I'm sorry, but someone had to get our favorite ship drunk, and that someone had to be me. This is my second fic ever and also the first substantial thing I've written in months, so sorry if it's a little rough (feel free to point out any grammatical errors), but I absolutely adore these two and just had to write this. It's about time Kirsten and Cameron get drunk and admit some very hilarious and very personal things to each other. Hope you enjoy!
Quick disclaimer: I do not own Stitchers or its characters. If I did, this would most certainly be a scene in the show.
"So, I have a game we could play." Cameron sipped his drink and grinned across the table at Kirsten. It was Friday evening, and after work Cameron had somehow convinced Kirsten to get drinks with him. "It'd be a purely platonic thing," he'd reassured her. Kirsten, who had nothing better to do, reluctantly agreed to go with him. Now, she sat across from him in a very loud and electric bar in downtown LA. The bartender was calling out drinks a few feet away from them and a clearly drunk couple sang karaoke to Don't Go Breaking My Heart over in the corner. The entire place was lit up in neon. Camille would love it here, Kirsten mused.
"And what game would that be?" Kirsten asked suspiciously. She was not too partial to games. Having Temporal Dysplasia didn't exactly make Candyland or the Game of Life all that exciting, though she was pretty sure those weren't the games Cameron had in mind.
"Never Have I Ever."
Kirsten raised an eyebrow. "What, are we sixth grade again?"
"Oh, come on! It's a fun game!" Cameron said defensively. "And plus, I was thinking of the more mature version of the game. Never Have I Ever: The Drinking Game. I tell you something I've never done, and if you've done it, you take a drink, and vice versa."
Kirsten groaned out loud. "No way."
"Oh come on, princess. Please?" Cameron asked. His eyes were wide, pleading.
Kirsten shuddered a little at the nickname. She must've been getting tipsy already, and she'd barely had half her beer.
"Alright, fine," she sighed, giving in. Cameron clapped his hands in excitement.
"Okay, great! I'll go first," he said coyly, wiggling his eyebrows. He straightened up. "Never have I ever…" he stroked his chin, pretending to be deep in thought, "skinny dipped."
Oh, Kirsten thought, it's this kind of game. "Neither have I," she said.
Cameron smiled. "Alright, you're turn," he said.
"Never have I ever…gotten a speeding ticket."
"That's not a fair question. You don't even drive."
"Too bad." Kirsten smirked at him.
Cameron took a sip of his drink. "I was barely going over the speed limit," he said, setting his bottle down, "and I was going to be late for work."
"Whatever. Your turn." Unexpectedly, Kirsten's lips turned up at the corners. She was smiling, Cameron noticed. It was a small smile, yes, but a smile, none the less.
"Never have I ever been hungover at work."
Kirsten frowned and took a sip, thinking of that one time when she was nineteen and working as an intern at a computer software design company. She had been so stressed with work she had gotten completely drunk the night before and shown up to the office the next day with red eyes and a pounding headache. Thankfully, she managed to fly under the radar for the day and avoid being accused of underage drinking.
Cameron laughed as Kirsten drank. "You naughty, naughty girl," he said playfully, earning a glare from Kirsten.
Kirsten swallowed. The cold beer trickled down her throat, and she realized how good it felt. She picked up her bottle and drank more deeply, finishing the entire thing before Cameron's stunned eyes.
"Geez, Stretch, someone's thirsty."
Kirsten nodded, then realized that was a bad idea when a rush of nausea overcame her. She breathed out and gripped her second bottle of beer. "Never have I ever…played Settlers of Catan."
"You're trying to get me drunk, aren't you?"
"Maybe."
"Well, it's working," Cameron said, "And really, you've never played Settlers of Catan? You'll have to come over sometime so I can teach you."
Kirsten shook her head. "No thanks. I'm not interested in your little nerd games." The words should have been cruel, but there was a playful edge to the way she said them.
"Okay, but you're missing out," Cameron said, taking a swig of beer. "It's a fun game."
