A/N: Wow! Hey, guys... How are you all holding up post-finale? It's been a wonderful (and frustrating) few years with PLL. I am sad to see it go, but I'm also thankful for the enjoyment it brought me. Now, I wasn't extremely satisfied with the ending, especially in terms of Spoby's treatment, but I guess that fanfictions are here to heal the wounds.
So, with my post-finale feels, I thought I'd return to FF and post another oneshot! It sure has been a while, but it feels good to be back. Although the show is over, I'd like to continue writing PLL oneshots. I will forever love these characters and ship these ships. Even if they're all gone from my television screens (still crossing my fingers for a spin-off or reunion episode in the future), these stories will always keep them alive.
Here we go with a dual fic of Emison and Spoby (my 2 PLL OTPs in 1 story!). I was inspired by Emily and Toby's conversation at Ezria's rehearsal dinner. We know the twins will give Emison quite the headache, so what better than for Spoby to take care of them for a night while Emison get their well-deserved romance time? Spoby and Emison romance in one! Fun! Okay, enough of my rambling... Read on! Leave a review!
I've Always Got Your Back
Emily still felt butterflies when she woke up next to her. She would smile like a fool when she woke up first and would watch and admire her sleeping fianceé, just hovering around the bed until the other girl's eyes fluttered open as well. Alison's lips would curl into a smile when she saw her there. It was purely blissful. Neither one of the girls had ever imagined finding happiness like this.
One morning, Emily waited there impatiently. She needed Alison to wake up. She wasn't in the mood to watch her sleep, as adorable as she was. She was tempted to poke her until she woke up, but she decided against it because Alison got really grumpy when somebody annoyed her into waking up. She even got pissed when Lily and Grace started crying in the middle of the night and she had to wake up. Usually, she'd whine until Emily decided to take one for the team and take care of the twins.
Things were different that morning because Emily wanted her fianceé. Badly.
It sounded like a silly reason, but it was very frustrating. Having kids was a lot tougher than she was expecting; she was expecting it to be difficult, but she hadn't realized how hindering it would be to her regular life. Between going to work every day and taking care of the girls, she had almost no spare time to spend with Alison. On those rare occasions where both of them were not so exhausted that they nearly passed out when they entered their bedroom, they'd share a brief moment that would be cut off by the loud sound of the twins. Emily felt like she was so unlucky that every time she and Alison found a steady rhythm and were about to get back into things, crying would ensue.
But this morning, the twins seemed to be sound asleep, and Emily wanted her fianceé to wake up already.
Finally, the blonde's eyes began to open slowly. As her vision cleared up and she gradually became less groggy, she furrowed her eyebrows. Emily wasn't hovering by her with a sweet and welcoming smile like she usually did. This morning, she almost seemed mad.
"Em?" she called out, still sleepy. "Is everything all right?"
"The girls are asleep and I miss you, so..." Emily trailed off in a low and sexy voice before rashly slamming her lips against Alison's.
That woke her right up. Emily rolled them over so that she was on top of Alison, dominating her. God, she was so hungry for her... she had missed touching her and kissing her. It felt like it had been forever since she got a moment like this with her. She pulled her pajama top over her head and tossed it onto the floor. Then, she brought her head down to Alison's neck, trailing kisses all over her skin. She was so turned on by the way her breasts were dragging against Alison's covered body.
But just her luck: the twins started crying— loudly. Their irritating whines circled through Emily's ears over and over again. Frustratedly, she fell back against the bed, slamming her head on to her pillow. Alison looked over at her, noticing how frustrated she was.
"I should've known that this was coming..." Emily sighed and started crawling out of bed. She pulled her pajama shirt back over her head, groaning.
Alison tilted her head to the side. "You look like you need a moment to relax. I'll go take care of them. Stay here."
"Okay," Emily smiled weakly. She pecked Alison's lips before the blonde got out of bed and started walking towards the bedroom door. "Thank you."
Spencer was relaxed, leaning her head against Toby's chest as the two of them watched a movie together. While his eyes were fixed on the screen, he absentmindedly twirled a strand of Spencer's soft brown hair. The two of them were, essentially, back together. It was just that they didn't really take the time to discuss it. They had a very independent relationship. Toby's main priority was that she felt comfortable after everything she had been through, so he tried to give her enough space to heal and grow on her own, all while still maintaining a romance. They weren't exactly dating, but they also weren't exactly not dating. They were taking it slowly because both of them had been through so much.
But sometimes they went faster than slower. Sometimes they wound up sleeping together. But they still didn't have a talk about defining their relationship again. They didn't label anything. They just... existed. It was peaceful, it was blissful, and most importantly: it didn't suffocate either one of them.
The loud sound of a phone beeping startled Spencer. To this day, she still jumped every time somebody's phone made a sound— it reminded her of days she so desperately wanted to forget. Toby's eyes shifted away from the screen. He picked his phone up.
"Sorry," he whispered to Spencer. He squeezed her shoulders to reassure her that he was there for her.
She watched him carefully as he opened the text message on his phone. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at his phone.
"It's Alison," he announced. "She wants to know if I can babysit the girls tonight."
Spencer smiled. "That's sweet. Didn't you offer Emily to help any time?"
