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It was a Friday night in the middle of fall, close to Thanksgiving, that they decided to have a movie night.
It had been a busy week for all of them; Stephanie was preparing her Thanksgiving food while keeping up with her vlog, the boys had been busy with a project they had been partnered up for, and Emily had spent her time practically holding Dennis’ hand throughout every press conference and interview.
Needless to say, everyone was in need of a break.
A few hours after Stephanie had brought the boys home and Emily returned from work, they demanded of their mothers a sleepover.
Emily laughed slightly under her breath at their excitement. They all basically lived together, regardless. Stephanie rarely went home anymore unless it was to get something of Miles’ or a specific kitchen ingredient she’d forgotten.
They had ended up moving Miles’ bed into Nicky’s room, and Emily slept with Stephanie in the master bedroom. Emily would never admit it, but she loved curling up to Stephanie after a long day of frustration and fuckery.
She felt comfort in Stephanie’s arms around her, even though the brunette was much shorter than she.
Most individuals who knew her, which was at least the entire east coast, assumed she was a cold hearted killer that could easily sleep at night knowing exactly what she’d done.
Emily was an expert in lies; hell, she invented them. This meant that she could spot one from a mile away, translating to those random fuckers didn’t know shit about her.
These media whores and gossiping assholes didn’t know that she was taking a steady dose of melatonin before bed.
They didn’t know that she woke up in cold sweats in the middle of the night, Faith’s name on her lips and fire in her mind.
They sure as hell didn’t know that she woke up in Stephanie’s arms some nights, panicking and crying her eyes out.
Needless to say, Emily found it ironic and hilarious that their boys were demanding a sleepover when they already slept in the same room. Stephanie seemed to have had the same reaction, much to Emily’s internal soft side; the side that romanticized experiencing emotions with someone else, the side that beamed with the passion of belonging.
In the end, they decided to “compromise.” They were going to have movie night in the living room together, and the boys had permission to pick what they would watch.
A movie that Stephanie deemed “family friendly.” When Nicky complained that he didn’t want to watch some dumb cartoon movie, that he watched more “mature” things, Stephanie shot a glare in Emily’s direction.
Once again, Emily was having a hard time decoding Stephanie’s attitude towards her, but she gave herself the credit for doing better than she used to.
Stephanie’s glare held exasperation, amusement, and...Emily hadn’t figured that one out just yet. She had seen it before, but it confused her all the same.
Regardless, Emily saw no malice in her eyes, therefore she shrugged sheepishly, with what she knew was a shit eating grin on her face. Stephanie’s cheeks turned slightly pink, her hazel eyes gleaming with happiness.
Emily could have stayed there for eternity, but Stephanie had to make dinner and the boys needed to clean up the legos they’d dumped all over the living room floor.
Tonight was special for Emily, though.
Stephanie was going to teach her how to cook something for the first time, and she was ecstatic. She could finally take care of Nicky. She could finally take care of her family.
It was around six in the evening that Stephanie led Emily over to the kitchen to make one of the boys favorites; grilled cheese. Stephanie had already gotten the ingredients ready; non processed cheese, whole wheat bread, and light butter.
Emily smiled at Stephanie’s excited expression, as if she couldn’t wait to make something with her for the first time. Emily herself was anxious, too. She was out of her element, meaning she had to trust Stephanie here.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen , she thought fondly.
Stephanie had already gotten out a frying pan and had heated the stove. “Why are you cooking the sandwiches on the stovetop and not in the oven?” Stephanie’s eyes glimmered with amusement and care.
“Miles likes them better this way. Trust me, that’s a story for another time.” Emily couldn’t stop the pounding of her heart as she listened to Stephanie’s awkward giggle while she was reminiscing over her son. It was too much right now.
“Okay,” she announced suddenly. “Where do we start?”
