Author's Note: Thought about splitting this up into parts, but it felt like it flowed better this way.

(Takes place in the same universe as "Need You Now")

My Sentiments Exactly

For the first time in months, Alexa's back was feeling the effects of intense physical strain. She hadn't really been to the gym in quite some time, her internship sapping away her motivation like a leech, but she was finally getting in a decent workout. Although, Becky had promptly admonished her for carrying two boxes and considering it a 'workout.' It was all a matter of perspective, right? That's what Alexa told herself, palm resting gently against the small of her own back, the slight aching and throbbing causing her to groan in exaggerated agony.

"Becks, my back is killing me! Can't you carry the rest?" Alexa threw herself face-up onto their couch, the cushions doing little to comfort her tired muscles.

Becky quickly looked to and fro, taking note of the number of boxes - about ten left in total - before giving the answer Alexa was expecting. "Hah, yeah right. Get up, you bum."

"'Bum?' What happened to 'love of my life?'"

"Help me get the rest of these boxes into the kitchen first. I'll even upgrade you to 'apple of my eye,' promise."

Ignoring Becky's cheesiness for once, Alexa made her way towards their bedroom, stacking two boxes on top of one another in order to finish this terrible, terrible task before the morning ended. For the life of her, she couldn't determine what exactly was in these, neither of the two women bothering to label anything in their haste to have everything packed. It was annoying, but she couldn't be too unhappy, not today. Today was the day that Alexa had been waiting for - they were saying goodbye to their apartment, a house a few streets down waiting for them with open arms.

Well, open doors, Alexa mused.

With Alexa's internship completely over and done with, and Becky receiving a relatively generous promotion, they both decided that this was the time to move onto the next chapter of their lives together. Literally move. While it wasn't exactly the castle that they'd dreamt of owning, it was something. It was a major step towards the future, and one that they'd been anticipating for months, maybe years now.

Still, it was rather bittersweet to leave this apartment behind. While they were practically going to be within walking distance of the complex, the memories that they shared here were irreplaceable. Alexa recalled one of the many times Becky nearly turned their kitchen into a fiery wasteland by cooking something questionable. She remembered the smell vividly, the charred remains of whatever mystery meat was in the oven forcing itself through her nostrils and into her brain, where it festered and died in her memory bank. She didn't realize that she was giggling aloud until Becky brought it to her attention.

"You're a bit giggly for someone who's doing physical labor. And I didn't even have to make a joke about it. Yet!"

"I was just thinking," Alexa replied, saving herself from a storm of jokes she knew were coming. "We've had some good times in this place. I'm going to miss it."

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, darling - I hate this apartment. In fact, I hate it so much that I have dreams - dreams, Alexa - about it being destroyed. By a volcano. In the living room. We're not in there, of course. I'm eating popcorn and you've got a laser arm. Weird dreams."

Alexa opened her mouth to repay Becky for her earlier admonishing, but what came out of her mouth was more like a half-gasp of shock. "What?!"

"It doesn't actually shoot."

"No, I," Alexa smacked her forehead. "Forget the arm. I meant about the apartment. Like, okay, it's got its problems, sure-"

"That's putting it mildly."

"But we've made so many memories here. This is where we had our first kiss, and…" Alexa paused, almost embarrassed to keep going, the glow of her cheeks as bright as headlights on dark road. "We had all of our other firsts here too. Are you telling me you're not going to miss it, even a little?" She said this calmly, but she was pretty bewildered by Becky's lack of emotional attachment to the place where their friendship started to take off and their relationship began. Years of priceless moments.

Becky merely tossed her a shrug of the shoulders. "I guess I'm not very sentimental with these things."

Alexa sighed, setting down the last of their boxes onto the kitchen table and taking a seat. "Not sentimental. Seriously? It's always one step forward and two romantic steps back with you."

"H-Hey!" Becky shouted, taken off-guard by Alexa's sudden criticism of her romantic capabilities. "I can be sentimental about some things! I don't know - this place just isn't one of them. It's you that I love, not the apartment."

Though Alexa found it utterly adorable that the Irish woman was always so defensive about the topic of romance, she still wanted to mess with her. Partly because she needed a small break. Mostly because Becky had called her a bum. "Ooh, I don't know, Becks. This definitely puts your 'Romantic Level' in the negative position." She bobbed her head back and forth, as if weighing a heavy decision.

Becky huffed in irritation, the desire to prove Alexa wrong bubbling up within her gut and rising steadily to the surface. "Alright. We'll see who's not 'sentimental' after this!"

