Title: My Best Friend's Girl
Author: liz_Z
E-mail: liz_Z@secret-agent.com
Category: Romance, Angst
Rating: PG
Spoilers: References to 'The New Stuff', 'The Three Phases of Claire'
Season/Sequel info: Takes place after the end of the second season.
Disclaimer: They aren't mine. Need I say more?
Author's notes: Okay, I know I claim to be a devout B/C 'shipper, and I am. But this little thing demanded it be written, and who was I to turn it down?
Her touch makes me shiver. So soft, so gentle and caring. It's almost possible for me to forget that she used to hold the key to my sanity, that she could administer or withdraw it as she saw fit. She hasn't needed to give me a shot of counteragent in months. And in that time, I've discovered something. I care for her, very deeply. I think I'm in love with her.
The attraction isn't just physical, although I'm not going to deny that aspect of it. I love her for her intelligence, her silliness, her strength. I love her for her willingness to put my well-being above her job, for the way she accepts me for who I am, even after she's seen me under the influence of quicksilver madness. I guess I just love her, period.
There's only one problem. Hobbes got to her first. He finally got up the courage to tell Claire he loved her a couple of days after she gave me the suicide gene, while I was busy figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my working life. The two of them have been going out for about four months now. They were keeping it pretty low-profile. I found out a couple of weeks ago. Walked in on the two of them sharing a long, intimate kiss in the lab.
Naturally, that was when I first realized how I felt about her. It's like they say, you never know what you've got until you lose it. Of course, I never really had Claire, but that's not the point. The point is, I have these huge feelings for her, and I can't say anything about them. Because if I tell her the way I feel, I'll probably lose Hobbes' friendship. And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that I need Hobbes as a friend. He's the best one I ever had, and I don't want to give that up.
So, I haven't said anything. I've kept quiet. But I can't quite act the same around Claire any more, no matter how hard I try. I mean, I can try to mask the symptoms, but it's kind of hard to ignore the way my heart pounds whenever she looks at me, the warm feeling I get whenever she smiles, the shivers that run up my spine every time she touches me.
I haven't been able to act quite the same around Hobbes, either. It's hard not to feel pangs of jealousy every time I see him and Claire together. I want to feel happy for him and Claire, really I do. And I think that for the most part, I've been able to control myself. Still, the undercurrents are there. Undercurrents of jealousy, anger... but not hate. Oh God, please don't let that be hate.
How can I be in love with my best friend's girl? Because she's one of the most attractive, brilliant, wonderful women I've ever met, that's how. I'd have to be crazy not to fall in love with her.
I dream about Claire almost every night. Occasionally the dreams are erotic, but usually nothing happens except maybe a simple kiss. Most often, I just dream of watching her go through her day. You know, watching her get up, go to work, then go home and unwind. For some reason, in my dreams about her I'm usually quicksilvered. It figures that I'd be invisible to her, even in my dreams.
I can pretend all I want, but the fact still remains- I'm in love with my best friend's girl. And what really worries me is that sometimes, when I see the two of them together, I wish he wasn't my best friend anymore. Then I'd feel justified for wanting to punch him in the nose.
The End
