26 - Worth the Wait

A/N: Dictionary at the end! All of the chapters with French words in them will have a dictionary.

Later that day, the group met up in the lobby in order to go to their first traveling destination - the Louvre Museum. When they had told Harris they wanted to go there, he had promised them speed-line tickets, so they wouldn't have to stand in a queue for hours with sweaty tourists, which they were more than grateful for.

On top of it all, the group had rented through Harris' acquaintance a large Chevrolet Suburban, which meant they had a total of nine seats, along with a driver. They had agreed ahead that it would be best to rent the services of the driver and the car for the whole week so that they wouldn't have to worry about cabs or other ways of transportation, and it was the cheaper option overall, which made Emily feel a bit less guilty.

They stepped into the large vehicle and the driver drove them to the famous museum. As they neared, a pyramid-shaped building and a palace-looking structure came into view.

Alison couldn't help but smile in anticipation. This was going to be their first day in Paris and she couldn't wait to get inside the Louvre. She caught Spencer's eye and noticed the witty brunette was smiling too. Spencer had told her a few days before that she was really looking forward to visiting the Louvre.

"Which artwork are you most excited to see, Spence?" Alison questioned.

Spencer snapped her eyes from the view outside to face Alison. "Probably the Mona Lisa, just out of pure curiosity about whether it's really as small as people say it is, but I think I'm mostly just excited about walking in those never-ending halls inside the museum. The architecture is amazing," Spencer gushed in her typical Spencer way.

"Wait, can you please switch back to the previous station?" Toby asked their driver, who complied. "Thank you," the boy said in thanks.

"You listen to 'Circa Survive'?" Emily asked with a pleased smile.

"Of course," Toby answered instantly as if it was obvious, "I used to draw their album covers."

"I love them!" Emily said with a fond grin. These days, it seemed like she and Toby couldn't get even more in sync with their friendship.

"Yes, Emily, we know." In a mocking tone, Hanna repeated Spencer's words from back when Noel had told them about the Maroon 5 concert. Spencer snorted in response.

"Nous sommes ici," the driver announced from the driver seat. They looked out the window and noticed they were right in front of the huge landmark, which was piled with people.

They exited with a jump in their step, thanking their driver before walking towards the entrance. Alison felt victorious as she passed by the many people standing in line and drying their soul out, knowing that she could just waltz in without waiting. They gave the guard their tickets and after a quick body scan, they entered.

"Wow," Spencer breathed out in pure wonder. "This is extraordinary."

"I don't get it, it's just a triangle," Hanna commented nonchalantly as she looked around the place.

"No, Hanna, it's not just a triangle. It's the entrance to the Louvre, the biggest museum in the world. Did you know-" Spencer was cut off by the groaning of the seven people around her. She ignored them and continued. "-That the Louvre wasn't always a museum? Oh, and that Napoleon once hung the Mona Lisa in his bedroom?" Spencer stated in awe.

"Napoleon? Isn't that the little guy?" Hanna asked, making Spencer roll her eyes exasperatedly.

The group walked around the museum for a while, admiring the artwork. For the last few minutes, Emily had been looking at a large painting in the corner of the current room they were in, eyeing all of the meticulous details in awe, when she felt two arms wrap around her from behind. She smiled as she recognized the familiar smell of vanilla.

"Hey," Alison greeted softly and smiled against her neck. Emily could feel the blonde nuzzling into her skin, and a pleasant chill ran quickly down her back.

"Hey," Emily replied back cheerfully as they both let out a giggle.

"Couldn't help but notice you were all alone. I've missed you," Alison said with a hint of sadness, prompting her chin on Emily's shoulder.

"I was right here," the brunette answered in a confused manner. Alison buried her face in the crook of Emily's neck and sighed deeply.

"I know, but we haven't gotten a lot of alone time in all of this. I love our friends and all, but I just want to go somewhere with you," Alison answered honestly.

