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They’d always given each other shit.
That was just their dynamic. Shayne would pick something and make fun of her for it, and Courtney would call him dumb and give him shit for that. Razzing each other like that was nothing new for them; it was how they bonded. He loved that about them, about her.
Hell, it was how Ian bonded with anyone in the squad too. It was why he and Ian got along so well to begin with. They lived to good naturedly ruffle everyone’s feathers to maximum comedic effect. Everyone in Smosh was more than familiar with them and their sense of humor.
So, when Courtney stood up and marched off without a word once the production crew gave the all clear – they knew they struck a nerve. She found the door and made her exit within moments. The crew exchanged glances, sending a few Ian and Shayne’s way. The older of the two shifted uncomfortably in his seat, fidgeting with the sleeves of his flannel.
“Yeah, we uhh, screwed the pooch on that one,” Ian muttered. His eyes were trained on the still open laptop, with Courtney’s old YouTube videos pulled up.
The blonde blew air out of his mouth, hunching over the desk and putting his face in his hands.
“Fuck,” He took his cap off, setting it on top of the second, “We hit too deep there, man.”
“I mean,” Ian let out a tentative sigh, “It was her idea for us to react to her old vid-”
“Yeah, react, not roast!” Shayne cut him off, the guilt now very quickly stirring his insides.
“Point taken. She didn’t sign up for that…” Ian leaned back in his chair, “Fuck.”
“Oh god,” Shayne stood up now, walking around the table to face Ian.
“She hates us,” He said, more quietly this time, “She hates us, Ian!”
Shayne turned around to look at where Courtney made her exit. Ryan shot him a grimace from where he stood by the equipment. This wasn’t good. They really hurt her this time. Usually when they did react videos, they had the whole squad together. There was better balance when that was the case. You had Shayne and Ian being dicks, while Keith and Noah were usually a lot more supportive, and Olivia was… well, Olivia.
But now it was just Courtney and “her boys,” as she liked to call them, and they did her dirty. Shayne gulped subconsciously. The image of her betrayed face was seared into his mind. She looked at him for help more than once, and he didn’t pick up on it. The last thing he ever wanted was to hurt her. He’d sooner lock himself in a closet with dolls than see Courtney hurt. But there they were, and the damage was done.
“We need to fix this. Let’s go after her, man.” Shayne turned his head back to Ian, who looked as bad as he felt. The latter glanced at his watch, prompting Shayne to look at his own. It was past five in the afternoon, which meant it was just about time to get off work.
Ian took his glasses off to rub at his eyes. He gestured to Shayne with his glasses as he spoke, “She’s probably on the way home by now. Do you know if she has plans tonight? It’s a Friday after all.”
Shayne thought back for a moment to earlier in the day. Noah had to go see his parents. Keith was heading over to church to help them start preparing for some event over the weekend. Olivia had plans with Sam. Damien had a party he was reluctantly attending. Courtney had said she had a hot date with Netflix and some microwavable Mac n Cheese.
“No, she’s staying home tonight.”
“Fuck,” Ian continued to rub at his eyes in frustration, “Look, I got a lot on my plate tonight and I can’t leave the smoffice ‘til late.”
Shayne opened his mouth to protest but Ian raised a hand up to stop him.
“We messed up here. I was hoping she was kidding, and her snapping was like… a bit…”
Shayne nodded. At the time, she was pissed, but there’s pissed for the cameras to put on a good show… and then there’s actually pissed. In the moment, he was hoping it was the former, but her walk out proved otherwise. His restless hands tapped against the table before motioning for Ian to go on.
Ian continued, “Can you go to her? Like, tonight? Let’s give her a peace offering.”
Shayne was way ahead of him. As soon as the gravity of the situation began to sink in, he knew he needed to go after her and make it up to her. Courtney was far more important to him to allow this to just go.
“I’ll bring over some pizza from her favorite pizza place,” Shayne decided.
“Wait, bring some dessert too in case you get there late, and she’s already eaten.”
“Anything you got in mind?”
It was Ian’s turn to stand up, phone in hand and dialing away.
“There’s this really good cupcake place nearby. I’ll place the order and you can go pick it up. I’ll text you the address, it’s barely ten minutes away.”
“Okay. Okay, that sounds good,” Shayne said before patting himself down to search for his car keys, only stopping when Ian handed him a few bills.
