A Very Paily Christmas
The crisp winter air whipped against the couples faces, the snow beating against their winter coats as they ushered into the Hastings household. Christmas was just around the corner, the girls had planned to spend Christmas together, the shadow of Mona's recent death and Spencer's murder charge still hanging over them. Try as they might, they just couldn't shake the feeling that maybe there was something they could've done for Mona, that maybe it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't asked for help.
Hanna took Mona's death the hardest, even if they had drifted apart after she revealed herself to be Original A, they loved one another in their own way. "So your Mom said it was alright if we stay here this weekend?" Aria said as she removed her pea coat, looking on as Spencer shook off the remaining snow from her sweater. "My mom has an attempted murder case in Philly and Dad went to D.C. for some business, I have the house to myself for the Holidays. You'd think if your daughter was on bail for a murder she didn't even commit that they would show even a small amount of concern for her wellbeing. Is that too much to ask?" Toby hobbled over to Spencer, who at this point removed her sweater and scarf, rolling it up and tossing it in anger. He sat on the leather chair and motioned for Spencer to come over, it was a hard time for both of them, Toby never complained about his leg considering Spencer's situation.
Paige, Caleb, and Ezra looked on as their partners sulked, they had somewhat an idea of what they were going through, but they felt powerless to help them. Paige turned to the boys, "Can you guys help me with the bags in the trunk? Emily and I picked out some gifts for you guys." Ezra and Caleb nodded and headed out the kitchen door to help. Emily sat with Hanna, her hand resting over her friends shoulder, attempting to comfort her friend. This was her favorite time of the year, a time when people come together to celebrate their love for each other, so why did it feel so terrible? 'It's been a month since Mona's murder and I still feel guilty for what happened. If I hadn't brought Alison back, if I hadn't turned my back on Paige when she warned me about what would happen if she came back. I have to make this right, at least, I have to try'
Suddenly the kitchen door opened and there stood Paige and the boys, each carrying almost half their weight in presents. "A little help would be great!" Caleb said as he stumbled through the door, Paige and Ezra followed closely behind. Hanna laughed as she and the girls got up to help them, it was the first time she genuinely laughed in so long, her smile lit the room brighter than all of the Christmas trees in Rosewood.
They sat the presents down under the tree and Caleb proceeded to build a fire, the couples sat together, a bittersweet note lingered on the group. "Mom made some of her home made eggnog, who wants some?" Emily said, breaking the silence. "I'll have some, thanks! At this point, anything is better than the cider I've been getting force fed the past week. Dad mixed up the dates of his annual Christmas party, so we're stuck with about 10 gallons of it." Aria replied.
Emily and Aria passed out small glasses of eggnog, the couples sat around the fire, laughing and enjoying themselves. "Alright can we open up the friggen presents already? I've been staring at the shoe box sized one with my name on it since you brought the damn thing in!" Paige and Emily looked at each other and nodded, "Alright Han, go ahead!" Emily said, the couples gathered around the tree and scoured for a present with their name on it. After a minute or two, Emily noticed that something was missing, she couldn't find one with her name on it. Her heart sank a bit, she never officially talked with Paige about exchanging gifts but how could she forget?
Emily sat down on the couch next to her girlfriend empty handed, she attempted not to look disappointed so Paige wouldn't feel bad, but the expression on her face said it all. "Are you alright Em?" Paige asked, obviously concerned. "I'm fine, don't worry." Emily replied, even though Paige could tell exactly what she was thinking, after 3 years together Emily was no better at hiding what she was really feeling than Paige was.
The group opened up their presents, Aria and Ezra shared a present, "101 Pie Recipes" along with a twin set of leather bound journals. Caleb got a new Bluetooth headset, something Hanna was waiting to give him for a long time so that he would not miss her calls under any circumstances. Hanna tore through the Santa wrapping on her present and revealed a new pair of silver heels, "Why do I even attempt to surprise you anymore?" Caleb laughed as Hanna flung her arms around him and the two kissed. Toby and Spencer decided not to exchange gifts this year, but that didn't stop Emily from getting them one, a new game of scrabble complete with a dictionary, not that the couple needed it of course.
