Rosewood, May 2011
Hanna and Spencer had finally got together the night of Tom's wedding and now, not even a week later, they were still both enjoying the sweetness of their new relationship status. The transition from friends – best friends –to something more, to girlfriends (the word never failed to make Hanna grin like the lovesick she admittedly was) came without much awkwardness; it happened almost naturally, in fact. As if it was meant to be.
Surprisingly enough, they seemed to get along even better as a couple instead of simple friends. Yes, it was still too soon to make such a statement, but everyone around them couldn't help but notice how truly happy they were, how effortlessly they communicated, how deeply they loved and cared for each other.
Not that it was that astonishing, there's always been a strong bond to link them together, and if the protectiveness they had towards each other was any indicator, then there shouldn't be really nothing to be surprised about; only, maybe it wasn't this evident before. After all, those two had had their fair share of fights, most of them silly but some serious as well. And they were like two polar opposites, really.
Then again, perhaps that's exactly why they were so good together.
Emily and Aria went even more far, affirming that all the bickering and the banter between the two was nothing else than a way to express their bottled up feelings and sexual frustration. Some friends they were.
While Spencer tried to hide her blush and deflect with a sarcastic remark, Hanna was quick to confirm her friend's musings, observing with a smirk her normally cool girlfriend squirm in her seat beside her. 'And some girlfriend she is', the brunette thought, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest. While the others laughed at this, Hanna leaned in her space and kissed her cheek softly. And instantly the scowl on her face was replaced by a big smile.
They were so absorbed in each other that they didn't even think for a second to hide their little displays of affection in front of their friends and families. It simply was a thought that never cross their minds. After all, half of them already knew from the wedding, having witnessed firsthand the shift in their relationship.
And then, there were people like Melissa that already had suspicions on them from way back, so why even bother?
When they came out to Spencer's family – well, it wasn't really a proper, planned coming out; it was more like her sister and her mom walked in on them while they were making out on the couch in the brunette's living room -; however, when Spencer's family found out about them, Melissa was quick to assert that she always knew. She took Spencer aside and hugged her, whispering in her ear that she was proud and happy for her.
Veronica was well known for her stoicism. She was a respected and successful lawyer, and years of experience built between prisons and courthouses dealing with people of all sorts, from other lawyers to judges, from criminals to officers and detectives, helped her to develop an enviable poker face.
Eventually, however, her lips curled into a warm smile of acceptance the moment she saw the anguish and the fear in both Spencer's and Hanna's eyes. She had always had a soft spot for her youngest. Besides, she was not at all a judgmental person; quite the opposite in fact. In spite of what many thoughts of them, the Hastings were liberal and open minded people. And they cared about the happiness and well-being of their heirs.
So, the woman too went to embrace her daughter and her apparently new girlfriend, and just like that the tension in the room disappeared, at least for the time being. She honestly didn't know how her husband, Peter, would react to the news and quite frankly she couldn't care less, as long as he didn't dare to say something stupid or hurt her daughter. He was no saint after all, and he all but had to deal with this new development. End of story. Or esle he would suffer the consequences, because there was no way they could still be together if he ended up not accepting of Spencer. When she took her baby in her arms for the first time, the night Spencer was born, she swore she'd always be on her side, no matter what. Wasn't that what mothers do?
Of course. Just ask Ashley Marin.
When the woman came home from her business trip her ex mother-in-law wasted no time to fill her in on the latest events. Not that the extremely chirpy mood of her daughter was not a huge give-away in itself.
At first, she didn't know how to take the news. Was it something she expected would happen, sooner or later? Yes. Absolutely yes.
All in all, if she was honest with herself, she found out a long time ago about Hanna's feelings for her best friend. Years, really. She remembered vividly the day Hanna first met Spencer, just as she remembered all the days to follow, when her kid couldn't stop blabbing about this new girl at school who had protected her and befriended her. It was the very first time Hanna made a friend. And her demeanor changed considerably since then; she still complained about school – a lot - but she stopped making a fuss about that. Sometimes, after a particularly long week-end, she even looked forward to a Monday morning, so that she could see that nerdy, preppy girl that was always on her mind.
And when they all started to hang out, along with Emily and Aria, she noticed that her shy, reserved little girl was slowly getting out of her shell. She smiled more, talked more, and complained less. Spencer managed to bring out her bright, lively and easygoing spirit; and she never failed to stand by her side whenever Hanna needed her. For that, Ashley was extremely grateful to the brunette.
