The events over the last several days seemed to have settled down, at least for the most part. Rory wasn't storming any castles to confront Jess or anything, and she and Maris were, at the very least, solid as ever. It felt kind of remarkable to Rory, that she should be so lucky to feel so at home and at peace with someone, particularly when other things threatened to spiral a bit. None of it seemed to stick or upset her because the end of the day was still just she and Maris. As it should be. As it would always be.

Rory had gotten up early for a Saturday, that annoying internal clock making sure she didn't sleep past any phantom alarm, dammit. She took advantage after maybe a little too much time spent gazing at her sleeping girlfriend to head down to make coffee (and feed Byron who had followed her down), returning with two mugs she set on the side table. Dressed just in a t-shirt (that belonged to Maris) and her underwear, she was the picture of lazy mornings -- but unwilling to actually get distracted. Mostly.

Instead of sliding back into her side of the bed, she gingerly climbed over Maris, pressing her arms onto the bed on either side as she straddled the woman. She smiled softly, leaning over to kiss her cheek, and then her jaw, and then eventually by her ear. "Time to wake up." She smirked a little, feeling that familiar warm feeling she often got when waking up with this woman. "We've got a big day ahead of us, honey."

The last push to finish her book meant Maris had gotten used to staying up late to write in sleeping in once exhaustion finally caught up with her in the early morning. She'd lost the internal teacher's alarm clock her girlfriend had, which meant she was a little (adorably) grumpy every time she was woken up these days. Even if she couldn't think of a person she'd rather wake up too.

"Honey?" she said, wrinkling her nose as she buried her face in the pillow (though it was secretly one of her favorites as far as pet names were concerned). "Did I fuck Vita Sackville West last night because if so, I just landed on quite a list.."

The sun streamed in through the blinds to hit Maris straight in the eyes and she groaned a little, defeated before finally rolling over to face Rory head on.

"Hi," she said with a playful grin. "That's a very nice shirt you have there." Maris played with the hem a little before stretching a bit. "Where...." A yawn escaped her lips so she reached for the coffee she knew, after many mornings of experience, would be there. "Where are we going?"

A cheeky grin immediately stretched across Rory's face at the first things Maris said. "I thought that'd get a reaction." She laughed, similarly wrinkling her nose down at Maris. "If you did though, we're gonna have a deep discussion about your choice of bedfellows." As if she didn't have impeccable taste, if she did say so herself.

Rory adjusted as Maris turned towards her, smirking proudly at her self-proclaimed clever wake-up call.

"Hi you." She said softly, reaching forward to brush Maris' hair away from her face. "You like it? I shamelessly stole it from my favorite person. Don't tell her." She winked, reaching for her own coffee once Maris had hers in hand. "We, my love, are going to a Pumpkin Patch. Please be forewarned I am going to insist on pictures, getting too many pumpkins, and eating a ton of whatever farm-fresh foods they have there." She grinned over the lip of her mug at her girlfriend, wiggling her eyes in unabashed excitement.

"Well, I hear Vita has great legs so, you know..." Maris smirked.

She shook her head, letting out a little groan as she sipped her coffee. "You're too chipper in the morning, it's unnatural."

But Maris was excited too. Rory had planned things she'd never even thought of. "Although what I'm mostly hearing is that I definitely need to wash my hair if pictures are involved." She paused, raising an eyebrow as she considered something. "Do we have any? New ones, I mean. I feel like we haven't taken a picture together since I got to Maine. Like one when we went away to the beach, maybe but apart from that..."

"Nothin' on yours." Rory countered with a smirk of her own.

The idea that she was chipper in the mornings probably would have made anyone who knew her well into her 20's laugh. She wasn't always, but over the past few years had become more accustomed to enjoying her mornings. Usually getting up well before school so she could enjoy coffee, or just have an hour to herself before her life was given over to the kids. Now she enjoyed her mornings entirely differently, and the mornings she woke up next to Maris were the best ones.

"Oh I guess so, unless you are really feeling a hat today." She teased, grinning as she took another sip. Her face twisted into a thoughtful expression, considering how many or how few pictures she had of them in her phone. She had plenty of Maris - she couldn't help herself from snapping the odd picture pretty much daily. "I don't think we really do other than that. We definitely need to fix that."

"Then yup, I definitely need a shower." Maris took another sip of her coffee before giving Rory a playful spank, their wordless signal for when they needed to be let up. She gave her girlfriend a quick kiss as she stepped out of bed, making a beeline for the bathroom attached to her room. "I'll only be a second," she said, just planning on staying in long enough to wash her hair before hopping back out again. Rory seemed eager to go and Maris was hungry enough to hope they had time to stop for breakfast along the way.

"But you might wanna check the top left drawer," she said with a half smile before shutting the door behind her.

Maris had taken the contents of Rory's overnight bag and put them in her dresser overnight. Her clothes weren't the only thing that had found a place. Her toiletries had joined Maris' on the bathroom, Rory's brush was now sitting next to hers on the dresser.

But there was more to it than that. Sitting on top of Rory's clothes was a tiny red box. It was just big enough to hold jewelry (and it one point, it had, Maris had just saved the container her rarely worn diamond necklace came in just in case she needed a small box for Christmas wrapping) but there was a single brass key, one to Maris' house, inside.

