Rosewood, October 2011

Spencer and Aria were walking down the school hallway when the taller brunette's eyes caught a glimpse of a very familiar blonde standing in front of her locker, rummaging through it. She smirked and leaned down to whisper something in her smaller friend's ear; Aria grinned back at her and nodded, and they silently approached the girl, trying to sneak up on her.

Hanna jumped in surprise when she felt soft hands cover her eyes.

"Guess who?" a well-known voice asked her.

"It's Aria's voice, but the hands belongs to that giant dork that's my girlfriend" she replied, letting out a deep breath and turning around to face them. "Really?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"But… how?" Spencer huffed. If she looked closer, she could have detected a faint blush color her girlfriend's cheeks. But she was too distracted to notice, being slightly disappointed that her little prank was busted so easily. "Whatever. Party pooper" she actually pouted.

Hanna laughed and leaned up to peck the taller girl's lips. She was in a really good mood that morning.

"You two are so cute" Aria cooed, grinning like a fool. She was so happy for her two best friends. "Ugh, I gotta go…" she rapidly excused herself, however, when she saw Ezra passing by from the corner of her eyes, running to catch up with him. Discretely, of course.

Both Hanna and Spencer shook their heads at this. The brunette took the other girl's hand in her own and they started to walk together to their next class. She was trying to muster up the courage to bring up something that was going on in her mind for a while, now.

"So… my parents are out of town 'til Sunday…" she ventured.

"Well, isn't that a surprise?" Hanna sarcastically replied, gasping mockingly at her girlfriend. Really, when the Hastings were ever at home, these days?

Spencer frowned at the other girl's obliviousness but didn't say anything. She was right, after all. She gave her shoulder a little nudge while thinking of a way to hint her girlfriend about her true intensions, without actually having to tell her explicitly.

The fact was, they had been together for five months now, and they were really into each other, that much was clear. Still, they had yet to take that last step in their relationship.

At first, they simply wanted to wait until they were both ready; after all, they had all the time in the world, so they wanted to enjoy themselves and the sweet, little things in their daily lives for the time being. No pressure.

Then, when their encounters started to get more and more intimate and they felt that was time to go to the next level, life and drama happened; they were in Rosewood, after all.

They were one month into their relationship when Mona dropped the mask and kidnapped and almost killed Spencer, trying to bring the smart girl on the –A team. Needless to say, Hanna was devastated. Then, summer vacation started and Spencer's parents pressured her to take extra classes at the Hollis and an internship for the Mayor's office, so Hanna had to busy herself with cooking lessons – she even managed to bring her mother along.

Now that they finally started their senior year, things seemed to have settled down, despite the threats of this new –A just around the corner. Hence, Spencer's eagerness to take advantage of whatever amount of time they had to themselves. How is the say? Carpe diem. Seize the day.

"Yeah" she chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck; "Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we can do something tonight, you know…" she tried again.

"Oh I know" Hanna smirked suggestively. "In fact, I just had a brilliant idea"

"Really now?" the brunette raised her eyebrow. It was going unexpectedly smooth…

"Mmh" the other girl murmured. "I'll see you at your place, say, around seven?"

'Hell yes' Spencer thought; she gave herself a mental pat on the back. Clearing her throat:

"Yeah, cool" she tried to brush it off, like it wasn't a big deal. "I can't wait" she added sincerely.

They gazed at each other and some sort of understanding passed between them. Spencer captured Hanna's lips in a sweet, sensual kiss. It came to a steady halt with soft nibbles and gentle tugging, and the blonde felt her legs slightly wobbly. Luckily, she had Spencer's arm around her waist and her hand on her back to support her.

When they pulled apart she was breathless.

"Well then, if you can stand up without my support" the brunette smirked, "I'll head to my class, now. See you later" she threw a wink behind her back and walked away.

Hanna was left speechless as well. 'Where in hell did she learn to kiss like that?' She stood there, watching the retreating figure of her girlfriend, until the bell rang.

[later that day]

If one looks up the word 'anxiety' in the dictionary, they'll find a picture of Spencer Hastings. Even so, the girl has never experienced in her life the level of trepidation she felt at the moment. Hanna was due to arrive any moment now and although she had everything set up – she checked and rechecked several times, just to be sure – and she was confident her girlfriend would like the surprise she prepared, Spencer couldn't help the jittery state she was in.

She was in the middle of her pacing when someone knocked on the front door.

"Hey you" she opened the door and greeted her girlfriend with a soft smile.

"Hey yourself" Hanna grinned back. "Are you ready? We're taking your car" she made a vague gesture with her hand.

"Uh?"

To say that Spencer was dumbfounded would be an understatement.

"Yeah, come on! Em and Paige are already at The Grill" the blonde explained. "It's rude to keep them waiting, don't you think?"

"Em and Paige?" Spencer repeated. She was having a hard time understanding what was going on.

"Yeah, that's what I said" Hanna frowned. "I asked them if they wanted to go on a double date. Unless you preferred going on one with Ezria?"

'Double date? Ezria? What?'

