yeah."

"Didn't she just cancel your plans?"

"Yeah, she only said she had other plans, I didn't know she was gonna be here!"

"Well, go talk to her!"

"What? No, that's too humiliating."

"No it's not! It's actually a great coincidence that you two are in the same place."

"Mom, I'm not gonna do anything, I'm just gonna sit here with you, dad and the Wilson's when they get here and chill."

"I don't think you have much of a choice now."

"What are you talking about?"

"She's walking over here."

Trixie turns around and Katya shyly waves at her. Great, now she has to look at her beautiful face after crying about her. She walks towards Katya and meets her halfway.

"Well, that's a bit awkward, right? But what a great coincidence to see you here!" Katya says, smiling. Trixie is blown away by Katya in a pretty red sundress instead of her usual dress pants and button ups. She still has her glasses on, but her makeup is a little lighter and her lips are red as usual.

"Yeah, my parents invited me, they're members here." Trixie mentally yells at herself for sounding so bummed.

"Listen, um...I'm so sorry about canceling our plans, I...my husband had asked me to come with him a while ago and I forgot I agreed to it, and...I feel like an asshole." Katya looks extremely worried.

"What? No! You're not an asshole! It happens, you know? It's fine." Trixie smiles at her.

"Well, since we ended up meeting anyway...do you wanna go for a walk around here? Unless you're playing..."

"Oh, no, I hate golf. I just came here so I wouldn't sit in my apartment alone all day." Trixie mentally yells at herself again. "Let's go for a walk!" The women walk away from where the players are, towards a big beautiful garden. "So, what do you do?"

"I'm a law school professor. So is my husband, that's kind of how we met."

"You two studied together?"

"Uh..." Katya is unsure if she should say that she was sleeping with her 34 year old professor when she was only 19, and that he also happens to be her husband now. "Not really, but we did meet in college."

"Is it hard? To be a college professor?" They walk through a path that's surrounded by wildflowers of all colours.

"Sometimes. Most times. Ninety percent of the faculty where I work are men, so it can be a very...sexist environment."

"I can only imagine, oh my God."

"I love the classroom, though. It makes me happy, even when I'm only teaching pretentious rich boys. It's just my passion, like you with your bakery, I assume." they sit on a lovely wooden bench amongst the many flowers.

"Oh, definitely. I grew up in restaurants, because my parents own a chain in town, and the desserts specifically have always caught my attention. My mom made me her dessert taste tester when I was ten." they both laugh. "The poor woman, I gave her such a hard time..."

"Speaking of...you're not from here, are you? Your accent..."

"Oh, I get that a lot. I have a weird accent because my parents are british and they adopted me here in the states when I was a baby, so hearing them talk at home and then going to school really fucked up my accent." Trixie laughs. Her accent is a weird mix of british and american, and now that Katya knows why, it sounds even funnier.

"Oh my God, that makes so much sense! Maddie used to have a bit of a mixed accent like yours, because her father is british too, but now it's just all american."

"Oh yeah, how is she doing?"

"She's doing great! She won't stop talking about how she wants to have the best strawberry cupcake in the world again." Trixie smiles widely at the information. "Also, I think that the girls that were bullying her laid off of her for now, so talking to the principal actually worked! She's with my mother right now, Harry doesn't really like to bring her here, although I think she would love to play mini golf with the other kids here." Katya seems frustrated when she speaks.

"Harry is your..."

"My husband, yeah. He's...We...it's a lot. Trust me, I would much rather be at Centennial Park with you right now than here. His friends...they're so much older than me, and we don't really get along..."

"Then why did you come?" Trixie asks, genuinely.

Katya blushes, looking slightly embarrassed. "I guess I just wanted to make him happy. Even though he doesn't make me happy." Katya closes her eyes shut, beating herself up for speaking too much. "Anyway, I'm not gonna..."

"If you feel like you need to talk, don't hold yourself back, Katya. I know I'm nearly a stranger to you, but I've been told I'm a really good listener." Trixie smiles at her and Katya's heart melts.

Katya can't believe she's met such a sweet girl like Trixie. Oh, how she wishes she could kiss her right now. "I don't really think of you as a stranger to be honest." she smiles earnestly at Trixie. "Anyway, um, he doesn't really give me much attention these days, unless he wants something. And I'm lonely, you know? We've been together for sixteen years, basically my whole adult life so far..."

"Wait, you look really young, though. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I turn 35 next month. I started seeing Harry when I was 19."

"Oh, wow. That's a long time." Trixie suddenly feels defeated, even though she shouldn't. She shouldn't feel so attracted to Katya. Even in this perfect moment in this beautiful garden, it's not like Trixie has ever had a shot with her. She would do anything for this to be a date.

"Yeah, it is...and..." Katya takes a deep breath to stop herself from crying. "He's cheating on me."

"Wait, what?" Trixie is angry but keeps herself together. How could anyone ever cheat on a woman like that? A beautiful, sweet, smart woman. This man must be the greatest of assholes.

"He's a bad liar, and also doesn't put that much effort into hiding it. And the worst part is...his mistress is one of his students." Katya wipes away a couple of tears. "And I know that because...so was I."

Trixie did not see that coming. The entire time Katya was talking about the man, she pictured a guy in his mid 30's, not a man that probably looks like her father.

"So that means..."

Katya has thrown her embarrassment out the window at this point. She hasn't opened up to anyone in so long, especially about her marriage, so it's hard to keep anything in when the sweetest person in the world offers you a safe space to do so. "He cheated on his first wife with me when I was nineteen. He was thirty four at the time and also my professor in law school. All of the girls were so in love with him and tried everything to be his lover, but he was just...he fell in love with me. And so did I, with him. We got married soon after I graduated and I had Maddie the next year. He, um...he already had another kid. A boy, he's nineteen now. He doesn't like Maddie that much, which breaks my heart because she was really happy when she found out she had an older half brother. So, anyway, that is...my life."

Trixie notices that Katya doesn't realize how problematic the beginning of her relationship with her husband is, but she doesn't have the heart or any kind of friendship with her yet to tell her. "Wow, that's..."

"It's a lot, I know."

"And how are you doing right now? Like, are you still in love with him?" Trixie knows it's a bold question, but she can't help it.

"Honestly? I don't know. It's hard to tell after so long with a person, but I definitely don't feel the same way I used to a few years ago." Trixie just nods, comprehensively. "But enough about me, I feel like I've been using you as a therapist or something. Tell me about you and your pink things." Katya smiles at her. Trixie blushes.

"My pink things?" Trixie laughs. "Well, I definitely got that from my mom. If you see my parents house you'll understand what I mean, it's the ultimate pink kingdom in there, and I've always loved it so much. My dad doesn't care, as long as she's happy, he's happy."

"Sounds like your parents are pretty amazing people."

"Oh, they are. They're my best friends. I know it sounds childish to say that, I'm twenty eight years old, but it's ultimately the truth. I'm really lucky to be their daughter, literally, actually, since they picked me."

"That is so nice, Trixie. I have a pretty good relationship with my parents too, they're very serious Russian people, but they're surprisingly sweet and they love Maddie so much. They don't like that I'm married to someone fifteen years older than me, but at this point they just don't care anymore."

"Oh, you're Russian? I should've known, your name..."

"My sister and I were born here in America, but much like your parents, mine are also immigrants..." Katya interrupts herself, her facial expression instantly changing to a frightened one. Trixie turns around and sees a tall, handsome man with silver hair the coldest look in his blue eyes.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, Katya." Harry says, not acknowledging Trixie's presence.

"I'm sorry, I got distracted, I ran into..."

"Do you know how embarrassing it is to have people ask me over and over where you are and having to tell them I don't fucking know?"

"I'm sorry..."

"I swear to God, you're like a child that just wanders off and I have to keep chasing. Let's go back. Now." He turns around and walks away, not even waiting for her.

Katya slowly gets up from the bench, looking down. It infuriates Trixie to see that gorgeous, independent-looking woman feel so little next to that man who should've never gotten close to her in the first place.

"Trixie, I'm sorry, I have to go back. I'll talk to you soon?" Katya's voice is low, embarrassed, weak.

"Yeah, of course! Don't worry about me. Are...are you ok?" Trixie asks tenderly. Katya looks her in the eyes.

"Yeah. I have to be." she turns around and walks away, walking fast so she doesn't piss off her husband even more.

Trixie feels the sudden urge to tell that man to fuck off and leave her alone, to take Katya home and shower her with love. No. She can't go there. Katya is clearly emotionally fragile and it would be wrong to take advantage of that in any way. She should just stay in her lane and let Katya come to her, and when she does, Trixie's only job is to be a good friend, because that's ultimately all Katya needs right now.

Back at the table, Trixie shares with her mother what happened while her father is way too far into the course to even see them. She briefly looks over to where Katya is sitting in clear discomfort, surrounded by people over 50, mostly men, trying to pull of some fake smiles. It's heartbreaking, at the least.

"Trixie, baby, it's not your job to save everyone. You're also human, you also have your own issues." Lisa says, holding her daughter's hand.

"I know, I know...I'm just... I'm drawn to her in a way I can't explain to you. I look at her and I just wanna be around her. Not even romantically, because that's not a possibility, but...I don't know, I think I just care about her."

"Darling, be careful with your heart first. You have always been like this, ever since you were little. You think you're responsible for other people's happiness and well-being and you end up forgetting about your own. And I'm not saying that's a flaw, it's actually very honourable, but you need to look after yourself, baby."

Trixie has tears threatening to leave her eyes. "Yeah, I know. You're right. I just can't help it sometimes." she looks over at Katya again and for a moment, they lock eyes. Katya smiles at her, the first and only sincere smile Trixie has seen on her face the whole time she's been sitting there. She smiles back, then decides to text her.

TRIXIE

Did you know there is a special promotion at the bakery tomorrow? If you show up and give me a big smile you get a free anything-you-want.

KATYA

Oh, really? And how many people know about this?

TRIXIE

Just you.

Chapter Text

Harry's affair has been getting more and more noticeable, to the point where Katya is the one having to make up lies to hide it from Maddie. He has been weirder than ever after the golf club incident, ignoring Katya at times, kissing her and saying sweet things in between, it's hard for her to keep up. He doesn't try to have sex with her anymore, though. And frankly, Katya is glad. It's not that Harry isn't attractive anymore, if anything he is even hotter now that he is older, but Katya can't get herself to enjoy it with him anymore. She will go down on him whenever he asks her to, but that's about it. At this point, Katya doesn't know if her lack of sexual desire for her husband is due to his cheating or to the fact that every time she touches herself, she involuntarily pictures Trixie. The woman has her bewitched, there is not a single time where Katya is around her that she doesn't have to tell herself repeatedly that she cannot just kiss her. Trixie feels like a dream come true, the rainbow on a rainy day, a sweet cinnamon roll with coffee after a stressful day around bitter old men. Katya's in denial, she tells herself that she isn't falling fast for Trixie, but the more time they spend together, the more Katya's heart races at her presence. One day, she spent almost the whole night at the bakery with her after closing, losing track of time while talking about literally everything; from religious beliefs to their favorite pokémon. She had to tell Harry and Maddie that she was spending the night at her parents' house for her mother isn't feeling well, so she ended up having to show up there randomly at 4AM on a thursday. It nearly gave Katya's parents a heart attack, but she managed to justify it with some half-assed excuse. The other day, on a Sunday, Harry was, allegedly, spending the day at his friend's house playing poker and drinking, so Trixie took Katya and Maddie out for a picnic at the park, and it was the most perfect day. Maddie had the time of her life with all of the treats Trixie brought and Katya's heart was overflowing with joy and love while watching her daughter and Trixie get along so well. It almost looked like they were a family, and for a second, Katya was impossibly happy pretending it was true. When she couldn't see Trixie, she would text her all night, and they would, as usual, lose track of time and Katya would end up going to sleep at 5AM, because even through text, talking to Trixie made her feel so good, it transported her to another dimension where it was just the two of them and time wasn't real. Their bond got strong extremely fast and it was making Katya the happiest she's ever been but also the most terrified. The women have such different lives but are so similar, get along so well that it feels like they've known each other for years. They have to police themselves to not take that step further, though. It's easy to get lost in that much joy and blur the lines of their friendship, so they always have to keep that safe distance.

"Oh, hey there! I almost thought you weren't coming anymore!" Trixie says as Katya walks into the bakery. It's just the two of them in there.

"I'm so sorry, traffic was awful today. I would've texted but, you know, I was driving." Katya leans against the counter. Trixie is on the other side of it putting away the few baked goods that are left before she closes.

"Yeah, Fridays are like that. So, how was your day?"

"It was alright. I like Fridays because Harry doesn't have any classes so I don't really have to be around him all day. Although, he did call me to say he will be taking Maddie and his other son, Kevin, on a little getaway next weekend. May first. On my birthday."

"Wait, he didn't remember it was your birthday?" Trixie is fuming.

"Apparently not. And I guess I'm not invited either, because he doesn't want me to be around Kevin, because he doesn't like me either."

"Katya that sucks..."

"You know what though, it's fine. I'll just have lunch with my parents and call it a day."

"That's fair." Trixie turns around and hands Katya a bag full of treats. "For you and Maddie."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Those were going in the trash anyway, I can't serve them tomorrow, so might as well make you guys happy."

"What about you?" Katya can't believe how sweet Trixie is.

"I'm good! I eat that stuff all the time, I'm almost getting sick of it." She giggles.

"Well, I don't think I could ever get sick of your treats."

"That's good! Means you'll keep coming back here." Trixie walks around the counter and puts her white cardigan on over her baby pink button up shirt. The first four buttons are open, so Katya accidentally catches a glimpse of Trixie's cleavage and a little bit of her white lace bra, which makes her blush violently.

"The treats aren't the only reason I come here, though." Katya lets out. It didn't sound this flirty in her head.

"Oh, really?" Trixie blushes.

"Yeah, I like hanging out with you, dummy." Katya gently pinches Trixie's arm and turns around to leave before things get to a point where she can't go back. "So, I know literally everything about you but I don't think I've ever asked you where you live?"

"Upstairs, actually." Trixie says as they walk outside and she locks the door.

"You mean...above the bakery?"

"Yeah! I figured I might as well get the whole building and move here. It's pretty nice up there, bigger than it looks, do you wanna see?" Trixie says it casually.

"Sure!" Bad idea. Bad idea, Katya tells herself. Don't go into her apartment, you will do something you'll regret, she repeats to herself as she follows Trixie upstairs.

Trixie opens the door and Katya is faced with another pink heaven, this time, a home. The place smells like roses and sun dried laundry. Katya almost wants to lay on the big pink couch and fall asleep with how relaxing that place is. Everything is so organized and tastefully decorated that the excessive pink doesn't even come close to being overwhelming.

"So, this is my little place." Trixie says as she turns on the lights, giving her living room a warm and almost yellow-ish glow with the help of the sunset outside.

"Even if you hadn't told me you live here I would've guessed this is your place." Katya takes her pumps off not to scratch the smooth wooden floors and puts her briefcase and trench coat with them.

"Because it's a little bit pink?" Trixie giggles, so does Katya.

"Yeah, just a little bit!"

"You can have a sit if you want, do you want anything to drink? Some water, soda..."

"Water's good!" Katya mentally thanks Trixie for offering, because her mouth is insanely dry. Katya is just as nervous as when she was about to ask a girl to prom back in high school, and no matter what she tells herself, she can't fight the feeling.

"Here you go!" Trixie hands her a pink glass of water with a few heart shaped ice cubes.

"Thank y...Oh my God, this is the gayest glass of water ever." Katya lets out as if she's a teenager again and laughs, making Trixie laugh along.

"Well, then it's very much on brand for me!" Trixie almost immediately stops laughing and blushes, realizing she had just came out to Katya unintentionally. "I hope you don't find it weird that..."

"That you like women? Girl, I do too!" Katya smiles, almost relieved. Not that it changes anything for her, she doesn't plan on hitting on Trixie anyway. But it feels good to know that if she could, she would.