Rory flopped dramatically to the side of the bed, laughing as she bit her lip and watched her go. Almost any other day, that kiss would have caused Rory to reach out and drag Maris back to bed with her, but they had plans after all. Rory couldn't help smiling, watching Maris head to the bathroom. She was so distracted that she almost didn't fully hear what Maris said at first.

"What?" She said excitedly, hopping up from the bed and making her way over to the dresser. Whatever Rory was expecting, for whatever reason she didn't entirely expect to find her things in Maris' drawer. It struck her so suddenly that emotion almost immediately swelled in her chest. They had joked about this sort of thing, but actually seeing her things unpacked in Maris' space. It thrilled her to to really think about how solid their future looked.

It took her a full moment before she reached for the small box. For a second, her heart slammed so hard in her chest, she couldn't breathe. But then she figured, Maris wouldn't do something like leave a ring and then dart off to take a shower where she wouldn't see her reaction. She sighed and laughed at herself, but that laugh softened as she opened the box to find the key. It was such a simple gesture really, considering they both knew where they (and this) was going, but it meant the world to her.

Clutching the key in her hand, she walked over to the bathroom and opened the door, stepping in as she heard the water going. She didn't go to pull back the curtain or anything, but rather she just leaned there against the wall. "So you really mean it that you like having me here, huh?" She beamed, speaking out into the room. "I nearly went full blubbering when I opened the drawer, I'll have you know. You're lucky you missed it."

Maris laughed, sticking her head out from behind the curtain. "Unlucky, you mean. I love watching you be a big sap," she teased, running a hand through her hair before reaching for her shampoo, though she paused once the bottle was halfway to her palm and stuck her head out again.

"Well? Are you getting in or what?" she asked with a grin.

Once the (regrettably brief, thanks to their plans) shower was over, Maris went about choosing an outfit for the pumpkin patch. She surrendered to fall vibes, but not colors, wearing a black and white plaid poncho with some fringe over some fleece lined leggings. She would have liked to wear her new high heeled suede boots, but settled on a flatter pair of leather ones, figuring they would be easier get around in and clean when the day was done.

"You're driving," she announced as they made their way out the door, fishing her sunglasses out of her purse. "I don't even know where the farms are.."

Rory was in a perpetual state of grinning like an idiot as she shrugged. "Well play the odds, your luck will definitely be catching me in a sappy mood again. Probably before day's end."

It was any wonder the two of them could ever make it in and out of a shower without wasting a lot of water or becoming entire prunes. Somehow they managed to get in and out with relative success, minimal wet kisses and wandering hands. Not quite the luxurious morning that she would have loved to revel in, but she'd make up for it, later.

Rory hadn't gone as full-ham as she might have promised, tying her hair up in a ponytail instead of twin braids. She did however, pull on a red and black plaid shirt over a white t-shirt and jeans, pairing the whole look with her trusty doc martens. "Fall-Gay enough?" She'd grinned as she finished up, grabbing her keys as they headed out.

"You'd probably end up driving us to a murder farm, it's true." She winked over the car before sliding into the driver's seat, waiting for Maris to get in and buckle before heading off in the right direction. "I'm not above throwing elbows to get the right pumpkin, even to a kid, life's full of tough lessons." She joked, glancing at Maris before returning her eyes quickly to the road.

"You're always gay enough, darling. No matter what the season," Maris teased, pressing a kiss to Rory's temple. Of course there wasn't probably anything gayer than two lesbians in matching plaid, but she figured that was a given.

"Ooh, a murder farm sounds festive, take me to one of those, please," she joked.

It was a pleasant drive up, the leaves a pleasant mix of warm, fall colors dotted with the occasional light green. Maris may not have been an outdoor person, but even she could appreciate nature now and again. Or at least she did until she sneezed the moment she stepped outside of Rory's car.

"Oh this is going to be lovely she said dryly, cursing herself for not taking her allergy medicine before they arrived. Luckily she kept a few emergency pills in her purse and quickly downed them with the lukewarm remains of the coffee she'd insisted on stopping for on the way over.

"I'm literally allergic to nature," she whined, playfully burying her face in Rory's neck as she slid an arm around her. "There better be a room full of apple pies to make up for this."

Since fully discovering her own sexuality when she was younger, it had been some doing for Rory to figure out what her own personal style was, or if that made her more butch or more femme or whatever the proper labels were supposed to be. Ultimately she had decided she didn't have to subscribe to any particular style, but she did enjoy the occasional lean-in on days like today.

"Do you have a trusty axe with you? We might need it if we're going to a murder farm."

Growing up in California probably had something to do with how much Rory loved the fall in New England. She still loved to see the leaves change colors and feel the air get crisp and cold. She still loved the novelty of a family farm and those quintessential fall activities. Especially now, that she got to share them with Maris.

"Shit," She chuckled when Maris sneezed, as she stretched her legs from the drive and made her way around the car. "And yet you're exploring nature with me, that's love baby." She teased, sliding her arm around her and pressing a kiss to her temple. "But from what I read, they do have insane pies. And hot apple cider donuts. We're gonna eat well."