Ian raised the phone up to his ear and listened to it ringing away. He looked at Shayne seriously; far more seriously than he’d ever seen Ian. The last time Ian looked this serious was during the Defy crisis… and when he accidentally dropped that bomb on Pam.
“You give her my most sincere apologies, okay? You know I love that girl like a sister.”
“Of course. You didn’t – we didn’t mean to hurt her.” Shayne placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Ian gave a stiff nod.
“And tell her we don’t need to air this if she doesn’t want us to. We can scrap the whole thing if she wants, no problem at all.”
“Alright. I’ll let her know.”
“I’ll pay her a visit tomorrow after you’ve softened her up for me.”
Shayne rolled his eyes but laughed just the same. He pushed off the table and began heading for the door.
“Wish me luck!”
“You got this frog legs!”
Shayne arrived at the dessert place after a short drive. His car gave a soft chirp as he locked it. Shayne wasted no time entering the store and lining up. To kill the time, he brought his phone out, and pulled up the Domino’s app so he could place the order.
He had to get pineapple. As much as he disliked pineapple on pizza, it was Courtney’s favorite, and they had to settle for nothing less tonight. Shayne punched in the details before setting the address to Courtney’s apartment building. He’d receive it at the lobby. By the time the order was confirmed, he made it to the front of the queue.
After giving Ian’s name to the lady at the register, she exchanged a few words with one of her co-workers, who then produced a box. She set it down on the counter and lifted the top.
Shayne’s hand came up to stifle his laughter at the box of a dozen cupcakes. They were a mix of red velvet and chocolate cupcakes. Each one had some lettering on it. Together, they all spelled out:
S R Y 4 (a cartoon bumblebee) N G D I K S :(
Shayne handed the payment off and was back on the road before long. According to the Domino’s app, the pizza should arrive not long after he got to her apartment.
He stopped at a red light, fingers drumming on the wheel, anxiety beginning to bubble up. All the memories and thoughts he’d been holding back while picking the food up finally poured in.
I just wish my friends would enjoy my content.
Shayne’s heart skipped a beat.
Yeah. It wasn’t a bit. That crestfallen look on her face wasn’t for the camera.
“You really fucked this one up, Shayne,” He muttered to himself as his hand came up to run through his hair.
They’d always been quick to make up before. The same went for Ian. Whenever the squad roasted each other for content or even for fun, things always ended with hugs all around. It was all just fun and games, all in good faith. Nobody ever wanted to really hurt anyone’s feelings. This was just different.
This is years of my life. It’s great. Make fun of it. Make fun of it!
She showed them an important part of her life – the beginnings of her path as a content creator – and they just tore at it. They joked about their behavior and roasting by the end of the video, but the damage was done.
The light finally turned green, and Shayne hit the gas.
He was disappointed in himself. He should know her better by now. There were countless nights that they spent in each other’s apartments, bundled up in a shared blanket on the couch, watching the latest Netflix hits. Too many times he’d start yawning at 3AM and get ready to leave. Each time, without fail, Courtney would order him to stay the night. She didn’t want him driving in his sleepy state. And each time, they’d settle back on the couch and queue up some dumb show that neither of them had interest in, just for background noise.
They talked about everything and nothing at all in hushed voices. As if the world would overhear and ruin the closeness that they alone shared. Their limbs and bodies would inevitably get tangled together as time ticked by and the need for sleep became too great to resist. By the time morning would roll in, Shayne never knew where he ended and Courtney began.
The squad knew they spent a lot of time together outside of work. That was no secret. But being together with the squad or out in public took a lot of restraint. They had to keep their hands to themselves, no matter how natural his arms feel around her waist, or her head nuzzling into his neck. All they had at work were the stolen glances and lingering touches.
When they were alone, they were different. There was no label to it. They weren’t dating. They never kissed outside of a sketch or two for Smosh… well, not on the lips anyway. Neither of them was seeing anyone else, or intended to start. They never even talked about what they were. They simply were. But they shared an intimacy that was theirs, and they knew it didn’t have a place at work. Not now. Not yet. Maybe someday.
So, Shayne had to ask himself, how the fuck did he not realize that they crossed the line?
Shayne knew Courtney better than anyone in Smosh, and he was too busy having a laugh to pick up the actual hurt in her eyes. She looked at him more than once with those beautiful doe eyes of hers. He should have seen it. It took the outburst halfway through the shoot before he seriously toned down the roasting. He had no excuses.