He nodded his head. "And I'm happy to help... always. I just don't really wanna leave you right now, if I'm being honest." He pressed his lips to the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her. She loved the way that he was so gentle with her, making her feel like there was nothing that could hurt her. He was always there to protect her, even if she asserted repeatedly that she was a strong woman and that she could handle herself. He really was her safe place to land, and she couldn't be more grateful that he was still in her life.
"Why don't I come with you?" she offered, looking up at him.
He raised his eyebrows. "You'd wanna do that?"
"Of course!" Spencer exclaimed. "I love spending time with Lily and Grace... and you."
He chuckled, squeezing her shoulders again. "Okay, then it's settled. You can come with me."
"They're probably exhausted," she sighed. "I feel bad for them. Raising kids must be really difficult. Poor Emily's been telling me about how they keep her up at night, and how she's never able to have alone time with Alison."
"That must be why they're requesting a babysitter for the night," he grinned.
"Yeah... are Aria and Hanna really sure about this whole kids thing?" she joked.
He shrugged his shoulders, tilting his head to the side. "Well, they might give you hell sometimes, but they're your precious babies. You'll grow to love them more than anything in time."
"Do we really need to go to this party?" Emily sighed as she applied her lipstick. "I wish you had told me sooner so that I could find a sitter for the girls, but... whatever." She put her lipstick down and turned to face her fianceé. "I barely even know this woman. Wouldn't it be a lot more fun to stay in, watch a movie, maybe get some alone time...?"
Alison adjusted her dress before stepping closer to Emily. She reached over and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze.
"Maybe another time. I already promised her that we'd be coming today."
Emily seemed a bit frustrated, but she nodded her head understandingly.
"I just hope that Lily and Grace will try not to cause a huge scene there..."
Alison flickered her eyes up and down Emily's body. She was wearing a black, sexy, skin-tight dress that hugged her curves in all the right places.
"Did I already tell you that you look amazing, Em?" Alison was practically licking her lips at this point.
"You better not get in the mood right before we go to this party that you're making us go to," Emily folded her arms. "You know that I would much rather stay home. I feel like it's been forever since we've had time to ourselves without Lily and Grace interrupting."
Alison rolled her eyes. "Hey, I was just trying to compliment you. No need to get all bitter."
"I'm sorry," Emily sighed. "I guess I'm just... missing you a lot."
The blonde smiled sincerely before throwing her arms around Emily's neck. Emily smiled, placing her hands on Alison's waist, rubbing up and down gently. She didn't know if she was going to survive not being able to touch Alison for hours at the party. Especially when she looked like that tonight. The blonde was also wearing a skin-tight dress.
"For the record," Emily started, "you also look amazing. As always."
Just then, the doorbell loudly rang, interrupting their moment. Emily groaned in frustration; there always seemed to be something that was ready to kill the moment. She followed Alison down the stairs of their house and watched her as she opened the front door. When she did, Emily furrowed her eyebrows— it was Spencer and Toby. Both of them were smiling widely. And even more surprisingly, Alison hugged both of them.
"Thank you both for coming tonight!" Alison exclaimed. She squeezed Spencer's shoulders. "This means the world to me. And Lily and Grace will be so excited to see you both again."
Toby smiled. "Of course. I told you guys that I'm always happy to help out." He put his arm around Spencer. "And I hope that you and Em have a good night tonight; you guys deserve it."
"Thank you," she said. She stepped aside so that they had room to enter the house, then shut the front door.
Emily raised her eyebrows. "Hey, guys... I didn't know that you were coming over to babysit the girls. Ali?"
"Yeah... I, uh... I asked them if they were willing to," she explained.
Emily seemed even more confused now. "Then why didn't you tell me that?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it slipped my mind." She turned to Spencer and Toby. "You remember where the nursery is, right? The girls are in their cribs. Call me if you need anything, and thank you both so much for coming again."
"Em... are you seriously pissed at me right now? What did I even do?"
"I'm not pissed. I'm just annoyed," she explained. She was sitting in the passenger side seat with crossed arms and a bitter facial expression.
Alison sighed, trying to keep her eyes focused on the road in front of her. "Well, why are you annoyed, then?"
"Because, Ali! I always seem to be left out of these things. I felt like the odd one out back at the house. How did I have no idea that you asked Spencer and Toby to babysit the girls?" Emily demanded. "It's just... how are we supposed to get married when things are like this? I never get to spend time with just you anymore and I seem to be left out of everything. I'm wondering if I'm even your fianceé..."
She rolled her eyes. "I guess I didn't learn that you seriously don't like surprises from when I proposed."
Emily was perplexed. "What?"
"We're not going to a party tonight," she said. "I was trying to surprise you because I know that we haven't had a lot of time together between taking care of Lily and Grace and going to work. And I know it's been frustrating you."
Emily decided not to ask anymore questions and just kept her mouth shut. Last time she interrogated Alison about what she and her mother had been secretly whispering about, she spoiled a proposal that wasn't supposed to happen yet. She knew that she really needed to work on not getting so hung up over not knowing everything.
Alison appreciated that she finally stopped asking questions so that there was somewhat of an element of surprise remaining. She kept driving until they reached the mystery location. By this time, Emily knew where they were. She smiled to herself; they were at Spencer's lake house. She got out of the car, and Alison did the same.
