Chapter Text
In light of a recent influx of kudos for this fic, years-long guilt of never having completed it has compelled me to offer what little I can in the way of closure to whoever seeks it. I don't know if this actually makes it worse or not, but as an avid reader of fic myself, I have come across long-abandoned fics in the past for which I've often wondered how the author intended to wrap things up.
In all honesty, as it's been ~4 years since I worked on this fic, I don't remember my exact plans for the ending. All I have is the very beginning of chapter 6, and a short bullet point list of future plot beats to cover. It goes like this:
Colin can remember the first Saturday he woke up where he had a show to do that night. He remembers the jitters in his stomach like it was yesterday, and although experience has given him more confidence, he still wakes up every Saturday with a small jolt of excited-nervousness.
Today is no different.
Colin wakes early, though not as early as he used to. It's eight o’clock and the winter sun is just beginning to rise outside, based on the dimness of the room around him.
Colin stares up at the ceiling, then shifts, looking over at Che.
He's still asleep, expression impassive, face half obscured where it’s pressed into his pillow.
Common sense tells Colin there’s no real way to explain to anyone in a non-creepy way why you’re sort of just staring at them while they sleep. Even if it’s the morning after you have sex, and that in itself is weird and novel but not in a bad way.
‘Sex with Michael ,’ Colin thinks, looking back up at the ceiling. It’s not the first time he’s reflected on this particular fact, but it sinks in differently and feels less surreal when he’s slept on it and the sun is climbing into the sky and under the sheets Colin can feel the warmth of Che’s body from where Che’s arm is draped slightly across his midriff and his knee is touching the side of Colin’s leg.
It's not the first time Colin has slept with someone who was a friend first, but he thinks this is the first time he's done so without the understanding that it's all just casual sex. No, he thinks, Michael isn't casual.
He wonders if this isn't supposed to send him into a spiral of worry and panic. Maybe that's the uncertainty that Kyle succumbed to. Colin overthinks it all and overthinks his overthinking and after several minutes, is not all that surprised to discover that he feels perfectly sane about being with Michael. It might just be that he’s already contemplated it so much there’s nothing left for him to doubt now.
Che’s arm tightens around him reflexively, the telltale sign that he's waking up.
“Ugh,” Che says, never a morning person. He's blinking groggily when Colin looks at him, and when their eyes meet, Che grins. “You ready for today?” he asks.
“Are we ever?” Colin laughs. “I mean, really ?”
“Point.”
They get ready for work in a morning routine that’s awfully familiar to Colin already. He's been here before, as if for a practice run. The dance they do around each other to get themselves together is a piece of well-practiced choreography.
And I'm afraid that's about it. This is, of course, a romantic comedy. Don't trust what it says on the tin! And what is essential in a romantic comedy but not a bit of drama that brings the fate of our young lovers to some sort of dangerous precipice? As far as I can remember, post hook-up, Colin struggles a little with the uncertainty of actually continuing to date Che; Kyle and Beck are still playing the long will-they-won't-they and it's making Colin start to wonder whether his friendship with Che will survive if their romance doesn't.
Here's the bullet point list I mentioned before:
- Office Christmas party:
- Colin runs into Daisy on the way -- she’s going to look for a man named Alejandro she met at a coffee shop down the block but stops to talk to him because he looks like he needs a good talk and is thinking about special someone
- “Office romance,” Daisy sighs, “You think it’s complicated, but all you really need to do is tell Michael how you feel,”
- “Hold on, how-?”
- Daisy pats his arm. “I’m a romantic-comedy expert, Colin. I just know these things.”
- Kyle has tinsel in his hair and Beck casually plucks it out. Kyle chases Beck under the mistletoe and they playfully fight until Beck manages to plant a wet kiss on Kyle’s cheek.
- Beck is a handsy drunk, reaches for Kyle constantly, sit practically cuddling on a couch in the corner of the room, talking quietly and laughing loudly
- Colin watches them, suddenly wondering if he’s willing to doom himself to the same fate as Beck, who may never make a move again for fear of ruining one of his greatest friendships. Someone shifts and suddenly Colin sees Che, standing across the room and he thinks, Life is not a romantic-comedy, Colin, but he’s kind of drunk, and that’s just going to have to be his excuse. He moves toward Che with determination
This party would have taken place a little down the road. Probably not ch.6, but a slightly later chapter. This would have the big finale scene, the place where all the shit and romantic gesturing would have taken place. There would have been Colin, declaring his love loudly and in classic White Man Romantic Lead fashion to Michael Che in front of all gathered friends and Mr. Lorne Michaels himself 😱.
And Nick, standing up when neither Beck nor Kyle get up to take advantage of all the good vibes, and taking matters into his own hands;
“Is Nick romantic gesturing?” Colin whispers, bewildered,
“Don't be ridiculous, Colin,” Daisy Rose says, abruptly at his side, clutching the arm of some scruffy, rugged guy he's never seen before but who assumes is the aforementioned Alejandro.
In the end, Kyle would have caved first—or last, I suppose, since in this story, it's he who is holding out on letting their friendship turn into Romance™. He gives in, gives up, rolls his eyes big, makes a huge whiny noise at the ceiling and pulls Beck in to give him a big Hollywood style smackeroo.
...and there it is, or would have been, or should have been. I don't know. Of course there's a lot of loose ends that would have needed tying up besides these main plot points, but I trust you shippers to fill in the blanks with the most gratuitous little scenarios you can imagine. <3
While I'm here, I just want to say thanks to all the people who read this when I was still posting regularly. I began writing this just before graduating high school on the anniversary of the day Bob Blinger sacrificed his life so we could all get sconed and now I'm very much out of college, but I still have fond memories of the weekend the Dating Show sketch aired (I was out on a cruise for the first time, of all things, so I had to wait to watch it) and someone in the comments being like dId YoU SeE bECK aNd KyLe FINallY KiSSeD
So thanks for all those shenanigans and sorry I never finished writing this.
I don't really write any RPF these days, which is why I don't use this account, but I still keep up with SNL and I'm glad to see that a lot more people have gotten into it in the past few years (I see you, "snl moments" video compilers!!).
Thanks for reading all this if you are, and consider this fic officially put to rest lol
-WyrdSister