Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kamala Khan’s life has been (mostly) pretty good lately. Insane, yes, but still (mostly) pretty good.

She was doing well in her subjects at school, she and her Ammi were arguing a lot less (on the days she was home by curfew, of course), and she was a gosh darn superhero! Saving lives, helping every place she could, in every way she could — she was Jersey City’s Ms. Marvel! 

Even though she was on the top of the world, Kamala still thought about everything that had happened before.

Being sent back in time to the Partition, Najma and the Clandestines, Kareem and the Red Daggers, and of course, Kamran. (Kamala really hoped he was safe now, and that he would be okay in the hands of the Red Daggers). These things were hard to talk about, but she did her best. It was better to talk about her trauma with people who were willing to listen instead of just bottling it up inside or ignoring it. 

...and to say she's been missing Bruno like crazy after he left for Caltech, well that was an understatement for Kamala who always seems to feel so intensely. 

Currently, she is sitting at her vanity and staring at her phone, waiting for a reply from Bruno. When they said goodbye, he had sworn to her that he would text her every single day. 

Kamala should be doing an assignment for school but she just can't focus on it right now. She puts her phone down and then reaches up to pick a small polaroid photo off of her vanity mirror. It's one of many photos she has in her room of her best friend. Kamala has some photos of Nakia too, who is also her best friend, and even a few with the three of them together.

Kamala is really happy that Bruno gets to go to Caltech for the semester because he totally deserves it, it's an incredible opportunity, and she knows he's going to be perfectly in his element over there, but she supposes it never fully hit her how different things would be until after he left.

Life in Jersey City without Bruno feels like a puzzle with one missing piece, it’s just not quite a complete picture. 

Bruno can't bring her favourite artificially flavoured slushies (which she should not have been drinking in the morning anyway, but they taste so good!) 

Man, do I miss those things.

Kamala can't hang out with him after school anymore, which majorly sucks because even without the superhero stuff she has to deal with now, school can be really emotionally taxing and she always used to be able to go to Bruno when she felt drained.

Sometimes even just sitting on the floor of his room and listening to him talk about science and technology stuff she totally didn't understand could make her feel better. Then, she would go into a full-on rant about something (if she hadn't already) and he would always listen to her.

Maybe she would even break out her sketchbook and show him the drawings she had been working on of her favourite superheroes. (“Those look really good, KK.” Bruno would say. “I think you've already improved from last month.” She would respond, beaming. “I tried really hard to get all of the details right.”)

I'm even missing his voice, which is silly because we try to call at least every week. 

When she hears a notification alert from her phone, she puts down the photo and picks up her phone. Bruno has replied! Then, without stopping to second guess herself, she starts typing. 

Kamala: Hey

Kamala: Do you think we could call today? 

Kamala: If you're not busy that is!! 😅

Bruno: Sure

Bruno: Everything okay?

Kamala: Yeah...

Bruno: We can call in a few minutes

Bruno: Promise

Kamala: 😊

Bruno: 🙂

Much later, after a long trip, Kamala makes it to the Caltech campus and meets Bruno outside the building he is currently living in. When Kamala spots his brown hair, shiny eyes, and face covered with cute little freckles, she runs at him at full speed and nearly knocks him right over, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

“I take it you’re happy to see me?” Bruno jokes as he puts his arms around her shoulders, holding her close. Kamala doesn’t need to see his face to know he’s beaming right now. Her arms around him, she tightens the hug in response. 

“You have no idea, dude. I really, really missed you.”

“Well, I really, really, really missed you.” Bruno playfully replies.

Kamala laughs, and she can feel Bruno laugh too. They stay there a moment, Kamala hugging him tightly because she is a sloth and he is her turtle. 

“Kamala, you can let go now-”

“Nooo, few more seconds…” Kamala responds, burying her face in his chest, so the response comes out as little more than a muffled mumble. 

“Okay.” Bruno says with another wonderful laugh, and Kamala can once again tell that he’s smiling just by the sound of this voice. Then, a few more seconds pass and she lets go of the embrace, deciding she wants to actually see his smile. 

“It’s so nice seeing you not through a screen, Carelli.” Kamala lightly pushes his shoulder, enjoying being able to touch him again. Kamala is really glad she pulled away from their hug to see his smile, because it is such a nice sight, particularly when she hasn’t seen it in person for what feels like ages. Especially when he’s grinning like he is now, in that way that he only seems to when he’s with her. 

“Thank you, many people say I’m much more tolerable in person.”

“Who says that? Nakia?” 

