His lips twitch upward. Ever so annoying he replies, "You told Jeff you could drink a bottle of gin faster than him."
"Right!" she exclaims, waving a hand vigorously in the air. "And then he said, 'Sorry, Mavi, but there's just no way. I'll kick your ass.'" She rolls her eyes. "So we bet that if he could finish it faster than me, I would have to go watch him skate or something for a month. And if I beat him, he would have to finally confess his feelings to Jad." Standing a little straighter now, she huffs, "That poor girl has been in love with him for a decade! There's no way I was going to let my friend down."
Stone maneuvers both of them around a street vendor. "I'm guessing you won, then?"
"Damn right I did!" she yells. Stone has to stifle his laugh with a cough. "When I tell you I've never chugged anything so fast in my life, I mean it. That gin didn't stand a chance."
She looks absurdly proud of herself, and Stone decides not to tell her that the gin seems to have done some damage as well. He's never seen her so drunk.
"And you know what that bastard said to me after I won?" Mavi looks up at him with indignant eyes. "He said he'd already confessed to her! They've been dating for a whole two days now, Stone, and I had no idea." Her shoulders slump. She bows her head and whispers, sounding utterly heartbroken, "I've never felt so betrayed."
Stone lets out a laugh before he can catch himself. He can't help it—drunk Mavi amuses him immensely and he's dreading the moment they reach her apartment and have to go their separate ways.
Mavi's head whips up at the sound of his laugh and he schools his features into careful indifference, staring straight ahead as she gapes at him.
"Did you—did you just laugh at me, Stone Gossard?" she asks, incredulous.
"Perhaps," he responds cooly, but he knows she sees the way he fights to keep his lips from curving.
"Wait." His arm falls from her shoulders as she comes to a sudden stop in the road. He turns to find her grinning at him, all too excited. "Do it again."
He raises a brow. "Do what again?"
"Laugh!" She points an accusing finger at him. She gives him her best impression of a puppy. Stone's shocked to find that he nearly gives in to her. He clears his throat to collect himself. "Stop joking around, Mavi," he says sternly. "Let's go."
Now she pouts, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not until you laugh again."
Stone sighs. "Come on. We're almost to your apartment."
Mavi lifts her chin and promptly begins walking in the opposite direction. "Fine," she says haughtily. "You can go home, then. I'm going back to the bar."
Stone watches her in amusement. "Mavi," he calls. "I'm giving you three seconds to come back here. Three."
She turns around for a moment to stick her tongue out at him.
"Two."
Her hand goes up, middle finger raised.
"One."
Mavi squeals as she's lifted off her feet and into Stone's arms. He enjoys seeing the shock on her face when she registers that he's now carrying her bridal style toward her apartment. He enjoys the way her cheeks flush at their close proximity even more.
"Y—you sneaky bastard," she breathes.
"I gave you three seconds," he responds matter-of-factly. "You didn't listen."
She opens her mouth to argue, then closes it. "Well," she finally mumbles, "I guess I can think of worse punishments than this."
This time when Stone laughs he doesn't hold back. He tilts his head back, shoulders shaking, and there's even tears in his eyes by the time he's done.
His gaze locks with Mavi's when he feels her brushing one of his tears away with her finger. She looks at him in pure, unrestrained awe.
And then, to his horror, she begins to cry.
"What's wrong, Mavi?" he questions, thinking he's hurt her somehow.
She buries her face in her hands and sobs, "I have never been so happy in my life. How is this possible, Stone?"
He relaxes slightly. "How is what possible, Mavi?" he asks in exasperation.
She raises her head. Helplessly she says, "How is it that I've fallen in love with you even more? I didn't think it was possible, yet here we are."
The words are a balm to his soul—they flood him with warmth, uplifting him, and he tightens his arms around her.
He thinks of Jeff, his idiot of a friend who finally found it in him to confess to the girl who loves him after years of loving her back without her knowing.
Stone thinks it's about damn time he did the same.
"Tomorrow," he tells Mavi — a promise. She wipes her tears away and eyes him in obvious confusion. "When you're sober."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Stone?"
He simply replies, "You'll see."
And as she tries to bully it out of him, Stone thinks to himself that if his laugh was enough to make her cry out of sheer happiness, he cannot wait to see what she'll do when he confesses.
Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.
Stone arrives bright and early at Mavi's doorstep the next morning. The rising sun tints the village in hues of pink and orange. Birds chirp and fly overhead, people laugh and talk as they slowly begin to populate the streets.
