32 - The Anniversary (P1)

A/N: I've gotta admit I kind of like this chapter, but it's soooooo cheesy. Oh well.

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"Happy anniversary!"

"Em, what is this?" Alison asked in awe as the brunette placed the wooden tray in front of her.

They'd both woken up earlier on to wash up and get ready, but Alison, as she tended to do, had crawled back into the bed to rest before they had to leave later. Emily had gone off to the other parts of their "apartment", and the blonde was about to fall asleep once again when her girlfriend placed the wooden tray on her lap.

"Breakfast in bed," Emily answered with a small grin as if it was obvious, sitting on the bed, facing Alison.

"Em..." Alison wore a surprised expression, staring at the girl in admiration. "How many times have I told you that you don't have to do these things?" She motioned for Emily to come closer and the brunette obeyed quickly, shifting to sit on Alison's side.

"Probably the same amount of times that I told you I want to do these things," Emily replied teasingly.

Alison placed the tray down on the bedside table, and with the brunette not expecting it, she rolled over, straddling the swimmer's hips and looking down at her in contentedness.

"You are incredible," the blonde gushed with a smirk.

"And you are the best girlfriend I've ever had," Emily replied, matching the smirk as she placed her hands on Alison's hips.

Alison stared at her with an amused frown. "Um, I'm the only girlfriend you've ever had, babe," she stated.

"Yes, but you're also the best one," Emily laughed. The blonde slapped her on the arm playfully. "Okay, okay," the swimmer relented softly with a giggle, "you're the love of my life, Ali. But you know that already."

"It's still good to hear you say it," Alison defended in a fake-wounded tone.

"Well, it'll be nice to hear you say it, too," Emily pouted.

Alison laughed and bent down to kiss her, at the last second, turning to her neck instead of her lips. "You, Emily Fields," she started as she kissed and sucked on Emily's neck, driving the girl wild. "Are the love of my life," she whispered in between kisses.

Emily moved her fingers to Alison's hair, enjoying every moment as she noted to herself to definitely bring Alison breakfast in bed more often.

"I can't wait for today," Emily said genuinely as Alison parted from her after giving her one final kiss on the lips.

"Totally. A day in Disneyland Paris and then a fancy dinner to top it all off, just the two of us. And don't think I forgot about your little... surprise," Alison said quietly as she trailed the tip of her finger down Emily's arm, making the brunette grin in anticipation.

"I still can't believe Hanna talked me into doing that," Emily shook her head with a chuckle.

"Oh, yeah, remind me to thank Hanna later," Alison giggled as Emily gave her a look that said, 'seriously? '

Alison got off of Emily and they started to share the food that Emily had prepared. The brunette had made what was perhaps Alison's dream breakfast; grilled Nutella-and-marshmallow sandwiches covered neatly in powdered sugar, since she knew Alison was obsessed with the sweet chocolate spread, along with some fruit salad she had cut by herself and two iced mocha lattes from the Starbucks across the street.

The blonde giggled as she turned to give Emily half of the still warm sandwich, but the girl opened her mouth expectantly, waiting for Alison to feed her. Alison rolled her eyes amusingly, but still cut the grilled sandwich into little pieces with her hands as she fed them copiously to the brunette, before licking her fingers of the remaining. Then Emily took her position, greedily feeding the blonde to the point where she couldn't eat anymore, and letting her drink her iced beverage. Alison couldn't have asked for a better meal.

After they finished eating and were both dressed and ready to leave, Emily stepped up to Alison, grabbing her two hands with hers. "So, the breakfast wasn't all of it," the brunette informed her slowly.

Alison gave her a quizzical look, but Emily just went to stand behind the blonde, guiding her by the shoulders, forcing her to continue walking casually. When they reached just a few steps in front of the closed door of their bedroom, Emily halted again.

"Seriously, Emily, what's going on?" Alison laughed. "Are you working for the CIA or something? Because I swear, I had a feeling," she joked.

"No, I'm not working for the CIA," Emily shook her head with a giggle.

"Oh, that's too bad. The uniform would look hot on you," Alison teased.

"Shut up," Emily rolled her eyes lightheartedly. She clamped her hands over the blonde's eyes as she kept pacing. "Keep them closed," she commanded gently as she reached with one hand to open the door.

As they stepped outside of the bedroom, Alison heard Emily gulp nervously. The brunette was actually surprised that Alison didn't try to open her eyes on purpose. It made her smile, knowing that the blonde was as into it as she was. Alison could stop the teasing and be serious when Emily asked her to.

Finally, with another shaky breath, Emily removed her hands slowly. "Okay, open your eyes."

