Knight in Shining Armour
When Emily had agreed to go camping for the weekend with Paige, she'd imagined campfires and sunbathing on the forest floor, not hiking through the mud, soaked to the skin by the rain that enveloped them. No, this definitely wasn't what she'd signed up for.
"Paige, maybe we should head back and find a hotel? The rain's getting worse!"
"Come on, Em, where's your sense of adventure? As soon as we get there, we'll put the tent up and get dry, I promise."
Pouting, Emily continued to follow her girlfriend through the trees, relief spreading over her when she saw the clearing ahead of them that she hope was where they'd be setting up camp. "Please tell me this is it?"
"It is," Paige beamed over her shoulder at the soaked brunette, "Though I don't know why you're complaining, I'm the one with the bags!" This was true; Paige had taken pity Emily about half a mile into their walk and offered to carry both of their rucksacks, despite how heavy they were.
"I offered to help!"
"I know you did, babe," Paige grinned, kissing Emily lightly before turning to face the clearing in front of them. "Okay, we need two trees close together so I can pull the plastic over them."
"I thought we had a tent?" Emily exclaimed, fully ready to turn around and head back to the warmth of the nearest hotel.
"We do, silly. I just brought extra plastic to put over it to make sure we stayed dry."
"Oh, okay," Emily smiled slightly, still not looking entirely convinced, "Do you need any help?"
"I think I'll be okay," her girlfriend replied with a smirk, "Just keep as dry as possible and I'll have us dry in no time."
Leaning against the nearest tree for what shelter she could gain, Emily watched as Paige started to assemble their 'home' for the next two days, in the form of a small green tent that didn't look anywhere near big enough for the both of them. Paige made building the tent look easy, having it quickly ready for them both to clamber into, out of the steadily increasing downpour. As Paige pulled their bags into the tent and zipped the tent up behind her, Emily took in the room around, surprised at how much space there was.
"This place looks far smaller from the outside."
"Just call it our own mini Tardis." Paige grinned, laughing when Emily raised her eyebrows at the joke.
"You're such a dork."
"You love me."
"I do."
Still grinning widely, Paige reached into one of the bags, handing pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and a towel to Emily before using another to dry her own hair. "Get your wet clothes off, Fields, you'll freeze."
"Are you coming onto me, McCullers?" Emily gasped with mock surprise, dramatically placing a hand over her mouth.
"You wish," Paige winked as she reached for her own dry clothes, "Seriously though, Em, you need to get warm or you'll end up sick."
Emily returned her girlfriend's smirk, reaching down and swiftly pulling her wet shirt over her head, leaving her bare from the waist up.
"Okay, so maybe I was coming onto you." Paige stated simply as Emily stood to remove her jeans.
"Too late now, babe. Change your clothes, you need to get warm or you'll get sick." Emily repeated the brunette's words back to her, laughing as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, discarding the sweatpants and instead climbing between the blankets that Paige had already lain out for them. Pouting, Paige quickly changed into sweatpants and a tank top, laying the wet clothes out to dry as best she could before joining Emily under the blankets.
"So why camping?" Emily asked, tilting her head to look up at Paige as she felt her arm around her shoulders.
"Huh?"
"Why camping? There are plenty of things that we could have done to get away for a couple of days, I just wondered, why camping?" she finished, relaxing into Paige's side as they lay back against their makeshift pillow of blankets.
"Because this way, there's nobody around and I get you all to myself."
"That's definitely good enough a reason for me," Emily smiled up at her girlfriend, feeling more secure than she had for a long time as the brunette's arm tightened around her shoulders. "I always feel so safe with you, Paige."
"Just call me your knight in shining armour."
The two lay together for hours, talking about anything and everything, and taking comfort in the fact that they were miles away from Rosewood; miles away from danger.
"I think we should come camping more often, it's really peaceful out here" Emily thought aloud, seemingly considering something before she continued to speak. "Do you ever think about what it'll be like when all of this is over? When we don't have to be scared anymore?"
"All of the time."
"And how does it all turn out?" Emily grinned playfully, imagining a world where every day could be like this one.
"Perfect," Paige started, placing a kiss on Emily's forehead before continuing. "I think about how different our life will be, how different we can be. I think about being able to go for walks in the moonlight with you, without having to look over our shoulder. I think about lying in bed at night, knowing you're safe at home. I think about spending the rest of my life with you and knowing that nobody is going to take that away from me; from us."
"How did I get so lucky?" Emily smiled shyly, tilting her head to lightly kiss her now blushing girlfriend.
"Luck doesn't even come into it, Em, except maybe on my part. You're like the personification of perfection, Emily, and I love you for that. I love the way that you laugh at kids' cartoons; I love the way that you bite your lip when you're concentrating, and the way that you pout when you don't get your own way. I love the way that you're fiercely protective of your friends, and the way that your eyes get impossibly darker when you kiss me. But most of all, I love the way that you look at me when you don't think I'm watching. That's what I love most, because it's that look that lets me know exactly how you feel about me, and that's an amazing thing to see." Emily stared at Paige, unsure of how to respond to her admiration without ruining their perfect moment.
"I love you, Paige," she stated simply, shifting her position and once again bringing their lips together, instantly tangling her hands in her girlfriend's hair as she felt steady hands grip her waist, pulling their bodies closer together. Paige stared intently into Emily's eyes as she pulled away to catch her breath, a smile tugging at her lips as she saw that they'd darkened to almost completely black.
"You're beautiful."
"You're not bad yourself, McCullers." Emily winked, turning slightly so she was once again nestled into her girlfriend's side, her arms wrapped around her waist. "I'm cold. Keep me warm." Paige's arm once again wrapped tightly around Emily's shoulders, her free arms reaching over to tuck the blankets tightly around them both. Placing another light kiss on top of Emily's head, she pulled her closer, gasping slightly at the coldness as Emily's hands slipped under her tank top to lie on her hips. "Sorry," Emily giggled, but didn't move her hand from its position as the two fell into an easy silence, just enjoying being in each other's company.
"Your smile."
"What, Em?"
"I love the smile you get when you're embarrassed, and the way you blush just a little, so it's hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it. I love the way that you always kiss the top of my head to comfort me, and that you can make me laugh when I don't even want to smile. I love that I know that you'd do anything to protect me, and because of that, I feel like nothing can hurt me when I'm with you. You make me feel safe, and that's something I need more than anything in this world. Well, almost anything. I need you more than anything."
Paige leaned down to kiss Emily, pulling back slightly when she felt Emily laugh softly. "What?"
"Your lips. I love those too."
"Oh, you do, do you?"
Emily didn't answer, instead once again pressing her lips to Paige's, this time with more intensity than before. Qickly deepening the kiss and pulling their bodies closer together, the two girls found themselves lost in the kiss; lost in each other.