Author's Note: Wow, lots of great reviews! Thanks to all of you, and I'm happy you liked the last chapter. Bladed Darkness, I'm pretty sure that clicking noise when Emily kisses Miley on the shoulder is the kiss itself being placed a bit too close to Miley's microphone, resulting in it picking up that faint popping sound just like we hear when someone kisses us too close to our ears. And I had totally missed that pose at the part 5 end/part 6 start! Yeah, Miley's hand is a wee bit low on Em's hip. Okay, it's on her butt, not her hip. And Em doesn't look the least bit stressed about it; in fact, in the actual picture she seems quite happy for her best friend to hold her that way. You go, girls. Sophi20, you go right on leaving those long reviews. They're terrific! I also want to thank KittyKat06 for recognizing that Miley's song "Dream" is actually a cover of Diana DeGarmo's song "Dream, Dream, Dream" from her 2004 album Blue Skies. Miley has excellent taste in covers, because I enjoyed her version of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" as well. Guitargirl007, you ROCK for pointing out that interview to all of us! And for the record, my nomination for couple name for them would be...Memily! And SweetNiblets, I have to admit I eeped with joy too. I think we all want them to be happy, and they certainly looked happy holding each other. KrazyNat', your review made my whole week. You're exactly right, this is a story of two hearts that truly belong together and a celebration of their love. Thank you for your praise and for reading.
Here are my standard disclaimers: I make no claims on any of Disney's, Miley Cyrus', Emily Osment's or Hannah Montana's trademarks or copyrights, and no infringement is intended on them or those of any other artist or publication mentioned. Be forewarned that this story most certainly will contain femslash. If love and affection between two consenting young adults of the same sex bothers you, I suggest you turn right around and find something else to read. Keep any flames to yourself and remember that what our world needs now is more love and acceptance, not more hate. Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated!
We Got Nerve
by Jo P.
Chapter 10: Thrown Into Contrast
Run run run away, like a train rolling off the track
Got the truth being left behind, fall between the cracks
Standing on broken dreams, never losing sight
Just spread your wings
We'll get higher and higher, straight up we'll climb
We'll get higher and higher, leave it all behind
So baby dry your eyes
Save all the tears you've cried
Oh, that's what dreams are made of
'Cause we belong in a world that must be strong
Oh, that's what dreams are made of
--Van Halen;"Dreams"
"Aunt Miley, I can explain!" shouted Melody Burns as she held her hands up as if to ward off the furious glare that Miley Truscott was casting her way.
"Well, it better be a darn good explanation!" shouted Miley as she advanced on the couch. However, her charge was halted by her wife's strong but gentle grip on her arm.
"Miles," said Lilly calmly, "we had kissed boys when we were thirteen. We were fifteen when we kissed for the first time too, and we went a lot farther than just kissing."
Miley did remember that night well—in fact, she would never forget it, because that was what she thought of as the first night that she began to truly live. When she and Lilly quietly made love for the first time in her bed upstairs, they were exploring not only their bodies but their hearts as well, testing the depths of their love for each other and finding no limits whatsoever when it came to each other. On that night their old lives as children ended, and their new lives together began. But that was all much different than their thirteen-year-old niece making out with someone she had just met. "Lilly, sweetie, our situation was different because we had known each other for four years before we made love. We don't even know this girl!"
"I'm Trish," said the girl decked out in a cutoff black t-shirt, cutoff olive drab shorts and short black boots. She stood, shifting from one foot to the other uneasily. Melody stood and moved next to her, getting close but not quite touching the slightly taller girl. "I'm Albert Dontzig's niece. You babysat me one time, and I was a total bitch to you."
"You're Patty?" asked Miley, her jaw dropping. The girl nodded affirmatively, her stubby pigtails atop her head not moving an inch.
"Really?" said Lilly, just as stunned. "Make-a-Moose Patty?"
The girl nodded again. "Yeah, but I stopped going by Patty when I was a freshman in high school. I go by Trish now. Patty sounds like a five-year-old."
Miley turned her head back to her thirteen-year-old cousin. "Okay," she said sharply to Melody.
Melody looked confused. "Okay what?" she asked.
"Okay, explain," Miley said, waving her hands as a signal for her niece to start talking. "You said you could explain, remember?"
Melody stammered, "W-well..." She turned to look at Trish, and a grin appeared on her face. She turned to look at her aunts again and said, "She's just so hot!" as she fanned herself. "I mean, I couldn't help but kiss her!"
Lilly covered her mouth to hide her smile, just as Luanne turned to hide her silent laughter. Even Miley found it hard to keep a straight face at Melody's frank honesty. Maybe I am being a bit too overprotective, she though. But she needs to know that it's not going any farther than small kisses. Miley felt rather than saw Lilly step up to stand beside her. She turned to look at Lilly, and she could tell by her wife's body language that Lilly was thinking much the same thing. Let her explore a bit, but not too far. She doesn't need to grow up all the way yet. Miley smiled at Lilly, and the two of them walked the rest of the way to the couch together. "Okay, you two, sit," said Miley as she and Lilly walked around and stood in front of them.
As Melody and Trish sat, they scooted slightly closer to each other, still not touching but hovering on the edge of contact. Miley glared at both of them, then she said, "We're not your parents, but we need to get a few things straight around here." She turned to look at her wife. "Lil?"
Lilly smiled at Miley, then the smile went away and was replaced by her serious game face. "Like Miley said, we're not your parents, but you two aren't adults, either. I understand you two are attracted to each other, and that's okay to explore that. Believe us, we know. BUT..." She looked back at Miley, who picked right up smoothly.
"BUT stuffin' your tongues down each other's throat isn't the kind a' explorin' we're talkin' about!" She turned to look at Lilly. "Wow, that sounded really country, didn't it?" she asked softly, a silly grin on her face.
Lilly nodded. "Yeah, but you're a bit worked up, hon. That happens sometimes." She patted Miley's arm. "It's okay. I think it's adorable."