Bruno is still smiling, “Yeah,” but then his smile falters, and he looks over her shoulder. “Is she not here with you?” 

“Oh no, right, I forgot to tell you beforehand. So, Nakia wanted to come but she told me that she couldn’t be here because she already has plans today.” 

Bruno’s eyes narrow at that, and she's not really sure why. “Oh.”

“Sorry,” Kamala frowns. “but she’s sending all her love your way, promise.” 

Bruno looks content after that follow-up comment but there's still a crease between his eyebrows. “Uh-huh…”

Bruno is acting a little strange, but Kamala has no clue why he would be acting strange, well, except for the fact that they haven’t been together in person for what feels like forever (it’s actually only been two months). Momentarily, he seems lost in "Bruno-land" clearly thinking about something. She doesn’t have the opportunity to ask him why he’s being weird because he starts talking again.

“Do you wanna walk around campus?” Bruno puts his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “Assuming you haven’t seen everything already.”

“Yes please!” Kamala replies excitedly. 

When they are walking, it feels a little awkward at first. Bruno seems tense, and Kamala is wondering why. 

She watches him take a deep breath before he opens his mouth to speak. “Hey, while we’re walking, I wanted us to talk about the letter.”

“Letter?” Kamala replies quizzically, arching an eyebrow. “I don’t know any letter.”

“Oh, uh, but...” Bruno stops walking, looking right at her. “I put it in your locker before I left.” 

“Wait.” Kamala also stops walking and then squeezes her eyes shut, pressing a hand to her forehead, searching her brain.

...and she's got nothing. Can't even remember any letter being mentioned until now. 

“Shoot! I must have never seen it,” Kamala grimaces apologetically, her hand falling back to her side. “I’m sorry. My locker is such a mess, you know this.” Bruno nods slightly at this, not quite looking at her, he doesn't look mad or frustrated per say, it's more of an expression that says "right, I should have guessed"

“Was it important?” Kamala immediately asks, nervously biting at her bottom lip. 

Bruno looks away from her. “Umm…” He’s staring at a bush instead and briefly falls silent. “No, no,” Bruno shakes his head and looks back at her. “it wasn’t important.” There’s an emotion he’s trying to disguise, Kamala knows he’s done this before, but she can’t quite tell what he’s trying to mask.

Is it sadness? Is it frustration? Is it disappointment? 

...Is it relief?

Kamala is going to question him further because she definitely does not buy his whole "it's not important" routine but then he immediately moves on to another topic. “What’s in the bag?” Bruno asks, pointing to the bag she’s holding in her other hand. 

Kamala looks down at the bag in her hand and decides to let him switch the topic of conversation for now, she'll get real answers out of him about this mysterious letter eventually. She has a strong suspicion that Bruno is very aware of that as well. 

“Just some stuff, a few games,” Kamala leans closer to him and her voice drops to a whisper when she says “snuck in some candy too.” 

“Nice!” Bruno remarks cheerfully, he obviously knows how hard it is to sneak candy by Muneeba. 

Just like that, everything is back to "normal", they resume walking and fall back into their usual banter. Things feel easy. It's nice. If it wasn’t for the obvious scenery of the Caltech campus, she might believe they were back in time, walking the streets of Jersey City together, Kamala and Bruno, best friends. 

Bruno shows Kamala around campus, Kamala teases him about being a huge nerd. Bruno counters with “you’re a nerd too.” to which Kamala responds “but I’m the cool kind of nerd.” 

By the time they make it to his room, they’re both pretty tired so they sit on the floor of his room (his room here doesn’t actually look all that different from his room in Jersey, this offers her some comfort) and play UNO. Four rounds later, Kamala has won every single time, meaning she’s won four pieces of candy and Bruno has no candy. He feigns frustration about this, but she can tell that he’s not actually mad. 

Kamala pops a candy into her mouth, grinning victoriously. “So, you make any Caltech friends yet?” 

“I have, actually. A few.”

Kamala fidgets with a candy wrapper in her hand, narrowing her eyes as she pretends to be skeptical. “Really?”

“Yes, don’t sound so shocked.”

They both chuckle at that. “You find anyone to replace me yet?” Kamala jokes, but Bruno doesn't look so amused anymore. 

“What?”

“Have you found anyone to replace-” 

“I heard you the first time, but why would I... No one is going to replace you, Kamala.” Maybe in another universe, or timeline, or whatever, she would grin and crack another joke right now, especially since when she first asked, she wasn't actually serious — but Bruno's sentiment and earnest voice calms a fear in her she didn't even realize she had. 

