Elsa rolled out of bed to find it empty. She was used to that, but it took a few moments to realize that it was connected to the smell of breakfast wafting up the stairs. Tiana was still there. She took a quick shower and made her way downstairs in a bathrobe. Her girlfriend was just finishing up breakfast when she took her seat.

"You slept in," Tiana mused, setting a bowl of grits in front of her as Elsa tried to stifle a yawn.

"It's like 8:30."

"Wow, I didn't realize it was that late, you have gotten lax while I've been gone."

Elsa swirled her spoon through the grits. She'd missed her so incredibly much. The previous night they'd barely left the bedroom. "Then I guess you should be around here more. Without you, who's gonna whip me into shape?"

"Oh, I didn't know you were into that. I don't even know where you could get a whip."

That woke her up. She waved her hands before her, "No no no. I'm good. No whip."

"Aww, why not?"

Her glare was promptly rewarded by Tiana sticking her tongue out at her. Elsa could think of a few better places for it. "I missed you."

"I know. You told me a bunch of times last night."

Elsa shoved some grits in her mouth before she ended up seeming even mushier than her food.

"I missed you too." Sitting next to her, with her own bowl of grits, Tiana wrapped her arm around Elsa's, leaning against her. "I'm sorry I've been gone so much of late. My business is just really taking off, I've had people begging me to open one in their city, even a few mayors trying to offer me incentives to do so."

"Business is always good for you, Tiana. You're famous, rich, you don't have to jump at every opportunity."

She pulled back, looking into Elsa's eyes, hurt clear on her face. "It wasn't always so good for me, and I don't see you avoiding work to spend more time with me."

I cut back a little. You're just never here to notice. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just still waking up."

That earned her a quick peck on the cheek before Tiana dug into her food. Several minutes passed before either of them said anything more, but Tiana finally broke the silence. "Anastasia called me this morning when she was on the way to the gym."

Does she even know that Anya and I aren't talking? Wait, are we actually talking? Christ, I can't even keep it straight anymore."Oh."

"She wanted us to meet her and Belle for dinner tonight, give a double date a second try. I told her we were free, there wasn't anything you'd wanted to do was there?"

So is she just pretending nothing happened? Didn't have the balls to talk to me herself? "I did have a few things I wanted to do to – with you."

"Well then finish up breakfast and we have plenty of time before we meet them."

Without a better excuse to get out of dinner, Elsa decided that Tiana's plan sounded rather wonderful. They both sped up a bit, not bothering to have a leisurely breakfast. As they'd said, they had missed each other, and it was so wonderful to be back in each other's arms.

They spent most of the day working up quite an appetite.

Anastasia pulled Tiana into a warm embrace. "It's been too long." She turned to Elsa, her face all but going blank. She looked almost like she did when sitting at the other table in their last case. "It's good to see you too, Elsa." She went in for the hug.

Elsa responded in kind, patting her back lightly. So that's how we're playing it then? She's just going to ignore it. "I haven't seen you since our last lunch."

The flat affect faltered for a moment, but she offered Elsa a weak smile. "We'll have to do that again sometime." Yeah, cause having you storm out on me for a third time in less than a year sounds like so much fun. If I don't go out of my way to walk on eggshells whenever we're alone, then that's what always happens. I barely managed to avoid pissing her off when I had some very good reason not to. Even if she's forgiven me again, I don't think it'll take long for that to change.

"Of course."

Belle wiggles her fingers at Elsa in a little wave from their table. They all go to join her, Anya seated next to her, Elsa across from her, and Tiana to Elsa's side. "I saw you on the news the other day. I think that might be why we're all here." She grinned playfully at Anya. So Anya saw me? If I didn't know better, I'd think she cares. "I saw you on the news too, Tiana, I may have been watching it a bit too much of late. Anya always leaves it on, muted, at work."

"She did that when we lived together too," Elsa mused. "She stopped doing it at home?"

Belle nodded.

"It's not that weird," Anya muttered.

"So, have you two been on the news?" Tiana asked.

