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As Kathy, Suki, Linda, Stacey, and Denise stepped out of the café, they were hit with the bitter cold of the January night air. It was now 9:40pm, an hour and a half after they had made their excuses and met up in the café. Each of them started heading their separate ways, Stacey and Suki walking back to number 31 together. "Jean's probably wondering why we're not back yet, what should our excuse be?" Suki asked as she walked only a few feet apart from Stacey, far enough to not look suspicious, but close enough that she could still talk quietly. "Erm, I hadn't thought about that. We could always say I saw Linda drunk outside The Albert and you, Denise, and Kathy helped me get her home. That's believable innit?" Stacey suggested as they began walking past the corner of The Vic.
"That's plausible. Jean was there for the quiz, so she knows that Linda's drinking again. I'll tell Eve the same thing if she wakes up when I get into bed. Speaking of which, can I have a bath first? I don't want Eve sniffing me and getting suspicious." Suki laughed as they walked through the square gardens, stopping at one of the benches and sitting down. "I was going to ask you the same thing. We could deal with this like adults or we could be childish about it. Which would you prefer?" Stacey responded as she sat down next to Suki. "I'll say childish, just because Eve's always doing silly things and I probably need to be a bit more like that." Suki confessed, giggling slightly at the memory of her buying rainbow kimono's for them both.
At this point, Stacey pulled a coin out of her pocket and flipped it in her hand. "Heads or tails?" she asked as she held her other hand over the coin. "Really? That's the childish option? Okay then, heads." Suki responded, wrapping her coat over her more as the air got even colder. Stacey removed her hand from on top of the coin and Suki's eyes grew wide.
"Oh no, looks like you lost. Just like you'll eventually lose your wife." Suki quipped as she stood up from the bench. "You can have her. I just hope you're ready to deal with her snoring every night, but then again, you're probably used to that already." Stacey replied as she watched Suki starting to walk towards number 31. "It still feels weird seeing you walk towards our front door with such confidence. A few months ago you'd be looking over your shoulder to make sure nobody saw you, but now it's like you've never done any different." she continued, making Suki stop in her tracks and turn around to face her, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
Stacey continued walking towards Suki and sympathetically put her hand on her left arm. "Sorry if I've upset you. It's just we... well, I, never thought you'd actually make that leap, you know? I thought you'd end up choosing your family over Eve again and I'd be left watching her scraping what's left of her heart from th-"; she started, getting interrupted by Suki. "The pavement, shoving it in a poo bag, and putting it in the bin." Suki remarked as she continued the sentence in sync with Stacey, making her laugh. "In June I thought I'd never make the jump either. Even just a few weeks ago I was thinking it would never happen, but I did it and now everyone on the square knows I'm in love with Eve." she continued before pulling Stacey into a hug.
"What's that for?" Stacey asked, pulling away looking at Suki confused. "Just for being you. You've been there since the beginning helping her whenever I hurt her. Plus, if you hadn't been so supportive on Christmas Day, the others wouldn't even know about me and Eve, nevermind the rest of the square knowing. You're a great friend to Eve and I hope we can build a friendship too." Suki said as she held onto Stacey's arms, not feeling comfortable enough to hold her hands. "Eve was right about you. You can be well soppy when you want to be and I think you need to show it to more people. Come on let's get inside quick before mum sends out a search party!" Stacey exclaimed, watching Suki turn around, open the garden gate and approach the front door of number 31.
As Suki reached the front door, she let out a contented sigh. "You know, I used to dread going home, but now it's actually going to be something I can look forward to." she explained as Stacey approached the door and turned the key in the lock. "Well I'm glad you think the most chaotic house in Albert Square is the place you feel safest. Even if it's only because Eve lives here." Stacey laughed as she gently pushed open the front door. "Stacey, is that you?" Jean asked, popping her head out of the living room door. "Where the hell have you been? You're a bad influence, Suki!" she exclaimed as Stacey followed her into the living room.
