Angelina was running a towel through her hair, another wrapped around her body, as she made her way from the bathroom towards her bedroom. The hot shower had done wonders for her mood, and the bathroom acoustics did wonders for her voice.

She was actually humming as she rifled through her dresser drawers for a pair of pyjamas. A shower and a nap in the middle of the day sounded perfect to her, especially with the snow coating the hills outside the house.

Astoria was looking at the ceiling, eyes darting to where Angelina was walking. She could not see through the ceiling to the second floor, but Astoria just knew where she was. Just like she knew where Marcus was. She was hyper aware of the both of them.

She snapped the book closed that she had not really been reading and stalked up the stairs. She had enough of the tiptoeing. She'd had enough of Marcus being all over what Astoria apparently was not allowed to even kiss properly.

Astoria stood in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest.

Pulling the over-sized t-shirt to cover her stomach, Angelina turned towards the bed. She jumped at least a foot in the air when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. "Fuck!" She blinked openly at Astoria. The blonde didn't look happy.

Angelina wasn't stupid. She had had sex with Marcus. Twice. Yes, she'd barely been able to look at him since, but that was because she was worried Astoria would look at her like she was doing right now. She didn't know how this was supposed to work. She felt bad, and she wasn't sure what to do about it, as she was fairly certain she didn't regret what she'd done with Marcus.

But she did fear that Astoria would be angry at her. Angelina had slept with her boyfriend. "Astoria, hi," she said after a moment, her brain swirling with confusion.

"Oh. So we're talking to me now. That's a change."

Astoria wanted to blurt out why do you let him touch you in those places and not me.

"I'm sorry. I've just been really busy lately." Says the woman who planned on taking a nap today. "Everyone's coming into the bakery for soup, Hannah is gearing up for some kind of dinner at her place... My plate's just been really full."

"Other things have been really full too."

It was because she had no experience. Astoria just knew it. She didn't think Marcus would stand for her finding a girl to practice on beforehand, though. He was a bit territorial. It was why he did not know Jared's name.

Angelina mentally winced. She sounded angry. She knew this would happen. Threesomes worked all well and good in the bodice-ripping novels that were written by Aphrodite Jones, but they just didn't work in real life, no matter how good it had looked in her head.

"I'm sorry." Angelina turned towards her bed. Hiding under the covers sounded good right now. She hated it when the blonde was angry with her, especially when she couldn't make herself feel bad about what had happened. Only how it had happened and the way it had happened.

Astoria moved into the room cautiously. "Why do you meet his every challenge? I try the same and you run from me."

Astoria reached out with one hand, but stopped short of actually touching Angelina. She was so jealous of Marcus for getting this that she even found herself glaring at him a little - before she recalled he needed her, that she cared for him. It was irrational, and Astoria couldn't make herself stop.

Turning to look at the blonde, Angelina frowned. "You're not him, Tor. You challenge me in different ways."

She had never liked a woman before and had a chance to actually do something about it. She had no idea how to go about this. She'd imagined this being easier. She adored Astoria, yet she was anxious and nervous whenever the thought of touching her came up. It didn't help that Astoria had been doing everything in her power not to touch her either. The way Astoria touched her was comforting, and she missed it.

"You were going to take a nap," Astoria announced. "Could I.... stay with you?"

She hated to sound so needy, but she was jealous. Her damned bed smelled like the two people she adored the most... together. It was making her a little crazy.

Angelina looked back at her bed before turning back to Astoria. Why did she want to stay with her if she was angry? "I..." She could still smell Marcus on the clothes she'd been wearing that night. Having Astoria's scent in her bed would be a bit of torture, she was sure.

"Do you not want me now that you have him?"

Her jealousy of Marcus increased tenfold.

"Is it because I'm inexperienced? I won't try anything. I would hardly know how to begin. I just want to.... be near you."

Angelina was just looking at her with wide eyes. Astoria's pride had taken enough of a beating today.

"Never mind."

She turned and rushed from the room.

Frozen for a second, trying to figure out what had just been said to her, Angelina shook her head before she dashed out into the hallway. Her legs were longer than Astoria's, and she did not get winded as easily. She caught the blond at the top of the stairs. "Astoria!"

The look on Astoria's face made no sense to Angelina. She was completely and utterly confused. "What did I do wrong? I'm sorry if you're angry. It won't... we'll stop."

"How can we stop when we haven't done anything," Astoria asked, a bit shrill in tone.

"Me and Marcus," Angelina asked, taking a step back. "We'll stop if you're upset about it."

