"C'mon, Mama!"

"Yeah, c'mon! It's gonna be fun!"

"Please, Mama?"

The three kids put on their most convincing performance, complete with big puppy-dog eyes and hands clasped beneath their chins. Jesús had even resorted to trying to tug her out of her chair by her arm.

"Yeah, Mama," Stef teased as she walked by, a small arsenal of Super Soakers in her arms. "Don't be such a party pooper." Setting the toys down on the table, she raised her eyebrows at Lena in challenge but Lena simply slid her sunglasses on and rested her head back against chaise lounge chair, unaffected by the lot of them.

"Uh, uh. You guys always gang up on me so you can play without me. Call me what you will, I'm staying right here."

"Come on, guys," Brandon sighed as he grabbed one of the water guns from the table. "She's never gonna come." The disappointment in his voice was almost enough to change her mind. Almost, but not quite.

Mariana and Jesús both hesitated before grabbing their weapons from the pile on the table and following their brother into the yard. Stef picked up one of the two remaining water guns and stood square in front of Lena with her feet braced apart.

"What?" Lena finally said when the silence dragged on.

Stef pumped the gun a couple of times.

"Don't think you're safe all the way over here. I'm a good shot."

Lena's eyebrows rose over the edge of her sunglasses. "If I get hit with so much as a drop of water, you're gonna to pay for it."

When Stef swept a slow gaze over her, Lena's stomach tightened.

"That's what I'm counting on, sweetheart." A smirk tilted Stef's lips but Lena refused to give her even a hint of satisfaction with a reaction.

Stef pumped her Super Soaker one more time before turning and striding into the yard.

"Okay, my babies! Let's go!"

They all scattered around the yard and when all four were hidden, Stef gave her whistle to start the game.

Lena watched her family stalk each other around the backyard. The high summer sun was almost oppressively hot but even as a layer of sweat started to bead on her skin, she was more than content letting the rays soak all the way into her bones. Stef liked to tease that she was part lizard; cold-blooded because even in the summer her hands were always cold. As she laid in sun, basking in the heat like an iguana on a desert rock, she thought maybe Stef was right because nothing could beat this feeling.

She closed her eyes and eventually the gleeful sounds of her kids squealing and laughing faded into the distance. Sleep tugged at her and she was just about to surrender when a shocking cold hit her square in the chest. Shrieking, her heart pounded as the cold water seeped into her shirt and down into her lap.

"Stef!" she yelled, sitting up and trying to wipe off some of the water. Her partner was standing by the garage, her Super Soaker still aimed right at her. The kids, all dripping wet, were buckled over with laughter.

"I told you I was a good shot."

The cocky grin on her face was almost enough to get her up but Lena fought the urge. She knew what Stef wanted and she wasn't going to give in.

"It's fine. You know, I needed to cool down anyway so thanks, babe." Leaning back, she made a show of kicking her feet back up onto the lounger, crossing them at the ankles. She readjusted her sunglasses, then crossed her arms behind her head as she leaned back against the chair.

"Happy to help," Stef called back. They stared each other down and the sound of laughter faded as the kids looked back and forth between them. Lena didn't move when Stef pumped the gun a couple times, calling her bluff. Surely she was smarter than that.

Stef fired. Lena tried to dodge it but gasped when the icy water hit her shoulder. The children were laughing again but when her partner's familiar belly laugh joined them, all bets were off. Lena jumped from the chair and grabbed the remaining water gun from the table.

"You better start running for your life, woman," she yelled, pumping the gun, "because if I catch you, you're dead!"

The kids' laughter turned to squeals and they scattered as Lena took after Stef who had already turned tail and was heading for the back of the garage. They all knew better than to get in her way. They knew how she could get when goaded by their mom.

Lena chased Stef around the garage, trying to hit her but coming up short.

"C'mon, love! You can do better than that!" Stef taunted over her shoulder as she darted in the other direction, taking cover behind a tree.

While Lena circled the tree, Stef pressed her back against it, keeping it between them, her gun at the ready. Lena changed direction but Stef was ready for her and hit her with another stream of water before she had a chance to strike. Her howling laugh filled the backyard before she dodged Stef's second shot. Lena fired back, hitting the tree trunk as Stef ducked and darted away from the tree.

They shot back and forth as Lena chased Stef around the yard. But even while having to shoot behind her, Stef was still the better shot, making Lena yell with every hit.

"We're coming, Mama!" Jesús called as he ran across the yard, water gun aimed at Stef.

"Yeah we're coming!"

"Hey! You guys are supposed to be on my team, here!" Stef was backing away from them as the three kids approached to take up rank beside Lena.

"We're on Mama's team now," Mariana said. All three kids pumped their Super Soakers while Stef continued to walk backwards.