Bruno deserves lots of friends, particularly ones who could actually understand his scientific and technological ramblings (she couldn't), but Kamala liked the idea of being his bestest friend too much to be entirely okay with someone stealing that from her. 

Her smile is fond as she picks up the UNO cards off the floor and puts them back in the bag at her side.

After putting away the cards (and putting away the candy wrappers too), she looks back over at Bruno.

Missing Bruno so much over the past two months has meant replaying all sorts of memories in her head, usually when she’s lying in bed and struggling to fall asleep. 

She doesn’t think about it very often, but every once in a while, she’ll replay that moment from Aamir and Tyesha’s wedding, when she asked him to dance. When she briefly felt peaceful, and safe, but oh so giddy as well. Why she felt so giddy at the idea of slow dancing with Bruno Carrelli, that wasn’t something she liked to question, because it led to dangerous answers. 

They would have danced, too, if they weren’t interrupted and there hadn’t been more pressing matters. It’s kind of scary how much she still longs for that dance, and she has that giddy feeling again right now.

Kamala is still smiling tenderly when she, utterly unable to restrain herself, asks “Do you wanna dance with me?” 

This catches Bruno off guard, she can tell, because his eyes go wide for a second. “Yeah,” He regains his composure. “yeah I do.”

Kamala convinces herself that all her giddiness and the butterflies in her stomach are because she’s in a good mood, and absolutely definitely not because of Bruno’s adorable face and sincere, sweet voice.

Kamala fishes for her phone in her pocket, takes it out, and looks for a song to play. It takes a bit longer than she would have liked, but she does find a song. Kamala hits play and quickly gets up on her feet, putting her phone down on what looks like the only vacant spot on Bruno’s desk which is otherwise covered in gadgets, gizmos, and papers. 

When she turns back to see him, he’s already on his feet. Certainly not as stylishly dressed as he was at Aamir and Tyesha’s wedding, obviously, but she doesn’t really care about that. It’s not like she’s wearing anything particularly fashionable either.

She rushes back, maybe a little too eagerly, and places her hands on his shoulders. Then, his hands are holding her waist, and her breath hitches. It’s not like Bruno’s never held her waist before, he has, but this feels new, unfamiliar, exciting. 

His hands holding her waist, her hands holding his shoulders, they start to dance. 

“Sorry if this isn’t the elegant waltz you envisioned.” Kamala quips dramatically, she smiles when Bruno does, but then something akin to anxiety flashes across his face.

“What makes you think I envisioned this?”

Kamala chuckles a little at his expression. “Relax, Bruno. Don’t be weird, I’m joking.”

“Oh, okay.” Her best friend lets out a chuckle too but it sounds ever so slightly forced. Despite the slightly forced laugh, he calms and they continue swaying together to the beat. “Probably gonna be hard for me to not be weird though, that’s kind of my whole thing.” Bruno gives a cheeky smirk. 

“That’s true,” Kamala nods because yes Bruno is definitely the weirder of the two of them and she will stand by it. “maybe I was asking too much of you.”

They laugh at the same time, and Kamala can tell Bruno’s laugh is more genuine this time. Kamala rests her head on his chest, closing her eyes and letting herself feel happy because she is. They both are. 

They’re together, and she’s finally getting that dance she first asked for months ago.

She lets herself get lost in the happiness, the butterflies in her stomach, the gentle way Bruno holds her, the magic of it all. This peace she feels when he’s near her, when he’s with her.

I like this. 

I like this a lot. 

Kamala pulls away from Bruno's chest, her hands still on his shoulders. They’re looking at each other now, both smiling. When Kamala’s smile falters, Bruno immediately notices. 

“Do you ever wish that you could stop a moment from ending, then bottle it up, and keep it with you forever, wherever you go?” Kamala asks tentatively, not looking away from Bruno. It’s a strange question, but it’s the only thing on her mind in the moment, how she just doesn't want this to end. 

There’s a pause between them as he thinks. “All the time,” Bruno’s answer is quieter than she expects, a quiet alarm bell going off in her mind as she briefly thinks about the two of them talking late at night on a rooftop, then he continues in that same quieter tone. “Every time I’m with you, Kamala Khan.”

“Every time?” Kamala questions and gives him a skeptical look. “Really? Because those times where you were being targeted by the Clandestines, and the DODC, you were with me but those times objectively really sucked for you.” Kamala counters, but Bruno’s expression is impossibly fond. 

