Roxy was lying upside down on her bed. Her hair fell around her head in short, flippy waves. In one of her hands there was a glassy brown bottle. In the other, was her phone. She held it up, thinking to text one of her friends. She tried pushing the top button to turn on her phone, but it wouldn't work. After she finally turned it fipways, the text-covered screen popped up. It was a mess of bright orange and brighter pink. She and Dirk been seriously discussing the possibility of seeing each other irl. He had said they might be able to in theory, but it would take a lot of planing and calculations and bluh. He listed a bunch of reasons. He seemed almost cagey about it. That was about the time when Roxy logged off.
The conversation had really bummed her out. She was really hoping to finally meet him, or even another friend. Rolling onto the floor, she did what she always did when she needed a lift: opened up the liquor cabinet. After a couple hours, she ended up in the state she was now, lying back on her bed, trashed more than usual.
Looking down at her phone, she got an idea. It sounded great, at least to her spinning mind. Pesterchum was showing a little green dot next to Dirk's handle. She whipped up a message, and checked ran it through spellcheck. When she was content with her words, she sent the message, turned off her phone, and passed out.
Dirk was sitting on the edge of his apartment roof, polishing his already shinny hoverboard. The flames seemed to dance under his cloth. A few seagulls were circling overhead, there wings stiff, rising easily on the hot air. Hi robots, Sawtooth and Squarewave, were enjoying the sun, too. He still wasn't sure how that worked.
The peace of the day was broken by an electronic chiming. Dirk dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out his black iphone. There was only one new message, from Roxy. He opened it up.
dirk come quick i need your help right now it's important
His stomach fell. Roxy had never asked for help from him, and she almost never had such perfect spelling. The last time she had sent a properly spelt text was a "what's up".
The only thing he could think of was that she must have been in some kind of trouble. How could something fall through his plans? Maybe there was a flood. Maybe the Condesce had found her. Maybe-
He didn't have time for this! After sending Roxy a short text demanding more information he rushed down into the stairway, leaving his hoverboard on the roof. His heart was pounding in his ears. While ordering Sawtooth to grab some supplies he grabbed his katana.
Just hours ago, he and Roxy had been talking about whether or not it would be possible to travel to each other's homes. Dirk had really thought hard about it, and from the coordinates she sent it should only take a couple of hours to get there.
There were some problems with the theory, though. He had never told anyone this, but he had never been more that a mile from his apartment. He didn't know what it was like out there.
He also wasn't sure what he would do when he got there. Dirk had never been near another living person. He was scared he would do something wrong, or mess up. Roxy was his best friend.
He didn't care about any of that at the moment. He just didn't want to risk losing her. He stopped for a second, closing his eyes. If she was hurt or dead because he couldn't get there fast enough he din't know what he would do.
They were back on the roof. Sawtooth handed him his pack. He slung it onto his back and adjusted the straps. The sun was still high enough that he shouldn't have to worry about visibility. He checked his phone one last time. There were no new messages. Ice seemed to grow in his chest, but it lent fuel to his burning determination. After sending a one last text, he took off.
Roxy was feeling rather good about her plan. Sending him a text like that would drive him crazy. If she didn't answer him, he would get so annoyed he would have to come over. It wasn't like she was hurting someone. His reasons not to come over were weak, anyways.
Every word she had sent him was true, anyways. When she looked outside the day before, There was a big rent in the gutter n the side of her house. Dirk was always mentioning things he had built by himself. It should be easy to fix.
Seeing Dirk in person was also was really important. To her, anyways. Roxy was really nervous, even though she had a great plan. When he would step off the hoverboard, grumpily asking what she needed help with so bad, she would run up to him and give him a huge hug. He wouldn't stay mad for long, and he was already there. She could bring him around her place, have him meet some of her carapacian friends. They could have dinner. It could be, maybe, like a date.
Roxy's stomach filled with butterflies. She look a swig from her bottle to try and calm down. Dirk Strider was her first and current love. She'd even gone so far as to call him "honey" and "love" in a few of their video chats, trying to drop a hint. He couldn't get it, though. She was finally going to lay it down on him, today, in person.
