The weekend should have been a time for Gemma to get some clarity on present circumstances. In a way, it had been. She'd gone out to get a massage, done a little self-care and done a facetime with a couple of her friends back in London. She decided against going out, and just enjoyed her time as best as she could. But Veruca was never far from her thoughts. It felt slightly (or more than) torturous, the amount of times the other woman crossed her mind. More than a few times, she thought about picking up her phone and texting Veruca something funny she'd come across -- but thought better of it. She was busy over the weekend, after all.

After a day on set alone with Luke, she was in better spirits, but of course Monday brought its own challenges. The scene ... she had looked forward to it before, but now felt a flurry of nerves going into Monday. She and Veruca hadn't even talked about their kiss, and then any thoughts of that were interrupted. Gemma wasn't used to feeling nervous around Veruca, but she felt like she wasn't entirely sure where their line was anymore. They'd been playing fast and loose with boundaries already.

She'd arrived early (as she was wont to do), and was too antsy to be sitting alone in her trailer to wait for their scene. So she'd gone wandering, and headed over to video village while they filmed Veruca's scene with the children. The kids were all darling, but watching Veruca interact with them made Gemma feel like her heart had swelled in her chest. It was so domestic, she should probably roll her eyes at herself. Perhaps it just made her connect more to Elizabeth, seeing her basically-wife with all of their, yes their children. Lord, she shouldn't be thinking about Veruca like that. Just Olive ... just Olive.

The experience had left her with a funny feeling as they were eventually called to set later for their scene. She'd buttoned up the blouse she was wearing, though before they got rolling would have to undo that. Gemma chuckled a little to herself as she walked into the bedroom, ignoring as best she could the bundle of nerves going on. She didn't want to dwell on the how it felt to be around Veruca, the good parts or the not-so good parts. All she could try to do was not go crazy.

"Way to start out the week, ey?" Oh god. Gemma almost winced at her terrible commentary in lieu of actually saying something that mattered.

Filming with the kids, while not particularly taxing, had gone off without a hitch. Veruca was in a good mood as they finished up and slightly sorry to see them leave once she remembered what came next.

She wasn't scared to do another romantic scene with Gemma. Any sense of shyness or shame around her should have flown right out the window around the time she was mimicking a climax with the other woman's hand between her thighs, but the stakes were a bit higher now that they'd actually been intimate.

Though not nearly as intimate as she would have liked.

Not having a road map, only Angela's instructions to just "trust your instincts and go for it" hardly helped Veruca think she had any sense of control here, but that was just it, wasn't it?

It was a love scene. They were all about a lack of control and a sick day with nothing to do but your lover well, what could be more freeing than that?

But Veruca wasn't any freer than Olive thought she was. She couldn't help but think she was setting herself for some sort of rude awakening once this was all over. She was on borrowed time and just like Olive, she'd eventually come crashing back down to Earth to face some very unpleasant truths.

"At least there's no crying in this one," she teased. "I wonder if Covergirl is going to see this and give me some sort of sponsorship selling waterproof mascara when this is all over."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear when Angela announced it was time to start rolling. Veruca shared a look with Gemma, searching her eyes to make sure she was ready before giving her what she hoped was an encouraging nod. In a way, Angela had put them in the driver's seat by giving them control of how the scene would go. She trusted their instincts and grasp on their characters would help get where they needed to be and Veruca knew what would help her get into the mood she needed to kick everything off.

Not that it would take much.

"Just... wander around, get ready," she whispered almost conspiratorially, feeling like she'd taken over Angela's job at the moment.

Olive had clearly woken up in a mood that morning and was craving a little adult interaction. She was already hot and bothered but she knew watching Elizabeth get dressed would only make her want her all the more.

"I'll come in when I'm ready for you."

Gemma never looked forward to intimate scenes, and that was only half to do with them usually being with men. They were always very invasive, technical and made her feel a bit more like a robot than any other piece of acting ever did. But then came in Angela, with her free loving ideas and a sense of keeping her actors in control of their scenes, particularly the intimate ones.

Their first one had been a revelation in more ways than one. She had felt free, and in a damn good mood the whole day. Then of course there was the other part of it - where she'd been so wildly turned on she barely knew how to handle herself. It all spilled over into their dinner nights later, when kissing Veruca felt like she was finally having something she'd wanted long before she was willing to admit it. What a hard downfall that had been.

This scene was supposed to be all the more comfortable, at ease with her wife, in a downright giddy mood to be skipping out on responsibilities. Luke would join in eventually, but it would be the last real scene when looked at chronologically that they'd get to play and have fun -- before Elizabeth dug her heels in and ruined everything for a while.

"You should really look into that, you'd make a fortune from this film's endorsement alone." She smiled slightly, her gaze lingering a bit on her hand as she moved her hair before she was looking back to Angela.

Busy work, that was her objective as they got going. For whatever reason, Veruca's whisper earned what felt like goosebumps along her arms. "Yeah yeah," She tried to downplay it with a smirk, but when she'd turned away from her, exhaled slowly to steady herself.

All she'd been able to think about was kissing Veruca again since the moment their lips parted. That night, and admittedly since that night, she'd been unable to get the image of Veruca in her bed out of her mind. She'd tried to tamp it down and use logic to rid herself of the thoughts, but they came flooding back. But this was Elizabeth and Olive, and she'd disappear into them for a while. When I'm ready for you. Good. God.

Turning away from the cameras, Gemma wandered over to the wardrobe and unbuttoned the shirt she wore, letting it hang open. As soon as she heard action, she hurriedly pushed a draw closed and turned back around, making a show of rushing to get her buttons done back up.

Veruca had done a lot of thinking about today's scene the night before. She supposed she should have been focused on Haley and making the most of her last day in town, but her girlfriend seemed to be just as distracted as she was, spending most of her time glued to her phone thanks to some sort of "work crisis" of her own.

It was clear Olive got overwhelmed, even bored sitting at home all day. Veruca had her pegged as a caring, maternal sort. She liked looking after the kids as well as Bill & Elizabeth (well, as much as Elizabeth would allow herself to be looked after anyway) but anyone was bound to go a little stir crazy holding down the fort all on their own. Elizabeth was working, keeping them afloat. Bill was home, but working too, though she had come to realize that meant the pair of them probably had a bit of fun whenever the kids were at school. Barring meetings or writing sessions, Olive could technically have Bill whenever she wanted. That wasn't the case for Elizabeth. She was who she wanted that morning. And really, wasn't Elizabeth who Olive wanted first?

She understood Elizabeth's frustration. She knew she hated her office job. It was patronizing. It was beneath a woman as brilliant as her, but Olive couldn't help but envy her for it on some days. At least she got out of the house and didn't have to spend her days trying to wrangle growing boys and that stupid, piece of junk stove.

Veruca let herself watch Gemma move around, letting herself believe this was her morning routine. It wasn't hard, really. And not just because what she was wearing was similar to things she already had in her closet. Domesticity with Gemma was as easy to fake as anything else. Easier, really.

The fact that it was easy to imagine a life with her should have been some sort of clue, but she didn't have time to think about that now. She let herself watch her for a long while. She let her eyes travel downward to take in the skin her open shirt exposed. She let herself think Gemma rushing around, frenzied and flustered was cute (because it was). Any of those things would have had her ready to pounce. She probably wouldn't have needed any sort of encouragement at all. But the culmination of them is what caused her to march in with a sort of quiet confidence, her pace as brisk as it had been as she strode toward Gemma under the streetlights to close the space between them.

She wanted this to happen. It needed to happen now.

"Make her work for it, Gemma," Angela cautioned softly as Veruca reached for the hem of the shirt she'd just tucked in, a coy expression on her face.

The domestic stuff was always going to be a fun challenge, Gemma had told herself - long before her feelings for Veruca had started to take hold and even longer before they'd done anything about it. What she'd been looking forward to was the jovial nature of this one in particular (until it would sour at the very end) and the general joy that could take hold of a scene like this.

Gemma tried to remember that as they got rolling, and slip deeper into Elizabeth. Gemma was too twisted up, Elizabeth was not. What a weird change of headspace that was. She suddenly found herself wishing for loud bars of Marvin Gaye to take the stress away.

But where Gemma couldn't entirely relate to Elizabeth is where she found her focus. Letting her frustrations play into her annoyance at going to work at a job she hated (something Gemma didn't know much about) but for the people she loved. Elizabeth's resilience was something Gemma admired so much about the woman. She worked her ass off to keep the family afloat while William wrote stories -- that wouldn't see a real monetary success until later.

She felt like there was some tunnel-vision thing happening as soon as Veruca entered the room in earnest. The way she moved towards her made her heart lurch, so easy to recall the way it felt to have that similar experience under a street lamp.

"Hi," She said in a distracted tone as Veruca made her way across the set, busying herself with tucking in her shirt -- which moments later was getting tugged at. She almost didn't hear Angela's direction, she felt more in her zone than she had in a while. "Sweetheart," She huffed in an exasperated tone, halfheartedly trying to dodge around the woman but finding her insistent. What a wild turn on that was. "I have to go." She kept her hands to herself, knowing (both for Elizabeth and for Gemma at present) that touching the other woman would be too much of a distraction. "I'm late." She tried more insistently, the mischievous silence from her partner almost maddening.

