I found the Otalia fandom recently, and I wanted to share with my followers how great this on-screen pairing is. They're so good that the 2 actresses have been canonically paired 4 times: from a soap opera, a web series, a short movie, to an indie film. 1 Million Happy Nows was just released this week, and my wife and her good friend who love Otalia, loved this movie. While it's been several years since I've posted, I wanted share this story and the fandom with you all - it is literally everything you wanted with SQ. I definitely recommend you watch 1 Million Happy Nows, Venice The Series, The Grove, and definitely watch Guiding Light (search for: Otalia 2008 and Otalia 2009 - on YouTube). There's over 100 episodes of character building - and it all starts with two women who hate each other. Tell me that's not every SQ fic you've read!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
Meadowlark Assisted Living 2017
Eva had been dreading this day since she found out about Lainey's early onset Alzheimer's. Through some naivety she thought that maybe, just maybe, medicine would advance in a year's time and Lainey's mind wouldn't disappear before their very eyes. But it did. And they were here. Meadowlark Assisted Living. They had already gotten a tour of the facilities when they were scoping out future homes for Lainey, but as she heaved boxes into the room and took a look around, it was finally real and the day she'd been dreading had finally caught up to them, and the nightmare she hoped and prayed she'd wake up from was suddenly her reality.
Lainey sat on the bed, hands patted down on the mattress as if testing its softness. She looked around the room with wide eyes before locking them with Eva's. The brunette swallowed back the lump in her throat and put on her bravest smile. She crossed the room to Lainey and crouched down in front of her.
"How do you like it?"
Lainey nodded with a hesitant smile.
"Do you want to help me unpack? You can choose where everything goes so you know where to find it."
"Okay," Lainey whispered. Along with Lainey's mind, her language had been going too, so on the the rare occurrence Eva could hear her voice, she grasped on to it.
Squeezing Lainey's hands, she brought them up to her lips for a kiss. "Let's go."
They unpacked in relative silence, though Eva couldn't help but check in on Lainey nearly every minute. Her clothes were unpacked, placed in the dresser and closet. Decorations were placed around the room.
She had just broken down a box when she caught Lainey staring at her Emmy.
"Remember that?" Eva asked.
"It's good," Lainey offered. "Mine."
"Yeah," she grinned. "You won it."
Lainey's attention turned to Eva. The way her green eyes softened, Eva swore she saw the spark of life that was so Lainey returned to her. Lainey smiled to herself and nodded, placing the award on the dresser.
The unpacking took less time than she anticipated. She sliced open the final box and was met with frames and pictures of themselves and their friends. There was Val, her arms wrapped around Lainey as they were both keeling over in laughter, and there was even one of the cast from The Valley on Lainey's last day. But the majority of the pictures were of herself and Lainey. Eva had stuffed the box with nearly every picture she could as if the shear image of her face would make Lainey remember, Slowly, as if the frames were made of the finest China, she pulled them from the box and removed the bubble wrap. Eva wanted to make this moment last as long as she could; the mere thought of returning to their empty beach house sent her stomach plummeting. Her eyes watered. What if something happened to Lainey, and she wasn't there? Or what if Lainey was having a good day and remembered, and Eva missed it?
A familiar hand squeezed her shoulder. She turned to see Lainey looking over her shoulder at the near empty box.
"That's us."
Eva turned to look where Lainey was pointing. She didn't know how Lainey could tell what picture it was through the bubble wrap, but she could see the green and red of their dresses when they posed on the red carpet. Eva grinned, her heart fluttering at Lainey's recollection.
"Yeah, baby." She reached into the box and revealed the picture. "It's us."
Lainey didn't say much. She rarely did anymore. Eva took these moments to read into her body language, and the next thing Lainey did made her heart hopeful. Lainey took the silver frame and stared curiously at the photograph. Without saying another word, she walked over to her bedside table and placed the picture down on top of it.
The Beach House 2016
"I absolutely love this photo!" Lainey beamed, picking up the framed photograph of them at the Emmys. She frowned and gently stroked the glass carefully. "The glass is cracked."
Eva popped her head in from the kitchen, and walked over to be at Lainey's side, her head resting on her shoulder. "Didn't I tell you to be careful with that box?"
Their move had come right after Lainey left her job. After 20 years on The Valley, she'd called it quits and moved up the coast with Eva to escape. It had taken Eva a while to convince Lainey to make the move, and she hoped it would be good for them. Lord knew Lainey needed the break from stress.
"I was!" Lainey argued, poking Eva in the side and earning herself a giggle.
Eva struggled against Lainey's grasp and shook her head. "I heard it drop when you were loading it into the van!"
"Here." Lainey rifled through the box and picked out a silver frame with her headshot in it. "We can use this one."
