"You know, I don't know how professional this is."

Thena rolled her eyes as Leia smirked at her over her own cup of coffee, the duo walking down the street after leaving the shop. It was getting a lot colder as they reached the middle of Winter, but Leia was still pretty found of takeaway coffee and strolls.

Her baseball cap was snug on her head and the scarf around her neck had provided a nice bit of warmth but also privacy. It was easy to pass on the street and not realise, but she wasn't hiding either.

"Lots of people take their informants for coffee," Thena replied. "It's not a date."

"Could have been," Leia joked, but they both knew she didn't mean that. "In all seriousness, I am happy you reached out. How's desk duty been treating you?"

Ever since Dylan's case had came through, Thena had promptly been taken off her undercover work. Her face had been plastered all over the news, and it was likely that she'd probably never have a deep undercover role like that again. Instead, she was back to sitting behind a desk and helping process other cases - just like Leia's.

Thena gave her a deadpan look, but there was a faint smirk pulling at her mouth. 

"Desk duty is as thrilling as you'd expect. Filing paperwork. Drinking terrible coffee. Trying not to kill the new recruits. I miss the field."

Leia chuckled and took a sip of her drink. "Sounds like a blast."

"It's not the same," Thena admitted after a pause. "But it was always the plan after something big like that. Once your face hits primetime news, you're not exactly useful for undercover anymore. Besides, I think I'd burned out a little. Yours wasn't an easy case."

Leia looked at her sideways, her breath misting in the cold air. 

"No," she said softly. "It wasn't."

They walked in silence for a few paces, the only sound the rustle of city life around them and the distant screech of a bus turning a corner. The sky was a dull, winter grey, the kind that pressed down on your mood if you let it, but with Thena at her side, Leia didn't feel the weight of it quite as much.

"Sometimes I forget it's over," Leia said finally. "Like, I'll be brushing my teeth or making toast and suddenly... boom. There's this flash of it all, especially that last night. Him. What he said. What he got me to do."

Thena glanced at her, eyes steady. "That's not something you just move on from. You survived it, but it's going to echo. Maybe for a long time."

Leia nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek. 

"I don't talk about it much with my people, if I'm being honest. I mean, Georgie, Riv, Adrian and Azul know everything. Jack knows some. Taylor..." She paused, tasting that name again. "Taylor knows a bit more than most in some ways. But even then, I don't always want to make it real by saying it out loud again, you know?"

"I do," Thena said simply. "But you're not alone in it. You never were."

Leia looked over at her, a smile flickering on her lips. "You always had that annoyingly stoic, reassuring agent thing down."

"Comes with the badge," Thena replied with a grin. "That, and looking incredibly hot while interrogating criminals."

Leia laughed, throwing her head back a little, the sound genuine and bright. 

"You really are something."

"Something incredible," Thena agreed shamelessly. "And not to brag, but I've definitely seen at least two people walk by and assume you're on a date with me."

Leia snorted. "Well, I hate to break it to them, but I'm not your type."

"No," Thena agreed, flashing her a playful wink. "But I'm yours."

Leia rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the blush that crept into her cheeks. "You wish."

"I do," Thena teased. "You'd buy me nice things. We'd take long walks. You'd write cryptic love songs about me when we fought. I don't need to wish anyway - it's factual. Hot, powerful blonde woman are your type, clearly."

"Oh, the cryptic love songs would be brutal," Leia said, ignoring the second part of her remark. "I'd put you in the second verse and make everyone think you were Taylor."

"Well, now I'm offended," Thena said mock-wounded. "Comparing me to a blonde pop princess? I thought I had more edge."

"You do," Leia said, quieter now. "But I don't think I've got much edge left in me these days."

Thena stopped walking for a second and turned to face her, placing a soft hand around her bicep and getting her to stop on the sidewalk. 

"Leia, I saw you go through something that would've wrecked most people. And not only did you survive it, you got better and went straight back to work. You put your art out into the world. You showed up to court. You testified. You stood your ground. You didn't lose your edge. You just sharpened it into something different."

Leia blinked. Her throat felt tight all of a sudden, and she didn't quite trust herself to speak.

Thena gave her a sidelong glance as she opted to change the topic back. 

"Fully seriously thought - do you ever think about writing a song about me?"

Leia grinned. "What rhymes with 'FBI informant handler who saved my ass and flirts with me in cafes'?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way," Thena said confidently. "You're creative."

They paused at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. A breeze picked up, ruffling Leia's scarf and brushing strands of hair into her eyes. She tucked them back with one gloved hand, sipping the last of her coffee.

When the light turned, they crossed together, walking in sync.

"You know," Thena said after a while, "I'm glad we did this. The coffee, I mean. I don't get to talk to people from my cases like this. Not really."

"I'm glad too," Leia said, glancing at her. "It's nice to feel... normal. Even if there are paps pretending we're on a date currently pointing at us right now."

Thena smiled softly, knowing that she would have been silly to think Leia hadn't noticed. The blonde herself had picked up on it a few blocks back, but hadn't wanted to ruin Leia's moment. She tilted her head, looking a few of them directly in the face before turning back to look at Leia.

