Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Stevie opened her eyes slowly as her shoulder shook.

“Stevie,” Twyla whispered. She knelt on the bed, bent over Stevie, and Stevie couldn’t fight back a smile at Twyla’s messy “ was fucked all night and just woke up” hair. 

“What?” Stevie grumbled as she reached out for her girlfriend. 

“Come watch the sunrise with me,” Twyla took Stevie’s hand and held it between her two. 

“Too early,” Stevie closed her eyes. 

“Please?”

Stevie groaned, because she and Twyla both knew that Stevie was a sucker for Twyla and the answer would always be yes. Especially when she asked so nicely.

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Stevie stared at the flowers on David’s counter. Patrick had gotten them for David, just because he loved him. It was a sweet gesture that had Stevie spiraling. She was quiet through dinner and she ignored the concerned looks David gave her. 

Instead of going home afterwards, Stevie went to Twyla’s.

“I’m not romantic,” Stevie said when Twyla opened the door. “I’ve never thought to buy anyone flowers, or to plan some nice picnic in a meadow. I don’t know how to do that stuff. And I’m sorry.”

Twyla just laughed, shook her head, and pulled Stevie into the house.

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Stevie turned the page of her book, and looked up briefly to see the progress that Twyla had made. The basket at the edge of the garden was starting to get full, and Twyla’s arms were dirty up to her elbows. Twyla glanced up, and their eyes connected briefly. 

She got up, put her book on her chair, fixed her sunhat so it fit perfectly and walked over to join Twyla in the garden. 

“Need help?” Stevie asked. 

Twyla hummed. “Will you put these away while I shower? Then I’ll make dinner?”

Stevie reached for a tomato. “BLTs?”

“Sounds perfect.”

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“Well,” Stevie sighed as she put her car into park and then tried to turn on her car. 

“I’ll call Bob,” Twyla said. Stevie zoned out. Stevie was finally home after a two-week long business trip, and she just wanted a nice date with her girlfriend. 

She jumped when her door opened and Twyla grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

Stevie followed Twyla to the front of the car where they both jumped up onto the hood and laid back, eyes trained up to the stars. Stevie felt Twyla’s hand wrap around her own.

Okay, the date could be way worse.

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The house they chose hadn't been one they had found. David had sent them a link to a newly posted house two doors down from them; which caused Stevie to pretend to be annoyed until Twyla pointed out the study, den, and the pool in the backyard and she couldn’t hold back the excitement. 

“Pools seem expensive and like a lot of work,” Stevie said as they stared at the pool.

“It’ll be worth it,” Twyla leaned against her. “Just imagine, margaritas poolside? I’ll get a big umbrella for you.”

“Will you wear a bikini?”

“Just for you,” Twyla laughed.

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“I’m scared that Alexis getting married is going to make Twyla start thinking about marriage,” Stevie whispered over a shared joint. David just shrugged at her. “How can you not think about that at a wedding?”

“You’ve been together for three years now, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was already thinking about it. What would you say if she asked?” David asked. 

“I don’t know,” Stevie lied. 

When a week later Twyla asked, Stevie said yes, and when she told David, he didn’t look surprised, just smiled and mentioned he loved the ring, before she even showed him it.

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Stevie paused as she scrolled through the interflix menu. The cursor was stopped on New Moon and she briefly looked back towards the kitchen where Twyla was making popcorn. 

She scrolled away, but quickly went back. She hated to admit it, but the Twilight movies were her guilty pleasure. It was cold outside, and she was under her nice blanket. It was perfect for a Twilight rewatch. Just, Twyla didn’t know she liked it. 

But it was time for her to reveal that piece of herself to the woman she was falling in love with. Twyla would love to know.

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Stevie held her breath as she slowly slid out of the bed. She turned back to tuck the blankets around Twyla. It was early, the night closing in on dawn, and there was still another hour before her alarm went off, and then another two and a half before she had to leave for the airport. 

She was exhausted, but she couldn’t sleep. She was too nervous. She’d been on many business trips to New York, but it was her first trip post her and Twyla’s first ‘I love you’s’ and Stevie wasn’t ready to miss her that much yet.

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“It’s freezing,” Twyla murmured as she dropped an armful of blankets onto the living room floor. 

“The guy said he’ll be here first thing in the morning to fix the heater,” Stevie poked at the logs in the fireplace and then carefully leaned forward and blew on the flames until they crackled against the logs.  

“I know that the pool was what we were most excited for, but I’m most grateful for the fireplace right now,” Twyla said and Stevie agreed. 

They worked quickly to arrange the blankets in the quickly warming room and totally fucked next to the fire.

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The air was crisp and Stevie pulled her jacket tighter around herself. She looked around, turned in place but she couldn’t find Twyla. In the distance she could see David and Patrick huddled together next to the pumpkin patch, and Roland and Jocelyn walking up to them. 

“I got us some spiked cider!” 

Stevie jumped at the voice behind her. She turned and smiled at her wife. “I was wondering where you ran off to.”

“I saw it and thought you’d appreciate a cup,” Twyla smiled, then handed Stevie a cup. Stevie pulled her in for a kiss in thanks.

