"Something told me it was over. When I saw you and her talkin' . Something deep down in my soul said,'Cry, girl.'"

The familiar melodies of the song flowed through the dimly lit living room. Boxes opened and unopened were scattered throughout the space. Recognizing the song, Alison followed the music into the room and found Emily standing infront of the record player. Her back was turned away but Alison knew Emily was undoubtedly smiling to herself. Alison came up behind her, wrapping her arms around her girl's waist, and placed a tender kiss at the spot where Emily's neck meets her shoulders. In the midst of all the unpacking, Alison had abandoned her heels in favor of some comfy slippers, leaving the height difference between her and Emily more pronounced. The difference in their height is definitely something the blonde loves about the two of them and she suspects the brunette feels the same way.

Relishing in the feel of her girlfriend for a minute, Emily turned in Alison's arms. "Dance with me," she requested, her hand already moving to grasp Alison's.

"Fine," Alison dragged out as she dramatically rolled her eyes, her poorly hidden smile a telltale sign of her pretend annoyance.

Emily gently tugged the blonde closer, leaving no space between them, and wrapped her free hand around Alison's waist. Alison's head fell into place on Emily's shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of her mermaid. The two swayed softly to the music, eyes closed, savoring the feel of each other.

Alison took the moment to reflect Emily's influence in her life. Whenever the brunette was near, she feels anchored—safe. It was as if she's been a spinning tornado her whole life and Emily's love has finally grounded her and allowed her to breathe. Nearly a year ago, startled by how close she had come to death once again, Alison had confessed her true feelings to Emily. She swore her heart nearly burst out of her chest when the brunette revealed she feels the same way. The two spent the rest of the day getting reacquainted with each other. The only sounds coming out of Alison's bedroom were gasps, cries of pleasure, and whispered I love you's.

After hours with no contact, Hanna, Spencer, and Aria practically broke down the door of Alison's house, worried that A.D. had returned to finish the job. Sufficed to say, the three were not prepared for the sight of their two best friends naked, Emily's face buried in Alison's neck, one hand gripping the blonde's thigh, the other disappearing between them, and Alison's face thrown back in pleasure. At Aria's horrified scream, the lovers broke apart, Emily quickly scrambling to pull the sheets over them. Hanna, never one for subtleties, broke the ice commenting, "So that's what Ali's orgasm face looks like." Emily froze, expecting Alison to snap back at the other blonde, but Alison surprised her yet again when she started laughing. The others quickly joined in the hysterics, teasing Emily relentlessly until the brunette kicked her three friends out with a promise to call back later.

Unsurprisingly, A.D. tried to come between them once their relationship went public. The torture came in the form of a clueless Paige being lured back into town in the hopes that Emily will leave Alison to reunite with her ex. But A.D. had underestimated the brunette. Emily had waited her entire life to finally be able to call Alison hers and she'll be damned if she let an ex, friendly or otherwise, jeopardize their relationship. The blonde, however, dealt with Paige's unexpected return a little differently and went all old school Alison Dilaurentis on the other girl. Alison sheepishly confessed the confrontation to Emily later that day, learning from her mistakes that hiding things from the brunette tends to blow up in her face. Emily reassured her girl that she had nothing to worry about and proceeded to spend the rest of the night buried between the blonde's thighs wiping away every last shred of doubt and insecurity from Alison's mind.

Navigating their relationship amidst the looming dangers of A.D. was by no means easy task. They had to learn to compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses, working together as a synchronized unit. When the whole A.D fiasco came to a close, Emily and Alison decided it was time to get out of Rosewood. Emily had finally saved enough money to finish school and Alison had every intention to follow Emily to California. Wanting to be close to Pepperdine, Alison bought a breathtaking place in Malibu by the water so Emily wouldn't have to stay in the dorms. Emily had initially balked at the idea of Alison spending so much money on her first house. But Alison had eased the shocked by explaining that with the stolen money returned to her and her shares at the Carissimi Group back in place, the house didn't take much away from her bank account. There was nothing Alison wouldn't do to ensure their fresh start together was perfect. Plus, the blonde fully considered the house both hers and Emily's and wouldn't listen to anymore of that "her house" nonsense. Alison ended declaration with a kiss and teased, "Can't get rid of me now, Em," her eyes twinkling with affection.

