And for a few minutes, the two girls allowed themselves to cry.. tears of joy.. relief.. sadness.. and pain.. knowing that with the other person finally there, everything would be alright. They didn’t care if some of the patrons inside the Planet were feasting on them with their eyes. They didn’t care if they were making a fool of themselves as they sobbed together like two mad women. What was more important to the two of them was the silent declaration of love and forgiveness that they shared through the simple act of holding and crying together. The world be damned, after all, they would never understand.

Ironic as it was, it was Tina who recovered her bearings first. She ran her hands soothingly along Bette’s arms as the brunette continued to sob behind her. Her heart broke again as she witnessed first hand what their argument had done to her normally strong and composed Bette. After a few more minutes of quiet consoling on Tina’s part, Bette finally calmed down and relaxed behind Tina’s back. “Porter?” Tina gently called out as she stroked the hands that were still clutching her stomach tightly. She wanted to turn around and face Bette. She wanted to look in those soulful brown eyes and kiss those soft and inviting lips that she had missed so much. But she couldn’t get herself to turn around. As much as she wanted to, her girlfriend held her so tight that she couldn’t budge. It was as if Bette was holding her in place, purposely preventing the two of them from looking at each other face to face. “Babe..” She called out again. “I want to look at you.” She squeezed Bette’s hands tenderly as she uttered her request.

“I need you to promise something first..” Bette’s voice came as a whisper from behind her ear.

“Anything..”

“Promise that you won’t laugh..”

“Okay..”

“Say it.”

“I promise.”

“Okay.”

Turns around.

“…”

“Kennard?”

Cough. “Please..”

“What?”

“Please.. call me Esmeralda..”

“Oh fuck off!”

Laughs. “I’m sorry!”

“You promised!”

“I.. hahaha.. I couldn’t help it. I’m.. mmff.. sorry babe..”

“Hmph.”