Two are Halves of One

"Mm," Emma mumbled around her mouthful of food. She swallowed, wiped her mouth, then thanked each of the boys as sincerely as she could. She shuddered just thinking about what might have happened if they hadn't stepped in.

Dean responded to her gratitude with a wide, toothy grin. "Do we get a reward?"

"A...reward?" She hesitated before taking another bite of eggs. After a moment's thought, she grinned. "How about another date? A better one. One where I'm not stoned off my ass."

"And Rachel's not a no-show most of the night," Carter added.

Ah- she hadn't meant to volunteer Rachel too, but of course they would assume she meant both of them. Dean appeared to be considering it in much depth, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Alright. But we get to choose the venue this time. And I say nowhere where meatheads are going to try to steal our dates."

Rachel laughed. "When is this reward date going to be?"

"Today," Carter said. "Now." He looked over at his brother, who nodded.

"Sure, why not," Dean agreed.

Emma looked with dismay down at her outfit. "I should really change. Maybe, like, later tonight or something?"

"I've got a t-shirt and some basketball shorts you can borrow," Carter volunteered. He started walking back to his room before she'd even responded, apparently not taking no for an answer. When he returned with the clothes, he was grinning. "We've been asking you out for three years. No way are we letting you make excuses and get out of it now that you've finally said yes."

The shirt hung tent-like on her and the shorts had to be cinched very tightly to stay on her hips, but they would serve as long as the foursome wasn't hoping to go the opera or eat at a fancy restaurant. "Alright," Emma said as she threw herself down on the couch next to Carter. "What are we doing, then?"

As it turned out, the guys didn't have any one thing in mind. They wandered to the entertainment multiplex downtown and played a few rounds of pool and a couple games of bowling. They raced once on the go-kart track, then again when Dean declared that the first race had been unfair because he'd spent most of his time trapped in one corner where he'd spun out, waiting for an attendant to drag him back out onto the course.

The whole day would have been great fun - except for Rachel.

Emma knew immediately her sister was up to something when she started to put on airs, pretending to be high maintenance and unpleasant most of the day. She whined; she wheedled; she demanded; she was by turns moodily taciturn and obnoxiously loud. The boys were baffled. At first, Dean had tried his hardest to keep his good humor with his date, but it was clear by the time they were looking for a place to eat that she had worn him down. Emma thought she was overdoing it, and she pulled Rachel aside to tell her so when they got to the restaurant.

"Hey, what are you doing out there, ya nut?" Emma demanded, dragging Rachel into the restaurant restroom.

Rachel was unperturbed. "I'm nipping this double date thing in the bud. We've got to get them out of the mindset that I belong with Dean and you belong with Carter."

"Well, I think you're killing Dean. He hasn't smiled for, like, an hour!"

"You'll just have to perk him back up again," Rachel said wickedly, blowing her sister a kiss as she skipped out of the bathroom to rejoin their dates.

It was clear the guys had been having a conference of their own, because they sat up abruptly and went silent as the girls sat down. Carter smiled very sweetly at Emma as she put a napkin in her lap; Dean's eyes were on Emma as well, when she finally looked across the table. Rachel was ignoring them all, texting someone under the table.

"Earth to Rachel," Emma hissed, stepping on her sister's foot. "We're having a conversation here."

"Just a sec," Rachel said without looking up. She didn't stop until the waiter came, and even then she only paused long enough to wave him away without ordering anything.

"Not hungry?" Dean asked. He was still being remarkably good-natured for someone who was probably on the worst date he'd ever had. Rachel just grunted in response, fingers flying over her touchscreen. "Well... alright then." He shot a look at his brother that could have killed.

Dinner was pretty tense as Emma tried to keep up the entire female half of the conversation. It got better once they sort of collectively decided to ignore Rachel; they picked up some of the friendly dynamic they'd had the night before at the bar. Still, Dean waved for the check as soon as the last bite was eaten, and he looked immensely grateful when the waiter returned with his receipt and all four of them could slide out of the booth and head back to the car.

When they got back to the boys' house, Dean slipped into the house without a word of farewell, not that Rachel seemed to notice. Carter lingered outside, and took Emma's hand. "I had a really great time today. Even-" He made a vague gesture with his hand, then cleared his throat and seemed to think better of the way he was going to finish his sentence. "Could I see you again sometime?"