"Let them speculate," Thena said breezily. "Mystery's good for your image."

"And terrible for yours."

Thena laughed. "Please. I've been doing boring desk work for like fourteen months. Let me have this moment of scandal to brag about in the office tomorrow."

Leia chuckled again. It was so easy to relax around Thena, to breathe in the calm steadiness she exuded. No pressure. No expectation. Just two women who had shared something impossibly intense and somehow walked out the other side.

They reached the corner, where they were set to part ways.

"Same time next month?" Thena asked casually.

Leia hesitated just a second before nodding. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Cool. And next time, we'll go somewhere even more suspicious. Really throw the tabloids into meltdown."

Leia smirked. "I'll wear a veil."

"And I'll bring a ring," Thena said, already backing away with a grin. "Later, Hudson."

Leia watched her go, standing at the corner for a few moments longer, the city rushing by around her. Her coffee was gone, but the warmth lingered in her chest.

No, there was nothing romantic there. But there was something still. A tether. A history. And maybe, in a strange and unexpected way, a friendship that mattered more than it looked like from the outside.

She adjusted her scarf, tucked her hands into her coat pockets, and started walking again. The sky overhead was still winter grey. But Leia felt just a little lighter.

______

The December air was sharp and glittering as the car pulled up outside the Manhattan brownstone, its windows glowing golden against the frosty night. Leia adjusted the collar of her coat as the driver opened the door, catching a glimpse of twinkling lights wrapped around the iron railings and the telltale hum of laughter spilling from within.

Taylor's birthday party.

Or rather, Taylor and Alana Haim's birthday party: a joint affair. The guest list was tightly curated, the location private, and the energy inside promised the kind of warmth that only December celebrations could bring.

Leia stepped out into the cold with a slow exhale, her heels clicking lightly against the pavement. She looked up, taking in the warm windows and the flutter in her chest that she couldn't quite name. Excitement. Nerves. A pinch of hope.

She was here. She'd said yes.

The front door opened just as she reached the top step, and Georgie appeared in a blur of rust-orange velvet and flushed cheeks. She'd been just ahead of her with Niall, so it made sense that they'd just waited for her after the entrance. 

"You look amazing," she said immediately, pulling Leia into a tight hug that smelled like jasmine perfume and red wine. "Tate would be devastated if he knew you'd left without saying goodbye."

"I kissed his forehead, he'll live," Leia murmured, returning the embrace with a smile. The dog had been fast asleep when they'd left the apartment, leaving him with Riven who was dog sitting with Azul (who had left just to drop her off and then was returning).

Georgie stepped back, and beside her stood Niall, freshly off tour and grinning ear to ear. "Look who I dragged across the ocean," she said, nudging him with an elbow.

Niall gave Leia a warm hug. "You clean up alright, Hudson."

"You too," Leia replied. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Didn't expect to be here," he admitted. "But I got a call from your girl and I couldn't say no."

Leia laughed softly and followed them inside. She didn't correct him. He knew that Taylor wasn't 'her girl', and he knew that she was trying to get over that. He didn't mean any harm from it and she was sure it was just habit.

The brownstone's main floor had been transformed - candles flickered in sconces along the walls, garlands and pine wreaths hung between framed photos of Taylor and the Haim sisters, and the scent of cinnamon and champagne floated through the air like music. Leia's breath caught a little at how magical it all felt. Cozy and curated, but still raw in a way that felt intentional.

She'd been here before, she mused. A long time ago with Taylor.

Niall and Georgie split off towards the cloakroom, leaving Leia to navigate the party herself for a moment.

She weaved through clusters of guests, brushing shoulders with a few familiar faces from the studio and award season. Everyone seemed relaxed, drinks in hand, the buzz of conversation easy and low. She spotted Alana near the bar in a sequined suit, holding court with Phoebe Bridgers and a couple of producers from the Red sessions.

Joe wasn't here.

She tried not to look for him, but her eyes had scanned the room anyway - just once, just long enough to confirm what Jack had mentioned earlier in the evening. That Joe and Margaret were filming away. Somewhere in Europe, he'd said. Leia had just nodded.

She tried to tell herself his absence meant nothing. It was a shared birthday party, after all. It made sense. Better to keep things clean. Less press questions. Less tension. He was busy with work. It was his first big film - well, Leia just assumed that as she'd not seen him in anything else despite apparently being a 'busy and booked' actor. 

She almost slapped herself out of her bitter thoughts.

But there was a small ache in her chest, not because he wasn't here, but because Taylor was alone. On her birthday, just like the first time she'd released Red. 

She scanned the room instinctively - not for Taylor, not exactly - but for anything that might make her nerves spike. Instead, she saw familiar faces. Jack was near the back bar, deep in conversation with a music exec she vaguely recognized. Sabrina Carpenter twirled through a dance with a girl she faintly recognised - was that Gracie Abrams? - and Suki Waterhouse leaned over to fix Robert Pattinson's collar in the hallway like a rom-com in real time.

And then, the Haim sisters.

