Lisa woke up to the feeling of lips on her neck, and she hummed contentedly as she curled toward the woman next to her, feeling their bare skin brush against each other as an arm slid around her protectively. "Good morning," Jennie husked quietly near her ear, and Lisa smiled a little.
"Morning," she murmured back, "what time is it?"
"I don't know," Jennie answered, her lips back on Lisa's neck and sucking on her skin softly. Lisa moaned a little as teeth brushed against her. "What time do your friends usually wake up?"
"Dunno," Lisa admitted, "depends on what their plans for the day are." Jennie trailed her lips lower, across Lisa's collarbone and then down to her boobs, sucking a nipple into her mouth. Lisa finally forced her eyes open and looked down at the mess of dark hair below her, and those beautiful lips wrapped around her nipple. "I think I like waking up like this."
Jennie smiled as she released Lisa's nipple with a slight pop, before stretching back out and propping herself up on one arm. "Me too." Jennie looked so relaxed and laid back that Lisa never would've guessed that she had ever had apprehensions about a relationship between the two of them. The way she was looking at Lisa, you'd think there was nothing in the world that could keep her away. It made Lisa's heart warm, not to mention her cheeks. She hoped that her blush wasn't too obvious.
"I guess we should get up soon, though," Lisa said quietly, watching as Jennie's smile turned into a frown before she dramatically fell back onto the pillow.
"Or not."
"Seulgi had said maybe the guys and I should meet her for dinner while they're in town. Maybe we can do tonight, and you can join us."
Jennie turned her head back to look at Lisa, looking exasperated suddenly. "God, Seulgi must hate me. You told her I was going to her Friendsgiving, and then I didn't. No doubt that you'd filled her in."
Lisa sighed. "Jennie... it's fine. I told her a little bit, yeah, but... it doesn't matter. And probably the sooner you two hang out, the sooner you'll realize that it's all fine. She just wants me to be happy." Jennie blew out a breath. "Come on, it'll be fun. We can show Lucas and Bambam around the city and then meet up with Seulgi for dinner."
"Okay," Jennie agreed, "but only if we can spend a few more minutes in bed."
A smile hinted at Lisa's lips. "I guess that's doable."
•••
"Hey, girl!" Seulgi greeted after Lisa's phone had rung for a few seconds. She was seated in the living room, having just finished a bowl of cereal, while her two best friends were shoveling some food down as well. Jennie had chosen to take the bathroom last, so she was still upstairs getting ready. "What's up?"
"Hey, I was thinking of taking you up on dinner tonight," Lisa said, "with Lucas and Bambam. We're going to explore the city a bit today, thought it'd be fun to meet up for dinner."
"Hell yeah, I have a bunch of recommendations of places you probably haven't been to, also. I can send you a list and you guys can pick."
"Cool. Oh—also..." Lisa glanced at her friends quickly before looking up at the ceiling as she asked Seulgi, "Is it cool if Jennie comes too?"
"Oh—you two are back on?" Seulgi asked in surprise. "I thought you were worried things weren't going to work out since she wasn't talking to you."
"Well," Lisa said, a small smile playing on her face, "she and I talked again yesterday, and she got there. So."
"Got there? To the point of naming your relationship?" Seulgi asked, sounding surprisingly excited for Lisa.
"Yeah," Lisa answered with a smile that she couldn't even try to hide.
"Aww, my little hopeless romantic finally got the girl!" Seulgi cooed.
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up."
"I'm happy for you, really! Of course Jennie can join us."
"Cool. Send me that list of recommendations and then we'll all pick a place while we're out and about today."
"Will do. Don't forget that it's Black Friday, though, so you might wanna stay away from the big retailers."
"Shit—that's right. Okay. Thanks, Seulgi, see you tonight," Lisa told her friend.
"See you!"
Lisa hung up the call, and finally looked back down at her friends, and Lucas lifted an eyebrow at her. "You going to tell us what exactly happened with you and enemy-to-lover up there?"
"Shut up," Lisa shushed him, before quietly adding, "she asked me to be her girlfriend."
"Aw," Bambam cooed happily, "I'm happy for you, L."
Lisa smiled. "Thanks. I was going to ask her a few days ago before we had shit happen, but... I'm glad we finally got there."
Suddenly, Lisa became aware of the sound of feet on the stairs, and she leaned back a little in her seat, her gaze going to the front door in anticipation of Jennie appearing from the stairs, and sure enough just a second later, the woman had reached the first floor and was heading toward them. "Good morning," Jennie said brightly to the three of them.
