The first thing Leia registered was the warmth.

It bloomed softly across her back and shoulders, filtered through the gauzy curtains fluttering slightly in the morning draft. The sun had risen gently, spilling honeyed light through the wide windows and across the tangled sheets, casting golden patterns that shifted with the slow stir of city air. It wrapped around her skin like a second blanket, warm and weightless and entirely unfamiliar in its gentleness.

She hadn't woken up like this in years - not in someone else's bed, not without panic blooming in her chest, not without the ache of absence - not since she'd last been with Taylor. But today, there was no void. Just warmth. 

The bed beside her was empty, but not cold. The mattress still held the shape of a body. Taylor's body. The dent of her hip. The stretch of warmth across the sheets. A faint imprint on the pillow where her head had rested. It was like Taylor had slipped away only moments before, careful not to wake her.

Leia turned her face toward the pillow and inhaled. Cedar and rose.

The soft hum of the city trickled in through the windows... early traffic, distant horns, the occasional dog barking on the street below. It was New York at its quietest.

Leia blinked slowly, her limbs loose and heavy, tangled in the duvet. She'd slept well. Very well, in fact. 

Her eyes drifted to the chair in the corner of the room. Taylor's cardigan (no, not the cardigan, although Leia noted that she did want to ask Taylor if she actually owned one) lay draped over the armrest, half-fallen, the sleeves brushing the floor. Her guitar leaned nearby, still in its stand, a notebook open and face-down beside it. A page of lyrics - Leia could tell from the scrawl even from here - abandoned mid-thought.

She rolled slowly onto her back, wincing as the sheets shifted over bare skin still sensitive from the night before. Every nerve felt raw, rewired... like her body had been melted down and remade beneath Taylor's touch. She didn't regret it. Not even a little.

Leia let her eyes fall closed again. Not to sleep, but to stretch the moment. To stay inside it a little longer. She didn't know what time it was, and quite frankly, she didn't care. There was no clock in this room, just the soft shuffle of wind against glass and the echo of a city that didn't know what had changed in the night.

She'd tell Georgie later. And maybe Riven too, even if he probably already kind of knew it was coming.

The sound of quiet footsteps reached her first. Then the soft shuffle of fabric. The muted clink of ceramic against ceramic.

Leia didn't open her eyes right away. She let the moment stretch, warm and slow, like the sunlight still trailing patterns across her bare shoulder. The bed shifted slightly as weight dipped into the edge of the mattress, and the smell of fresh coffee cut gently through the scent of Taylor's perfume lingering on the sheets.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Taylor placing a mug on the bedside table beside her. A small curl of steam rose from it. The other mug remained in Taylor's hands, cradled between her fingers like something precious.

She wore an oversized sweatshirt Leia didn't recognise, sleeves falling past her wrists, collar stretched loose around one shoulder. Her hair was messy, swept to one side, and her skin glowed faintly from the morning light pouring in through the windows behind her. She looked like comfort personified. Like peace distilled into a person.

Benji followed behind her with a soft, irritated meow, tail twitching. He hopped onto the bed and took up position with a practiced arrogance, curling himself into the crook between Leia's calves like it was his birthright.

Taylor didn't speak. She just sat there, one leg folded under her, her gaze soft and steady as she watched Leia come back to herself.

Leia reached for the mug, fingers brushing Taylor's wrist for a moment. She felt the warmth of it before she even touched the porcelain.

The first sip was perfect. Strong, a little sweet. Exactly how she liked it. 

Of course it was.

Silence stretched between them, but not the kind that begged to be filled. Taylor's eyes flicked down to Leia's shoulders, the exposed skin, the faint imprint of the sheets against her collarbone. Her mouth curved slightly, not quite a smile, more like the echo of one.

Leia watched her for a moment, memorising the way her lashes caught the light, the way her sweatshirt slipped a little further down one shoulder. There had been so many mornings before. But never like this. Never without shame or hesitation pressing into the space between them.

She didn't need to say it out loud, but it stirred inside her anyway.

This is home.

Taylor turned her head slightly, as if she'd heard it, as if she already knew. She took a sip from her mug, her gaze still resting on Leia as if trying to memorise the moment. Her thumb brushed over the rim of the cup, absent and thoughtful, before she finally spoke.

"I meant what I said last night," she said quietly.

Leia didn't respond at first. Just watched her. The stillness of the morning made everything feel more fragile, like anything said here might echo louder than intended.

