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Without company, Natalie preferred her evenings staying in at home. Really, it was a preference she had either way. Her little home carried the aroma of sweet spices and tomatoes as she finished making herself dinner.
Her work attire was already abandoned for something far more comfortable, the trainer favoring sweats and a t-shirt over anything too fancy.
She was settled on the couch, dogs at her feet when they were the first to alert her of a new presence. They were up before there was a sound made, tails wagging. Then came the knock that pulled Natalie up to her feet and to the door.
Swinging it open, she found herself pleasantly surprised to see the family room woman at her door, despite not having expected her. Dark eyes lit up as she immediately swung the door open wider. "Just in the neighborhood?"
Some things were just better to be over and done with as soon as possible. Things with Olivia had left an uncomfortable feeling on Teddy's shoulders. So much so that her immediate thought - after calling her best friend - was to visit the one other person this mess was about.
Luckily, she already knew where she lived. Bright eyes caught sight of her, tracking the length of her form pointedly. Even when she wasn't trying, she managed to look like that. So ridiculous.
"Hardly." She replied with a laugh. The unfortunate truth was that they didn't easily live near each other. That was probably a good thing given the weight of some of their recent conversations. "I'm sorry, I should have called."
The air became stuck in her lungs as she looked at her - she was lucky to have her in her doorway, and on what possibly appeared to be on a whim. There were no complaints from the trainer, she stepped aside, motioning for Teddy to come in. "No need to be." Natalie waved her hand at the idea of an apology. If anything, she was happy to see the lawyer find her way to her doorstep, call or not. "And it's not as if I had called you on my way into your office earlier this week." It was a fair trade off - no call for no call.
Once inside, she closed the door behind them, the hand used to do so immediately finding its way to the small of Teddy's back. "Are you hungry at all? I've just made dinner, and there's enough for a second plate." Often she'd make enough for lunch the next day, but she was more than happy to share in this instance.
Natalie did have a point. And it seemed that Teddy was lucky to catch her tonight, free as she was. She stepped into the home she'd been in before, so nothing in the room could catch her attention quite like the trainer did. "We're even, then." But she had no objection to her visiting in the future.
Only seconds had passed before some kind of contact was made, and she was the one to start it. "Oh no, I'm fine." Teddy replied, glancing back to catch her eyes again. She raised a hand to rest it against the arm that reached for her, tracking up to her shoulder slowly. "But please, don't let me stop you."
With the connection she made, another one came immediately after, and it did well to bring a smile to Natalie's features. Gentle pressure eased them further into her small home, stepping around the various creatures that had come out to greet the lawyer. They were curious as ever, and Natalie did her best to ignore the thoughts they were pressing into her mind. Most of which were teasing over her own rapidly growing feelings.
Back at the couch, she didn't reach for her plate immediately, instead taking a seat and resting a hand on Teddy's knee. It was hard - if not impossible - to keep her hands off of the lawyer. She had some sort of magnetic pull that Natalie was naturally drawn to. "So what brings you here?" She asked, her tone light with curiosity. Though she had no reason to complain, she had to wonder what the visit was for.
Following along, Teddy held her free hand out as she walked to the various other residents of Natalie's home. She knew how they were considered to the woman who could speak to them, and so they deserved their own stint of attention before she got swallowed up by magnetism for the trainer.
When she sat, a hand rested against her knee as she crossed her legs instinctively. Though it was only a small connection, it held her attention in an almost unfair way.
"Aside from generally wanting your company?" She said. It needed to be said, because despite it all, that was the first thing on her mind. She did like being around her, even if she also had a reason for the visit at this time. Attention dropped to her mouth, but she knew the distraction was a poor choice. They often were, just as they were so difficult to ignore.
"I actually do need to talk to you about something." Teddy continued, raising her eyes again and giving a small smile. "It's about-" There it was again, that inability to define the space between them with a single word. Instead, she exhaled on an audible sigh.
A clever response quickly made Natalie's smile grow, an airy laugh escaping her lips as she tucked her hair behind her ear with her free hand. Bright blue eyes were lost, but they hadn't wandered far; it was impossible not to notice where they fell. Little details in the way Teddy looked and offered attention so easily were a constant form of affection. It made her already want to kiss the lawyer, but as she continued she quickly realized that she'd have to find the willpower to wait.
The lack of a word between them was growing more and more common in their conversations, and when it was addressed now, she felt the instant rise of her heart rate. If only because it was something that would filter across her own mind in a way she was sure was far too soon.
So she offered a nod, and a small squeeze of her leg to give some sort of understanding of a lack of term.
Unfortunately, a squeeze to her leg did nothing to let Teddy forget that she hadn't greeted her how she'd like to. Pushing physical thought from her mind was more of a challenge without that, and any connection managed to make it worse. Still, she had to do her best to remain stoic about it. Surely it couldn't be that hard for someone like herself.
"There's nothing wrong." Teddy offered, a pre-emptive strike to let her know she was perfectly fine. "It's just that very recently, I've been told that transparency is important in making sure no one gets... Upset."
