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scmg11 · 2 years

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KATE BISHOP x READER

JEALOUSY

A/N: HELLO HELLO HELLO! How are you guys? I hope you're having a good day/afternoon/night!

Here's a bit longer chapter to make up my absence these weeks! ❤️

As always let me know what you think! 🤓❤️

Sending so so much love ❤️

Summary: Y/N and Kate are on a mission, but the archer is not so fond of a particular part of their plan. Her jealousy leads them to confess their feelings and smut ensues.

Warnings: smut.

Word count: 15103 words.

Y/N was in the middle of drinking some needed water after her intense workout when a body suddenly crushed onto her back, making her stumble a little and spilling water on herself. "Oh c’mon!"

"Hello to you too Y/N/N. I missed you too." The black haired girl giggled softly as she got back on her feet after disentangling her legs she previously circled around the Y/H/C girl’s waist to prevent herself to fall on the ground and watched as Y/N hastily tried to dry her sport bra and stomach from the water that spilled out of her bottle of water when she crashed into her body.

"Kamala I love you, but next time warn me."

"It wouldn’t be a surprise then Y/N." A deep Russian accent reached her ears and the two girls turned around to watch Yelena enter the gym, followed by America and Kate.

"I hate surprises." Y/N sighed out as she gave up in trying to dry up her sport bra and threw her towel on the bench beside her.

"We know." Kamala, Yelena, Kate and America spoke up at the same time with sly smirks on their faces before throwing themselves at Y/N and hugging her tightly.

"Hm, I missed you girls so much this past few weeks."

"How was the mission?" Kamala asked excitedly after they pulled away from the hug, the four of them starting their journey towards Y/N’s room where they will spend their weekly Thursday night with pizza and games.

"Boring for the most part. But let me tell you Leo taught me how to control electronic things with just a phone. It was hilarious watching Jemma and Daisy go crazy with the coffee machine and the oven."

"Miss Y/L/N, Coulson requested your presence in the conference room in 10 minutes."

"Okay, I’ll be there. Thank you Friday." Y/N answered as she finished typing away a few things on her laptop, before the IA spoke again.

"He also requested Miss Bishop’s presence."

Kate looked up from the TV and stopped her game to stare up at the ceiling like she actually could spot the bodiless voice, "mine too?"

"Correct Miss Bishop. Miss Khan, Miss Belova and Miss Chavez are already there."

The two best friends stared at one another in confusion before shrugging their shoulders and sitting up, closing their devices and walking out of Y/N’s room towards the elevator. "What do you think this is about?"

"I don’t know, maybe some team briefing? Coulson likes to show us things on the new sophisticated board Fitz built for him." Y/N chuckled at her own response alongside the blue eyed girl, who nodded in agreement.

"Ah girls, you’re here. Let’s start." Coulson tapped on the board in front of him and a few secretive files of a drug and illegal weapons dealer appeared on the screen, alongside with an art collector and a fugitive criminal, "Y/N I know you got back from your mission in Florence just a week ago, but we finally have a lead on this case Daisy is working on for months now."

"Really? She made it?" Y/N asked in amazement as a lot of details regarding those criminals, their actual positions, bank accounts and a few more informations appeared on the screen, amazed that Daisy did all of that all by herself and actually found a solid lead after she complained during their mission she had been stuck for a few weeks.

"Yes, she is now in Portland with Simmons delivering everything you brought from Florence to our research department. So I want you guys to take part on this operation."

"What are we gonna do?" Yelena spoke first, her work tone on as she eyed as much details as she could.

"We know these criminals are going to meet in Amsterdam in three days. They are going to sort out their plan to start collaborating on selling illegal stuff. Each one of them has four bodyguards alongside them, that’s why we need you guys there, and a security team watching over the vault the meeting is gonna take place in."

"Okay, how do we get there? I’m sure they will have a security system that will be impossible to bypass without the right equipment." Kate butted in, zooming in on the vault and examining the picture closely, her knowledge about all that stuff thanks to Bishop Security.

"You’re right. You can’t get in without 4 magnetic cards that has to be inserted in the lock at the same time."

"Dramatic." Yelena commented as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, causing Kamala and America to snort in agreement.

"So how do we duplicate them?" Kamala asked curiosity, furrowing her eyebrows in question.

"We can’t. They were build uniquely for that lock and they can’t be duplicated, so we need to steal them, well- you will. These criminals chose 4 girls to give them these cards and to protect them until their meeting."

"Why I think this is the easy part?" America joked to lighten up the mood, watching Coulson roll his eyes good-naturedly when the four other girls giggled with frantic nods.

"You’re leaving tonight. Keep an eye on those girls and when it’s time, take those cards and stop those criminals."

The five girls nodded resolutely before walking out of the room to start packing up for their mission.

"Uh nice. This place is huge." Yelena spoke in a deep Russian accent as she parked in front of the hotel they were staying at, eyeing the valet opening her door and smiling brightly at her, a gesture that she obviously didn’t reciprocate with the deep frown present on her face.

"Smile El, he just wants to park our car."

"I don’t trust him." Yelena murmured under her breath before sighing gently and hid her Russian accent with a great American accent as she spoke once again, her words now directed to the valet, "thank you-" she trailed off as she squinted her eyes on the name written on the name tag, "John."

"Hi! We have a reservation for Anderson." Kamala walked over the front desk and smiled politely at the receptionist as he handed them two keys. "Uhm, there should be a reservation for a master suite for 5 people."

"Oh yes, we’re sorry but that master suite was already booked. It was a mistake from our computers, but we promptly notified you through an email. In return we’re giving you two junior suites."

Kamala turned around with a puzzled expression and asked with a forced smile through her teeth, "guys, who was supposed to take care of any sort of email?"

"America." Y/N, Kate and Yelena mouthed simultaneously before speaking up together, saying America’s fake name for this mission, "Claire."

"I am truly sorry. I got caught up with work and I didn’t check my emails."

"We’re supposed to be on vacation Claire." Y/N reprimanded as she watched plain remorse on America’s face.

"It’s fine. We can still have fun with two bedrooms." Kamala quickly grabbed the keys and ushered everyone towards the elevator. "Okay, minor inconvenient but we can continue with our vacation."

To their relief the two suites were near each other, only another room separating their bedrooms. "Guys this suite has 3 master bedrooms, so we just need to decide how to split up."

They settled on just doing rock, paper, scissor. Surprisingly the game lasted only one round. Kamala, Yelena and America chose rock while Y/N and Kate chose scissor. Kamala handed Kate the key to their room and they split up, agreeing to meet in Yelena’s, Kamala’s and America’s room an hour later to start planning their next move for their mission.

"I don’t know about you, but I’m so happy to share the room with you. Kamala and America always leave the room a mess and Yelena snores so fucking loud you can hear her from another country." Y/N declared after the two of them searched around the room to be sure there weren’t any bugs or listening devices, slumping on the bed and sighing out at the comfy mattress.

"Same. Even tho Yelena’s snoring problem is getting better, I still can’t stand it. I love that girl but man, snoring might be the worst noise in the world." Kate mimicked Y/N’s gesture and laid beside her, staring up at the ceiling while soaking up in the relaxing time they have before getting to work.

"Ugh, tell me about it. So Bishop, if you snore, you’re sleeping in the hallway." Y/N teased with a sly smirk, turning her head around to point a warning finger at the archer.

"Pftt, it’s more likely that you will sleep in the lobby if you snore. Don’t test my patience Y/L/N or I’m kicking your ass in our next sparring session." Y/N snorted loudly when Kate pushed on her shoulder and scoffed indignantly. The archer poked the agent’s side a few times before crossing her hands on her stomach.

"So you’re implying you’re downplaying your combat skills while we spar?"

"Of course, so the match is more even." Kate shrugged nonchalantly as a big, smug grin took over her previous serious features.

"Oh Bishop, wait till we get back in the compound." Y/N stared at Kate with a fierce look in her Y/E/C irises, squinting her eyes menacingly at the black haired beauty and grunting under her breath.

Kate held her gaze a few more seconds before both bursted laughing and shook their heads at their playful banter. "Do you think those three already destroyed that suite?"

"Of course they did. I am surprised nothing exploded yet."

"Okay, our 4 targets are attending a party into a night club later tonight, so we need to go there, infiltrate, lay low for a bit before retrieving those magnetic cards without being noticed." Y/N recapped as she laid with her hands on the huge table in the middle of Yelena’s, America’s and Kamala’s room, where a few mission details and top secret files were scattered around.

"Since the place is huge, three of us need to always monitor all our exits, then someone who helps the designated one who has to distract our targets and to retrieve those magnetic cards by casually passing by them and quickly slipping each card from them." Yelena instructed some more, grabbing a few layouts of the club and crossing each exit alongside a few other things like the bathrooms and the bar.

"Okay, who will distract our targets?" America asked pertinently, typing away something on the laptop open in front of her to gather some more informations about the club they had to go later that night.

"Since no one is offering- I prepared a bucked with our names in it. Each one of us pick a piece of paper and the name that will be the most picked will distract our targets." Yelena pulled out a black bucket out of nowhere and place it gingerly on the center of the table. "C’mon, don’t be shy!"

Then each one of the girls gathered around the table picked a folded piece of paper, opened it gingerly and silently read the name written on it. "Mine says Kamala." America spoke up first, showing the name for everyone to read before waiting patiently to someone to inform who they picked.

"America." Kamala spoke up right after and mimicking America’s gesture. The brunette latina shrugged her shoulders before perching over the table to high five the black haired girl enthusiastically.

"Oh look at that, mine says Yelena." The blonde snorted in amusement as she placed the paper on the table and regarded Kate and Y/N with a questioning gaze.

"Y/N." Kate butted in quickly, then regarded Y/N with a curious look.

The Y/H/C girl sighed out loud, stared at the name written on the piece of paper a few more instants before turning it around and showing it to her teammates and best friends, "Y/N."

"Great, so Y/N you will distract our targets enough to slip those cards from them. I’ve seen you doing it a couple of times and I’m glad you’re the one doing it again because you’re the best one among us."

"Thanks." Y/N smiled sheepishly at the Russian blonde and watched her nod in acknowledgement before looking over her notes about the mission.

"I will start a more accurate research about our targets at the club. We need as much informations as possible."

"Okay, we will cover the second part of the plan that will take place at 3 in the morning." Kate nodded at Yelena as she helped America find the layouts of the building the meeting was going to take place in to be prepared for everything tonight.

"Look at you Y/L/N." Y/N jumped a bit in surprise at the sudden voice appearing behind her, too focused on adjusting her white tee in the mirror to notice Yelena entering the living room. She just got ready for their busy night and as soon as she was done, she walked back into her teammates’ room to hurry them up, America opening the door and rushing away to go put her shoes on. Y/N got herself busy by tidying the table up and hide everything they had for their mission to prevent anyone from the hotel look at the secret files, before walking towards the mirror hung on the wall and fixing up her appearance, consisting in black, ripped jeans, white t-shirt, combat boots and a leather jacket.

"Hey El. You look good." Y/N took in the oversized blue jeans and the crop top the Russian had on, her blonde hair styled in a messy updo and her makeup simple but bold enough to highlight her green eyes.

"Those targets are gonna fall to your knees tonight, damn." Yelena spoke up after she heard a soft knock on the door and walked over it to open it and let the black haired archer clad in a dark grey suit with a black t-shirt under and black combat boots, her hair flowing down her shoulders perfectly as a simple makeup adorned her wonderful features. Yelena let out a loud whistle as she took the girl in, smirking inwardly when she side-eyed Y/N and watched her almost drool at Kate’s appearance.

"What do you mean?" Y/N finally found her voice after she lost completely all her abilities to function properly when she was in the presence of the breathtaking sight that was Kate Bishop. She just hoped the archer didn’t notice her ogling at her hungrily. Little did she know the archer was too busy devouring her appearance with her eyes while imperceptibly biting on her bottom lip to realize it.

"After an accurate research, I found out these girls’ Instagram. They are just broke college students who probably needed some extra money." Yelena explained after she closed the door, happy that in that moment America and Kamala decided to join them so she won’t repeat the plan of action. "That’s why they found themselves in ‘business’ with those criminals."

"They probably don’t even know those assholes are criminals." Kate butted in pensively, leaning her shoulder on a wall and crossing her arms.

"Probably." America joined in the conversation as she sat on the chair beside the table, while Kamala took a seat on the couch on the far left of the room.

"Anyway, after stalking their Instagram accounts I found out two of them are gay and the other two are bi. They all study psychology in university, but from their followers they don’t know each other."

"Okay so? What does them being gay or bi has to do with me distracting them while I secretly take those cards from them?" Y/N asked matter of factly, not really following Yelena’s train of thoughts.

"It‘s important because it will be easier when you’ll have to seduce them." Yelena declared nonchalantly, like she didn’t just drop a bomb on Y/N, America, Kate and Kamala, all of them staring at the former Black Widow in slight shock with their eyes widened just a tad and their mouths mildly parted open.

"I’m sorry, what?"

"I know you perfected your stealing methods over the years making them excellent, but you know, just like everyone here, that if she catches you, you’re screwed. You need to have an excuse to touch them, therefore you seducing them."

"You really thought thoroughly about it." Y/N admitted in a murmured tone after a few seconds of silence, still thinking over Yelena’s explanation and not finding something to argue it with.

"Of course, we’re professional. It’s not our first time seducing someone to gain something for our mission." Yelena shrugged and eyed Y/N knowingly, both remembering their mission in Valencia a few months prior.

"Mh- it’s my first time actually." Kamala lifted her hand up sheepishly and sighed out in relief when America and Kate agreed with her right after her statement.

"Well luckily, it will be Y/N who will seduce those girls. Trust me, she is good. A few months ago we went on a mission together in Valencia. We planned at least 3 hours in a bar downtown to spot our target and find ways to seduce her to gain some informations. An hour later we walked out of that bar with more informations we initially planned. That woman spilled everything in the span of like 10 minutes as Y/N worked her magic with her mouth and fingers." Yelena recounted that funny memory as she walked towards Y/N and circled her shoulders in a side hug, laughing heartily while patting her on her clavicle.

"Okay, you made it sound so dirty. I just fondled her and kissed her a few times." Y/N shrugged her shoulders as she giggled at Yelena’s mimicking kissing sounds. Kate stayed uncharacteristically silent as America and Kamala asked more about that mission, fixating her hard stare on the wall in front of her as she clenched her jaw heavily, jealousy boiling almost derisively in her stomach as she tried to push away the images of Y/N groping some random girl.

"Kate?" The archer was pushed out of her mind when a soft hand leaned on her left shoulder and made her rip her eyes away from the wall, thinking she almost blow a hole in the white plaster from how intensely she was staring at it, and met a pair of comforting, warm Y/E/C irises.

"Mh?"

"We’re ready to go. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, totally, totally. I was just- meditating. It helps focusing on the mission." Kate patted herself on the back for making up a believable excuse for her strange behavior and smiled gently at Y/N.

Y/N grinned back at her and nodded, "do you have everything with you?"

"Yep, my collapsible bow is in my left shoe and the rest is in my purse."

"Okay, let’s go party!" Kamala enthusiastically pushed everyone out of the room before letting out a loud, excited ‘woohoo’ and making everyone else laugh and getting infected by the girl’s contagious excitement.

"Remember girls, we’re professionals. We stay focused on the mission. No distractions." Yelena screamed over the loud music blasting from the speakers throughout the club, her face stoic and voice serious. She trailed off a few seconds before speaking up again. "First round of shots is on me!"

Y/N chuckled at the contradictory sentence Yelena spoke after her stimulating, encouraging and cheerful speech, but followed her towards the bar counter where she already found a spot and was ordering 5 shots of vodka, America and Kamala looking a bit skeptical and unsure about the whole thing. "Hey, are you okay? You are unusually silent. You’re always so talkative during a mission."

