I mean really guys with the reviews – you really know how to flatter a girl up right, and ensure that more chapters will appear a bit quicker…

But in other news, this chapter was fun for me. I spent a fair amount of time thinking about how exactly this would play out and very quickly settled on the following, my logic of course being that these two ladies would handle this situation as the purest thing that they are – as best friends. And what do best friends do when they're having trouble with something…? That'd be right – they talk it out. Or at least make a very valiant effort…

Also, to address some of the comments about this being my first fanfic – I truly appreciate your appreciation of my writing and would hope that it is at least somewhat apparent that I am in fact not a first time writer. And to LoveDesired – I owe you a big fat sloppy thank you for your overly generous feedback, and my only side comment is that it's not my day job that's keeping me from writing on the fanfiction.

K I'll be shutting up now. Continuing on…

The Way It Should Have Been

There were very few moments in Bianca's life that she knew would be a catalyst for something magnificently wonderful before it was even over, but in that moment she had no clue what any of them were. Outside of ambiguously recognizing that kissing Marissa was going to make that short list, Bianca knew very little else.

She kept trying to make her mind question what was happening, expecting for there to be some roaring moment of clarity in which she would realize what she was doing and pull away, but that moment never came. All she could do was feel; feel while her mind went blissfully still, feel the blazing hot balloon that inflated inside her chest, feel Marissa's irresistibly soft lips pressing so fervently against her own. With one hand clutching the back of Marissa's neck and the other resting lightly on her waist Bianca could feel every movement the woman made and when their instantly passionate kiss deepened still further as the redhead closed the remaining distance between them until she was almost in her lap, Bianca's brain finally quit screaming so loudly at her and gave itself up to the feelings.

Marissa's hands wound around Bianca's neck and gently glided upward into her hair, sending a stinging tremor of chills all the way down her body until she felt the slight burn in her toes. She couldn't stop the low moan that escaped her at the sensation, the sound swallowed instantly by Marissa's hungry mouth and Bianca felt the lithe fingers in her hair tighten as the redhead pulled her closer still, after which Bianca stood no chance at all of thinking any rational thoughts so she simply allowed herself to become absorbed completely in the magic that was Marissa.

/

I'm kissing Bianca. I'm kissing Bianca. I'm kissing Bianca, Marissa thought over and over again in her mind, each time the words becoming a bit fuzzier as the raging intoxication of Bianca's insatiable lips took over her whole body. Bianca brought a hand up to her neck and gently tugged her closer which Marissa was happy to oblige in earnest, the combined feeling of a warm hand at the back of her neck and one resting on her hip sending a shock of burning chills coursing over her skin as well as a burst of fiery passion to erupt inside her chest.

She wound her fingers into Bianca's lush brown hair, the silky curls igniting another wave of prickly chills through her fingertips and down her arms, and when Bianca let out an almost imperceptible moan of pleasure it was all Marissa could do to keep from doing the same, instead covering the brunette's lips more solidly to silence them both. Her fingers reflexively tightened inside of Bianca's flowing hair as she pulled her closer, one last fragmented thought fluttering through her mind before dreamy euphoria took its place: I'm not going to be the one to stop this.

/

It was many minutes later in fact that either woman made even the slightest move to pull away, by then both so impossibly breathless that it finally became necessary and the two sat back and gazed for a long moment into the other's eyes. A warm breeze played through the air and both women grinned slightly at the other's hair tickling her face, a comfortable giggle crossing between them when they both saw it. Bianca sat up slightly and Marissa rose with her, finally sitting upright after quite a few minutes of lying side by side together. Bianca reached up and stroked Marissa's cheek tenderly with the backs of her fingers, her heart flipping over at the redhead's contented sigh as she leaned forward until their foreheads rested gently against one another.

"So do you want to go first or should I?" Marissa asked softly, running her palm down the side of Bianca's neck and making her shudder at the feverish chill it caused.

"I think I need you to go first," she managed to stammer after a moment, and Marissa smiled tenderly.

