There are aspects of Alicia’s girlfriends lives that she avoids at all costs, like the high society functions and charity events that they attend once or twice a month so she doesn’t have to pretend to like any of the people, but there are some things Alicia likes to tag along to. The orchestra nights they attend in Lincoln Square on Friday nights, or even the museum events thrown by Tatum’s firm have made their way to the top of the list, but Alicia’s favorite part of high society is watching everybody do a double take when the three of them walk through the doors hand in hand.
Each of them has a distinct style, cultivated over years of independence from overbearing mothers, but their tailor continues to create white tie looks that perfectly complement each other without any one woman stealing the spotlight.
Tonight, Alexey has put Alicia in a fashionable tuxedo with longer coattails than normal to give off the impression of her wearing a dress if you were to stand behind her, and while she has no intention of straying too far from Tate and Leighton, her outfit subtly marks her as theirs. The stripes on her pants are a deep green, so dark they appear black until she stands next to either Tatum or in the light and it becomes obvious the ribbons are green, and it all pairs perfectly with the gold chain of her pocket watch that matches the jewelry her girlfriends are wearing.
She watches from the bar as Leighton flutters around the room, schmoozing the crowd of the more scientifically inclined parts of Manhattan’s wealthy with her discussions about space and her own research. Her movements are flawless, and Alicia can’t tear her eyes away from the sight. Normally, she and Tatum both would be shadowing Leighton at any type of where the majority of the guests have PhD’s and tend to skew towards the I’m-unfortunately-so-smart-I-can’t-have-normal-conversations end of the social spectrum, but since Leighton hosts this event every year, Alicia and Tatum have found their own friends (usually with the other plus one’s) that they hang around with.
But for now, she’s content to watch from the sidelines as Leighton works her magic to encourage wealthy academics to donate funds to the scholarship the Murray Foundation sponsors for LGBTQ+ students in the sciences. If her interests in watching Leighton are less than pure, well, who can blame her? Leighton has all the confidence of every white man in her family and she wields it with such finesse that she stands out anywhere in the room, no matter who she is speaking with.
Alicia takes her eyes off Leighton for two seconds to ask the bartender for three glasses of wine, and when she turns back to the ballroom, Tatum has joined Leighton in talking to Dr. Fitzgerald, the director of NASA’s governmental projects office that Leighton works with. It’s an easy going conversation, and Alicia notes some of the newer members of tonight’s event watch the two blondes with curiosity that highlights their newness.
With three glasses in hand – the bartender had asked if she needed any help, but after so many years, Alicia has perfected carrying three of anything – she makes her way over to her partners and Dr. Fitzgerald.
“-it’s expensive to put together these kinds of projects, I don’t know what they expect, honestly.” Leighton is saying when Alicia gets close enough. Unconsciously, she and Tatum makes space for Alicia in their small circle, with Tatum wrapping her arm around Alicia’s waist with a small “hi.” She hands out the glasses and turns to face Dr. Fitzgerald, always interested in what he has to say even if she doesn’t know what they’re discussing yet.
“Yes, and they’re always concerned with the right now, and not the future – oh hello, Alicia,” Dr. Fitzgerald greets her.
“Hello,” she holds out her free hand to shake his, and then falls silent, allowing him and Leighton to dive back into their conversation. They’re discussing new cost-efficient ways of overcoming escape velocity and it’s a rant Alicia and Tatum have been spectators of before when Dr. Fitzgerald and his wife join them for dinner occasionally.
“How are you?” Tatum asks quietly, with her lips pressed to Alicia’s ear so they don’t interrupt the two scientists.
“Just people watching,” she answers. “Did you see the new professor from Columbia? He barely looks old enough to have his PhD.”
Tatum chuckles, pulls her left hand from Leighton’s light grasp, and presses a kiss to Leighton’s cheek before pulling Alicia away from their third and into the middle of the crowd. They won’t dance tonight, not until the guests have left and they have the hall to themselves to be fools in, but Tatum gives a subtle twirl for Alicia to admire.
“Right? He looks like a child!” Tatum agrees, trying not to be overly judgmental; it’s something they’ve been working on as a household – or rather, something Alicia has been trying to get her partners to stop doing, but she knows they will always have an eye for being a little bit rude no matter how hard she tries.
The music from the small quartet stops briefly as the musicians change their music or fiddle with their instruments, and Alicia takes the opportunity to make her way to some of the newer members of this little club her partner has created. Tatum trails behind her, arguably more out of place than even Alicia as one of the only people in the room whose life doesn’t revolve around science.
“Good evening,” Alicia smoothly slides into the conversation between the Columbia professors. It’s always easy to tell who teaches at what school based on the way they stand, and the Columbia physics department has the most stuck up posture outside of the politicians that Leighton courts.
