One
Leighton would be the last person to admit liking the outdoors; even Tatum could get behind a hike if properly motivated (when Alicia bribed them with some of the best sex Leighton's ever had), but the only time Leighton would voluntarily go camping was with the promise of seeing the stars.
Working at NASA had been a dream since her junior year of college, and only because of the type of math she was interested in. She had never been one for physics, but it turns out that math and physics become very hard to separate at the most fundamental equations and now Leighton has a new obsession. Luckily, it’s an obsession that both Alicia and Tatum have been more than happy to indulge, which is why Leighton feels it’s only appropriate to share the biggest news of her life under the stars.
It takes a lot of planning, calling her boss for a weekend off and then asking Alicia and Tatum if they can manage to get a Friday off work in the next few weeks so they can head up into the forests of upstate New York in an attempt to find somewhat dark skies. For some reason, Leighton doesn’t want to share this news without the perfect setting, and if she were more like her friends, she’d think it’s because she’s becoming more romantic in her relationship.
(She knows she’s romantic, her coworkers tell her all the time when she shares date plans, but she does have a reputation to uphold.)
It finally happens only two weeks after she got the news from the director. She and Alicia spend the morning packing the car – Tatum had to go into the office for a meeting with one of her most important clients – before they pick up their third with a fresh cup of coffee.
“So, is there a reason behind this adventure?” Tatum asks as she slides the into backseat.
Leighton thinks she’s done a pretty good job of keeping her promotion a secret, but she also knows that Alicia and Tatum know something is up; they’ve been trying to get details everyday for the past ten days.
“I know for a fact we haven’t missed an anniversary, so what gives? You’ve not usually this romantic," Alicia chimes in.
“Hey now,” Leighton acts offended at Alicia, going so far as to look at her with the patented Murray glare. “I can be hella romantic, remember that date for our fifth?” It’s a rhetorical question; Leighton had gone to all the lengths to make sure neither of her partners would forget that night, even now, three years later.
“Yes, yes, we know you love us and find us sexy, but is there a specific reason we are headed to the cabin in the middle of the busiest season? We all agreed to stay out of the parks during the summer to avoid the tourists," Tatum says, with a hint of contempt.
"Actually yes, there is a reason, but we kind of have to wait until we get there.” And if Leighton is putting off the news for as long as she can, well who can blame her? This is going to change their lives drastically if she takes the promotion. It’s almost like Alicia and Tatum can sense her nerves but Leighton won’t pretend like she’s trying particularly hard to hide them. She’s long passed keeping her feelings to herself.
After they get out of the city – Tatum and Leighton still refuse to leave Manhattan despite the fact that they complain about it more and more everyday – the drive is filled with observations about the summer travelers, stories of annoying tourists tossed out into the air as they make their way further north and west. There’s something calming about driving through the emerging forest while listening to Alicia and Tatum argue over who had the worst tourist interaction. It reminds Leighton that she’s a part of this world, and it gives her all the encouragement she needs to share her news with the loves of her life.
--
They make it to the cabin just as the sun is starting to set, and with all three of them to unpack, it goes a lot quicker than it had that morning. Dinner is easy, a mac and cheese that Alicia had frozen earlier in the week for this purpose, followed by the traditional setting up of the telescope. The machine had been a gift to Leighton (and her partners) from Alicia’s parents when they found out she was going to be working for NASA. (The Cheng’s had been much more impressed with the job than either of Leighton's parents, and the telescope meant a lot to her, even if she was just a math nerd.)
Soon enough they were looking up at Jupiter and sipping on mugs of Irish hot chocolate. Leighton was content enough to sit in the quiet for a little longer, but it seems neither of her partners are willing to wait any longer. Alicia practically bombards Leighton after her first drink, crawling closer to her so she can wrap an arm around Leighton’s shoulder.
“So, tell as what’s so important you had to drag us to the middle of nowhere to share?”
Leighton looks into her mug, silently calculating the velocity of the liquid as it swills under her influence. There’s no use in delaying the inevitable: “the Director has asked me to be on the orbital research team that’s trying to figure out why the rings of Saturn are dispersing. They think here’s been a change in the spacetime continuum, which there is, I wrote that paper on the rift a few years ago that’s created some sort of fold?”
She pauses, giving Alicia and Tatum time to process what she’s too chicken shit to actually say out-loud.
When nobody says anything, Leighton looks up at her partners. Tatum has that adorable look on her face that she gets when Leighton starts talking space math, and Alicia looks like she’s two seconds away from solving the mystery.
“They want you to go to space.” Scratch that, one second away. Alicia doesn’t sound shocked, or much of any emotion, which makes it difficult for Leighton to gauge her reaction.
