ship: scott/malia
prompt: unrequited
polyvore: malia and lydia's outfits are posted on my polyvore (sarcasticfina)
word count: 5,182
summary: After Malia admits to Lydia that she has a crush on Scott, she contemplates telling him the truth and seeing if they can build their friendship into something else.

note: this is an All-Human AU - Malia's mom and sister still died in a car accident and she moved to Beacon Hills when she was a high school freshman. I've played around with the canon a little, but everything you need to know, you'll find out as you go.

you lift me up and catch me when I'm falling (for you)

-ONE-

Malia is sprawled out on Lydia's bed, an open book in front of her with a collection of over-highlighted notes littering the lined pages.

At her desk, reading a book on astrophysics, Lydia makes distracted humming noises.

Fiddling with her pencil, Malia says, "Hey, Lyd...?"

It takes her a beat to pull herself out of her book, her eyes a little distant and her expression distracted. "Huh? What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You already have." Lydia closes her book and puts it aside. "Might as well add a follow-up question."

Malia chews her lip. "How do you... I mean, let's say that you liked someone... a lot—"

"Are they cute?"

"What?" She frowns. "Yeah. Really cute."

"Okay." Lydia leans back in her chair and narrows her eyes. "Wait, when you say 'cute,' are we thinking like Disney Channel? Average boys with the same haircut that smile too big and look like some pre-teen's Prince Charming? Or are we talking rugged cute, could be in college, definitely works out, and drives a nice car?"

"Uh..." Her brow furrows. "Same age as me, nice hair, dopey smile, great arms?"

"Ohhh..." She nods knowingly. "So, you have a crush on Scott."

"No!" Malia sits up abruptly, panic making her stomach twist. "What? Ew. No. I don't have a crush on him."

"Oh, honey, please." Lydia waves dismissively. "We've all been there."

"Wait. Really?"

"Sure." Lydia shrugs. "It's hard not to have a crush on the adorkable nice guy. Plus, he's a great kisser."

Malia blinks. "I'm lost... Also, I'm trying to ask for help to get over him. So, this, whatever it is, is not helping."

"It was ages ago. Total one-off." She shakes her head. "Anyway, that's not the point. Why do you want to get over him when you can get under him?"

Malia's shoulders slump. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I really don't think that's an option..."

"Why? What do you mean?" Lydia's brow furrow in confusion. "You are hot. I mean, sometimes you have that weird, grungy, 'do I live in the woods or just hike there a lot?' look going on, but you work it, and that's all that matters."

"Thanks...?" Malia frowns. "Anyway, he doesn't think of me that way. And that's fine. I just... I don't know. It sucks. I really like him. I get butterflies in my stomach and my heart feels all dumb and floaty all the time. It sucks."

Lydia smiles. "So, what's the problem?"

"I told you. He's not into me. And, I get it. I mean, first there was Allison and then Kira and... He's got a type."

"Yeah, badass brunettes. You fit the mold perfectly." Lydia shakes her head. "I'm really not seeing a problem here. You two would be cute together."

"They're both gorgeous and crazy smart and kick ass on a regular basis. I mean, Allison does archery in her free-time and Kira can sword fight. Literally, her belt is also a katana. How is that even real? I tried yoga once and I think I pulled every muscle in my entire body."

"It always feels like that the first time." Lydia waves a dismissive hand. "Anyway, none of that even matters. It's not like archery and sword-fighting have any practical use nowadays… Besides being really cool and something you can definitely put on your college applications. And I highly doubt Scott dated them because of that."

"No, he dated them because they're cool and funny and really, really nice. Which I am definitely not."

"Define 'nice,'" Lydia says. "There are different forms of it. I mean, you always defend your friends. When Jackson broke up with me and made me feel like complete garbage, you filled his locker with tapioca pudding, which couldn't have been easy."

"It took a long time," Malia admits, thinking back on it rather fondly. "And he deserved that."

"He did." She smirks. "Just like when you snuck into the locker room and you sewed that fish into the lining of his gym bag and he couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from for weeks."

"I'm terrible at sewing, too. I had this giant bruise on my finger from poking it so many times…"

"See!" Lydia nods. "Those were nice things to do."

"To you. I'm pretty sure Jackson thinks I'm an asshole."

"Well, he's one, too, so who is he to judge?"

