Fix You part 11
Authors note: Sorry to announce this fic is coming to an end. Maybe one more chapter. Don't forget to review sugars, let's make it to one hundred reviews!
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Kono asked, dropping the papers on the desk and heading towards Carla. "I thought we were supposed to meet at the chapel!"
Carla smiled sweetly at her. "I just wanted to stop by first."
Kono tilted her head, giving her friend a quick hug before replying. "Why would you wanna stop by?"
Carla shrugged, discreetly looking around headquarters. "This place is really nice." She remarked, glancing towards the offices.
Kono sighed, shaking her head slightly and diverting her gaze from her friend. "He's not here, Carla."
Her head snapped towards Kono, looking at her for a few seconds. She didn't pretend she didn't know what Kono was talking about, instead just shot her another sympathetic smile. "Is he going to the wedding?"
Kono shrugged. "I have no idea."
Carla nodded. "Right. Where's Chin?"
Kono thought for a second, meeting her gaze. "He went with Danny to check on things with Jake. You know, make sure he doesn't run off and all." She joked.
Carla chuckled. "Guy stuff?"
"Yeah." Kono smirked. "Guy stuff."
There was silence for a few moments, Carla's gaze locked on Kono, and her gaze diverted to her feet. Carla was the one to speak first. "Honey, are you sure-"
"No, Carla, I'm sorry, we're not talking about this." Kono immediately cut her off, snapping her head up.
"I just wanna make sure-"
"No, Carla…" she said, holding her hand up.
"That you-"
"No!" Kono half shouted.
"That you're not having second thoughts." Carla finished, looking at her as if pleading her to look this whole thing over before diving head first in it.
Kono reattributed the look, closing her eyes slightly. "Carla, I'm asking you, please don't do this."
Carla sighed. "It's for your own good." She said, searching Kono's eyes. "Are you sure about this? Sure you're not having second thoughts?"
Kono's eyes snapped to hers again, shaking her head, and she slumped her shoulders as a sign of defeat. "Of course I'm having second thoughts, Carla."
Carla nodded knowingly, grabbing a chair nearby and sitting cautiously. "You're having second thoughts."
Kono shook her head again, also sitting next to Carla. "Yeah, I am. But it doesn't matter, I'm still gonna go through with it."
Carla eyed her, a strange look in her eyes. "For the right reasons?"
Kono nodded. "I love him."
Carla exhaled. "And are you sure you aren't gonna hurt him?"
Kono huffed, running her hand through her hair. "I… I don't know."
"Let me ask you something." Carla started, leaning back on her chair. "If you and Steve hadn't decided on a one-time thing, would you have had a relationship with him?"
Kono frowned, looking back at Carla. "Why?"
She shrugged. "Just curious."
Kono raised an eyebrow, looking at her suspiciously. "Uh… I don't know. I'm not sure."
Carla snickered. "The true answer, honey."
Kono rolled her eyes, turning her head towards Carla. "And how do you know that wasn't the true answer?"
"Easy." She replied, shrugging. "I know you."
"Yeah." Kono chuckled. "You know, sometimes, I kind of hate that."
Carla smiled. "Well in this case… yeah, you'll hate it at first. But then you'll thank me after a few years."
Kono shook her head, laughing. "Really, it's gonna take that long for me to thank you?"
Carla only smirked. Kono frowned at her. "What?" she asked, as she saw Carla looking around once again.
"You know what…" she started absentmindedly, glancing back and getting up in two seconds. "… scratch that, you're probably gonna thank me about me knowing you so well today."
"Carla, where are you going?" Kono asked, also getting up, following her friend as she closed in on the door.
"To the chapel." She replied.
"Well, hang on then, I'll be done in a second!" Kono called out after her.
Carla was already halfway out the door when she turned back and winked at her. "Don't forget to thank me!"
And she was out.
Kono halted to a stop, her eyebrows rising, and a confused look splattered across her face. What the hell had just happened there? She stared at the door Carla had just crossed through a few seconds before and frowned. Her best friend was… sort of weird, sometimes. She ended up shrugging and turning her back on her, getting to the papers she had dropped on her desk.
"Hey."
She almost jumped, dropping the papers, and whirling around on her feet as she heard the voice behind her.
And she froze.
"What… what are you doing here, Steve?" she asked, looking around as if expecting someone to pop out and yell surprise. Although this wasn't really that much of a pleasant surprise.
He stood in front of her, his tall frame filling the room, and she tried to ignore the beat her heart skipped as he looked at her with nothing but caring on his eyes.
"I uh…" he started, clearing his throat. "… first of all, I wanted to apologize." He said, eyeing her. "I shouldn't have… kissed you, the other day. I mean… you're engaged." He stated unnecessarily, glancing at the floor briefly. "And it was…" he chuckled nervously. "… really, really out of line, which I'm not that used to."
She crossed her arms in front of her, keeping her eyes locked on his.
"And so I'm sorry for that." he said, kind of awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
Kono smirked. "Carla put you up to this, didn't she?"
He shot her a surprised look, eyebrow raised, clearly not expecting that question. "Uh, Carla? No- no, she didn't. Why would you think that? We've met a couple of times, but other than that-"
"You've met Carla?" Kono interrupted. "Like, on a date?" she asked, a slightly urgent tone to her voice.