Stephanie snapped back to reality and handed Emily a spoon. “First,” she spoke gently, as if she were easing Emily into things, “you’ll put a tablespoon of butter in the middle of the pan. It’s already hot so it should melt quickly.”
Emily picked up the spoon with the butter, and was about to ease it in, when Stephanie quickly snatched it from her. She felt shame that she had already messed up, but she noticed that Stephanie was smiling at her. “Woah, woah, whoah, Em. It’s not a knife, it’s a tablespoon.”
Emily felt slightly guilty at what her motions were being compared to, but Stephanie wasn’t laughing at her or scorning her. Her face looked almost...endearing?
She shook her head. It didn’t make sense, but she wanted to make up for her mistake. “Here,” Stephanie said softly. She grabbed Emily’s wrist gently, sliding the spoon back into her hand. “You’re going to slide it in, not smack it. Otherwise, we’d be covered in “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.’”
Emily felt herself grinning at Stephanie’s comment, and the way she had held her wrist in that small moment. Stephanie had touched Emily as if she were a piece of priceless gold, which seemed to be a common occurrence these days.
Emily relished in it.
She felt no shame these days in letting Stephanie lull her to sleep with whispers and gentle massages, and she didn’t even care that they hadn’t done more.
Emily wasn’t sure how she felt about Stephanie at all, but something told her that one of her classic trysts was not how she wanted things to go for them, regardless of the turn out.
For now, she let Stephanie’s wrist guide her own to the pan, letting the butter flow seamlessly onto its surface.
“Great,” Stephanie grinned proudly, finally happy to be showing Emily how to do something. “Now,” Stephanie began, “We put the bread on top of the butter after we smooth it out.”
She handed Emily a slice of wheat bread, and Emily hesitated.
She didn’t want to mess it up like last time.
She didn’t want to wreck everything, as she was prone to do. Emily jolted out of her mind at Stephanie’s fingers locking with hers.
“Where’s the fire, Em?” She stepped closer to the blonde, tapping her finger affectionately on her friends forehead. “What’s going on up there?”
Emily couldn’t help but grin at Stephanie’s gesture, but she also couldn’t stop the doubts spreading through her mind. “I don’t want to mess it up,” she mumbled.
Stephanie leaned closer, her expressive hazel eyes glowing with interest. “You want to say that again for me?” Emily hesitated again, but she decided to be honest with her (a fucking first if there ever was one).
“I don’t want to mess it up,” she finally confessed, and she hated the way her fucking voice shook when she spoke. But Stephanie didn’t seem to notice, most likely by choice, and she gave a little laugh.
Emily was thrown off her guard.
This bullshit wasn’t funny, so why was her friend laughing? She felt like biting out a degrading comment, when she noticed the joy and fondness in her eyes.
“Listen, Em, nobody’s perfect, okay? I know we all have certain standards for ourselves, but they don’t need to be that high. So what if you burn a piece of fucking bread (Emily grinned at the quarter being slipped into the oopisie jar)?”
“I’ve burnt plenty in my life, and if you’re not capable enough to screw up bread...well you’re too scary for me.”
Emily snickered, and Stephanie didn’t leave anymore room for debate as she grabbed Emily’s hand to put the bread on the pan. Stephanie spoke to her softly with words of encouragement as she walked Emily through the rest of the process.
Sure, Emily accidentally put two slices of cheese down on one sandwich and completely missed the mark of centering two pieces of bread on top of another, but they managed to finish dinner for everyone before the start of the movie.
Once all of the grilled cheeses were plated, and the boys were called down, Stephanie looked at Emily with such pride and excitement that she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
Come on, Emily, pull yourself together.
“Em, I’m so proud of you!”
Stephanie jumped up to hug her, and Emily was shocked when she suddenly felt strawberry lipgloss pressed against her cheek.
Stephanie looked mortified, but Emily, oddly enough, wanted to reassure her.
She tilted Stephanie’s chin up and gazed deeply in her eyes. “It's all good, baby,” she whispered, before leaning in until her lips almost touched Stephanie’s.