"I’m just a bit worried. I want everything to go smoothly." Kate admitted in a strained voice, clenching on her jaw as she lied easily to the girl. She wasn’t caring about the mission at this point because all she could think about was Y/N having to seduce their targets and that she will probably has to endure all of that without intervening to avoid interfering with the mission just because she was jealous beyond herself. After they discussed about how Y/N should approach their targets, Yelena chose Kamala and America to help her keeping an eye on all of the exits, wanting to teach them how to do it properly since they were still a bit new to all of this, while Kate was the designated helper. She couldn’t say no to that, so she just gulped down her jealousy, sighed under her breath and put on a fake smile that didn’t reach her blue irises before nodding softly.

"You don’t need to worry." Y/N smiled brightly at Kate and leaned her hand on the small of her back to caress there softly in comfort, "relax and enjoy our night out. Bring that excitement back because is so cute watching you literally buzz in enthusiasm." Y/N finished her sentence by bumping their shoulders together and causing the archer to laugh gently under her breath before regarding their teammates waiting for them at the bar, not noticing in her distracted state, much to Kate’s relief, that the blue eyed girl had a scorching blush dusted over her cheeks that was triggered by the Y/H/C girl’s words.

"Okay, to this mission! Cheers!" The agents lifted their shot glasses up but before they could down them she stopped everyone mid-way to warn the two younger Avengers, "you have to down it, not sip it, okay? Otherwise you’ll have to deal with me."

Kamala and America nodded before downing the shots alongside their other teammates, a choir of coughs followed soon after when everyone except Yelena choked on the burning caused by the vodka. "Your drinking game is pathetic." Yelena signaled the bartender to fill her shot glass again and drank it a second later.

"Show off." Kate pushed Yelena on her shoulder with a fond roll of her eyes, making Yelena laugh contentedly.

"Hey, that’s our target." Kamala spoke up and forced everyone to look where she was squinting her eyes at and instantly recognized the first girl on their list.

"Y/N, you’re up. Remember, if she catches you, shove your tongue down her throat." Kate clenched hard on her jaw as jealousy boiled once again in her stomach, sending daggers towards that poor girl before watching Y/N asking for a shot of tequila and downing it in one go.

"Okay, Kate, show time." Y/N grasped the archer’s bicep gently and pushed her towards the left end of the club, finding the girl sat alone on a table and sipping on her cocktail. "El, did you use that special device?"

"Yup, here look. She has the card in her left back pocket." Yelena’s voice came from right behind her and turned around to find Yelena standing close to her and showing her the device’s screen, where an x-Ray scan of the girl detected the components of the card and highlighted it in her pocket as the screen displayed.

"You three were supposed to control our exits." Y/N told her teammates standing beside them matter-of-factly and was met with three shrugs.

"I don’t want to lose the show." Yelena admitted and smiled triumphantly when America and Kamala nodded in agreement.

"Great." Y/N grunted under her breath and approached the girl furtively and when she was close enough to the girl she stretched her hand over to try to slip the card out of the girl’s pocked but it was already a difficult task since the chair could block its passage. Just when Y/N was ready to touch the girl’s jeans back pocket, the girl turned her head hastily around and almost caught Y/N, but the girl was quick enough to make it look like she was tying up her shoes before looking up at the girl in apology and put on a crooked smile that she felt it was more a grimace than anything else. "Sorry! I almost tripped into you, these shoes are giving me hell tonight." Y/N screamed over the music to make the girl hear her. Seducing her it is, then.

"Don’t worry! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, how about you? Waiting for someone?" Y/N pointed to the empty seat beside the girl and watched her sigh out loud.

"I wish, she stood me up."

"What? Only a fool would do that. If I was her I would have never let go a beautiful girl like you." The two spend some time talking about a few things, Y/N trying to put on her best seductive face and tried to charm the girl into kissing her. "I’m sorry. It’s just that you look familiar, did we go to the same high school or something? Oh yes! I remember us making out two minutes from now."

"Oh my god!" Kamala exclaimed while Yelena exploded in loud cackles.

"This is amazing." Yelena bent over her knees as she continued laughing out loud at the amazing show she was witnessing, everybody too much occupied with staring at Y/N to notice Kate standing a few feet away clutching her phone in her hand as she sent daggers at the girl’s skull and fuming with anger and jealousy.

"Mh, cheeky aren’t we?"

"What can I say? It does not happen often to meet a cute girl in a club." Y/N shrugged with her best dashing smirk, taking a sip of her drink, winking at the girl over the rim of the glass and watching her blush furiously.

"Mh keep saying things like that and that kiss might happen earlier than expected." The girl stretched her finger over to caress Y/N chin gently before leaning over and clashing their lips together in an hard kiss. Kate had to physically detach her eyes from the scene and moved them to their friends cheering Y/N on over the blasting music. "Mh, c’mere."

"I can’t, the table is in the way." Y/N grunted out, whining in pain when the girl pulled her more into her forcefully but the rim of the table pressed on her ribcage. "Maybe we should get up, so I can properly kiss and feel you."

Y/N’s acting worked pretty well because a second later the girl sat up with a grunt and pulled her up with her, the agent happy that this torture will come to an end in the span of a few minutes now that she has a better access to the girl’s back pocket. As she pushed the girl on the wall and heard her moan greedily with her hands clutching her leather jacket, the girl opened her eyes to peek at the archer to signal her she was almost ready and to prepare herself. She watched Kate nod as she put her phone away and returned her attention to the girl now gripping her neck harshly as Y/N’s tongue invaded her mouth. "Oh YES!"

Y/N smirked inwardly when the girl mistook Y/N sneaking her hand into her back pocket to slip the card away with Y/N groping her, glad she didn’t notice the card’s absence and continued to kiss her greedily as Y/N passed the item to Kate walking by them, while her other hand stayed on the girl’s other buttcheek to not arise suspicion into the girl. After a minute or so of heavy kissing, Y/N pulled away and faked taking a call, before apologizing to the girl she had to leave. "I’m sorry, but I really need to go. It was fun."

Just when the redhead was ready to stop her from leaving, a tall blonde walked towards them and greeted the girl with an apologetic smile. "I’m sorry, I got caught up at work."

Y/N then understood she was the girl the redhead was waiting for before her arrival and smiled politely at her, leaving the two to socialize. "Nice move Y/L/N." Yelena circled her arm around the agent’s shoulders and laughed loudly, the teammates walking back to the bar to look around for their next target.

"Ugh, she was so bad at kissing." Y/N shuddered uncomfortably and downed two shots in a go.

"I’m definitely using that line in the future." America admitted with a chuckle before scanning her eyes around the room.

"Guys, right there." Kamala pointed to their next target, dancing not too far from them with a couple of friends. Yelena spurred into action, lifted their special device up to find where the brunette hid the card.

"In her blazer, right pocket." Y/N took a deep, grounding breath, before grasping Kate’s bicep - a gesture that made Kate’s stomach explode with wild butterflies - to walk them towards the girl and smiling at her gently before letting her go a few feet away from their target.

"I can see you like rock and roll music. That’s good, because I can easily rock your world."

"Oh c’mon Y/N! You can do so much better than that!" Yelena commented as Kate rolled her eyes, not really knowing what she had done to force her to endure all of this when all she wanted was to be in the girl’s Y/N was now currently making out with spot. A few minutes later Kate passed furtively past them and retrieved another card, before joining her other three teammates enjoying the show.

After Y/N walked away from their second target, they all ordered another round of shots, Kate asking for a refill since she still has to endure watching Y/N make out with other two girls.

"Top floor, look." America squinted her eyes to make sure she recognized the girl walking up the stairs of the club, then Yelena promptly identified the card before they all moved to assist Y/N hit on another girl.

"Y’know, I’ve read somewhere kissing is the language of love. So would you like to have a conversation with me?"

"Oh that was the best so far." Kamala chuckled and nodded in satisfaction, high-fiving Yelena and America when they agreed with her.

"I must admit, you’ve gotten good with pick up lines." Yelena declared after she downed another shot and patted Y/N on the shoulder.

"Please, I’ve always been good."

"I beg to differ. Remember that one time in Pittsburgh?"

"What happened?" Kamala asked curiously after the Russian groaned with a roll of her eyes at her statement.

"She approached a girl saying ‘you’re so hot my zipper is falling for you’. It was so embarrassing to watch."

"Yeah, that was a bit lame." Kamala and America agreed with grimaces on their faces, causing Y/N to roll her eyes in fond exasperation.

"Do I need to remind you that it worked?"

"Minor details."

"Whatever." Kate asked the bartender for another shot of the strongest thing he had and downed it in one go, praying all of this will end soon. She was on the verge of tears, all this jealousy, rage and sorrow bottled up was really testing her, but she won’t ever let her friends see her cry because she couldn’t get over her crush on Y/N and couldn’t act like a professional on their mission.

"Mh interesting place to hide the card." Yelena hummed as she eyed the screen before showing it to everyone around them, Kate almost fainting at what she saw. "Good luck with that."

"Oh no, fuck." Y/N batted her eyes a few times to be sure she wasn’t mistaken before sighing out dejected as she stared at the card being stashed in the front of the girl’s pants, right where her vagina was.

"Look on the bright side. You’re almost done. Good luck. Here, you will definitely need this." Yelena handed Y/N another shot, who she promptly downed before walking resolutely towards their last target.

"Hey, sorry. I’m looking for a treasure, can I look into your pants?" Y/N murmured sultrily into the girl’s ear before biting on her lobe harshly.

"Oooh!" Yelena, America and Kamala exclaimed in loud whistles at Y/N’s sentence and Kate couldn’t help but roll her eyes at their childish behavior, her eyes prickling with tears.

"Aren’t you guys supposed to check our exits? We’re leaving soon." Kate tried to use a normal and totally cool tone, but a bit of irritation could be heard in her voice. America and Kamala instantly turned around from Y/N and got into position as they eyed their exits, while Kate stared annoyed at Y/N kissing that blonde fervently before moving her eyes away when she watched her slip her hand in the front of the girl’s pants.

"Kate Bishop, jealousy does not look cool on you."

Kate turned her head around quickly towards Yelena standing beside her and eyed her with widened eyes, expecting her to be ready for their way out and not next to her, "w-what? I-I’m not."

"Stop trying to pretend you’re not. I can see it. You’ve been quiet all night, which I thought would be great but I strangely missed your squeaky voice gushing about anything."

"Listen- I- don’t tell her, okay? Please."

"Kate Bishop, you’re funny but stupid."

Kate did a double take and stared at Yelena weirdly, "what? Why?"

"Because you didn’t notice her crush on you." Yelena stated matter of factly, getting ready to move when she watched Y/N give them the signal.

"She doesn’t have a crush on me." Kate stated in a resolute, but dejected tone, sighing out sadly before starting walking towards Y/N to finish with their plan.

"Kate-" Yelena stopped the black haired archer with a hand on her arm and forced her to meet her eyes, "she likes you. Tell her. Don’t live on what ifs."

Kate stared at Yelena’s green irises a few more seconds before walking towards Y/N with the glass of water she ordered not too long ago after Yelena released her from her soft grip. "Oh my god, I’m so sorry!"

"Don’t worry. I need to leave anyway, my friend texted me. He needs a lift home." Y/N smiled politely at Kate before sending a kiss to the girl she had been making out for a few minutes and walking away, passing the card to Kate, who immediately hid it in her blazer’s sleeve, before following behind the agent while Yelena’s words echoed around her head. Does Y/N really have a crush on me?

"DID YOU SEE THAT? I bitch-slapped him into the wall!" Kamala yelled enthusiastically on the front seat, jumping up and down in excitement as she recalled her knocking one of the criminals down with her huge hand. America gushed alongside her in the middle of the seats to Kamala in the passenger seat and Yelena driving back to their hotel, while Kate and Y/N took the seats in the back of the van to take a moment to relax after their big fight.

"Hey Kate- you’re bleeding." Y/N noticed Kate’s wound on her chin gushing a few drops of blood and used a napkin to prevent them to fall on her jeans.

"Don’t worry. I’m okay." Kate answered dismissively, turning her head around to stare out of the window, as she fought against the tears ready to spill. It was normal after a big fight to let go of all the pent up emotions you had stashed inside due to the adrenaline pumping fast in your veins, so Kate wasn’t surprised when her eyes prickled with tears as her masochistic mind went over the events of their evening in the nightclub.

"Are you sure? Hey- please look at me. Let me inspect the wound." Y/N insisted a few times, trying to reach Kate’s face with the napkin to clean her face, but almost jumped up in fright when Kate turned her head around quickly, her eyes brimming with tears and her face completely red.

"Leave it Y/N. I said I’m fine."

Y/N went over the initial shock of the sudden outburst of the archer and focused on her broken state. "Hey-" Y/N laid a hand on the girl’s unwounded cheek, watching the girl almost pull away from the touch, but in the end sinking into her palm and sighing quietly while a single tear fell down her face, but Y/N promptly wiped it away. "What’s wrong? It’s okay, I’m here." Kate swallowed the hiccup ready to leave her throat and forced herself to calm down before smiling at Y/N in appreciation. "Wanna tell me what’s bothering you?"

Kate shook her head and closed her eyes, but when she reopened them she was met with warm eyes and gentle smile silently asking to let her help, causing the girl to relent almost immediately, "not here."

Y/N nodded and moved her hand away from Kate’s face, the archer missing instantly the warmth it was providing, before her stomach flipped over itself when Y/N entwined their hands together and didn’t pull away, not even when they parked and exited the car, appreciating the reassuring gesture.

"Guys I really want to celebrate but I physically can’t, that asshole of a guard kicked me in my side and the pain is excruciating." Y/N admitted as she limped a bit to their rooms, using Kate’s hand to stabilize herself while the archer gripped her hand comfortingly, an act that made her stomach churn with mushy feelings.

"Same, a jackass hit me with a pipe right on my spine. My back hurts so much." Kate grunted in pain as she stretched her hand over to open Y/N’s and hers bedroom door.

"We’ll celebrate tomorrow. We can stay here a few more days before going back to the compound." Yelena nodded and subtly eyed Kate, silently communicating with her to tell the girl how she felt and watched Kate thinking about it, dusting a small smile over her lips as she nodded at the archer in encouragement.

"Goodnight girls." Y/N waved at them before letting Kate walk in and following her inside.

"Ugh, I hope this suite has some ice. My ribs hurt like a bitch." Y/N limped a bit in her steps on her way to the mini fridge, almost dancing in sheer happiness when she found a bucket full of ice cubes next to a bottle of champagne.

"Did you find it?" Kate asked in a small tone, sighing out in relief when she discarded her boots and sat slowly on the couch, wincing under her breath when her back hurt slightly.

"Oh I found much more than what I was expecting." Kate could hear the smile Y/N had on her lips through her tone, imagining that beautiful grin as she stared at her back curiously. She watched her move still in her crouching position a few more seconds, a rustle of ice the only sound bouncing off the silent room’s walls, before Y/N sat up and walked over her with a bucket with a very expensive champagne tucked in in her left hand while she held two flutes in the other. "Seems like we are having that celebration after all."

"Mh, champagne after a really tough mission. Perfect." Kate hummed sarcastically, planting her fists on the couch cushions to help herself into a more comfortable sitting position and grunting in pain when her muscles asked her to stop moving too much. Y/N could hear something more into the archer’s tone, but she couldn’t exactly pinpoint it while she walked into the bathroom to take two towels into the living room to use them to put ice in.

"Wanna tell me what’s bothering you now?" Y/N spoke up after putting ice into a towel and passing it to Kate, the archer smiling at her in appreciation and whispered a soft ‘thank you’, before doing the same with her own towel and humming in satisfaction when the cold relieved a bit of her pain in her side. Then Y/N proceeded to pour champagne in the two glasses and passed one to Kate, clanking them together before taking tentative sips.

"It’s nothing."

"You had been quiet all night and almost cried in the car. I’m worried about you. You can tell me whatever is bothering you. I will try to fix it."