"I'm not upset about it," Astoria shouted, hands fisted, posture stiff. "I told you that... never mind. Just never mind. He gets to touch you and I don't because I don't know how. I see."

Now she was just feeling sorry for herself, but it just was not fair. Yes, yes, no one ever said life was fair. Did not stop Astoria from being crazy jealous and still wanting things, though.

Angelina was sure shock was plain as day on her face. "I don't... isn't this what you wanted?" Am I not supposed to have him too? I don't know if I can go back now. I can't.

"I want the both of you. I've always been quite plain about that. If I was not, I apologize, but my wants have not changed. Nor are they likely to. It is always so. I want. It is the story of the whole of my existence. Only this time I was foolish enough to think I was free enough to have everything I wanted. I rushed, and I ruined. And now I have quite conveniently written myself out of the picture."

"What?" Angelina reached out and grabbed Astoria's hands, clutching them in her own. "Astoria, no. This doesn't mean anything if you're not here. Marcus and I... we're not... there's no us if there's no you. I didn't plan on it moving this way, and I'm sorry if you're hurt, but you haven't ruined anything. I'm just..."

Angelina growled, dropping Astoria's hands as she spun away. She was so frustrated with the whole situation. "You can't keep expecting me to do this right!" She turned back to Astoria, something akin to pain on her face. "You both do it! You and Marcus! I am not perfect, and I'm not a mind reader. I don't know what you're thinking. I'm going to get things wrong. I'm going to be awkward, and not understand what's supposed to happen next. I have no idea what to do next when it comes to you two!"

Astoria reached out again. This time she didn't stop herself from touching.

"I don't want you because I think you are perfect, Angie. I want you because you are you. I know you don't understand, but you are so closed off sometimes. I feel like I can't get close to you are all. You expect me to know what to do or say, but I have been respecting the boundaries. I've been staying out. I don't know yet what is allowed or not allowed with feelings and thoughts."

She paused for a long time. The silence was tense.

"I just want to be able to hug you if I want, to kiss you, to memorize the way your skin feels under my fingertips. I don't know how to be with a woman, but I want to figure it out. Will you let me? I'm not saying today or right this minute. I just want to know I have a chance."

"Or course you have a chance," Angelina said, concern on her face. She wasn't sure how she had made Astoria feel like she as no longer wanted, but it was making her feel worse. The thing with Marcus was still so new, and Angelina was still getting used to that. The idea of having Astoria there to do those things with... it was a little intimidating. "It just might take me a bit to... This is all so new and I'm not sure..."

Astoria nodded. She had rushed again.

"I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone. Have your rest. I won't bother you."

Angelina frowned. "You're not bothering me, Astoria. I'm bothering me. I don't want to ruin this. When I get overwhelmed, I bolt. It's not an attractive thing, and I don't want to do that here. I really don't want to do that here." After Alicia's death, Angelina had been lost. She was slowly beginning to find herself again, here, with Astoria and Marcus, and she was terrified she was going to ruin this because she was over her head too quickly.

"All right," Astoria said calmly. "Let's take this one day, one moment at a time. What do you want me to do right now? Lie down with you or mind my own business?"

Don't leave. Angelina tightened her hand in Astoria's and turned, heading back towards her bedroom.

Astoria smiled. Not just because she was getting something she wanted, but also because she had just figured something very important out. She was going to have to be blunt with Angie, to demand things be clear. She was going to have to keep her from running and hiding. Astoria needed to take her out on a date or something. Be nice, friendly, try not to be jealous that Marcus was having sex with Angie and she was not.

Only a little awkward, Angelina climbed onto her bed, crawling until she was resting back against the pillows, looking over at Astoria. She was nervous. She'd shared a bed with the blonde before, yes. They'd even kissed once, but Angelina was still so nervous. Everything was just so new still. It hadn't lost its shine, and still made her stomach flop. Even looking at Astoria sent a jolt of something down her spine.

She held a hand out to the Slytherin, surprised that it only shook slightly.

Astoria was charmed by the shaking movements of Angelina's hand. She placed her own in it and crawled into the bed. She lied down and waited for Angelina to put her where she wanted her.

"This is what you want," she said quietly. "You decide where I go."

This is what I want. Angelina, wrapped an arm around Astoria's shoulders, pulling the blonde into her side, pressing her chin against the soft hair on the top of her head. "Here."

Astoria smiled. This was actually very comforting. She liked this. She wrapped an arm around Angelina and tried to settle herself down. They were supposed to be resting.