"I thought we could use a quiet night alone... away from everybody else," Alison smiled. "Just you and me."
Alison took her hand and guided her inside of the lake house. Once they stepped inside, the surprise got better; she had decorated the interior with candles and rose petals, and there was a fancy-looking dinner table set up. Emily's heart was melting as she looked at. Alison was always planning these grand surprises for her, so she figured she would have to return the favor soon. She was certainly grateful to soon be marrying such a huge romantic.
"Ali," she said, looking around the room in awe, "this is... amazing."
She turned to face her fianceé.
"And I'm sorry," she added. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you and... I'm sorry for questioning you at all. I'm honestly lucky to be marrying you. I'm so sorry for always jumping to conclusions. If anything, I don't know how you're gonna deal with my impatient ass once we're married."
Alison laughed, shaking her head.
"Don't worry about it," she told her. "And for the record, I love your impatient ass, so it's okay."
Emily smiled at her. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
"I love you, you know that?"
"I love you, too, Em. Now would you start eating before our dinner gets cold?"
"I had no idea that you were so good with kids..."
Spencer tilted her head to the side, watching Toby rock one of the twins in his arms. She was so peaceful when Toby was holding her— she didn't make a sound. And she was looking at him as if he were the savior of mankind. He really had a way of keeping the girls under control, and they seemed to love him way more than they loved Spencer.
He had to calm Grace down before giving her to Spencer, because she wouldn't stop crying when Spencer first picked her up. And Spencer couldn't seem to figure out how to calm her down, so Toby had to take the lead. Now, he was holding Lily in his arms.
"Yeah, well, I used to babysit my baby cousins a lot," he chuckled. "And I love kids. They're so cute."
"Meanwhile I look at kids like they're the spawn of Satan, and they look at me the same way back," she joked, shaking her head. She glanced at Grace, who was certainly glaring at her.
"Well, you just have to handle them the right way, and they'll end up loving you. It's a lot more fun when they actually like you," he joked. "Here, I'll help you out."
He slowly and gently placed Lily back in her crib, then walked behind Spencer. He wrapped his arms around her and took control of holding Grace, but Spencer's hands were below his, still giving support to carrying her. He rocked Grace up and down gently, and before they both knew it, Grace was smiling like a fool— and she was smiling right at Spencer. Toby chuckled.
"God, how are you so good at this?" she asked.
"I told you: I love kids," he answered. "Now, I'm gonna go make sure all their food is in order to be served. Can you bring both of them downstairs to eat?"
"Uh... why don't we do it the other way around?" she asked. "I'm a lot better with making sure things are organized and in order than carrying children."
"All right," he chuckled. "If that's what you want..."
He took Grace from Spencer's arms, then picked Lily up from her crib. He held one twin in each arm, then followed Spencer downstairs. He sat on the living room couch, cradling the babies sweetly. He kissed the top of each of their heads. While Spencer was scooping baby food out of the containers, she turned her head and watched Toby take care of them. He was so gentle with them— it truly was adorable. She knew he would make the best father ever, she could already see it.
And she didn't even know why she was thinking about him being a father. Seeing him handling the twins like that just got her thinking about him with his own kids. A small smile curled on her lips. She hadn't been thinking about having kids or anything, but after seeing him with them, it certainly didn't seem like the worst idea anymore. And she had her own little personal rivalry with kids, but at the end of the day, they weren't terrible. And if they ever really did have kids, at least one of them would be good at taking care of them.
Toby looked up at her and their eyes ended up meeting. He smiled back at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. "No reason. You're just... really good at handling them."
"When did you even find the time to do all of this, anyway?"
Alison took a sip of her wine and then smiled. "Remember when I told you that I was going to the grocery store? I might've taken an extra stop down here."
Emily laughed. "I should've known something was up because you took such a damn long time to get home."
The blonde chuckled quietly. But suddenly Emily's face fell. Without questioning, Alison reached over and took the brunette's hand, squeezing it to reassure her.
"Hey... Em... what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just— I feel like I haven't been away from Lily and Grace in so long. I mean, what if something goes wrong tonight?"
Alison tilted her head to the side.
"Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise. We can trust Spencer and Toby. They're very responsible people."
"You're right," Emily shook it off, laughing at her own paranoia. "I guess this is just the side effect of being a mom, right?"
Alison pressed her lips together, analyzing her fianceé, who was nervously tapping on her wine glass with her fingernails.
"Em, you know that you're much more than a mother, right?" she asked. It sounded like a joke to Emily, but the blonde's expression made it seem like she was dead serious.
"What are you getting at?"
"I don't know... you're just... you seem caught up in being a mom, even when it's our night off."
"There are no nights off," she joked.
"You know what I mean. Tonight, we're not supposed to be worrying about them."
"I always worry about them. I can't not worry. They drive me insane sometimes, but I love them... and I guess it just freaks me out that I'm a mom. And the worst part is that it makes me feel really old."
"That's what I mean... You know you're not old, right?"
"We're getting there. I mean, all we do is go to work and take care of the kids. You know I love everything I have, but I guess I'm having a premature mid-life crisis?"