Kate smiled bittersweetly as her eyes moved from Y/N’s Y/E/C ones to the bucket front of her on the coffee table and watched as droplets of water started forming on its surface. "I- I-, just forget it okay?" Kate sighed out dejected and moved the ice to the other side of her lower back, to the left, "you can’t fix it."

"Well I don’t know if I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s it about." Y/N slid slowly towards Kate and laid her free hand on her knee softly, "I can see it’s upsetting and hurting you."

"Why are you even trying to help me?"

"Because I care about you and I don’t like seeing you upset." Y/N admitted in an hard voice, desperately trying to make Kate believe how much she wanted her to smile.

"I-" Kate met Y/N’s eyes once again, now noticing how much closer they got and sighed out gently. She likes you. Tell her. Don’t live on what ifs. Yelena’s voice echoed around her mind as she recalled their conversation in the club. Don’t live on what ifs. Kate searched desperately a sign into those intoxicating Y/E/C irises, almost fainting from the intense gaze they locked Kate’s blue eyes in, as she fought in her head on what to do. She likes you. Kate moved her hand over Y/N’s one and started playing with her fingers, an habit Y/N picked up long time ago and recognized it as a nervous gesture that Kate made when she was debating on what to do, shifting her eyes from their entwined hands to Y/N’s Y/E/C hues again. Tell her. "I wasn’t completely okay with our plan tonight."

Y/N waited patiently for Kate to explain further, not pressuring her into talking, knowing she would open up when she was ready and smiled encouragingly at her. "Which part?"

"The first part in the nightclub." Kate answered shortly, gulping her glass of champagne in one go and grimacing at the bitter taste.

"Why? I mean it was pretty much improvised and Yelena, America and Kamala definitely didn’t do their job completely to entertain theirselves to watch me work my magic, but it went smoothly." Y/N reasoned, keeping the shivers at bay when she tried to delete those images out of her mind. She felt incredibly guilty for hitting on those girls - even if it was for the sake of their mission - in front of Kate. Her heart clenched in pain and longing as she desperately convinced herself she won’t ever be that lucky to use her dorky pick up lines with her or kiss her like she had been doing all night with their targets.

"Mh." Kate hummed shortly, nodding almost imperceptibly at the girl before pulling her eyes away from Y/N’s gaze and focused them on her hands playing around with the empty flute.

"We’ve been so lucky that none of our targets spotted me with another girl. Trust me it’s not a funny show."

"You seemed pretty at ease." Kate pointed out with an hard face on, her left eyebrow arching up in question while her lips curled inquisitively in a snarky grin.

Y/N snorted in amusement and drank the last gulp of champagne before placing the flute on the coffee table and focusing her attention back on the archer. "I had to or the plan wouldn’t have worked."

"From what Yelena told us in the club, you are pretty much in your element in the nightclubs, hitting on whatever girl you wanted or needed to hit on." Kate felt that overwhelming anger, that uncontrollable jealousy and that almost unbearable sorrow all mixing together in her stomach and fueling the embers already burning wildly there, alcohol adding up into the mix and making her lose her inhibitions, causing whatever that passed through her mind to leave her mouth.

"You make it sound like I enjoy it." Y/N countered back defensively, crossing her arms angrily at the accusatory tone Kate was using.

"Oh please, I saw you tonight." When Kate noticed Y/N kept staring at her blankly she added quickly, "so you’re telling me you do not enjoy hit on and make out with girls during missions?"

"No Kate."

The short answer, spoken with an offended tone, made Kate feel like shit, so she desperately stumbled over her words to try to make Y/N explain. "So I read it all wrong?"

"Yes." Y/N sighed out when the archer stared at her with a mix of disbelief and confusion, "a few years ago I would have said yes. I was single, so hook ups didn’t bother me, and getting the girls to do whatever I needed for the mission was empowering in some way, but now not so much. Things changed."

"But- wait you’re still single, right?" Kate asked almost alarmed, her heart clenching in anticipation and the archer anxiously hoped for a positive answer to her question.

"Yes, I still am. But-" Y/N sighed out loud, moving the bag of ice a bit higher and turned slightly on her side to get a better look at Kate. How the fuck do I explain to Kate that things changed because I developed a crush on her since I met her? I can’t! Unfortunately Y/N couldn’t seem to find a valid explanation without spilling her deepest secret. Those big blue eyes never left her own Y/E/C ones as she stared expectantly, patiently waiting for her to clarify her previous statement. Would it be that bad to tell her the truth? You never know if you don’t try. "But now I have feelings for someone and hitting on girls doesn’t feel right, because no one will ever be her."

"Oh." Kate then stayed silent, not really trusting her voice to not quiver as a lump formed in her throat at this new information.

"I feel like a total idiot! I mean I have all the courage in the world to hit on completely strangers, possible threats or dangerous criminals, but when it comes to tell my crush how I feel, I simply run like a coward."

"Do I know her?" Kate clenched hard on her jaw as jealousy bubbled once again in the pit of her stomach as she tried, unsuccessfully, to relax her stoic expression.

Y/N hesitated a few seconds before making up her mind, glad the alcol consumed that night started to ease her nerves and made her bolder. "Yes. I dare to say pretty well also."

"Is it Yelena?" Kate asked in shock, her brain spiraling out of control as her mind put together all the informations Y/N gave her so far and only one answer popped into her mind.

"What?! No! Yelena is a sister to me!"

Kate sighed out in relief imperceptibly, before regarding Y/N with a curious look, "then who is it?"

"Mh-" Y/N hesitated a bit, pondering on the option she had there. She was scared shitless of telling Kate the truth, not knowing how the archer would react, but then she started thinking about her reaction when she thought she liked Yelena. Maybe she likes me too. Or she likes Yelena and she was scared you would like her too. But then why was she so quiet tonight? She said she didn’t like the seducing part of the mission, but it wasn’t Yelena the designated one to seduce those girls. This is getting pointless, you will never know if she likes you too if you don’t tell her how you feel! Y/N grabbed the champagne bottle from the ice bucket and took a big gulp to give her enough liquid courage, before making up her mind to prevent it to talk herself out from confessing her true feelings towards the archer and whispered out, "you."

"I- what?" Kate was taken aback by the short answer and asked out in disbelief to be sure she didn’t imagine it, since the word was breathed out quickly and in a quiet tone.

"I said you, Kate." Y/N repeated with a firmer tone, settling the bottle on the table and staring at the archer intently. Her deep blue irises stayed glued into Y/E/C ones as realization downed on her, causing her eyes to widen in bewilderment.

"R-really?"

"Yes, you." Y/N smiled brightly at the cute lost expression on the girl, despite her insides squirming anxiously at her reaction. She hoped with all herself that the archer’s response was because she liked her back and not because she only sees her as a friend and doesn’t know how to turn her down.

"Hold on- let’s just- go back a bit. You like me?" Kate grabbed the bottle on the coffee table and mimicked Y/N’s previous action, taking a big gulp of the sparkly beverage before refocusing her attention on the Y/H/C girl staring at her with a small smile on her lips but with anticipation adorning her eyes. Shit, say it back you idiot. "Fuck."

"It’s okay. I got it. You’re too nice to reject me. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you in any way."

"Are you kidding me?" Kate asked incredulously, not really believing Y/N for thinking she doesn’t feel the same and cursing herself in her mind for not confessing her feelings right away. "I like you too you idiot!"

"Jeez, thanks." Y/N quipped as her mind short-circuited at the confession, gripping the couch cushions hard as she tried to stop the room from spinning so quickly.

"I’m sorry, it came out harshly. But first you make me believe you have a crush on Yelena and then you think I was trying to turn you down."

"I’m sorry."

Kate sighed out and looked down at her wringing hands, "so-"

"That’s why you were so quiet tonight?"

"Yes. I was jealous. I couldn’t stand watch you hit on those girls and then make out with them."

Y/N’s smirk was a mix of smugness and sweetness at the archer’s admission, "to be fair, it wasn’t easy for me either. All I wanted to do was to walk up to you and kiss you."

"It was all I could think about." Kate breathed out dreamily, a sudden shiver skidding down her spine when images of the agent kissing those girls came back into her mind. "It was a torture."

"Like I said, it wasn’t easy for me either. None of them was a good kisser, I went through with the plan thinking about kissing you instead of those girls."

That was what made Kate react, throwing the last ounce of willpower she had out of the window and act on her deepest desire. She actually growled under her breath before sliding closer to Y/N and grasping her neck hard to clash their lips together in a passionate kiss. They both sighed out in pure bliss when their mouths collided and danced over each other slowly, both savoring the other’s taste as the initial shock faded away and their yearning kicked in. "Wow."

"Wow indeed." Kate whispered contentedly on the girl’s lips and smiled giddily when Y/N nuzzled her nose cutely. "Just to be sure, this is really happening right? I’m not imagining anything, am I?"

Y/N snorted under her breath and smiled warmly at the adorable archer, pecking her lips quickly before answering her question, "no Kate, this is real."

"Good." Kate declared before joining their mouths together again, this time sliding her tongue over the seam of Y/N’s lips to ask for entrance, whining softly when the girl granted her access a second later and their tongues met instantly in a sensual dance. Both took their time to explore every nook and cranny of the other’s mouth, pushing more into each other as they grasped their clothes desperately each time a particular swipe of their tongue hit something deep within them, their towels filled with ice completely forgot on the couch cushions.

"Shit Kate. You are making me dizzy." Y/N admitted out of breath when they pulled away a few minutes later with their lungs burning from lack of air.

"Mh, did those girl make you feel like this?" Kate whispered in Y/N’s ear, before taking her lobe into her mouth and bit on it gently, before releasing it with a soft pop and descending her lips down the girl’s jaw, nibbling on the skin there teasingly.

"No." Y/N moaned out as her left hand clasped her neck to keep her in place while the right one slipped into her black tresses.

"I need to kiss those girls’ taste out of your mouth." After pulling away from the girl’s jaw, Kate hovered her lips over Y/N’s ones and whispered those words hotly on her mouth before emphasizing them by slipping her tongue past her lips and invaded the girl’s mouth possessively, pulling a low whine from Y/N’s throat. "You are mine." Kate pulled away enough to grumble out before diving right back in and meeting Y/N’s tongue halfway in a steamy kiss. "No one is allowed to kiss you but me."

"Yes Kate. Fuck. Only you." Y/N murmured between kisses, wailing gently on Kate’s lips when the archer groped her boob harshly through her shirt and pushed her tongue into her mouth greedily.

"Take me. I want to be completely yours." Kate whispered lovingly on Y/N’s lips when they definitely pulled away to take some needed breath.

"You already were Kate and I was already yours. We were just two idiots too scared to confess their feelings to the other." Y/N smiled at Kate then pecked her lips and sat up, looking down at the black haired beauty staring up at her in confusion when she stared at her for a few seconds without saying a word. "I just wanted to tell you that you look great right now! Do you know what else would look good on you? Me."

Kate felt a gush of wetness leave her core and drip in her panties as a fire burned deep within her. "Are you hitting on me miss Y/L/N?"

"It depends." Y/N helped Kate up when she took her extended hand she had put out for Kate to take and smiled slyly at her.

"On what?" Kate whispered on Y/N’s mouth as she leaned on her body gently, her free hand laid on her chest to perch herself up, before licking her upper lip teasingly, watching the girl visibly shudder and grinned smugly at the wanted response.

"It depends on if it will lead us fucking on that amazing kingsize bed." Y/N stated boldly, biting her bottom lip seductively while she put on her best sex eyes she could muster, watching a lustful expression unfold on the archer’s face while her deep blue eyes darkened in mere seconds and a small blush dusted over her cheekbones and neck.

"I-hm-" Kate cleared her throat to get rid of the sudden lump that formed there, before taking a deep breath to force herself to flirt back, "you need to work really hard then. You need to up your pick up lines game if you want to get into my pants."

Y/N almost fainted right then and there when Kate put a teasing, innocent smile on her lips while grabbing Y/N’s left hand, the one not entwined with hers, and laid it on her clothed crotch. "Fuck."

"Hm, I hope we will soon." Kate murmured on Y/N’s lips before clashing their lips forcefully and pushed her to walk them towards their bedroom. As they kissed hungrily, they both got rid of Y/N’s leather jacket and Kate’s blazer, hissing in pain when their haphazardly movements caused their injuries to hurt a bit, as they stumbled throughout the suite groping and feeling each other up as much as they could.

"Is that a mirror in your pants? Because I can see myself in them." Y/N whispered seductively on Kate’s skin as she peppered her neck with open-mouthed kisses and love bites and teased Kate’s pants’ button with her fingers.

"Nice one, but you’re still far from getting there." Kate snorted and pushed on Y/N’s chest, making the girl fall on the bed.

"Your clothes look so uncomfortable, can I help you take them off?" Y/N looked up and into Kate’s eyes with a big smirk, placing her hands behind herself on the mattress so she could lay back on them.

Kate merely stared at Y/N in silence before lifting her black t-shirt up, getting rid of her bra in the process, and discarding them on the floor beside her feet. "Your turn."

Y/N stared transfixed on Kate’s round breasts, her eyes taking in those two nipples standing up at her attention and licking her lips in anticipation. Only when she felt Kate straddle her thighs and those two mounds were inches away from her face she got out of her daydreaming and moaned lewdly out loud, "you’re so fucking hot Kate."

Kate wrapped her lips around Y/N’s ones in a sensual, slow kiss while her hands grasped the hem of the Y/E/C girl’s white shirt and lifted the garment up and off the girl, before focusing on her bra and throwing it on the floor to join their clothes already pooled there. "Fuck." Kate murmured when they pulled away and her eyes immediately fell on Y/N’s chest, shivering wildly when Y/N laid a hand on her back and forced their boobs to brush together.

"Hey remind me, what was your favorite thing to eat in bed? Me right?"

"You’re getting better." Kate hummed before letting out a strangled moan when Y/N took her left nipple into her mouth and sucked on it harshly.

Kate hands grasped Y/N’s scalp to push her more into her chest and whined again when the agent’s hands grasped her ass hard lustfully, "hm and I think you’re getting wetter."

Kate opened her eyes at those words whispered on her chest when her center clenched hard on nothing and her body got wracked by hard shivers. "Off." Kate pushed Y/N once again on her chest, pulling her away from her chest and making her fall on the matters with a soft thud, before sitting up and harshly taking her pants and panties off, then doing the same with Y/N’s jeans and boy shorts too, wailing under her breath at how sexy Y/N looked with them on before moaning aloud when she noticed they were purple.

"You are the most breathtaking view I’ve ever witnessed." Y/N spoke up with her voice full of affection and honesty and Kate had never felt so safe and loved by anyone ever before. Y/N eyes raked over her body with a thoroughly and meticulous sweet gaze while her teeth sank on her bottom lip lustfully meanwhile Kate took her time to admire the goddess that was Y/N, completely naked and spread out on the bed with her arousal clear as it dropped on the sheets.

"And you are the most beautiful girl i’ve ever met and ever will meet." Kate sauntered slowly towards Y/N before crawling over Y/N’s body in a seductive way and then laying down on her and letting the amazing sensation triggered by their skin rubbing together sink in completely.

"Can I touch you?"

"One more pick up line and you can do whatever you want to me." Kate whispered on Y/N’s lips, pecking them quickly before adding, "give me your best one yet."

"You look too good for a pick up line. So let’s just skip over the best part. Wanna fuck?"

Kate laughed at that and slapped Y/N’s chest softly, the tick air charged with sexual tension shifted into a playful one as Y/N joined Kate with soft chuckles, "that was the worst one yet."

"Okay, okay. I will tell you what I thought the first time I saw you working out with just a sport bra and really tight shorts." Y/N trailed off for good measure, watching Kate swallow visibly as she got ready, "I would treat you like my pinkie and bang you on every furniture of my apartment."

"I’m waiting miss Y/L/N." Kate whispered on Y/N’s lips, hovering them over each other but never joining their mouths into a kiss as she smirked slyly when the girl grunted out in pleasure.