Almost instantly did Alexa regret trying to mess with Becky, the latter with a patented glint of mischief in her eye. It was too late when the blonde noticed Becky reaching for a knife.

"L-Let's not get crazy now."

Becky lifted the knife at eye-level.

"I'm going to do it."

Alexa furiously shook her head, panicking when she realized what Becky's dastardly plot truly was.

"Don't."

Becky raised the knife higher - slowly, inch by inch.

"I'm doing it."

Alexa glared at Becky, her eyes narrowing, her brow furrowing.

"Don't!"

But it was too late. With a primal screech, Becky swiftly brought the knife down to the largest box, dragging the sharp edge across the line of tape that secured the brown package. She opened it without a trace of remorse and flipped it upside down, its contents spilling all over the side of the table unoccupied by other, still-sealed boxes.

Alexa clenched her eyelids tight, running an open palm over her face as she did. She couldn't believe that Becky did that, at least an hour's worth of packing their personal belongings undone in a matter of seconds. "You are such a dork."

"Yes. Yes, I am. But I'm a dork on a mission."

Alexa felt herself sliding into the chair, her resolve and mental stability melting away as Becky rummaged through their personal belongings. It become abundantly clear to her that this was a losing battle. She let Becky sift through the items, the orange-haired woman trying to find which were the most important - or rather, the most 'sentimental,' Alexa figured.

She was ready to rest her head against the table until Becky pulled out something from beneath the pile. "You still have this?" She held up a brown teddy bear for Alexa to see, red cap sitting neatly atop its head. "This was ages ago, before we started dating, I think."

Alexa could feel her chest begin to burn, her lungs begging for oxygen, as she struggled to keep up with Becky. She felt like an idiot running at this speed through a crowded carnival, but when Becky saw something she liked, it was either follow or get left behind. And well, Alexa would follow her anywhere, even to secluded carnival booths with sketchy men at the helm.

"Hurry up!" She could barely hear Becky's shouts amidst the crowd of people, voices of different tones nearly drowning the Irish woman out. Alexa wanted so badly to kick her doofus of a friend right in her shin, but she'd have to catch up to her first, a feat she was finding increasingly difficult as she bobbed and weaved between wandering families.

When she finally caught up with her friend, it was at the booth in question - the booth with the burly man who seeped apathy and broken dreams. He wore a smile that read, 'Let me rip you off!' in Alexa's mind, anyway. But Becky said that they were not to leave until she tried her hand at the classic milk bottle game, boasting endlessly about her throwing arm.

"You," Alexa sucked in air like a vacuum cleaner. "Suck."

Becky wagged her finger at her. "You won't be saying that when I win you a bear."

"Oh please. You just want to show off."

"Well. Yeah." Becky scratched the back of her head, bashful now that Alexa had found her out, as if it hadn't been obvious from the start. "But I would never milk this without giving you something in return. Don't have a cow."

Alexa rolled her eyes, her breath slowly, but surely, returning to her as the burning in her chest died down. "Low-hanging fruit. I am not amoosed."

Before the either of the duo could comment on how they were spending way too much time together, the man working the booth clapped his hands. "Ladies! Will you be trying your hand at 'Baldo's Milk Bottle Challenge?' The first throw's free!" The man - 'Baldo,' they presumed - spoke a little too jovially for Alexa's liking. This was such a con. No way would Becky think about wasting time on-

"I'm game!"

She should've known. Nonetheless, she let Becky try her hand at the silly game. She watched as the burly man handed Becky a ball, which she inspected with the carefulness of a hyperactive child in a room full of glass - that is, not at all. Without another second's notice, the ball was tossed at a speed that actually surprised Alexa. Maybe that boasting wasn't just for show. Despite the impressive throw, the ball hit the bottles right at their center and immediately bounced back.

None of the bottles budged.

Becky stomped her foot. "What? I definitely hit those. You saw it!" She turned to Alexa for support, but the smaller woman simply shook her head.

"That's how they get you," Alexa stated, a knowing smirk playing at her lips. "They're glued together. Tough break."

"Nuh uh. Nope. I'm going again. I will knock them down."

"I don't need a teddy bear that badly, Becks."

"Forget the bear. It's the principle of the matter!" Becky shifted her attention back to Baldo, walking right up to him. "Another ball!"

"That'll be one dollar, pretty lady."

Becky fished into her purse, searching its wide open space for money of any kind. When she came up empty handed, she walked back to Alexa's side. "Erm…"

"Here." Alexa pulled a dollar out from her pocket, already fully prepared for this situation. Remarking how she shouldn't have bought two hot dogs, the older woman took the dollar graciously, giving Alexa a 'thumbs up' for good measure.