"Morning," Bambam and Lucas chimed in response. Bambam continued, "You know, I guess that explains what I'm pretty sure I heard something coming from upstairs last night." Lisa flushed as she glanced at Jennie in the kitchen, who she was surprised to see didn't even look the slightest bit embarrassed.
"Shut up," Lisa muttered, "you didn't hear anything."
"Uh, yes, I definitely did. And I know because I recognized the sounds from... hmm... a little over a year ago when you were dating your ex."
Lisa groaned, realizing that Bambam had specifically heard Lisa. She glanced back at Jennie to see that she was smirking, and Lisa leaned back in her chair, dejected at the realization that she'd been louder than intended last night. "I hate you," Lisa told Bambam.
"You love me."
"I also hate you."
"What about me?" Lucas asked, grinning at Lisa.
"I guess you're alright."
Lucas shrugged. "I'll take it."
"So," Lisa said, shaking her head and changing the topic, "it's Black Friday today. What do you guys want to do?"
Bambam chuckled. "Don't worry, shopping isn't on my mind. I kinda wanna just check out what the city's like in general if that makes sense?"
"Thinking about moving or something?" Lisa teased. Lucas smirked, but Bambam looked pretty serious as he answered.
"Maybe someday."
Lucas looked at him in surprise. "Shit, really? You're serious?"
"I don't know. There's not much for me back home anymore. I mean, I'm still just working as a tattoo artist. I could do that here. Or I could try and use my actual degree, either way. Not like I have a relationship tying me back home anymore. I thought Yugyeom and I were going somewhere, but clearly that didn't last."
Lucas frowned. "Oh. Well, okay."
"There's plenty of stuff you could do here, too," Bambam pointed out, "I mean, look at Lisa living the life as a programmer in the city." Bambam gasped suddenly after he said that. "Ooh, can we see where you work, L?"
"I mean, I can't take you up to the floor, but I can probably show you the building."
Jennie was walking into the living room now with a bowl of fruit and yogurt, and she came to sit in the chair next to Lisa as she said, "I can drive us to around the center of the city and we can probably walk everywhere you guys would want to go from there."
"So that sick BMW is yours?" Lucas asked, lifting an eyebrow. Lisa glanced at Jennie, hoping she wouldn't mind the question.
"Yep," Jennie answered. "Pretty nice, right?"
"Dude, how the hell do you afford that and also live with three roommates?"
Lisa was about to tell her friend to shut up, but Jennie was saying, "Let's just say that my parents bought me a lot of nice things before they decided that I can't live up to their standards." Lisa was very impressed to hear Jennie say that nonchalantly, considering that she'd only told Lisa about what happened with her and her parents. She tried to meet Jennie's gaze, but the woman wouldn't look at her.
"Shit," Lucas said with a frown, "yeah fucked up family shit. We get that."
Jennie's lips curved into a small smile. "Well, even besides that. I didn't want to live alone while all my friends lived together. That sounded boring."
"She makes a good point," Bambam agreed with a nod.
They all finished eating breakfast and then, as Jennie suggested, they drove to the city center—battling Black Friday traffic a bit—and then walked around the city for the next few hours. It was pretty cold out, but they'd bundled up, and walking quickly meant that they were able to keep from getting too cold. Jennie did most of the navigating and pointing out interesting places, since she had lived here the longest, and then they went to the building where Square Up Commerce was located, and Lisa showed off the lobby of the building before they decided to go get lunch. While they were eating, they reviewed the list of dinner places that Seulgi had sent them and picked one that seemed the most like something none of them would usually pick, and Lisa texted Seulgi with their decision.
After lunch, Jennie brought them to a big park, and they walked through the browned greenery. "I don't know why I feel like I forget that big cities have parks," Lucas commented, his hands deep in his coat pockets, just like the rest of them, as he looked around. "Kinda reminds me of being on campus where there's lots of buildings and then just a big green area in the middle."
"Yeah, I get the same vibes," Lisa agreed with a nod.
"It's how you stay sane," Jennie told them. "My hometown is sort of in the middle of nowhere. Trees everywhere. As much as I don't love going back home, I do miss all the green."
Lisa smiled, pulling her hand out of her pocket to slip it into Jennie's pocket, intertwining their fingers inside. Jennie looked surprised at the sudden contact, but then smiled a little as she squeezed Lisa's hand.
Lucas started to complain about so much walking after they left the park, so they went to a café for some coffee and tea where they sat and chatted for a while. Everything was so easy. Lisa was with her favorite people, and they all got along, and Jennie even seemed just... so relaxed. Like she was when it was just the two of them, but it wasn't just the two of them right now.
