#interaction.yasemin

The nerves ate her alive; her chest stuck somewhere between a fluttering excitement and a worry that the other woman would simply never show up. There was a part of her that considered making a pantless joke, but only held her thumbs over her phone screen for a split second before groaning in frustration with herself and locking it all together, slipping the device into the pocket of her joggers as she glanced toward the tiny blonde contently playing with her toys just a few feet away, unaware of the internal strife she'd caused her mother by one simple misdial. "See what you've gotten us into?" Sage teased, ruffling the toddler's hair slightly as she stood from the spot on the floor they'd been hanging out on, deciding that her anxious energy was better spent putting away a few miscellaneous items and pacing instead. She didn't know what the protocol for this was — if Yasemin actually showed up. Should she send a text to her sister? Make her aware of what was happening, just in case the other Franklin would dare show up out of the blue? Or maybe she should ask for permission? No, that sounded silly, right? They were all grown adults and Asher already said that she never would have minded the relationship between them, just the lack of honesty. Before she could decide, the doorbell rang and pulled her from her worry. Her attention fell completely on the woman who waited beyond the door and Sage took a deep breath before closing the distance between her and the entryway and pulling it open. "Hey. Hi," She started, swallowing any other variation of a greeting that threatened to bubble up. Her gaze cast downward and she couldn't help the soft, awkward chuckle, "Looks like you found pants. That's, uh, that's good."

She was saved from potentially furthering the flush she felt creeping up the back of her neck and spreading toward the tips of her ears by a tiny blonde blur skirting around her, headed straight for where Yasemin stood on the doorstep. A toddler sized cannonball threw itself against the woman, excitedly calling her name.

She didn't even bother with the SUV parked in her driveway, driving seemed pointless for a house that happened to be just a few blocks away in their suburban neighborhood, relishing in the way the cool night air felt against her cheeks as she walked along the sidewalk. Atlas had Maggie for the night and Asher was god knows where after their conversation, which left room in her mind for just one thing that was bothering her, one thing she couldn't help but still be worried about even after her argument with Asher. The familiar house she'd spent so many nights in came into view and it didn't take long for her to climb the front steps, ignoring the fact that the lights were off inside in favor of rapping her fist against the front of the door loudly, a few rings of the doorbell for good measure, making sure the woman who she knew was inside heard her. The door wasn't even fully open before Sage started. "Why?" There were a million possible answers that ran through her brain, but she wanted to hear it from the source. "Why did you tell her? Was it some sort of convoluted way to get back at me for something that I wasn't even aware I did to you? Because congrats, you won."

It seemed like just yesterday they were sneaking around in the dead of night, keeping track of Asher's work schedule to make sure there were no unwanted interruptions, stealing moments whenever they could together. Of course, their moments no longer existed in the confined space of one of their bedrooms and instead revolved around the toddler happily babbling to herself in her mirror as Sage parked in front of Yasemin's house, sending the other a quick text that she arrived. She settled herself in to wait for the other, double checking the showtime for the drive-in on her phone as she tried to think about anything other than the fact that they'd changed so much and entirely because of her own reckless decision. The door to the passenger's side opened and the blonde was happy to avoid sliding down that very slippery spiral slide to impending doom thinking, a soft smile curving on her lips at the sight of Yas. "For a second, I wasn't so sure you'd show," Sage pointed out, grateful that the other did end up following through. She knew whatever they were doing was confusing, but she hoped spending more time together would help them clear it up. "I'm glad you did. Kind of the highlight of my day."

It was stupid. She knew it was stupid. And yet, there she was, pacing in her entry way as the dark green silk skirt flitted across her ankles every time she turned around, thick cream-colored sweater partially tucked in and black heels clicking against the tiled pattern she'd put in herself almost a decade prior as she waited for Yasemin to show up. Her sister was out of town and, in the moment when Yasemin asked her to be her plus one, out of town could have very well meant in a secluded bubble on the other side of the world. There was no saying no, especially when the smell of hot chocolate flitted through the air and the words 'no one else I'd rather go with' touched her ears. If she hadn't already been read to buckle at the knees with the cute pajamas and exposed skin and soft tone of the other, that definitely did it. So, there she was; Sage Franklin, a certified idiot. The knock on the door pulled her from her internal ranting and her breathing halted. It wasn't too late to back out. Or maybe it was? Either way, Sage didn't want to, and she found herself opening the doorway before she could think twice about it, a smile pulling on her lips at the sight of Yasemin in a red skirt that complimented her flawlessly. Festive. Unintentional matching. Her mind was a mess. "You look..." A light flush covered her cheeks, creeping onto the tips of her ears as every second passed. Just friends. Nothing more. "Ready for a fancy charity event." Really, really bad save, but she was fumbling with every word that tumbled out of her mouth. She grabbed her purse and nodded toward the other as she stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

