Johnny

When Johnny's phone rings at around ten in the night, he jumps a little. His first thought is that something might have happened to his father, so with a mixture of anxiousness and fear, he grabs his phone.

He lets out a sigh of relief when he checks the caller ID and realizes it's Ash.

"Hi there, Ash!" he greets the porcupine happily, until he gets that she could call at that hour because something has happened to her, so he immediately regrets his happy tone, so he quickly adds, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Ash replies. "Sorry for calling you this late, it's just that … uhm … see, the problem is, Cia came over and we drank some beer, she more than I did and now she's, well, drinky. She insists she can still go home on her own, but I highly doubt it. So could you give me her address so I can call her a cab?"

"No, it's fine, I'll come get her," he says.

"Thank you, Johnny!" Ash replies. "See you in a bit!"

"Bye, Ash!"

When Johnny drives up in front of Ash's apartment building, he isn't sure if he should laugh or frown at the sight he's getting.

There's Cia, a bit wobbly on her feet, trying really hard to walk away, but Ash has grabbed her tail and clings to it.

The words he's hearing don't make things any easier.

"I swear, Ash, my apartment lies in that direction!" Cia says.

"You said that two minutes ago for the other direction!" Ash replies. "And now wait, please, Johnny should be here any minute!"

"But I wanna go now!"

Johnny shakes his head a little as he climbs out of his truck. Also, he can't help, but smile at the scene.

"Hi, you two!" he greets the girls as he walks up to them, adding a little wave when they turn to look at him.

"Johnny!" Ash calls out and it's hard to miss the ring of relief in her voice. "Cia, look, Johnny's here!"

"Johnny!" Cia calls out, spreading her arms and walking up to him. Ash quickly lets go of her tail, and as much as she sounded relieved before she looks just as relieved now.

"Ash says I can't go home alone," Cia whines as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"Ash has a point," Johnny replies.

Cia leans back a little and looks at him with her mouth twisted. "Not you, too."

Johnny just shrugs.

"Okay, okay, bring me home, then!" she calls out, letting go of him and walks up to the truck.

"Thank you, Ash!" Johnny says quickly before he joins Cia, making sure to walk close to her in case she needs some support.

He opens the passenger door for her and Cia climbs inside, a bit slower than usual, but she doesn't need help at least.

When Johnny is settled in the driver's seat, he says, "If you're feeling sick or anything, just tell me, okay? I'll pull over immediately."

Cia rolls her eyes. "I had a little too much beer! I am not that drunk!"

"If you say so," Johnny says with a little shrug before he starts the car.

Okay, he has to admit, Cia doesn't make him stop once on their ride to her apartment, and yes, she doesn't look sick at all, but as soon as he parks the car, things get a little difficult anyway.

"Here we are!" he says, and suddenly he feels a bit nervous. He doesn't like the look Cia's giving him.

"You know how much you mean to me, right?" she asks, and her serious tone only adds to his nervousness.

"I guess I do," he says. "You mean a lot to me, too."

"Then why …" She breaks off, biting down her lip. "Then why don't you … I mean why …"

She breaks off again, but only to wrap her arms around his neck again, pulling him closer and pressing her mouth to his.

For a moment, he's surprised and thinks of pulling away, but her lips just feel too good, and before he even realizes he's parting his lips and responding to her kiss.

But when she pulls him even closer and her tongue is exploring his mouth a little more demandingly, he decides to put an end to this. That's just not something you should do when your girlfriend is drunk, however little she insists said status of drunk is.

It takes him all his self-control, but he manages to pull away.

Cia looks at him with surprised eyes.

"We shouldn't…," he starts, breaking off and clearing his throat.

Instead of a reply, Cia starts to climb out of the truck.

Because of the state she's in he has enough time to get of the car himself and wait for her on the sidewalk.

She looks a little wobblier on her feet as she walks up to her apartment building, so Johnny wraps an arm around her hips. Cia does the same and when he looks at her, she tries to kiss him again, but he manages to turn away.

From the corner of his eye he can see that Cia twists her mouth.

They somehow make it to Cia's apartment without any further incidents, but once they're inside, Cia pulls him into another kiss. Again, it costs him all his self-control to pull away.

