Chapter Text
Evan isn't far behind her. Rushing after Zoe, he arrives home shortly after she does. Immediately he sees her shaking shoulders as she is sits on the sofa, clutching one of the pillows to her chest. Evan stumbles forward, the floor shifting him onto the ground in front of her. Opening her eyes, she looks down at him.
"You didn't do anything that I haven't wanted to do since I met you," Evan says and his face meets her knees as he leans forward to rest his head in her lap. Both worshipful and desperate. Her delicate fingers run through his hair, her head bent over his.
"Really?" Zoe doesn't dare to let herself believe this yet.
Evan raises his head long enough to look her in the eyes. "You're the best thing to ever happened to me, you know that?"
His face blurs again as tears flood her eyes. Mascara spreads onto her hand as she drags her palm across her cheeks. There's one thing she has to say, one thing before this night is over. "Evan, I really love your stupid face, ok?" She manages a slight shuddering laugh that he echoes. Her tired voice grows serious once more. "No matter what."
His cool hands gather her's in his and bring them to his lips in a quiet, soft kiss. "I love you, Zoe. More than you know."
Zoe shifts her exhausted body over and helps Evan get to his feet and lay beside her. Resting her head on his shoulder, the consoling grip of his arms around her body is all she's wanted for a long time.
She doesn't have to question that it's all he's wanted too.
-
Evan wakes up first.
Her small body is laying across his almost completely, limbs tangled up around each other, her rising and falling chest pressed against his. Evan doesn't dare to move, wondering if this is an illusion that can shatter at any moment.
It doesn't.
Zoe is sleeping peacefully, one of the only reminders of the night before is her smudged make up. One of them must have reached for the blanket that lays across the back of the couch at some point, it's twisted uncomfortably around her. Evan carefully smooths it over them and the smallest sigh escapes Zoe's lips as she stirs, eyes flickering open and adjusting to the light.
"Hi."
"Hi."
Does she remember what we said last night? Evan doesn't know if this something he should mention or wait for her to mention. Things said while drunk rarely have positive consequences. However, Zoe isn't making any move to get off of him, which Evan dares to take as a good sign to mean that she doesn't hate him. She lifts herself slightly on his chest, forehead almost pressed against his. He almost drops his hand from her waist but with one touch, she presses her hand against his to keep it there and he freezes.
They gaze at each other for one second that hangs in pure suspension.
The alarm from one of their bedrooms jolts them both.
"What day is it?" The words fly out of her mouth.
"It's Monday…oh my god, we're late for classes."
Zoe trips over the coffee table as she rushes to get up, Evan closely following her into their separate bedrooms to change. Zoe, yanking a new blouse over her head, appears in Evan's bedroom doorway where he is fumbling to unbutton his shirt.
"We didn't…" Zoe draws in a breath.
"No, no, no, no…I don't think so?" Evan doesn't have to add for either of them I think I'd remember that. Zoe strides forward and starts button his new shirt for him.
"Unzip me," she orders and in any other context, this would be a highly different situation. He undoes the zipper on the hip of her skirt, fingers pausing, unsure just what exactly to do next. She does; stepping out of the skirt, letting it fall around her ankles, Zoe hurriedly puts on her jeans as Evan finishes the series of buttons on his shirt that she started.
They're rushing, barely speaking, the tension unbearably tight between them. Evan watches her run a brush through her hair, willing himself to just speak. And Zoe has taught herself silence, a silence that hurts. If we walk out that door, we'll never have the courage to talk about this again. The tension hums as their eyes meet in the mirror, long enough to beg the other to speak.
Until it snaps.
Zoe is moving towards the door, hand wrapping around the handle before Evan hastily says, "Zoe, wait."
"We don't have time to wait," Zoe makes herself say despite her inner pull back towards him.
He tries to find the words. "Yeah, but we have waited long enough."
Zoe lets go of the handle.
He brings his palms against the front of his jeans, drying them of any perspiration. Since they met in high school, since he dropped his suitcase on that linoleum kitchen floor, he thought he knew everything he'd ever want to say to her. And of course he'd imagined it…all the alternatives are so different than what's unfolding right now. Drunken promises, a frantically rushed morning and a month prior with barely speaking to each other is nothing like what he imagined.
Zoe's jeans rustle as she closes some of the distance between them, hoveringly close but with enough distance to set a specific boundary. Too close and she'll never be able to walk away unscathed. "About last night…"
"I'm sorry I said those things."
Zoe is shocked. "Why?"
Evan hastens to explain, "I probably put you in a really uncomfortable situation. You're the best friend I could ever ask for and I don't want to ruin anything just because of…me."
"Miscommunication has destroyed far more relationships than it ever should". Heidi's words ring, clear and unequivocal in Zoe's mind. Words, it always comes down to words and the spoken versus the unspoken.
"Evan, if you felt this way, why didn't you speak to me? I thought that you were upset with me." A step closer to him.
His eyes grow larger, stunned and bewildered, as if the mere idea of her upsetting him is outlandish in of itself. "You thought I wasn't speaking to you because of you? Oh, god." And laughter escapes his throat before he continues with a hint of desperation, "Believe me, Zoe, I am not and never will be upset with you. I thought that you didn't want to talk to me because I kissed you back."
"But I kissed you first."
"I thought that you thought that I purposely made it last longer and that freaked you out."
"Oh…my god." Zoe's processing, her head spinning, heart leaping ahead with newfound relief. Things are changing, things are shifting. The day, once seemingly stretched out before her in a muddled, miserable grey mess of confusion has taken a turn that she could not have ever foreseen. Darting her tongue out, she runs it across her dry lips, her voice scarcely over a whisper as she dares to ask, "What does this mean for us then?"
Evan says, with a voice that wavers with unsaid but desperate hope, "There's an us?"
"When has there ever not been us?"
"Never."
His skin is warm to the touch as Zoe outstretches her arm and he follows suit, palm settling in her's with a clasp made just for her. His throat is tight, it's impossible to speak and she is far too caught up in him for any words. With more courage than he ever thought he possibly had in him, he presses his lips against her's, letting their grasp go long enough to cradle her face in his hands.
He feels Zoe smile against his lips.
-
There's so much that happens afterwards.
Dates seem to fly off of the calendar, one after the other. University coming to an end, a new home being bought.
Is it really only within one year that a silver ring has become a permanent feature on Zoe's finger?
She's a stunning bride. The smallest of weddings, the most peaceful of receptions, something so incredibly intimate and personal.
And perfect for them.
-
Pressing a hand against her waist, she leans over the back of his chair and presses a kiss against his cheek. He smiles and laughs, the very laugh that made her fall so deeply in love with him from the moment they met.
"Our followers are going to have a field day with this one," Evan remarks, gazing at the computer monitor that displays the video thumbnail of the two thin pink lines that have changed their lives.
Zoe, still hovering over him, settles her hands on his shoulders. "Without them we may never have moved in together and none of this would have happened."
Evan's eyes flicker. "This is probably the only time I'll ever say this, but thank god for the internet."
Zoe smiles, kisses the top of his head before pulling herself off of him and heading for the kitchen. "Ready for dinner? I think the pizza is here."
Getting up, Evan pauses just long enough to tap the computer mouse.
Post.