And so, Alexa stood back and watched as ball after ball bounced against the stack of milk bottles to little effect. They remained fixed in place, Alexa wondering to herself what brand of glue the man used. The worst part of it was that they were running out of dollars. Alexa hung her head in shame as the hole in her pocket grew deeper and deeper. Becky's constant yelling and complaining did little to help the situation, but she was determined. So determined that after twenty minutes of nothing but ball-throwing, Baldo had to intervene. "All right, lady. You're starting to scare away my customers. And me. So take something and go."

"But I wanted to win."

"Becky, for the love of god."

"Fine, fine! You pick."

"Me?"

"This was all for you. Well, ninety percent for you. Ten percent for my bruised ego."

Alexa giggled as she pointed out a stuffed bear with a red cap. Baldo quickly handed it to her and shooed them away, the pair sticking out their tongues in unison when he turned his back.

"Thanks."

"For the bear? It was your money, really," Becky admitted.

"The gesture was nice though. I mean, you lost in embarrassing fashion, but you did keep trying, so. Thanks."

Becky smiled, wrapping an arm around Alexa's shoulders as they walked back to the parking lot. "You ever need someone to win you a stuffed bear, I'm your lass."

"Let's get you some ice for that ego of yours."

Alexa could barely finish her sentence before her friend walked ahead, her ramblings of 'a seventy dollar bear' completely lost to the wind. As Becky moved on ahead, she failed to notice Alexa hugging her stuffed companion tightly against her chest.

"Two years is not 'ages,'" Alexa countered. "It was a fun day."

"Aw, my little Lexi. Such a kid at heart." Becky placed her finger squarely on the tip of her lover's nose, prompting an immediate squeal of disapproval and a light slap to the hand.

"Uh, rude!"

"So. What's its name?"

Alexa grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. "Just because I have stuffed animals doesn't mean I-" She moved to continue, but stopped when she saw the slyest of all smirks on Becky's face. "Mad Hatter."

"Right. 'Cause of his hat and all. Not your best reference, but better a hatter than a hater."

"I'm going to hate you if you don't put him - uh, it back!"

Becky dropped the bear back into the pile of their belongings with a barely audible 'plop.' "Wouldn't want that now, would we?" With that, she ventured onward - Becky continued to rummage through their things, making a mess of the table, the floor, and just about every inch of their kitchen. Alexa wouldn't be entirely surprised if an item or two somehow found its way to the stove, having been flung there carelessly, waiting to be cooked to ashes with the turn of a dial.

She was tempted to check.

"Aha!" Becky's triumphant declaration startled Alexa, nearly knocking the blonde out of her chair. Becky ran to her side, pulling her up by the arm to prevent another catastrophe in this kitchen. "Sorry! But I think I found something." Clenched between her fingers was a white book of some sort, a golden lock shining brightly on the cover.

After getting a closer look, leaning in to see what Becky was holding, Alexa sighed. "That's mine. Again."

"Is it?" Becky opened the book - the lock damaged from improper handling - and realized what she was holding. "This is your diary. I forgot you kept one of these."

"I stopped using it after it became pretty pointless."

The past seven days were truly the best of Alexa's life, she was sure of this. Not everyone had the pleasure of having their longtime crush reciprocate their feelings, and as of one week ago, she could officially declare that she was one of the lucky ones - one of the very few in this lifetime that were fortunate enough to experience true love in its purest form. This was like a dream, and if it was, then she could happily sleep for the rest of her life. If this were a dream, then reality would never come close to this.

Alexa removed her pen from the page, allowing the ink to dry, her thoughts imprinted onto the snow white sheet. Writing her feelings down so freely was always such a great form of emotional release. It was so simplistic in nature, yet it was as if she were talking to someone. Albeit someone that couldn't respond to her words, but they could definitely listen, and listen they did, tremendously well. The small book, plain and empty as it was on the outside, held everything she needed on the inside - an outlet to express herself, mostly when Becky wasn't around. It was the acquaintance that she always wanted but was never social enough - and non-sarcastic enough - to make.

More importantly, however, it was where her deepest insecurities lie documented. Eating disorder, high school trauma, body image, relationship woes. Each and every one written down, the diary never once judging her for any of it. Although, she did have some sense of guilt for keeping this all from Becky. Their friendship went back many years, but there were some things that she just didn't feel she was ready to share.

