The sun had fallen hours ago. The plane was virtually plunged into gloom, most of the passengers were sleeping and only mild snoring could be heard, besides the coming and going of slow steps, belonging to those unable to sleep.

From time to time there could be found a light on upon a couple of seats and someone eyeing a newspaper or reading some book. Alison went over one of those magazines that every plane has next to the "what to do in case of emergency?" instructions, article by article.

The blonde hadn't slept more than half an hour, she wondered when would the fatigue attack, leaving her completely out of action, maybe it would happen in the middle of the airport, or just when they reached their true destiny. By the moment, adrenaline was keeping her in alert, with her mind running a mile a minute, imagining innumerable scenes in which A made a majestic entrance before she could try and start a new life.

She was tense, turning the pages of the magazine faster and faster, skipping sentences and moving the right leg that she had crossed over the left at a rhythm that started to be disturbing. Suddenly, something touched her arm. She jumped involuntarily and looked to her left. Emily had been stirring on her seat for a while, changing her position with her eyes closed, throwing uncomfortable sights. She hadn't either been able to properly sleep during all the journey.

- Do you want me to turn off the light? – She asked in a whisper, and this time the brunette was the one jumping on her seat, opening her eyes.

- No, no… don't worry, is this seat, it's impossible to find a decent position to sleep. – She grumbled as she stirred a little more.

Alison rolled her eyes, closed the magazine and rose to turn the light off. Emily grabbed her arm.

- There's no need to turn it off… - The blonde glanced at the brunette's hand, raised an eyebrow and reached out, pushing the button that was over her head, covering them in darkness.

- I also need to sleep. – But the truth was that those brown eyes that were by her side seemed tremendously tired and at least one of them should be rested enough to react to whatever that could happen.

Emily didn't protest, she left her eyes adapt to the darkness and tried to chill a little. All the discomfort that wasn't letting her sleep wasn't just because of that awful seat. The fact of having Alison there, of being aware that she was running away with her to God knew where and not having a clue about what would happen the next five minutes had her on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

She saw how the blonde snuggled against the window, showing a black and fathomless emptiness. She could discern some features of her face, which was far from calm and relaxed, ready to sleep.

That image, that profile that could be reached by her hand, reminded her a certain night in certain bed, just after certain person came back from the death. Her pulse quickened.

She reminded, almost more neatly than what had happened the night before, how the blonde had turned towards her between the sheets and how, with that movement, she became imperceptibly closer to her, allowing her to almost feel the heat of her body. She remembered her soft breathing over her skin, her eyes looking at her, her lips giving the most subtle and inviting smile that she had never offered to her. And her, trying to not tremble from head to toe, being aware, for the first time, that Alison was really alive, breathing, back in her life.

And now she had her there, so close, so real… and the brunette was doubting again, wondering if she could touch her…

- I have to ask you something. – Emily said. Alison opened her eyes. – I… I don't want to assume anything just because I'm here or because… because of last night. – It scared her to do the next question, it terrorize her. – Ali… what's going on between us?

Alison didn't answer, she continued staring at the front seat, breathing slowly, as if she hadn't listened her, and Emily didn't know if she should feel thankful for that silence or demand her a response, because she was crossing half the world to be next to her, at least she deserved to know how things really were.

- I've never done this before. – That statement broke the silence and Emily counted in her mind how the seconds were going on. – I don't know how it works, or if I'll be able to do it. – She was measuring her words syllable by syllable, it seemed like she had never thought those sentences. – But… maybe… maybe we could try it.

The brunette shut her eyes and clenched her jaw, turning her face away from the blonde's. That wasn't the answer she was waiting for. She needed for Alison to be honest with her, to tell her what she really felt, not to try and content her with a "maybe".

- I won't run away because you don't feel the same way that I do. I'm here because I… - She bitted her tongue. The brunette had been about to tell her that she loved her and she couldn't. Never mind that this was the main reason for her to be over 3000 feet high, and never mind that both of them knew that. She could not say those three words, not now, not when she expected the blonde to be sincere. – Because I care about you. I don't want you to feel obligated to do anything you don't want to…

- Emily. – She stopped her and waited for her gaze to focus in her again, only getting a fleeting glimpse from her brown eyes. The blonde relaxed her face, feeling part of the tiredness that would show at some point. – It didn't come out right. I want to try it.

- Alison, really, don't…

- Emily, I wanna be with you. – She recreated herself in those words, pronouncing them one by one, finding her gaze and holding it. – I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but at least I wanna try it. Do you want to try it? – The expression of disbelieve that was painted all over the brunette's face and that frown were starting to hurt her, so she emitted a heavy sight, took her right hand and allowed herself to throw to the girl one of those sided smiles that she liked to give her on the past, when it was just the two of them. – Do you wanna go out with me?

