#maiamy

Amy groaned, and rested her head on the desk in front of her. The entire scandal with Henry was, objectively, a nightmare. And she wasn’t even one of those poor people whose lives were completely destroyed. She didn’t want to compare her situation to those people, honestly, she didn’t, but her own parents wouldn’t even believe that that wasn’t her own sex tape, her co-workers wouldn’t meet her eyes, and somehow, her all-but-guaranteed promotion seemed to have disappeared.

Fuck, her headache was coming back.

“Hey, Amy!” Amy picked up her head to see her boss standing in the doorway of his office. “Come here a second,”

Amy knew it couldn’t be good when Sam closed the door behind her when she strode into his office. Amy politely shook her head when Sam motioned for her to sit.

After a few moments of silent, Sam sight. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I bet you could really use it,”

“No, thank you. I’m getting good work done on the Broussard case, and I think we could make good progress,” Amy held Sam’s eyes until he looked away.

“Amy, I need to take you off the Broussard case,” Sam let out in a stream of words. Before Amy could object, he continued. “The victim lost their savings in the Rindell scheme. It’s a conflict of interest, Amy. This isn’t my choice.”

Yeah, her headache was coming back with a vengeance.

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The tears were already streaming down her face by the time Amy slammed the apartment door behind her.

Really, all of this wouldn’t be so bad if she just had Maia again.

She and Maia had started dating in law school, when Amy was in her third year and Maia in her first. Amy was hesitant; she was graduating soon, and Maia was so young and optimistic. There was no way that it would work. But Maia was irresistible; she was scrappy, she was clever, she was witty. And there was something about that crooked smile that Maia would flash her every time they caught eyes.

On their first date, Maia had taken Amy to bookstore cafe right off campus. They ordered two lattes, and spent the next five hours surrounded by old books, flirting shamelessly, and trying not to fall too hard.

Their first kiss had been after Maia had won her first mock trial. Her smile was so infectious, her eyes so bright, and her laughter so clear that Amy couldn’t help herself. Maia’s lips were soft and pliant, and when Maia slipped her tongue past Amy’s lips, Amy felt herself melt into the redhead’s arms.

Amy knew that she was heart and soul in love with this girl when she came home from a grueling week of exams to find Maia perched in the middle of her cramped student apartment, surrounded by cartons of Chinese takeout, with a bouquet of Amy’s favorite flowers in her lap. As much as Maia tried to divert her attention from the blackened pans in the sink, Amy couldn’t help but find it endearing. Amy spent the night in Maia’s arms, laughing and eating spring rolls. Later, in bed, when Maia was writhing beneath her, tears pricked behind her eyes and the three little words got stuck in her throat, wanting to jump out.

When those three little words finally did come out, it was at Amy’s graduation. Maia helped Amy get ready before the ceremony, and all Amy could see was the woman who pulled all nighters with her to study, the woman who supported her through endless job applications, the woman she could too easily see herself spending her life with.

“I love you,” Amy  murmured, trying not to break the silence around them. Maia smiled softly, wrapped her arms around Amy’s waist, and pulled her into a gentle, soft kiss. Amy pulled away, nervous that Maia hadn’t responded, but was instantly soothed when she saw Maia’s eyes still fluttered shut, and smiling that crooked smile that made Amy’s heart skip. Maia stepped closer into Amy, and pulled her into another kiss, more fierce and heated than the last.

“Good,” Maia laughed softly. “Because I’ve been falling for since you spilled your coffee on me in that little cafe,”  

Maia had always been her safe place, her rock, her harbor in a storm. Really, Maia was the only woman who could reduce to her overused cliches. Now that distance growing between Maia and Amy was tangible, Amy needed her best friend again. She needed the love of her life again.

She needed Maia again.

____________________________________________________________________________

Maia was so tired she couldn’t fit her key into the door of her apartment. Reddick, Boseman, and Kolstad was even busier than usual, and Maia had spent the day running around the city, hopping from case to case, doing grunt work, and keeping her head down.

She knew that she had to work this hard when she became a lawyer. She knew she had to work this hard if she was going to progress anywhere in her career. She knew she had to work this hard so that her last name would stop being counted against her.

But the thought of another day like this overwhelmed her.

Maia tried slotting her key into the lock one last time, and let out a frustrated growl when she missed. There were a few clicks behind the door, and Maia fell into the apartment with the opening door right into Amy.

“Hey you,” Amy laughed as Maia disentangled from her arms. “Long day?”

“The longest,”

Maia made her way into the apartment, dropping her things and kicking off her shows. After a few minutes, she noticed Amy was watching her closely and wringing her hands.

“Everything okay, babe? You’re doing the . . .”  Maia copied Amy’s hands, she learned early on in their relationship that gesture meant something was on Amy’s mind.

“I ran you a bath,” Amy blurted out.

Maia just stared.

“I ran you a bath,” Amy repeated, and led Maia to the bathroom.

Amy was right, and Maia felt her heart flutter at the tub almost overflowing with bubbles, at the candles lit on the sink, at the full glass of wine sitting on the vanity.

“I just thought. . . with everything we’ve been going through, we deserve a nice night. . . So I ran you a bath,” At the sight of Maia’s growing crooked smile, Amy grew more confident. “I ordered pizza, because we’ve still yet to learn how to cook without setting off the fire alarm, so you soak for a while and I will be here when you get out, with mint chocolate chip ice cream and the rest of that bottle of wine,”

“Stay,” Maia pulled Amy’s hands close and kissed her knuckles. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in years,”

Amy sighed at the familiarity of Maia’s fingers working at the buttons of her shirt, and matched Maia’s smile.

____________________________________________________________________________

Maia couldn’t stop giggling as she took another sip of wine. The wine, the warm water in the bath, and the bubbles made the atmosphere light and happy. She was resting against Amy’s chest, and Amy was pressing a line of kisses down her neck. This was the Amy she fell in love with, goofy and carefree, and it had been too long since Amy had been like this.

“I love you,” Maia murmured in a break of the conversation. “I know things have been a nightmare for you too, and sometimes I forget to check in. I’m sorry,”

“My life isn’t the one that falling to pieces around me, babe,”

“I know. But you’re life isn’t too hot right now because of mine, and you’ve been perfect through all of this. Thank you,”  

Amy pulled Maia in closer to her. “We’re going to get through this, Mai,”

“Together?”