Elsa's smile grew more wicked. She was enjoying the pained expression on Anya's face a little too much. Anya might not have had the same drive for fame and success that Elsa did, but that didn't make her seeing her rival achieve it while she languished in irrelevance any easier for her.

Gritting her teeth, Anastasia shook her head. "No, we haven't. Our cases don't tend to be quite as flashy as yours, Elsa."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get there eventually."

Her eyes narrowed, but before she could reply, Elsa heard a thump under the table. She was pretty sure Belle had just kicked her partner's shin. Anya glared at Belle, but collected herself, adjusting her tie to attempt to preserve her dignity. "Well I'm very happy for you. I know how much fame and fortune always meant to you."

"Not the fortune, just the thrill and interesting cases that come with it."

Anya tried to flag down a waiter. Elsa could hardly blame her, she also needed a drink. "I guess I just never understood. It was the one thing you cared about after all."

That managed to demolish Elsa's grin. She knew that she deserved it. She'd put work before everyone else in her life. Before Anya, before Tiana, even before her little sister. Just like Tiana was still doing now.

Tiana decided to cut the tension. "I just got back from South Africa. It's the third continent I've opened a restaurant on. So far it had only been here and Europe. It was really nice being there. I have no idea if I had any relation to the culture there, though I suppose it would hardly be relevant anymore." She broke away from the somber look on her face, forcing the excited smile back. "It was just incredible. Everyone responded so well to the food, I had a new menu that I'd been crafting special for it, and it went off without a hitch. Every single food critic in the city loved it."

Elsa blinked at her, smiling at her partner's success. She hadn't actually been told that. They had been a bit preoccupied since she'd returned, but it seemed like a thing that would've come up. "I'm so proud of you, honey."

Beaming back, Tiana replied, "Thank you. I'm hoping to open a place in South America or Asia soon. Australia could be fun, but there's less I want to see there."

"That's amazing," Belle replied.

Before Anastasia had time to offer her congratulation, their waiter finally showed up. Anya and Elsa both ordered a steak, with a bottle of red wine each that they supposed they'd be willing to share, while Belle ordered a chicken Caesar salad, and Tiana ordered salmon and calamari for the whole table. The waiter vanished without a word, but appeared back with their drinks in an instant.

Elsa felt much better with some wine in her. "Have you had any interesting cases lately?" Elsa asked, as an olive branch, to her on-again, off-again best friend.

Anya grumbled under her breath. "I take it Belle told you?"

Utterly perplexed, Elsa stared at Anastasia as Belle patted her arm.

"Not great. If it doesn't pick up, Dimitri is worried we'll have to take in our shingle." I'm almost sure that's not an expression. "I thought you were making fun of me."

The petulant, yet vulnerable expression on her face, like she'd been caught sneaking out of the house sent Elsa back a good sixteen years. She'd never noticed just how much her ex-girlfriend looked like her sister. It was a little unnerving. She shook her head trying to rid herself of that image. "I didn't know. I'm sorry, I thought you were doing really well."

"We were. It's why we needed to hire Belle. I think it'll pick back up, Dimitri is exaggerating a bit, it's not actually that bad yet, but business has been drying up a bit."

Belle squeezed her hand. "We have that meeting with that really big client on Monday. If it goes well it might turn it around. I can work for free for a little if you need me to."

She shook her head. "No, honey. It's okay. You deserve to be paid for your time, same as anyone. We just need to do everything we can to nail that meeting." Elsa had never seen Anya be quite as tender as she was today. She somewhat missed her competitive spirit, but it made her feel a bit less concerned about how she was treating Belle. Maybe they actually can manage to mix business and pleasure. I still think hiring her was a terrible idea, but maybe I did overreact. I don't know.

"Well, what's the meeting about? Let me help." Elsa was surprised to find the words leaving her mouth. She hadn't meant to say them. I guess I'm forgiving her then. I just don't want her to lose her firm. I know it means the world to her.

Staring at her agape for a few seconds before she managed to close her mouth again, Anya finally replied, "You mean it?"