Veruca had never liked pet names. She'd wanted to crawl under the floorboards when Haley called her baby in front of everyone on set a few days before but something about hearing Gemma say the word sweetheart made her heart rate spike.

Even if she (technically) wasn't saying it to her.

"I don't care." Veruca's tone was matter of fact, but her cheeky smile was still in place. She reached for Gemma's sides, letting her fingers graze them. It was more of a playful touch than a tease, though there was no denying a certain look in her eyes.

They were going to be together, but...wasn't the build up half the fun? Veruca had, vaguely heard Angela's instructions. Olive was the instigator here. She started it. She was the reason the three of them got carried away in the middle of the day and she'd have to wrestle with that guilt later, but there was no need to worry about that now. Olive wasn't worried about a thing. She knew she'd get Elizabeth to give in, in the end. Veruca just needed to help her figure out how.

"Come on," she said, grabbing hold of Gemma's hips to pull her in closer. "I just took the kids to school..." She bit her lip, leaning in closer to whisper in her ear, "And thought about you the whole way."

Gemma's affection for the people she loved in her life rarely went to little cutesy names. It was there that she felt more like Elizabeth, going for the classics like sweetheart and meaning it on a purely domestic and sweet level than some misogynistic and patronizing one. She fell back on some, now and again, but others remained a mystery to her why they'd ever become popular to begin with. More than anything, she showed her Brit by going for "luv" most of the time. Which carried with it its own issues if she wasn't, for example, in love with the person she said it to.

"Olive." It was a weak attempt at being stern, where she had no trouble being such in various scenes. She could cut through tension with but her name, but this felt different. The pull that this woman had on her ('her' being Elizabeth or Gemma, it really was a toss-up at this point) was undeniable. But saying her name was a valiant attempt to remain on-task, even if it came out miserably weak.

She smiled, amused at the little game they were playing, but still tried to side-step the other woman. Only to be caught by the hips, something that made her warm all over. Gemma couldn't help but wonder if this is how mornings would be with Veruca, each one testing just how much longer they could get the other to stay. Not good to keep thinking that way.

"I should--" She cut herself off, or rather, was cut off by the sound of Veruca's voice in her ear, her breath on her skin and the combination of both with what she said sending a shiver down her spine. "You're incorrigible, you know that?" She meant it in some way to dismiss what she said, but after a moment her hands were sliding over Veruca's hips and squeezing them, pulling her in closer. Her nose brushed against her cheek, her lips close by her ear this time. "You act like you don't think about me every morning."

"Ooh, someone's full of themselves, aren't they?" Veruca shot back. But Elizabeth & Gemma had it right whether they were talking about Olive or Veruca.

Veruca couldn't seem to get Gemma off her mind these day. Her co-star had kind of always been the first thing she thought about when she headed to work because she was who she was most excited to see, but now she was usually her first thought upon waking, especially now that Gemma had started making a few guest appearances in her dreams. She was just glad she hadn't popped up in any while Haley was staying with her over the weekend.

She leaned up, trying for a kiss, grinning even more when she didn't get one. The challenge was part of the thrill at this point. "You said it yourself, you're late," she purred, sliding a palm down Gemma's back, her fingers slowly dancing along the clasp of her bra through her blouse. "You might as well stay home at this point. Besides, I have plans."

"Tell me I'm wrong." She challenged with a small smirk gracing her lips, a brow raised. Oh now she was having fun.

It amazed her how naturally the rest of the shit could fall away as they connected through their characters - in a scene that would be (and indeed was) easy for Gemma to bleed into through Elizabeth. Gemma wondered how true that statement of hers might be. After all, Veruca so often brought her coffee, so surely she must be on her mind some? Even despite their crossing a line together, and everything that happened since then, Gemma still maddeningly grew giddy at the prospect of seeing Veruca. Gemma wished it would have been easy to get rid of that feeling.

As Veruca leaned in, Gemma balked back, a smirk on her lips as she shook her head. "I'm very late." She agreed, her hands sliding around her waist, bunching in the fabric of her shirt as she huffed a little sigh. Herr head spun as she wanted Veruca's fingers to undress her all the more. Dammit. "Tell me about these plans of yours, Miss Byrne." With great difficulty she took a step back, a coy smile on her face as she put an arm's length between them. "I'll weigh my options."

Veruca wavered slightly and not just because Olive knew there was no point in lying to Elizabeth. Not when she knew all her tells even before they'd finished the machine. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that she couldn't hide from Gemma either, that the other woman would somehow see, know just how much she wanted her. She'd certainly given her plenty of evidence the other night.

She stood up a little straighter, using her height to her advantage. "You're wrong," she said cooly. But her (and there was no telling whose) voice shook.

Veruca sometimes wondered how Olive felt about the fact that she could never really, or at least officially, become the second Mrs. Marston. She knew Olive respected Elizabeth enough to never try and do something that could even be misconstrued as taking her place or anything away from her, but she was for all intents and purposes, Bill's wife. And hers too. No mattered how much they pretended she was a widow for the neighbors, Olive was unmarried. A rare, challenging thing in their era.

But it was obvious Olive's last name meant something to her. She wouldn't have given it to her firstborn otherwise. Hearing it now, Veruca was struck by Olive's surname in a different way.

Why was hearing it in a moment like this kind of hot?

There may have been more space between them now, but Olive considered the fact that Elizabeth was willing to listen a small victory.

"Well, Mrs. Marston," she said, her smugness over the fact that she was beginning to relent dripping into her voice. "There are the new costumes Bill bought to consider, but really..." She took a step forward to close the space between them once more, her lips naturally gravitating toward her ear, not just because some things, no matter how much she was in it were easier to say to her than in front of the entire crew, but because it was obvious this was their preferred method of communication, one she knew from experience could help them get exactly where they need it to be.

"I just really want to taste you," she confessed softly, her fingers lightly, agonizingly creeping their way up Gemma's arm. "And if you're here all morning, I'm going to take my time with it. I'm gonna pin you down and I'm not letting you up until you're totally, completely satisfied." She took a step back, giving her an almost chaste smile as she stroked her cheek. "You work too hard, darling. You need to relax."

"Oh." Gemma replied to that bold statement from her counterpart, a devilish smirk gracing her features as the word itself came out in utter amusement. Elizabeth wasn't used to Olive being particularly defiant, but every time she was in various scenes, it was easy thus far for Gemma to play up Elizabeth's surprise and delight. The thick layer of flirtation here was just a bonus ... and maybe kind of hard to see anything but.

Her smile turned downright wicked as she regarded the other woman, all thoughts of work or getting out the door in the next few minutes were utterly lost. Eventually they'd have to pick up the phone and riff on her terrible excuses, but for now -- this was too fun. Gemma allowed Elizabeth to fully enjoy this cat-and-mouse flirtation with her partner.

Even as she used the name, Gemma wondered in a sort of far-off way, if even amongst themselves Olive had taken on a Marston surname. Not officially, sure, nor could it be public, but she wondered. The closeness they felt for each other, enough that Elizabeth would go on to name her only daughter after the woman she loved. What a sentiment it was, when names couldn't officially be shared between them. God, what a romantic Elizabeth pretended not to be.

Her own smug attitude wavered some as Veruca encroached on her space, so Gemma tried to focus more on Olive, and the affect she'd have on Elizabeth. Not the way her own heart fluttered or how her whole body went hot at the mere proximity of the other woman.

The way they whispered to each other, however. Surely that wasn't for the cameras much, was it? Gemma couldn't even help it, the barely audible whimper that pathetically escaped her lips when those words hit. She felt like she'd been felled at the knees. Did the microphones pick that up? The promise that made her head spin so much she needed to steady herself a moment. "Well," She huffed, clearing her throat against how utterly aroused and thick it was. "When you put it like that, I think I might be coming down with something after all."

The space between them just wouldn't do, so she reached forward and tugged on Veruca's skirt by way of closing the space between them. She kissed her cheek, unwilling to go for the lips just yet, and then the side of her neck. The kisses were quick, as she landed one against her ear to whisper again. "Just don't go making big promises you can't follow through on, darling."

The mic may not have heard Gemma's whimper, but Veruca did. Not that the other woman gave her much time to be gloat. Her heart began to pound as she pulled her closer, her hand automatically cupping the back of Gemma's neck as she kissed hers. It was one of her most sensitive spots, the sort that triggered a tingle that shot straight down to her toes.

They were giving as good as they got and Veruca had always thought their characters' dynamic was very much the same. Not many people could stand toe to toe with Elizabeth Marston and tell the tale. Olive was sweet and reserved, yes. But she and Elizabeth shared a certain sort of grit and determination. No one could accuse either of giving up easily, except when it came to each other.

"Have I ever let you down before?" she purred, taking a step back to force them apart again. Getting Elizabeth to give in, not just on the work front, but to actually kiss her had been a little victory for Olive, but she was still in the mood to play.

And so was Veruca.

"Should I call them?" she asked, hips swaying as she made her way toward the bed. She picked up the phone on the nightstand pretending to place a call even though she hadn't touched the dial. "Hello, sorry, Elizabeth can't come in today. She feels terrible." Her lips twitched before she continued, laughter beginning to creep into her voice. "Looks it too, she's puking everywhere, honestly it's coming out of both ends..."

