Stove and Lucy never meant to fall in love.

They met in 2018, working at a progressive non-profit in DC. Lucy terrified Stove on their first day by gliding into their office with a signature red lipstick on and a list of thorny legal questions in tow. Stove eventually got over their fear of Lucy and the two settled into a totally normal collegial relationship. But Lucy couldn’t get the idea of being closer to Stove out of her head. So, in 2019, Lucy put “become friends with Stove” on her list of New Year’s resolutions. It may have worked out a little too well.

On September 25, 2019, Lucy booked seats C3 and C4 (iykyk) for her first “friend” date with Stove to see Hustlers at the local AMC. After the movie, they couldn’t bring themselves to end the night, so they went to a restaurant and kept talking for hours. When they finally parted ways, Stove felt equal parts excited and worried about how much they enjoyed spending time with Lucy. They had the sinking suspicion that they had set something in motion that they wouldn’t be able to stop. And sure enough, that one movie date turned into going out several times a week turned into wanting to spend all of their time together. But they still hadn’t admitted how they felt about each other. Finally, after countless hours-long not-dates, Lucy finally asked Stove if it was all in her head, and Stove confessed that they were feeling it too.