Fez watched as Lexi dribbled around the court, aimlessly. It was a warm summer night, the summer before her senior year, and they were passing time in a mostly empty park. She was being goofy, had been all night, and he figured giving her a conduit for her excess energy might tone her down a bit. Not that it bothered him, but her hyper moods were often crosscut with nerves, and watching her bounce around the court was honestly making him pretty happy.

"Half court shot by Howard in the final quarter, can she swing it?" she cried out, wiggling her hips. He grinned, and she turned to him to wink. She took the shot, and it missed. She imitating a screaming crowd, jumping up and down like she had just won the championships.

"Can you believe I'm such a natural ath-e-lete?" she asked him, jogging in his direction. "Can you believe how talented I am?"

"I really can't." he laughed.

She sat beside him, panting slightly, and laid flat on her back. Feeling bold, he leaned overtop her, looking down at her face.

"Oh hi!" she said, delighted.

He bent down, kissing her suddenly.

"I gotta take you home." He said after he pulled away. She frowned.

"Way to break the bad news to me." She said. "Do that again."

"Do that again…what?"

"Please."

He kissed her again, slower. She grabbed him head, pulling him closer to her. After another long moment, he pulled away.

"I gotta go handle some stuff." He said, standing, reaching behind him so she could pull herself up. She sighed, disappointed.

"Why can't I come with you?"

"Don't be dumb right now, Lex." He said sternly. He had a lot going on, there was a turf issue with one of his distributors, and he wasn't so sure he wasn't going to be walking into crossfire.

"I'm not being dumb." She said, her tone a bit sharper. She hurried to catch up with him, so they were walking side by side.

"You can't. I'm not gonna argue about it, get in the car." He said, opening the passenger door for her, waiting.

She licked her teeth, nodding.

"I'm walking home." She said, turning on her heel.

"Lex, c'mon." he pleaded. "I can't do this right now and you're not walking across town at 11pm."

"I sure am." She said over her shoulder.

He pressed his fist into his forehead, thinking for a second he should just leave her there. Then he jogged after her, trying to grab her hand, which she snapped away. She turned back to him.

"I know you think I'm some dumb little girl but I can handle more than you think I can." She said, her voice acidic.

"Right, I believe you, but tonight is not the night to test that theory." He said. "Please, Lexi, please don't make this harder on me than it already is. You're not walking home."

The look on his face was pure desperation, and she could hear it in his voice.

"Fine." She said. "I just wish you'd teach me like an adult sometimes, Fez."

"Right." He said. She followed him back to the car, sliding in.

"Will you at least tell me what you're doing?" she tried, as he pulled out of the driveway.

"We been over this, Lex." He responded. "The less you know, the better."

"Because of plausible deniability, right, right, I know. You really think I'd snitch?"

He rolled his eyes. Very rarely, but every once in a while, her ego would flex and she'd test him, trying to prove her street savviness, or something. He knew it was because she wanted him to like her, but he liked her enough as she was. He didn't want a girl who was good at being a drug dealer's girlfriend. He wanted her, her sweet naïve heart didn't need the heat.

"Snitch, huh." He said, shaking his head. "It's not about snitching. I could give two shits about cops and what they could get from you, which isn't much, seeing as you're seventeen."

She crossed her arms, watching him talk.

"I'm worried 'bout other people on the streets, Lex. If they know you know shit, you become a target. Not even if they know that, if they even think that. It needs to be out of the realm of possibility."

"Rue gets to go." Lexi said.

"Holy fuck, Lexi." He said. "Rue also thinks heroin is a good idea, alright? You wanna try that next?"

"That's not what I mean."

"And it's not about getting to go!" he said. "I don't want to fucking go!" He hit the steering wheel, frustrated.

"Okay, I'm sorry." She sighed.

"I keep you safe and I just need you to fucking accept that's what I'm doing here." He said. "If the wrong person found out I even knew you Lexi, and something went wrong?"

The thought of it overwhelmed him. To imagine someone like Mouse, or Edgar, or some other unpleasant character he'd encountered even being in the same room with her, nevermind doing something to her. He shook his head roughly, trying to get the image out of his head.