"I'm sure it is." Kirsten laughed, a true, genuine laugh that lit up her whole face. Cameron was surprised to see such a pleasant expression on her normally solemn face. She looked pretty when she laughed.
"You should laugh more often. It's a good look on you," he blurted out, then realized what he had said and turned bright red.
Kirsten rolled her eyes. "I laugh plenty," she told him, seemingly unfazed by his fumble. Her head was all fuzzy. Did he just say what I think he said? she thought, gazing at him. His eyes were very green.
"My turn," Cameron said quickly, desperately trying to get past what he had just said. "Never have I ever"-he grinned slightly-"had sex in a car."
Kirsten's mouth dropped open at Cameron's words. She quickly regained her composure, however, and took a long drink. Cameron gaped at her obvious admittance. "A crazy college night," she explained, and Cameron nodded. His grin was so wide it nearly blinded her.
Kirsten took another drink, draining her second beer of the night. "Never have I ever," she began, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Had Sex on the Beach."
"The drink or the act?"
"Both."
Cameron shook his head. "Never done the act, but I have had the drink," he said, picking up his bottle and taking a sip.
"I've had the drink too," Kirsten admitted, gulping down more beer. Cameron laughed. "Hey, Stretch, it was my question, not yours. You don't have to drink."
Kirsten shrugged. "Just take your turn," she said, swaying a little in her seat.
Cameron laughed again, a pleasant, musical sound that made Kirsten incredibly happy. His eyes were getting greener by the minute. Kirsten touched her forehead, wondering if she was getting sick.
"Never have I ever…shoplifted."
Kirsten took a drink. "I was eight," she clarified, taking in Cameron's shocked expression. "Ed had just begun caring for me. I really wanted this book-I don't remember what book it was-and Ed said no, I already had a lot of books, and so I just took it."
"And you didn't get caught?"
"Nope." Kirsten flicked her ponytail proudly. "Eight years old and already a rebel," she said. Cameron snorted, still smiling.
"Now, it's my turn again," she said, slurring her words a bit. Cameron raised an eyebrow, but she ignored him. "Never have I ever…been in love."
Cameron's smile vanished. His hand shook as he lifted up his beer and put it to his lips.
"Who?" Kirsten asked curiously.
Cameron shrugged, nonchalantly sipping his drink. "She's nobody," he told her, then practically shoved the beer bottle down his throat, realizing what he had just said. He wondered whether she would catch on to his comment. Those were the exact words he had used to describe Kirsten to Janice not that long ago, to get back at Kirsten for calling him a nobody to Dr. Zuber.
Kirsten didn't appear to notice Cameron's predicament. She was busy running her fingers up and down the body of her beer bottle.
"She can't be nobody," she said after a moment. "If you loved her, she had to have been somebody. She giggled a little, and Cameron was astonished. Kirsten didn't strike him as the type of person to ever giggle. He wondered whether all the alcohol in her system was canceling out her Temporal Dysplasia, making her act almost normal. Well, as normal as a drunk, typically emotionally void person could act.
"She was, uh, just some girl I liked in college," Cameron said, shrugging, trying to pass the whole thing off as no big deal. "It was years ago." He felt the tips of his ears burning. Kirsten nodded, still completely oblivious to his distress.
He wasn't sure whether it was all the alcohol in his system, but all of a sudden, a surge of confidence came over Cameron. He leaned forward, gazing intently at Kirsten. She snapped her head up, shocked to find Cameron's face only inches from her own.
"You've really never been in love?" he whispered, looking at her with his very wide and very green eyes.
Kirsten swallowed, Cameron's features swimming before her. Her mouth opened and closed several times, like a fish. Her heart thumped against her ribcage, threatening to jump out of her chest at their close proximity.
"N-no, I haven't," she managed to choke out, licking her lips. He was so close, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. His eyelashes were impossibly long and dark. She resisted the urge to reach up and touch the curve of his cheek, to run her hands through his unruly hair.
Cameron could see her lips quivering, her eyes blinking rapidly. His own heart felt like it was going to burst through his chest at any moment. It would be so easy to just kiss her, he thought, leaning even closer.
