Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the perfect autumn morning for a coffee. Lacy (The Lactaid Cow) would be ground beef if she wasn’t a sucker for a brisk trip to a coffee shop. She would never admit it out loud, but she enjoyed the smell of the shop more than the actual drink she bought.

Almost as satisfying was the bell that would ring when she would open the door. The shop wasn’t too busy this morning, but there were a couple seats full. Lacy stopped for a minute, the seat she always took was full. Her gaze lingered on the cow sitting in “her” spot. The other cow had a flannel on, however it barely hid the definition in their arms. Lacy turned, feeling her face flush just a little bit as she rushed over to counter to order. Pumpkin spice sounded really good today, but Lacy was distracted.
“Can I- I’d like a… I’m sorry, Is it okay if I just order a latte, nothing extra.”

Lacy was embarrassed, she prided herself on being confident and she just chickened out of ordering the drink she actually wanted because she was flustered. She just kept picturing the taught flannel slightly stretched over the red cow’s arms. Lacy turned her head to look in the other cow’s direction, surprised to find they were looking back at her. The red cow smiled while Lacy whipped her head around back towards the counter, knowing that waiting for her drink was about to be excruciating. She had to fight to not combust on the spot, flustered beyond what she thought was capable.

No, she thought to herself, this isn’t like her. Lacy the Lactaid cow is a strong woman. Lacy the Lactaid cow can get through a trip to the coffee shop whether there’s a cute cow sitting by the window or not. Filled with newfound determination, Lacy grabbed her latte from the ready counter and walked over to sit down. Except she wasn’t going to sit down at an empty table, she wasn’t going to sit down at a table that wasn’t “hers”.

“Hey, can I sit with mooo? I saw you when I walked in, and I’m udderly interested in sitting down and chatting with you!”
The red cow looked up at her and leaned back, her baby bell earrings gently rustling as they did so. Lacy maintained her confident demeanor, still secretly admiring the way she moved. It was as if every movement was purposeful, even though she seemed relaxed. She leisurely looked at Lacy before opening their mouth to speak.
She spoke with a southern twang, “Sugar, I don’t mind one bit.”

A big smile grew on Lacy’s face as she slid into the window booth across from the cow.
“My name is Lacy, and I’m the Lactaid cow, so you’ve probably seen me before. What should I call you?”
The red cow responded, “The Lactaid cow huh? That’s funny, I’m actually the Baby Bell cow. We’ve worked together before, did you not recognize me?”
Lacy tried to remain composed but was sure her face fell for a minute.

The other cow laughed, “It’s okay, I looked a lot different back when we met before. You can call me Bessy. It’s nice to “meet” you Lacy.”
Lacy smiled, “It’s nice to “meet’ you too, Bessy. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it was you. Since we only ever met for a brief moment, it makes it feel like this is a brand moo beginning.”
Bessy gave Lacy a warm smile and they began making conversation. They both treated it like a fresh start, as if this was the first time they had ever seen each other. Lacy felt like she could breathe for the first time in a while, her life had been so hectic with recording ads and being the face of the Lactaid brand. She did have a side gig, but that was less about the money and more about the feeling of being independent, getting away from being a brand, and owning her body. Lacy couldn’t lie, OnlyCows could be therapeutic sometimes, and the influx of money from hoofpics didn’t hurt.

Lacy did not tell Bessy this however, and instead talked about how she loved to play the violin, went on jogs in the morning, and about her obsession with the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Bessy stayed pretty quiet through the encounter, but it didn’t seem like a lack of engagement. Bessy was nodding her head and sipping on her drink, with a contented look on her face. She just let Lacy talk about herself, much to Lacy’s surprise.

One thing about Lacy, she loved to talk about herself. Some people even thought she was too “confident” in herself, found her to be self-centered. But it didn’t look like Bessy minded.
At one point they were both quiet, Lacy still sipping on her drink, having talked too much to have time to drink it. Bessy was long since finished with her black coffee, but stayed to listen to Lacy.
Bessy suggested it first, that they continue to meet up and chat like this. Lacy was more than thrilled to agree, she was already enamored with the red cow. When Bessy stood up to go Lacy purposely stayed sitting for a few seconds, just so she could watch the laughing cow and the way she mooved. Lacy knew as she left the coffee shop that she was already down bad for Bessy the laughing cow.