"Really? You're bi?" Trixie looks pleasantly surprised and doesn't do a very good job hiding it.

"Yeah! Although, I never really got to be with a woman cause, you know..."

"So you've never done anything, like..."

"I've done...stuff. But only in high school, and it wasn't that big of a deal, I don't think it even counts as sex. I've never had a girlfriend or anything." Trixie just nods. "Have you?"

"Kind of. Nothing too serious. I was always so focused on my career that I didn't get to put a lot of thought into dating, but I used to have some situationships every now and then, a friends with benefits thing kind of happened once but it was a disaster..." Trixie laughs at her own misfortune.

"Do you still want it, though? A relationship?" Katya mentally scolds herself for asking this question. Why does she care, anyway? She's married.

Trixie blushes. "I do...Now that everything is going well with the bakery I really feel like I'm ready to be with someone..." Trixie gets distracted by Katya's eyes looking in hers.

They stare at each other, almost in some sort of trance. Katya doesn't notice she and Trixie were so close together on the couch until they are only inches apart. She doesn't know if she will be able to stop herself if Trixie kisses her, for this is something she's longed for since the day they met. She thinks about Harry but her heart doesn't hurt. She feels slightly guilty, but ignores it. Katya doesn't move, she waits to see if Trixie will kiss her, but she doesn't dare making a move either, so they stay there, switching between looking in each other's eyes to looking at each other's lips. Nobody moves. The moment lingers and they still don't dare to take action. Eventually, Trixie closes her eyes and leans back slowly, and Katya sees how hard it is for her to do so.

"Being next to you is as good as it is very, very hard, Katya." Trixie says without thinking, unable to not address the elephant in the room anymore.

Katya takes a deep breath. "I feel the same way." Katya sounds frustrated, she takes off her glasses and buries her head in her hands. Trixie reciprocating her feelings is somehow worse than if she didn't. She is right there, and she wants her. But Trixie has too much of a guilty conscience and Katya cares too much about Trixie to put her through all of this while she's still married. "This sucks."

"Yeah..." Trixie takes a deep breath, uselessly holding back tears. "I don't wanna lose you, though."

Katya turns to face her and realizes the both of them are crying. It's wild how fast they caught feelings for each other, how well they get along and how hard it is for them to be together as lovers. It's like one of those soulmate things where it's the right person but wrong time.

"I don't wanna lose you either. You're the best part of all my days, Trixie. It's just so complicated, and...I don't want you to get hurt by my mess."

"Katya..." Trixie puts a hand on her shoulder.

"I care about you so much. And...fuck it, I'll say it, I wanna be with you. I don't wanna be with Harry, I'm not in love with him anymore. I haven't been for a very long time. But I can't..." Katya breaks down crying and Trixie holds her. She lets her.

"I wanna be with you too." she nearly whispers.

They hold each other for a while, in silence. They know they have to make some sort of decision; to face the adversities of adultery, or to say goodbye. Katya has been the other woman for long enough in her past that she knows how awful it is. And she doesn't want to put Trixie through that.

"I have to go." Katya whispers. "Please, don't ask me to stay. Because I won't be able to say no to you."

"Are you gonna ask me to wait? Because I can't say no to you either."

"I can't ask anything of you but forgiveness, Trixie. I don't wanna make a mess in your life and make the one in mine even bigger." Katya gets up from the couch and walks towards the door, putting her shoes and coat back on.

"Does that mean I won't see you again?" Trixie lets her tears run wild.

"I don't know. But it's probably for the best right now." Katya has her hand on the doorknob, when Trixie quickly walks towards her and gives her a tender kiss on her cheek, making tears fall even faster off Katya's eyes.

"Goodbye, Katya."

"Goodbye, Trixie." Katya tries to give Trixie her usual "bye" smile, but it doesn't come.

Katya turns around and walks away without looking back, because she knows if she does she will run right back into Trixie's arms, and she can't afford to do that right now. She drives home in tears, the only thought in her head being "I need to forget her" repeatedly. Harry is sitting in bed reading a book, and she immediately takes off all of her clothes when she enters their bedroom, straddling the man and kissing him the way she used to over ten years ago. He doesn't question her, he goes with it and enjoys it, and so they fuck, in a stupid attempt from Katya to forget Trixie, but it only makes it worse. Because it does feel really good, and for a few minutes Katya is actually enjoying herself, which comes as a shock to her, for she hasn't enjoyed sex with her husband for a very long time. By the time they're done, she can't help but picture Trixie alone in her pretty pink living room crying her eyes out, and the guilt that she thought she'd feel by being with Trixie, she feels by being with Harry. She feels like she betrayed Trixie, the sweet woman that just wanted to love her.

Katya turns around and sobs uncontrollably. Harry is confused and doesn't know what happened, and for once, he tries to comfort her, holding her, talking to her, asking what's wrong. But Katya can't say a single word about what's making her cry, so she just says she's not feeling well, emotionally. Which is the truth, ultimately.

"Did something happen at work today?" he asks.

"No...I'm just not having a good day, and you did make me feel really good, it's nothing with you, I'm just...I think I'm too tired."

"Come here." he pulls her close and she lays her head on his bare chest, guilt killing her at every breath she takes.

Katya cries herself to sleep, Trixie being the only thing on her mind and in her dreams.

Chapter Text

It takes Trixie's childhood best friend Jaymes and her cousin Pearl to get her to get up and go to work all week. The sad ending of something that never begun shattered Trixie more than it probably should've, her chronic depression aggravating all of the negative emotions. Turns out her career isn't the only thing that kept Trixie from dating. It's the heartbreak. She knew she couldn't handle a heartbreak, and even after all the warnings from the people around her, Trixie let herself fall for Katya almost immediately. She doesn't put on makeup to go to work all week, and that is a first for her. Trixie only leaves the house without makeup if it's an emergency, so the fact that it's been a daily thing raises concern amongst her friends.

"It's fine, Jaymes. I'm serious. I'll be fine." Trixie says, her voice dry and tired as she puts more donuts on display.

"Trixie, you've been going to the bathroom to cry every five seconds all week. You're clearly not ok."

"Yeah, it's stupid. I've only known her for like, what, a month? Maybe less? I'm just emotional, it's fine..."

"Trixie there is no rule when it comes to falling in love. Some people take months to fall in love, some take years, and some take a day, a week. You feel what you feel, you know? It's not stupid."

Trixie looks down for a few seconds. "I miss her." she immediately sobs.

"Hey, come here." Jaymes hugs her tightly. "It's ok. It's normal that you miss her, she used to come here every other day right?"

"Yeah...Every time she could she'd come over and we'd talk for hours while I worked, after...It was so nice..."

"I know, Trix."

"And I can't close the bakery because I have bills to pay, but I can't fucking work either because I can't stop fucking crying over someone I met a month ago."

"Ask your parents for help with the bills this month. They'll never say no to you..."

"No. I can't tell them anything about this. Especially my dad. My mom knows that I liked Katya, but I don't...I don't wanna tell them I'm temporarily closing my business because I'm heartbroken. It's stupid, I'm an adult. I need to suck it up and...get over it." Trixie gets up from her chair and goes into the kitchen, followed by Jaymes. "Pearl, can you work the cash and serving today? My face is all fucked, I can't let customers see me like this. I'll take over the kitchen."

"Are you sure?" Pearl asks, taking her gloves off and putting her hands on Trixie's shoulders.

"Yeah. If you don't mind it."

"I don't...I'm just worried about you."

"I'll be fine. We've got work to do." Trixie puts on a pair disposable gloves, her apron and starts preparing some eclairs.

"Hey, I gotta go back to the salon, are you sure you're ok?" Jaymes asks.

"Yeah. I will be..." Trixie focuses all of her attention on the baking, not allowing herself to think too deeply about anything.

On Saturday, she remembers it's Katya's birthday and how she's gonna spend it mostly by herself. Trixie doesn't open the bakery that day and spends all morning laying on her couch, wishing she could just take Katya out on a beautiful date so she would have the most wonderful birthday. Trixie lets herself cry and get angry. It's not fair that when she finally finds someone that brings her so much joy, that person also happens to be married. She also hates herself for falling for her so fast, without even having any sort of romantic relationship with her. But also, Katya feels the same. In this very moment, Katya is somewhere out there, in love with Trixie and they can't be together, even though Katya's husband doesn't seem to care about any of the same things Katya does when it comes to having an extramarital relationship. And Katya thinks she owes him happiness and respect, things he doesn't make sure to give back to her. It's not fair. Katya shouldn't be unhappy just because that's what she believes she deserves. Trixie decides to stop crying and has her mind set; she won't go down without a fight. She needs to see Katya one more time.

x

Katya is pleasantly surprised by her big sister Sasha's presence on her birthday. It's like she knew her baby sister was going through some hard times and needed someone to talk to, so she came all the way from New York to see her.

"That husband of yours is a bol'shoy sukin syn, Katinka. Leaving you alone on your birthday? And taking Maddie with him?" her mother, Sonya, says.

"I was gonna tell him, but I don't have any strength left in my body to fight with him, mama."

"Mladshaya sestra, wanna go out for a smoke?" Sasha says.

"Yes, please." Katya quit smoking when she got pregnant with Maddie, but now she has the occasional cigarette when she really wants to. The sisters go to the back porch of their parents' house and Sasha lights up both of their cigarettes.

"So, what's up with you? You said you were in deep shit on your text."

"Yeah, I am. I don't wanna talk about it with mama and papa, but...I'm in love with someone else."

"Wait, what? Start from the beginning, I think there's something I'm missing here."

"Well, for starters, Harry's an asshole to me most of the time now and if that wasn't enough, he's cheating on me."

"I never liked that man."

"I know...so, about a month ago or something I went into this new bakery in my neighborhood and the owner is just...she's everything. And Maddie loves her, she's so good with kids..." Katya has to keep it short so she doesn't start crying.

"Wow, you're in love love with her, huh? I can see it in your face."

"Yeah, I don't know how it happened so fast, I guess I just have been with Harry for so long I didn't even realize I wasn't in love with him anymore until recently. I even...ugh, I even tried to fuck him the way we used to back then to see if I could try to forget Trixie, but...as good as it was, it wasn't enough. It just made me feel like shit after."

"Yeah, if you would've asked me I would've told you not to fuck him, especially considering he's cheating on you."

"And the worst part is that I have to keep trying to cover up for him with Maddie. And he doesn't even know I know. Do you see how insane that is?"

"Kati, you known what I'm gonna say. The same think I've been telling you for the past sixteen years."

"But..."

"You have to leave him." Sasha puts out her cigarette.

"Breaking up a marriage is not easy, Sasha."

"I didn't say it was. If you wanna take your time or whatever to leave him, that's understandable. But then you might as well have your fun too. Go be with this Trixie girl. Isn't he cheating on you with no guilt or consequence? Then you get to do the same."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is that simple and you know it. You're just scared."

"I used to be the mistress, Sasha, our relationship was hell until he left his first wife for me. I don't wanna do that to Trixie."

"Did you give her a choice? Because that's not your choice to make, Katya. She's an adult, she can make her own decisions, same goes for you. Don't complicate things, mladshaya sestra, just go be happy!"

  Katya takes a deep breath. Sasha has always been a little wilder than her, even thought they are both nerds. But never once in her life did she regret following her big sister's advice, so she might give it some thought this time.

  The women go back in and have lunch with their parents, update them on their lives and celebrate Katya's 35th birthday. In the late afternoon, Katya goes home and plans on taking a long, hot candlelit bath and treat herself with her beloved vibrator. It's what she deserves after the week she's had.

  It is already pouring rain by the time Katya gets home, and she quickly runs inside and starts preparing her bubble bath. She takes her time taking her clothes off as the water fills the large fancy tub, and then she pulls her good companion from the drawer of her vanity. Katya made sure to get a waterproof rechargeable one for moments like this, and she's never been more grateful. She slowly lowers her naked body in the warm bubbly water and sinks completely, letting her short hair and bangs get completely wet and slicked back. She is already a bit worked up with just the thought of pleasuring herself, so when she turns the vibrator on, she can help but let out a small moan and smile. She feels herself getting there quickly, so she decides to keep edging for a little while, to make it linger. Right as she's approaching her orgasm for what is probably the tenth time, her doorbell rings. It startles Katya, for she isn't expecting anyone, so, after cursing at the unknown visitor out of frustration for being at the edge of an orgasm for about half an hour, she puts on her fluffy black robe, some slippers and runs downstairs, and it nearly burns between her legs with how worked up she is. The doorbell rings again and again and Katya starts to get mad, until she opens the door.

  Trixie is soaking wet from head to toe, rain pouring outside and thunder roaring in a distance. She is holding a big plastic container and has to blink a few too many times to keep all of that water out of her eyes.

"I made you a birthday cake." she says.

Katya is not thinking. At all. She is alone, turned on and the woman she's in love with is right there in front of her. Katya gently pulls Trixie inside, closes the door, places the cake on the small table nearby and without waiting any longer, she pulls her by the waist and kisses her. Katya's body is on fire and she regrets nothing, not for a second. The feeling of Trixie's lips and tongue moving against hers is surreal, almost beyond human comprehension. Trixie is grabbing onto her robe, trying to pull her impossibly closer as if she's scared Katya will escape somehow, disappear. Katya tells herself she won't runaway this time.

"Oh, shit..." Trixie sighs, catching her breath. "That was easier than I expected."

Katya laughs. "What did you expect?"

"I had a whole speech planned about how I wasn't gonna give up on you, and that you deserve to be happy and I'm willing to give that happiness to you..." Trixie catches her breath again. "...If you let me."

"Trixie, baby..." Katya whispers, her forehead glued to hers. The sound of Katya calling her 'baby' makes Trixie melt inside. "You can do whatever you want to me. Kiss me, make me happy, ruin me, I don't care. I just want you. I need you."

Trixie kisses her again, and Katya starts to feel her robe coming undone, and then her naked front is against Trixie's soaking wet yellow dress, glued to her body. Katya suddenly feels like she's still edging, and she's desperately craving to be touched.

"Do you wanna come upstairs?" Katya whispers in her ear. Trixie tightens her grip on Katya's wet hair when she hears it.

"Yes..."

After Trixie leaves her shoes at the door, Katya pulls her upstairs, not bothering closing her robe. She brings her into the bathroom where the water is still hot and bubbly and lets her robe slide smoothly towards the floor. Trixie stares at her naked figure before her, incredulous. Katya takes a step closer to her and takes Trixie's jean jacket off, heavy with the water, looking into her eyes. Then, Katya takes the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders and then slowly pulls the dress down her statuesque body. Trixie stands there, enjoying the moment and allowing the beautiful woman she's been dreaming of to undress her and touch her. Katya's hands smoothly travel to Trixie's back and she undoes her bra, letting it naturally slide down Trixie's arms. Katya kisses the cold wet skin of her breasts, then gently sucks on her nipple while her hand plays with the other one. Trixie smells like roses and rain and her skin is so soft Katya lets out a sigh, in disbelief of how lucky she is.

"You're so beautiful." Trixie says caressing Katya's cheeks, then running her hands down her chest towards her breasts. Katya smiles.

"Trixie, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I can't believe you're here, in front of me." Katya runs her hands down the side of Trixie's body all the way to the hem of her white lace panties and slowly pulls them down, her heart racing at the view of Trixie's bright pink wet pussy. "Damn...that rain really got you, huh?" Katya jokes and Trixie laughs.

"That's all on you, baby, not the rain." Katya laughs and then has Trixie open her legs a little so she can lick Trixie from where her wetness drips all the way to her clit. "Fuck..." Trixie whispers.

"Come here." Katya guides her to the big bubbly bathtub and they sit in it, facing each other. Katya sees that her vibrator is still sitting at the edge of it, and Trixie notices it as well.

"I see you were having fun before I came over." Trixie nods at the toy.

"Yeah, I was kind of in the middle of it when you rang my doorbell. I never got to finish."

"I guess I'll have to make it up to you, then." Trixie scoots closer to Katya and gives her the vibrator, that she slowly puts between her legs as Trixie slowly inserts one finger in.