I'm not that big of a bitch. "Yeah. I know how important your firm is to you, and I don't want Belle to lose her cushy new job getting paid to watch the news all day."

Belle giggled.

"What can you tell me?"

Anya nodded, as if she'd made her decision. "You're gonna be pissed."

"Why?" Elsa asked cautiously. That never exactly preceded good news.

"They're one of your clients. Not yours specifically, your firm."

Elsa swallowed the bile building in her throat. She could manage to put friends before work for once. It wasn't like she was going to break privilege. "Then don't tell me the name, just tell me what they do. Let's keep it all hypothetical so I don't have to worry about a conflict."

Anastasia's astonishment only grew. Her eyes widened, but she managed to keep her mouth closed. "All right. Wow. Well, they're a car manufacturer, a big one."

That narrowed it down to only two, and as one of them was Elsa's client and Anya had said it wasn't them, it meant it was Robert Phillip's. He wasn't terrible, but at least they weren't close, and he wasn't likely to fire himself. "All right. So we just need to get a massive motor vehicle company to hire a tiny law firm rather than one that can provide them all of the services they would normally need. Easy enough. How'd you manage to get the appointment?"

"What, like it's hard?" The competitive spirit seemed to be coming back a bit. "Quite frankly, I kissed his ass like mad. Instead of being one big client among dozens, he'd be our biggest client, but then I've had experience with his kind before, and even actually worked with him personally on a case with –" she pursed her lips, stopping herself from saying Robert's name. "Back when I was at your firm. He liked me then, and I only impressed him more now. It got me a meeting, it hasn't closed the deal though."

Elsa chewed on her lip, this wasn't going to be an easy sale. "Well, he clearly already wants you. I'm sure he's just hesitant to make the change, but he wouldn't meet with you if he wasn't considering it." I am literally taking money out of Albert's and my pockets.

"I know. I just need to make sure this works."

What can I say that won't break privilege? "Just show you know the business better. You know who their old lawyer was, you know his strengths and weaknesses, act like you have all of his strengths and none of his weaknesses. Then make it personal and woo him, a nice ribeye will win over just about anyone." This is treason. This is literally treason.

Sipping her wine, Anya mulled over Elsa's point. It wasn't anything she didn't know, but having it spelled out can make things so much clearer. "Promise you won't hold it against me?"

"I'll consider it."

She nodded, draining her glass and promptly pouring another. "Well do try, because I am one hundred percent stealing that client."

There's the woman I know and occasionally like. "Well I'll be sure to steal one of your clients when you're back on your feet."

Belle jumped in, unsure as to if they were playing or fighting at that point, "I won a case on my own last week. I know that doesn't say much, but I hadn't had many chances to not second chair or to even go to court instead of just doing research."

Elsa felt partly to blame for that. "I'm proud of you. That's amazing." She rose her wine glass in a toast. "To Belle's amazing success and many more victories in the future." She really wanted to take back all the things she'd said about Belle before they became friends. If she'd just encouraged her more rather than relegating her to the books, then she'd have come into her own far earlier.

They all toasted to that.

Their food arrived and they took a moment to sample it. The appetizer came out with the meal, Tiana looked unreasonably displeased by this fact, but after taking a bite of the calamari she seemed mostly mollified. She also helped herself to a bite of everyone else's food. She always had to try everything. Elsa was not quite sure why she'd need a bite of both Anya's and her food when they'd ordered the same thing.

Eventually, salad still on her fork, Belle broke the silence. "What was Anya like in law school? She tells me so little about it."

"Oh, so it's back to embarrass Anya time?" Anya asked.

"That's my favorite time," Elsa began. "Well, for starters, I know we've said it before, but it needs to be reiterated, she was very femme. Like I don't think she even owned pants – and I can say that because I own at least two pairs, I just never wear them. She had guys hitting on her constantly. It was hilarious."

Anya sank into her chair, glowering at Elsa over her ribeye.