Emily put her lips apart, surprised by how the conversation had evolved. It seemed a very childish and unnecessary question, but the brunette had to recognize that jump in her stomach and that nonsense emotion that sneaked into her chest.

- I always thought that it would be me who would make that question. – She managed to say, not knowing very well how the words found the way out of her mouth, because she had been in love with her for years, because she had still been in love with her when she thought, when she knew, that she was dead, and because, honestly, the situation was extremely surreal.

- Me too. – Alison said, because even though she had it written all over her face, the brunette had never told her that she loved her or that she would like to be more than her friend. And the blonde was thankful for that. She was sure that her younger self wouldn't had taken it seriously, that probably she would had rejected her and Emily would had got over her, falling for someone that was really worth it and any of them would be now on that plane. – You hadn't answered yet… - She reminded her, trying to keep the corner of her mouth still.

- Yes… yes, I wanna go out with you. – She finally blushed and looked away when a little nervous laugh escaped her lips, because it seemed the classical and cheesy scene of those teenager films and because they were really doing it all upside down, because it appeared that they had slept together before having a proper date and because she didn't regret it. After all, if she was going to spend her nights crying, at least she would do it for something real, at least she would have had something to lose.

- Em…

Emily felt how the blonde's fingers wrapped around her hand and how her eyes looked at her. Now she really felt like that night on Alison's bed, with an accelerated heart and a contained breathing, just that this time the blue eyes were the ones that looked for the brown and the blonde's lips the ones that approached her mouth. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the touch, she enjoyed those soft and slightly wet lips that were pressing against her own crimsons.

There wasn't any movement and the kiss wasn't deepened or lasted for more than five seconds. It reminded Emily of those first touches that they shared in secret, when they were just kids, not knowing what they would become for each other. The difference was that now, when she parted from her lips, Alison looked at her with an infinite tenderness that the brunette never dreamed she would show to her, and now Emily knew that the kiss had been completely selfless, because it had been completely exposed. They were surrounded by people, strangers that could be so judging them… and the blonde hadn't even checked if the passengers that traveled behind them were sleeping. There was a possibility for it to work.


Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to land in Edinburgh, announced the pilot, and the whole plane clapped. The intercontinental flights have that effect on people. After spending more than half a day suspended in the air, flying over the ocean, without a safety net, to listen to the voice of the person that had avoided gravity is the best news you can get, especially if that person tells you're "about to land" in minutes.

- At last. – Alison stretched on her seat and saw how Emily yawned.

They had managed to alternate occasional short sleeps, walked down the aisle a couple times, taken three or four trips to the bathroom and eaten something from the plane's menu. And they were busted. It seemed that fatigue was beginning to bite and when the blonde thought about how much traveling they still had to do, she felt how each puncture tormented a little more her already sore back. They hadn't spoken much, not since they left things relatively clear between them. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, each had been immersed in their own thoughts.

Emily had avoided questioning anything about the future, or the past, she had basically focused on the fact that she was now, officially, in a relationship with Alison Dilaurentis. She would no longer hold back when she wanted to kiss her, or look away when she spent too much time admiring her. No, now she had other concerns, such as what would be Alison's attitude towards her from now on. She had never seen her in a relationship, so she didn't know what she would like or what she would hate or… even worse, she didn't know what the blonde would expect from her as a girlfriend. She blushed for the umpteenth time, and thanked that in that place of the planet was close to one in the morning and the lights were off, because she had been with that weird hung up of traffic light for a few hours, feeling as her cheeks ignited each time that word, "girlfriend", sneaked into the train of her thoughts.

- Did you get some sleep? – The blonde asked her.

- Not at all. – She run a hand through her hair and felt a twitch on her neck. – How much do we have to still travel?

- Pretty much. – Alison heard the sight of despair that came from the brunette and decided to take a little pity on her. – But not too much. – She reached into her bag and handed her a paper. – We'll have to wait almost two hours for the next plane. – She got up and turned on the light. – Then there would be more than two and half hours in the air and we'll have arrive.

When Emily's pupils adapted to the bright light, she noted the paper that the blonde had handed her. It was a plane ticket that belonged to Natalie Dashner and was bound to

- Paris. – The brunette read, nodding slightly.

- You don't seem surprised. – Alison commented, trying to decipher the expression on her face.

- I had my suspicions but… - She looked up and met the expectant face of the blonde, who was watching carefully her reaction. – I didn't want to get my hopes up.