Emily wanted to let Stephanie make the choice for what was about to happen, no matter how it would make her feel.
There was a lingering moment where Stephanie’s breath hitched quietly, and where Emily felt the anticipation overwhelming. Stephanie closed the gap between them, and Emily knew this was unlike any kiss she had ever had.
Emily thought she liked things rough, unabashed, and with pure ecstasy.
But this...this was different.
She felt every caress, every emotion. Stephanie was gentle with her, not just out of nervousness, but out of consideration and because she knew exactly who she was kissing.
She understood Emily better than anyone, and she knew about her past. Stephanie wasn’t a random bitch that Emily was using to get off, and Emily knew Stephanie could practically read her thoughts. There was nothing sexual about this. It was all emotion, sensitivity, and passion.
In return, Emily offered her expertise. She helped Stephanie along by stroking her cheek and taking an equal amount of control so that she didn’t flounder.
The blonde put a slight amount of pressure into the kiss, and she smiled with affection at Stephanie’s moan.
At this point their arms were wrapped around each other, Emily pulling the brunette close to her body. Emily knew she could stay like this forever, and she wanted to.
That was until Nicky and Miles raced downstairs.
Miles spoke first. “Nicky and I made the coolest race track, it has dragons and hot wheels and-“
He broke off at the sight of the kitchen. “Ew, moms! That’s gross!”
They broke apart, Stephanie as red as a fire truck. Emily was in better shape, but she had to fight a small blush. “Um...Smooch...hi, are you-“
Nicky interrupted her. “Real smooth, moms.” Emily, recovered from the moment, ruffled her sons dark hair. “That’s enough of that, little dude. Foods here.”
The boys raced over to the table and Nicky raced for the first plastic plate he saw. Emily waited for Stephanie to scold her son again for running, but he was already at the table.
Nicky pumped his fist in the air at the sandwich on his plate. “Yes! I got the ugly one!” Emily felt her heart soar, and the look on Stephanie’s face said that she saw it too.
Stephanie slid her cucumbers and carrots onto everyone’s plates, and she slid into the chair beside Emily. The boys were already digging in, and Emily couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight.
They enjoyed what Stephanie helped her make, and Emily did something to help make their boys healthy.
She made something Nicky liked that didn’t come from a box or a bag.
Miles liked it too, and Miles was Stephanie’s kid, and he meant just as much to her. The blonde jumped out of her stupor as Stephanie’s gentle hand squeezed her knee affectionately.
“We did good, didn’t we,” Emily whispered. “We did well ,” Stephanie corrected with a smile.
“But yes, yes we did.” Suddenly, Nicky spoke probably as loudly as we could.
“Moms, why are you guys staring at each other like that? Does Ms. Stephanie have something on her face like Miles does?”
Miles tried to throw a carrot across the table at his friend before Stephanie stopped him. The brunette glanced back towards Emily, and Emily felt her chest tighten with emotion.
“No. No she doesn’t.”
Nicky shrugged. “Okay then. Well we’re done now and we decided we want to watch The Hunger Games.”
Stephanie exchanged a look with Emily at their PG-13 choice, but the blonde knew they were both riding on too much of a high to say no. “Alright then, but you must put your plates in the sink,” Stephanie spoke firmly.
The boys jumped up with a cheer and raced over to wash their plates off. “Don’t run, Smooch!”
The brunettes hazel eyes suddenly averted from Emily’s, and Emily herself was nervous at the look in Stephanie’s gaze.
“What...what are we,” Stephanie stammered out softly.
Regaining more of her usual confidence, Emily pressed a quick kiss to her lips, smiling as she did so.
“Whatever we want us to be.”
Emily stood up, taking Stephanie’s hand with her. “Come on, baby. Let’s go make sure our boys haven’t destroyed the rest of the kitchen yet. We’ve got a movie to watch.”