"Com'on, let's go" she looped an arm through Spencer's right one and started to move but Spencer wasn't having it.

"What? But I… why didn't you tell me?" she asked petulant, actually stomping her feet.

Hanna would have found her childish behavior cute if she wasn't starting to get pissed.

"You're grumpy" she stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Am not!" Spencer gasped indignantly.

"Yes, you are. And you're being childish, too. Look," the blonde sighed, "I know that you and Page don't really get along, but can you just ignore it for one night? For me?" she asked, giving the other girl her best puppy dog eyes. And that was Spencer's undoing.

"Fine" she exhaled slowly.

Hanna threw her arms around her neck and kissed her soundly.

"I swear, you're lucky I love you" Spencer muttered under her breath, while being dragged away by the blonde.

"Did you say something?" Hanna leveled a glare on her.

"Uh? No, I didn't" the brunette tried to deflec. When they reached the door she opened it and waited for her girlfriend to exit first, "After you, my love"

She was rewarded with a bright smile, full dimples and all. They made their way towards Spencer's car and then drove off to the restaurant, when their friends were waiting for them.

[ later... again]

The double date went relatively well, despite Spencer and Paige taking turns in throwing some little digs and jabs here and there. The two were just too competitive and stubborn for their own good. But, all in all, they managed to remain civil and that's what mattered. Hanna was actually impressed with her girlfriend's behavior, given the bruenette's hostility when she had brought up their plans earlier.

After sharing a lovely dinner, they settled for a walk through the park. Spencer was unusually quiet, but Hanna decided to let her be. She was probably still upset for the double date thing.

Finally the night came to an end and the couples exchanged their goodbyes. They returned to their respective cars; Spencer, ever the chivalrous one, held once again the door open for Hanna, a soft albeit small smile tugging at her lips. She then settled in the driver's seat and started the car without saying a word.

The blonde wasted no time to take the hand that was resting on the center console; she brought it to her lips before placing their clasped hands on her lap. When she turned her head to look out of the window, however, she frowned.

"Why you took this turn?" she asked perplexed.

"I'm taking you home" Spencer replied unfazed.

"Oh" her frown deepened; "I… I thought we were going to spend the night at your place" Hanna murmured, barely loud enough for Spencer to hear.

"Oh" That was something Spencer didn't expect.

She had spent the whole evening mulling over her exchanges with the blonde earlier in the morning, until she drawn two different conclusions: either Hanna genuinely misunderstood what the brunette was trying to say when she invited her to spend the night together, or the double date was the blonde's attempt to implicitly decline said invitation and, therefore, the real meaning behind it.

Obviously, she went for the latter and just as obviously, she was wrong. Big time. And now she felt bad and ashamed over the whole thing.

Meanwhile, her silence must have upset Hanna because now the blonde was looking at her like someone had kicked her puppy.

"But if you don't want me to, it's fine. I mean… Sorry" she rushed to apologize; "I didn't mean to…"

"Hey, hey no, shhh" Spencer cut off her rambling. She gave a reassuring squeeze to her hand; "Of course I want you to come over. Actually, that's exactly what I was hoping for when I asked you today"

"Mmmh" the blonde brought her index finger to her lips, assuming a pensive pose, "that makes sense. You being moody all night, I mean…" she smirked.

"Ugh, I'm sorry Han" she apologized sincerely. "It's just… I really wanted to spend the day with you. Just us" she blushed the moment the words escaped her mouth. "I missed you. Between school and practice I felt like I didn't see you in ages"

"Aww, my poor baby" Hanna leaned over and peppered the taller girl's cheek and neck with butterfly kisses. "I missed you too" she said between pecks.

"Babe, if you continue doing this we'll never get home safely"

"Spence, are you…?"

One pointed glare was enough to shut the blonde up and make her retreat in her seat.

"'kay…" she threw her hands up in mock surrender.

By the time they pulled in the Hastings driveway, they were both experimenting a whirlwind of emotions. Blame the hormones.

Hanna started to walk towards the main house but Spencer stopped her.

"Do you trust me?" She asked the blonde.

When Hanna nodded she took off her scarf and proceeded to blindfold her. She guided the younger girl to the barn.

"Stay put, I'll be right back" Spencer said before going to take care of the last details.

She then returned to her girlfriend and ushered her inside.

"You can take it off"

Hanna did just as she was told. She didn't know what all that was about but she was thrilled to find out.

"I wanted to surprise you" Spencer whispered in her ear, embracing her from behind.

"Wow" Hanna gasped. "Spence, it's… I don't know what to say, it's wonderful"

A makeshift bed laid in front of the fireplace. Rose petals were scattered all over the floor and dozens of scented candles lighted the room. On the coffee table were a bottle of champagne with two glasses and a bouquet of red and white roses. The sight was absolutely breathtaking.

Spencer didn't see it coming but she didn't complain at all when she found herself on the makeshift bed on the floor, Hanna straddling her, kissing her as if their lives depended on it.

She didn't dare to say a word, in fact. All she could do was reciprocate with the same passion.

"Sooo, I take it you liked it?" Spencer breathed out when they pulled apart.