Alison opened her eyes and the icy blue globes practically bulged out of place as she saw the entire lounge and kitchen's floor and walls covered in red balloons. Alison stepped closer to the kitchen island to find several cupcakes, on each of them a letter and they spelled together "Happy Anniversary".

Alison covered her mouth with her hand in a mixture of shock and excitement as she turned to Emily. The brunette was grinning cutely from ear to ear and Alison quickly made her way to her in three short strides, practically tackling the girl through her jump. Emily caught her easily, and the blonde found herself wrapping her legs around Emily's waist as the girl held her suspended in the air. She didn't waste any time as she darted forward, kissing the brunette senselessly.

Emily laughed her goofy laugh as she parted away momentarily. "Wait, Ali," she chuckled, pulling back slightly, "there's more," she said as she placed the blonde down.

Alison's eyebrows flew to the ceiling in disbelief. "More?!" she all but shouted.

Emily nodded with a sheepish grin, before putting two fingers in her mouth and whistling loudly. 'I never could whistle like that,' Alison thought randomly in her head. The room door opened and revealed Hanna, Spencer, Aria, Caleb, Ezra and Toby, all wearing t-shirts with letters on them. They rearranged their positions by themselves, making the letters spell "Emison".

They all excitedly shouted in unison, "Happy anniversary, Ali!"

Emily knew how ridiculous the whole thing was, but when she had brought up the idea to Hanna and Toby in their new secret group chat, they'd thought it was amazing, and she could see now that they were right.

Alison ducked her head into the crook of Emily's neck and giggled at the adorable gesture. She shook her head playfully as she parted from Emily and lifted her head to look her in the eye.

"You did all of this?" she asked with a grin so loving, it filled the room with happiness.

"Do you like it?" Emily asked, suddenly a bit shy under Alison's unrelenting attention.

"I love it, Em. Just like I love you. So, so much," she said genuinely as she looked into Emily's brown eyes endearingly.

Emily felt her heart swell with self-pride just from hearing Alison's soft words. She had been planning on doing this for the blonde for some time now, only she didn't know they would be in Paris - and in their own suite.

"And you know I love you," Emily answered charmingly.

Alison's heart grew twice its pace as she watched the blush spread evenly on her girlfriend's cheeks. She wondered if Emily was always going to be like that - shy and blushing every time Alison complimented her or told her she loved her. She wasn't complaining at all, of course, but now that she had caught a glimpse of Emily's bolder side more than once and she hoped that she could see it more often, maybe not just sporadically.

"Come here," Alison cooed softly as she stood in front of the girl.

As Emily leaned in, Alison smiled and grabbed the sides of the brunette's face, bringing their lips together for a mesmerizing kiss. Emily felt like fireworks exploded in her head from the amount of love Alison was putting into the kiss. She knew she would do anything for her blonde beauty. Anything.

A few moments later, they heard someone speaking hesitantly. "Yeah, we're gonna leave you two alone to... yeah," Aria said and they could practically hear the embarrassment in her voice. They weren't even really paying attention to anything around them as they were so lost in each other's affection. They continued kissing softly even when they heard the door closing behind their friends. Alison wrapped her arms around Emily's neck and Emily wrapped hers around Alison's waist, and they finally parted from each other after what seemed like forever.

"Emily Fields, you sure know how to treat a girl," Alison smirked and winked cheekily.

"I've been waiting so long for you to be mine, Ali, that I wanted to do this right. I wanted our first anniversary to be perfect," Emily said seriously.

"And it is, Em. I'm so thankful to you. This is the most thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me," Alison said tenderly as her eyes bore into Emily's.

She embraced the brunette in her arms affectionately and let out a small, peaceful sigh. Alison felt the warmth from Emily's body and whole aura spreading to her. Emily's hugs were the best.

They stayed in their hug for a relatively long time, but Alison was having too much fun soaking in all of Emily's love that she couldn't find the strength in herself to part away from her girlfriend.

But that strength to part away from each other was bound to come in some form. A tall, brunette, witty form, Alison reminded herself as Spencer entered their room with the spare key Emily's had given her so the group could walk into the room for the surprise.

As she turned to face their brainiac best friend, Alison held onto Emily's strong bicep with both of her hands, as if it was keeping her up from melting on the spot due to the brunette's affection.

"Hey, sorry for the intrusion, but we really need to get going. Disneyland Paris is waiting for us," Spencer informed them, now wearing a different shirt.

"Okay, just give us ten minutes. We'll meet you guys in the lobby," Emily answered coolly and Spencer nodded in return as she left the room.

Alison turned to Emily, smiling like a little kid. "Come on, mermaid. Let's go eat some cupcakes."

