Chapter Text
A modest house with boxes throughout the barely furnished space as the movers continue to walk in placing brand new furniture into each room. Everything about this place belonged to them; together they chose the location, floor plan, decor, right down to the colors of the cabinetry. She smiles as she hears the sound of yet another truck pulling up to drop off more stuff for their new home: their first place they own together. She gets to work unpacking the boxes for the kitchen first, naturally she starts by placing all of their mugs in the cupboard to the right of the sink. Memories of their past flood through her as she organizes their future, each cup she puts inside reminds her of all the places they’re gone and how it brought them closer to each other.
Courtney never dreamed their summer romance in a reality show would continue in real life in between seasons. She still remembers them going their separate ways as it was revealed he would be going onto the second season while she would be sent home without a chance. She was already on the phone with her lawyers the moment the cameras stopped rolling, in the middle of demanding to speak to her attorney at once, she felt a wet hand grab her arm to turn her around. She was ready to shove away whoever it was that dared touch her without permission when she realized it was Duncan.
“What are you…”
“I gotta go, but I snagged you a souvenir.”
He hands her one of those generic mugs that was laying around at Playa de Losers with Chris’ face printed on it, except he took a red marker and crossed him out and gave him devil horns. She frowns, scrunching her eyebrows when he leans in to give her a quick kiss goodbye. She finds herself trying to chase his lips for another in lieu of holding onto her phone, she doesn’t know why she chose to save the mug instead of her precious cell phone. He smiles into the kiss and when they part he tells her he’ll miss her and promises to win the season for them.
She’s caught off guard by a hand touching her shoulder as she nearly drops the Black Widow mug he got her claiming she’s just as deadly. Or at least enough to poison him with the press of her lips to his. She chides him on for almost making a mess before they’re officially moved in. He doesn’t seem to care as he takes the cup to put on the shelf then leans in to kiss her.
“What was that for?”
“Do I need a reason to kiss you Court?”
“No, but it just seems like it came out of nowhere.”
“I was just following your lead.”
“What?”
He points at the cup she was going to grab before he interrupted her: it was from the Hershey factory when they went to visit a few summers ago, after getting back together for good this time. She rolls her eyes at him, a Hershey’s kiss is not the same as a real kiss, but she won’t complain. She’s always found his kisses to be intoxicating, she could never resist them even when she was supposed to be rational and be responsible.
“Want some help?”
“If you promise to play nice then you can help.”
“You know I’m never nice Princess.”
He picks up his favorite skull mug as if to prove his case. She laughs knowing he’s a huge softie underneath, especially since he got her a matching one in hopes to replace her favorite mug that he also got her. It didn’t work, her purple princess cup would always hold a special place in her heart, it was the first one he bought for her after all.
She was just laying in his arms cuddling while they watched a movie. They were officially together and he even offered to split his winnings with her. She certainly wasn’t expecting that even though he promised her. She sighs in contempt as she looks over to see the first present he bought for her with the prize money. She pretended to be offended that it was only a mug, but she didn’t really care, especially when she knew why he picked it. She’s his princess and he’s always told her so, obviously he had to give her a mug with it inscribed to let her know he was serious. His light kiss on the top of her head breaks her out of her thoughts, it was getting late, she should be going home soon.
“Movie’s almost over, want me to take you home and I can pick you up to get your car tomorrow, or are you okay to drive home yourself?”
She didn’t have much to drink, a minimal amount that she’s already sobered up from how long she’s been over, but she was feeling dizzy. It wasn’t from the alcohol, she knew it was from the feeling of being in his arms. He’s always had this effect on her, making her drunk with just a press of his lips on hers, and heavens know they did a lot of that tonight. Still she’s never stayed over nor is she the type of girl to do this, but she felt so comfortable, almost as if she belonged here. She hesitates for only a moment before she tells him she feels too tired to move.
“I don’t really wanna go, can I crash here tonight?”
“Always, you’re always welcome here Princess.”
I don't usually say this
But I think I should let you know
That baby, baby I don't, I don't wanna go
“I remember this! That was from our first concert together.”
“I still can’t believe you got so drunk you stole a mug off the table of the diner we went to afterwards.”
“And I can’t believe you let me keep it. I expected more from you Princess.”
“To be fair, I didn’t realize it until we were already at my place and you left it on my nightstand for me to find in the morning.”
Duncan smiles as he holds up the green mug with the name of the restaurant that closed down five years ago on it. No harm no foul, they wouldn’t need it anymore anyways. She turns away to continue putting over the rest of the cups as the movers announce they’ve officially brought everything inside the house. She needs to hurry up and unpack the rest of their stuff if she wants to have the place somewhat presentable by sundown. An unrealistic expectation given the fact that she knows Duncan will end up distracting her even though there’s plenty of time before night falls.
They manage to unpack the entire kitchen and keep all of their mugs intact though they did lose one of their champagne glasses as a causality when Duncan bumped into the counter and knocked it onto the floor. Luckily no one was hurt, but so much for celebrating and toasting to their new home like she wanted. He cleaned up the pieces of glass on the floor before they moved on to their bedroom to make sure they would have a place to sleep after all their hard work.
Now sitting on the floor of their living room since the couch wouldn’t be delivered till the next day, she couldn’t be happier. Sure she was eating pizza out of a box with a Jurassic Park mug from when they went to visit Universal Studios all those years ago before the attraction changed to a Jurassic World theme, but at least she had her lover by her side. She still can’t believe this was actually happening, they’re in a house that they legally own together. They finally made it, there’s something special about having a home and being able to do anything without worrying about a landlord’s disapproval.
In the midst of cleaning up the cardboard box and washing their mugs out for the first time in their home, Duncan managed to sneak away without her noticing. She’s not sure how he hid the wrapped gift away when she was the one in charge of looking over everything to make sure nothing was missing or damaged, but she swears she’s never seen the present before.
“What’s this for?”
“An early Christmas present since we’re the only people crazy enough to want to move in mid December.”
She opens up the box and immediately starts laughing when she sees it. Another mug, and it was customized to have his face on it with the words Duncan loves you along the rim of the cup. He reveals his matching cup that he kept hidden behind his back, he had her face on it with the words Courtney loves you instead.
“I know you wanted to drink champagne in our fancy glasses, but let’s face it Court, mugs are better. We have a whole cabinet full to prove it.”
“What are you waiting for then? The champagne’s not going to pop itself.”
He laughs, but goes to retrieve the bottle chilling in the fridge. He actually keeps from further damaging their brand new home when the cork miraculously stays in the sink with very minimal spillage. He pours a generous amount into both their new cups then together they cheers to their future. She doesn’t hide her smile and neither does he as she leans into his embrace happy to finally make it to this moment. No need for them to crash at each other’s places when they’re already home.
Yeah, I got myself too drunk on you to drive
So I'm crashing here tonight