Este saw her first. She grinned and raised her champagne flute in greeting, weaving her way toward Leia like they were old friends. "Look what the wind blew in!"

Leia laughed softly as Este enveloped her in a hug. "You're really committing to the 'cool older sister' energy tonight," she teased.

"It's my brand," Este said, pulling back with a wink. "I hope to see you do the same, and uphold the older sister legacy. Come on, you've got some catching up to do."

The other two weren't far behind, Danielle and Alana, both all smiles and sequins and sisterly warmth. Alana looked radiant, flushed with laughter and joy, clearly riding high from the night's celebration. Leia hugged them both, and Alana beamed when Leia wished her a happy birthday.

But it was Este who lingered, her expression turning slightly more serious as Leia moved to grab a ginger ale from the drink table.

"I've been meaning to say something to you," Leia said softly, glancing sideways. "About that night... when Dylan was arrested. You're the one who told Azul where we were, right?"

Este's face softened instantly. "Yeah. I was."

Leia nodded, her eyes flickering downward. 

"Thank you. That could've gone very differently."

"It nearly did," Este said quietly, glancing around the room. "But I'm glad it didn't. And I'm glad you're here now."

Leia looked up, caught by the sincerity in her voice.

"I mean it," Este continued, lifting her glass slightly. "All of us, me, Danielle, Alana, we're really glad you're back to some normalcy. Properly, I mean. You're brave, you know that?"

Danielle nodded beside her, raising her glass. 

"It's good to finally meet the real you. Not just the version whispered about in back rooms or guarded behind a press team... although hats off to your poor publicist. What a year."

Leia smiled, the words catching in her chest as they all laughed, joking about the pay rise that Riven was well overdue and had received already. There was that kind of quiet acceptance between them all, that things were okay now. Which, really, it meant more than she could say.

"And, correct me if I'm wrong... was that smoking hot blonde agent not the same woman that I saw photos of you with on my twitter news feed this week?"

Leia blushed, covering her face with her hands and laughing as she realised what Este was insinuating.

"Oh my god, no," Leia laughed before correcting herself. "Nah, yeah that was her but it wasn't like that. She just wanted to check in since it's been over a year and we both had a free schedule for once."

Este raised a playful eyebrow.

"Check in, all right," Este teased before Leia rolled her eyes, noticing that Alana and Danielle had dropped out of their conversation. She could see that Este was starting to look at her youngest sister and Leia was aware that they'd reached the end of their conversation.

"I'm gonna go say hi to some people," she murmured, brushing her fingers lightly across Este's shoulder. "See you in a bit."

Este gave her a soft nod, her attention already drifting toward a conversation between Alana and a producer from Capitol Records.

Leia threaded her way through the warm buzz of the party, letting the soft hum of conversation guide her. The music had shifted to something softer now, something that sounded like a vinyl of Rumours playing in the corner, Stevie Nicks's voice floating through the candlelight as if it was an old friend. One of Taylor's favourites.

She spotted them near the far wall, laughing over something that someone had said. Shawn was sipping from a copper mug, Camila's hand loosely draped around his elbow. They looked at ease, golden in the low light, like they belonged in each other's orbit. Leia felt her smile stretch naturally as she approached.

Camila laughed at something Shawn said, her head tipping back just slightly, and he watched her like she was the only person in the room.

Leia's steps slowed for a heartbeat, a quiet warmth blooming in her chest. They looked so natural together. So steady.

She made her way over, weaving past a few industry execs deep in conversation about tour logistics.

"Look at you two," she called softly as she approached. "Still insufferably cute, I see."

Camila's head snapped around, her face lighting up. "Leia!" she exclaimed, pushing off the table to pull her into a hug. "I was hoping you'd find us."

"Hey," Shawn said with a wide grin, wrapping her in a brief but warm hug. "God, it's been forever."

Leia laughed. "Years, technically. Last time I saw you, Shawn, must have been... pre-trial?"

"Before the chaos," Camila said solemnity.

"And before the global breakdown," Shawn added, lifting his drink like a toast and nodding to Camila. "Also before we stopped pretending we were just 'friends.'"

Leia smiled, tilting her head. 

"Oh, please. Everyone knew. You were the worst-kept secret in the entire industry."

Camila groaned. "Don't remind me."

"But honestly?" Leia's tone softened. "I'm glad. You're a good match. Kind of... magnetic, you know?"

Shawn glanced at Camila and then back at Leia. "You might not remember this, but... you sort of inspired me."

Leia blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah." He shifted, suddenly a little shy, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. "That summer... watching you be so honest about how you felt, even when it was messy. It made me realise I was just hiding. Scared. And... I didn't want to be scared anymore."

Leia's breath caught for just a moment. Then she smiled, touched. 

"Wow. That's... thank you. I don't know what to say."

"Just say you're happy it worked out," Camila teased gently.

"I am," Leia said. "Really. You're disgustingly cute. Keep it up."

They laughed... easy, unfiltered laughter that felt like an old, familiar rhythm. Leia had missed seeing Shawn and Camila. They'd spent so long around each other - especially Camila on the rep tour - and she'd honestly forgot what it was like to be with them. They knew so much about her lore, which not many did these days.

