A/N: It is late but it is not yet tomorrow! Guys, I've been so busy today! I am so sorry I couldn't post this earlier! Still, with all your love I couldn't NOT post today! Your words are making my Christmas magical and if this story is making yours just a fraction as special, then it is worth every second of it!

I feel like I should tell you that this is going to be a slow developing one, but then again, it is me... When have I ever written anything that developed quickly? So yeah! Love you!

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Chapter 3: The third year

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Emily had been picking at her Christmas pudding for an inappropriately long amount of time. She knew it wasn't polite by any means. She knew that the fact that she wasn't really listening to her mother's anecdote was far more impolite. Yet, she couldn't stop sticking her forks into the thing and she couldn't, for the life of her, pay attention to her mother's words.

"Emily stop picking at your food" the voice of Jenna, her mother, brought her back to reality.

"Sorry mum..." she whispered sheepishly as she placed her fork next to her plate.

Her mother gave her a pointed look before continuing her story. A second later, she felt Katie kick her under the table and when she brought her gaze up to meet her twin's, she had to bite down hard on her bottom lip to keep her laughter in check for Katie had given her a perfect replica of their mother's pointed stare.

Both Katie and her stared at their plates hard, tears forming at the corner of their eyes as they tried not to laugh out loud. She should have felt guilty in a way, Emily thought. It was Christmas Eve after all, the first Christmas dinner since Katie and she had started University in London. Her mother had gone a bit mental, cooking so much extra food that Emily felt sure they'd have managed to feed the entire neighbourhood.

She guessed she could understand her mother's excitement though. It had been at least two months since they'd come home and even she had been starting to feel a bit homesick. No matter how homesick she was though, you could only take so much family stories in one sitting.

"Then Charlene brought me the avocado mask instead of the cucumber one, can you believe that?" Jenna finished.

Noises of fake interest resounded around the table and her mother looked satisfied.

"So tells us , Katie dear, have you met a nice boy in London?" their mother asked, taking a spoonful of pudding as she regarded her daughter.

"Yeah well, there are a few lush ones, but one special..." Katie replied vaguely.

Emily grinned knowingly. Her sister had found a few guys to her liking alright. There was rarely a week when she didn't have date and the redhead had heard her sister at it way more often than was necessary in the past few months. Of course, Katie wasn't about to admit that to their mother.

They continued to eat in silence for a bit, but Emily could tell her mother wasn't done with the questions. Sure enough, about a minute later, Jenna lifted her gaze and stared at her.

"What about you Emily? Have you met any... well... someone?" she finished.

Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes. She knew her mother was making efforts, she really did. If this conversation had happened a year ago, there was no way her mother would have even asked. She'd have most likely avoided the subject entirely or maybe she'd have done the denial thing and asked Emily if she too had met a nice boy. In any case, she sure as hell wouldn't have asked her if she'd met someone, knowing full well what that 'someone' implied.

So yeah, perhaps her mother still couldn't ask her outright if she'd met a girl, perhaps her mother was still a bit stiff about that, but at least she wasn't trying to pretend her daughter was straight and Emily had to be grateful about that.

"Not really no" she replied offhandedly.

She heard Katie scoff in front of her and Emily glared at her. Of course her sister was completely undeterred. She raised her eyebrow real high in response to Emily's glare as if to challenge her to argue. When she didn't, Katie plastered an annoying little satisfied smirk on her face and Emily rolled her eyes again.

Okay so, sure, she hadn't been abstinent this past year. Could she really be blamed though? She was young, single and as it turned out quite popular with women. She wasn't sure if it was the red cherry hair or the button nose or just the confidence she'd gained in the past year, but there definitely was something that was making women gravitate towards her. She couldn't say she was complaining.

Despite it though, Emily hadn't lied to her mother. She hadn't met anyone, not really. She'd dated all kinds of girls. She'd dated a painter from Marseilles who had the most beautiful hands she'd ever seen. She'd dated a fashion obsessed diva from Brighton who was fit as fuck, but a total drama queen. She'd even dated a sporty girl from Canada who just seemed to eat everything with an alarming amount of maple syrup.

They'd been fine, they'd been nice even, but they hadn't been special. They had made her smile, they had made her laugh and they had made her want to spend entire days without getting out of bed or getting dressed, but that had been it. None of them had made her chest explode with feelings. None of them had made her entire body tingle from her toes to the tip of her fingers. None of them had made her want to just stay silent for hours and just look.

Also, none of them had made her mad, made her want to rip their head off only to snog them forcefully afterwards. And really wasn't that what love was supposed to be? Wasn't love supposed to be this force, this completely indescribable thing that made you feel like you had been pushed off a cliff and were now falling? Wasn't love not knowing if your fall would end in crushing pain, but enjoying that blissful freefall feeling nonetheless?

