Chapter Text
"You ready, Chuck?" Patty asked.
It was a cool, clear fall afternoon with a brisk wind blowing throught the park. Charlie Brown and Patricia Reichardt were there, making last-second tweaks and in the case of Patty, dealing with a certain someone's last-second doubts.
"Um, yeah…I guess." Charlie Brown wavered. His unease did not sit well with Patty, who eyed him disapprovingly.
"Come on, Chuck!" she berated. "Now's not the time for second thoughts! This is the best kite you've ever made! You gotta have more faith in yourself!"
It was a good kite, a great one even. Charlie Brown had made this one to be durable, light, and stable. Patty's contribution to it was a motorized spool for better line control. She was determined to see Charlie finally get to fly his kite. In her mind, she was helping him fulfill a lifelong dream. Which is why she would suffer no doubts from him.
"But what if—"
"But nothing! We're in too far to turn away now!" Patty insisted. "I'm telling you, this kite's going to fly! Now let's get into position!"
"Whatever you say, Patty," Charlie Brown sighed back, once again marveling at his girlfriend's optimism.
One day, two kisses.
One fateful day. A day in which actions spoke louder than words and a boy and girl professed their feelings for one another. Finally, fears were overcome and insecurities were conquered. Not that it was plain sailing since the second kiss at Patty's threshold. There was the initial coyness around each other out in the open. It took about a week before they started holding hands.
It also took the intervention of Marcie. Charlie and Patty were concerned about breaking the news to Marcie. They feared that the trio's friendship would be altered or even broken as a result. Their concerns were unfounded. As Patty's best friend, Marcie was always in tune with the hoyden's inner workings. She thus very quickly sensed something amiss about her friend and just as quickly gathered that a new dynamic with Charles was in force. She also guessed – correctly – that neither of the two would be forthcoming with any news and thus arranged a sit-down to talk things through.
Ultimately, it was a productive session.
Charlie Brown and Patricia Reichardt were assured by Marcie Carlin that they had her blessing and that their friendship would remain unchanged. As an aside, Marcie would be lying if she said she didn't feel even the slightest bit of envy over the pairing. All the same, she loved Charles enough not to begrudge him for his happiness, be it with her or without. She'd leave them be, but if ever the relationship were to become rocky…
The conditions were perfect as Charlie Brown stood with his back to the wind. Peppermint Patty stood a short distance from him, holding the kite aloft. The anticipation was palpable: would he finally get his kite airborne?
Patty seemed to think so. "OK, Chuck!" she boomed. "Are we ready to go?"
And Charlie Brown, who found himself too invested in the moment to say otherwise, gave her a determined smile and a thumbs-up. "Ready, Patty!" he averred.
"THEN HERE WE GO!" proclaimed Patty as she raised the kite and let the wind take hold of it.
Holding hands was awkward at first. Patty always had a habit of tricking Charlie Brown into holding her hand before teasing him for being forward. Then it started happening for real and she was as nervous as he was. Her previous audacity around him proved a front, for despite her outward projections of confidence, she was just as apprehensive about displaying affection in public. Her apprehension bordered on regret.
At first.
They became accustomed very quickly to this new interaction. It wasn't long before they were spotted hand in hand on many occasions, leaving many bulging eyes and slackened jaws in their wake. Questions too. Many, many questions.
Questions centered around the when and the why.
But most of all, the how.
How could an alpha like Peppermint Patty set the bar so low and settle on a milquetoast like Charlie Brown? Even she could do better than that, couldn't she? And how did Charlie Brown make himself that appealing to someone who was way beyond his league?
Perhaps it was no surprise that his biggest detractors were Lucy van Pelt and Sally Brown. Until they weren't. Until they changed their tunes. It started with Lucy. Lucy scheduled an appointment for him at her booth. There she put on a calm, detached front, which lasted all of ninety seconds before she begged him to disclose his secrets so that she could use them to woo Schroeder more effectively. She promised never to pull the football on him ever again. And from her desperate tone, he gathered that she fully intended to keep that promise. Sally put a similar offer on the table: he tells her his secrets which she uses to woo her Sweet Babboo; she takes back at least a third of the bad things she said to and about him. Now, being Patty's boyfriend didn't magically take away Charlie Brown's wishy-washy side, so he hemmed and hawed at the offers. Ultimately, he promised to think about their propositions.
And that…was not that.
Word quickly reached Schroeder and Linus of what their suitresses were planning. These two would approach Charlie Brown and beg him not to share his secrets with the girls. Their counteroffers comprised lunch money, comic books, and even a new catcher's mitt.
Two equal but opposite forces. And to hear how emphatic both sides' arguments are, together with the constant revision of their offers and counteroffers, one would be forgiven for thinking that the fate of the very world was at stake.
Sadly, the matter remains unresolved at present.