"Thanks," Miley said as she smiled at her best friend. "Now," she continued as she looked back at the two girls squirming on the couch. "Like I said, we're not your parents, Mel. But we love you and care about you. We understand you're growing up, but don't grow up too fast, please. If you like Pa—Trish, then spend some time with her while you two are here. It'd probably be nice to have a friend more your and Peyton's age to do stuff with, but we expect you to respect us and respect yourself while you're here."
Lilly sat down next to Melody and put her arm around her niece. "Move a little slower, okay Mel? Take the time to talk to somebody first. Get to know them. I know your hormones are all raging inside because you think Trish is cute, but you have to learn to control them, not let them control you."
Melody looked at Lilly skeptically. "So who was in control last night, you or your hormones?" she asked.
Miley laughed once fast before she caught herself, earning her a look from Lilly. "Sorry, sweetheart," Miley said.
Lilly turned to regard her niece again. "We shared control with our hormones last night," she said coolly, fighting to keep a straight face. "Mostly." She paused. "Kind of."
"What happened last night?" asked Trish.
"Oh, they destroyed their bedroom having sex last night," Melody said nonchalantly. "Or at least it sounded like it. Neither Peyton or me could sleep, 'cause we could hear 'em screaming all the way down the hall."
Lilly felt herself flush intensely as the memories of their wild lovemaking rushed back, triggering a surge of love for her wife that made her entire body feel warm. When fingers carefully brushed her left shoulder, she nearly jumped before she realized it was Miley, standing over her.
"It was really good," Miley said with a satisfied grin. "I mean, some of the best ever."
Lilly looked up at Miley. "Yeah," she said right before she yanked Miley down, pulling her girlfriend into her lap. "It was pretty darn amazing."
Trish shook her head. "Okay, this just blows my mind," she said.
Melody turned to look at her new friend. "What does?"
"The way you all talk about two girls, or two women, being together and having sex. Right out in the open, like there's nothing wrong with it."
"There isn't anything wrong with it," Lilly said flatly. "We love each other and we take care of each other. That's what wives are supposed to do for each other. Or a husband and wife, or husbands. That's what loving someone is about. Gender has nothing to do with it."
"Try saying that in my school," Trish said quickly. "I can't count the number of times I've been shoved, spit at, had my books knocked out of my hands, shit put in my locker, you name it."
"And how did you deal with that?" asked Miley.
"I tried to fight back at first, until I realized I couldn't fight the whole school. Then I just tried to creep people out so they'd stay away from me."
"You didn't seem to creep Mel out," Miley said pointedly.
"Nah, I found it sexy," said Melody happily. "Can I hold your hand?" she asked Trish suddenly, sounding like the thirteen-year-old that she was.
Trish turned to look at Melody and smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that," she said. She offered her hand to the slightly younger girl, who very carefully took it and wrapped her fingers partially around it, resting both hands on the couch between them.
Miley and Lilly watched as the two young girls tried to look at anything other than their hands linked together. It was quite innocent, and very touching to the two doting aunts. Miley began to look at Trish in a slightly different light, not hard to do now that she wasn't making out with Melody. "Trish?" Miley said softly.
"Yes? Um... What do I call you?"
"You can call me Miley, or if that's too forward, Mrs. Truscott."
"Okay, thanks. What were you going to say, Miley?"
Miley smiled. She would have been happy with either form of address, because while her first name was more comfortable, she was still quite proud to call herself Mrs. Miley Truscott. "I was going to say that we think it would be okay for you to get to know our niece while you two are both in Malibu, but we expect you to control yourselves. We both think holding hands and hugs is a good start."
"Yeah," said Lilly. "Holding hands and hugging is cool, but no fooling around or anything more than a little kiss. We come in and find you two making out like you were a minute ago, and we whip both of your butts."
Trish looked at the two of them for a moment before she said to Lilly, "How did she know you were going to agree with what she said?"
Lilly smiled confidently as she rested her head on Miley's shoulder. "Because she knows what I want," she said simply.
"You bet your cute butt I do," Miley purred into Lilly's ear, sending tingles of excitement through her lover's body. Melody and Trish both snickered at the exchange and the very obvious response of Lilly's body.
"This is cool," said Trish. "To see two girls that like each other be able to be themselves and not have to worry about anyone getting mad."
"Oh, we've had people get mad at us before," Miley said. "And we've had people do really mean things to us while we were in school, too. But we love each other, and that love was more important than hiding who we were, or being ashamed for loving each other. God made us love each other just like every other couple in love."
"No, He didn't," said Peyton as she walked back into the room, now dressed in a blue tank top and white shorts. "He made you two more in love with each other than any other couple on earth." She bent down to plant a kiss on each of her aunts' heads. "And then He turned you loose to show everybody else what true love was supposed to be. Selfless, honest, and not ashamed of a damn thing."
Miley and Lilly were so touched that neither of them thought to fuss at Peyton for swearing. "Thank you, Pey," whispered Miley as Lilly just nodded, tears filling her eyes.
"You're welcome," said their older niece as she sat down in the large chair next to the couch. "Oh, and Luanne said to tell you that she was going back to her house for a bit. She said she was taking Stella like you three had talked about, and she left her car here."
Faced with the dilemma of a car with only two seats and two young nieces to drive around, Miley and Lilly had arranged for Luanne to drive Stella for a few days, letting her take the travel adapter plug so she could charge the electric Tesla Roadster at her house. Luanne had left her car, a cherry red 2011 Ford Mustang, for Miley and Lilly to drive in the meantime so they would have enough room to ferry Peyton and Melody around. The brand new Tesla Sedan that Miley had ordered was supposed to be delivered in January, plenty of time for them to get used to it before the baby came.
"Hey, Black Alice," said Peyton, pleased when Trish immediately turned to look at her. "You read comic books too?" Peyton asked, surprised that Trish had gotten the reference.