Rory slid her hand easily into Maris' as she led them into the farm, where she bought them both all-inclusive wristbands (because obviously). "So it looks like we can do a train or a corn maze or some games first... or we can grab a snack before we do any of that?"

"A wristband?" Maris asked, looking down at hers once it was handed to her before leaning into Rory to whisper, "Is this a farm or a music festival?"

She slipped it on anyway, smiled as her girlfriend took her hand. "Um, snack first? Just in case we get lost in the corn maze."

Maris wasn't sure how that was going to go. She was okay at puzzles and always managed to solve the mazes on restaurant place mats as a kid, but navigating a real life one was probably an entirely different story.

The indoor area was pleasantly warm, and Maris' stomach growled as the smell of cinnamon and baked goods greeted her nose. She was suddenly very glad they hadn't stopped for breakfast after all.

The usual warm, fall beverages were on offer, but Maris bypassed the tea, coffee and hot cider and went straight for the treats.

"Cheesecake really isn't any different than having a cheese danish for breakfast, right?" She nodded toward the two varieties (pumpkin spice and caramel apple) on display.

"What you think they're gonna let us traipse through corn and look at animals for free?" She laughed, nudging Maris with her elbow as she slipped her own on.

Glad that Maris had chosen a snack first, her own hunger seemed brought on by the aroma of the food area. The problem with having too many options was that Rory instantly wanted to try them all.

"I think there's sound logic in that. There's ... protein in the cheese?" She made a face, trying to convince herself of that truth. "Ooh, I want some of the fresh apple tarts, or oh shit they have cobbler." Yes, they would likely be in a sugar coma at some point - but there were some savory treats too. "I think I'm going to start with a bag of the hot apple cider donuts and another coffee. I think. Yes. That's my decision."

"Well, no, but a wristband seems a little much. I mean..." Maris trailed off with a blink. "Wait, there are animals?"

She was cautiously excited at the idea, though whether she would stay that way would definitely depend on what sort of animal she came face to face with.

Maris took a slice of both flavors. justifying her gluttony with the fact that the cheesecakes had been cut into comically small slivers and that if anyone asked, she could always say one belonged to Rory. She did plan on sharing, just like she intended on having a taste of Rory's doughnuts (because there really was nothing better than a warm one). After they'd made their choices and against her better judgement since her allergy medicine usually took a while to kick in, Maris lead the way back outside, sitting on a large haystack that had been arranged into a relatively sturdy bench.

"Alright, hand over a doughnut and I'll..." She smirked, holding up a forkful of apple cheesecake.

Amused by how quickly Maris was distracted by the idea of animals, she grinned while kissing her cheek before they moved off to get their sweets.

Honestly, it was a miracle they made it out of there with only a handful of goodies. The promise of more later was probably what made that a possibility. Rory had her bagful of little doughnuts and another coffee in hand, only mildly annoyed it meant she couldn't be touching Maris as they walked over to the haystacks. God, she was really that girlfriend, wasn't she?

"Oh you're really good at negotiating." She chuckled, leaning forward to take the bite from Maris' fork, making a noise in approval before she leaned a little further more and pecked her a soft kiss on the lips. "You made good choices. That's delicious." She handed over the first of her doughnuts -- a sure sign of love if there ever was one.

As they sat eating their treats, she was mid-sip when she heard a "Rory?" from somewhere to her left. While her immediate reaction (thanks to recent events) was a momentary mix of panic and protective, she felt that all woosh right out of her when she spotted an actual friendly face. "Beth, hey!" She waved, taking the moment of her walking over to squeeze Maris' knee. "She's our art teacher, lovable." If a little much. She stood to accept the immediate (and tight) hug the other teacher offered, greeting her warmly before turning back to Maris. "Beth, this is my girlfriend Maris." Her eyes met Maris' and she sort of beamed proudly in that moment. It felt good to say it.

Maris' stomach sank a bit when someone recognized Rory, lowering her fork even though it was halfway to her mouth. She hadn't had any pleasant interactions with anyone her girlfriend knew thus far and she didn't have high hopes for this one.

But Rory's reaction and explanation as far as Beth was concerned eased her nerves a bit, though she was slightly hesitant to stick out her hand once she'd placed her plate off to the side.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a nod and a handshake.

Even if this Beth person was one of the good ones and not one of Jess' crowd, surely she knew that Rory had been engaged only a short time ago? Would she think that they were moving fast? That Maris was some sort of braindead idiot who jumped into relationships quickly because she was afraid that if she waited too long no one else would have her? That she was one of those people she hated, the sort who couldn't stand to be alone?

Would she think she was a cheat?

She wouldn't be wrong...

But Beth did seem...nice, if a little perky. She usually didn't like that either, but she'd take perky over hostile any day.

"You're the art teacher, right? Rory's mentioned you before."

Beth didn't need to know it had been in the last five minutes. Maris didn't just want to win someone Rory knew over. After the past few weeks she'd had, she kind of needed to.