No matter what had gone on between Gemma and Veruca, being back in this intimate space with the other woman felt incredibly difficult to find her own line of reality. Usually Gemma loved when her character overtook a lot of her decisions; when she felt so in touch with her character that the lines came naturally as if they were from her own mind. Not at all helped, naturally, by the feel of Veruca's skin beneath her lips.

This scene in particular had made Gemma wonder before, and now again, how Elizabeth and Olive carried on their 'marriage' beyond William's death. While a sad thought of course, something had to be said for the women living the rest of their lives together, caring for each other and their children together. She wondered about their dynamic after William was gone, how openly they might have allowed themselves to be in love even just in front of their children, or if the oppression of the times kept them behind even their own closed doors. Maybe she'd talk to Angela about doing a whole sequel about their adventures.

"No, I suppose you haven't." She countered with her head tilting to the side, her gaze fixed on the woman as she moved about the room. God, that voice she put on. It was unreal levels of sexy.

Gemma loved this game, whatever it was, and so did Elizabeth, she'd gather. At first, Gemma rolled her eyes as Veruca picked up the phone and pretended to dial, but as she began, she let her eyes go wide. "What?!" She laughed, racing over to the other woman in an attempt to snatch the phone away from her. "Overshare, Olive! That's terrible!"

"I know, I'm awful," she agreed with a sage nod. She looked up at Gemma through her eyelashes, her voice dropping an active as she added. "You'll have to punish me for it later."

Everyone had made some sort of joke about being "punished" to a lover, Veruca included. It was usually just that, a joke, but it really wasn't in Olive's case. Soon Veruca's mind was racing with (very vivid) scenarios as to what would happen after she'd given Elizabeth a bit of cheek and was surprised by how much they made her temperature rise.

She found herself wondering, and not for the first time, how Gemma felt about the more kinky aspects of their characters' sex lives and if she indulged in them, on any level, herself. Though certainly not boring, Veruca had always been fairly vanilla, though not opposed to trying new things. Somehow she knew, even though the pair hadn't ever really touched each other, that she'd be up for anything, kinky or not, that Gemma had to throw at her. It wasn't just that she wanted her. She trusted her. Something about her just made her feel bold. The moment their lips touched a few nights before, Veruca had felt free.

She dangled the phone just out of Gemma's reach with a certain gleam in her eyes. They both knew she had a few inches on her. She could have kept it away from her if she really wanted to, but she wanted her to have it. Just like she wanted to force her into her space to get it.

"Oh, be careful what you wish for." She countered before thinking twice about what she would say. There was no calculating, no taking pause to decide what coy thing she was going to say. Gemma just answered naturally, and it felt good to lay into the playful nature of their scene.

But of course, such a suggestion gave her heart palpitations. The imagery that filled her head came on so sudden and strong, she almost wanted to close her eyes just to luxuriate in the idea of what the two of them could get up to on their own. Theirs, not Olive and Elizabeth. Gemma had already somewhat painfully gone through the ideas of what it would be like just to be with Veruca. Add to it experimenting with some other kinks, well, that was almost too much.

Gemma liked things a certain way, she had her own preferences and even moves, but she never liked to get set in her ways. She'd discovered some particularly excellent sexual experiences because of partners who liked to push some boundaries. Honestly that was getting so far down a path she shouldn't be thinking on, it was all she could do not to think about sex with Veruca at all - even the most boring sort, she suspected, would be other worldly.

Gemma narrowed her eyes as Veruca kept the phone out of her reach, her hand coming to rest against her side, gripping onto her as she reached up high. "You are such a brat." She announced, exasperated but with a grin. "You think I can't get it?" She hummed the word, her hands gripping both of her hips then and brushing her fingertips just under the hem of her blouse to touch her skin. All the while, her lips just barely ghosted over her neck, not-quite touching. "You know if you want me to stay, I'm going to have to make that phone call."

She wasn't prepared for the feeling of Gemma's fingers on her bare skin. She'd had teases of it before, during the scene with Luke, but the other woman had never touched her stomach before. Veruca was ashamed at how quickly her brain scrambled to slow down and try and commit it to memory. Yet another experience to file away and piece together and a bigger picture, a scenario to (slightly shamefully) visit in the back of her mind, one that would let her know what being with Gemma might feel like.

She lowered the phone ever so slightly, her lips slowly twisting into a smirk.

"Kiss me," she murmured, more of a direction than a request because her implications were clear. Olive was willing to give Elizabeth what she wanted as long as she got what she wanted first. And judging by just how steady her gaze was on her co-star's mouth, it was something Veruca desperately wanted too.

Today's scene was supposed to have a distinct difference to the last scene they'd done like it. This was where their domesticity was to shine through, where the comfort of long-time lovers played into a comfort level and, later, the kink they all had begun to enjoy. What alarmed Gemma a little - at least at the back of her mind, was how natural it felt for her to touch Veruca, beyond just trying to do what she assumed Elizabeth might do. Touching her skin made her want to touch more, but restraint was crucial for the beginning of the scene.

"Kiss you." She repeated with a sigh, her head tilting to the side as she narrowed her eyes, playfully sussing out the woman before her. Leaning forward, she kept her hands braced against her sides and came close to her lips, but when time came to kiss her, she gave her a peck, so quick it was almost nothing at all.

Gemma smugly smirked at her smarmy response to that, but she couldn't deny the rapid beat of her heart. She'd barely pulled away at all, and instead moved back in to give her a proper kiss this time. She hadn't even planned it that way, but as she pressed her lips back to hers, she couldn't help herself.

As soon as Veruca scowled, opening her mouth to protest being cheated out of a proper kiss, Gemma's mouth was back on hers again. She grinned into it. It took a split second for her to pull her back in again, even closer than she had been before.

For a moment she tried to compare it to the kiss they shared the night before. On some level she wanted proof they could put what had happened behind them. Was it different to the catalog of kisses Olive and Elizabeth had built up already? Was it them? Had they been able to successfully separate their characters and whatever this was?

But she couldn't think. Not really because it was just like the other night. When Veruca was kissing Gemma, it was hard to focus on anything else, even the fact that she probably shouldn't and that when she was meant to, she probably shouldn't like it so much.

Soon she wasn't just playing with Gemma's shirt, she was pawing at it, the material bunching up under her hands as she tried to touch her and simultaneously keep her close.

She rested their foreheads together when she needed to come up for air, nudging her nose against hers playfully.

"Go on, call," she said, still slightly breathless, her lips redder than they had been moments before as she handed over the phone. "Before we get carried away."

Though unbeknownst to Gemma, Veruca wasn't the only one mulling over just how this kiss might compare to others. She knew that she was greedy with it, taking a proper, long one instead of a more chaste kiss - or even one in the middle of the two. She wondered if it was Elizabeth's eagerness, or the pull that Gemma felt to Veruca that made the kiss turn to a downright searing one.

She knew there was some restraint left in her here, kissing her felt good but she couldn't allow herself to get lost in it. In theory. The night before, kissing Veruca felt like she needed that more than she needed breathing. She felt like the only thing that existed were the two of them under the lamp light for a time. Though Gemma was aware of the cameras and few crew members now, it was hard not to get lost in how good it felt to kiss her again.

Gemma felt her lungs burn but ignored it. Her head spun as her lips parted and her tongue swept just gently over Veruca's lower lip as she pulled at her shirt.

When they came up for air, a grin burst across her face. She rolled her eyes, but knew how flushed she looked. "Oh before then, hm? You've ruined my ironed shirt, think that's a good excuse?" With some effort, she pushed herself away from the other woman and went to flop over the bed, reaching for the phone as she settled herself on her stomach.

"I still like my story better," she shot back cheekily. She watched Gemma plop down on the bed, pacing the room for a few moments in an attempt to keep herself distracted and burn off a bit of her adrenaline. She looked like Gemma had right before the final kiss in the final moments of their big scene with Luke, like a predator stalking it's prey.

She hadn't realized she was chewing her thumbnail until she took her hand away from her mouth and saw a chunk of her red nail polish missing. She swallowed hard, then came up behind her.

It was ridiculous, really. What the sight of Gemma on a bed an image her mind had conjured up more than once ,was doing to her. She couldn't help but reach out and touch any more than Olive could. She let Gemma start talking before she slid her fingers along the back of her legs, enjoying the view of her snug pencil skirt. It was a feather light touch, a definite tease, but as she slid her fingertips back down and started up again, they began to dip under the hem of her skirt.

"You would." Gemma chuckled, dialing fake numbers on the rotary phone and clearing her throat like she was going to be giving quite the performance once her boss answered the phone. "Hey, hi..." She stumbled a little, making a face as her gaze naturally followed the other woman around the room. She felt her throat go dry, but everything else in her felt like she was burning up.

Gemma had the sudden yet powerful thought that she really liked being watched by Veruca like that. Olive to Elizabeth, yes of course. But still. She tilted herself a bit to the side, propping up on an elbow to fully be able to watch Veruca stalk her way towards her. For a moment, she forgot she was supposed to say anything at all.

