[A/N: Sorry about switching perspectives a bit in this one. Inspired by 'Girl Meets 1961' Flash backs will be in place of a lot of dialogue. Flash Backs are in bold]
It's true, Maya's and Riley's ancestors knew each other, and they only knew each other shortly, but not as shortly as time would like it to be. Before May Clutterbucket left for California her and Rosie McGee became more than friends, at the time the way they loved each other wasn't socially acceptable, so their history became one of missed opportunities that their granddaughters would have to pick up on. May Clutterbucket loved Rosie very deeply for the short moment they were together, they did everything a couple would together, and after that moment neither talked about it. Until very recently, on their death beds where they told their granddaughters.
Rosie McGee was the first to come clean to her granddaughter, it was just her and Riley in the room, but she insisted that Riley bring Maya in, the two of them reminded her so much of herself and May that it brought tears to her eyes. Rosie smiled softly at the two of them and told them sit next to her bed, and the followed instructions, Riley was a mess of tears and hair and Maya was there. Holding her hand. As usual. Rosie smiled at the two girls that made her revisit her past, she took Riley's free hand and smiled.
"I want to tell you something very important." She said pausing slightly to think of how to tell Riley about what happened in her past. "Now I'm about to tell you something you'll never read in my journal." She said honestly and squeezed her granddaughter's hand softly. "And it's really important that you listen, because I don't want this to happen to you love." she said smiling and looked at Maya for a second "Or you peaches."
It was Dec 14th 1961, Rosie had stopped into the Cafe to gain inspiration for her poetry until she stumbled into a blonde goddess who watched her across the Cafe. The blonde had 'come find out about me' eyes that drew Rosie in without even questioning why she should or shouldn't talk to a complete stranger. Rosie walked up, her journal clasped between her arms and her chest squeezing tight as her heart raced for no known reason. 'Wow she's like gorgeous.' Rosie thought nervously as she sat down next to the blonde beauty who smiled at her in an unintentionally seductive way. 'Her smile... woah..' she thought, never feeling this way about anyone before.
"So what brings you here honey?" The blonde said smiling at Rosie and ran her fingers over the knuckles of Rosie's hand. The blonde's eyes were an intense blueish green, and they could stare right into Rosie's eyes and could read her every thought. Rosie blushed softly before looking down at their hands then looking up at the blonde.
"I-I-I don't know." Rosie said honestly and stared into the blonde's eyes deeply trying to figure out the mysterious girl next to her. "Ohh I', R-" She started to say but was quickly interrupted by the blonde.
"Names don't matter honey." She said honestly before sliding her hand back to her drink and taking a small sip of her coffee.
"Then what do I call you?" Rosie asked curiously.
"Call me... Peaches." She said with the brightest smile Rosie had ever seen, and there she felt her heart flutter again. Rosie nodded and took in a sharp breath as she tried to put a name to how she felt, but she had never felt this way towards anyone before. Her heart was fluttering and her stomach was twisting and turning and tying itself into knots, very similarly to how Peaches was tying slivers of paper into a paper ball.
"So why don't you go by names?" Rosie asked curiously and folded her hands into her lap, mostly because they were clammy and she wanted so badly to hold the other girl's hand for some reason and this would be the closest she could settle for.
"Because. When all of this is said and done. One of us will try to find the other. And I prefer to leave knowing when I meet someone, that is the best I'll remember them as." She said honestly and looked up at Rosie and smiled happily. "Names ruin everything." She said laughing softly and Rosie's heart melted. Rosie didn't know much about Peaches but she wanted to know everything that she would and could tell her about herself and the world she knew. "Why are you staring at me like that?" She asked curiously, a small blush forming on her cheeks.
"Because you're just so gosh-darned pretty." Rosie said softly and smiled as she fidgeted with her hands before tucking a lock of her dark brown hair behind her ear. "Sorry, but you really are." After that the both sat in a comfortable silence as they stared into each others' eyes happily while listening to the smooth jazz play in the background.