The kite made its bid for the heavens as it soared above Charlie Brown and Patricia Reichardt. Charlie Brown struggled momentarily to keep it aloft. If he got the tension wrong, the kite would come crashing down or even fall victim to his nemesis: the dreaded Kite-Eating Tree.
"Don't panic, Chuck!" Patty shouted from the distance. "Don't fight it, guide it!"
He took her words to heart and calmed down. A sequence of tugging and slackening the line, and eventually the kite settled at a comfortable altitude and in a satisfying state of equilibrium.
Only then did he realize: HE'D DONE IT! HE WAS FLYING HIS KITE!
He was so fixated on his accomplishment that he didn't notice Patty until she had walked up to him and embraced him from behind. This startled him out of his concentration. He might have let go of the line and let the kite plummet to the ground had Patty not wrapped his controlling hand with hers. Her gesture accomplished two goals.
Firstly, it stabilized Charlie Brown enough for him to refocus on the kite and keep it in flight.
Secondly, it set his heart racing and made his cheeks burn at Patty's sudden intimacy. Up until a month ago, he'd known her as honest, upfront, and more than a little boisterous. But capable of tenderness like this? A month into a relationship with her, and he still found this side of her surprising. "Surprising" in the most pleasant way conceivable.
Case in point…
"Steady, Chuck," Patty whispered breathily into his ear. "I've got you."
That was good enough for him, and together they continued keeping the kite alive in the air. The sheer Zen of this shared activity was profound: being at one with the earth, the sky, the wind.
And Patty.
If not for her, he'd probably be doomed to chase this moment for all eternity. Patty was on to this thought and whispered as sensuously as before: "You don't have to do everything by yourself. See the magic that happens when we come together?"
So, what can realistically be expected from this pairing?
No need for speculation as Charlie and Patty would prove very good for one another. Their new relationship will lend itself to many new developments, one of which will be an increase in study dates. Patty will take more willingly to Charlie's guidance than Marcie's since she finds the former far less academically judgmental than the latter. The results will speak for themselves when Patty starts posting consistent C's, with the occasional C+ as a welcome extra. And no one will be more grateful for this outcome than Mister Reichardt, who will laud the boy's positive influence on his "rare gem".
Patricia will return the favor by giving Charlie pointers in baseball. His pitching will improve significantly, as will his batting. Enough for his team to challenge hers? On a day of flying swine, maybe. No, Patty will remain as merciless as ever on the field. All the same, her boyfriend will be more accepting of her competitive nature. And besides…the act of congratulating her will involve many, many hugs, so…are there any losers?
Another spinoff will come in his team's other baseball games. While they won't suddenly become a top-flight team, their win/loss ratio will improve enough for some pundits to suspect that a deal could have been made with the devil. The team will ride out the criticisms and enjoy not being at the bottom of the table anymore.
Ultimately, Charlie Brown's parents will note his increased confidence and improved outlook on the world. He'll attribute the improvements to Peppermint Patty, and Patricia will become a regular mealtime guest of the Browns in her father's absence.
Hopefully, they will continue on this positive trajectory.
Back in the present, the fledgling lovebirds had regathered the kite and were about to return to their homes. It was the end of a most productive afternoon, as reflected in Patty's parting words.
"We had fun. Didn't we, Chuck?"
"We sure did, Patty," Charlie Brown sighed back in contented agreement.
"Yeah, catch you later," said Patty. She capped off her statement with a peck on his cheek. Once more, even one month into the relationship, Charlie Brown couldn't resist blushing in response.
"Oh, look at you!" teased Patty. "Still not used to being kissed yet!"
His cheeks remained crimson as he fought for some measure of composure. "Well…" he began stammering. "…you're not wrong…"
"And why is that?" Patty queried. For extra effect, she closed in on him until they were almost nose to nose. Much to his surprise, she didn't seem aggrieved by his answer. Quite the contrary, her smile seemed more coquettish than anything else.
"It's just awkward…you know? Knowing that Snoopy…knowing that my dog has shared more kisses than me…"
Peppermint Patty's smile only broadened, as she closed in for the last few inches to kiss him again, this time more tenderly and on his lips. His blushing should have intensified, but now his was mostly bemusement. He'd thought she'd be offended by him bringing up – however indirectly – the fact that she'd received more kisses from his dog than from him.
Instead, she placed a hand on his shoulder, the better to hold on to him for a second, more prolonged kiss. What she said next was interrupted by a sequence of subsequent kisses of varying length and intensity.
"Well…in that case…you've…got…a lot…and I mean… a…whole…lot…to make up for…Charlie Brown."
Well before the end of her repartee, Charlie Brown stopped being awkward around her. He'd started partaking in Patty's affection. He mirrored her hold on his shoulder with one on hers and he started meeting her halfway during the later kisses. The exchange continued for some time after Patty had spoken, during which the erstwhile blockhead reflected on the hoyden's words.
She was right: the onus to catch up was on him, and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.
THE END