"Spence I love it! I mean, it's amazing!" Hanna gushed, "You're amazing" and she attacked again the brunette's mouth, then her jaw, and down to her neck, kissing and biting in all the right places that were slowly making Spencer go crazy.

"There's also your favorite cake in the fridge" Spencer managed to find the voice to inform her.

Hanna pulled slightly away, the need to look into those chocolate brown eyes too overwhelming to resist.

"You sure know the way to a girl's heart, don't you?"

In a swift move Spencer flipped them over, finding herself now on top of the blonde.

"I'm content with just knowing about yours" she leaned down and pecked her lips.

"Aren't you a sweet talker?" Hanna whispered in a breathless voice.

She was completely overwhelmed by the sweetness of the moment and the intensity of her feelings for this gorgeous, smart, funny, kind, dorky but incredibly charming brunette who owned her heart since the day they met. She had thought she couldn't be any more in the depth of her love, and yet there she was, in the midst of a free fall. How lucky she was to have Spencer catch her?

"Oh, it must be a Hastings thing, you know" the other girl's voice brought Hanna back to the present.

"No" she shook her head, reaching up with one hand to stroke Spencer's cheek with a tenderness Hanna ignored to possess. "It's all you, baby" she smiled up at her adoringly.

Spencer didn't know how to answer to this, because for the first time in her life someone has bothered to stop for a moment and see, really see, through her. Someone finally acknowledged her as more than a Hastings, more than 'the smart one in the group', more than the rich overachiever who didn't need to work hard to get what she wanted, but did it nonetheless. Yes, all of those things were part of her, but she also was so much more than that. And Hanna knew. She had always known.

So, since words didn't come to her, she figured the best way to convey her feelings to Hanna was through her gestures.

She bent down and kissed Hanna with all the love and the gentleness she could muster; then she moved to kiss the side of her neck, stopping to suck on her pulse point. Hanna closed her eyes, letting out a low moan that only served to spur Spencer on.

She planted wet, sloppy open-mouthed kisses on her jaw line, moving down, tracing a path along her neck to her collarbone, leaving red marks on Hanna's creamy skin.

The blonde felt Spencer's hands roam her body, under her skirt, dragging slowly up her thighs, then creeping up her sides; a hand rested on her hips, pulling their bodies closer together, while the other snuck under her shirt and cupped her breast over her bra.

A groan escaped Hanna's throat, while her eyes rolled back into her head. She took Spencer's head in her hands and crashed their lips together in a passionate kiss. It was a matter of seconds before they found themselves almost completely naked, their clothes discarded haphazardly all around the place.

"You're so beautiful, Han" Spencer whispered back, amazed. "So breathtakingly beautiful".

Spencer's right hand was creeping dangerously down the bare, smooth skin of her body.

"Spence…" Hanna looked up at her through heavy lidded eyes.

And that halted the brunette's journey. She froze as if just realizing what was happening.

"Oh Han, I'm sorry. I-I didn't realize…" she started to ramble, only to have Hanna interrupting her.

"Spencer, it's…"

"I… we don't have to. If you don't want. It's okay, I mean… the last thing I want is to make you feel like we have to, 'cause we don't. I-we can wait. I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you"

"Spencer, babe, you didn't do anything wro…"

"I just wanted to spend time with you, do something nice for you. I didn't have any expectation"

At this, Hanna snorted. Loudly. She couldn't help it even if she'd tried.

"Pffftt" she burst out laughing; "Oh com'on, don't give me that Spence, we both know it's not true. And please, breath. You're hyperventilating" she smirked to her very flustered girlfriend.

"You okay?" she asked when she saw the older girl relax a little.

"Okay, maybe I did have expectations for the night" Spencer sheepishly admitted. "Well, it was more like I hoped we would… anyway, I meant what I said, we don't have to do anything you don't want to" she said, sincerity glistening in her eyes. 'Oh, those eyes. The intensity they hold'.

And Hanna melted. Because Spencer was showing her once again love and care and comprehension. Acceptance. Spencer was telling her that she was worth it. And Hanna believed her.

"I want to" she husked, and she barely recognized her voice as she did so. "I want you"

"Wha-?"

Okay, now Spencer was confused. She swore, every time she thought she knew what Hanna wanted, the blonde did or said something that threw her off guard…

"I wanna make love to you"

"Oh" It's all Spencer could offer in response.

"And I want you to make love to me" Hanna smiled shyly, biting her lip. "I love you"

And honestly, who was Spencer to deny her?

"I love you, too"

She leaned down and captured once again the blonde's lips in a long, deep kiss. And another. And then another one. They spent the night making love, getting to know each other in a more intimate way, cuddling until sleep overcame them.

And when they woke up they were not surprised, though immensely happy, to find themselves still in each other's arms.

A/N: Okay, so: firstly, thank you all for reading and sharing your thoughts, it means a lot to me. Thank you so much!

So… I don't know if I'm any good at writing this sort of things; this is my first fanfiction, therefore that was the first time I ever wrote about, well, you know… *sheepish smile*

Hope you enjoyed all the same, though. Have a nice day ;)