After a while they both walked outside of the Cafe and the ended up just walking out into the forest despite half of Rosie's mind screaming at her for it, but Peaches seemed so nice, so trustworthy. So Rosie let Peaches lead her into a forest but always asked questions like "Are we there yet?" and "Where are you taking me?" and every once in a while "Can I take a break please?" The forest was so pretty. This seemed like a place that painters would stop by to find inspiration, but the small pond that led into a river that Peaches took them to was the prettiest sight that Rosie had seen, even to this day. Peaches suddenly began to strip off her clothing.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Rosie half screamed half whispered as she turned away from the blonde who made her blush deeply. Rosie put her hands over her eyes and faced the river again, taking a few peeks of the gorgeous (and now naked) woman as she took a couple of steps into the pond, her whole body was still exposed, she was just in calf deep and she extended one of her hands out to Rosie, she had no shame in her body. 'Why should she have shame, I mean woah.' Rosie thought to herself and shook her head. "Not until you tell me what we're doing."
"We're going swimming Honey." She said giggling. "I mean you're welcome to keep your clothes on but they'll get soaked." Peaches said laughing again at how shy Rosie was being. Rosie completely forgot why she shouldn't and just turned around and shyly undressed herself and when she turned back to face Peaches she kept herself covered with her hands. "Awww Honey you're cute when you're embarrassed. But trust me, you have nothing to be embarrassed about." Peaches said smiling and her eyes glimmered a little in the sun.
"Thanks." Rosie said and her whole face turned red, she knew that if this had been anyone else in the world she would have been running 100 miles per hour away from them, she would never have even bothered sitting next to them, but Peaches was different. "Why do I trust you so much?" Rosie asked out loud as the two of them walked down the pond and into the river; they were about waist deep in the water when they hit the river, the current was soft and the sun was bright.
"Because." Peaches said smiling and stared into Rosie's eyes happily and turned to her.
"That's not an answer." Rosie said.
"That is so an answer." Peaches said happily and smiling from ear to ear as the two woman stopped walking.
"So not!" Rosie said laughing and splashed Peaches happily, then she decided to prove the other one wrong and she knew how to do it. The brunette kissed Peaches, her lips lingered a little longer than she anticipated, a lot longer than she anticipated, this wasn't her first kiss but it was her first kiss with a girl. When she pulled away Peaches smiled wider.
"Why did you do that?" Peaches asked a little curious as to why Rosie had done that.
"Because." Rosie said smirking a little and began to walk again but Peaches grabbed her wrist and pulled her in again.
"If you're gonna do it, do it right Honey." The blonde said smiling and kissed Rosie passionately, normally Rosie would push the guys who tried to do this with her away, but with Peaches, it felt so right, so nice, so soft. It felt like Peaches actually wanted to be with Rosie, not be with Rosie, like she actually care, during this entire time, not once did Peaches make any unwanted advances to her, she always waited until Rosie said it was okay. This was the kiss that everyman in Rosie's life had failed to match up to. This was the kiss she would remember late at night when her children would cry and wake her up, this would be the kiss she'd remember on her wedding day and how the one she shared with her husband could never begin to come near what it felt like. She would spend her whole life searching for this woman but always fail.
"So wait... Grand-mama. You were with a woman?" Riley asked confused, during the whole story Maya had held Riley's hand and helped comfort her as she processed in this information, Maya would always be there for her friend no matter what. To the end of time she would stay with her, that's how close the two girls were. Maya looked at Rosie smiling softly, not knowing what to say to make Riley feel better; so she sat in silence and stared at her in the way that Peaches stared at Rosie.
"Yes." She said smiling at the two. "Peaches. That's what she told me to call her." Rosie said smiling while feeling the memories of them come back. "I'm telling you both this... because what happened with me and her... I can see it happening again. Don't let your life be one of missed opportunities like I let mine be." Rosie said looking at the two girl seeing so much of her and Peaches in them.