"Sometimes," Trish said, slyly casting a glance at Melody. "Got the idea for this outfit from Black Alice, in fact."
"That's cool," said Melody. "Pey and I read some, too." While Melody looked calm on the outside, inside her heart was pounding so hard that she thought she was going to pass out any second. The electric contact between her hand and Trish's was making her head spin, and when the other girl turned and smiled at her just then, Melody absolutely knew her heart had stopped.
"Breathe," said Trish, a warm smile on her face. "Or you'll pass out."
"I think my sister has it bad," said Peyton, already formulating ways to needle her little sibling about her new crush.
However, Trish wasn't registering any words right now; she was entirely focused on the adorable teenager sitting in front of her whose green eyes, cute face and fetching smile had commanded all her attention. "How do your parents treat you?" she asked Melody softly.
"They treat me like their daughter," said Melody, not understanding what Trish was asking.
"They don't give you a hard time for liking girls?"
"No," said Melody as she shook her head. "I can't help who I am, and they know that. No matter who I like, I'm their daughter. I'll always love them, and they'll always love me."
"I wish I had your parents," Trish said, looking down at the floor until she felt a squeeze on her hand. She looked back up at Melody, who looked quite concerned.
"You have to be strong, Trish," Melody said. "You have to be brave enough to be yourself, to be honest. Just because you're attracted to girls doesn't make you any less of a person, any more than being left-handed, or being a redhead, or being tall, or being short does. It's who you are, and who you are is a beautiful person. We're all beautiful people, we just have to find the courage to open our hearts. That's what I learned from my aunts."
Trish moved her head to look at Miley and Lilly, still sitting on the couch with Miley in Lilly's lap, playing with Lilly's long blonde curls as Lilly held her. "You two would make amazing parents," Trish said. "Well, you know, if you could have kids."
Melody and Peyton laughed so hard that it surprised Trish, making her jump before Melody lifted up her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Trish, Aunt Miley's pregnant. With Aunt Lilly's baby."
"Seriously?" Trish asked, totally surprised.
"Yep," said Miley proudly.
Lilly added, "She's right. Four months pregnant." She patted Miley's belly lightly, then she rubbed it, making Miley giggle and squirm at the slight tickling sensation as Lilly wiggled her fingers while rubbing her wife's belly.
Seeing the confusion on Trish's face, Miley said, "Stem cells. It's a science thing. They took some of Lilly's cells, turned them into stem cells, then turned them into sperm that we used to get me pregnant."
"Shit," swore Trish softly. "So this baby really is yours? I mean, both of yours?"
"Yeah," said Miley, leaning back into Lilly's embrace. Lilly lightly kissed Miley's shoulder as they snuggled together, the very picture of a couple in love. "We wanted to wait until we could really have kids with each other. Nothing donated, nothing from anyone else. I wanted to have her baby, and she wanted to have mine."
"And I will," Lilly said. "Before too long. Maybe two or three years."
"If we've recovered from this one by then," Miley said with a smile. She looked over at Peyton. "You girls want to go for an ice cream?" she asked, grinning madly.
The rest of the afternoon was just as much of a success. Trish found herself welcomed among Melody, Peyton, Miley and Lilly, and as she grew more comfortable she began to show a personality that was both compassionate and vulnerable, something that she had obviously tried very hard to conceal from others.
As Miley and Lilly sat in a wicker chair at Rico's, they watched their nieces and Trish play Frisbee with some other teenagers on the beach. "So what do you think?" asked Miley as she took another bite of Lilly's orange sherbet cone, two big scoops atop the cone.
"I think I like her," said Lilly, watching Trish as she helped Melody up after the younger girl had taken a head-first dive onto the sand. "She didn't exactly make the best first impression on us, but there's more to her than she lets on."
Miley agreed with that assessment completely. "Yeah. She's hiding something."
"Yeah," said Lilly, her mind working. "I wonder if she acts so mean to try and cover up a good heart. Maybe she's been hurt before, by her parents or her friends or something, and she tries to push everybody away so she won't open up again."
"I could see that," said Miley, nodding her head. "But if that's the case, why the heck would she let Mel in?"
Lilly took another bite of the orange ice cream before she answered. "Miley," she said with her mouth still partly full, "this is Mel. She could charm a leprechaun into giving up his pot of gold."
Miley grinned as she saw Melody sneak a quick kiss from Trish as they rolled on the sand together. If any of their new friends noticed, no one said or did anything negative. "She does have that effect on people, doesn't she?"
"She sure does." Lilly thought for a bit longer. Finally she said, "Do think maybe she's scared of something? Of something bad happening if she's honest with everybody else? Or do you think she's scared of being honest with herself?"
"Not talking about Mel now, I take it," Miley said, glancing at her wife's blue eyes.
"Smart woman," said Lilly teasingly. "Hey!" she said loudly when Miley gobbled down the last of the orange sherbet with one massive bite. "Don't stuff your cheeks!"
It took Miley several seconds to chew and swallow the ice cream, but she soon said, "Oh, you're one to talk!" as she teasingly poked her wife on the shoulder. Then she looked off across the ocean for long seconds as they just held each other. Finally she said, "I think she's scared of being honest with herself. She's done something in the past that she's trying hard to cover up, to make up for, but she's still scared that whatever she's done is gonna come out. And if it does, it could ruin everything she wants. Everything she has."
Lilly looked at Miley's profile, her blue eyes dancing across the face she loved more than life itself. "Now we're not talking about Trish either, are we?" she asked softly.
Miley turned to look at her wife, who was far, far more perceptive than most people gave her credit for. "No, we're not," she said, smiling sadly. "I think she hates me so much because I can be honest about myself, and she can't. Not about whatever it is that she's ashamed of."
"And she hates me for the same thing."
"Yes. Plus she hates us both even more because we have each other."
"Yeah, and all she has is that bitch of a manager. She's mean to her, too."