"I tried to keep Rue out of it, too, you should know." He said, bitterly. "She always ends up in places she shouldn't be, she insists on it. I love her to pieces, but she's mad stupid sometimes. You're smarter than that. You need to know better."

They were almost to her house.

"I'm sorry." She said again. "I know you have the best intentions. I just don't want you to think I'm some baby."

"I know you're not." He said. "But what I know doesn't matter, because I'm worried about what everyone else knows."

He finally looked at her, trying to remember every detail he could, just in case.

"Come here. Come kiss me again." He said. She crawled across the seat and kissed him carefully. He relished every moment of it, and held her face in place after he pulled away. He looked up at her big brown eyes, and she softened immediately. "Thank you." He said.

His tone struck some fear into her heart, but she was done asking questions. She sat back on her heels for a second, fiddling with a silver ring she had on her right hand, with a sapphire pendant. She slipped it onto his pinky quickly, because it was the only place she figured it would fit.

"You're just borrowing it." She said firmly. "I want it back."

"Alright." He smiled.

"Keep it safe." She said as she climbed out of the car. "Keep you safe too, alright?" she said as she leaned into the car window.

"I do my best."

Lexi wondered passively how many people could light a blunt while driving a manual car, but Fez sure didn't make it look like it was hard. He blew on the cherry, lighting it evenly, and handed it over, before merging onto the freeway. Bass pumped through the stereo, and they were quiet. She watched the city from the height of the highway, the glittering distant lights, the tops of the quaint buildings.

He let her gather her thoughts about everything, giving her the quiet he thought she might need. She handled shit like that with a lot of grace, he thought.

Instead of lingering on the evening, though, Lex let herself get dissolved in the fantasy of the moment. She wondered aimlessly as she looked around at the passing cars, absentmindedly rubbing her thumb against the seat leather. She tried to picture herself as the "wife of a drug kingpin" as Cassie had said. She wondered if she could do it, become a tough bitch who ruled over their empire like Michelle Pfeiffer in Goodfellas. She looked down at her wrists, imagining them adorned with diamonds. She looked over at Fez, examining his profile as he drove with the blunt between his teeth.

He wasn't a kingpin, it was ridiculous. He was…just him. He wasn't intimidating to her, he was no Tony Montana. He was a sweetheart in the wrong business. But on the flipside, was she just doing the "I could fix him" thing? Could she unring this bell?

"What's going on in there?" Fez asked, ruffling her hair after a long stretch of minutes of her lost in her mind.

"Ahh." She mumbled, chewing on her thumb as she tried to think of a way of making her thoughts coherent without sounding ridiculous.

"You alright?" he pushed. "That guy, he's with your mom?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Addicts just find addicts sometimes. She hasn't been bad lately, but today, maybe the holiday made it worse."

"Hmm." He considered this.

"Honestly, I was wondering this week why I bothered to come back at all. I'm glad I did." She looked over at him, touching his knee. "Thanks for coming to get me, seriously."

"Mi casa es tu casa." He said cheesily, trying to make her laugh. He managed to get a smirk, which satisfied him. When she moved her hand away he leaned back, grabbing it again, and set it back on his thigh. "Right there." He said, satisfied. She rubbed his leg, spacing out again.

When they pulled back into his garage, she realized the nervous energy she'd felt the night before was gone. She felt comfortable, sleepy even. The stress she felt the second she walked into her childhood home didn't exist here, it was just peaceful energy.

"You know I really didn't think you'd take me up on my offer, at least this soon." He said, parking the car and straightening out the wheels.

"Oh Jesus, I'm sorry, I wouldn't have if I didn't think it was-"

"Whoahhh, speed racer, slow it down." He laughed, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. "I meant it as a compliment. I'm glad you're here."

"I just don't want to impose."

"You are one of the only humans on this planet who I want to impose." He said with finality.

She followed him through the garage and into the house. He threw his keys on the kitchen counter, giving a dorky little twirl like he'd just made a basketball toss.

"You get enough to eat?" he asked. "I'm just going to do some culinary magic, I'm not sure if you're interested."

He glided into the kitchen, opening the freezer with a flare. He pulled out a Digorno's pizza box.