XXXXX

"Seriously, Ali?" Spencer asked with an eye roll.

"Ugh, they're one of those couples," Hanna said in fake disgust.

"Yes, seriously. It looks so cute on Em," Alison explained, ignoring Hanna's comment as she adjusted the Orca-shaped hat on Emily's head. She had brought the hats that she and Emily bought at the zoo a while ago, and she definitely didn't appreciate their friends making fun of her little romantic gesture.

She glanced at Emily while putting on her own hat, and the brunette looked absolutely miserable, but she knew the girl was willing to wear that hat for her. It was quite an amusing sight to see - Emily smiling genially at Alison but then, the blonde would turn away and that smile would slide into a grimace.

"Come on, Em, cheer up, it's not like you're whipped or anything," Hanna started, "oh, wait."

The group laughed at Hanna's comment while Emily narrowed her eyes at her blonde bestie.

"Don't listen to them, Em. You look beautiful," Alison soothed. Emily blushed but didn't look convinced, only as soon as her girlfriend kissed her on the cheek lovingly, all of her worries were soon forgotten.

They were strolling around Disneyland Paris, and Alison had to say, she was impressed. She'd always thought that the whole Disney phenomenon was just a trick to rip people off of their money, but now, when she was really living and breathing Disney air, she could understand why it was such a big deal.

"Guys, look!" Aria chimed as she pointed to the Tower of Terror. Emily suddenly turned excited because of her love for horror movies, but Alison on the other hand, looked apprehensive.

"Let's go there," Emily offered enthusiastically.

Alison made a show of shaking her head and humming disapprovingly. "Em, no! You want to me have nightmares for a month?" the blonde asked in dread.

"It's okay, Ali, it's not even scary," the brunette dismissed but Alison stayed put and plainly stared at her. "Ali, relax. If you get scared just hold my hand," the brunette let out, mentally grimacing to herself at how cheesy that must've sounded, but it seemed to have gotten Alison re-contemplate her decision.

Alison knew her friends wouldn't be mad if she backed out, but when she saw the glint of rush and thrill in Emily's eyes, she knew there was no way she was denying this from her, even if she had to sit this one through. Besides, Alison DiLaurentis never backed out of a challenge.

"Fine," Alison huffed. "But you better keep me safe, Fields," she warned.

The entourage then headed to the building and waited in line. They exchanged lighthearted commentary between them as they stepped forward every now and then, slowly advancing the queue. They finally reached the beginning of it and the guard let them in. Alison heard her friends chat cattily, but her mind was engrossed with thoughts of regret as she listened to the screeching and screaming coming from inside the spooky structure.

The blonde looked around the place dubiously, but as soon as Emily grabbed her hand, she felt safe. Alison assured herself that it was just a stupid building, and that the scares weren't even real. A man showed them to an elevator with eight seats and they sat down, waiting for the ride to begin.

As the experience advanced on, the blonde was still a bit scared but mostly in tact as she held onto Emily's hand, who seemed for once, actually really happy being there, which the blonde found to be nothing but strange. The ride was coming to an end, Alison hoped.

But then again, as Spencer liked to say, 'hope breeds eternal misery', and the elevator then reached the top floor, exposing the view of the entire theme park for a second, before shooting down in such speed that made Alison's heart stop for a second, and not in a good way. As the elevator went up again for round two of horrible dropping, Alison peeked at Emily who looked like she was having the time of her life. The elevator dropped down quickly again, and Alison let out a small scream, holding onto Emily's hand tighter for dear life. This went on a few times before they were finally safe and sound out of the menacing elevator. They went outside and Alison finally felt like she could breathe again.

"It was fun, right?" Emily asked in her ear in a jolly tone that made Alison stare at her incoherently.

"Sure, it was real hunky-dory," Alison stated sarcastically. "No, Em, I almost died in there!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Ali," Emily nudged her.

"Whatever," Alison dismissed. "I'm just happy you're happy," the blonde offered and caught the sight of Emily's beautiful smile.

Emily locked her eyes with Alison for a moment, Alison's eyes darting for a second down to Emily's lips, giving the green light for the brunette to lean in and capture Alison's lips with hers. Alison kissed back instantly, and Emily's sweet scent made her draw the brunette closer as much as she could as they continued their tender lip-locking.

Alison parted away from Emily soon enough, since she was aware of the time and she knew something special was coming up that the brunette needed to see.

"Em, can I ask you a question?" Alison deadpanned.

"What is it, Ali?" Emily asked softly, still on a high from their kiss.

"Did you really think you were the only one with a special anniversary surprise?"

Emily didn't have time to answer before a large group of people in choir robes and a band walked towards them. Emily looked in confusion at Alison who only beamed and winked at her.

