I have been really surprised by the warm reception this fanfic received. I haven't really put any thought into a sequel, but had actually put some thought into Lauren and Bo's first real date. I hope you all enjoy
It wasn't like Lauren to change plans without letting Bo know via text message or email or something of the sort. Granted those plans usually consisted of where to study and when to meet at the Dal, but being as how this would officially be their first date, Bo figured Lauren would be on top of plans. Luckily the dark haired athlete didn't mind waiting outside Lauren's dorm room until she arrived, and took the opportunity to crack open her Cosmic Bodies course reader and get through the first few articles. As she started to read, a subtle smile crept across her face. She couldn't believe that Lauren had convinced her to take another science class this semester; and all Lauren had to do was promise to remain her tutor. Bo should have asked for more in retrospect, but she knew she was helpless in the face of Lauren's brown pleading eyes and rational explanations.
And after getting through three articles about the universe's expansion, and an hour sitting on the floor outside Lauren's dorm room with no Lauren, Bo was pretty convinced that now would be her chance to turn the tables and make a few dating demands of her own. As Bo yawned and wiped her fatigued eyes with her trademark "Foiled Again" black fencing sweatshirt, she felt her cellphone vibrate.
She looked at the phone screen, she smiled and answered. "You know that date nights typically include said dating parties going out and actually having alone time; or didn't they teach that in the science lab."
The voice on the other end of the line chuckled and replied, "Dating isn't really a topic of conversation in the nerd cave. We would much rather talk about bacteria cultures and rNA single strands as vehicles to transport recoded DNA."
"Fair enough. Then let me fill you in, we can't do a date night if you don't show up," Bo joked into the phone.
"I know. I know. Something came up at the lab and I got really tied up. I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Lauren confessed in the phone. "I feel so bad."
Bo knew she couldn't even pretend to be mad at Lauren. The budding scientist always got lost in her research and Bo had to admit that that was one of the things she loved about this quirky, brilliant woman. "No worries, babe. Should I continue to wait here, or meet you somewhere else?"
"Actually," Lauren slyly answered, "can you meet me at the gym? I was able to borrow a car and could only park it in lot behind your training space."
"Be there in ten minutes," Bo responded. "Actually, make that five minutes, I just realized I haven't seen you in at least twenty four hours, which feels criminal."
After exchanging good byes, Lauren and Bo hung up with each other. Now that the promise of seeing Lauren was guaranteed depending on how swift of foot she could be , Bo grabbed her course reader, jammed it in her backpack and took off down the stairs.
She arrived at the gym in just over five minutes, which had to be a personal best. Figuring Lauren was waiting in the parking lot, Bo jogged quickly around the side of the building. Upon arriving in the back lot, she noticed that there were no actual cars there. In fact, the entire parking lot had been cleared out of everything. The team trailer that usually carried all their equipment was gone, too. The only thing that still remained was a lone chair with a banged up fencing mask and sabre resting on it.
This set up clearly was not by accident and the thought that something was afoot made Bo both skeptical and giddy with excitement. She casually walked over to the chair that had been placed under a street lamp.
When she got to the lone swivel chair, she picked up the banged up sabre, and as she took the grip in her right hand, she let out a stifled laugh. She quickly put her left hand over her mouth and stared wide-eyed at it. Bo rotated her wrist and peeked under the hilt. Hand still covering her mouth, she sighed and extended her arm in front of her to get a better look. It had been years since she had held her old sabre in her hand. She couldn't even remember the last time she had used it. She had lost it at the Dal when she was still in high school and had sulked over it for months, refusing to compete without it. She remembered telling Trick that "it felt like she was missing a part of her own body." Trick had ignored her and bought another one for her to use, but it didn't have the "Veterans" sticker on the underside of the hilt from the first concert she ever saw live, or matching dents from when she closed the handle in the car door because she was so excited and clumsy after winning her first bout against a seeded competitor. Sure, Bo had learned to live and compete without it, but now seeing this childhood relic left her in shock and awe.
After wiping a lone tear from her eye, Bo turned her attention toward the fencing mask on the chair. It had been the worse for wear and had dents all over the front. As she inspected it further, Bo turned the mask over in her hand and a folded piece of paper fell out. She placed the mask back on the chair and bent down to retrieve the fallen note. She tried to open it with one hand, but when that proved awkward and nearly impossible, she stuck her sword in her left armpit and used both hands to unfold it and read its contents. It simply said, "Lost and Found: In the gym."
Bo's heart fluttered. The handwriting was easy to recognize as Lauren's. Without giving it another thought, Bo quickly dashed toward the front doors to the gym. When she got there, she noticed a single rose taped to one of the five doors. She tried to remember if she had noticed that when she first arrived at the gym, or if it had been a recent addition.
She peeled the tape from the glass door, took the rose and sabre in her left hand and gave the handle a push with her right. She walked into the lobby of the place that had served as her home away from home since being in college. Everything was dark except for the emergency light just over the fire alarm and extinguisher; not that she needed the light. She knew that ten steps to her right was the water fountain; two steps to the right of that was the girls locker room. On the other side of the lobby was the boys' locker room and the equipment training facility. Right in front of her were three sets of double doors that led into a practice gym that smelled like sweat and metal.