Steve eyed her for a moment before replying. "No." he stated, decisively. "She just wanted to talk to me, that's all."
"About what?" Kono asked again.
"Just… stuff." Steve reassured her, slightly taken aback by her interrogation.
Kono looked at him for a moment longer, trying to ignore the silent sigh of relief she let out as he told her he and Carla weren't dating. Relief? No, not relief. She couldn't possibly feel relief when hearing that. "Oh, okay." She said, nodding.
Steve furrowed his brow suspiciously. "As I was saying…" he continued. "… I wanted to apologize. And tell you…"
He trailed off momentarily, watching as the Hawaiian beauty in front of him fidgeted with her hands, her hair covering half her face, and he wondered how with only a pair of spent jeans and a blue tank top she still looked like the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his whole life. Realizing he had stopped talking, he shrugged the thoughts off mentally. "… I'm not- I'm not going to the wedding."
Kono exhaled quietly, her eyes dropping to the floor, she closed them for a second before bringing them back to his. She watched his face for less than a second before replying. "Okay."
He furrowed his brow again. "Okay? That's it?"
She nodded. "Yeah. If you don't feel comfortable going, then don't. I'm not gonna force you to."
He eyed her, an incredulous look on his eyes, and he raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so that's all you have to say? You haven't changed your mind about… anything?"
She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "You could have stopped me, you know?" she snapped, looking at him with a cold stare. "That morning, seven months ago… you could have stopped me. When I left early in the morning, I know you were awake. I left and when I came back, you weren't there anymore." she said, glaring at him.
"Kono-"
"Shut it." She ordered, ignoring the surprised look crossing his eyes. "You could have stopped me from leaving, because the only reason I did it was to give you a choice. You could either have stayed until I got back, or you could have left. You left, Steve." She stated fiercely, still glaring. "You do not, you do not get to leave, and then come back because you realized you made a mistake."
His eyes were intent on hers, his jaw set as he listened to every word that came out of her mouth. He took a calming breath, dropping his head slightly before exhaling. "You're right." He said, quietly. "I left. You're right." He repeated, catching her eyes. He looked at her with hope written across his face. "But whatever happened to second chances?"
There was a beat of silence in the room before Kono slumped her shoulders, letting out a sigh and grabbing the papers, placing them in the desk drawer neatly. She got up, straightening out, and looked at him again. "You blew every chance away the minute you walked out that door."
He huffed, shaking his head. "I don't believe that, Kono."
"Well, you should." she said, picking her bag up and walking past him. "Because this is pretty much the last time I'll see you before I get married."
She was already walking to the door when she felt a hand grasping her wrist.
"Let me make it worth it, then." Steve said, turning her around to face him, and dipping his head to kiss her meltingly on the lips.
She immediately tensed up, her hands flying up to his chest, pushing him back on reflex, but he just held on to her more tightly, his lips smashing with hers, the hands on her back holding her against him. His lips moved softly against hers, his hands warm, and she felt a shiver run all through her body as he trailed a hand along her back, cupping the back of her neck and kissing her more thoroughly.
Damn damn damn! Why wasn't she pushing him back anymore? She could have him bleeding in the floor in five seconds, why wasn't she fighting him? Why?
She sighed into the kiss, finally kissing him back, her arms – without her permission – wrapping around his neck and deepening the kiss, allowing his tongue to slip between her lips and envelope in hers, exactly the way he had kissed her seven months back. And she still remembered. She still remembered.
He pulled away from her slowly, and she scolded herself mentally as her lips followed his, not wanting to break the kiss. Her eyes remained closed as her head dropped, and she stepped away from him in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry." He murmured, licking his lips. "Not for the kiss. For leaving you." He clarified. "I am sorry, Kono. But you can't tell me I'm the only one that regrets forgetting about that night."
She swallowed, opening her eyes, her gaze diverted to the floor. Time stopped for her, as her brain ran one hundred miles per hour. Steve, Jake, the kiss, the marriage. She clenched her jaw, looking back all those months, wondering… wondering if it would have actually worked for her and Steve, if that night was supposed to remain a one-time thing, if he did really did love her, if she should just stay with Jake and live a happy life with him. She loved Jake. Loved him. Just…
Just not as much as she loved someone else.
"I'm the one walking out that door today." She stated suddenly, snapping her head up, taking a step back as if wanting to preserve some distance between the two. "It's not your choice, not this time. It's my choice."
His eyes locked with hers, not saying a word, not showing any expression at all for that matter. He tried to keep his face blank, to repress the tightening feeling of anxiety pulling at his stomach.
"So…" she said, almost out of breath, looking at him as if asking him what she should do, what was the right thing to do. Asking for guidance, asking for everything he hadn't given her all those months ago. "So, give me a reason."
He raised an eyebrow, giving her a confused look.
"Give me a reason not to walk out that door. Give me a reason not to go to the one I love, and marry him. Give me a reason not to be happy with Jake." She said, eyeing him fiercely. "But Steve…" she said, a hint of a warning tone on her voice. "… it better be a damn good reason."
Authors note: Guys, I am so sorry this was so late; I got too caught up with the whole prompts thing. I am so sorry, really. But look at the bright side… only one more chapter left! Will Steve give her a reason? What will Jake do? Ooohhh, mystery! Don't forget to review guys, I promise the next chapter will come quicker if I get lots of reviews! Hope to see you in the final chapter of this story!