Shawn's tone shifted, quiet and more serious. 

"I'm glad Joe's not here tonight."

Leia's brow lifted in surprise. That was not what she was expecting him to bring up.

Shawn winced. "Sorry. That probably sounded harsh."

"No," Leia said softly. "It didn't."

She understood where he was coming from. The last time Leia, Shawn and Joe had been all in the same place at a party just like this, it had been Shawn who had stepped out and interrupted Leia and Joe's bickering about how Joe had a crush on Taylor.

Neither of them could have ever have guessed at that point that Taylor would have ended up feeling the same for Joe later down the line.

Shawn scratched his jaw, then looked at her sideways. 

"You, uh... you saw that lie detector interview, didn't you?"

"The one where you said Joe looked like a supervillain?" Leia couldn't help it, she grinned and let out a loud laugh as she recalled his recent lie detector interview.

Camila burst out laughing too, nearly spilling her drink. Shawn groaned. 

"God. Yes. I panicked. I was sweating so much I think I short-circuited the machine."

"It was iconic," Leia teased. "The internet practically crowned you king of chaotic honesty."

"I got a severe look from Taylor for that one when I next saw her," Shawn admitted, face reddening. "Didn't say anything. Just that patented Swift death glare, and we both knew exactly what it was for. I had nightmares, and I was starting to expect to find Tree turning up to smother me in my sleep."

Leia chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, for the record, I appreciated the honesty." 

They lapsed into a comfortable silence again, the kind that didn't need to be filled. Behind them, someone popped a bottle of Prosecco, the fizz loud and celebratory. She wondered if she should go grab herself a drink before the celebrations got even busier.

"I'm really glad you're here," Camila said, touching Leia's arm.

Leia turned to her, surprised.

"I mean it," Camila continued. "I missed this version of you."

Leia felt something in her chest crack slightly open. She reached for Camila's hand, gave it a small squeeze. "I think I missed her too."

Someone called Camila's name from the other side of the room, and she leaned in to kiss Leia's cheek. "We'll catch up later, okay?"

Leia nodded as the two of them melted back into the crowd. She lingered where she stood, the room stretching out before her like a photograph, full of faces she'd missed and a version of herself she hadn't known how much she'd longed to return to. 

She'd already seen glimpses of Selena, Cara, Gigi and a bunch of others that she'd lost contact with while she'd been dealing with Dylan and rehab. She'd have plenty of time to speak to them later, but for now, she really just wanted a second to compose herself.

This was a lot.

Her eyes darted over to the small private terrace that she could see, no-one else currently out there and no-one even looking in its way. Perfect.

The terrace was quiet, a huge difference to that of the buzz of the birthday party. The music pulsing from the speakers inside was muffled by the thick glass doors, leaving only the soft sounds of the city around them. New York stretched out in front of Leia in a haze of amber streetlamps and silver moonlight, the cold biting gently at her exposed collarbones.

She leaned against the stone railing, her fingers curled around the edge. It grounded her in a way that the heat of the party hadn't. Her cheeks were flushed from the warmth of the room, from the champagne she'd barely sipped, from the strange, aching pressure that had been building in her chest since she'd arrived.

She had always loved a roof and a terrace.

The door behind her slid open with a quiet thud. She didn't need to turn to know who it was, she just knew.

There was a pause, then the soft click of heels on stone.

"I thought I might find you here," Taylor said, her voice gentle, like the night itself.

Leia turned slightly, her arms folded now, tucking her hands beneath them for warmth. She offered a half-smile, small and tight at the corners. 

"I just needed some air," Leia said, her voice a little rough. She hated how vulnerable it sounded.

"I figured," Taylor said quietly, stepping forward. "You always used to vanish when things got too loud."

Leia's lips twitched, something between a smile and a wince. "Some things never change."

"Some things do," Taylor murmured, her gaze steady.

Leia looked away first.

Taylor moved beside her, close enough that their arms nearly touched. But she didn't lean in. She didn't press. Instead, she mirrored Leia's posture, resting her hands on the railing and looking out at the skyline. 

They stood in silence for a moment, breaths synced, the distance between them more loaded than any words.

"Thank you for coming."

Leia glanced at her, startled. "You invited me."

"I wasn't sure you'd say yes."

Leia gave a small, dry laugh. "Neither was I."

Taylor looked at her then, really looked. Her eyes searched Leia's face like she was reading a lyric she'd memorized but never quite understood.

"Did you blow out the candles on your cake and make a wish yet?" Leia asked finally, just to say something. The silence had begun to press against her chest. She knew that they hadn't done that yet, but she just wasn't sure what else to say.

Taylor hesitated, then let out a soft breath. "Not yet."

Leia turned toward her more fully, arms crossing over her chest. "Well. I hope it's something good."

Taylor's eyes flicked to her mouth, then up again. She looked like she might say something and then changed her mind, shaking her head and turning back to look at the city lights.

Leia arched a brow. "What?"