The steady sound of approaching footsteps sent Alexa in a whirlwind, her secret journal still held in her hands. She searched the couch for the key to the book's golden lock, her face understandably turning pale when she realized it was upstairs. With little room to think, she hid it behind her back, shifting in her seat to hide it from view. Unfortunately, this plan didn't seem to be panning out the way she was hoping. "The ol' 'hide it behind my back' trick," came the voice, thick strands of hair not hindering her ability to see through Alexa's thinly veiled ploys. "What'cha hiding?"

Alexa shook her head, implying that there was nothing. She thought about tossing the book to the floor, or sliding it across the living room, but that would only call attention to it. She kept her position - hands firmly behind her back, clutching her diary - even as Becky walked around to her front. "There's nothing here."

"You know, I admire your resolve, but I think I'm going to…" Becky stopped mid-sentence, catching Alexa completely off guard as she snatched the book from her hands, now holding it high above her head. "I expected more of a fight, to be honest with you, Lexi. You're usually so scrappy."

The woman in question sprang up from her seat, jumping wildly to retrieve the book. Try as she might, however, she had neither the height nor the reach to succeed in her endeavor. Instead, she took a deep breath and held out her hand. "Give. That. To. Me. Now." She enunciated each word with such venom that she nearly scared herself.

"You didn't think that just because we started dating I'd stop messing with you completely now, did you?" She made a move to open the book, much to Alexa's horror. The smaller woman made one last attempt at a grab before being pushed back by Becky's free hand. "Seriously. It's okay if you read romance novels or whatever. Nothing to be embarrassed about - I don't mind them much myself." She flipped open the front cover, expecting to be greeted with the cliche title that was missing on the outside, maybe including a pun or two. She was surprised when the words 'Alexa's Diary,' coupled together with a smiling, hand-drawn face, were there instead.

"Don't!" The volume of Alexa's shriek of terror startled them both, Becky's grip of the book loosening. Alexa grabbed it with the speed of a cheetah and held it tighter than before so as to not repeat her mistake.

Becky's eyes widened at the clear look of hurt on her girlfriend's face. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know what it was!"

"It's okay."

"You know I wouldn't have done that if I knew, right? God, I'm sorry."

"I know. It's okay."

The room became encompassed by an awkward silence, neither one of the two women knowing how to proceed from here. Becky took a leap of faith, despite her increasing urge to spend the rest of her days living under a rock. "Is it really that bad?"

Alexa kept her gaze glued to the floor. The last thing she wanted was to be vulnerable. "Becky, it's not that it's 'bad.'" She turned the book over, slowly running her thumb over the cold lock. "I have a lot of personal information in here that I'm not sure I'm ready to share with anyone."

"Even me?"

"Especially you." She could feel how much of a punch to the gut that was as Becky's face flinched instantaneously at the response. She let out an audible 'Oh' and Alexa could tell how much this was going to bother Becky if she didn't go on. "I've written about you."

This seemed to spark new life into Becky Lynch. "A lot?"

Alexa didn't know what to say. What could she say? Becky was the curious type - no matter how hard they tried to forget this conversation, she knew it would eat away at Becky until she one day asked about the diary's contents again regardless. Heck, she knew it would bother her too, were they in opposite positions. "I trust you," she said, mostly to reassure herself.

Becky was taken aback by Alexa's sudden statement. Acting on impulse, as was the Becky way, she took the book from Alexa, replacing its warmth with the warmth of her own hands. "Alexa, if I've ever given you a reason not to trust me, I'd want you to walk out of my life forever. I'm not always the best at being serious, but I am serious when I say that you can trust me with anything. I love you, okay?"

Her expression was almost saddening, Alexa noticed - Becky was pleading with her eyes. This went beyond a stupid book. At the end of the day, it was a matter of trust, and Alexa had to decide how deep her trust in Becky ran. Could she finally share her deepest thoughts with someone? Was this the person that she trusted enough to break down her walls for?

The answer was obvious.

"You really want to see what's in there?" Alexa pointed to the diary, laying off to the side where Becky placed it.

"Would it be inappropriate to say that I'm dying to read it?"

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you read it." Alexa grabbed the book and sat down on the couch. Patting the space next to her, she was overjoyed to see Becky's look of bewilderment turn into that of amusement. "I'll read it to you."

