A/N: From a prompt received at mine and ACamp-toner's tumblr (ss-staubrey)
Prompt: Aubrey was never the biggest fan of cuddling that is until Stacie happened. Now it's an everyday kind of thing a thing that she looks forward to (even if they're mad at one another Stacie will stomp into their bedroom where Aubrey is reading over case studies and without so much as a glance or a word from either person Stacie will huff and lift the covers then slip onto Aubrey's side snuggling under the arm Aubrey had raised when Stacie slipped under the covers) And Stacie was never the type to just hangout with her partners. The silence was just-weird and awkward but not with Aubrey. The silence is everything to her now. And its strange because neither was ever super keen on certain things before the other shows up and slowly, things they never knew they needed or wanted, were being put into their lives, and the thought of not having all these new wonders in their lives terrifies the crap out of them.. or maybe the thought of losing the other is what really scares them.
Aubrey wasn't a cuddler. She could sleep with other people but excessive touching made it impossible for her to sleep. She needed her space, air, and most importantly, she needed to feel free, even if it was just to roll over or to get up and pee.
The first time they slept together, before they had even had sex, was one time Aubrey fell asleep while watching a movie on Stacie's bed. The next morning she was literally surrounded by Stacie. Her head was on Stacie's shoulder, tucked under her chin. One of her arms was trapped under Stacie, the other one wrapped around Stacie's waist. Stacie's legs were tangled with her own, with one of her hands resting on her hip. Aubrey lay frozen for a full minute. She wasn't sure what to do. She'd had one of the best sleeps of her life; she usually woke up at least once each night but she didn't remember waking up the night before. And if she was being truly honest, she didn't want to move. Stacie's arms around her felt anything but stifling, she didn't feel trapped, she felt safe and cared for. Yes, Aubrey hadn't been a cuddler... until Stacie.
There were a lot of things that had changed about Aubrey since she started dating Stacie. She hadn't been a coffee person, but she needed it on the mornings after Stacie's 18 hour long shifts at the lab. She didn't have to wait up for her, but Stacie would come home exhausted from being on her feet most of the day, hunched over a microscope, and she liked to be there with a glass of wine and a foot rub.
She had never liked scary movies, but after that time she'd let Stacie talk her into watching The Blair Witch Project, she'd seen quite a few. Most of the times she didn't actually watch the movie, but she liked having an excuse to hide her face on Stacie's neck. Not that she needed an excuse anymore, now that they lived together.
Moving in together had increased the number of things Aubrey didn't do before Stacie. Some were ridiculous things like dancing in her underwear or spontaneous sing-offs while they cooked. Other were little things she learned to live with for her, like not caring about proper toothpaste squeezing or looking out for stray heels lying around every room.
Everytime she realized she was doing something she wouldn't have done or enjoyed before, her heart clenched. Ever since she was little she had learned not to get too attached. Being an army brat meant she moved around a lot, saying goodbye to friends and places often. She had never had anything in her life she couldn't live without, until Stacie.
Stacie was a fuck 'em and drop 'em kind of girl. She didn't hang out with the people she slept with. Even in her few relationships, she never liked to sit with the other person in silence, not even when they watched a movie. She hated silence, it made her incredibly uncomfortable. It was always awkward and all she could think about was ending it in any way possible. Awkward silences was one of the reasons she didn't date.
Silences with Aubrey were anything but awkward. She loved their silences: the silence when they just woke up and they lay in bed cuddling, the silence when they sat on the couch watching a movie, the silence at the end of the day when they lay in bed reading. Stacie cherished these silences, those moments where she could just be with Aubrey.
Her relationship with Aubrey was not only her longest, but also her easiest one. No one who knew Aubrey understood how being in a relationship with her would be easy, but for Stacie it came natural. She knew how to calm her down when she stressed out, when to shut up when she was mad, and, most importantly, she knew how to make her smile.
Most times, Stacie didn't even know she was doing anything until she saw Aubrey's dazzling smile. But there were some times when she had to do things that were unusual for her, like that one Christmas she had let Aubrey play All I Want for Christmas Is You over and over and over, or how she had learned Aubrey's closet organizing system so her side of the closet didn't bother her. She had never given flowers to anyone, not even her mom, but one time Beca made her go flower shopping for Chloe with her so she decided to get some for Aubrey. The look on her face when she saw them had led to Stacie being on first name basis with the flower shop owner.
The hardest thing Stacie had to do to make Aubrey smile was watch Toddlers and Tiaras. She didn't understand why Aubrey loved it but she would DVR every single episode and then binge watch it every few weeks. Stacie had tried to do other things while she watched, she even scheduled a 48 hour experiment on a weekend just to get out of watching that horrible show, but she knew Aubrey liked having her there so she sat there, most of the time with a book or her computer, while Aubrey explained why there was a little girl in full body cheetah paint, in a cage.
