It was a Friday evening and Viv and Siobhan had decided to go out for a drink. Jamie was at a sleepover for his friend's birthday, so the couple had decided to make the most of being child free for the night. They were chatting happily when Viv received a text message, smiling warmly as she read it. "Oh good, Stephen said he'll pop down for a drink with us." Immediately, she saw the way Siobhan rolled her eyes, prompting the older woman to tut. "Bonbon, he's already apologised for his 'mummy' comments. He had no idea how upsetting that was for you and he was mortified when he realised." She raised her eyebrows as she continued "it's not like you were particularly nice to him either, is it?" The blonde looked away for a moment, pouting slightly as she muttered "no."
Viv was a level headed, strong and patient woman, and she was very adept at dealing with Siobhan and her sulking. She loved the blonde more than anything and despite herself, she did find the little pout Siobhan did absolutely adorable. Sometimes, Siobhan simply had to have her momentary sulk, before she perked up and got over herself. As Viv spotted Stephen and waved him over, she hoped that this was one of those times. Stephen approached the table and greeted Viv with a huge smile, before turning to Siobhan and saying "good evening." He glanced at her black dress and said earnestly "you look wonderful Siobhan, that's a beautiful dress." The blonde looked at him blankly and replied "thank you" before looking back down at her cocktail.
To diffuse the tension, Viv placed her hand on Stephens arm and kindly said "sit down, I'll get you a drink, they have an app you can order on now." She was glad that she didn't need to go to the bar, leaving Siobhan and Stephen in what would clearly have been an awkward silence. Once Stephen's drink had arrived, he and Viv began to chat lightly. On a couple of occasions, they both tried to involve Siobhan in their conversation, only to be met with one word answers. When Stephen told a joke, Viv laughed - Siobhan however simply glared at him, as if she were trying to stare him out of existence. He cleared his throat awkwardly before finishing his drink. "I should probably be going, I don't want to be out too late." Viv was about to protest and suggest he stay for one more, but she was distracted by Siobhan muttering under her breath. The blonde was making no attempt to hide the fact that she was hissing "good, piss off" in response to Stephen's declaration.
Viv narrowed her eyes before turning to Stephen and saying "I'll walk you outside." As soon as they were through the doors, Viv looked at her friend apologetically "Stephen, I'm so sorry, she's being completely out of order." He chuckled slightly in response "don't worry Viv, it's alright. Hopefully she'll warm up to me eventually." Stephen winked as he continued "she's beautiful but stubborn. I think you've got your hands full with that one!" With that he was off, leaving Viv to take a moment to count to ten and breathe deeply. When she walked back into the bar, she approached Siobhan and calmly said "I think it's time we went home." The blondes glass was empty, but as she stood up she looked at Viv, confused. "I thought we were going to have a few drinks?" She asked, prompting Viv to reply "yes, and I thought you'd be capable of being civil."
The couple didn't speak in the Uber, Viv had no intention of arguing in front of a stranger. Once they'd returned home, Viv watched as Siobhan sat down on the sofa and immediately pouted again. The older woman removed her jacket before turning to the blonde and asking "was any of that necessary? Stephen is my friend, you can't treat people like that Siobhan." The younger woman immediately crossed her arms defiantly as she snapped "he was rude to me." Viv was rapidly reaching the end of her tether as she snapped back "not as rude as you were to him. Plus, he's apologised, you know he only made those comments in retaliation to your abysmal treatment of him!"
Siobhan turned away, as if she were trying to shut Viv out. In response, Viv moved closer to the blonde and stood in front of her, now thoroughly pissed off with her childish behaviour. It wasn't often that they argued, but as Viv observed the way Siobhan was still crossing her arms, she snapped. Once the blonde was looking at her, Viv yelled "NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. DO NOT TREAT ME LIKE A CUNT!" The blondes eyes widened slightly but Viv continued, she knew Siobhan was well aware that she was in no danger. "You do not get to treat people like shit because of your own problems! Not my friends and certainly not me - I'm never going to put up with that Siobhan, do you understand?"
In response, Siobhan uncrossed her arms and sighed heavily. Viv was always so calm, so Siobhan understood that she'd genuinely upset her. She knew that Viv would go to the ends of the earth for her and as she stood up, looking up and into the taller woman's eyes, she felt guilty. She wanted to apologise, but she was beginning to feel embarrassed by her behaviour and Siobhan was nothing if not stubborn. "Fine. You didn't have to shout at me. You could have spoken to me like an adult." Viv knew Siobhan was trying to push her buttons, and she couldn't help but take the bait. "LIKE AN ADULT? YOU THINK IM THE ONE WHO'S NOT ACTING LIKE AN ADULT? THAT'S RICH COMING FROM YOU RIGHT NOW!"
Siobhan narrowed her eyes and instinctively went to shove Viv away. Her attempt to push Vivs body backwards was completely futile, her petite frame was no match for her 5'10, muscle bound girlfriend. Viv immediately caught Siobhan's waist, making sure to apply no pressure as she firmly said "no, we are not doing that. We are NEVER doing that." As soon as what she'd just done hit Siobhan, the blonde felt tears forming behind her eyes. She'd never been good at dealing with her emotions and clearly, her tendency to hold grudges was something she needed to work on. As her arms fell limply down by her sides, Siobhan tearfully said "I'm sorry Viv. I'm trying so hard, but I can't change overnight. I know I'm a horrible person, I'm doing my best."
Viv pulled Siobhan close as she shook her head slightly "you're not a horrible person, you've been through so much and you're not always great at dealing with your feelings. You need to let me help you and you need to let all these grudges you have go. Not everyone is out to get you Siobhan, I promise." She felt the blonde nodding against her chest, so she leaned back slightly and looked into her eyes. "Are you going to let me help you?" Siobhan nodded as she began to blush slightly, now more embarrassed than ever by her outburst.
"Yes."