"I fell in love with you Bianca," she told her evenly as she lifted her head to look at her, and the brunette's vision swam for a moment around Marissa's glistening hazel eyes locked so confidently on her own. "If I'm being honest with myself – which I think tonight I finally am – I have to admit that it probably started long before I was able to recognize it." She leaned in closer to Bianca's face as she spoke, slowly breathing in every ounce of her that she could until their lips were mere centimeters apart. "But it's there now – now I have seen it and I can't go back. I don't want to go back." She nuzzled their noses together and closed the remaining distance, their already swollen lips coming together again as Marissa whispered the final words against Bianca's. "I want this – I want you and every single perfect thing about you." And then she could hold out no longer, the blazing desire to continue kissing the brunette overtaking her again as she pushed her down against the cushions and both women were lost once more to the passion of the other's embrace.

/

"Okay so now you go," Marissa told Bianca quietly quite a bit later. They sat upright on the couch again with their legs and arms tangled completely together. Marissa played absently with a silky strand of brown hair while Bianca gazed down at their interlocked fingers in her lap, the wide grin on her reddened lips making the redhead's heart flutter madly.

"I… I'm in a state of shock to be honest," Bianca admitted airily. "I can't seem to get it through my head that this is actually happening."

Marissa smiled brightly and tipped Bianca's chin upward. "This is really happening," she assured her before laying a reverent kiss on her lips, this time forcing herself to pull away before she lost the ability to. "At least – I really hope it is."

"Do you want it to?" Bianca asked reticently, only barely able to keep her thoughts intact as Marissa's lips left hers again. "I mean… you do realize what this will mean don't you?"

"Bianca I'm really not worried about losing our friendship here," Marissa told her. "In fact I'm almost positive that this will only make it stronger. You're like the other half of me or something – I can't imagine anything that could possibly make this – us – not work perfectly."

"And what about the fact that we're both women?" Bianca asked curiously, a little thrown that that wasn't what Marissa had referred to first. "Have you thought about how this could affect your life? Or AJ's? How people could start thinking about you and treating you differently…"

"Yes Bianca I have thought about how this will affect my life," Marissa cut her off with a sly grin. "And all I see is how incredibly happy I would be with my best friend by my side every single day, or how wonderful it would be for AJ to have your constant love and steadiness to help him grow into an amazing man, and to be able to grow up with Miranda and Gabby too. Those are the only things that really matter Bee – all the rest is just background noise and if I have you to help me deal with it then I know I'll be fine. We'll be fine, because I love you. That's all I need to…"

But Marissa never finished as Bianca grasped her firmly behind the neck and pulled her in, their lips colliding with such force that they both inhaled sharply. It's going to take forever for us to talk this through at this rate, Marissa thought blandly, but then gladly allowed all other thoughts to disappear.

/

"Okay you go sit over there this time," Bianca said, indicating for Marissa to move to the armchair across the coffee table from the one she herself had just taken. "I can't handle being that close to you while trying to think clearly so until we talk this out I'm gonna sit here and you'll sit there. That way we won't keep getting interrupted."

"That sounds logical," Marissa agreed breathlessly as she slid from the sofa to the chair, crossing her legs in front of her and peering wryly at Bianca, who sat on her hands in the chair across from her. "Except I'm already irritated at the distance so start talking," she finished, her playful grin making the brunette's pulse quicken.

"Well first I need you to explain all of this to me," Bianca began, forcing a deep breath to keep her voice from shaking at the inferno of nerves that sprang up in her stomach again. "I mean this morning you were practically about to give JR another chance and now you're telling me that you've fallen in love with me after showing no signs of interest in that before…"

"Okay whoa," Marissa interjected. "First of all do you not remember why I'm here in the first place? This morning I was not about to give JR another chance, I was still trying to catch him in one of his old tricks because I was still insanely suspicious of him. And then of course I did and now I'm here. And second of all, what do you mean I haven't shown any signs before now? After that whole nightmare with Ricky didn't you notice the shift in the way we acted around one another? Because I certainly did. All of the sudden I couldn't keep myself away from you, always running to your side if I could find you because I just needed to have you around. And then this morning in the hotel room when I found you there so upset – it just about shattered my heart to see you like that. And now I realize that it was such a huge mistake to walk out on you when I got the call about JR. I knew that there was something more that you wanted to tell me. In fact it even crossed my mind that maybe you were struggling with whatever had changed between us but then you made it sound like you were just thinking about me and JR, but still I think I knew better. But I couldn't get you to react or open up and so I left. And I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry Riss," Bianca assured her. "This morning I was still trying to sort it out clearly too."