The main problem was that sometimes Aubrey didn't have time to watch it and the DVR backed up. Normally, Stacie wouldn't care, she didn't mind waiting for a show to be online so she could watch it. The only thing she watched religiously was Grey's Anatomy. Stacie didn't care that the quality had decreased as the seasons went on, she had been watching it since the first season and she wasn't going to miss an episode for anything.
That Thursday night Stacie had had one of those unavoidable long days at work. Aubrey knew she'd be extra grumpy since she'd have to wait until tomorrow to watch her show so she had gone out and bought Stacie's favorite wine and had a bath ready by the time she heard the door. An exhausted looking Stacie walked into their apartment and dropped her purse. "Hey, baby."
Stacie pouted and stepped into Aubrey's arms. Aubrey rubbed her back and kissed her temple. "I have a bath ready and I got your favorite wine."
Stacie hummed and kissed Aubrey's neck. "You're the best."
Stacie went into their room and undressed, not caring about the pile of clothes on the floor. She went into the bathroom and smiled. Aubrey had lit some candles and the bathroom smelled like vanilla. She got into the tub and closed her eyes. A minute later, Aubrey came in holding a couple of wine glasses. She dropped her robe and got into the tub behind Stacie. "Hey."
Stacie waited for Aubrey to get comfortable before leaning back against her chest. "Hey."
Stacie rested her head on Aubrey's shoulder and closed her eyes. Aubrey nuzzled her neck and kissed her softly, wrapping her arms around her. They stayed in comfortable silence, only broken by the soft sound of water moving when they took a drink of wine and the occasional kiss. Aubrey finished her wine and pulled Stacie closer. "I could stay like this forever."
The next day after dinner, Stacie jumped to the couch excitedly. She had avoided all social media to avoid spoilers and was ready to watch her show. She turned on the TV and went to the DVR. She frowned when the first thing she saw was Toddlers and Tiaras, her show should be on there first. She scrolled down, the list didn't seem to end. When she finally got to the bottom, there was nothing else. "Aubrey, did you know that the DVR is full?"
Aubrey came in from the kitchen. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to watch those but I haven't had time."
Stacie took a deep breath. "You know that if it's full, nothing else gets saved, right?"
Aubrey's eyes opened wide. "I'm so sorry, I forgot."
"You forgot the only show I watch was on and that I would be late and wouldn't be able to watch it?" Stacie looked at her incredulously.
Aubrey walked up to her and rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry! I really did. Let me call Chloe, maybe she hasn't deleted it."
Stacie frowned and walked away from her. "I'll call her."
She grabbed her phone and walked into the kitchen. Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at her. She usually didn't get this mad about anything, let alone a show. One time, Aubrey had shrunk her favorite dress and Stacie had just laughed and said it was okay. She didn't understand what was happening. She shrugged and went into their room, texting Chloe to ask if she'd talked to Stacie and if she wanted her to bring something when they went over.
Stacie hung up the phone and rested her hands on the kitchen counter. She knew she was overreacting but she was really annoyed. She just wasn't sure if it was about the show or about something else. She went to the living room and sat on the couch, but sitting in front of the television only made her angrier. The only place she had left was their room but Aubrey was there and she wasn't ready to talk about it. She could go in and not say anything, Aubrey knew to wait until she wanted to talk.
She sighed and got off the couch. Aubrey was in bed reading, she looked at her over her book and turned down the covers before continuing to read. Stacie stomped up to the bed and got under, snuggling up to Aubrey's side. Aubrey rested her hand on her shoulder without looking up from her book. She started twirling Stacie's hair, her fingers brushing over her skin lightly. Stacie felt a pang of fear. She'd been feeling this way since yesterday but she hadn't identified it as fear until now. She wrapped her arm around Aubrey and snuggled closer. "I'm not mad."
Aubrey closed her book and put it on the bedside table. "You're not?"
Stacie shook her head. "I'm scared."
"Baby, I'm sure Callie is going to be okay." Aubrey ran her hand up and down Stacie's arm.
"Not about that. Although, I do hope she's fine." Stacie chuckled but immediately got serious again. "But that's not what I'm talking about."
Aubrey waited for her to speak again. She kissed her head and continued to rub her arm. She knew Stacie needed to understand her feelings before she talked about them so she never pushed her to talk. "Yesterday, when we were taking a bath, you said you could stay there forever and I agreed." Aubrey tensed but waited. "And then I thought, what if one day you change your mind or something happens and I lose you? I'm already used to you and your foot rubs and your Mariah Carey and your ridiculous reality shows. I can't lose you."
Aubrey let go of Stacie's shoulder and turned to face her, bringing her hands to her face. She kissed her lips quickly. "I can't promise nothing's ever going to happen to me, but I don't think I'm going to change my mind about being with you. I love you. Besides, I'm too used to waking up in your arms and your flowers and dancing in our underwear, I'm not giving that up so easily."
Stacie looked up at her and smiled. "Really?"
Aubrey nodded. "You're not getting rid of me anytime soon."
Stacie kissed her. "Good." She rested her head on Aubrey's shoulder again. "But if you don't free up the DVR by next Thursday we're having a scary movie marathon."