Request by JoySeph13 for a Smarkle fic! I hope you enjoy this piece! I went a little crazy LOL, but I still hope it's okay! Thank you for the request, love! :3
Okay. This is kind of AU, maybe sort of? An AU with canon references, maybe? Anyway, the characters are around 21-22. Not gonna lie, after the spoilers I've been given of GM New Year, I'm pretty sure my Smarkle feelz have solidified completely xD
I have trouble writing Farkle… Like A LOT. I can't get a handle on his personality at all because honestly, it kind of seems to change on an episode basis… One minute he's all quiet and serious, then he's all dorky/goofy, then he's all growl-y and snappy. Seriously. I just can't get a hold on it! So if he seems OOC, I'm sorry! I tried my best!
Rated Low T/K+ for Kissing Advice
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World, and you should be glad I don't honestly because it would end up being an angst fest.
"You've been dating for how many years now?!"
"Eight."
"So let me get this straight…" Zay said, leaning across the bar counter with a raised eyebrow, "You've been dating Izzy for eight years… but you still haven't kissed her yet."
"I mean, we have kissed. Eskimo kisses, cheek kisses. She gave me a peck on the corner of my lips under mistletoe once."
"Those don't count. That's not a real kiss. And you didn't initiate that." Zay shook his head. "You guys are like the purest kind of couple to ever exist. Haven't you ever just wanted to grab her face, pucker your lips and lay one smack dab on her? Or just eat her face in general?"
"I do want to kiss her." Farkle shrugged. "I just haven't found the moment yet. It hasn't felt right. I fell into this habit of letting chances slip by and now I have no idea how to even bring it up. Her flight will be landing in a couple hours, and I feel like now's the time."
"In eight years…You haven't found the right moment in eight years?" Zay seemed to be stuck on that one fact. "That is almost as unbelievable as the fact that Maya and Lucas haven't rounded home plate yet."
Farkle frowned in surprise. "They haven't?"
"You would think they would have by now, right? Isn't that surprising?"
"Zay!" Vanessa shouted from the other side of the bar, "Can you talk to your friend later? Can't you see how many patrons are in this damn bar?! I'm struggling here."
"Sorry babe!" Zay shouted back with a grimace. He turned back to Farkle. "Sorry, man. Duty calls. But my best advice: just go for it. Or if you need some more advice, talk to Lucas. He was in your same boat years ago."
"You're right." Farkle nodded. "Thanks Zay."
"See you around." Zay walked over to Vanessa, hugging her from behind and lightly kissing her neck. "If you wanted some sugar all you had to do was ask."
She laughed, nudging him off of her. "Quit goofing off. We have work to do."
Farkle slipped on his coat and got off the stool, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way out of the bar. He supposed he could see if Lucas could give him some advice on the matter.
~.~.~
"Wait… you haven't kissed Smackle yet?" Lucas asked from underneath his truck, his voice a little muffled, "What about that time at Christmas years ago under the mistletoe?"
"Corner of the mouth. And she initiated it."
"Oh…" Lucas slid out a little bit, grabbing a tool from the floor near him before sliding back underneath with a soft grunt. "That's surprising. You've never even given her a peck or something?"
"No. The timing was always wrong." Farkle leaned against the wall, shaking his head, "I asked Zay what to do, but he couldn't get past the eight years thing. He told me to ask you since you were in that situation in high school."
Lucas sighed and pulled himself out completely from under his truck. There was grease staining some of his hair and his tank top and some parts of his face. He sat up, wiping his hands on his shirt before wiping his brow of the sweat that had collected.
"I mean, I don't really know what to tell you except that you should just go for it when things are calm and quiet." Lucas stood up, working out kinks in his shoulders and neck. "When you're just sitting together and chilling. Just kiss her."
"Don't listen to Huckleberry." Maya snorted, walking out of the garage door from inside with two water bottles. She casually tossed one to Lucas. "The one who initiated our first kiss was me because he was too much of a coward to grab my face and do it for real. You need an adrenaline filled moment where you're both so hyped up and all you want is each other. That's when you should kiss her."
