It's in the little moments.

They way Paige's hair shines in Summer. Emily reaching out and running her fingers through it as they lay in bed together. Her fingers trailing down her arm, setting off goosebumps. Then she finds a familiar nook in her waist and braces herself against it, so she can lean in and cover her wife in kisses.

There's nothing she loves more than coming home from work to her. The way her eyes light up when they finally spot her and she knows -she feels it too- exactly how it feels when they're finally together again. it's like the day didn't really start until this moment. Like she spent all her workday holding in her breath and now she can exhale and breathe. She can breathe easier around her.

It's meeting her in the library and pushing her up against the bookcases. Giggling between the book stacks, their fingers intertwined as Emily left her impressions on Paige's skin.

But with their study days behind them, the book stacks were replaced with stacks of pizza boxes in their starter pad, and unopened packages and a dusty, used old couch that used to belong to Paige's Aunt. It's oily-faced kisses in-between bites. It's wiping their hands on whatever they could find, and Paige getting up to rinse her hands in her sink like a proper lady, and Emily tugging her arm back, swirling her around and pulling her down onto the couch.

It's Paige finding Emily on the couch after work, with piles of paperwork surrounding her, and making her tea and helping her sort through them.

It's the way Paige reaches over and massages her back half-way through filing their taxes, helping her relax while she herself furrowed her brow and wondered if it's possible they really spent that much on coffee in a month.

It's the way Emily finds Paige waiting up for her when gets home from work. On some days she's been travelling and she doesn't get home til late but Paige always stays on the couch waiting for her, trying to stay awake. She always rushes over to help her with her luggage. It's become a beloved routine. Even when Paige is heavily pregnant, she still waits for her. Emily walks in, full expecting to have to squint her way to the light switch only to find Paige waiting in the living room with all the lights on, trying -but failing- to knit a pair of baby booties for their child. She puts her needles down and waddles over to her immediately, and after greeting her with a kiss, she slides her hand over to her luggage and starts dragging it along to their bedroom. When Emily tries to object, Paige just reaches over with her other hand and grabs Emily by the arm and tugs her along.

The way she leaves the rolling luggage bag in the hallway as she leads Emily towards the other room. It's a spare room they usually stored surprises and presents and gym equipment in. They considered turning it into a spare bedroom until they realized that if they did one or both their moms would move in. Emily wondered whether Paige was sleepier than she seemed and she turned the wrong way by sleep-deprived-accident.

Paige opened the door and switched on the light however and Emily realized that this was no accident. Paige turned the room into a proper little nursery in the few short hours she'd been gone.

"How?"

"Let's just say this was a team effort. Toby says 'hi' by the way"

It's the way that even years after that night, she still insists on doing this. The way Emily comes home to a cat pile of bodies on the couch, waiting for her to return from her trips. The way she finds Paige asleep on the couch with the baby, and then years later with the boys fast asleep on her back and their daughter reading quietly on the living room chair. The way their eyes light up with love and affection when they see her. The way the boys jump up and race over to her, while Paige stays back, giving her that crooked smile, so happy to have her back.

It's the way the boys slide between them in the middle of the night, when their nightmares wake them up, but Paige's hand always manages to stay connected with her own.

It's the smell of pancakes wafting in on chilly mornings and the flowers on the vase in the kitchen and the way she keeps a secret stash of candy in her pockets for the kids and how she smiles and the tingles she still gets when they hold hands and the way she pushes her on the swings to make the children jealous and how she spent an hour teaching their youngest how to tie his shoes so he wouldn't be picked on, never once getting frustrated and the way she smells and how she checks in on the kids before going to bed, to make sure they're covered and comfortable.

It's all these little things that make up Paige. It's all these little things that Emily's in love with.