She covered the five steps necessary to reach the double doors and pushed one set open. Much to her surprise, the gym was pitch black. No Lauren or sign of any other lost and found artifacts from her past. A puzzled look spread across her face as she just stared into the darkness. "Hmm, not quite sure what to do at this point," Bo said into the ether of the dark gym.
As if on cue, the ceiling of the gym lit up with hundreds of white Christmas lights. As Bo looked up, a familiar gaze that combined both shock and awe overtook her face. There had to be at least twenty strings of Christmas lights laid in a rather intricate lattice pattern overhead. Overcome by how amazing the lighting configuration appeared, Bo just stared up at it with her mouth agape.
She was so entranced by the lights that she didn't even notice that a tall, slender blonde walked into the gym and stood just ten feet away from her.
After a few second of watching Bo look overhead, Lauren broke the silence. "Does that mean you like it?"
Bo could barely tear her eyes away from the ceiling. "This should have taken you all day, but I was just here ninety minutes ago."
"Luckily, I have friends in Russian places," Lauren replied with a subtle smile.
"Kenzi," Bo said aloud realizing that between Lauren and Kenzi nothing would ever be impossible.
As Bo continued to stare at the ceiling, Lauren closed the distance between them. "I'm glad you made it to our date."
Bo snapped out of her trance and looked directly into Lauren's eyes. "I love you" was all Bo could manage to say at first to the beautiful woman standing in front of her. After a few deep breaths, Bo continued. "I really do love you. And I have loved you since I knocked you over in the library."
Bo gently reached both hands up to Lauren's face, but was unable to actually reach her given the sabre stuck under her armpit. Knowing what Bo had intended, Lauren placed both hands on Bo's jawline and pulled her into a gentle, tender kiss. "You were so sure of yourself weren't you," Lauren whispered into the space between their lips before resuming the kiss.
Bo pulled back slightly. "I was. More so than you, I bet," Bo teased back, trying to coax Lauren into sharing some of her feelings.
"Look up again," Lauren said as she looked to the ceiling as Bo's eyes followed her gaze.
"This is when I knew I loved you," Lauren said still staring at the ceiling.
"What do you mean?" Bo asked as she looked at the lights and her brain wracked every moment she had had with Lauren since they met. Nothing involved Christmas lights and the gym.
Looking at Bo's face and noticing that she was trying to think back to when all this happened, Lauren offered up her explanation.
"Do you remember what my note said?" Lauren asked as she leaned into Bo and placed her head on her muscular shoulder. "We lost the moment I fell in love with you and I wanted to get it back," Lauren explained.
"What do you mean we lost it?" Bo asked.
"We lost our first date to rumors and saboteurs and I want it back," Lauren stated very matter of factly.
Bo didn't respond and waited for Lauren to continue.
"You had just shown up on my doorstep after a pretty epic fencing month. I talked to Kenzi and figured you waited about ninety minutes before I got back," Lauren said as she winked at Bo. " After we talked and I forced you to stay over and you curled up in my bed and told me," Lauren continued before Bo interrupted.
"How I got into fencing," Bo finished. A smile peeled across the brunette's face as she looked down at Lauren.
"There is this harshness about you that can be intimidating and overwhelming at times. Everything about your body was made to compete; you are confident and fearless. And that side of you is beautiful. But when you were in my room and you looked up at the ceiling, I got to see this other side to you. You were innocent and awestruck and I could tell that even now, you still want to be a fantastical version of a hero from your childhood. That is when I knew I loved you. You had a purity that belied your ferocity. And when Kenz and I wereat the Dal yesterday, Trick came running from one of the back store rooms with this in hand." Lauren flicked the handle of the sabre Bo was holding.
"Speaking of, I can't believe he found it. I thought it was lost forever." Bo beamed as she looked down at her sword, but didn't adjust it so as not to move Lauren's head from her shoulder.
"When he found it, he told me all about how you refused to fence and cried for days after losing it," Lauren offered. "I asked him if I could return it to you, and he said that would be a great idea. He thought it would be just the thing you needed for this summer. Maybe you can find the fire again and win gold." When Lauren finished, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes so she could just listen to the sound of Bo's heart beat.
"You know it beats for you," Bo whispered into Lauren's ear. "This whole evening is something out of a storybook. You find my sabre, you recreate our first date and turn it into this beautiful motivation to continue to earn your love everyday after this."
The blonde woman smiled to herself as she continued to listen to Bo's heart. "We still have the rest of our date to get through, so don't get mushy on me just yet."
"What do you mean the rest?" Bo asked as she looked down at Lauren. "You can't possibly have more planned."
"I told you, I am recreating the whole date so our next and final stop is falling asleep together under the stars."
"That sounds fantastic! Let's head back to your place, but don't expect to do any sleeping," Bo slyly grinned as she wrapped her free hand around Lauren's midsection and pulled her up so until their lips met.