Stone stares at the door to Mavi's apartment, hesitant for once in his life. Somehow it was so easy to think he would finally be able to tell Mavi that he's reciprocated her feelings for well over a year. Now that he's here, however, now that it's time for him to actually do so, he finds himself uncharacteristically anxious and full of nerves. He's never been one to express his emotions as easily as Mavi and Jeff do. Where should he even start?
He frowns at his own uneasiness. It's terribly unlike him, and he wonders if he should've rehearsed before he came over.
Then he looks down at the bag clutched between his fingers. No, he thinks. She deserves to know that he plans to spend the rest of his life with her, if she'll still have him. He's been pushing this off for far too long.
So Stone steels himself and knocks on the door with his free hand, then steps back and waits.
Several seconds pass by with no response. He listens with keen ears, and finally he hears the faint sound of feet shuffling toward the door, along with a string of quiet curses. He supposes he could've come to see her later on in the day and let her sleep in, but his restlessness and anticipation simply would not let him wait another minute.
The door unlocks and slowly swings open. "Whoever you are, you better have a good reason for waking me up so goddamn early or else—"
Mavi peeks her head out, hair mussed and looking positively lethal and sleep-deprived (and somehow still astonishingly beautiful). She blinks when she sees him, then narrows her eyes. "Oh no. No no no no. Today is my day off, I have the worst hangover known to mankind, and I don't care if the world is coming to an end—you and Jeff can find another person to help with the tour stuff. Tell Eddie he can shove his head up his—"
Stone holds up the bag in his hand. "There's no tour, Mavi," he says, amused. "But I did bring you some food and coffee."
She purses her lips. "Is this some sort of trick? What's the catch?"
"Mavi." He gestures toward her apartment. "Are you going to let me in or not?"
"Fine." Mavi sighs and leaves the door open for him to follow her inside. She's clad in short pajama shorts and an oversized t-shirt, which he's pleasantly surprised to see is one of his.
She collapses onto the couch in her small living room with a groan as he sets the table. "Ugh. I am never drinking alcohol ever again."
"That's what you said a week ago," he reminds her. "Come eat your food while it's still warm."
Another groan. She slowly makes her way to the table and slumps into the chair across from him. Her eyes widen. "You got me waffles? With extra whipped cream and strawberries? And coffee?"
He nods, digging into the omelet he bought for himself. "It's your favorite."
She's quiet. Stone looks up to find her staring at the plate of food before her in amazement. Finally she whispers, "Thank you, Stone."
They eat in silence for a few minutes. By now Stone's run through at least a hundred different scenarios in his head as to how he should go about this and can't for the life of him decide on any. His heart pounds in his chest and his stomach twists every time he steals a glance at her.
"Hey, Stone." He raises his head at the sound of his name. She's pushing a strawberry around her plate, pointedly not meeting his eyes. "I wanted to say thank you for taking care of me last night. Some parts are a little hazy in my mind, but I know I was a handful, and for that I'm sorry. And..." She swallows. "... and I'm sorry if what I said made you uncomfortable. That wasn't my intention at all. I hope you can forgive me."
Stone's brows furrow. "What is there to forgive you for, Mavi?"
"I cried in front of you!" she blurts, then winces. "And I remember telling you I loved you, even though I know it's probably annoying for you to hear. I just couldn't help it." His stomach sinks when he notices tears welling in her eyes. "I thought my heart was going to burst." She shakes her head, almost as if in disbelief.
Finally she raises her eyes to his and he's floored by the raw emotion shining in them. "All I can say is thank you. Thank you for always being there for me. I really don't think I've ever been so happy in my life." She laughs, timid now. "You must think I'm crazy."
Just like that any lingering nerves disappear instantaneously. His muscles relax, his heart slows to a comfortable rhythm, and Stone swears he's never known peace like this. Because that's what Mavi is to him, what she's always been—she is the constant in his life even through his darkest days, the one who seems to understand him better than he understands himself. She is his home, his closest friend, his most precious person. After Andy died Stone accepted the fact that family was something he would never again have. He should've known better.
"Mavi," he begins softly. "I don't think you're crazy. Not at all. And you telling me you love me has never been annoying. It never will be. You could tell me you love me a thousand times a day or more and I would never get tired of hearing it."
Mavi is speechless. She watches him with wide eyes, uncertain yet hopeful, waiting for him to continue.
And it's there at her kitchen table, over half-eaten waffles and an omelet, with the sun illuminating the room and the world holding its breath, that Stone tells Mavi he loves her for the very first time.
And the look on her face? The way her eyes shine with tears at his words—elated, full of bliss, happier than he believed possible? The way she smiles a smile so wide he's stunned into silence by its brilliance and knows he's never seen anything so beautiful in his life?
Absolutely priceless.