A/N: Thanks for reading and for all the feedback! I would be tempted to carry this on, but it really was just meant to be a one-shot to try out writing in a different style; and I'm working on about half a dozen, longer, Paily fics as it is.

"You're late!" Hanna accosts you the second you step out of the lift and in to the spacious loft that she and Emily share. You've been there so often lately that it almost feels like a second home. Dinner with the girls has become a regular thing, whether it's at their house or yours; you prefer going to the loft though, you can't settle when Hanna's walking around your house, unsupervised, touching your things. "I'm starving!" The blonde whines at you as you carry the take-out cartons you're holding over to the kitchen counter. She fetches the plates while you help yourself to a beer from the fridge. It's been a long day, working with one of your more difficult clients, and you've been looking forward to dinner and a movie with Hanna.

Emily won't be joining the two of you tonight. She's got a date. She didn't tell you much about the girl, but Hanna told you it's one of the models from a shoot they did for their new fall clothing line. You're dressed in sweats and your favourite old Stanford hoodie. With your hair tied back in a messy ponytail, you're hardly any kind of competition for a professional model; Emily's face still lights up at the sight of you though. She walks over and greets you with a kiss to your cheek. That's the way things have been since that first night you came over, you both always seem to find some excuse to touch. "Hey!" You give your ex a playful scowl as she reaches behind you and steals a mushroom from your moo shu pork. "Aren't you supposed to be going out for dinner?"

"It's a gourmet restaurant, the portions are going to be tiny." She objects, while helping herself to one of your fortune cookies.
"I got an extra carton. I'll leave it in the fridge for you for later."
"You're amazing." Emily grins at you, and plants another kiss against the side of your cheek. "See you later. Bye Han!" With a wave over her shoulder, she heads out the door; off to meet her model friend. Hanna catches you watching Emily go, she rolls her eyes, but chooses not to say anything about it. She gives you the same look your father gave you when you mentioned running in to your ex at the reunion; you haven't told him how many times you've seen her since.

You're distracted all night. It's hard to focus on the movie you're supposed to be watching, when all you can think about is Emily. You picture her date as some perfect supermodel, and start to imagine she won't come home tonight. You're not sure if you could handle seeing her sneaking back in to the apartment in the early hours of the morning. By ten o'clock you've talked yourself in to faking a headache so you can go home. You're just about to tell Hanna that you're leaving, when you hear the ding of the elevator. "You're home early." Hanna voices what you're both thinking as Emily flops down on to the couch between the two of you.
"It doesn't feel early. Tonight was the longest night of my life." She grumbles in response, and kicks off her heels with a heavy sigh. "My date was so boring! All she talked about was shoes!"

You can't help the smug little smile that graces your lips as you realise your fears about Emily not coming home were completely unfounded. You should feel bad that she's had such a terrible night; but you're more relieved than anything else. "I don't know why you keep going out with models. We all know you're more in to-" Hanna stops abruptly as she catches Emily glaring at her. You know what she was going to say. You're well aware of what Emily's type is.
"Ballsy women." You grin at your ex, thinking of stolen kisses and rustic bars. Emily blushes. She dips her head and bites at her lip; clearly thinking of the same things.

"I'm overdressed. I'm going to get changed." Emily announces, finding an excuse to get up and leave. You watch her go, wondering what would happen if you got up and followed her. You end up staying where you are, sipping your beer in the hope of either gaining some courage, or losing some sense. Once Emily's changed for bed, she comes back out and settles herself on the couch, in the gap between you and Hanna.
"Make yourself comfortable." You scoff at her as she puts her feet up on Hanna's lap. She responds by leaning back against your shoulder. It's exactly the response you were hoping for. Emily's weight against you is comfortably familiar. Your hand settles on her hip, almost by instinct. Her eyes never leave the screen, but you feel her sink further back in to you.

Later in the night, Emily shifts positions so she can lie down. You end up with a cushion on your lap, along with Emily's head. One of her hands finds it way to your knee You're wearing shorts, and you almost jump out of your seat as her fingertips brush against your scar. It's taken almost a month, but you're finally comfortable enough around her and Hanna to wear shorts for bed, instead of staying in your sweats all night. "You okay?" Emily feels you tense, and mistakes your discomfort for pain. She looks up at you, her face a picture of concern. "Do you want me to get you your pills?" You've started leaving some of your pain meds here; for all the unplanned sleepovers you seem to be having.
"I'm good thanks." It's not your knee that's distracting you, it's Emily. It's every part of her that's pressed against you. It's the scent of her shampoo as you rest your chin against the top of her head. It's the softness of her skin as you run your hand up her side; it's every last thing about her.