"I honestly didn't even know she was gay until over a year after I met her, and she was in every class with me. One day her phone wouldn't stop buzzing from some poor heartbroken girl, and I found out that your girlfriend was quite the womanizer." She smirked at the increasing glare from her old friend. She had needed some payback. "Of course I tamed her. Though she's the one who asked me out." And I said yes, despite the fact that she looks like my sister. How the hell did I never notice that? Was I just willfully blind because I hadn't seen her so long or did I just miss her so much that I needed a substitute? Anastasia had claimed that I'd viewed her as a replacement Anna. Elsa shoved that tangent aside. What am I even talking about? Anya was just being a bitch.

"Please, you definitely asked me out."

Belle waved them off. "As much as I'd love to see you two fight, I want to know about before then. You've both said some stuff about when you were dating. What was it like when you were friends?"

They exchanged glances. Anya's grimace was turning into a wry smile. This was a time that was far less awkward for both of them. Elsa spoke first. "Well we were never exactly friends. I think you've seen just how bad we are at that. We were rivals. She was competitive, smart, a great litigator, always second in her class."

"I was not –"

"Should we go grab our transcripts? I know whose ass I was kicking every day. Especially in mock trial. That was a lot of fun."

"Just because I had Peter as a witness," she grumbled.

"A good lawyer would have been able to recover."

There was another thump under the table and Anastasia glared daggers at her girlfriend, while still arguing with Elsa. "You wanna go again? I'm sure I can find a client who's been abused by one of the heartless corporations you represent."

"Aren't you getting into the heartless corporation game?"

Gritting her teeth, Anya turned her glare back to Elsa.

"Hey, I'm game whenever you are. Find a case that's actually worth fighting, and I'm happy to beat you to a pulp just like last time." Elsa was trying very hard not to notice how much she looked like an angry teenage Anna. It was ruining the fun just a little.

She folded her arms over her chest and jerked her head in the other direction as if she was looking around for a waiter. Maybe she wants to order a glass of champagne to throw in my face? The side profile wasn't as bad, she didn't have Anna's chin. It was making Elsa feel far less unnerved. She wished that Anya would stay like that.

"I swear, Anya," Tiana said, "How is it so difficult for you two to interact without a fight?'

"She started it."

Tiana rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should just cut that tension and get a room already. Belle and I can watch. It'll be a fun date."

Her eyes widened and her arms dropped. "What?"

Belle snickered. "Can I at least join in?"

Tiana smirked, taking a sip of wine. "I'm not hearing a no."

"No," Elsa and Anya both replied at once, then glared at each other, as if offended that the other wouldn't want to sleep with them.

"How did you two last for five years?" Belle asked. "You can barely go a full conversation without trying to kill each other."

"She was really good in bed," Elsa explained.

Belle nodded. "Okay, yeah, I can see that. It's the main reason I stay with her."

"Can we pick someone else to pick on?" Anya asked. Elsa was pretty sure that she knew Belle was joking, but she looked surprisingly hurt.

"Oh, do me!" Belle squealed.

Yeah, I always knew she'd say that to me. Elsa dug into her steak, wanting to eat it before it grew cold. "I can't, you're too pitiful."

She stuck her bottom lip out at her.

"I rest my case."

Anya snickered. Elsa hadn't meant it as a pun, but Anastasia had always loved joking like that in college. "Belle, we're all very proud of you, and I'm lucky to be your employer."

Sulking, she spat out, "You're no fun."

Tiana drained her glass and grabbed Elsa's bottle to pour another one. "Well, hell, I can think of a few things if you really want to be made fun of."

"Affectionately?"

"Of course, I don't offer to be a voyeur with just anyone." Elsa was starting to wonder how serious she'd been. "You dress like a teenage girl. I've heard you're getting a lot better in the courtroom, but I can't really say much there, but –" she gestured toward Belle's bright yellow dress, "If you want people to start taking you more seriously as a lawyer, you need to dress the part."

Elsa blinked at her partner. It had been both less and more cruel than she'd expected.

Belle looked down at her dress. "What's wrong with how I dress? Do you think I should start wearing suits like you two?"