But he couldn't do it, not when they were both drunk and exhausted. Kirsten probably would never remember it, like how she didn't remember that time she had kissed him after her very first stitch. He'd much rather kiss a sober Kirsten, one who knew exactly what was going on. And besides, she might not feel the same way as him. She was out of her mind now. If she kissed him back, it would only be because she was drunk.
Cameron sighed, forcing himself to pull away. He felt like an idiot.
The two of them sat in silence for a minute, Kirsten fiddling with her napkin, Cameron running his hands through his curls. Finally, Kirsten spoke up. "What's it like, being in love?" she asked quietly, looking up at him.
Cameron was taken aback. "What?" he asked stupidly.
Kirsten rolled her eyes. "Love," she said, "what's it like being in love?"
"Oh." Cameron scratched the back of his head. "It's, uh, it's weird."
"Weird how?"
"Weird like I can't explain it. Sometimes it's the greatest thing in the world, you know? You're happy, you think this person is amazing, you love being around them. But-"
"But what?" She was peering into his eyes, genuinely curious. Cameron's confession about being in love appeared to have sobered her up a bit, because she was no longer swaying in her seat, and she wasn't laughing.
Cameron swallowed. "But it's also sad, because they don't always love you back."
"Oh."
"And it's such a strong emotion," Cameron continued, "that you can't just shake it away. Only time and distance from the person you love can take it away."
"I can't tell time," Kirsten said, matter-of-factly.
"Then you're lucky." Cameron laughed a little. "No heartbreak for you."
"I guess." Kirsten shrugged. She looked sad, but Cameron couldn't quite figure out why.
"Hey," he said gently, reaching out to touch her hand. She flinched a little, but didn't move away. "Love's not all that great, anyway. It's kind of overrated, actually," he lied.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Despite his spinning head and slightly blurry vision, Cameron could tell Kirsten still looked really pretty underneath the bar lights. She had taken her ponytail out, and her blonde tresses fell in waves around her shoulders. He wanted to reach out and touch her hair, but he held back.
"You'll find someone someday, even with your Temporal Dysplasia," he declared, "I promise."
"You really think so?" Kirsten asked.
"I know so," Cameron said. "If it's the right person, your TD won't matter anymore. It'll have no effect whatsoever on how you feel about the person." He removed his hand from her arm and smiled at her then, a big, genuine, sweet smile that nearly knocked Kirsten out of the booth.
She stared at him for a moment, her face impassive. Then she said, "we should probably get going," and stood up.
However sober Kirsten had appeared to be during their conversation, Cameron could tell she really wasn't when she wobbled on her feet and slid back down in the booth, giggling.
"Alright, princess, let's get you home. Neither of us is in the position to drive right now, so I'll call us a cab." Cameron stood up, a little shaky himself, and grabbed Kirsten's arm, helping her out of the booth. She started to fall again, but he caught her in his arms.
"Woah there, Stretch," Cameron laughed. His arm wrapped instinctively around her waist, his other hand on her back, holding her up.
"Sorry," she murmured, placing both hands on Cameron's shoulders. She was very aware of his hands and their warmth on her body.
"Hey, Cameron," she whispered.
"What?"
"Never have I ever told you how I really feel about you."
Cameron's breathing hitched. He tightened his grip on her. "And how do you feel about me?" he asked.
Kirsten leaned in close, so close their noses were almost touching. "I feel…" she began, tilting her head. Cameron started to close his eyes when all of a sudden he no longer felt the warmth of Kirsten's body on his. He opened his eyes wide, feeling cold at the sudden loss of contact. Kirsten was standing a few feet in front of him, grinning ear to ear.
"Aha!" she shouted, and proceeded to hobble out of the bar. Cameron followed her, cheeks flushed and laughing. That girl was a mystery to him, he thought with a smile.
But he kind of liked it that way.
Not really sure how I feel about the ending, but I hope you enjoyed! Please don't hesitate to leave me any reviews and tell me what you liked/didn't like. Thanks for reading!