And that continued even through the evening, when they met up for dinner with Seulgi. Even when Seulgi cracked a couple jokes about the Halloween party and how much Lisa and Jennie were staring at each other despite being into each other 'secretly' as she put it, Jennie didn't seem to mind, and they seemed to get along just fine. Lisa could practically feel herself falling for Jennie as she watched her open up to these people. She knew it wasn't just for Lisa either—this was something that Jennie needed. She needed to remember that she wasn't alone, and Lisa was hoping that she finally was remembering that.
All in all, the day was a success in Lisa's mind. It was three different parts of her life coming together in the best way—her best friends from home, her best friend from work, and her girlfriend. And everything just felt right.
•••
It was late that night, after dinner, when Jennie was taking a shower and Lisa was downstairs with her friends that she mentioned her latest conversation with her uncle to Lucas and Bambam. It started when Lucas asked if she'd heard from him recently.
"Oh, I think I actually forgot to tell you guys. He called me straight up asking for money—unsurprisingly, and we got into this whole fight, also unsurprisingly, I guess. But at the end, he told me..." She swallowed thickly. She'd been trying not to think much about the conversation with Tristan. "He told me that my Nana refused to take me in when my mom died."
"Refused?" Lucas asked. "I thought it was some technicality in the courts or something? I always figured it had to do with the size of the trailer versus the number of people living there or something?"
Lisa sighed. "He says that she was always disappointed in my mom for having a baby out of wedlock, and especially because she never really settled down to raise me, she still kept living her life while taking care of me, you know? And he says that by extension, she's disappointed in me."
"Shit," Bambam murmured. "You believe him?"
"I mean... you've both seen how my Nana acts with me. She's never really been there for me, it's always been my Grandpa. I wouldn't put it past her," Lisa said, taking in a deep breath. "But... if it's true, I wouldn't really be upset with her—mostly because I wouldn't be surprised. But that would mean..."
"Your Grandpa didn't fight for you," Lucas said quietly.
Lisa nodded, running a hand through her hair. "I know he usually goes along with her shit, but... I suffered so much growing up in Tristan's trailer. I was terrified every day that I was home, you know? And I hated talking about it, so I internalized all of my fear and pain for years. That fucked me up, and I just can't believe that Grandpa would've let that happen."
"Maybe he didn't know," Bambam offered. "Maybe he thought Tristan would turn out to be a good guardian?"
"No way, my Grandpa is not that stupid," Lisa said with a sigh, leaning back in the chair. "I don't know if I even want to know if that's true. He could've just been trying to get a rise out of me. But... there's never been a better explanation, so."
Lucas sighed. "I'm sorry, L."
"Yeah. I mean, it's whatever. I've been trying not to think about it."
Bambam gave her a smile. "At least you're all the way out here now. You don't have to deal with them if you don't want to."
"True," Lisa agreed.
"When does your roommates' lease on this place end?" Bambam wondered, and Lisa shrugged.
"I don't know. Why?"
"Maybe I'll come to the city and we can split a place," Bambam suggested casually, getting a glance from Lucas. Lisa immediately thought of Jennie, wondering where they would be in a few months' time.
"I guess we'll see," Lisa said, not agreeing one way or another. "What time are you guys leaving tomorrow?"
"Probably by lunch. I hate driving at night when it's cold," Bambam answered. Lisa nodded as she heard the bathroom door upstairs open. As Jennie must've closed herself in her room, Lucas stood up abruptly.
"I'm gonna go get ready for bed," he said, before quickly heading for the stairs.
Lisa looked at Bambam with a raised eyebrow. "So you decided to drop all that stuff about moving on him this weekend?"
Bambam shrugged. "It wasn't on purpose. I just feel like... home has got nothing for me anymore. There's never going to be any new people except for people who move there for college, who are now four to five years younger than me. I don't have a job holding me down. You and Lucas both have great jobs that are setting you up for the rest of your life. I've got nothing. I feel like the city could bring me something."
Lisa smiled softly at her friend. "I think you should go for it if you want to. Just... make sure you have a job planned here first. It's expensive living here."
"Yeah, that's why I was thinking of splitting a place with you when you move out of here, if you're down." Lisa nodded slowly. "But I guess you're not so sure about that huh?"
"It's just..." Lisa glanced up at the ceiling, silently telling Bambam what—or who, rather—she was thinking about.
"You guys just became exclusive yesterday," Bambam told her, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know how to describe it, Bam, but I've never wanted a relationship to last so badly. When I thought it might be over... fuck, it was hard to think about anything other than how upset I was."
Bambam nodded. "I get it, man. You and I are both like that. Desperate for romance and shit."