And so they sat, Alexa recounting her various writings to Becky. She mentioned how Becky was the most beautiful woman on the entire planet. She spoke in length about how her problems dissipated into absolute nothingness whenever a compliment or a lame joke flew from Becky's lips and graced her ears. She detailed just how long she'd wanted this, and how it was still so surreal that this was happening. But Alexa also spoke about how she was frightened of the future. She shared her worries about what their families would think. She flew through many 'what-ifs' about how this could all go wrong. She expressed her concerns about how, if this went south, their friendship would be tarnished forever, their relationship nothing but a blemish on the face of their lives. She mumbled her way through explaining her imperfections, about how she knew she shouldn't feel insecure but couldn't stop it anyway. She stuttered her way through every secret that she'd ever written down in that lone book, remembering to wipe a stray tear from her eye between pages.

Becky grabbed the diary, shutting it and tossing it haphazardly onto the floor. She swiftly and forcefully closed the slight distance between her and Alexa, the meeting of lips sending a collective shiver down their spines. This was all that Alexa needed to know - this was Becky's way of saying that everything was going to be fine, and it was.

Alexa never had to vent to a diary again.

"It wasn't my fault."

"You're right. It's my fault for not knowing exactly how nosy you were. And still are, by the way." Becky seemed as though she was ready to offer a retort, but Alexa beat her to the punch. "Back into the pile," she said, pointing to the pile of their things.

Becky did as she was told, dropping the nearly year-old book back to where it came from - the endless mound of their things. While she did this, Alexa continued to stare in disapproval. Their entire kitchen looked like a miniature garbage dump, the pile appearing to never shrink in size despite Becky's constant mad grab for everything in it. She chalked it up to Becky's lack of organizational skills, not once having the foresight to put the things she's already looked at back into the large box. That, or Alexa was simply going insane, which she wouldn't doubt at this point. How one person could be both incredibly disorderly yet needlessly meticulous was a mystery to her. Becky was basically a walking question mark.

Alexa found it hard to think between the loud grunts of frustration that escaped Becky, fruitlessly trying to prove a point that Alexa didn't think she needed to prove in the first place. She really was only joking. She didn't care that much about whether or not Becky was sentimental. In the grand scheme of things, it was a pretty trivial matter, but they were too far down the rabbit hole to quit now. Becky's stubbornness was like a black hole, its vortex always catching Alexa before she could escape. Despite this, she did have to admit that this was all rather sweet, in a weird way. Becky was only doing this to prove that she was romantic, but the fact that she was doing it in the first place was already romantic enough.

Becky had a really roundabout way of getting to where she wanted to be. A straight path from point A to point B became a long-winded detour through points C through Z, before reaching B. And then possibly bragging about it.

Alexa was snapped out of her internal monologue by a sharp 'gross' from Becky. "What is it?"

"Found this shirt." She unfolded it to confirm that it was indeed the shirt she was thinking of. "Yep, same shirt. The one with the freakin' green stain on it." Her face showed obvious signs of disgust, her nose practically meeting her eyebrows as her features scrunched up. "I can't believe we never threw this away."

"Do not throw that away!"

"Why not? You can't wear it anymore. Well, not unless it's the new, hip style." Becky began to pose with the shirt, making goofy faces and laughing to herself like mad as she did. Leave it to her to turn something gross into a comedy prop, Alexa thought to herself.

"It's the shirt I wore when we were babysitting for Charlotte." Alexa took the shirt from Becky's hands, the green stain fully visible.

"Why did you keep that?"

If there was a working method to painlessly remove a person's ears from their skull, Alexa would be the next to test it. The only thing in her life was the sound of a crying baby. There was no past, no future, and certainly not a present. Her life was a crying baby - everything was a crying baby.

So, maybe she was being over dramatic, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out how to calm this baby. It felt like an eternity had passed since the deceptively loud infant child started its crusade to destroy the eardrums of every human being in the world, starting with her and Becky. She couldn't imagine how parents did this day in and day out for, at the very least, an entire year. She counted her blessings that her own parents' hearing was still intact.

Trying her best to quiet the screaming baby, Alexa moved her upper body left and right, hoping the repeated rocking sensation would be enough. "Why did we even agree to this?"

"Because Charlotte's cousin needed a sitter," Becky answered, her head buried halfway inside of a kitchen cabinet. "And because Charlotte's awful with kids."

"And we're such experts, aren't we?" Sarcastic as it was, Alexa's point stood. Why did they agree to this? It's not like either of them had a resume's worth of experience with children or anything, let alone babies. They could've easily handed this responsibility to Bayley, Alexa voicing as much to Becky.

"Might as well be giving her to a twelve year old."

Point taken.