"That's not fair! Four against one? C'mon! Brandon. You wanna be on my team, don't you? Make things a little more fair?"

Brandon hesitated. Stef was appealing to his strong sense of fairness but Lena wasn't above playing dirty.

"That's fine if you want to go on Mom's team, Brandon. But I'm taking my team out for ice cream later."

"I'm on Mama's team!" Brandon declared, his gun already aiming at Stef.

Lena smirked at Stef while Stef gaped at them all.

"How dare you turn my own children against me! You're all traitors!" She was still walking backwards.

Lena shrugged and pumped the handle of her gun a few times.

"Guess I'll just have to take you all down then!" she yelled as she aimed and pulled the trigger. A pitiful stream of water trickled out and the kids burst out laughing. Lena's smile grew wicked as Stef pumped her gun again, pulled the trigger, and nothing happened.

"Crap."

"Get her!" As Lena gave the command, Stef dropped her gun and turned to run at the same time but she was backed against the side of the garage. Lena cackled as they took aim and fired. Trapped, Stef tucked her head behind her arms and curled against the onslaught. Shouts and whoops of laughter rang through the yard until the kids' guns each ran out of water.

"Okay, okay!" Stef pleaded but Lena wasn't ready to quit. She'd had a late start which meant she had a lot more water left. And victory felt so good. "Lena! Truce! I call a truce! Please!" Stef was gasping for breath between bouts of laughter when Lena finally relented.

"That was awesome, Mama!" Jesús said as he came in for a high five.

"Yeah! I always wanna be on your team!" Brandon announced. Lena and the kids exchanged high fives while Stef, drenched from head to toe, shook water from her limbs and tried to wring out her shirt.

"I think it's a lost cause, babe," Lena teased.

Stef glared at her before a grin turned up the corners of her mouth. She bounded toward Lena with her arms outstretched but stopped in her tracks when Lena aimed her Super Soaker at her.

"Don't even think about it!" She pumped the handle a couple times.

"You wouldn't," Stef challenged, staring her down.

"Don't test me." Eyes narrowed on her partner, her eyebrows arched in warning, Lena called over her shoulder to the kids, "Go get the towels from the porch."

Tension grew between them as they held their positions.

"I can't believe you bribed our kids to turn them against me. I thought you were above playing dirty." Stef chanced a step forward.

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine." Lena shrugged, gripping her weapon a little tighter.

"Bribery's illegal, you know?" She took another step forward and Lena held her ground.

"Then arrest me." A suggestive note threaded into Lena's voice, a smirk curling the corners of her mouth.

"I just might." Stef's voice dropped down to her chest and she took a few steps closer.

"Keep walking and you're gonna see just how dirty I can play."

Stef gasped, her eyes gleaming. "I think I like the sound of that."

Lena tilted her chin up, her eyebrows arching high in challenge. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Lena waited and finally Stef took another slow step forward, closing most of the distance between them as a smile played on her lips. The barrel of Lena's gun pressing against her abs kept them slightly apart.

Lena's breath grew shallow beneath Stef's gaze. Water dripped down onto her chest and down her shirt from Stef's hair. When Stef took her face into her hands, Lena tilted her chin up as she let the toy droop between them and Stef leaned forward. Her body hummed with Stef's so close, her heart beating in her throat.

Stef's lips were just grazing hers when she whispered, "I warned you."

Stef hesitated in confusion and Lena stepped back out of her grasp, aimed her gun and pulled the trigger.

"LENA!" Stef shrieked, stumbling backwards then falling to the ground. A maniacal grin was plastered on Lena's face as she pummeled her helpless partner with water while Stef tried to crawl backwards on the slippery grass. This time, Lena didn't stop until her tank ran dry.

Lena couldn't help but laugh. Poor Stef, lying flat on her back, covered in grass and dripping wet, sputtered and wiped the wet strings of hair out of her face.

"Okay, okay," Lena said through her giggles. "Truce this time. I promise." She dropped the useless weapon on the ground and held her out her hand.

Stef took the offered hand then tugged her down, making Lena yell in surprise as she tumbled on top of her. She landed with an oof before Stef wrapped her arms around her waist, both of them laughing.

"You're gonna pay for this, you know," Stef said. It wasn't a threat but a promise.

Water seeped into the front of her clothes as she looked down into Stef's smiling eyes, their laughter fading. She smelled of sweat and grass and sunscreen. Beads of water glistened on her forehead, in the corners of her mouth, on her eyelashes. Her cheeks were flushed and Lena could feel her labored breathing beneath her. She was sure she'd never seen Stef look more beautiful.

Her gaze settled on Stef's lips, parted and alluring. She moved to capture them but just before their lips met, her mouth turned up in a cocky grin and she whispered, "That's what I'm counting on, sweetheart."