"It's still early. You ready to see me off so soon?" Emma felt her heart clunking away in her chest as she tried to find an opening to get back in that house. Carter seemed surprised, but not unpleasantly so.

"Oh! I just figured, you know, since your sister..." He glanced over at Rachel's car, where Rachel was sitting in the driver's seat talking with great animation into her cell. "...didn't seem to want to stay." He very kindly didn't say that she would probably not be welcome. "But I could definitely drop you off later, if you wanted to stay. We could watch a movie or something."

Emma gave him a dazzling smile. "Sounds like fun. Let me just tell Rach." She practically floated over to the car, elated. Rachel rolled the window down, glancing over Emma's shoulder at Carter before meeting her sister's smile.

"Well? Are you staying?"

Emma tried to be cool about it. "We're gonna watch a movie or something."

Rachel laughed. "Yeah. Or something. Have fuuuuun!" She dragged the word out as she rolled the window back up and started backing out of the driveway, all at the same time. She gave her sister a wink and a wave, and then she was gone.

When she and Carter went in the house, they were greeted by Dean yelling from the couch as he flipped channels. "Oh my god! You owe me, you bastard. That was the worst- Oh!" He had glanced over and realized his brother was not alone. He dropped his head to his chest, eyes shut as he apparently quietly berated himself. "Hey, Emma," he said at last.

Emma waved away his awkwardness, trotting over to sit next to him on the couch. "Dean, I am so sorry about that. I have no idea what got into Rachel. She's not usually that...awful."

Dean laughed, a sound she hadn't heard for most of the day and was glad to hear again. "It's cool. Whatever. So, you're still here? Figured you'd have left with your sister."

"I'm going to take her home later," Carter said, staring his brother down. They spent a moment communicating in that instant, silent way that only siblings and the oldest friends can.

"In that case..." Dean stood up leave, but Emma caught his arm.Â

"Oh no, stay! Let's watch a movie."

Dean gave his brother a quick glance, then sat back down. He smiled at Emma. "What movie?"

Carter sat down on Emma's other side, draping his arm across the back of the couch. "Yes, what shall we watch? You pick, Emma." He and his brother appeared to be arguing silently while Emma slid onto the floor in front of the TV, perusing the boys' DVD collection. She picked a horror movie, something she's heard of but never seen, and popped it into their Xbox.

The movie was almost laughably un-scary, but Emma wasn't paying much attention to the film anyway. Every time one of the Moores shifted or made a sound, he drew her attention, and every inch of her skin was tense, waiting for a touch.

It was clear that Carter wasn't sure what his brother was still doing there. He wouldn't kick him out since Emma had specifically asked Dean to stay, but she could sense him trying to determine how the night was going to end, trying to formulate a plan that would put the two of them alone together.

His fingers brushed her shoulder, and his arm behind her on the couch crept closer and closer to being wrapped around her. Not to be outdone, Dean grabbed her leg just above her knee to startle her during all the tense parts of the movie. The attention, the tension - it was all making Emma deliciously lightheaded.

She could see, though, that this wasn't the night to spring her idea on the two of them. They were uncertain of her, uncertain of how each of them should behave with her. At this moment, she could see that Dean could take her or leave her - and was more inclined to back off and give his brother the space he needed - and she would need them both fully invested and interested.

When the movie ended, she put a little distance between herself and the guys, making it clear that she'd had a good time, but not encouraging either of them to make a move, especially Carter.

"This was fun," she said, pulling on her coat. She spoke carefully to both boys at once. "We definitely need to do it again. Maybe next weekend?"

"Yes," Carter said, almost on top of Dean saying, "Absolutely!"

Carter glanced over his shoulder at his twin so that she couldn't see his face, then extended a hand toward the door. "Shall we?"

They drove companionably, and Emma slipped out of the car when they got to her building before Carter could try to kiss her. She waved a hand behind her as she trotted up her steps. "I'll wash these clothes and get them back to you," she called in farewell.

***

"I knew I wasn't the only devious one," Rachel said smugly from her perch on the bathroom counter. Emma was trying to get ready for work around her sister, leaning into the mirror as she swiped on some mascara.

"I'm not being devious, I just want to make sure the moment's right. I'm seeing them this weekend, and I can get them both... in a better mood."

Rachel grinned, checking her own makeup in the mirror. "You never did congratulate me on my fine performance on that date."