The rest of their friends, who knew what was happening, stood behind them, watching contently at how Emily looked in awe at everything Alison had planned.

One of the women in the choir robes walked up to Alison, discreetly handing her a bouquet of red roses. Alison thanked her, turning to Emily and handing her the bouquet, watching how Emily's eyes lit up in the most beautiful way possible. Out of the corner of her eye, she could notice clearly that a crowd assembled around them.

Finally, Alison gave them a small nod and the band began playing a tune that Emily knew all too well.

"I'd never gone with the wind, just let it flow, let it take me where it wants to go," the choir started singing Emily's favorite song - Crazier. Alison watched how Emily shifted her eyes in wonder between the show in front of her and Alison, blushing furiously at all of the attention. A smile began forming on the brunette's face, and not a small one, but a wide and contagious one, one that you can easily find in a crowded room because of how brightly it was glowing.

Emily was still holding the bouquet tightly in her hands, squeezing it every few seconds to make sure the sight in front of her wasn't a dream.

This was what deep, passionate love from sappy movies felt and looked like, and Emily couldn't control the flutter in her chest. She was a big fan of this kind of love, she was sure of it. The Notebook was one of her favorite movies, after all.

Alison felt a genuine ear-to-ear smile spread across her own face from the way Emily stared at her with nothing but affection and adoration.

"...But you came along and you changed everything. You lift my feet off the ground, you spin me around, you make me crazier, crazier," the choir continued their singing as Alison and Emily registered the crowd picking up their cell phones and recording their moment, not knowing the context of it.

As the song came close to an end, Emily shook slightly out of her unbelievable daze, finally marching up to Alison with the roses in her hands. She dropped her silly hat on the floor and watched as Alison did the same, inching closer to Emily.

"You make me crazier, crazier, crazier... Crazier, crazier," the ending lyrics of the song were sounded as Emily crashed her lips hard into Alison's. This was the bold Emily Alison was looking for. They heard cheers but it was all a bunch of incoherent background noises to their own little world. Alison reciprocated Emily's kiss and wrapped her arms around Emily's neck, making the girl do the same with her waist.

When they finally did part away, they opened their eyes to see a sea of people clapping and staring at them, some enthusiastic and adoring and, inevitably, a small portion of judgmental eyes but they shook it off as they bathed in their happiness.

"Whoo, go Emison!" they heard Hanna shout forcefully from somewhere behind them.

Emily looked at Alison in huge gratitude and the blonde felt her heart growing warmer and warmer. Meanwhile, Aria walked quickly towards the couple, picking up their hats from the ground and returning to Ezra, careful not to ruin the girls' moment.

Aria and Spencer were definitely the mothers of the group, Hanna snickered mentally as she watched Spencer dust off the girls' hats so they could use them later.

Alison embraced Emily in a strong hug, the brunette still holding the bouquet. Resting her chin on Emily's shoulder, she gave a thumbs up to the choir and band as they looked at the two with grand smiles.

"You're the best," Emily whispered in Alison's ear, making the girl visibly shudder.

"That's weird, Em, because you're the best and there can't really be two bests, can there?" Alison teased and Emily laughed lightly. "You are the best, Em. You think I would do something like this for someone who is any less than amazing?" Alison replied quietly, and she didn't have to look at Emily to know the girl was blushing at that.

"How did you even do this?" Emily asked, astonished.

"I called Mona's friend, Cece. She has so many connections, Em, that it's scary. I came up with the idea but she helped me a lot, she really is mega-rich. We should meet her Em, she's so nice," Alison praised the older woman. Emily noted to herself to thank that Cece woman sometime soon.

"Thank you," Emily said honestly as she backed away slightly from Alison. She moved a strand of hair from Alison's face to behind her ear and then rested her hand delicately on the blonde's cheek. "Have I told you how much I love you?" she asked.

"Yes, but it's always nice to hear it again," Alison answered cheekily with a dopey smile as she eased into her girlfriend's soft touch.

"Well, I love you. More than anything."

Alison watched Emily smile and giggle quietly. The blonde then grabbed Emily's hand and intertwined their fingers as they turned to the large number of people staring at them. She fearlessly lifted their intertwined hands in the air and there was silence for a second, before the crowd broke into even louder cheering. Their friends ran to them and hugged each of them cheerfully.

They watched as the crowd and the choir slowly dispersed and the guitarist walked up to them, giving Alison a high five and congratulating them a happy anniversary.

Once the audience was no longer there, Emily's heart rate finally began to calm down, until something stopped her in her tracks.