Suki simply laughed at Jean's comment and shook her head as she walked down the corridor and opened the kitchen door. After hanging her coat on the back of the chair to the left of her, Suki noticed that two mugs were placed in the centre of the table with a note left under them. 'I'd have made it myself but didn't know when you'd both get back. Good night wife 1 and future wife 2 x' Suki read as she held the note in her hand and started softly smiling at the thought of marrying Eve. Jean then walked into the kitchen, Stacey following behind.
"Right, I'm going to bed now you're both home. Oh, you found Eve's note then. She woke up for a glass of water and asked where you both were, so after I told her, she sorted those out." Jean said as she picked up a glass from the shelf before turning round and pointing at the mugs. "I might not happy about you being here, but I wouldn't want you to still be living with that man. He's vile and doesn't deserve the oxygen he breathes." she continued as she filled up her glass, earning a slight chuckle from Suki.
"Good night mum, I hope you sleep well. Sorry again for being out so long." Stacey said as she stood aside to allow Jean to exit the kitchen. "Good night Stacey. Night Suki. I'm not particularly bothered if yours is good or not." Jean stated as she walked into her bedroom and then gently closed the door behind her. "If you're going in the bath, I'll have my hot chocolate." Stacey said as she picked up a pan from the cupboard and started to open the cutlery drawer. "I'll leave the milk out for you if you're going to have yours." she continued as she picked a spoon out of the drawer.
"Thanks Stace..." Suki replied, not intending to sound as friendly as she did, a look of panic crossing her face as she realised what she'd just said. "You sure you're okay? You're being very friendly. I'm joking, don't look so worried. You're dating Eve, of course you can call me Stace." Stacey laughed as Suki looked at her and sighed in relief. "Right... I'm going for my bath. Enjoy your hot chocolate and then I'll come down and let you have a bath." Suki said, pausing slightly as she watched Stacey close the drawer. "You go and enjoy your bath. Oh, and make sure you remember to grab some pyjamas from Eve's room, you don't want to be walking around in your towel in this house!" Stacey laughed as she grabbed the milk from the fridge.
As Suki walked upstairs, she was shocked by the relative silence compared to the chaos of the house during the day. The kids were all soundly asleep, faint snoring coming from their rooms. When she gently opened the door to Eve's room, the room they now shared, Eve was laid on her side on the right side of the bed snoring with her arm reached out across Suki's side of the bed. She slowly opened the drawer that had her pyjamas in and found one of Eve's t-shirts laid on top. 'You liked this one in Leeds, so why not sleep in it tonight? x' she read as she pulled the sticky note off of Eve's vintage Metallica t-shirt.
She picked out a pair of plain black silk pyjama bottoms to wear with the t-shirt and gently closed the drawer. As she slowly walked out of the room, trying not to wake up Eve, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Forgot to say, Eve's instructions for the hot chocolate are in the drawer closest to the sink!
Suki looked at the message and was confused. She quickly typed back a response.
She has her own instructions?
Suki walked into the bathroom and placed her pyjamas and her phone on top of the lid of the toilet. As she started running the bath, her phone vibrated again.
She's made it a specific way ever since she worked in a café at uni :)
Suki chuckled to herself at the thought of Eve writing down her own instructions for how to make hot chocolate. "Oh Eve, you never fail to amaze me." she whispered to herself as she allowed the bath to continue filling.
After Suki pulled Eve's t-shirt over her head, she reached for her phone and looked at the time. It was now 10:05pm and she could hear Eve snoring in their room. It took all of her strength to not go in there and snuggle up with her, but she needed to go downstairs so that Stacey could have a bath. As she crept down the stairs she heard the tap running in the kitchen. "Oh, I thought you'd gone to bed. I was just about to wash the pan." Stacey said as she handed Suki the saucepan she had used to heat the milk.
"Sorry, I got distracted by some soppy mare leaving me a note on her pyjama top telling me to wear it tonight." Suki giggled as she tugged on the bottom hem of the t-shirt to show Stacey. "She's letting you wear that?! Wow, she really is in love with you." Stacey laughed as she dried her hands on a tea towel. "Why? Is this special or something?" Suki asked as she sat down at the table. "The whole time I've known her she's never let anyone else wash that, let alone wear it. Obviously she trusts you a lot. It's quite special to her, but she can explain that if she wants to." Stacey explained as she squeezed Suki's shoulder and walked out of the kitchen.