Elsa tried to picture Belle in a suit. It didn't suit her. I can not stop making puns. Tiana's black jacket and slacks, and Anya's grey three-piece offered ample evidence of how sexy suits could look, but there was no way Belle could pull it off. "I like the dresses," Elsa offered. They were a team now, they had to prove their superiority to the suit-wearers.

Tiana gestured to Elsa with her fork. "See, that's a much more professional dress. I'm sure it's cost her some business over wearing a suit and looking more lawyery, but every time I've seen you, you look like you'd be more at home at a prom than in a law office. Does she dress differently at work?"

Both Elsa and Anya shook their heads.

Belle's face sunk. "But I like my dresses."

"Why don't you and Elsa go shopping sometime soon? Anya and I aren't femme enough for this, but Elsa could help find you the perfect dress to look a little more respectable. Maybe it'll help with that meeting on Monday."

"Then we'd have to do it tomorrow."

Elsa shrugged. "I'm free."

Belle considered this. Elsa was surprised she didn't just jump for joy at the chance to spend more time with her. "All right, sure, let's do it." She beamed up at Elsa, the unbridled joy finally coming forth.

That's more like it. "All right. Say one o'clock?"

She nodded.

"Make sure you have her home by eight," Anya teased.

"Nah, I'm keeping her."

"Finally," Anya mouthed, prompting another thump under the table and a glare from Belle.

"Maybe I will just go home with them, then."

"I'll have Motorino waiting for you."

Elsa could never resist Motorino. "Fuck it, I'm coming home to you too then."

"I should've expected that."

Tiana shrugged. "I can come too if we're all doing dinner again tomorrow."

Anya grumbled. "Yeah, fine. But Elsa, you're helping me get ready for this meeting."

"What meeting? I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm certainly not helping you steal a client from my firm."

Anastasia offered a warm, surprisingly genuine smile. "Thanks."

"It's no problem."

Belle snatched some calamari. "This is really good. So, sounds like we have a busy day tomorrow, I guess the orgy will have to wait."

"It wouldn't really be an orgy," Tiana countered.

Rolling her eyes, Anya finished her steak. "I mean you're not doing anything until one, there is time."

Elsa looked between each of them. Why does Tiana try to turn every gathering into some weird sex thing? "You all have fun. I'll have a nice big bed all to myself."

Pouting, Tiana gave in. "Fine, I guess it can wait for tomorrow."

They finished their food, with some more light ribbing of everyone but Belle, and agreed to meet tomorrow. Once safely in that big bed with her partner, Elsa glanced to her, setting the book she'd just picked up back on her nightstand. "Okay, I need to know, how serious are you when you pull that shit? I was pretty sure you were just joking with Anna, but I really don't know with Anya and Belle. It's just playing, right?"

"Oh, I was dead serious both times." Tiana laced her hands behind her head, sinking down into the bed.

Elsa's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I figured you wouldn't let it happen, but I'd have been up for either."

She wasn't sure how to process that. She just sat there, staring at her partner. "You wanted to have a threeway with my sister?"

"Who wouldn't?"

Elsa shook her head and rolled over. She didn't have a response for all of that insanity. Her dreams gave her no clearer answer on how to deal with her girlfriend's strange desires, despite their absurdity.

"What about this one?" Beaming widely, Belle held up a third dress.

"I think they're all fine, but if you're trying to look more professional, maybe don't go for one that's bright colors and covered in ribbons," Elsa offered, grazing her thumb over the fabric. It would be amazingly comfortable for such a cheap dress, but it projected the same image Belle had always projected.

"I don't get it."

Elsa shrugged. "I think your dresses are fine. It was never anything I judged you on, and I judged you plenty."

She blinked. "What did you judge me on?"

Grinding her teeth, Elsa tried to decide if this was worth discussing. "Performance," she finally muttered.

"Oh," Her hand fell to her side, dragging the neon green dress on the floor. "I wasn't that bad, was I?"

"Not at research."

She looked like she was about to cry.

