Amy and Melody stared at each other across the room, mouths slightly agape, both wearing expressions that might best be described as "dull surprise." They had each expected to wow the other with the parade of indignities life had inflicted on them that day, then been caught flat-footed by their partner's state.
Amy shuffled over to the couch, still slightly confused, then collapsed backwards onto it, landing next to Melody. She winced ever-so-slightly as her still-sore bottom made contact with the furniture. Fortunately, she had recently spent some of her more-than-ample salary having the couch re-upholstered with soft, plush material and the cushions over-stuffed. The extra padding felt more comfortable than irritating. Considering the way that these sorts of things seemed to keep happening to her, the alterations had seemed like a sound investment at the time. Now Amy's pained posterior was reaping the dividends of that investment. A glance at Melody's strangely bare and reddened rear indicated that her partner was also enjoying the fruits of Amy's decision.
Amy looked her partner up and down. Her hair was a fright; patchy and stuck together and all out of sorts, like it had been washed and dried without brushing. Her rear was swollen and as red as a candy apple. It was only now that Amy noticed the ice pack Melody was sitting on. Melody looked at Amy, eyes wide and lips pouting.
Melody looked her partner over. Amy was naked, except for the panties Melody had forced on her that morning. There were, she had noted as Amy had walked past, some tiny holes in the back, and also what looked like a staple. Amy's face was blackened with soot, as were parts of her body. Her glasses were cracked and skewed. And something had happened to her shoes. Melody also noticed the wince of pain as Amy sat down; apparently Melody's rear was not the only one to take a beating today.
A crooked smile slowly spread across Amy's face. "You know what?" she said, "I'll bet your day was worse. Why don't you tell me all about it." Amy tended to keep quiet about her work, both because of confidentiality issues and because she had learned the hard way that most people got bored by law talk, and she didn't want to inflict that on the partner who managed to love her despite how distant she could sometimes be. But Melody was a talker. She liked analyzing every detail of her day, and Amy loved listening to it. "But first-" she reached down to the messy coffee table, covered in papers put there by Melody, and pulled out a small, folded menu, "Let's cancel our reservation and order in Chinese."
Melody sat up. All the anger she had at her partner disappeared in a puff of smoke as she saw the loving way Amy looked at her. Today her confidence in how she was seen by others had been shaken to the core, but here she knew she could be herself and her partner would love her unconditionally. She smiled warmly.
