AN: So, long story short. I've been working on this like a year. Therefore, if it seems a little all over the place.. that's why, and I'm sorry. I just had to finally finish this off, I couldn't take it mocking me from my drafts on tumblr anymore. Anyways, without farther adu, read and enjoy my version of how things went after the show ended. Which, btw, I'M STILL NOT OVER IT ENDING. Okay, now seriously, carry on~ :x
Six months.
That's all it took for everything to change, for everything to finally start falling into place. All the messes had finally settled down, the truth was finally - fully out. Everyone's lives were returning to normal. Emma's included, only a million times better than she thought it could be. Their father knew they both existed and accepted Emma into his life. Kristen accepted her too, only she was a little weary of doing so, thanks in most part to her husbands endless lies. Sure things didn't magically get fixed, but for the most part things were going pretty well despite it all.
The only thing that wasn't going well, was the fact that since everything came out she, nor Sutton, had gotten much of a chance to talk to their friends. In most part, that meant Ethan. The one person Emma wanted to talk to more than anything. She'd called it off with Thyer ages ago now, and the whole point of that was for her and Ethan to have another chance. He was right after all, they were everything. But things happened, things changed, and that plan failed miserably. Much to her dismay. All this time later and she hadn't gotten to talk to him about anything, at all. But that was going to change, today.
Today she was putting an end to the silence that bridged between them everytime they saw one another. She didn't care if she had to prove to him, and his brother, both that the craziness was really over and she truly did love Ethan. She'd do it, somehow, someway. Because she did, so much. She was only sorry it took her so long to realize it and finally make up her mind on doing something about it. Life was too short to wait around and be miserable over something you had the power to change.
Sutton had tried to help come up with ideas on how. Tried being the operative word. She always thought big, huge even. And that just wasn't the way Emma did things, never has been nor will it ever be. Even Ethan knew that, maybe even more so than Sutton did. Sutton could cut her down about not being daring or whatever all she wanted to, it didn't matter to Emma. What did matter was finding a good enough way to prove things were calm, that she'd spent a lot of time thinking, and that she truly did love Ethan and wanted them to have another shot.
"We're everything," The words tumbled off her lips effortlessly, as she stood in front of her mirror practicing whatever it was she'd say to him. Each time the words came out, they brought more and more meaning to them. She felt in her heart of hearts it was true. Hopefully, Ethan would too. If she could get him to see how much she meant it and just let her in, even the littlest bit. She was sure they could figure out some way to get Dan to at least tolerate it and not shut Ethan out, together. The challenge was getting Ethan to open up to her again, even though she definitely didn't deserve it in her mind.
Changing out of her sweats, she found a nice dress and shoes before she headed out. Her hair falling over her shoulders and down her back a little ways, it had grown and she hadn't thought to cut it. The days of matching Sutton were over, so she could do as she wished with her own appearance. Within minutes she was in town, grabbing a coffee before she set out to find where Ethan might be. His home wasn't exactly an option, when Dan wasn't much a fan of her nor her twin. Besides, the elder Whitehouse was still having a hard time with everything that happened - mainly what happened to Teresa, but still she didn't want to intrude there. So waiting around town for the younger Whitehouse to appear was her best bet.
Minutes ticked by into hours, before finally he appeared. Three hours, forty-eight minutes later. To be exact. Ditching her coffee cup in a nearby trash can, Emma took a deep breath as she watched him. Trying to remember the words she'd planned out for this moment, only to come up clueless as ever. Whilst at war with her own mind trying to remember, he finally noticed her - probably for the first time in months. They'd gotten so good at passing and repassing without a word, it almost seemed odd not to do as such this time too.
It was obvious within the first few seconds that he was just going to get whatever he came for and forget he ever saw her. But that wasn't going to happen, not this time. Emma Becker was tired of the silence and keeping her feelings to herself. Whether it did any good or not, she was breaking this silent streak and telling him everything she was thinking and feeling - right now. With that determined thought in mind, the brunette forced her feet forward, closing the gap between them.
"Hey," She spoke up once close enough, instantly grabbing his attention for him to turn around. "Hey yourself." He replied, as casual as possible. In a way, it was frustrating but at the same time… at least he'd spoken to her? Small victories, Emma. Small victories. She reminded herself. "Can we talk for a minute?" She asked after a small pause, doe eyes glancing directly at his. "Please." She tacked on, hoping he'd agree so she didn't have to turn this into some public spectacle. "Uh, Dan's waiting for me to get back home." He replied, to which Emma replied so quickly she almost cut him off from finishing. "Please, Ethan. Just a few minutes, no more than five I swear. It's… important."