“Kamala…” 

Then… woah. Something shifts in the air and things feel different. Kamala is suddenly very aware of just how close they are, and yet even more aware of the gap of distance between them. 

Kamala’s eyes are still fixed on him, her lips part, and she forgets to breathe. She feels dizzy? But, it’s a good dizzy! She's waiting for something, she can’t even decipher in the moment what she’s waiting for, but she’s waiting… and waiting…

Bruno lets go of her waist and he turns away from her. 

...and then the spell is broken. Or at least, Kamala thinks it is. She’s still feeling the effects though, dizzy and keenly aware of the distance between the two of them. 

That was a moment just now, right? Kamala thinks, still standing in place, just now with her arms at her sides. 

We had a moment. 

Like, a romantic moment. Straight out of a romantic comedy moment. 

Kamala has had this thought before, fleetingly, at night on that Circle Q rooftop. Then she basically never thought about it again, she did her best to just drop it then and there. Until now that is because now she’s having the exact same thoughts. Lack of a distraction results in the thought sticking with her, she’s unable to drop it this time. 

Kamala is feeling disappointed that their moment ended, and vaguely remembers feeling similarly after their moment on the rooftop as well, all those months ago. Now that it’s sinking in, she’s also feeling confused, and conflicted, and did she mention confused? 

Why was I enjoying that so much? Since when did I start wanting to have moments straight out of rom coms with Bruno freaking Carrelli? 

The song playing on her phone ends, snapping her out of her momentary daze. Kamala blinks a few times before stepping toward Bruno. She looks over at him and his face is in his hands, his shoulders are slumped, he looks upset. 

What’s the problem? Why can’t you tell me? 

Kamala and Bruno are childhood best friends. They met in second grade and ever since that day they had been practically inseparable. Kamala used to feel like she knew things about Bruno that even he didn’t.

Then all of a sudden, that changed. There’s this distance between them, there has been for a while now. Sometimes it’s more noticeable, other times she forgets about it, and she’s not talking about the 43 hours away driving distance from here to Jersey City. 

No, this distance has been around longer than that. 

Right after she got her powers, they were spending a lot of time with each other at first, and she hoped that by confiding in him about her powers maybe he would open up, too, and she could figure out why it has felt this way, but then everything became so chaotic in her life and the distance between them only grew. 

Kamala mostly blames herself for it, she knows that there have been lots of times when she hasn’t been there for him, times when she wasn’t paying attention to him even if he was dedicating all his time to her. (a mysterious "not important" letter comes to mind, but also many other examples.)

Maybe he believed that even if he told her what was wrong, she wouldn’t listen. That thought made her sad, guilt settling in her stomach. 

“Are you-” Kamala quickly searches her brain for what to say, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. “Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong? If I said anything or did anything wrong, I’m really sorry and I didn’t mean to, but you’ve got to tell me so we can talk about it.”

Bruno takes his face out of his hands and sighs. “No, it’s not you.” 

“Not me.” Kamala nods slowly, hesitantly. “Okay, so it’s you then?” Kamala tilts her head, before rushing to add on quickly “I just feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.” 

Bruno opens his mouth and closes it, clearly debating in that brain of his what to say to her, and it’s times like these where she kind of wishes she had mind-reading powers too and not just the Noor powers. 

“I don’t want to do anything that you don’t want me to do.” Bruno says slowly and then turns his head to look at her.

Well, that’s not what I was expecting. 

What does that even mean? 

“All I ever want is for you to be happy, so I’m never going to do anything you’re not okay with.” 

Kamala can tell he’s not quite done speaking yet, so she remains quiet but what he just said is such a weird thing to hear from your best friend. She swallows nervously, fearing the worst. It’s almost like a warning, like whatever he’s going to say next is going to be bad?

“I like you, Kamala.” Bruno emphasizes. “I like it when we play UNO and somehow you always win. I like it when you fill out those "which Avenger are you?" quizzes and make me take them too. I like it when you draw on your jeans because you’re bored. I like it when you dance, when you smile, when you talk about superheroes and your eyes light up. I think you’re beautiful, courageous, kind, smart, funny…” Bruno trails off and glances away, flustered. 

You can keep saying stuff. Kamala thinks, looking at him with big adoring eyes. 

“and after we stopped dancing… I really wanted to kiss you,” Bruno looks back at her and confesses. Kamala’s breath hitches, her heart beating fast. “but I promise you I will never do that unless that’s what you want too.”

Truthfully, Bruno's confession doesn’t completely shock her, especially not after that moment they shared, and it’s not like she’s never wondered about it, or never suspected it, even if she never fully realized until now. 