"Oh, God..." Katya slides down on the tub, having to hold on to the edge behind her head so she doesn't sink.

"Do you want another one?" Trixie says, her voice low, soft and velvety.

"Another what?" Katya asks and Trixie giggles, remembering Katya has never had actual sex with a woman.

"Another finger, baby."

"Oh, fuck, yes. You can put two more if you want, I'm used to it." Katya is so serious about it that it makes Trixie laugh, and when Katya looks at her confused, she just winks at her and blows her a kiss.

"You're so good at taking it." Trixie whispers in her ear, then leaves a few pecks on her neck.

"Trix..." Katya doesn't know to handle how amazing sex with Trixie is. Not even at their best times could Harry make her feel this good while feeling so loved.

"Yeah, baby?"

"I'm gonna cum, fuck." Katya grips tightly to the edge of the tub while Trixie fucks her faster. Katya was never a huge moaner, but she can't hold them back no matter how hard she tries. "Oh, Trixie...." Katya pulls the vibrator away while Trixie slows down. Katya looks around at the gorgeous fancy candlelit bathroom, the nice smell that comes from the scented candles, her intense orgasm slowly fading away as Trixie's soft fingers leave her and she melts into the hot water.

"So, did I make it up to you?" Trixie moves to sit behind Katya and holds her body against hers, leaving small kisses on the top of her head and gently caressing her arm.

"You absolutely did..." Katya's eyes are still closed, allowing herself to enjoy those moments in heaven with her angel. Trixie's body is warm against hers and she smiles at the feeling of her soft big breasts against her back. "I'm so glad you came over." She nearly whispers. "I was such a coward to you, I shouldn't have left you that day..."

"Shhhh...you did nothing wrong, baby. It's okay." Trixie kisses her head again. "We're together now and that's all that matters."

"I wanna be with you. Always. Not just tonight."

"I would love that." Trixie's voice is soft and low, so is Katya's.

They lay there in the tub in comfortable silence, until the water begins to cool down. Katya lends Trixie another one of her many soft robes and they grab the cake that Trixie made her and bring it to Katya's bedroom. Katya opens the container and sees a beautiful small round red velvet cake that says "Happy Birthday Katya" on top. She can't help but tear up a little at how cute Trixie is.

"You're so sweet, Trixie. Thank you so much for this, you're so..." Katya pulls her in for a kiss.

"It's what you deserve. You're so sweet, so kind..." Trixie gently scratches Katya's wet hair on the back of her neck, the touch making Katya close her eyes and almost unconsciously cry. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know." Katya giggles through her tears. "I guess I'm just that happy right now."

Trixie smiles widely at her and kisses her again and again, then something in the corner of her eye catches her attention. "You have a piano in your room? Do you play?"

"Not really, none of us do. It came with the house so we just left it there because it's a very beautiful piano. And also, too heavy to move." Katya laughs.

"Can I...can I play something?" Trixie is drawn to the instrument, fascinated by its antique and expensive aspect.

"Of course, oh my God! I knew you played the guitar, but...you just get more and more talented the more I get to know you." Katya rests her head on the piano with her arms crossed beneath it, admiring Trixie as she sits and runs her long delicate fingers through the keyboard.

"Music has always been my favourite hobby. If I didn't love baking so much I think I probably would've been a musician."

"What other instruments do you play?"

"Aside from piano, guitar, acoustic and electric, ukulele, violin, cello, sax..."

"Holy shit, Trixie. You're a human masterpiece." Katya's eyes are one flaw in the matrix away from being heart shaped right now.

"I just try to keep myself entertained and busy..." she starts playing, the sound entering Katya's ears like a brain massage. "This is one of my favourite songs, it's called Everything Matters..."

Katya's eyes are glued to her as she starts playing, her long blonde wet hair dripping behind her, her body covered by nothing but the red robe Katya lended her, one of her breasts peeking out a little. Trixie looks like she is in a whole different dimension, like she belongs with that piano and the instrument doesn't make sense without her playing it. Katya feels like she's looking at a moving work of art, made for her eyes only.

"I'm driving your car with you sleeping in the seat next to me

Like a baby, you twist and you turn

You're travelling fast like a bird in a dream

Look at it go, look at it dance over the sky like a rocket

A love machine, a cinematic dream

So pure and it hurts when the beauty is lost in the speed

'Cause everything matters to me

To me, to me, to me, to me

To me

You're a part of the dawn where the light comes from the dark

You're a part of the morning and еverything matters

Herе we are, an atom and a star

You're a part of the movement and everything matters

To me, to me, to me, to me

I'm watching a storm turn into form

In the clouds of the world like a burst

It dances and it twirls

On top of the world, it is good and it hurts

Look at it go, look at it dance over the sky like a rocket

A teacher, a simulated dream

A cure, a cure for the hurt

And the pleasure you feel is real

You are part of the dawn where the light comes from the dark

You're a part of the morning and everything matters

Here we are, an atom and a star

You're a part of the movement and everything matters

To me, to me, to me, to me

To me, to me, to me, to me, to me

Quelque part, avant l'aube

Quand la lumière veut nous voir

Quelque part dans le monde

Un oiseau s'endort sans bruit

Toi et moi, dans la nuit on trouvera

Quelque part où déposer les fleurs qu'on a cueillies

Pars avant l'aube

Quand la lumière veut nous voir

Quelque part dans le monde

Un oiseau s'endort sans bruit

Toi et moi, dans la nuit on trouvera

Quelque part où déposer les fleurs qu'on a cueillies

Pars avant l'aube

Quand la lumière veut nous voir

Quelque part dans le monde

Un oiseau s'endort sans bruit

Toi et moi, dans la nuit on trouvera

Quelque part où déposer les fleurs qu'on a cueillies"

Katya doesn't notice she's crying until the song is over. She's still mesmerized, not only by the sudden twist of french in the song and Trixie's impeccable french, but the way she sang the song like it was hers, feeling every single word and singing it to her like a confession of her love without having to say the three words. They're weren't needed. And Trixie looked so beautiful while doing it, her voice is insanely good, smooth and clear. Katya is sure she is an angel sent from heaven to save her from drowning in a loveless life.

"Wow." Katya says, having to take a deep breath to recover from the beauty she just witnessed.

"I haven't played in a while so I was a little rusty..."

"You're perfect." Katya's still teary eyed. She takes Trixie's hands and guides her to the bed, gently laying on top of her and kissing her with every ounce of passion she has inside her.

The kiss is slow but urgent at the same time, as if they're trying to get even closer, even though it's not physically possible, both letting out involuntary moans that almost sound like cries. They need each other, they crave each other, but it's not a burning flame, it's a song, a slow song on the piano that hits so hard, and it's everlasting. Katya worships Trixie's entire body with kisses after she so delicately opened her robe. Trixie tries to keep her eyes open, to look at Katya, but the high levels of pleasure and joy in her make her eyes shut involuntarily. Katya takes her time giving her entire beautiful body all the attention, from her beautiful breasts to even leaving a small kiss on top of each one of her feet. Trixie is a goddess and Katya is making sure she knows she's fully devoted, especially when she gets in between her legs, holding her thick thighs and pleasuring her, making love to her with her mouth. Trixie's moans feel just as good as her singing in Katya's ears, and they're fuel for her to keep swirling her tongue around the slightly plump, pink wet core of her goddess, guiding her to the longed for high of pleasure. Trixie reaches down and pushes Katya's head down a little bit, trying to get more of what's fulfilling her.

"Katya... fuck me." she's nearly whispering, her eyes closed.

Katya listens and brings in two fingers that are the key to make Trixie finish completely in a matter of seconds, leaving a wet spot on the robe beneath her and moaning louder than she probably intended, her voice nearly harmonizing with the thunders outside. Her entire body shakes as Katya slowly removes her fingers from her extra sensitive pussy, and it takes her a minute to be able to form a coherent thought.

"Are you sure this is your first time eating pussy?" Trixie asks, laughing with her eyes still closed.

"I'm pretty sure, I'm just that dedicated." Katya lays next to her lover.

Trixie turns her head to face Katya and slowly opens her eyes, immediately locking them with Katya's. "I love you."

Katya should be scared. She should be terrified to say the words out loud after so little time, especially while she's still married. She should run away into an eternal isolation of adulterous shame, letting it kill her for loving someone that isn't her husband. She should. But she isn't. And she won't.

"I love you, Trixie."

Chapter Text

The worst part about having an affair is having to keep it a secret. Katya may know that Harry has a lover on the side, but she has no intentions of letting him know about her and Trixie. And Trixie has also decided to not tell anyone, afraid of the judgement that most certainly will come from her friends and family, especially her parents. Her biggest fear is disappointing them, and if they knew she was actually having a secret relationship with a married woman, they would definitely be upset. Trixie is fully aware that what she's doing is wrong, but it's hard to feel guilty about something that feels so good. And Katya loves her, which is all she really needs right now. After their first romantic night together, they lay in bed in their robes, Trixie leaned against Katya's body.

"So what now? Do we keep seeing each other in secret?" Trixie asks, her eyes closed while Katya plays with her hair.

"I guess that's how it has to be for now..." Trixie takes a deep breath when Katya says it. "But Trix...I want you to know that I am leaving him. That is something I'm one hundred percent sure of. I just can't tell you how long that's gonna take, cause...it's very complicated."

"Why is that?"

"Well, we might be professors but we're also lawyers. And it can get pretty ugly when two lawyers get divorced, especially with how known and influential he is..."

"You're afraid he might do something to jeopardize you?"

"I don't know what to expect from him, but it wouldn't surprise me if he even tried to get full custody of Maddie just to hurt me."

"He's a piece of shit." Trixie mumbles almost involuntarily. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"You're right, though. Can you believe he yelled at me to shut up the other day?"

"What?" Trixie sits up and looks at Katya.

"Yeah. He's an asshole."

"Why did you marry him?" Trixie leans back against Katya again.

"He wasn't always like this. In the beginning he was the sweetest man ever, he brought me so many gifts, took me on trips, even after we got married he was still such a great husband at first. I think things started to get weird after I got pregnant, because he didn't want kids. He didn't even want his first one with his previous wife, let alone a second one with me, but it happened. He was never that interested in Maddie and it hurts me so much that she has her dad right there and he doesn't care." Katya's voice cracks a bit and Trixie notices she's crying a little. "But I'm glad I had her, I always wanted to be a mother and she is my everything. She's just the sweetest little girl."

"She really is. She definitely gets it from you." Trixie looks up at Katya and kisses her cheek.

"She likes you so much, Trixie, you have no idea. You know what she said to me the first time she met you?"

"What?"

"She told me I should leave her dad to be with you."

"She really said that?" Trixie is smiling as wide as her face allows.

"Yeah!" Katya giggles. "She said that he is really boring and that I should be with a girl. And that if you were my girlfriend we would get free cupcakes all the time."

Trixie laughs. "So she doesn't want me to date you, she just wants free cupcakes."

"No, I swear! After our picnic she told me that we look really good together, you and I. And I agree."

"That is one smart little girl."

"I wish I could tell her we're together. She's gonna be so happy when she finally finds out."

"Yeah." Trixie sighs.

They sit in in silence for a little while. Trixie thinks Katya is asleep after a few minutes, but the woman is actually wide awake, staring into the void with a concerned expression.

"What?" Trixie asks.

"I'm just thinking...Trix...are you sure this is what you want?" Katya sounds sad.

"What? Of course I'm sure! I walked all the way here in the rain with a birthday cake I baked myself to tell you I love you."

"I know, I know you love me, but... I'm so scared I'm gonna end up hurting you somehow, you know...I was...I used be Harry's lover on the side. And...it didn't feel that great at times. I don't want that for you."

"Katya, stop overthinking this. I'm a big girl, I know what I'm getting myself into. I know it's not ideal or...right, I guess...but I'm willing to throw morality out the window, I don't care. I wanna be with you. Okay?"

"Yeah. I wanna be with you too, more than anything. I'm just worried..." Katya buries her head in her hands.

"I know, baby..." Trixie pulls Katya in for a hug. "You know, I never really bought that whole love at first sight thing, but I truly believe I fell in love with you the moment you walked into my bakery."

Katya looks at her and smiles. "I felt the same way. I was so freaked out about how intense everything I was feeling was, while I'm still married. I wasn't expecting to find someone so perfect for me at this point in my life and...even though the circumstances aren't ideal right now, I'm really happy I found you, Trix."

"I love you." Trixie glues her forehead to Katya's

"I love you too."

The following days aren't much different than the ones before, when they were still just friends, the only difference is that instead of talking to each other all night, they are in Trixie's little pink apartment making love until they can barely stand up. Maddie noticed her mother is different but Katya has to keep dismissing it and saying everything is pretty much the same. Katya hates lying to her daughter and feels awful seeing how frequently she has to do so, for she and Harry are both cheaters, and the poor little girl doesn't have a clue. She buys her lies and excuses, though, and Katya tells herself it'll be worth it when it's all over and she can finally walk around holding Trixie's hand.

Trixie has a harder time keeping things from the ones around her, and ends up having to tell Pearl about it for the girl works with her almost every day and sees Katya come in extremely often. Also, the change in their dynamic is very noticeable, the flirting being very on the nose.

Trixie is sitting on the hair salon chair and Jaymes is behind her, retouching her platinum blonde hair and slightly trimming the ends.

"I see you're doing way better now, huh? Did something happen or did you just magically get over Katya?"

"Nothing, really. I'm just over that grief period. It's in the past."

"You mean a week ago?" Jaymes says as she removes the tin foil from Trixie's roots.

"Yeah! I'm doing alright now."

"I've known you for over twenty years, Trixie. Don't even try to lie to me, you suck at it."

Trixie looks at herself in the mirror and takes a deep breath. "I've been seeing her."

"I knew it! But wait, are you seeing seeing her or just..."

"We are...having an affair." Trixie blushes, embarrassed with herself.

"Girl..."

"I know, I know! It's horrible, but I can't...I love her too much, Jay."

"Trixie, these things never end well. Get up, let's wash your hair." Jaymes gently taps her on the arm and they move to the hair washing station.

"She's gonna leave her husband."

"Did she say when?"

"No..."

"Trix..."

"She's going to, though! It's just complicated, she has a kid and she and her husband are lawyers..."

"Beatrice, what a fucking mess you got yourself into."

Trixie closes her eyes and tries not to cry with frustration. "I know..."

"Listen, I don't want you to think I'm against you or anything. Trust me, I just want you to be happy. And I know you, you deserve so much more than just being someone's mistress."

"If I could help it I wouldn't have gotten myself into this. But she loves me and I love her. It's not like we chose to feel like this."

"I know, Trix. Just...be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

"If it happens, it happens."

Trixie goes home after the salon visit with beautifully retouched blonde hair bouncing behind her, soaking up the sun on that Sunday afternoon. She is distracted with the thought of getting home and sending Katya a picture of her 'new' hair, just to show off to her lover, when suddenly, when she gets to the front of her building, a tall man with grey hair and blue eyes is standing there, waiting for her. Trixie swallows air repeatedly and her limbs are shaking.

"Can I help you?" She asks, already preparing herself to run if she has to.

"Hi, um. I don't know if you'll remember me. I'm Harry Doncaster, Katya's husband."

"Yeah, I remember you." She says, hesitantly.

"This is gonna sound weird, and I apologize beforehand, but I have to ask you something." the man looks calmer than Trixie expected, which makes her even more nervous and scared. "You've been quite close with Katya lately, so I think if anyone would know this it would be you...is Katya, by any chance, having an affair with someone?"

Trixie freezes and her heart races. He doesn't seem suspicious of her, in fact, he looks a bit concerned. Ok. He doesn't think it's her. "I don't think she is, no. We spend a lot of time together, so if she is having an affair, she's been very good at keeping it from me."

Harry sighs, frustrated. "I just have this feeling that she's doing something behind my back, and I don't trust her. I'm sorry I came here, I'm just really losing my sleep over this."