Y/N wiped Kate’s smug expression off her face with an hard, hungry kiss while her hands instinctively grasped her ass harshly, the motion causing the girl’s body to move slightly over her own and making their nipples rub against each other delightfully. "Fuck, that was good."

"Yeah." Kate panted into Y/N’s mouth when they pulled away to take some needed breath, moaning lewdly onto her lips when Y/N repeated the gesture, causing their bodies to shudder in raw arousal and buzz in anticipation.

"Shit, I want you so fucking bad." The Y/H/C girl whispered softly after their umpteenth kiss, biting down on Kate’s lips not too hard and then sucking on the soft flesh to soothe the slight stinging.

"Me too Y/N. So so bad." It was the validation Y/N needed to act on both their desires and quickly lifting her leg up, bending it with her foot laying flat on the mattress and met with Kate’s surprisingly drenched core. Their moans mixed together between their open mouths, Kate for the unexpected contact and Y/N for the delicious sensation of the archer’s juices coating her thigh, as the air in the bedroom charged with pure lust. "Fuck! Oh yess!" Kate tentatively grounded her center on Y/N’s strong leg and a powerful shockwave run down her spine as she finally got the yearned attention on her aching cunt.

"Look at you, so needy for release." Y/N stared mesmerized at the sight of the black haired beauty fucking herself on her thigh, getting out of her reverie only when a loud, strangled whine left Kate’s lips, making her finally spoke up after staying silent a few moments.

"I wouldn’t- fuck yes- look so smug right now."

"Why not?" Y/N’s grin only broadened at the archer struggling to keep her eyes open to look at her and stumbling over her words as pleasure contorted her beautiful features.

"Because I can see you literally drenching the sheets." Kate stared down at Y/N’s core to point out her words and lifted her right eyebrow up cheekily. Y/N opened her mouth to counter back with a witty remark, only for her words to die in her throat and for her lips to open into an O shape as a loud moan escaped when Kate silently readjusted herself so she could bend her own thigh so it could come in contact with Y/N’s cunt. "How’s that?"

"Fucking amazing." Y/N answered shortly, before joining their lips together again and sped up their slow tempo, their hasty movements causing the bed rest to slam onto the wall and the faint thuds blended with their moans muffled by their tongues devouring each other’s mouths.

They stopped kissing when it was too difficult to keep up due to their orgasms building fast in their stomaches, familiar coiling feelings rising into their lower abdomens, and just panted into each other mouths a mix of their names and profanities. "Are you close?"

"Yes. Are you? I want to come with you." And they did, not too long after. Their bodies stiffened as juices spilled out of their spasming cores and mixing together, their lips open as soft whines left them, their eyes never leaving each other and their hearts beating loudly and simultaneously into their ribcages. "That was- wow."

"Yeah." Kate smiled sheepishly when she slumped down onto Y/N’s body before wrapping her lips around the agent’s ones in a slow, languid kiss, both savoring their post-coital haze in their loving bubble.

"You are perfect Kate."

The archer blushed profusely at the girl’s words spoken with so much affection as her Y/E/C eyes never left her own blue irises. "So are you Y/N/N." Kate sighed out contentedly, speaking up a few seconds later, "I honestly was expecting a pick up line."

"What’s the point? I reached the pick up lines goal, we had sex. And now we know we like each other. So we can go for how many rounds we want, without using pick up lines."

Kate’s face didn’t seem to want to go back to its normal color as the crimson color on her cheeks and neck deepened while her stomach flipped over itself at Y/N’s sentence. "Too bad. I started to like them. C’mon, a few more."

"Alright." Y/N pecked Kate’s lips sweetly before speaking up again, "don’t freak out, but I’m a mind reader." Y/N stopped from good measure, before continuing, "yes, I will sleep with you."

Kate laughed heartily at the line, hearing a cute giggle joining her and her heart clenched at the sweet sound, "lame, but good."

"Mh-" Y/N hummed as she lifted her left arm up previously wrapped around Kate’s torso and looked at her wrist pensively, "that’s odd, my magic watch says you’re coming on my fingers right now. It must be running 15 minutes fast." Y/N switched her eyes then from her wrist to Kate’s eyes and bit her bottom lip seductively.

Kate felt her core release a gush of fresh arousal at the line as she shuddered wildly at the images she dreamed so many times flashed into her mind, "fuck, that was good."

"I like that one too. Hey- I was wondering- do you have room for an extra tongue in your mouth?"

"Mh- I don’t know. Why don’t you find out yourself?" Kate smirked seductively down at Y/N who growled under her breath and pushed her tongue past her lips immediately, kissing her fervently while her hands, the right one still glued on her marvelous ass while the left one laid flat on her back, grasped the archer’s flesh and tried to push her more into her own body. "I think that was my favorite one so far."

"Mh, I have another favorite one."

"Which is?"

"Mh- I don’t know if I should say it." Y/N murmured, now the one blushing as dirty thoughts invaded her mind as she thought about that particular pick up line.

"Oh c’mon! Now I’m curious. And y’know this pick up lines are going to be delivered to me only, so sooner or later you will tell me it."

"Mh, possessive, I like it. Just to clarify, they had always been just for you, I was just too much of a coward to use them with you, so I kept them to myself."

Kate awed at the adorable admission and pecked Y/N’s lips briefly, pulling back when Y/N tried to deepen the kiss, knowing she was trying to dodge the subject. "Now, please tell me."

Kate laid another peck on Y/N’s lips and the girl sighed out loud as she reprimanded herself for being already so pliable with Kate, "fine. This proves how whipped I am for you Bishop." Kate kissed sweetly Y/N again after squealing in victory as butterflies invaded her stomach, knowing pretty well she was just as much, if not more, whipped for Y/N as Y/N was for her. "Wait, forget the last part."

"You know I won’t Y/L/N." Kate smirked mischievously and teased Y/N’s slightly parted lips with the tip of her tongue before laying a soft peck on that plump, soft, still a bit red flesh, "if it makes you feel better, I am incredibly whipped for you too."

"Really?"

"Well yeah, ask Yelena. Each time you ask something or need a favor, I’m always the one volunteering to help you. I have Yelena’s whipping sounds she sends my way each time I help you with whatever you need plaguing my head." Kate admitted, a rosy color appearing on her cheeks during her little speech, smiling shyly when Y/N grinned back at her with a mix of affection and smugness after she stopped talking.

"So she teased us both." Y/N pondered out loud, shaking her head in amusement as she thought about every time Yelena teased her, "you don’t even know how often I had to endure Yelena making fun of me for my, and I quote, ‘cute, hopeless crush’ I have for you."

"Do you think she tried to play Cupid tonight?" Kate asked as she tried to put all the pieces together now that she was aware of Yelena knowing they both had a crush on each other.

"I wouldn’t be surprised. I’m 100% sure she totally planned this too. At least we have a room for ourselves so we can be as loud as we want." Y/N smirked and kissed Kate soundly, her tongue slipping past Kate’s lips and hummed contentedly when Kate moaned into her mouth, from her implication and from the amazing kiss. "We should thank her though, for tonight and for pairing us up in this room."

"Ugh, we wouldn’t hear the end of it." Kate groaned and laid her forehead on Y/N’s left clavicle.

"Wait for when we are back to the campus, where a congratulations party planned by Scott is waiting for us." Y/N chuckled when Kate groaned again into her chest and caressed her hair softly.

"Don’t dodge the subject." A few seconds later Kate lifted her head up and pointedly stared at her, "I want to know your favorite pick up line for me."

"Okay, hm-" Y/N hesitated for just a moment, but when her irises met Kate’s ocean blue ones again, all her insecurities and worries about the archer finding the pick up line too much or too gross washed away. "Your legs looks great. What time do they open? There’s a package for them I need to deliver."

"Wow."

"Too much?"

"No- I-"

"I’m sorry." Y/N closed her eyes in shame and shook her head, trying to erase those widened blue eyes and mouth open in shock from her mind, her stomach clenching in regret for making Kate uneasy, "I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. It was a stupid pick up line I came up after watching you spar with Cassie. My new strap on arrived that morning and I- I’m just sorry okay? Can we forget it ever happened and move on?"

"I can’t forget it Y/N." Kate answered shortly, her tone low and raspy, her mouth closing and her jaw clenching hard as she stared deeply into Y/N’s eyes when the girl met her blue irises after she heard her speak.

"I’m sorry. I understand if you want to go. I’m truly, deeply sorry for grossing you o-"

Kate kissed Y/N hard on her lips, shutting her up successfully, glueing their faces together as her hands grasped her jaw and neck harshly. "You didn’t make me uncomfortable, nor disgusted." Kate reassured firmly, grounding Y/N with another hard stare before continuing, "I can’t forget about that line, because now you using a strap on on me is all I can think about."

"Shit." Y/N shuddered at the admission, her hands involuntarily gripping Kate’s hips in need as images flooded her mind.

"Do you happen to have a strap on with you or do I have to wait till we are back on campus?" Kate asked seductively, one of her hands straying down and settled on the girl’s left breast, her forefinger drawing idle circles around Y/N’s nipple while her teeth sank on her own bottom lip sensually.

"I-I-" Y/N swallowed thickly and tried to compose herself. "Would it look desperate if I say yes?"

"No." Kate giggled and nuzzled their noses together. "Do you really have it?"

"Yes. I always have it with me. I guess, my subconscious always hoped something like this would happen with you." Y/N admitted sheepishly, her cheeks burning softly from embarrassment at her hopeless self.

"We should thank your subconscious then, because I can’t wait for you to fuck me senselessly with your strap on." Y/N growled when one of Kate’s thighs slipped between her legs and teased her already aroused core.

"Mh shit, this feel like a dream coming true."

"There will be more things coming soon, like us for example." Kate quipped and giggled when Y/N’s eyes darkened instantly as her hands gripped her ass needily.

"It’s in my luggage. Are you sure?"

"Yes. Do you want me to go get it?"

"You can if you don’t mind." Kate pecked Y/N’s lips softly before standing up and walking towards Y/N’s luggage in the left corner of her bedroom. "It should be under all of my clothes, in a small bag."

After rummaging a few seconds with what Y/N considered the cutest focused expression with her tongue curled around on the left side of her teeth and her nose scrunched up, Kate pulled a black bag out of her luggage and walked back on the bed, straddling Y/N now seated on the bed with her back laying on the bed rest. "Did-" Kate cleared her throat and fidgeted with the bag’s zipper still in her hands, "did you use it with someone?" Kate lifted the bag up and grimaced at the silly question she couldn’t keep to her jealous self.

"No, of course not. I bought this one only for you, especially for you. I’ve used strap ons before with girls, but I haven’t had a one night stand in months."

"Are you serious?" Kate asked in awe, smiling adorably at the girl at her admission.

"I couldn’t. No one could be ever compared to you."

Kate’s eyes prickled with touched tears at the Y/H/C admission and kissed her languidly a few moments. "I did the exact same thing, since I met you and admitted I had a crush on you." They shared another sweet peck after staring lovingly at one another with dope smiles on their lips, humming into the kiss as warmth spread throughout their chest at their intimate actions. When they pulled away Kate spoke up again, "well, it seems you won’t have any more one night stands because I won’t allow it. I want you to myself."

Y/N smiled brightly at Kate’s statement and kissed her soundly, "and I want you to myself as well."

"Now. Shall we?" Kate smirked mischievously after sharing a few deep, meaningful, slow kisses and wiggled her eyebrows at Y/N, who laughed and shook her head in amusement. When Y/N nodded at her to signal her to open it herself, Kate gingerly opened the zipper and gaped at what she found. "Now I know why you bought this for me."

Kate snickered under her breath as she lifted between them the above the average long, purple strap on. "Yeah- well- yeah." Y/N snickered alongside Kate and shook her head at herself.

"Can we focus on the color you chose?"

"Can we please not?" Kate giggled at Y/N whined question and dropped the subject, for now, pecking her lips gently a few times instead, Y/N happy to comply. After Kate helped Y/N fasten the harness and position the strap correctly, Y/N moved so Kate could lay comfortably on the bed as she grabbed the bottle of lube in the bag, "ready?"

Kate stopped Y/N when the girl stretched her hand out to pour lube on it and looked up at her with big, doe eyes, "can I?"

"Y-yeah- yes- of- of course." Kate placed her hand over Y/N’s one and waited for Y/N to pour the jelly substance on her palm, before slowly but firmly spreading it onto Y/N’s strap on. "Oh shit."

"I can’t wait to feel you inside me." Kate whispered hotly on Y/N’s lips, thoroughly spreading the lube all over the purple toy, smirking smugly when Y/N wailed softly under her breath after some particular strokes and adding more pressure on purpose to hear those sounds again.

"Ready?" Y/N repeated gently as she watched Kate lay back down on the bed, her hands now on each side of her head as she hovered over the archer’s muscular body.

"Yes." Kate breathed out after a few seconds, letting the moment sink in as her stomach fluttered severely at the deep feelings she felt for the girl on top of her.

"I’ll go slowly, I promise." Y/N stated in a whispered tone on Kate’s lips, positioning herself better between Kate’s spread out legs and aligned the strap on in front of the black haired girl’s entrance. "I’ll be gentle."

"Okay." Kate smiled warmly at the thoughtfulness showed by her lover and lifted her head up from the pillow to kiss her languidly. "I want you Y/N, please." Kate moaned lustfully when the kiss got heavier after a few seconds and their bodies moving over each other caused Y/N’s strap on to rub her entrance deliciously.

"Your wish is my command, baby." Y/N slowly but firmly eased the purple toy in, reveling in the low, guttural wail of unfiltered pleasure leaving Kate’s mouth as she herself emitted a moan at the wonderful sensation of feeling whole with Kate like this, their bodies entwined and fitted perfectly like two puzzle pieces. They both had never been so intimate and connected with anyone before and that thought alone spread hard shivers all over their bodies.

"Oh yes! Mh Y/N!"

"You are taking me so well Kate, fuck." When Y/N’s hips flushed over Kate’s ones the Y/H/C girl stilled her movements to let Kate adjust to the feeling and stared at her with a mix of lust and affection.

"Please baby, move." Y/N grunted out at the blue eyed girl’s request and complied almost immediately by moving back her hips, the strap on slipping almost completely out of Kate’s center, before slamming it back slowly but firmly, eliciting a guttural groan of ecstasy from Kate. "Yes! Fuck Y/N yes!"

"Oh fuck babe." Y/N wailed out as the other small end of the dildo buried inside her pressed on her clit deliciously each time she moved into Kate.

"Faster Y/N, please."

Y/N was having an hard time trying to keep her eyes open due to the powerful pleasure she was experiencing, but she forced them open to take in Kate’s beautiful body trash around in pleasure and need at her slow thrusts, her face contorting after each movement. "You’re so fucking hot like this."

"Fuck Y/N." Kate moaned when Y/N sped up her movements, not too fast though, because she wanted them both to savor this moment to the fullest, basking in the intense pleasure their intimate activities was creating and just existing in this love bubble they were in. "You- shit- don’t know how many times I imagined being like this with you."

"Really? Like this as in me fucking you with a strap on?" When Kate nodded Y/N groaned out and increased her speed, thrusting into Kate’s center hard before swallowing her loud moans with a deep kiss.

"Yes Y/N! Oh fuck, like that! YES!" Y/N’s fast and strong thrusts caused the bed rest to slam into the wall and creating soft, but loud thuds almost completely covered by Kate’s moans that were increasing in volume after each thrust and Y/N’s grunts of pleasure.

"Shit, I’m already so close. Are you babe?" Y/N’s sentence made Kate’s walls clench on the toy needily as the coiling feeling in her stomach was almost ready to snap.

"Yes babe, make me come please." After a few more deep, hard and fast thrusts they both tumbled over the edge with their names moaned out between their open mouths. Y/N slowed her movements to let them both ride their powerful wave, before stopping altogether and sliding out of her lover slowly.