- Is that okay? – She asked, almost shyly.

- That we are going to live in Paris for… who knows how long? – Alison nodded and the brunette allowed her lips to curve up. – I think it's great.

It was, at least at that moment, the prospect of living with the blonde in Paris was great.

It wouldn't be easy, they knew that, but to have the certainty that the other would be there no matter what and to know that this particular city would cease to be a distant dream to become their daily reality was a great incentive that made all the risk of the situation worthwhile. Not to mention that they probably were getting rid of A.


- It's so well done. – Emily said, admiring her new passport.

- I know. – Alison took the cup of coffee to her lips.

They had an hour to catch their next flight and Emily passivity regarding the details of that adventure was becoming curiosity.

- Since when do you have it? – The brunette asked, it was impossible that something as detailed as the document that she was holding had been made from one day to another.

- Since I got you out of that barn.

Emily looked up, the blonde was toying absently with the envelope of sugar that she had previously emptied, watching subtlety those around them. It was 2:35 in the morning, an odd hour to be in an airport. The people that surrounded them were crawling through the halls of the terminal like zombies, looking for caffeine in the different machines that had been scattered around, or finding a table in the few cafes that were open. The girls had opted for the second option, and were struggling to hold a conversation, while watching the little luggage they were carrying, keeping it safe under the table where they were.

- That day I gave you the option to stay in Rosewood or to go with me but… if you had told me you were coming I wouldn't have known very well what to do. – Alison confessed.

- I… I thought I was dreaming… - Because at that time the blonde was supposed to be dead, in fact, there was a body to prove it, and Emily knew she had fainted intoxicated by gases. But it seemed real, yes, to have her there, watching her with that smile, talking, saying those words that she had always wanted to depart from her mouth… it seemed so real… and, at the same time, her mind shouted at her over and over that it could only be a dream, her subconscious playing tricks on her.

- It wasn't fair, to ask you that at that moment. – The blonde continued. Neither it had been fair to ask her now, but she saved that comment, because she was tired and returning to that discussion would only exhaust her. – You fell asleep in my lap and I took it as a sign.

Emily took a few minutes to dwell on the memory, which now appeared fragmented in her mind, just a few quick and blurry images of the blonde, and the touch of her fingertips traveling from her temple to her neck… and that kiss…

- Did you get documentation for the others too? – Alison looked at her and her lips parted as if to say something, but eventually, she just joined them into a subtle smile and shook her head.

- I'm glad you didn't follow me at that time. We would have ended up in some seedy basement, trying not to get an infection. – She had been like that for months. The blonde squeezed her eyes tightly, feeling a chill, she didn't want to think about Emily in the middle of all that chaos. – Now we're going to Paris, it is a progress, much more glamorous.

- Yeah… that's something I've been wondering, why Paris? Why now? – It would have been so much easier to go to another state in America or travel to UK, where at least they knew the language.

- Because now I have the money needed to start from scratch and because Paris was… - She stopped for a moment and wrapped the now empty cup of coffee in her hands. – It was our city.

The brunette recalled that day in French class, when the two were left alone to study. Emily didn't even like the language, she had taken the course to spend more time with Alison and, well, she had to admit that hearing the blonde's French accent was a plus.

To see her there, in the backlight, talking about a common future in a place like Paris had quicken her pulse. Back then she could already recognize, even if it was only to herself, that being near to Alison made her nervous, that she had to count the smiles that she gave her and that she had to restrain herself for looking directly into her eyes, because she wouldn't be responsible of her acts if she ended lost in that sea surrounded by endless eyelashes. But when she told her that they could stay there "forever" and she dared to look at her and she saw that gleam in her eyes, a glow that denoted desire, hope and the illusion that causes a "hopefully"… those were the moments that had remained her in love with that girl that nobody quite understood and many hated, those were the little moments when the blonde was allowed to leave that bitch façade devoid of all emotion and became… Alison, at that time she was just Alison and Emily fell in love with her again and again whenever her guard went down that way.

- Can I ask where the money come from?

- It's better for you not to know. – Replied the blonde with absent eyes and the brunette didn't want to insist, at least not yet.

- And… when we get there, do you know where are we going to stay?

- I have a couple of suggestions.


AN: now that's what I call a "transition" chapter. I've been rewatching the serie from the beginning and this was my "compilation" of the little emison moments that the serie gave us.

By the way, I just want to thank you all for the reviews, follows, favourites and just for taking the time to read my story. I'll try to pick up the pace on the next chapters because I know how I tend to get lost in details and forget about the development of the original argument... so, yeah, I'll try to go a little faster ;).