Lucas rose a brow as he twisted open the cap and chugged down almost half of it.
"That's not true. I wasn't a coward. I tried to kiss you several times, but you wouldn't let me."
"I wouldn't let you? Are you kidding me?" Maya snorted, tossing him a look. "What girl doesn't want to be kissed by the guy she likes?"
"Apparently you!" Lucas scoffed incredulously, "Every time I would lean in, you would stop it from happening."
"Name one time that happened without reason."
"The day we were dissecting that frog in biology senior year and I tried to kiss you before class started."
"Seriously? Did you really think I would be in a mood to get kissed when the air smelled like chemicals and dead ass frog? That's your fault for poor judgement."
"Junior year prom. We were dancing, and I wanted to kiss you. You stepped on my feet with your pointy ass heels and stopped it from happening."
"Okay, but I had a boyfriend. And you totally forgot. I wasn't about to kiss you when I was with someone else."
"Freshman year of high school. New Year's Eve party. I was trying to kiss you at midnight and you literally put your hand on my face and pushed me away."
"Riley was standing right there. I still couldn't let anything happen between us back then, and you know it."
"Then what about after we went on our first real date right before high school ended and you ran before I could even start to lean?"
"…I was scared…"
"Hello? Can you guys focus on whatever relationship issues you might have later?" Farkle interrupted, feeling a little awkward about having to stand there while they did their whatever the heck bickering thing it was that they always did. "I have to pick Smackle up from the airport in two hours!"
"Look, if you want my advice on how to muster up the courage of when to kiss Smackle, ask Missy." Maya was still staring up at Lucas though, messing with the hem of his tank top though she addressed Farkle. "She can train you. After all, she's a master at advising on dates and signals and taking what you want."
"Alright, I'll ask her." Farkle said with a sigh, checking his watch again and wondering how much time he had left before he would be cutting it close.
He glanced back up at them and wasn't surprised to see them staring at each other heatedly. Or specifically, Lucas was gazing down at Maya like she was his whole world, and Maya was biting her lower lip flirtatiously as she looked up at Lucas through her eyelashes.
And Farkle knew it was time to bounce. He walked away, rolling his eyes as he shook his head in exasperation. This always happened.
"I'm too much of a coward, huh… Maybe you're right."
Farkle heard Lucas murmur behind him. Then he heard Maya's giggles followed by a soft breathy gasp, and he hurried away as fast as he could. He did not want to be around for whatever was about to happen next.
~.~.~
"I was right about you. Got better with age like a fine ass wine. Maybe I should have snagged you up myself when I had the chance."
Missy winked at him, and Farkle fidgeted uncomfortably on the couch he was sitting on, a slight blush on his face. She still made him nervous even after all these years. He'd never been able to get used to her. Especially when she would joke around and make passes at him.
He cleared his throat. "It's uh… It's been a while."
"It has. Eight months, I think." She went back to the textbook she was taking notes in. "Can't believe you haven't given Smackle a proper kiss yet though. You're almost twenty-two."
"I know… I just don't know what to do anymore."
Missy shrugged. "Well do you want to kiss her?"
"Yes. I want to. I want to show her how much I care about her." He smiled happily, thinking about the way Smackle's smile always set his pulse on fire. "How much she makes my heart feel like it's jumping out of my chest. But I don't know how to."
"Then why are you asking me for help if you already know what you want? If your problem is that you don't know how to kiss her, then that's a bigger problem than I can help you with." She glanced up at him briefly, a brow raised. "You do know how to kiss someone, right?"
"I know how to kiss someone." Farkle said indignantly, though he could feel his cheeks turn a bit red, "I'm just… hesitant."
"Why are you hesitant?" Missy asked, picking her phone up and responding to a text she had received, "That's what you need to figure out before I can give you advice."
"I don't know… Maybe it's just because I don't want Smackle's memory of our first kiss to be awful. It has to be perfect for her because she deserves the best. I want this to be perfect for her. For both of us."