Taylor's voice was steady, though. Sure in a way it hadn't been for a long time.

"I want the world to know I love you."

Leia looked down at the coffee in her hands, watching the steam curl and dissolve into the air. It wasn't that she didn't believe her. She did. Maybe more than she believed anything lately. She ran her thumb along the edge of the mug, trying to find the right words.

"Is it selfish," she said finally, "if I ask for just a little more time before that happens?"

Taylor blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not asking to hide," she said. "Not like before. Not like it used to be. I don't want to pretend this isn't real, or important, or permanent. But... I kind of just want this to be ours. For a while. Just ours."

Taylor didn't answer right away. She sat with the words, let them settle. Her eyes searched Leia's face, not for doubt, but for understanding.

"I thought you didn't want to feel like a secret anymore."

Leia gave a small smile, soft and sad all at once.

"It's different now," she said. "Back then, it felt like I was something you were ashamed of. Or afraid of. Like I could be erased when it got inconvenient."

Taylor flinched at that, barely, but didn't argue.

"But now," Leia continued, "this isn't hiding. It's just... choosing. Choosing not to let it all get taken apart by headlines and timelines and assumptions. Choosing to keep it quiet before it gets loud. Just for a minute."

She set the mug down carefully on the bedside table.

"I don't want to hide you," she said. "I just want us to have a second to breathe before the whole world tries to own it."

Taylor let out a slow breath, nodding. She looked down at her coffee again, then back up at Leia with a soft laugh under her breath.

"Tree would kill me if we went public now," she murmured. "She's already one spreadsheet away from a breakdown."

Leia laughed, and it was easy. Natural. It curled between them like smoke, light and golden.

"Well," she said, nudging Taylor's knee gently with hers under the blanket, "we should probably tell our friends and family at some point. Can't keep it to ourselves forever. And... Christmas is coming."

Taylor tilted her head, a playful glint in her eyes. "You say that like it's an emergency."

Leia grinned. "I just think maybe someone should be warned before Georgie finds out."

"She'd murder us both if she wasn't the first to know."

"Definitely."

A small silence fell again, but it was warmer this time. Taylor set her mug down beside Leia's and leaned back against the headboard, shifting until she was closer. Leia turned toward her, legs folding underneath her, the duvet falling loosely around her waist.

Taylor reached for her hand, fingers brushing before intertwining. She looked down at their hands for a moment, like the sight of it still didn't feel quite real.

"What if we just spent it together this year?" she said quietly. "Christmas, I mean."

Leia blinked. "You mean... like, just us?"

Taylor shrugged a little, as if trying not to make it sound like a bigger ask than it was.

"I know we just... found our way back. But maybe that's exactly why. No flights, no tour chaos, no drama. Just us. In the quiet."

Leia was quiet for a long moment. Not because she was unsure, but because the offer landed somewhere deep in her chest. It caught on something soft, something she hadn't let herself hope for.

"You'd really want that?" she asked.

Taylor looked at her like it wasn't even a question.

"I want time with you. Before the noise. Before the world turns this into something it isn't. And if that means spending Christmas in pyjamas watching bad movies and burning gingerbread, then yeah. I want that."

Leia's smile was slow, blooming. She squeezed Taylor's hand.

"What about your family? I thought you were heading up to see them like literally in a day or two - Austin was telling Georgie all about it who in turn had been telling me too," Leia admitted, a small smile as she rubbed her thumb along Taylor's hand. "I don't want you to have to sacrifice your family traditions for me."

"We can make our own traditions," Taylor countered, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"We can," Leia replied, "but I know how much your Mom and Dad mean to you, and I don't want one of our traditions to stop your favourite ones."

Taylor leaned in a little, her thumb brushing across Leia's knuckles as her head tilted.

"Would you want to bring your family?" she asked. "If we did do Christmas together. I mean, if we stayed here or went to mine or... whatever."

Leia blinked, surprised by the question. Not because it was unreasonable, but because she hadn't even considered it.

"I'm actually not spending Christmas with them this year," she said, voice soft.

Taylor's brows lifted.

"They're away," Leia continued. "I mean, properly away. My parents are on a cruise in the Mediterranean—retirement present from me and Georgie. I booked it months ago as a surprise. And Georgie's going to Ireland to be with Niall's family. She and I usually do something before or after anyway, but this year..."

She trailed off, a shrug folding into her shoulders. "I was going to spend it with Riven and Azul. Maybe get takeaway and pretend the tree wasn't crooked."