Tatum has yet to say anything, and if they were younger, Leighton would be worried. She has been taught to fear silence her whole life, and when they fought, Tatum always went quite instead of exploding like Alicia. A consequence of growing up in the higher societies: anger was never dramatic, never over the top in public. Yelling and harsh words were saved for private moments.
“The astronaut training center is in Florida, right?” Is what Tatum eventually says, her voice quiet and steady; she’s the complete opposite of how Leighton feels, and the bubbles in her stomach double.
“Six months in Houston, then it’s eighteen months in Florida, yeah.”
Tatum just nods and takes a long sip of her hot chocolate. Alicia reaches over from her spot next to Leighton and grabs her hand, offering as much support she can but Leighton can tell that Alicia isn’t pleased by the offer either.
They sit in silence for the rest of the evening, the stars left untouched, before they all head to bed. It wasn’t an argument, but it wasn’t outright support either, and while Leighton knows nobody is mad at her, she can’t help but feel untethered to either of her partners. She takes a shower and goes through her routine by herself, knowing that both Tatum and Alicia would need time to process what she told them; she’s had several weeks to sit with this and start thinking about a decision, but it will take the two women she loves some time.
For the first time in almost seven years, Leighton isn’t sure how they’re going to sleep tonight, if they’ll all sleep in the same bed or if she’ll find herself cuddled up to only one partner. It typically isn’t something that bears discussion, hasn’t been since they got together, but now she hovers at the threshold to the master bedroom, hands fidgeting together as she gathers the courage to ask Tatum and Alicia what they want to do.
Before she can make a move, she feels hands gently work to pry her fingers apart. Leighton doesn’t look up until she hears Tatum’s voice, “come to bed?”
Something deep inside Leighton unclenches at the request and she nods, gently stepping into Tatum’s space for a hug.
It’s in the dark of night, as the three of them lay there with Leighton in the middle, that Tatum speaks her mind. “One of us will have to marry you, Leight.”
The words hover over the three of them like a dark cloud. It’s not like they haven’t talked about it, but a marriage between more than one person just isn’t possible in the eyes of the law, so they had put the thought aside. The legal challenges for a marriage between any of them would be difficult, with prenups and extensive estate planning, not to mention it was still hard for the high society Leighton and Tatum inhabited to get over them dating each other and Alicia. And that’s not even getting into their complicated feelings about marriage; Alicia has been a strong opposer to the concept since she was in high school and not even seven, almost eight years together has changed her mind.
“It’s too dangerous not to, and I know we’ve talked about marriage to death and we decided we wouldn’t, but Leighton, if you get hurt or, God forbid, die, whoever you’re married to has the legal right to make decisions, otherwise it goes to your parents and you know I love your parents, but do you really want Henry planning a funeral for you?”
Hearing Tatum ramble isn’t a common occurrence, and the topic only serves to add a layer of guilt into the nerves Leighton has been feeling since she told her partners about this opportunity. When she adds on the stark silence from Alicia, Leighton thinks she has seriously fucked up for the first time in a long time. Before she can open her mouth to give her two cents, Alicia turns on her side to face both blondes.
“I think there’s a lot about this opportunity we are going to have to talk through, but Leighton, is this something you would even want to do? You’ve always been more interested in the math than the actual field research, and isn’t this why we have those telescopes out there?” Alicia asks as she runs her hand across Leighton’s arm.
“Would you be mad if I said I owe it to all the mathematicians and scientists who came before me?”
“No, Leighton,” Tatum chimes in. “We’d love you all the more for it, but this is something that is going to have to be a family decision between the three of us. Alicia and I know how much the universe means to you, but this isn’t just your life you’re talking about. This would require some massive changes for all of us. Just know that we love you and are willing to discuss this with you; we aren’t fighting you, just wanting you to be cautious.”
This isn’t at all now Leighton thought the night would turn out, but she does have to admit that her partners are right. “I know that this is a huge change, especially when I’ve just been a number cruncher for the last few years, and I know we have a lot to talk about, but I need you both to know that this is something I’ve thought a lot about in the last couple weeks and I’d like to see where it goes. But I also need you to know I won’t do it if we decide it’s too dangerous or it isn’t good for all of us.”
“I love you,” she says into the night. It’s not directed at anyone in particular, but then again, she’s never had to love only one of them.
Tatum leans over, pressing a kiss to Leighton’s cheek and wrapping her fingers with Alicia’s where they rest on Leighton’s hip. “We love you, too.”