Lisa lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah, why are we like that?"
"No clue. Didn't sign up for this shit."
Lisa cracked a small smile. "Well, hey. If Jisoo and Chaeyoung are pissed that their two other roommates are dating each other, and they kick me out, I'll totally take you up on splitting a place. You gonna be ready in a week, just in case?" she asked teasingly.
"You don't really think they're gonna do that, do you?" Bambam wondered, and Lisa shrugged one shoulder. "Well. Not sure I'll be ready in a week."
Lisa snickered. "I bet Seulgi would let me crash her place till you're ready. Wouldn't be my worst living situation."
"It's so like you to be making backup plans when you're actually living with great people," Bambam told her with a shake of his head, "if those other girls really are your friends, they're not going to kick you out for dating Jennie."
Lisa smiled, laughing a little. "You're right. I think that's what's scary about it, though. Being here in the city without a solid backup plan. There's always been one, you know? My grandparents, or you, or Lucas. Plus, I'm pretty used to this place now, and I like it. I don't want a repeat of my teenage years. Ever."
Bambam gave her a reassuring smile. "I don't think you'll ever have one, L. You're doing great, really. Your parents would both be so proud." Lisa felt warmth in her chest as she smiled at her friend, and then the sound of footsteps on the stairs drew both her and Bambam's attention. Jennie's wet hair was twisted up in a bun, and she was wearing black sweats and a red college hoodie.
"Hey," she greeted, coming into the living room with her hands in her hoodie pockets. "What're you two talking about?"
"About how if Jisoo kicks me out when we talk to her on Sunday, I'll have to crash at Seulgi's place until Bambam can manage to move out to the city," Lisa answered jokingly, getting an eyeroll from Jennie.
"Jisoo is not going to kick you out. Don't be so dramatic."
"You're telling me not to be dramatic?" Lisa teased, smirking a little as a light pinkness came to her cheeks.
Bambam looked between them for a second and said, "You two are cute."
"Shut up," Lisa muttered, as Jennie just smiled softly.
Lucas came downstairs a few minutes later, and Bambam excused himself to the bathroom upstairs. Lucas didn't seem very happy still.
"Lucas," Lisa said, "you okay?"
"Fine," he insisted, "just didn't realize that both of my best friends wanted out of town so bad." He was sitting on the air mattress, so Lisa got up from the chair and started walking around toward where Jennie was standing.
"Just remember that it's not about you. Maybe he just wants a change," Lisa told her best friend gently. "And if he does, he's going to need your support. I know I needed both of yours to actually move here."
Lucas sighed. "Yeah, I got it. I'll see you guys in the morning."
"Okay. Night, Lucas."
"Goodnight," he returned, grabbing some earphones and plugging them into his phone as Lisa and Jennie turned and started for the stairs. When they reached the landing a the top, Bambam was in the bathroom still, and Jennie made eye contact with Lisa before nodding to her bedroom at the end of the hall, and there they went.
Inside Jennie's room, with the door closed, Jennie said, "Hey, I wanted to... thank you. For today. Letting me come with you and your friends and inviting me to dinner with Seulgi. I'm glad that they don't all... hate me."
"Of course they don't hate you," Lisa told Jennie with a small smile, "because they know that I really care about you. Not to mention, you could probably win just about anyone over."
Jennie laughed at that. "Yeah. Right."
"I'm serious," Lisa insisted, grinning as she wrapped her arms around Jennie's waist, capturing her body in front of hers. "You won me over and you weren't even trying."
Jennie's gaze met hers. "It must've been the magic of Ikea."
Lisa snorted with laughter and teased, "And you made fun of Jisoo for thinking Ikea would be a great date location."
"That was not a date."
"It totally was," Lisa teased. "We had a meal, tested out mattresses together... I even got you to smile exactly once."
Lisa blushed, and she was visibly suppressing a smile right this second. "Exactly once?"
"Mmhmm. I was keeping track."
"You're so weird."
"I just wanted to see your beautiful smile," Lisa defended herself, "because I didn't get to very often."
"Well, getting one smile on a whole date doesn't really make it sound good for you. So I don't think that helps your case about Ikea being a date."
"Fine. Then I guess we need a do-over Ikea date."
"What do you even need from Ikea?" Jennie demanded, lifting an eyebrow.
"Nothing. I'm just having a great time teasing you, because you get so worked up about this Ikea thing."
Jennie shook her head, cheeks still red. "You are too much, Lisa Manoban."