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“Wow,” Stevie muttered as she walked into the motel room. It was… definitely something. 

“There’s a lot of dust,” Twyla remarked as she ran a finger along the top of the dresser. Twyla turned to face her with a grimace and worried eyes. “I know that this is technically a business trip, and I’m sure that you all will turn this into a beautiful motel if you do decide to buy it, but do we have to stay here? I’m worried that they haven’t changed the sheets, considering…”

Twyla held up her dust covered fingertip. 

“Yeah, we’re not staying here.”

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Stevie froze, her fingers tight on the shopping cart. 

“Excuse me,” someone pushed past her. It snapped Stevie out of her trance and she pushed the cart quickly towards the Easter candy display. She picked up a large, hollow, white chocolate bunny and looked into her cart that was full of real food and ingredients, all from Twyla’s shopping list. 

She threw the bunny into the cart, and then a solid cookies and cream one, and an m&ms one for Twyla.  

She contemplated more, but it was still early in the season, there’d be more time to get more.

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Stevie’s entire body hurt, and she couldn’t wait to take a shower, but she was also so ridiculously happy, it was gross. 

Today was the day she finally moved in with Twyla, who was just as excited as Stevie, and kept stopping Stevie whenever they moved past each other to press a kiss against whatever she could reach. 

Stevie giggled softly as she slipped out of Twyla’s arms to grab another box from the truck they borrowed from Roland. 

“Last box!” Patrick called as he stepped into the house. 

“Thank you! Now leave! I wanna make out with my girlfriend.”

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“We have a lot of land,” Twyla said, a month after they moved into their house. 

Stevie hummed as she ran a finger along Twyla’s hip, pausing at her favorite cluster of light freckles. 

“What if we got animals?”

“Like what?” Stevie pressed a kiss to Twyla’s shoulder, right where she had caught too much sun. “Chickens and cows?”

“I don’t know,” Twyla sighed as Stevie dipped lower and pressed a kiss to her nipple. 

“I don’t think either of us are farm people,” Stevie teased. 

“Not a farm, just—a few chickens maybe. But let’s talk about this later.”

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Stevie woke up to the sound of footsteps. Twyla was asleep next to her and the alarm they installed after one too many crime documentaries wasn’t going off. So it wasn’t...

The footsteps stopped right next to their bedroom door. Stevie took a deep breath and then shot out of bed and turned on the light to the bedroom. She peered into the hall, but there was no one.

“What’s going on?” Twyla called from the bed. 

“Heard footsteps,” Stevie shook her head. 

“That’s just Jeff. Come back to bed.”

“Jeff?”

“Did you not realize the house is totally haunted?”

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Stevie stopped smoking cigarettes when she graduated college. It was a habit she picked up in high school when she ditched math class for the first time and found Brian Hambin smoking under the bleachers. 

She smoked when she was nervous, stressed, or after a mediocre orgasm that left her with a itch she couldn’t scratch. 

She never craved them anymore, except for the few times her and Twyla fought and she needed something to calm the buzz in her mind. 

She wanted one now, but what she wanted more was a hug. And to apologize for being an asshole.

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“So, Roland told me something interesting today,” Twyla’s voice was tiny through the speaker, but it sounded amused. 

“Ignore him,” Stevie said as she ran a brush through her wet hair. “Life is much better when you ignore him.”

Twyla giggled. “He told me what he and Jocelyn are getting us as a wedding gift.”

“Does it come with a gift receipt?” Stevie grabbed the phone off the counter and took Twyla with her as she climbed into the motel bed. “Rather have cash.”

“It is fireworks for after dinner, so I feel like it’ll be hard to return them.”

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Stevie looked over at her girlfriend, then across the table to David and Patrick who were listening to Twyla’s story about her uncle losing a finger in a bad drug deal. They both looked terrified, but enthralled by her words. 

She felt a tap against her foot and she looked back to David, who raised his eyebrows and grinned at her. She tapped her foot against his and picked up her glass of wine and took a slow drink.

It felt good, sitting together, sharing food and a bottle of wine with the people she loved most in the world.

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Stevie didn’t notice Twyla slip into bed with her book. She couldn’t look away from her own as the mystery was coming close to unraveling. She only looked away when Twyla sighed and then shifted closer to her a bit later.

It was oddly domestic, laying in bed with a significant other in silence while reading. Stevie looked over at Twyla who was focused on the words in front of her. She liked it. It was nice. Relaxing. 

“Is that your fairy porn?” Stevie asked once she actually looked at the book Twyla was reading. She only hummed in response.

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“Do you believe in aliens?” Stevie asked as she held the bowl of popcorn out towards Twyla. Their cable had just been installed and the first thing that piqued their interest was the Ancient Aliens marathon on the History Channel. 

“Oh, absolutely,” Twyla waved the popcorn away and grabbed licorice instead. “Should we order pizza?”

Stevie looked at Twyla and then fished her phone out from between the couch cushions. “It’s 1 am. I don’t think any pizza place is open.”

“It’s 1 am? Wow,” Twyla leaned back further into the couch cushions. “Is there any more weed left?”

“Yes!”