Miley thought about what Jen had told them several weeks ago, about the conversation she had overheard between Mikayla and Margot backstage at the Mack and Mickey in the Morning show. "It sounds like they're both using each other, from what Jen said. But I'm not sure about that."
"Well, I'm not going to put up with her being mean to you, sweetheart," Lilly said firmly. "I don't care what she's done or what she's hiding, if she gets ugly with you or threatens you, then I'll—"
"Yes," said Miley, interrupting Lilly with a quick kiss. "I know you will, and I love you for protecting me, lover girl." Miley rested her head on Lilly's shoulder. "I know you always will."
"Part of my job," said Lilly proudly. "You do okay on your test this afternoon?"
"Yeah," said Miley. "Just took about an hour. Thanks for watching them while I was doing it."
"We had fun walking around the campus. I think Peyton was practically taking notes."
"You think she might want to come out here for school?" asked Miley, surprised.
Lilly sniffed a lock of Miley's chestnut hair, smiling at the familiar scent of Miley and oranges. "She might. At least that was the impression I got."
"Maybe she thinks she might pick up a boyfriend as fast as Mel picked up a girlfriend." Both of them laughed lightly at that, then they resumed watching their nieces playing with their new friends.
When Lilly's phone rang, she sighed loudly. "You answer it, Miles," she said tiredly. "Since you got the last of the ice cream."
Miley reached into Lilly's pocket and fished out the purple phone, flipping it open. "Hello? Lilly's busy being lazy, but I can help you." Miley smiled at the reply, then she said to Lilly, "It's Jen."
Lilly held out her hand, then she playfully snatched the phone away from her best friend. "Hey Jen," she said cheerily. "Any luck?" Lilly listened, smiling for a bit then looking slightly puzzled. "Okay," she finally said. "We'll call you back when we get there." She snapped the phone closed and looked at her curious wife. "Jen tracked down Kylee Dean. She's in Las Vegas, and she said she'd be happy to hook us up with two dresses whenever we got there."
"Yay," said Miley softly, smiling at Lilly. "What else did she say?"
"She said she had some really good news, but that she wouldn't tell us unless we were at home."
Now it was Miley's turn to look confused. "Well, that's weird," she finally said. "But she said it was good news?"
Lilly nodded. "I want to hear what it is."
"Me too." Miley carefully stood up, helping Lilly up with her. She turned to the beach and whistled loudly, getting the attention of pretty much everyone with Peyton, Melody and Trish. Miley waved for them to come on; she was pleasantly surprised when all three of them said goodbye to the others and began walking their way.
"We need to head back home," Miley said. "It's gettin' late."
"Aunt Miley!" Melody said. "It's only eight!"
Miley fixed her niece with a intimidating stare. "Mel," she said carefully, "we've had a good day, and you've gotten to spend lots of time with your new girlfriend."
Trish quickly looked at Melody. "Am I...?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Melody with a smile. "You are. If you want to be."
Trish smiled back and put her arm around Melody, making the younger girl shiver. "I want to be," Trish said.
Miley's voice interrupted any further discussion. "Now, it's time for us to walk Trish home, and then we can decide what to do tomorrow."
As the five of them began the walk back to their houses, Lilly caught a glimpse of something black on Peyton's hand. She pointed at her niece's hand and said, "What's that?"
Peyton looked up and immediately turned red. "Well..." she said, holding up her hand to reveal a string of numbers. "I kinda got that one boy's phone number. You know, the cute one with the necklace?"
Lilly smiled and shook her head. "You know, we think can handle anything out here in California, but we're just no match for you Tennessee girls," she said as she hugged her niece.
"You know it," said Peyton with a grin, putting her own arm around her aunt as they walked.
Several miles away in Los Angeles, Mikayla slipped into her manager's new office in the Dyseni Records building. The meeting was still going strong, but she had tolerated as much of the poorly disguised bickering and deceit as she could. She pulled out a prepaid cell phone she had bought a few days ago, when she had slipped out without any escorts. She had gotten a real chewing out when she got back, but Margot was so busy blasting her that she didn't even think to check her purse. Mikayla locked the door, then she typed in a string of digits that made her hand shake slightly.
As the phone rang, she felt herself suddenly feeling very small and very young... and she didn't like feeling that way.
"Hello?" said a male voice on the end of the line.
"Petey?" she asked, surprised that she had gotten lucky right off the bat. "Can you talk?"
"Mickey?" Surprise in the voice, as well as a fair amount of hesitance.
"Yeah, Petey, it's me. Listen, I won't take too long. I wanted to tell you that the new album went gold today." It only took five weeks, which is about three weeks longer than these pricks here wanted. Bunch of self-righteous bastards.
"That's great, Mickey." There was a pause before the next question. "So, um, how are you doing?"
She sighed. No good way to answer that way, and she knew it. "I'm fine," she said simply, opting for the easy lie rather than the messy truth. "Listen, I got a bonus check today. I'm sending some money to the post office box. You still have it, right?"
"Yeah, we've still got it, but—"
"No buts, Petey. You may be bigger than me now, but I'm still your big sister. I'm overnighting the check to you tomorrow, so it'll be there in two days. Take it and put it in yours and Mona's account, and don't fucking tell Papa anything, you got me?"
Petey laughed, but no humor made it through to Mikayla. "I'm no idiot, Mickey. I know better than to do that. Haven't even talked to him in a couple weeks, anyway." He hesitated, then he asked, "Why are you doing this, Mickey?"
Mikayla closed her eyes to stop any tears from forming, and it took her long seconds before she felt she could control her voice long enough to answer. "To make sure you, Mona, and Esmeralda are taken care of, Petey. You know that."
"Bullshit. And we both know it."
"Petey, you know I care about all of you! I—"
"Then get out of that place, Mickey! It almost killed you before, and how long did it take you to pick up the pieces?"
The conversation was veering into dangerous territory. It needed to stop quickly. "Petey, part of it is me wanting to make sure you three are taken care of. The rest is..." Me being stupid. Paying for past mistakes. "Complicated."