The sun was starting to set. It left bright, colorful ripples on the ocean. Roxy was worried he wasn't going to come. The wind tugged at her clothes as she was standing on the porch, waiting for him. She squinted into the sky. A far ways out, there was a streak of light in the distance. It could have even been a shooting star, exept for the fact it was coming closer and closer. It must have been Dirk!
Dirk was almost to Roxy's house. All the buildings looked the same, in either black or white. She was going to be difficult to spot.
His heart sped up. A couple hundred feet in front of him was a lone pinkish white figure, standing on a porch. He descended, weaving back and forth through the houses. Roxy's came up to the left. He jumped off his board, almost collapsing on his wobbly legs.
Dirk flash-stepped up to her and grabbed her wrist. She looked uninjured, even if she was swaying a bit. With his other hand, he held up her face. She was grinning wide, but when she looked up at Dirk, her smile fell.
"Are you ok?" he barked at her.
"Yeah Dirk, I'm fine," she answered. Her words were slurred. She looked back at him with wide, worried eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Weeell, my gutter was bent..."
Dirk didn't know how he felt. She was safe, but she tricked him? "You made me come over here for a fucking gutter?" He tightened his grip around her wrist.
"I was gonna-" she stammered.
"Fucking hell, Lalonde! Do you know how worried I was?"
"But-"
"I thought you were hurt. I though you could have died." He was shaking.
"I'm sorry, Dirk," she sobbed. He froze. He hadn't even realized she was crying. Tears of black mascara were running down from her eyes.
He let go of her wrist. It was red where he had wrapped his fingers around it.
He had done it. He messed up. He has made Roxy cry minutes after meeting her. Striders don't fucking make girls cry, he though. It felt like the was a huge weight pushing down on him.
Dirk stared at her, even though she was looking away. At second look, she didn't look as okay as he thought. During their video chats, she always looked so put together. She had perfectly curled hair, nice makeup, and a fancy martini in one hand. Now, her hair was tousled and frizzed, her makeup running into her sleeve, and she was gripping a bottle of something much harder in her hand.
Dirk didn't know what he was supposed to do. Before, if something was messed up, you took a wrench to it until it worked again. That obviously wouldn't work in this situation. He went through a list of how he could apologize. He couldn't think of a time he ever had.
He did the only thing that made sense: he hugged her. It was an odd feelingand dirk wasn't sure what to do, but her kind of just put his arms around her. She grabbed onto him and snuggled her face in his chest.
"I so sorry, Roxy. Fuck, I just didn't know what to do." He took off his glasses and gripped them in his fist. The plastic bit into his hand.
"It was my fault," she hickuped. "I shouldn't have sent you that text."
"Well, your gutter really was broken, wasn't it?" he smirked, even though she couldn't see.
"That wasn't just it. I didn't want it to go this way."
"What do you mean?" He had started rubbing his hand into her back without realizing it. This actually feels really good, he thought. Roxy was so short, she fit right it his arms. It was fricken' cute.
She took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you."
"You could have just done that over pesterchum."
"No, I wanted to say something in person." She paused. "I like you, Dirk."
His hand stopped against her back. Her let out a nervous laugh.
"I like you too, Roxy. Of course I do, were friends."
"No, Dirk, I like like you."
Don't screw up, Strider, he thought. Don't screw up. Dirk lightly pulled her face up, his thumb rubbing softly on her cheek. She was bushing a deep red, but met his gaze perfectly. Light from the setting sun shone off her light blonde hair, brighing out the lighter tones. Her eyes were a shocking pink, framed by cute, tiny white eyelashes.
He tried to remember his time with Roxy, putting it into perspective. Messaging her was part of his daily routine. He would spend hours going on about his plans, and she would listen, adding something in every once in a while. When they video chatted, she would tumble over a word and Dirk would correct her, laughing. Lastly, he remembered how he had just felt, not knowing whether or not she was hurt or dead. That was all he needed.
He leaned in and kissed her. At first, she pulled away, but then melted into him. It was quiet and tender. Kissing Roxy was even better than hugging her.
He pulled away, feeling flush. "I think I love you, Miss Lalonde."
Dirk disappeared from sight. Roxy took a moment to run a hand through her hair. She was nervous, but at the same time exited.
