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Laura, Alina, Ro, and Tim were sitting in the university mensa, enjoying their lunch.
At least they tried to.
"Jeez, why is the vegan option always so bland and boring," Tim said and put his fork down. He was of a lanky guy, a bit taller than Ro. His short hair was dark blonde with a tint of ginger. When he laughed or smiled, which he often did, his narrow face used to brighten up. He was charming, funny, and generally easy to be around with. Ro could see why Laura liked him.
After their first date, it hadn't taken them long to go on a second. That had been when Laura had told him she was in a relationship with her two housemates but they had given their consent for Laura to date Tim if he so wished. Apparently, this had come as a bit of a shock for him, and he had asked for some time to think it through. This had had Laura in a state of anxiety and nervousness for the better part of a week, until Tim had figured out his thoughts on the whole situation. He had said that he wasn't really sure how he felt about it but he wanted to give it a try for Laura's sake. So he had begun to hang out at the house occasionally in order to get to know Ro and Alina and ease into the idea of being part of a polycule. By the beginning of December, they all felt like they had started to feel comfortable with it. Although, as far as Ro was aware, Tim and Laura were still taking it slowly.
"You don't like your food?" Alina asked.
Tim shook his head. "My expectations with mensa food are low to begin with but it's almost like they're making it extra hard to be a vegan around here. I mean, this is supposed to be a vegetable curry, but there's hardly any spices in it. And the vegetables are cooked to death. And don't even get me started on the choice of vegetables! I mean, zucchini? What the fuck are they doing in a curry?"
Ro swallowed their pasta and said "There was a dish with zucchini yesterday, I think. They probably used some of the leftovers for today's vegan curry."
"Yes, that's another thing that makes me mad," Tim replied. "It's always a dish where they just can throw together whatever stuff they have left. Curry. Pasta with vegetable sauce. Some kind of vegetable casserole with vegan cheese. It's repetitive and unimaginative. It displays an utter disrespect for vegetables as a type of ingredient in its own right."
"I hadn't taken you for a foodie," Alina remarked.
Tim shrugged. "Well, I guess I am. I enjoy cooking. It helps me unwind. And my decision to go vegan a couple of months ago really has given it a boost. When you voluntarily limit your options, you need to get creative."
"It's probably harder when you need to cook in large amounts, though," Laura mused. "You can't make that elaborate dishes in huge quantities and keep them warm for a couple of hours."
"Right," Tim nodded. "That's another limitation and I acknowledge it. I just would like a bit more appreciation of the ingredients they're using. It wouldn't be that hard to make this curry actually good. Don't throw all the vegetables in at the same time. A bit more spices. Some fresh coriander, perhaps. Replace the fucking zucchini with something else. Chickpeas, maybe. Folks need
protein,
for crying out loud. That's all it would take. I'm not asking for an elaborate and delicious three-coursed vegan meal. I can make that myself."
"What would you serve for your elaborate and delicious three-coursed vegan meal?" Laura asked.
Tim paused a moment to think. "Depends on the cuisine that inspires it, I guess. I could do an Italian-inspired meal. Start with some garlic bread with olive paste. Then maybe a lentil bolognese that has been simmering for a couple of hours. End with a vegan panna cotta, that's easy to make with coconut milk. I could throw in a salad, too."
"That sounds good," Alina said.
"Or I could start with a serving of my home-made Kimchi," Tim continued. "Slightly warmed and sprinkled with chopped peanuts. Vegan mapo tofu for the main course. For dessert, maybe fried banana, that's a classic. Or something else."
"I love mapo tofu," Laura interjected.
"Mapo tofu, it is, then," Tim said.
"Wait, are you inviting me for diner?" Laura asked.
Tim grinned. "Do you want to be invited?"
"I can't believe I said yes!" Laura exclaimed, walking back and forth in the living room.
"Why not?" Ro asked. "Tim is nice and you said you love mapo tofu."
"It would be our third date!" Laura answered. "You know what ordinarily happens on third dates."
"Laura," Alina inserted herself into the conversation with a 'give me a break'-voice. "You're a polyamorous bisexual dating a woman, an enby, and a man. Nothing about your lovelife is ordinary. Why are you getting all worked up about cis-het dating conventions all of a sudden?"
"Because Tim is a cis-het!" Laura threw her hands in the air. "And he invited me for diner! So there's a chance I'm going to stay overnight!"
"Yes, he's a cis-het. But he's a cis-het who is dating a polyamorous bisexual," Alina pointed out. "And you know perfectly well you don't have to stay overnight if you don't want to."
Laura still didn't calm down. She continued her pace back and forth and started to reply. "But-"
"Would you want to stay overnight?" Ro asked her.
That was enough to stop her. She stood in the middle of the room and froze.
"What?"
"Would you want to stay overnight if the opportunity came up?" Ro repeated their question in a calm and sober tone.
Laura blinked. "I... I haven't really thought about it," she said slowly. "I mean Tim and I agreed to take it slowly because we both needed some adjusting to the situation. It hasn't come up yet."
"Sure," Ro said. "But suppose it came up?"
Laura took another moment to reply. "I guess I would," she finally said. "I mean he's cute and nice. And we may have made out at some point, although all the clothes stayed on."
"See?" Alina said. "He's obviously into you, and you into him. So what's bothering you?"
Laura sat down and wrinkled her forehead pensively. "That's a good question. I'm afraid I ruin it if we proceed too fast, I think. When I told him about the whole polyamory thing, we had a long talk after which we agreed on taking things slowly to ease into the situation and see if it works out."
"That's a legitimate concern," Alina said. "But allow me to ask you a question: what if it has worked out by now and the two of you are now ready for the next step?"