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It’s summer now and way too hot to spend all day getting naked in April’s car. Sterling fears this may lead to less and less clandestine meetings between the two of them but her eyebrows shoot up when instead, after a far too hot and heavy afternoon ‘meeting’, April pulls her tank top back over her head and casually asks,
“Are you busy today?”
Sterling slowly shakes her head, attempting to casually return her gaze to the zipper of her shorts.
“Blair’s having some time with dad; they’ve been ‘crafting’ lately. I was just gonna lounge around and read, probably.”
“Would you mind if I came over?”
Now Sterling’s eyebrows practically fly through the roof of the car as her jaw drops through the floor.
“R-really? I mean, yeah, of course- no! I mean, like, no I wouldn’t mind. Yeah, of course, as in, yes, of course I would like you to come over...” Nailed it.
April just smiles at her and cups her cheek gently, leaning forward to peck her lips.
No one in the Wesley household is surprised to see April walk through the door, what with how much Sterling not-so-subtly talks about her these days.
It’s never that simple though; Blair does play in a bit of dangerous water that first day, asking,
“Are y’all okay? Didn’t know it was hot enough to build up a sweat out there,” with a smirk.
Sterling sucks in and breath and purses her lips before April completely unconfidently explains,
“We went for a run...”
The Wesley’s all look over the two’s decidedly not activewear, and Blair comments,
“Is that what they call it for girls?”
“What else would it be called?” Anderson turns to Blair with a genuine frown of confusion. Blair smiles and shrugs her shoulders before looking back down at their odd arts and crafts, saying,
“I don’t know, daddy. I guess I just have stationary on the brain.”
Sterling suspects April may never want to see her again after this debacle, but is surprised to hear the girl let out a loud laugh once they reach Sterling’s bedroom.
After this, April’s visits become more and more frequent as the days continue to heat up. She stays for longer each time, at first outright refusing to intrude on a family meal before eventually finding herself helping Debbie cook them most nights while Sterling is off in a completely different room with Blair.
April even begins showing up at the Wesley household without the prompt of having nearly just died of heat exhaustion in the backseat of her car with Sterling. She just comes around to see them, no expectations attached.
Sterling can’t help the way she absolutely beams at April when she offers to help clean up after dinner, or the way she affectionately squeezes her thigh when her parents ask April about her multitude of acceptance letters.
At first, these acts of public affection seem to send the fear of god into April; she practically throws Sterling across the room one night when Debbie and Anderson walk into the living room where Sterling is perched on the couch next to April with her hand casually resting on her thigh, before insisting Blair sit between them as the family settle in to watch She’s The Man. But when the Wesley parents mention nothing about the incident the next time April’s around, even insisting on the two girls going up to Sterlings room instead of helping start dinner, April seems to begin to cool in nature.
The shock and fear responses she experiences when Sterling rubs her shoulders for a moment as she passes behind April’s seat or helps brush her hair out of her face gradually become fewer and further between.
Now April casually holds Sterling’s hips as they pass in the family-full kitchen; she sits directly next to Sterling on the couch and rests an arm on the back of it, playing with Sterling’s baby hairs absentmindedly; she openly squeezes Sterling’s hand on the table when she shares something exciting at dinner.
The real final blow for Sterling comes when April is leaving for the night on a Saturday. The Wesley family seem to take their goodbyes more seriously before a Sunday, all silently knowing they won’t see their April again until at least Monday.
That Saturday evening had already been lovely and incredibly freeing. Anderson insisted on barbecuing in the backyard, which lead to Blair then adding her flair with surprisingly accessible music, and then Debbie adorably encouraging her daughters to dance with her, leading to the entire family plus their new addition to dance and laugh and simply enjoy each other’s presence in the summer evening glow.
When they finally sat to eat, Sterling felt her cheeks burning under April’s gaze. She dared not look but knew there was something different about this look; it wasn’t just the want or lust they usually exposed each other to when they couldn’t keep their eyes to themselves. April was inquisitive, thoughtfully staring at Sterling as if putting a puzzle together in her head.
Sterling could have sworn even Debbie caught April too, but the girl didn’t shift or budge.
Now, as the family all stand in the front foyer saying their goodbyes to who now feels like their fifth member; Blair vowing to beat April in Mariokart on Monday night, Anderson assuring her he will take her to the shooting range with the twins next week, and Debbie thanking her for helping bake the cookies Blair proceeded to devour earlier, Sterling can’t help but smile brightly at the girl in front of her - the girl who’s come so far from that awful night over a year ago now.
Sterling, though she wishes she could gush about how incredible April is until the girl truly believes it herself, instead opts to say her goodbye through a quick and completely platonic hug. Her breath hitches however as April keeps hold of her when Sterling attempts to pull away, placing a gentle hand to her cheek and looking at her for a moment before pressing a sweet and quick peck onto her lips.
“I’ll try to grab you at some point tomorrow,” April says quietly yet casually. Sterling just stares in awe as the smaller girl gives her a soft smile and a small nod as if confirming to herself that yes, that is exactly where that piece of the puzzle needed to be placed.
She then turns to the others, comfortably stepping out of Sterling’s arms and towards the front door.
“See you all at church,” April gives a small wave as she exits.
Sterling stares at the door.
Perhaps the real kicker though is when, after a moment of the family standing in silence, Debbie turns to Blair and says,
“Why can’t you bring home someone nice like that?” With a gentle backhand to her arm.
Anderson nods, adding, “she’s a gosh darn lovely addition to this family. Great choice, Sterl,” before patting Sterling’s head.
The twins necks could snap at the speed with which they turn to look at each other in disbelief. Blair raises her eyebrows, a question to which Sterling quickly nods permission to.
“Yeah,” Blair starts tentatively, “April’s a great choice of girlfriend, way better a partner for you than Luke.” Sterling nods along with Blair, knowing they’re being so obvious but also having to spell it out just in case their parents truly don’t understand.
The twins look at their parents, waiting for anything - the world to explode, god to smite them down herself, Debbie to reveal she’s a triplet.
Their parents just look at each other and nod, Debbie casually saying,
“I think you’re right there, Blair,” before she takes Anderson’s arm and they head upstairs.
Sterling and Blair subsequently hug and squeal and jump up and down in excitement, and Sterling at last gets to gush about April’s bravery and growth to someone.
Watching the play by play of these last few weeks in her head as she lays in bed that night, Sterling’s fairly certain she could fly.
April’s parents don’t know. The church doesn’t know. Their peers don’t know.
But Sterling’s family know - and they think April is a great choice!
Sufficed to say, Sterling grabs April before April can grab her at church that Sunday, and the two absolutely miss the entire sermon.