[A/N: First, a quick apology for just how 'inside' this fic gets. It started with me putting Eleanor in divinity school in my last fic, and now that has exploded to EVERYONE doing it. So some stuff may not make sense because I'm pulling from my own life experiences. I will not, however, apologize for just how many people show up in this story because I love big crossovers where everyone is gay. Once we get past the introductory stuff, it'll be a lot more of my usual fluff.]

Alisha sipped nervously at her punch and stared around the room. This was a crowded and intimidating event. All of these brilliant people in a single place, all chatting and animated and so normal. She was feeling incredibly overwhelmed and was ready to get the hell out of that place and find somewhere less intense. She was so lost in her mind she didn't realize that someone was approaching her. "Alisha Diphda, right? I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you earlier. I'm Lailah!"

She actually jumped from surprise, and it took her a moment to catch her breath. "Oh, of course, it's so good to finally meet you." Lailah took her hand and shook it rather emphatically. Shortly after Alisha had been accepted into her doctoral program, this woman had been her point of contact. There were emails, texts, and messages between the two of them across the summer, but this was the first time she'd actually seen her in person.

"It can be quite a lot to take in, huh? You'd never imagine a bunch of theology nerds could be capable of producing so much energy, yet here we are!" She turned, and joined her in watching the room for a moment or two. "You know, it can be kinda tough, getting to know people like this. If you'd like, a few of us are doing a smaller party tonight just to celebrate the start of the year and everything. Just doctoral students. What do you say?"

There was a lot going on, and a smaller event sounded like a good idea to combat her anxiety. "Sure. I think it would be nice to hang out with you anyway, and I could use a less... crowded situation."

Lailah gave her a smile that could have lit up an entire city block. "Wonderful! Whenever you're ready, let me know, and I can lead the way."

"Hah, if I say we can head out now, will you assume I'm an anti-social dork?"

"Perish the thought," the other woman replied with a light giggle.

Their destination was a house some distance from the center of the city. It took a half an hour riding on the metro, but Alisha found she was thoroughly enjoying getting to know Lailah in person. Her level of enthusiasm and animation in writing was nothing compared to how she acted when you were actually in the same space as her. "You know, it occurs to me far too late that I don't actually know where it is you're taking me."

"You make it sound so sketchy, Alisha! It's just a house that a bunch of us share. I live there with a few other people including another guy getting his doctorate. Also, my girlfriend! She... Well, she'll be around, but I don't think she'll be terribly social. Edna is... Hm, you'll meet her, you'll see what I mean." She giggled once again and motioned to a building just down the street. "I think we're also supposed to get a visit from some of our professors as well, so that should be quite entertaining."

Alisha hummed softly. Wouldn't having professors over kind of kill the mood? Then again, that was mostly only true for undergrads and high schoolers. When she was in grad school, she went out for drinks with her professors on a few brief occasions. And now that she would be working so closely with them as both a colleague and a student, it didn't seem so strange. "Do you think Dr. Hume will be there? I've read all her work and I can't wait to start working with her, but I still feel like I don't actually know her." If she were being honest, it went further than that. It almost felt like she didn't deserve to so close to someone so awesome.

Lailah's smile was rather mysterious as she stepped up to the door and unlocked it. "Maybe! I'll let that be a surprise for now."

Inside, things were quiet for the moment, mostly because there were only two people home – presumably her roommates. It became instantly obvious what Lailah had meant about her girlfriend because she didn't even get up from the couch to greet her, merely looking up from where she was messing with her phone and showing a glimmer of a smile. "Hey babe. That thing still happening tonight? Is it okay if I just hide in our room?"

Lailah sashayed over to sit next to her, wrapping her arms around her as though little Edna had just said the sweetest thing in the world. "Of course! It's gonna be pretty boring anyway, everyone just standing around debating ontology and eschatology and exegesis for hours on end. It's going to be insufferable." She nuzzled into her cheek without a shred of self-consciousness, and it was legitimately hard to tell if Edna enjoyed it or merely suffered through it. "Oh, this is Alisha, she's the one I've been chatting with to help her get adjusted. Alisha, this is Edna, and that's Mikleo."

She motioned to a guy sitting nearby with absolutely gorgeous, light hair who smiled pleasantly enough, setting aside the book he'd been reading. "It's a pleasure. What's your focus? My boyfriend and I are both foolishly putting all our focus into dead languages, so our futures are fairly limited."

Alisha couldn't help but laugh at that, mostly because it hit home so hard. "I'm going to be studying queer theology with Dr. Hume, so um... yeah, teaching and writing are pretty much my only options, but here I am!"

Surprisingly, Edna's eyebrow quirked up, her head canting to the side. "That's a thing?"

Lailah gave her a gentle nudge. "Your brother's friend is literally one of the top local authorities on the subject and you don't know this?"

"Come on, neither Eizen nor myself are particularly interested in religious stuff. Eleanor has always been the odd one out in their little club."

