New Year's Proposal
It was 29th December, and Emily was feeling anxious. Instead of being happy and excited for the upcoming New Year, she was deeply worried about Alison.
After –A's been taken down, she and Alison finally got together in the right way. One of Emily's requirements was that there would be no lies and no hiding between them, to what Ali vehemently agreed.
The brunette went to study Biology at California and the blonde followed her to work as a freelance photographer. Six years later, they returned to Rosewood. Emily started to work as a teacher at Rosewood High while Alison opened a photo studio with Aria.
On their six years of relationship, Emily had no reason to suspect Ali was not taking her seriously or was lying to her. But now, she knew something was wrong. About three months ago, Alison started to work late more often than ever. They haven't been spending time together as they should've and, late at night, sometimes Alison would pick up her phone and leave the room so Emily wouldn't listen to whatever she was saying.
The suspicion rose in the teacher's mind after she caught Ali and Noel together at The Brew. He handed her a bag and she hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Emily didn't talk about that with Alison because she didn't want to accuse her of something without proof. However, the apprehension in the brunette was growing and it became a ticking time bomb.
The last straw was tonight. Emily was waiting for Alison so they could discuss what they'd make for New Year's Eve. The thing is: the blonde said she'd arrive home by eight when she only did by eleven.
"Late, aren't we?" – Emily said as Alison opened the door. She'd been sitting on the couch with her arms crossed and staring at the clock on the wall.
"Sorry, I've had a few things to go at the studio. Things have been so messed up in there" – She lied and both of them knew. Emily didn't say a thing and Alison went to the kitchen.
"Ali, we need to decide what we're making for New Year's Eve" – Em remembered.
"Oh, I completely forgot about that! I'm sorry" – Alison drank a glass of water.
"I've been waiting for you to come home so we could discuss it" – The brunette looked away.
"I'm sorry, baby, I really am" – Alison walked to her and cupped her face.
"Ok, I can't do this anymore!" – Emily stormed off.
"What?" – Alison didn't understand her girlfriend's reaction.
"You must be a fucking idiot to think that I would not realize how we've been drifting apart since a couple of months ago!" – She blurted out.
"I don't know where this is coming from" – Alison hesitated.
"Oh, right, you don't know!" – Emily snorted – "You've been working late, you're leaving the room so you can take a call and we're not spending time together as we should be. Tell me what to think of that!"
"Emily, it's not what you're thinking!" – Ali put the pieces together.
"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SAY YOU'VE BEEN CHEATING ON ME, ALI?! WHY CAN'T YOU" – Tears were streaming down the brunette's pretty face.
"Emily, I told you, it's not what…" – Ali tried.
"You know what, you just can't help it, can't you? You have to lie about everything on your life" – Emily spat – "But I'm not taking this anymore. We're done, Ali!" – She burst out of the kitchen, picked her keys and slammed the door behind.
"Em" – The blonde whispered one last time. She went to the table where she'd left her purse and picked a small velvet box. Alison put it on the table and opened it, revealing two beautiful engagement rings made of gold and with three gems: a sapphire, a white quartz and a ruby; together, they formed the French flag.
Ali covered her face with her hands and sighed before crying.
Hanna and Caleb were watching a movie at her house. Her mother, Ashley, had gone on a beneficent trip around the world with Pastor Ted, which meant that Hanna had the whole house to herself. Ashley agreed to Caleb staying in as long as they kept the place tidy. Every time Hanna heard from her mother, she was on a different place and that was great.
They jumped on the couch when they heard a knock on the door.
"Who could be visiting us at this hour" – Hanna yawned.
"I'll get the door" – Caleb opened it and let Emily in.
"Emily, what are you doing here?!" – Hanna looked at her friend and knew something was wrong. Her hair was messy, her face was swollen and her eyes were red.
"Can I stay here?" – Emily asked hugging herself with her arms.
"Of course! What happened?" – The blonde went to the other woman.