Vague as it was, it would have to do for an opener, but she knew she'd written better speeches in her first year of law school. "Before I met you, I was seeing someone else, and I still am." Bright eyes attuned their attention to the set offered to her, already searching for any falter as her own voice remained level; "You remember the woman from my office? Olivia?" She one she'd said was nice; a comment Teddy had easily brushed over.
Nothing was wrong, and Natalie had to be thankful for that, mostly because it was a confirmation that she believed things were going well. Great, even. The corner of her mouth twitched upward, but she remained silent to let her counterpart finish, and as she explained herself, confusion slowly set into her features. Eyebrows threatened to twitch together, and though they didn't in the end, she doubted that a set of perfect eyes missed the fact.
"Okay," she said finally. Natalie had been given a vague description as to why this information was brought to the table, but she still wasn't positive she understood why it seemed so important. Regardless, it seemed to be a pressing matter to her. Enough to have her come by unannounced. That within itself was enough for the trainer to offer her complete attention. There wasn't much surprise in hearing that Teddy was seeing someone else; she was wonderful and attractive. Who wouldn't want to?
But something else caught in the back of her mind. Olivia. The woman she worked with that had let her into Teddy's office. "Olivia." She offered her name with a nod. "Is it strange of me to ask why?"
There was no negative reaction, which was nice. Teddy didn't get an ounce of what she'd gotten from Olivia; she wasn't subtley thrown out of asked to leave or broken up with despite how ill fitting that latter series of words felt. It was just a word. It was just okay. That made a lot more sense to her than anything else lately.
At least she remembered who Olivia was. That saved her having to explain that any further. But the question seemed to confuse her.
"Why what?" She asked instead of trying to guess. That thought didn't stop her from searching the simple question regardless; "Why her? Or, why am I telling you this?"
Admittedly, it wasn't really a conversation that Natalie had expected. She inched herself a little closer, though maintained a distance that made it easy to look at her. Dark eyes were completely held under those of brighter color, and a small laugh escaped her from her own lack of clarity.
"Both, now that I think about it." Natalie replied, a light humor playing in her tone. Whether she favored one question over another hardly mattered now that both were on the table. "I understand that you don't want me to be upset, and I appreciate that, but this seems very sudden to bring up." She could only suspect that someone had become bothered by the fact. "And I'm not upset; I'm just wondering why you'd want to see someone in your field."
The fact that Natalie actually moved closer to her was another sign of the clear difference. Teddy carried an ounce of worry after her conversation with Olivia, and this instance reminded her that she wasn't so wrong about how she'd initially felt.
It was a rookie mistake to offer two imperative questions instead of simply letting her answer herself. Eyes narrowed a little and then the minimal hint of a smile dragged at the corner of her mouth. As much as she wanted to respond to the secondary question first, she decided not to. It was best to hash it all out in pieces.
"Well, she obviously saw you when you visited. And she saw us, and I just discovered that she was upset about it." Those words felt too generic to explain hat was going on. It would made sense to feel something about the person who had affection for someone equally cared for. This was different. "Upset that she didn't know about you at all, I should point out."
Resting the hand against her leg, she curled her fingers around it and chose to look at it instead. "So, rather than assuming you wouldn't care like I had, I thought it was better to just... Find out if you do care." Teddy added with a shrug. When worded the right way, it all sounded so simple.
As an explanation came forth, Natalie quickly realized she was the cause of this. Had she not have visited the office - especially unannounced - it seemed that Olivia wouldn't have found reason to be upset. Guilt easily found itself on Natalie's features as her lips pressed together, even as she tried to tell herself that this would have likely come out regardless.
But the hand that took her own brought a form of comfort - like she somehow already knew that Natalie would need it. She lost the lawyer's eyes, but she still looked. She couldn't help it. "I appreciate the transparency." Natalie smiled, using Teddy's own terminology. "But I don't think I hold the same stance as Olivia on the matter."
Transparency was right. And to top it all off, she genuinely sounded like she didn't have a problem with it. There was validation in the fact that there was no remnants of a fight here. Glancing back up again, she offered a sympathetic look. Confusion couldn't catch her so easily now that they were on the same page about everything, so that was a relief. "That's good." She replied easily, because it was good that she didn't find herself upset about it.
"For what it's worth, I like it when you visit." Teddy continued on, letting herself smile about it. The thought of the last one made it difficult not to; "Though, you are a..." A pause for the right words; "Difficult distraction." She landed on, but they weren't her preferred choice, and she wondered how obvious that would be.
There was relief in Teddy's reply that Natalie couldn't help but to notice; she had to wonder the details of Olivia's thoughts on the matter. Specifically why she felt the way she had, but it certainly wasn't her place, and the trainer wondered if it was appropriate for her to find her way into the firm again. She had no desire to make anyone uncomfortable, especially in their place of work.
But she enjoyed the idea of visiting, and that was enough of a distraction from her thoughts within itself. She glanced down to their hands, a laugh escaping her as she turned her palm up to take Teddy's. When she looked up again, she was able to catch those eyes that made the air catch in her lungs. It took a moment to finally be able to let go of her breath and say something. "Would it be better if I stayed away, then?" She asked, but the hint of a teasing tone took some of the weight off of a serious question.
