Work Text:
“Okay,” Dani said as she got her breath back and the sweat started to cool on her body, “I’m not saying I’m only with you for the sex. But the sex is really good.”
Gigi laughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before leaning in to give Dani a slightly-more-than-chaste kiss. “Glad to hear it.”
“Give me, like, five minutes to catch my breath, and I’ll repay the favor,” Dani said as she stretched her pleasantly sore muscles.
Gigi grinned at her. “Can’t wait. Do you want some water?”
Dani let herself relax back against the bed. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Gigi wandered into the kitchen for a glass. She was still mostly dressed, though her shirt was unbuttoned and her bra discarded somewhere in the bedroom. She filled the glass from the filter in the fridge, then slipped back into the room, pausing at the doorway to take in the sight of Dani, naked and uncovered, sprawled bonelessly in her bed.
Without opening her eyes, she said, “Are you just going to stand there all night?”
Gigi pushed off the doorframe and took the required five steps to the bed, handing Dani her water and slipping in beside her. “I want to remember this image for the rest of my life,” she said in a deliciously low voice, and Dani shivered and took a sip to ground herself.
Before she could reply though, there was a rapid knock on the front door. They stared at each other for a moment in surprise, before Dani said, “Are you expecting someone?”
Gigi shook her head and jumped up, padding back into the living room while she did up her shirt. From the bedroom, Dani heard her open the door, and then her surprised, “Nat?”
“I’m so sorry,” Nat said. At the sound of her girlfriend’s ex-wife’s voice, Dani propelled herself out of bed and began throwing on her clothes. She heard Nat continue, “There’s been an emergency with one of my patients, and there isn’t—I don’t have—can you watch the kids?”
“Of course,” Gigi said immediately. “Come in, guys.”
Dani yanked the shirt over her head and peaked out of the bedroom in time to see Olive and Eli, both with backpacks and sleepy looks on their faces, trudge through the living room to their bedrooms. When Nat saw her, she immediately said again, “I’m so sorry about this. I know it’s supposed to be your time to—”
“Don’t worry,” Dani said, and she meant it. “The kids come first.”
Gigi gave her a soft, private smile for that. Nat’s face collapsed gratefully. “Thanks. I’m… I wouldn’t have brought them, but it’s… it sounds bad. I need to…”
She looked more shaken up than Dani had ever seen, and she was walking further into the room before she even realized it. “Are you okay?” she asked, reaching out to put a hand on Nat’s arm. “Do you want some tea or something before you go?”
Nat shook her head. “Thanks, but I shouldn’t. I’m okay. I’m just worried about him. I can’t… obviously, I can’t say more. There are some good people with him. But I… I need to be there.”
“Go,” Gigi said. She put both hands on Nat’s shoulders and drew her in for a hug. “Don’t worry about the kids, okay? We’ve got them.”
Nat nodded distractedly. “Thank you. I’ll call when I can.”
“Be careful,” Gigi called as she closed the door. For a second, they were both silent before Gigi snapped into parental mode. “I’m going to go check on the kids. Can you make some hot chocolate?”
“Of course,” Dani said, glad to have a task.
Gigi headed towards Olive’s room first, and Dani went to the kitchen to put some milk in a saucepan. While she waited for it to heat, she added cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, and a bit of chili powder and began to whisk them together.
“What’s that?”
The little voice behind her nearly made her throw the whisk across the room. She clutched her heart and took a deep breath before she turned to see Eli standing across the kitchen in his pajamas and socks, staring at her. “It’s hot chocolate,” she finally said.
He furrowed his brow. “Why’s it on the stove? And why did you add all that stuff to it? Mom just puts packets in water in the microwave.”
Dani had sworn from the minute she started dating Gigi that she would never badmouth Nat, especially to the kids. It wasn’t normally a hard promise to keep. She liked Nat.
But microwaved hot chocolate packets was a bridge too far.
“Well, I make it a little differently,” she said, as diplomatically as she could. Then she hesitated. This was about soothing the kids after all. “If you don’t like it, I’m sure your Mama has cocoa packets we can make.” She tried not to sound as revolted by that suggestion as she felt.
Eli shrugged. “Okay.” He pulled out a chair at the table and sat, still watching her. Finally, he asked, “Who are you?”
She blinked at him. “I’m Dani,” she said. “I’m… a friend of your mom’s.”