She remembers when they said their "final" goodbyes before Bruno actually left for Caltech.

(“I really really want you to go, but I also really really don’t want you to go,” Kamala had looked crestfallen before she said “is that weird?” Then he had replied “It is weird,” That part she remembers distinctly, when he had looked right into her eyes and said “everything’s a little weird with you, Kamala.” She remembers it so vividly because of the adoration and fondness in his voice. It had baffled here then, and still kind of does, how a few simple, dumb words could be spoken with such affection. In their time apart, when she replayed that over in her head, that’s when a part of her wondered if he loved her, even more than she already knew he did.)

Then, in her head, she repeats what he just told her “and after we stopped dancing… I really wanted to kiss you, but I promise you I will never do that unless that’s what you want, too.”

Unless that’s what I want too. 

Is that what I want?

Kamala thinks about their little moment after they stopped dancing. When her lips were parted, when her heart was racing, when she forgot how to breathe, when she was waiting for him to... kiss her. 

Well, it definitely was a few minutes ago. 

Yeah, for sure, I wanted us to kiss. 

Her heart is still racing, she's still forgetting how to breathe, and Bruno likes her, he thinks she's beautiful, courageous, kind, funny, and probably other things too. 

“I do want to, though.” 

Bruno gives her an incredulous look, seemingly surprised by that response. No, stunned, actually. 

Guessing that was not what he was expecting! 

It takes him several seconds to even begin to respond, still stunned. “What?” Bruno lets out a nervous laugh, searching her face for any sign that she’s joking or lying. She's not. 

“Really?” He blinks. “You’re… You’re serious?”

“Mmhm, yes, I’m serious.” Kamala nods as she speaks. 

“But-” Bruno laughs again, out of breath, and a bright smile materializes on his face. “Really?”

“Yes!” Kamala replies enthusiastically.

“Okay then,” Bruno says quite awkwardly, still processing. “can I kiss you?”

Kamala nods and Bruno just barely stops himself from laughing again. “That’s not a verbal confirmation, Kam-”

“Yes.” Kamala cuts him off, this time answering more earnestly, her heartbeat loud in her ears. 

“Okay.” Bruno mutters softly with an equally soft smile. 

Something is happening in the vicinity of my heart. 

Bruno cups her cheek, caressing it gently. They both lean in, closing their eyes, and close the distance between them. Kamala’s lips brush against Bruno’s, she reaches up with one hand and holds the side of his face, and their lips connect in a soft, wonderful, thrilling kiss.

Something incredible. 

When they part, Kamala is smiling so much that her cheeks hurt and she feels ecstatic. Kamala never wants this feeling to end. The young superhero is bursting with joy and affection as she hears her heartbeat still pounding in her ears. 

“Uhm, Kamala,” Bruno points to her chest. “I think your… heart? Is glowing?” Bruno sounds as confused as she is when his words finally register in her mind (she's still reeling from her first kiss with her best friend Bruno Carrelli, who likes her, okay!) 

Kamala's eyes go wide and she makes a squeak of recognition, staring down at her chest, and yes, sure enough, her very heart is glowing.

“Has it done that before?” Bruno asks, curiosity obvious by his voice alone. 

“No!” Kamala answers, face flushing due to embarrassment. “But I’ve also never had my first kiss until right now…” 

Bruno gasps a little. “Wait, so it’s doing that because of me?”

Now they’re both blushing messes. “Maybe.” Kamala gives a sheepish smile, bouncing on her toes a bit. 

“You said it’s never done that before, so… Wow, this is all sorts of flattering, and fascinating, and crazy because I just kissed Kamala Khan, she kissed me back, and now her heart is glowing.”

“I cannot decide what’s more adorable,” Kamala grins, shaking her head fondly. “you getting excited because something new is happening with my powers, or you getting flustered since it’s because of you.”

Bruno’s smile is soft as he asks “Does this mean that you like me too?”

“Of course I like you,” Kamala chuckles a little at his reaction, finding it a little ridiculous but also ridiculously endearing. “so much that it’s like a light is on even when I’m fumbling around in the dark, so much that my heart is literally glowing .” Kamala reminds him with enthusiasm and affection, smiling warmly. 

“Now,” Kamala takes his hand and intertwines their fingers. “Can we please talk about the letter? I know you said that it wasn’t important…” Kamala frowns a little, giving his hand a squeeze. “but I’m not buying that.” 