Emily couldn't help but agree. Before they'd come to Paris, she had been hoping that she would have enough time to hang out with her friends and spend time with her girlfriend, and was excited about the trip because it was bound to be a mix of both, but now, she just wanted to have Alison alone for a while. She felt like they haven't had that enough.

"You're right," Emily admitted.

"Let's do something tonight, just you and me," Alison suggested in a hopeful tone.

"Like what?" Emily asked in interest, the treasured artwork in front of her all but forgotten.

"Well, I really want to see the way you look on top of the Eiffel Tower."

"Aren't we supposed to go there tomorrow, anyway?" Emily questioned as she turned in Alison's arms to face the blonde.

"We can go today and see how it looks at night, and then tomorrow we can go again. I doubt it would look very different, but it's our place and for the first time we're there, I want us to be alone, just the two of us." Alison said softly.

She didn't have to ask Emily twice, the brunette was already really looking forward to going to the Eiffel Tower with her girlfriend.

Emily pulled a shy smile at Alison's tilted head and expectant expression, nodding along, "Okay. Let's do it." Alison grinned in return, cradling Emily's face as she pulled her in for a sweet, lingering kiss. "I love you," the brunette whispered as she parted from her.

"I love you too," Alison answered tenderly with a small smile as she stared into Emily's brown orbs. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind the brunette's ear and then ran her thumb over the brunette's cheekbone, and Emily's eyes fluttered softly at the sensation of intimacy, the two girls blocking out the noises of people's rambling and someone's heels clicking as they formed a little bubble that was just the two of them.

XXXXX

"Em, are you ready to leave?" Alison knocked on the bathroom door of their bedroom's en suite. Emily had been in there for over fifteen minutes and Alison was starting to get worried.

On the other side of the door, Emily was already dressed and ready to leave for their semi-spontaneous stroll to the Eiffel Tower, and she wanted nothing more than to just go out there and let Alison lead her to their special place, but she was nervous. She wanted this to be perfect. She had planned this for so long, had fantasized about this very moment that she didn't think was ever even going to happen. Being on top of the Eiffel Tower with Alison, holding hands proudly and gazing at the fantastic view of Paris, taking their relationship to a whole new level, it was all dreamlike. And that was exactly why she was frightened to mess it up.

"Em?" Alison unknowingly broke Emily's line of thought with her gentle voice. "Emily, are you okay?"

She heard the door unlock and open, revealing her girlfriend with a weak smile plastered across her face. Alison didn't think twice as she stepped up and wrapped her arms around Emily's slightly taller frame, simply holding her while withholding her own questions until the girl could get it together. They didn't speak for a while until Emily backed away.

"Thanks, I actually really needed that," Emily said gratefully to Alison.

"You want to tell me what's on your mind?" Alison asked softly as she got a hold of Emily's hand. She kissed the top of it sweetly and the brunette felt her heart flutter at her beautiful, understanding girlfriend.

"I just... I've been waiting so long for this, Ali, and... I think the expectations I have in my head are set very high. I just really don't want anything to screw it up," Emily answered truthfully, ducking her head shyly.

"Screw it up? You mean, forgetting the entire way back to the hotel kind-of-screw-it-up, or a meteor falls and hits the earth kind-of-screw-it-up?" Alison teased.

Emily fought back a grin, and then gave in, giving Alison a knowing smile. "I'm serious," she said in a low voice.

Alison stepped closer to her body, reaching her hands up to cup her face tenderly. "Em, you have nothing to be nervous about, okay? When we're together, absolutely nothing can screw it up," Alison solemnly assured. "Not even a meteor," she added playfully.

Emily smiled at her and finally nodded. Alison squeaked and hugged her tightly. "We're going to the Eiffel Tower, Em! I can't believe this is actually happening!" the blonde admitted in astoundment as she parted from the girl.

"I know," Emily breathed out, stuck in a daze. She leaned down to plant a soft kiss on Alison's lips and then grabbed her by the waist and lifted her off the ground lightly. Alison shrieked at the sudden lift but then laughed as the brunette held her suspended in the air effortlessly, a goofy smile plastered on Emily's face. Alison's laugh was like music to her ears.