Kate grunted out at the lack of fullness the strap on was providing and shuddered slightly, her body buzzing deliciously as her senses heightened when Y/N cuddled her with the toy still strapped on her hips, the strap grazing her thigh teasingly as it spread her own release on her skin. "Just- give me a few minutes to gain my body back. Then I’ll fuck you so good you won’t be able to walk tomorrow."

Y/N swallowed at that and turned her head around to find a pair of dark blue irises already staring at her needily, "Kate, shit- I almost came again. You can’t say things like that! Warn me next time."

"I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. I had to endure you hitting on those girls all night. I need to fuck them out of your system." As soon as she stopped talking, she slowly took the toy off Y/N and put it on herself, before positioning herself between Y/N’s legs and spread the open, enjoying the beautiful sight that was Y/N’s drenched core, already dripping for her. "I’m Kate by the way."

"I’m sorry what? Kate we are best friends, I know your name." Y/N stared confused at Kate looking at her seductively with a fire burning behind her almost black irises and swallowed soundly at the sight.

"I was just making sure you were screaming the right name tonight."

"Fuck." Y/N whimpered at the pick up line whispered out sultrily on her lips, the tip of the toy now teasing her entrance and making her whole body light up with anticipation. "Inside, Kate. Now."

"With pleasure babe." Kate leaned down to kiss Y/N slowly while she eased the toy into Y/N’s core gently but steadily, shuddering when she felt the girl take in the strap on without restraints thanks to the great amount of arousal collected there. "How does it feel?"

"So fucking good. Shit- this- this feels like a-amazing." Y/N whimpered when Kate was buried all the way in, causing their hips to brush together gently as the girl remained still to help her get used to the toy’s size. "Y-you can move, babe."

"Get ready to scream." Kate murmured on the Y/H/C girl’s plump, bruised lips right before she started moving her hips in and out slowly and firmly, slipping all the way out, leaving just the tip in, before slamming the toy back in deeply.

"Oh yes! Shit, yes! Kate, yes!" Y/N chanted up as raw, powerful pleasure invaded every inch of her body, lightning it up and setting it on fire, tingling sensation traveling down her spine and right between her legs, increasing her pleasure.

"Ugh- Y/N, tell me- who is making you- feel- so good?" Kate grunted out while thrusting into Y/N in a steady tempo, wanting to savor each second as she took the girl over the edge. Their movements caused their nipples to brush forcefully over each other and Kate was having an hard time focusing on her thrusts as her mind fogged up with pleasure.

"You baby."

"I want to hear my name." Kate pointed out as she slammed the strap on back in harder, causing Y/N to moan out loudly as she writhed her body from the intense orgasm building up within her.

"KATE!"

"That’s right." Kate smiled lovingly down at Y/N and kissed her lips softly, a stark contrast from her unrelenting, hard moves of her hips. It took Y/N a few more minutes to tumble off the edge with Kate’s name leaving her mouth in a long, guttural groan, causing Kate to shiver in pleasure as she felt the strap shift even deeper inside as Y/N’s walls spasmed around it to spurt out the girl’s release. "You’re so beautiful."

"So do you babe." They shared a sweet peck before Kate pulled away to stare at Y/N smiling up at her with her eyes a bit unfocused and a dope grin.

"Are you okay princess?"

Y/N blushed profusely at the nickname but nodded gently at the question, "yeah, just recovering. It was a powerful orgasm."

"Wait for your next one then." Kate smirked lewdly down at Y/N before resuming her previous movements, speeding up her tempo just a notch for a few seconds to let Y/N adjust to the new sensation.

"Oh fuck."

"I told you, I need to fuck those girls out of your system." Kate slammed the toy into Y/N harshly when she stressed the word ‘fuck’ out, making Y/N see stars as she whimpered pitifully into the room. "And I’m not going to be gentle this time."

"Holy fuck yes!" Y/N slumped her head back on the pillow and arched her neck back in pleasure when Kate quickened her pace, giving her enough space to pepper open mouthed kissed on the skin on display, before the pleasure was too much to handle so she just lingered her head there to breath Y/N in and entwine their bodies more intimately, her hips’ movements making the bed squeak sensually, the sound mixing with them panting loudly into each other and the soft thud of the bedpost hitting the wall. "Fuck me! Fuck me good Kate."

"Well, as you wish princess." Kate pulled her head away form Y/N’s neck to smirk seductively down at her, who was finding extremely difficult keeping her eyes open but fought against herself to keep gazing into those dark blue pools filled with pure, raw lust, before speeding up her movements, as she thrusted the strap on in deep and hard, wanting Y/N to feel as good as she made her feel.

"Fuck. Oh! Ah!" Y/N was a moaning mess as she let intense pleasure flood her body, her mouth open to let profanities and Kate’s name out and into Kate’s lips while her hands clasped the archer’s strong back. When Kate lifted Y/N’s right leg up to hook it around her hips to have a better angle to slip the toy in deeper inside her, Y/N moved the left one to join the other leg and moaned loudly at the new sensations filling her body and mind up. "Kate! Kate! You feel so good."

"Ugh- shit you don’t even know how hot you look right now." Kate grunted in pure bliss as she never stopped her unrelenting pace, her body filling up with fatigue from their intense fight earlier that night, her arm perching her above Y/N’s body starting to hurt and the ache in her back was still present, but she kept on, wanting Y/N to fall apart before her and give her the pleasure she deserved. "Are you ready to come for me baby?"

"Yes! Yes! I’m so cLOSE!" Y/N screamed loudly when Kate’s hand left her hips to touch her clit, teasing it with slow idle circles and soft taps, watching with rapt amazement the beautiful view of Y/N’s face contorting in ecstasy at her ministrations.

"Shit, your moans are turning me on so fucking much."

"Are you- c-close too? I want to come with you again." Kate faltered her movements just a bit from the whispered request and was suddenly flooded with the purpose of tipping them both off the edge. So with a newfound determination she sped her movements impossibly up and slammed in and out of Y/N hard, shuddering wildly when the small end buried inside her hit something within her that made her almost see stars. "Oh yes, oh, oh yes. OH KATE!"

"YES Y/N."

They both tumbled over the edge with their names blending together between their open mouths, Kate stopping her hips’ movements for a few seconds as her body went still and juices spilled out of her spasming center, her orgasm becoming ten times more powerful when she looked down and saw Y/N’s and her juices mixing onto the strap and the sheets. The archer resumed her motions, now slower and more gentle to let them both ride their post-coital wave to the fullest before stopping altogether, slipping out and taking off the strap, placing it gingerly at the end of the bed. Both groaned at the lack of fullness but hummed contentedly when Kate laid down beside Y/N and cuddled her lovingly. "You did it." Kate turned her head around to regard Y/N with a confused look, smiling fondly at her when Y/N giggled cutely under her breath, "I think I won’t be able to walk tomorrow. I feel so sore."

"Good. I’m not opposed to not leaving this bed. There are a lot of things we can do."

"Mh, tempting." Y/N hummed and pulled Kate closer to her. "You don’t even know how many times I dreamed about this. Not only the sex, but you liking me back."

"Same. I was so scared you didn’t feel the same. I guess I need to thank those girls in the end. Look where they got us."

"I think we should thank Yelena, Kamala and America first. I’m sure they’ve been planning this for a while." They both laughed at their friends before letting the comfortable silence wrap them into a loving bubble. "You look tired, you should sit down a bit. Oh no, it looks like all the seats are taken. Well, I guess you’ll just have to sit on my face."

Kate stopped her hand’s movements on Y/N’s chest, caressing between her sternum gently and softly, as she lifted her head up to look at Y/N incredulously from her pick up line she just delivered, "are you serious?" Kate asked with her tone low and raspy, wanting to know if Y/N was genuine about her innuendo as her body already buzzed in anticipation and arousal started to collect between her legs, in her eager core.

"Why don’t you come up here and find out yourself?" Y/N smirked seductively and winked at Kate, who grunted out loud before clashing their mouths together in an hard kiss, both girls shivering in anticipation at what was about to come (no pun intended).

"Let me- just-" Kate pulled away from their kisses and pointedly stared at Y/N’s legs, trailing off for good measure a few seconds then speaking up with her left eyebrow arched up seductively and a sly smirk, "you have really nice legs, but they would look better with my head between them." Kate delivered her own pick up line and reveled in the shocked and aroused expression that flitted over Y/N’s features at the girl’s words, not expecting her to tease back when she thought she was ready to sit on her face, but not completely opposed to it as her core clenched needily over nothing and juices dripped out of it.

"Y-Yeah." Y/N stammered out adorably in agreement as her head fogged up with images of Kate smiling up at her from between her legs and that thought alone made her almost come undone, and Kate giggled at the cute sight, before leaning down and connecting their lips in the first of the many more kisses they were going to share that night during their funny activities.

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forasecondtherewedwon · 3 years

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Runaway Ride

Fandom: Never Have I Ever Pairing: Devi/Paxton Rating: T Word Count: 4889

Summary: Kamala gets herself into a pickle, Devi needs to go to her, and Paxton has a car. Problem-solving has never been so simple, but that's how it is when your new boyfriend is Paxton Hall-Yoshida. Throw in a little hand-holding on the highway and this family crisis might just be the best date Devi will ever have.

When they finally took a break from dancing—disconnecting hands from hips and shoulders, lips from lips—Devi stepped away in a dreamy headspace. She almost collided with Jonah, but he didn’t tell her to look where she was going, only offered a shrewd, indulgent smile.

Actually, everybody was treating her like that; every eye that caught hers on her way to the table where she’d left her stuff was unjudgmental, admiring, straight up fairy-godmotherly. Devi hadn’t received this much notice since her dad’s death and her subsequent paralysis. And those looks had been pitying, freaked out. Positive attention was new and cool and she wondered, as she grabbed her phone out of her turquoise clutch, whether her socials would show more of the same when she opened them. Would people have snapped stealthy pics of her and Paxton dancing now that she’d been vaulted into the pseudo-celebrity strata of the high school hierarchy? Would the Insta posts be captioned with hashtags of their ship name? Paxi? Daxton? Vishwall-Yoshumar?

Devi never got to check.

Unlocking her phone, she found two missed calls from her mother. Maybe two wouldn’t have seemed like a whole lot to someone else, but Devi knew that, in order for her mom to risk rudeness by stepping away from the company she was hosting at home not once but twice, she’d need to be pretty frantic. Two missed calls from Nalini Vishwakumar were the equivalent of six or seven from any other mother.

Skirting the edges of the gym as she headed away from DJ Humanoid—that nit-witted saboteur of slow dances—Devi was about to call her mom back when her screen changed to an incoming call from Kamala. She pressed her other hand to her ear and answered it.

“Hey. Do you know what’s going on with my mom? She called me twice and, honestly, she knows I’m at the d—”

“Devi, shut up. Sorry,” Kamala sighed. “But I may have kidnapped your history teacher and now I’m panicking a little.”

Devi stopped in her tracks.

“You did what? Why is the sound weird?”

As she was trying to identify the background noise coming from Kamala’s end, her eyes swept over the crowd of her classmates and landed on Fabiola’s. Her friend had been smiling, mid-sway as she held Eve from behind and chatted with Sasha, but it fell off her face like Devi off Dr. Jackson’s roof. Fab disentangled herself from her girlfriend and crossed the room to stand with Devi. She was frowning, silently asking for an explanation for Devi’s distress, but Devi didn’t really have one yet.

“We’re in his car on the highway,” her cousin was saying. “He was a little drunk, so I’m driving.”

Devi had imagined that Kamala was exaggerating, but no, this was really starting to sound like a kidnapping.

“You better be on hands-free right now,” she lectured. Then, because she wasn’t exactly a paragon of road safety herself—barely an hour ago, she’d walked right out in front of Paxton’s jeep—didn’t wait for confirmation. “What the hell happened? Context, Kamala!”

“Well, as soon as I snuck out of the house—”

“But why did you sneak out?!”

“Devi, I can’t talk about that right now!” Devi’s eyebrows shot up at the clear and abnormal hysteria in her cousin’s voice. “I ran out of the house,” Kamala continued, “totally directionless, and the first thing that popped into my head was Manish’s invitation for me to come to karaoke…”

“Ew, what the fuck, don’t call Mr. K that.”

What? Fab mouthed at her, but Devi shook her head.

“That is his name and what he asked me to call him. Anyway,” Kamala said, sounding strained, “I went to your school and met up with him and now I’m driving his car and I think I might have shut my sari in the car door, but I’m scared to pull over and check because if I stop the car, I’m going to have to confront things and I think I’d rather not do that yet.”

“Kamala,” Devi said in a heavy, careful voice. “You have to pull over. I totally get what you’re saying because it sounds like something I might do—minus the part where you kidnapped Mr. K—” Fabiola’s eyes went dramatically wide as she was adjusting her tiara. “—but this isn’t you. You don’t run away from your obligations and elope with my teachers!”

“Manish and I didn’t elope. It isn’t in any way romantic.”

“For sure though? It’s not?” Devi heard another voice in the car ask.

“Mr. K, back off! Kamala’s in the middle of a crisis!” she shouted. “And please be drunk enough to forget that I yelled at you.”

“Devi, what should I do?” Kamala asked, sounding desperate in a sad way now.

“Where are you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Ok, well, which direction are you heading in?”

“Um, either north or south.”

“You’re a disaster,” Devi muttered.

“What was that?”

“Uh… I said, don’t drive any faster. Try to read the next sign you pass so you can tell me where you are.”

“Alright,” Kamala said.

Devi tilted her phone away from her mouth so her cousin wouldn’t hear her frustrated sigh. She locked eyes with Fabiola.

“Kamala panicked at her engagement dinner and ran off with Mr. K. They’re either headed for Mexico or Canada, but I’ll know more in a minute.”

Fab blinked.

“Wow.”

“I know. It’s a lot. And this is me talking,” Devi emphasized.

“I don’t know if you would do anything this big. Mainly because you don’t have a driver’s license.”

“True.”

“Santa Barbara in twenty-six miles,” Kamala said in her ear.

“Damn, you made good time.”

“The traffic was quite manageable.”

“Try to calm down a little and get off the highway when you can. Don’t go past Santa Barbara. I’m coming to talk you down in person,” Devi said. “Oh, and don’t answer any of my mom’s calls; she’ll just stress you out.”

“That doesn’t seem very responsible. How about I send her a text when I stop to let her know I’m ok?”

Devi rolled her eyes.

“Suit yourself.”

“Thank you, Devi. But how will you get here?”

“Let me worry about that. Text me when you stop so I know exactly where I’m going.”

“I will.”

“’K. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Devi hung up and sighed massively, slumping into the wall and feeling a streamer crumple against her back. She and Fabiola stared at each other.

“What are you gonna do?” Fab asked.

“Be the hero my family needs, but not the one they deserve.”

“Are you misquoting Batman to justify doing something reckless?”

“First of all, rescuing Kamala isn’t reckless, and second of all, the movie isn’t called Batman, it’s The Dark Knight. Young-ish Christian Bale, hello.”

Fabiola pointed a finger at her own face.

“Young-ish out-of-touch lesbian, hello. At least I was close.”

Devi sighed again while Fab smiled sadly at her in obvious sympathy.

“It’s after ten at night. How am I gonna get to Santa Barbara?”

“Assuming you’re not going to ask your mom—”

“No.”

“Then you need a ride.”

“You need a ride? I’ll drive you.”

It was Paxton, walking up and tentatively taking Devi’s hand while darting uncertain glances at Fabiola. Devi felt her entire face light up.

“You don’t want to know where or why?” she teased.

His expression said those were insignificant details. Wow. Devi’d never had a fantasy where Paxton joined forces with her, bounty hunter-style, to track down a flighty Kamala, but this felt oddly romantic. Passionate even? They’d see where the night took them.

“You wouldn’t wanna leave the dance unless it was serious,” Paxton reasoned. “So, I’ll drive you. You wanna go now?”