A beat passed.

"I know what I am wishing for, when I do."

Taylor's voice, when it came, was a whisper, barely loud enough to hear over the wind.

"You."

Leia stilled.

Her breath caught somewhere between her ribs, chest rising slowly as she processed the word. One word. Three letters. Heavy as the city skyline. She laughed, soft and sharp, a defensive sound. 

"That's really not funny."

"I'm not joking," Taylor said, her voice firmer now. "I wasn't when I said it."

Leia's arms uncrossed. She stepped back just slightly, needing air. Space. Something.

Taylor didn't move when Leia stepped back. She stood still, arms lightly folded, wind brushing strands of hair across her cheek as she watched Leia like she was memorising her, like she'd waited too long for this moment to risk rushing it.

"I know the timing is awful," Taylor said softly. "I know everything about this is complicated. But I had to say it. I had to."

Leia looked away, her eyes scanning the skyline as if it might offer her a way out of the suffocating weight pressing down on her chest.

"I didn't come here to ruin your birthday," Leia muttered, knowing that she wasn't able to give Taylor what she wanted.

"You're not ruining -"

"Taylor, I am begging you to walk away - "

"I know you're seeing someone else," Taylor confessed, swallowing a lump in her throat. "And that in itself is killing me, but I want you to know that I want you. Not Joe, and not anyone else."

"You're still with Joe," Leia snapped, voice low, not angry but factual. "You don't get to say that."

Taylor gritted her teeth, her head turning to burn holes in the side of Leia's face. She shot a look over her shoulder, almost like she was checking that no one was around, before she sighed.

"I broke up with him."

Leia blinked.

Taylor's gaze didn't falter. 

"This morning. No one knows yet... not my team, not my parents, not Jack or Sel and honestly, not even Tree."

The words landed with a thud, reverberating in Leia's chest like distant thunder. She felt something shift inside her, a tight coil beginning to loosen but not unravel completely.

She didn't know what to say. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, like it was trying to warn her, or maybe trying to leap out of her chest altogether.

"Why?" she whispered.

Taylor turned back to the view. Her voice was quiet but certain. 

"Because I was lying to myself. About a lot of things. But mostly about you."

Leia let the silence stretch, trying to breathe through the mess of emotions tangling in her chest. The last time she'd been this close to Taylor, it had ended in unanswered texts and months of not speaking. And now they were here, again. Again.

She thought back to how Joe had stumbled towards her, drunk at that charity gala at the end of Summer. The crazed look in his eye as he accused Leia of ruining his relationship by coming back into Taylor's life, the way he'd admitted that he was losing feelings for Taylor.

"You're wrong," Leia admitted after a moment. Taylor went to interrupt, but she held up a hand and continued. "I'm not seeing someone else. Those photos from last week with Thena... she's just a friend. I know Dylan accused us in court of sleeping together when he thought she was his assistant, but that was never true."

She crossed her arms again, not cold, but needing something to hold. 

"I'm not trying to be dramatic," she continued. "But this whole thing between us... it broke me. What happened with Dylan. What happened with you, with us. I don't know if I can do it again."

Taylor's eyes were soft as she looked over. 

"I know. I don't expect you to just forgive everything. I just want to be honest now. I wasn't before, not with myself. Not with you."

Leia swallowed the lump rising in her throat. "And now?"

"Now I'm tired of being scared," Taylor said. "Tired of choosing what's easier. Tired of pretending Joe is still what I want when he's not. Hasn't been for a long time."

"This doesn't fix things," Leia said quietly. "You saying it. You breaking up with him. That doesn't undo what's already happened."

"I know." Taylor stepped closer, just enough that Leia could feel her warmth again. "But it's the first step. And I'm not asking for a second one tonight. I'm just asking you to believe me."

Leia's eyes searched hers, earnest, steady, unflinching. And for the first time in a long while, Taylor wasn't hiding. There was no crowd to perform for. No cameras. No expectation.

Just them.

And still, a war raged inside Leia. Every instinct told her to step forward, to let herself fall again into the place where everything made sense - into Taylor's arms, Taylor's laugh, Taylor's world. But another part of her, the part that had stitched herself back together piece by piece, begged her not to forget how much it had hurt.

"I believe you," Leia said finally. "But that doesn't mean I'm ready."

Taylor's expression didn't fall. If anything, it softened further, like she understood more than she let on. If anything, she looked pleased.

"I'll wait," she said simply. 

The words lingered between them, hovering like the breath of winter air between their mouths. The wind picked up again, rustling the hem of Taylor's dress and tugging at the strands of Leia's hair.

Leia looked down at her hands.

Taylor reached out, slow and deliberate, and gently took Leia's hand in her own. She didn't hold it tightly, just let their fingers touch, hover. 

Leia didn't pull away.

They stood like that for a while longer, neither moving, neither speaking. Just two women holding each other in the softest way possible, beneath a sky too big to contain everything they felt, but small enough to make it feel like they weren't alone in it anymore.

Taylor squeezed Leia's hand once before letting go, her fingers brushing against hers like a promise.