"Sorry, yeah, I just woke up feeling ... terrible." She huffed, a wide grin on her face as she attempted to not completely melt into Veruca's touch -- and ignore the shiver that raced up her spine. "No, I don't think I'll be able to come in at all..." She glanced over at Veruca, shaking her head like that would warn her off. Even if the look in her eyes was anything but a warning at all.

Veruca really didn't need any more encouragement. If anything, she was desperately trying to reign herself in, but how could she not keep going when Gemma looked at her like that? She was still afraid of going too far, more for Gemma's sake and comfort level than appearing desperate or weird in front of anyone watching (it was hard to remember that this was a scene, or at least something done for other people's benefit), but she couldn't stop remembering their walk home, Gemma's confession suddenly playing on a insistent loop.

I've been wanting that for ages.

Knowing that her touch would probably been welcomed if she'd just neglected to answer her stupid phone made Veruca's current anguish even worse. Her fingers stalled for a moment as she gathered her nerve, weighing the pros and cons of pushing the envelope just a little bit further, of sliding her hand up and under her skirt. She chickened out, but she did do the next best thing, she let her hand graze her ass through her clothing barely batting an eyelash as she let her teeth sink into her lower lip.

Perhaps Gemma had been too forthcoming all those nights ago, when it felt like they could tell each other anything and the world lay open at their feet. It was some overly romantic notion (horribly), where she had allowed herself to forget about circumstances of significant others and scenes yet to film. In those moments after Luke had left especially, it was just Gemma and Veruca in her mind, everything else just ... faded away.

This scene threatened to make her feel the same way again. She tried to make herself more aware of the cameras and the intent of the scene, but all of that just kind of faded into background as she wanted to laugh and play and love on Veruca. It was great for the scene of course, capturing a frivolity that the audience would get to see some of here and there. But it felt real, and therein lied a problem.

Gemma's breath hitched just slightly as she felt Veruca's fingers under her skirt, her eyes closing for a second as though she could make everyone else disappear. It was shameful how much she wanted Veruca to touch her, how much she longed for it. But probably (really very) best that Veruca's hand moved over her clothes the next second later. As she leveled her gaze at the woman, her eyes widened a bit as a bigger grin took hold of her features. She wanted more, and thankfully so did Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, yeah, I just can't come in. Bye." She hung up the phone, barely even making it to the hook before she was closing the distance between herself and the other woman. She slid easily on top of her, bracing her arms on either side of Veruca as she captured her lips in a deep kiss.

The air was charged between them. Veruca was expecting something to happen once Gemma hung up the phone but she wasn't expecting something so quickly.

She let out a little squeal that was half surprise/half delight as she found herself pinned to the bed, though her eyes darkened as she allowed herself to take in the sight of the woman above her.

Her kisses were undeniably passionate, but unhurried. The idea that Olive and Elizabeth were supposed to have all day to themselves still somewhere in the back of her mind. She remembered, vaguely that the same wasn't exactly true for Gemma and herself. Someone would stop them eventually. She knew that they'd given Angela more than enough already. Veruca had never second guessed a single take she'd done with Gemma, not even their very first one.

But she allowed herself to relax. She wasn't even going to scold herself for enjoying this, not yet because what she'd told Gemma before they'd kissed was true. Acting was her safe space. Acting helped her be bold, even though she had been plenty so under that street lamp. So maybe she couldn't kiss Gemma in real life. She could do it now. She had too, really.

Nobody had to know that it wasn't really a chore.

"Mmm," she purred eventually, smiling up at her during a little break to catch their breath, pressing her lips against the other woman's palm. They'd always been good at kissing, but they'd only gotten better with practice on screen and off. And rolling around together was certainly more comfortable now than it had been on that hard floor.

It was too easy to relax. To give in. So she did, eventually flipping them over to surprise Gemma and give her a taste of her own medicine.

It felt impossible to Gemma that anyone witnessing the two of them, anyone just outside the room even wouldn't feel the kinetic energy that swirled around them. If such energy had a visual, she might assume it would alight the room with the glow of it.

Gemma wanted Veruca, and that was the almost painful truth that she couldn't escape, even as she tried to put Elizabeth and Olive before their actual selves. This felt too good, kissing her and rolling around on the bed with her, smiling like they'd done this a million times -- all the while knowing that she'd never actually touched her. It added a thrill of restraint to what they were doing, almost as though it were forbidden. And it was, on some level. But there was that ever-growing cockiness at the back of her mind that made her want to prove how good this was all the more. How good she was, long before she could actually get intimate with Veruca.

Eventually Luke would be called in, they'd have to stop and then resume enough for him to come play. They'd get costumes again, the rope would come out... "Fuck," She gasped in a quiet breath, her cheeks pink and chest heaving from adrenaline and lack of proper breathing. Kissing her was more important than filling her lungs anyway.

Her whole body seemed to flush hot first with the sound that Veruca made, second with the unbelievable sweetness of her kissing her hand. Why did that strike her so hard? Her temperature rose even still as she found herself on her back, her skirt inhibiting her some so she couldn't welcome the other woman between her legs, dammit. Though... probably for the best.

"You don't need to pin me, darling, I already agreed to stay." She said somewhat cheekily, as she lifted her head not to kiss her lips, but instead to slowly drag open-mouthed kisses along the column of her throat.

"I know I don't need to. But I want to."

It was a statement that could be applied to just about everything Veruca was doing.

Her breath hitched as Gemma's lips made their way down her throat, her hips pressing into the other woman's as she reached down to undo the top button of her blouse.

Veruca didn't need to get undressed. Angela hadn't said anything about either of them showing any skin, something Veruca usually avoided unless she thought it was necessary.

It kind of felt like it was, but not for the story's sake.

She wanted to undress for Gemma. She wanted her to see her, all of her and Olive really didn't factor into the equation.

But Angela called cut before she'd even managed to undo the first button. She saved her, really. But it definitely didn't feel that way in the moment. Veruca's eyes flashed with something akin to anger before she pulled back quickly, untangling herself from Gemma like the other woman had burned her. She wasn't entirely sure she hadn't. Her body was unpleasantly warm as their director's praise went in one ear and out the other.

Olive slid her way back into the driver's seat once costumes and Luke made their way into the mix. She couldn't help noticing they needed more guidance when Luke was around, but things went smoothly, all things considered. They finished up earlier than expected, but Veruca was still tired and very eager to get home.

She did her best to avoid contact with Gemma when they weren't shooting, afraid her eyes would give away just how little she'd been pretending.

She'd changed quickly and headed over to her chair to grab her things and head out, her stomach sinking a little when everyone else seemed to have arrived at the same time she did.

She quickly grabbed hold of the strap of her messenger bag. She hadn't clipped it shut, so the sudden motion caused a few of it's contents to spill it. They were nothing too embarrassing, just a tube of lipstick, the receipt for that morning's coffee, a pair of reading glasses with black cat eyed frames and a thick paperback entitled Understanding DISC Theory.

Since Luke was closest to her, he knelt down to help her pick up her things, smiling as he got a look at her book.

"Look at you, brainiac."

Veruca blushed a bit, gently taking her book back and nodding a thank you. "I haven't finished it. I thought I would before I got started but it's really dry. Interesting, but science just isn't really my thing. They have a test though, in the back. You can find out what your type is."

She held open the book to give Luke a peek. "I haven't gotten around to taking it either." She brightened suddenly as an idea struck her. "We should. We all should." She turned to face Gemma. "You guys can come over my house and we'll make a night of it. I'll even make dinner."

Luke smirked. "Free food? I'm sold."

Overwhelming was a word that seemed most fitting for how the rest of the shoot went. It seemed for the longest time, her attention couldn't be diverted by anything. Veruca above her, beneath her, whatever the positioning happened to be, she wanted more her whole body seemed to beat with the drum of desire that was entirely her own. Elizabeth was not home much of the time.

They really were lucky that Angela had called cut when she had. Gemma's eyes had been so transfixed on the other woman, and she wasn't even sure she was breathing. She wanted to see her, she wanted to touch her, and the aforementioned that made her whole body sing with scorching heat: she wanted to taste her. It was maddening to keep drawing that thick line between them.

Thank god for Luke, really. As frustrating as it was to have him there, he was the buffer she'd needed. As she found herself tied up between them, just down to barely anything and then for the embarrassing interruption (honestly, who just walked into someone's house??) - it all went as well as it could.

By the time she had changed and went off to gather her things, she had mostly cooled down. At least she had until she spotted Veruca gathering her things as she went off to get hers. She came in as Luke was teasing her over something, so she couldn't exactly keep to herself as she looked over to see what they were on about. "Oh brilliant, you're far beyond me with DISC theory." She chuckled, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

Ah, the idea of going over to Veruca's place was ... problematic. There were a bunch of reasons why she should make an excuse to go somewhere else. Maybe take Rebecca up on that drink. Something. Anything. "That sounds like fun, actually." She said instead. God dammit. But Luke was coming, and he had already proven himself to be a really good buffer.

