"I need to tell you something," Evie's voice broke the silence. She has spent the last 10 minutes debating if she should say anything at all; how to say it; what to say exactly. The anxiousness crept at her with every quiet second. She shifted in the bathtub sending warm bubbles at Mal's legs. If she wasn't overthinking, Evie would have already drifted off.

Mal was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, feet in the hot water and a laptop resting on her legs. She was leaning against the wall, eyes hidden behind glasses staring at the device's screen. Her mind was lost in words and work that she hadn't even noticed that Evie had spoken to her. The blond continued her work oblivious to Evie's stare.

Evie huffed in annoyance mixed with relief. Gripping the edges of the white bathtub she shifted into a more comfortable position, debating if she should speak up again. Her lips parted in a silent attempt to catch Mal's attention. Somehow the words died in her mouth with a bitter taste. What would she say?

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows trying to imagine Mal's reaction after her words:

"Maybe we should stop seeing each other," and then Mal would look at her with confusion and agree; or maybe try to convince her that whatever they are doing could end up not disastrous.

She could try simply saying: "I'm moving out," instead. But then Mal would ask her questions and it would get ugly.

"I guess that I'm a little bit in love with you," but Mal wouldn't say it back and would simply stare at her dumbfounded. She could add "but we can't be together" but they can't either way.

Evie could try with another truth: "I'm getting married in a month, maybe you should come," - she could already imagine Mal's betrayed look and the disgust in her voice as she drifted away. But Evie would never say that; she lied for so long and now it was too late to tell her the truth. It would hurt too much; almost as much as loving someone, you can't have.

So Evie bit her lip and swallowed the lump in her throat. Her brown gaze shifted to the cat laying on the bathroom tiles. She will miss this so much; spending time with Mal and Ben.

"Mal," Evie mumbled, expecting to not be noticed but to her surprise, a pair of green eyes were now staring at her atop the laptop screen. The brunette held her breath.

"Did you say something?" Mal returned, eyes shifting between her laptop and the brunette.

"I-I, yes," Evie choked out trying to collect herself. Silence fell after that; Evie tried to decide what to say and Mal started to feel some kind of tension settling in.

"Is everything alright?" Mal inquired.

"Yes, I just- I need to tell you something," Evie returned with a ghost of a smile on her lips. Mal relaxed a bit and continued her work.

"Well, what is it?" She questioned again, staring at her laptop screen.

Evie shifted closer to Mal; legs touching under the water. Evie's long hand reached out and pushed the laptop screen closed, almost smashing Mal's fingers in the process. The blond huffed with annoyance.

"What are you doing? This was kind of important," Mal grumped at the brunette holding the device securely on her legs before it could slip into the water.

"This is kind of important too," Evie gestured to herself with a satisfied smirk playing on her lips.

Mal rolled her eyes and put the laptop on the floor as further away from the water as she could reach.

"Alright, alright. I admit- I am a workaholic. What can I say, Ben, is expensive as hell." Mal joked back, playing along. She rubbed her stiff shoulders and adjusted the t-shirt on her shoulders. Evie chuckled at her.

"All jokes aside, I need to tell you something," Evie said, high-fiving herself on how well she had masked her anxiety.

Mal waited for a few heartbeats for the brunette to continue but instead, her slender fingers reached out to her face pulling the glasses off. Evie neatly folded them off and put them on the floor, before her hand touched Mal's cheek. The brunette's fingertips traced her jawline.

"You're so beautiful," Evie's fingers stilled when she realized the words slipped out of her lips.

Mal flinched away from Evie's hand choking on thin air. She masked it with a cough.

"You're not so bad yourself. Can I go back to work now?" Mal mumbled, avoiding Evie's stare. The blond debated if she should flee the room, her heart has no right feeling so light right now.

Evie laughed looking at the red that crept on Mal's neck. "That was not what I wanted to tell you,"

"It's not?" Mal's head snapped to look at the other woman confused.

"I mean, it's not a lie, but there is something else," Evie rested her wet hands on Mal's lap. Her mind runs wild deciding what she should say. "You see, the thing is... you are not enjoying this bath properly."

Mal's green eyes widened with realization, but she was already pulled into the water before her mind could catch up. Their bodies hit the bathtub's bottom hard, most of the liquid overflowing over the edges.

Evie laughed wildly at Mal's irritated expression.

"That was not nice," the blond mumbled, drenched from head to toe. Her wet clothes stuck uncomfortably on her skin.

"Now, M, don't be such a grump and loose up a little,"

"This is not funny," Mal sighed and started getting up, untangling her legs from the other woman's. Evie grabbed her wrists pulling her back down.

"I need to tell you something," the brunette said again seriously, with no hint of playfulness in her eyes this time. Mal was growing tired of this game already. She allowed herself to be pulled by Evie's hands. She let her eyes wander down on the exposed skin of the taller woman, suddenly hit by the realization of how intimate this moment was. And not in a sexual way. Her heart started racing wildly anticipating Evie's words.

Evie wanted to tell her. All of it. But she couldn't escape the hope that grabbed in her heart that maybe, maybe she can escape her fate. She knew better than to trust that feeling so she said instead:

"Stay here with me for a while," and then she kissed Mal trying to tell her everything with her lips instead.