Alexa's endeavor to quiet the precious little girl in her arms did nothing to appease her cries, her tiny vocal cords having a range like no other. They already tried to feed her and even change her diaper. What more did she need? She turned to Becky for any help that she could offer, but Becky was busy, frantically searching the kitchen for something. "What are you looking for?" Alexa couldn't hide the annoyance in her voice, Becky's lack of assistance trying her patience.

"For anything."

That vague answer did nothing to calm Alexa, who couldn't let her anger show for fear of making the situation worse. Instead, she turned to face the baby, making a mental note to never babysit for Charlotte, or anyone, ever again. Although, for as much as she hated their current dilemma, she did enjoy holding the baby in her arms, her pocket-sized limbs flailing aimlessly. The miracle of birth was so amazing to Alexa. Two people coming together in an act of passion to create human life. It was beyond her comprehension, but it was something that she was sure she wanted. Obviously their experience would be different, but to just have a child would be a blessing.

That is, assuming her caretaking skills improved greatly over the next few years.

Without warning, the crying stopped, catching the attention of Alexa. She whispered as loudly as she could without doing anything to disturb the baby. "Becks! She stopped!"

Becky ceased what she was doing and approached them, pondering how Alexa managed to pull that off. "Really? How did you do that?"

"I don't know. She just… stopped." Alexa watched as the baby's face turned from one of sadness to one of joy - a look of unaware peacefulness on her face.

But then, as quickly as it came, the happiness went away. The baby's face twisted into one of shock, and Becky's mouth wasn't fast enough to warn Alexa. "Uh, I think she's going to-"

Alexa yelped in a mix of disgust and surprise as the baby - the precious, adorable, bundle of human life held carefully in her arms - took it upon herself to void the contents of its stomach onto Alexa's shirt. The blonde wanted to scream, yell, and everything in between, but Becky snatched the baby from her before any sounds were able to physically leave her mouth.

"Easy, easy." She cradled the baby in her arms much like Alexa before her. "Go get cleaned up." Becky fought the urge to laugh at the scene, something Alexa caught on to and did not appreciate. Wordlessly, she left Becky to care for the small child as she made her way to the bathroom.

On second thought, maybe children weren't for her, she told herself as she failed to wipe the mess from her shirt. It was a nice thought while it lasted. The idea of her and Becky caring for a child all their own sounded so amazing in her head. In reality, she was starting to doubt that either one of them were fit to be a parent. Heck, they were struggling to care for a child for only a day. An entire lifetime might be a nightmare. It was depressing to think about considering how well her parents took care of her. She wished that she could be as responsible as they were.

Checking the bathroom mirror, it was evident that this stain of vomit was never going to leave her shirt. Accepting her fate - as both an unfit parent and as a walking puke-magnet - Alexa headed back down the stairs and into the living room. Before she could ask Becky how things were going, she was greeted by the most heartwarming scene. Becky was sitting on their couch, quietly humming to the now sleeping baby. She was practically nuzzling its side, a gleeful look on her face as she leaned in close. It took her a minute to notice Alexa was also in the room. "Hey, I did it! Turns out all she needed was someone to hold her right. Er, no offense." She turned to Alexa, baby held snug against her chest. "I could get used to this."

Alexa continued to marvel at the sight before her. She could get used to this too.

"That was the first time I thought that maybe," Alexa twirled a lock of her own hair, red tips mixing with her natural gold. "Maybe we'd be good with a kid. You know, like, having one."

Becky's cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson, but understood exactly where Alexa was coming from. "Yeah, same here. I'd never actually held a baby before that."

Alexa gasped, jokingly. "And to think I trusted you with her! Shame." Expecting a witty comeback, Alexa was instead treated to another groan from Becky. "I was kidding, you know."

"No, it's not that. I just," Becky folded up the worn out shirt and placed it back into the pile. "Look, I'm sorry for being such a Grumplestiltskin."

"Grumple. Stiltskin."

"Like, Rumplestiltskin. But grumpy."

"Right. Carry on."

"Anyway," Becky continued, trying to convey her thoughts. "I wanted to show you that I can be sentimental, but the only thing I've done is prove that you're sentimental." She threw her arms up above her head in an act of defeat. "I give up! I'm terrible with romance."

"Again - you're a dork. I don't care if you hold onto a bunch of old things. You've proven how romantic you are by just being you."

"You're only saying that."

"No it's true. I mean," she looked around the room, Becky's eyes following suit. "You destroyed our kitchen to try and prove that you're romantic. That's pretty romantic to me."

Becky sighed, not satisfied with the answer, but too bummed out to fight against it. "I suppose."