"Shall we?" She said once she'd gathered her things, ignoring the nerves as she headed out with the two of them. As they moved off, Luke's phone chimed once, and then again. "You're blowing up over there, mate." She said, chuckling as he started to scroll through. "Oh shit. I completely forgot I've got my buddy's birthday party tonight in the city. I thought it was next week." Gemma narrowed her eyes at him, trying to decide if he was trying to do some sort of lame set-up or if he was being genuine. She honestly couldn't tell.

"Oh, we can reschedule if you like?" She said, but Luke waved his hand in the air and kissed her cheek by way of farewell. "You two carry on without me. Do all the prep work and learn about the test so you can explain it to me." Luke was the master of the quick exit, wasn't he? It seemed like ten seconds later, he was already gone and getting into his car. "Well." She half laughed the word, shaking her head. "Do you still want to...?"

The second her co-stars agreed to come over, Veruca went into planning mode. Just as she was trying to sort out what she had in her fridge for dinner, Luke backed out and she nearly did too.

There was a reason Gemma coming back to her place was a bad idea even before Veruca found out her girlfriend was already there. She doubted practicing restraint would be any easier after the day they'd had, but she wanted Gemma to come over. Besides, suddenly taking back her invitation wouldn't just be rude, it would signal that something was up to Luke & Gemma alike.

"Let's do it," she said, forcing a smile. "Have fun at your party, Luke. And don't get too plastered, we're not shooting the scenes of you wasting away yet."

After Gemma and Veruca exchanged details and settled on a time to meet up, she headed to the store to pick up supplies now that she was cooking for one person rather than two. She had enough time for a quick shower (which didn't wind her down from post Gemma excitement as much as it normally would have since she was coming right back into her orbit) and a change of clothes.

When she opened the door to greet Gemma, the smell of garlic and tomatoes from the chicken dish she was making wafted out from behind her.

God, she hoped Gemma didn't ask her what it was called.

Her blouse was pushed up to the elbows in an effort to keep cool and tucked into a pair of tan slacks.

"Here, let me take your coat," she said, immediately having a flash of one of their more domestic scenes when Olive took Elizabeth's coat and greeted her with a kiss after work. Veruca had loved it at the time. It was so wholesome, but nothing she'd ever seen before in a period film even though people like her (and Gemma and Luke) had always existed. Elizabeth was bringing home the bacon. Olive was the dutiful housewife, a radical notion even before Bill was taken into consideration.

But there was no kiss this time around and Veruca busied herself with putting Gemma's coat up in a side closet.

"You said you liked chicken, right? Here, sit," she said gesturing to the sofa. She was in the same sort of flustered state Gemma had pretended to be in earlier that day. Dinner wasn't quite done and she needed to get back to it.

The apartment had an open floor plan with no walls separating the sitting area and the kitchen so she was still able to talk when she got back to her pan.

Since her stay was only temporary, Veruca hadn't really bothered putting many personal touches in her flat, not wanting to have to do too much to get it back to the way the owner left it when it was time to go, but there was a small stack of paperbacks on the coffee table, a second pair of reading glasses sitting on top as well as a single photo in a silver frame.

It wasn't of Haley.

Young Veruca was in a bit of an awkward stage, gangly with slightly defeated posture because being the tallest girl in school when you were still a tween was bound to do a number on anyone's self confidence. Her hair was much longer than the pixie cut she preferred to keep it in between projects these days and her arms were wrapped around an elderly, but still striking woman in an impeccably tailored Chanel suit.

Veruca was still convinced her grandmother dressed even better than she did.

"I didn't buy that," she announced suddenly, nodding toward a poster she'd taped up near the television. She'd forgotten another personal touch lying around. It was a print of the Wonder Woman logo, probably sold in one of those rolled up tubes and meant for a kid's bedroom.

"My cousin sent it to me when I got the part. I think she thought I was actually playing Wonder Woman, which..." She turned off the burners, smiling as she turned around to face Gemma. "Sorry to disappoint, but it seemed right to bring it with me and put it up."

She poured them both a drink then brought Gemma's over before sitting down on the sofa. "For inspiration."

So they were going to do this thing after all. When she'd asked the question, Gemma wasn't honestly sure which answer she wanted. Both had pros and cons. Going there on her own ... the shitty thing was that she wanted alone time with Veruca. She was doing well in keeping herself on good behavior ... well, she had been until their scene earlier in the day and how good it felt to touch her and to be touched. Even if not really. Being alone with her now would prove a tricky challenge. Just a few nights before, there was nothing Gemma wanted more than to go home with her. She supposed it was probably a good thing they didn't, all things considered, but it still stung with the dream of what if.

Going home had proved a good idea for Gemma. She'd showered and changed into slacks and a simple white blouse letting her hair air-dry so it had slightly more of a wave to it. Gemma would like to say that the time apart had given her time to reflect and calm herself down, but the anticipation of going to Veruca's place colored everything she did. So she made a pep-talk out of it. Gemma was going to her friend's house for dinner. Simple enough. They would have good conversation because they always did. They'd take the test and talk about that. They'd have dinner. By no means would she, should she think about kissing the other woman -- or anything beyond that. She could do it, they both could.

Upon arrival, she slung her own bag over her shoulder after she'd given the other woman her coat. "I love that top," She said with a smile, marveling at the fashion choices Veruca always made. "It smells so good in here." She half-sighed, the aroma from the kitchen making her stomach growl. Good, she thought. It would be a good distraction to eat. "I'm not picky at all, chicken is great."

Gemma reached into her bag and put a bottle of wine on the counter as she followed Veruca in. Her mother had always told her to never arrive to someone's house empty-handed.

She wandered around the open space, taking in the decor of someone else, but noticing the little things that she had to peg for Veruca. "Mmhm, of course. Your cousin." She winked at the other woman with a smirk, taking her seat on the sofa. "I think you could definitely pass off for an Amazon, though. Tall, and I think you've got a bit of warrior in you." It reminded Gemma, almost suddenly, of one of Olive's lines. I see you in everything you do. Hell did she relate to that so strongly that she swallowed hard before accepting the drink. "Thank you."

"So we're in for it with this test, are we? How do I win the test? That's really what I'm in for."

"I'm serious! I don't even...seriously, I was such a Wonder Woman neophyte before this. I just knew she had a cute outfit and silver bracelets."

"You can't win," she said with a laugh, her cheeks still a bit warm from Gemma's compliments. "But we are kind of in for it. The more I read, the more I feel like DISC theory is needlessly complicated. I guess that's why nobody gave a shit about it." She smirked, hoping Gemma picked up on her reference before continuing. "It's just... here." She grabbed the paperback off the table, then reached for her glasses a second later, the cat eyed frames a pretty good compliment to her 50's era top (that she was honestly planning to wear more often now that it had gotten Gemma's seal of approval).

She'd taken her contacts out for the day to give her eyes a rest and there wasn't much point to putting them back in. She slid closer and held the book between them so Gemma could get a better look. "It's not like a regular personality test where you pick A, B, or C then figure out your tally. You have these little groups of four statements and you have to pick the one that's the most like you, then the one that's the least like you." She smirked. "But I mean, I guess it makes sense that Bill wants two of everything."

"I remember hearing something vaguely of the internet losing their shit when she got pants a couple years back." Gemma said with an eye-roll, knowing they'd likely have plenty of internet backlash as (mostly young men) were want to get all up in arms about any little thing.

"Well. I like winning." She huffed, a grin spread across her face as she looked over at Veruca. It was so hard not to take notice of how much she liked spending time with Veruca, and how, even with everything that was going on, her mood lifted considerably whenever she was around her. That wasn't a normal happenstance for Gemma. She didn't want to give that feeling up, no matter how selfish that might make her in the end.

Those glasses. Gemma watched the other woman, her heart beating a little faster as she noted how unbelievably cute those glasses were on her. She found herself staring as she pulled the book open, just utterly transfixed for a moment or two longer than she should have been.

She only managed to look away when Veruca looked up at her, clearing her throat as she looked at the book instead. "Oh this is elaborate, isn't it?" She reached for the book, unintentionally (actually) brushing her fingertips over Veruca's. She snorted a laugh at Veruca's joke, nodding as her grin lingered. "I hope you realize I take these things very seriously."

"When is the internet not pitching a fit about something?" Veruca said dryly, though she softened when she considered something else. "Olive would have been thrilled though."

Veruca shook her head at Gemma's competitive streak, but her smile (a somewhat permanent fixture whenever the other woman was around) stayed in place. "If your biggest trait isn't dominance I'm going to be deeply shocked."

She flexed her fingers a bit, hoping it would help chase the tingling feeling Gemma's had left behind away. "We could just keep it between us, I guess. Write down our answers on a piece of paper and work on our scores which, I think we might even need a calculator to work out the percentages so...thanks again, Bill." She shot Gemma a rueful smile. "Want me to bring our plates over to the couch? If I have to do math I want to be able to reward myself with carbs."

"That... is a very fair point," She agreed, gesturing with her hand as though that would stop her fingertips from tingling from their contact. This would be a long night, Gemma concluded, exhaling before taking a sip of her drink. "She would, wouldn't she?" Gemma's tone was a fond one, as it always was when thinking about Olive in particular. She'd really had developed such respect for the woman.

"Oh really. Well we'll just see, won't we?" She grinned, her brow arching at the other woman. This all felt tinged with danger already, but she ignored that as best as she could.