And he would be honest with her and tell her as much. His girl deserved as much.
He snorted. His girl. Yeah, right.
Shayne pulled over in the apartment’s guest parking lot. After picking the box of cupcakes up, he made his way into the lobby. As luck would have it, the delivery guy was there, speaking to the lobby’s receptionist.
Shayne politely cut into their conversation. He showed them his phone, displaying the delivery details, and explained that he was receiving the order. The confusion was cleared up in no time, and Shayne was on his way up the stairs. He took them two at a time, balancing the pizza box and the cupcake box to the best of his ability.
His nerves were shot when he reached Courtney’s door. His heart hammered in his chest, and he was certain he was holding the box far too tightly. Would she open the door, see him, then shut it again? Would she open the door, take the food, and leave him out to dry? Would she smack the boxes out of his hands and tell him they were done? Would she call security on him? Would she kick him in the unmentionables? There were a million ways this could go wrong, and he could imagine them already.
Before he could chicken out, he knocked. Shayne made the conscious effort not to hold his breath while waiting for it to open. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal Courtney. She wore lounge pants, an oversized shirt, and her usual glasses. She was beautiful, but that was nothing new to Shayne. She took his breath away no matter what she wore.
But her eyes were also a little red, and he knew that was his and Ian’s fault. It made his stomach drop.
“Hey,” Was all he could say.
“Shayne? What are…” Courtney’s eyes went to the two boxes in his hands.
“I’m sorry. We’re sorry,” Shayne ducked his head slightly to make contact with her eyes, “We went too far, and it wasn’t cool.”
Courtney let out a frustrated sigh but opened the door fully. It was a start, so Shayne took it.
He stepped into the apartment and set the food down onto her dining table as Courtney shut the door. Shayne turned to find her still standing a distance away, arms crossed.
“You’re a jerk you know that?”
“Court, I-”
“Those videos were important to me, Shayne! Did you have to be such an asshole?”
Shayne flinched, but took a cautious step forward.
“I said I’d share them for a react video. React!”
“Not a roast,” Shayne agreed.
“I just – I expected better from you, Shayne. After everything, you and me,” She motioned back and forth between them, “I thought we have each other’s backs!”
“We do have each other’s backs, Court!” Shayne protested.
“Then why didn’t you hold back and be just a little bit nicer?! Is that how it is? Do I have to snap just for you and Ian to realize you’re being assholes? That was an important, formative part of my life and you had no respect!” Courtney wore the hurt plainly on her face. Fresh tears beaded at the corners of her eyes.
“I thought like you of all people would see you crossed a line, Shayne.”
“I’m so, so sorry. You’re right. I absolutely should have noticed and should not have ragged on you so much. There’s no excuse. I let you down there,” Shayne took another tentative step forward, “I… We love you, Court. We would never set out to hurt you on purpose.”
Courtney sniffled, hands rubbing her arms. She didn’t look up at him.
“What are you doing here, Shayne? What’s with the food?”
“Ian and I wanted to extend a peace offering. He’s still got work at the smoffice so he couldn’t make it tonight.” Shayne came to a stop in front of Courtney.
“We both feel just terrible, Court. Both of us thought maybe you were putting a show of being upset for the camera, but we’re idiots. We’re sorry idiots, and we hope you can forgive us,” Shayne continued.
“I – I know you looked at me back there for help. I realize that now, and I’m sorry I didn’t notice it sooner.”
The churning in his stomach was on overdrive. Courtney wouldn’t even look at him now. He was close enough to touch her now, but he couldn’t, no matter how much he wanted to reach out to her. There was a barrier between them, and he didn’t dare cross it. He didn’t deserve to cross it, even if he ached to just take her in his arms.
“Ian said we can scrap all the footage if you like. There’s absolutely no need to air the video. Just say the word,” He extended Ian’s offer, but Courtney remained silent, eyes on the floor.
“What we did wasn’t cool, Courtney. If you want some time, distance – you name it. Whatever you want to heal and make this better, we’ll make it happen. I just… I had to come after you tonight. You’re too important to me to just leave it and not try to make this up.”
Courtney sniffled again, one hand wiping at her face.