"Now cheer up. It's time to clean." Alexa pointed to the garbage dump that was their kitchen table, much to Becky's horror. The orange-haired woman heaved a heavy breath before reversing the damage she had done, putting things back into the box one by one.

As the pile grew smaller, something beneath a large chunk of skin care bottles caught Alexa's eye. A light blue folder stood out amongst the rest of the items. She grabbed it, wondering what on earth this was. The words 'PUT IN VASE' were written on it in large capital letters with a black marker. Remaining seated in her chair, Alexa shook the folder around a bit, the action catching Becky's notice. "What's this?"

"Oh that," Becky stated, slight dejection evident in her voice. "It's the rose."

"Rose?" With even more skepticism than before, Alexa opened the folder. Inside was exactly what Becky said it was - a single rose, petals mostly dried out due to the cramped space. Still, Alexa had no idea what this was, or where it came from. "Why do you have this?"

Becky raised an eyebrow, as if the question were a dumb one. "You gave it to me."

Each step felt heavier than the last, her legs like lead as she paced without purpose. Right, left. Right, left. Every movement of Alexa's body served as a distraction from her impending task. Scenes of every way this might turn up disastrous - and there were plenty - played like clips from a horror movie in her head. The thoughts were making her violently ill, the urge to chicken out growing with each passing second. This was an experience she hadn't been through in years, and she was always on the other side of it. It was the most nerve-wracking, anxiety inducing thing.

The first date.

Alexa steadied her breathing in an ultimately futile effort to calm down. It had been roughly two months since the beginning of their relationship, and with their schedules covered top to bottom with the realities of adulthood, they never had the time to go on a date. A real date, Alexa reminded herself. Sure, they'd been out to dinner hundreds, if not thousands of times over the course of their friendship, there was never an 'official' date. There was never that spark, that electricity, that flame that just coursed through her entire being. It was always friendly, but now that they were dating, it was time to correct that.

It was weird, Alexa thought. She'd only been in one relationship prior, years ago in high school. The boy - Timmy, Jimmy, Buddy? - had walked up to her front door, like something out of a teenage sitcom, and picked her up for their first date. It was cute, and Alexa had always wondered what it would be like to do that - walking up to someone's door, asking for their hand, taking them out. Becky had squealed in an octave Alexa didn't even know the Irish native could reach. It was during one of their many sleepless college nights, where they traded gossip about something or other. She was sure Becky spoke in detail of an ex back in Ireland, of which Alexa tuned out immediately. The important part was that she recalled how Becky's face lit up at the picture of Alexa's first date. It seemed so uncharacteristic for Becky, the woman not really a beacon of romance, but it was for that reason why it stood out to her so much. It was why she was doing this now.

Bouquet of roses in one hand, Alexa nervously stood outside of their shared bedroom door. Sweat poured down her back in buckets, though that was probably due to the dress she wore, the fabric a little too tight, hugging her skin in all the wrong places. She wanted to look her best. She wanted this ridiculously cheesy idea to work out. Becky's overt love of cheesiness knew no bounds. This would work.

She just needed to stop sweating so much.

With one final breath, Alexa raised a closed fist to their bedroom door, where Becky was napping - the timing couldn't be any more perfect. Her hand trembling, she lightly tapped her knuckles against the door. There was a few seconds of silence, but soon it was replaced with confused murmurs and the shuffling of bedsheets. The door opened slowly as Becky peeked out of the visible crack, gasping when she saw what was happening. The door was swung open and Alexa shoved the bouquet of flowers into Becky's waiting face. "Sorry. We don't have vases."

"W-What is this?"

Alexa tried to answer, but her voice refused to cooperate. She swallowed the boulder sized lump in her throat before answering. "It's our, uh." Alexa froze. God, why did her high school boyfriend make her think this would be easy? She shook her head, gathering her courage as best as she could. "It's our first date!" she stated, with as much enthusiasm as her shaky voice would allow.

Becky silently took the roses and stared at them, which Alexa hoped was a good sign. Her hopes were confirmed as Becky's look of disbelief melted away, revealing a smile that took over her entire face. She used her thumb to wipe away a solitary tear. "You did this for me?"

"Well, yeah. The first date has to be special, right?" Alexa did her best to play it cool, but her stomach was doing somersaults, back flips, aerials - her stomach was performing every gymnastics maneuver with a perfect ten.

"I think this is the first time I've been at a loss for words in my life. This is, gosh I don't even know." Becky was absolutely giddy, the exact reaction Alexa was wanting. "Amazing. Unbelievable. So, so corny. But perfect."

"I know how you like your cheese."