Gemma made a face as soon as Veruca mentioned a calculator. "God, Math. Yes we'll need carbs and probably more to drink if we're going to crunch some numbers." Though ... alcohol was probably not a very good idea. "Here," Gemma bent to grab in her bag, pulling out a notebook and pen. "I always have these handy."

Veruca smirked as she looked at the notebook and pen she'd been given, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Forget Wonder Woman. Are you sure you're not Lois Lane?"

The coffee table was big enough for each of them to have their own little space to eat and work, though they would kind of have to keep coming back together to take a look at the test since they only had one book between them.

Still proud of her little superhero joke (because she could honestly count the ones she did know about on one hand), she smiled as went about fixing their plates. Dinner was nothing elaborate, but she was confident it was good. She'd made the chicken dish a few months before and it turned out great so she hadn't strayed from what she'd done then this time around. She put the chicken on a bed of rice, then added a bit of sauteed zucchini to each plate.

She didn't eat right away. Veruca ripped out a piece of paper from Gemma's notebook and started drawing a chart to make her life easier. There was plus column was for statements she agreed with, a minus for the ones she didn't. She pulled her phone out of her pocket in preparation for math, too.

Gemma wasn't the only one taking this seriously. Veruca was precise, right down to her tiny, looped, undeniably feminine handwriting, though she set her pen aside once she was set up to eat a little first.

"Why do I feel like we're about to do homework?" she asked, sipping her wine before starting to cut up her chicken. "And Luke's that kid whose gonna ask us to copy tomorrow."

"Lois is an absolute babe, so I will take that." She offered a cheeky grin in reply.

In the time that Veruca had gone off to the kitchen, Gemma removed her shoes and leaned back onto the couch, flipping through the book. She smiled, wondering over how much Veruca might have sat in this very spot to attempt to read the thick book full of ... well, pretty dull scientific theory between the interesting bits.

She thanked Veruca as she brought over the meal, taking a bite right away to ease the rumbling in her stomach (she always forgot to eat before leaving set). "Oh, this is excellent." She said immediately, before taking another bite.

How was Gemma supposed to focus on the task at hand, when Veruca was sitting next to her, looking so unbelievably cute? She watched her for a moment, a soft smile on her face as she drew her lines so cleanly before getting writing. It took her a full moment or two longer, to realize she hadn't even started on the test herself.

"I think because we are, and because he is." She laughed, shaking her head a little as she turned to her own notebook. Gemma clicked her pen a couple of times, spinning it in her fingers as she read along -- old habits. "I hope we don't find out some harsh truths about ourselves."

Veruca beamed when Gemma complimented her cooking, then decided to follow her lead and get more comfortable on the couch, adjusting one of the oversized throw pillows so it didn't dig into her back.

"Of course we're going to find out some harsh truths about ourselves. You never get the result you want, even on those stupid Buzzfeed quizzes." Which, she was embarrassed to admit she indulged in but didn't everyone when they were mind numbingly bored? She'd found out what Spice Girl was based on her fall dessert choices on set only two days before. "You think you're Beyonce but then they give you like, Clay Aiken and it shouldn't bother you, but nobody wants to be Clay Aiken so you're annoyed for like ten minutes, then you take another one."

She was quiet for a few minutes. Veruca had actually attempted the test a few times before, but usually gave up a few questions in because she had a habit of forgetting she needed two answers to every question and got frustrated with all the starting and stopping.

She and Gemma did pretty well sharing the book between them once she grabbed that morning's coffee cup and used it to weigh down one of the pages to keep the book open for them. She was usually militant about keeping her books pristine, with nary a stain or creased page in sight, but desperate times called for desperate measures and she honestly wasn't that fond of this one.

"See, this test is stupid," she announced suddenly, pointing her pen at the book accusatorily. "In some of these groups I don't relate to any of these statements at all. How am I supposed to pick which best suits me? And some of these...how am I supposed to know if people respect me? I'm not other people."

This whole vibe of the evening was indeed two women, friends, spending time together. Innocent as that felt, Gemma couldn't help but feel something ... different about it. Sitting on her couch, both of them with their paper in hand and a book passed between them, it felt as though there was a domesticity to it. She wondered if comfortable nights at home with Veruca might feel the same way. Gemma kind of assumed so. She felt a pang of longing out of nowhere, just thinking about it.

"Oh god, not Clay Aiken. Is this drawing up some bad memories for you? Tell me, lay all your trauma here. This is a safe space." She chuckled some, nudging Veruca's knee with her own.

Even settling into silence with the other woman felt, well, comfortable. She smiled to herself, spinning her pen as she considered each question. She didn't want to just go with her gut-instinct, instead preferring to ponder each one and how they might fit best (or worst) with her.

Gemma was writing down a line when Veruca burst out with her frustration. She raised her eyes, smiling as she put her pen down in her notebook. "I respect you, and I'm people. So I'd say a definite affirmative on that one, luv."

"Thanks, but..." Veruca stumbled over her words a bit, trying to shake off just how good the other woman's reassurances felt. She craved Gemma's respect more than most. "Well, you know what I mean. People enjoy your company, people this, people that. I mean, I assume people like me but doesn't everyone kind of assume that? Why are other people's perceptions going into my personality test?"

Despite her complaining, Veruca actually managed to finish her test this time around. Calculating her score was a bit of a nightmare but once she'd given her totals one last look over, she wrinkled her nose. "Oh, fuck off, Marston."

She sat her glasses down on the table, rubbing her eyes a bit. "I'm like 68% steady. I barely have any influence, a little dominance but most of the rest of my total is compliance which...."

She wrinkled her nose again. "Who wants to be compliant? Isn't that just another word for sheep?" She reached for her wineglass, shaking her head as she took a sip. "I demand a recount."

And she wasn't entirely sure she was joking.

Gemma had never been the kind of person who gave off compliments just to say them or fill the space. If she said something that complimented even her best of friends, it came from a very genuine place. She always felt it meant more, knowing that it actually came from a non placating place. "I suppose it's even harder in our business, ey? You never know if someone is just trying to get something a little further from your influence." Sometimes the life of an actor could indeed be a lonely one, no matter how fulfilling the work was or how personable someone could be. Perhaps that was part of why she felt her connection so immediate and so strong with Veruca. They got each other in a way that still surprised her.

Busy calculating her own score, she snorted a laugh at Veruca's outburst. "You should really lead with that next time we see Luke." She grinned, absentmindedly biting at her lower lip as she regarded the other woman.

"I think steady is a good thing! It means you're solid, reliable. You can be counted on." She said sincerely, but nodded a moment later, her lips pursed in consideration. "Dunno what to tell you about the compliance though, that's shit." She teased, laughing to herself as she went back to her totals.

"Well. Fuck off is right." She made her own face, rolling her eyes as she handed off the paper to the other woman where she'd circled: 47% Dominance "My second highest is influence ... which, is this all supposed to mean I'm just a big energetic bully? I don't like it." She said with a little scowl, reaching for her drink then. "You know me well though, you called it."

"Well I don't think that'll be a problem. According to Professor Marston my influence is like 8%," she joked. But she knew exactly what Gemma meant. Show business was hardly the most honest sort, nor was it filled with earnest people. It made the fact that she'd been given a co-star (let alone two) she actually liked, something akin to a miracle.

But finding someone she clicked with as well as Gemma would have been one under any circumstances.

She'd never been around someone she liked so much, so quickly before. It would have been a pleasant surprise for anyone, but it was especially one for a woman who needed a little extra time to get comfortable around people in any scenario. Veruca liked to gather her bearings but she really couldn't do that when Gemma was around, something both appealing and increasingly frustrating.

"I don't mind steady," she said with a nod because she honestly agreed with it. She had always been calm, mature and reliable, strong in her own quiet way. She honestly saw Olive the same way. Compliance was just...pathetic and almost impossible to spin as a good thing even though her total wasn't that high in that department.

Veruca smirked, pleased and with it, smug that she'd read Gemma right. "Influence is good though! It means you're charming, charismatic. You inspire people to do better." Her co-star certainly pushed her to do better on the acting front, though it wasn't really an attempt to impress her most days so much as one to keep up. Veruca meant what she said the night of the kiss when she said Gemma was a force of nature. Gemma had more than charisma. She had a presence that was impossible to ignore.

Veruca knew dominance didn't always mean dominance People could have assertive, dominant personalities but given the Marstons'...proclivities and what they'd been getting up to earlier that day, she couldn't help but wonder if the other woman's result meant she was dominant in the bedroom. It was probably silly. Veruca's result was off. She was hardly some passive, compliant pillow princess when she was with a lover (yet another reason to be offended) but she couldn't help where her mind went. And how much it enjoyed staying there.

She drank some more wine in an effort to calm down. "So I'm getting two things out of this," she said after a beat of intense eye contact. "We're completely different. And completely perfect to play who we're playing."

"I think you can be very influential when you want to be." Gemma countered, realizing a bit too late how suggestive that might sound. Oh well.

If there were a dozen shallow friends out there to every one true one, Gemma liked to think that she had a good handful of people she truly trusted with everything she was. She wondered how it was that Veruca had so quickly become someone she adorerd, someone she confided in and wanted to know all the more. She'd known it for a while, but it was so far beyond usual attraction. That made whatever this was, their connection, twice as scary as it ever would have been otherwise.