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The chill of the night air cut through the blanket around Stevie’s shoulders. She shifted towards Twyla, who smiled at her and then maneuvered them until their lawn chairs were closer together and they were cuddled together beneath their layered blankets. 

Stevie revelled in Twyla’s warmth and snuggled down even further. 

“What time is the meteor shower?” Twyla asked. 

“At 2,” Stevie murmured. She shut her eyes against the light of Twyla’s phone. 

“It’s 2:30…”

Stevie grunted as she sat up and reached for Twyla’s phone to google the actual time.

“Okay, I may have gotten the date wrong.”

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“Look!” Stevie held up the perfect, golden leaf she had found on the sidewalk outside the cafe. Twyla turned around, leaned against the cafe counter and gasped in surprise. 

“It’s perfect!” Twyla took the leaf from Stevie’s outstretched hand. “You know what this means?”

“A fall themed movie night?” Stevie leaned across the counter to place a kiss on Twyla’s cheek. “I’ll get down the nice blanket and get the good snacks from Brebners since I’m done with my meetings.”

“You’re getting the good snacks from where?” A voice said behind her. Stevie turned slowly to find a disappointed David.

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“Shhh!” Stevie hushed a giggling Twyla as they ran from town hall. Patrick had officially won a seat on the town council, and the champagne had been flowing all evening. They were pleasantly drunk and Stevie needed a minute with Twyla, just them. 

“Where are we going?” Twyla asked. Stevie tripped over a rock she hadn’t seen in the darkness. 

“The cafe!” Stevie pulled Twyla along until they got to the door. Twyla pulled her keys out and unlocked the door on the second try. 

Stevie pulled Twyla into a hug as soon as they were inside. “Kiss me, please?”

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It felt like magic, swaying in the dark, her hand in Twyla’s while the other gripped at her waist as they moved. 

It was late , and most of the guests had already left. All that remained were their closest friends. David and Patrick were also dancing nearby. Alexis was talking to Ted, who had recently come back to town to officially sell his practice. Jake was talking to Mutt in a corner, which Stevie made a mental note to ask about later. 

Stevie gripped Twyla’s hand harder, until the brand new ring pinched at her skin. 

“Let’s go home, wife.”

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Stevie needed her space back. She wanted the house to be void of guests so she could have loud sex with her wife and not having to worry about traumatizing her friends. But David and Patrick needed a place to stay, and Twyla had offered them their guest room before Stevie could finish booking them a motel room. 

It had been fun at first. It was great having her best friends over. But then their house needed another round of fumigation and Stevie was officially over playing host. 

“Soon,” Twyla whispered each night before bed. To which Stevie just groaned.

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“What if we went to the beach?” Twyla said as she tapped around on Stevie’s laptop. 

“Which beach?” Stevie asked. She sat down in the chair next to Twyla and put her feet up. 

“Any beach. The ocean?” Twyla turned to face her. 

“Again,” Stevie teased as she pulled gently on the end of Twyla’s braid. “I ask, which ocean exactly?”

Twyla giggled with the tilt of her head. “The Pacific?”

Stevie hummed as she considered it. 

“Just imagine, us in a cute hotel room, with an ocean view…” Twyla grinned. 

“Having lots of sex like the honeymooners we are.”

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It was David’s turn to drive, which meant that Stevie finally got to relax, well as much as she could while David drove. She checked her phone and smiled at her notifications. 

Twyla was known to send a string of meaningless texts when she got bored, and Stevie loved it. 

Ronnie invited me over to dinner because I looked sad haha

Ivan just told me that he’s working on a new snickerdoodle recipe. I’ll save some for you when he brings them in

The raccoon is back and has babies

Would i look good with bangs? 

The answer is yes

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Stevie can count the number of real relationships she’s been in on one hand. And not a full hand either, so she tries not to beat herself up when she discovers new things about relationships that seem like common sense. 

For example, she didn’t realize just how much she’d laugh. Which sounds so fucking dumb, but Stevie’s so happy and always in a good mood around Twyla. So she giggles even when Twyla says things that aren’t really inherently funny. 

Twyla laughs too though, when Stevie does, and Stevie loves her laugh. So really, it all works out pretty well.

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“Do I have to wear a costume?” Stevie asked as she popped open a second bottle of beer. 

“Jocelyn did say there was going to be a costume contest,” Twyla murmured as she cut into the pan of brownies. 

“But, if I don’t care about winning, then I don’t have to?”

Twyla scooped up a corner piece and held it out to Stevie. “It’s fun. Plus it would be cute for us to wear a couples costume.”

Stevie considered her girlfriend. It was their first Halloween together and she didn’t know what to expect. “What about Gomez and Morticia Addams?”

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Stevie is officially 50 years old. It’s weird. 30 and 40 both brought panic attacks, but today she feels calm. Really calm. She’s not scared anymore, of getting older. She feels good, settled, and ready for the next decade. 

The party is starting to wind down and all that’s left is a small crowd of her closest friends. They’re talking around her, but she’s looking out at the trees that line their backyard, where the sun is slowly dipping down below the horizon. 

She smells Twyla’s perfume before she feels her lean into her side and everything just feels perfect.