Of all people from her school that they could have run into, Beth was probably the least likely to be judgmental. She seemed to derive from sunshine itself, which again, could be exhausting - but it all came from a nice place. She was one of the first people that Rory had met in Maine, and had been nice enough to show her around.

"Ooh, girlfriend!" She chirped in a very woo-woo way, which on almost any other day might be annoying, but it felt like much more of a relief to Rory that her reaction was that, and not deducing the swiftness of how quickly she was moving on (or had moved on) from her engagement.

Beth practically beamed at the idea that Rory had mentioned her, which earned a smile from Rory as she reached out and slid her hand into Maris'. She gave her hand a squeeze.

"I am! I try to teach them the difference between Impressionism and Expressionism and settle on them using their canvas for anything other than a mess." She laughed at her own comment, as Rory chuckled and squeezed Maris' hand again. "Beth is an amazing painter herself. I think our students are just intimidated." Rory conceded with a smile.

"So how long have you been in town, Maris? I can only imagine you're the reason Rory seems to be practically skipping through the halls these days." Beth remarked, and Rory made a mental note to thank her for her kindness somehow. This could be awkward, and Beth had known Jess - if only slightly. Jess hadn't come around the school all that often, but enough to be known. Enough to make this awkward, if Beth hadn't been a kind and (overly) understanding person who tended to mind her own business. Mostly.

"Skipping?" Maris repeated with barely concealed amusement, shooting a look Rory's way before turning her attention back to Beth. "I've been in town for a few months, but Rory and I have known each other for a very long time."

It was an entirely truthful answer, one that didn't tell the other woman any more than she needed to know, but Beth wasn't the only one curious about the person in front of her.

"What sort of paintings do you do, Beth?" Maris asked, not just trying to make polite conversation. Painting was a lost art nowadays now that seemingly everything seemed to have gone digital and one a person as fond of the past as Maris could appreciate. Especially when her home was full of bare walls. "I'm actually on the hunt for art these days."

If Beth was good well, maybe this was kismet. She just hoped the other woman didn't do watercolors of clowns or something equally awful. And even if her work wasn't to her taste, surely an art teacher knew where to find some that was. She could at least direct her to a gallery or two.

"She doesn't mean literally..." Rory said unconvincingly, a grin spreading across her face in spite of herself. Her gaze moved from Maris to Beth, as though she were trying to gauge any flicker of judgement or surprise from the other woman. Bless the woman, she only seemed genuinely interested in the two of them without any pretense or agenda. How damn refreshing.

She and Maris had known each other a long time, and somehow the way Maris described that made her feel warm in her chest. No, Beth didn't need the whole story or even half of it, but she liked that Beth would know that Maris had been important to her for a long time - even before she'd come to Maine in the first place. She was her past as much as she was her future.

"Oh! All sorts, I like to play with different mediums. Right now I'm really into oil on canvas. I last did a whole series of watercolor landscapes, but I like the detail I can get with oil. Sometimes I'll just splash paint on the canvas and then see where the brush takes it. Other times I get very lost in the details." Rory smiled fondly as Beth went on, her shoulder gently leaning into Maris' as her thumb brushed along the heel of her hand.

Why did Rory love the idea that Maris might hang something of Beth's if she liked it enough? Probably because it meant there was some mutual acceptance, from the friends she'd made and the woman who was her entire world. "I goad Maris into coming to visit me at work for lunch sometimes, you'll have to show her some of her stuff."

She barely finished her sentence before Beth was proclaiming they should all get lunch soon. No amount of polite excuse could dissuade her, Rory knew as much.

Maris had been a bit wary of visiting Rory at school. There were her students to consider (Maris wasn't entirely sure how "out" to her students she actually was and students liked to gossip about their teachers no matter what their sexuality was), but she was even more worried about her co-workers, some of which had to have known about her engagement, would think.

Part of her wondered if she'd actually miss an academic environment if she reentered one.

But she knew she would brave the halls now that two people had given her an invitation and one to go out to lunch was an even more welcome one.

Maris was a bit of a loner, a solitary sort that was usually pretty content when left to her own devices but there was no denying she sometimes longed for a little company, a friend to take to lunch or simply call during the day. She suddenly realized just how much she'd been missing since her move, even if she'd gained even more. She'd have traded anything to get Rory back, but now that she was maybe it was time for some other things to fall into place too.

"I'd like that," she said earnestly. "Are you looking for a pumpkin too? Rory's been wanting to carve one. I'm a little wary. I... well, there was a reason I studied history instead of anything creatively inclined," she joked.

There was indeed a delicate balance to moving on with their lives, as a few of their outings had proven to be true. Rory wanted to be sensitive to the fact that she'd just ended a relationship of course, but also she didn't want to feel as though she were holding anything back. She was better, happier than she had been in a very long time, and that was apparent to anyone who knew her. Would it have been better had it not come at the detriment of someone else? Of course, but Rory wasn't going to apologize more than she already had for following her heart.

Rory just hoped that in the coming weeks, things would get even easier. She hoped that confrontations would come to a minimum (and she did still want to talk with Jess again, oy) and she could count on more things for them to openly explore. Her work being one of them. Most everyone at the school knew that she was out, though she never made a big point to greet her new students with "hello, I'm your lesbian English teacher."