"We should get back in," she said gently. "Before they think we ran off together."

Leia gave her a small smile, shaky at the edges but real.

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Taylor's answering look was all warmth and heartbreak and hope tied into one.

"No," she said. "But maybe this time, we do it right."

Then she turned and walked back inside, the glass door sliding closed behind her like a breath held and released.

Leia stayed behind a moment longer, her hand still tingling from Taylor's touch.

Then, slowly, she followed.

The party had only grown warmer, brighter, more euphoric in the time Leia had spent outside. The room now hummed with the contented buzz of laughter, music, and a few more open bottles of wine. Low lighting shimmered off crystal glasses and sequinned dresses, and soft jazz had now turned into a pop remix of... her own song?...floating through the speakers.

Leia slipped back inside through the glass doors, her cheeks pink with cold and something else she wasn't quite ready to name. She caught sight of Georgie first, standing near the drinks table with Niall and Jack, all three mid-conversation. Niall had one hand lazily wrapped around Georgie's waist, the other gesturing animatedly as he recounted something, likely tour-related, and Georgie's laugh was loud enough to hear over the hum of the party.

Jack spotted her instantly. His brows lifted as he nodded subtly behind her, then toward Taylor, who had slipped back in just a few paces ahead of her, her fingers still brushing the hem of her dress back into place as if she, too, needed a few seconds to recalibrate.

Jack gave Leia a knowing look, eyes sharp with curiosity and no small amount of mischief.

"Okay," he said as Leia approached, his voice low but laced with a grin. "I'll be the one to ask. What was that?"

Leia played it cool. She took the second cocktail from Georgie's hand without asking if it was hers (although why would Georgie have picked up two, if not for her?) and took a slow sip, giving herself a second to think.

"That," she said after a beat, nodding toward the terrace, "means you should be glad you're going to be booked and busy next week."

Jack narrowed his eyes, amused. "Booked and busy with...?"

"With me," Leia replied simply. "In the studio. Clear your calendar."

"Oh," Georgie said, her eyes bouncing between Leia and Taylor's figure now weaving back through the crowd. "Oh."

Niall raised an eyebrow. 

"Should I assume congratulations are in order or just keep my mouth shut?"

Leia shrugged and took another drink. "I think we all should just be grateful I'm sober or we'd be witnessing a crash-out of grand proportions."

They all stopped smiling, looking at her in concern. She smiled gently, wincing a little at her own comment.

"Not funny, noted," she replied. "Sorry, bad joke."

Before anyone could push further, the lights dimmed slightly and the soft clinking of glasses quieted the room.

A hush spread across the space as a cake - two cakes, actually - was wheeled out on a silver trolley, candles flickering, illuminating the faces of both birthday girls. Alana's had a sparkler poking out at a lopsided angle, already fizzing like a firework, while Taylor's was more understated - simple vanilla frosting with soft cursive lettering and delicate sugar flowers. Classic.

Everyone started to sing off-key but joyously loud. Leia found herself between Georgie and Jack, her heart still beating hard in her chest as she watched Taylor at the head of the crowd, one hand on her hip, laughing through the song.

Alana leaned into Taylor, bumping her shoulder as the room rang with the final "...happy birthday to you!"

"Speech! Speech!" someone called from the back.

Taylor shook her head, cheeks flushed with the kind of happiness that didn't look worn or rehearsed. Just real. Alana raised her glass, grinning, but it was Selena - tucked just behind the birthday girls - who leaned in and asked with a twinkle in her eye, "Well? Did you wish for anything good?"

The laughter stilled for just a second, everyone pausing as they waited for something funny, some cheeky answer.

Taylor's gaze swept the crowd, but it didn't settle on her best friends or her label reps or the celebrities she'd known for years.

It landed squarely on Leia.

Just for a moment. Just long enough.

"Yup," she said, voice light. "I did."

There was a beat of silence, but then the clapping resumed, and the attention swung back to Alana who had started cutting into her own cake with a plastic tiara balanced crookedly on her head. Music resumed. Conversation bloomed again.

But Leia stayed still for just a heartbeat longer, her drink frozen halfway to her lips.

That look. That single word.

She could feel it ringing in her chest.

Georgie nudged her gently, her voice soft. "You okay?"

Leia blinked, swallowed. "Yeah. Just... thinking."

She glanced around the room again. Taylor was laughing at something Alana said now, a plate of cake in her hand, surrounded by the people who adored her. But there had been no mistaking the way her eyes had found Leia in that moment. No mistaking what she meant, even if no one else caught it.

Jack sidled closer, eyebrow raised. "Are we gonna talk about that later or pretend it didn't happen?"

Leia just smiled and reached for a fork. "Maybe both."

"Hey!" Taylor called out from near the cakes, standing beside Alana, a new and fresh glass of champagne in her hand. "Can I steal you all back for a second?"

The room quieted in that reverent way it always did when Taylor asked for attention. Heads turned, and people shifted their weight, leaning in, eyes soft and curious. Alana nudged her in encouragement and slipped back into the crowd, letting Taylor stand alone in the spotlight she always filled so effortlessly.