"Then uncomplicate it."
"I can't," she said simply, and she knew that was the truth. "Bye, Petey. I love you and the girls. Get Mona that new car she needs with some of that money, okay?" She hung up before he could answer. She quickly popped the back off of the phone and removed the battery and the SIMM card, then she threw the rest of the phone into the trash can, burying it under what was already in the wastebasket. She stuffed the battery and SIMM card in her pocket, then she stepped back out into the hall.
As she was walking toward the boardroom, the doors opened to disgorge a mass of executives that she had barely met. Two or three of them she recognized from working with them or seeing them with Margot, but for the others she just smiled and tried to look pretty. As she reached the end of the hall, she turned to examine the new picture hanging on the wall. While the picture hung where Hannah Montana's large portrait had been situated previously, it seemed to Mikayla that her portrait was just slightly smaller than her blonde enemy's had been. She wondered if that had been done on purpose, either to motivate her or irritate her. At this point, she wouldn't put much of anything past Margot. But the woman had major connections still, and she knew how to get her way. If Mikayla was going to dethrone Hannah Montana, she still needed the hateful woman's help. Not that she could say no even if she wanted to.
As Miley unlocked the door to let Peyton, Melody and Lilly into the house, she saw Lilly was already dialing Jen's number. By the time she had closed and relocked the door, Lilly had plopped herself down on the couch. Their nieces had wandered into the kitchen to feed their bottomless stomachs, so Miley sat down beside her best friend and curled her legs up underneath herself as she waited for Lilly's call to go through.
"Hey, Jen?" said Lilly. "It's, um, Lola. So what's the good news?"
"Well, you tell me what you want to hear first. Good news, great news, or unfucking believably good news?"
Lilly snickered at their friend's typical brusque manner. "Let's go in that order, I guess," she said.
"Okay, the good news is that the Grammy nominations are being announced in the morning, and I've heard that Hannah is going to be nominated for four categories."
"Oh, yay!" Lilly said happily as she grabbed Miley's hand. "She thinks Hannah is going to be nominated for four Grammy awards, hon."
"Oh shoot, that's tomorrow they announce the nominees, isn't it?" Miley said, astonished that she forgotten that fact already. "Maybe your woman can bring home some new bling for the trophy case, hon," Miley said as she leaned forward to kiss Lilly on the temple.
"Okay, if that's just the good news, Jen, what the heck's the great news?" Lilly asked.
"Well," said Jen, "I've gotten the final drafts of some of the critics' reviews of Above and Beyond. Want to hear them?"
"No," said Lilly quickly. "I mean, yes. I mean, tell Miley!" She handed her surprised wife the phone, motioning for her to listen to their manager.
"What are you telling me and not telling my wife, Jen?" asked Miley, an equal mix of confused and curious at this point.
"Reviews for Lola's new movie. Let's see... Entertainment Weekly gives it an A. People gives it four stars. Premiere is bragging it up and down the pages, Moviewatch is rating it a 9 out of 10, and even that stupid bitch of a critic at USA Today is giving it three stars. All in all, it sounds like Lola Montana might just have a hit on her hands."
Lilly could tell by the grin on Miley's face that Jen wasn't joking about the news being even better. "Okay, tell me!" she finally said, grabbing Miley's thigh.
"Jen says the reviews for your movie are through the roof," Miley said. "Honey, I told you that you did the best job I've ever seen in a movie. When are you gonna learn to listen to me?" Miley rolled her eyes with her last statement.
"Okay, ready to hear the really fucking good news?"
Miley was surprised; she hadn't realized there was more good news. "Uh, sure," she said.
"How much do you know about football?"
Miley winced slightly as she remembered her high school days. "I know enough about football to know that I suck at it."
"Well, suck at it or not, can I talk you into going to a football game in February?"
Miley was confused now. "Why would you want me to go to a football game in February?" she asked. "I mean, haven't they quit playing by then?" Suddenly she felt Lilly put a death grip on her thigh; she looked over to see a look on Lilly's face that suggested she was choking. "What is it, Lil?" she asked, her voice concerned.
"Miley," Lilly said, not releasing her wife's leg, "there's only one football game in February!" Seeing that Miley still didn't get it, Lilly yelled, "The Super Bowl!"
"Yep, your wife's right. The NFL wants you to sing during halftime at the Super Bowl. I already told them yes, so you better show your ass up."
"Okay!" said Miley. "I think we can manage to be there." She paused, then she said, "Thanks for doing such a great job for us, Jen. We really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it. I got two tickets for Lee and me to go with you two. That'll win me some big points at home."
Lilly smiled as she reached up and ran her fingers through Miley's thick, gorgeous hair. "Singing at the Super Bowl, huh? Just when I didn't think I could get any more proud of my amazingly talented wife." She paused, then she said, "But we need to get the movie premiere worked out first, hon. How are we going to get the girls their dresses from Las Vegas to here in two days? I mean, we don't even have their measurements to send to Kylee."
Now it was Miley's turn to smile mysteriously. "Just leave that one to me, Lilly Bear. Hannah has it covered."
Lilly looked into her wife's eyes for long seconds, then she finally smiled and put her arms around Miley's neck, then she stretched forward to kiss her wife on the lips. She trusted Miley to make things work, plus she had her suspicions about what her wife was planning. "What the heck," she said. "This is their first trip to California. We might as well give them something to remember, right?"
Miley patted Lilly's knee. "That's my baby," she said. "Hey Jen?" she said into the phone, making sure their manager was still listening. "We need to get a few things set up." She glanced over at Peyton and Melody, who were in the kitchen putting glasses into the dishwasher. "Have them get the Hannah Jet ready to fly. We've got some things to do."
