A/N: Hi people! Sorry for the long hiatus. It's been a busy flu/school/work semester, but my kids finished their days of standardized testing last week, so that's nice! Also... I've been unsure about the last few chapters, because I don't know how to write fluff! And maybe I don't know how to write conflict either, but I am at least comfortable with it. Anyway, here come some fluffier chapters now that Elena and Darcy are giving each other a chance...suggestions are more than welcome!

They crossed the street finally, Darcy still holding her hand, fingers entwined. Elena was thankful for the relative darkness after the dazzle of headlights. She was happy, she knew she was, but her happiness was a lot like panic. She'd been hoping ever since he drove away from her parents' place that she could see him again. That they might have a chance at...something. But now she'd gotten into completely new territory.

Darcy coughed as they walked slowly through the warm night. "I feel like we need to speak right away lest we fall into some kind of awkward purgatory for past sins."

Elena laughed, a little uncontrolled. "You're right. What should we talk about? Do we have anything to talk about when we're not angry, or desperate, or confused?"

"I hope so. I'd hate to tell Gigi I failed before our first date."

Elena squeezed his hand lightly. "I guess this doesn't count?"

"No, definitely not. I need a chance to do better than this." He thought for a minute. "DC could count."

Elena shook her head. "No way. That was sight-seeing, and I was coerced into it by my boss. I had a good time, because her brother was surprisingly cool, but it wasn't a date."

Darcy swung their hands. "I can't tell you how shocked I was to see you in my office. I literally thought I was imagining things. Or that we'd hired a doppelgänger of the girl I left in LA."

"That was so embarrassing. For the record, I wouldn't have gone in, but your assistant was showing me around and practically shoved me in there."

"She does that: shoves people into small rooms unexpectedly. We're working on it."

Elena laughed. "I wanted to melt into the carpet when you came in. I bet my face was something else when I came out. I hope I didn't start any rumors with your employees."

Darcy winced.

"I was kidding! Did I really?"

"I did. Taking you on a tour was stupid of me. Apparently you've been the source of serious speculation this week."

Elena smacked her head. "Maybe that's where your mother's 'sources' came from. I couldn't believe she thought we were engaged."

Darcy tripped and almost spit out his coffee. "Engaged? You must have laughed yourself to sleep."

Elena didn't tell him she'd been too angry to see the funny side of it right away. He would feel awful if she told him the hurtful things his mom had said. She told him the funny parts instead: his mom in the laundry room, lint stuck to her back.

Darcy laughed, but also sighed. "I'm a lot like her, in personality. I thought I was avoiding her faults, but you showed me how wrong I was."

"I was pretty harsh."

"Yes, but I deserved worse," he said emphatically. "I truly hadn't realized how cut off and self-centered I'd become. You made me question myself, and I needed that. I still do. I need someone in my life who doesn't see things the way I do." He grinned, "And is blunt about it."

"I got your back, then. But just so you know, I don't feel the need to question myself, so there's no need to return the favor."

Darcy laughed.

"Really," Elena said, "I know I said some stupid things, and was more than a little unfair to you."

"When did you decide to give me a chance?" Darcy asked curiously.

"Your letter cleared up a lot, but I still thought you were..." Elena trailed off. "Not my type. But then Fitz and Gigi and even your assistant... it was hard to believe you were a jerk when everyone liked you so much."

"Plenty of people dislike me too, I'll have to keep them out of your way."

Elena snorted, "I can believe that."

"Can I ask you something else? Who's the guy in your apartment that I heard on the phone? Is he the same guy I saw when I dropped you off?"

Elena laughed. "Oh, are you worried about him? That's Carl. He's dating my cousin."

"Oh. That's good to know."

"Yeah, he did ask me out a couple times," Elena tactfully rounded the number down, way down, "but I never even thought about it. Even when I could only argue with you, I was more interested in you than him."

"Will your parents mind?"

Elena bit her lip uncomfortably. "They have other things to worry about. My mom will ask you to help with their citizenship. I've explained that there's no path right now, but she still feels like we just need to find the right person to ask."

"There are a few ways... if they've been the victim of a crime, for instance..."

Elena shook her head. "I've looked into it, trust me. This fall they're going to go to the consulate and get Valerie's dual citizenship. That way if...if they do get deported, she can go with them. Or she might stay with me, but at least she could visit them more easily."