"What do you mean happening again?" Riley asked her Grand-mama a little confused, Maya wiped Riley's tears away and squeezed her hand softly. Maya bit her lip, it pained her to see how much Riley hurt. The blonde sighed softly and ran her thumb across the back of Riley's hand an tried to offer Riley a smile.
"You'll see what I mean." Rosie said smiling softly as she closed her eyes peacefully. Riley was hurt, her grand-mama can't just leave her like this. Not now that she's left her with so many questions, the brunette was so sad and so in pain to see her grand-mama die. The brunette got up a little to shake her grand-mama to see if she was just sleeping.
"Honey... you know she's not waking up right?" Maya asked, the blonde got up and held Riley as she cried into her shoulder. "It's okay." Maya said as she rubbed Riley's back comfortingly as she felt her best friend shake in her arms. "She's okay." Maya said, she would say anything to make Riley feel better. "Maybe she's finally with Peaches. Maybe they're happy together, up there... " Maya added and continued to rub Riley's back, Maya didn't believe in the 'up there' mumbo jumbo but she knew Riley did, and right now she just needed to make Riley OK. "You wanna leave?" The blonde asked and Riley nodded.
Before Riley and Maya left, Riley had to use the restroom so Maya was left out in the living room with the rest of the Matthews family. The blonde began curiously walking around and looked at the little trinkets and knick-knacks that Rosie had in her small apartment. Maya sat on the couch and thought of what Riley's grandma had told the two of them, and how odd it was to just say it this late. Had she told anyone else in the family? Why did Rosie ask that Maya also come? It was pretty understood Maya would have come without the invitation, but Rosie specifically made sure Maya would also come.
"Maya, Rosie gave me this and told me to give it to you." Riley's dad said smiling softly as he handed Maya an envelope with her name written on it. "She told me to tell you to only open it when Riley is not with you." He added as Maya took it and shoved it in her pockets, Maya nodded and smiled a little. The blonde sighed softly as she thought of what else could be in the letter that she hadn't already told Riley and herself.
It was a couple months after Riley's grandma had died and now, unfortunately, Maya was going through what Riley had gone through and was recovering from, but Riley wouldn't let Maya go through this alone. Today Riley was going to be strong for the both of them, like Maya usually was, but now Riley had to be the rock for Maya as she saw her grandmother in the hospital. May Clutterbucket went to the hospital for pneumonia and it wasn't looking so good for, and for the first time Riley saw Maya allowing herself to be weak. Maya was crying as her grandma just smiled at her and held her hand.
"Did I ever tell you about the time I was moving out to California?" May asked and smiled softly as she squeezed her hand happily and Maya shook her head, she had read about it in her journal for her genealogy project for Riley's dad but not much was in it. "Let me tell you about it." May said smiling softly as she looked at Maya and Riley and sighed a little, remembering so much.
On her way to California, May had stopped at the Cafe, she had met a woman, and she felt like it was love at first sight. So she stayed a while, but she never let the other woman know her real first name, and wouldn't let the other woman tell her her's. It was a way for her to prevent herself from being hurt, or hurting others. But in hindsight May wishes she would have told the other woman her name, but for that winter and spring, she was Peaches and her lover was Honey. That's all they needed, each other, they had no money, no jobs but they still made things work; they were still happy. Naturally they made all the steps it takes to have a mature strong and loving relationship, they didn't mean to, in fact May tried to stop it at some times but Honey just kept pulling her back in. May loved Honey so much it hurt, she knew that one day she'd do something to hurt Honey, in those short lived months that passed too quickly they were each others' everything.
All the months were fantastic but January was the most magical, that's when they started to mature with each other, when they became inseparable. One night in the motel room they lived in, Honey was cooking dinner, it was small and simple but it was still dinner, but at that moment when May looked over at Honey and she knew she was really and truly in love with that woman. She knew she loved the woman at first sight, but loving and being in love were two different things, at least to May they were. Being in love with some one, it means wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone, but being okay with it if the other person wanted to spend their lives with someone else, because you know they're happy with that someone else. May was in love, and it terrified her, it terrified her because she knew that Honey and herself would never be accepted in the time they lived in.
