A/N: I am SO sorry for that delay! I know so many of you were waiting patiently, so thanks for that. Ahahaha also thanks to you who were waiting impatiently, because whatever Guest kept reviewing, you made me smile :)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own PLL!

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And without further ado...

"But how soon is too soon?" Emily asked nervously into the phone. She was standing behind the bar of the shop, talking to Aria as she waited for her lunch break.

"That depends," Aria answered.

"On what?" Emily asked, biting her lip.

"Look, Em, ask her when you think it's the right time. You guys practically live in the same apartment anyway," Aria reminded her.

Emily nodded, even though Aria couldn't see her. "I guess I'd have to wait until the water in my apartment works before I ask her to move in with me."

Aria laughed lightly on the other end of the line. "Yeah, that might be a smart idea. Hey, Em, I'm heading into the school. I'll call you later?"

"Sure, have fun on your last day of being a kindergarten teacher!" Emily exclaimed, smiling, before she hung up. Aria and Emily had both spoken with the Rosewood High principal, and he had practically promised them both jobs in the positions they were going to school for, as long as they had the right criteria by August, which they would after their classes. Emily was super excited to finally start up her new teaching classes the next week.

Emily glanced at the time on her phone, and saw that it was five minutes until her lunch break. No point in waiting those five minutes; no one was going to come into the shop. She grabbed her purse and her phone and left the shop, locking the door behind her, and headed over to the Grille.

AAA

Ali had just finished making the two salads, and she set them both on the bar in the Grille. She could see Emily already making her way across the street, a few minutes early. She wasn't surprised, it wasn't like anyone went to that coffee shop after the first few minutes of it opening.

As Emily opened the door and the little bell on it rung to signal her entrance, Alison found herself thinking to the previous day, when Paige strutted into the restaurant on the whim that Emily would be there at the same time. Ali really hoped that the bitch didn't try again around this time, or she really would find Emily. Alison didn't want that bitch near her girlfriend, period.

"Hey, babe," Ali greeted her girlfriend, leaning over the bar to give Emily a kiss before she sat down.

"Hey," Emily returned, smiling. She sat down, and the phone in her hand vibrated, but she just glanced at it and then put it to sleep. Ali figured it wasn't important. "This looks good."

Ali grinned. Emily always liked the food that she made her, or at least, she pretended to. They started eating, and at first they just talked about small things.

Then Emily asked, "Since tomorrow's Saturday, do you want to go out?"

Ali smiled widely. "I would love to."

A plan was forming in Alison's mind. It'd slowly been brewing over the last couple of days, but she'd been waiting for a moment for it to grow from a small idea to a big plan. The previous day, she'd been working late for a bonus on her paycheck that she would get today. After work today, and before Emily got off at the shop, she was going to the store to buy Emily something. She wasn't sure exactly what yet, a necklace or a bracelet. Emily didn't wear much jewelry, so Ali knew that it would be something simple. But something special.

That was just part of her idea, and now that she would be going out with Emily the next night, it'd formed into a plan. She was going to ask Emily to move in with her. Sure, her apartment was smaller than Emily's, but the water there worked, and the payment was lower. Aria had already promised her just a few minutes ago via text that Emily would say yes. Now, Alison could ask her on their date the next day, and she could give her whatever it is that she was going to buy her.

Alison had secretly loved, in those cheesy romantic movies, when someone asked them to move in with them by giving them their house key. Unfortunately, Emily already had Ali's apartment key. It was bright green and hanging from a ring of keys inside Emily's purse, which was right in front of Ali.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked suddenly. "You've hardly even touched your salad."

"Oh yeah, I'm just not very hungry," Alison lied, nibbling on her salad. She was trying to think of a way to take back her key from Emily, without the other girl noticing.

Then, as if by some miracle, Emily said, "I have to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."

"Alright," Alison said with a nod. Emily got up and headed toward the bathroom, taking only her phone with her.

As soon as Ali saw her disappear behind the bathroom door, she grabbed Emily's purse and dug around for her key ring. There it was, shiny and silver, with ten different keys dangling from it. Pink, Emily's apartment key. Green, Ali's apartment key. Dark blue, one that looked like a car key. Purple, maybe a house key. Orange, a mailbox key. Yellow, maybe a PO box key. Black, white, red and teal, unidentifiable. They were probably old keys that Emily just hadn't felt like she needed to take off the ring.

Ali still thought it was cute that she color coded her keys.

Being quick about it, Ali took the green key off of the ring and slipped it into her pocket, before then dropping the ring back into Emily's purse and scooting it back across the counter. Emily probably wouldn't notice until that afternoon, and she would never guess that Ali had it.

Ali smiled at her plan to ask Emily to move in with her. Especially since she knew that no matter how she did it, there was a very small chance of the girl saying no to her.

EEE

Emily didn't really have to go to the bathroom, but when she got to the Grille, she'd gotten a text from Paige. Now that she was away from Ali, she opened the text up to read it.

From Paige- Em, I really just want to talk to you. I can't find you anywhere. At least text me, or email me. I just want to talk. Please.