“Do you want me to go? I’m sure you don’t want to see my dumb face right now. Leaving is… you know that’s always the last thing I want to do. But if you want me to go, I will.”
At that, Courtney’s face tilted up and her gaze met Shayne’s. She bit her lip as a few tears made their way down her face. But she shook her head no. Shayne offered her a small smile and gave a grateful nod.
“You’re dumb,” Courtney let out, but the bite was gone.
“You’re right. I’m the worst.”
“But you’re lucky,” Courtney sniffled, wiping at her face.
“Why?” Shayne quirked an eyebrow.
Courtney let out a little laugh.
“Because you’re my favorite pizza place.”
The absurdity in her reply startled a laugh out of Shayne, but he wasn’t alone. Courtney’s own laughter melded with his. The barrier between them finally broke down. Shayne reached for her with trepidation, but Courtney was done waiting. She stepped forward into his embrace, burying her face in his shirt. He let his one hand wrap around her back, while the other went up to cup the base of her head. His fingers eased their way into her hair.
Shayne shut his eyes to take her in. Her smell. Her body pressed against his. Her steady breathing. Her damp face on his now damp shirt. Her tight hold around him. Everything. His own eyes suddenly felt damp. It was… relief, he figured. He didn’t even realize the intense fear he kept locked down until this moment. The fear that he was going to lose her. Lose this. Lose everything they’d become. All because he was dumb and discounted her feelings in favor of laughing it up for the video.
“You’re my favorite pizza place too.” Shayne bit back a sniffle, pressing his lips to her hair before tightening his hold on her.
“We’re both so sorry, Court,” Shayne pulled back just enough to look at her. Courtney frowned at Shayne. Her hand came up to brush at the loose couple of tears streaming down his own cheeks.
“Why are you crying, dummy? You’re gonna make me cry more!” She let out a sound that was a cross between a sniffle and a giggle. She patted his face aggressively, and Shayne laughed in spite of it all.
Shayne’s eyes darted away from hers in slight embarrassment as he spoke, “I was afraid of losing you.”
“You…” Courtney trailed off and leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his. “Dramatic asshole.”
He huffed out a laugh, before adding again, “I’m sorry.”
Courtney took his face in her hands, tilting it to the side and pressing a delicate kiss to his cheek.
“I know,” She bit her lip for a moment before asking, “Little ol’ me mean that much to you?”
“Of course,” He replied without hesitation.
Neither of them was sure how long they embraced by Courtney’s front door, swaying a little where they stood. But once the last remnants of sniffles and tears dried away, they finally broke apart and made their way to her small dining table. Courtney was pleased by his choice of pizza, while Shayne simply picked the little fruits off and tossed them over to her plate. Things were okay again. They talked like they did any other time they spent the night together. Once they were done with the pizza, it was time to open up the dessert.
Shayne slid the box over to face Courtney.
“Just so you know, this one is all Ian.”
He popped the lid to reveal the contents within. Courtney laughed at the poorly spelled message, bringing a hand up to stifle it.
“Aww. I appreciate it,” She smiled.
Coincidentally, Shayne’s phone buzzed just then. While Courtney got to work on the first cupcake, he checked the message.
Ian: How’s it going?
Shayne’s thumb hovered over his keypad for a moment too long, and Courtney took notice. She snatched the phone out of his hands before he could react.
“Who’s interrupting our cupcake time – oh!” Courtney giggled, and slid the phone back to Shayne, “Send him this.”
She stood up abruptly, walking over to her desk to grab a marker. She tossed it to Shayne, who fumbled to catch it.
“What are-”
Courtney stopped in front of Shayne and tugged part of her pants down to free one butt cheek. Shayne’s eyes widened, going back and forth between her cheek and her face.
“What the fuck, Courtney?!” He yelled with flushed cheeks.
“Write ‘fuck you bish’ and put a little heart at the end!” Courtney instructed.
Shayne laughed, but did as instructed anyway, penning the message away on her rear.
“Lady, you are insane,” He shook his head before snapping a picture and sending it to Ian.
Courtney tugged her pants back up and turned to Shayne, patting his face.
“You looove me anyway,” She winked, and returned to her seat to resume her work on the cupcake.
“Yeah, yeah, lucky you.” Shayne ignored the rapid beat of his heart at her words, and his still reddened face.
Courtney blew him a kiss in response before sinking her teeth into the cupcake, messier than ever. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he took a cupcake for himself.