Chapter Text

It had been two days since their meeting at the coffee shop. Lacy has been itching to meet up with Bessy again. She’d been dreaming about seeing her, but she was hesitant to be the first one to text.
The first day was bearable. Lacy missed her but was okay letting the feeling of meeting linger. She replayed the interaction over and over in her mind.
The second day was excruciating, testing Lacy’s resolve. She had to go shoot an ad that day, but was sent home early. She couldn’t concentrate on anything and kept getting lost in her thoughts.
Lacy decided she had to text her. She pulled up her phone to Bessy’s contact, which had long since been changed from 468-222-9235 to “<3 Bes <3”. She typed out a simple message.

Lacy: Hey, do you think we could meet up anytime soon?

She threw her phone across her bed and covered her face with her hooves. She hoped Bessy answered her soon she couldn’t wait any longer. Lacy’s ears perked up at the sound of a ding. She opened her phone to answer what was surely Bessy’s text.

<3 Bes <3: Wyd rn?
Lacy: Just chilling in my room, what about you?
<3 Bes <3: Moosterious Moo-cha Cafe. 20min

Lacy assumed the text meant that they had plans. In 20 minutes. Lacy huffed, upset that now she had to get ready in that short of time, but that feeling was mixed with one of nervousness. Lacy had already decided she was down bad, and by that she meant real bad. Lacy was already deciding their kids’ names, designing their wedding, and had borderline picked where they were going to retire together. Lacy was going to confess immediately, she just knew it. She was going to ask Bessy if she wanted to go steady with her once she arrived to the coffee shop.
Trying to put the thinking to the side, Lacy began to get ready, she only had 15 minutes to both get ready and get there, so she had better start before its too late.

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Bessy was starting to get disappointed, thinking Lacy was a no-show. Bessy was excited to talk to Lacy again, having enjoyed the time they spent together, and being undeniably attracted to Lacy. But it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to meet her again after all, that was until Bessy heard the door jingle. When she looked up Lacy was there in a pink sundress, 40 minutes late.

“Hi Bessy! Sorry I’m so late I had to get dressed.”

“Getting dressed takes you 40 minutes?”

“No comment. Give me one second while I go order.”

Bessy looked down at herself, now criticizing the stretched out tank top and jacket she had on. She frowned slightly, remembering that even a couple days ago she was dressed down, while Lacy had obviously spent a lot of time and care into her outfit. Bessy liked what she wore, and didn’t intend on changing anything, but she admired the effort put into Lacy’s clothing. She was sure she would admire what was under her clothing as well.

When Bessy looked up Lacy had come back with a drink in hand. She gave a smile before sliding into the booth across from Bessy.
They talked about simple, mundane things. Their conversation was just an excuse to talk to each other, the content not actually meaning anything. Eventually Lacy stopped, and the tone became more serious.

“Hey Bessy… I’ve really liked the time we’ve spent together so far. I really like the way you talk about things, and how cool and calm you always seem. I… Do you want to go steady with me? Start going on dates, and see where this takes us?”

Bessy froze. The hesitation on her face must have been obvious because Lacy immediately started backtracking, “Oh! I’m sorry I… uh… I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay,” Bessy said, “I just… I wasn’t really looking for that type of relationship. I’m not really interested in you that way. My plan was actually to ask you today if you wanted to enter a sort of friends with benefits type situation.”

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Lacy’s face fell, she was already planning to marry this cow, but she “wasn’t interested in her that way”. Lacy let herself feel pity for two seconds before picking herself back up with new resolve. No matter what, Lacy was going to make Bessy love her. Even if it took going along with a fwb situation, Lacy could endure it until, inevitably, Bessy realized how much of a catch Lacy was and decided to wife her up.
“I would. I would like to be with you, even if it means being friends with benefits. Bessy, I accept your proposal.”

Chapter Text

“Lactaid is 100% real milk just with out the Lactose! Delicious too, just ask my old friend Kevin.”

“Moooooooo”

“Nothing like enjoying a cold glass while watching a game. Especially when you’re the one winning with Lactaid”

Lacy winked at the camera after delivering her lines, knowing she just devoured that commercial. She had a newfound sense of determination in her love life, which translated to a drive to succeed in her work life as well.

The producer congratulated her on a good ad and sent her back to the green room to prepare for the next one. She had a couple hours off before she had to get back on set, and she intended to catch up on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She took off her makeup and turned on the TV.