Missy set her cappuccino back on the little table in front of her after picking it up and taking a sip, pursing her lips as she regarded Farkle contemplatively.
"So there's the problem."
"What?"
"You've got Riley Syndrome."
Farkle's brows furrowed in confusion. "Riley Syndrome?"
"Yeah. You've got this filter covering your eyes and your mind so much that you believe everything has to be perfect, and it's preventing you from seeing what's actually right or what's actually there." Missy pointed out. "In other words, you've probably missed a crap ton of opportunities because you've been so caught up in the idea that your first kiss has to be just right and perfect when in reality, that's not the case. A first kiss is a first kiss. It will always be special no matter where or when it happens. If you start putting these restrictions for when it should happen and how, then you miss prime opportunities for the real deal because you're waiting for some idealized situation that might not even happen."
Farkle's brows rose in surprise.
"You need to get rid of this idea that you have to have the perfect first kiss in some perfect scenario because it's been holding you back."
"How do I get rid of Riley Syndrome?"
"By going to the person who it was named after and asking how she overcame it, duh."
"But what if that doesn't work either? What if I still can't find the right moment to kiss Smackle?"
"Stop thinking that you need a right moment. Every moment is right. And what you need isn't a moment. What you need is an ultimatum." Missy said, a shrewd gleam in her eyes, "So let me give you one. If you don't get rid of your Riley Syndrome and kiss your snarky girlfriend tonight, I'm going to call Riley and Maya and sic them on you. And once they're done with you, my turn will be next. And you don't want me to have my turn. Right? Remember what I did to Riley when she wouldn't stop being in denial when she realized she fell for Charlie?"
"Right…" Farkle said, shivering from the memory. Riley still cried about it sometimes.
"Good. Now go to Riley to get rid of your little filtered perceptions of what constitutes a perfect kiss. I expect good results."
Missy went back to reading her textbook with those words, and Farkle couldn't help but feel like he'd been dismissed from the conversation. He stood up from the couch, knowing he had to go talk to Riley. As he began to leave, Billy arrived in the Starbucks, looking out of breath.
"Billy, your girlfriend is scary." Farkle stated.
"You're telling me…" Billy muttered as he headed over to Missy. "Baby, I know I'm late but—"
"Save it." Missy said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand, "You're on probation."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
"Can I still kiss you at least?"
"…Kissing is acceptable."
Farkle left the Starbucks, shaking his head in amusement and mentally wishing Billy good luck as he made his way out the door. He was truly brave to decide to be in a relationship with Menacing Missy.
~.~.~
"Wow, so you've had Riley Syndrome all these years too?"
"Of a different variety, but I guess so. That's what Missy said at least. And it makes sense. I've been waiting years for the perfect opportunity to kiss her, and I think I've just missed so many important ones. But what kind of timing would be right then? When? Just as soon as I see her? Should there be a buildup?"
"It doesn't always have to be planned out, Farkle. Or big or huge." Riley responded, turning off the faucet and wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Like, I love huge gestures of course, but my perfect kiss with Charlie happened last year when we started dating. It wasn't even what most people would call cute or nice. But I loved it. It was just so right."
"What happened?"
"He took me to a movie and then our hands got caught in the popcorn at the same time and then we laughed." Riley sighed dramatically before she opened the oven to check on the cookies she was baking. "And then we both leaned in but we both tilted our heads in the same direction so our faces just kind of crashed together and our teeth clacked and our noses bumped and then I accidentally cut his lip."
Farkle winced. "That sounds terrible…"
"Oh, it probably was, by most people's standards." Riley laughed. "And we had more terrible kisses like that. The first time he tried to give me a real kiss, I accidentally bit down on his tongue in fright. It took us months to even attempt that again."
Farkle laughed too. "That's definitely something you would do."
"Maya and Zay said the same thing. Anyway, my point is that even if they weren't 'perfect' kisses, I still loved them. They were perfect to me. But they were also spontaneous and unplanned."
"I understand."