Alicia wouldn’t say she’s friends with any of the people who attend these events, they don’t always find an environmentalist focused chemist to be the most prestigious conversation partner, but she has found that a few of the rocket scientists can be fun to talk to, including Dr. Taylor from Columbia so she always tries to say hello to her.
“Good evening, Alicia,” Dr. Taylor pivots the conversation easily to include both Alicia and Tatum. “Leighton’s done a fabulous job with the event this year, please give her my regards if I don’t get the chance; she seems especially busy tonight.”
“You know she’ll always make time for you Doreen,” Tatum points out, knowing that Leighton has a soft spot for her old advisor and role model. “It just may not be tonight,” she adds on with a laugh as she looks at her partner across the room.
“Yes, well, she definitely has her hands full with the Senators tonight. Have you met our newest professor?” Dr. Taylor gestures to the man Alicia and Tatum had been watching earlier. “This is Dr. Fayvilevich, he comes to Columbia from Karlsruhe this year.”
“Welcome,” Tatum says extending her hand. “I’m Tatum, this is Alicia. We’re Leighton’s partners.” The young professor shakes her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you.” He moves to shake Alicia’s hand in a strong grip. “Which papers of Dr. Murray’s did you work with her on?”
And, oh, this is Alicia’s favorite part of meeting new people that Leighton works with.
“Oh, no, we don’t work with Leighton.” Tatum says with that smirk that she dons when she has something evil planned, but Alicia jumps in before her partner can say something that will have her blushing from head to toe in front of Leighton’s role model.
“She our girlfriend.” And the poor man looks even more confused, but Alicia doesn’t pay him any further attention as she sees Leighton making her way towards them. “Hi darling,” she greets as Leighton slips into the space between her and Tatum, gently moulding herself to Tatum’s side like a magnet.
“Hey, I see you’ve met Pieter. I’m glad you did, he works in rocket fuels and I think the two of you could have some good conversations,” Leighton says as she drops a kiss to Alicia’s temple. She’s exhausted, Alicia can tell from the way she subtly shifts her weight from foot to foot. With a quick glance at the pocket watch that sits in her vest pocket, Alicia knows it’s time to leave.
They’ve had a successful night, and Alicia has enjoyed watching Leighton work a room – it will always be one of the hottest parts of her partners upbringing – but now that they’re in a crowd that consists of a bunch of nerds, they’re all just waiting for Leighton to make the final speech so they can make it home before eleven. So with a nudge and a glance at the timepiece, Alicia points Leighton in the right direction to wrap up the evening.
(Part of Alicia thinks it’s absolutely hilarious that Leighton can last over six hours in the highest heels at an emotionally draining high society event, but at her own party with a bunch of nerds that she hangs out with all the time, the dinner and mingling doesn’t last more than three hours. If she didn’t have to talk to non-science people, Alicia is almost positive this event would be done by ten but alas, everybody in academia knows they have to kiss ass at least twice a year and they’d rather do it here than at a university sponsored event.)
—
“Oh my god my feet are killing me.”
And this is the one aspect of the fancy events that Tatum and Leighton go to that Alicia loves. She may prefer Leighton’s science galas to the high society events, but every one ends in a shared shower and Alicia gets to watch the transformation as her girls become more like themselves. The makeup wipes pile up in the bathroom, the hangars that were haphazardly thrown on the bed earlier get systematically put away with their appropriate dresses and jackets, the shoes get lined up in the closet, and then they get to slide into bed together and Alicia takes a few minutes before she falls asleep to appreciate that Leighton and Tatum come home to her.
So the routine starts the same tonight, with Alicia taking off her coat and helping Leighton and Tatum undo the zipper on their gowns and then she heads to the closet with full hangers while Leighton and Tatum take off their makeup in the bathroom. It’s an intricate ritual that Alicia never really participates in, but she knows the tenderness that exists in that room; she can imagine the way Tatum will cradle Leighton’s face in her hand while she gently works the wipes across Leighton’s face before the care is returned.
By the time Alicia has joined them in the bathroom, Leighton has taken out her contacts and has the little crinkle in between her eyebrows that she gets when she’s trying to see something clearly that’s far away.
“Alicia, hurry up.” She whines. “The water’ll get cold.”
Alicia just chuckles, before she pulls Leighton and Tatum into the shower with her. There’s plenty of hairspray to wash down the drain tonight, and Alicia relishes in the feel of hands in her hair as one of her partners is careful to wash out the product without pulling her hair. It’s quick and efficient, and Tatum steps out first to retrieve their towels from the warmer so that Alicia and Leighton don’t complain about the temperature of their bedroom.
Pajamas donned, medications taken, water bottles filled, phones plugged in to charge, alarms turned off, and finally they get to crawl into bed with each other and intertwine around Leighton.
It doesn’t take long for any of them to fall asleep, and Alicia remembers why she likes to join her partners when they go to fancy events: they make her feel handsome and loved, and she gets to let everybody know that she is theirs and they are hers.