Trixie wants to ask if he isn't ashamed. He is also cheating on Katya and still has the nerve to go to one of her "friends" to try to get information about whether Katya is having an affair or not. If Trixie wasn't in a good mood today, she would've ripped the man to shreds.

"I have to go. Once again, I'm sorry about this." He turns around to walk away.

"Word of advice." he stops when Trixie starts talking, but doesn't turn around. "If you have a question about your wife you should ask her, not anybody else." He stands there for a second and then simply continues to walk away, pretending he isn't affected by what Trixie just said.

Chapter Text

Trixie pushes Katya against the wall of her bedroom and kisses her neck all the way up to her lips, which she basically devours. Her hands are under Katya's shirt already, squeezing her boobs and pinching her nipples.

"Fuck!" Katya shouts, then smiles.

"I missed you so much, baby."

Maddie caught a bad flu, so when Katya wasn't working she was home taking care of her daughter. It lasted about a week and a half, and that was enough time to get Trixie climbing up the walls. She also hasn't brought up the unexpected meeting with Harry yet, not wanting to spoil their moment and also, unsure of what he might do.

"I need you to fuck me so hard tonight, you don't understand." Trixie says in Katya's ear, making the woman dizzy with how horny she is and how horny she is making her.

"Take your clothes off." Katya orders. Trixie smiles widely and immediately gets rid of her pink buttoned shirt and her jeans. "All of it, sweetie." Katya's raspy voice from an entire day of basically yelling in a classroom makes Trixie sweat as she removes her underwear.

"What about you?" Trixie runs her fingers on Katya's cheek.

"Lay down." She sounds bossier, and Trixie likes it. Katya takes her glasses off and places them on top of the dresser.

"Yes ma'am." Trixie lies on her back over her pretty pink satin sheets.

Katya takes off her blazer and opens the first four buttons of her shirt, then leans against the dresser behind her, looking at the beautiful woman laying there, waiting for her.

"Do you have a vibrator?" Katya asks.

"In the dresser, first drawer on the right." Trixie can't help but smile at the dominant game Katya decided to play. It makes her even more excited and turned on.

Katya grabs the obviously pastel pink magic wand and turns it on. "Open your legs." Trixie obeys, and she is already dripping, her thighs wet. "Wow." Katya giggles, then she kneels between her open legs and holds the vibrator against where Trixie needs it the most.

"Oh, yes!"

"Tell me when you're cumming."

"I will..." Trixie has her eyes closed, almost in a trance. She is so incredibly turned on that it doesn't take too long for her orgasm to start building up. "Oh, I'm gonna..." Katya abruptly pulls the vibratory away and Trixie whines.

"You're gonna cum when I let you cum." Katya giggles.

"Katya, are you fucking serious? I've been waiting so long..."

"And you can wait a little longer. I believe in you, baby." After a few seconds Katya puts the vibrator back against her pussy, soaking wet and flushed.

"I'm gonna kill youuuuu..." Trixie whines and moans at the same time, making Katya giggle even more. "Oh shit, I'm gonna cum, please let me...NO!" She punches the sheets beneath her when Katya pulls it away again, throwing a tantrum like a toddler.

"You're so bratty, Jesus. Look at your pussy, you're so wet..." Katya teases her dripping entrance with her fingers but doesn't do anything.

"I hate you so much..." Trixie looks at her. Her cheeks and lips are bright red, so is her chest. Katya is getting her to where she wants.

"Oh, you're gonna love me when this is over. Hands and knees." Trixie immediately turns into the position Katya demanded, hoping this time she'll get what she wants.

Katya takes her shirt and pants off, leaving only her red lace lingerie on. Her bra has very generous cups, making her boobs way bigger than they are, and she can feel how soaked her lace panties are.

"You hold this." Katya hands Trixie the vibrator.

"I don't know how long I can hold myself up with just one hand."

"Then bend over, rest on your elbow." Katya gently pushes Trixie's back down into the position. "Go for it."

Trixie holds the vibrator against her core, moaning and intentionally shaking her ass to tease Katya.

"Katya, I'm..."

"Stop."

"Fuck!" Trixie pulls the vibrator away.

Katya runs her fingers over her entrance and spreads her wetness all over her ass. "You're being such a good girl. I think now you deserve something nice." Katya squeezes her ass cheeks with both hands, then runs one of them all the way from her ass to her entrance again, slowly fingering her with two fingers.

"Oh my God..." Trixie mumbles.

"Put the vibrator back." Trixie doesn't hesitate to do so.

Katya speeds up as she feels Trixie getting squirmier, her fingers making an obscene noise as she goes due to how wet Trixie is.

"Katya...please let me cum this time..." Trixie whines.

"Do it, baby."

"Oh, yes! Fucking finally..." Trixie nearly screams into her pillow as she reaches an extremely intense orgasm, squirting all over her sheets and Katya's hand. "Oh my God..."

Katya doesn't stop fingering her until she her body falls on its side, Trixie looking completely numb and happy.

"How are you feeling, Trix?" Katya asks, gently kissing her cheeks.

"I'm hmm...I..." She can barely form a sentence.

Katya laughs. "Good to know."

"You are...the devil..." Trixie turns her head to look at Katya with her sleepy eyes.

"You asked me to fuck you hard, that's what I did."

"That was so good, I thought I was gonna cry...I'm gonna need a moment before I can do something for you, cause this has just destroyed me." Trixie sounds like she's drunk, mumbling.

"Don't worry about me, baby. Just lay there and watch." Katya picks up the same vibrator she was using on Trixie and removes her panties. Then, she places it between her legs and looks at Trixie. "You're the hottest woman in this world. I'm never gonna get tired of fucking you."

"I would hope so." Trixie giggles, then looks down to where Katya is already squirming, her breath getting more and more uneven by the second. "Are you gonna cum for me? Did I turn you on?"

"You fucking bet I will. You turn me on just by existing." Katya closes her eyes as she feels her orgasm starting to build up. Trixie pulls Katya's bra down a little bit and takes one of her boobs in her mouth, swirling her tongue around her nipple. "Fuck, baby..." Katya grabs onto Trixie's hair as she reaches her orgasm, letting soft moans leave her throat and echo around the pink room.

"I love to see you like this." Trixie says as Katya starts to come down.

"Like what?"

"Satisfied."

They smile at each other, then Trixie leans down to kiss Katya softly, until Katya cups her cheek and glued their foreheads together.

"God, I wish I could stay the night here. I hate that we don't get to do that."

"Me too..."

"I'm just waiting for the right moment to talk to Harry about the divorce...I need to be with you, all the time."

"There's nothing I want more in this world right now."

Katya gets home a little before midnight. She cleaned herself up a little bit at Trixie's house and left her lingerie there, putting on a normal pair of panties and a bra that she brought with her. Harry is reading his book, as usual, and doesn't even flinch when Katya walks into their room.

"Hey." she says, throwing her briefcase on a chair and getting her pyjamas from the dresser to go take a shower.

"Where were you?" He asks, his eyes glued to the book.

"I was with Trixie, she asked me for help with legal stuff for the bakery, I told you about this."

"A married woman shouldn't be out this late the way you've been."

"You're out late all the time, Harry. Do the rules not apply to you because you're a man?"

"You know what I mean."

Katya rolls her eyes and goes into the bathroom to take a good relaxing shower, still thinking about the amazing sex she's just had with Trixie. Katya barely recognizes herself these days; she is way more confident, happy, motivated. Before Trixie she felt tired, fragile, invisible. Loving Trixie has brought her back to life, and she can't wait until she can finally be hers, entirely.

The next morning, Harry is driving Maddie to school and Katya is riding with him to work. They rarely do that, but for some reason he decided that was something he wanted to do today. Maddie is in the backseat, looking out the window, distracted, while Katya is looking through her phone, when she gets a text from Trixie.

TRIXIE

Hey, baby. I just wanna say that last night was amazing and I miss you like crazy already. I also have something I need to tell you. Last Sunday Harry showed up at my work/house. He was outside waiting for me, and when I got there he asked me if you were having an affair with someone. He didn't think it was with me, though, but he does suspect something. And he wasn't rude, but still, I was pretty scared. I didn't tell you that sooner because I wanted to enjoy our time together, but I know I should've said something right away. I'm sorry I'm just telling you now. Anyway, I love you and I hope you have a wonderful day baby. Let me know if you're stopping by later and I'll pack up some treats for you and Maddie.

Katya stares at the text, reading it over and over again, her body getting consumed with irrational rage. Harry can be a dickhead to her all he wants, but to go after Trixie? That's crossing way too many lines.

"Harry..." Her voice is low and slightly threatening.

"Yeah?"

"Did you go to Trixie's house last week to ask her if I'm having an affair?" If Katya was a lioness, she'd be roaring with anger. She tries to whisper every word so Maddie won't hear her.

"Uh...Yes, I did. Cause I don't trust you." He says, as if it's obvious, not bothering keeping his voice down.

"What is wrong with you? Why would you go to her like that, she was terrified!" Katya is trying her best not to yell, but Harry is making her very irrational very fast.

"I don't know why, I didn't do anything. I simply asked her if she knew if you were having an affair because you've been acting fucking weird lately. It's not my fault that you chose to act like a whore out of nowhere, coming home late on week days. I have plenty of reasons not to trust you." He basically spits at her, yelling.

"Go fuck yourself, Harry!"

Neither of them seem to notice Maddie crying in the backseat, too possessed by the anger that constantly builds up between them.

"I've had it with your childish behaviour, Katya, if you don't start acting right I..."

"Harry, look at the road!"

He suddenly loses control of the steering wheel and nearly hits another car, making them drift away and Harry's Cadillac CT6 crashes headfirst into a tree. Katya thinks of Trixie. She doesn't know why, but her lover is the first thing on her mind as she tries to make sense of what just happened. Katya's knuckles are full of shattered glass, bleeding. Her head hurts and so does her arm, and she notices her sleeve is ripped, a large cut bleeding all over her forearm. When the dizziness starts to fade, Katya can hear her daughter scream crying in the back and her maternal instincts replace all of the pain she's feeling to focus on rescuing her child.

"Maddie! Maddie, are you ok?" She says, unbuckling her seatbelt and leaving the car, limping a little. She opens the door to the backseat and carries her daughter in her arms, ignoring the sharp pain of the cut that's incessantly bleeding on her left arm.

"My arm...I can't feel my arm but It hurts so bad...I don't understand..." Maddie says, sobbing.

Katya notices there's smoke coming out of the front hood of the car, so she walks a little further away from it and puts Maddie on the ground, having her lean against a tree and inspects her, looking for other injuries. Maddie is not as scratched from the glass as she is, but her arm is already swelling and looks a bit crooked.

"You can't move your arm, baby? At all?" Katya asks, trying to stay calm.

"No, it hurts too much. And I can't...I tried, I can't move it."

A fractured arm. Katya tries to tell herself that it could be worse, but it breaks her heart to see her child in so much pain and despair over something that was almost entirely her fault. Harry. She didn't even think to check on him, but she doesn't need to. The man slowly walks over to them, his forehead bleeding. He's also limping a little bit.

"Are you two ok?" He asks, looking like he's still in shock.

"Yeah, I just have some bad scratches. I think Maddie has a broken arm."

The man freezes. A man who never feels guilty about anything suddenly realizes that it's also his fault, especially because he was the one driving. Because of him, his daughter has a broken limb.

"Maddie..." he kneels before the girl, struggling a bit. He rarely calls her by her nickname, only referring to her as Madison. "It's gonna be ok..."

"No! You called mommy a whore!" She yells at her father, making both him and Katya widen their eyes. It hits them like a punch in the stomach.

"I'm gonna call an ambulance." He says, walking away from them.

"Maddie, baby, don't repeat that word. It's bad." Katya sits next to her, pulling hairs out of the girl's face.

"I know that. And dad shouldn't have called you that! I hate him!" she sobs.

"No, don't say that..." Katya carefully pulls her in for a hug, not wanting to let her daughter see her cry. "You don't hate your dad..."

"I do! He is so mean to you!"

Katya cries harder. She can't gaslight Maddie at this point. Harry does mistreat her a lot, and has no problem doing it in front of their kid.

"I know. But don't say you hate him. Hate is an ugly emotion, and you're a beautiful person. I'm not saying you can't have negative feelings, they're normal. But I know you don't hate him or anyone, for that matter."

"I don't wanna live with dad anymore."

Katya fails at her attempt to hide her weakness from Maddie and sobs, holding her daughter tighter and carefully so she doesn't touch her broken arm. In a few minutes, an ambulance shows up and takes the family to the nearest fancy hospital.

Katya wishes she could call Trixie, talk to her. Oh how she wishes she could hear the sweet sound of Trixie's voice right now, telling her everything is going to be ok. On the other hand, she fears that by telling Trixie how the accident happened, her lover will feel somehow guilty about it, for having shared the information that lead to the fight. It is obviously not Trixie's fault, it is on Katya and Harry for losing their temper in the car instead of deciding to discuss it later. Katya feels especially guilty for bringing it up when she was so furious, and cries every time she looks at her daughter in extreme pain. She would've never forgiven herself if something worse had happened to her.

They get to the hospital and the three of them go to separate places to have x-rays, blood tests, and all sorts of exams to make sure they're ok. Katya gets a few stitches on her arm and three on her head, whereas Harry only gets two on his forehead. It takes a while for the doctor to remove every single piece of shattered glass off of Katya's hands, but eventually they're done with it, clean them up and put bandages around her them. She let them throw her button up shirt out, for the bloody cut on her sleeve was too large to be fixed, so Katya is left wearing a white tank top she had underneath it. Maddie is taking the longest, having the broken arm and all, so Katya and Harry are sitting outside the room where she is getting treated in.

"She hates me..." Harry says, nearly mumbling.

"What?" Katya says.

"Maddie hates me."

"She doesn't hate you..."

"No, Katya. I know it. And I don't blame her." Katya doesn't know what to say. They sit in silence for a few minutes more. "I'm sorry for calling you a w...you know what."

Katya turns her head to face him. "That was really fucked up." She almost whispers, tearing up.

"I shouldn't have called you that. I got carried away, I..."

"Mrs Doncaster?" A young doctor says, approaching them with a clipboard that holds a few test results.

"That's me." Katya says.

"So, everything is looking normal on your results, we just need to do a quick ultrasound just to make sure everything is ok with the baby."

Katya gets dizzy for a split second. "Wait, what? What baby?"

"Uh..." the doctor realizes she's unaware. "It showed on your test results that you are pregnant, three to four weeks, approximately."

Katya freezes. This can't be happening, this can't be true. She looks at Harry and he looks just as appalled as her.

"Um..." her voice cracks a bit. Katya looks confused, still trying to process the information. "I'll do the ultrasound, I just...I just need a moment." She stands up and sits on another chair, across from Harry.

"No problem at all, take all the time you need." The doctor walks away.

Katya and Harry sit in silence for several minutes, trying to make the information make sense, but it doesn't. They know exactly when and how it happened, but they didn't even remotely think about the fact that they didn't use any sort of protection and Katya hasn't been on birth control for years, since she barely had any sexual relations with him. They look at each other and their expressions say the same: I wanna leave you, and maybe now I won't be able to. And it sucks.

"Katya..." He says, breaking the silence. "Would you...would you consider getting an abortion?" he asks, looking almost desperate.

She almost laughs in disbelief, still in shock. "I...I don't know, Harry. Probably not..." she sounds angrier than she intended.

The man nods a couple of times, not looking at her at all, and catches Katya completely by surprise by bursting into tears, sobbing even. She hasn't seen him cry in over ten years.

"Why are you crying?" Katya almost sounds impatient, even though she isn't.

He doesn't talk until the tears cease and he calms down. "I can't do this, Katya. I can't...I can't be a father. I never wanted to be a father in the first place. I'm not good at it."

Katya feels upset, but appreciates his honesty. "I don't know what you want me to say."

The door suddenly opens and Maddie comes out, arm wrapped in a cast. Her expression is blank and she doesn't say a word. Katya gently hugs her kid and mouths to Harry "I don't wanna tell her yet." and he nods in agreement.

"How are you feeling baby?"