Rolling her eyes, Emma said, "Yeah, that's because Shatner didn't overact as hard as you. I think your disinterest might have actually been a blow to Dean's ego."

"Ha! He probably needs it. Anyone that gorgeous needs to be taken down a peg or two every now and then." She sighed, tucking a stray piece of hair back into her bun. "It's kind of a shame, really. I might not have minded getting a piece of him."

"What? I thought you weren't interested in them! Isn't that why we spent three years putting them off?"

Rachel shrugged. "So they're more fun than I thought they would be. Sue me. Anyway, I wouldn't dream of getting in the middle of your little fantasy, so don't worry." She slid off the vanity and dove into the closet in search of shoes. "Actually," she said, her voice muffled as she dug through the piles on the closet floor, "I think you should be more worried about Carter. He seems..." She emerged from the closet with shoes in hand and blew her hair out of her face. "...kind of possessive?"

Emma chewed on the inside of her lip. "He does seem like a one-man-woman kind of guy. I'm not sure how he'll react to this whole suggestion. And Dean seems like he'll probably back out if he thinks Carter's not up for it."

Rachel patted Emma's cheek. "You just gotta get Dean so into it that he'll convince Carter. And you've got to make sure Carter doesn't start getting the sense that you're his. He already had that look on his face at dinner, like he wanted to steal you away to some cabin in the woods somewhere."

Laughing, Emma toed into her heels. "You make him sound like some sort of psychopath kidnapper." In a heavily accented, breathy male voice, she said, "I vill keep you here forevah. You are mein precious!"

Both sisters giggled, grabbing their bags and heading out to the car. Rachel dropped Emma at work and skidded on to her class, music pounding through the open sunroof. Rachel always drove like she was being chased by twenty cop cars.

Emma was a terrible employee that day. She couldn't keep her mind off of what had happened and what could happen. All through her hours, she sat at her desk, running imaginary scenarios through her mind and plotting what she would say or do in any eventuality.

Her boss, annoyed, asked if she was feeling alright. Eventually, he shooed her off, telling her to come back the next day with her head in the game. He was gruff, but a sweetheart. He could tell there was something on her mind.

It was only a couple of blocks to her campus, so she elected to walk instead of calling Rachel up. She'd meet her outside her comm law classroom. It was a beautiful day, and a ton of students were milling around on the grass, reading, laughing and throwing frisbees like something straight out of the college brochures. She spotted Dean standing under a tree with a couple of guys she didn't recognize and waved, smiling.

He gave her a smile that had probably coerced a dozen girls into his bed and waved back. He held up a finger asking her to wait, said a few words to the guys he was with, and jogged over.

"Hey, long time no see," he said with a grin. "What're you up to?"

"Just got off work," she hedged. "Coming to meet Rachel. You, uh, just hanging out?"

He nodded, still smiling. "Listen, uh-"

"Emma!" Rachel came bustling down the sidewalk, cheerfully greeting them from several paces away. Emma smirked as Dean straightened up slightly, like he was steeling himself for her twin's arrival. "Why aren't you at work? I was just on my way to pick you up."

"Oh, Doug let me off early. I was like a zen master of focus today." Emma raised an eyebrow at her sister. "I was just asking Dean what-" She turned and saw that Dean was making his escape, waving over his shoulder at them as he skittered back up the lawn to his waiting friends.

The sisters met eyes and laughed. "Maybe I did overdo it," Rachel said.

***

Carter glanced out the front window again, squinting into the darkening evening. There was no sign of headlights.

"Dude, she's coming. Chill out," Dean called from where he sprawled on the couch. "If you look out that window one more time, I swear to god I'm just going to lock you outside, and you can wait for her there."

Carter let the curtains drop and went to the fridge, opening the door and looking blankly inside. "What the hell, man? I just got a six pack this afternoon. Why are there only two left?"

"Maybe I thought Emma would be glad to spend some time here not inebriated," Dean quipped. "I drank it."

"Asshole." Carter grabbed one of the remaining bottles out of the fridge and popped the cap off, draining half of it in one swig. "Jesus, why am I so nervous? She asked to come over."

"I'm more curious about why I'm nervous," Dean said lightly. Carter could see now that his brother was definitely buzzed. "Or I was anyway."

"Maybe it's because you're hanging around here cockblocking me instead of getting lost like I told you to?"