Finally, Paige opened her present, there was a small card attached to the ribbon that held the wrapping together. The card simply read, "To Paige, Love Emily" something so simple took Paige by surprise, not so long ago the two barely spoke, a wedge was hammered between them by Alison that the two of them overcame together. There was nowhere either of them wanted to be than right there, surrounded by those they loved. She carefully unwrapped the present revealing a mason jar, Paige examined it for a second and opened the top. There were strips of paper packed to the brim, she took one of them out and revealed a message written on it, 'Promise #24. I promise that no matter how angry we may seem to each other, we will never go to bed angry.' Paige looked up, Emily was waiting for her to react, when Paige said nothing she spoke up, "It's a jar of promises, if you ever get angry, sad, or just need a reason to smile, pick one and read it to yourself." She paused for a second, " Do you like it? I wanted to buy you something but I felt like making you something instead…"
Before Emily could finish her explanation, Paige closed the jar, her eyes started to tear up as she took her girlfriends head in her hands, the two kissed. "This is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. I love it, I love it so much." Paige sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes as she noticed the other couples were smiling and tearing up as well. Hanna hit Caleb in the arm, "Ouch! What was that for?!" he said rubbing the sore spot, "Why can't you do something like that for me?" Hanna exclaimed as the others laughed. "Yeah, thanks Emily, now you made the rest of us look bad." Ezra said smiling, the group nodded in agreement as Emily blushed. Paige looked back to Emily and started going through her pockets, obviously looking for something, "Did you lose something?" Toby asked as she continued to fuss with her pockets. "I knew I forgot something in the car! I'll be right back." Paige kissed Em on the cheek before she exited to the car.
Paige was gone a couple minutes before Emily started to worry, she turned to the group who were arguing over who would do what in preparation for dinner. "Paige has been gone a little long, don't you think?" Emily said to Spencer, "Well, she should be right outside, why don't you go check on her." Em nodded and got up from the couch, as she left the couples looked at each other and smiled in anticipation, Paige had planned everything weeks prior, and everyone but Emily was in on it.
Emily put on her coat and beanie, before she could leave Spencer yells, "Gloves!" Em turns around to Spencer and rolls her eyes, "Yes, mom." She put on the first pair of gloves she could get her hands on and exited through the kitchen door, as she put her gloves on she looked up to find Paige leaning against Spencer's car, smiling. It took her a second to realize that Paige was hiding something behind her back, Emily raised an eyebrow and smiled, "So, let me guess, you didn't actually forget to get me something." Paige walked towards her girlfriend, smiling as if she had a secret, and Emily wanted that secret so bad it hurt. "Did you actually think I would forget?" Emily smiled as Paige revealed a small present, it was no bigger than a credit card, the silver and gold paper was topped off with a small red bow. Emily slowly opened the gift, she put her hand over her mouth as she realized exactly what Paige had gotten her.
She lifted up a gold necklace, the chain itself was beautiful, but what hung in the middle is what made it so special between the two. It was a gold and silver mistletoe charm, it hung freely from the chain as Emily lifted it up. She was speechless, Paige looked into her girlfriend's expressive eyes, trying to figure out exactly what she was thinking. "Do you like it? Here, let me put it on you," Emily nodded, tears were already starting as she gave her the necklace, "Hold on a second." Paige held the necklace above the two of them, "Now, whenever you wear this, I get to kiss you whenever I want." Emily laughed and shook her head, "So, you planned this all along, didn't you." Paige smiled sweetly as she held her girlfriend in one arm, the necklace in the other, "Isn't it obvious?" The two kissed, their lips were slightly chapped from the cold but neither stopped, Emily wrapped her arms around Paige's neck continuously kissing until they heard giggling behind them.
There stood Hanna, Spencer, Aria and the boys, standing in the doorway looking on. "How long have you guys been standing there?" Emily said, still holding onto Paige, "Not long enough, apparently!" Hanna said as the group laughed, the two girls turned back to each other and Emily turned around so that Paige could put the necklace on for her. As she turned around, Paige looked at the necklace, then to Emily who was already smiling, admiring the new piece of jewelry. "You look," Paige said as she took a sharp breath in, "You look stunning." Emily kissed her once again, "Get a room you two! Come inside before you two catch a cold! The last thing I need is my parents coming home to a bunch of red nosed teenagers." Spencer said, smiling with the group before they headed back to the comfort of the fireplace. The two looked at each other one last time, Paige kissed Emily's forehead and they headed inside to warm up.
The rest of the night consisted mostly of the couples playing board games, stopping only to eat the Christmas dinner they had prepared together. As they sat around the table, Emily took a second just to take in the moment, this was her family, not connected through blood but through experiences and love. She realized that this is what she always wanted, and she wanted to share every moment of it with Paige. The two looked at each other and smiled, they were happy and ready to share their happiness with the ones they loved . Emily raised her glass to toast, the others notice and raise their glasses as well, "I think it goes without saying that we survived up to this point because of the love and support we have for each other." She looks down to Paige and takes her hand, "To senior year, to Mona, and everyone we lost and gained along the way." The group raised their glasses, "To Mona" Hanna said, raising her glass, her smile faded slightly but perked right up when Caleb leaned in to kiss her.