Sometimes the world could be a small place. This woman's brother was friends with her advisor? Before she could really add anything to the conversation, a knock at the door drew everyone's attention. Rather than waiting for anyone to answer it, the door simply swung open and a handsome guy strolled in with a big goofy grin. Mikleo rose and strolled up to him, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him squarely on the lips. "Well! I was going to ask if we were late but it looks like we're right on time."

Wandering in after him was a redheaded girl in cutoffs and a short-sleeved jacket. A good percentage of her visible skin was covered in a variety of colorful tattoos. "Ew, affection, gross."

"And that's my cue. Fair thee well, all. Keep the noise level on your dorky stuff to a minimum. I don't want to have to storm in here and yell at you all in front of your dorky professors." Edna gave a shockingly elaborate curtsy, and was given one last kiss on the top of her head from Lailah before disappearing into the upper level of the house.

As strangely adorable as the display was, Alisha was honestly more distracted by the redhead. She told herself it was mostly due to the colorful ink on her body and not... literally anything else about her. Certainly not the bright eyes or the cheery smile.

It was only when Lailah clapped her hands together that Alisha remembered there were other people around and maybe she shouldn't go staring at a pretty girl. Besides, if everyone else in the room was in some kind of happy, healthy relationship, then she probably was too. How much worse to develop a crush on a relative stranger only to see that they were otherwise taken? "Alright, five people is enough to start calling this a proper party. Mikleo, I think all the drinks and snacks are waiting in the kitchen?"

He nodded, and the two of them led the way into the other room so that they could get on with the good stuff.

Over the course of the evening, other people started to slowly filter into the gathering. Alisha still wasn't entirely sure how to go about getting to know someone in this kind of setting, so she mostly stuck with Lailah, even if it did make her feel like a lost little puppy. This also helped keep her from acting like an idiot in front of the woman she had finally learned was named Rose.

There was Dr. Sage, who had stolen away the boys so that they could talk about dead languages and ancient societies. Every now and then she would catch bits and pieces of their conversation – often peppered with phrases in Greek or Hebrew – and feel totally lost.

It was her friend's advisor who showed up next. Lailah beamed at the woman with her pink-dyed hair and gestured grandly. "Ah, this is my dissertation savior, Dr. Heurassein. Without her, I would surely be doomed."

She instantly brushed this off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "How many times have I told you, no one knows how to pronounce or spell my name. Just call me Estelle. It makes everyone's life easier."

"Aaaaanyway, Doc Estelle is a specialist in grief, suffering, and pain. I've been working with her to try and figure out how we can apply her research to working with addicts. It sounds uplifting, I know." She beamed a little more now. "Actually, it was during my internship at a local clinic where I met Edna. She's a nurse there. I'll never forget the first thing she said to me. I greeted her and she said-"

The woman in question appeared despite her earlier grumbling about not wishing to attend the gathering. "I believe it was something to the effect of 'Either fuck off or help me, because I already lost someone to an OD today and I'm not in the mood for any bullshit.' But I was very charming about it. Probably."

"You definitely were. Now, Estelle, where'd your wife get off to?" The professor with the confusing last name pointed across the room to a spunky-looking woman who seemed perpetually up to no good. Lailah leaned over to fill her in. "Ah, that's Dr. Mordio. She and Rose focus on pop culture theology. And you thought your discipline was obscure!"

She laughed along politely, but at the moment she was still a little too busy being smitten. As far as she was concerned, pop culture theology was the most interesting thing she had ever heard of.

That was when a particularly large crew of visitors entered. At the head of the group was a tall guy with blonde hair and a serious face. Edna suddenly seemed to lose all trace of her cool exterior. She launched herself at him, wrapping him up in a tight hug. "How's my big idiot?"

"Big and idiotic as ever." Like her, the stony look gave way to a fond smile as he tousled her hair.

Coming in after him was a group of three women. One had dark black hair and a strange glove covering her entire right arm. The second was a lanky blonde with a serious bounce in her step. But the most important was the last to walk in, a studious redhead smiling pleasantly at everyone.

Once again Lailah leaned over with her helpful, seemingly encyclopedic knowledge. "Oh, that's your advisor, Dr. Hume. I wasn't expecting her to bring her girlfriends along, I've never actually met them before."

It didn't matter that Alisha had several degrees under her belt. It didn't matter that she was intelligent and driven and ready to learn even more. None of that mattered. Because here was the woman she would be spending the next few years developing her dissertation with. She needed to go up and talk to her. Something casual and friendly, just to break the ice and make herself known.

So it was kind of a disappointment when, instead, she heard herself say "I need to get some air..." before rushing through the living room and kitchen and escaping to the back porch. She leaned up against the railing and stared idly at the building across the tiny yard. "Great job, idiot. You just ran away from your advisor. What a credit to the world of academia. Going to be a doctor in no time..."

Not paying much attention to anything around her, she was shocked to hear a soft laugh from nearby. Sitting on a deck chair and smoking was Rose. The laughter wasn't cruel, if anything it was oddly kind. "Yeah, the first time I had to actually have a conversation with Dr. Mordio, I almost vomited. You'll be okay."

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Amazing work.