"I had Riley Syndrome, and I was expecting some marvelous first kiss where he would sweep me off my feet and I would melt and our hearts would beat as one and flowers and unicorns would dance around us." Riley said, tugging on her oven mitts and pulling the fresh baked cookies from the oven, "The flowers and unicorns were there, but our kiss was goofy and painful, the opposite of my expectations. And I think that's when the last of my Riley Syndrome disappeared."
"I guess the takeaway from this is to try going to a movie and just go for it?" Farkle still didn't understand quite as well as he would have wanted, but he had less than an hour before Smackle arrived and at this point, he no longer had enough time to really dissect the information and ask as many questions as he needed to.
"Yeah, I guess. Just go for it." Riley said, smelling the batch of cookies with a happy hum of pleasure. "Perfect."
"Those smell amazing."
"Right? This is probably my best batch…" Riley sighed dejectedly. "Oh well."
Then she let go of the tray and dropped the cookies on the floor. It hit the ground with a loud clang that made Farkle jump in his seat, despite the fact that he had seen her drop it. Farkle gave her an incredulous, shocked look at her actions, and she brought a finger to her lips, winking secretively.
"Charlie!" she exclaimed frantically, her voice sounding distressed.
Charlie came out from the back of the dorm suite, shaving cream still on half of his face and went over to her in confusion. He saw the cookies on the ground and his expression went dry as he brought his gaze back to Riley.
"What happened?"
"I dropped them again." Riley pouted, batting her eyelashes cutely as she shrugged. "Oops."
"For the third time?" Charlie gave her a skeptical look, looking exasperated. "I'm beginning to think that you're doing this on purpose to get my attention."
"I mean…" Riley giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and grinning as she leaned into him. "You are leaving after this weekend. If you paid more attention to me, maybe I'd stop dropping cookies…"
"Riley, we're going out to dinner in about two hours."
"But what about all the time in between?"
"You're going to keep doing this until I pay more attention to you, aren't you?" Charlie said, raising a brow in amusement.
"You catch on quick, sweetie."
They grinned at each other, goofy smiles on their faces as they nuzzled each other's noses.
Farkle smiled as he stood up quietly and left the dorm suite so as not to disturb their sickeningly sweet moment. Plus, seeing his friends with their girlfriends and boyfriends really made him excited to see Smackle.
He was ready now.
He was going to do it.
He was going to kiss Isadora Smackle no matter what it took.
~.~.~
Was what he thought.
But seeing her walking over to him from the gate—in slow motion in his mind—with her dark locks flowing behind her and her million dollar smile on her face and her deep brown eyes dancing with warmth, he suddenly grew very nervous and very scared.
How could he just kiss her all randomly and without thought to how to make it perfect for her? She was a goddess who deserved the best.
"Farkle." Smackle said with a smile as she reached him, "Do I get a hello? Or are you just going to stand there with that dopey look on your face staring at me?"
"I missed you." Farkle said without prelude, wrapping his arms around her.
She smiled and accepted the hug, leaning into him and gazing up at him with a smile.
"I saw you two months ago. I didn't realize you'd get so clingy."
Farkle stared down at her, his eyes drifting to her lips. Maybe this was his spontaneous moment. It seemed right. They'd reunited. They were in an airport surrounded by people meeting up with their loved ones. The atmosphere was right. He had his girlfriend back. He could kiss her in greeting. That's what Maya did whenever Lucas came back for breaks. Hopped into his arms and gave him a big kiss in the middle of the airport. It would be a good chance, right?
Farkle had to just go for it.
Hesitantly, he leaned down slightly, his lips partially puckered as he pondered how to just kiss her and be done with it.
But before he could get any closer, Smackle frowned in confusion, staring up at him in concern.
"Are you okay? What's wrong with your face, Farkle? You look like you're constipated."
Farkle blinked and straightened up rapidly, his cheeks burning the slightest bit at his failed (and kind of embarrassing) attempt to kiss Smackle.
"Nothing. I'm fine. Sorry. Let's just go to the movie."
She rose a brow. "A movie? We don't normally go to one when we hang out."
"I just thought it would be a good idea to switch things up a bit."