Suki pondered for a moment before getting up and opening the drawer closest to the sink. She was greeted with the sight of a laminated piece of bright pink card with a red heart shaped sticky note attached. 'Don't judge me before you try it x' Suki read as she pulled the instructions out of the drawer. She chuckled as she peeled the sticky note off the laminated instructions and noticed that there were only 6 steps.
- Heat up 250ml of milk in a saucepan
- Put four teaspoons of hot chocolate powder into a mug
- Once milk is almost boiling, pour into mug
- Stir until powder is dissolved
- Put a little bit of whipped cream on top and stir into drink
- Top with whipped cream and a mini pack of Cadbury's buttons
"That's it? It's just the same instructions as on the tub, but with added whipped cream and buttons." Suki whispered to herself as she looked over the instructions again before placing the saucepan on the hob. She then picked up the milk and poured it into a jug, slowly transferring it from the jug into the saucepan once it reached the 250ml mark. She clicked on the gas and allowed the milk to start warming up while she collected her mug from the table. "Oh, the whipped cream and buttons!" she whispered as she approached the fridge.
As she opened the door of the fridge, she found another sticky note stuck onto a mini packet of Cadbury's buttons. 'These are Suki's. Hands off, wife one!' she read as she picked up the packet, peeling off the note to reveal that it was a packet with a cat's face on. "You're so silly!" she whispered, jokingly chastising Eve as she slept soundly upstairs. She picked up the whipped cream before closing the fridge and returning to the other side of the kitchen.
Suki placed the whipped cream and buttons down on the counter, watching the milk to ensure that it didn't boil. She turned off the gas and carefully lifted the saucepan to pour the milk into her mug. Once the mug was filled, she stirred thoroughly until the powder was mixed into the milk properly. After stirring the drink an extra time to ensure that the powder was fully dissolved, she squirted a little bit of whipped cream onto the teaspoon and stirred it into the hot chocolate.
She squirted more whipped cream onto the drink and added some of the chocolate buttons for decoration, leaving some aside to eat. After placing her drink down on the table, Suki placed the saucepan in the soapy water that Stacey had left in the sink to soak. Slowly lowering herself down into the seat she had previously been sitting in, she wrapped her hands around the mug in front of her. Since moving to Walford, she'd noticed that the winters were a lot colder, meaning she often felt like she needed to pull her jumper sleeves over her hands, wrap her coat tighter around her, or just hold a warm mug in her hands.
Drinking this would definitely warm her up sufficiently, she thought, the warmth she was feeling after her bath already subsiding. She ate a few spoonfuls of the cream from on top of the hot chocolate to prevent any of it getting on her nose, something Eve found adorable, before taking a sip. It tasted slightly richer because of the whipped cream that had been stirred in and was so warm that it felt like a hug. The addition of whipped cream and chocolate buttons was something she'd need to ask Eve about another time.
"Oh, mērē pi'ārē, maiṁ kī kītā hai? [my darling, what have I done?]" she whispered as she looked out of the window, the light of the moon gently shining in through onto the kitchen table. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks if she lamented over the events if Christmas Day for too long. She needed to keep her feelings shut away until she was safe, but not being able to tell Eve, the person she loves most in this world, was beginning to take it's toll on her. Feeling herself starting to cry, she unlocked her phone, opened the photos app, and scrolled through the joint folder Eve had created which contained all the photos Suki couldn't previously keep on her phone (as well as some new ones).
She sipped her hot chocolate and smiled as she scrolled from the beginning, the selfie of them together in bed on their first trip to Leeds, almost all the way to present day, stopping at a photo of them both that Stacey had taken without them knowing a few days after Christmas. Eve was sat on the sofa in number 31 with Suki nuzzled into her side and her head resting on Eve's shoulder, Eve's arm wrapped around her pulling her closer, while they watched a documentary about dinosaurs (Eve had pretended it was for Arthur, but he was asleep 15 minutes in). Stacey had snuck in, saw how cute they looked and decided to take a photo, forgetting that her volume was on. As soon as she took the photo, the shutter sound on her phone altered them of her presence.