Dean raised his hands defensively. "Hey, she said she'd see us this weekend. And I am not about to let the lady down."

Carter snorted, then a thought occurred to him. "You don't think she means to bring Rachel, do you?"

Carter's twin sat up sharply, scowling. "God, I hope not. I could not believe what a bitch she was that whole day. Hasn't she always seemed, I don't know, more normal than that?"

Carter shrugged and finished his beer. "I don't know, man. Maybe we just assumed she was cool because she's so hot."

"They're so hot," Dean corrected.

"Watch it," Carter said, dropping onto the other couch. "That's my date you're talking about now."

"She's mostly been our date, really," Dean said. "And if I recall, you nominated yourself for the position when we picked her up. Emma hasn't actually picked you."

Carter scowled. "So you're going to sit here and be a pain in my ass all night trying to find out if she might like you better?"

Laughing, Dean threw up his hands helplessly, "Hey, all I'm saying is, let's leave it up to the lady's choice. I like her, you like her - unless you want to duke it out, seems like we should just follow her lead."

Carter rolled his eyes. "You're lucky you're my brother, or I'd've already beat your ass and thrown you out of here."

"Like you could!"

Someone knocked on the front door, and both guys froze. Dean started to stand up, but Carter shoved him back down on the couch and trotted over to let Emma in. "Hey," he said as he opened the door for her. Always eloquent. He gestured for her to come in, staring openly at her. She looked great; she was wearing some sort of sweater-shirt-dress thing that barely came down over her butt, and tight leggings underneath. He fought the urge to grab her.

"Hey yourself. Do you guys have anything to drink? I'm parched." She didn't wait for Carter to get anything for her, just marched over to the fridge and opened the doors to both the fridge and freezer.

"Ooh, what's this?" She hauled a frosty, half-empty bottle of vodka out of one of the freezer shelves, holding it up like a trophy. Carter had no idea that stuff was in there; it was probably something Dean had gotten for a girl. "Hmm. No mixers, though. What do you think, shots?"

Carter's eyebrows shot up. Apparently this wasn't going to be a casual, movies-on-the-couch sort of evening. Dean hopped up off the couch and snatched the booze from her, clearly happy enough with the turn of events.

"Do you need shots, Dean?" he asked pointedly. His brother was clearly already feeling fine.

"I don't know, mom. You clearly do." Dean shoved the cold bottle into Carter's hands and started digging through cabinets, looking for shot glasses. Emma took it back, pulled the stopper and took a swig. She coughed, laughed and handed the bottle back to Carter.

Well, if it was going to be that kind of night, so be it. Carter knocked back a mouthful, then grimaced at the bottle. "Raspberry vodka?"

Dean laughed and grabbed the booze. "Ladies love the fruity stuff," he said, taking a drink and passing the bottle to Emma. "Right, Emma?"

"Actually," she said before downing another gulp, "I'm not a huge fan. But since I'm at the mercy of your stash..." She handed over the vodka and glided into the living room. "Do you guys have some cards or something? Let's play a game."

They played poker at the kitchen table, betting drinks rather than chips. In two hands, Dean was clearly drunk and the vodka was almost gone. Emma stopped shuffling and thrust the last of the vodka at Carter. "You finish this. Dean and I are going to go dig up a better game than this."

"We could just play strip poker," Dean joked, but Emma shook her head and laughed.

"You didn't have quite enough vodka for that."

The board games in their closet weren't necessarily better, so they played a couple of dice games and made a brief attempt at truth or dare, but Dean's suggestions were all too outrageous and Emma's too tame. Carter's buzz started to wear off, and he worried that Emma was getting bored.

He shouldn't have been worried, though. Emma could take care of herself. She drifted back into the living room, punching buttons on their sound system until she got to the radio.

"My friend is DJing at Cabo's tonight, and KXVX is out there live," she said, clicking through the channels until she found the one she wanted. With a flick of her wrist she turned the volume all the way up until the house was pounding with dance music.

As she kicked off her shoes and started undulating to the beat, Dean was quick to join her in her barefoot-living-room dancing, and Carter tossed the empty vodka bottle in the trash before sliding over onto their imaginary dance floor too. He leaned to talk into Emma's ear so that he could be heard over the music, "You don't want to head out to Cabo's and see your friend? There'll be plenty of dancing there."