Sighing, Malia slumps, resting her elbows on her thighs. "Anyway, this whole conversation is a moot point. Stiles already told me that Scott has a crush on someone." She frowns. "I bet it's Rebecca. She has nunchucks."

Lydia stares at her a beat and then rolls her eyes. "Where is all the low self-esteem coming from? Aren't you the same girl who kills it at track and field every year? And who got a 'B' on her last math test. You should be proud of that, you worked your ass off for that 'B.'"

Malia smiles, shaking her head. "Thank you. And it's not about self-esteem, not really. I just... I don't know. When I moved here freshman year, Scott was the first person I met and he was just so... nice. Which I'm not, and I'm okay with that. I'm abrupt and I say the wrong thing a lot of the time, and I can be a little aggressive. It's just who I am. But, recently, I don't know what it is, but I look at him and it's like..." She sighs. "I feel happy when we're together. Like I can be myself and it's not just okay, but it's special. Like I'm special. And I know that sounds weird and vague, but... Sometimes I feel like I just melt into the background. I don't need to be up front and in focus all the time. I don't mind that my fashion sense sucks, especially in comparison to you. And I'm okay with not being the smartest person in any classroom. But every once in a while, I look around and I just feel like I'm blending in. But then Scott's there and he looks at me and I feel like there's a spotlight over my head and... I don't hate it."

"I didn't know you felt like that." Lydia's voice is quiet and worried. "You know you're one of my best friends, right? I love Allison and Kira and I wouldn't trade them for anything. And that goes for you, too. Would I definitely take you shopping and throw away every plaid shirt you own if you let me? Absolutely. But like I said, you make the outdoorsy thing look kind of chic." Standing from her chair, she joins her on the bed. "Malia... You don't blend in. Not from where I'm standing. You're confident and loyal and funny and a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for." She reaches for her hand and folds their fingers together. "Scott or no Scott, you're an awesome person and friend and anybody would be lucky to date you."

Malia smiles slowly. "You're not terrible at this pep-talk thing."

"Of course I'm not. I'm not terrible at anything." Lydia grins. "But seriously... I really think if you let Scott know you're interested, you'd be surprised."

She stares at her a long moment and then nods. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask. Now... Enough boy talk. Let's do something fun."

"Like...?"

"Pizza with double cheese. And ice cream. Ooh, and Netflix." She bumps her shoulder against Malia's. "I'll even let you pick."

"Deal."

Malia takes the weekend to go over the pros and cons of what Lydia said. She's known Scott for three and a half years now, but her feelings only became too obvious to ignore in the last few months. Maybe it was because he and Kira broke up or maybe it was just the natural progression of things, but here she is. Contemplating telling him that she likes him. Like likes him. And she's kind of, sort of, hoping maybe he likes her, too.

As far as awesome girlfriends go, he's been two for two so far. While Malia's never really been that close to either Allison or Kira, her friendships with Scott and Lydia made sure that they were at least acquaintances. And she likes them. She has nothing against either of them. He and Allison only broke up because she moved out of town in Sophomore year. And when she asked him why he and Kira hadn't worked out, he'd just said they ran their course and wanted to split up before there was no chance of still being friends.

Standing at her locker, she peeks at him from the corner of her eyes. He's down the hall, laughing at something Stiles is saying. Her heart jumps, crawling up into her throat. This is so dumb, she decides. He's just a boy. A really nice, really cute, utterly amazing boy.

Back in freshman year, they'd bumped into each other in the hallway, while she was still trying to navigate the school and feeling completely dumb for not being able to find her class. Scott, being, well, Scott, helped her find it and then caught up with her at lunch to see how her day was going. It was just one simple little thing that turned into a friendship she really needed at the time and is grateful to still have. Which is part of the reason she's having an inner-freak out right now. If she does tell him she likes him and he rejects her, what is that going to mean for them? Will he start avoiding her or just be weird whenever they hang out? Or maybe it's worse than that. Maybe he'll feel obligated to be with her out of some weird sense of honor. That would be the worst. Ugh. She's regretting this whole thing. She never should've admitted to Lydia that she liked Scott. She wishes she could take it all back and just—

"Hey."

Malia jumps, whirling around to stare, wide-eyed, at a curiously smiling Scott. "Uh, hey... Hi... What're you doing here?"