But May still stayed, and so did Honey. The month of February was when they took things a little more seriously, they kept pushing the boundaries of where they had already been, and eventually the boundaries disappeared all together. February was the month they forgot their fears and had complete trust in one another, if one said fall the other would without question, and always the other would catch. Things were unrealistically amazing but the love was still there and stronger than ever, they had finally told each other they were in love, and they began to imagine their lives together. May still knew that eventually thing must end, but they were too good to do so.
March brought on a month of absolute commitment, and goodbyes. May had proposed to Honey, she didn't have the money to buy her an actual ring so she used the spoon she stole from the Cafe where they met and bent it into a ring and carefully engraved 'From Peaches To Honey'. They knew that their marriage wouldn't be allowed or acknowledged in the government's eye, or anyone's except theirs. Honey and May were okay with the idea of that, just them knowing about their sacred union.
They got married in the forest they had first kissed, May wore a white loose tank top and a pair of white shorts, she was barefoot and this was the nicest thing she could find that she owned. May had made Honey and herself some flower crowns even though Honey had her hair braided up, the brunette woman had made a make-shift wedding dress out of an old sheet they had, it reached down to her knees, and even though her face and hands were dirty from picking flowers for her bouquet, this was the most beautiful May had ever seen Honey. Both woman were so happy at that moment, they couldn't stop smiling and May even had small tears form in her eyes as she took Honey's hands in her own.
"Wow you're.. beautiful." May said wiping the tears away that were forming in her eyes, leaving a smudge of dirt under her eye. Honey laughed softly and blushed heavily as May kissed her dirty hands lovingly. "So I guess I start my vows don't I?" May asked nervously and Honey nodded smiling as she squeezed her hands softly. May took in a deep breath and stared deeply into the brown eyes that kept drawing her in. "Okay, Honey, I love you. And I realize that sounds really stupid to say at a wedding... but it means a lot to me. I've never loved anyone before, I tried not to love you at the beginning. I was so afraid of hurting you that I tried to push you away. But you stayed." May said and swallowed some tears down. "And you tried... You tried... No one's ever tried for me. You're the only one who has managed to take down my walls without even trying, and without any alternative reasons." May said and pushed her hair back and out of her face as the wind blew. "And that means so much. I-I.. I have trouble trusting people, but with you, everything's so natural and raw. Ya know? Like I'm just supposed to do, not like I have to do it." May said and bit her lip looking down at Honey's hands and breathed in deeply. "You know why I hurt, you know how to get rid of that hurt, and you know how to fill my heart with love." May said and let some tears roll down her cheeks. May let go of one of Honey's hands and rummaged through her pockets to find the same spoon/ring she proposed with but she had engraved very carefully some flowers, and it was just now occurring to Honey that May had a bunch of burn scars on her fingers from her messing with heated metal to make those flowers. Honey let May slide the ring on her finger, and after that she put her bouquet down and grabbed May's hands and kissed her finger tips gingerly.
"I love you too." Honey said smiling her familiar warm smile before continuing to kiss the small scars. "Peaches... I can't even begin to tell you how I feel." Honey said smiling and walked a little closer to May. "I don't know how I knew, but the night I met you, I knew things would be different for me, for you, for us." She added taking a little pause. "I left a world of comfort, to be here, with you, to be happy. I wouldn't go back if I had a second chance. These months with you have been.. unbelievably wonderful and fantastic. I finally know where I belong, and that's next to you, no matter where we end up, whether we still live in that shitty little motel that I love so much, or if we end up in a little New York brownstone, or in a house in California. I know that wherever you lead me, I will be happy." Honey said and reached into a hidden pocket she made in the dress and pulled out a ring made out of paperclips that were carefully woven together and super glued together. "And I wouldn't exchange this spoon ring for the hope diamond. Because you made it.. Because you took time and you worked through the pain. And that's exactly what we'll do in life." Honey said as she the ring onto May's finger happily. "And in death." Honey said happily as she leaned in for a kiss.