His phone buzzed. Ian sent him a disgusted emoji, followed by an actual message.
Ian: Behave, you two!
Shayne turned the phone around and slid it to Courtney, who giggled.
“Come here,” She motioned with one hand, swiping to his phone’s camera with the other.
Shayne stood up and got into position behind her. He placed his hands on her backrest but stood upright, smiling for the selfie. Courtney rolled her eyes and reached back to grab his shirt and pull him closer.
“What, are you afraid I got cooties all of a sudden?”
“Nah, not cooties. Just all that frosting you got on your face.” Shayne laughed as he bent over to position himself next to her face.
“Shut up!” She smacked his arm but raised the phone just the same. Courtney snapped four pictures in succession. The first was as is. Then she grabbed a fresh cupcake and smashed it into Shayne’s face and snapped the second picture.
“Oh my God, Courtney!” Shayne protested as she snapped the third picture. Then she pressed her lips to his chocolate coated cheeks and took the fourth picture. She looked up at him with a coy smile after releasing him.
“Now I forgive you.” Courtney’s small smile soon broke into a fit of laughter looking at his face, “You look so dumb.”
“Gee, I wonder why that is?” Shayne rolled his eyes but laughed, “Is it the hat? Does the shirt not go well with my skin tone?”
He cleaned the cupcake debris off his face as he watched as Courtney brought Ian’s chat back up. Another wave of butterflies infiltrated his stomach. Was she actually going to send all four pictures? The first three were fine, and all very on-brand for them. The fourth was behind-closed-doors-Shayne-and-Courtney. Not work-and-social-media-friendly-Shayne-and-Courtney. Yet Courtney didn’t seem to even think twice, selecting the four pictures and sending them to Ian.
She turned the phone back to Shayne to show him the pictures they just took. Butterflies in his stomach aside, his heart swelled with happiness at the sight of the photos. Courtney giggled at his smile and his flushed cheeks and placed the phone into his waiting palm.
“Aren’t we the cutest? Come on,” She stood up and tilted her head in the direction of the sofa they’d spent many nights on, “Lately I’ve been like, really wanting to watch all the Marvel Netflix shows again. Let’s start with Daredevil!”
“Only if we see The Punisher after Season 2,” Shayne bargained.
“You got a deal, my guy.”
Shayne picked up the box of cupcakes along with his phone, which buzzed. Ian’s reply was a single heart emoji. He shook his head with a grin and joined Courtney on the couch.
They spent the rest of the evening like they spent most of their quiet weekends together. A mess of tangled limbs on the sofa, with Courtney draped over Shayne. The hours went by episode after episode. After Courtney jolted awake after dozing off, Shayne put the show on pause. Neither of them felt like getting up or adjusting just yet. Courtney settled for fiddling with the hem of Shayne’s shirt. He traced invisible patterns along her arm with his thumb.
“You good?” His voice, having been unused for a few hours, came out in a deep grumble. Courtney craned her head to look up at him, a small smile playing on her sleepy face. Her hand crept up to his face, thumb brushing his lips briefly.
“Mhm,” She hummed contentedly.
“Y’know Ian might drop by tomorrow.” Shayne muttered absently, rubbing his hand along her back.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I’m sure he still wants to apologize in person,” Shayne offered.
“Hmm… We could get breakfast all together,” Courtney beamed through the sleepy haze, “Breakfast with my boys!”
Shayne let the quiet settle between them for a moment as his mind wandered back to the four pictures Courtney sent Ian’s way. What could be going through his mind at the sight of the fourth photo? Did Ian think his ship finally sailed? Was he worried that if his ship did sail, it may interfere with work? Their contract was Defy was long gone, and so was the provision preventing co-workers from dating. Now the only thing that stopped them was workplace taboo.
They weren’t even in a relationship. Shayne shook his head to himself at the thought. They were more than friends. They crossed that line long ago some time during the first dozen times they slept over. When kissing each other on the cheek or head or even occasional neck became as natural and casual as breathing, they were definitely already in too deep. Yet they hadn’t taken the plunge either. Neither of them had dropped the L-bomb. Yet.