"I broke up with Alison" – Em broke down in her arms and Hanna just held her tight. Caleb took the cue and left the two friends to talk alone.
"ALISON DILAURENTIS, OPEN UP THIS FUCKING DOOR OR YOU'RE A DEAD WOMAN!" – Hanna slammed the door of the blonde's (and Emily's) apartment.
What the hell, Ali thought as she woke up on the couch. After Emily left her yesterday's night, she just cried and drank wine. She didn't even remember when she fell asleep.
"I'm coming" – She yelled just to make sure Hanna wouldn't kick her door open. Of course Emily would go to the Marin woman; they were best friends after wall. She must've imagined that Hanna would pay her a visit sooner or later.
"Come in" – Alison said and Hanna stepped hard onto the wooden floor.
"You have two minutes to explain yourself before I smack your face" – Hanna looked murderous.
"I'm not cheating on her" – Great, Ali, is that all you have to say? The blonde mentally kicked herself.
"Sure you're not. Tell me about your little scene with Noel Kahn" – The other blonde pressed.
"What?!" – Ali asked in disbelief.
"Emily saw him giving you a bag and you kissing him on the cheek at the Brew"
"Oh my God, she got it all wrong!" – Alison let her body fall on the couch.
"Sure she did" – Hanna hissed and carefully watched her friend. That's when she noticed a small box on the table – "What is this, Alison?"
"I was going to propose to her!" – She burst into tears.
"Oh my God! You have twenty seconds to explain this to me before I faint!" – Hanna's mood changed instantly – "When did you plan to do this?"
"At New Year's Eve!" – Alison revealed – "I was trying to make sure everything went perfectly, but I just messed things up!"
"That's why you've been distant?" – Han understood.
"Yes. I was planning on taking her to Paris on January 1st so we could celebrate" – She explained – "I bought the tickets, I bought the rings, I chose the hotel… However, no plans are landing on Paris because of the weather. So, I spent yesterday's night begging Duncan so he could take us there with his plane, but he denied. I was just so frustrated and then Emily burst off and I didn't have the time to explain"
"Ali, those rings are quite expensive! How much did you pay for them?!"
"I didn't care! I just wanted to make something quite unforgettable for my mermaid, but I failed" – Alison allowed her head to rest on Hanna's shoulder.
"Emily would've loved it! I'm so sorry that she misunderstood" – Hanna caressed the other woman's hair.
"I want to make things right, I really do. I just don't know how" – She sighed.
"Wait, I have an idea!" – Han exclaimed.
"Tell me" – Alison lifted her head.
"I'm gonna go to Em's old house to give you something. Whatever you do with it, just make sure you give it to her at New Year's Eve at my house!" – Hanna hopped to her feet and left.
Hanna's idea was great, she had to admit that. She just didn't know what to do with it. It's already New Year's Eve – two days after the other blonde brought her the snow globe she'd given Emily just before she went missing. Alison knew that this object was special to her girlfriend; she just didn't know what to do with it.
She decided to look through her photo archive to see if she could find inspiration there. That's when she found the answer to all her problems: it was a picture of Ali kissing Emily on the cheek while wrapping her arms around her waist. The brunette smiled and blushed. Aria said she captured this moment because she and Em were really sweet to each other. Emily begged Aria to delete the picture while Alison said she'd keep it for future uses. She was really glad that she did.
Alison edited this photo and another one she found on the Internet with Photoshop and printed them. Then, she slightly modified her old snow globe and rushed to Hanna's house. It was already 10 pm.
Emily should've just gone to Texas. She couldn't stand her friends showing off their companions while she was all by herself. She felt like a third, a fourth and a fifth wheel. The worst thing was that people seemed to know that she and Ali had broken up. Of course, only Hanna knew why, but she couldn't handle anyone else asking her if she was okay.
Em wondered where Alison was now. Probably at Noel's house, probably on his arms, that's all she could thought. After all, the blonde hadn't even called her. In the end, it seemed like she had been the only one to care in the relationship. That's when the doorbell rang.