Alison rolled her eyes playfully with a small smile appearing on her lips.
"I guess it's weird 'cause we did everything ass-backwards," Emily continued, chuckling lightly. "Had kids, started dating, got engaged?"
"Well, we were in a unique situation. Besides, we're settled down now."
"That's the boring part... being settled down. With everything that happened, I feel like I never really got to be a teenager. And suddenly, I'm an adult now. And I'm a mother."
"You sound regretful..."
"No, I'm not," she shook her head. "I love everything that I have, I promise. And I wouldn't trade a thing that I have."
Alison stood up from the table. Emily eyed her, confused.
"What are you doing?" the brunette asked curiously.
The blonde shed her jacket, revealing the rest of her skin-tight dress. She looked down at the girl who was still sitting at the table, giving her a lustful smirk, then offering her a hand to get up. Although she was still confused, Emily accepted Alison's hand, standing up as well.
"What are we doing?" the brunette rephrased.
She smirked, guiding her towards the door of the lake house.
"Tonight, we are being teenagers again," she finally replied, turning to face the other girl once they reached the door. "We are gonna be crazy, stupid teenagers who do some things they might regret the next day... or the things that become the memories that last forever."
Intrigued, Emily continued to follow the blonde as she opened the door and stepped outside into the freezing night.
"Good girl, good girl," Spencer baby-voiced as she spoon fed Grace the baby food.
Toby, who was rocking Lily in his arms, looked up at Spencer and smiled proudly.
"Looks like you're getting the hang of this," he observed. "I think you're actually good with kids."
"Um, definitely not as good as you are," she chuckled.
"It's not about who's better; it's just about you becoming more comfortable yourself. There's no competition," he laughed, then glanced at the clock on the wall of the living room, which read 9:07. "Shoot, it's getting pretty late. I think we should've gotten them to sleep a long, long time ago."
Spencer pushed the food and utensils aside before getting up from the couch, carrying Grace up the stairs. Toby followed close behind, carrying Lily upstairs. They went to the nursery, standing by the crib.
"Aw, she's already getting sleepy," Toby commented in a whisper, smiling at Lily, who was yawning.
"Grace, too."
They stayed there for a while, each rocking one of the twins in their arms until their eyes shut. Carefully, they placed each girl in the crib. They stood there for a moment, admiring the girls as they adorably slept. Then, Spencer responsibly stepped forward and flicked the baby monitor on.
"I almost forgot about that," Toby confessed. "I may be better at physically handling them, but we would go nowhere without your responsibility and organization, Spence."
"I see you're trying to flatter me," she rolled her eyes playfully.
Spencer grabbed the other half of the baby monitor to take with them. Then, the two of them headed outside of the nursery, not wanting to disturb the twins' sleep. Once they were out the door, Toby turned to look at her with a smile.
"I wasn't just saying it to flatter you. I meant it," he insisted. "You're gonna make a really good mother some day."
Spencer felt her heart fluttering. He wasn't saying anything, but at the same time, he was still saying something. Or maybe it was just the way he was looking at her, with those piercing blue eyes that melted her heart every time he looked at her. Suddenly, he reached down and took her hand, intertwining their fingers, and then giving her hand a light squeeze.
"This is fun for one night, but I'm not sure I could do this forever," she joked, honestly.
"Maybe you'll be a little easier on Emily and Alison now, right?" he smiled.
"Hey, I was always easy on them. I always knew how difficult parenting would be. That's why I try not to think about the possibility of ever becoming a mother," she confessed.
"So, you don't want kids?" he asked. It wasn't in a rude voice. The question was gentle and open.
Spencer's heart was beating faster now.
"Is that a deal breaker?" she asked.
He was surprised that they were even talking about this, but he shook his head.
"No, of course not," he replied. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to chase me away, Spence. We've been through worse."
A small smile curled on her lips. She didn't not want to have kids, but it sure felt nice to hear that he would stick by her no matter what, even if she didn't want the same thing as him. It became abundantly clear how much they had grown since their first relationship— their first real world break up that happened while she was a sophomore in college. He didn't have any expectations. And neither did she. They were just two people being happy together.
"Well, I think that kids are growing on me," she confessed, biting her lip to stop the smile from forming on her face. "I didn't want a kid back then, and I don't think I'm ready for one now, but..."
"Eventually?" he finished for her.
"Eventually," she replied. "When the time is right."
He nodded his head.
"I'm actually glad you said that. My heart broke a little bit, to be honest," he chuckled. "I've always wanted to be a dad. I've always wanted to give my kid a better life than the one I got."
She smiled at his honesty.
"After my messed up family, I want to give my kid a better life than the one I got, too. A lot more stable, that's for sure..." she told him. "Promise me that you won't go running around and having affairs and secret children with everyone behind my back?"
Toby was a bit startled that she was making a joke about that. She didn't talk about her dad much, or Alex Drake, or what happened, or anything... They tried to move forward, and he was usually happy that they did (because it was haunting them both), but it was nice to hear her joking about it. It was like she was getting past everything, finally.
"I promise you that," he grinned. He raised his eyebrows, "But, are you saying that you'd wanna have a kid with me some day?"
"I told you: eventually."