--
Despite how the weekend started, it went exactly as Leighton planned. They thoroughly defiled most surfaces in ways that would have Bela, one of Leighton’s college roommates and friend, scandalized; they spent a few hours each night looking at the stars; and Alicia and Tatum had double teamed Leighton to go on a forest hike. It was perfect, and they even talked a little bit about what would need to happen for Leighton to take this change in jobs.
If they worked it all out, and Leighton was going to become an astronaut, she would marry Tatum; Alicia still had too many hang ups about the whole thing and her social standing – or at least the standing people chose to see which was that she didn’t come from New York – would most certainly require a prenuptial agreement for the “inevitable fallout” as one of Tatum’s more conservative aunts has put it. So, Tatum and Leighton would marry, Leighton would go to Houston for the first six months of training, and then she would meet Alicia and Tatum in Florida for the final eighteen months after they had sorted out their own careers.
By the time they left the cabin, a lot was still up for debate, but Leighton was at least grateful that Alicia and Tatum were entertaining her crazy potential career move. She did have to admit to herself that this wasn’t something she has ever wanted, but when director Fitzgerald had floated the opportunity by her, she couldn’t pass up on the chance to see math like this in the open, watch it change spacetime right before her eyes.
Coming back to the city was like jumping into a freezing cold pool from the hot tub; the sounds were ever present, and their little romantic bubble was quickly popped when they got back into cellular range and Leighton had a few calls from her NASA team waiting for her. Before this weekend, a few of the emails may have seemed urgent to the point of going into the office on a Sunday night, but now? Now Leighton knew how precious her relationship was, and how fragile it could still be after all these years.
She spends each night of the week curled up with her partners, thinking back on the agreement that had been made at the cabin – it was weird calling it an agreement, like there were still some disgruntled parties that had only conceded some of their points. She had been happy in her life, had been satisfied with her research and her awards, so why did Leighton feel like she had been catapulted back to those first few years of college where her life had been so unceremoniously upended?
The week passed quickly, with routines followed and text threads filled as if nothing had happened, yet every evening, the three of them would sit around the dinner table and discuss plans for the next two years like they were preparing to march into battle. Each night, Leighton would discuss the intricacies of the training that were relayed to her from Director Fitzgerald and Director Samuels of the astronaut training program, and she would listen as Tatum listed out what she expected of a house in Florida and a condo in Houston. Alicia, despite her unusual quietness, buzzed with excitement at the thought of her partner going to space, but she did have some caveats surrounding the environmental impact of each launch, and she practically demanded to be let into the research labs at NASA to work with the launch chemists.
After three weeks, they finally had all the information to make what Leighton felt would be the most informed decision of their relationship to date.
“First order of business,” Tatum started, taking the lead like this was just another one of her meetings with clients. “We are here to discuss Leighton taking this kickass opportunity to go to space to do field research on a gravitational anomaly; I don’t think I need to remind anybody that this is going to be record setting in every aspect,” she may be overly formal, but Tatum couldn’t hide the hints of pride on her face or in her actions.
“Second order of business, I have found an estate attorney who will happily update and notarize a new will, and as we are all aware, there are assets to be distributed should something untimely happen, and additionally, this is the pre-nup that was drafted for my brothers marriage; I doubt we will need it, but it’s always better to be prepared than scramble at the last minute.” Tatum passes out a legal draft that Leighton only briefly glances at before nodding in assent. Everything in the document is standard and is most likely what her parents would have requested had Leighton married anybody else.
“Third, we have dinner plans for the night of your promotion, where would you like to go?” the question is directed at Leighton, but all three of them know what she’s going to say.
“The Thai place over on 81st street,” Alicia says for Leighton; she’s been on a fried rice kick lately, and they’ve become frequent fliers at Thai and Chinese restaurants throughout the city.
Leighton lets out an indignant “hey!” at Alicia’s comment. “It’s arguably the best place for pork fried rice in the city.”
They all laugh, and it becomes less of a business meeting and more of a discussion on how they’re going to decorate Leighton’s condo in Houston for the six months she’ll be there for training.
“If I’m going to be visiting you on the weekends, I will not be sleeping in a double bed, Leighton Murray. I don’t care what else you do with the place, but I demand space for cuddles. You know how this one gets,” Alicia says with a nod of her head towards Tatum. “Always complaining about how there’s never enough space for her elbows.”
“You’re just jealous that I have the wingspan to hold both of you at once, don’t pretend to be something you’re not, Alicia. Tall,” Tatum tsks.
What had started as a serious discussion about their future turned into a tickle fight as Alicia dove over the messy coffee table to reach for Tatum’s side, digging her fingers into the soft flesh of her obliques. The retort that Tatum had expected never came, and the two tumbled through the living room chasing one another. For being two fully grown adult women, Leighton was often dating children. It was nice, that they could still maintain their childlike fascination with the world and their roughhousing tendencies, but sometimes it made Leighton wonder how they got anything done, ever.
