Tina knocked softly on the door.  Knocked again, when there was no answer.  So the operator opened the door, instead.

Tina drew a breath, as she settled into the seat.  Now, here she was.  Less than a foot from the love of her life. Someone she had been chasing all over the world over the past year, unsuccessfully. Right beside her.

And she found she had nothing to say.

They both sat back, and looked out in silence at the twinkling lights of Paris.

“Just so beautiful, still,” Tina said, under her breath.

“Yeah,” Bette responded, with a small smile.

“So are you,” Tina said, turning to Bette, before she realized saying so.

Bette continued to look ahead, but smiled a little.

After a minute, the carriage was approaching the top of the arc, and tilted back, so that they were now looking up at the stars.

“As are you, T,” Bette answered, in the darkness.

Tina’s breath caught at the brunette’s use of the affectionate nickname.  A nickname the blonde forbade anyone else to use when talking to her.

Tina leaned back against the wall on her side of the bench. “Bette,” she said, haltingly.

Bette didn’t respond.

“I’ve run through this scene in my mind a thousand times, and had a hundred different scripts about how it goes, thought about a hundred ways to set it up…”

“Well, you are a producer,” Bette said dryly, cutting into Tina’s speech.

Tina chuckled, “Yeah…well, it’s what I’m supposed to be good at.  Producing.  Producing scenes like this.”

Bette smiled again, and glanced at her, “And yes… you are, indeed, good at producing.”

Tina returned her smile, and continued while shaking her head, “but for some reason I am messing this up.  The biggest scene that I will ever produce and I am fucking it up.”

“T”

“No… please let me continue, Bette.  If I fuck it up, well, I’ve only got myself to blame, right?”

Tears sprang to her eyes.  She paused, licked her lips, wiped her tears quickly, and plowed ahead.

“What I’m trying to say is… I’m sorry, Bette.  More sorry than you can ever imagine.”

Bette’s lip began to tremble.  She bit it, and said nothing.  She held her head lightly with one hand.  She was beginning to cry, also.