"Your mom asked me, in the interrogation room, if I still loved you."
"And you brushed it off as an irrelevant question." Aida took his plate from him and went to the kitchen to do the dishes.
"Do you want to know the answer?" Spencer asked, watching her from the couch.
"I'm scared I won't like the answer." She called back over the sound of the running water.
She bit her lip and scrubbed the plates clean, trying to ignore the fact that Spencer had gotten up from the couch and now stood behind her. After the plates were spotless, she placed them in the dish drainer, washed her hands, and then turned to face him.
"You're not going to let me get away without hearing whatever terrible string of words that will be your answer to that question, are you?" She asked, so quietly they both nearly missed what she had said.
"Yep." He cautiously reached for her hand, which she didn't attempt to move.
"Spencer, you're a bit close." She muttered as their fingers intertwined and he took her other hand.
"Are you horribly opposed to it?" He asked.
"No, not really…" She looked down at their hands and sighed, "I love you, Spencer, but I don't think we should rush into our former relationship so quickly…"
It stung to hear Aida say that, but Spencer didn't allow himself to show that it had hurt him at all.
"While I understand that, I just really want to be with you again. And I know you want to be with me, too, so please don't act like you don't."
The last words seemed like they were laced with a hint of anger and fear, and Aida knew that if she were to insist on keeping her distance, it would bring about a permanent end to them. There would never again be an Aida and Spencer, not even as friends. He wouldn't be able to handle a second rejection.
"We are taking things slowly, Spencer. I'm not rushing back into this because I don't want either of us to get hurt. I love you, but please understand that for both of our sakes, we can't just jump right back into it. I hurt you, I feel horrible about it, and it will take time to rebuild what we had. I'm not saying no to being with you, I just want you to make sure this is something you're committed to."
"I am, and I'm not letting you walk away a second time." He said, pulling her out of the kitchen and into the living room.
He began to hum When You're Smiling by Louis Armstrong, and Aida giggled as they began to dance; she had a love of older music, and she was glad that he had remembered that.
They danced and danced, singing old songs together and having a blast; it was just like when they were younger and it was just the two of them.
It was Aida and Spencer, and it was wonderful.