"So that wasn't what you wanted to tell me then? You really were just struggling with Ricky?"

"I thought I was, but as soon as you showed up I realized that I wasn't," Bianca confessed with a sheepish grin. "As soon as you got there and immediately started trying to help me and care about me I finally realized that I was displacing my terror of my feelings for you with Ricky's attack."

"Why was that so terrifying for you Bee?" Marissa asked, her breath hitching now. "You know you could have talked to me about anything."

"Marissa – as much as I love you, I've been down this road before," Bianca replied. "I've done the whole 'fall in love with your straight best friend' thing and I've even had that love returned. And every time I got my heart broken, it broke the hearts of my girls and I just couldn't do it again."

"Okay Bianca you're right," Marissa said, forcing down the massive petrified lump in her throat that Bianca would scare herself away from this as she compulsively slid off her chair and went to kneel in front of the now silently crying brunette. She gazed up into her spectacular brown eyes and caught her tears as they fell, mustering up everything she could think of to reassure her. "I get that you're scared, and I certainly understand why. But Bee I'm begging you to look past the fact that I've always been straight because for me that's not even a factor. I told you a long time ago that I was in love with JR like I've never been in love before, but Bee – what I feel for you, what I know we could be together, is so far beyond what I've ever felt in my whole life that I'm terrified of it too. But the only thing I'm scared of is you not wanting to take this step with me. I'm not afraid of you hurting me because I know without question that you never will. All you'll ever do is love me so completely that I'll likely never compare, but I also know that there isn't anything that I want more than to try. I can't promise that I'm going to be a pro at it right away but I can promise that as long as you're there loving me through it that I'll be fine. We'll be fine. And I swear – I'll spend the rest of my life fixing the scars that those idiots left on your heart if you'll give me a chance."

"How can you be so sure?" Bianca asked, tears streaking from her eyes so quickly that Marissa could no longer stop them all.

"Because of this," Marissa replied evenly, reaching behind her to retrieve the music box from the table. She lifted the lid and wound the mechanism inside until the song began to play, holding it up in front of her chest as she stared in a stunned trance at its ornate porcelain design, losing herself instantly to the serenity of the music and Bianca's gorgeous face gazing back at her. "This was basically you're confession Bianca. Or at least it's what made everything become so incredibly clear to me. I probably would have gotten there on my own but this really proved how much you care about me. Because your love and thoughtfulness and compassion are written all over this, Bee. This is a gesture that has 'Bianca Montgomery' practically stamped on it and because I also know you so well I was really able to see it for what it is. That combined with the way I've been feeling toward you and the way I feel about you now makes this the easiest decision I've ever made in my life," she said as she too felt tears sting the corners of her eyes, laughing aloud giddily as a wide smile cut across her shining face. "But it wasn't really a choice Bianca – I fell in love with you so easily that I didn't even know it was happening."

Bianca could only beam elatedly in response, her voice lost in her throat to the simultaneous tears and giddy laughter that were forcing their way upward and Marissa sat up on the coffee table so that they were eye-level again, leaving the music box on the floor and scooping Bianca's hands into hers, they're eyes locked together as jubilant laughter began to replace their tears.

"Well as far as answers go I'd say that was a damn good one," Bianca said finally, sighing deeply at the unbridled joy she saw all over Marissa's exquisitely glowing face. "Now I only wish that I'd gotten up my courage sooner."