Emily could hear Paige's desperate voice saying those words, but instead of making Emily feel guilty, it made her feel angry. Paige had no right to beg and plead to her; it was her own fault that she'd lost Emily. Taking a deep breath, she hit the delete button, and the text was erased from her phone. There was no need to mention it to Alison, either. It was nothing, just a text from someone who didn't matter anymore.

But what did Paige mean when she said she couldn't find her anywhere? Has she been looking for her? And where was she looking for her, in Rosewood? Emily shook her head. She probably meant like on the internet, like Twitter or Facebook or something. Paige wasn't in Rosewood. She was still in Philly. She had to still be in Philadelphia.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, Emily ran her fingers through her silky hair. She couldn't just leave right away, she had to make it look like she'd actually gone to the bathroom. After she fixed her hair, she washed her hands and dried them, so that they would look and smell like they'd been washed, and then she left the bathroom.

They finished their salads and just talked about normal things. They talked about Alison's mom, and about meeting her soon. They even talked about Ali meeting Emily's mom. Emily didn't know how she felt about that. Her mom hadn't been particularly accepting of Maya when she met her, and after that, Emily had made it a point to not discuss her sexuality or Maya or Paige around her mother. But Alison was really important to her, even in the short time she'd known her, and she figured that eventually, she'd have to tell her mother about it.

"Why is your mom so hesitant to accept you anyway?" Ali wondered, frowning. Emily understood why she was confused. It's hard to understand how a parent could reject a part of their child that doesn't hardly affect who they are.

"She likes the idea of a perfect family. My dad's in the military. She's in the police force. I was their perfect, smart, jock daughter. She didn't like the idea that I could be something other than what she wanted. She immediately tried to find the fault she made when she was raising me. She just doesn't get it," Emily explained, shrugging. On one hand, she could understand why her mom would be confused. What Emily could not understand, however, was how her mom could reject that part of her, and not even try to accept it.

"I'm sorry," Alison said simply, but just hearing her talk made Emily smile and break out of her train of thought.

"It's fine. I'll tell her soon, and she can either finally embrace who I am, or she can get lost," Emily replied, giving an amused smile.

AAA

At one o'clock, a few of the next shift employees came in, and Ali left with her stuff. She checked to make sure that she still had Emily's copy of her apartment key in her pocket, and she did. Smiling triumphantly, she walked down the street toward her car.

But she didn't get in it like she normally, did. She continued down the street until she got to a jewelry shop. She had only been there once, with her mom, when she was younger, because she always preferred the shops in the mall. But she only had an hour to buy something and then get back to her apartment, because that's when Emily would be coming home.

Home. They didn't live together yet, but it felt like they did, since they basically switched between which apartment they went to every day. Today was her day, and so Alison had to be back before Emily.

Inside the shop, Alison immediately began to scan the jewelry. She looked for stuff that was simple, but there were dozens of each different kind of necklace. Alison wanted something special and unique, not something that you could spot on every passing woman in Rosewood.

"Can I help you, dear?" an older woman asked from behind the counter in the back of the shop.

Ali nodded. "I need to find a necklace... it needs to be simple, and it needs to be unique."

"Unique as in... something that we don't sell?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow. Ali just blinked. If they didn't sell it, how could she buy it? The woman just nodded at Ali's plain expression, and leaned down the counter. She pulled out an old, leather box and opened it. Carefully, Alison stepped forward and peered into the box. There were dozens of small boxes, clearly holding necklaces, stacked up on each other.

"You don't sell these?" Alison asked.

"We do, but we don't advertise that we sell them. They're mostly vintage, and they've just been polished since they came in here," the woman answered.

"How do you get them?" Ali asked, curious.

The woman shrugged, and so Ali stopped asking her questions. She pulled out the first box and opened it up.

The chains linked together were so small that it wash hard to tell that it even formed a chain. It was silver, and at the end of it, a small, rusted star dangled. Ali closed the box and set it on the counter next to the box. Not the one.

She went through most of the ones in the box. They all looked worn, and some of them looked ancient. As Ali pulled out the second to last box, she was sure that this one wouldn't be any different. But she opened the box, and gasped.

The chain was silver, but when it reflected light, it looked blue, like water. On the end of it, a flat, smooth, blue stone hung. It was no bigger than a dime, and despite how simple it looked, something about it was just beautiful. And it was blue, which was Emily's favorite color.

"This one is perfect," Ali decided, looking up at the woman, who was smiling.

"It kind of matches your eyes," the woman pointed out.

"It's not for me," Alison admitted.

"Well then, when she looks at it, it'll remind her of your eyes," the woman insisted, taking the box and putting it into a small paper bag. Somehow, she knew that Ali would be giving it to her girlfriend, and for some reason, that brought a smile to Alison's face. "It's forty."

Ali wasn't surprised, since it was old and it was unique, and she was glad that she'd gotten a little bonus to her paycheck the previous day. She slid two twenties across the counter to the woman, who slid her the bag. "Have a nice day," Ali said, smiling at the woman.

"You too," the woman returned, smiling sweetly.

She made it back to her apartment twenty minutes before Emily would get off of work. Good.