When they drifted apart, after Alison disappearing, Hanna changed again and not necessarily for the better. While it was true that the physical transformation brought her a new confidence and higher self-esteem, it was also true that the absence of her friends, particularly Spencer, caused her a deep sorrow.
Of course she tried to mask the pain as best as she could; she even made new friends – Mona Vanderwaal on top of the list. She busied herself with new interest, entered new social circles. Her new, shallow lifestyle was one made of popularity and glamour and parties and all of the things a cool, American teenager had to do to not being invisible. To be someone. To have someone. Things that more often than not had the potential of turn out dangerous, if you let yourself spiraling in without giving too much thought to what are you doing and where are you heading.
Hanna was a good girl, also smart, but she was fragile and easily swayed because, at the end, she was still a sweet child who had yet to build her own identity, and that's when Ashley realized the true extent of the influence Spencer had on her daughter: the brunette was the only who kept her grounded. She was the only one Hanna really trusted and listened to, even if the blonde didn't want to admit it.
So, with all that in mind, she knew what was bound to happen when she accepted Hanna's request to have Spencer over for dinner.
What she didn't expect when she answered the door that night, however, was her ex-husband storming inside her house without a care in the world, demanding to have a word with her daughter.
Hanna was getting reading in her bedroom for the evening, applying make-up and rehearsing the speech in her mind in front of the mirror of her vanity. She hated keeping secrets from her mother, even more so after the –A thing, so tonight she was going to tell her mother about she and Spencer. Obviously, she wasn't aware that someone else already did the job for her.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming text from her girlfriend:
"On my way, baby. Take a breath, it'll be okay. Love u, see u soon. -S"
She smiled lovingly at the screen and typed back a response before heading downstairs. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard her father's voice shouting her name. She froze. But the man spotted her and advanced menacingly.
"Oh good evening, missy. Glad to see you're finally gracing us with your presence!" he sarcastically greeted. "Now, care to explain what the hell was all that about at MY wedding?" he yelled, furious.
"I d-don't know what you're talking about" Hanna stammered, genuinely confused as to what her father was referring to.
"Hanna" the man exhaled, trying to regain composure; "I'm referring to you and your friend, and the little show you put up. You didn't think I wouldn't notice, did you?"
All the color drained from the blonde's face. She didn't have any problem telling her mom, or anyone else for that matter, about this sudden – at least from a third part point of view – change in her sexuality, but she was in no way ready to confront her father about this. Hell, she didn't even think the man had really any right to know, given his absence from her life for all this time. Besides, his angry tone and attitude towards her right now were another conspicuous deterrent for the blonde to open up to him.
"Tom, this is not the time nor the way you want to have this conversation with your child" said Regina, appearing at the door together with a flabbergasted Spencer she had just met outside.
"Uh, hello…" the tall brunette ventured. She shifted nervously from one foot to another.
Tom's eyes instantly zeroed in on the items in her hand. Spencer's grip instinctually tightened on the bouquet of flowers and the bottle of wine she brought as a gift. Etiquette was a matter of heart for a Hastings.
"Hi Spencer" Ashley greeted, a little embarrassed by the whole situation. "Oh" she exclaimed, noticing the flowers, "you didn't have to bring anything. Thank you though, these are lovely! Let me put them in a vase" she said, taking the gracious composition along with the wine and heading to the kitchen.
"I won't repeat myself: what the hell is going on here?" the man once again raised his voice. By now he had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Still… "Hanna!" he barked.
"Dad…" the blonde gulped; "I…" she had no idea how to continue from there. She was stuck, and she felt bad for this. Her eyes met the warm, brown ones of her girlfriend, silently begging her. For help, understanding, forgiveness.
Spencer wanted nothing more than to rush to her side and hold her, but knew it wouldn't be the sensible thing to do at the moment. She never felt so helpless in her life.
Once again, it was Regina to come to her aid, putting a comforting hand on her arm.
"Thomas Marin, you don't speak to your daughter like this! I raised you better than that. Watch your manners" she chastised in a strict tone.
"With all due respect, dear mother, this is none of your business. I speak to my daughter as I please, and I treat her as she deserves to be treated. You can't tell me you condone… this" he said with contempt, gesturing between the two girls.
Hanna's eyes filled with unshed tears. She was trying her best to not break down.
"Sir, please, I'd like to explain if you let me..." Spencer tried to interfere, but the man brusquely interrupted her.
"And you get out of my house! NOW! I won't tolerate this charade any longer! I didn't raise a dyke" Tom yelled.