There was one woman with her kids who had lingered behind. The smallest child, seemingly around the age of 5, looked like he wanted to run to them and greet them as well, but his mother steered him away. "No, Carson, don't get close to these disgusting people," she offended just loud enough for the two girls and their friends to hear, making the girls' smiles falter into flat lines. The woman spoke English with a sort of Boston accent, so the girls assumed she was American, which for some reason, hurt them a little more.

Alison looked like she was ready to fight the woman with her bare hands but Emily pulled her away. "Just ignore her," she commented. Alison merely huffed in frustration, not wanting to upset the brunette on their special day.

Upon seeing the couple's disregard, the other friends stepped away from the scene, but one, who was known for having a big mouth, had no choice but to step in.

"Excuse me," Hanna snarled, making the usually-polite sentence sound like an insult. "Who do you think you are, talking about my friends like that?" she turned sharply to the woman.

The woman looked caught off guard, but rebounded fast and stood her ground. "Bobby, Carson, go stand with daddy," she commanded and the kids, scared for their life, ran off quickly in the direction of a man further down the Disney-themed street.

"You didn't answer my question," Hanna crossed her arms, staring the woman down.

The rest of her friends gathered behind her, Emily and Alison exchanging concerned looks, yet the Queen Bee's expression looked more impressed and proud than anything else, really.

"What's there to say? These two are humiliating themselves. You know, it's too bad, such pretty girls committing such dirty sins," she shook her head in disappointment.

Emily was about to duck her head slightly but Alison squeezed her hand hard, refusing to believe any word coming out of the woman's foul mouth.

"They're not committing any sins, they're in love," Aria stepped up. The brunette might've been short, but anyone who knew her was aware of just how feisty she could be when she wanted.

The stranger scoffed. "In love? What do you know about in love? You look like you're in kindergarten," she raised an eyebrow at Aria.

"Watch it!"

"Hey!"

Ezra and Spencer interfered in Aria's defense. Ezra wrapped an arm around Aria, shielding her from the woman.

"Look, just because you're a vile and bigoted woman, doesn't mean you need to pass it on to everyone else," Toby said harshly in a low voice, holding onto Spencer's hand as if it was keeping him from taking a swing at the ignorant woman.

"Yeah, it's no wonder your kids are scared of you," Caleb raised his voice, nodding his head in the direction of the woman's children, who were curled up to their father, watching the fight intently. As she looked back at the group and seemed like she was about to open her mouth again, Caleb stepped in front of Emily and Alison and crossed his arms, protecting them from the stranger. Toby and Ezra mimicked his move hastily and Emily couldn't have been more grateful.

"They know more about love than you probably ever will," Spencer stated, putting a supporting hand on Emily's shoulder. "This is sad, really."

A pang of hurt flashed in the woman's eyes and for a second she looked down as though silently admitting Spencer's words were true. She looked at the group of teenagers once again, lingering longer on Alison and Emily. The glare the woman was giving them sent chills down Emily's spine, though she felt better with all of her friends shielding her like that and Alison's hand squeezing hers tightly.

Finally, she shook her head and walked away towards her family, looking quite defeated but still sauntering gracefully.

"Thank you guys, for standing up to that woman," Emily said to them sincerely.

"We wouldn't let anyone hurt you two like that," Toby said truthfully, resting a hand on each girl's shoulder from behind.

Alison smiled at all of them, thanking god for giving her these people in her life because sometimes, she didn't know what she would've done without them. Sure, she could've easily taken that woman, it was child's play for her, but seeing her friends turning so protective in a matter of seconds was a heartwarming sight.

The group began exchanging hugs and when Caleb went to hug Alison, he held her tightly and she smiled gratefully. "We're all a team, okay? We stick up for each other. Niether you or Em need to thank us," he said quietly.

Caleb, who had grown up in foster care until the age of eleven, knew what it was like to feel helpless, and he had sworn to himself after he met these incredible friends and his girlfriend, that he wouldn't let any of the people he loved feel helpless, ever.

When he saw that woman attacking the girls for something as abstract and intuitive as love, he couldn't help but feel the anger boiling in him. That was why he stepped up and protected the girls, that was why he was saying this to Alison, and that was why he would do it a hundred times again.

"Thanks, Caleb," Alison said sincerely. "But we're more than a team, we're a family now," she reassured him, knowing their group really was the closest thing he had to a family. He stepped away from her and smiled kindly.

"Then I guess you have three brothers and three sisters," he chuckled. "And Emily. Future wife, I hope," he winked at her playfully and she laughed.

She'd never really been that close to Caleb, more to Ezra and Toby from the guys, but at that moment, it seemed to her as the beginning of a great, powerful friendship.