"Ali! You came!" – She heard Spencer greet. Oh shit, she couldn't stand another minute of this. Just when she was coming up with some lame excuse to leave, Alison brushed past their friends and walked to her.
"Emily, I need to talk to you" – They stared at each other for the first time in three days. Need and anger swirled in Em's stomach while anxiety ate Ali to the bones.
"There's nothing to talk about" – She resisted.
"I guess that's our clue to leave" - Spencer gathered the group and they all went upstairs to let the two of them talk.
"Please, just listen to me!" – Alison begged.
"Listen to what? Your trained speech on how sorry you were and how this is never gonna happen again?" – Emily snorted.
"Please, just let me explain!" – She tried once again.
"Alison, you didn't even have the decency to call to know if I was okay!"
"I was just looking for a way to make things right"
"Nothing you say can make things right! I'm not gonna fall for your tricks once again, Alison. What you did was unforgivable!" – Emily cried.
"Em, you misunderstood it"
"I saw it with my own eyes! Noel giving you gifts, you kissing him on the cheek and God knows where else…" – The teacher's tone was poisonous.
"Don't say that" – Alison was on the verge of crying.
"It's the truth, right?" – Emily challenged on a bitter tone.
The photographer took a deep breath before speaking - "The truth is that I wanted to give you this" – And she handed her (ex?) girlfriend the snowball. It now contained a picture of the Eiffel Tower with a "You and me in sweet Paris" legend over it.
"Ali, what is this?" – When Emily saw the first picture, sweet memories flooded her. She and Ali on their earlier springs doing French exercises… Alison organizing postcards while claiming she wanted to take Emily to France… Their fingers touching on the Eiffel Tower postcard…
"It's the old snow globe that I gave to you before I disappeared" – The blonde allowed herself to smile – "Hanna gave it to me and I modified it"
Emily slowly spun the globe on her hands until she spotted that infamous photo Aria had taken of them a couple of years ago. Alison was hugging and kissing her chastely on the cheek while she smiled and blushed. Aria claimed they looked to cute not to be captured while Emily begged her to delete it and Alison bargained the small brunette to keep it. The teacher eventually forgot about it and let it go. She just didn't expect to see it inside her old snow globe.
The photo also had a legend: "How about forever?"
"What's the meaning of this, Alison?" – Em was totally shaken by that. If that was Ali's attempt to get back together with her, she was doing really well.
"Open it" – The blonde demanded and swirled the globe around its base. When she opened, she found two beautiful rings made of gold and with three gems each: a sapphire, a white quartz, and a ruby. Emily quickly understood that the gems represented the French flag.
"Three months ago, I decided to propose to you. I didn't want anything conventional and I really wanted it to be special for us. I started to talk to travel agencies after work and, as I wanted it to be a surprise, I gave you the excuse I was working late. I settled for a trip to France on January 1st, but I couldn't find a hotel which matched what I wanted for this. So, Noel recommended me a lodge with some private and cozy bungalows. They were almost full booked, but Noel is friends with the owner and he granted me that we'd be staying there. The bag he gave to me contained our passports and all the information of the inn. I kissed him on the cheek, but it meant nothing to either of us. Then, I started to think about the rings. CeCe recommended a craftsman and I told him what I wanted in our rings. He'd often call me about the details and I had to leave the room to answer, otherwise you'd hear me speaking and figure it all out. I had to work late to pay the rings off, but every penny was worth it. The day you broke up with me, I found out that no planes were landing on France because of the weather. So, I went to Philly to talk to Duncan to see if he could take us, but he denied and I had to cancel the flight and the hotel. That's why I arrived home late that day. Before I could come up with something else for my surprise, you stormed off" – Alison confessed.
"Ali, I'm sorry! I didn't know…" – Emily was completely ashamed of accusing her girlfriend of something she didn't do when she was, actually, planning something wonderful for the both of them.
"That's okay, Em. I just messed this up" – The photographer let her arms fall on her side. Emily eyed the rings once again. Alison bit her lip before opening her mouth again.