"I'm going to bed." Hanna announces before long, and it's not exactly a surprise. She's always trying to get you and Emily alone together. She says she's going for an early night, but you know she's just going to climb in to bed, with her TV on low. Not that you mind some alone time with your ex; you just wish one of you would have the guts to actually put it to some good use. Neither of you moves a muscle though. The two of you are a tangle of limbs on the couch, and you're quite content to stay there all night. Emily tries to stifle a yawn, but you still hear it.
"Are you tired? I can go if you want me to?"
"Paige, you're spending the night. Remember?" She looks up at you with that condescending, yet adoring, smile; the one she used to use whenever you were being a goof-ball, which was most of the time. "I should be asking you if you're tired. I am taking up most of your bed after all."

"I think we've already established that I wouldn't kick you out of bed, Em." You smile down at her, liking the way her nickname tastes on your tongue after all these years. It gets you wondering what her lips would taste like after all this time. It's all you can think about as you look at her, praying to every deity you can think of for the courage just to lean in and kiss her. Emily bites at her lip as she looks away, shattering the illusion that anything could ever happen again between the two of you. Years of self reliance have taught you to build your defences back up pretty fast. You try to hide how much you're hurting inside as you rub at your knee. It's starting to ache from being in the same position for so long, and it gives you inspiration on how to make a hasty retreat.

"I should go home tonight. My knee's pretty sore, and I should probably sleep in my own bed." You expect Emily to sit up and let you go, but she doesn't budge. She looks up at you with those big, pouting eyes of hers, and you know you're a goner. You've never been able to say no to her.
"You could sleep in my bed tonight?" Emily makes the same offer she's made to you a dozen times before, but something in the tone of her voice sounds different. You turn her down all the same; there's no way you could fall asleep with her scent on your pillow.
"I can't let you sleep on the couch."

"Who said anything about me taking the couch?" Emily shifts so she's sitting up. She's sitting between your parted legs, and staring at you like she's just set a challenge; you've never been one to shy away from a challenge, but you have to stop and think about this. You've spent ten years trying to build yourself back up after the first time Emily destroyed you, you're not sure you could do it a second time.
"Em, if I stay..." You can't look at her. It would be impossible to turn her down if you did. Emily doesn't seem to realise this though. She takes hold of your chin and tilts your head back up so you're looking her in the eye. "If I stay tonight, I'm not sure I could walk away again."
"I don't want you to." Her admission is little more than a whisper, but you hear it just fine all the same.

When she leans in to kiss you it's like the fourth of July. You close your eyes over, and there are literally fireworks going off behind your eyelids. Her lips are soft and full, and her arms drape around your neck like a favoured scarf. You pull her on to your lap, craving more of her; all of her. She's the greatest addiction you've ever faced in your life, and ten years of sobriety have left you desperate for a fix. Teeth and tongues clash as you kiss each other with a fevered passion. Neither of you utter a word as you make your way from couch. It's only as you have Emily pushed up against her bedroom door, with her hand hand on the door knob, that you stop to question whether this is really a good idea. Emily has her doubts too. You can see them playing out across her ever so expressive face. Emily's too easy to read, that's what makes her such a terrible liar.

She's wondering if this will be a mistake. If this time things will end just as badly as before; if you'll both be strangers again by the time your next reunion rolls around. She's looking to you to be the strong one, to reassure her that everything will turn out okay. You can't tell her that. You can't know for sure that you'll get your happy ending this time. For all you know, you could be about to make the second biggest mistake of your life; letting Emily go the first time was your biggest. "Do you think we can really do this? That we can just pick up where we left off, like the last ten years never happened? That it's not too late?" Emily is desperate for you to say yes. The words are right on the tip of your tongue, but you can't say them. You can't just forget about Allison and 'A', and the rest of all the crazy stuff that happened in Rosewood. You can't forget, but you can forgive. It's been ten long years, and you're finally ready to let the past go. One kiss from Emily Fields and you've achieved what years of therapy and life coaching couldn't. It feels like you've taken your first breath in a very, very long time.

Your hand covers Emily's, and her bedroom door opens with a loud click that echoes in the otherwise silent hallway. You kiss her again, trying to find a way to convey everything you're feeling. You've never been great with words. They're so easy to trip over, and you wouldn't know where to start when it comes to telling Emily how deeply you love her. So you kiss her, long and hard, hoping that your actions will speak loud enough for you.

The two of you stumble in to Emily's room, both afraid to let go of the other, even for a second. The back of your legs hit the edge of her bed, and you drop down, pulling Emily along with her. Your lips part for a second, just long enough for you to think of something to say. The words aren't perfect, but then Emily doesn't want perfect. She wants you. Even with all of your demons and your many flaws. Even after all this time, Emily Fields still wants you. "No. It's not too late."