"That's my favourite picture of you," Eva argued with her hands on her hips.
"But this is my favourite picture of us." She removed the picture from the broken frame and replaced it in the new one. She held it up and pointed to Eva's dimpled grin. "Can you believe I get to call that woman mine?"
Eva took the picture and inspected it before she playfully rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I wish I still had that waistline."
"Stop!" Lainey plucked the frame from her grasp and placed it in the center of the mantle. She returned to Eva and slid her arms around her waist, letting her forehead rest against hers.
Eva breathed her in and settled comfortably in the embrace. She shivered when Lainey's lips ventured to her ear, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood when Lainey whispered. "Don't be crazy," Lainey said. "You're beautiful."
"Oh yeah?"
"Mmhmm." Her lips travelled down Eva's neck. "And so sexy."
Eva sighed into her touch. "Are you trying to distract me to get out of unpacking?"
"Absolutely."
Eva giggled into her neck, but didn't stop Lainey and her typical antics.
"Is it working?"
"Most definitely." Eva pulled Lainey in for a kiss. Their packing left forgotten in favor of the couch below them.
The After Party 2006
"You are not taking on Lainey Allen. She is an absolute diva."
Eva sipped her champagne daintily as she scanned the crowd for familiar faces. The party was a huge networking event for most, but Eva was only attending for one reason: Lainey Allen.
She ignored the man's chatter as he bashed her latest client. He was a good friend, though a bit of a gossip, and he sure made these events lively. Truth be told, she had already heard about Lainey's latest diva tantrum; hence, the soap star looking for a new publicist. Despite the overbearing and overwhelming personality Lainey gave off from a mile away, Eva wanted to sink her teeth into the chance to handle the celebrity. First thing tomorrow, she'd officially be Lainey's publicist.
"Of course she's a diva," she argued. "She's the highest paid most successful female soap actress."
"She'll eat you alive, darling."
Eva's eyes finally stopped scanning as she found her subject. There Lainey was, her dress nearly painted on her body and her hair styled elegantly in curls. Lainey Allen wasn't the type to hang off of anyone's arm, so it wasn't a surprise that her longtime on- and off-screen boyfriend, Jason, was standing beside her. From across the room, Eva could see the laugh lines crease on the woman's face. That alone seemed to lighten up the room. No wonder America was so in love with her. She was gorgeous.
She finished off her champagne and turned back towards her friend who continued to gossip in her ear. She didn't realize that Lainey herself had been watching her just as intently later on that night.
On Set of The Valley 2006
Eva was used to dealing with big celebrities with even bigger personalities. Many people never took her seriously. Her short stature and baby face made her look like a sweet kitty. Come negotiation time, Eva was all teeth and claws. She'd handled all levels of stardom before from the up and comers to the burn outs to the A-listers. Walking towards Lainey's dressing room on the set of The Valley, Eva never felt more nervous. It was just Lainey. Just like any other person she worked with. She wasn't sure if she was more nervous about Lainey's reputation or the woman herself. Straightening out her blazer with a leather portfolio in her arm and her cell phone nestled on top of it, she knocked on the door with Lainey Allen emblazoned in the center of a star.
"What is it?"
Eva took that as her cue to enter. She pushed open the door and with a firm smile already on her face. "Hi, Lainey, I'm Eva."
She held out a hand, but Lainey was slow to take it. Instead, she just stared at Eva with squinted eyes before she slowly shook her hand. She's just a personality, Eva reminded herself. She's trying to be the alpha.
Giving her hand a firm squeeze, Eva walked around the dressing room and opened her portfolio. "I already took the liberty of setting up some interviews for the next few weeks. Associated Press wants to talk to you, and there's a photoshoot for Soap Opera Digest."
She was about to continue when she realized that Lainey hadn't said a word or barely acknowledged her. She might as well have been talking to an empty room.
"How does that sound to you?" The glazed look on Lainey's face said it all. The diva wasn't listening. She may have been staring at her, but her words were in one ear and out the other. Eva frowned. "Lainey!"
Lainey shook her head. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Did you hear anything I said?"
"I did, yes. I just一" the actress turned away from her and laughed to herself. "I'm sorry. You're just so一"
"So what?" Eva questioned. Fiery. Detail-oriented. Stubborn, she had gotten a time or two.
"Beautiful."
Eva stopped.
"You are so beautiful," Lainey repeated.
It was Eva's turn to laugh to herself, her hair falling over her face that she had to tuck back a strand. She blushed, but she couldn't contain the dimpled grin that formed on her face. She was not expecting that.
"Wow," Lainey breathed out, a finger to her lips in thought.
"What now?"
"I didn't think you could get more beautiful, but you just did."
More to come!