Thank you thank you thank you for your comments!

ps, to those who are unsure, everything in season 4 happened in this story. This is set a few years later. I didn't want to change any of the history. And what happened to Naomily after 408 will be revealed soon.

(IndigoSkyFlying - sorry for the choppiness. I guess it's my style or something? I've tried to improve it in this chapter :D)

Sunset honey, morning peach, sunset honey, morning peach ... sunset-

Emily flicked indecisively through the 'warm ambers' section of the paint catalogue. But she wasn't really committing any attention to the glossy pages. She hadn't been thinking about it all morning. Superficially, it looked like she was elbow deep in interior decorating paraphernalia and wasn't to be disturbed, but beneath the surface every thought that flashed across her mind was of Naomi.

Effy had mentioned her now and then in the two years she'd been gone. Sometimes she'd overhear her and Gina talking about her in the kitchen, but they'd stop when she walked in. At first Emily had been grateful for their consideration, but now she was tired of the secrecy. She wanted Gina to be able to talk about her daughter without having to tiptoe around Emily's adolescent feelings, and she was growing increasingly frustrated with the peculiar smirk Effy had developed whenever Naomi's name was mentioned, like she knew of the last piece to a hugely elaborate but glaringly obvious puzzle, and she was just waiting for Emily to finally figure it out.

She'd been in central Europe mostly, but her favourite was Southern Italy and Croatia. Effy had never mentioned why they had been her favourite, but when Emily pictured them she thought of warm reds and yellows, crisp whites and deep oranges, contrasted spectacularly by rich greens and sparkling blues. She could see Naomi walking amongst all the colours, blending in perfectly with her tanned skin and brilliant bleach hair, her shining eyes mirrors to the sky. When she looked back down at the sunset honey and the morning peach of her catalogue, they looked depressingly plain.

'Hello Emily love,' Gina's greeting shook Emily out of her daydream. She stood up and let herself be embraced by the older woman, closing her eyes briefly amongst the soft materials and soothing scents of the maternal gesture. 'Thanks for coming over. I'm sure you had better things to do with your Sunday.'

Emily drew back from the hug, 'Other than eating your Sunday roast and not being able to get up from the chair for about three hours, not really,' she answered truthfully.

Gina smiled at her affectionately before looking down at the paint catalogue. 'Have we decided on any of these yet?' she asked, picking up the open magazine and inspecting the page. 'Oh dear ... they all look a bit plain don't they?'

Emily sighed and nodded in agreement. 'Yeah, it's hard to tell really from this though. They might look fantastic on the wall, you never know until you test them out.'

Gina looked unconvinced. 'Maybe. We'll ask Naomi.'

Emily felt her faculties freeze up momentarily. She wasn't used to Naomi being in such close proximity.

'You never know,' Gina continued, bustling over to the stove and beginning to make tea, 'she might even help paint.'

Emily scoffed in amusement. 'If you get her anywhere near a pair of overalls and a paint roller I'll personally pay for the entire fit-out myself.'

Gina chuckled as china cups chinked together over by the stove.

'Where is Naomi anyway?' Emily asked, fingering the corner of her magazine as if it was far more interesting than Gina's answer.

'She's been to see Cook today. I'd imagine she'd be back soon.'

Emily hadn't seen Cook since he'd been locked away. She wondered if Effy had. She could never tell though, even when she flat-out asked Effy if that's where she'd been all she got was a cryptic answer and a disarming smile. She reckoned Katie knew. Katie knew a whole hell of a lot more about Effy than she let on.

'Here you go love,' Gina said, setting a cup down in front of her. 'So how is our budget looking?'

Emily raised an eyebrow at her. Budget sounded like an alien word coming from Gina's mouth. In fact, the only reason Gina would ever bring up the subject was if she had done something that Emily had expressly advised against or hadn't budgeted for. She sighed. 'What did you buy Gina?'

Gina bit her lip guiltily before standing up and opening a huge cardboard box in the corner of the room that Emily hadn't noticed.

Emily followed her. She peered inside the box.

'Oh Gina!' Emily exclaimed when she saw what was inside. 'I told you these were a massive rip off!'

Gina shrugged, beaming at the mere sight of her purchase. 'I just love them though. It's the exact kind of thing I wanted.'

Emily rolled her eyes and shoved Gina's arm affectionately.

'What's in the bizarrely oversized box Mum?' Naomi's voice asked from the doorway.

Emily turned to see her drop her bag next to the stairs and walk into the room. She looked tired.

'Oh, just some bits and bobs,' Gina answered.

Naomi walked over and looked into the box. She was stood so close that Emily could smell her.

Naomi let out a disapproving sound. 'Mum I could have got you some of these from Morocco. They're dirt cheap out there. And they're much more decorated. Everything in Morocco is really ...'

Emily's stare drew her talking to a halt.

'Nevermind,' she said.

Emily noticed Gina looking from her to Naomi and back again.

There was an awkward pause.