"Going to school?" His smile widens, making his dimples pop. Which is just unfair, frankly. How is she supposed to think clearly now? "Kind of figured you'd be doing the same."

"Right. Yeah. Of course. I just meant... Here, like, my locker. Not the school."

"Uh, we have English first block. I thought we could walk together..." He stares at her searchingly. "Are you okay? You look really flushed..." He presses the back of his hand to her forehead and then her cheek. "You're a little warm…"

"I'm fine." Her voice comes out like a squeak and she coughs to clear her throat.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" She swats his hand away. "Sorry, uh, I'm okay, really. Just... Distracted. It's been a busy morning."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, just... Stuff." She grabs her books off the top shelf of her locker and quickly closes it. "What about you? How's your morning going?"

"Good." He nods. "I'm not looking forward to the pop quiz today, but-"

"Pop quiz?" She stares at him in horror and then slumps. "Oh no… I completely forgot. I was so focused on the Math test that I completely forgot about English." Groaning, she lets her head fall back and slows her footsteps. "I'm suddenly feeling really sick. I definitely think I have some kind of flu. Or maybe bubonic plague. Whichever one will get me out of here faster."

Rolling his eyes, Scott's hand finds the small of her back and urges her forward. "Come on, you'll do fine. You've read the book and you know what you're doing."

She tips her head and pouts at him. "Can't I skip it? Just this once? I always freeze up on tests."

"No." He laughs lightly, looking ridiculously handsome as he does. "Seriously, you'll do great." He rubs her back soothingly. "I'll even make it up to you. Fries and milkshakes after school, my treat."

She pretends to consider it, even as her heart beats a little too quick and her sweaty palms slip against her books. "How big is the milkshake?"

He grins. "As big as you want."

She narrows her eyes. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

"So, you'll go?"

They're standing just outside the door to their English class and Malia sighs. "Yeah, I'll go... But when I inevitably fail and drop out of school to become a vagrant, I expect you to bring me milkshakes and fries then, too."

Shaking his head, he leads her into the room. "Promise."

Slumping into her seat in front of him, she drops her books on the desk and sighs, tucking her feet under her chair and tapping her pencil anxiously. When their teacher passes out the quiz, she feels Scott kick his foot forward to bump hers encouragingly. She smiles down at the paper and tells herself to stop being such a sap.

Lunch finds Malia being slightly overdramatic. "I failed." She groans, her head set on her folded arms atop the picnic table. "I'm going to have go to summer school just to graduate."

Scott rolls his eyes. "You did not fail… And even if you did, it was just one quiz. You've got plenty of time to make up for it."

"Easy for you to say," she mutters. "You're gonna be an assistant lacrosse coach this summer while I'm stuck in school, dissecting old, boring books. The worst part is that no matter what I say, I never get the answer right, because all of it is just a guess at what the author really meant. Do crows mean murder and suspicion or did the writer just really like birds? We'll never know because they're all dead."

Scott chuckles and steals a carrot from her lunch. "I really don't think you failed, but if you're that worried, we can study for the next test together."

Malia lifts her head to peek at him, brow furrowed curiously. "Really?"

He nods. "Sure. We can break out the cue cards and your 10-pack of highlighters—"

"Oh, ha, ha. I do not have a ten-pack."

Grinning, he says, "You might as well."

"Whatever." Malia sits up and stabs a carrot into a small container of hummus, using it to spoon out a hefty bite. "I'll still take you up on the study session. I have plans for this summer that I don't want to miss out on."

"Yeah? What kind of plans?"

She smiles. "Paris plans."

"Paris?" His brows hike. "How'd you spin that?"

Her gaze drops. "After mom died, dad put some money away from her life insurance. There's enough to help with college, but I've been looking at police academies instead. Since it'll cost less, I convinced dad that Paris would be an awesome graduation gift. He went for it, so as soon as graduation hits, I'm on the first flight out of Beacon Hills."

"Oh… Wow. That— That's awesome."

"Yeah." She grins. "I'm excited."

"You should be. What do you think you'll do first?"

"I don't know. Explore." She shrugs. "I've been working on my French. It's not perfect, but I'm getting the hang of it. Lydia helps. She's fluent. She also thinks it'll be a good chance to meet mysterious French guys, so she's all for it."

Scott coughs suddenly, his hand reaching for his throat.