The Franklin home had been filled with scents of cinnamon and chocolate for days, walls of gingerbread drying on counters, freshly baked cookies topped with Hershey kisses and M&M's filling whatever space was leftover. Sage was in holiday mode as soon as the clock struck midnight on December 1st, using every moment she wasn't at the bar or doing something else important to get her holiday baking done, Maggie running on a sugar rush for days after sneaking nearly a dozen cookies since December had started. Thankfully, the older blonde was able to drop the toddler with Atlas after a significant cookie intake so she could focus on shopping for the little girl in question, but first her mind had settled on one errand she wanted to take care of before she braved the crowded madness of the shopping mall downtown. Parking her SUV in the already occupied driveway, she sucked in a breath at the sight of the other's car; even though she intended to stop by with the idea that Yasemin would be home, the actual knowledge that she was caused her chest to tighten with an odd flutter of nerves. It felt impossible to pull herself together, but Sage exhaled and moved to her trunk to grab the tray of cookies topped neatly with a bow and the box of gingerbread house parts anyway. Making it to the door and knocking felt easy, though she was positive she blacked out on her journey, the hesitant anxiety she felt previous in her chest now flowing thickly through her veins. When the door opened, her mouth did the opposite. It took a second of looking like a fish out of water before she finally found the words she was looking for. "I, uh, saw you were home and I thought I'd drop this by. Maggie regrets she couldn't join me, but she's probably two hours deep in a sugar high at Atlas' right now. I dropped her off and kind of forgot to tell him she managed to sneak four cookies from the cooling rack this morning."

She had no clue what was happening as the tiny hand in hers dragged her to the side, off of the path they'd been walking on toward the spot where Atlas said he'd be, detouring them up a small grassy hill to the side of the walkway. It wasn't until the tiny blonde dropped her hand and ran forward that Sage's gaze lifted, opening her mouth call for Maggie until she saw the reason the toddler had been so intent on pulling her in this direction. Yasemin. Her mouth went dry, slightly hanging open from where Maggie's name was going to fall from her lips, though no sound came out as her heart beat against her chest and she was effectively silenced. Maggie had fallen onto the other with no certain grace, arms wrapped around the sitting woman's neck and she watched as the little girl pulled back only slightly to poke Yasemin's hair and mutter the words pretty flowers excitedly. Thoughts of plucking her daughter up and leaving without a word flashed through her mind, wondering just how much worse that would make the interaction, desperate to avoid the other at all costs until she was able to be in the woman's presence without her heart aching. It was unavoidable though, Maggie clearly making herself at home with the other. She and Atlas had discussed the fact that the toddler shouldn't be stuck in the middle of it and things should continue as normally as she wanted it to, but damn, if it wasn't a little hard to stick to that agreement when she was face to face with Yasemin herself. "I, uh... hi. Sorry, we were just trying to find Atlas, he's all into this and wanted Maggie to tag along today. She must've noticed you from over there..." Words seemed to flutter from her mouth without cause now, not really knowing what to say, so saying everything instead. "You look... dry." Pretty. Gorgeous. Breathtaking. Those were all words she could have used and, yet, her mind landed on dry.

Somehow, in some magical force of irony, she ended up in the same space of the two people who she's spent the entire night trying to avoid thinking about. First, there was Yasemin, bumping into the woman as she walked around the fire in the direction of her tent, her steps freezing as soon as she laid eyes on the woman, brain suddenly void of anything she could say. Their run-in at the pumpkin farm left her with little hope that anything she said was going to fix what they'd been through and they certainly weren't going to change the other's mind. "Sorry, I..." Sage trailed off, hand waving in the direction of her tent not far off from where they were standing, yet her feet made no effort to move and her gaze stilled on Yasemin, watching the flames from the fire flicker dangerously against her dark gaze. "I was just heading back to my tent. I didn't mean to..." Then, a twig snapped somewhere nearby and her attention flitted to the source, and there was Asher. Her heart dropped into her stomach and her fist clenched tighter around the neck of her warm beer bottle. A simple name fell between the three of them. "Ash."

The errand to the pumpkin farm was supposed to be a quick one, a simple purchase of a few of their apple cider sippers Maggie had fallen in love with over the weekend when they went to pick out a pumpkin to donate for her classroom, but with the ciders packed away in one of her reusable bags, Sage's attention turned elsewhere and unfortunately landed on an all-too familiar face nearby, a look of quiet concentrated at the pile of picked pumpkins before her. "I don't think they're going to carve themselves the longer you look at them," the blonde mentioned innocently, though her heartrate had already picked up its pace just with the sight of Yasemin in the near distance. "Need any help?" She'd be lying if she tried to claim that she wasn't aching for a moment with the other, a few words exchanged that wouldn't involve tears or goodbyes.