'Right, well,' Gina said, clapping her hands together silently. 'I'll just nip over to the shop and pick up these paint samples. Naomi?' she addressed her daughter. 'Will you give Emily a hand moving these pots into the spare room?'

Naomi pulled a face that expressed quite clearly that she did mind. Very much.

'Oh Naomi love, stop pulling that face will you? It makes your mouth look like a bottom,' Gina told her.

'Mum!' Naomi protested in immediate embarrassment. She self-consciously pressed a hand to her lips.

Emily began to smile at the action, before she caught Naomi's eye and stopped.

'Do we actually have a spare room still? Or have you picked up some waifs and strays to live there?' Naomi asked sulkily.

Gina frowned in confusion. 'Did I say spare room? I meant your room.'

'What?'

'Sorry love, just for a few days!' Gina called as she made her way to front door.

'Fuck's sake,' Emily heard Naomi mutter.

The pots Gina had purchased and intended on housing in Naomi's room were actually enormous terracotta urns, their vast size equalled only in their immense weight.

Naomi looked over at Emily, her arms folded. 'So what does my mother intend on doing with these exactly? Except cremating all of Bristol?' she asked.

'They're features,' Emily answered. 'They're not going to have anything in them.'

Naomi looked inside the nearest one. 'But they're so roomy. Seriously Em, you could like live in one of these.'

Emily folded her arms. 'I'm not that small.'

Naomi sized her up with her eyes. Emily felt her stomach do an involuntary flip at the way Naomi dragged her gaze up her body.

'I bet you a tenner you could fit inside this one,' Naomi stated.

'And I bet you a tenner that I'm not even going to try,' Emily answered.

'Well that's no fun.'

'Neither is getting stuck inside a massive pot.'

'Not for you maybe,' Naomi answered, her bad mood replaced briefly with a sparkling with humour.

But that was the problem wasn't it? As long as Naomi was having fun it didn't matter that other people got hurt, just like it didn't matter when Naomi left her behind on these shores for bigger, brighter places. It was what Naomi had wanted to do, and Emily was left by the wayside.

There was a prolonged pause between them.

'Right are we moving this catastrophic piece of pottery then?' Naomi asked, tapping the box with her foot.

Emily welcomed the broken silence. 'Yeah, you grab the top, I'll lift it from the bottom.'

'Er ... shouldn't we get someone to help?' Naomi asked, gauging the weight of the pot with a cautious stare. 'You know ... someone with biceps ... and that isn't me?'

Emily rolled her eyes. 'Don't be such a girl Naomi. It's hollow. We'll be fine.'

Emily immediately regretted that statement as she crouched down to slip her fingers underneath the base and lift the box above the ground. Her back groaned in protest and her knees threatened to give way beneath her.

'Fuck me!' she heard Naomi say as they staggered unsteadily towards the staircase. 'Fucking ... bastard ... turd-pot!' she exclaimed.

'Naomi!' called Kieran from the top of the stairs. 'You're only back a day and a half and already the house if full of foul language!' He paused for dramatic effect '... it's fucking brilliant!'

'You could help us carry this twatting thing you know Kieran,' Naomi challenged from the base of the hallway.

'Oo no,' he answered, raising his hands, 'I leave the manual labour to the women.'

'Tosser,' Naomi muttered as they began to negotiate the stairs.

Emily smiled. Sometimes she couldn't help but love how effortlessly volatile Naomi was.

'You alright there Ems?' Naomi called from the other side of the box as she began to climb the stairs backwards, leaving Emily to push the box forwards and upwards after her.

'Yeah,' she answered breathlessly. It felt strange to be carrying out such domestic tasks with Naomi, when a few years ago she had imagined them picking out furniture and paint colours for their own home. The home that they would share together.

Emily could feel her face getting red with exertion. After several near-drops and multiple missed-steps, they finally fumbled their way in Naomi's room. With the box dumped on the floor Emily drew in a deep breath and stretched out her aching back muscles. When she stood back up straight she caught Naomi looking at her.

Her hair was stuck to her forehead with sweat and her chest was moving up and down as she drew in exhausted breaths.

A few years ago that would have been more than enough reason for Emily to jump her right then and there.

She quickly looked down at the floor. Naomi's room looked exactly the same. And it smelled exactly the same. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn she was sixteen again.

'Thanks for your help,' Naomi said. 'You're quite strong for a little-un.'

'Shut up. Do I need to remind you how many arm wrestles you've lost to me?' Emily asked.

'... no. And I wasn't using my good arm,' Naomi argued.

Emily shook her head with a smile. 'Whatever Campbell, I could pin you down.'

The implications of those words took a while to settle around them.

Naomi cleared her throat in the silence.

Emily felt very awkward. Laughing and joking with each other only served as a reminder of what they'd once shared. How could they begin to build a friendship again after everything they'd been to each other? Emily didn't even know if they ever could.

'So,' Naomi said after a while of quiet reflection, trying to prompt a conversation, but the words failing to follow.

Emily twitched her mouth from side to side. 'So,' she agreed.

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