Later that month when May had come home from picking some fruits in the forest near the motel she noticed that Honey wasn't in the room, but she figured that maybe she took the bike and went over to the grocery store and got this week's meals. May sat down on the bed and watched the TV for a little while until Honey came into the room and looked a little hurt.
"Something wrong Honey?" May asked confused as she stood up.
"I finally got some college letters back, my dad called..." Honey said looking down at the floor and then back up at May. "I was accepted into my dream school." Honey said. May was bittersweet about the occasion but she still smiled and congratulated her and hugged her and kissed her. "All the way over in Virgina."
"Like you mean... where your family who doesn't know me lives?" May asked, it was suddenly getting hard to breathe.
"I-I-I... We can go, I'll introduce you to them." Honey said semi-in denial about the situations, pretending like her father and mother and brother would be okay with meeting her wife even though she had a 'boyfriend' back home.
"No Honey..." May said softly. "I can't go live with you.. I'm sorry I just.. I can't" May said honestly, she knew that either way this would go, if they split up so Honey could go accomplish her dreams, or if Honey stayed and held resentment for May for not making her go, some one would hurt, or both would hurt. "Go, go to college, become an amazing teacher, or doctor, or whatever you want to be." May said holding Honey's hands, being strong and not crying.
"I'm not leaving you." Honey said determined and kissed May lovingly. "I can't, I can't pretend to be happy with my stupid boyfriend. I'm sorry but I'm not going." Honey said and squeezed May's hand.
They continued to fight and argue about this but May knew what she had to do, she pretended to be okay with Honey's idea of not going to college. After they went to bed and she was sure Honey was asleep she got up and wrote a note that read:
'Dear Honey...
I know.. you're going to be very mad at my decision. But I had to do this, I don't want to but I can't let you waste a huge opportunity. I can't let you waste your life with me. I love you, and this is why I have to do this. Please find a way in your heart to forgive me. But you need to go and do this, I would love to have a life with you but right now.. we just can't. I won't ever forget you, the way you smiled, the way you felt in my arms. The way your tears roll down your cheeks when you cry, the way your eyes lit up when you saw that stupid little bunny in the forest. The way your hair smells, the way you kick in your sleep, the way you always burnt our food but it always tasted so good. The way you laugh, I'll miss everything, I'll miss you. I miss you now. By the time you read this.. I'm on my way to California... I'm leaving you the outfit I got married to you in. I want you to have that.. But I need one little piece of you.. I need your wedding dress. I'm so so so sorry it has to be this way, but you were meant to do great things. Things I can't give you the means to do. But I'll always remember you... And till Death do we reunite.
~Love Peaches'
May went up to the office and knocked on the door even though it was pretty late. The office worker let her in and she thanked him for it. "I know its pretty late but can you give me the number that called Honey this afternoon?" May asked crying soft, silent tears. The man nodded and opened his book for call logs and wrote down the number for May. "Can I please borrow your telephone?" She asked and he nodded handing it to her, May dropped her backpack and dialed up the number, begging for someone to pick up. Luckily and unluckily some one did, it sounded like her father. "Hey.. Uhm. I know where Hone- Your daughter is.. I tried to convince her to go to Virginia to go to college.. But the only way she'll do this is if you... pick her up." May said hearing the rain beginning to pour down outside. "Yes 1406 Country Road 32, Motel number 3A." May said and let out a little sob as she nodded at what the man said on the other line "Please just pick her up, she's sleeping she doesn't know I'm talking to you... How I know her doesn't matter.. just please." May said and hung up the phone and grabbed her back pack and ran out the office and sobbed as she continued to run further and further away from the love of her life, her heart kept screaming to run back and grab Honey and run away. But her brain kept her from doing this.