"I know you said that, but I thought you just meant in general," he shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I wouldn't want any kid other than our newborn with a six pack," she joked, referring to a joke she had once made long ago, when their relationship was extremely new.
"You remember saying that?"
"Of course I do."
He let go of her hand, bringing both of his hands up to her waist, holding her firmly. Spencer brought her hands up to Toby's cheeks, cupping them.
"Toby, you once asked me if I'd made up my mind about you... and us," she mentioned, referring to the day they had broken up over the pregnancy scare. "I didn't have an answer for you then because I honestly didn't have an answer to anything regarding my life back then. But I have an answer for you now."
He raised his eyebrows, intrigued. Spencer gave him a tight-lipped smile while caressing his cheeks gently. She propped on to her tiptoes and placed a warm kiss on his lips. She brought her hands down from his cheeks and instead threw her arms around his neck. He brought his hands up from her waist to her lower back, rubbing it gently and pulling her in closer so that he could kiss her deeper and deeper.
When they finally pulled away from each other, their gaze or position didn't break. They held each other that way, staring deeply into each other's eyes, finally feeling like they knew what they wanted out of the future: each other.
"I know we haven't talked about... us much. It's been hard, considering everything that happened, but..." she sighed, bringing her hand to the back of his neck, pressing down against the hairs there. "...I know that I want you in my life. Always."
"Really?" he smiled. "You're sure?"
She nodded her head confidently.
"You've been here for me, constantly. And... God, I hate talking about what happened, but... when you were in that moment where you had to decide between me and Alex, when you heard me say those lines of the book to you and just knew... God, I knew that I was sure about you right then," she confessed. "I don't know why it's taken me so long to say it, but... I love you, Toby. I really do. And I'm tired of being careful and cautious. I do know what I want."
"I love you, too, Spencer," he breathed, unable to stop grinning at her like a fool when he looked into her chocolate eyes. "So, does this mean...?"
She nodded her head, knowing exactly what he was trying to say.
"I want to hold your hand in public and go out on dates with you and kiss you and call you my boyfriend again and think about our future together and... I wanna be more than whatever we've been lately."
He had never heard her like that before. It was surprising, yet so relieving, because he wanted all that, too. He wanted to go back to being in a real relationship. As nice and not suffocating what they had going on had been, he couldn't deny that he was thinking about more: a real future.
"Are you crazy, Ali?"
"You said that you wanted to be like a teenager again."
"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind..."
"Well, there's no way that I'm about to let us become boring. We are not boring."
"There are better ways to prove that we aren't boring than this!"
"What's the big deal? No one is gonna come here."
"Maybe, but the water is probably freezing."
Alison decided to stop responding to the other girl's concerns. She simply stripped tight dress off, wiggling her body until it felt down to her ankles. She had to admit, the freezing air hitting her exposed body was daunting, but she had to remain strong. She stepped over her dress. Then, she bent down and pulled the buckle off of each of her heels, stepping out of them. Emily watched the whole scene with wide eyes.
"You're gonna get hypothermia, and I'm gonna have to take you to the doctor's, and then I'm gonna have to take care of the girls all by myself because you—"
"Come on! Have a little fun, won't you? You know you want to..."
Emily folded her arms, trying to look away. Alison had a very good voice for tempting people. She definitely was tempted to look at her almost-naked fianceé who was about to jump into freezing cold water with nothing on at all. Emily stared at the grass, heavily contemplating what she should do. Her inner-self was tempted to jump in that water, too, finally feeling like she was young and stupid again. When she looked back up, she noticed that Alison's bra and underwear had already been discarded and added to the pile with her dress. Hearing the sound of moving water, she turned her head to the right and saw the blonde's head poking out of the water.
Emily's eyes went wide. The rest of the blonde was hidden by the dark water and dark lighting, but she was definitely in there.
"God damn, this was crazy!" she screamed. "It's so cold!"
"You're not making your case any better..."
Surprisingly, she stayed in the water for longer, swimming around a bit.
"You know, it's not too bad. I actually kinda like it. It's bad at first, but your body gets used to it with time," she explained. She glanced over at Emily with a pouty lip. "Come on, Em... don't leave me in here... naked and alone."
Emily's leg fidgeted, tapping against the ground rapidly. With her tongue pressed against her cheek, she sighed.
"Okay, fine. I'm coming in," she gave in. "I'm gonna kill you for this later, Ali."
"Yes!" Alison exclaimed, bringing her bare arms up to show victory. "I'm just thankful that I've discovered that the woman I'm marrying isn't a total snoozefest."
"Ha-ha," Emily rolled her eyes, stripping out of her dress and shoes.
The blonde distracted herself, not wanting to stare right at the other girl while she was undressing. She couldn't be too obvious, even if they were engaged...
Before she knew it, Emily jumped into the water, making a splash. Alison looked up at the panicking girl.
"Crap!" she cried, holding on to the edge of the dock. "I think I'm getting hypothermia."
"I can heat you up, then," Alison smirked.
Before Emily had a moment to think, Alison swam closer to her and pressed her lips against hers. They kissed there with Emily's body pressed against the edge of the dock. They both opened their mouths, letting the wet, hungry kisses fill them up and satisfy them. Suddenly, Emily didn't feel like this was such a bad idea anymore. They pressed their bodies together, with Alison holding one hand on the back of the brunette's neck, while the other rested gently on her cheek.