The kid doesn't answer. Katya looks at the doctor and the nurse that treated Maddie, confused and scared.

"Can I see the two of you for a minute?" The doctor says to Katya and Harry, who nod and follow him into the room while Maddie stays outside with the nurse.

"So..." the paediatrician says after shutting the door. "I just need to ask a few questions about Madison. Is she a quiet kid? Possibly autistic or just very shy?"

"No, she has always been very extroverted and outspoken, she's just very emotionally sensitive, but she's usually a blabbermouth." Katya says confidently. Harry looks lost, not knowing how to answer.

"Okay, so knowing that, I'd say she is probably going through an episode of PTSD right now. She didn't answer any of my questions verbally, which made it hard to find out where she was in pain or injured, but we managed to do a full checkup. She didn't make any sort of eye contact or say a single word. I would highly recommend that you two find her a therapist as soon as possible to work through her trauma, so it doesn't harm her as much at long term."

"Okay..." Katya nods, feeling a lump in her throat at the thought of her happy little girl being closed off and traumatized.

"Here's the prescription for medication in case of intense pain and also the date that you have to bring her back to remove the cast is written in the bottom." the doctor hands Katya the prescription.

"Thank you so much! I really appreciate it." She shakes the doctor's hand. Harry remains motionless, looking almost uncomfortable.

"I'm just doing my job. I'm praying for her recovery." the doctor opens the door and the couple leaves the room with him. "Mrs Doncaster, they're waiting for you down the hallway for your u..."

"Oh, yeah! I'm going over there right now, thank you!" she interrupts the doctor, scared that he'll reveal her secret to Maddie. "Baby, mommy's gotta go do just one more exam just to make sure I'm ok. It'll be fast, I'll be back real soon. You stay here with daddy, ok?" Maddie just nods, barely. "Here, luckily my phone survived, you can play some games in the meantime!" Katya hands her phone to the girl and goes down the hallway for her exams.

They tell her just an ultrasound will be enough for now, for her other tests already have good indications of the baby's health.

"The fetus is still developing, so we don't really have much to look at right now, but by the looks of it in general it seems like everything is just fine." The doctor says while she performs the ultrasound.

"So if I were to interrupt the pregnancy now..."

"You have about eight more weeks to decide if you want to keep it or not."

Katya takes a deep breath. She feels stupid to even consider that possibility because of Harry, the man she wants to leave. Katya loves being a mother, and if the father wasn't Harry she would probably be crying with happiness right now. She goes back to where Maddie is glued to her phone and Harry is calling his insurance company about his car, and the family waits for the doctors to clear them to go home. Katya calls the university and finds another professor to replace her for a couple of weeks so she can be with her daughter and also, process the brand new information that she is having a baby. And she has no idea how to tell Trixie about it.

Chapter Text

A day after the accident, Katya called Trixie to tell her what happened, not mentioning the pregnancy part. Trixie wanted to visit her right away, obviously, but Katya told her to wait a couple of days so it wouldn't overwhelm Maddie. Katya has taken her to two different therapists so far, but it might be too early still, for the girl hasn't said a single word to anyone. Katya decided to give her some time and then try again with different therapists until she feels comfortable enough to go on with the treatment.

Harry is away from home as much as he can, basically only being there to sleep and shower. He doesn't treat Katya poorly, but doesn't talk to her much, or at all for that matter. He asks about Maddie and Katya tells him that she still doesn't wanna see him, which is the truth. Even though it has been only four days after the accident, Harry looks a lot older, tired and sad. It's like for once he feels guilty for not being a good father.

Katya opens the front door of her house and suddenly it feels like life is worth living again. Trixie comes in wearing a mid-length pink gingham dress that makes her look like a real life Barbie doll, her beautiful blonde hair up in a ponytail.

"Hi, baby!" Trixie carefully hugs Katya, then gives her a small peck on the lips. "How are you doing?"

"I'm ok. I didn't have any significant injuries aside from the crater that opened in my arm." Katya shows her the large strip of stitches on her forearm. "This huge piece of glass just cut right down, it was awful."

Trixie delicately runs her fingers down her arm, next to the injury. "Oh my God..."

"The rest was just glass all over my hands, I should be fine to take these bandages off in a few days or so. I hit my head pretty hard but there were no concussions or anything, and the..." Katya almost mentions her pregnancy, something she doesn't feel ready to tell Trixie about yet. "...the rest is just normal muscle pain."

"I was so worried about you, I almost went crazy wanting to see you." Trixie tears up a bit.

"I know, I'm so sorry baby. Maddie is...she's not doing well." Katya guides Trixie to the big dark green couch. "She's going through some PTSD, she doesn't talk at all. I'm probably the only person she communicates with, and even then it's just nodding 'yes' or 'no'." Katya brings one of her bandaged hands to her forehead. "Harry called me a whore in front of her."

Trixie grips the basket of treats she's been holding, digging her fingernails in it. "What?"

"We started fighting about him being suspicious of me cheating on him and then going over to your place..."

"Wait, was that because of the text I sent you?" Trixie's rosy cheeks go pale in a matter of seconds.

"Trix, if anything this was my fault for bringing it up in the car and not waiting to talk to him later. I was just so furious that I didn't even think...Maddie saw everything, him yelling at me saying that he doesn't trust me and that I act like a whore, and then me telling him to go fuck himself, it was such a shitshow..." Katya buries her head in her hands. "He got distracted while he was yelling at me and crashed the car."

Trixie sits there, almost in shock. "I'm sorry..."

"No, Trix, don't. It's not your fault, do you hear me? You have nothing to be sorry for." Katya pulls her in for a hug and Trixie buries her face in Katya's shoulder-length hair.

"I hate that man, Katya. I'm sorry, I just hate him."

"I don't blame you, baby. Maddie also said she hated him...it was hard to watch, she basically made him stay away from her because of what he said to me. She doesn't wanna see him at all."

"I feel so bad for her. She's such a sweet little girl, she shouldn't have to feel like this..."

"I know." Katya wipes away a tear. "It breaks my heart."

"Do you think I can...bring her some of the treats? I'm not gonna make her talk to me or anything, I just...I wanna try to make her feel better."

"Of course! To be honest, you're probably the only person I trust to be around her right now aside from my parents." The women walk upstairs and Katya gently knocks on Maddie's door, opening it slowly. "Maddie, baby. I have a surprise for you!" She says tenderly, then opens the door further so Trixie can walk in.

Maddie is sitting on the floor, colouring a colouring book with her good arm. She doesn't move or look at them, continuing with her activity, but seems calm. Trixie sits before her with the basket on her lap.

"Hey, Maddie. Your mom told me you broke your arm, so I brought you some treats to cheer you up! There are lots of strawberry cupcakes, macarons and other little treats for you and your mom to share. But don't let her steal your cupcakes, those are just for you!" Trixie says in the kindest most sweet voice. Maddie keeps colouring, not even looking at Trixie. "I'm gonna leave the basket here with you and you can have them whenever you want, ok? I hope you get better soon, sweetie."

Trixie gets up and slowly walks away, leaving the basket behind. Right before she leaves the room, she is surprised by a single arm wrapping around her waist and a head leaning against her back. She turns around and properly hugs Maddie for as long as the girl wants. Then, Maddie slightly smiles at Trixie and runs back to her colouring book. Katya is looking at her lover with tears in her eyes, positively surprised by the spontaneous act of gratitude from Maddie, especially the smile. Trixie is also teary eyed. Katya closes the door to give Maddie her space back and they walk back downstairs to the living room.

"I can't believe this, Trix..." Katya is smiling and wiping away the tears that run down her cheeks.

"I wasn't expecting it either...I...I'm so glad I could do something for her."

Katya hugs Trixie, holding her tightly. "Thank you so much for being so good to me and my daughter. I love you." Katya pulls away and kisses her repeatedly.

"I love you too. I love both of you."

They sit on the couch, chat and snuggle throughout the afternoon, Katya going upstairs every now and then to check on Maddie and bring her some food that isn't just cupcakes. Katya sees the sun go down outside and knows that Harry will be home soon, which makes her stomach hurt.

"I'm gonna talk to him about the divorce next week. We have this big fundraiser gala thing happening on Saturday and he wants us to go together. I think it'll be nice for both of our reputations, since there's gonna be so many other lawyers and academics there. After that, I just want to be away from him."

"Wait, is this the event?" Trixie shows her an invitation on her phone.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"My parents were also invited and they asked me to come along! To do some networking and stuff, get some catering jobs." Trixie is suddenly a thousand percent more excited for the event.

"Oh my God, this is awesome! So I'm gonna see you there in a pretty gown?" Katya slides a hand up Trixie's thigh, under her dress.

"Yes, baby, you are. And I can't wait to see you, Mrs Doncaster, all fancy and sexy." Trixie brings her face closer to Katya's.

"Soon I'll be Miss Zamolodchikova again, and I can't fucking wait." They're are just about to kiss when they hear keys on the door and abruptly pull apart, pretending they're having a casual conversation as Harry walks in.

"Evening." He nods awkwardly to the women, who only slightly wave at him, then he quickly goes upstairs, locking himself in the bedroom.

"I think I should get going, baby." Trixie whispers to Katya.

"I'll see you Saturday." Katya winks at Trixie and squeezes her hand, then walks her to the front door.

"Bye, baby. I love you."

"I love you too." Katya gives her a quick peck on the lips before Trixie walks over to her car.

Harry and Katya haven't talked about her pregnancy since the day they found out about it. Katya hasn't told Trixie either. It's almost like it never happened, like a distant dream. Katya hasn't made any decisions regarding her pregnancy yet, but she is leaning towards keeping the baby. Either way, she hasn't put too much thought into it.

It's weird for her to get dressed in front of Harry now, like she is naked in front of a stranger. He tries not to look but Katya catches him glancing at her as she puts her red satin gown on.

"Can you help me out real quick? I can't reach the zipper because of my arm..." she says, holding the dress while he zips the back of it carefully. "Thanks."

Katya looks beautiful tonight. She rarely wears contacts for she finds them uncomfortable, but she has decided it is the type of day to showcase her beautiful face with stunning makeup that makes her blue eyes even prettier. Her hair is curled and melts into shoulder length waves while her perfectly trimmed bangs are straight, barely above her eyebrows. Harry can't help but look at her in awe, and she notices it. Usually the hungry eyes of her husband would make her feel happy and desired, but now it nearly disgusts her.

"You look beautiful." He says.

"Thanks." She replies, unaffected by the compliment.

"Listen, Katya...I love you. I don't feel good about the way I've been treating you lately, I just...I've been a bad husband."

"Yeah, you have." she states matter-of-factly.

"I have been really unfair to you, with my accusations and suspicions. And I wanna apologize to you for that. I mean it." He walks towards her with the intention of kissing her, but she turns away.

"We can talk about this later. Let's just go to the event and have a good time right now."

He nods and they both go downstairs. Katya had dropped Maddie off at her grandparents' house earlier, the only other place where the girl doesn't have constant crying outbursts other than her own home, at the company of her mother. Since the party is supposed to end late, she will stay the night over there, and there's no one in this world that Katya trusts more with her kid than her parents. Well, except for Trixie.

Harry drives Katya's Cadillac CTS while he hasn't received the insurance money to get himself a new one, and they spend the ride in absolute silence. Being in a car with Harry for the first time since the accident triggers Katya a bit and she gets flashbacks, trying extremely hard not to have a panic attack. Maddie won't get in a car with her father, and they didn't try to push her to do so at all. Katya also has the same trauma response, but as an adult, she tells herself to suck it up and wait till the moment is gone.

They get to the event and Katya could not get out of the car any faster, making Harry speed up the pace of his walk to catch up with her. They are good pretenders, smiling at their colleagues, greeting people, introducing themselves as the Doncasters, as if nothing is wrong. All Katya wants is to find Trixie and get away from her husband, but there are way too many people in the event, making it hard for her to look for the woman.

"Katya, my dear, how are you doing? Harry told us about the accident." a fellow professor asks.

"I'm doing well! Muscles are still very sore and I got this big scar on my arm now, but other than that I'm doing well." she says, leaving out the part where she panicked the entire ride there and had to keep it to herself.

"That is great news! We've all been really worried about you. How about your little one, is she doing ok?"

"She is recovering. She broke her arm so it's gonna take a while, but she's good." Katya does not feel like telling everyone about her child's PTSD. They don't need to know everything.

"I'm happy to hear that! Well, it was nice seeing you again, Katya. And you too Harry. Enjoy the party, guys." the professor smiles and walks away, leaving Katya and Harry alone at the table.

The tension between the couple can be cut with a knife as Harry tries several times to hold Katya's hand over the table and she pulls it away. They keep smiling at everyone who greets them and try their best not to seem like they have barely spoken to each other in a week.

"I saw a basket in Maddie's room the other day. Did your friend Trixie bring her treats?"

"Yeah. Maddie actually gave her a hug after, we were very surprised."

"Maddie hugged her?" Harry sounds almost offended.

"She did. It was very sweet, she loves Trixie."

Harry looks like he just got punched in the face and Katya could not care less. Especially when she sees a familiar face going towards the ladies' room.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." She says, getting up and walking towards where her lover is.

There is a little hallway where the bathrooms are and it doesn't seem like anyone is there.

"Trix!" Katya calls before the girl enters the bathroom.

"Katya, oh my God you look so beautiful!" Trixie walks towards her in her bubblegum pink gown and gives Katya a big hug. "And you smell so good too, holy shit. Can I kidnap you tonight?"

"I wish you would."

They look at each other for a few seconds, smiling, when suddenly a hand abruptly grabs Katya's wrist and pulls her away.

"I should've fucking known. We're going home." Harry says, his voice trembling with anger.

"Harry, what are you doing..."

"Don't say a fucking word to me, Katya. We're leaving."

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Trixie says to him, trying her best not to yell.

"You stay out of this! Fucking dyke." Harry walks away, pulling Katya by her wrist, not caring who sees it. Trixie tries to go after them but Katya mouths a "Please, don't." to her, tears rolling down her sorry eyes.

Harry basically throws Katya in the car and drives away fast, going over the speed limit with no seatbelt on. Katya is panicking in the passenger seat, crying and trying her best to breathe properly, the high speed and traumatic stress making it almost impossible. She begs him to slow down several times but he is too immersed in his own rage to even listen. They get home quick and Harry drags her inside, pushing her into the couch. Katya sits there, crying profusely, nearly screaming.

Harry walks in circles, punching and kicking some furniture every now and then.

"I knew you were cheating on me. I knew you were a fucking slut!" He yells at her, who is still sobbing on the couch.

"I'm not...Harry..."

"Shut up! You don't get to talk anymore, Katya. You keep lying to my face while you're out there with that fucking dyke doing whatever the fuck you two bitches do, and you have the nerve to call me out? To say I'm a bad husband?" Katya takes several deep breaths, trying to pull herself together and stand her ground. "Tell me to my face Katya. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you were cheating on me this whole time. Tell me!" He yells, nearly spitting on her.

Katya gets up from the couch, furious. She is done with this man, and she is determined to let him know how much. "Do you really wanna know, Harry? Do you really want me to tell you how I have been sleeping with a woman all this time? Do you really wanna know how good in bed she is?" her voice raises at every word she says. "Do you really wanna know how she has treated me with so much love and has satisfied me in ways you could never, ever do?" she yells in his face, and she would keep going if it wasn't for the strong slap in the face Harry just gave her. His wedding band hit her cheek so hard that she can feel it burning, and knows it's gonna bruise. What an irony.

Katya lost her balance in her heels after the unexpected slap and fell to the floor, hitting her knee hard. Another body part that's definitely gonna bruise. She sits there, looking down, dizzy. She has never been more disgusted with her husband the way she is now. He stares at her, scared, knowing damn well he crossed all of the lines with her.

"Fuck, Katya, I'm sorry, I..." he tries to help her up but she scoots away from him.

"Don't touch me." she says, terrified and disgusted by the man. She gets up on her own, slowly, then sits on the nearest armchair and takes her heels off. Harry is at the other end of the living room, walking back and forth in his insanity. He walks back closer to Katya but doesn't approach her.