"You should go to bed," he says.

"Yeah," she agrees with a grin. "Bed is good."

And she sets into motion towards her bedroom, but she keeps on arm around him.

And maybe he should make sure she's alright, anyway, so he goes with her.

It feels weird, and that as soon as she climbs into her bed she tries to pull him with her, does not help.

"Cia, you really should sleep now," he says, untangling her arms from around his neck, only to have it to do again because as soon as he's managed to peel one of her hands off, her other is back in place.

"But I'm not tired!" she complains.

"Yes, you are," he replies. "I'll sleep on the couch, so if you need me."

"But I need you now!"

He must say, this somehow sends a pleasant shiver down his spine.

"You need to sleep."

"Bed's big enough for two."

"As I said, I'll be on the couch."

"Don't you want me?" she asks, and her voice sounds hurt, just as hurt as her face looks.

It sends a pang to his heart.

He doesn't know what would be the best reply to that, so he settles for the truth.

"I do, and you have no idea how much," he says. "But not like this, not when you're not quite yourself."

Her eyes widen in surprise. "Okay," she whispers.

"Good night, Cia!"

"Good night, Johnny!"

As he lies down on the couch he keeps listening for any sign that she might need help or is getting up again, but there isn't any.

So after a few minutes he closes his eyes and falls asleep almost immediately.

The next morning, Johnny wakes to some noise coming from the kitchen. He gets up, stretches a bit and shuffles over to the kitchen, peeking inside.

Cia's making coffee. She's wearing some sweat pants and a shirt, not the clothes she's been wearing the night before.

She must have sensed him somehow because she turns to look at him.

"Good morning!" she says, quickly turning away again. "I'm making breakfast. Toast and coffee are fine?"

"Yes, totally," he says. "And good morning to you, too!"

While she's finishing getting their breakfast ready, Johnny can't help, but notice that she's avoiding his eyes.

When she finally settles down after placing a plate with toast and two cups of coffee on the table, she still keeps her eyes peeled to that table.

She sighs. "Look, Johnny, I'm sorry for yesterday," she finally says.

"Cia, it's fine," he replies, taking a sip of his coffee. "I was happy to help."

But Cia acts as if she hadn't heard.

She squeezes her eyes shut, raising her hand to her forehead to press her thumb between her eyes.

"A-and I have to ask this," she says a bit hectically. "I mean I do think I remember everything, and I woke still wearing my clothes, but did I," - she clears her throat - "did I do something stupid last night?"

"No, you didn't."

"Did I try to do something stupid?"

"Only a few times."

She flinches a bit at his words. "Then I remembered that right," she says, as she puts her hand away and opens her eyes to look at him. "Johnny, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," he says, taking her hand and smiling at her warmly. "No damage done."

"Yeah, no thanks to me!" she says with a roll of her eyes, and it makes him laugh.

They look at each other for a moment.

"I remember what you said about wanting me," Cia says, her voice barely more than a whisper.

He clears his throat, avoiding her eyes this time. "Yeah, uhm, that…" He clears throat again. "It-it's the truth."

Cia gives his hand a little squeeze. "I know. And I want to tell you this: You can always tell me to stop, at any point, no matter what. Okay?"

He looks into her eyes. "Okay."

They look into each other's eyes for a little longer before Johnny leans forward and they kiss, gently and slowly, and when they pull away, it's still too soon for Johnny's taste. But a look at the watch reminds him that he should be on his way soon anyway. He has rehearsals coming up.

But he somehow can't. He leans in for another kiss, a bit more passionate this time, and when he pulls away this time, it costs him a lot more self-control then it did the night before.

"Do I smell pineapples?" he asks, on one hand to say something to calm himself down and on the other hand because he really does smell pineapples.

"Oh, yeah, new shower gel," Cia replies.

"But you hate pineapples!"

"And you love them."

He looks at her, takes in every detail of her face, and it makes his heart pound in his chest.

"I l-like it," he says, glad that he managed to catch his tongue just in time before the words that really were on his mind would have left his mouth. It's too soon for them. "The shower gel, I mean."

Cia smiles at him. "Thanks!"

He feels the urge to pull her into another kiss. Then he remembers the time, so instead, he just takes another sip of his coffee.