A week after that conversation, the two are in the middle of unpacking and settling into their new home. Emily's semester would start in a couple of weeks and the two wanted everything in the house set so they can invite the girls over. Aria remained with Ezra in Rosewood, Hanna was in the middle of finishing up her business plan and would move out to LA at the end of the year to launch her fashion brand, and Spencer was kicking ass in DC. All five girls were committed to seeing each other as often as they can, not wanting to repeat the mistake of not keeping in touch the first time they went their separate ways. Hanna had called earlier in the day complaining that she needed a break away from business projections and would be flying out next week to see them. So Emily and Alison were busy making sure their house was ready.

"Do you remember the first time we slow danced together?" Emily suddenly asked, the notes of Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind" still playing in the background.

Alison lifted her face from its position at Emily's shoulder and chuckled, "How can I forget? You were so clumsy you stepped on my foot every two seconds."

"I wasn't clumsy," Emily defended, "I was nervous."

To say Emily was nervous would be an understatement. During one of their many sleepovers, the then freshmen were all taking about what to wear and who to take to the homecoming dance. As their friends excitedly chatted back and forth, Alison noted that Emily was usually quiet. The blonde threw Emily a questioning look and the girl confessed that she has never slow danced with anyone before and that she was nervous. Later that night, after everyone was asleep, Alison woke Emily up and dragged to brunette up to her room.

Alison proceeded to turn on some music, loud enough for the two of them to hear but not too loud that they'll wake up the others. The queen bee then turned around and pulled Emily to her, guiding the brunette on where to go. Other than a hug, it was the first time Emily had held Alison that close for that long. She thought her heart would burst out of her chest when Alison pulled Emily's arms to wrap around her waist. Every time Alison breathed instructions in her ears, Emily's knees buckled and her feet would knock the blonde's. Emily was sure that her clumsiness would result in Alison snapping at her and ending their moment. But the blonde was patient, amused even at Emily's apparently two left feet. With time, Emily's nerves melted away as her body followed the gentle rhythm Alison had set. The two remain wrapped in each other's arms until the soft rays of the morning ended their stolen time. The two snuck back to the living room to sleep before the others noticed their absence. Affected by the night's turn of events, Emily could still remember the stupid smile plastered on her face when she woke up.

"I wanted to dance with you at homecoming so bad but I couldn't," Alison regretfully admitted, "So I settled for shooting daggers at loser Ben all night." The blonde burrowed deeper into Emily's embrace, still remorseful of how she had acted in her youth .

The brunette gently squeezed the blonde's waist, knowing the touch would both soothe her girl. "Well, now you can dance with me whenever you want," Emily reasoned.

"And I can kiss you whenever I want."

Emily's soft laughter filled the room as she nodded in agreement, "Yeah, there's that too."

Unable to contain herself any longer, Alison turned to connect her lips to Emily's and let out a squeal when the brunette scoops her up in her arms. "Where are we going?" Alison breathed, linking her hands behind the brunette's neck.

"Testing out the new bed," Emily answered, capturing Alison's lips in hers again and walked towards them towards the bedroom.

In that moment, Alison knew that being in Emily Field's embrace was worth going through every bad thing in her life for. And now that they're embarking on a new chapter of their lives together, she was sure there will be many more moments to spend in Emily's arms—starting with tonight.

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This was my first foray into writing fanfiction. So thank you guys so much for all the positive responses. I had originally planned for this to only be a one-shot but you guys convinced me to wrap it up so there it was. What did you think?