"Too much what?" Lisa teased with a grin. Jennie was still shaking her head as her hands grabbed Lisa's thighs, bending down slightly before suddenly lifting her and making Lisa gasp and grasp onto the other woman as she was carried over to Jennie's bed.
Lisa still hadn't gotten an answer to her question when her girlfriend was stripping her naked and pressing her lips all across her body, as if Bambam wasn't literally on the other side of the wall.
The next words she got from Jennie, in fact, were the whispered question, "You going to be able to be quieter tonight than you were last night?"
"God, I hope so," Lisa gasped out.
She wasn't so sure if she ended up being successful at staying quiet, but she was way too distracted for the rest of the night to even think about it.
•••
On Saturday, around lunchtime, Bambam and Lucas headed out. The latter was thankfully in better spirits throughout the morning, and Lisa made a mental note to check in on him more often. Sometimes she forgot how much her leaving had probably impacted her friends, and with Bambam considering moving out too, Lucas was most definitely going through a rough time.
When she had the house alone with Jennie again, Lisa was tempted to spend the whole rest of the day rolling around in bed with her girlfriend but wasn't able to do so because Jennie admitted that there was a little homework she needed to get done before the break ended. So Lisa left her girlfriend alone in her room while she flopped onto her bed, turning on her laptop and switching to Netflix to pick up with her binge watching from a few weeks ago.
After a few hours, there was a soft knock on her door, and Lisa paused her show and called, "Come in." The door swung open and, of course, there was Jennie. She was wearing the same sweats from the previous night and a tight black tank top. "Done working?"
"Mmhmm," Jennie hummed in response, smiling a little as she came over to Lisa's bed, sitting next to her. "Can I join you?"
"Please," Lisa answered, and Jennie curled up in the bed next to her, prompting her to play her show again. Lisa didn't watch it, so Lisa found herself filling her girlfriend in on everything happening in it. After a while, Jennie stopped asked questions, and seemed to be watching intently. "So, not boring?" Lisa asked after a while. "I thought we'd come to the conclusion that we were both bored by each other's taste in shows and movies."
"Maybe yours isn't so bad. And don't even lie. You love cooking shows now."
Lisa smirked, leaning into her girlfriend.
When the episode ended, Jennie took the liberty of reaching out and stopping the app from automatically playing another episode. "Hey," she said gently, "I think we should talk about tomorrow."
"Okay," Lisa agreed, thinking about their roommates returning from their hometowns tomorrow. "What about it?"
"I think we let everyone get settled back in, and I'll make everyone a late lunch, and we can tell them while we eat," Jennie suggested.
"Food is always a good ice breaker."
Jennie nodded. "Then... assuming that goes well, I don't care what we do about everyone else. I'll just tell Irene next time I talk to her, and at that point... I guess it'll be done."
"Yeah," Lisa agreed. "I feel nervous about it, but I think it's just because I've been putting so much weight on it for so long."
"Me too." Jennie nuzzled her nose into Lisa's neck, making her heart skip a beat. "But it's going to be fine." A pause. "I'm more nervous about what I'm going to tell them after."
Lisa looked down at her girlfriend in confusion. "Which is...?"
"Everything with my parents," Jennie admitted softly. "There's no reason for them not to know. I think I'm going to call Irene tonight and tell her. I feel like she should know before Jisoo and Chaeyoung. But I want them all to know. Then there won't be anymore misunderstandings about my feelings toward my parents or anything. It'll all just be...out in the open."
Lisa wrapped her arms tightly around the younger woman, who noticeably relaxed in her embrace. "Okay, babe." Jennie hummed happily.
"Thank you."
Lisa furrowed her eyebrows. "For what?"
"For... everything. Being here for me, even when I acted like I didn't want you to be. For giving me another chance on Thursday, after I psyched myself out of talking to you all evening on Wednesday."
"You're welcome, Jen, but you don't have to thank me. Okay?"
"If you say so."
Lisa squeezed Jennie in her arms, letting her eyelids fall closed. "I do say so."
They laid like that for a while, and Lisa dozed a little before she heard her girlfriend's soft voice whisper, "Lis?"
"Yeah, baby?" Lisa murmured, waking up a little.
"I just... want you to know that I really care about you."
Lisa smiled, practically melting into her bed against Jennie. "I care about you, too, Jen. So much."
•••
And later Saturday night, Jennie called Irene and told her about what happened with her parents. The whole time, Lisa held Jennie's hand, feeling so proud of her girlfriend for taking this step with her friends. Irene was clearly surprised at having never been told, but as Lisa suspected she would be, she was mostly just proud of Jennie for sticking up for herself and getting through it.
And Lisa knew that their roommates would feel the same way.