“I guess we better. Lemme just grab my…”

“I’ll get it,” Fab said, raising a hand like the nerd she was as she volunteered.

She darted back through the dancers to grab Devi’s things and Devi watched their classmates part for their Cricket Queen. She was so proud of Fab. Also, she felt kinda bad for ditching such a momentous occasion. But Kamala needed her, and would totally do the same for her if she ever went off the deep end and kidnapped a dude while fleeing a proposal. Not that Devi could see herself fleeing a proposal (she glanced at Paxton as she thought this, then quickly away, thinking, Way too soon!). Carrying out a kidnapping? With a sufficiently convincing pro-and-con list, anything was possible.

“Basically, Kamala freaked and drove to Santa Barbara with a drunken Mr. K,” Devi said, because Paxton might not have asked to be informed, but she wanted him to know what he was getting himself into. Beyond that, she wanted to give him the chance to say, No way, Devi. I came here to look hot and dance up on you, nothing more.

“Oh shit,” was what he said.

“Damn right, oh shit. You still want to drive? This is going to take a while.”

She should probably have felt guilty about trying to subtly persuade him with her eyes, but not only was Paxton the least complicated option, he was also her first choice. If she maintained eye contact long enough, Devi figured it might trigger some kind of boyfriend override that made going for a long drive at night just as appealing as staying here and dancing with her butt pressed thrillingly to his groin when the teacher-chaperones weren’t looking.

“As long as we can hit up the bathrooms first. I was going to, but then I got talking to Trent, and then Marcus was doing a handstand…”

“Definitely,” Devi assured him. “Good call. Empty the tank. Oh, actually, that reminds me… how much gas do you have in your jeep? If we need to stop at a gas station, I’ll have to factor that in to the ETA I give Kamala.”

Paxton shook his head at her, smiling in what she liked to think was affectionate amusement.

“I filled it up on the way here. I needed a minute to, uh…” To her epic astonishment, he ducked his head self-consciously, cheeks pinking. “You know. Get my shit together. Up here.” He tapped his temple with his index finger. “I wanted to show up for you, like, completely. You know?”

Right as Devi was at dangerously high risk of sagging to the floor in blissful bonelessness, Fabiola sprang to her side, shoving the rest of her possessions at her.

“Ok, ok!” Devi said, harried.

She had to dump it all on the bathroom counter a minute later anyway, but after she’d done her pre-road trip pee, she came out and gave Fab a better thank-you.

“Your Highness,” Paxton told Fabiola with a nod.

Fab nodded back, smiling wryly.

“Prosecutor.”

“I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship,” Devi assessed, “but we gotta go! Say congrats to Eve for me again!”

“Sure. Drive safe!”

Devi and Paxton pushed through the doors together, striding quickly with his hand wrapped around hers. In the parking lot, she glanced sideways to see him digging his keychain out of his front pocket.

“Oh,” she said, “so I wasn’t just feeling that you were very happy to dance with me.”

Until they got into the jeep, it was too dark to see whether she’d gotten him to blush again, but she liked to think that she had. He was definitely smiling.

They got in and Devi carefully tucked her skirt around her legs, mind on Kamala’s cautionary tale. At least it was until Paxton leaned forward to shrug out of his jacket and she saw his shoulder muscles jump beneath his fitted button-down, his narrow black tie swinging forward. Dang. Fifty shades of Hall-Yoshida.

“Santa Barbara?” Paxton double-checked once he was settled behind the wheel, steering out of the student lot.

“Santa Barbara.”

Until they were on the highway and heading out of Los Angeles, Devi did her best to keep her worry about Kamala’s situation contained to the way she flapped her phone against her thigh. Usually, she was stressing about the problems right in front of her (when she wasn’t blatantly ignoring them, only to have that approach bite her in the ass later), but with whatever was going on with Kamala, she kinda had to look ahead.

Had she wanted Kamala to get engaged to Prashant that badly? Well, the best thing about Prashant was that you never knew when having additional hot relatives would be to your benefit. (Devi was already hoping that Mr. K would get over the more nerve-wracking elements of this night and just remember having fun with her stunning cousin… and that this could possibly translate into at least a month of generous grades, if she could somehow spin these shenanigans as an intentional blind date arranged by herself.) However, an engaged Kamala was wholly different from a married Kamala. She wouldn’t be around to watch nonsensical episodes of Riverdale, or be duped into hijinks, or listen to Devi when her mom was too tired, or bitch about her shitty lab-mates in exchange for sitting through Devi bitching about her complicated feelings on the subject of Aneesa dating her ex. She wouldn’t live with them anymore, and the family that had begun to miraculously fill out after her dad had died would be back down to three. And the other two members of it would be old (Sorry, Mom, she thought) and not at all prepared to champion her dating life or the cleavage-accentuating formal dress currently buoying it.

So, yeah, Devi was looking ahead—eyes glazed over as the yellow lights of cars slipped around them to prevent her vision from fully adjusting to the blue-black sky—and feeling more than a little nervous and scared of the Kamala-shaped hole she’d have in her life if her dazzling, dorky cousin left her house for one she might eventually fill with the most beautiful children the world had ever seen.

Thankfully, Paxton was there. It startled her when he took one hand off the wheel and felt across her lap to grab hers, loosely interlacing their fingers. Devi quit hitting her phone against her leg. She sent off their updated location to Kamala and then let her phone fall flat.

“Did she say where she was?” Her boyfriend’s voice was quiet in the car and she realized for the first time that her head had been too crammed with thoughts to put on any music.

“Carpinteria State Beach. Do you know the exit?”

“We’ll find it.”

“And if you want me to drive while you rest on the way back…”

Paxton laughed.

“No way. Safety first.”

“Says the guy driving one-handed,” Devi countered, not that she was eager to surrender the hand warming hers.

He turned his head just long enough to shoot her a look.

“Whoa, pal, eyes on the road!” she said. (She had a half-baked plan to call her boyfriend ‘pal’ a few times and thereby de-weaponize the word in a memory that still felt like a fading bruise, an almost-gone sore spot in who she and Paxton were before they were openly a them.)

“Sorry,” he said, staring out the windshield again. He grinned. “You look gorgeous.”

“Really?”

“So gorgeous.” Paxton’s voice was softer this time, the underlying laugh it had carried since she’d offered to drive his jeep drained out of it. It was nearly a sigh.

“Thanks. So do you.”

“You know, I feel fucking awful for hitting you with my car, but I still think I mighta felt worse if I’d walked in and seen you dancing with somebody else.”

Devi twisted their hands, touching the back of his to her thigh so she was sandwiching it between leg and palm for a moment, aiming for reassuring.

“I wanna say I would never be that flaky, but my previous offenses speak for themselves.”

“So does doing this with me.”

“Uh,” she droned, “to recap, you left a fun thing to do a huge favour for me. You’re talking about it like this is my act of redemption. I feel like if you examine it for a sec, you’ll see how I’m actually kind of a dick for accepting your help.”

“I want us to be together,” he said bluntly. “Here we are. Together.”

“It’s that simple?”

“I don’t see why it can’t be.”

“Huh. I think you’re really gonna be good for my tendency to overcomplicate a situation.”

Paxton laughed and unthreaded his fingers from Devi’s. But it wasn’t to release her for pointing out that this date was, in actual fact, the coordinated response to a family crisis; his fingertips moved lightly over her palm, momentarily trapped when her fingers flinched inward in reaction to how it tickled, then traced along the thin skin of her inner wrist. He wasn’t trying to pull away. He was lingering. Though his touch when he sunk his hand into her hair or drew her closer by her waist had always been fairly gentle, it had often had the faint aggression of hastiness to it, clutching her as they made out in her room, always listening for footsteps in the hallway. How Paxton touched her now was pure, exploratory tenderness. It made the hairs on the back of Devi’s neck stand up as a wave of shivers rushed up her spine and crested somewhere around the nape of her neck.

He must’ve felt that wave break, the foamy aftereffects in some tic of her arm or quickening of her pulse while his fingers skimmed gradually up the inside of her arm towards her elbow, because he chanced another quick glance at her.

“That feels good,” she explained.

Paxton looked forward, nodding slowly, and shifted in the driver’s seat.

“Good.”

She thought it must have felt good for him too, knowing he’d made her shiver.

—

The miles were flicking past for Paxton—another, another, another, as fast and steady as the dashed lines painted between the lanes, his arms cutting the water on the front crawl. He wanted Devi, beside him, to believe that he was paying attention to his driving, but he was honestly kinda zoned out. Like that time he’d swum to San Diego, he let his body go through the motions (in this case, twitching the wheel, putting on cruise control when traffic thinned so he didn’t have to focus on the pedals) while his mind floated freely.

Where it floated was to his girlfriend.

At ten years old, he’d been the last kid in his swim class to jump off the 10m board. It was optional—a treat after getting water up their noses turning somersaults below the surface and doing egg-beater legs in between—but all the other boys in the group had done it eagerly, shrieking on their way down to sloppy pencil dives. Paxton had climbed the stairs all the way to the top easily enough, even stepped onto the wide platform, bordered by metal railings and rough under his bare feet. He’d walked out to the end and frozen to find himself so high above the pool.

He hadn’t feared the water, he’d feared the air. Being so exposed on his own at the end of the diving board. Eventually, he’d retreated, then surprised the coach waiting down at the poolside by turning around and taking the jump at a run. Few memories felt as good as the sensation of giving himself back to gravity and letting it reunite him with the water. He’d just had to get past the exposure.

Same thing tonight, going to find Devi at the dance. Holding her hand in his had been him reaching the platform, but when they stood together, just inside the school’s doors, Paxton hadn’t known for sure whether he would take the leap or retreat. And not just for a running start this time, but in a way that turned his sixteen-year-old present self back into one of those nervous ten-year-olds who wimped out and had to take the coward’s way down—descending each step they’d climbed. He might not have run, and yet he hadn’t needed to back up and race into their relationship either. Momentum hadn’t carried them inside for everyone they knew to see them. It had been a calm approach, even if he’d been shaking on the inside when he saw Trent staring at them.

So maybe Paxton had learned something in the last six years, or maybe it was harder to feel exposed with somebody right next to you.

She really did look gorgeous, like he’d said, and because he didn’t want her to worry about his focus if she spotted him gazing at the side of her face while she texted her cousin, the glances he stole were of the knee region. Her dress’s overlay sparkled when the high lights of eighteen-wheelers passed them and the specific teal of the dress itself reminded him of a river he’d swum in once during an out-of-state family vacation. Natural and deep and fresh, and exasperating for his parents because he’d accidentally doggy-paddled himself all the way to a small waterfall and hadn’t heard them calling him back for dinner around the campfire. He felt all that about Devi, except for hoping for a different reaction from his parents when they met her.

Holy shit. He was going to have to introduce his girlfriend to his embarrassing hippy parents. But then, she’d already met Rebecca, so maybe they were set? A sister’s approval should count for a ton.

No, no, no, Devi would have to meet his parents. He was doing this. The two of them were doing this. Paxton exhaled determinedly through his nose and made himself concentrate on the remaining miles he needed to cover. His mind, anyway. His hand continued to stroke and search, covering his girlfriend’s hand with his until he had her fingers tucked away protectively under his own, and then caressing all the way up to the crook of her elbow so suddenly that she made a noise between a laugh and a yelp because he’d unintentionally tickled her. Man, she was cute.

The very end of their journey required the most concentration from Paxton; he finally took back his hand to have both on the wheel as he steered them off the highway and Devi’s got lonely or something, because it chased across to where he was sitting and landed on his thigh. His jaw clenched. He could feel the heat of her palm through his pantleg and congratulated himself on being a driving legend for driving smoothly to where they needed to park for beach access.

Devi had a pink sweater that she put on, but Paxton grabbed his jacket out of the back as well in case she needed it. It was almost midnight and a breeze rolled up off the water, rippling his tie and swishing Devi’s dress. He didn’t have to ask what they should do next—there was just one other car parked nearby and Devi’s cousin was already standing outside of it, raising a hand to wave sheepishly as they got out of his jeep.

“Here,” he said, holding out his jacket for his girlfriend to put her arms through the sleeves. “You guys talk. I’ll be down at the beach.”

Devi turned her back to him as she accepted the jacket, but she glanced over her shoulder with a look of concern.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. You’ll want privacy. I need to stretch my legs anyway.”

“Just don’t swim away, ok?” she requested. “I don’t think I can handle more than one rescue mission per night.”

Paxton could tell by her expression that it wasn’t entirely a joke. He grinned and gripped his lapels, now on Devi, reeling her in.

“I promise. You’d probably take the opportunity to try to drive the jeep home, and I don’t want to risk that.”

“Me committing grand theft auto or me getting hurt?”

“I bet they tested you for smartness,” he said, “but you think they have a test for being a smartass? You’d score high, Vishwakumar.”

“I know, I know, you don’t want me to get hurt.”

She was so infuriatingly flippant, rolling her big brown eyes at him.

“That’s right,” Paxton said plainly. There he was, up on the platform again.

Devi straightened his tie and let her hand rest flat on his chest. He remembered how overwhelmed she’d looked the first time he’d placed her palm there, right on his skin. Even now, it almost made him laugh.

“Ok,” she said, and he was surrendering himself to the sweet strength of gravity, propelled down to the beach while Devi stayed to talk to Kamala.

—

Devi had heard that there were tidepools here, and she was nervous about stepping into one and spearing some aquatic animal on her high heel. Well, she couldn’t magically improve her night vision, but she could take her shoes off and remove the possibility of impalement. They dangled from her fingers as she picked her way down to the beach.

Her boyfriend was sitting in the sand, staring out at the ocean. It just looked so romantic—with the stars the sky was too bright to see at home, and the waves, and the back of Paxton’s white shirt in the moonlight—that Devi decided to slip into the scene without saying anything at all.

A mistake. Paxton gasped and jumped. Apparently, he hadn’t heard her over the noise of the water.

“Sorry, sorry!” she said.

He sighed and smiled, getting to his feet.

“How’d it go?”

“I think it went well. She was feeling calm enough to drive, so she’s on her way home now. She’s gonna cover for me until we get back.”

“That’s good… but what about Mr. Kulkarni?”

“He was passed out in the passenger’s seat,” Devi stated. “I guess he’s kind of a lightweight? Kamala said she’s going to drive back to our school and leave him and his car in the parking lot. She’s planning to call my mom for a ride home. If it were me, I think I’d take the bus and try to sneak back into the house as quietly as possible, but Kamala still has a lot to learn about how to thoroughly dodge your problems.”

“And maybe about how to climb to the second floor of your house from the outside?” Paxton suggested with a meaningful smirk.

She did her best to return it, but the odds were that it didn’t look nearly as sexy on her. Then again, she had moonlight and midnight and well-displayed cleavage on her side.

“How’d you learn to do that so quietly anyway?” Devi asked, tossing her shoes to the sand and stepping forward to boldly wrap her arms around Paxton’s waist.

He’d had his hands in his pockets, but as soon as she’d begun to move towards him, he’d pulled them out. His arms encircled her, his hands on the back of his own black jacket. Although Devi wanted to offer him the jacket back—he felt slightly chilly through his shirt—she didn’t want the two of them to separate. Besides, body heat was a thing. This was practically what it was for. So Devi just pressed herself closer, breathing the scent of the ocean and Paxton’s fading cologne.

“Trent,” he said.

“Yeah, actually, that checks out.”

Were there boundaries between warming someone up while having a conversation and just hugging them? It wasn’t clear to Devi, but it felt good when they both went quiet for a while. She stood unevenly on the cold sand and listened to the thud of Paxton’s heart.

“You never said yes,” he said eventually, quietly.

“Yes to what?”

“I told you I came to the dance as your boyfriend and you never actually agreed to be my girlfriend. We kinda just started making out.”

Devi lifted her cheek from his chest so she could look at him. He didn’t appear disappointed, more like he was making an observation. Maybe he’d been reflecting, out here in the dark, while she and Kamala had talked.