Taylor gave her a look that hovered somewhere between amusement and horror.

"So... third-wheeling your publicist and your bodyguard?"

Leia gave her a helpless smile. "Basically."

Taylor pressed her lips together, trying very hard to look serious.

"Well, that sounds deeply festive," she said, then reached for her mug again, tone turning playful. "You could do that. Watch action movies and avoid mistletoe. Or..."

Leia raised an eyebrow.

"Or you could come with me," Taylor said simply. "Spend it with my family. They love you, you know. Probably more than they love me at this point. And you can bring Tate. My dad's already asked about him twice this week."

Leia laughed, picturing Scott Swift trying to sneak scraps to her dog under the table.

"Of course he did."

Taylor nudged her knee gently with her own. "Seriously. You don't have to decide right now, but it's there. The offer. A real Christmas. With the whole chaotic Swift clan. Tree-decorating and badly wrapped presents and my mom crying every time someone says something remotely sentimental."

Leia was quiet for a moment, letting the idea sink in. Not just the invitation, but what it meant. A new tradition. A step forward. A choice.

"I've never had that," she said softly. "Outside of my own family, that is."

Taylor's expression shifted, a flicker of sadness in her eyes that she didn't try to hide.

"Well," she said, voice warm and steady, "then maybe it's time you did."

Leia looked down at their hands again, then leaned in and kissed her.

It wasn't rushed or heated. Just gentle. Sure. The kind of kiss that said yes without needing to say anything at all.

Taylor smiled against her lips.

"So that's a maybe?"

Leia rested her forehead against Taylor's.

"It's a probably," she whispered. "With a chance of definitely."

Taylor's phone vibrated against the nightstand, the screen lighting up with a notification. She reluctantly pulled away from Leia, her fingers reaching for the device. The bright display illuminated her face in the otherwise sun-soaked room, casting a momentary blue glow across her features.

"Shit," she said, eyes widening slightly. "It's already eleven."

Leia watched as Taylor's expression shifted, her brows knitting together as she scrolled through what looked like a series of text messages. The sunlight caught in her hair, turning the loose waves into spun gold as she tilted her head.

"Everything okay?" Leia asked, pulling the sheet up around her shoulders, suddenly aware of the chill that had settled in the space between them.

Taylor looked up, her initial concern melting into something lighter. 

"Yeah, just lost track of time." She set the phone down and ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face. "Jack's waiting for me at the studio. We've got this track we've been trying to finish before everyone scatters for the holidays."

Benji stretched between them, his paws extending toward Leia's hip before he settled back into a tight ball of black and white fur. Taylor absently stroked his head, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. Leia cast him a quick glance, her lips quirking ever so slightly at the fact this was her first proper time meeting the cat and he already didn't care about her presence.

Leia smiled, picturing Jack's impatience manifesting in strings of nonsensical symbols. 

"What time do you need to be there?"

"Fifteen minutes ago, apparently." Taylor rolled her eyes, but there was fondness in the gesture. She glanced back at Leia, hesitating. The morning light caught the flecks of gold in her eyes, making them shine with unexpected warmth. "Do you... would you want to come with me?"

The question hung in the air between them, simple but weighted with significance. This wasn't just about a recording session. It was about stepping out together, making choices about their visibility, even if it was just in front of Jack.

Taylor seemed to register the implications of her own question. 

"I mean, you don't have to if you'd rather stay here," she added quickly. "Drew can always make sure that the cats are okay, and I know Jack can be a lot when he's in the zone."

Leia smiled at the offer, the smallest flicker of relief passing across Taylor's face when Leia didn't hesitate.

Leia tossed the covers back and slipped out of bed, the cold air brushing her skin like a whisper. She padded over to the dresser with quiet purpose, tugging open one of the drawers and rummaging through its contents. Taylor's clothes smelled like her... soft detergent and that familiar trace of cedarwood, something warm and grounding.

She pulled on a pair of Taylor's old cargo pants, slightly oversized and worn in at the knees. They hung low on her hips, cinched at the waist with a drawstring that had frayed at the edges. A soft oatmeal-colored sweater followed, sleeves a bit too long, the hem brushing her upper thighs. It was cozy and lived-in, and it felt like armor.

Taylor watched her get dressed with an expression somewhere between amusement and adoration. She hadn't moved from the bed since she'd already gotten changed when making them coffee and instead just leaned back against the headboard, sipping her coffee and letting her eyes follow every quiet motion Leia made.