There was this silent mutual fear of what could happen if they disturbed the status quo and took the next step. But at the same time, after the fear of losing her pierced his heart, there was no turning back. He knew all her dreams, her goals, her passions. He felt her happiness as intensely as her sadness. Whenever anything sparked joy within him, she was the first one he wanted to share it with. They’d increasingly been doing more and more things together to the point he could hardly imagine doing some of them alone. To have all that taken away felt like a death sentence.
He’d felt deeply for her for a long time now. But there was no doubting it. He was in love with Courtney freaking Miller. Consequences be damned, he’d fallen hard.
“Hey frog legs,” Courtney muttered, rubbing his chest gently, “What’s up? Something got your frog brain all busy?”
Shayne laughed nervously and made a face, “Just thinking.”
Before Courtney could press, he added, “I saw you sent Ian all four pictures of us.”
She frowned at his abrupt shift but didn’t comment on it. Courtney propped her elbow up to rest her chin on her hand, “Yeah, they were cute.”
“You’re not worried about Ian finding out?”
“What have we got to hide, Shayne?”
Courtney’s response gave him pause. On the one hand, he would enjoy being less restrained while they were out. On the other hand, he still wasn’t even sure of what they were. If they were seen being much touchier and more intimate than regular friends, people would ask. And they wouldn’t quite have an answer. He voiced his concerns. His girl deserved honesty.
“Per se, nothing, and I don’t mind Ian or the squad seeing us,” Shayne motioned towards their intertwined selves, “Like this.”
“But?” Courtney urged him on.
“What are we, Court? People are going to ask; they’re going to talk.”
“Shoot dude, we gotta do this now?” Courtney sighed.
Shayne kept his gaze on Courtney so she couldn’t back down. She held it for a moment before scooting up and burying herself into his neck once more.
“I don’t want to ruin what we have, Shayne. Feelings make things complicated.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little too late to stop feelings from getting into the picture?”
Hot breath fanned his neck as Courtney laughed quietly, sending goosebumps along his skin.
“Yeah, you’re right… it was too late a year ago,” She muttered the last part.
“What do you think we are?” Shayne asked.
Courtney’s lips against his neck sent a shiver down his spine. He didn’t miss her snicker at how his body responded to her. But after toying with him, she gave a thoughtful hum, and was silent for a moment.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“Sometimes… like awhile ago, before you arrived…” Courtney hesitated.
“You can tell me anything,” Shayne tightened his embrace, eliciting a satisfied sigh from Courtney.
“I get a little scared when I think about how much you mean to me. When I said I hated you and Ian, I knew I could never mean that. Especially to you. Even when I was pissed and left the set, it was like… I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay mad at you.”
Courtney paused to place another, more tentative kiss to his neck.
“And – and when I think about it and when I think about you, I get scared. I get scared because I don’t think there’s anything you could do or say that could ever make me leave you for good.”
For a moment, Shayne had to listen hard, because the sentiment was so identical to his own that he wondered if he had started speaking without even realizing it. She was taking all the words out of his mouth.
“I’ve never felt that strongly about anyone, Shayne. I don’t want to scare you away or ruin this.”
“Well… you’re in luck,” Shayne smiled.
“Are you going to say that I’m your favorite pizza place?”
“I mean… you are,” Shayne laughed and cleared his throat before continuing, “But I was going to say I feel the same. Everything you said… I get it. I’ve never felt this close and strongly about anyone before. With you, it’s easy. It’s natural. It’s like I’ve known you all my life, Court.”
“I think,” Shayne took a deep breath, “I love you, Court.”
Courtney emerged from her position stuffed against his neck to look at him with surprised eyes. Shayne tried to hold back the wide smile that crept up to his face, but it was to no avail. Courtney shook her head slightly and laughed softly. The sweet smile lingered on her lips.
“Jeeesus Christ, dude,” She slapped him gently on the chest, “You’re not pulling any punches with those frog arms, huh?”
Shayne made a face, “Always with the frog arms,” His fingers quickly jabbed at her sides to tickle her.
Courtney shrieked and jerked away from his touch, “No!”
“I know you like these frog arms, admit it!” Shayne laughed as Courtney writhed and contorted on the sofa in an effort to get away.
“Never!”
They wrestled on the sofa for a moment until Shayne eventually overpowered Courtney with his frog arms. He wound up on top of her, pinning her hands above her head.
“Fine, fine, I’ll admit it, just stop!” Courtney winced. Shayne huffed a laugh and loosened his grip on her hands as a sign of good faith.