She placed Alison down and kissed her forehead, calming down her laughter. When Emily parted away, her eyes shining with excitement and pure affection, the blonde couldn't help but swoon. She didn't waste time as she grabbed the brunette by the back of the neck and went in for a strong, passionate kiss.

Emily soon opened her mouth for Alison's tongue, the blonde acting as the dominant in the kiss. Alison's hands slid easily into Emily's dark hair as the brunette placed her hands on Alison's hips and pulled her closer. Before things could get too heated, Alison reluctantly pulled away, giving Emily one last, small kiss before stepping back from her and grabbing her hand. She interlocked their fingers and Emily smiled at the simple yet endearing gesture.

"If we ever want to make it there, we should just go now," Alison reminded, still breathless from the two's unplanned make out session. She didn't trust herself not to jump Emily's bones again.

Emily nodded in agreement as the two headed to leave the hotel room. Before they were out of the door, Alison stopped in her tracks.

"Just one thing," she said as she stepped closer to Emily. She took off the beanie from the top of Emily's head and placed it on the table. Emily looked at her in confusion until she explained. "You know I love it when you wear beanies, it looks really good on you, and I mean, really-" Emily started laughing as she blushed and Alison returned to her point.

"But, I want to see the way you look on top of the Eiffel Tower, and you can't really have wind in your hair if you're wearing a beanie," Alison concluded and Emily merely laughed lovingly in reply as she led her girlfriend out of the room.

The Eiffel Tower was luckily only a few streets away so they didn't need to order a cab or call their driver. The sun had long set, and it was nighttime when they strolled through the streets.

"Look at that guy over there," Alison started, nodding her head in a certain direction.

"What about him?" Emily asked as she glanced at the guy.

"He looks kind of like Elvis, don't you think?" Alison tilted her head and examined the man.

"He really doesn't," Emily laughed.

"Sure he does; look, he's got the guitar, the hair, he's just missing an outfit." Alison pointed out.

"Okay, Elvis' hair did not look like that," Emily giggled at the girl's tinted vision. She didn't know with what eyes Alison was seeing, but the guy definitely didn't have Elvis's hair, he was simply holding a guitar.

"Yes, it did," Alison repeated stubbornly.

"Have you ever seen Elvis?" Emily asked playfully.

"Of course I did. Emily Fields, are you calling me uncultured?" Alison pretended to be hurt.

"Uhh..." Emily trailed off over-dramatically. Alison stopped walking, making Emily stop with her. The brunette only glanced away for one second, but when she looked back at Alison's face, there were sudden tears in her eyes, making her panic.

"No, I-I didn't mean it, Ali, I'm sorry," Emily voiced as she tried to subside the tears in Alison's eyes. Emily was truly afraid that she had hurt Alison's feelings, until the blonde burst out laughing.

"Em, you should've seen your face!" Alison giggled her heart out.

"W-What? You were crying!" Emily gibbered in confusion.

"Babe, one of my many talents is knowing how to fake-cry," Alison said and continued to laugh.

"Don't ever do that again, you scared me half to death," Emily scolded lightly.

"I didn't think you were actually going to fall for it, Em," the blonde said as her laughter dwindled.

"Of course I fell for it, you didn't think I would care if you started crying?"

Alison's heart picked up at that and she lifted Emily's chin softly, saying in delicate sincerity, "I'm sorry, Em. You're right. I won't do it again."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Alison kissed Emily's cheek. She got a hold of the brunette's bicep with both of her hands as they continued walking. She leaned her head down on her girlfriend's shoulder and admired the brunette's toned body. She absolutely loved the fact that Emily was atheletic, knowing that the girl was this strong was more attractive than she cared to admit.

Alison took a deep breath, sucking in all of the fresh Parisian air. They walked silently together until they reached the end of the line. The line to the entrance of the Eiffel Tower was so long, and they couldn't use their free pass tickets for tomorrow because then they would have to wait in line while the rest of their friends got in.