Over the past few years, Rory had begun to put down roots in Maine. She'd made friends, embraced a community that had embraced her right back. The idea of leaving this place however, was growing all the more at the back of her mind. She could make new friends, have new challenges, enjoy a new space - but those were conversations for later, and Maris ... well, she would go anywhere with her.

"She really underestimates herself." Rory chimed in, grinning at Maris before turning to Beth as though they were co-conspirators. "She's really brilliant at most things she tries." Rory winked at Maris, squeezing her hand as Beth chimed back in with "Oh yeah! My husband and I are going to carve some this week. Then go out and buy up all the candy we can. I always have a goal to be that house that hands out the best candy." Rory shook her head at the other woman, playfully rolling her eyes. "None of us have the slightest chance. Beth and company have it down to a science on how to win Halloween. I think I could probably win something like... Arbor Day? Is that still a thing?"

One of Maris' best (and most prominent) attributes was her confidence. She rarely wanted or even needed the validation of others but hearing Rory's praise caused her chest to swell with pride. Was there really anything better than hearing kind words from the person you thought the world of?

Maris found herself smiling faintly through their entire interaction and it only widened when Beth headed off toward the food.

"She seems nice," she said almost shyly, both of them knowing her compliments were well earned. She slid an arm around Rory, pulling her closer than she would have if they still had an audience, dropping a kiss on top of her head. "And you, you're amazing." She loosened her grip a little, but kept her arm around Rory to give her more range of motion as she slowly wandered toward the next section.

"What does she paint, anyway?" She bit back a cheeky grin, knocking shoulders with Rory playfully. "Ooh, I hope it's nudes. I'd commission one of you for my living room wall if I wasn't such a jealous woman. A really big one. Huge."

The day was bound to be a success as soon as they'd gotten their first round of treats, but as they finished their conversation with Beth, she couldn't help but think of how glad she was for that interaction. It reminded her how much she liked to be seen with Maris, how much pride she got from being with her. It reminded her of the times they'd get out of their town (because school and prying eyes seemed to weigh on their out and about activities) and she'd get such a kick when they'd get a glance their way. Yeah, she's with me came her own little cocky mentality.

"I'm glad she got to meet you." She smiled softly, sliding her own arms around Maris as she laughed. "You're so biased." Rory smirked, kissing her cheek and then dropping another one against her shoulder through her poncho before they set off.

"Maybe you should get into painting, then I can just lounge around naked for you to get inspired. On the green couch." She winked, sliding her thumb to hook into Maris' pocket to rest there as they walked with their arms looped comfortably around each other. God, she wanted this kind of day always. "She tends to go with whatever the mood strikes, I think? She's done landscapes but then just does these sort of abstract things too." She pondered a moment as they got in the line for the corn maze, leaning closer a moment later to speak quietly near Maris' ear. "Or we can do one of those things where we just roll around with paint on a canvas together." She smirked, kissing her neck quickly before pulling away enough to grab her hand.

"Let's go get lost ... but not too lost."

"Oh like you don't already swan around my house naked already," she said with a snort, the idea of her picking up a paintbrush slightly preposterous when art was one of the few classes she hadn't sailed through at school. But it wasn't nearly as ridiculous as Rory's rolling around in paint idea.

"People actually do that!?" she asked, eyebrow raised. "Well, it sounds like hippie nonsense, but if we ever do, Beth is definitely not invited."

Maris couldn't believe people actually went into corn mazes, either, but she was willing to give it a shot for Rory. "What happens if we get lost?" she asked, gently using the toe of her boot to nudge an ear of corn that had fallen out of the way. "You know, in theory."

"You love it." Rory fired back with a surety that was nothing if not well earned at this point. How she and Maris managed to put clothes on at all (or why) was beyond her some days. And while Rory was pretty crafty, she didn't have any particular talent for painting or real desire to do so. Give her a wall to paint however, and she could get a clean coat on, no problem.

"I think so?? I've heard of it anyway. Hippie nonsense or not ... No Beth allowed. Or anyone else for that matter." She added on with a bit of a face thrown Maris' way.

All in all, the corn maze was built for kids and families, so probably not as difficult as she made it seem - though the towering stalks surrounding them definitely did seem as though they could get lost fairly easily. "We die here." She said with a matter-of-fact tone, a grave look on her face for at least a few seconds until she flashed a grin. "I think they send someone in after us, they gave a number to call...somewhere, on a flyer?" Rory made another face and shrugged, grasping Maris' hand tightly as they ventured into the maze.

About ten minutes into weaving through the stalks of corn and a little more mud than Rory was prepared for, she led them down the the left part of a fork, which seemed to lead them to a dead end with sunflowers and not much else. "Well, my sense of direction is fucked." She huffed with a little bit of annoyance, but it took all of .5 seconds for her to slide in close to Maris, both of her arms circling around her waist. "Are you having fun? Be honest."

Wandering around a field with nothing else to do was not Maris' idea of a good time and wouldn't have been even if the hay or whatever else was floating around wasn't causing her eyes to water. Nature was her nemesis but so was the allegedly simple maze they found themselves in because she'd lead them to a similar dead end a few minutes before.