Darcy squeezed her hand as they stopped at the top of the hill and looked over the dark expanse of Griffith Park. "I know it looks bleak, but the chances Trump will win are very low. Who knows? Maybe we'll finally pass a bipartisan Dream Act and Noa, at least, will have a pathway to citizenship."

"I'm not going to hold my breath. We got our hopes up a few years ago, and...well, you know how that went. Anyway, I don't expect you to solve everything for my family. It's enough that I can respect what you believe."

Darcy brought her hand up and kissed it. "Thank you."

Elena's hand tingled. She brought her other hand up and touched the hair above his ear. "I'm glad you came to stay at our cabin."

Darcy retraced his steps with Elena down the hill, back toward the coffee shop, almost painfully happy, and painfully aware that he had to leave in the morning.

"Do you want to go to the beach?" he asked suddenly.

"Tonight? What time is it?" Elena pulled out her phone.

"I don't know, but I don't want to go home. Are you too tired?" He wanted more time with Elena, possibly forever, and he couldn't stand to walk away right then. He knew tonight was theirs, in this bubble, but when it was over, all bets were off.

Elena put her phone away again, temporarily pushing off real life. Did she know how he felt? "Sure, let's go. Venice or Santa Monica will still be lit."

"We could even take the Metro," Darcy said. "There's a station a few blocks away."

"Is that safe in the middle of the night?"

Darcy shrugged. "Maybe? Let's try it."

Elena laughed. "I really did make you question yourself. Soon you'll be letting Gigi use Uber."

Darcy groaned. "The day may come."

Hours later, Darcy and Elena rode the train back to their cars in Los Feliz. Elena leaned against him, and Darcy thought he could sit forever with her head on his shoulder. He hadn't stayed up all night in years, not for fun anyway, spending time with someone he cared about.

The sun came up as they climbed the stairs at their station.

"Promise you'll still remember this the next time I come," Darcy said. "I have this horrible fear that the next time I see you, you'll revert to hating me."

Elena kissed his cheek again. "I promise I'll warn you if I revert to hating you."

Noa was too happy to be much shocked. "I knew he was a good guy. Charles likes him so much. I'm so happy for you!"

"It may be a bit premature. He lives on the other side of the country—"

"But you said he has a house here! Of course he'll be back a lot."

"And I'll be so busy with school, I have a ton of difficult classes my last semester."

"Elena," Noa sounded exasperated. "He'll understand about that. If you belong together, you can make it work. Did you call me to celebrate or not?"

"I just want to hear you defend him. And tell me I'm not nuts for indulging optimism."

"If you're crazy, I'm certifiably insane," Noa said. "I'm going with Charles to a dinner party next weekend."

"What? Already? I figured he'd keep things low-key for a while."

"Well, he's not famous or anything, it's not like reporters follow him around. But he said trying to keep us a secret would make people more suspicious than doing it outright."

"So you have to drive up to Sacramento for one dinner party?"

"I'm going to go up Friday, after daycare, and drive home Sunday."

"All weekend? That's...serious."

"It's not like that. I'm going to stay with Juan and Isabel."

Elena was relieved. "I hope you have fun."

"I will. And some time you should come with me! Charles says Darcy flies into Sacramento as often as LA, and we could all hang out."

Elena couldn't quite picture this, but she responded encouragingly.

Darcy wasn't big on texting, which didn't surprise Elena at all, but he did call her every night. The time change was a little hard to work out, but despite that, and any initial weirdness to talking on the phone with him, Elena enjoyed it. They found themselves talking longer and longer each evening, rather than less. And if Elena frequently disagreed with Darcy, even getting seriously ticked off on occasion, he didn't seem to enjoy it any less. Elena didn't know as much about policy or politics as he did, but she was learning fast, and she and Darcy worked out baseline rules to keep from getting too annoyed with each other. And frequently they ignored politics altogether and talked about other things.

Gigi was beyond happy. She even began to jog through the neighborhood with Elena occasionally—braving the stares and occasional pictures. She was thinking about going to school on the East Coast, and excited with each new contract that closed and loosed her ties to her old life.

And when Darcy came back to town in late August, Gigi and Elena both met him in the driveway when he pulled in.