The blonde pushed herself up in the water and straddled her hips against Emily, wrapping her legs around the girl. Emily responded by placing both hands on the blonde's back to keep her steady. With Alison bucking her hips against the other girl, Emily started to lose control of herself, letting out a soft, breathy moan that filled the blonde's ears with satisfaction. Because after all this time, Alison still loved having the upper-hand. Emily didn't mind— she enjoyed the other girl's playfulness. And in all honesty, she really just missed touching her.
But then Alison pulled herself off, disconnecting their lips and swimming away. Emily was left there, startled and confused by how fast it happened. There sure was a satisfied grin on the blonde's face once she gained distance. That was the part of the upper-hand game that Emily didn't enjoy. Sometimes it turned Alison into a major tease.
"Really, Ali?"
The blonde shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly before swimming to the edge of the dock, closer to where Emily was. But she started climbing out. She picked up her clothes and ran inside the lake house again. Emily rolled her eyes, but grinned anyways, and realized that she had it all wrong this whole time: she wasn't settling down by marrying Alison— she was taking herself on the wildest rollercoaster ride of nonstop adventures, because Alison was going to guarantee her that they had fun and acted like teenagers sometimes forever. And she was thankful for that— thankful that she wasn't just marrying someone; she was marrying her best friend.
Chuckling softly to herself, Emily pulled herself out of the now-normal-feeling lake water, grabbing her clothes and doing a light jog to get inside the lake house. When she entered, the blonde was nowhere in sight, and Emily kind of liked this— this adventure and mystery. She found that the blonde was decent enough to throw a towel down on to Spencer's nana's sofa for her. Emily picked it up, wrapping it around her body to dry herself off. Still holding her clothes, she climbed up the stairs of the lake house. Once she was in the hallway upstairs, she opened each door to check if the blonde was inside. Finally, the opened the right one, and Alison was sitting on the bed, already changed back into her dress.
"You're always gonna keep me guessing, aren't you?"
"Well, I never wanna hear you call our life boring again."
"What happens when we snap back into reality and remember that we have responsibilities?"
"That doesn't mean we can't have fun, Em. Soon, they'll be old enough to take care of themselves."
"That's a waiting game."
"We'll just have to find more nights out, like this."
Emily chuckled, rolling her eyes. She took a few steps closer to the bed, only covered in the towel that she had wrapped and tied around her body.
"I'm not so sure I like this night out, Ali."
The blonde tilted her head to the side.
"You sure about that, Em?"
Emily raised her eyebrows, unsure of the next plan she had in store for them.
"What is it now? You wanna run around the streets of Rosewood naked, too?"
"Hmm, maybe we'll do that another time. But I'm not sure... I have to keep my reputation as a teacher."
"If that's not it, then what is it?"
Alison kicked her legs out, snaking them around Emily, who was standing in front of her and the bed. She pulled Emily in closer to her so that her body was pressed between her legs. Alison was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"You really want me to say it out loud, Em?"
Emily swallowed hard. God, Alison DiLaurentis had the power to make her feel alive so quickly; she had no idea why she was fearful of their settled down life. Alison would kill her before she let them settle down and become boring, routine people. She smiled to herself before bending down and pressing a kiss to Alison's lips. The blonde suddenly stood up, turning her back to the brunette.
Without words exchanged, Emily knew exactly what to do. She reached over and slowly dragged the zipper down, doing it that way intentionally to drive the blonde a little crazy. She laughed in her head, realizing that the blonde probably put her dress back on just so that she could make the other girl unzip her dress for her. The blonde let it fall to her ankles, stepping out of it. She suddenly turned around, putting her hand on the back of Emily's neck and yanking her in again to kiss her. While their lips were still connected, Emily pushed her down against the bed, staying on top of her. She moved her lips off of Alison's lips, and instead started kissing her jawline, then moved down to her neck. Alison pushed her head upwards so that the brunette had more access.
Emily kept moving downwards, kissing between her breasts, which her bra was unfortunately covering (but Emily had nearing plans to change that). She kissed her stomach, then kept moving more down. She brought her hand to Alison's thigh, squeezing it thoroughly, earning a grunt from the other girl, who frustratedly wanted more.
"Drop that," Alison suddenly perked up, sitting up in bed.
Boldly, she yanked Emily's towel off, letting it fall to the floor.
Spencer placed the baby monitor on the night stand, and then crawled into the bed, nuzzling herself against Toby's body. They were staying over at the house tonight because Emily and Alison really wanted the full night together. She pulled the guest room blankets up to cover both of their bodies, then rested her head in the crook of Toby's neck. He seemed absentminded, but reached over to take her hands and hold them by his stomach. She looked up at his contemplating face, trying to make out what he was thinking.
Feeling defeated, she just asked, "What are you thinking about?"
He looked down at her with a smile.
"You."
"Really, now?" she chuckled.
"Yeah, you," he repeated, nodding his head. "You know, I think about you a lot."
"Every night and every morning?" she asked as a joke, but in reality, she wanted it to be true.
"Of course," he replied, and he seemed nothing but serious.
