"Han? I brought back pizza!" Emily called out as she stepped into the seemingly empty loft, one leg extending back to gently kick the door close. The brunette clumsily navigated her way through the room, a pizza box balanced on one hand, her phone in the other, and her bag haphazardly slung over the opposite shoulder. Placing everything on the table, the swim coach unconsciously smiled to herself.
After their talk last week, Emily and Alison have been nearly inseparable, spending copious amounts of time together after school. What initially began as Emily giving the blonde a ride home after some car trouble turned into an unspoken carpool arrangement where Alison would stay behind to grade papers until Emily finishes practice and they'd go home together. Sometimes the blonde would finish up her work early and swing by to watch the tail end her favorite brunette coaching. A time or two, she caught Paige staring daggers at her for encroaching on her time with the new coach, but Alison couldn't care less. There will always be a part of Alison DiLaurentis that loves driving Paige McCullers a little crazy anyways. Emily, though knowing of what the blonde's presence does to her ex, didn't speak a word against the teacher showing up. The brunette enjoyed sneaking glances over at the blonde, sometimes catching Alison watching her and sending a gotcha smirk back. After practice, the two would then head back to Alison's house where Emily would usually stay over for dinner. And that's exactly how the brunette spent the evening.
"What are you in the mood for?" Alison asked as she scanned through the contents in her fridge.
Emily, sitting perched atop one of the island stools, looked up briefly. "Umm…pizza?" Emily suggested before turning her attention back to the device in hand. The blonde lets out a quiet chuckle in response as she hip checks her fridge closed.
"What?" the brunette asked, putting her phone down on the counter and turning her attention over to the girl opposite her.
"Y'know, for an athletics coach, your love of pizza is pretty concerning," Alison teased, eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint as she moved to rest her arms on the kitchen island.
The brunette feigned offense at Alison's words as she scoffed. "Getting between a girl and her pizza never ends well, Ali," Emily playfully warned.
The blonde laughed freely at the brunette's joke and Emily was momentarily struck by how beautiful Alison is when she lets her guard down. "Fine, then I'm tasking you with ordering—"
"—because I know the best pizza places," Emily smugly interjected before adding, "And despite my indiscriminating love of pizza, I know exactly how you like yours." The blonde swiftly turned around, trying desperately to contain the blush warming her cheeks as Emily called to place their dinner order.
It's funny, the brunette thought, how effortlessly they've formulated a routine to include each other. The two of them have undoubtedly been getting closer, both physically and emotionally. Emily just couldn't help but to tuck in a stray hair of the blonde's, give her a hug when she's looking particularly worn out, or sitting so close to the girl on the couch that their knees brush up against each other. It's not too much to cross into any romantic territory but certainly a little more meaningful than platonic touches. No doubt it's the little things they've been sharing that's gotten the butterflies in Emily's stomach working overtime. But their physical intimacy have been coupled with their refreshing ability to open up to each other. Teasing jabs and flirtatious glances aside, the two have actually been having conversations. Whether it's in the car rides back home or over dinner, Emily and Alison have been talking more than they ever have. The brunette can see that Alison has really been making an effort to let Emily in. Likewise, the brunette has been learning how to trust her first love again.
In the five years Emily was away from Rosewood, the two gradually drifted away from each other. When the brunette returned, Charlotte's murder and AD's new games didn't give them enough time to properly reconnect. The past week had been that exact catching up that the two needed to reestablish the foundations of their whatever-ship. She doesn't know how much the other girls have caught on to recent developments in her and Ali's friendship but judging by Hanna's relentless teasing texts all night, she thinks her best friend is suspicious of something.
The phone buzzed yet again on the island and both pairs of eyes zoned towards the device interrupting their conversation.
"Who keeps texting you," Alison flippantly asked, hoping to conceal her increasing annoyance. Throughout the evening, Emily had been on her phone more than usual and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious as to who was taking up the girl's attention. She could only hope it wasn't a certain Athletics Department Supervisor because then her pregnancy hormones would really go through the roof.
"It's Hanna," Emily replied, chuckling at the blonde's apparent jealousy. "She keeps asking if I still live with her considering she's rarely seen me all week. Supposedly she's a little piqued that someone's monopolizing her Emily time'"
A wave of relief washed over the blonde as her previous irritation quickly dissipated. "Well, tell her to get in line," Alison teased, getting up to put her plate in the sink. "Isn't Caleb with her?"
"Caleb's in Philly for the week, some tech thing he's got going on. So our girl's a little lonely," the brunette explained.
Emily pushed back on her hair, getting out of her seat to put away her own plate. Still infront of the sink, the blonde turned to take the girl's plate from her but misjudged how far away Emily was and ended up pausing a hair's breath away from the brunette's face.
Everything stopped.
Blue orbs met startled brown as the two stared into each other's eyes, frozen in place by some invisible force in the air. The same mantra flowed through both girls' minds: Not until you know. Not until you know. Not until you kn—
"They better be from Gennaro's!" Hanna yelled, her voice breaking Emily out of the evening's memory. Emerging from her bedroom a few seconds later clad in shorts and a sweatshirt way too big to be hers, the designer walks up to the table and smiled in contentment at the sight of the familiar pizzeria's logo. Her smile dropped, however, when she flipped open the box to find half its contents missing, sending a what the hell look over to her roommate.
The brunette gave the blonde an apologetic smile, explaining simply, "Leftovers from Ali's."
"Mhmm…" Hanna let out a knowing hum as she reached for the half-cold pizza because as everyone knows, any pizza is better than no pizza. Her eyes closed for a millisecond as she stopped to savor the flavor of her favorite food, opening them again to see Emily smiling confidently at her, thinking she's off the hook. But Hanna isn't letting her go that easily.