Leia's heart did something strange and quick as she watched her.

Taylor looked radiant in the low light, the silk of her dress catching hints of gold, her hair loose and soft around her shoulders. Her cheeks were still flushed from laughter, and there was a shimmer of something unspoken in her eyes. She held her glass loosely, like it didn't matter much compared to whatever she was about to say.

"I wasn't going to do a speech," Taylor began, her smile curling in a little at the corner like it always did when she was trying not to seem too sentimental. "But... you all know me. I can't resist."

A ripple of fond laughter passed through the room.

"I'm thirty-one now. Which is weird. It's not quite mid-twenties anymore, but it's definitely not old either. And yet, this past year... these past two years... have aged me in ways I don't think I expected." Her voice softened slightly. "They've also taught me more than I thought I was ready to learn."

Leia's breath caught.

She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the way Taylor said it. Maybe it was just how still the room had gone. Everyone listening. Everyone feeling it.

"I look around this room," Taylor continued, sweeping her eyes across the crowd, "and I see everyone I love. Truly love. My family..."

Leia blinked and turned, just then noticing Andrea and Scott Swift standing quietly near the hallway, soft smiles on their faces. Austin was beside them, a hand resting on their mom's shoulder, nodding along as his sister spoke. Somehow, Leia hadn't seen them arrive, and guilt pricked gently in her chest. She made a mental note to say hello before the night ended.

Taylor hadn't stopped.

"...My oldest friends. My chosen family. The people who carried me through some of the darkest and strangest chapters of my life, even if they didn't always realise they were doing it."

Leia stood completely still now. The glass in her hand felt too heavy.

She wondered if anyone thought about the lack of Joe in this room. The way Taylor hadn't even bothered to mention him in the list.

"There are a lot of changes coming," Taylor said, her voice a little lighter now, though her eyes still burned with something just beneath the surface. "Some you'll see. Some will probably take you by surprise. But what I can say, and what I'm ready to say, is that new music is on the way later next year."

Applause broke out, whooping and cheers. Jack whistled loudly, and someone near the back shouted "Finally!" which made everyone laugh.

Taylor grinned, waiting for the sound to settle before she continued.

"It's different. This time, it's... different. I wrote a lot of this music in silence. In grief. In hope. In confusion. I wrote it in parking lots. In hotel rooms. On flights where I pretended not to cry in the window seat."

Leia's fingers tightened around her glass. She knew she was partially the cause of that.

Taylor looked at no one and everyone as she said, "The muse behind most of these songs - the amount of love and hope that I've felt over the years, well I can actually see that in all of us in this room tonight."

Most of the room 'aww'ed - thinking Taylor was talking metaphorically about the support she'd received from them all. About this metaphorical muse of just being loved and doing your best from that.

Leia knew different just by the way Taylor looked at her for a split second again.

She wasn't alone.

Leia could feel them - Gigi, sitting beside Selena and biting the inside of her cheek. Cara, leaning forward ever so slightly from where she stood near the back doors, eyes narrowing as she glanced toward Leia. Tree, sipping slowly from her wine glass, her brows raised in silent question. Georgie's head turned so subtly it was almost imperceptible. Jack blinked, looked from Taylor to Leia and back again. Even Niall shifted.

The world felt like it slowed for a moment, just a fraction. Just long enough for Leia to remember how it used to feel when Taylor sang something only she would understand. Just long enough to feel like the air had changed around them both.

Taylor didn't elaborate.

She lifted her glass. "To love. In all its chaos and clarity."

The room echoed her words, drinks clinking gently together in the glow of candlelight.

Leia lifted her glass too, her throat dry and her heart pounding in a way she hadn't expected.

Beside her, Georgie leaned in and murmured under her breath, "Did she just...?"

Leia didn't answer.

Because she wasn't sure how to.

She just stared ahead, heart thudding in her chest as Taylor stepped back into the crowd, swallowed again by the warmth of the room, but not before her gaze — brief and unflinching — flickered once more toward Leia.

And lingered.

Just for a second too long.

"She broke up with Joe," Leia muttered, only loud enough for Niall, Georgie and Jack to hear. All three snapped their heads to look at her as she continued to stare straight ahead at Taylor, who was yet to break her gaze.

"Oh shit," Georgie breathed out.

Leia barely had time to process what she'd just said to the others - and also what Taylor had just implied - before a familiar voice rang out across the room, cutting through the buzzing thoughts crowding her head like static.

"Leia Hudson!"

Her head whipped around. Austin Swift was standing near the drinks table, grinning like he'd just caught sight of Bigfoot and couldn't believe his luck.

He raised a hand dramatically, beckoning her over as if she were a long-lost celebrity returning to their hometown. 

"Come over here!"

Leia blinked, then let out a laugh and turned to her friends. Georgie was already smiling knowingly. Jack lifted his glass like a toast.

"Duty calls," Leia murmured.

"Don't charm him too much," Georgie said under her breath.

"Tell him he's my second-favorite Swift," Jack added with a smirk.