They had immediately turned to Stacey and Eve told her to show them the photo. "There, look, you two are well cute." Stacey had said, passing her phone to Suki. Eve had quipped back with "Aw, are you jealous Stace? Wanna come and cuddle your wife?" or something similar, which had made Suki laugh. Stacey had sent Eve the photo the next morning and Eve had added it into the folder while walking to work with Suki.
The memory caused Suki to giggle as she finished her hot chocolate, the sting of tears no longer present in her eyes. She slowly stood up from the chair and walked over the sink to wash the saucepan, the jug, the teaspoon, and the mug she had been using. Taking off her watch and placing it next to the sink, she realised that it was now 10:30pm. Eve had been asleep since 7:30pm, minus when she woke up for a glass of water, the exhaustion from being kidnapped still lingering even weeks later. Some nights, Eve had been waking up and snuggling closer to Suki while sobbing, prompting her lover to turn over and brush the back of her finger on Eve's cheek and reassure her that she was safe.
After finishing the washing up and putting it away, Suki dried her hands on a tea towel and put her watch back on. It was now 10:40pm and she could hear Jean softly snoring in her room as she began shuffling towards the stairs. Silently ascending the stairs, she reached the landing just as Stacey was exiting the bathroom. "What was that about not walking around in your towel?" Suki whispered as she nodded towards Stacey.
"Oh sorry Suki, I forgot my pyjamas and by the time I realised the bath was already filled." Stacey replied, pulling her towel tighter around her. "Don't worry, I don't blame you for forgetting. Try and get some sleep tonight though, you look exhausted." Suki commented, gently rubbing her hand on Stacey's arm. "Charming! You always look as fresh as a daisy, do ya? I'm only joking. Good night Suki." Stacey said as she walked towards her bedroom. "Good night Stace." Suki responded as she watched Stacey entering her room before shuffling towards the room she shares with Eve.
"Ah, there you are! What took you so long?" Eve mumbled as she propped herself up in bed as she saw Suki entering the room. Suki closed the door and climbed into bed next to Eve. "Sorry about that, I needed to put the alarm on at the Minute Mart. Vinny forgot to put it on. Then on the way back me, Stacey, Denise, and Kathy found Linda drunk in the square so we took her home and made sure she was okay. I had a bath when I came home because she stunk of booze." she replied as she nuzzled into Eve's side. Eve sighed in content as she wrapped her arm around Suki's shoulder.
"Did you enjoy your hot chocolate? Stace came in to check on me because she heard me sniffling and said you were downstairs drinking it." Eve started before kissing Suki's temple. "I told her not to get you because I know I've been waking you up in the night and you need your own time to relax, especially with what you've been going through recently." she continued as she felt Suki sit up again. "Oh Eve!" Suki exclaimed, extending her girlfriend's name as she did so. "You could have come downstairs and sat with me if you wanted to. No wonder Stacey was only coming out of the bathroom when I came up. You really don't need to worry about me." she said, gently rubbing her palm up and down on Eve's arm.
"I will always worry about you, it's kinda my job as your girlfriend." Eve mumbled as Suki settled into her side again. "I know, but you've been through far worse than me recently. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as she looked up at Eve. "Not now, I'm exhausted." Eve replied, before yawning and lying down on her side. Suki reached over to turn the lamp before lying down next to Eve, feeling her getting pulled closer by Eve's arm around her middle.
"Maiṁ tainū bahuta pi'āra karadā hāṁ. Tusīṁ huṇa surakhi'ata hō, mērē pi'ārē. Cagī nīnda la'ō. [I love you so much. You are safe now, my darling. Sleep well.]" Suki mumbled as she picked up Eve's hand and gently kissed it. "Eh?" Eve quietly giggled. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you wouldn't understand that. I love you so much. You are safe now, my darling. Sleep well." Suki responded with a slight laugh. "I love you too, my love. I'll try my best with the sleeping well bit." Eve groggily replied before pressing a kiss to Suki's shoulder.
Suki smiled to herself as she heard Eve starting to snore again. They were both safe. She was sharing a bed with the love of her life. She was home.