Astoria shifting against her body was not entirely unpleasant, but it was making Angelina do a bit of shifting of her own. Being with Marcus was very different than being with Astoria. They both had their own scents, their own feel. Being with either of them singularly was enough, the idea of having them both together, under her hands, was an intimidating prospect.

Intimidating, but exciting. It made a very large part of Angelina tense up in anticipation.

She reached up and ran a hand tentatively through Astoria's hair. It was soft, and the movement only made Astoria's scent stronger. She closed her eyes, committing the smell, and feel, to her memory.

Astoria closed her eyes and curled into Angelina more. She was so gentle with her. It was different from Marcus. It complimented him rather well. Astoria wanted to let her hands wander, but she sensed it was not time for that yet, that Angelina needed to get comfortable with things as they were now before moving on any further.

Comfortable was one of the feelings Angelina was feeling at the moment. Comfort. Contentment. Happiness. There was only one thing she wanted added to the equation, but she didn't mind having Astoria to herself for a little while. Marcus had had her for months. They would find a happy medium, hopefully. She wasn't quite sure how, but they would. They could share, but she knew they'd also all need time with each other alone. She was prepared to learn how it would work.

"I didn't think it would happen this way," she whispered. She wasn't regretful, per se, but she just hadn't expected it occurring in the events and sequence it had.

Astoria snorted. "You didn't think it would happen at all. I'm happy to see you wrong."

"True," Angelina said, smiling a little. "I thought it'd be you first."

Astoria giggled. "I don't know how to seduce anyone. Marcus is only the second person I have ever been with. With the way you shied away from me for thinking I was his... if only you had not seen us kissing that day. That was where it went different, I think."

"What do you mean," Angelina asked, remembering the confusion and sadness she'd felt that day.

"I would have preferred to ease you into things, not that shock. I would have liked to know more of you before I broached the subject of Marcus."

Angelina nodded. Having Marcus thrown in had definitely sent her head into a tailspin. It had been hard to reconcile the two in her head, but the more she learned of Marcus, the more she began to understand it. She still wasn't quite sure where she fit in, but she'd figure it out. "I'm worried I'm going to screw this up somehow. When I was in a relationship with two people at once, neither of them knew about the other, and didn't want to."

"That was likely the problem. I was never going to hide either of you. I wouldn't want to. You're not going to screw this up. We're all going to fight and be angry, but we're also going to make up and be happy."

"Marcus and I definitely have the fighting part down," Angelina said, closing her eyes. She hadn't even looked at the man for too long since the last time they'd been together. She knew Astoria knew, but it still felt a little awkward.

"I think you have the making up down as well," Astoria said wryly, willing her jealousy down.

Making some sort of sound, Angelina shifted against Astoria. Remembering exactly how they'd made up had things in her body tightening again. She wished she could skip the awkwardness that was sure to be there and just get to the part where this worked. Wondering how it was going to work was driving her mad. Would they go out on dates, the three of them? Would they have separate dates as well, with just two of them at a time? Was she going to get jealous, watching Astoria and Marcus go off alone together?

She was fairly sure Marcus wouldn't be too broken up if her and Astoria decided to take some time for themselves, but he was a man. Having two women together, in whatever way, wouldn't arose jealousy in him like it would for her, or possibly Astoria. Angelina just wasn't sure of the logistics.

Of course, maybe she shouldn't be as worried about the logistics and how it all worked as she should just getting to that point and enjoying it.

"Yeah," Angelina finally said, staring up at the ceiling, imaging Marcus' face above hers with Astoria still in her arms.

"What are you thinking about," Astoria asked knowingly. "Him? I don't mind if you think on him. Not in the least. Marcus needs us. He doesn't always know that. Foolish man still thinks he's going to bow out and let us be. We won't let him, will we. Definitely not."

Angelina laughed. "It sounds like you have your work cut out for you," she said softly, running her hands through the blonde's locks again, letting the strands fall from her fingers before doing it again.

The hands in her hair were making Astoria sleepy. The knot of tension that had been her whole person this week seemed to melt away. Astoria told herself she was only going to rest her eyes, but soon she nodded off. She didn't realize how tiring being a jealous brat could be.

As soon as Astoria's breathing evened out, Angelina knew the younger woman was asleep. She didn't mind. She'd been able to feel the anxiousness and tension in the house, most of it because of her and her inability to figure things out fast enough.

The fact that the blonde felt comfortable enough to fall asleep in her arms made Angelina smile, even as her own eyes drifted closed.


{SUMMARY} Angelina and Astoria talk about things and agree to take it one day at a time.