MOMENT OF TENDER HONESTY
Title: Moment Of Tender Honesty
Written By: bridgetmkennitt
Timeline: Pre-canon
Author's Notes: No warnings needed. Thank you to my beta CS. Any remaining mistakes are my own.



Lindsay held up a shirt against her chest as she stared at herself in her
full-length mirror. She had bought the shirt at a garage sale during her
college years. It was yellow with a pleated V neckline, and seeing it in
the mirror made Lindsay shake her head and toss it on her bed.

The next shirt she picked up was something she had purchased when her
family had visited the Hamptons one summer. It was prim and proper, a
white blouse with satin buttons down the front. She wrinkled her nose and
tossed it aside. There was no way she was wearing that one on her date, or
there would be laughter and comments about her WASP-y background. Lindsay
smiled wryly. Melanie wasn't a big fan of her WASP-y background.

She went through half of her closet before she found the perfect shirt.
She had worn the blue top that showed off the swell of her breasts, the
first time she had met Melanie. They had met outside the art gallery she'd
worked at part-time - much to the disapproval of her parents - when
Lindsay had decided to take her break where she could enjoy the sun.
Melanie had been there drinking her coffee and Lindsay had decided to take
a chance and say hello.

Now Lindsay was taking another chance, another risk. She took a deep
breath and darted for her phone, dialing a number she knew by heart.

Brian answered on the second ring. "How's my favorite muncher?"

"Great." As soon as her laughter escaped her lips, she knew Brian was
going to pick up on how nervous she was.

"That doesn't sound great. I know you didn't call me because you love the
sound of my voice."

"You're right. I'm going on a date with Mel, and I plan on telling her
that I love her." Just saying the words out loud, even to Brian, made them
real and Lindsay's pulsed raced.

"Lesbian love. This is double out of my league. You love her, so what?
Just tell her, and go have ridiculous amounts of sex."

Brian's blunt words made Lindsay feel better, just as she knew they would.
"Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Brian."

She hung up the phone and went to finish getting ready for her date.
Tonight, she needed everything to be perfect.

***

It had been difficult to decide on a location for their date. Lindsay
wanted the moment she told Melanie she loved her to be memorable in the
best way possible. They'd been dating for about two months, and while
they'd been dancing around the word 'love,' Lindsay knew what she felt.
She knew Melanie felt the same, and now it was time to take the next step
in their relationship.

As much as she had wanted to go with a quiet dinner at home, the two of
them snuggling on the couch, Lindsay felt the need to do something bigger,
more special. It took her an entire shift at the art gallery to figure it
out, but she had remembered that in the beginning of their relationship
Melanie once told her about how her family used to go to the Pittsburgh
Zoo & PPG Aquarium, specifically to see the sea lion exhibit in the Kids
Kingdom.

It was the perfect memorable place.

Lindsay met Melanie at their favorite bistro for brunch, the one two
blocks away from Lindsay's art gallery. It was a quaint little place with
the most delicious Italian food Lindsay had ever tasted.

Melanie was waiting outside of the bistro, wearing her fuzzy wool hat and
coat. Melanie spotted her jogging across the street and waved. Lindsay
opened her arms to embrace Melanie, locking lips with her as they stood
close.

"Linds." Melanie grabbed Lindsay's hand as they entered the bistro. "You
wouldn't believe how hectic work was today. One of our clients completely
snapped and tried to punch out my boss."

Lindsay stifled her chuckle. "Sounds like an interesting day. Today was my
day off so I spent the day cleaning my apartment."

They were seated in their usual booth in the corner by the window. Their
waitress handed them their menus, but they weren't necessary. She and
Melanie nearly always ordered the same things, but they both couldn't help
poring over the food items for fun's sake.

After the waitress left, Lindsay leaned forward on her elbows and grinned
at Melanie. "You're going to enjoy what I have planned, Mel. This will
rank in your top five dates, maybe even top three."

Melanie chuckled. "You sound pretty confident there, Linds. Guess I'll
just have to take your word for it."

The waitress came back with their drinks before departing once more.
Lindsay picked up her glass and took a sip. Melanie looked gorgeous, she
always did. Lindsay couldn't wait to take her back to her place later and
make love.

"You're making that face again," Melanie said.

Lindsay put her glass back on the table. "Face? What face? I don't have a
face." She attempted to school her expression into something proper, an
expression her mother would possess, but Melanie wasn't buying it.

"That face you make right before you want to jump me." Melanie waggled her
eyebrows, and Lindsay laughed.

"Fine, you've got me."

"What can I say? I know you too well." Melanie glowed with smugness and it
was a look Lindsay had seen on her girlfriend many times, and Lindsay fell
in love all over again.

"I love you." All of Lindsay's plans were thrown out of the window as the
words slipped out. Melanie's eyes widened, processing what Lindsay said,
and she repeated it again. "I love you so much, Mel. It was time to let
you know."

"I love you too, Linds." Melanie slid out from her side of the booth and
sat next to Lindsay, hands reaching up to cup her face.

They kissed eagerly, Lindsay slipping her tongue into Melanie's mouth,
while her hands dropped to cradle Melanie's waist. She could almost
imagine being with Melanie for the rest of her life. She was that far
gone.

A not so subtle cough broke them apart and Lindsay looked up to see their
waitress holding their plates of food. Melanie laughed and patted the
table. "Food looks delicious!" Her voice was a bit on the high side as she
ran her other hand through her messy hair.

The waitress simply smirked and placed the food on the table before
leaving them. Lindsay let out a nervous laugh and slumped a little against
Melanie. "Is it rude of me to want us to cut out of eating and just go
straight back to my place? We could have a lot of fun."

"Only a little, and here I thought you said this date was going to be in
my top five. Maybe even top three," she said, echoing Lindsay's earlier
statement.

"It is. We can go make love and still be in time to visit the sea lions at
the aquarium. I know how much you love that exhibit." Lindsay kissed
Melanie's cheek.

"You remembered." Melanie picked up her fork and twirled it in her pasta.
"How's this? Eat first, and then we'll do everything you mentioned and
more."

Lindsay agreed, and couldn't help tangling her foot with Melanie's under
the table. They finished their food in a hurry, tipped their waitress
after they paid, and headed out. The weather had turned gloomy since they
had entered the bistro, the wind getting stronger, but Lindsay didn't
care. She just pulled her jacket tighter around her and let Melanie sling
an arm around her.

She still had the rest of the day to have a perfect date with the woman
she loved.
she loved.