Prompt: how you think the scene in 6x20 will go and maybe make the reunion very emotional. Another prompt: where the girls suspect something is going on between them maybe hanna can call them out. Another prompt: alison helping emily deal with her pain and ali is trying to hold back tears. See what you want to do one of them is enough :)
A/N: This is super late, aaaaand I apologize for that. But I went ahead and did a scene where Emily and Alison are back at Emily's apartment after Emily's procedure, which will inevitably lead to quite a bit of emotions... Hope you guys enjoy.
"How often do you need to take those meds, Em? The nurse said every four hours, right?"
Alison examined the plastic, white bottle, the sticker wrapped around it not quite specifying what the blonde was looking for. Emily lay, curled up on one side of her sofa with a blue quilt thrown over her legs, her eyes closed, and her head leaned back in slight tire. The brunette cleared her throat and murmured back,"Yeah, every four hours with some water."
Emily, eyes still closed, felt the sofa sink next to her, and then Alison's soft voice filled the space around her. "You don't have to take them with water, you know. I know the doctors preferred water, but I can run by the store and get you a couple of those purple Gatorades you've always liked."
A small smile pulled at the corners of Emily's lips. She pulled her head forward and opened her heavy eyes, meeting Alison's giving blue orbs with a look of absolute admiration. Emily's voice was raspy with exhaust as she questioned in mirth,"You still remember that I like purple Gatorade?"
"I remember that it's your favorite, and it always has been. I've always thought it tastes like dish water with sugar in it, but I'm not the one drinking it, so." Alison shrugged and shot Emily a grin that only made Emily's lips curl into a bigger smile. The brunette closed her eyes and leaned back against the sofa, sighing,"It's okay, you don't have to. Water won't do me any harm, and I don't wanna make you go out if you don't need to. You've been running around for me the entire day, and I'm just... I'm sorry you have to babysit me."
Fingers slid and clasped around Emily's, and Alison squeezed her hand. "Don't say that, Em. You know I'll always be here when you need somebody."
Emily slowly but firmly squeezed Alison's hand back, letting their gentle hold remain for a few seconds more to assure her thankfulness, before she pulled away and tucked herself further underneath the quilt. A small chuckle escaped her lips and she softly recalled,"Do you remember when you stayed after school at swim practice so we could walk home together?"
The scene was vivid in Alison's mind as she reminisced about that hour in pool, all those years ago. "Mhm. And you were still doing laps after everyone had already dried off, because your coach said you needed to work on your backstrokes. I disagree, though, I think you looked perfect while you were in the water."
"You were sitting on the bleachers, watching me. And then—"
"Paige walked up," Alison finished, and the tone of voice that laced those words sounded almost foreign to her. Emily saw the momentary look of bitterness that flashed on Alison's face, the blonde's nose almost scrunching upwards, and Emily couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, Paige came by and started talking to me, and everytime I like, glanced at you on the bleachers, you looked like you were about to throw her in the pool. I wanted to laugh so bad," Emily giggled, her shoulders shaking as her smile grew bigger.
Emily amusedly continued,"And then she gave me a purple Gatorade, but when you and I were leaving, you threw it in the garbage." Alison rolled her eyes but grinned, Emily's soft, warm laughter finally becoming contagious. It only made Alison smile even wider as she noted how happy the brunette looked, the most genuine smile she'd seen out of Emily all that week. The corners of her mouth curled upwards, and her eyes crinkled and sparkled with joy, and she spoke with such mirth that Alison couldn't help but be silently smitten with her right now.
"Yeah, I clearly wasn't too... fond of her back then. And I gave you another one when we got back to my house anyways."
"I knew it was only good intentions, though. And you couldn't help yourself back then."
Alison's eyes shifted towards the ground, a tinge of bitterness slipping out as she quietly scoffed,"I couldn't help terrorizing people for things they couldn't control, or secrets they'd rather die for than tell? I was such a saint."
"Ali," Emily responded, in a tone filled with so much sentiment that it pulled the blonde's eyes back up to Emily's soft, forgiving ones. "You're not like that anymore. You're settled down, you're teaching, you've got a great husband, and you're one of the most selfless people I know. If anything, you've changed in the most beautiful ways possible, on the inside and the out... I'm lucky to have you here with me right now."
Alison shook her head. "I'm the one who's lucky, Em. The fact that you're still talking to me after all these years, after all the... the chaos I put you all through. I still feel like I don't deserve you girls."
Emily's chest panged for the blonde as she spoke with forgiveness,"Don't talk like that, Ali."
"No, Em, it's okay. I've just accepted it... Anything that happens to me is just punishment from being a terrible person for so long. I still don't see how you could ever come back and talk to me, after all I'd done... all I'd caused. To you, to Hanna, to Spencer, to Aria, and to everyone. I will never, ever deserve true happiness or love, or deserve someone like you. I..." Alison stopped as her voice began to tremor, and it suddenly felt harder to breathe. She dropped her eyes away from Emily's again, and breathed slowly and her voice tremored,"I can't... I'm not enough. I'll never be enough for you."
"Alison... Ali, look at me." Alison felt Emily take her hand in own warm one, and Emily turned on the sofa so that she could fully face Alison. The brunette softly repeated,"Please, Alison, look at me." The blonde slowly brought her head up, liquid glimmering at the brims of her eyes, and right now, she felt so vulnerable at the hands of Emily, and she just hoped to God that the tears wouldn't fall.
"The Alison I know is selfless, and deserves all the love and the happiness that there is to give. She's girl who saved my ass more times than I can count, and she's the girl I'm always going to love, no matter her past. So please, don't talk like this, Ali... You're enough for the world, and you're enough for me." Emily brought her other hand up and smoothed away the wetness that had escaped from Alison's eyes and was trailing down her reddened cheeks. "Rollins loves you, the girls love you, and I love you. Nothing before has changed that and it won't change anything now... I will always love you, okay?"
Alison gently nodded and her mouth opened, wanting to reciprocate the feeling and respond with a thank you, or you're too lovely, but she felt the overwhelming need to say something else. "I love you, too. Always."
Emily squeezed her hand and smiled. She brought her hand up to wipe away more stray tears as she began,"Soooo, about that purple Gatorade..." Alison smiled in embarrassment as she gently swatted Emily's hands and rubbed the remaining tears away herself.
Alison, who still hadn't let go of Emily's hand, a sense of comfort entangled with her and Emily's fingers, tilted her head. "You said I didn't need to go out. And I especially don't want to after crying for ten minutes."
"Ali, you look beautiful even after crying, so don't even worry. And I kind of changed my mind a few seconds ago." Emily shot her a sheepish smile.
Alison rolled her eyes but a large grin broke out on her blushing face. "You are such a dork."
Emily poked Alison on the cheek where her dimple was, her chest filled with love at the sight of the blonde in happiness again. The blonde's eyes were crinkled at the sides, and her nose was scrunched up, and the blue in her eyes were no longer filled with clouds, but happiness, and it meant the world to Emily to see all of it again. "Now there's that smile I like to see."
This was short but sweet, everything I meant it to be. I could've left this really sad and angst-y just for the sake of hurting everyone's feeling, but I couldn't if I tried, I'm big on happy endings :) Thank you for any reviews, and thank you for reading, I'll see you guys on the sunny side.
(And also, Emison is endgame.)