Everything happened at once: Hanna let go a strangled sob, falling to the ground; Regina was by her side in a flash, holding her and trying to calm her down. Spencer shouted something at the despicable man that was now right in front of her face; he forcefully grabbed her by an arm and started to drag her to the door, when Ashley finally intervened.
She broke off his vice grip on the brunette and shove the man off of her, putting herself between them.
"Don't you dare" she intimated through gritted teeth, her glare icily cold, just like her voice; "don't you dare lay a finger on this girl! Don't you dare hurt MY daughter, in MY house! Get out and don't you dare come anywhere near them ever again, you vile, arrogant asshole. GET OUT, NOW!" she finally lost it. Nobody messed with her family.
"You have no right…" the man began, but the redhead cut him off immediately.
"No, you have no right to barge inside my house and talking shit about my baby. You lost it all when you walked out on your family. How could you say those horrible things to her?"
"Me?" he laughed humorlessly; "how can you allow such a depraved behavior? What, her father moves out and she suddenly hates men? It's just a whim of her, and I have every intention to fix this as soon as possible. I now understand I've been away from my family for too long"
Ashley was livid. So much so that she was shaking with rage. Regina and Spencer weren't doing any better.
"This is not your family. Not anymore. Spencer is. She has been since day one. Hanna deserves the best, she deserves people who love her, and if her father, sadly, isn't capable of that, then it will be better for everyone if you get lost. And now get out of here before I'll have the police escort you, and don't come back. Not until you apologize to your daughter and her girlfriend and they forgive you, if they will ever forgive you. But know this, I won't". Her tone was deadly serious. Final.
Tom backed down, slightly intimidated by the fury that was his ex-wife at the moment. He decided it was best to leave at that, so he walked out of the door without a word.
Ashley released the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding and turned her gaze at the stairs, where Hanna had remained still the whole time. Tears glistened in her eyes as she watched her baby broken, crying in the brunette's arms.
"You're a feisty one" she didn't see her ex mother-in-law approaching her; "That's what I always liked about you" she smiled, patting her shoulder.
"Regina" the redhead breathed out her name; "I'm sorry, I didn't…"
"Don't" the older woman cut her off; "You did right. My son is a dick, we both know that" she said, shaking her head in disappointment. Honestly, where did she go wrong with him?
They were suddenly interrupted when Hanna launched herself at them, hugging both her mom and her nana tightly, thanking them for their support.
Spencer stood aside, observing the scene with a soft smile. She was beyond glad that her girlfriend had such strong, wonderful women in her life, willing to do everything and anything to protect her. Of course they were her family, but if what just happened earlier taught her something, it was that one can never take for granted anything in life; not even the love and care from someone who's supposed to give you just that.
She came back from her musings when she felt two slim arms wrapping around her.
"I couldn't wish for a better person to stand by my daughter's side" Ashley whispered in her ear. "I trust you'll take good care of her" she said, pulling away.
"Of course" Spencer nodded solemnly. Ashley smiled and nodded back.
"Alright. Well… I say such an eventful night calls for something strong. Vodka, anyone?" Regina eagerly offered.
Spencer and Hanna both chuckled while Ashley shook her head, secretly amused by the other woman's antics.
"I think we should stick to the wine Spencer kindly brought us" she countered. "It goes better with dinner. Come on, let' go eat. I didn't spend the whole day in the kitchen for nothing"
"You didn't spend the day in the kitchen at all" Hanna retorted.
The four of them chuckled and started to make their way to the dining room when Spencer took Hanna's hand, effectively halting her.
"Hey, I just… I know it's a stupid question but are you okay?" the brunette asked, her eyes full of concern.
"I will be" Hanna smiled softly. "Hold me?" she asked shyly, biting her upper lip. Then she wrapped her arms around Spencer's waist and rested her head on the taller girl's chest. Spencer wasted no time to reciprocate the embrace, holding her girlfriend tightly to her.
"I really, really love you, Han" she whispered, strocking her back comfortingly.
"I really, really love you too, Spence"
She turned her head slightly and pressed her lips softly to the taller girl's neck, then moving up to her jaw, her chin, the corner of her mouth, and then finally to her li…
"Girls! No funny business in there, we have yet to establish some rules" Ashley called from the other room. There was definitely mirth in her voice.
Hanna groaned and dragged Spencer by her wrist towards the table, grinning to herself, though. Her mind drifted off to her girlfriend, her mom, her grandma, all her friends and even Melissa and Veronica Hastings.
So, what if her father was a douche? She had tons of wonderful people in her life who cared for her and, casting a glance at her surroundings, she was sure she never, ever felt this loved and happy.