"Morning sleeping beauty…late night was it?" Effy teased as Naomi wandered in to the living room where she and Katie were lying on the sofa. They were curled up under a blanket and Naomi hoped they were dressed. More than once since she had moved in she had caught them in the middle of something she would rather not witness. Ignoring Effy's taunts she chose instead to focus on the more pressing matter.

"Where's Emily?" Katie asked before the other girl had had a chance to ask. The blonde's brow furrowed in response as Katie added, "She wasn't there this morning when we unlocked the door." Naomi felt a sickness welling up inside of her, turning her stomach. Emily had not simply slipped out of the room while she was sleeping. She had obviously had to climb out of the window and down the tree outside. She had gone to a lot of trouble to get away from the blonde.

"Fuck." She cursed herself for falling asleep in the first place. She had lay cuddled up beside Emily, comfortable and content with the other girl's arms around her. She hadn't considered how Emily might have felt. "What if she's gone back to Newcastle? Fuck! I need to find her! I need to talk to her!" She could feel the panic welling up inside of her at the thought of Emily leaving once again.

Katie looked up at her like she was thick. "Well what are you waiting for dickhead?" In the few months since they had called their truce Naomi and Katie's friendship had started to strengthen again. For all she had snapped at the blonde it was her way of giving her blessing. "Go find her."
"You might want to get dressed first." Effy kindly pointed out that she was still in her pyjamas. Cursing the blonde returned to her room to get changed and start looking for Emily. She yanked her shorts down the second the door was shut behind her. A whistle caught her attention and she quickly pulled them back up.

Emily sat crossed legged on the bed with a smile on her lips. Naomi felt her own lips tug upwards at the sight of her. "Still perving I see?" She quipped, trying to keep the mood light as she made her way over to the bed. She wanted to ask what Emily had been playing at, climbing out of the window and disappearing god knows where, but the last thing either of them needed was Naomi going off on one again.
"Guilty." The smaller girl held her hands up in mock surrender, her eyes hungrily taking in every part of Naomi as she took a seat on the bed opposite her. For all she had snuck out she didn't seem upset with the blonde.

"So, where'd you go?" Naomi took a chance and tried to find out where she had been and why.
"Running." Emily replied like it should have been obvious. "I needed to clear my head."
"And did you?" Naomi bit her lip, a nervous disposition. She felt a sort of unease growing in the air between them, as though something important was about to happen. Emily chose to be honest and shook her head.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you. About us, and last night-"

"I'm sorry." Naomi blurted out, not giving the other girl a chance to finish what she was going to say. "I made a mistake. A massive huge mistake that I've regretted every second of every day since you left. I was miserable when you were gone, not just because you weren't here, but because you weren't mine anymore. I kept thinking of you with someone else, like Anna or Lucy, and it killed me. I'm sorry Emily. I want to make this happen. You and me. I don't care how far away you are, we'll make it work-"

"It won't work." It was Emily's turn to cut the blonde off as she let out a heavy sigh.
"Don't say that." Naomi pleaded, not wanting to hear what was coming next. "Please Ems. Just give me one more chance. I know I don't deserve it, but-"
"It won't work, not with me up there and you down here-"
"Emily." The blonde was close to tears as she interrupted again. Emily's reached out for her former lover and held her close as she began to sob. She clung to the smaller girl, afraid to loosen her grip in case she would leave there and then. Emily had always been the brave one. She had never given up on them, unlike Naomi. The thought that she was finally turning her back on her shook the blonde to her core.

"Listen to me Naomi." Emily sighed in to her ear, needing the blonde to stay quiet so she could say what she needed to. "I can't be with you and not be with you. I was walking around for hours, trying to think things through and I finally made a decision…do you love me?" Her question threw the other girl, but Naomi didn't need to think to answer.
"With all my heart." She just hoped it was enough.
"Good." Emily seemed happy with the answer as a small smile spread over her lips. "I spoke to Lucy this morning, she's going to rent my house, and I'm going to reject my offer from Newcastle uni and take my third choice…Kingston."
"W-what are you saying?" Naomi asked incredulously, her mind unable to connect the dots. Kingston University was in South London, as was Goldsmiths. They would be goign to uni in the same city rather than hundreds of miles apart.
"We could rent a flat, Dad had a gym down there so I'm guaranteed a job…we can be together Naomi. Properly together."

The blonde opened her mouth but no words would come out. When she had woken up that morning she had been convinced that Emily had run away from her, giving up on them just as Naomi had months earlier. She had forgotten how strong the other girl was; and how determined she could be. "I'm sorry." Naomi choked out again; it seemed it was all she could say as she clung to the other girl. "I'm so sorry."

They lay curled up together for a while longer until Naomi finally managed to compose herself. If someone had of told her that she would fall in love with Katie Fitch's twin sister she would have laughed in their faces. Though if anyone had told her she would also be sharing a flat with Katie and Effy, who were a happy couple and at it like rabbits all of the time, she would have thought they were certifiably insane. A lot had changed since Emily Fitch had first arrived in Bristol. Somehow the little redhead brought out the best in people; especially Naomi.

"It should have been you." The blonde shifted so she was facing Emily. "You should have been the one I fell in love with when I was twelve years old, not Katie." Part of her hated Rob Fitch for what he had done to his family, and for what he had inadvertently done to Naomi. She should never have fallen for Katie; it should have been Emily all along. Fate had intervened and kept them apart, only to throw them together years too late. The Naomi had always felt a connection to the eldest Fitch girl, but with Emily the attraction had been instantaneous and overwhelming. Whatever she had felt for Katie it was tenfold with Emily.

"The first night we met, I saw you in coffee shop." Emily made her own confession. "I saw you through the window and I just had to know you. I was going to go inside when you came out and started talking to me…I think I've been in love with you since that night." Naomi felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes again and she forced herself not to start crying. She kissed Emily instead. The kiss was long and slow, neither girl in a hurry to end it. They finally pulled away as they heard a loud incessant knocking on the door.

"Are you two gays going to stay in bed all day or what?" Katie called out from the other side of the door. She had intended to check in on Naomi, to tell her not to come back to the flat until she had Emily with her. A smile had touched her lips as she heard Emily speaking. "I'm still waiting for the undying gratitude and thanks for sorting you two bitches out!" Naomi rolled her eyes at the outburst.

"She's going to be insufferable." She groaned in to Emily's shoulder. Emily grinned as she got to her feet and offered her hand to the other girl.
"Got to face her sooner or later." Naomi took her hand and giggled as she pulled her back down, stealing another kiss. She wasn't sure how she had survived so long without the feel of the other girl's lips pressed against her own.
"How about later?"

A/N: Apologies for how long it has taken me to post the final chapter. My girlfriend ended our relationship last week and though we're still on good terms I haven't really been in the mood for writing a happy ending, so I've been working on my other Naomily AU 'Stockholm and Other Neuroses' instead. Eventually got my head in the right place to finish this though, my quickest and longest story to date! Thank you to everyone who's been reading and to everyone who's reviewed, particularly those who have reviewed nearly every chapter.

Trufreak.