Context: The Liars are on a summer trip. Emily and Hanna are sharing a room. So are Spencer and Hanna. Alison is the only one who got a spare room because she has trouble sleeping at night after the torments of Beacon Heights. Emily and Alison are divorced, but their friendship remains and they co-parent their twins. What happens when Emily goes to Ali's room because she can't sleep?

It was past midnight when Emily found herself standing outside Alison's hotel room.

She shouldn't be here.

And yet, here she was.

She hesitated for a long moment, arms crossed over her chest, bare feet cold against the hotel carpet, thinking about how she ended up at Ali's room. Their group of friends had come up with an unexpected Miami trip for the ladies, but their lack of planning ended up biting them on the ass as there were not many affordable hotel rooms in the city.

They managed to find three rooms with single beds available. Spencer and Aria claimed a room since they were best friends. Hanna decided Emily would be sharing a room with her, thus Alison got a spare room. This was alright with the blonde since she still had nightmares from her time at Beacon Heights. She'd rather deal with them on her own than potentially ruin the vacation of one of her friends (or Emily).

But when the push came to shove, it was impossible for Emily to sleep beside Hanna. She'd toss and turn all night long and Emily couldn't set on her bed for long enough to fall asleep. She thought about going to Spencer and Aria's, but it wouldn't be fair to them as they wouldn't have space to sleep.

Emily needed air. She needed quiet.

She needed Alison.

Taking a breath, she knocked.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing Alison in an oversized hotel robe, her blonde hair slightly messy, eyes hazy with sleep. It took her a moment to process Emily standing there in her pajamas, then her lips parted slightly in surprise.

"Em?" Her voice was soft, cautious. "Everything okay?"

Emily shifted. "I couldn't sleep. Hanna keeps tossing and turning, and—" She sighed, suddenly feeling foolish. "I don't know why I'm here."

Alison studied her for a beat, then stepped aside, wordlessly inviting her in.

Emily hesitated but stepped inside, the familiar scent of Alison's perfume filling her senses—soft, warm, achingly familiar. The hotel room was dim, illuminated only by the bedside lamp. Alison's book was still open on the nightstand, and the bed was rumpled, as if she'd been restless, too.

It worried Emily. Alison had confided in her some of the things she and Mona had been through in Beacon Heights and how they traumatized them. Emily's heart ached for Alison and a sting of regret echoed in the back of her mind, whispering that maybe she had been too quick to pull the divorce card on Alison and that they both could've worked things out if she had more patience.

But Alison sat down on the edge of the bed, watching Emily carefully. "Are you sure it's just Hanna keeping you up?"

Emily sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. "No."

Alison nodded, as if she already knew.

Silence stretched between them, heavy yet not entirely uncomfortable. Emily sat down on the other side of the bed, keeping a careful space between them. It wasn't the first time they'd been alone like this since the divorce—co-parenting meant they saw each other all the time—but it felt different. More intimate. More charged.

"You were always a restless sleeper," Alison murmured after a while, a small smile playing on her lips. "Even back then."

Emily huffed a quiet laugh. "Guess some things never change."

Alison looked at her, something unreadable in her gaze. "Some things do."

Emily swallowed. "Yeah."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. It wasn't like they avoided talking about their past—they had to, for the sake of their daughters—but they rarely talked about them. About what they'd lost. About what still lingered between them, even now.

Emily glanced down at her hands, then back at Alison. "Do you ever wonder if we made a mistake?"

Alison exhaled. "Going through a divorce?"

Emily nodded.

Alison looked away, her fingers curling into the fabric of her robe. "Yes. But I let you go because you were unhappy in a relationship with me. I couldn't make you happy. And I figured it'd be better to let you go so at least one of us could be happy."

Emily's chest tightened. Typical Alison, shouldering the burden on her own. "You weren't supposed to make me happy, Ali. I was the one who should look for it myself and for us. And I couldn't. I let you go before we could even think of working things out."

Alison was quiet for a long moment. Then, tentatively, she reached across the space between them, her fingers brushing against Emily's. It wasn't quite holding hands, but it wasn't nothing.

"Em," Alison whispered, and Emily's breath caught at the way she said it—soft, familiar, like a memory she never wanted to forget. "I never wanted to let you go."

Emily's fingers curled around Alison's, squeezing lightly. "Me neither."

The silence between them shifted—warmer, softer. Alison turned slightly, leaning in, and Emily felt herself gravitate toward her, like she always did. It wasn't planned, wasn't even something she thought about. It just was.

Alison lifted a hand, tucking a strand of Emily's dark hair behind her ear, fingers lingering against her cheek. Emily didn't pull away.

"I miss this," Emily admitted quietly.

Alison's eyes softened. "Me too."

And then, before Emily could think too much about it, she leaned in.

It wasn't a desperate kiss. It wasn't rushed or hurried or reckless. It was slow, hesitant at first—like rediscovering something they'd both been afraid to lose. Alison's lips were soft, familiar, molding against Emily's in a way that felt right.

When they finally pulled apart, Alison rested her forehead against Emily's, exhaling shakily.

"Em," she murmured, fingers still tangled in Emily's hair. "What does this mean for us?"

Emily swallowed, her heart pounding. "I don't know."

Alison searched her eyes. "But do you want to figure it out?"

Emily let out a breathless laugh, pressing her lips to Alison's again, just briefly.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I really do."

And for the first time in a long time, it felt like they were finally on the same page.