"So how is she?" The blonde asked between mouthfuls. Emily's head snapped towards Hanna at the question.
Giving a cryptic reply, she murmured, "She's good." The brunette averted her best friend's gaze and escaped to the kitchen where she attempted to buy more time, searching for and eventually settling on grabbing water from the fridge.
"Really? You've been over at Ali's every night this week and all you're giving me is 'she's good'?" Hanna countered, giving her best friend an incredulous look.
Emily knew right away she's in deep for a grilling session. But to be honest, she could really use someone to talk to. Despite Hanna and Alison's somewhat turbulent past, the two blondes in her life have really mended their friendship. And Emily knew her feisty bestie would give her the perspective she needs. So with a surrendering sigh, Emily pulled a chair up beside the still eating girl.
"So tell me," Hanna began, brushing her hands together to get rid of floury residue, "why have you two been ogling at each other so much this week when you could barely look at each other in the eyes last week?"
Emily's eyes widened in surprise at the blonde's candor and the blonde elaborated, "Just because I've been busy with my designs and Aria's wedding doesn't mean I don't notice these things, Em. And seriously, Alison isn't as good at hiding her emotions as she used to be."
Pausing to gather her thoughts, the brunette admitted, "We kissed."
"What?! When?" Hanna excitedly demanded, her eyes bugging out of her head and mouth agape.
"The night you came back after going rogue on Noel. I stayed with Ali because I wanted to give you and Caleb some alone time—"
"So you had some little alone time with Ali instead?" Hanna interrupted, a near maniacal smirk plastered on her face.
"Are you gonna let me tell the story or not?" Emily retorted, slightly rolling her eyes at her friend's antics. Hanna was enjoying this way too much.
The blonde backed down, sinking back against her chair to let Emily continue. "You know she's been going through a really rough time with…everything. She was really fragile and I was trying to comfort her. One thing led to another and we kissed." Emily paused, letting the information sink in. "Then she did the typical Ali thing and pushed me away. I thought we were just gonna sweep it under the rug like we always do but I had to know. So I asked her point blank if she kissed me because she wanted to or because she didn't want me to leave. She said she didn't know and that's why were all tense that night at Spencer's barn."
"No wonder you were extra pissy that night," Hanna voiced, putting the pieces together. She had been curious as to why the brunette stormed out that night, adamant to not play the game and uncharacteristically on edge. "So what happened after that?"
"Ali asked to talk a couple days later. She apologized and promised she was gonna figure out how she feels about me. We've been spending a lot of time together since and things have been…" she trailed off, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "…good."
Hanna felt a smile of her own forming at the sight of her friend talking about Alison. She knew full well the massive history between the two, the unspoken words, unconfessed feelings, and what she thought at the time, unrequited love.
"But something's still bother you. So spill," Hanna demanded.
The brunette paused, eyebrows slightly scrunched together. "She's always been in the back of my mind—even when I thought she was dead, even when I was on the opposite side of the country and we weren't talking. And eventhough I knew there will always be a part of me that loves her, I thought that part was long buried. But all it takes is one look and everything comes rushing back. It's like that saying: feelings that keep coming back are feelings that never went away. I always figured she would never feel the same way. But we've been connecting so well lately. It's like I'm falling for her all over again. And as much as I want to, I can't let myself do that until I know she's for real. She's still figuring things out so what if the past week has just been a momentary blip? What if she figures out she doesn't feel for me like that and I fall on my face again?" The brunette ended her musings, clasping her hands together under her chin as her elbows rest on her knees.
Bending slightly over to meet Emily's eyes, the blonde tried to console her best friend. "Well, first of all, everyone knows you and Ali have unfinished business. God knows you two have been dancing around each other since she came back from the dead. Second, it's normal that you don't trust her. But you have to remember that the Ali that hurt you isn't the same Ali you were with all evening. We've all done our fair share of hurting each other. I mean, we did put her in jail that one time."
"What's your point, Hanna?" Emily murmured, annoyed at being reminded of what she considered the worst thing she's ever done to her first love.
"My point is that Alison's been hurt too. Most recently by the creep who she thought she was her loving husband. It's natural that she's gonna have her walls up. Alison may have matured for the better but some things will never change, her defense mechanism being one. The fact that she'd opened up to you this much is a damn miracle in and of itself. And the third and most important point, I've seen the way she looks at you too. The ice queen practically melts when you're around. I don't think she's playing with you, Em. But I do think she's gonna need a little time to figure it all out."
Emily pursed her lips, mind racing to process what Hanna just said. The blonde's voice interrupts her train of thought once again. "So tell me, is she worth the wait?"
"All I know is if she feels the same way about me as I do about her, I'd do anything to give us a fair shot at being together," the brunette looked up, eyes filled with renewed hope.
Hanna beamed proudly at her best friend, hand reaching out to give the girl's shoulder a squeeze. "You'll have that chance, I promise."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
So I lied. Sorry! I said we'd get to the both Hanily and Spalison this chapter. But I decided to split the conversation up. So we'll see some Spalison bonding next chapter. This also means that this story is no longer a two-shot. I'm thinking four chapters but we'll see how it goes. I hope you guys aren't too disappointed this chapter isn't filled with lots of Emison interaction. But fear not! There will always be some sort of Emison "scene" even when our favorite couple isn't in the chapter together.
What did you think of Emily's talk with Hanna? Our girl's definitely falling hard but there are still some reservations there. When she's with Alison, everything seems so real and effortless but because nothing's been verbalized and cemented, Emily has to hold herself back a bit. Alison really needs to figure things out soon! And she certainly will next chapter.