Take My Jacket, It's Cold Outside--Sparia
Aria walked down the street, hands in her pockets, thinking about the terrible fight she'd just had with her girlfriend. In their five year relationship and ten year friendship, she was pretty sure this was the worst fight they'd ever had. It was one of those fights that had the potential to ruin a relationship. Aria didn't know what she had been thinking. Her company wanted to transfer her to Boston, and for some reason Aria thought it was a good idea to bring it up after what she knew was an incredibly stressful day for Spencer. It had only spiraled downhill from there...
"Well you told them that you couldn't take it, didn't you?" Spencer asked, pouring a glass of wine. Aria narrowed her eyes.
"I told them I needed to think about it," she said. Spencer frowned, twirling her fork around her lo mein. It was another night of Chinese takeout for the couple. Spencer had picked it up on her way home. All she wanted was to have a relaxing dinner with her girlfriend, who was now starting an argument.
"What's there to think about? We can't move to Boston," Spencer said, trying to make her see reason. Aria took a deep breath, willing herself not to get angry.
"This is my job, Spence. If I don't transfer to Boston, they're going to fire me," she explained.
"So I'm supposed to just quit my job so we can move to Boston?" Spencer asked. Aria shook her head, frustrated that her girlfriend wouldn't even look at things from her side.
"I didn't say that! I just thought we should discuss it before we make a decision!" Aria argued.
"What's there to discuss?" Spencer asked, growing more and more annoyed with Aria.
"Maybe we should discuss the fact that you think your job is more important than mine!" she yelled.
"My job is more important than yours!" Spencer yelled back. At that, Aria slammed her fork onto the table and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Spencer asked.
"For a walk," she snapped. Spencer pursed her lips, then sighed.
"Take my jacket. It's cold outside," she said. Aria rolled her eyes at the sudden concern, but picked up Spencer's jacket on the way out.
In truth, she had known the second her boss opened her mouth that she was going to end up out of a job. Spencer made double what she did, and it would be ridiculous for her to quit so they could move. And honestly, Aria didn’t want to move. She loved New York. She loved that they were only a few blocks away from Hanna’s apartment. She loved everything about the city. But she was furious that Spencer wouldn't even talk about their possibilities. And maybe Spencer's job as district attorney was more important than her small editing job. Still, she wished her girlfriend would just take a minute to think about how difficult this was for her. Regardless of how shitty and underappreciated her job was, it hadn’t been easy for her to get it, and she didn’t relish the thought of sitting around unemployed.
She didn't realize how long she'd been out until she returned home to find the kitchen cleaned and Spencer already in bed.
Spencer put down the case file she had been reading.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Aria's eyes snapped up to search her girlfriend's face for any sign of insincerity. There was none. Out of everything she had expected, this was not on the list.
"It's okay," she mumbled. Spencer shook her head.
"I don't think my job is more important than yours," she said. Aria raised an eyebrow.
"Spencer, we both know that your job is more important," she said. Spencer sighed.
"Maybe it terms of the world at large, but not when it comes to how we feel. And it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I'm sorry," she repeated. Aria sat down next to her and kissed her.
"I'm sorry too. I lied earlier. I didn't tell my boss I needed to think about it. I told her I couldn't go. Tomorrow's my last day," she admitted. Spencer's eyebrows scrunched together in worry.
"Aria... I'm sorry. You didn't have to make a decision on the spot. We should have discussed it," she said. Aria smiled sadly, the irony of Spencer’s words not lost on her.
"Spence, my life is here. Our life is here. I can get a different job. That one paid shit anyway," she joked. Spencer nodded.
"It really did. And they didn’t appreciate you at all," she agreed. Aria laughed, which made Spencer laugh.
“I hated that job,” she said. Spencer snorted.
"So do you forgive me for being such a bitch earlier?" Spencer asked. Aria nodded.
"Of course, baby."