Leia made her way across the floor, weaving past party guests and sidestepping a half-eaten slice of cake left abandoned on a side table. As she got closer, Austin opened his arms as if to receive her with a fanfare.

"There she is," he said with mock gravitas. "The comeback queen herself. I've been waiting to say hello to you all night."

Leia laughed again and stepped into his hug. He was as tall and warm as she remembered, smelling faintly of bourbon and cedarwood.

"I missed you," she told him as she pulled back, smile on her face.

"I missed you too. You're family-adjacent and it's been weird not having you around," he bantered back, then gestured for her to follow him. "Come on. You're due for a catch-up with the folks."

Leia hesitated for just a fraction of a second. It had been years since she'd stood in a room like this with Andrea and Scott Swift - years since she'd been more than a name whispered under breath or erased from a seating chart. The last time she'd seen them, her and Taylor were together. She hadn't broken Taylor's heart.

But she followed Austin across the room anyway, her fingers tightening around the base of her glass.

Andrea and Scott stood near the fireplace, plates of half-eaten cake in their hands, faces glowing with the soft candlelight around them. When they saw her, Andrea's face lit up with the kind of warmth Leia hadn't even realised she'd missed.

"Leia," Andrea said, setting her plate down and opening her arms.

Leia stepped into the hug, heart thudding a little too hard. Andrea smelled like home, like perfume and vanilla and motherly kindness.

"It's so good to see you, sweetheart," Andrea murmured.

Leia swallowed the lump in her throat. "You too."

When she pulled back, Scott greeted her with a grin and clinked his champagne glass lightly against hers.

She barely saw her own parents, even after her rehab visits - and she kind of forgot how Andrea and Scott had taken on that role for her previously. It was... reassuring.

They chatted lightly, comfortably, the way you talk when time has softened the sharp edges but not erased the memory of them. Austin cracked a joke about his failed attempts at roasting a chicken the week prior. Andrea rolled her eyes and scolded him, playfully swatting at his arm. Leia smiled, listening, letting the warmth settle in her chest.

And then she felt it... the subtle change in the air, the electricity that only came with one person.

Taylor had joined them.

Leia didn't turn right away. She heard the soft clink of Taylor's glass being set down, the shuffle of her heels against the wooden floor. Her presence always announced itself before she even spoke.

"Hey," Taylor said, her voice gentle, almost casual.

Leia turned her head slightly, catching the edge of Taylor's profile. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves over her shoulder, her makeup still flawless despite the warmth of the room.

"Hey," Leia replied, her voice quiet.

Taylor stepped closer to the group, just enough that her shoulder brushed Leia's, but she didn't lean in. She stood at her side, steady, like she belonged there.

They were just in the middle of listening to Andrea reminisce about the first time Taylor ever performed in front of an audience (she'd been five, wearing cowboy boots too big for her feet) when Andrea's tone shifted slightly, eyes landing on Taylor.

"It's a shame Joe couldn't be here tonight," she said, her smile soft. "I know you two had that event in London last year around your birthday, you looked really happy then."

Leia's fingers twitched around her glass, and her heart gave a single, traitorous beat. She didn't look at Taylor, didn't dare.

Taylor, however, didn't hesitate. She let out a soft exhale and looked at her mother.

"Yeah, I'm sad too" she said.

Leia swallowed the lump in her throat. Right, she thought, no one else knew.

There was a quiet pause.

"Actually, no, I'm not sad."

Even Austin straightened slightly at the way Taylor had doubled back on herself, the expression dropping from her face as she shrugged a little.

Andrea blinked, confusion knitting her brow. "Oh?"

Taylor turned to face them, her expression open, her voice calm. She didn't smile, but she didn't falter either.

"I broke up with him this morning."

It dropped like a stone in a still pond.

Leia's breath caught. Andrea's mouth parted slightly, eyes flickering between her daughter and Leia for a brief second - not picked up on by Austin or by Scott. She turned back to Taylor, reaching out and placing a soft hand on her arm.

"Oh, honey..." Andrea said softly, clearly caught off guard.

Taylor shrugged a little. "It was time."

Scott glanced at his daughter, then quietly said, "Well. Here's to new chapters."

Leia wasn't sure if she imagined it, but he almost looked... like he was suppressing some glee at the news. Honestly? She felt that.

Austin gave a low whistle. 

Leia still couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. All she could do was stare at the space between them, trying to make sense of the honesty Taylor had just laid bare in front of her family, no hesitation, no second-guessing.

Taylor's hand brushed Leia's arm gently, almost like a tether, but she didn't press or linger.

The conversation shifted again, Andrea asking Taylor about her plans for the new year, Scott offering to help set up studio equipment if she needed, and Leia let herself fade into the background, nodding where appropriate, trying not to drown in the noise inside her head.

Taylor had said it out loud. Leia glanced sideways. Taylor was mid-laugh now, saying something about cake and deadlines, but when she turned to Leia again, her smile faltered just slightly, softening.

It was a look Leia had only seen a handful of times in her life.

It was a look that meant something.

And this time, she wasn't sure she could ignore it.

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you're gonna love the next chapter lol