As Mikayla stepped into her new house, she waited for the security guard on duty to complete his sweep of the building. It was located in Beverly Hills, but Margot had insisted that Mikayla have on-site security to prevent any overzealous fans from causing trouble. "More likely she just wants to keep me in sight at all times," the twenty-one-year-old grumbled to herself. When the security guard finished turning on the lights and checking all sixteen rooms in the large Spanish-style home, Mikayla dismissively waved him out, locking the door behind him. She looked around the large central area, gazing at the large fountain in the center of the entrance foyer for a minute or two before walking into the sunken living room. She fell down into the large couch with a happy sigh, stretching her arms and legs blissfully.
She looked around the quiet room, hoping that her new television would be delivered tomorrow. It was quiet in the large house, almost depressingly so. Before she even realized her train of thought, Mikayla found herself wondering what Hannah Montana, the target of her hatred, did at her home. Besides screw around with her little fuck buddy, of course. They've been pretty open about that for a long time, and somehow her fans are okay with that. Mikayla hadn't been nearly as lucky when it came to finding a boyfriend. The ones the studio kept arranging for her to meet all had some kind of problem that she didn't want to have to deal with, usually an ego as big as hers and an inflated sense of self-importance to match.
She had only been in this house for two days, and she had already found herself missing her family at least a dozen times despite the fact that she hadn't really spoken to most of them for several years. Once again she found her thoughts drifting back to the singer with long blonde hair and a smile to match her honeyed voice. What kind of family do you have, Hannah? Do they still love you, or are you just a walking money machine to them? Is your house dark and quiet at night, or is it happy and bright like a real home?
"Quit being stupid, Mickey," she said to herself as she stood. "You knew there would be a price to pay for being a star again, and you were more than happy to pay it. This is what you always wanted, and once you push Hannah off her pedestal there's no one who can keep you from being number one." Somehow the words didn't seem as reassuring as she had intended them to be, though. She walked to the bedroom, uneasy in her own dwelling because it just felt so empty. "That'll change," she said to herself, forcing a smile onto her face. Maybe a party this coming weekend would help, to get things broken in.
She took a long bath in the large jacuzzi tub, spending extra time on washing and conditioning her hair as she listened to the radio. Her current single played before she was done with her bath, and hearing her name mentioned made her smile pleasantly. Finally she was ready for bed. She turned off the light and crossed the distance from the bathroom to her bed, sliding into the cool sheets in the dark.
However, before sleep could claim her she found herself uneasy. As lonely as she had felt before, the size of this house made that loneliness worse somehow. She reached across the bed, telling herself that it was only to feel how much room she had, but that wasn't why she reached out for someone who wasn't there. She closed her eyes tighter, trying desperately to think about something, about anything except the real reason she hated Hannah and Lola Montana—they would never be alone, because they loved each other and would always have each other. And once again Mikayla despised them even more.
It was two hours before she finally fell asleep, and the tear stains on her pillowcase made that sleep a restless one.
Three hours later it was all Peyton and Melody could do to stay buckled in their seats as the private jet accelerated away from the ground. They had their faces pressed to the window, watching the lights of Los Angeles drop away beneath them. "So where are we goin'?" asked Melody as she turned to look at her aunts. When she saw Lola Montana sitting in Hannah Montana's lap, she still jumped slightly. Even knowing that the stars were secretly her aunts didn't entirely offset the shock of being this close to two celebrities she had adored for most of her life.
"Las Vegas," said Lilly, a content smile on her face as she curled against her wife's chest, careful to not lean against Miley's abdomen. "To get you two some dresses for the movie premiere in two days."
"Almost one day now, hon," Miley said, looking at her watch. "We're gonna get some sleep first when we touch down, then we'll meet up with Kylee and get your dresses made. That work for you two?"
"Sure," said Peyton, just as impressed as her sister that her aunts were even cooler than she had previously believed... which she hadn't thought was possible, honestly. "We gettin' a motel room somewhere?"
Lilly giggled as Miley did much the same, pressing their foreheads together in a gesture that seemed oddly adolescent but still completely in character for both them and their alter egos. "You could say that," said Miley.
"Ever since our first trip to Las Vegas together, we've had a soft spot for the Venetian," Lilly said. "After all, it was where we told everyone that we were in love, and where we proposed to each other."
"And where Hannah and Lola went on their first public date," added Miley. "We've stayed in other hotels when we've gone to Vegas, but whenever we can we like to stay there. So they're setting us up with one of their suites for tonight and tomorrow, until we fly back out."
"So how are you two gonna explain having two tag-alongs with you?" asked Melody. "I mean, I know you've got some kinda plan, or you wouldn't be takin' us along like this."
Lilly smiled at their younger niece. "We're going to tell everyone that you two won a contest to spend some time with us." She turned to look at Miley. "What were we going to call it?"
"The Montanas' Movie Contest," said Miley. "And of course your Aunt Lilly and Aunt Miley came along with us, too."
"Yeah," said Lilly with a sly grin, "but they're too camera shy to be in any pictures. I mean, some people already know that they're friends with Hannah and Lola, but they want to keep that stuff quiet so they don't get swarmed with reporters asking questions."
Melody nodded as she looked at her sister. "They're pretty good at this," she admitted.
Peyton grinned back. "Looks like it, don't it?" she replied. She leaned back in her seat and yawned. "Okay, it's pretty late to me, so just wake me up long enough to get into the car when we get there, alright?"
Miley and Lilly shared a sneaky look. "We can just have Roxy carry you both," Miley said.
Peyton and Melody looked at other. "Who's Roxy?" asked Peyton nervously.
"You'll see," said Miley before she tucked her wife's head against her own and closed her eyes for a quick rest.
Neither Peyton nor Melody remembered much about landing at the airport, or the limousine ride to the Venetian. In fact, they couldn't remember much of anything except riding on a little cart of some sort through a noisy hallway, then getting onto an elevator of some sort. It was only when they stirred from sleep the next morning that they realized this hadn't been a dream, with the lavish decor in the massive suite confirming that they were no longer at their aunts' house in Malibu.
"Peyton?" whispered Melody. "Where are we, Pey?"