"I lost control, I...you kept provoking me..."

"Now you shut up and listen to me." She says firmly, getting up from the chair. "You're a hypocrite piece of shit. You have the audacity to be mad at me and to physically assault me for cheating on you when you have been doing the exact same thing!" she yells at him, using the last breath she had in her, then sits back down on the chair.

Harry stares at her with bloodshot teary eyes, incredulous. He had absolutely no idea that Katya knew about his affair. "How do you..."

"I'm not an idiot, Harry. I've been your mistress, I know your excuses."

He walks towards the couch and sits across from Katya. They sit in silence for several minutes, waiting for the dense energy in the room to fade a little. Katya can hear her purse buzzing over and over on the coffee table and she knows it's Trixie calling her, worried. She picks up her phone and types in a quick text to give her lover some peace.

KATYA

I'm ok. Him and I are just talking. He knows about us. Don't worry about me. I'll stop by your place tomorrow.

"Katya..." he says, calmly, after she puts her phone back in her purse. "Do you love her?"

Katya stares deep into his eyes. "Do you love her?" her voice is deep and unintentionally threatening.

"No. I don't." He says without hesitation.

Katya takes a deep breath. "Did you love me?"

"Of course I did. You were the love of my life, Katya."

She looks down for a few seconds. "I do love Trixie. A lot. And she loves me too." she says confidently, feeling like she took a thousand pounds off her shoulders.

"So there is no saving our marriage, huh?" he says, looking exhausted and sad.

"Our marriage is a joke, Harry. We're cheating on each other, for fuck's sake. You literally just hit me. There's no love here anymore." Katya is calmer than she expected.

"I still love you..."

"No, you don't. You hurt me, Harry. And not just physically, you have been hurting me for years. All I wanted was for you to be gentle, loving, for you to touch me, tell me you love me...You couldn't do any of that anymore. And that fucking hurt me. More than this slap." she points at her cheek, tears running down the spot. "And you didn't hurt just me, you hurt our daughter. Maddie misses her father and she sees you every day. You never cared about her, you don't know anything about your child. Your son, Kevin, he is an asshole to her and you do nothing about that!"

"Kevin is nineteen, he's just a kid..."

Katya feels like she's just got slapped in the face for the second time tonight. It's like she has just been informed of something lifechanging, but for the worst. The flashbacks hurt more than the skin on her cheek, the realization that she had her youth stolen from her, by the man that's sitting right there in front of her.

"Harry...I was nineteen when we started sleeping together." her voice trembles and the tears become heavier. Katya is hit all at once with the grief for her younger self. "You were my age. The age I am today. Harry, when I was Maddie's age you were twenty four! This is fucked up, this is...Harry, I was a kid!" she sobs, finally realizing what everyone had been telling her over the years but she was too in love to see it.

"Katya, we were in love..." he says, but his facial expression tells Katya that he knows he's wrong. He's been wrong.

"I was a teenager! You were a thirty four year old adult with a wife and a child! You should've known better!" She doesn't want to yell, but she can't help it at this point.

"I, I..." He lets the tears run down his cheeks. "You're right. I was so madly in love with you I didn't even see how..."

"How I was a kid?" she looks into his eyes to make sure he understands what she's talking about.

He sighs and nods. "Yeah. And...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Katya...I thought I was giving you a good life..." his crying intensifies.

"You did give me a good life for a while, Harry. But at the cost of my youth. And it took me sixteen years to see that."

The long silence returns and they cry quietly, taking everything in. It's not the easiest thing in the world to end a marriage of 10 years and a relationship of 16. Katya promises herself to never let the same thing happen to her little Maddie, to never allow any man to put her through that. Katya allows herself to cry for a while, to mourn her younger self and to then put herself back in that place where she thinks about the future instead of the past. Because it's over and it's not going to change. But her future will.

"I think it's time for us to let each other go." Harry says calmly.

"I think so too." she says, almost whispering.

He takes a long deep breath. "Give me a few minutes alone in our room, I'm gonna get my stuff."

"You don't have to leave right now, it's the middle of the night..."

"I have to, Katya." he looks at her and she nods in understanding.

While Harry is locked in their room packing up, Katya decides to shower and clean up her face that definitely has makeup smeared all over it. She has a hard time washing her face due to the bruise on her cheek, but eventually gets all of the makeup off. She looks at herself in the mirror and her cheek is already turning purple, and the pain is sharp. By the time she's done showering and has her hair up in a messy bun, glasses back on and a fluffy red robe covering her body, Harry is in the living room with a couple of suitcases.

"I'm calling a cab, gonna spend the night at this hotel and then see what I'm gonna do next." Katya nods. She goes over to the kitchen and grabs a bag of ice to put on her cheek, then goes back into the living room. "I'm gonna call the office and see if I can send you the divorce papers as soon as possible."

"That'd be nice." she says, her voice weak and tired.

"And, uh, about the baby..."

"I'm keeping it. But I'm not gonna force you to be a father if you don't want to."

"I...I just can't be a father again. Not at this age, not for the third time. But I will help with whatever you need, anything at all. I mean it."

"Thank you." she nods and gives him a polite smile.

Harry looks at his phone and sees his cab has arrived. He walks towards Katya with his suitcases and looks into her eyes. "Thank you for the last sixteen years. You're a wonderful woman and I'm honoured that I got to be your husband. I'm sorry I couldn't be a better one."

"Goodbye, Harry." she says softly, smiling a little.

He kisses her forehead and leaves the house, leaving Katya in absolute silence and peace for the first time in sixteen years.

Chapter Text

Katya is sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of hot black coffee steaming before her. The curtains and windows are open and she takes a deep breath and smiles when the spring morning breeze hits her face and slightly soothes the pain on her cheek. She is in a burgundy tank top under a black cardigan and black sweatpants. Barefoot. She feels ten years younger and ten times happier. She contemplates growing out her hair, why not? She's a beautiful woman. She can pull of any hairstyle she wants. She looks at her left hand and there is no ring. Her bandages are also gone. Freedom looks beautiful on Katya. After she takes a long sip of her coffee, she picks up her phone and calls her mother.

"Mama? Hey, good morning!"

"Good morning, Katinka! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fantastic, actually. Harry and I broke up."

"Are you serious?" Sonya nearly screams in excitement.

"Yes! We split up last night, he already took his things and left."

"Oh, Katinka, moye rebenok...I'm so happy for you. It always broke my heart to see you with that man..."

It's true. Katya's mother has always been very vocal about how much she disagrees with her relationship with Harry, for many reasons, and so has her father. Nobody in Katya's life was ever supportive of her marriage, and that was something that used to upset her, but now she sees that it was just justifiable concern. Katya even got into some fights with her parents, defending Harry when her mother would cry and nearly beg her to understand where she was coming from. But love blinded her. And being so young, getting manipulated by her handsome professor's charm was an easy thing. Now that Katya is older she understands it. She is still gonna be haunted by the knowledge that she gave up many years of her youth to an older, unfaithful man, but at least now she can move on from it and be truly happy.

"I know. I never really understood how terrible our relationship was until yesterday. I...I was naive. But the past is in the past. And soon I'll no longer be married to him anymore."

"Oh, that makes my heart so happy..."

"Are you crying, mama?"

"Yeah, just a little bit. I'm just happy. I'm sure your father will be too."

"Yeah, he never liked Harry either."

"Oh, Katinka, he absolutely hates him. Your father is pretty sure that man cast a spell on you or something."

"Honestly, that's what it felt like. So, um anyway, I have a lot of stuff I need to take care of today, is it ok if I pick up Maddie tomorrow morning?"

"No problem at all! She has been in a very good mood actually. She's watching cartoons with your father right now."

"Is she talking at all?"

"She is giggling. She cried a little bit before bed last night but soon your papa calmed her down, you know how good he is with those things. So, she hasn't really said any words but at least she is happy now."

"This makes me so happy, mama. Thank you so much for being such an amazing babushka."

"Oh, moye ditya, I love little Maddie the same way I love you, and so does your father. You don't need to thank me."

"I love you, mama. I've gotta run now, thanks again for watching Maddie for me. Tell her I'm picking her up first thing tomorrow morning and I'm bringing treats from Trixie!"

"Oh, is that your baker friend?"

"Yes! Maddie loves her to death, she'll be happy when you tell her."

"I will tell her, then! Do svidaniya, Katinka!"

"Bye mama!"

Katya hangs up and smiles again. She can't wait to tell Trixie she is finally free to date her without having to hide, make love to her and stay the night. Although, she is dreading telling her that she's pregnant. She considers the very real possibility that Trixie could leave her. She wouldn't blame her for it, as much as it would hurt. Katya already has a child and is about to have another one, she's not trying to force two children into Trixie's life like that. In a perfect world, they'd just become this beautiful happy family. She hopes she's living in this perfect world right now.

Katya drives over to the pink building, anxiety building up insanely fast as she parks her car. She goes up the stairs and knocks on her door.

"Hi ba...what happened to your face? Did he hit you?" Trixie says, her face instantly turning red with anger.

"Um, yeah. But it's fine, I'll tell you all about it." Katya walks into the apartment, the smell of roses calming her down. She sits down on the comfortable pink couch and feels her limbs shake with nervousness. Trixie sits beside her on the couch and takes her hand where her ring is nowhere to be seen.

"No ring? Does that mean..." Trixie is already smiling widely.

"Yes. Harry and I have separated last night." Katya can't help but burst into laughter with how happy she is, especially seeing how happy Trixie is.

Trixie throws herself over Katya and hugs her, leaving kisses all over her face, except for the bruised spot. "This is great, I can't believe this, baby. I'm so happy!" she hugs Katya again.

"Trix, you're choking me." Katya says, giggling.

"Sorry, I'm just so..." Trixie makes a high pitched noise that makes Katya laugh even more.

"Me too, baby."

"Okay, so...what happened last night?" Trixie says after she comes down from her outburst of happiness.

"Uh..." Katya looks down and takes several deep breaths. "Before I talk about that, I need to tell you something."

"Okay..." Trixie is suspicious, not knowing what to expect.

"If you want to break up after I tell you this I just want you to know that I won't hold it against you at all."

"Katya, I don't think there's anything..."

"I'm pregnant." Katya says, unable to wait any longer.

Trixie is frozen, looking at her in surprise. "What?" her voice barely comes out.

"About 5 weeks. I found out the day of the accident, at the hospital. I...I had no idea, I was in shock...anyway, I don't want to make this your problem, Trix. I know you didn't sign up for a girlfriend with a child and a baby, and I understand if that's too much..."

"Katya, baby. Please stop talking for a second." Trixie says, smiling a little. "First of all, I love you. And that means I love everything that comes with you, especially your children." Trixie squeezes her hand reassuringly. Katya smiles earnestly at her. "I'm not gonna lie, I was definitely not expecting that, mostly because you said you and Harry didn't have sex anymore..."

"We didn't. There was this one time, though...it was right before you and I got together. I was so desperate to forget you because I was so in love with you that my dumbass thought that having sex with my dickhead husband would magically make it go away." Katya covers her face with one of her hands and blushes, embarrassed. "It clearly didn't, it actually made me feel worse. I cried like an idiot after..."

"Okay, that makes sense." Trixie nods, processing the information.

"Baby...are you sure this is what you want?" Katya asks, still filled with insecurity.

"Katya, for the billionth time, yes, this is exactly what I want. I want you and I can't wait to be the best stepmom in the world."

Katya tears up a little. "How did I get so lucky?"

"How did I get so lucky?" Trixie gently holds Katya's face by her jaw and pulls her close, pressing her soft lips against hers, then runs her fingers through Katya's hair. The kiss isn't rushed, it's tender, sweet, calm. They've got all the time in the world. "What are you doing today?" Trixie slightly breaks the kiss and asks.

"Well, I was thinking we could celebrate our first day of freedom by doing absolutely nothing together all day. And if you want, maybe I could stay the night." Katya has a sweet smirk that makes Trixie's heart skip a beat.

"That sounds like a great plan." she smiles at Katya. "Also, I have a question for you."

"Okay."

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend? Officially?" Trixie smiles like a silly teenager. Katya feels young again. Finally.

"Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend." Katya giggles and kisses her. Her girlfriend.

"Okay, girlfriend, I'm gonna go over to the kitchen to make something nice for us and you can watch TV, take a nap, a shower...whatever you want!"

"Hey, what if I wanna watch you cook?"

"That is not an option because what I'm making is a surprise." Trixie boops her nose and Katya pouts.

"I'm gonna go piss on your bed, then."

"As long as you wash the sheets after, go for it babe!" Trixie gets up, laughing, and goes to the kitchen.

Katya wants to sit there and watch Trixie do what she loves, but she also doesn't wanna spoil her surprise, so she just turns the TV on and watches Wheel of Fortune. At one point, Katya ends up falling asleep for a little bit, a combination of exhaustion from the night before and extreme calmness that Trixie's bright, breezy and roses scented apartment brings. Trixie checks on her after saying something from the kitchen and getting no response, and softly giggles when she sees her girlfriend sleeping like an angel on her couch with the TV on. Even though it's mid spring, Trixie still feels the need to put her pastel pink and white crochet blanket over Katya, then kisses her forehead and goes back  into the kitchen.

Katya wakes up several minutes later to the delicious smell of pizza taking over the entire house, and she is drawn to the kitchen, completely forgetting that she is not supposed to.

"Katya! I told you it's a surprise!" Trixie says, trying to cover up the pink bowl where she is mixing something in.

"Oh fuck, I'm so sorry, I'm like half asleep right now but...damn this smells so good."

"You are so disobedient." Trixie rolls her eyes and laughs.

"Are you gonna ground me?" Katya says with a smirk, then sits down at the pretty pink table close to the door.

"It's what you deserve right now." Trixie continues to mix the batter in the bowl.

"So, watcha making?" Katya supports her chin on her hands, eyes glued to Trixie's ass.

"Well, since you can already smell it there's no point hiding it, I'm making a delicious four cheese pizza with my mom's recipe and something for dessert that I will not tell you."

"Is it a cake?"

"No."

"Donuts?"

"No..."

"Chocolate eclairs?"

"Katya, I'm not gonna tell you!" Trixie picks up some flour with her finger and smudges it on Katya's nose.

"Hey!"

"You asked for it!" Trixie laughs.

"That's fair."

Katya eventually gets distracted watching the beautiful woman before her walking around the kitchen, extremely focused on her tasks. She smiles at the realization that she can be silly, playful, childish around Trixie and not have her partner roll her eyes and patronize her. There are no power dynamics, no urge to act older, more serious. It's simple and fun with her and Trixie. Katya has caught herself having some of the anxieties Harry caused her, being extremely self conscious and worrying way too much about what Trixie would think of her every single action. But Trixie doesn't care. And Katya is glad she gets to heal from all of those years of tension and pressure next to someone so lovely, so sweet.

Trixie giggles when she notices Katya has completely zoned out while looking at her, hypnotized by her beauty. Katya learned pretty fast that cooking and baking for her loved ones is Trixie's main love language, and she's glad that now she gets to sit and watch her walking around in her pink apron, focused and dedicated to it.

"I'm almost done! I just need to take the pizza out of the oven and put the secret little treats in after." Trixie says, putting her pink floral oven mitts on.

"I have a feeling this pizza might change my life."

"Oh, it will. I make the best pizza in the country." Trixie says with a proud smile.

"I don't doubt it. This smells so good that I wasn't even hungry and now it feels like I haven't eaten in twenty years.

"Stop, you're boosting my ego!" Trixie takes the pizza out of the oven, placing it carefully on top of the stove, her accent more evident than ever.

Katya is stunned with how clean and pink the whole kitchen is. Even her fridge is pink, which seems correct when it comes to Trixie. The fact that everything is so organized and pretty makes Katya feel like her food is even tastier because of it. Trixie was really born to do this.

"It's pizza time, darling!" Trixie says in the most British way she can.

"Oh my God, I can't escape the brits, can I?" Katya jokes.