"Deep dish too?" she said with a laugh, dropping her stuff on the floor beside the barstools, settling into one. "Alright, I want to see the chef at work."

"Bon apetit mon cherie." He said, and she laughed. With a bit of showmanship, he tore open the pizza box, and slid the frozen pie onto the countertop. He reached underneath the counter and fished out a metal cookie tray from a cupboard.

"First we uh, preppa the pizza." He said. "Then we cooka the pizza."

He turned on the oven and slid in the tray, turning back with a bow. She gave him a round of applause.

"You want a drink?" he asked.

"I think I've had my fill of alcohol for the next calendar year."

"I know I was just thinking like, a coke." He took one out, sliding it over to her.

"Thank you." She said softly, popping it open.

She followed him to the couch, where he turned the TV on. They sat down on the couch in synchronicity. For a moment, there was an awkwardness in their domesticity. They both sensed it at the same time. It felt excruciatingly normal to sit on the couch beside one another, him flicking through different streaming channels, her curled up, her head resting on her knees, tapping the coke can. But it wasn't normal. It had hardly been 24 hours since they reunited, and so much had happened.

For a second, she wanted to broach the subject of Levi, just to clue him in. In fact, she was even sure he'd give her some well-suited level-headed advice. Despite what he felt towards her, she knew in her stomach he'd push her in the direction he felt was better for her. She decided to wait, just to see how things developed. She wasn't not going to break up with Levi, but she was going to post-pone it. It was Thanksgiving, after all.

"Where's Ash?" she asked. He smiled.

"Saw him today. I told him you might be around, but he couldn't bring his lil friends over to party if you were."

"Oh god, I don't mind, you don't have to tell him not to do this thing-"

"Nah, Lexi it's cool, I'm not crazy about them being around either. He just brings his little girlfriends home and they drink too much and throw up on my floor and it's not fun for me either. Didn't feel like babysitting, we could both use peace and quiet, don't you think?"

He looked over at her.

"Why you all the way over there for?" he asked. She slid over, feeling an immediate sense of comfort as she melted against his form.

She decided, for a moment, to give herself some grace. Because this was the first time she'd felt anything this good in a long time. It was softening her, easing her. Her spirit felt like a cat in the warm sun. She wanted to nap, to rest.

She adjusted, laying down, resting her head in his lap, like she used to all the time.

"Hey, you look familiar." He said, looking down at her.

"I do? Huh, wonder why. This is a completely new experience for me."

He'd picked something on the TV finally, and the opening theme filled the room. He set the remote down, went to work calming his idle mind by looping his fingers in her hair. With his other hand, he slowly scratched her back. The simple touches made her want to cry in contentment. The warmth of his fingertips felt less electric, and more like familiar embers. She watched the fireplace flickering, blinking slowly, completely letting her mind go quiet.

Much to her surprise, tears started leaking out of her eyes. She felt suddenly overwhelmed with a crash of emotion, like as soon as she unwound, felt like she could put her guard down, the floodgates opened. She blinked hurriedly, trying to hide it before he realized. The stress of the evening had caught up with her, and she felt the fear she'd experienced facing both her mother and Miro on her own. She felt like a child again, confused, hurt, desperate for the right person to step in. She put a hand over her face, pressing into her eyes with her fingertips, willing the tears to go back inside.

He didn't say anything when he felt the shift in her body, but he pulled her up, almost cradling her, pressing her head against his chest in a one armed hug. She curled, like she was trying to protect herself from the feelings.

"I'm really sorry." She said, muffled, into the fabric of his shirt.

"Shh. Don't do that with me." He said, and after a moment, she nodded.

So she cried. She cried for herself, in a selfish, narcissistic way, cried for her child-self and cried for her grown up self who was still facing the same fears and anxieties. She cried because she felt bad, she cried because she hadn't been brave. She cried because he let her cry.

The sound of the TV droned on as he held her small frame, feeling her shake. It made him angry, mostly. Not at her, but at what she was crying over. He was angry at the time passing and him unable to protect her from every little thing.

After a while, she quieted. Sniffling every few moments.

"You can just blow straight on the shirt if you need to, Lex." He said, and she let out a weak and watery giggle.

"I'm okay, just some tears to report."