"Oh I don't know," Marissa replied impishly. "As far as love confessions go I'd say that this was kind of weirdly perfect." She leaned forward and placed her lips gently on Bianca's, waiting for her to respond. She felt Bianca's lips smile beneath hers and she smiled back, sharing a contended sigh.

"Marissa?" Bianca asked hoarsely.

"Hmm…?" was Marissa's dreamy reply.

"Can we talk more later?"

"Deal," Marissa said instantly, her hands flying upward to clasp Bianca's neck more firmly as their mouths roamed together. The two women stood and made their way clumsily back to the couch, neither one willing to pull away from the other, and as they stretched out again and their bodies molded so easily together they were each left with the same distracted thought –

Finally.

/

Bianca awoke to the shrill call of a nearby bird and she sighed serenely as her eyes fluttered open, the wispy orange glow of the very early morning illuminating the backyard. She took a deep breath and sucked a strand of hair into her mouth, finally fully opening her eyes and seeing the shiny red streaks of the back of Marissa's head on the pillow right in front of her. She lifted her hand from Marissa's waist and pulled the hair out, accidently tugging on it and she felt the redhead jolt slightly.

Her head turned immediately toward Bianca's and she smiled sleepily, turning over easily so that they were facing one another. As she nuzzled her nose under Bianca's chin she said, "Good morning sunshine," which made the brunette chuckle.

"Sunshine?" she asked curiously, and Marissa's grin only widened.

"Yeah, the sunshine is glowing all over your face right now," she told her, placing a kiss at the end of her nose. "You look gorgeous in the light of a sunrise."

"You don't look so bad yourself," Bianca rasped, momentarily completely mesmerized that she had just woken up with Marissa in her arms. Memories of the previous night flashed across her mind until it swam; Marissa telling her so confidently that she was in love with her, finally being honest with Marissa herself about her own feelings, spending the rest of the night kissing and holding one another until they passed out in each other's arms. "We slept in our clothes," she said after a moment, to which Marissa glanced down at her rumpled red dress and Bianca's blue jeans.

"Eh…" she said, waving a hand casually before bringing it up to Bianca's cheek. "I had other things on my mind than finding a change of clothes," she grinned, leaning forward and claiming Bianca's lips with her own.

"Still you must be uncomfortable," Bianca said as she tried to sit up, but Marissa's arms immediately held tight to her waist and pulled her back down as she buried her face in Bianca's collarbone.

"No stay," she pleaded gently as she placed breathy kisses all along the brunette's supple skin and delighting in the waves of shivers she felt it create. "I'm perfectly comfortable right here."

Bianca only smiled elatedly and wrapped her arms tightly around Marissa's back, the two of them once again falling into a peaceful silence as they listened to the barrage of early morning songbirds.

"So umm – could I ask you kind of a geeky question?" Marissa asked after a while, finally lifting her head from Bianca's shoulder so she could gaze into her bright eyes. Bianca grinned and nodded, an eyebrow lifting in bemusement and Marissa couldn't help but giggle at the woman's innate charm. "Okay well – not to sound too much like a teenager at a school dance but… ahem… would you maybe want to be my girlfriend?"

Bianca's instant wide smile stretched up into her eyes and she beamed adoringly at the redhead, who laid there grinning so adorably at her question. "You really think you want me to be your girlfriend?"

Marissa squeezed Bianca closer to her and pressed their lips together, only pulling away when she felt it become more heated but she wanted to finish her thought. "I think that anyone who makes me want to make out all night like two preteens in a movie theater should be my girlfriend, yes," she replied teasingly, and Bianca laughed out loud.

"Oh well in that case… I guess I'm going to have to say yes, aren't I?"

"I think that would be very wise," Marissa smiled gleefully before snuggling further into her arms. She laid her head against Bianca's chest and immediately heard her rhythmically thumping heart, the sound igniting a shockwave of emotions inside her own chest as she heaved a deep contented sigh. "I think this is the way it should have been," she breathed against Bianca's smooth skin, the ripple of chills it created coursing through them both.

"I second that," Bianca agreed softly, and the two women settled down into the tranquil morning together, all the joy in the world paling in comparison to their own.