Spencer felt happiness rise inside of her; an uncontrollably large smile curled up on her lips, and she kept it tight-lipped to stop herself from looking like too much of a lovestruck fool. It was just that there was a time where she had wanted nothing more from a relationship than to be with somebody who loved her like that— who thought of her the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. And Toby did that.
She said those words to Caleb while they with in the process of (thankfully) breaking up (because part of her always knew that it just wasn't meant to last with him, but she was thankful that he opened her heart up again). She knew that he didn't think of her that way, and wondered if she would ever find somebody who did. God, she had no idea that the right person was standing right in front of her the whole time. But, she figured that it was way too complicated back then.
"I was thinking," he suddenly spoke up again. "Maybe I could... take you on a real date tomorrow? Or soon?"
Spencer kept smiling.
"Are you asking me out on a date, Toby Cavanaugh?"
Her voice was playful and made heat rise to Toby's cheeks.
"Yeah, I am," he nodded his head. "It's like a symbol of new beginnings. A first date."
"A first date," she repeated what he said.
They were both laying down on the bed. Spencer tilted her head upwards from where it was on his chest to meet his lips. He leaned his head down, pressing their lips together for a soft kiss. Their fingers were still intertwined, so he held her hand upwards.
"We're finally getting the chance to have a normal relationship: without the distance, without the A," he explained once they had both pulled back from each other. "I wanna do things right. I wanna pick you up and bring you flowers and... I wanna tell you how beautiful you look in your dress..."
"Stop being cheesy," she rolled her eyes and looked the other direction to hide the blush that was rising to her cheeks.
"No, seriously," he continued. "Things are gonna be perfect this time around."
She raised her eyebrows, surprised by how confident he was.
"Really?" she asked, almost in disbelief. "What makes you sure of that?"
He tilted his head to the side, looking at her like it were obvious.
"I mean, we just got through taking down your evil twin who was trying to steal your life, so... I think we can handle a little relationship," he chuckled.
Hearing it aloud made it sound so crazy. But when Spencer looked at him, she had hope (which was against her better judgment, considering that it usually bred eternal misery). She had hope for a happy future.
"We'll see, then," she said. "In fact, we'll see tomorrow."
"It'll be a night that you'll never forget."
"Don't set expectations that you can't live up to."
"Are you doubting me?"
"Maybe a little... Is there that much to do in Rosewood?"
"What do you think about the Edgewood Motor Court?"
She raised her eyebrows.
"Is that a sneak peek of what's to come, hmm?"
"Maybe... but there will be more!"
"That already sounds like an unforgettable night. In fact, I'm already thinking of two nights from there, so it clearly is quite unforgettable."
He chuckled, smiling at the girl laying on his chest, not wanting to be anywhere else but with her.
"Mmm," breathed Alison, eyes shut while Emily was on top of her, kissing her neck.
Emily rolled off the blonde with a satisfied smile on her face, instead laying on her side so she could look at the girl next to her, who was breathing heavily. Emily pulled the blanket up so it covered both their bodies. Alison kept her eyes shut for a bit, trying to recompose herself after everything. Slowly, she opened her eyes again, and naturally brought her head closer to Emily. The brunette relaxed her body, laying down flat on her back, making room for Alison's head to rest on her chest.
Emily pulled her closer, snuggling her arm around the girl so she was holding on to one of her arms. Alison flipped her body so that her front was pressed against the brunette. Her head still rested in the crook of Emily's neck, feeling so comfortable. Emily rubbed her hands up and down the blonde's arm lovingly. Alison's eyes were fixed on Emily, looking up at her with complete adoration.
"I'm gonna have the craziest wife, aren't I?" Emily laughed. "I legitimately thought you'd lost it when you ran outside and decided that skinny dipping was the best way to spend tonight."
"Are you complaining?" Alison raised her eyebrows.
She shook her head.
"Never."
They remained there in silence for another few seconds, with Emily tracing circles on her arm.
"I don't wanna grow up," Emily confessed. "It scares me. I'll go to sleep one day, and I'll wake up the next old. And Lily and Grace— they'll be all grown up."
"I'm always here... with you," the blonde assured her.
"I know," the brunette smiled, staring up at the ceiling. "And that's what makes it okay."
She looked down into those blue eyes, physically feeling her heart fluttering as if it were the first time, all those years ago, when she realized that she was in love with her when they were just kids.
"I wanted to thank you," she continued, while the blonde gave her a quizzical look, "for making me feel alive today. I haven't felt that young in a really, really long time."
"Em, I'm never gonna stop being this way," Alison promised her, looking at her with complete sincerity in those blue orbs. "We're gonna be gray and old, and I'm gonna push you into the water wearing nothing... I'm gonna run around hiding so you have to guess where I am—"
"I get it," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "And I wouldn't have it any other way. Because I'd be marrying a 'snooze fest' then, wouldn't I?"
"You would," the blonde agreed. "Now, why don't we really make this like old times?"
Emily raised her eyebrows, intrigued.
"Truth or dare?" Alison smirked.
"You really wanna play this game? You're not tired? I'm clearly not doing my job very well, then," she joked, her eyes flickering up and down Alison's covered body for emphasis.
Alison rolled her eyes.