Alison huffed in frustration, "God, this is going to take forever,"

They started talking to pass the time, when they heard someone approaching them. More so, approaching Alison.

"Vivian? Vivian Darkbloom, is that you?" a woman in her twenties in fancy attire asked Alison. Alison and Emily exchanged confused looks.

"Me?" the blonde asked, intrigued, pointing at herself.

"Yes, silly, you're Vivian! It's me, Chelsea! Come on, don't tell me you don't remember," the woman asked playfully, but the truth was Alison didn't have a single clue what the hell she was talking about.

"I think you have the wrong-" Alison was cut off by the woman screaming.

"Oh, my God, you painted your hair blonde! I knew something was different about you. Wait, what are you waiting in line for? You're Vivian freaking Darkbloom, since when do you wait in lines?" the woman talked enthusiastically and people in line looked at her weirdly.

"I-"

"Oh, come on!" the woman grabbed her hand reassuringly and dragged her out of the line. Alison looked at Emily with a worried look. "And bring your little friend too, she's super cute," the woman added casually.

Emily joined the two as the woman led them to the beginning of the line. She began talking to the guard and pointing at Alison. In a matter of seconds, the guard moved, letting them step into the entrance of the Eiffel Tower. Emily looked at Alison who gave her a stunned shrug and walked inside. When she saw Emily was glued in place, she walked back and grabbed her hand. Alison waved back to the woman with a still confused half-smile, and the woman waved back cheerfully.

"Okay, what the hell just happened? Who's Vivian Darkbloom?" Alison asked as she and Emily walked inside the mob of people.

"I have no idea. That was so weird," she let out, shaking her head. "Hey, but at least we're in!" Emily pointed out with a smile as she looked around the place.

Alison smiled warmly at her and stood on her toes, planting a small kiss on Emily's cheek. "C'mon," the blonde urged playfully. They started climbing the stairs, not sure yet if they wanted to climb all the way up or take a lift from the second floor to the top.

"My feet are going to be jelly by the time we get there," Emily whined after a while.

"I thought you were supposed to be the jock here, Fields," Alison remarked in a teasing tone. And she knew she was only joking, because she was hurting just the same.

They climbed more stairs until Emily heard Alison groan for the one hundredth time and suddenly a surprise amount of force slammed into her. She ran to Alison and picked her up bridal style. Ali laughed and wrapped her arms around Emily's neck. "Ugh, I love you!" the blonde shouted lovingly. Emily giggled and blushed fiercely as the people around her stared at the two of them. "Get yourself an Emily Fields, people," Alison said confidently and kissed Emily's cheek.

They went on like that, and even though Emily's arms and legs hurt, she never wanted that moment to end. She never wanted to place Alison down, and sometimes, for a few seconds, she would forget where she was and just get lost in Alison's eyes as the blonde would continue to say things that made her blush.

Their first goal was to climb all of the way to the top, but they gave in to the physical pain and decided to take the lift from the second floor. They still climbed almost 700 steps to the second floor, which was definitely impressive. To be accurate, Emily carried Alison for almost 700 steps, which was even more impressive.

They finally reached the top, and the elevator door opened, revealing the gorgeous view of Paris at night. They were at a loss for words as they stepped out of the lift in awe. Each of them instantly found the other's hand and held tight, never averting their gaze from the view.

Emily broke off the trance first and found her voice. "It's... breathtaking," she let out, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It really is, isn't it," Alison agreed with her softly. Millions of little lights shone back at them from the gorgeous Paris view and they could very clearly make out the green gardens at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. They could see everything from up there, the entirety of Paris laid out at their feet.

The blonde turned her head finally to look at Emily. The brunette's eyes were wide, taking it all in. The lights shone on Emily's face and bolded out all of her best features, making Alison swoon. "But not nearly as breathtaking as you," she completed.

Emily turned to her and their eyes met, creating special electricity that no one could ever dream of breaking. "I told you you would look good on top of the Eiffel Tower. I was so right, Em," Alison whispered the last part as she let go of Emily's hand, only to move it to rest on the brunette's cheek.

