Tiny Tina's Teacake

"Okay... So I've maybe hinted about four times now, that I want to ask you out on a date. Whilst trying not to entirely undercut Aliss." Trinity said with just the smallest hint of annoyance, but more sounding like she was terrified of getting an answer.

Tina swallowed nervously, "Oh god, I'm blind."

"That also makes you very cute."

She flinched, "You're very nice, Trin-"

"Duh. You've got a thing for Aliss." The woman didn't let her finish, rolling her eyes and leaning back. "I know that I've got no chance for anything long term. But what Az doesn't know, doesn't hurt her. You really want to know if you like girls or not? Could give it a shot. I'm good with secrets."

Tina felt the world spin a little. She really hadn't expected an offer, let alone one that... Straight forward.

The artist waited patiently, sipping their drink, until Tina's feet came back down to solid earth. Smiling with amusement at her complete shock at being blindsided by the suggestion.

Her first thought, when she could breathe again, was that it was a serious betrayal of Aliss. Whether or not it helped her figure out herself, she'd never be able to face the woman again.

Her second, much more guilty thought, was that she wasn't technically dating Aliss. That she'd actually been thinking about breaking off contact, so if Aliss really never found out about it, then she'd never have anything to get hurt over.

The third thought was more reasonable.

If she somehow learned that her horizons were broader than she imagined, and she could settle for what would make Aliss comfortable, then she wouldn't be able to be with the woman. She'd end up confessing what she'd done, and Aliss would rightfully be hurt and angry with her, and it'd be back to square one.

"Aw, fuck." Trinity pouted, "Almost had you, didn't I? But you're saying no."

"H-how can you tell?" She stared.

The woman laughed, "You're an open book, cutie."

"Do... Do you think I am? To... Her?" Tina whispered in fright.

Trinity tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the tabletop, and then made a smile that Tina really didn't like. "Tell you what. I'll break my rule and tell you how to break your news to Aliss. I'll do what I can to help both of you. Play Cupid. If you do one thing for me."

"I don't even know if I want this." Tina glared at her, "Manipulating me is a bitch move."

The woman shrugged, "Mmm. Probably. But I can tell you what Aliss was up to when I went it at six this morning to try and work on my piece. My centrepiece. It's this thing, but it isn't working. Needs another element added. I've got a bunch of naked guys in the shape of a sunflower, but it isn't working for me."

"No. No. No." Tina scoffed in amazement, "I am not modelling for you. And why is that supposed to be some kind of -"

"Aliss was painting you, this morn. If you wanna know how, then either suck up to me, or suck it up and talk to her." Trinity grinned.

Her stomach dropped, as she remembered the trans artist's capability for darkness. If she'd broken her, then the woman absolutely would express it in her art. She'd die through her art.

On the other hand, it could be an acknowledgement of what she couldn't have. A quiet and hopeful piece, with Aliss moving on by creating it, and making Tina be able to walk away, guilt free.

"Oh, you're evil." She glared.

Trinity's nose scrunched up, "Fuck, you're adorable."

"If it's nude, I'm still out." Tina cross her arms.

"I was hoping for you naked, but in a ball. All cute and about to blossom. But I can work with something else." Trinity shrugged, "Mmm... Actually, that skirt you're wearing. That'd work really well if I just shift the lighting... Bend the light a bit with a Brownian walk... Yeah. I can work with that. Deal?"

"Tell me, first." Tina growled.

Trinity jumped to her feet, "So... You buying this phone?"

"Trinity!"

The woman shrugged, "I'm workin', here. We can talk art, after. I get off at four."

"You're getting off on this." Tina dragged at her feet, and feeling like she didn't have a lot of choice in things. "Fine. I guess I'll see you at four."

%5%7%9%

Tina sat on a bench, hopefully out of sight of Trinity, and swapped her phone's sim into the new phone, and then booted it up. It wouldn't have much of a charge, but it would have something.

Hopefully enough to check for any messages from Aliss, and hopefully one of those would spare her from having to be Trinity's model just to find out exactly how the woman was coping with Tina being the worst crush in the world.

She sat there, tapping her feet impatiently through a half-dozen logos fading in, and then disappearing. As if any of the companies mattered a flying fuck to her. She wasn't going to recommend them to anyone else, it was a cheap ass phone!

After boot, she had to set it up, which made things take longer. Then there was some kind of update, which forced the phone to reboot. Finally, when the fucking thing stopped fucking around, it buzzed weakly, and displayed some unseen messages.