"Oh yes, please keep complimenting my charm and charisma, I need a good ego buffing." She laughed, but it was mainly by way of deflecting how much Veruca's words really did affect her. Somewhere along the way, she cared deeply about how Veruca might see her, how she might relate to her even. Gemma wasn't all that great with compliments, truly, but they certainly meant something coming from Veruca.

The real test was sitting here with Veruca, discussing these things and not letting her mind wander. Easier said than done, and even without the wine they were consuming, she'd be hard pressed to think about anything other than what a night like this could mean for the two of them -- if there weren't other factors at play.

"Well matched," Gemma said with a fond smile, her gaze naturally returning to the other woman. It lingered there longer than she meant for it to, but it was hard, not falling prey to the intensity of their gaze, and how much Veruca drew her in. Everything in her burned with such an intense desire it nearly stole her breath away. How much she longed to kiss her again - without the pretense of their characters. "This is fun. I like spending time with you. Y'know Luke can be such a distraction."

"Nope, not gonna," Veruca said cheekily, shaking her head. "Half of your charm is that you don't even seem to know just how charming you are. Might go away if I keep buttering you up and no one likes someone who knows they're amazing."

Did she give away too much by being too complimentary? Probably. But for better or worse, Veruca didn't choose her words with her usual care when Gemma was around and the wine was hardly helping matters. She hadn't been exaggerating at Luke's birthday. She had a pretty low tolerance for alcohol. Even a glass of wine could go straight to Veruca's head.

She felt pleasantly buzzed, somehow calm yet simultaneously alert of everything around her. Especially the woman in front of her.

"Because Luke likes being a distraction," she said with a smirk, sliding a bit closer as she picked her glass up off the table once more. Luke may have liked to joke and get a rise out of them, but deep down Veruca knew that what she was saying wasn't entirely true. He wasn't a distraction, not to her.

Not the way Gemma was.

"But this is fun," she agreed softly. She almost said they should do this more often, but she knew the reason why they didn't.

But ... I don't know if I could last the night without spontaneously combusting at the nearness of you.

Gemma's words had obviously had an effect on Veruca that nigh and not just because they were about the most romantic thing she'd ever heard outside of an Austen or Bronte novel.

She could relate.

And god, could she relate right now.

She brushed some hair behind her ear, a nervous habit she hoped Gemma hadn't picked up yet, her eyes never leaving the other woman's face. There were a million things she wanted to say and a million more she wanted to do but she settled for telling her a safer truth, one she hoped would mean something in it's own way.

"You ever wish we had more scenes? Just you and me? You're..." She bit back a smile, shaking her head almost sheepishly. "Don't tell Luke, but I like playing off of you best."

"Incorrigible, you are." She laughed, shaking her own head to mirror Veruca's. Yes, she'd said the same thing earlier that day to Olive, but she meant it now just as much. How was Gemma supposed to focus on anything other than her, when she was being so cheeky, so endearing to her all the time? She almost wondered if this would be easier if she'd never known what it was like to kiss her - without their characters in the way. She concluded that it would be just as hard, though the memory wouldn't be so vivid, naturally.

That night replayed in her mind a hundred times a day, it seemed. Everything from their dinner and sitting so closely next to Veruca, to the easy way the three of them got on, to stepping outside for a much needed reprieve, only to have her body heat spiking as they danced to faint music. All that even before their lips crushed together to end (or ignite, really) their desperation. She wanted to dance with her again, if only to hold her body close to hers.

"It's true. He's like that one kid in class who always acts up, so the teacher just learns to expect it." She chuckled, finding that less and less as they spoke, her gaze would go anywhere else. She felt her heart steadily beat faster, just watching Veruca across the couch ... or get closer to her, even. She didn't mean to, but she instinctively leaned in when Veruca did.

Her heart jumped in her chest a little, but she didn't rear back, just calmly rested her elbow on the back of the couch so she could lean her head against her palm.

Would they have done this, that night? Would they have sat together on this very couch, laughing and talking to the wee hours of the morning? The lump in her throat made her think no -- they wouldn't. More likely in the most ideal of circumstances that night, yes they would have laughter and deep conversation, but it would be in Veruca's bed with nary a stitch left on them and their bodies utterly spent.

God, Gemma hoped it wasn't obvious what she was thinking, nor the heat in her cheeks.

"I do." She nodded in agreement, smiling softly. The confession from Veruca could have easily been passed off as something of a disappointment - like the only thing between them was work, but Gemma didn't take it that way, she knew better than that. "I think we have something special, you and I." Yes, for work, but maybe outside of it as well. "Your secrets are safe with me."

"But he's always there," she said, her feigned annoyance not entirely feigned. They were supposed to be three of them in every scene, navigating things together. It was the entire point of the whole film, but Veruca couldn't help but wonder what Olive & Elizabeth got up to when they were alone even before Bill's passing meant they really were.

She could improv if need be, especially when she was as in tune with a character as she was Olive but she often found herself wanting to say more when she was riffing off of Gemma & Elizabeth.

When she was going over the break up scene where Elizabeth sends Olive away after the boys' fight, she kept adding one line to their little exchange when she read it to herself out loud.

I don't know what you are.

I'm your wife.

Veruca would settle for thinking it when the time came, but she couldn't help but wonder what Elizabeth would say to that.

During most of their scenes, she wished she could keep going because their connection, real or imagined was a rush. She couldn't indulge in it in reality, not really so she'd learned to take what she could get. She was determined to keep it going while she still could which each passing day she couldn't seem to stop reminding herself that this, she would be gone soon.

Not forever, but once promo came around and the film was sent out into the world, what then? Soon she wouldn't have any of it. Part of her hoped that would make things easier. She'd be forced to focus on nothing but Haley once this was all over, but she couldn't shake the feeling that things would never be back to normal again.

Was the stupid test right? Was she compliant? She certainly let Haley call the shots. Their relationship was... well, stale. If she was more dominant she'd speak up more when Haley said or did something that really pissed her off. She'd tell her to try harder.

She'd...let's face it, she'd kiss Gemma again without a second thought. She'd ditch Haley because deep down she knew she deserved better.

But could she really do that? Dominant or not, Veruca just didn't have it in her to hurt and deceive someone. And that was the bottom line, no matter what her heart (or some stupid personality test) said.

"It makes me wish... you know how they used to have actors that always used to work together? Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Doris Day and Rock Hudson. We don't do that anymore, not really. If I think I had to pick someone for me, it would be you."

The first example was her favorite. She owned a box set of every film Kate and Spence ever made together as well as a soul crushing dvd where Katharine read the eulogy she'd written in the form of a love letter. It was the best and worst possible example to use for them, really. Hadn't they started as an affair?

And hadn't she always liked them all the more because she thought the whole idea was impossibly romantic?

God, she took it back. It sucked when you were living it.

"I mean, I guess we do kind of have that now," she said after a beat, wine making her a bit rambly. "But we're stuck with stupid pairings like Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. I mean, are you surprised I'd rather be Kate and Spence?" She gestured to her outfit as if that proved something which, it kind of did. She'd always been old fashioned at heart.

"There, and lurking, and ready with a crass joke and a deft duck away in case anything comes flying at his head." Gemma went on with a chuckle, shaking her head as she rolled her eyes. She really did adore Luke, and she thought that their friendship would go on for a long time beyond this film.

But Veruca was different.

Yes, they played off one another incredibly well, and she could tell already that their scenes together would be the ones that sung the most in the film. She wasn't a good enough actor to feign how affected she was by the woman, and was only lucky that that seemed to go hand in hand with how her character should feel as well.

They had so much left to discover throughout the rest of their shoot, but Gemma already knew how difficult it was going to be. Not for any normal reason, either. Gemma loved how well prepared Veruca always was, and watching her trust her instincts in a scene would have Gemma transfixed on the woman and replying so naturally, she rarely seemed aware she was actually acting or saying lines that were prepared for her already.

Then there was the other half of it - the half that blended so seamlessly into moments like this one. Gemma was well aware her feelings for Veruca, however insane they were and however problematic that made the situation, had nothing to do with Elizabeth and Olive. This wasn't some 'oh my character loves yours so clearly i'll fall for you as well' - thing. No, this was something that, if she were allowing herself to be "poetic" about it, would recognize it on a soul level. If only, she thought for not the first time, there wasn't someone else in her (their) way.

"Mm, I know exactly what you mean. I truly love that." She said with a smile, sipping at her wine as she dreamily thought back on the old team-ups and how brilliantly that allowed for actors to reach new heights with one another. Her gaze remained locked on Veruca as she mused over them having a working relationship like that. Her smile was immediate, and beyond being flattered. "You must really like me, I'm taking it." She laughed in some attempt to make her forget how warm that made her.

"Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan? Well, for a while there." She made a disappointed face, before her fond smile returned. "That doesn't surprise me at all." She considered the other woman, again playfully nudging her knee with her own. God, this felt like torture being so close to her, dreaming up other plans together.

