One Day At A Time - Revised Edition

The two of them sleep in late the next day, pressed against each other.

Lilly groggily wakes up first with Ava's body snuggled into her side.

She looks at Ava for a few moments, taking in the sweetness of her girlfriend's- she's actually her girlfriend now, which is insane and incredible to say- bedhead.

It's a really simple thing, Ava's messy hair from sleeping, but she looks pretty to Lilly.

Sometimes, really simple things are the most beautiful.
This, in Lilly's very biased opinion, is a prime example of that.

Sleeping snuggled into her side, Ava looks pretty and sweet, and Lilly doesn't hold back the tired, love-struck smile that comes onto her face.

Ava's eyes open a little while later, where she smiles very faintly at Lilly,
"Hey."
Lilly says it back to her, adding,
"How'd you sleep?"
"I slept great."

Lilly is more than happy to hear that.
She, herself, slept great, too, with Ava at her side.

Sooner or later, Ava puts her glasses on and they head out into the kitchen.

It's another simple thing, having breakfast together.
It brings Ava back to those dreams she had about living with Lilly sometime in the future. The fact that they're together now means it could eventually happen.

Later that day, they venture out into the cold, but before they do, Donna tells them to bundle up, which leads to Ava insisting that Lilly borrows one of her hoodies to go under her winter coat.

The sleeves of Ava's favored, "College of Winterhold" hoodie go well past Lilly's hands and the hood droops down over her eyes when she puts it up.
It all makes Ava's heart turn to absolute mush; she's grinning like an idiot, a love-struck idiot.

Bundled up, they head outside for a walk around the neighborhood.

Ava looks between Lilly's face and their hands, which are so close to each other.
So, so close.

Every once in a while, Lilly's heart flutters when their hands barely touch, she's thinking the same thing that Ava is.

They're a couple, they're allowed to hold hands.
They used to hold hands platonically for Pete's sake!

So, Lilly makes a move, so to speak, and puts her hand in Ava's.

Even though they have done this before countless times, it's the change in context that makes it feel different to them.

Being able to hold her girlfriend Ava's hand as opposed to her friend Ava's hand feels different.
It feels so damn good.

A little while later, when they're almost back to Ava's house, Ava squeezes Lilly's hand,
"Are we gonna tell Lucas and Rose about us?"
"Do you want to tell them?"

Truth be told, telling her friends was one of the first thoughts that popped into Ava's mind after they got together.

She's not quite ready to tell her mom about it, but Lucas and Rose are two people she really wants to know.

"Yeah, I do, if that's okay."
"It's okay. I want to tell them, too." Lilly tells her.

With the plan to tell their friends set in place, they come back to Ava's house, running up the porch steps and into the warm house.

Some time goes by and, to both Ava and Lilly's disappointment, Lilly's mom texts her, telling her to come home.

But before she leaves, Ava gives her a tight hug that lasts a long while.

When they just barely pull away from the hug, both of them lean back in, giving each other a quick kiss that's leaves them both smiling.

Ava looks at Lilly for a second.
She knows she has to, but she doesn't want to let her go.

"You're still wearing my hoodie."
"Oh- Do you-" Lilly frets, her face flushed slightly.

Ava just smiles at her.
"No. You can keep it for a bit."
"Are you sure?"

Ava nods her head with a hum.
Lilly smiles back at her, "Okay, then. Thank you." She pulls away completely now, but she lingers in the doorframe for a moment.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Ava smiles, waving to her a tiny bit.

Before her feet get glued to the carpet in Ava's doorway, Lilly walks off, waving back to her,
"See you tomorrow."

Even in their own homes, they sleep happily that night with love swirling in their chests.