Hey everyone, hope you all have been well! So, it's definitely been a minute since I've written/updated anything, and I'm very sorry about that. Unfortunately, life very rudely got in the way, and to be honest I didn't have the time to write this either, but I couldn't get it out of my head! So, I compromised by just writing a little drabble and explaining a bit beforehand – if anyone wants to flesh this idea out and write it much better than I could, please feel free to do so!
OKAY SO picture this: the scene opens on Lizzy showing her bridesmaid dress (for Jane and Charlie's wedding obvs ;) to Charlotte over FaceTime, Charlotte makes a comment on how Darcy isn't going to be able to take his eyes off her (or ya know something like that), and then Lizzy's all like oh no, he doesn't think of me that way, and then Charlotte's like *shocked pikachu face* what could you possibly mean, and then Lizzy's like *all sad* he's not attracted to me physically, and then Charlotte's like ok but that's unequivocally false, and then Lizzy's like *sigh, forlorn dramatic gazing out the window* you wouldn't understand, and then Charlotte's like …ur dumb, and then Lizzy hears Will finish his online meeting next door and she's like oops gotta go, ttyl. And then here's the twist, Will heard the whole thing (ahhh) and this is what follows…
He padded over to the couch, pulling her in tow behind him by her left hand held loosely in his right. He flopped onto the couch, her hand still in his while she stood uncertainly in front, looking down at him with an adorably bemused expression, her eyebrows raised in question. He looked up at her, and began by tugging gently at first, and then with more force as she resisted in confusion. She stumbled, yelping, and laughing in shock, trying to regain her balance as she tumbled over his knees. He didn't stop pulling until she was firmly settled in his lab, straddling his legs, her face flushed, her hair mussed from the scuffle, and her eyes crinkled in astonished amusement as she looked down, and tried to stabilize herself by placing her hands on his shoulders. He assisted her, his hands raising to circle her wrists, he watched her readjust herself with a slight smile that was more evident in his softened eyes than on his face, and he exhaled through his nose in amusement at her struggle.
She was so lovely, he couldn't help but think, as she finally became steady and looked back up at him, the last few notes of her laughter dissolving into the air. "Will," she said in a strangled gasp as her eyes met his, still chuckling a little. His heart stuttered, even though they had officially been dating for almost a month now, he still wasn't used to her saying his first name, and in a tone of delight, no less, rather than one of irritation. "What?" he asked, his eyes dancing, while keeping his voice level and disinterested. "What do you mean, what?" she cried, while batting his shoulder. "What rational reason could you possibly have to manhandle a lady in this roguish manner?" she asked, jokingly outraged, crossing her arms over her chest. "I wanted to talk to you," he replied reasonably, tugging at her arms, trying to get her to loosen them. "And I had to be sitting on you for us to talk?" she asked disbelievingly, allowing her arms to be unraveled.
"Mmhmm," he replied, nodding, attempting to interlace his fingers with hers while giving her his most winning smile. It was almost cute enough for her to relent, but she slipped her fingers from his and resettled her hands on his shoulder, "Yeah, well, I don't think so, and besides, I'm too heavy anyway," she said with finality as she tried to push herself up and off him, but he didn't let her go very far. "No, stay," he urged her pleadingly, his hands rising quickly to grip her waist. "You're not too heavy," he said firmly, his eyes resolute, "And like I said, I want to talk to you," he whined (or as close as Fitzwilliam Darcy gets to a whine). Lizzy gave up with a huff, "Alright, what, then? What is it you want to talk about?" she asked with some exasperation.