BING. Lacy had thought it came from her show at first but it was actually her phone beeping.

<3 Bes <3: Wyd? Want to hook up 2nite? Or earlier? I’m free now.

Lacy flushed a bright red at her text, burying her phone in her chest as a reflex. No one was there to read the text but it was still flustering for Lacy. After taking a couple breaths Lacy thought through what her next move was going to be. Was she interested in hooking up tonight? Yes. However, she didn’t want to come off too eager. Plus she didn’t want to go along with everything Bessy wanted, especially since she knew Bessy didn’t even want her. Romantically at least.
As the gears turned in Lacy’s head, she came up with a decision and texted Bessy back.

Lacy: I’m not up for it. Too busy.

The Lactaid cow felt very self-assured, she had decided she was going to play a game of hard to get. The first step to winning Bessy’s heart would be to leave her wanting more. Maybe if Lacy did that Bessy’s heart would start to warm up to her. Lacy turned her phone on silent and set it on her table, practically strutting back to the green room couch. She thought she was very clever, and figured that Bessy would be at her feet begging to date her in no time at all.

Lacy still had quite a while before shooting, and she was starting to get thirsty. She sighed and threw her head back on the couch, not wanting to leave the room, but knowing she had nothing better to do than go on a small adventure. Lacy got up and walked past her phone, thought about checking it, but decided against.

After a couple minutes of searching Lacy huffed in disappointment. Sure, she found plenty of milk vending machines but nothing with any lactose free options. She was the Lactaid cow for a reason, a drop of dairy and she was done for. Every time she ordered a latte or any drink for that matter, she had to make extra sure they used an alternative, lest she have an incident.
Peeking around a corner, Lacy did not recognize the next hallway. She figured it must belong to a different company, there were several that rented parts of this facility, so it wasn’t much of a shock. She knew she shouldn’t venture into the other parts of the building, but the urge for a cold drink overpowered her rationale. There had to be a Lactaid vending machine in this part of the building for sure.

She was walking a little bit fast, since she was a little nervous about being caught, but she didn’t realize quite how fast she was going until she turned a corner and ran into something solid. Lacy jumped back was stopped by a hand on her arm.

“This doesn’t look like you’re busy.”

Lacy looked up to see Bessy.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you.” Lacy tripped over her words.

“I’m not upset about that Lacy. More importantly, you said you were busy but here you are. If you didn’t want to sleep with me you could have just said so.”

Before she had a chance to answer she heard heavy footsteps and voices calling out for Bessy. Suddenly she was pulled through whatever door was closest to them, which happened to be a supply closet. Bessy was breathing heavy, ears on alert as they heard the footsteps thundering past. Lacy wasn’t looking at the door, she was looking down at their bodies pressed up against each other. Bessy’s hands were on her arms and Lacy’s were on Bessy’s chest. As if that wasn’t close enough Bessy had her knee slotted slightly between Lacy’s legs, making Lacy feel butterflies in her stomach. It didn’t seem like it was affecting Bessy at all however, meanwhile Lacy was an absolute mess.

“They should be gone now. Sorry about that, I ran away from work for a minute, and apparently am being hunted down.” Bessy looked down at Lacy, “I didn’t mean to get mad earlier, I just wanted to see you.”

Lacy nodded, face still red. Bessy’s hands tightened as she finally noticed the state that Lacy was in. Bessy leaned in and kissed Lacy, much to Lacy’s surprise. At first, she leaned away trying to escape the kiss, but quickly gave in. So much for playing hard to get, if anyone had seen Lacy at that moment, they would have been shocked to learn she had said no to meeting up with Bessy earlier.

When Bessy began to lift up her skirt Lacy gasped, reaching down to pull her skirt back down, embarrassed.

“I really do have to get back to work, I’m sorry Bessy. I’ll talk to you later.”

Lacy collected herself, and then exited the supply closet, making her way back the way she came from. As soon as she turned the corner she leaned back against the wall, gently sliding down it till she reached the floor. Face completely red Lacy knew she was in pickle. Now that she knew that Bessy’s company shot ads in the same exact building she did, it was going to be way harder to keep control over her relationship with Bessy.

Head in hands, the Lactaid cow breathed heavily, then tried to brainstorm her next move.