Peyton sat up and looked around. Then she looked down, because she didn't remember putting on a silk nightgown. In fact, she didn't think she owned a silk nightgown, particularly one in a rosy pink hue. She threw the covers off of them and stood quickly. She hurried to the door to their room, peeking out into the larger room as Melody huddled behind her.
"When did you get this nightgown, Pey?" asked Melody. "Oh man, I want to borrow it some—"
"Shhh," whispered Peyton. "Where are Miley and Lilly?"
"They're in the room over there, probably," her sister said, pointing at the open door across the main room. "I remember them making sure we were in bed before they turned out the lights."
"Why don't I remember that?"
Melody poked her older sister in the back, getting a jump forward. "Because you conked out on us. I woke up when Miley was getting my nightgown on, and I saw Lilly getting yours on." She looked around the bedroom. "Don't see our clothes, though." She saw Peyton leave the bedroom, heading across the huge open space of the main section of the suite. Quickly she hurried after her sister, catching up with her as they peeked into the other bedroom.
At first glance it looked like no one had even turned the bed down, which surprised both girls. Then they could see a single bulge underneath the covers. It had been camouflaged by the pillows scattered across the rest of the bed, but now they could see what looked like someone sleeping on the far side of the king-sized bed. Silently they crept across the room, until they could see their aunts sleeping peacefully in the bed.
In contrast to the fiery night of lovemaking of the previous evening, Miley and Lilly were curled together in slumber so peaceful that it could have come straight out of a fairy tale. Miley was on her back, her left arm around Lilly as the blonde's head nuzzled against Miley's left cheek, Lilly's lips so close that they might have been brushing against Miley's warm skin. Lilly's left arm fell across Miley's chest, holding her best friend tightly as her left hand gripped Miley's shoulder securely. Their hair had blended together through the night, suggesting that their bodies might have moved during the night, but their faces had never been apart. And on each face was a look of bliss, of joy so strong and pure that it made both Peyton and Melody shiver.
"I want a love like that so bad that it hurts," whispered Peyton.
"So do I," agreed Melody. "I pray for it every night."
"Me too," said Peyton softly. "Me too, Mel." She turned to look at her sister. "You think this fancy hotel has room service?" she asked with a smile.
Melody returned her grin. "I sure do," she said. "Let's go see what we can get 'em to bring up for breakfast."
As the teenagers stole back out of their aunts' bedroom, they missed seeing a single blue eye watching them leave the room. That one eye was then joined by its companion as Miley lifted her head and made sure they were alone again before she whispered to Lilly, "Hey baby," getting a soft mumble in reply. "Hey hon," she tried again. "Peyton and Mel were just in here checkin' on us."
Lilly sleepily stretched her limbs except for her left arm, which remained firmly gripping her wife's right shoulder. "Hope they didn't freak out too bad when they woke up," Lilly said slowly.
"Didn't hear 'em scream," said Miley as she turned to face Lilly, shifting her grip onto her wife's hip. "So they couldn't have been too scared. But for a minute I thought they were gonna crawl into bed with us, like they used to do when they were little."
Lilly nearly jumped out of bed when she felt a third body in the bed with her and Miley. It was Christmas Eve in Misty Hollow, and Lilly was quite sure that it had just been Miley and her when they went to bed.
"Lilly?" asked Miley sleepily. "What's wrong, hon?"
"Somebody's in bed with us!" Lilly hissed. She turned over to find nine-year-old Melody cuddled up next to her, sleeping peacefully. "Oh, it's Mel," she said quietly. Lilly had never been this close to a sleeping child, since she was the youngest in her family, so she took a moment to study the adorable expression on the girl's face. It looked like she was concentrating intently on something, but as Lilly watched the intense expression of her mouth and lips softened into a gentle smile. "She's so cute," Lilly found herself saying as she felt her best friend wrap her arms against her naked body and pull her against Miley's own nude body.
"You make faces like that when you're asleep, you know," Miley said.
"Really?" asked Lilly, turning to look over her shoulder at her best friend who was holding her securely.
Miley nodded. "Yup. And I think it's cute, too."
Lilly ran her hands through the little girl's hair, already nearly jet black and lustrous in its sheen. "Do you think she's gonna freak out when she realizes we don't have on any clothes?" she asked carefully, hoping that no one would be upset that Melody had gotten into bed with them.
Miley kissed Lilly's ear carefully, taking care to not be too loud for Lilly's hearing. "Hon, they realized that we usually don't sleep with clothes on a long time ago. I heard them askin' Aunt Dolly about it one mornin'."
Lilly nearly choked at that statement. "What did she do?"
"You mean besides turn bright red?"
That thought brought a soft laugh to Lilly's lips. "Yeah, besides that."
Miley paused, apparently trying to remember. "Well, she told Mel and Pey that we were in love and that we were gonna be married really soon, and that sometimes it was more comfortable for people to sleep without any clothes on."
"And they didn't freak?"
Miley lifted her head up to look over Lilly's prone figure. "Apparently not."
Lilly lifted up as well, and now she could spot Peyton next to her sister, a similar expression of comfort on her face. "Wow," she said, considering the fact that their young "nieces" were so comfortable around them. "You know, that's really cool, that they like us so much." She reached out and patted Peyton on the head, being as careful to not wake her up as she had been with Melody. "I love them calling us their aunts, you know."
Miley smiled at how easily her family and Lilly had accepted each other, as if they had always been a part of each other. Maybe they had been, in some way. "I love it too," Miley finally said when she could trust her voice not to waver.
Lilly snickered as she remembered those winter mornings in Misty Hollow, just like Miley was doing. "Well, we wore pajamas to bed last night, so they wouldn't have been embarrassed," she said.
Miley snorted. "Like they were ever embarrassed before at crawling into bed with us when we were completely naked."
"Good point." Lilly thought about how comfortable their nieces had always been with them being together, and where that acceptance had to come from. "You think..."