The way his eyes fell, she knew she only had a moment to get it all out so she took a breath and began speaking. "I know why you're avoiding me, and Sutton. I get it, we've caused a lot of bad stuff to happen, even without trying. I am sorry, even Sutton is on some level. But it's over, done with. Everything's settled down, everything's normal now. Nothing else is going to happen, and I- I meant what I said before everything blew up. I do chose you. You said it yourself, We're everything. I get that now, I've always gotten it, I just… ignored it and pushed my true feelings down. For that, I am sorry. So sorry. But I can't change anything that's happened, or how it happened, all I can do is move forward and- And hope you'll forgive me and more forward too."
Taking a deep breath, Emma placed her hand on his arm and gazed up at him. "You know I don't do the regret thing, it's a waste of energy. But- I do regret a few things, no matter how much I know it's pointless to." Seeing the look on his face, she knew she had to explain. "I regret moving on and not giving us time to figure us out… But mostly I regret giving myself, completely, to a guy who wasn't you." She explained, her hand falling back to her side as she took a step back. She'd put everything out there, now it was up to Ethan where things went next. Back to ignoring her, maybe? It seemed highly possible. Though she hoped she was wrong, that he'd see what it took for her to put herself out there like this and give them another shot. It was a long shot though.
"I guess that's all I wanted to say…" She said, breaking the silence that lingered between them. She wouldn't dare look to see the expression he wore now, she just - couldn't. With a soft breath, Emma nodded to herself and turned to leave only to pause a few steps away. She turned slightly, seeing his hand on her wrist before she turned back toward him. The silence continued, though not awkward, as her big brown eyes looked up at him curiously.
Without word or warning, the gap between them was closed and his lips were on hers. He knew he shouldn't, so much had happened and he'd spent so much time and energy ignoring her. But he couldn't help himself. She'd put herself completely out there, everything to lose and nothing to gain. One look at her and he knew she honestly thought this was a lost cause, yet she felt she needed to do it anyways. Maybe that's why his heart won out over his brain. Why he couldn't seem to pull away when he knew he should.
Emma had this pull on him, that made it oh so difficult to keep away from her. It was almost as if, she was his hold to gravity. Without her, he felt like he was floating off in space. Imagine that feeling for well over six months. It hadn't been fun, nor easy. And now that his gravity had him pulled in again, he wasn't so sure he could walk away from it, her, again. Even if he wanted to, which he very much didn't.
Neither was entirely sure how long had passed, how long they'd been in that one spot on the sidewalk. But when they parted, both breathless, they moved over to the side out of the way incase anyone needed to pass. Emma's doe eyes gazed up at Ethan as she tried to slow her racing heart. She'd wanted that to happen for so long now, and now that it had she was speechless. No matter how she tried, no words would come. She knew something had to be said, before he could just decide to walk away and she'd lose her final shot at getting the guy she loved - finally after all this wasted time.
Before she knew it, her feet had moved her forward and her arms wrapped around him as best her petite figure would allow. Her embrace wasn't desperate, though she herself was a bit. It just said, I miss you please don't go. Since her words were failing her, she hoped it was enough to keep him there with her if only for a few more minutes. She hadn't expected his strong arms to wrap around her a moment later, but she definitely wasn't complaining. In fact, it was a great deal of comfort to her. She had missed his embrace, his touch, his… everything. She'd been such a fool to think she was ever over him, to think she ever truly loved another. But now, she knew better.
Feeling his arms loosen their hold on her, Emma took a breath for courage before she finally found her voice again. "Please don't give up on us," She pleaded in a small voice, almost broken sounding. "I know we can do this, we can be together… If you just give us a shot." She told him, pulling away to look up at him. "Please Ethan." She finally said, taking a step back where her arms fell to her sides. It was all up to him now, there was absolutely nothing left to say or do to convince him she wanted this more than anything.
After a moment, his hands grasped her elbows and pulled back just enough to see her gorgeous face. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he realized just how much he missed her, missed being able to hold and touch her. "We're, still, everything." He told her, bringing his thumb to her chin to make her look up at him before he pressed his lips to hers once more. Lingering much longer than last time, before he pulled back. "I guess, we'll just have to figure out where to go next together."
With that, a faint smile spread across Emma's lips. "Together." She replied, loving the word. "We can face anything." She added on, earning a small laugh from him as well as a nod, before his arms wrapped around her giving her the last piece of happiness and security she was missing.