Malia drops her food and jumps up, circling around the table and nervously pushing her hair behind her ears. "Are you okay?"

"F- Fine." His face turns an angry red as he continues to cough and wheeze.

Grabbing up his bag, she straddles the bench and pulls his inhaler out, giving it a hard shake. "Here. Use it."

He shakes his head, his hand tucked into the collar of his shirt. "M'okay. I just…"

"Scott!" Her hand finds his shoulder, eyes darting over his face.

He coughs against his arm and then rubs the heel of his hand against his watering eyes. "Just a piece of carrot, got stuck in my throat…" He's still a little out of breath, but his color is coming back. "Seriously." He covers her hand against his inhaler and half-smiles. "Thank you, though."

Malia isn't completely convinced, but she puts the inhaler away and reaches across the table for her water bottle. Unscrewing the top, she hands it to him. "You're sure?"

He takes it, nodding before he throws back a long drink. After, he laughs, and bangs a fist against his chest. "Now I feel dumb."

"Hardly." She rolls her eyes. "Last week, Stiles snorted like half a carton of milk. That was way dumber."

He laughs. Recapping the water bottle, he puts it on the table and says, "You got around the table pretty quick. Perk of being a track star, I guess."

Malia shrugs. "I've seen your asthma attacks. They're not pretty."

"They used to be worse. Actually, I think they're getting better…"

"If you say so." She's still looking at him like she expects him to break out into another coughing fit. The thought makes her stomach tie itself up in knots. In the time she's known Scott, he's had enough asthma attacks to warrant fear. That never stopped him from constantly trying to get on the lacrosse team, though. To be fair, he's a good player, just not a consistent one, which is why coaching makes more sense for him. He knows the game in and out and he's a good coach; he just doesn't have the lungs to play for long periods of time.

"You're doing that thing."

She frowns. "What thing?"

"That 'he better not die on me' thing you do." He half-smiles. "The same look you give me whenever we go hiking."

Malia sits back and crosses her arms. "In my defense, I had to piggy back you out of the woods once."

"Okay, but that's because I fell down a cliff."

Malia rolls her eyes and scoffs. "It was a hill!"

"And I sprained my ankle!"

"Because you and Stiles were pushing at each other and you tripped."

"Okay, I probably could've been more careful." He points at her. "But, it had nothing to do with my asthma."

"Yes, but I can probably think of at least five times where your asthma scared the shit out of me, so that hardly counts."

He pauses, staring at her curiously. "Really?"

"What do you mean 'really'? Of course it did. You literally can't breathe. It's kind of an essential part to living."

"Yeah, but…" He shakes his head. "I don't know. Nothing really scares you."

"That's not true. I have fears." She shrugs, dropping her gaze to her lunch and plucking a few grapes out. "Driving freaks me out. I get claustrophobic sometimes. And, y'know, rejection."

"Rejection?" His brow furrows. "From what?"

"Does there have to be a specific thing? Just rejection in general. I don't like the idea of applying myself and finding out it doesn't matter. Or I'm not good enough. Like school. My grades are passable, but I'm definitely not any college's first choice."

"If you wanted to go to college, you'd do great. You could probably get in on a sports scholarship. You're one of the best runners the track team's ever had." He shrugs. "But not going to college isn't a bad thing. The police academy would be lucky to have you."

"I appreciate the encouragement, really, but—"

"It's not encouragement, it's just the truth." Scott stares at her searchingly, his gaze soft and a quiet smile pulling at his mouth. "Malia, you—"

"Hey!" Stiles appears next to the table then, grinning at them, his thumbs hooked in the straps of his backpack. "What's up? You guys look intense."

"Nothing." Malia shakes her head. "Scott was just telling me I'm going to kick some serious ass at the police academy."

"Yeah, you are." Stiles nods and takes a seat across from Scott. "And hey, maybe one day there'll be a serial killer or something and you'll have to call in the FBI." He nods excitedly. "We'll get to team up and work together!"

"Probably the only reason to be happy there's a serial killer," Scott says, looking amused.

"Well, yeah, I mean…" Stiles starts peeling and orange from his bag. "I'm not saying I hope a serial killer comes to Beacon Hills. But, if it does…"

"You'll be the third person I call," Malia agrees.

"Cool. Wait, third?"

She smirks.