"We're not that old. I have incredible stamina. It's gonna take a lot more than raising two kids, going skinny dipping, and having sex to tire me out," she grinned. "Now, answer my question: truth or dare?"
"I'm so not getting up right now! Make it truth or truth. But don't you think we already know everything that there is to know about each other by this point?" Emily asked, not buying this.
"We know a lot of things, but we don't know everything," she said. "I guess you've picked truth, then."
Emily looked at her curiously.
"When did you first know... that you liked me?" she asked.
The brunette pressed her lips together, thinking hard. Suddenly, she laughed quietly to herself, clearing reminiscing something.
"We were in that Brownies troop together, in like... second grade, and our leader— remember Mrs. Helderman?" Both the girls laughed together in unison. Emily continued, "Yeah, well, she made us all introduce ourselves, and you did this stupid little dance in front of everyone, and then you insulted her— I can't even remember what you said, but..." Emily was so lost in her thoughts, her chocolate eyes lighting up radiantly as she kept recalling the memory. "...I looked over at you and I felt butterflies for the first time in my life. I remember Mona kept winking at me after because I was staring at you and... I didn't know what she meant at the time, but I think I know what she was trying to get at now."
Alison's jaw dropped, laughing hard.
"You liked me since then?" she was surprised. "See? I told you that there are so many things we don't know about each other. It's a good thing we've got the rest our lives to learn everything."
"I guess, and you know what? I didn't even know it was liking you, to be honest. I had no idea what it even meant," Emily defended.
"You like liked me in second grade, admit it," the blonde teased.
Emily rolled her eyes.
"Suddenly, I'm wondering why," she joked. "Anyways, your turn."
"Truth, of course."
"When did you like me?"
Alison bit her lip.
"When did I start to wonder if I did? Well, I guess it was when my parents went out of town that one Christmas in middle school... and your parents were nice enough to invite me over to celebrate," she confessed. "We were up in your room and you wouldn't stop babbling about how much you loved Christmas, and I— I don't know. I hated myself for it, but I felt something that night. And I tried my hardest to forget about it, but... it was hard. And then you kissed me in ninth grade. In the library, and... I lost it. I knew I was in too deep and I freaked out because it felt good to kiss you, and then I was stupid and I told you that it was for practice and made sure you knew that I liked boys because I didn't want to be... not straight, and—"
Emily halted her babbling by pressing a kiss to her lips.
"Em," Alison continued, looking up at her with apologetic eyes. "I really am sorry— for everything."
She tilted her head to the side.
"We wouldn't be here if I wasn't over it," she promised. "Besides, I made my fair share of mistakes with you, too. I'm no saint."
"Oh, what? Like putting me in jail?" Alison joked.
Emily stuck her tongue out at the blonde.
"I'm sorry, too," Emily told her seriously once she put her tongue back in her mouth.
Alison smiled at her. Emily smiled back.
"I love you... a lot," the blonde randomly said.
"I love you a lot, too," Emily chuckled.
"Truth or truth?"
"Um, that's a tough one. Truth, maybe?"
Alison rolled her eyes, nuzzling herself further into the crook of the brunette's neck while thinking up a question to ask. The two girls stayed like that for hours, talking and talking about everything there was to talk about, stealing a few kisses, and eventually drifting off to sleep in each other's arms.
Emily was damn glad that she was marrying her best friend.
Yay! It's finally over, lol! You made it! I had a ton of fun with this fluffiness. No angst, just pure happiness. Spoby shippers really needed that after the series finale, you know...
Anyways, I referred to a few things.
Spoby:
-Spencer saying that she wants someone who thinks of her the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. I always wanted them to parallel that to Toby, who totally thinks of her as such. So, there you go!
-Toby asking Spencer if she'd made up her mind about him in their break-up scene. I wanted to recreate that in a way that showed that Spencer wasn't sure back then, but after everything, she became sure of him.
-Spencer not being ready for kids, like how she wasn't when she and Toby were breaking up. I thought that it was really important for Toby to say something about how he was still all in, even if she didn't give him the perfect family life that he indicated that he wanted in 6x18 (hence why he said that it's not a deal breaker if Spencer didn't wanna have kids with him). But I also wanted Spencer to start coming around to the idea of having kids with him. She still isn't ready yet, but she thinks she will be some day. And I think that's a big step for them. I doubt she'd be ready to jump to have children right after the trauma that they went through, but she's getting more comfortable in her relationship with Toby, and they're starting to officialize things again. Basically, she really can see a clear, happy future with him this time around.
-Newborn with a six pack. This was more light-hearted and just in there for fun because that was adorable.
Emison:
I probably made references, but I can't recall LOL.
-But I CAN recall this one with Mona: Mona mentioned that Emily's love hasn't been a secret since they were in Brownies in 7x17, so I thought I would refer to that! I wanted to pinpoint the moment where Emily felt something for Alison. What better than a cute little conceited Alison dancing around and insulting the Brownie troop leader to make Emily realize her feelings!?
-I wanted to capture the idea that Emily and Alison are best friends who are marrying each other. That was a major point: they're best friends who really know how the hell to have fun together. What's better than marrying your best friend?
I hope you guys enjoyed this one shot! Fluff is always fun. Leave a review!