A/N: I've been toying with this idea for awhile now, but I'm not sure if an 'ABC' story has already been done. If so, let me know and I'll change it. :) Oh, and thank you to sonadoras for inspiring me.

A is for A simple gesture…

After nearly a decade of having an on again off again relationship with her girlfriend, Alex felt as if she deserved more. The majority of her friends were either married with children or getting married and Alex was reminded of this as she sifted through her mail and saw two wedding invitations and a baby shower invitation. It was rare for Alex and Olivia to have an entire day off together, let alone a day off that happened to fall on the day of a wedding, but in the event that they did Olivia was always Alex's 'plus one.' As much as she loved Olivia and as much as she enjoyed spending time with her, she dreaded doing so in front of her friends. A simple comment about how lovely a wedding is would always lead to someone asking the two of them when they planned on getting married. Alex and Olivia would immediately change the subject to avoid answering the question altogether.

She knew having children wasn't going to happen for them, but was marriage too much to ask for? She wasn't asking for Olivia to walk down the aisle in a white dress or for the two of them to even have a wedding. All Alex wanted was for the two of them to sign a marriage license so she could have something to show for the past ten years with Olivia. At this point, she would even settle for a key to Olivia's apartment.

Alex's friends had told her it was time to move on, but Alex knew she wasn't ready for that. She loved her girlfriend, which is something she never imagined having to say at her age. She knew she should have the privilege of saying she loved her wife, but loving Olivia as her girlfriend was better than not having Olivia in her life at all. Or were her friends right about her situation? Was she settling when she could be with someone who was willing to have that type of commitment with her?

While walking from the mailboxes up to her apartment, Alex checked her phone and realized that she hadn't received a single phone call or text message from Olivia in three days. She decided to keep that bit of information to herself because if she told her friends they would add it to their list of 'cons' about being in a relationship with Olivia.

What her friends never saw were the 'pros' about being Olivia's girlfriend. When they were together, she was attentive. She listened to every word Alex said and when Alex would fall asleep on Olivia's arm, she'd never move it no matter how numb it became. They were simple gestures, but they meant so much to Alex.

She opened the door to her apartment and was surprised to see the lights on and her girlfriend waiting for her on the couch. There were two glasses of wine on the coffee table with coasters underneath them because Alex had always told her that thick rings on the coffee table were one of her pet peeves. Two glasses of wine and a girlfriend who actually listens? Alex began wondering what she had done to deserve this.

Olivia didn't say a word, she just motioned for Alex to sit next to her on the couch. When she sat down, she was handed a glass of wine and a gaudy keychain with 'Alexandra' spelled out in colorful beads. It looked like the one she had made at a sleepover when she was twelve and when she saw the pink heart bead at the end with a little knick from where she had once dropped it, she knew it was the same exact keychain.

"How did you get this?" Alex asked, feeling the letters engraved in every bead.

Olivia smirked. "I found it on top of your dresser when we spent the night at your dad's house. I like that he left your bedroom the way it was when you were growing up."

"Olivia, that was six months ago. You've been holding on to it since then?"

"I was saving it for a special occasion," Olivia told her. When she saw Olivia search for something in the front pockets of her pants, Alex knew her surprise wasn't over. Alex took a sip of wine as Olivia was searching. She thought there was no way she could love that woman more than she already did until Olivia handed her a key.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"I just thought it would look good on the keychain," Olivia said nonchalantly.

Alex now had the key to her girlfriend's apartment and she was already thinking of the many ways she'd be able to surprise her.