Maybe she was an idealist, maybe her conception of that feeling she'd never even felt before was completely off, but one thing was clear to her and it was that those girls just hadn't been it.

Emily didn't know if she'd find it. Maybe one day she'd realise that this had been as good as it gets, but that day wasn't today. Today, she was young enough to dream of something more.

They finished dinner shortly after that, Jenna seemingly satisfied enough to stop her interrogation. Emily had a feeling her mother had actually been relieved that she hadn't met anyone. That way, Emily wasn't about to bring anyone home to meet the family.

When there no longer was any food left on the table, Emily's dad disappeared into the sitting room to turn on the telly. As subtly as possible, James followed him meanwhile Katie and Emily helped their mother clean up. It was a bit old school, Emily guessed, but Christmas dinners had been this way since she'd been a little girl.

As a woman, maybe she should have been offended, but when Katie turned on the radio in the kitchen and all three of them started singing along to the Christmas songs as they washed the dishes, she reckoned some things didn't deserve her offense.

This was how Emily preferred her mother anyway; cheeks red from drinking Sherry and hair messy from dancing, a permanent smile on her face as she sang loudly with her two daughters. Things rarely were this good at the Fitches.

Once everything was cleaned up, Jenna urged her daughters to go to the sitting room as she went upstairs to freshen up a bit.

Emily walked into the room and let herself fall onto the couch next to her dad. He lifted his arm instinctively and she cuddled up to him. Katie sat on the other end of the couch, her back straight and her legs crossed, texting on her mobile. James, for his part, was sprawled on the floor, flipping some magazines, not a care in the world.

They were still like that when Jenna joined them, sitting on the remaining chair, her glass of Sherry refilled. They watched telly together like that, no one talking, everyone at ease, and it was nice, it really was. The year before had been so horrible that Emily hadn't expected this year to be so sweet, so typical. Yet, it was all that.

Perhaps that's why she felt so guilty when the urge to leave gripped her heart.

It wasn't that she suddenly couldn't take her family anymore. It wasn't that suddenly she wasn't comfortable. Not at all. The real problem was that as typical and familiar and nice as tonight felt, Emily couldn't help thinking about the year before and how she'd found solace in another place.

She'd been lost and upset and she'd found that pub and everything had changed. She'd felt safe there, she'd felt good. And as much as she loved her home, she couldn't forget that little quaint pub that had replaced it the year before.

Of course, the fact that a really fit blonde Emily kind of longed to see would possibly be there was also making her want to leave.

Again, another year had passed and the redhead had seen no sign of the blonde anywhere. She'd hoped foolishly perhaps, that they'd run into each other. She day dreamed about it sometimes actually. She'd be walking down the street or walking into a store and just like that she'd bump into the blonde, sometimes literally, sometimes not.

In her day dreams, the blonde was always pleased to see her. In her dreams, she had that cheeky smile and those brilliant eyes and she'd set them on Emily and she'd ask her out or something. Sometimes she would tell the redhead her name, sometimes she wouldn't. More often than not, she'd keep it quiet, but Emily reckoned her day dreams happened that way because she just couldn't figure what the blonde's real name was.

Because Emily could imagine, but nothing seemed to fit. So after a while of mental guessing, she'd just stopped imagining a name for the blonde at all. It worked just as well in her head.

Some days, Emily wondered whether she actually fancied the blonde or if it was just a side effect of the context they always found each other in. Maybe it was a bit of both.

It didn't really matter in the end. It didn't change the fact that she could feel the urge of going o the pub, of seeing her, build inside her chest.

Emily licked her lips and fidgeted uncomfortably. Would it be that rude to just go?

She waited a bit longer until she really couldn't take it.

"Hey Kay... D'you want to go get a drink or something?" she asked a bit uncertainly.

Her sister lifted her gaze from her mobile and looked at her curiously.

"Like now?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"Yeah okay, sure"

"You girls are leaving?" her dad interrupted, sounding a bit disappointed.

Guilt squeezed at Emily's heart, but she shrugged it off.

"Just for a couple of hours... We'll be back tomorrow morning for tea and presents" she explained.

"Of course you will!" her father replied indignantly. "You're not allowed to miss it" he joked.

"We wouldn't" Katie reassured.

"Is it okay with you, mum?"

"I suppose... Just don't come back too late"

"Great! Thanks" Emily exclaimed happily, pressing her lips to her father's cheek and getting up.

They walked to their bedroom together and the minute they were in, Emily walked to the duffle bag of clothes she'd brought.

