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Vivienne would really like Emmett and Elle to get together, because if Elle is dating someone else, then she won't keep trying to get her claws into Warner. It's perfect, right? Everyone knows they're good friends, they're together all the time anyway, and with the trial they're together even more of the time. They don't even seem to fight during the trial the way that Vivenne herself clashes with Warner when they're discussing law. (Vivienne and Elle get along surprisingly well when they're talking about law and Warner's not around. It's one of the things that makes Vivienne think she might have been wrong about Elle.)
However, neither Elle nor Emmett seems to be at all interested in the idea of hooking up. Vivienne watches them carefully, but neither of them seems to treat the other with anything but the most platonic of friendships. No sidelong glances, no surreptitious touches (Elle touches everyone, but Emmett less than Warner), nothing she can see.
Until the day Emmett comes in dressed in a snazzy suit Elle has bought for him. Vivienne has been watching the two of them for a while now, and there is definitely something different about Emmett besides the suit. His eyes follow Elle around when he thinks no one is looking. He stands a little closer to her in meetings. He doesn't tease Elle as much as he did. Elle remains the same, and additionally is cheerfully oblivious as to the change in Emmett.
By this time, although Vivienne is still jealous where Warner is concerned, she is rather interested in the match for its own sake. Emmett is a really nice guy, and she thinks Elle should notice what a good guy he is. She discusses it with Enid, who turns out to be much more interested in the topic than Vivienne had thought she'd be. ("Honestly, Vivienne," Enid says, amused, "sure, I'm a lesbian, but that doesn't make me anti-romance!") But they don't get much farther than agreeing on Emmett's interest and Elle's disinterest.
Then there's the whole thing with Callahan and Brooke (and also Vivienne breaking up with Warner for being, well, not the person she imagined he was, but she doesn't want to think about that right now), and Elle and Emmett blowing away the entire case. Afterwards, while Vivienne is talking to Enid, she sees them together, and the way Elle is looking at Emmett makes her think that finally Elle has figured out what a great guy Emmett is, and how besotted he clearly is with her. About time, too.
Then Vivienne sees Warner approach. So does Emmett; he gently but firmly disengages from Elle, gives Warner a nod, and strides off hurriedly. Vivienne sees Warner pull out a ring box -- hold on, is that the same ring box he proposed to her with, he has that much class? -- and she decides Emmett has the right idea. So, okay. Elle has won. She's won the guy she wanted. Which is not what Vivienne wanted, or what Emmett wanted, but whatever.
But she also knows that she really likes Elle by this time, even though Elle has demonstrably poor taste in guys (but, well, clearly, so does Vivienne, she can't throw stones in this regard), and so she calls Elle up and asks her to dinner to celebrate with the gang. During this phone call it comes out that Elle and Warner are not, in fact, together. Hm. Well, okay then.
At dinner, Emmett is not there, and Vivienne can't understand why not. Surely he would have wasted no time in going after Elle once he knew Warner was no longer in the picture. In addition, Elle has become positively sickening in regards to Emmett, taking every opportunity to drag his name into the conversation and telling stories about how wonderful he is. Enid and Vivienne roll their eyes to each other, a little, when Elle launches into another encomium on how much Emmett loves his mom or something disgustingly sweet like that.
Finally, Vivienne interrupts both Elle's Emmett-fest and her wondering about where Emmett is to call him. The call clears up that mystery: he doesn't know about Elle. He hasn't talked to Elle since then; thinks Warner and Elle are together, and, from the tone of his voice, can't really deal with it.
~~~~~~
This time it's Vivienne calling. At least they haven't asked Warner to do call him. Emmett sighs. He does owe Vivienne one, after all. And... honestly... he knows that of all of them, Vivienne will be the one who will not throw Warner in his face. And he and Vivienne are very much alike; he suspects she understands the way he thinks. He compresses his lips and flips open the phone.
"Emmett," Vivienne says curtly, "why are you not at dinner with us?"
"I'm very busy --" he starts, and Vivienne cuts in, "You can take off an hour for dinner. For heaven's sakes, Emmett! Look, Elle will pay. Free food!" He hears a yelp of "Hey, what?" quickly strangled in the background, and smiles despite himself.
But then he scowls horribly at the wall, thinking it was a mistake to pick up after all. "Also, you know, I'm the old graduate. I don't want to get between you and Enid and Warner and Elle." Maybe he can't keep a hint of bitterness out of his voice when he mentions Warner. Maybe his voice lingers a little on that last word. Maybe he really enjoys saying her name. Gah.
There's a small silence on the other end. "Emmett," Vivienne says, and her voice is oddly gentle. The only other time Emmett has heard it like that is when she told him that she would try to find Elle, that night she wanted to leave. Only a couple of nights ago. It feels like forever. "He's not here. In fact... I haven't asked how it all went down, but I suspect that's... not an issue. You should come. Now. We'll order the salmon for you. Surely you won't want it to go to waste. Did I mention Elle's paying? Shut up, Elle."