The first was spam.

So was the second.

She had two more, but they weren't from Aliss, not exactly. They were messages that she'd missed a phone call. The timing probably meant that she'd been in the shower, at the time.

The second call had left a message.

She dialled into her inbox, rolling her eyes through the spoken menu and hitting a couple numbers to get to play the actual message. Why the hell did everything have to take forever, today?

"I was going to text, but then figured this is more of a face-to-face conversation, but you didn't pick up and... I'm a coward. So call this a compromise between the two." Aliss' voice was unsteady, faltering.

Tina shouldn't have done this in public. She could feel the bottom of her chin spasming, as a world of feelings punched her right in the gut.

"It's Aliss, by the way. Uhm... I hope this thing won't cut out on me. I... I get it. Yesterday. You were scared, lost. I... I was as well. Hence bitchin' 'n tossin' ya. I freaked out 'n fucked up." The woman continued quickly, words spilling out at a breathless pace.

Tina bit her lip, into her lip, as she heard the woman claiming responsibility. Feeling a sense of horror and guilt threatening to completely overwhelm her.

"I didn't sleep last night. Kept kicking myself for fucking everything up. I should have listened, more. Or not jumped to conclusions or kissed you or... I'm confused. Just like you were, but I'm scared that things are over and... I can keep myself to meself. If friends is it, then I can do -"

A robotic voice interrupted, "End of messages. Press one to return to the-"

Tina hung up, her hand shaking as she slowly lowered the phone into her lap. She felt... Stupid. Like all her worrying had been over nothing at all. Her plan to cut Aliss off didn't make sense to her, anymore.

They hadn't even shared a kiss.

But she wanted to.

She didn't really want to settle for friends. Settling for friends is what they could do if they really were sexually incompatible. However, what she wanted to do most, right now, was find Aliss and ask her out on a date.

She couldn't do anything extravagant, but she wanted to do something sweet. Something that could end with the two of them in a bedroom, exchanging soft little kisses and laughing happily with each other. Something to give her an excuse to test their boundaries.

Tina laughed to herself with a tiny smile. Thinking about sex on the first date, she was acting like a slut.

With that, she headed off to one of the grocery stores.

%6%5%2%

"Uh... Can I help you?" The girl in the waitressing dress looked at Tina in absolute confusion, and a little bit of insult.

In retrospect, the present was a little on the nose to be bringing into a bakery.

"Oh, uh... I was hoping to see Aliss. Not trying to eat here, or anything." Tina winced.

The girl visibly relaxed, "Oh. Right... So you're the infamous Tina, then? Sorry, I only saw you a minute, the other day."

"Oh crap. What have you heard?"

The waitress laughed, "Relax. Aliss is my little sister. Year between us. Infamous, because she won't shut the fuck up about you. I haven't seen her like this about any girl since her first crush when she was like... Eight. But that was all daffodils. Expect you two are up to more."

Tina blinked, "Oh, right. Sister. She mentioned she used to steal your skirt, got in trouble for it."

"That's seriously the only thing she's said about me?" The waitress looked completely disappointed, "Well, I'm sorry to say that Aliss is out."

"Probably at the museum. But I was half expecting that." Tina nodded, "Uhm... I was hoping to leave the present, here. I... Kinda said and did a few things that might uh... Make her wanna slap me. And I'm a total coward."

The waitress grinned, "I've never actually seen Aliss slap someone, before. So I'd love for you to hang around, but I really don't know when she's going to be back."

"You're... Horrible." Tina said hesitantly, "Can you please just put this upstairs for her, or something?"

"She didn't even tell you my name, did she?"

Tina shook her head.

"Oof. Well, it's Miriam." The waitress replied, taking the small white box, "But I still reckon you should hang around. Aliss isn't going to make a big a deal out of this, as you're thinking. Scout's honour."

"I also said I'm a coward. So... I'm going to run away, now." Tina replied, turning to go.

Miriam caught her by the wrist, and laughed, "No, no, no! Come on. Aliss won't be back for a while. But no need to dump and panic. Mum and Dad have been wanting to meet you ever since Aliss invited you up to her room."

"The parents!?" Tina turned dead white, "We're... We're not even... Dating."

The waitress rolled her eyes, "Yeah. Totally believe you."

"We haven't kissed. We barely exchanged phone numbers." Tina insisted.

Miriam gestured the box she was balancing in one hand, "And this is...?"

"... An apology." Tina mumbled, looking at the floor, "Just because I... Maybe... Want to ask her out... Doesn't mean we've done anything."