"Darling," she said gently, letting out a little laugh as she leaned back into her. "I always have fun with you, but this... this isn't it."

She turned around in her arms, biting back a smile before leaning in to steal a kiss. "I think we really might be lost. I mean, look, there isn't anyone else around. If we hadn't eaten earlier we'd probably be resorting to cannibalism right about now."

So maybe wandering around in giant stalks of corn wasn't the most fun thing, even for people who thrived on adventure. Rory and Maris were better suited for beaches, more likely, than this. But, it was an experience just the same, and something to experience once, maybe?

Rory had to laugh, shaking her head at the other woman as her arms snugly made their way around her. "You're a total trooper to indulge me, you know that?" Her smile was easy, struck even in the midst of perhaps being very lost, at just how true that was, and how much she loved her for it. As well as an infinite amount of other reasons.

"And not our fun kind of cannibalism." She wrinkled her nose at her own joke and shook her head, leaning in and stealing another kiss that lingered just a bit longer. "C'mon, I think I saw a path that seemed to lead back in the right direction. I'll buy you a giant apple fritter." Or whatever else she wanted. Rory took hold of Maris' hand, lacing their fingers together and raising their hands to kiss the back of her girlfriend's before venturing out ... into the wild.

Rory would have liked to say her direction was impeccable, but after turning them around a couple of times, found a family to follow out. "Okay, maybe getting lost was not as sexy as I thought it would be." She laughed as they finally made their way to the clear.

Maris simply shrugged. Even if the corn maze wasn't her cup of tea, it was hardly an imposition. Rory wanted to do it. Maris liked making Rory happy. She liked spending time with her. She got something out of it no matter which way you looked at it.

But she wasn't about to turn down a treat, especially when she'd been hard pressed to stop eating anything she'd tried. "You know, we could get a whole caramel apple cheesecake. Take it home with us, I'll make us dinner to go with it."

Maris was cooking a lot more these days. Some of it was for her girlfriend, but she usually ended up sharing that day's meal with her more often than not. It made her feel...domestic. Sometimes she felt like a housewife waiting for her partner to get home now that she was working out of hers, but she didn't mind it. She was content with the cliches she'd spent most of her life thinking she was too good for to an almost alarming degree.

While not panicked when they'd lost their way in the maze, Maris was grateful to be out of it and her smile only widened when she spotted Beth coming out of the food area.

"One second," she told Rory, gesturing for her to stay put before jogging towards Beth.

After a brief (and very smiley conversation), Maris returned with Beth, then slid an arm around Rory as the other woman held up her phone.

"You wanted pictures, right? Beth said she'd take one for us. You know I suck at selfies."

Rory had always been a believer that two people who were together didn't need to have exactly the same interests. In fact, it was better she thought, for two people to have different passions, different favorite pastimes. The overlap of their favorites was her sweet spot with Maris, but even when it wasn't, she loved to listen as Maris went on and on about something she was passionate about. It was in those moments she was nothing but enamored with the woman. And likewise, she loved Maris for indulging her silly adventures.

"Ooh, we are absolutely doing that. Fuck, that sounds good." Rory enthused, as though her mouth were already watering at the idea of it.

Though she hadn't really articulated it before now, Rory kind of loved that their relationship had taken on a more mature feeling to it. Not that they were frivolous before or didn't have even more fun now, but it felt like they both were so happy to settle in together. A lot of that had to do with the time they'd been apart, she'd gather. The night and day difference between her relationship with Maris and her previous relationship however ... that was perhaps the biggest change. She loved every little domestic moment with Maris, and she knew nothing was being taken for granted.

As Maris took off from her, Rory watched her go with a curious look on her face, but she couldn't hide the smile that crept in just watching her go off, and talk with Beth, and her smile grew as she saw Maris smiling. God, she really was a complete and utter goner.

"Wow you found us a brilliant photographer!" She laughed, sliding her arms around Maris and kissing her cheek. "Thanks Beth." She said a moment later, keeping her arm around Maris before turning her smile to the camera.

Maris had always a bit uncomfortable showing affection around others (though she had no trouble showing or telling Rory just how much she loved her behind closed doors). Having someone photograph her being soft, intimate seemed straight out of a nightmare, but she wanted a photograph of them too. On some level she sort of needed that physical proof that this was real, happening, that they were together again and making plans to make it permanent this time.

Not that she hadn't been all in before...

Once the photo was snapped and her phone was returned to her, she thanked Beth, then tilted her head to the side to study it once she was gone, holding it out so Rory could get a good look too. In true Maris fashion, she hadn't shown any teeth because she wasn't exactly a smiley sort either (though Rory could certainly bring out that side of her too) but it was clear she was happy. There was a gleam in her eyes that hadn't been there since well, since Rory left years before. And she didn't just look happy. She looked proud, her extra straight posture conveying just how honored to be by Rory's side.

And that she'd chosen to be on hers.

"I think this might be over the fireplace material," she murmured, pressing a kiss to Rory's temple before slipping her phone back into her pocket. "Come on," she said, giving her a squeeze. "Are you gonna show me some animals?"