“I love you too,” She said with a coy smile. Warmth flooded Shayne’s chest and spread throughout his whole body as his composure broke. He felt… light. It felt so natural and uncomplicated to hear it. Her words brought such power with them, however softly they were uttered. He could do anything with his girl by his side. And there was no impulse, no sudden trigger that brought about these declarations of love. Shayne loved her for a long time now. It was only now that he was able to nail down what that feeling had been. What they were. And he was sure it was the same for her. He chuckled and utterly failed at holding back his grin.
“Yeah?” Shayne asked, like it was too good to be true.
“Yeah,” Courtney affirmed; her smile was as sweet as ever. If Shayne were standing, his legs would give way.
“That’s not what I told you to admit though,” Shayne deadpanned with a gravely serious expression.
He abruptly straightened up, holding up an imaginary pan flute and mimicking its sound.
“So, lookin’ to resist admittin’ you like me frog arms, eh?” Shayne continued, fully taking on his deranged dumpster wizard character, “I’ve seen many resist the tickle torture, but none survive!”
Courtney laughed freely; Shayne was quick to join in. She grabbed a pillow and smacked Shayne with it as she called out, “You’re so duuumb! Quit it!”
They eventually both settled down and shuffled around and against each other until they returned to their original position with Courtney lying atop Shayne. Before Courtney returned to her spot in the crook of his neck, her face hovered inches from his own.
Her warm breath fanned his face, setting his nerves on fire. His eyes flitted to her soft lips before going back to her eyes, but Courtney didn’t miss the movement. She smirked slightly.
“What are you lookin’ a-”
Shayne closed the distance, pressing his lips against her own. Courtney let out a quiet surprised moan before she responded enthusiastically and eagerly. Her hands shot up to caress his face. He kept one hand planted firmly at her waist, while the other ran through her hair. It felt good, it felt right. He felt the heat radiating from Courtney’s entire being, and it made him shiver. It in turn goaded Courtney on, and she bit at his lip gently, eliciting a sharp gasp from Shayne.
Shayne pulled back before it got too heated. He chuckled, pressing his head against hers, “Bity, are you?”
Courtney winked in response and eased off of him to shut the TV off. She righted herself and stood up slowly, getting to her tippy-toes and stretching as she did. Shayne watched her from where he rested, still a little out of breath and more than a little awake now.
“Come on, Shayne. I think we’ve outgrown the couch.” Courtney shot him a playful smile. This got his attention.
Shayne sat up, looking up at this gorgeous woman who he was lucky enough to be loved by.
“I dunno, Court. I kind of like the couch.” Shayne scrunched his face up in a show of serious thought. Courtney rolled her eyes. Before he could process what was happening, her oversized shirt landed in a bundle on his lap.
Shayne stared up at Courtney with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape. Mischief twinkled in her green eyes as she took slow, deliberate steps around the couch and in the direction of her bedroom.
“W-wait, Court! Shouldn’t we talk about tomorrow? We’re seeing Ian!” Shayne attempted to be the voice of reason.
Courtney slipped out of her lounge pants and leaned against her bedroom door frame. Shayne gulped visibly.
“We’ll figure it all out tomorrow. Together,” Courtney waved a hand casually to brush it off, “Starting with Ian.”
Shayne supposed she was right. After all, if they were together, they could handle anything. Be it their friends’, co-workers’, or rabid shippers’ reactions, or whatever life threw at them; they were ready.
Courtney turned around and unclasped her bra. She effortlessly cast it behind her, striking Shayne in the face. She disappeared into her bedroom. Shayne began getting to his feet, “Wait up!”
“Come on, frog legs, or you’re sleeping on the couch!” Her voice carried over from the bedroom.
Shayne picked up the pace, rounding the couch and making a beeline for the doorway as he called out, “I’m coming!”
“Oh my God, Shayne, that’s premature!” Courtney giggled from within.
A loud laugh escaped Shayne’s mouth as he realized he very much dug his own grave with that one. He doubled over laughing by her dining table and could hear Courtney’s own laughter wafting out from her room. Shayne composed himself before entering the bedroom and finding Courtney under the covers, head peeking out to smile at him. The sight filled him with a deep feeling of contentment as he acknowledged just how blessed he was. He swore to himself then, as Ian would say it: He would not screw the pooch on this one. Not now. Not ever again.