As Stiles starts rattling off questions and making a case for why he— a future top FBI agent— should be the first person she calls, Malia just shakes her head. When she catches Scott's gaze, she rolls her eyes, and he smiles back. The rest of lunch is spent discussing what even passes as a 'serial' killer before Lydia appears next to the table, shakes her head at the conversation, and takes a seat next to Stiles, telling Malia, "Your friends are weird."

"I'm pretty sure they're your friends, too."

"Only on paper. If anyone asks, I feign temporary amnesia."

Malia snorts. "Okay."

As much as Lydia likes to act like she's above high school and all of its nuances, Malia knows that she values the friendship she has with each of them. Ever since things blew up with her and Jackson, Lydia's re-evaluated life and what she wanted out of it. She started basing her friendships less on status and more on whether she actually liked certain people. It effectively cut down her short list of close friends to about five: Allison, Malia, Kira, Scott, and Stiles. Proven a few minutes later, when Lydia jumps into the conversation and starts arguing with Stiles over what, historically, has qualified as 'serial' and specific cases that might meet the criteria but still don't technically fit.

Malia looks around at each of them and feels a swell of gratitude for her small group of weirdoes.

'Malia, you—'

The words keep replaying in her head after lunch. Malia can't help but wonder if maybe, for just a moment, she saw something there. The way he was looking at her, the way he was talking, it felt deeper somehow. Like maybe, if Stiles hadn't interrupted, Scott was going to say something important. Or maybe she's reading into it. She can't tell. Ever since she talked to Lydia, a tiny voice in the back of her head has been encouraging her to consider the possibility that Scott might return her feelings. It seems like a long shot— to her, at least. But, the more she thinks about it, the more she hopes.

Maybe telling Scott she likes him wouldn't be the worst thing. He's one of her closest friends for a reason. He's probably the kindest person she knows, so even if he doesn't like her the same way, she's pretty sure he'll let her down nicely. Which... not the worst thing, right? And really, there's no way he'd throw away their friendship just because of a teeny-tiny crush. If he says he only likes her as a friend, then she'll just... find a way to only be his friend.

Nodding, she feels good about her decision. After school, when they're dipping salty fries in chocolate ice cream, she's going to say it. 'I think I like you.' No, wait. 'I definitely like you.' Is that clear enough? What if he thinks she means as a friend? 'I have crush-like feelings on you.' Okay, that just sounds weird. 'I think we should date.' Too aggressive? 'I like your stupid face and all your other parts.' Definitely aggressive. 'I... I think I've always kind of liked you. Probably from the first moment we met. And after three and a half years, I more than like you. You're an amazing friend, but I kind of want you to be something more. If you want to be.' Long-winded, but definitely closer than the rest.

Malia makes her way down the hall, her backpack hitched over one shoulder and her fingers absently playing with the tail-end of her messy braid. She's kind of wishing she'd talked to Lydia ahead of time, either for a pep-talk or at least to get an idea of what to say that wouldn't sound totally moronic. But, Lydia has a regularly scheduled Facetime with Allison on Mondays, so she'll just have to catch up with her after. Either way, she's sure that Lydia would tell her to go for it and stop dragging her feet. So, she plucks up her courage, takes a deep breath, and makes her way out of the school.

Scott said he'd be waiting for her in the parking lot so they could take his bike over to the diner. She's just reached the bottom of the stairs when she spots him. The parking lot is basically empty, except for a lone blue car. Malia hadn't meant to linger at the school for so long, but she had to talk to one of her teachers about an extra credit assignment that she was hoping would boost her grade a little more. Now, she's kind of wishing she'd left earlier, or maybe later, whichever one would mean not seeing what she's seeing.

Scott is standing at his bike, one hand gripped around a handle, while the other is on the waist of Rebecca, who's standing on the tips of her toes as she kisses Scott. Her arms are looped around his neck, fingers combing through his hair, and it's, well... intimate. In a way only a kiss really can be. Like the whole world is just white noise and there's only the person right in front of you.

Malia feels her heart fall into her stomach like a lead rock. It's dumb. She has absolutely no claim on Scott. He's her friend. He's only ever been her friend. But, for a moment she thought maybe... Maybe they could make sense. Maybe he could like her as much as she liked him. Maybe there was something more there.

Obviously not.