It was one thing to just feel how happy she was, how much different life seemed to be now that she was with Maris again, and an entirely different thing to see evidence of it. Rory wasn't all that big on taking selfies or even getting a lot of pictures in her day (except maybe for her food? #basic), and often found herself annoyed if her mother was around and insisting on pictures taken every five minutes.

Once she'd thanked and said goodbye to Beth, she peered at the phone, a big grin spreading across her face. They looked happy, even if this pumpkin farm wasn't exactly the go-to spot that tied in their real aesthetic. Rory's arm tightened a little around her waist as she pressed another kiss to her cheek, nodding as she pulled back. "I think you're right." The thought of hanging pictures of the two of them, maybe in a space that would be theirs made her almost giddy.

"Yep. Just don't get any ideas about bringing some home." She chuckled, grabbing Maris' hand again and leading her over to the pen where they had a vast majority of goats, a few bunnies, and most importantly: little pigs running around. "I think we can get little... Oh, hang on." She cut herself off, dropping her hand long enough to go over to the little stall where they had cups of treats and feed set out for the animals. Grabbing two of them, she half jogged back and handed one to Maris. "Do goats bite? I guess we'll find out..."

Maris didn't really know what she had been expecting on the animal front, but she was slightly relieved there weren't any horses in sight.

She'd never been one of those horse girls or even expressed any interest in riding, but her father had taken her for a lesson as a kid all the same, deciding that his homebody of a daughter could use a bit of time in the great outdoors.

It hadn't gone well. The horse had spooked easily and Maris had been a bit uneasy about them ever since. Horses, like dogs, were just too unpredictable for her tastes.

She was mostly interested in the goats. She'd seen plenty of rabbits in her time and pigs, while adorable were too smelly for her to really entertain getting close to.

It probably came as no surprise that Maris was particularly enamored with a black goat with the tiniest splotch of white on his forehead. He seemed more lively than the others and when he slowly started creeping toward Maris, she was delighted, her face the picture of almost childlike glee.

"Look, Rory, I think he likes me," she whispered excitedly, sending her elbow into Rory's side. Maris was just about to reach for a food pellet when the goat leaned forward and snatched the cup out of her hand, trotting off happily with it dangling out of it's mouth.

"What a fucking traitor!" Maris said a bit too loudly, not sure if she felt betrayed or impressed by the animal's ingenuity.

With all the little animals trotting about, it was hard to decide which way to go first. Rory wasn't too keen on bunnies ... while they were adorable and soft, she'd been bitten by a friend's rabbit as a child and never quite saw the things the same way again. Vicious little assholes, they could be. The little piglets got her attention almost immediately, which she knew wouldn't be the same if they were, say, giant hogs.

She bent to give a little of the pellets to a pink little squeaker at her feet, laughing a little as he gobbled up what was in her hand. It was when she saw the goat Maris pointed out approaching that she stood, grinning as she agreed that yes, of course this black with white marks goat was enamored with her girlfriend, because who wouldn't be?

She was about to say as much, when the thievery happened, and Maris' dramatic reaction (and cursing, sorry kids) had her doubling over in laughter. She laughed so hard her stomach hurt, only calming down as she slid her arm around Maris and pressed a still giggling kiss to her cheek. "What a little asshole." She agreed as though that were an apology for laughing so hard. "You've got to appreciate a creature that goes for what she wants?"

Rory kissed her again, and leaned down to a littler goat who trotted over. "This one seems nice..." If, as it turned out, a little aggressive as well in the feed department. Her cup was empty almost as soon as she'd said it. "What do you think, grab some pumpkins and produce then home?"

Aside from the food, their day of fall fun had been a bit of a dud thus far. Maris was in good spirits all the same, just glad to have uninterrupted time with her girlfriend. Summer had spoiled her and made her forget that work and other responsibilities existed. She coudn't have her any time she liked.

But god, did they have each other every night.

"Lead the way," she said with more confidence than she felt.

Like animals and corn mazes, Maris didn't exactly have a lot of experience with pumpkins either. Her father and grandfather rarely bothered to get one once Halloween rolled around. When they did, they were an afterthought, something they picked up when they spotted them getting bread and mallomars (Maris' grandfather's favorite and thus, hers as well) at the grocery store since they were already there.

They were rarely carved. Like her, the men in Maris' life were thinkers, not creatives. She probably wouldn't be any better at decorating one than she would be picking one out, but Maris had never been one to admit she didn't know how to do something. Even when she probably should.

The pumpkin patch was pretty empty compared to the rest of the farm, but the only other couple wandering around had three small children attempting to play some strange tag/hide and go seek hybrid in the field. Their parents seemed oblivious and when the woman took forward a step to look at a bumpy gourd rather than what her feral children were doing, Maris was aghast in more ways than one. She had a baby strapped to her chest as well and Maris felt her thighs clench in sympathy.

"God, her uterus going to run away from home soon," Maris whispered, feeling justified in being snarky when one of the woman's sons jumped out from behind a huge pumpkin and nearly landed on her feet.

He didn't even mumble an excuse me before taking off after his sister and Maris shoved her hands in her pockets, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Keats would never," she mumbled.