"Emily" – She kneeled not because she wanted to keep the traditions, but because her legs started to shake heavily. She took Emily's left hand on hers – "Will you marry me?"
Emily let the tears stream down her face as she looked into the beautiful blue eyes of the woman she loved. Alison was everything she ever wanted: caring, witty, gorgeous… She loved the freckles on her nose that only she could see because she was the only one allowed to stand that close to Ali. She loved the feel of the blonde's hand on hers because it seemed that they were molded for each other. But, without a doubt, what she loved the most about Alison is that she knew her girlfriend would move mountains just to make sure she was okay or that she was happy.
Every second Emily didn't speak or move only made Alison feel more and more anxious. Her heart was seriously pounding off her chest and she thought she might faint at any moment. She was afraid that she'd proposed at the wrong time and that Emily would refuse to marry her.
The brunette left the globe on the table next to them slowly because she wanted to conceal the fact that her hands were trembling. She wiped her cheeks with her right hand, her left right hand still in Ali's. It didn't work; her tears kept streaming down her face.
"Alison, that was the most beautiful thing someone has ever done for me" – She confessed.
The blonde's mind raced with possibilities; she was seriously considering the buts, the ands and the ifs – "That was all messed up"
"I don't mind! I love you! And, yes, I will marry you!" – She pulled Alison back to her feet and jumped to her neck as if it was the end of the world. Ali hugged her back and nuzzled her nose on that raven black hair. God, how she missed the softness of those curls, the warm from that tight embrace.
Emily pulled away just to face Alison but kept her arms locked around the photographer's neck. Ali inclined her head forward so their noses touched.
"I love you, my mermaid" – She confessed and Emily felt the butterflies swarm her stomach. She loved when Ali called her by this nickname. She ran her thumb through Alison's strawberry lips and her girlfriend closed her eyes to her touch.
"I love you, my beautiful wife" – Emily whispered and Alison laughed. Then, the brunette pulled her in for a kiss. Ali held her so close by the waist that their breasts were touching through layers of clothing. Em's fingers dug in her girlfriend's golden locks before slightly scratching the back of her neck. Alison pulled away to take a breath before Emily put her lips on her again. This time, her tongue avidly begged for passage, which was conceded to her with no resistance at all. When their tongues danced inside their mouths, it was like the whole world was on fire. Emily won more space and caressed Ali's palate, making the blonde dig her nails on her hips.
Suddenly they heard the faint sound of clapping hands, a tick and Hanna's voice – "You two! Get a room!" – The couple pulled away and held hands.
"This one's going to my photograph book and to Instagram" – Aria commented while Ezra seemed to be impressed.
"Aria! Give me that camera!" – Emily quickly realized what her friend was talking about.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! You two look really cute when you're kissing" – The small brunette gave them the camera and they saw the photo. Alison was holding Emily close by the waist, Emily was gently pulling Ali's hair and their lips had just parted. Their eyes were glued to each other and anyone who saw that picture could see an intense spark between them.
"There's no way I'm letting you delete this photo. I want this at our wedding" – Alison was impressed too.
"Ali!" – Emily tried to complain.
"By the way, congratulations!" – Aria hugged their friends.
As the others congratulated them, fireworks exploded into the sky. Hanna went to them and hugged them.
"Happy New Year, happy couple!" – She screamed on their ears –"Oh, and Alison!" – Han called – "I'm definitely gonna be your maid of honor!"
"Do I even have a choice?" – Ali chuckled.
"No, you don't!" – Emily chimed in – "You proposed to me, now you have to take the whole package with you"
"I'll take that and your gorgeous body" – Alison ran her hands down Em's sides. The brunette just blushed.
"Just get a room already!" – Hanna rolled her eyes and left them alone.
"We forgot to say 'Happy New Year' to each other!" – Alison reminded.
"Happy New Year, my beautiful wife" – Emily kissed her on the lips and on the cheek and held her tight. She wished all nights of their future wed lives could be like this.