Emily gulped and then eased herself to Alison's tender touch. "Ali, this... this is the best moment of my life," the brunette admitted.

"Mine too," she easily credited back. "This means everything to me, Em. Never forget that."

"Never," Emily agreed softly.

Alison rested her forehead gently against Emily's and they stayed in their little bubble for a while, their eyes closed, breathing evenly, forehead to forehead, heart to heart.

Alison pulled away first, only to tug Emily by the shirt and kiss her wholeheartedly. Their lips moved together and they kissed senselessly as the world became a simple background to their own small universe.

They pulled away, turning to the sensational view in front of them and standing in comfortable silence as Emily wrapped her arm around Alison's shoulders, pulling her close, and the blonde wrapped hers around Emily's waist, hugging her side.

Emily sighed contently and her permanent smile widened a little more. "This was so worth the wait."

Alison couldn't agree more.

XXXXX

Alison and Emily spent what seemed like hours on top of the Eiffel Tower, but ultimately, they were forced to exit before midnight, since the attraction usually closed at that time.

They went down the lift the whole way this time, they'd learned their lesson. Emily's arm stayed around Alison's shoulders as they exited the structure, not nearly as many people there as there were before.

In front of them, they saw various street artists. One, in particular, was painting people for money. "I've never done that before. You know, been painted by one of those street artists," Emily said out of the blue, pointing to the man who was sitting on a stool, all of his painting equipment next to him.

"Me neither, actually. You want to?" Alison inquired, turning her head to Emily.

"I mean, if we're already here, we might as well get proof," Emily offered playfully.

Alison giggled and started walking towards the man with the beret. "Excusez-moi?" the blonde asked politely once they reached him.

He turned to her. "Bonjour, étranger," he said giddily.

"Nous aimerions une peinture," Alison explained that they wanted him to paint them.

"Très bon. Choisissez la position que vous voulez que je vous peint," he said to them as he fumbled through his painting equipment and pulled out a few brushes and paint in multiple colors.

"He wants us to choose a position," Alison translated shortly to Emily.

"That's what she said," Emily joked quietly, making Alison laugh hysterically.

"Emily Catherine Fields! What would your mother say about that comment?" Alison feigned a disappointed look and shook her head playfully.

Before Emily could respond, the man cleared his throat intently, expecting an answer to his last question.

"J'ai une idée," Alison said shortly to him. He picked up his brush and watched with an expectant expression.

Alison practically jumped on a surprised Emily, who caught her easily by the waist. The blonde kissed her fully on the lips as Emily responded by holding Alison's body suspended in the air without difficulty, flushed against hers as their lip lock continued. They didn't notice the street artist working tirelessly and hastily, as he was used to do, and Emily focused on nothing other than Alison for what seemed like forever.

"J'ai fini!" the man suddenly announced gleefully.

Emily snapped back to reality and placed Alison down slowly. They parted away from each other and their eyes fluttered open. "Woah," Alison breathed out, her insides tingling at the amazing kiss.

"I know," Emily smiled knowingly as they both tried to catch their breaths. They glanced over at the painter and walked to observe his painting of them.

"C'est tres beau," Alison said appreciatively to the man as her eyes took in his piece. Emily actually understood that and nodded.

"Merci beaucoup," Emily thanked him and Alison looked at her with an impressed expression.

They paid the man, who thanked them, and grabbed their new painting. Later that night, when they were sound asleep in their hotel, the painting rested gracefully on their bedside table.

A/N: I don't know who really painted this fan art, but it was the inspiration for this whole chapter, so thank you!

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English-French dictionary:

1. Nous sommes ici= we're here

2. Excusez-moi?= excuse me?

3. Bonjour étranger= hello, stranger

4. Nous aimerions une peinture= we would like a painting

5. Très bon. Choisissez la position que vous voulez que je vous peint= very well. Choose the position you want me to paint you

6. J'ai une idée= I have an idea

7. J'ai fini!= I'm finished!

8. C'est beau= It's beautiful

9. Merci beaucoup= thank you very much