He flew around the corner. There he is, she thought to herself. She looked down at her feet, grinning like a cat. As soon as he landed, she would run up and hug him, and-
Suddenly, someone gripped her wrist. Dirk took his other hand and jerked her chin up up to his eyes. She then got her first look at the real life Dirk Strider. Instead of looking annoyed like she had imagined, his face was deathly serious. His brow was pulled down and his mouth was held in straight, hard line. He tilted his head, looking her over. She could feel the smile leave her face.
"Are you ok?" he barked at her. Roxy blinked up at him. She was stunned.
"Yeah, Dirk, I'm fine," she answered automatically.
"What's wrong?" His eyebrows pulled together, confused.
"Weeell, my gutter was bent..." She trailed off, seeing he didn't seem to care about her house at the moment.
"You made me come over here for a fucking gutter?" his grip around her wrist grew even tighter. Roxy felt her eyes prickling. She was starting to get scared.
She tried explaining herself. "I was gonna-"
He started to shout at her, shaking her slightly. "Fucking hell, Lalonde! Do you know how worried I was?"
Her eyes leaked over. "But-"
"I thought you were hurt. I though you could have died."
She started to cry harder. I didn't want Dirk to worry, she though. He looked so furious. All she wanted was to see him. She felt so guilty. "I'm sorry, Dirk," she sobbed.
She felt him let go of her, and there were pins as blood rushed back to her hand. She put her sleeve up to her face, wanting to melt into the floor, anything not to let him see her cry over him.
They stood there like that for what seemed like forever. Then Roxy felt something warm wrap around her waist. Dirk was hugging her. His arms were long an muscled. She was being held tight to his chest. He started making small circles in her back with his fingers. She automatically hugged him back, gripping onto his shirt. She snuggled her face into his chest, wiping away her tears. He smelt like metal and the ocean.
"I so sorry, Roxy. Fuck, I just didn't know what to do." She felt him shift one of his arms before wrapping it back around her.
"It was my fault," she hiccuped. Her voice was hoarse. "I shouldn't have sent you that text."
"Well, your gutter really was broken, wasn't it?" He sounded smug.
"That wasn't just it. I didn't want it to go this way." She felt like all her plans were ruined, in embarrassing shambles on the floor.
"What do you mean?" He sounded curious.
She took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you."
"You could have just done that over pesterchum."
"No, I wanted to say something in person." Her face grew hot and stomach knotted up. "I like you, Dirk." It was out. No going back.
His hand stopped in it's path against her back. She heard and felt him give a little laugh. She could feel his muscles tense under her.
"I like you too, Roxy. Of course I do, were friends." He sounded strangely unsure.
He still didn't get it. She would have to spell it out for him. "No, Dirk," she started. "I LIKE like you."
He lifted her face up, even though she wanted to run and hide. He gazed at her with bright orange eyes like the sun, a look of complete concentration on his face. He must have taken his shades off, she thought, dazed.
Dirk closed his eyes and slowly leaned in, putting his lips to hers. At first, Roxy pushed away. She never expected him to go and kiss her! After her heart slowed down, she relaxed and went along. He was surprisingly good. Dirk pulled away all to fast.
"I think I love you, Miss Lalonde," he whispered.
Her knees turned to jelly and her stomach fell through her socks. This was going so much better than she first expected.
She returned the kiss. This time she reached up on her toes and ran her hand through his hair, messing up the spikes in the back.
When they were finished, she said, "I love you too, Dirk. I always have."
They stood together like that until the sun was bellow the horizon.
"What now?" Dirk asked.
"Well, you can spend the night, if you don't want to fly in the dark."
"Mmm hmm," he murmured into her shoulder. He was putting tiny kisses up her neck, making her flush up to her ears.
"I could show you my cats."
Dirk laughed out loud. "Sure," he said, sweeping his arm under her knees. He lifted her up, princes style. She let out a half-scream.
"Let me down, Dirk! You asshole!" She beat her hands against his chest.
"Well, how can I let my princess walk" he said, carrying her into the house.
Well, that was fun! First fanfic ever, just wanted to get the idea out of my head. Please review, even if it is negative! :)