"Just wait 'till you meet my parents, I hope you like tea." Trixie places a slice of pizza on each pink and gold ceramic plates after cutting it.

"Oooh, are we at that stage already?" Katya says jokingly, but Trixie doesn't catch it and just looks at her, confused. "I'm kidding! I can't wait to meet them and see in what kind of pink kingdom you were raised in."

Trixie sits at the table, placing the plates down. "You better start liking pink, because you'll be seeing a lot of it from now on, baby."

"I think I might as well surrender, huh? Maddie, you, your mom...everyone loves pink. I'm a minority!"

"I mean, you did come into my bakery spontaneously. I call that progress."

"That is tr...HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE BEST PIZZA I'VE EVER HAD." Katya lets out, closing her eyes at every bite she takes.

"I told you! I make the best pizza in the country, everyone else can eat my ass!"

"Oh I would love to." Katya says, making Trixie burst into laughter.

"Are you an ass connoisseur too?" Trixie is nearly choking on the pizza with how much she is laughing."

"I'm definitely about to become one." Katya winks at her and laughs along. She can't remember the last time she was this happy and relaxed.

They finish eating and move to the living room while they wait for Trixie's surprise to finish baking.

"Okay, so tell me about last night." Trixie says, turning down the TV volume.

"Yeah...well, he basically dragged me home, as you kinda saw, just throwing me around like a trash bag. He was speeding so much in that fucking car that I had a panic attack. Anyway, we get home and he's still pretty aggressive, I couldn't stop crying because he kept calling me a slut and all..."

"Fucking piece of shit..." Trixie clenches her fists in anger, but then Katya gently places her hand on top of hers, making her relax.

"...so when I kinda pulled myself together a bit I was just fucking angry and I started telling him that you love me and satisfy me in a way that he never did, I was yelling at him. And because of that, he slapped me in the face. The bruise is from his ring."

"Katya, what the fuck...Did he hurt you again? Did he touch you?" Trixie is unsettled, moving around on the couch, her face burning.

"No, no! He was kind of scared right after, he tried to help me up, because I had fallen down, but I didn't let him get close to me anymore. That was my last straw with him, so I just told him that I knew he was cheating on me too and that he was a fucking hypocrite for being so aggressive with me. He had no idea I knew, so after that things kinda got...calmer? I don't know...there was a moment when I...I..." Katya has to pause so she won't start crying. "I realized that him and I should've never been together in the first place, cause...I was...I was a teenager..." Katya can't help but cry again, reliving all of last night's feelings.

"Katya, baby..." Trixie pulls her in for a hug. It hurts her to see Katya realize how many years of her youth she lost to that man, but she is also content to know that Katya came to that realization on her own.

"I don't know how I didn't realize how awful that was before...and everyone tried to tell me..."

"It's not your fault, Katya. He was the adult, he should've known better."

"That's exactly what I told him yesterday!" Katya sits back and looks at Trixie, relieved that she understands her. "I just...it's fucked up, all of that is fucked up. He apologized and ended up agreeing with me. He was embarrassed with the shit he's done to me."

"Well, he should be embarrassed. And you..." Trixie puts Katya's hair behind her ear. "You deserve to be happy and loved." Katya smiles at her. "And I'm really glad I'm the one who gets to offer that to you."

"I'm so lucky to have found you, Trix. And I'm gonna do the impossible to make you happy and feel loved as well."

"You don't even need to try that hard. Just having you here, eating pizza for lunch and watching TV makes me the happiest I've ever been. I love you."

"I love you too, baby!" Katya gently holds Trixie's face with both hands and kisses her forehead, then the oven timer goes off.

"Oh, it's ready! I'll be right back, stay here and don't fall asleep!" Trixie quickly gets up and frolics towards the kitchen.

"You're bossy today, huh?" Katya says, giggling.

After a few minutes of impatiently waiting, Katya is surprised by a beautiful pink and gold tray full of mouthwatering chocolate chip cookies that smell insanely good.

"I was gonna make you cinnamon rolls, but I decided to make you something you haven't tried yet. Well, at least not the ones I've made. And some would say I make the best cookies in the country!" Trixie places the tray on the coffee table before her.

"Well, as suspicious as your sources sound, I do believe that you make the best everything in the country. You're a very talented lady, miss Mattel." Katya reaches for the cookies but Trixie immediately slaps her hand, gently.

"They're still too hot! We gotta wait a little."

"Why would you put something so delicious looking in front of me if I can't have it?" Katya starts laughing right after.

"Why are you laughing?" Trixie starts laughing along, contaminated by her girlfriend.

"I just realized this is the same thing I was thinking the first time I saw you..." Katya can't stop laughing and it starts turning into a wheeze. "It's a beautiful metaphor..."

"You're a fucking weirdo!" Trixie says, laughing even harder.

"It's the truth, though! I was so miserable that you were right there, so beautiful, so sweet and so fucking hot and I couldn't kiss you..." Katya's laugh beings to fade.

"Well, now you can." Trixie pulls her in for a kiss and it quickly turns into a makeout session.

Katya is quick to slide her hand under Trixie's dress and tease her over her panties. She lets out little moans at the touch, instantly craving more. Katya puts more pressure on her, rubbing circles around her pussy until Trixie gives her signs that she wants more, so she just slides her panties to the side and fucks her, two fingers in. Her thumb is still rubbing her clit, and Trixie is having a hard time continuing to kiss Katya, getting completely taken over by the pleasure and stimulation.

"Baby..." Trixie says, her eyes shut.

"Yeah?" Katya says in her ear, fucking her faster and harder until Trixie gets louder and then traps Katya's hand with her thighs when she reaches her high, holding on to the back of Katya's neck, her lips pressed against her cheek as her moans start to fade.

"That was so hot." She says, trying to catch her breath.

"You are so hot." Katya presses her lips against Trixie's, not lingering too much so the woman can breathe. She puts Trixie's wet panties back in place and gives the area two little slaps, making Trixie squirm a little and giggle.

"Well, that was a nice way to wait for the cookies to cool off a little bit."

"Couldn't think of a better way." Katya smiles, then Trixie leans against her body and Katya holds her, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too." Trixie looks up at her and smiles. "Ok, let's eat some cookies!"

Katya nearly screams when she tastes the cookies with how good they are and eats half the tray alone, Trixie only eating one or two. They spend the rest of the day cuddling on the couch under the crochet blanket, watching TV and making each other laugh. When it's late in the night, Trixie takes Katya to her bedroom and eats her out like it's her job, making her have about three orgasms. But that isn't even the best part of their night. The best part is that Katya finally got to stay the night.

Chapter Text

A divorce can take a very long time by default, but Harry and Katya are willing to make things easier for each other and have agreed on almost everything; a no-fault uncontested divorce. The only thing they are still discussing is the custody of Maddie and the child Katya is carrying, for they aren't sure if it's best for them to have their father completely disappear from their lives or to be mildly present.

"Have you told Madison that we've separated yet?" Harry asks, drinking his Starbucks black coffee.

"I said that you were spending some days away, because of work. I wanna take it slow with her, she's just starting to get better."

"I don't think she's going to care much. She doesn't like me." He almost sounds sad.

"If you want to fix your relationship with your daughter, it's up to you to go talk to her."

"She doesn't want to talk to me, Katya."

"Have you tried? Since the accident, have you tried to talk to her?" She looks at him, his blue eyes nearly closed due to the bright sunlight at the university's garden.

"No. I just assumed it would be best for her if I didn't."

"I'm not gonna try to convince you to approach her if you don't want to. But in my opinion, I think you should try to bond with her while there's still time. Because in a few years she's gonna be a teenager and that's gonna make everything way harder for the both of you."

Harry doesn't say anything. He takes a deep breath and stares into nothingness for a few seconds. "I think you should have full custody of her." he says after contemplating.

"You...you don't want to share custody with me?" Katya is appalled.

"I don't know if I need it. You've always known what's best for her and taken care of her better than I ever could. It's like I told you that day at the hospital, I never wanted to be a father. I will help you two financially, I'll save up for her to go to college, but I...I don't know if I can do as good of a job parenting as you do."

"Harry...are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm not gonna disappear completely from her life, but I just can't do this. Maybe I'll...try to get closer to her at some point, but I know I do more harm than good being around her."

"I mean, if that's what you want...Just make sure you don't regret it. And, um... what about the baby?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know how I'm gonna be a part of this baby's life. I can't tell you that right now, Katya. But like I said before, I'll support you financially with whatever you need, I just don't know if I can be a father again." He looks tired, sad, distressed.

"You already know how I feel about you running away from your children. You know your responsibilities. Although, I do appreciate your honesty."

"I owe you honesty. I don't know if I'll ever be able to make up for all the damage I caused you and Maddie, but I'll try." He looks at her, teary eyed. "I love you, Katya. I just want you to be happy."

She sighs. "Even after everything...I want you to be happy too, Harry."

He smiles at her. "I gotta say, I...I was kind of shocked when I realized you were having an affair with a woman. I had no idea..."

"Yeah, I...I've always liked women, I found out I was bisexual in high school. I just never told you because I was afraid you were gonna judge me."

"Are you happy with Trixie?"

She smiles thinking about her girlfriend. "I am. She makes me really happy."

"And Madison likes her too, right?"

"Yeah. They get along really well, sometimes I think Trixie understands her better than I do."

"That's nice. It makes me happy." He smiles at her.

"So, where are you living now?"

"I got an apartment in that new condo they opened around here. I can walk to work until I get a new car, which is nice."

"That's great! And, um...are you still seeing..."

"No. I ended it with the girl I was having an affair with. I'm not gonna go after women that are too young for me anymore. I...I realized what it did to you and I'm not sure I can ever forgive myself for that."

"I'm glad you acknowledge it, though. And there are plenty of hot women in their fourties and fifties that you can have a lovely relationship with. Trust me." Katya giggles.

"Let's hope I get as lucky as you did."

"You will. Now I gotta get to class, I'll see you around, Harry." She says, shaking his hand and smiling.

"See you around, Katya."

Across the town, Trixie is having her weekly afternoon tea with her parents. She's planned on telling them about Katya, and her nerves are already exploding inside her. Her relationship with them may be amazing and they may have always been very open with each other, but that isn't keeping Trixie from feeling extremely anxious about revealing to them she is in a relationship with a woman that is still legally married and also pregnant.

"Tris, dear, you look distressed. Is everything alright?" Ken asks, drinking is tea and petting one of their little dogs with the other hand.

"Yeah, um..." Trixie clears her throat. "I wanna tell you guys something. And I'm scared you two are gonna be disappointed...but I can't keep this a secret from you anymore. You know we don't keep anything from each other."

"We're not gonna be disappointed in you, Trixie. We're your parents, we love you no matter what, dear." Lisa says, stroking her daughter's arm.

"Okay..." Trixie sighs. "I am in a relationship right now."

"Oh, really?" Ken sounds excited. Lisa immediately knows where this is going and looks concerned.

"Yeah, but...she is still legally married to her husband. They are not living together anymore, they've broken up already, but divorce takes time and..."

"It's Katya, right?" Lisa asks.

"Yeah..."

"Oh, wow. I was not expecting that, for sure, but...are you happy? Is everything going well?" Ken asks.

"i've never been happier, dad. And mom..." Lisa looks at her. "I'm sorry, I know you..."

"Trixie, baby." Lisa holds both of her hands. "I may not think this is the ideal way to have a relationship, but I'm with your dad on this one too. As long as you're ok, happy and out of trouble, we'll support you. And I think I speak for the both of us when I say that I can't wait to meet her."

"Yeah, I wanna meet the woman that's making my Tris happy." Ken says, smiling.

"Thank you so much, I don't know what I would do without you guys." Trixie smiles, almost getting emotional. But there is another thing she needs to reveal. "Um, mom already knows this, but, Katya has a daughter. She's nine and we get along so well, she's such a sweet kid."

"Oh, that's wonderful! We get to be step grandparents!" Ken says.

"And..." Trixie takes very deep breath. "Katya is...she's pregnant."

"Oh..." Lisa is caught by surprise with the new information.

"She didn't find out until recently when she got in a car accident with her ex husband and her daughter. She had no idea...um, anyway, her ex is not really into the idea of parenthood, so I don't know if he'll want to be in the kid's life at all, but I do. I know it's crazy because Katya and I haven't been together for that long, but I can't imagine life without her anymore. She makes me happy in a way I never thought I could be..."

"Tris...did you know your mother and I got married three months into our relationship?" Ken says and Lisa nods.

"You...you did? How come I never knew about that?"

"We thought you would believe that this is how every relationship works, when we were actually really lucky to have found our soulmates so soon. But to be quite honest...I can tell the same thing happened for you as well. I can hear it in your voice how much Katya means to you, and I understand because it was the same for us. I love you Tris, and I'm going to love your new family just as much." Ken says, making Trixie and Lisa tear up.

"Dad..." Trixie moves to where her father is sat, on the loveseat, and gives him a tight hug.

"Ken, you're such a poet!" Lisa says, laughing a little.

"I'm just telling the truth!" He looks into his daughter's eyes and smiles, caressing her cheek. "I'm really happy for you, sweetie."

"Thank you, dad. I love you." She hugs him again.

"Hey, I want a hug too!" Lisa says, getting up to sit next to Trixie, who turns around and hugs her. "I feel the same way as your father. I'm so happy for you and I love you so much, Trixie."

"I love you too, mom." Trixie's phone buzzes and she sees a text from Katya.

KATYA

I'm off work! gonna go to my parents to tell them about us. I think I might tell Maddie too. Wish me luck!!

by the way, how did it go with your parents?

TRIXIE

They can't wait to meet you!!! they took it pretty well

I hope the same happens for you, baby

I love you! good luck!

KATYA

Oh, that's amazing Trix! I can't wait to meet them!

alright, I gotta go now, I'm about to drive

i'll update you later! love you!

Katya parks her car outside her parent's house and sees her father playing ball with Maddie at the front yard.

"Hey there!" Katya says, waving at them. Maddie runs towards her and gives her mother a big hug. "Hi baby, did you have fun today?" Maddie nods and smiles. She is still having a hard time talking and still has temper tantrums and crying outbursts, but they have been decreasing ever since she started regularly seeing a therapist. After hugging her mother, the girl runs back to her grandfather to keep playing.

"We've been having a great time today! Maddie got some good grades at school so we went out for some ice cream and have been playing ball all day!" Katya's father says.

"That's great! You guys keep playing, I'm gonna go in to talk to mama real quick!" Katya says, then goes into the house. Her mother is in the kitchen preparing dinner and jumps a little when Katya walks in.

"Jesus, Katinka, you scared me!" she says, giggling.

"Sorry, mama." Katya laughs, then sits on a stool by the kitchen island. "So, I need to talk to you about something, is now a good time?" Katya asks, obsessively picking the skin of her fingers.

"Of course! What do you want to talk about?" Sonya puts a lid on the pot she was just stirring and turns around to face her daughter, elbows propped on the island counter.

"Um...there's actually two things. And they're not easy to talk about at all..."

Sonya reached out for her daughter's anxious hands. "You can tell me anything, moya doch'. I'm your mama."

Katya smiles at the similarities between her and her mother's way of talking to their child. "Okay, I'm just gonna go straight to the point, I'm in a new relationship."

"Oh! Ok...I did not see that coming, considering how recent your breakup is, but if..."

"With a woman." Katya looks down, not wanting to see the look on her mother's face. She never felt the need to come out to her since her high school little flings weren't too meaningful and she has been married to a man for most of her life.

"You are in love with a woman, Katya?" Sonya asks. Her tone is almost neutral, so Katya can't tell if she is upset or not.

"I am, mama. Very much."

"How old?"

"Huh?" Katya looks up to her mother, teary eyed and confused.

"How old is the woman?" Her mother asks, almost impatiently.

"She's twenty eight."

Sonya releases her breath and smiles. "Thank God! And what's her name?" suddenly she is extremely invested, smiling.

"It's Trixie, uh...mama, you don't...you're ok with me dating a woman?" Katya is happy and relieved, but very confused. Her mother never seemed like the type of person who would be accepting of a queer child.