"Since you so kindly ask," he started with a self-satisfied tilt to his lips before his expression slipped into seriousness, unsure of how to proceed. He opened his mouth, his eyes drifting off to the left, before closing it, indecision swimming in his eyes. Lizzy began to grow a little concerned, wondering whether she had done something wrong. She quickly filtered through the past few days in her mind, searching for any potential transgressions she could have committed. She couldn't remember anything, but she figured she better say something just in case, "Listen Will, I'm so-," she blurted just as his eyes met hers again and he spoke, "You know I-,"
They both paused and laughed uncomfortably, he gestured to her, "Sorry, you go ahead," and she quickly responded, "No, no, you first." He opened his mouth again and hesitated briefly before looking up into her eyes intently, "You know I love you, right?" he asked softly and somewhat delicately. She was instantly embarrassed, her gaze shot down into her lap and she felt heat climb into her face, "Umm," she exhaled with a laugh and was quiet for a little while, "Yeah, I know," she said eventually in a very small voice. He wasn't satisfied, "Do you? Like do you know that I really, really, love you?" he said emphatically, his embarrassment forgotten, dipping his head to try to meet her eyes. She refused to match his gaze, looking up and over his shoulder, laughing uneasily, her cheeks still flushed, "Okay, are you trying to make me die of mortification?"
"No, I'm just trying to make sure that we're on the same page, are you sure that you fully understand that I love every single thing about you, inside and out," he insisted, particularly stressing the last few words. That got her to finally stop avoiding his gaze and lock eyes with him, fully suspicious now. "I- Will," she said aghast. He only replied as innocently as possible, "Yes?"
"Willll," she pressed, her eyes intense with a hint of indignance. He responded a little more sheepishly now, unable to fully keep eye contact with her "Yes?"
"You didn't!" she cried, dismayed. "Okay, I swear I didn't mean to, I promise," he rushed out, his eyes a little panicked and his hands hovering over her unsure where to land, "I was just passing by and couldn't help but overhear– "
"Ughhh," she groaned, distraught, her hands clapping over face to try to hide herself from the absolute mortification of this situation, wishing she could just expire right there on the spot. "Lizzy, really, I'm sorry," he said, anguished that he had caused her distress and wondering how it had gone so wrong so quickly. He stared at her, not sure how to fix this when after a few seconds of tense silence, Lizzy's voice came out muffled behind her hands, "Can we please pretend this never happened?"
He watched her worriedly for a second before tentatively reaching for her hands and trying to pull them down, she allowed this without much protest, but she kept her eyes downturned. He hummed, "I'm not sure that we can," he said quietly, injecting as much contrition into his voice as he could. She sighed, her breath wavering out, her eyes still cast down. He continued cautiously, "You know you're beautiful, don't you?" She said nothing, just scoffed lightly, her mouth twisting to the side. "No, I'm serious, don't you believe me?" he asked, a little hurt creeping into his voice. At that, she looked up at him, her eyes red-rimmed and shimmering a little with restrained tears, her heart shattering in her eyes. "Oh, Lizzy," he murmured stricken, as he lifted his knees so that she slid even closer to him, and he could awkwardly wrap her in his arms.
She let him draw her in without saying anything, she sniffed once, and they sat like this for a few minutes before she sniffed again. "I'm sorry, Lizzy," he whispered. She pulled back, wiping at her face, her lips trying to form a shaky smile, "Stop apologizing," she said in a thick voice. "It's very nice of you to do this, but you don't have to, I understand," she said haltingly. Will's expression had been one of reassurance, but by the end of her sentence, he was frowning. "What do you mean, 'you understand'?" he asked dubiously.
"Just that, like, I understand, I know that you love me, but I also know that I don't exactly fit your physical type," she rushed to continue, her hands raised defensively, "But I get it, that's okay, I'm glad that you like me, for me and not for what I look like, it's comforting, really!" she said urgently. Throughout this, Will's face had traveled through several different emotions but had settled on one of genuine speechless astonishment. He stared at her, his eyes wide and bewildered. He opened his mouth, presumably to say something, but shut it when nothing came out.
Lizzy looked into his eyes searchingly, grimacing a bit when he continued to stare back at her, dumbfounded. She raised a hand to his cheek, "Uh, Wi-" she started before he exploded, "What are you talking about?!" he exclaimed, bewildered. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off, "Where did you even get that idea from? What would make you think that? Was it something I did?" he asked in quick succession, in a still somewhat raised voice.
She took a breath and paused, and he continued, "I do like you for who you are, but you have to know, you must know that I find you beautiful, like the most beautiful person I've ever met," he said hotly, his voice decreasing in volume, but growing in fervor. She looked on at him, stunned into silence, having never seen him get this heated. He looked back into her eyes, his gaze unwavering.
She opened her mouth hesitantly, "So you-"
"Yes," he replied, fiercely.