Once dressed, Leia crossed the room again, pulling her curls up into a loose ponytail with a band she fished off her wrist. She caught Taylor's eye and paused at the foot of the bed.

"Wait," she said suddenly, reaching for her phone on the bedside table. "Before we go."

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Leia stepped closer and climbed gently back onto the mattress, kneeling beside her. She reached for Taylor's hand, pulling her closer by the sleeve. 

"Picture."

Taylor blinked. "Right now?"

Leia nodded, already switching her camera to the front-facing lens. "You look too good not to document it."

She leaned in, kissed Taylor softly, and snapped the photo in the middle of it.

The click of the shutter broke the silence, and Leia pulled back just slightly, thumb hovering above the screen. Taylor was breathless, smiling despite herself.

Leia turned the phone so Taylor could see it—the two of them caught in golden light, soft and rumpled, coffee cups visible on the nightstand in the background. The kiss was gentle, the moment quiet, and it felt like something sacred.

Taylor laughed under her breath. "You're trouble."

Leia grinned, mischievous. "Do you trust me?"

Taylor didn't even pause. "Of course."

Leia tapped the screen and sent the photo.

"To Georgie," she confirmed, slipping her phone into the side pocket of the cargo pants.

Taylor let out a quiet groan and buried her face in her hands, muffled words escaping through her fingers. "You are going to give her a heart attack."

"She deserves it for leaving me alone with Tate and the sad, droopy Christmas tree."

"You mean the one you still haven't decorated?" Taylor teased. "Georgie showed me a photo."

"It's called intentional minimalism," Leia said seriously.

Taylor gave her a look that didn't even try to hide its fond disbelief.

"Come on," Leia said, hopping off the bed and tugging Taylor by the hand. "You're late, remember?"

Taylor grabbed her coat from the hook by the door, slipping into it with practiced ease. Leia shoved her feet into a pair of borrowed sneakers by the door, the laces already knotted loose. She looked back once, just as Taylor was flipping off the bedroom light, and something about it made her chest ache - in a good way.

They headed downstairs, the elevator doors sliding open with a soft chime that felt far too gentle for how fast Leia's heart was beating.

Drew was already waiting in the garage, leaning against the black SUV like he'd been there forever - Leia wondered when Taylor had text him. The moment he spotted them, his eyes flicked toward Leia and the corner of his mouth twitched into a knowing smirk.

Leia beamed at him, stepping ahead of Taylor just enough to greet him first.

"Good to see you, Drew," she said, voice light but genuine.

"Likewise," he said, with a small nod, the smirk deepening. "Glad you're back."

Taylor rolled her eyes with a fond smile but said nothing, moving around the car to open the door for Leia herself. Leia climbed in, the air inside the SUV still warm from the heaters, and settled back into the seat as Taylor followed her in.

Outside, the city buzzed on like it had no idea the world had quietly rearranged itself. But in the back of that car, beneath the soft thrum of the engine and the faint sound of Benji meowing somewhere up in the apartment, everything felt calm. Grounded. Certain.

Taylor reached for Leia's hand again as the blacked-out car pulled away from the garage.

Leia squeezed back.

______

The hallway outside Jack's recording room pulsed with a distant bassline, muffled through the heavy studio door. Leia walked slightly behind Taylor, her sneakers echoing against the checkered floor tile as they passed posters of iconic album covers and plaques on the walls. 

"I swear he's going to have an actual fit when he sees us walk in together," Leia muttered under her breath, her voice just low enough for Taylor to hear.

Taylor glanced sideways, grinning. 

"Oh, just wait until you take your jacket off and he sees that hickey."

Leia stopped mid-step, hand frozen on the edge of her coat.

"What?"

Taylor paused just ahead, turning to face her. Her expression was far too pleased with itself, all slow amusement and feigned innocence. The kind of look that only ever meant trouble.

"There's a mark on your neck," Taylor said, gesturing lazily with a tilt of her chin. "Right there. Just under your jaw."

Leia tugged the collar of her jacket tighter, trying to peer down at herself, but the angle didn't help.

"I didn't see anything this morning," she said, flustered.

"You were a little busy drinking your coffee and looking like you belonged in a dream," Taylor offered with a small shrug. "The jacket covered it, so the paparazzi won't have seen anything. But I wasn't exactly thinking about the morning press when I was under the sheets last night."