"I'm going to take a shower" Katie announced.

"No! Don't! It'll take hours!" Emily whined.

"Bitch! I'm not going out looking like a slob"

"You look fine. Just change if you want but don't take a shower, yeah? Anyway I thought we'd go to that pub we went to, like... two years ago..."

"What? Urgh, no! I'm going back downstairs" Katie scoffed, starting to walk away.

"Katie don't!" Emily shouted, grabbing her by the arm. "Come on, it wasn't that bad"

"It was your type of place, not mine"

"So? Please? You pulled the last time you were there, didn't you?"

"Well duh! I can pull anywhere" Katie said with an eye roll.

"Yeah, but... whatever that guy's name was, he was cute, no? Took you on nice dates, no?"

"True... He was a bit shit in bed, mind..." her sister mused.

"Well I'm sure you can choose your bloke more carefully this year. You've had plenty of time to train for it in London after all" Emily teased.

"Don't even start, cow! Like you've not had any fun..." Katie defended, a big smirk on her lips.

She seemed to hesitate for a few more seconds, but there was a glint in her eye and Emily knew then that she had won.

"Alright, but we're not staying late and I'm changing!" she eventually relented and Emily cheered.

"Cheers Kay" she said, kissed her twin's cheek and was off to get changed herself.

It must have been about half an hour later that they finally arrived at the pub. It was just as cute and Christmassy as it had been the two years before. Emily grinned widely as they walked towards the door, her heart beating hard in nervousness.

When they stepped inside, her eyes travelled around the crowd and although there were quite a few blondes present, none of them were the one she was looking for. She was a bit disappointed as she walked with Katie to the bar, but she knew the blonde stranger- her blonde stranger, her brain decided- was a sneaky one. She'd be there, Emily knew she would.

So she drank with her sister and she didn't let it bother her. She even joined in when a bloke started hitting on Katie and then invited them to join his group.

As the night advanced though, Emily grew a bit nervous. There had to be about an hour left before the pub's closing time and there was still no sign of the blonde. Maybe she'd been a bit too confident that the other girl would show. The girl had never promised her she would be there, after all.

With that new thought in head, Emily walked to the bar feeling a bit dejected. She glanced around the pub, not seeing the blonde and turned back to wave the bartender over with a sigh.

She had just placed her order when she felt a presence behind her.

"Were you looking for someone?" a voice asked her.

A huge smile appeared on Emily's face as she recognised the voice easily. Sure enough, when she turned around she was greeted by the blonde's sparkling blue eyes and her cheeky smile. Obviously, she was proud of herself for having surprised Emily.

The redhead bit her lip as she took in the other girl, still as fucking stunning as ever, her body lithe and long and firm.

"Well, I was looking for this hauntingly beautiful blonde" Emily began, noticing the girl's smirk widen. "But I guess she didn't show because I can't see her anywhere"

The blonde laughed loudly, her giggles melodious and infectious. Emily laughed along with her for a bit. When they stopped, the blonde's smirk turned into a much softer smile, a pleased smile, as if she was just as happy to see Emily as Emily was to see her. Something deep inside the redhead's chest fluttered and she bit her lip again.

"I have to say, you're looking much happier this year" the blonde said. "Happiness looks really good on you"

There was something in her voice, something so honest and so simple that Emily blushed.

"Thanks" Emily replied. "And how are you miss poetic?"

"I'm good"

"Good"

They both grinned stupidly at each other, their eyes never breaking contact until the bartender arrived with Emily's drink. The blonde paid for it swiftly, brushing off the redhead's complaint with a wave of her eyebrow and ordered something for herself.

They didn't really say anything until the drink got there, but they did decide to sit at the bar. Emily had no desire to get back to her sister and, anyway, Katie was too busy flirting to care about her twin's whereabouts.

"So how's the lesbian life working for you then?" the blonde asked cheekily, taking a sip of her drink.

"Splendidly, thank you very much" Emily replied coyly.

"That sounds like someone has been busy..."

"Maybe..." she replied mysteriously. "Why? D'you mind?"

"No, why? Do you want me to mind?" the blonde shot back easily.

They stared at each other, eyes flashing, sparks flying. Emily couldn't believe how quickly they'd fallen into their flirting pattern. She also couldn't believe how quickly her heart was beating. How could someone she'd met a grand total of three times now make her feel so much by doing so little.

"In my defence, London is full of really fantastic looking girls" Emily eventually said.

"You moved to London?" the blonde asked in surprise.

"Yeah, moved there for Uni. Why? Are you living in London?" she shot back, hoping the girl would actually answer.

Of course, that wasn't her type at all.

"Maybe..." she replied mysteriously.