Smackle looked confused, but she said nothing as he took her duffel bag and hitched it on his shoulder and then took her hand to lead her out of the airport.
~.~.~
In the end, Farkle had chosen some R Rated romance film that was kicking ass in the box office that week. He figured it would be the best kind of movie to possibly find the spark to kiss Smackle. Plus, there were people already making out in the seats around them, so he had the right ambiance already.
He glanced at Smackle. She was sitting stiffly and uncomfortably in her chair, her nose wrinkled in slight disgust as she watched the movie. Every once in a while, she would sigh and check her watch.
He supposed now would be a good time while she was distracted from the movie.
Farkle cleared his throat, tugging on his collar when it suddenly started to get hot in the movie theatre.
"Smackle." He said, and then cleared his throat again, appalled when his voice cracked about halfway through her name.
He was almost twenty-two for goodness sakes! What was his voice doing making him sound like the him from his prepubescent days? He shouldn't be that nervous. It was just a darned kiss. Why was it so difficult for him to grasp his head around it?
Smackle turned and glanced at him with a raised brow, her expression not particularly pleased. Farkle nervously licked his lips and then leaned over, slightly puckering his lips once again, his eyes closed as he hoped he steadily approached.
His motions were stopped when Smackle's cold hands suddenly held his face. Farkle's eyes blinked open and he met Smackle's concerned gaze.
"Are you feeling sick?" she whispered, "You're making that weird constipation face again, Farkle."
"No… I'm fine…"
She frowned, but let go of his face, turning back to face the movie. Farkle mentally groaned at his yet again failed attempt to try to kiss Smackle. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering why everyone made it sound and look so easy. This was terrifying.
Smackle glanced at him curiously a handful of times throughout the remainder of the movie, but Farkle kept his gaze diligently on the screen, feeling utterly embarrassed about it all.
Why couldn't he just kiss her and get it over with?
~.~.~
"You've been acting weird since I arrived, Farkle. Quiet. And strange." Smackle said with a sigh as they nonchalantly strolled down the sidewalk, "Did you not want to see me? Because I flew in and missed a weekend conference on biomolecular engineering just to come visit you, and you're acting like you wish I wasn't here. Because I can just go home and spend the rest of the evening with my parents if you want me to?"
"It's not that. I'm happy you're here." Farkle said softly, squeezing her hand to let her know he was sincere. "Ecstatic, Isadora."
"So why have you been acting all weird?" Smackle frowned. "Plus, you picked such a terrible movie. I think my eyes are still burning from those scenes. What gives?"
Farkle sighed. "You want the truth?"
"That's kind of why I asked the question, yeah."
"Truth is… I've been wanting to kiss you to get it over with, but I haven't been able to find the right time or I just chickened out and I'm not sure how I'm going to find a better time to kiss you anymore because we're hanging out with our friends the rest of this weekend and I wanted it to be special for you and just between the two of us because I didn't want it to be random in front of everyone."
He quieted, trying to catch his breath a little after spilling out everything all at once. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest as he stared down at her, nervously waiting for her response as she calmly searched his eyes. Why was it that Smackle always made him feel so goofy and out of control all the time? Even now, she wasn't even saying anything, just staring at him, and Farkle felt hot all over.
"Is that what all that weird-o constipation stuff you were doing was? You were just trying to kiss me?"
"Yeah…"
"Farkle. I don't need you to kiss me if you're not ready." Smackle said, reaching up and stroking his cheek, "I like our relationship. I like that we hold hands and just spend time talking and taking walks. That we're more interested in debating the latest innovations in science and technology than playing tonsil hockey on your couch. Maybe we're not all goofy and cute and basically married like Riley and Charlie. Maybe we're not the type to bicker and make out everywhere like Maya and Lucas—although I don't blame her when her boyfriend looks like that. Those cheekbones could cut glass. You could grate cheese on those abs."
Farkle gave her a raised brow in slight displeasure, and Smackle laughed, walking in front of him and sliding her arms around his waist, grinning up at him playfully.