"Um, okay," Emmett manages to choke out, and Vivienne hangs up the phone. In a daze, Emmett snags his corduroy jacket, locks the door, walks to the T, takes the T to Harvard Square. I suspect that's not an issue keeps running through his head. What does that even mean? He refuses to think about what it means. But the sentence keeps going through his head.
He walks in. It's not hard to find them; almost everyone is in dark sober Bostonian garments except for the bright pink flaring in one corner. Enid sees him walk over and grins, which prompts Elle to turn around. And look at him. And her face lights up in a way he's never seen it before. He swears he sees stars in her eyes. In that moment he knows: no, Warner's not an issue. Warner doesn't even exist for her in this moment.
In even more of a daze, he sits down next to Elle, who can't stop grinning. Everyone else is half through eating, and the salmon they ordered for him (with discreet bites out of it; clearly Elle, and probably Vivienne and Enid as well, did some sampling) is getting cold, but that's not a problem. What is a problem is his hyper-consciousness of Elle next to him. He picks at his food.
"Are you okay, Emmett?" Elle asks him worriedly. Of course she'd be worried; she's never seen him not snarfle down his food three times faster than anyone else. "Ahhh. Yes. Fine," he says, rolls his eyes at his incoherence -- he sounds like he has an IQ of 40, maybe less -- and sees that Enid and Vivienne are looking from him to Elle and totally laughing at both of them.
For some reason this calms him down a little, and he falls more naturally into the conversation. They've been making fun of their law professors, with an extra special helping for Callahan, and he tells his own stories about getting thrown out of Stromwell's class (although Callahan is still a little raw for him, and he doesn't tell his usual sometimes-hilarious stories of TA'ing for him).
Elle clamors for dessert. Vivienne says, "Oh, Elle, come on, do we really need dessert?" Elle says, "Are you crazy? You know how much you love the bread pudding! Back me up here, Emmett!" Emmett holds up his hands. "Hey. I'm staying out of this. You work it out yourselves." He is grateful Enid and Vivienne are there, actually. It helps him believe nothing has changed. They are friends, enjoying one another's company, with the same easy camaraderie they have always had. Whatever he feels, he isn't going to let it upset, or change, or destroy the precious thing he has.
Enid sides with Vivienne, but Elle wins, which surprises no one, especially since the bread pudding is amazingly good. After a short argument in which Elle successfully strong-arms him into letting her pay "even though really Vivienne should, she's the one who offered you the food," they stroll out of Henrietta's Kitchen, pleasantly sated, and walk down the street, pointing out aesthetically pleasing items in shop windows (Elle and Vivienne) and odd tourist actions (Enid and Emmett). Enid says, "Okay, Vivienne and I are going this way now."
Elle says, "Oh, where are you going?" Because, of course, they are not going towards their apartments near Elle's own. "Ahh... Vivienne's promised to take me shopping," Enid says.
Even Emmett can see what they're trying to do, but he could also have told them this isn't the right ploy; Elle perks up. "Oh, I'd love to come!" she exclaims. Vivienne steps in smoothly. "Yes, let's set up a date for Saturday," she says. "All three of us! And Emmett could even come if he isn't too busy," she snarks mildly, which makes Emmett smile. "That would be awesome. I need a jewelry fix! But tonight Enid and I are looking for... ahh... books. Yes. Children's fantasy books. For Enid's niece. So it wouldn't be interesting to you. At all." (This is, Emmett has to admit, a good save by Enid. Despite Emmett trying valiantly to hook her on his old favorite classics, Elle doesn't seem to be at all interested. Emmett's theory is that she's never had to pretend she's a princess, because she already has all the trimmings.)
"Emmett reads fantasy sometimes--"
"I'm sure Emmett would love to walk you back to your apartment," Enid interposes. "It's, you know, feminist fantasy. With, ah, horses and things. Don't think Emmett would be the right guy for it. Not this time. I'll take him with me next time."
Emmett says gravely, "I think Enid's right -- next time, though, Enid."
As Enid and Vivienne walk away, he hears Vivienne say, "Horses and things?" But he doesn't catch Enid's reply, because he is too busy drinking Elle in. As they are walking, every so often when she thinks he isn't looking, she glances sideways at him through her eyelashes. She takes his hand, which she's done a million times before, but this time makes him tremble a bit.
It's a ten-minute walk, which seems both quite long and much too short. They go into her apartment. Elle tells him firmly that he is not allowed a Red Bull at this hour, but that he may have hot chocolate instead. He points out that it's summer. She makes two hot chocolates anyway. They can't stop grinning.
"Elle," he says, meaning to make another joke, but when she turns to him with that adorable smile and starry eyes, her lips are so soft and sweet and infinitely kissable that instead he leans in the rest of the way and kisses her, the way he's wanted to for the last week, ever since he realized that he loved her. She pulls back, studying him, and for a split second he thinks, what have I done, I've ruined it, and then -- "Emmett," she breathes, her eyes wide like she's just realizing something herself, and kisses him back.
The hot chocolate gets cold before they remember it again.