Leia's stomach flipped.

Taylor's tone had dipped just enough to send a flush crawling up her neck, and when Leia opened her mouth to respond, nothing came out.

Taylor's grin grew wider.

Then, without waiting for an answer, she pushed open the studio door and disappeared inside, the sounds of a looping melody and Jack's voice floating briefly into the hallway before the door eased shut behind her.

Leia stood there, blinking at the wood grain of the door. Her heart was thudding like she'd just run up a flight of stairs, and she was suddenly far too aware of the warmth in her cheeks.

She took a steadying breath, tugging at the collar of her sweater and trying to catch a glimpse of her reflection in the darkened glass of a framed record on the wall. Nothing. She smoothed her hair back, adjusted the borrowed cargo pants, and with a final, futile attempt to arrange the sweater's neckline to hide whatever mark Taylor had left, she pushed through the studio door.

Jack was hunched over a soundboard, headphones slid halfway down his wild hair, one hand frantically adjusting knobs while the other tapped an impatient rhythm against his knee. He hadn't noticed her yet, too focused on whatever Taylor was saying as she leaned over his shoulder, pointing at something on the screen.

"It needs to hit harder there," Taylor was saying, her finger tracing a waveform on the monitor. "Like it did in the demo, remember? That moment where everything just -"

"Breaks," Jack finished, nodding emphatically. "Yeah, yeah, I know, but if we push it there, the vocals get lost in the -"

He glanced up mid-sentence and froze when he spotted Leia in the doorway. His eyes widened comically, darting between Taylor and Leia with the kind of expression that suggested his brain was rebooting.

"Holy shit," he said finally, the headphones slipping completely off his head. "Holy actual shit."

Taylor didn't look up from the laptop, but Leia could see the corner of her mouth twitch.

"Morning, Jack," Leia said, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her.

Jack blinked like he'd just been hit with stage lights. For a second, he seemed to be computing logistics - like maybe he'd double booked the studio and was about to launch into a frantic apology about miscommunications and calendar syncs.

"I... didn't know you were coming in today," he said slowly, eyes narrowing as they flicked from Leia to Taylor and back again. "Wait, did I... did I schedule both of you?"

Leia raised an eyebrow, slipping her hands into the pockets of Taylor's old cargos. "I'm just tagging along."

Jack opened his mouth, but then his gaze landed on Leia's neck. He squinted.

The pause was almost comical. His head tilted. He leaned forward a little. Then his eyes flicked to the sweater she wore and something changed in his expression.

"Wait a second," he said, brows lifting. "That's not your -"

He didn't finish the sentence.

Instead, he turned to Taylor, who was still entirely too focused on the laptop for someone pretending not to notice the conversation behind her. He noticed the way her lips were pressed together, trying to hold in a laugh as the man spiralled. 

Jack blinked again. Then back to Leia. Then to the sweater. Then to the faint, unmistakable mark just above her collar.

"Jesus Christ," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "I thought you two were still in... whatever complicated emotional limbo you were calling it last month."

"We were," Taylor said lightly, still not looking up.

Jack let out a low whistle, dragging a hand through his hair and turning back to Leia.

"And now you're here, in her sweater, with what I'm assuming is a very recent hickey on your neck."

Leia flushed. Taylor finally looked over her shoulder, eyes glittering at Leia as she smiled proudly at the mark on her neck.

"Careful, Antonoff," she said, all mock warning. "You sound surprised."

Jack threw his hands in the air. 

"I am surprised. I thought you two were gonna slow burn for another year and make everyone around you slowly lose their minds."

Leia laughed under her breath, finally relaxing enough to drop into the armchair in the corner. "Sorry to disappoint."

"You didn't," Jack said, pointing a finger in her direction as he leaned back into his chair. "I'm just trying to recalibrate. This is like finding out two of your favourite fictional characters got together offscreen and now I have to pretend it's normal."

Taylor walked over and dropped a kiss on the top of Leia's head as she passed, like it was the most casual thing in the world. Leia blinked up at her, still a little dazed, and Taylor smirked knowingly.

Jack groaned, his enjoyment gone.

"Okay, nope, I take it back. I need at least twenty minutes of warning next time before you weaponise PDA in my sacred workspace."

"Grow up," Taylor called over her shoulder.

"Rude," Jack muttered, then sat up straighter. "Okay, well, now that I've recovered from the emotional whiplash, can we actually finish the track today? Or are you two going to derail the session with meaningful eye contact and secret hand-holding?"