Perhaps their destination here was a bit more geared towards kids and, well, families, but Rory figured she could probably be just about anywhere with Maris and enjoy herself. Ah, the ease of being madly in love with someone. The sun itself seemed to shine brighter.

Since Rory's dad took off when she was still small, her mother had been a bit overkill with almost every holiday. Halloween was a big party the weekend before for carving pumpkins and decorating, and when she was too old (or "too cool") to go trick-or-treating, Rory ran the front of their house like a haunted adventure ... which was overkill to be sure. Thanksgiving was just as huge, and Christmas was, well, overkill times a million. Now, Rory just liked to think that she and Maris would be creating their own traditions together ... hopefully on a far less grand-scale.

Walking through the myriad of different sized and shaped pumpkins, Rory reveled in just the moment of holding Maris' hand. She scrutinized a sign that read 'Turks Turban Pumpkins' and the oddly shaped pumpkins beneath them before moving on. Some pretty pastel ones she liked, which might actually go beyond Halloween... but her attention was soon distracted by the family Maris was already noticing.

"Shh," She hushed her through a laugh, bowing her chin against Maris' shoulder and squeezing her hand. Rory had to sort of cringe as well, but hey, she supposed if some people wanted that many kids ... nope, definitely not for her. Case in point, she startled, legitimately jumping when the boy dove out of nowhere.

"Keats will be such a little gentleman." She agreed, squeezing Maris' hand. "Are going to put him in bow ties? Sweater vests?" She smirked, letting go of Maris long enough to pick out a couple of pumpkins and place them in a cart.

Maris didn't want a baby right now. Even if they hadn't run across a pack of hellions that would have anyone rethinking their desire to reproduce, she would have been sure of that. She meant what she'd said before. She'd just gotten Rory back. They deserved a little time to themselves. She wanted to marry her first. Discussions needed to happen so they could figure out how their children would come to being in the first place.

And not just with Rory.

Ever since they'd started talking about children and motherhood, Maris' thoughts had begun drifting to her own mother, a person she'd spent most of her life thinking very little about.

She sort of had to now. What was she like? Were there things she needed to know about? Traits or god forbid, ailments that she could pass on to her own children? Maris thought her father might know at least some of it, but she wasn't looking forward to asking. Her mother had always been an understandably sore subject.

God, she hoped she wouldn't buckle under the pressure. That was another deep seeded fear, one she tried desperately to keep from taking hold. The idea that she and her mother were alike and she would be tempted to give up the same way Christina (a much easier and more apt name to call her by) had.

Could she even have children? Did she even want to carry one? Maris didn't think she'd have a problem conceiving. Her period came with almost annoying regularity, right on time on more or less the same date every month. She'd always resented it, secretly thinking it was unfair she had to suffer through it when being a lesbian meant she didn't really need one, but maybe she'd been wrong all along.

But despite all of this and the fact that they couldn't even be sure their future child would even be a he, and thus a Keats (if they even went with that but she was sort of thinking they couldn't not at this point) talking about him always made Maris incandescently happy. Warm in a way she couldn't describe. She was always a bit disappointed when they stopped.

She kissed Rory's temple. "And he's obviously going to be one of those nerd boys who loves dinosaurs and probably has glasses bigger than he is because let's face it, between your eyesight and mine..." she trailed off with a faint smirk.

The idea of having a family should probably have struck her as a scary thought - it had before. This idea that she might actually be responsible for another life, much less potentially grow one... it had scared her when she was a teenager and one of her classmates got pregnant, or in college when she saw young couples pair off and start their families what she deemed far too early. It had even scared her when she got older, when she had been single or when she had even been with other partners. It wasn't something she wanted with Jess.

With Maris, it was different. As they joked about Keats or whatever they might name a daughter, that sense of oh god no way could I do that never hit her. Instead, she was calm with this idea that someday, not now, they would have a family together. Whether it looked like a family of three or four (more than that might kill them), she could see it take shape. She didn't fear losing herself to motherhood or even losing the slightest bit of what made them ... well, them.

Everything about their future together excited her.

Rory supposed that she had always sort of been prepared in some way to be a mother, even she had been lukewarm on the idea at times in her life. She always figured she would be at some point -- and that was more because she was raised by a single mother who proved raising children well could be done successfully without that overbearing worry that a man had to be present. That wasn't to say -- Rory respected the hell out of Maris' father, as evidenced by how nervous she was to see him again. She hoped he would see, clearly and without doubt, how entirely devoted Rory was to Maris.

They were planning for their future, and together shaping what they wanted it to look like. Rory was practically giddy when she thought about sharing things with kids who were theirs. Holidays that they were creating new traditions together for. School trips ... god they'd be those horrific room moms who signed up for everything, wouldn't they?

"Ohhhh my god." Rory whined with a bit of a pout, picturing exactly what Maris suggested. A little boy with dark hair and big glasses. "He's doomed." She grinned, squeezing Maris in tight and kissing her. She meant for it to be a little peck, but kissed her deeply instead, the glow of how goddamn happy she was radiating into the kiss. "C'mon you. Let's go home."