Turning on her heel, she strides away from the sight as quickly as she can, her head ducked and her stomach in knots. She circles around the side of the school just to get out of sight and then she digs her phone out of her pocket and fires off a quick text.

—'Hey, sorry, can't make it to the diner. I really need to start this extra credit assignment. Rain check?'

With that, she shoves her phone away and starts walking. It's not a short trek, but if she crosses the lacrosse field and cuts through the woods to the walking path, it'll get her home faster than the bus will. Plus, it means not having to cross the parking lot and see Scott and Rebecca sucking each other's faces off.

She wants to be happy for him. In fact, she tells herself she will be. Just as soon as she stops feeling completely stupid.

"Wait, what?" Lydia makes a disgruntled noise on the other end of the phone. "Are you sure it was him?"

Malia rolls her eyes. She's sprawled out on her bed, throwing a ball at the ceiling and catching it as it falls. "I think I know what Scott looks like. It was him, standing by his bike, kissing Rebecca."

"And it was mutual? It wasn't like... I don't know, she just attacked his mouth like some kind of succubus?"

"Pretty sure those aren't real, and also, yeah, it looked pretty mutual."

Lydia sighs. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I encouraged you. I told you to go for it! But, I really thought..."

"Hey, it's fine." She shrugs. "I mean, it stings. But, it's okay. Maybe it's good."

"How could it possibly be good?"

"I can get over him now... That's what I wanted, right? It'll be easier this way. We can just be friends and not mess anything up with feelings or weirdness." She shakes her head. "And Rebecca's really cool."

"Okay, you are being way too accommodating. We could at least talk shit about the new girlfriend! She probably won't even last a week."

Malia laughs. "We both know that's not true. Scott is a serial monogamist." Sighing, she rolls herself over to sit on the edge of her bed. "Seriously, it's okay. I mean, it hurts and it sucks and I definitely don't ever want to feel this way again. But... I'll live. You know?"

"Yeah." Lydia's voice grows firm then as she decides, "It's his loss, anyway. You would've been an awesome girlfriend. And if he can't see that, then he doesn't know what he's missing."

Malia smiles.

"You know what else? There are plenty of cute, funny, nice guys at our school. Or, well, at least a handful. Unless you'd be willing to date someone from college, and then the pool is much bigger."

Her brow furrows. "Huh?"

"I am getting you a date. I've just decided. The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else."

"Yeah, I'm not sure..."

"No, trust me. When I was getting over Jackson, the best decision I made was taking my independence back. And hooking up with the hottest guys around."

"What? No. No offense, but I don't think hooking up with someone else is going to just magically fix this."

"Maybe it won't, but, it can help you let go and move forward. It reminds you that there are other people out there that like you. I'm not saying you should hop into bed with the first cute face you see. I'm just saying that Scott McCall, as great as he is and as much as you clearly like him, is just one guy and there are going to be a ton more."

"You're probably right. But I just don't think I'm ready. And I really don't want to start seeing someone when I still like some one else. That just feels wrong."

"Trust me, not everyone's looking for a long-term commitment, and you don't have to either. But, I will leave it up to you... I'll probably still introduce you to a few people I think you'd like, but it's totally your choice if you wanna take it anywhere."

Figuring that's probably the best she'll get out of Lydia for the moment, she sighs. "Okay. Thank you."

"Of course. You know I'm always here for you, right?"

She smiles. "Yeah, I do."

"Good. Now, tell me how your English test went."

Groaning, Malia falls back against her bed. But, as much as she laments having to take a test at all, it's a nice distraction. She won't lie. Realizing her crush on Scott is not reciprocated stings, a lot, but Lydia's right. She'll heal and she'll meet someone else. And sure, maybe they won't be exactly what or who she's looking for, but that's okay. Eventually, she'll get over him. And they can just be the friends they were always meant to be. She just wishes that part could speed-up because having a broken heart completely sucks.

tbc

author's note: this was originally part of my scalia oneshot collection on ao3— "you're the only one (i have left)"— but it became a lot longer so i've decided to post it as its own story. as of right now, it's planned to be 3-parts. the second part is completed and will be posted shortly.

i know we're a pretty small group of shippers, but it can be frustrating to spend so much time writing and get so little feedback. i really appreciate everyone who consistently leaves a review, but i'm going to ask that those of you who don't to please try to leave a comment!

thank you,
- Lee | Fina