“In my books, that’s an obvious yes,” she said, grinning. “What more do you need?”

She could see him trying not to smile.

“A little atmosphere would be nice,” Paxton said. “Maybe a long drive, or the beach. A full moon. Romance me, Vishwakumar.”

Devi vibrated with silent laughter. Or her heart was just beating really, really freaking hard.

“Sounds like you’ve got some pretty big expectations there.”

“And stars,” he added. “There should be a shitload of stars.”

With that, he took one hand off her back to point far above them. Devi tipped her head back, the light of the stars a friendly blur as she tried to pick one to settle on, just one. Paxton’s face coming forward to hover over hers blotted them out. Her boyfriend kissed her, light and ghosting and then firm and slow.

“On the other hand,” he said, pulling back a little, “I think we were onto something with the making out.”

Devi smiled and dug her toes into the sand to make herself taller, lips at the ready and realigned with his.

“We did set a precedent.”

#my writing #Never Have I Ever #Never Have I Ever spoilers #NHIE #NHIE spoilers #Devi Vishwakumar #Paxton Hall-Yoshida #Devi x Paxton #Daxton #Fabiola Torres #Kamala Nandiwadal #couldn't find a gif I wanted and then all of a sudden I was making a moodboard

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a-lockman5 · 4 years

Text

Lucky Love {Devi x Paxton}

A/N: Another request! More Devi and Paxton being adorable! I made a lot of jumps in this one and changed POV, so hopefully it is not too confusing. There was a lot of time together, and I really liked the pieces so I didn’t want to let them go, but also I would have written an entire novel of filler if I didn’t make time jumps. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hope you enjoy!

Summary: Paxton doesn’t know what it is, but the more present Devi was in his life, the better things seem to be for him.

Warnings: Fluff.. that’s about it

Requests are closed at this time as I’m already like 4 behind (you guys are awesome!), but ask is open.

MASTERLIST

“Oh, hey, umm, I’m in your neighborhood. Thought maybe we could hang out, but uh, it seems like you’re busy, so… Uh… Anyway, you can give me a call or text. Whatever… Okay.”

The first time Devi listened to Paxton’s voicemail, she saved it, but told herself she wouldn’t listen to it again. She was with her mom and Kamala on their way home from Malibu. She’d just kissed Ben Gross, and Kamala, thankfully, distracted her mom long enough that Nalini was none the wiser. Devi’s mother wasn’t the reason she wouldn’t listen to the voicemail again though, Ben was. She just had the most amazing moment topped by the most amazing kiss with Ben freaking Gross. She could hardly believe it herself, but she wasn’t going to taint that by listening to a voicemail from another guy.

“Oh, hey, umm, I’m in your neighborhood…”

The second time she listened to Paxton’s voice crackle across the line, was when she was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. It was the same day that she promised herself she wouldn’t listen to it ever again. She lasted six hours, and honestly, she was proud of that. It was five and a half hours longer than she thought she would last. He sounded vague and detached, and she knew that. Ben was expressive and he wore all his emotions on his face. Why would she throw away such a great moment with Ben to listen Paxton ask her to hangout or whatever? Logically, it didn’t make any sense. She just needed to think about Ben and fall asleep.

“…Thought maybe we could hang out, but…”

The third time Paxton’s voicemail reached her ears was after she’d sat bolt right up in bed from a weird (not entirely bad) dream. Paxton and Ben were fighting over her. Not like fighting in the cafeteria though, no. Instead, it was a medieval joust, with horses and swords and giant sticks, and an amazingly detailed crown for her to wear. In the dream, she thought she gave Ben her favor, but after Paxton knocked him off his horse, he magically had her favor instead. She was so thrilled for his victory mid-dream that she didn’t question it. Then to top it all off, they kissed… again! Except, it was a dream this time, but it reminded her of the real time, and… well shit.

*Can we talk?* she sent the text without another thought.

*Yeah. On the phone?*

*In person. I’ll meet you at school?*

*Sounds good.*

“… uh, seems like you’re busy, so… Uh…”

The fourth time she listened to the voicemail Paxton left nine hours earlier, she hung up before it finished as the very person she dragged out of bed was getting out of a town car. He walked over with a bag full of Devi’s things, smiling sheepishly. When he reached her, she graciously took the bag from him and met his eye for the first time since they’d kissed. Almost instantly, she saw his face fall.

“You didn’t mean it, did you?”

“What? No, it’s not like that. I” –

“It’s okay, I get it. It was a big moment, you were emotional. It’s no big deal,” Ben told her.

“It was a big deal… and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me the last couple weeks. I think I was just swept up in the moment or some other Hollywood cliché… I should have found a better way to say thank you.”

“I’m glad you told me. I care about you, I think you know that,” he nodded. “Nothin’ hurt.”

“You’re not mad?”

He sighed. “Can’t be mad at you for being honest. Now, if you make it weird and blow me off at school when we just started becoming friendly rivals, I’ll be mad. Friends?” he asked sticking his hand out.

“Friends,” she met him for a handshake. “Thanks, Gross.”

“Anyway, you can give me a call or text. Whatever… Okay.”

The fifth time she listened to Paxton’s voicemail, she recognized every nuance in his voice that slipped past her the previous listens. He was vulnerable. He came to her house to ask her to hangout even though the last time he came to her house, her mom called him an idiot. He was trying to sound aloof, but she could tell he was scared. Scared of what? Her mom? Or was he scared of her?

She didn’t want to waste another second waiting to find out so, at 9:30AM she found herself riding a scooter to the Hall-Yoshida residence. When she got there, she was about to knock at the door when Rebecca and her parents opened it, fully dressed. It looked like they were leaving.

“Devi?” Rebecca greeted quizzically. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Becca, Mr. and Mrs. Hall-Yoshida. Is Paxton here?”

Rebecca’s expression changed into a wide grin before she answered. “No, he has a swim meet this morning and is already at the pool. That’s where we’re going. Want to come?”

“Uh…” Devi hesitated, taking that moment to realize she didn’t even change out of her pajama pants which were adorned with several pink frosted donuts. “You know what, Becca? I will see you there. I’m going change into something a little…”

“Less pathetic?” she finished, as her parents stepped by them. Devi was sure she heard Mr. Hall-Yoshida snort in laughter at his daughter’s sass.

“Assessment noted. See you in a bit!” Devi called over her shoulder as she retreated to her scooter.

As soon as she got home again, she ran up to her room. Hair curly and half up? Done. Makeup? Applied. Red glitter on cheeks? Lightly brushed. Cricket stickers in place of eye black? Nailed it. Red knee-high socks? Donned. And the final touch – a white Sherman Oaks High School Crickets t-shirt cut into a cut-off and worn over her red tank top with denim shorts. She looked like a real-life superfan. Unfortunately, after perfecting her appearance, Devi realized she was late for the meet.

The next thing Devi realized was, while you always see people dressing up for football games, no one does that for swim meets. At least, not at Sherman Oaks High. Sure, there was plenty of red and white spirit wear, but nothing quite like what Devi had done. As she stood at the entrance to the aquatic center, Devi thought to run straight back home before anyone realized she was there. Besides, was a grand romantic gesture really what Paxton’s voicemail called for? It’s not like he poured his soul out to her. One could argue, he didn’t put himself out there at all. At most, he extended an olive branch after blowing her off before. Yep, sending him a text later today was a much better alternative to the embarrassment she was inevitably racing toward the longer she stood there. Devi turned on her heel, and immediately found herself face to face with Rebecca who held a mountain dew and an orange Gatorade.

“Devi!” she brightened up immediately, before taking in her outfit. “You look great!”

“Really?” If Rebecca was complimenting her outfit, then maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was just a trendsetter.

“I mean, it’s a little cringey for a swim meet, but it’s a look for sure,” she elaborated. After her shrewd assessment of Devi’s clothing choices for the second time that day, Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “Oh, will you take this to Paxton?”

“Me? I don’t know. I don’t think I” –

“Yes, you have to! He sucked in his first event, and he needs a boost,” she told her, thrusting the sports drink into Devi’s hands. “Look he’s right over there with Eddie waiting for their next race.”

Okay, Devi, deep breath. Own it. She told herself. With her thoughts racing, Devi attempted to strut toward the side opposite end of the pool where Paxton sat talking with Eddie Tan. As she got closer, she worried about stumbling in her steps, or tripping over a swim block. That fear was, of course, ridiculous because all the blocks were at the end of the pool, and she was walking down the side. No, this time she was not going to be clumsy. She was a different woman now. She’d kissed two boys in the last two weeks – she was a GD siren.

“Devi?”

“Paxton, hey,” his voice broke her from her internal monologue. She advanced the last few paces, as he stood to meet her. “Becca asked me to bring you this.”

“Thanks,” he breathed in a smile.

“Hey, are we finally getting cheerleaders?” Eddie asked, coming up beside Paxton. “You look fire.”

Devi’s smile grew tenfold. “Thanks, Eddie, but no, not a cheerleader. Just trying to be supportive,” she grinned looking at Paxton.

“Dope,” Eddie nodded, before being called away by their coach.

“Thanks for this,” Paxton told her as he uncapped the Gatorade and took a sip. “Hey, you know I came by your place yesterday?”

“Yeah, I know. I came by yours this morning. You were already gone.”

He nodded with a small smile. “Cool. Well, I better get back. My next event should be up soon.”

“Cool.”

***

Paxton took another gulp of the Gatorade as he watched Devi’s retreating form. She heard his voicemail, and now she was at his swim meet looking like she wanted him to give her his jersey. If he had one to give her, she’d be wearing it. He was nervous when he never heard from her yesterday, and if he was honest, he slept poorly because of it. He felt tired when he got to the pool this morning, and it showed during his backstroke race. Eddie was trying to get him out of his own head when Devi showed up.

“Yoshida!” Coach Bryant called down to him. “You’re up next for breaststroke. You good?”

“Yeah, coach,” he replied, capping his drink. “Good to go.”

After putting his earplugs in, pulling his goggles on, and securing his swim cap. Paxton was waiting behind his block for the previous heat to end. Five deep breaths, and he would be ready to go. 5…..4….3…2.. –

“Woo! Paxton!” he heard a cheer from the stands. When he looked up, he saw his favorite nerd in the bleachers, standing with his mom and sister. They started in on a rehearsed chant, each one yelling a different letter of his initials. “P! H! Y! – P! H! Y!”

He couldn’t fight the smile from his face as he stepped up to his block. Devi came to his house this morning. She dressed up for his swim meet today. She was sitting with his family, and they were enjoying her.

When the starting gun sounded, Paxton dove into the water. It was effortless – such a stark contrast from his previous race. He couldn’t even describe how he was gliding through the water. If he didn’t know any better, he would think Rebecca spiked his Gatorade. Before he knew it, he was finished.

Coach Bryant hoisted him out of the pool by one arm as people cheered all around him. “That’s a PR, kid! 58.8!”

Paxton pulled his cap and goggles off just before his coach wrapped him in a bruising hug. A moment later, he was thrust back, and Bryant landed a sound clap on his back. “I don’t know what changed between your first race and now, but don’t change a thing. Got me?”

Paxton’s eyes flickered over to Devi in the stands, she was beaming right back at him. “Got it, Coach.”

***

“Paxton, you were amazing!” Rebecca told him when he came out of the locker room.

“That breaststroke was Olympic qualifying time, kiddo,” his dad wrapped him in a one-arm hug, “at nearly 17! You keep that up, we’re going to be watching you win gold medals.”

His mom put an arm around Devi’s shoulders with a sly smile. “Well, if you ask me, I think Paxton had a good luck charm.”

“Oh, no,” Devi shook her head with a smile as her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I know one thing,” Mrs. Hall-Yoshida continued, “we would be happy for you to ride with us to Paxton’s meet on Tuesday.”

“Mom’s right, we can’t take any chances. As long as you’re free, Devi, we’d love to have you,” his dad nodded.

Paxton gave Devi a lopsided grin. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“You were amazing. I mean, I’ve seen you swim before, but you were just so fast today. Becca said you struggled in your first race, but you looked fine to me,” Devi rambled as they climbed into the jeep, “better than fine. And what your dad said about the Olympics! Do you think you’ll try to qualify for 2024?”

He huffed out a smile. Her mind moved so quickly her mouth could barely keep up, and it always left him speechless. It embarrassed her, but it just reminded him of how smart she really was. “I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you excited? How are you so chill about this?”

He shrugged. “I just swam. I didn’t even try; I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Wow, you should not try more often,” she smiled.

Actually, he was planning to try a lot harder than he ever had before. “You want to get some food?”

Her smiled widened. “Sure.”

“Cool.”

They drove on for few minutes in silence, and he noticed Devi tapping furiously on her phone screen. For a moment, he wondered who she might be texting, but then he remembered.

“I’m guessing your mom doesn’t know where you are?”

“Yeah, she’s freaking out,” she scoffed before her eyes widened in alarm. “No, not because I’m with you! Just – I left this morning before she woke up. I’m just letting her know I went to the swim meet and that I’m going to Fabiola’s to study for history at 4:00.”

“Conveniently leaving out what you’re doing right now,” he pointed out.

He glanced over, and she drew her bottom lip between her teeth while she stared out at the road. Paxton could almost hear her thoughts pinballing in her head as she figured out what to say to him. Should he tell her how much her mother’s disapproval – no, that’s not quite right – her disdain for him, hurt his feelings? Well, not in those words certainly. Hurt his feelings? Yeah, right.

“I should tell you, I’m sorry,” she finally said, as they swung into the parking lot of a local burger joint. “I should have stuck up for you when you came to my house after Ben’s party.”

“You did,” he shrugged. “We’re cool.”

She shook her head. “I stuck up for me. I should have warned you about how she is with boys. To be fair, I don’t have a lot of experience yet myself, but I did know that she reminds me constantly, I can’t have a boyfriend until I’m old enough to rent a car. I knew that she would freak out if she knew I kissed you, but you didn’t.”

“It’s really okay. Not the first girl’s mom to not like me,” he grinned. It wasn’t true. He’d won over the mother of every other girl he’d gone out with. Some of them made him uncomfortable like Mrs. Harrison, but others just found him charming. Devi didn’t need to feel bad about it though. It’s not like she said those things, and like she said, it didn’t even have to do with him really. “Can we go in?”

She supplied a weak grin in return but nodded. Just as they were going to get out, it started raining. He watched his companion deflate as she watched the big raindrops plop on the windshield. Paxton grabbed around the backseat for his extra jacket, handing it to her once he had it. “Here, it’ll keep you dry.”

She nodded with a suppressed smile, pulling it on and putting the hood up. Without another word, they slid out of the vehicle and jogged into the restaurant. While they waited to be seated, Paxton turned to Devi. He noticed her shiver and clutch his jacket tighter around her. Between the downpour outside and the cranked AC inside, she was probably freezing. Without thinking, he placed a hand on each of her shoulders, rubbing them furiously in attempt to help warm her up.

“Thanks, but aren’t you cold?” she asked, subconsciously leaning into his touch. “You didn’t even put your hood up.”

“Me?” he replied with a devilish smirk. “Nah, I spent the whole morning in a pool. Besides, my hair was already wet,” he told her, shaking his head so drops of water showered her lightly. When a delighted laugh was her response, he smiled victoriously. He didn’t have to be smooth or suave with Devi. She liked him when he was raw, genuine, and dorky. If he was honest, it was a relief – no stress of trying to impress her because she already liked the real him.

He needed to tell her how he felt. Wasn’t that the whole point of going to her house yesterday? He wanted her to know that he liked her, that he was glad they kissed, that he didn’t care if her mom thought he was stupid. He liked her. They sat opposite each other in a booth after ordering their food. She hadn’t said a word since they sat down, but neither had he. The tension between them was running high as Paxton realized this was the first time things really felt like a date. In hopes of making their first date official, he reached across the table and covered her hand with his. Her eyes zeroed in on the action and grew wide. If she thought she was surprised now, just wait until she heard what Paxton was about to say.