"Why don't you ever answer any of my questions?" the redhead inquired.

"It's poetic" the blonde said with a shrug and a huge teasing grin.

"Fuck off" Emily chuckled, shoving her lightly on the shoulder.

The blonde laughed and Emily dragged her hand close to her stomach, her fingers tingling.

"So what are you studying in Uni then?" the girl questioned after a beat.

Emily grinned and shook her head.

"If I don't get to know anything about you, you don't get to know anything more about me" she said smartly.

"Fair enough" the girl replied, looking a lot more pleased then Emily would have thought. "Let's talk about something neutral then, yeah? Music?"

"Okay" the redhead agreed.

And just like that, they started talking. They laughed and talked and drank and for a bit, Emily forgot there was anything else. She got lost in the other girl's speech, in the way she phrased her sentences, in the way words sounded in her mouth. She got lost a bit deeper every time the blonde said her name and every time she gave her a sparkling smile. She got lost and for a while there, she forgot that getting lost was usually a bad thing. Because if getting lost included that beautiful blonde, it was quite alright actually.

But of course, all too soon, the lights flashed around them and they were found. A few seconds later, Katie was walking up to her.

"Emsy, the pub's closing" she said, barely shooting a glance in the blonde's direction.

"Emsy?" the girl said, her voice dripping with amusement.

"Shut up!" Emily told her, grinning.

Katie, on the other hand, looked at her with a sceptical eye.

"Who the fuck are you?" she asked without preamble.

"A hauntingly beautiful blonde" the girl replied smoothly.

Emily chuckled loudly as Katie frowned. When her twin looked at her with a 'is this girl serious?' face, Emily rolled her eyes.

"You can call her Renée Vivien" she said smartly, delighted when the blonde laughed loudly next to her.

Katie looked at her as if she'd sprouted a second head before shaking her head in disbelief.

"You lezzers flirt in the weirdest fucking way" she said grumpily. "I'll catch a cab and wait for you outside. Wrap this up quickly, bitch"

Emily nodded before turning back to the blonde.

"Interesting personality" the girl commented.

"Yeah, she's well colourful" Emily shot back.

They looked at each other and sighed almost in unison.

"I guess this is goodbye then?" the blonde said, looking a bit sad.

"Yeah... I... I enjoyed our chat. Thanks"

"I enjoyed it too" the girl told her sincerely.

"Maybe we should do it again next year..." Emily suggested.

"Yeah... I think I'd be up for that..." the blonde agreed to the redhead's surprise, but delight.

"Great! Well, see you then. Merry Christmas" she said, before grabbing her coat to leave.

"What, that's it? You're not going to kiss me this year?" the blonde teased her cheekily.

"In your dreams" Emily said with more bravado than she felt, her cheeks reddening. "Besides, there's no mistletoe..."

"That's too bad..." the blonde said, her voice low.

Emily gulped and nodded. She was really tempted in that moment to lean in and kiss the blonde, but she had a feeling that somehow, it wasn't right. Somehow it would be like letting the blonde win. Ever since they had met, the other girl had always seemed to be a step ahead of her and Emily wanted to change that. So instead of kissing her, like she felt sure the blonde was expecting, she nodded and started to leave.

"Hey Emily" the girl called after her.

"Yeah?" the redhead replied, turning around.

"Hang on" she said, getting up as well and walking towards her.

Emily's heart beat furiously as the girl's perfume invaded her. Then, the blonde leaned in slowly and despite all she'd told herself about not letting her be right, not letting her win, Emily felt her eyes close.

She knew she'd been once again one step behind in their little dance though when she heard the girl giggle softly and felt her move past her lips. Then, Emily felt her breath on her ear and she shivered.

"Just in case you were still wondering... My name is Naomi. Merry Christmas"

And with that she was leaning back, sending the redhead a last victorious smirk before walking away. Emily looked at her go for what felt like a full minute, before snapping herself out of it and walking towards the exit.

When she found Katie there waiting for her, she was still grinning.

"Got you goodnight kiss, lezzer?" her sister asked.

"No" Emily replied with a shrug, her smile still as big.

"You look awfully pleased for someone who didn't get a good snog..." Katie shot back dubiously.

"It's not always about kissing, Kay..."

"Right... anyway, who was she?"

Emily's eyes shined and her heart lurched in her chest.

"Naomi... She was Naomi..." she replied softly.

Sometimes, being a step behind wasn't such a bad thing.

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We've got a name! Yay :P Now I shall leave you to your night! Enjoy it. Cherish Christmas for it is my favourite holiday ever! (Or you know cherish your own special 'this-time-of-the-year-holiday). I am off to go work on the next chapter :D

MM xx