Maya was a puddle of tears as she could hear her grandmother begin to drown in the fluid in her own lungs, but May was determined to finish telling her granddaughter the story before she would give in and let her illness take her. Maya sobbed and May weakly leaned forward and gave Riley the ring she had worn for so long that came from her wife, she smiled and leaned back and looked up smiling softly. The heart beat monitor was flat lining and Maya began to scream. "SOME ONE COME HELP HER!" May shrieked out and jumped up in her seat, she began slamming down on the call nurse button, Riley stood up and hugged Maya tight and felt Maya jab her in the stomach a couple times trying to break free. The nurses and doctors started to come in and unplug her from the machines. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HELP HER!" Maya shrieked out as she looked at her now dead grandma.
"Sorry Ma'am but she has a DNR on her hospital record... we can't help her. She doesn't want to be helped." One of the nurses said to her and tried to calm her down. After a while of sobbing Maya calmed down a little and collapsed into Riley, the blonde was exhausted, her stomach hurt, her head hurt, everything hurt. Riley called her dad and asked him to pick the two girls up and bring them to Maya's house.
{A Couple Years Later}
Maya was in her room looking out at the bright city lights that plagued her dark room, she sighed and rubbed her nose with the sleeve of her jacket, her room was dark and Riley was sleeping next to her, they hadn't done anything that normal friends wouldn't do, but god Maya wished they would. The blonde got up from her bed and ignored the sleepy mumblings from the girl next to her asking her to stay right there and walked over to her bathroom and closed the door after her. Maya didn't know what in there she thought she needed to be doing but she knew that she went in there to forget about the girl who was so comfortable being around her she just slept in her panties and tank top, it didn't bother her as much when they were in middle school but Riley was now fully developed and it drove her insane, but she never looked but it was more than tempting to do so.
The blonde opened one of the drawers to grab a pony tail for her hair, she searched around in the junk drawer until she found the envelope Riley's grandma Rosie had given to her long ago. Maya picked it up and looked at it a bit confused, not believing that she completely forgot to open it. "Well now's a good of time as ever." She whispered to herself and sat on the edge of the bath tub and opened it carefully and saw a spoon that was twirled into a ring. "Where have I heard of a ring like this before..." Maya asked herself and looked down in the envelope grabbing it and to letters, one was a really old letter that she opened first, it said everything Maya's grandma had written to her love Honey. "Wait.." Maya said before opening the other letter. It was Riley's grandmother telling her that she could tell that one day Riley and Maya were gonna end up being like Peaches and herself, and not to wait too long, and to take the opportunity and tell Riley how she felt, and not to let her go. Maya bit her lip and decided whether or not to tell Riley, and whether or not to risk their friendship for the way Maya feels. Maya opened the bathroom door and in a moment of blind courage she jumped onto the bed, hovering herself over Riley (which wasn't out of the norm for either of them to do to each other) and she woke her up.
"What Peaches?" Riley said groggily and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Riley looked over at Maya's alarm clock. "It's only 3 am." Riley said half groaning before looking up at Maya again. Maya smiled and stared down at her and stared into her big beautiful brown eyes and thought of what to say, trying to be romantic.
"I'm not letting my life be one of missed opportunities, and with your permission I would like to kiss you." Maya said and Riley looked at her a little surprised before her expression turned into one of relief.
"I thought you'd never ask." Riley said before pulling in her best friend for a kiss, it was passionate like it had waited to happen for years and years, Maya slid her hand down to the small of Riley's back and deepened the kiss as she pulled Riley up towards her more and she lowered herself closer to Riley. The blonde let out an unexpected moan and blushed deeply when she did so, she pulled back a little and smiled as Riley ran her fingers through her hair, it felt comforting.
"Sorry it's just.. I've been waiting since like... Freshman year to do that." Maya said smiling down at Riley, loving the way the red light cascade across Riley's face. Maya thought that this was how Rosie and May must have felt when they saw dirt on each others' faces. The blonde smiled and lied down next to Riley leaving small kisses all over her neck, she felt Riley cuddle up close to her.
"Really? Because I've been waiting since 8th grade for you to do that." Riley said laughing softly and looked up at her. "Good night Peaches."
"Goodnight Honey."
[Might do an epilogue type thing... its up to you guys. Thanks for reading.]