Leia glanced at Taylor, who just raised an eyebrow.

"No promises," she said.

Jack groaned again, but he was grinning. "You're lucky this song's actually good."

The studio air held a charged stillness, the kind that only settled when two people who knew each other's rhythm moved in tandem. Jack adjusted levels at the console, brows furrowed in concentration, while Taylor paced the length of the vocal booth, her barefoot steps silent on the rug beneath her. 

Leia stayed quiet in the armchair, one knee tucked under her, arms wrapped loosely around herself. She hadn't spoken since Jack's joking meltdown, and no one had seemed to mind. Taylor and Jack had fallen into their usual flow, looping through melodies, tweaking lyrics, and adjusting phrasing with an ease that came from years of collaboration.

It was fascinating to watch, honestly.

Taylor's voice filled the room, first in snippets, then in full measures as she laid down take after take. The song poured out of the speakers in bursts, each version layered with something slightly different. 

Leia didn't need the lyrics in front of her. She was picking them up one piece at a time, piecing them together like a puzzle. The hues of it were unmistakable. All wine-dark memory and bruised longing, drenched in metaphor that felt close enough to touch.

She hadn't heard it before. 

Taylor's voice wrapped around the chorus again, deeper this time. More restrained.

And I wake with your memory over me
That's a real fucking legacy -

Jack nodded, bouncing a little in his chair as he listened to the playback, muttering "yep, yep, yep," under his breath. Taylor stepped back from the mic, pulling off her headphones with one hand and twisting them in her grip. Her sweatshirt slipped off one shoulder again, hair sticking slightly to the side of her neck. She looked flushed from the effort, but focused.

Leia watched her closely, watched the way she moved, the set of her shoulders, the lines around her mouth when she concentrated. She looked beautiful in this light. Beautiful and raw and completely in her element.

There was something reverent about the whole thing. 

After a while, Taylor stepped out of the booth, pushing the door open with her shoulder and padding across the carpet toward the console where Jack had already started looping a new bridge idea.

Then she turned, almost absently, and looked at Leia.

"What do you think?" she asked, like it wasn't a loaded question, like it didn't mean more than it did.

Leia straightened slightly in the armchair, caught off guard by being addressed at all. But Taylor's expression was soft, open.

Leia's voice came out quiet but clear. "I like it. A lot."

Taylor smiled, slow and satisfied, before glancing at Jack. 

"Good. It's about you anyway."

Jack made a sound like he'd just been punched in the stomach. Leia blinked. She hadn't been expecting her to say it out loud, not like that. Her mouth tugged up, a breathy laugh escaping before she could stop it.

"I kind of guessed," she said, the corner of her mouth lifting.

Taylor gave her a look, one eyebrow raised as if to say of course you did, before turning back to the soundboard.

Leia's smile lingered as she sank a little further into the chair, warmth spreading through her chest. The lyrics echoed faintly in her head - t-shirts stained red, and that quiet kind of hurt that doesn't really end but finds beauty in the aftermath anyway.

It wasn't just that the song was about her.

It was that it felt like a confession wrapped in velvet. A love letter written sideways, set to music, left on the edge of the table for her to find without pressure. Taylor hadn't needed her to say anything back. She just wanted her to hear it.

And Leia did.

She heard every line. Every drop of wine-dark memory. Every trace of feeling that hadn't faded, only deepened. She tucked her hand under her chin, eyes drifting closed for a moment as Taylor's voice rang through the speakers again, soft and sharp in equal measure.

It was strange, sitting here now. Not as a secret. Not as a shadow in the corner of Taylor's world. But as something else. Something claimed, even if only in these quiet spaces where no one else was watching.

And for now, that was more than enough.

_____

he apartment was warm, the scent of pine from the now half-decorated tree mingling with the faint citrus of the candle burning in the corner. The lights were low, soft, and Leia's playlist hummed lazily from her speaker in the kitchen - something mellow and familiar, looping just loud enough to fill the quiet without disturbing it.

Leia stood half-buried in the open cupboard in her room, one hand braced against the shelf as she pulled out sweaters and tossed them haphazardly into a pile on the bed behind her. A duffel bag sat open and half-zipped on the floor, already containing a handful of folded jeans, mismatched socks, and what might've been Taylor's hoodie by mistake.