Bruno squeezes her hand back, and he doesn’t react the way he did when the letter was brought up before, seeming much less tense now. 

“Well,” Bruno inhales and then exhales. "There was something that I needed to say before I left for Caltech, but I didn’t think I could say it to you out loud, to your face, so I wrote it down in a letter instead.”

“What was it?” There's a beat of quiet, but then Bruno smiles at her fondly. 

“I love you, Kamala Khan.” Bruno's sincere and affectionate voice becomes a little quieter. Kamala’s not sure when her heart is going to stop glowing, but now she doesn’t know if it’s ever going to stop glowing, because all of the feelings bubbling inside her at five simple words is almost far too much to handle. Simultaneously, she’s crushed, because her best friend wrote her a love letter and she didn’t even know. 

“I love you too,” Kamala says easily despite all the overwhelming emotions inside, because everything is easy with Bruno. There’s a caring but slightly concerned tone to her voice when she asks “but why would you not want to tell me that to my face?” 

Then almost immediately after saying that, she remembers that when they talked about the letter before, he had dismissed it as "not important". She also remembers what he told her about how he’s never going to do something that she doesn’t want. It dawns on Kamala that he must have assumed she wouldn’t want to hear that confession because he had assumed she didn’t return his feelings. This whole time he had been trying to spare her. 

“At first, I ran through the possibilities and probabilities in my head over and over for how it would go, but in a large percentage of those, it didn’t go the way I desired it to go,”

“Bruno.”

“…but then, I just decided definitively that my desires were never going to come before our friendship, never going to come before you and what you want,” Bruno is basically pouring out his soul right now, and even though Kamala hasn’t read his letter yet, she suspects this is what it was like in the letter, too. “I was all but convinced you didn’t reciprocate, but I still needed to get it off my chest.” 

“Why wouldn’t I reciprocate?” Kamala asks like it’s obvious that she would. It probably wouldn't be so obvious to Kamala from even a few hours ago, but it seems crystal clear to her now. 

“Why would you?” Bruno counters with a small frown. “You liked Kamran. He made you happy, you wanted the cool guy, I’m not the cool guy, Kamala.” It’s only now, in the small pause after his words that Kamala realizes that Bruno was jealous of Kamran ever since the two had met, but in hindsight that makes a lot of sense. 

His next words nearly break her glimmering heart. “I’m not the kind of guy you want.” Kamala watches as his gaze shifts to the floor. 

“Sure you are.” Kamala squeezes his hand again, pleading for him to look back up at her, and he does. “You’re Bruno Carrelli. Yes, you're a huge nerd, and also kind of an idiot,” She smiles when she sees him open his mouth to argue against that. “but you're my huge nerd and kind-of idiot, and there’s nobody else in the universe I’d rather be my first kiss, or my first… boyfriend?” Kamala raises an eyebrow, still smiling, but now smiling a little nervously.

Bruno seems baffled by that response. “Are you-”

“Yes.”

“-Asking me to be your boyfriend?”

“Yes, yes I am.” 

Bruno went quiet and very still, and if it wasn't for his heartbeat that she could still feel due to their intertwined fingers, she might have assumed he just stopped working altogether. “You don't have to say yes,” Kamala rushes out. “I totally understand. Long distance relationships don't work for everyone, we could just figure this out when you come back home-”

“Kamala, are you kidding? Of course, it's a yes! This is my dream come true, I just can't believe that it is true. I keep expecting my roommate to wake me up.”

“Ohh yes, yes, your roommate! You still have to introduce me.”

“I will!” Bruno beams. “I will introduce you... as my girlfriend.”

Kamala feels her heart glow even more at that. 

If this is a mistake, if she’s going to regret this one day, she doesn’t know and she doesn’t care. Right now in her world, it’s just two people: Kamala and Bruno, and right now, that’s all that matters. 

Kamala: NAKIA!!!

Kamala: I HAVE A BOYFRIEND

Kamala: AND HIS NAME IS BRUNO CARRELLI

Nakia: FINALLY!!!

Bruno: Hey Nakia

Nakia: Heyyyy Bruno

Nakia: How did your visit with Kamala go? ;)

Bruno: How did your "plans" go? 

Nakia: Oh my plan went swimmingly, thanks for asking!

Bruno: She already texted you didn't she

Nakia: Yup

Nakia: I'm so happy for you guys

Nakia: Especially you because your crushing and pining was getting really embarrassing

Nakia: Now all that ridiculousness is finally over and I can know peace

Bruno: Well, thank you

Nakia: I knew all you guys needed was a little push