--
“Are the trees changing yet?” Leighton asked, one day in the middle of September. It was one of the weekends when Tatum and Alicia weren’t able to come down to Houston and Leighton couldn’t tell what she missed more: her partners or the cooling weather of fall in New York. The first three months of her training rotation had been absolute torture given the heat of Houston, and while she knew Florida wouldn’t be any better, she at least had the promise of her family being there with her.
“You know how the park is, Leight. It’s remarkably temperamental,” Tatum lamented from her side of the phone. “Anything interesting happen this week?”
“Oh, you know, just trying not to die in our deep-water practices. Director Samuels thinks the team is progressing quite nicely. We’re going to start testing the landing ship that will take us to Quaoar, the planet that has the unexpected rings around it.”
“Leighton Murray, you will not joke about dying. We didn’t get married as a legal precaution for you to throw away your life so casually.” Tatum scolds. Their marriage was more just a legal document than an actual marriage; until the three of them could be married – and until Alicia had changed her mind – but it had quickly become Tatum’s favorite weapon of manipulation. She employed the ‘wife’ title to both Leighton and Alicia, and if they all had matching jewelry because of it, only their families would be able to tell.
“Okay, sorry, sorry,” Leighton acquiesced with a laugh. “But seriously. I miss the fall so much I need to know if that one vendor at the farmers market has started selling his apple cider donuts.”
“Babe, it’s only September. You know he doesn’t bring those out until October. But you know what I did see?” Leighton loves the way Tatum’s voice pitches high, and she almost knows what’s coming. “I saw the cutest Italian greyhound in this adorable winter outfit with the brightest boots ever and they looked like moon boots and it reminded me that you’re going to be wearing a whole space suit and when you get fitted for it Director Samuels better be ready to take pictures because I want to see how sexy you’ll look out in space.”
“Oh my God, Tatum! I don’t think the director is going to be there for that, but also those suits are like. The least sexy thing I’ve ever seen.” Leighton says.
“Yeah but think about it. You’ll get fitted for that cute little flight suit, the blue one, and you know how much Alicia loves a woman in uniform. You have to promise to give us a little fashion show when we get to Florida.”
Despite the fact that Leighton has been away from her partners for going on four months, she thinks it’s their sex life that has suffered the least. It turns out that Tatum can get really creative and has, according to Alicia, an excel spreadsheet of all the different things they can do. Leighton wouldn’t believe Alicia if the older woman hadn’t managed to sneak a photo of the color coded columns from bed one night. The two of them had teasingly brought it up to Tatum one night when they were all in Houston, cuddled up in Leighton’s condo after a good old fashioned fuck that makes Leighton think back to college when they had all the stamina in the world.
“Okay, I’ll see if I can get the publicity pictures then. If you don’t mind seeing me in a very preppy NASA polo. Give y’all a hint of what’s to come.”
“Leighton, is that a drawl I hear in your words? Are you giving up the New York lifestyle after only three months in Texas?”
“Oh come on Tate,” Leighton sighs. “You have to admit it’s not bad. And the words are pretty cool if you put a little country in them.”
“I will not have my wife speaking like some redneck roughian and you can guarantee I’ll be telling Alicia about this, see what she has to say and maybe we’ll do something about this abhorrent habit when we come down there next weekend.”
The threat is pure sarcasm, but Leighton can’t help the small shiver that goes up her spine. When Alicia and Tatum team up, there’s no telling what will happen.
“Yeah well, after these last few weeks I’d take whatever you have to give as long as it comes with a massage after, or before, I don’t particularly care, I’m just so sick of being sore for all the wrong reasons. It almost makes me wish I had taken you up on all those morning runs.”
“Oh my poor baby,” Tatum says with a fake pout. “Don’t worry, by the time we leave, you won’t be able to walk straight.”
The alarm Leighton has set for this phone call goes off; it’s time for one of the evening sessions with the engineers who are teaching Leighton everything there is to know about her ship so she can help the other astronauts that are traveling out to Quaoar with her. The team is small, built entirely for research, but all the other scientists have done work on the ISS and have at least a little bit of space experience. So Leighton has been working late into the night to get caught up on all the systems so she’ll make it home in one piece.
Because she has to make it home. Her family is here, and she refuses to leave her partners for longer than the planned three years she’ll be in space. Three years in the stars and then she’ll spend the rest of her life on earth, with her feet on the ground and only looking at the stars from the safety of her partners arms at their little cabin in the woods