"You know me well. Wow, look at you." Alexa's cheeks flared up as soon as Becky gave her body a full glance. She could feel Becky's eyes scanning her, from her straightened hair to her high-heeled shoes. "You're gorgeous. You always are but - man. I'm a lucky lass." Becky, in turn, gave her own body a once over. "And I'm here in my PJs like a dope."

Alexa laughed, Becky's choice in sleeping wear vibrant as always. "Relax. This is for you. Besides, the point of a first date is to look your best. You do that all the time anyway."

"Roses, flattery. If you've got candles, I might have to marry you right now."

Alexa ignored Becky's comment - mostly so she wouldn't faint on the spot - and took her by the wrist, leading her into the kitchen. The look on Becky's face as she took in the candlelight dinner before her was nothing like Alexa had seen before. It was a face she didn't want to forget, a face she wanted to remember forever.

The moment was quickly undone. "You, erm, you know I don't actually have a ring or anything."

"Just shut up and eat your dinner, Becks."

Before they sat, Alexa plucked a rose from the bunch and tucked it behind Becky's ear. "Might as well go all out with it."

"'Course."

Dinner in the apartment had never been so lovely.

Alexa sat at the table, stunned, the rose clasped gently between her fingertips. She couldn't believe that Becky kept this. This whole time, Becky was looking for something to prove she was romantic - to prove that she was sentimental - and the golden ticket was lying right underneath her nose. Alexa was dating either the most passionate person alive, or quite possibly the most dimwitted. She didn't exclude the possibility of it being both. "You kept this?"

Becky barely paid her words any heed, dumping whatever she could grab back into the box from once it came. "We didn't have a vase, so I kept one and stuck it in there until we did. Thought maybe I'd be able to save it, but I'm not sure it survived its folder prison."

"Becks." She waved a finger at the orange-haired woman, who walked over to Alexa's side.

"What?"

Alexa placed a hand on Becky's shoulder, ready to deliver the grave news. "My love, my sweet, my precious. You have no idea what words mean, do you?"

Becky jumped back, feeling a little insulted by Alexa's playfulness. "What are you getting at?"

"Ugh, Becky. You've been losing your mind over trying to prove that you're 'sentimental' and 'awesome cool romantic super girlfriend.' This is basically the definition of all those things. Except cool. You're definitely losing cool points."

"What, the rose?" Becky shook her head. "It's not like I kept that to gush over it or anything. I don't know! I kept it because you gave it to me. Is that what you meant?"

"You're so clueless." Without another word - another whisper, another thought - between them, Alexa placed her palm on the back of Becky's head, bringing her lover closer to her waiting lips. Unexpected as it was, Becky didn't fight. She never did. When they connected, it was a sensation completely new to Alexa, new to the both of them. Every kiss that they shared was better than the last, and this time, they didn't need to reminisce about their past - this was the memory that kept on persisting no matter how many days passed. They could relive this again and again, as many times as they wanted to.

Alexa pulled apart when she felt Becky's lips mouthing something that she couldn't quite make out. "What was that?"

"This means I win, yeah?"

"This was never-!" Alexa stopped herself, realizing who she was dealing with. Rubbing her temples, she gave Becky a weak reply, but one that finally satisfied her. "Yes. You win. You proved that you are the ultimate romantic, and I, Alexa Bliss, marvel at your amorous splendor. Happy?"

"Hmm, I think you should butter me up some more. It lacked a certain 'oomph,' you know?" Noting the ever-growing scowl on Alexa's face, Becky leapt into her lap, throwing her arms around her girlfriend's neck. "Maybe I don't have a million things from this place like you do, but I'm still taking the best thing from the apartment with me anyway."

"And what might that be?"

"You."

Alexa felt the warmth of Becky's lips again, this time gracefully upon her cheek. "I'm willing to give you a full three steps forward for that. To make up for your future 'two steps back.' But," Alexa flicked Becky on the forehead. "This doesn't get you out of cleaning duty."

"Actually," Becky hopped off of Alexa's lap, picking up the knife she'd used earlier. She lifted another box onto the now empty table, holding the knife to its top. "I was thinking that maybe we could revist some old memories. That sounds like it'd be a nice time, don't you think?"

Alexa strolled over to Becky, knife still in the latter's right hand. She took Becky by the right wrist, leading her in tearing the tape covering the box, following it with one final, passionate kiss. Alexa looked longingly at their box of undiscovered memories, a trove waiting to be explored, as she gave Becky the answer that was largely unneeded.

"My sentiments exactly."

End