“I kissed Ben!” Devi blurted.

Paxton’s head drooped as his brow furrowed in disbelief. “What? When?”

“Yesterday.”

He looked away from her as his hand dropped to his side. His face screwed up as he tried to process the information she gave him – mouth opening and closing as he fought to think of something to say. After a deep sigh, he hung his head until rubbing his face briskly with one hand. Finally, he made eye contact with her again. “So what? You guys together now or something?”

“No, it didn’t mean anything. I just – okay so yesterday, I almost missed spreading my dad’s ashes because I’ve been in a huge fight with my mom and ran away from home since the day after Ben’s party. My mom and cousin were in Malibu, and I wasn’t going to make it in time. Ben drove me all the way there, and I made it. And I made up with my mom. And we spread Dad’s ashes together, and I just got to really remember him. I got to remember him without it coming up at an inconvenient moment, without trying to push the memories away,” her eyes filled with tears. “I got to remember him with my mom, and I’ve been so unfair to her because she lost him too, and… and Ben was still there after we left the beach. He was still there waiting for me. And things have just been so hard, I’ve felt so abandoned and alone, and I probably would have kissed that little weasel Russia from model UN if he’d been there – I know you don’t know who that is, but the point is, the kiss wasn’t about Ben. I would have kissed anyone if they were there for me in that moment. I…” she trailed off, tears escaping and sweeping down her face. “I’m sorry.”

Paxton’s chest felt tight as he watched cry silently. His body moved of its own accord, carrying him over to her side of the booth and wrapping her in his arms. He pressed her head against his chest, before hushing her gently. “It’s okay… shh… I got you… you’re okay.” Tucking her head under his chin, he rested against her until he felt her body start to relax too. He scooted away when she started to pull her head up.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” she sniffled before chewing on her bottom lip.

“For what? Devi, if I hadn’t blown you off at school, I would have been the one in Malibu with you,” he told her. “You’ve been through a lot, and I’m done dumping on you. It’s not fair.”

She nodded with a weak smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He smiled back and slid back out to take his seat across from her again. “Can I tell you what I think?” he asked, waiting for her nod to continue. “If you really would have kissed anyone in that moment, and I believe you when you say you would have, then it doesn’t sound like you’re ready to have a boyfriend right now,” he watched her hang her head at his words. “Hey, this isn’t me telling you that I don’t like you. It’s the opposite of that. I like you. I like you a lot actually.”

“You do?” she asked perplexed, brow furrowing in a way that made him want to kiss her.

“Yeah, I do. That’s why I went to your house yesterday, but, Devi, I don’t want to date you if you’re not ready for that…”

Her voice was barely above a whisper as their food was placed on the table. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

Paxton thanked their server before turning his attention back to the girl across from him. She looked broken again. The only other time he’d ever seen her look that way was after Gross’s party. After her friends walked out on her. “Devi, I’m not going anywhere. I just want to be your friend while you figure stuff out. If we end up dating, I want you to be sure it’s what you want – not something to distract you from your problems.”

Things were silent between them for a few moments as they started in on their meals. Paxton glanced at her, and she was eating – he was glad of that – but she was still kind of sulking. An idea sparked in him as he tapped her foot under the table. “Hey,” he smiled. “You know what I could really use?”

“What?”

“Some help studying for the history test.”

“Well, I’m supposed to at Fabiola’s in forty-five minutes,” she reminded him.

“Right… do you think your friends would mind if I came along?”

For the first time since they sat down, Devi smiled.

***

“I got a B?” Paxton gaped at his own history test.

“A job well done, Mr. H – Y,” Mr. Shapiro nodded as he continued passing tests back.

“Dude!” Trent exclaimed, fist bumping Paxton. “You get a tutor?”

“I got three,” Paxton smiled, turning around to look at Devi. She was already smiling at him. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I know,” she teased. “Seriously though, you did the work. I’m happy for you.”

“My mom was on to something, you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re my good luck charm. I stick with you, you’re gonna get me on the Stanford swim team.”

And she did. After that history test, Devi started unofficially tutoring him in all his classes. She was officially tutoring him as far as her mom was concerned, and therefore, it was a job, not her hanging out with a boy. They studied at the library, at either family’s dining tables or at Eleanor or Fabiola’s. The last time they had studied at Devi’s, her mom invited him to stay for dinner. If that wasn’t enough, she actually conversed with him about how much she had heard about his swimming career. Apparently, Coach Bryant’s wife worked at her Dr. Vishwakumar’s dermatology practice. It felt like a big victory to Paxton. A comparable victory was Devi’s help in preparing him for the SATs and a resulting 1300 score. He couldn’t believe how much things had turned around for him academically, but with Devi’s help and support, he felt unstoppable.

He ended up with a scholarship that covered 75% of his school fees to join the swim team, and his parents could not have been prouder. He wasn’t crazy about being five and a half hours from home, but he was thrilled, shocked even, to have gained admission to such a prestigious school. He knew that things were going to be challenging but was grateful when his new coach told him they had a team tutor. Devi suggested making sure he had a strong relationship with the tutor. As a collegiate athlete, he’d have a lot of pressure on him both in the pool and in the classroom.

“You’re smart though,” she told him as she helped him pack before move-in day. “Your SAT score shows that. Don’t second guess yourself, and don’t let people think you’re just a pretty face.”

Paxton smirked. Even after everything they’d been through, she wasn’t afraid to admit physical attraction. They never started dating after that conversation about making sure she was ready, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to. All he’d learned in the last two years was, Devi was far more special than he’d realized when their friendship began. Watching her heal after her father’s death and blossom into the woman he saw now was beautiful, and Paxton was just thankful to have a front row seat. Hearing her stories about Mohan and seeing how much she shared with her father made his heart swell, and he never missed an opportunity to tell her, her dad sounded a lot like her. He loved the smile she’d give him when he did too.

“I’m gonna miss you, Vishwakumar,” he murmured, pulling her close.

“Stop acting like you’re going off to war; it’s 2021. You can facetime me whenever you want,” she replied into his shoulder. She tried to pull away but stopped when his hold tightened.

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I’m counting on it.”

***

“Mom, come on, this is the only school I’m going to see without you.”

“Yes, khanna, I know this. That is why you must be prepared,” Devi’s mother responded, pages of her questions pouring out of the printer.

“I’ve gone on three other visits with you, mom, I know what to ask. And you’re going to ask the admissions office again if I decide this is what I want.”

“I do not know why you are even visiting this school. You are to go to an ivy league school.”

Devi groaned. “Mom, they have the number two law program in the country. They are every bit as prestigious as any of the ivy leagues and you know it.”

“Yes… and you are certain you want to be a lawyer?”

“I’m certain I have plenty of experience with fact-based arguments,” Devi smirked.

Her mom glared playfully at her. “They are usually riddled with emotion in my memory.”

“Part of the charm,” she smiled back. “It would be nice to be closer to you too, Mom.”

Her gaze softened before pulling Devi tight to her chest. “Just be safe, sweetie. I love you. I will see you on Monday.”

Sherman Oaks had two weekends per school year for upperclassmen where they were invited to take a long weekend for a college visit. Devi, Eleanor, and Fabiola decided to take this opportunity to visit the one school all three of them planned to apply to. Devi’s mom had taken a great deal of convincing, but in the last two years the relationship between Devi and Nalini had remarkably improved. They’d gone to therapy sessions together to process Mohan’s death – they learned how to be more open and sympathetic to each other along the way. They still argued. Nalini still had high expectations for Devi, but they never doubted that they loved each other. And Nalini’s trust in Devi had flourished as a result. Thank goodness, otherwise she never would have gotten the opportunity for an unsupervised college visit with her best friends.

Did they listen to way too many showtunes on the drive up for Devi’s taste? Yes. Yes, they did. Had Fabiola developed a weird taste for country music? Yes, she had. Thankfully, when a road trip is five and a half hours long, everyone gets a shot at picking the music. With plenty of snacks to go around, they were set for a great weekend.

Once arriving on campus, they congregated with other prospective students at the student union for the beginning of their visit. After a quick tour of the union, their next stop was housing and where they would be staying for the weekend. After housing, they toured the Cantor Arts Center, SLAC, Bing Concert Hall, and so many other destinations that it made Devi’s head spin. When they broke for the day, all three girls were happy to go rest in their room.

“Wow, this campus is like its own city,” Devi collapsed on a bed.

“You’re telling me! They have five different venues for their performing arts,” Eleanor gushed.

“And the number one engineering school in the state,” Fabiola agreed, “in one the most progressive areas in the country.”

After a few minutes of tired but enthralled conversation about the different things they liked about campus, the girls fell silent, all lying perpendicularly across the same twin bed. Devi was close to dozing off when Eleanor shifted beside her.

“So… have you told you know who that we’re here?”

Devi tried to suppress her smile. “No, I figured I would surprise him tomorrow after his meet.”

“Has he called yet?” Fabiola smiled.

Paxton and Devi had maintained a strong friendship through the recent months of his first semester and swim season at Stanford University. He facetimed her the night before every meet because “it’s the closest he could get to having his good luck charm with him.” She often told him, he was silly, but man, if she didn’t love every second of it.

“Nope, but he better hurry, otherwise I’ll be asleep,” she joked.

“Do you think he’ll recognize the dorms?” Fabiola asked.

“Good point…”

***

“What’s up, Pax? You seem tense,” Michael asked, tugging one of Paxton’s earbuds out.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “It’s stupid, just some superstition.”

“Didn’t talk to your girlfriend last night?” his friend smirked, tossing an arm over his shoulder to stretch.

Paxton smiled despite himself. “Shut up, man. She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You made her your woman-crush-Wednesday last week, and I didn’t even think people did that anymore.”

“Dude, whatever. She’s my best friend, and she’s the reason I’m here,” he shook his head as they both continued to stretch through their conversation.

It was true after all, at least in his opinion. If Devi had never approached him at the beginning of his junior year, his future may never have looked like this. She had mentioned before he moved up here, he could facetime her whenever he wanted. He systematically took advantage of that. Rationally, he knew that Devi could not affect how he swam. However, the more present Devi was in his life – the better things seem to be for Paxton, so he talked to her the night before every swim meet. Did it have to be deeper than that?

Of course, it did. Paxton had never let go of his feelings for Devi. In fact, they only grew. She’d changed him into a completely different person with her friendship. Or did she just let him be himself? Yeah, that’s what she did. Devi saw him more acutely than anyone else he’d ever met… and she liked him. He wanted to be better, smarter, more motivated because she believed he could be. It made him believe it too. Did her not picking up his call last night change any of that? Absolutely not, he knew that. Did it make him feel like something was missing, just like if he didn’t get to listen to his music during warmups? Yes. Yes, it did.

“Huh… maybe you’re the reason she’s here.”

Paxton’s brow furrowed at Michael, before the latter nodded over Paxton’s shoulder. Paxton turned, and there she was, just like that first meet when everything changed. She had her red knee-high socks, her Stanford t-shirt and her denim shorts. Eye black under her eyes, and he couldn’t tell for sure, but he suspected the vertical lines would prove to be redwood trees. He wasn’t sure when the smile spread across his face, but his cheeks were already hurting from how happy he was to see her there.

Fabiola and Eleanor were with her, dressed similarly, and it was Eleanor that saw him first. She waved happily with one hand while nudging Devi and pointing toward him with the other. Devi beamed at him with the biggest smile he’d ever seen her wear. He wanted to wave. Hell, he wanted to run over to them, and wrap Devi in his arms. He wanted her to know how much having her there meant to him. He didn’t do any of those things though. He was stuck in his own shock and his body felt warm everywhere, so he just smiled at her and didn’t stop until Michael finally nudged him again.

“Get movin man, you gotta be in the pool soon,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t want to tear a muscle in front of your girl.”

Paxton rolled his eyes, shoving Michael’s shoulder good-naturedly before returning to his stretches.

When it was time for him to assume his starting position in the pool for the backstroke, Paxton followed his same routine – five deep breaths. 5…..4….3…2.. –

“P! H! Y!”

Just like almost every meet for the last two years of high school, he could hear his initials being chanted. And just like all those other meets, he knew Devi was the one that started it. It tapered off quickly while the starter waited to give his command, but it took effect.

When the starting gun sounded, Paxton had an out of body experience. It was like magic how easily he glided through the water. Somehow the race felt faster than the few seconds it took for them to start. When he brought his head fully out of the water, he could hear the raucous, thunderous cheering. He saw his time flash across the board: 51.8. A world record. A world record.

The rest of the meet was a daze. His other events were good, but not world record good. His teammates were congratulating him and talking about the parties they would be throwing for him – away from the coaching staff, of course. That all was great, but Paxton only had one thing on his mind, one person really. As soon as coach had dismissed him and he had his sweats donned, he was out the door.

People were shaking his hand. Smiling at him. Pulling him into hugs. Some were friends, classmates, teachers. Some were strangers. Paxton offered polite smiles and thanks as he continued to push past them. She was lingering toward the back, leaning against a wall with her friends talking about something on Instagram. When he finally made it to where no one stood between them, she was still probably eight feet away, and he froze. In that moment, he took all the little things he loved about her all at once. Her beauty, her intelligence, her faith in him, the way she reached inside him and pulled his walls down, the way she laughed at his jokes, and even then how she pretended to bored and look casual, but was chewing her bottom lip, his favorite sign that she was excited and nervous to see him again.

“My girl,” he breathed out, just loud enough to catch her attention.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and they both closed the distance between them. He wrapped her in a soul-crushing hug. Anyone around them might think it had been years since they’d seen each other instead of the few short months. He pulled away just enough to lean in for the one thing that had been on his mind all day – but then he stopped short.

“You didn’t kiss anybody yesterday, did you?” he asked.

She shook her head ‘no,’ as her cheeks took on a pink hue.

“Good. You think you’re ready for a boyfriend?”

She grinned with a small nod.

He matched her grin with a toothy smile. “Cool,” and he dove in. Finally, after two long years of not feeling Devi Vishwakumar’s lips against his, there he was kissing her, and boy, was it worth the wait. One hand cradled her jaw, the other clutching her back, holding her close as though if he let go, she’d disappear. He couldn’t even begin to describe how the actual kiss felt. Instead, he was so caught up in the monumental fact that is was finally happening. There was no one else – no Ben Gross to get in their way. She’d grown so much over the last two years, and so had he. She was ready. They were ready.

“Wait,” he pulled away. “Just to be clear, you are ready for me to be your boyfriend, right?”

She smiled, rolling her eyes, and pushing him away playfully. “Yes, dork.”

It was then he heard the cheers coming from their friends. Behind Devi, Eleanor and Fabiola gave them a thumbs up. Over Paxton’s shoulder, Michael let out a low whistle. When Paxton caught his eye, he winked and said, “thought she was just your best friend.”

Paxton looked back at Devi, her eyes finding his again immediately. “She is so much more than that.”

***

“Paxton Hall-Yoshida has done it again! He’s broke his own record!”

Paxton overheard the highlights of his 100m backstroke earlier that day as he walked the tunnel to where they were waiting. It was better than he could have imagined. He told his parents that he really wanted to give Devi one of the tickets for his events today. When he told them why, they were happy to help fly her out to them. It was five years since he realized Devi Vishwakumar was his good luck charm. And sure enough, she came through for him again today – sealing a gold medal for the backstroke. He was going to come through for her too.

“Hey,” she said when she saw him before tilting her head to the side. “What are you wearing?”

He glanced down at the expensive suit he’d donned in the locker room – the best suit he owned. “This? It’s nothing,” he smiled as he reached her.

“Where’s your bag?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he told her as his left hand slipped into his pocket. “I have everything I need right here.”

“Paxton, you can’t leave your stuff – what are you doing?” she asked suddenly, as he knelt down in front of her. Her eyes grew wide when he popped open the ring box.

“I’m feeling lucky, Devi. What about you?”

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