A/N: Birthday fic for TheSingingPterodactyl! Happy birthday, girl! :D Thanks to Cehsja for the beta read!
A Conby fluff taking place in between the series 2 finale and 3.3, slight spoilers up to the series 2 finale. Hope you enjoy!
Connor sat on the couch nearing victory for a very difficult race in Mario Kart, when suddenly his fedora fell off and was replaced by a certain bored Coelurosauravus. He sighed and leaned back, his character, formerly first, now finished in fifth.
"Aww, Rex, you're only supposed to do that when I throw the lettuce, yeah?" Abby walked over and scolded the creature, half annoyed and half amused. "You dropped this." She picked up his hat and handed it to him as Rex flew off, practically doing loops to keep himself entertained.
He smiled and put it back on top of his head. "I was just about to beat it, Abs!" She knew exactly what he was talking about. Connor had been venting about this track for days, and even someone as uninterested in games as Abby knew enough to feel sorry for him.
"You'll get it." She grinned and walked away without another word.
His eyes followed her as she went into the kitchen in a slight state of shock. It was rare when she did anything but roll her eyes when he mentioned his games, but the last couple of days she seemed to be in a really good mood. Still, encouraging him to play more when she clearly disapproves of such a "waste of time"? She really was in a good mood…
Abby was headed to her room to catch up on a report that was due yesterday when something caught her eye: tomorrow's shopping list. Connor had added noodles and meatballs. Apparently someone's craving spaghetti!
Her eyes sparkled as an idea formed.
"I'm off to the store, Conn! I expect you'll still be playing that when I get back?" She announced as she walked back into the living room, list in hand.
"If you like." He teased, once again getting a smile instead of the expected eye roll. "I thought you were going tomorrow?"
"I've got some spare time, decided to make the best of it!"
"What about that report? Lester'll be mad if you don't turn it in soon, yeah?" He added as she opened the front door.
"Yeah, you're right." She grinned. "That's half the point."
An hour later, he heard the door open. "I'll help you with the groceries in a minute, Abs, I just gotta lose this track," he said, clearly not expecting to win the race any time soon.
"S'alright, I got it." Abby replied, not wanting to take the chance he'd see what she bought.
"You sure?"
"Yep, it's not that much." She set the bags on the counter and headed back to the car for another haul.
"Oh, did you get noodles and meatballs?"
"No, sorry, I forgot." She lied.
He sighed, once again finishing in fifth place.
She chuckled to herself and started cooking once all the bags were in the house. It wasn't long before the smell of spaghetti filled the house, but Connor was too focused on the game to notice. Every once in a while she would peek across the wall just to amuse herself with how intently he applied himself to winning. She might not understand why it seemed so important to him, but she could certainly appreciate and chuckle about it. Especially since not even the sound of a blender seemed to snap him out of it.
Her homemade sauce was finally ready, and she served up two plates of Connor's favorite meal, along with a couple glasses of a milkshake.
He barely noticed her as she set his dishes on the table, but when she returned with her own set and sat down fairly close beside him, he relaxed a bit and shot a private questioning look towards the telly. As the laps went on, he heard Abby quietly moan or cheer whenever he got the appropriate item, which piqued his curiosity even more. She was beginning to worry him.
Finishing in fourth place, he finally decided to ask her if she was alright, but the smell from the food in front of him stopped him in his tracks.
"You made spaghetti!" He nearly threw the controller with excitement.
Abby laughed and nodded.
"But you said, when you went to the store…"
"I wanted it to be a surprise! You know, since Rex ruined your race and all."
"Abs, you don't have to apologize for him. It wasn't you that did it, it was really just me fedora."
She smiled. "I know, but he is my pet."
"Eh, he's just as much mine as he is yours anymore," he corrected as he reached for his plate and noticed what was in his glass. "Oh, Abs, you really didn't have to…" He took a sip of his chocolate milkshake.
"I wanted to, Conn. But really, I don't know how you can stand drinking that while eating spaghetti. It must be so disgusting."
"Well, you're having some!"
"I didn't want to go fix myself something separate, and the shake just looked too good to pass up!"
He grinned and started eating.
"So this Mario Kart…" She started with a mischievous and slightly flirty look in her eye. "Can I play?"
Connor nearly choked at the sudden comment. "You… You want to play me game?"
"Yeah! I mean, you seem to be having so much fun with it, I thought I'd see what you like about it! If that's alright with you."
"Yeah, yeah. That's fine! I mean, I just… That is… I, uh…" He tried to make his tongue work, but it seemed to be disconnected from his brain. Not that his brain knew what to say either.
"C'mon, Conn," she laughed and snatched the controller, "show me how to play!"
Long after they'd both finished their spaghetti and melted shakes, they were still giggling and bumping into each other. On the road, and in real life. Rex chirruped behind them and seemed to be rooting for Abby by the way he got excited every time Connor hit something.
"Oi, mate! Not nice to have it in for someone! It's not nice to show them, at least." He scolded when the race finished.
"He does hate for you to win, doesn't he? I think he knocked off your fedora on purpose!"
"Oh, and it's me lucky hat, too!"
"So that's how you're able to beat me!" She teased. "Give me that."
"Oi!" He faked a complaint as she put his hat on her head. The truth was, he couldn't be happier that she would be willing to wear it and not complain about it being dirty, having lice, etc.
"How do I look?" She posed.
"Eh, not bad. Six out of ten." He teased and lied, thinking she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever met.
"Six?! I deserve at least an eight!" She scoffed in kind.
Chuckling, he changed the subject. "You've gotta be careful, you know. You're eating me food, playing me game, now wearing me hat! Sooner or later you'll start talking like me!"
"That'll be the day, Conn." She smiled and started a new race.
As happy as he was here, sitting awfully close to her, he had to know something. "Abby…" He mustered all the courage he could find as the first lap started.
"Yeah?" She answered, solely focused on the game.
"Why are you really doing this?"
Taken aback by his sudden boldness, she answered honestly. "I don't know… I guess I just miss you."
"Abby, we live in the same flat. How can you miss someone who's thirty feet away from you at any given moment?"
She chuckled through her nose. "We haven't talked much since the whole Caroline incident, and I guess I just wanted you to know… To know that I'm here for you, and I'm still your best mate, yeah?"
He smiled, relieved it wasn't something worse. "Yeah."
They finished the track and she handed him her controller. "Goodnight, Conn." She planted a kiss on his cheek before clearing the dishes and heading to bed, leaving Connor and Rex alone on the couch.
"Rex, one day you and me need to have a talk with her."
The Coelurosauravus chirped and flew off.
"Yeah, I know," he answered, as though having a conversation with the creature. "She stole my fedora."