"Kidding. You know you're the only hunk for me."
"You know, sometimes I wonder if you really are kidding…" he muttered, though a smile came to his lips.
"My point is, Farkle. We're not Lucaya or Riarlie or Bissy or Zaynessa or Yarby or any of the other relationships of our friends." Smackle continued, her expression earnest, "You don't have to look to our friends for when or how to kiss me. They're them. And we're us. Our time will come when we have our first kiss. And it doesn't have to happen at the same places where they had theirs or in the same way they had theirs. It'll happen when we're ready. When you're ready. And I'll be looking forward to it no matter what because I know you'll truly mean it otherwise you wouldn't kiss me in the first place."
"You're right."
"I know I'm right. I'm always right." Smackle smiled. "That being said, please stop trying to kiss me. I thought you were imitating a fish, and it freaked me out."
Farkle laughed. "I probably did look stupid, didn't I?"
"Not stupid. Maybe… a little crazy?" Smackle stepped away from him and took his hand again. "So now that we've gotten the awkward reunion out of the way, can we actually go somewhere fun? Like the New York Hall of Science? I want to check out their newest exhibits."
"Yeah. Let's go check it out."
She began to walk to the curb to cross the street when Farkle suddenly felt his heart start jumping in his chest in anticipation. She was right. It didn't need to be like his friends. The importance of their friends' kisses to them was because of who they'd had their kisses with. That was the important thing. That was what would matter to them however many years down the line they remained together even if the kiss was a total mess.
And suddenly he knew he had to kiss her. Right there. Right then.
To hell with it.
Before he could overthink it, Farkle tugged on her hand, pulling her back to him. Smackle yelped and stumbled back a bit in her boots, spinning around from the force and falling against his chest. She stared up at him in slight irritation, her brows rising a little in surprise.
"Farkle, what do you think you're doing?"
"What I should have done eight years ago…" he murmured, cupping her cheek and smiling.
And as he gazed into her big, goofy brown eyes, he couldn't help but wonder how he was able to wait this long to kiss her. Because right now, it was the only sure thought he had in his mind.
He leaned down, pulling her gently towards him and softly pressed his lips to hers. It wasn't outrageous. It wasn't vulgar. It wasn't anything particularly fancy, but he hoped through it, she could feel everything he had been holding back for all those years.
His heartbeat was drumming in his ears and his palms were sweaty and he had stopped breathing long ago, but he kept his lips pressed against her soft, warm ones, memorizing the feel because he wasn't sure if he would ever muster up the courage to kiss her again like this.
Farkle wasn't sure how long he kissed her for—it felt like years—but he knew it wasn't more than a few seconds. He pulled away slowly, swallowing a little thickly and trying to figure out why his body felt like it was about to combust. Smackle slowly opened her beautiful, brown eyes, staring into his as she blinked in stunned silence. Neither of them said anything for quite a while.
And then Smackle suddenly inhaled sharply and spun away from him, wrenching her hand from his and facing the opposite direction, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Now can we go to the science hall?" Smackle asked sharply.
Farkle's brows furrowed. "That's it? No other reaction?"
Smackle turned back around and glanced at Farkle, and that's when he noticed how flustered she was. Her cheeks were burning with a blush and honestly, she looked a little panicked. She wasn't completely meeting his gaze.
"My heart feels like it's about to fly out of my chest, my palms are clammy, and I'm pretty sure you could fry an egg on my face. It's kind of scaring me. So can we please not talk about it right now?"
The relief he felt was unlike anything he had ever known. He was happy. So very happy.
"Yeah." Farkle smiled, feeling a little lightheaded and giddy. "I feel the same way too."
She took a deep breath through her nose, letting it out slowly through her mouth.
"Okay. Good. I think that's a good sign." She reached out her hand to his. "Shall we go then?"
Farkle happily took her hand. "Let's go."
As far as first kisses went, Farkle knew it wasn't extravagant or one that would go down in history, but it would always be remarkable to him. It would always be memorable and special to him.
It had been, for him, the perfect first kiss.