She opened the paper bag that the box with Emily's necklace was in, and took out said box. She opened it, revealing the necklace and the cardboard material that the majority of its chain was hiding behind. She lifted up that part, revealing the bottom of the box. She set the green key inside of it, sighing with relief when she saw that it fit perfectly. Then she put the cardboard with the necklace back in the box and closed it.

She dug around her room for ribbon, and finally found a long green one. She wasn't sure why she had it, but she figured that it was the only ribbon she had in her apartment. At least it matched the key.

She tied it around the box, and then hid the box in her underwear drawer. Emily had no reason to go in there. She then discarded the bag, which had the name of the jewelry store printed on it. She tore it up before dropping the pieces in the trashcan. Emily was coming over there that night, and Ali didn't want anything to give away her plan.

Right on time, there was a knock on Ali's door. Normally, Emily would just walk in, but now, obviously, she had no key. Ali went and opened the door for her girlfriend. "Hey," the brunette greeted, frowning. "I lost my key to your place."

Ali frowned, hoping that her acting would be good enough. "That's weird. Where'd you last see it?"

"On my key ring," Emily answered, sighing. "I don't know how it could be gone. I just realized it, though. Maybe it just fell off, and it's sitting at the bottom of my purse."

"Well come in and check. I'll order pizza," Ali suggested, giving her a sympathetic smile.

As Ali ordered the pizza, she heard Emily huff as she dug through her purse. Alison frowned, but told herself that it would all be fine tomorrow.

She got Emily to forget about the key for the rest of the day. They talked and ate their pizza, and as the day progressed, she saw Emily get less stressed out. It wasn't the end of the world.

When it started to get late, Ali gave Emily some shorts and a tank top, so that she didn't have to go back to her apartment to get some. They took turns in the shower and the bathroom.

After Ali's shower, she stepped out of the bathroom wearing her change of clothes, and saw Emily grabbing her purse. Ali frowned. She didn't want Emily to leave.

Saying nothing, Alison approached her girlfriend wrapped her arms around her waist. "I can't believe I just lost that key," Emily grumbled. "How do you lose a key that's been on your key ring, and hasn't moved?"

Ali just leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss. When she pulled back, she suggested in a quiet voice, "Well, since you can't get back in here in the morning to use the bathroom without me being awake, you might as well just stay."

Emily smiled, and Alison heard her set her purse back down. She didn't see her do it, because she was too caught up in staring into those dark eyes. Emily leaned forward and kissed her, harder than Ali had before.

Her skin hot, Alison stepped back and pulled Emily with her, toward her bedroom. Although she was walking backward, she managed to lead them to her bed, and Emily pushed her down onto it.

Ali scooted backwards until her head was on her pillow, and Emily crawled above her. They rejoined their lips together, and Ali gently bit Emily's lower one. Emily let out a soft moan, and Alison raised her hands to Emily's hips. She slid them up and under the brunette's tank top.

Every time they made out, they moved a little closer toward having sex. However, neither of them had fully exposed their chest to the other, not including when Ali had accidentally gotten a full view of Emily's rack in the shower.

Ali decided to change that, and to tell Emily that, she tugged gently on the tank top. Emily didn't hesitate. She pulled backward and gracefully pulled the tank top up and over her, pulling her hair up as well. When the top was gone, her silky hair fell back onto her shoulder, and Ali stared at Emily in awe. She was beautiful, even more beautiful than Ali remembered from that morning in the shower.

She pulled Emily down again and joined their lips as her hands trailed up along Emily's abs and up to the edges of her breasts. So soft, she thought, her fingers dancing over Emily's gorgeous boobs. She felt her girlfriend's nipples harden as her fingers trailed over them. Emily shivered, and then she pulled up, so that she was sitting on Ali's pelvic area. The pressure caused Alison to become a little more aroused.

Ali sat up a little as well, pulling off her own tank top. She felt a little bit too exposed, but Emily's eyes sparkled when she saw her breasts, and that made Ali feel less self conscious. She pulled Emily back on top of her, willing Emily in her mind to touch her boobs. Her could already feel her nipples stiffening.

Finally, she felt Emily's fingers carefully tracing along the edge of her breasts. Ali moaned unintentionally against Emily's lips when her fingers reached Ali's nipple. Upon hearing that noise, Emily's hands each took the whole of Alison's breasts and squeezed them lightly, causing Alison to now gasp into Emily's mouth.

After they made out for a few more minutes, Emily just fell onto the pillow next to Ali's. They had a silent pact to wait, still, before doing anything below waist level. Although Alison wanted so badly for those things to happen now, she was grateful for the wait. It would make it much more meaningful when it did happen, and plus, she wasn't sure that she was entirely ready yet. She hadn't really ever had sex with a girl before anyway.

Emily wrapped her strong arms around Ali's bare middle, pulling her back gently against her front. Ali sighed when she felt Emily's breasts pressing against her back. This is where she belonged. Wrapped in Emily's embrace, in one bed. And tomorrow, hopefully, this could become what they did every night. And Ali could be where she belonged every night.

I hope it was satisfying after that 5 day hiatus :P

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