Beyond what Gemma knew all the reasons why-not to go for something with Veruca, there was a selfish, even fearful part in her mind. She knew that she wouldn't want whatever happened between them to be deemed a mistake. She didn't want to push Veruca into something that she would regret or not be able to give herself to fully. No matter how desperately she wanted to kiss her - seemingly at all times. There was another part, an even worse part. Gemma knew if she allowed herself to go to some place special with Veruca, that would be it. She was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that nothing with Veruca would be simple or some passing fancy. If she allowed herself, she could lose head over heels for the woman.

"That settles it, we're going to work together again. And again after that. Don't think you'll be getting rid of me anytime soon."

"Mmm, we've talked about this," Veruca said, eyes narrowed as she shook her head at Gemma. A warning. "I'm not gonna let you get cocky."

She wasn't going to let herself admit just how much she liked her co-star, especially when deep down, she knew she didn't need to because Gemma knew it too.

"Kate and Leo," she chimed in, though she almost immediately wrinkled her nose at the thought. She'd always found them a bit overrated and she didn't like the idea of one of them being some increasingly smarmy playboy with a fondness for vapes. Or a tone deaf, Oscar thirsty actress still going to bat for Woody Allen. There really were no winners there.

Okay, maybe she really was overthinking this. Her imagination had to be running away with her if she thought Gemma and herself would ever get roles like this ever again, solo or as a pair. And not just because Veruca usually passed over anything that didn't have her running from ghosts or navigating her way through some kind of fucked up head space and subsequent mental break down.

Well written female roles were rare. Well written queer roles were rarer. She couldn't think of the last film she'd watched with two women in a relationship that wasn't tragedy porn or... let's face it, thinly veiled porn of a different kind. And let's face it as much as she liked playing against her, period, she didn't just want to play Gemma's friend.

But she was going to let herself have this moment and her little dream even if a dream was all it ever was.

"Less crying next time around, please. And less...." She snickered a little. "Ropes and kinky fuckery." Veruca was always a bit overly polite. She wasn't one to curse, but well, alcohol had a way of loosening up everyone, didn't it? "Only two stipulations. Well, three. No...threes. Next time, I'm having you all to myself."

Was the last request bit much and leave her a bit too exposed? Probably. But she meant it which is why she hesitantly held out her pinkie to signify a very significant vow had just been made. "Promise?"

"Oh right, right." She smirked, enjoying being under her scrutiny -- oddly. "You keep me grounded."

"Less impressed with those two." Kate she thought was an incredible talent, though increasingly problematic in that Allen-Polanski "as long as the art is good we're willing to overlook child abuse" mentality. It so often disappointed Gemma when colleagues of theirs took such drastic stances like that. No art was too-good in her mind. She was glad from the look on Veruca's face, she felt the same thing. "Oh! Sarah Paulson and Cate Blanchett have done quite a few, haven't they?"

Similarly, Gemma wondered over what kind of roles there might be for them. She supposed it was easier for the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryans of the world, when romantic comedies were always right there for the taking. Gemma didn't want a role where she had to settle on playing Veruca's sister or friend giving advice on how to "get the guy" or whatever ... god, the mere thought of it was enough to make her cringe. No, it wouldn't do. Anything less than this wouldn't do.

"We might have to get Angela in on this plot of ours, with all these notes." She grinned, her brow arching quizzically. "I thought you liked the ropes and kinky fuckery." She said, mimicking her tone. Her cheeks felt naturally flushed now, thanks to the alcohol and, well, Veruca's attention.

It was Veruca's last stipulation that caused Gemma's heart to lurch almost painfully in her chest. Just hearing those words strung together like that, coming from her -- yeah, it was just increasingly hard to ignore the affect the other woman had on her.

Grinning as she put down her (almost empty) glass, she huffed a dramatic sigh before looping her pinky finger with Veruca's. "Promise." She agreed with a nod. "This is very serious." She said, though she was not at all prepared to drop the contact just yet.

"Oh my god, yes," Veruca said enthusiastically because she couldn't decide whether she admired Sarah or Cate more. "But am I the Cate because I'm tall? Or am I the Sarah because I'm..." She put on a pretty convincing Luke voice. "Into the spooky shit?" She shrugged, back to herself once more. "I'm cool with being either."

She was just draining her wine glass when Gemma's comment about her liking ropes and kink came along. She nearly coughed, but attempted to play it off as clearing her throat instead. "I can neither confirm or deny if I'm into kinky fuckery. Next topic, please."

As much as she liked (and was simultaneously nervous about) the playful mood they were in, the tone shifted once more when Gemma actually went along and made a promise with her.

"I mean it," she said solemnly, not breaking eye contact. "One day we're going to find something. Even if we have to wait so long we're performing it in our walkers."

Part of her didn't believe they'd actually find something. Professor Marston was magic after all, the sort of lightning that didn't strike twice. But Veruca was comforted by the idea, however untrue, that this film wouldn't be the end for them, that Gemma would still be in her life somehow even if they didn't make another.

If only to check in.

"Into spooky shit!" She laughed out loud, shaking her head. "I am too, I think we can't go wrong either way. I'm older, but that might not matter so much in this moment. Would it matter at all? Gemma wondered that, not for the first time.

She had to admit that it gave her a little thrill of delight seeing how Veruca reacted to her suggestion, as long as she wasn't actually choking on her drink. Even in a quick little comment like that, Gemma liked surprising Veruca - for better or worse there.

But the shift in tone definitely did take hold moments later, where she felt the intensity of Veruca's gaze and again felt like her heart was starting to race. "We will." She affirmed, hating that her voice sounded a little hoarse as she spoke.

It made her sad, and it was such a sudden feeling that she wasn't entirely sure what to do with the feeling. Perhaps it was just the idea that this film wouldn't last forever. Sure, she got that 'end of camp' feeling at the end of every show, where she'd miss a lot of the people she'd worked with, but this felt different. They weren't even halfway through the film yet, but the utter loss of seeing Veruca almost every day would be a palpable one. It was easy to make a promise then, that they'd see each other again, and find something else to work on.

Truth be told, she wanted to see a lot more of Veruca outside of worrk, anyway.

She realized as she held Veruca's gaze, that she was still holding onto her pinky with her own. Gemma swallowed hard at the thickness in her throat, reaching her fingers out to give Veruca's hand a soft squeeze before dropping it. That loss she felt, as well.

"Anyway, you offered to have me over in New York, remember? I'll be building you book shelves."

"With your drill," she chimed in with a playful nod, but her voice was softer than she would have liked. Veruca was battling a similar tightness in her throat.

Eager to change the subject because no matter what their plans, they would be separated eventually, Veruca sat down her wineglass. "So hey, um, has Luke told you about our idea to go see Wonder Woman? The other one."

Veruca really did have very minimal knowledge about Diana and her lore before signing onto the film, but she definitely considered herself a fan these days. Though she wasn't sure she'd ever see her lasso as something to help her suss out the truth and a million other things as anything other than well... kinky fuckery for obvious reasons. The movie had kind of pulled back the curtain and she was pretty sure she'd never see it the same way as everyone else and maybe the people who watched their film wouldn't either.

Okay, so she'd obviously see bits of Olive and Elizabeth and Bill too, but that was sort of a given, wasn't it? She already knew she couldn't forget them, especially the first two if she tried.

"Could be fun. I mean, we kind of deserve to go. We're the OGs," she joked.

Veruca hated red carpets. She managed to avoid them save for work and the occasional movie or event she was actually curious about, but she was willing to brave this one, more for Gemma than Diana or even Luke.

It would be good to see her. A nice middle point after the film wrapped and before their promo started. She was willing to take any opportunity to be with her she could get and she was determined to before convenient excuses like seeing and supporting what felt like their sister movie ran out.

"Oh I'll bring a full tool belt. And wear flannel -- really just to sell it." She chuckled, though realized that yeah, she'd do that if she actually thought Veruca was into it. Apparently Gemma was taking a page from Elizabeth's book with the dress-up.

Leaning back into the couch, Gemma wondered if she should start making her excuses to go. They'd had dinner, done the test ... but overall she just enjoyed Veruca's company, and was in no rush to get off to her apartment. "He mentioned it the other day ... then promptly got distracted, naturally." She chuckled and shook her rhead.

The idea that their film was coming out around the same time (maybe) as Wonder Woman proper was thrilling to Gemma. She loved this idea that their film might even more resonate with people when they would finally see Wonder Woman on her own in a film for the first time. Then the fascinating story about the people behind her ... what was not to like about it?

"I completely agree. And I'm in. We've got to really see the fruits of the Marston's legacy, don't you think?"

Whenever it happened, it would be a welcome time -- though she had a thought she wasn't sure she wanted to share. Life might naturally pull them in different directions, but Gemma didn't want that. "Though if you think I'm waiting until then to see you after we wrap, you will be sorely mistaken."

"Good," Veruca said with a grin. "Because I already have a dress in mind and I wasn't going to waste it on just Luke."

She wondered, and not for the first time, what it would be like to have Gemma share her space. Her real space, the carefully curated place she called home. She'd already made her the dinner she'd promised shortly after they met, but she wanted more. She wanted more nights like this.

And for this one to last.

"It's settled then. A public Marston family outing. I can't wait." She smiled. "We'll figure out the rest when the time comes."