"Do you think I'll need anything dressy?" she asked, her voice muffled as she reached for a pair of boots shoved behind a box of tangled scarves. "Or are your family more 'come as you are, don't mention the state of your hair' types?"

Taylor was perched at the end of the bed, legs folded underneath her, sipping peppermint tea from one of Leia's chipped mugs. She looked entirely at home, her curls tucked into a loose braid and one of Leia's old flannels draped over her shoulders like it had always belonged to her.

"You're asking if the Swifts are formal?" she asked dryly. "My dad wears light-up reindeer antlers at breakfast and tries to sneak bourbon into the eggnog by nine a.m."

Leia snorted, dropping a pair of wool socks into the bag. "Okay. So flannel and chaos. Noted."

They'd decided only an hour ago that they'd drive down to Pennsylvania the next day. No flight, no paparazzi trail at JFK, just the two of them and a trunk full of half-wrapped presents and snacks from Leia's favourite bodega down the street. The spontaneity of it was oddly freeing. Leia liked that. Liked how Taylor had leaned across the armrest on the way back from the studio and said, "Want to road trip with me?" like it was the simplest thing in the world.

She was mid-way through debating whether she could get away with packing leggings for every day of the trip when the apartment door slammed open with a thunderous crash.

"Leia, what the actual -"

Georgie's voice cut off.

Leia froze, halfway turned toward the door, a balled-up hoodie in her hands.

Georgie stood in the entryway of her room, hair wild from the wind outside, coat askew, one AirPod still dangling from her ear like she'd torn herself away mid-podcast. Her eyes landed on Taylor, sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed, and for a full three seconds, she didn't move.

Then, she screamed.

"I knew it!" Georgie shrieked, pointing with both hands like she'd just uncovered a conspiracy theory. "I knew it! I checked Find My Friends and you were not at home last night and then you weren't at Riven or Azul's either and I was like, 'maybe she just forgot her phone,' but no. No, because I know you, Leia, and when your dot vanishes off the face of the earth, it means something. And then when our flight landed today and I opened my phone to see that PHOTO?"

Taylor blinked, mid-sip, the mug halfway to her mouth. She'd forgot they'd text Georgie that morning. Georgie dropped her bag onto the floor and marched forward dramatically, eyes still wide and full of chaotic energy.

"It's real," she announced, grabbing Leia by the shoulders. "It's real. You're real. You're together. This is happening."

Leia, caught in the headlights of Georgie's enthusiasm, finally broke into a laugh and dropped her head against Georgie's shoulder.

"Yes, Georgie," she said, voice muffled. "It's happening."

Georgie squealed like a kettle reaching full boil, shaking Leia slightly before pivoting to Taylor.

"And you!" she said, jabbing a finger in her direction. "You sneaky, beautiful, maddening woman! You were texting me about book recs last night while hooking up with my sister in secret?"

Taylor grinned behind her mug. "Not in secret anymore, apparently."

Georgie let out another delighted scream, collapsing dramatically onto the arm of the couch in the bedroom like she'd just run a marathon. 

"I need a minute. I need water. Or wine. Possibly both."

Leia rolled her eyes fondly, stepping over her half-packed bag. 

"We were going to tell you tonight."

Georgie raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Sure. Was that before or after you sent me a photo of you kissing her this morning?"

Leia glanced at Taylor. Taylor smirked.

Georgie pointed again. 

"I screamed on the tarmac, by the way. In public. Some poor man spilled his coffee because I yelled, 'I KNEW IT!' at full volume. People thought I was having a breakdown on the plane."

"You kind of are," Leia said.

"It's justified!" Georgie cried. "You two are back together. I have manifested this."

Taylor shook her head, still smiling. "You should write speeches for award ceremonies."

"I should," Georgie agreed, then flopped back dramatically. "I need to sit down before I combust."

Leia walked over and plopped down beside her, resting her head on Georgie's shoulder this time. "We're road-tripping to hers tomorrow. Spending Christmas together."

Georgie turned to gape at her again. 

"You're spending Christmas with the Swifts?"

"Yep."

"Oh my God," Georgie said, looking utterly unhinged in the best way. "I need a glass of water and then I'm helping you pack. Because if you wear that weird green turtleneck that I can see poking out of that bag, I swear to God, I will intervene."

Leia laughed and Taylor bit back a grin as Georgie launched herself off the couch and stalked into the kitchen muttering, 

"It's real. It's so real," under her breath.

Taylor caught Leia's eye across the room.

Leia smiled.

Taylor did too.