"And to think, I died for a little cliché toast that I wasn't even able to critique? This is like some cosmic joke, I'm expecting Lucas to jump out any minute to tell me I've been punk'd," Mona said as she looked at the happy group, her sassy attitude faded and her eyes filled with regret. "I would've done anything to be at this table with them, to just assure Hanna that none of this was her fault. But I just can't." A single tear dropped from her cheek, she wiped it with her bloodied sleeve she was wearing at the time she was murdered. She edged closer and closer to Hanna until she was next to her, she bent down to her ear only to whisper, "I really loved you, and I always will." She kissed the Hanna's cheek, Han felt a cold sensation flow down her spine, she turned her head and smiled, this was how the two said goodbye.
It was nearly 11 by the time the festivities ended, the heaviness they once felt suddenly lifted, Hanna was smiling again with the group. "Alright, I think it's time we get to bed." Spencer said, yawning as she got up from the couch, "Yeah I can barely keep my eyes open!" Paige replied, leaning on Emily's shoulder to keep from falling asleep. Since there were four couples and only three bedrooms, Paige and Emily opted for the barn, they didn't mind however, they liked the privacy. The group hugged and went to their separate rooms, Emily and Paige hung out at the fireplace for a minute before heading to the barn.
The two talked about everything and nothing, time started melting away with their worries, as the fire died the two girls made their way to the barn. The barn was nice and cozy, the queen sized bed looked like it had never been slept in and the quilt covering it looked hand made. Just then, Paige noticed a small speaker system, she took out her phone and plugged it in, she scrolled through her songs until she decided on one. She turned around as Sam Smith's version of "Have a Merry Little Christmas" started to play, the two smiled as they met in the middle of the room, Emily draped her arms over Paige's shoulder as Paige pulled her in closely by the waist.
The lyrics echoed throughout the room, the two swayed to the music, dancing back and forth, they made the most of the room that they had, dancing slowly, being ever so careful not to knock into anything. Emily rested her head on Paige's shoulder, her heartbeat keeping in time with the song, it felt like an eternity for them. The song never seemed to end, they never wanted it to end, Emily looked up to Paige, "If someone had told me I'd be this happy at any point in the past three years, I wouldn't have believed them." Paige smiled lovingly, there was something so comforting and safe about her smile that made Em feel at home. Paige WAS her home.
Paige looked into her girlfriend's eyes, and then trailed down to her necklace, "I think this was my favorite Christmas, it was perfect, from start to finish." The song continued to play as the two leaned in to kiss each other, as the song intensified so did they. What started as a simple kiss turned into more, their tongues intertwined, their bodies responded to every movement they made. Emily backed Paige into the wall, holding her wrists so she was unable to move. As she did this, Emily's eyes darted between her girlfriend's eyes and lips as she traced her bottom lip with her thumb. Suddenly Paige pushed back with such force that landed them on the bed, Em laughed as they continued to kiss. Before anything else started, Emily ran over and shut off the lamp, the only source of light now was the multi-colored Christmas lights from the house outside.
"You really love Christmas, don't you?" Paige smiled as Emily rand over to the bed, "Almost as much as I love you." They could feel each other smiling as they started to kiss again, slowly the two leaned back on the bed with Paige positioning herself on top of Emily. Suddenly, the two stopped kissing; they looked at each other, feeling every breath the other one took. For a second, Em just looked into Paige's eyes, 'How did I get so lucky?' they knew what the other was thinking without saying a single word. She lifted her hand to move the hair out of Paige's face, moving it behind her ear as she stopped to caress her cheek, never losing eye contact with one another.
The bright green and red lights shining in through the small window gave them enough only to see each other's outline, but what they lacked in light, they made up for in touch. Paige's strong hands moved over Emily's soft skin, as if memorizing every inch of her. They kissed and laughed as they made love throughout the night, there was never a moment that the two weren't touching. Lights danced around the room as the two lay in bed, Paige kissed Emily's shoulder as they cuddled, their arms wrapped around each other as they dozed off.
Before they knew it, the sun began to rise over the trees and a new blanket of snow covered every inch of the ground, completely untouched. The two got dressed and opened the door; they stood there for a second to admire the picturesque scene outside. Paige put on her beanie and gloves and walked up behind Emily who was already admiring it, she wrapped her arms around her waist and the two kissed. The sound of a door opening caught their attention as Hanna came outside, "Alright you two turtle doves, breakfast is ready!" They laughed as they heard Spencer correct her from inside the kitchen, "I think you mean 'love birds' Han!".
They kissed one last time, but not before Emily turned to Paige, "Promise me one thing, no matter what we're doing during Christmas Break at Stanford," Paige listened attentively, "Promise me that we can go home for Christmas every year." Paige smiled and replied, "Wherever you are, that's my home. I can't imagine being anywhere else in the world. And besides, it's going to be fun seeing them try to compete with us after this year." Emily wrapped her arms around Paige's neck as she smiled, "If next year is anything close to this one, they won't stand a chance."