"That maybe they're so comfortable with us because we're so comfortable with each other?" Miley finished.
Lilly smiled. "Yeah. That's what I was thinking. I mean, loving you is the most natural thing in the world for me, Miles," Lilly said as she kissed her best friend on the lips. "I hope that we've given them a good example of what love should be."
"You sure as heck have," said a voice from the doorway. Miley and Lilly sat up to see Peyton leaning against the door frame. "But you've kinda spoiled us, too. Mel and me, we both want that amazing connection that you two have with each other, but I'm not sure if we'll find it. What you two have is... unique, I guess."
"Someone will find your heart, Pey," said Miley, extending her arm that wasn't around Lilly to hug her niece. Peyton crossed the room quickly, and she fell into the hug of her aunt. She felt Lilly wrap her own free arm around her, and being enveloped in the love and warmth from the two of them made the concerns and fears of adolescence fade away temporarily.
"Hey, don't leave me out!" cried Melody, right before she landed on the bed with a thump.
"We wouldn't leave you out, Melly," said Lilly as she gathered in the thirteen-year-old who was suddenly eight again, hugging her tightly.
"We went ahead and ordered some breakfast," Peyton said. "And we got lots for Aunt Lilly, but we told them it was for Hannah and Lola. We didn't use your real names."
Miley smiled as she and Lilly hugged the little girls who weren't so little any more. "Thanks," she said. "And not just for the breakfast, but also for protecting our secret."
Peyton grinned. "It's going to cost you," she said with a smirk. "What kind of stores do they have here?"
Lilly quickly looked at Miley. "You've spoiled her," she said.
"Me?" said Miley quickly.
"Uh huh. You."
Rather than banter any more, Miley instead leaned forward and kissed Lilly. They released their nieces and fell backwards onto the bed, holding each other as they kissed. Peyton and Melody both sat up and sighed happily as they watched their aunts kiss. "Wow, that's so romantic," said Peyton. "How they're so into each other."
Melody nodded her head. "I remember when they'd do that to make us run away, because we thought it was gross, grown-ups kissing."
Peyton playfully pushed her younger sister over onto the far side of the bed. "It looked like your new girlfriend helped you get over that," she said teasingly.
Melody blushed as she sat back up. "I like her, Pey. There's just something about her..."
"Besides the fact that you think she's hot?" Peyton noticed that Melody wasn't as quick to reply as was usual for her, and as she looked at her sister's face she could see that this might not be the best approach for this particular subject. "Mel, I just don't want you to get swept up by an older girl and get hurt, or talked into doing something you're not ready to do just yet." She took her sister's hand and held it carefully. "It's my job to look out for you. I'm your older sister."
"I know, Pey," Melody said. "And I appreciate it, I really do. But looking at Trish just makes my insides tingle and go numb. And when we kissed, it was like little lights went off in my head." She looked at Peyton. "I don't think she's gonna hurt me. And she didn't make the first move on me."
"What?" asked Peyton, her eyes jerking back up to look at her sister.
"Yeah, I, um, kinda made the first move on her," Melody confessed. "But like I said, she was so cute, and so sexy, and something about being out here on vacation just made me want to kiss her. So I, uh, went for it."
"Guess we'll have to keep a closer eye on you then!" said a voice right before a thick, soft pillow smacked into Melody's head, knocking her back down onto the large bed. Lilly was on her knees, grinning madly as she held her pillow in position to deliver another blow to Melody's head. "Little flirt."
Peyton nearly rolled off the bed laughing at the expression on Melody's face. However, the shock quickly turned into amusement, and soon Melody was laughing as well.
"Nice one, Aunt Lilly," she said, trying to keep Lilly distracted as she surreptitiously reached for a pillow with her right hand, which happened to be directly behind Lilly. But right as she gripped the corner of a pillow, she felt strong fingers encircle her wrist.
"What were you plannin' on doin' with that pillow, little girl?" asked Miley as she lay down across the pillow, pinning Melody's arm in place.
Lilly reached back with her left hand and patted Miley's head, finding it on the first try without so much as a glance behind her. "We're a team, remember?" Lilly said, smirking at her niece. "Now we're going to get in the shower, so you two need to be listening for room service to get up here."
"Yes ma'am," said Melody, admitting defeat. Two on one wasn't good odds, especially when it was her aunts. Oh well. She could always get them back later. She released the pillow and tugged her arm free from underneath Miley. The three of them stood, joined by Peyton, who had previously stood up to get a better view of the pillow fight. Or maybe she had stood to get in better position to tackle Lilly. Peyton was good at hiding her intentions, after all.
As they walked by the large bathroom in the master bedroom, Peyton suddenly whirled and looked at her aunts. "Hey, ya'll enjoy your shower sex, okay?" she said gleefully before she turned and raced out into the rest of the suite, finally throwing herself down onto the large couch in front of a large plasma television. Melody giggled at the expressions on her aunts' faces as she said, "Looks like you didn't see that one comin', huh?"
Lilly put on an expression of disbelief as she said, "You know, Miley and I don't think about jumping each other all the time!" Miley leaned in and whispered something in Lilly's ear, causing the slightly shorter blonde to blush furiously. Lilly turned and walked into the bathroom, getting a light smack on her butt from Miley as she did so.
Miley turned to look at her nieces, both of whom looked like they didn't believe a word Lilly had just said. Miley shrugged her shoulders, then patted her slightly enlarged belly. "Hormones," she said as she opened the door to the bathroom, steam from the shower beginning to spill out onto the floor. "What can you do with 'em?" She grinned and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Author's Afterword: Wow, that chapter went fast! Lots more fun stuff is shaping up, and we're still very early in this story! At this point I'm going to guess that this story is going to run roughly forty chapters. Yeah, I know that's an insane number, but there's an awful lot I want to get into this one. Next chapter will get us to the actual movie premiere and bring us one step closer to another Misty Hollow Christmas. See you soon!
-- Jo --