The waitress let go of her wrist, "Okay. You really... Haven't? Aliss never even brought Zane back to her room. You've completely stolen her heart, without even trying? I mean, you are cute, I guess. But... How?"

Tina sucked in her breath and looked up at the sister of the woman that she adored. "Zane. He hurt her, right? Not just by ignoring her. I... How do I never, ever, remind her of him? Anything to avoid?"

"Wanna gossip about my lil sis? I'm in." Miriam grinned and sat down at a nearby table, putting down the box.

She sat down slowly, "Not... Gossip... I'm just... I've never dated a girl. Let alone... You know. I already fucked up bad."

"Yeah. Aliss was crying when she left, this morning. At two." Miriam screwed up her face, "Wanted to kill you, when I saw that. I mean... Aliss feels stuff deeper than you or me. She feels it, and hides it, until it all just breaks out in one massive flood. I know she doesn't seem like she cries but -"

"I saw her cry. Yesterday." Tina interrupted, her chin beginning to spasm. "Be... Because of me."

Miriam glared at her, "What the hell did you say to my sister? Did you call her a guy, you bitch!?"

Tina shook her head, staring at the ground, "M-maybe worse. It's none of your business... But... We... I... Tried to... Talk sex stuff."

"What?"

She glared across the table, "We're grown women. We can do whatever we like. We're not exactly dumb kids."

"No, that wasn't..." Miriam shook her head, "Uh... Okay. We're talking my sister. That shit is complicated."

"Hence, talking about it."

"Shut up and give me a second!" The waitress complained, "Uh... You talked... With my sister... About sex. Cool. Very mature. But uh... You two... Have never done anything? She treats you, like you're closer than anyone she's ever dated... And you've never actually been on a date? Do you get where I'm coming from? Why none of this is making sense?"

Tina rubbed her eyes, "I've only ever dated guys, before. So after Aliss told me that she liked me... It kinda sent me... Spinning. I've only just worked it out. Maybe."

"You're saying sorry with a... Cake?" Miriam said dubiously, "And then you're planning... To actually ask her out? After... After going on about her dick? I think I officially hate you."

"Who do you hate?" An older man came out of the kitchen, rubbing his hands on his apron. He didn't look remotely like Aliss or Miriam, but Tina immediately knew who he was.

She launched to her feet, scooting back the chair, and felt terrified as she didn't know how to greet him. She almost felt like bowing or curtsying or something. "Hi. I... I'm Tina. Aliss'... Friend. Maybe?"

"Tina." His eyes lit up, and a small smile crossed his face, "Well, isn't that something? I'm sorry that you've missed her, but -"

"Don't, Dad." Miriam said angrily, "She's a total bitch. Too concerned about what's in Aliss' pants to give a fuck like a real person."

Tina's chin started up again, "That's... Not true."

"Really?" The sister scoffed.

"Miriam. How about you go clean the back oven?" Her dad said testily.

The waitress breathed in noisily, "Uh... No. I'll go to my room... But this? This is going in the trash."

She swiped the present, before Tina could react, and tossed it in a bin before she went through the kitchen, and another door banged behind her.

Tina clenched her eyes shut, and sat down slowly. She couldn't help it, the tears started immediately. They just started running down her cheeks, not just a drip. They flowed down like twin waterfalls.

"I'm sorry. Our Miriam is protective of her sister. She's always had to be." Her dad whispered, taking the seat Miriam had just vacated.

Tina shook her head, "She's... Kinda right. I hurt Aliss. I'm trying to fix it. Trying. The... Teacake... Was my way of starting. I think Aliss was just as scared as I was. Thought she'd hurt me."

He chuckled, "Girls. You never can just talk to each other, can you?"

"Aliss says what she's thinking." Tina half-whispered, "I... I like that about her."

"She's in love with you." He stated flatly, "This morning, she might have been crying into her porridge, but she was telling us all about a painting that she started, yesterday. You agreed to model for her? I don't really understand art, but she couldn't stop smiling and talking."

"She... Was crying?"

"Aliss cries a lot. Happy. Sad. Angry. She has a tough time with her emotions. She started on hormone therapy about three months ago. It makes things difficult." He said slowly.

Tina blinked, "Three months? So... She managed... To uh... Nevermind. That's a private thing."

She had almost asked him about Aliss' cup size. Three months to go from nothing to bigger than herself. She had to figure that would hurt. Which also guiltily made Tina figure that she wouldn't be playing with them, anytime soon.