"So, this whole time, you-"
"Yes, of course," he reinforced.
"But I thought…," she trailed off, losing steam and he waited patiently. She looked down then back up again, her shoulders hitching up a little, "I thought you didn't like me when we first met," she said a little sadly. "Lizzy! I barely got a glance at you that night, I didn't know what I was talking about!" he cried in refute. "Obviously, I wasn't in my right mind, I mean just look at you!" At that, she snorted a little, turning her head down. "Seriously, what can I say that would convince you?" he asked her beseechingly, taking one of her hands in his.
She focused on their hands, fingers tangled and she played with the zipper on his sweater before she offered, "It's not that I think I'm ugly, it's just that I didn't think that you found me attractive." He was instantly overcome, how could he explain to her how pretty, how stunning, how charming, how alluring he found her. How his breath was forcibly taken from his lungs the first time they had made eye contact, how no matter what she was wearing, every time he saw her, it took his heartrate an embarrassingly long time to come back within a healthy range. How in their entire time knowing each other, he found it impossibly difficult to look at anything else when she was in the room. How in the time they had been apart, he kept looking for her lovely features in everyone he encountered but came up empty. How even now, his heartbeat hadn't quite settled since he had dragged her into his lap.
He took the hand he was already holding, kissed the back of it, and pressed it flat against the left side of his chest. She looked at her hand where it was, and somehow his heartbeat picked up even more in speed. She felt the thundering of his heart under his shirt and raised her eyes to meet his and he tried to put all of the adoration and love he felt for her into his gaze. Didn't she notice how his eyes never strayed from her for long? Didn't she feel the static that seemed to constantly spark under his skin every time he touched her? She flushed a little but maintained eye contact. Without changing their position, he placed his other hand on her cheek, "I. Think. You. Are. Beautiful," he said in a quiet, but firm voice, enunciating very clearly while staring deeply into her eyes.
"Do you believe me?" he asked after a moment to let his words sink in. She looked at him pensively, her teeth worrying her bottom lip, before she eventually nodded. "Okay, he breathed in relief, "Are you sure we have that straight? Do I need to write a few sonnets dedicated to your undeniable beauty?" he asked lightly, smiling ever so slightly. She cracked a smile, "No, I don't think that'll be necessary," she grinned.
"Are you sure?" he replied grinning as well, "I'm sure I could come up with a few good lines on your ear lobes, or your eyelashes? Ooh, maybe your elbows? Your elbows really do it for me," he joked, his smile wide as he took in her resplendent joy. She giggled, "As much as I'd love to hear you wax poetic on my various joints, I think I'm good," she replied, thinking how she just couldn't handle how ridiculously handsome he was when he smiled.
She leaned forward to press a quick peck to his lips, and his eyes widened adorably in surprise. She looked away before his hands tightened on her waist and it was her turn to be surprised as he pulled her in for a longer kiss, their shared amusement quickly faded away as they became lost in each other. That was, until, Will exhaled through his nose lightly, unable to keep his lips from spreading into a smile, breaking the kiss, "How could you think I wasn't attracted to you?" he asked incredulously, "It's like so obvious! Everyone told me it was creepy how much I stared at you when we first were hanging out."
"Stop!" she laughed a little abashedly, hitting him lightly on the chest, "I thought you liked me for my amazing personality and were just, like, willing to tolerate the rest…"
He groaned, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the couch back, "Lizzyyy, what am I going to do with you?" he opened his eyes, looking at her from under his eyelashes. She couldn't help but think that every time he did anything, he somehow grew impossibly even more incredibly good-looking.
"Well," she leaned closer, "I've got just a few ideas," she grinned cheekily before closing the distance between them.
Aaand that's about all I've got! I just really needed to get this annoying idea out of my head, it was rather selfishly occupying one of the two brain cells I have left, and I need the power of both at the moment, unfortunately. I know I haven't finished my other story, and that's mostly because I've kind of forgotten where I wanted to go with it heh, but I am not abandoning it! As soon as I have more time, I'm going to sit down with it and figure it out. Anyway, I hope spooky season is treating you all well, thank you for reading and please leave a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Stay safe and healthy :)