“You’re wearing her shirt,” Eli said suddenly. “It’s got the stain where I dripped jelly on it, see?” He pointed at her shoulder.
Dani glanced down and realized that, yes, she had picked up Gigi’s t-shirt instead of her own in her haste to get to the door. “Oh. Uh, she’s… letting me borrow it.”
He squinted at her speculatively for a minute before he asked, “Are you her girlfriend?”
“Yes, she is,” Gigi said, stepping into the room, Olive on her heels. She kissed Eli’s head, and then Dani’s cheek. “Dani and I are dating each other. Is that okay with you guys?”
Dani held her breath for what felt like an eternity as she waited for them to answer. “Is she going to be like Alice?” Eli finally asked, screwing up his face.
Dani looked at Gigi, who said, “How do you mean, honey?”
“Alice didn’t like us,” Olive explained, pulling out the chair next to her brother. She looked at Dani. “Are you not going to like us?”
“Well, I don’t even know you yet,” Dani said before she could think better of it.
“Dani…” Gigi groaned.
But for some reason, that made Olive and Eli laugh. “We don’t even know you yet!” Eli exclaimed.
“Tell you what,” Dani said, abandoning the stove for a minute to squat next to his chair. “How about we all get to know each other, and then if you guys don’t like me, you can tell me, and we can figure it out together?”
Olive and Eli had a minute of silent conversation before they nodded. “Okay,” Olive said, “and if you don’t like us, you can tell us too.”
“Deal,” Dani said, holding out her hand. Olive shook it enthusiastically, and then Eli did too.
“Your milk is simmering,” Gigi said, rolling her eyes at all three of them, but there was a small smile on her face as she helped Dani back to a standing position.
“Thanks,” Dani said. Gigi caught her around the waist for a second and kissed her soundly, ignoring the chorus of, “Ewwww,” from her children.
Dani stirred the hot chocolate and poured it into four mugs. “Careful,” she said as she set it down in front of Olive and Eli, “it’s hot.”
“Duh,” Olive said. “It’s called hot chocolate.”
“Touché,” Dani said.
Olive frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means you made a good point.”
Olive beamed at that, and it made Dani feel about ten feet tall.
Eli took a sip and gasped so loudly that Dani thought he’d burned himself. “Are you okay?” she asked even before Gigi could.
“This is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had!”
Dani collapsed back into her chair as the adrenaline fled her body, and she smiled at him. “I’m glad,” she said.
“What do you say?” Gigi prompted.
“Thank you, Dani,” Olive and Eli said together.
“You’re very welcome.”
“Can we have more?” Eli asked shrewdly, as he neared the bottom of his mug a few minutes later.
“Nope,” Gigi said. “You’ve got school tomorrow, and you’re already up way past your bedtime.”
He frowned. “Is Dani going to stay?”
Dani glanced at Gigi, cocking her head slightly to indicate she was leaving the decision up to her. “Yes,” Gigi said firmly. “You’ll see her in the morning.”
“Okay,” Eli said. “Will you tuck me in?”
“Yes,” Gigi said again. “Go to your room, and I’ll be in in a minute.”
Eli surprised Dani by giving her a hug good night. Olive hesitated. “You don’t have to,” Dani said. “We can shake hands or high five, if you’d prefer.”
Olive grinned and held out her hand for a high five. Dani smacked it gently and smiled back when Olive said, “Night, Dani! Night, Mama!” before racing off to her bedroom too.
Dani started to pick up the empty mugs from the table, but Gigi surprised her by hugging her from behind. “Thank you,” she murmured, kissing a spot under Dani’s ear that made her weak. “You’re good with them.”
Dani shrugged a little. “I just made hot chocolate.”
“And gave them respect. That was all they needed right now.” Gigi kissed her again. “And thank you for rolling with the punches tonight.”
“Of course,” Dani said earnestly. “I meant what I said to Nat. The kids come first. I understand that.”
Gigi’s eyes misted slightly at that. “I know you do, and I’m so grateful for that.” She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she pressed her lips together and shook her head. Then she said, “I can clean up in here, if you want to get to bed.”
Dani shook her head. “I’ve got it. Go say goodnight to your kids.”
That earned her a kiss full on the lips. “When they’re back at Nat’s, I’ll find a way to thank you properly,” she promised, and Dani’s full-body reaction to that made Gigi laugh, even as she walked away.