Shutting up, also prevented her from leaping to the next question. If Aliss was on oestrogen... And Tina wasn't completely misremembering something... Then it meant that the thing about Aliss that Aliss didn't like, also didn't work.

The guilt came crashing back, but this time it wasn't a wave. It was a tsunami.

"Um..." Tina swallowed, "I... Gotta go... T-tell... Aliss? That I was here? Um... I'll see her at work. Tomorrow. If she doesn't mind."

She staggered upright, and headed for the door.

%C%2%0%

Tina fell onto her bed, grabbed her pillow, and screamed into it as loudly as she could.

How could she be so stupid and insensitive!?

She was into Aliss, but she made their relationship hinge on something as stupid as whether or not the girl could get an erection. Right after snooping and finding a bunch of bras that said that Aliss was taking hormones.

She was even dumb enough to think multiple growing bras was evidence that Aliss might have had implants, even though that made not a lick of fucking sense!

Slow, stupid, and unlovable.

That was her, all over.

The doorbell rang.

Tina sat up in confusion, and then it rang, again. She shuffled over to it, holding onto her pillow as she made her way to the apartment door. She cracked it open a little, and saw the blonde standing on the doorstep.

The door slammed shut, and Tina stumbled backwards, overbalanced, and landed on her ass.

Her eyes watered from the pain in her butt, as she tried to remember how to breathe. She forced herself up slowly, limping and rubbing her backside, as she made it back to the door.

She cracked it open slowly, stared some more, and then opened it all the way. "A-aliss?"

The woman chuckled, "Yeah. Sorry. Guess that was a bit of a shock to the system."

Tina nodded soundlessly.

"Wasn't stalking you, swear." Aliss put a hand to her heart, and then shrugged a little sheepishly. "I got back from the museum, and just as I was putting everything away, Dad told me you'd just come by. Like, minutes ago. So I dumped everything to try and catch you. Wanted to show you what I'd done."

She nodded again, and turned, "Uh... Wanna come in? It's a mess... But it's cold, out."

Aliss stepped inside and kicked off her flats, "Uhm... Where was I? Oh, right. I ran out, and I actually managed to spot you. But you were already on the platform, and you didn't hear me over the trains... So I tried to catch up, but you were stepping on and I barely even made it to the train."

"You... Tried to chase me down?" Tina said in awe.

The woman nodded, and dropped onto the end of Tina's bed, leaning back on her wrists, "Nearly missed when you got off, too. Had to reopen the door and had everyone glare at me. I did try yelling at you, for the last two blocks, too. But... I think you were kinda in your own world."

"Two... Blocks..." Tina breathed out slowly, and then burst out laughing and crying at the same time.

She slid down onto her knees, laughing and wiping at her cheeks.

Aliss stared at her in confusion, and then leaned forward a little and crossed her arms under her chest. The artist looked confused and uncomfortable, as she stared.

Tina shook her head, unable to stop laughing. Seeing her oblivious self walking down the road, stumbling along and nearly crying, whilst Aliss waved, jumped and shouted from behind her.

She could absolutely believe it.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Aliss said with a pained expression.

She shook her head, and took a couple ragged breaths, "Not... You... Me. God. It's always me! I'm such an idiot. I'm blind and stupid and... And you never can get my attention, can you?"

"Still sounds like you're laughing at me." Aliss said, more confused than upset.

Tina sighed glumly, "I'm sorry. About yesterday. And a bit, today, too. I did try and leave you a present. Made it here. Kitchen's still a mess. But... I upset Miriam."

"I saw the teacake." Aliss shuffled, and pulled a crumpled letter from inside her top. "Found this with the box, too."

Tina swallowed nervously, "Um... Have you... Read it?"

"I was going to, once I caught up with you." Aliss shrugged, "So... Read it now?"

"Only if I get to hide."

Aliss smiled broadly, "Miri screamed something about you being a skank on my way out. If this is some kind of old-fashioned sext, I'm probably going to be annoyed. So if it is, tell me, and I won't open it."

"God, what kind of girl do you think I am?" Tina's mouth fell open, "Just because I've been stupid and talked with you about... Our stuff... Doesn't mean that -"

Aliss burst out laughing, grinning at her.

She glared, "Oh. You were making fun of me, again, weren't you?"

"Pretty much." Aliss dropped the letter to the floor, "Tina?"

"Yes...?" She said, staring at the object in trepidation.

"Can I be a real skanky bitch, and instead of asking you out on a date... Ask to makeout?"