"Of course I am! She is an appropriate age for you! And Trixie, what an adorable name! She is that baker girl, right? When do I get to meet her?"

"Let me tell papa and Maddie first, calm down!" Katya says, laughing. "I'm glad you're happy about it, mama. Trixie is such a sweet woman, so kind, and her bakery is heaven, she makes the most amazing things!"

"Oh, I already like her! We can trade recipes!" Sonya is very excited, smiling and squeezing her daughter's hand.

Katy laughs a little. "That would be amazing. Um, anyway, I still have another thing that I need to tell you, and this is big one too."

"Okay, go for it!"

"I am...pregnant..." Katya is suddenly anxious again.

"You're pregnant?! Katinka, moya doch'!" Sonya goes around the island and holds her daughter tightly in her arms. "Oh my God, I can't believe I'm gonna be a babushka again! Wait...does that mean that that scoundrel of your ex husband will still be in your life?"

"Not...really. He is not so sure about being a father again, but he promised me he'll help me financially. Not that I need it, but I won't say no to it."

"Good. The further that man is from you, the better. Oh, Katya, baby, I'm so happy for you!" Sonya hugs her again, tearing up. "Your ded' is gonna be so happy! And Maddie, oh, she's gonna love it! Does Trixie know?"

"She does. She loves kids, and she and Maddie are obsessed with each other. If you saw them together you would think Maddie is her child, instead of mine."

"That is so good to know, my love. I'm so excited for your little baby! We need to tell your father and Maddie!" Sonya is about to leave the kitchen, then Katya holds her.

"Mama...I don't know how dad's gonna react to me dating a woman." Katya whispers.

"Katinka, he loves you no matter what. He will be happy for you just like I am! Trust me, moya doch'." Sonya reassures.

"Okay. Go get them." Katya smiles. She thinks it's silly to be this nervous about telling her parents about her relationship, after all, she is a 35 year old woman, but their approval is extremely important to her.

Well, if they still love her after 16 years with her older husband that they despised, Katya dating a woman will be the least of their concerns.

"Hey, Katya! Your mat' said you got some news for us?" he sits on the living room couch with Maddie by his side, the girl looking curious and excited. Katya sits on another couch across from them.

"I do! I have two news, actually, and they're pretty big."

"Well, we're ready!" he looks at Maddie and smiles, and she smiles back.

"Ok, so first of all...I am dating someone. A woman." Katya thinks it's best to go straight to the point.

Maddie looks excited and hopeful, probably wishing it's Trixie. Katya's father just looks confused.

"A woman, Katinka? I didn't know you liked women." he says.

"I do, papa. And I love her."

"How old is she?" Katya has to keep herself from laughing at her father having the same concern as her mother.

"She's twenty eight. And her name is Trixie."

"Trixie?!" Maddie says, surprising everyone including herself.

Katya looks at her daughter, teary eyed. "Yes, baby, I took your advice. I'm dating Trixie."

Maddie smiles and runs towards her mother, hugging her tightly. Katya wants to ask her questions, talk to her child, but she doesn't wanna force her to talk more if she doesn't want to.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Katya, I did not expect that. At all. But I see how happy you are and how close in age she is with you, so...I'm happy for you. I truly am." he smiles earnestly.

"Me too!" Maddie says again, smiling at her mother and sitting next to her on the couch. Katya can't help but cry at the sound of her kid's voice, especially being so happy.

"Well, what's the other big news you got?" Katya's father asks.

"Well..." she looks as Maddie and then at her father. "I recently found out that I am going to have a baby."

"You're pregnant?!" her father stands up with the surprise. Maddie is looking at her, smiling extremely widely.

"I am. Maddie's gonna have a little brother or sister!" Katya puts her arm around her daughter, kissing the top of her head.

"Does...he know?" he asks.

"He does. But he doesn't really want to be a part of it, and I respect that. I actually prefer it that way."

"Dad's gone?" Maddie asks.

"Your dad and I are not together anymore, Mads. It's just you and me...and the baby. And Trixie." Katya says, and Maddie smiles.

"I like Trixie." she says, coughing a little after, her voice a bit hoarse.

"Take it easy, baby." Katya gently rubs her daughter's back.

"Come give your papa a hug, Katinka!" her father says with open arms. She gets up and hugs him. "I'm so happy I'm gonna be a dedushka again! This is so amazing, Katya! I love you, moya doch'."

"I love you too, dad." Katya smiles, teary eyed. Her father gives her a forehead kiss, and then she feels little arms around them, Maddie joining in on the hug.

After dinner, Katya takes Maddie home and the girl is silent all the way there, but looking happy and kicking her feet a little bit. Katya feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders after telling everything to her parents and her daughter. All of the fears and uncertainties are mostly gone, and now she can live a new happy life. Right after she parks on her driveway, she gets a text from Trixie.

TRIXIE

I'm home already! How did it go with your parents and Maddie?

KATYA

It went great, baby! They're all pretty happy about it, especially Maddie. I just got home too.

TRIXIE

Wanna come over? With Maddie?

Katya turns to her daughter. "Hey, Mads. Wanna go see Trixie?" The girl nods with a huge smile.

KATYA

be there in 5!

Katya turns on the radio and drives under the sunset to Trixie's place. It is a short drive, but she and Maddie have some silent fun, excited about their destination. After Katya parks, Maddie looks confused to why they are at the bakery if it's closed. Katya reads her expression right away.

"Do you see those two windows up there? That's where Trixie lives! Right above the bakery!" She tells her kid who nods and smiles.   They go upstairs and Katya let's Maddie press the doorbell.

"Coming!" Trixie shouts from inside the apartment, sounding like she is running towards the door. "Hello my beautiful girls!" she says after opening the door, wearing her pink apron and looking extremely messy, with flour and whipped cream smudges here and there.

"Hi, baby!" Katya gives her a little peck and Maddie stands there, smiling widely at Trixie.

"Hey, Maddie!" Trixie smiles at the girl, who just hugs her, not caring that she's covered in baking ingredients. "I'm so happy to see you! Come in, I just put something in the oven for us!" Trixie makes way for Katya and Maddie to walk in and closes the door, taking her apron off after. Maddie looks absolutely mesmerized by the pink apartment.

Katya and Maddie sit on the couch. "So, Trix, Maddie knows that we are a couple now, and she is very excited about it." Katya looks at her daughter, then at Trixie.

"That makes me so happy! I really love you two so much." Trixie says, sitting on an armchair near the couch.

"I love you, Trixie!" Maddie says, her voice barely coming out. She coughs a little after.

Trixie immediately feels like crying, unable to believe her luck with her new family. "Oh, sweetie, come here!" Trixie calls Maddie, and she quickly gets up from the couch and throws herself on Trixie's lap, wrapping her little arms around her neck.

"Aw, you two are gonna make me cry!" Katya says, giggling.

After a while, the three of them sit at the kitchen table after the big batches of chocolate chip cookies and strawberry cupcakes are done. They eat, laugh, talk, and Maddie lets out a word here and there, to show them she is trying, as hard as it still is. Katya catches herself staring at the two of them, mostly Trixie, at times. She can't believe she found true happiness just by going into a bakery for some coffee, and for a skeptic person, Katya strongly believes this is fate's work.

Chapter Text

Katya is on maternity leave now, and luckily her new job is way more flexible and inclusive with professors who are also mothers. It pays slightly less than her previous job, but it's way less stressful, way friendlier and she doesn't have to run into her ex husband every other day. The house where they used to live in is for sale now, and Katya and Harry are splitting the profits. Harry let Katya keep 75% instead of splitting in half, so she has more money for all of the baby stuff, and she appreciated it. Their divorce came out not long after Katya's last ultrasound, and she and Trixie celebrated by going out on a romantic nighttime picnic, and Maddie gladly stayed with her grandparents for the night. Katya bought a house on Trixie's street, so Maddie would go straight to the bakery after school and stayed with Trixie until her mother was home, sometimes napping or studying upstairs in her apartment. Therapy has been great for Maddie, and even though she still has some meltdowns and nightmares every now and then, she is slowly becoming that chatty bubbly girl again, Trixie being her favourite person to talk to. Katya is almost jealous of their affinity, but the love she feels for them surpasses all of that. And they love Katya unconditionally.

Harry has made a few attempts to get closer to Maddie in the past nine months, but they were unsuccessful. The girl either refused to see him or just ignored him completely. Katya did her best to try to convince Maddie to talk to her father, but all it gave the girl was stress and anxiety. Maybe one day, with therapy, she will be able to talk to her father again. Maybe not. What matters is that is she is happy now, with her mom, stepmom and future little sister.

"Trix, can you help me get up, please?" Katya says, putting her arms up. Trixie immediately walks towards her and helps her get up from the green couch. "Thanks, baby. Ugh, I wanna get rid of this couch, it's so uncomfortable. I miss your big pink comfy couch." Katya pouts and fake cries, making Trixie laugh.

"I know, that couch is pretty awesome. But you can't keep walking up and down the stairs right now, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. But it ends pretty soon." Katya smiles. "And thank fuck, my back hurts. God, I forgot how annoying the third trimester is."

"Is it really that bad?"

"It just sucks. I'm always uncomfortable, tired, my boobs are huge..."

"I'm not complaining about that part." Trixie mumbles and giggles, making Katya laugh.

"Of course you're not, you're as gay as it gets. But yeah, I'm glad it's almost over. I can't wait to meet my little girl." Katya runs her hands on her baby bump.

"I can't wait to see her little face. God, I wanna get pregnant someday." Trixie lets out with a sigh, thinking out loud.

"You do?" Katya smiles at her, happy with the idea of having a kid with Trixie in the future.

"Yeah...but let's wait for this new little one to get bigger first, there's no rush."

"We got all the time in the world." Katya puts her arms around Trixie's neck, getting as close as her belly allows.

"You're so beautiful, Katya." Trixie caresses her hair. Katya is glad that she let it grow, because Trixie loves braiding it and Katya can't get enough of her soft touch. "I'm so glad I get to be a part of this family with you."

"I still can't believe that we have this. All of this. This is the happiest I've ever been. And, um...I know you love your pink apartment, and I'm about to have a crying newborn for the next year or so, so you can say no to this, but...If you want to, if you feel like...would you maybe want to come live here?" Katya asks, her usual insecure anxiety attacking right as she is about to ask an important question.

Trixie smiles widely. "You really want me to live here? With you?"

"If you want, yeah. I would love to wake up by your side every day instead of every now and then."

"Katya, baby." Trixie presses her lips against hers, holding her face with her hands. "Yes, I wanna live with you. And I don't care about the crying baby, I'll wake up in the middle of the night, I...I love you so much."

"I love you too, Trix..." Katya suddenly feels a mild discomfort, enough to make her stop talking immediately and look slightly concerned.

"Are you ok? Are you feeling anything?"

"I think...I think I'm in labor. I'm not sure yet, but I felt exactly like this when I was about to have Maddie."

And Katya is right. Soon enough she starts having contractions and Trixie drives them to the hospital, dropping Maddie at her grandparents' house on the way, telling them they'll call when the baby's born so they can come visit with Maddie. But that is not until the next day.

Katya spends long, painful 20 hours in labour, with Trixie by her side the entire time. She cries, moves around, changes positions, until she is back on the bed and finally gives birth to her little baby girl. Katya cries profusely when she hears her baby's first cry and is given her to be held. Trixie is taken over by the emotional moment and the exhaustion and cries as well. On this bright and snowy morning of January, Katya and Trixie meet little Nina, and soon the whole family does to; Katya's parents, Trixie's parents and Maddie.

"Can I see her?" Maddie asks, looking up at Katya holding the newborn in her arms, a couple of hours after birth.

"Yes, of course, sweetie!" Katya smiles at both of her daughters, then looks at Sonya.

Katya carefully hands Nina to her mother, who sits on a nearby small couch so Maddie can properly see her little sister.

"Hi Nina! I'm Maddie, your big sister!" she says, gently holding the newborn's tiny hand. Nina makes a little noise, but doesn't cry. Instead, the baby smiles for a brief moment.

"Oh, Maddie, look! She's so happy to be your baby sister!" Sonya says, giving Nina a little kiss on her head. "Ok, now we gotta give her back to your mama, Nina needs to be with her." Sonya gets up and puts the baby back in Katya's arms.

Maddie walks over to where Trixie is standing. "I wish you lived with us." she says, whispering.

"You know what? That is not a bad idea! Katya, what do you think about me coming to live with you guys?" Trixie winks at Katya and she immediately knows to go along with it.

"I think that's a great idea, Trix!" Katya says, smiling. Her voice is tired and a little raspy, but she puts all of the excitement she can in it to make Maddie happy.

"Our family is complete!" Maddie says with excitement, quietly so she doesn't startle Nina, then hugs Trixie.

Trixie took Katya and Nina went home after a couple of days, and moved in throughout the following week with the help of Katya's parents. They became really close, to the point where Sonya is using her russian words for "daughter" with Trixie. Lisa and Ken also love Katya and made sure to bring her a big jar of pink roses and many expensive pink baby dresses after she came home. Katya told Harry that she had the baby, and he congratulated Katya as if the baby wasn't his. Katya eventually gave up on trying to include Harry unless he reached out first, knowing that her behaviour was still coming from the psychological damage that their abusive relationship caused her. Harry may be the biological father of her daughters, but he never wanted and still doesn't want to be a practicing father, and Katya is at peace with that. She doesn't need him anymore.

Therapy has helped both Katya and Maddie a lot, and Nina and Trixie joining their household did wonders for their mood, making Maddie bubbly again and Katya finally being able to be  young, and not having to act like she's in her late 40's all the time.

x

Katya is sitting in the back porch, waiting for her beautiful 5 months pregnant wife Trixie to join her as she watches her girls play. Maddie is carefully pushing her 4 year old sister on the swing. Katya is mesmerized with how even though they are 10 years apart, Maddie and Nina get along extremely well and love each other unconditionally. Maddie feels the need to protect her baby sister from everything and everyone, and Katya trusts her to do so. Maddie grew into a very beautiful and responsible teenage girl, and she looks like even more like Katya now, with her straight long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She she has been begging Trixie to let her work with her at the bakery, and Trixie lets her do little things in the kitchen every now and then in the summer, teaching her all about baking and the artistry behind it. Katya is pretty sure this is the path her daughter is following in the future. Trixie is now the girls' legal guardian alongside Katya. Nina grew up calling both of them 'mommy' and Maddie has an unbreakable bond with Trixie, so they knew when the time was right. Harry tried to get to know Nina and bond with Maddie again, but every time Nina would cry and Maddie simply hates being around him. The girls told their mothers they didn't wanna see him, for different reasons, so their parents respected their decision, including Harry. Trixie and Katya have a very well stablished and comfortable living situation. They are legally married, but haven't had their ceremony and reception yet, so it is something that will be happening in a near future, after Trixie gives birth to their third child.

The summer breeze makes Katya's long hair softly dance in the air as she drifts away into her happy thoughts while watching her daughters, when she senses a familiar presence coming from behind her.

"Hey, baby." She smiles at Trixie.

"I have a surprise for you." Trixie has her arms hidden behind her back and a huge smile on her face.

"What is it?"

"It's no big deal, just a little something I wanted to make you since you haven't had one of these in a while." Trixie places the beautiful pink and gold plate before Katya and then a cup of black coffee. "Also, I've been craving them like crazy lately."

"Cinnamon rolls?" Katya giggles as Trixie sits beside her.

"This was your first order ever in the bakery. Remember?" Trixie rests her chin on her hands, blushing and smiling at Katya.

Katya looks down and smiles, remembering that cloudy friday afternoon where she was drawn to the big pink place, for some reason, and decided to stop for some coffee and a cinnamon roll. That's when she first saw the love of her life, the woman that splashed colour all over her black and white existence, who pulled her out of the mud and showered her with the purest of loves, changing her life forever. For better. And now, four years later, they have blossomed into this beautiful, complete and happy family.

"How could I forget?"