"Belle, you've really come into your own recently. I know I haven't seen you in court yet, and I have been meaning to remedy that, but you have a new confidence I've never seen in you. I think Anya might actually be good for you. Who knew that was possible?"

"Promise you'll come see soon?"

"I promise."

That seemed to assuage her concerns and she replaced the dress, thumbing through the display in search of another one. Elsa had suggested they go to her preferred boutique, but Belle was rather adamant that she didn't have the funds for it, so they ended up at the higher end of cheap chains. Elsa hadn't bought clothes anyplace that didn't pay their employees commission since she was in college.

"This one?"

"That one is actually a prom dress."

"But it's cute right?" She held it up under her chin, her teeth half-showing in an exuberant smile.

Elsa looked up and down the blue sequined dress. It was a bit gaudy. "It's cute."

"But not professional?"

She only shook her head.

Pouting, Belle replaced the dress. "What am I gonna do? I need to be perfect tomorrow, or else I might be out of the job."

There were worse fates. "I'm sure I could manage to re-hire you."

She turned to Elsa, pain clear in her eyes. "I'm not doing that to Anya. Please help me find something? I just need one professional dress, just enough to tip the scales in our favor tomorrow. Maybe we could go to your place and I could just return it after?"

Elsa sighed, she couldn't believe she was saying this. "I'll buy it."

Belle blinked. "Huh?"

"Let's go to Nora Gardner, we'll find you something absolutely perfect that'll knock the socks off Mr. Slade, without making him drool over you. He actually drools sometimes, it's a little concerning."

Belle quirked her head, her jaw dropping slightly. "You weren't supposed to know who it was. Doesn't this compromise you, like, a lot more?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Did you hear me say the client's name?"

Her lips turn upward into a smile, and she wraps her arms around Elsa. "You didn't say a thing."

Elsa hugged her back. When did I become a hugger? I was always more of a firm handshake kind of girl, took after my father. "Let's get going."

Just a short while later, they left the shop with Belle holding a grey and black dress that went down to her knees, with short sleeves on her upper arms. It was cute, fashionable, and most importantly was a sight more demure and professional than anything she'd owned before. Elsa still thought it was unnecessary, but Belle had a lot more to prove to a client than she did, her record spoke for itself and she didn't need to worry about how they viewed her dresses. She could show up in a clown suit and still win a case, she just wouldn't, because that would look awful.

They made it to Anya's townhouse just as she and Tiana were getting out of the car. For just a moment, Elsa was wondering if she could trust her girlfriend alone in a car with a redhead after their conversation the previous night, but she knew Tiana wouldn't do anything without at least talking to her first. She reached into the backseat and pulled out three pizza boxes. It was a strange sight, pizza and Tiana were so anathema and yet she'd had it twice in as many months. The fact that they were spending time with two people that Elsa had, at various times, wanted nothing to do with only amplified the oddity. She was still holding a slight grudge over Anya freaking out and running off on her when she'd voiced a legitimate concern.

Belle draped her dress over her, swishing to and fro as she told the two women about their day. "You like it?"

"I love it," Anya replied.

"Tiana?" She shimmied more, looking up at Tiana. "This works, right?" She could absolutely talk her into that orgy if she tried. Assuming she hasn't already.

"It's a big improvement. I think it'll go great for your meeting."

Grinning, Belle all but skipped to the door. People always reacted like that when Tiana paid them the slightest compliment. It's like she's a celebrity or something.

The four of them shared the Margherita, Amatriciana, and Stracciatella pizzas, and Belle even managed to get Tiana to try coke and wine. She vowed that her vengeance would be swift if anyone ever made her try it again, but she did at least try it. Belle cowered behind Elsa, who had to spend almost five minutes justifying to Anya that she was more likely to be able to fend off Tiana's wrath. Anya only sulked for a few minutes before she stole the last slice of Margherita. It was a nice, relaxing evening, far better than the first time they all got together, and the conclusion to a surprisingly great weekend after a great week with a victory that made the front page of the papers. Things were looking up for Elsa Agnarrsen, Esq.