"I'll invoice you." He said. He pushed her hair away from her face. "Let's see the damage, huh?"

She blinked up at him, the mascara trails down her cheeks, eyes red and watery. He thought for a moment she may have been the prettiest person he'd ever seen in real life.

"Damn." He said softly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're just like, so fucking pretty." He said, grinning. "You should cry more often, I think it helps."

She laughed, wiping her cheeks some more.

"I am sorry." She said. "I don't know where that all came from."

"You feel better now?" he asked, and she nodded. "Good." He said. "Just in time for pizza."

She sat up, allowing him to stand. He snagged a joint from the coffee table, lighting it quickly, passing it to her. She inhaled, shakily, letting the effects settle into her bones. As he sorted out the pizza in the kitchen, she walked to the sliding glass door, looking outside. Suddenly craving a fresh breeze and cool air, she unlocked the door and stepped outside. It was a small but nice backyard, with a patch of grass that cut off into a hillside, that dipped down, covered in shrubgrass.

She let the cold air whip her hair around, and her face stiffened as the tears left behind dried. It felt good, and she took another long hit on the joint. She felt like she did after she threw up, tired and empty, but relieved it was over.

She looked down at herself, still dressed in her Thanksgiving outfit. Rust-red skirt, navy blue turtleneck, tights again but these were textured, brown with little flowered stitching along the calves. She had a cream colored oversized sweater that she realized had a spot of cranberry sauce on her boob, lovely. She smoothed her skirt with her hands, trying to warm her fingers. She bounced her knees, relieved her head was clearing. The pressure from the tears always caused her sinuses to ache, and there was a dull throbbing behind her cheeks that was beginning to lessen.

She turned around to watch him through the glass door, as he moved through the kitchen with a slight lack of confidence. He didn't have a pot holder, she realized, as he used the sleeve of his hoodie to protect his hand as he took the pizza out. She laughed to herself, watching as he dropped the tray on the counter with a hiss.

She opened the door a crack, sliding in sideways, and was welcomed by the warmth of the little living room, like a small hug.

"It's cold." She said, pointlessly, to fill the air, maybe so he'd forget about her whole performance moments ago. She was never the best at dealing with her emotions, but she also reminded herself he'd a) seen her cry plenty of times and b) was probably worse at dealing with emotions than she was. "You don't have a potholder?" she asked.

"Oh great, you saw that?" he smiled slightly. "I do have a pizza cutter though, does that make up for it?" He held one up, wiggling it at her.

"Oh yes, vastly."

"You want some?"

"Yeah, I hardly ate, if you don't mind." She said.

"I do mind, actually." He said. "Room and board and meals? Don't know if I can swing it." He grinned, handing her a few roughly cut pieces on a plate.

"Ha ha." She said, biting a piece roughly. "I'll do whatever it takes, mister, even at the cost of my body." She struck a little pose.

He wrinkled his nose, scoffing a bit of a laugh out. "A'ight, don't make it weird." He said, and she giggled.

They gorged themselves on what felt like a proper Thanksgiving meal, because this one they were both genuinely thankful for. As they sat in the living room, Lexi on the floor in front of the coffee table, Fez on the couch, talking and joking and bullshitting about stories from a hundred years ago, he was struck at how at ease it all made him feel.

Before, back then, time spent with Lexi felt like a treasure, but it was always peppered with a low feeling of anxiety. He'd led his life on edge, people always around the corner. He didn't have a safe space where he knew they'd be unbothered. Even the old car, where they spent most of their time anyways, even there wasn't completely safe. He'd always had his guard up. Now it was different. His life was different, in general, it was safer. There was an element of danger, of course, nothing could ever change that, but he could also feel a new kind of happy. A new kind of happy inside his little condo with the girl of his dreams, eating pizza on Thanksgiving, watching her laugh over some childish joke he made.

He was even happier when she stood up after a while, slipping off her sweater, and then, boldly, taking off her turtleneck underneath. Without saying anything, just touching his arm lightly as she walked around the back of the couch, jogging upstairs. He jumped up, and hopped over the back of the couch, chasing her up the stairs. Grabbed her waist from behind, lifting her slightly as she got to the top landing, and she screeched, laughing as he pushed her towards his bed.