AN: A slight AU ending. Set S2/S3 FLUFFITY CONBY BECAUSE CONBY! :L
Abby Maitland was independent and proud of it. She didn't need anyone, didn't want anyone. She had been hurt, more than once, and it had been a good decision to wall her heart off. Sure, she dated guys: always the same type. Guys that she couldn't possibly ever feel anything for.
She hadn't expected Connor Temple. Awkward and bumbling and strangely, impractically brilliant, he was a puppy dog who forced his way into her world and her life with big pleading eyes and silly flirting.
He wasn't her type; not only because he was geeky, skinny, and had no dress sense whatsoever, but also because he was utterly too sweet-hearted to be anything less than in a fully committed relationship. And even if she wanted that at all, he was a boy, not a man.
The flirting stopped at some point. They kept their familiar, comfortable banter, the teasing and almost-flirting... but while she knew Connor still felt the same way, he didn't try to push the issue anymore. He loved her, and it shocked Abby Maitland to the core to realize that over time, Connor had circumnavigated her walls. He'd crept into her heart.
It helped that he was more mature, more confident, than he had been when they had first met. If she allowed herself to think about him that way, despite minimal changes in his appearances, his personality was more attractive now, and his affection for her... it was more mature than it had been. It frightened her.
Connor was even more selfless, and she was constantly aware of the fact that she had to be careful: it would be too easy to be careless, and take advantage of that selflessness. Sometimes she caught herself taking frustration and stress out on him, and it made her try to build her walls again. It reminded her of why she had told herself never to fall in love again. She wasn't worthy to be loved, either. Connor would never see it that way, she knew. But Abby also knew that she was starting to love Connor Temple.
She could imagine how life would run. They would dance around each other for ages, until they had no choice but face their feelings. She kind of liked the idea, of someone or some sort of situation forcing the words that she could not summon. She wanted Connor to make the move, but she knew she had frightened him away from it: he was scared of loosing her friendship. As much as she had told herself never to let her walls down, for good reason, as much as she reminded herself she wasn't worthy of someone like the man Connor had become, Abby Maitland was in love with him.
Connor Temple loved Abby. He loved everything about her; without hesitation he could admit it to himself. He lacked the courage now to risk her scorn or the loss of the best friend he'd ever had, on the small chance she might possibly feel the same. Sometimes he thought he saw it. He understood why she hadn't liked the boy he was 2 years ago; he'd been a boy with a childish fancy, and randy flirtations had most certainly not been the best decision. He understood Abby better now, loved her more than he ever had, and trusted her implicitly.
He was working up to ask her out, scared out of his mind but too head over heels for her to back out, when she marched up to him, pulled him close, and kissed him full on the lips. When she ended the gentle, heartfelt kiss, his eyes fluttered open, and he almost expected her to be gone. But she wasn't. Abby looked at him with love so perfectly clear in her eyes.
And he knew without words... but she said it anyway. And then she snogged him again, pushing him against the wall, and he let her, gasping a breath when her lips left his for a moment, wrapping his arms around her and returning the kiss now, murmuring his love for her between kisses.
Abby didn't regret her decision. She loved Connor, and he loved her - and she could almost believe him when he told her that she was more than worthy of his love. She was independent and proud, confident in herself. But that didn't mean she didn't need Connor as much as he needed her.