A/N: This one is a souvenir for my darling RagdollPrincess for finishing her multi-chapter What the Future Brings.
Reese is her OC, and I admire and love this character, and how much work RP has put into her development. I highly recommend to check out her multi-chapter and also her short modern AU On the Road Again, which gives the essence of her character and tells a wonderful love story for her and Kili!
A/N#2: RP, congratulations, my friend! I love you!
Reese's phone rings, and she puts the nail polish aside.
"Hi! I'm calling from Universal Technologies," the voice is female, young and has a distinct British accent. "Can I speak to Reese Jacobsen?"
"It's me."
"Hi!" The girl on the other end sounds way too happy, "So, we fixed your laptop, you can come pick him… bloody hell, it! You can pick it up any time. We work till six."
"Sure, thanks!" Reese breathes out with relief. She's been computerless for three days, and it's a torture. She lives in a dorm, and they have a computer lab here, where anyone can use a comp, but they are old, and she tends to write papers and other stuff at night.
She is glaring at her toe nails for the next few minutes, willing them to dry faster, and then rushes out.
She dropped off her laptop in the repairs her friend suggested since they work fast and charged very little, mostly because they employ university students there. It's also close, so she just walks, May is already warm in Winnipeg, and soon she pushes the door of the repairs place. The bell above it rings, and a very dishevelled head appears above the counter. The guy is skinny and pale and opens his mouth to greet her, when a loud holler is heard from the back.
"Is that her?!" That's the same voice that was on the phone. "No one talks to her but me!"
A girl appears from the back, and Reese feels her jaw drop. She is a strange creature, skinny beyond measure, as short as Reese, giant hipster glasses, red lipstick, a nose ring, a plaid shirt and there is rolled up bandana around her head that somehow manages to restrain a crazy mop of orange curls.
"Hi!" She has a very wide mouth, and it's stretched in a grin from ear to ear. "Here is your baby!" She lifts her hands with Reese's Toshiba in them. "All healthy and cheery, and tip top!" The girl talks with twice the speed of a normal human being, and the accent is very thick. Reese understands about a third of what the redhead machine guns at her, pointing at some icons on Reese's screen and gesturing widely with her small hands. After a while the girl freezes and smiling wider suddenly asks, "You didn't suss a single word I said, did you?" Reese shakes her head. The girl giggles. "So I reckoned. Anyroad, your laptop is ace now, it would live for another year, but I suggest you invest in a better one." She suddenly throws a glare at the skinny pale person behind the counter. "Dave, take five." The guy scampers, Reese is watching his hasty retreat. It's quite obvious who's got balls here. The redhead places her elbows on the counter and gives Reese a quite different look. If she didn't know better, Reese'd assume that's adoration.
"So, I was the one fixing your computer. And you can tell me to sod off right now, and I'll make myself scarce, but… You are NotAllUnicornsAndRainbows! You are her! Fanfiction ID 63388893! In the name of Rassilon, you are her! I read all your fics! I am avidreader23!"
"Oh!" Reese is staring at the person she now knows is one of her constant reviewers. She has imagined a calm middle-aged woman from Britain, and not a caffeinated squirrel. Again, one never knows with online relationships. The reviews were always thought through, showed high intellect and Reese assumed avidreader23 is a school teacher or a psychologist. Not a skinny girl with shaved temples and a tattoo peeking from under the collar of a vintage tee with Ziggy Stardust. "That's cool..."
"OK, so should I sod off or give you a ticket to our departmental knees-up? Party, I mean party. Computer Science Department party. It's my second semester in Canada, I keep on forgetting the proper words. I promise to fuck off as soon as you are tired of me." The girl is intense, talks fast, but somehow Reese is OK with it. Maybe because she just wants some distraction from the family drama she has just endured, maybe because she suddenly knows the girl will back off if asked. After all, she seems very considerate in her reviews.
"I'll come to the party." A small ticket lies into her hand, the redhead is grinning happily.
"It'll be mental there! The department is a zoo, and not in a good way. You will probably run after half an hour, but you'll get plenty of material for your fics."
Reese meets up with Wren, that's the name of the redhead, at the entrance of the hall where the party is held, they give tickets to the security by the door. He is vaguely familiar, most of them are the same at all university parties, and Reese attends a lot of them.
They enter and Reese snorts with laughter. It is just as she expected. Half of people are occupying the same old leather couches they move from party to party, someone is already drunk and dancing in the middle of the floor, and most have already separated into small groups. The only difference from hundreds of other parties she's attended is that the music is strange, sounds like clanking of some cutlery, and it basically only has bass, and also there are a few very, very freakily dressed people. There is a guy in a tuxedo, and another one in a costume of a Roman gladiator.
"Alright, quick tour. The weirdos on the sofas, with barmy costumes, that's programmers. All they can bloody think about is coding. And D&D. And they might have a heart attack if you talk to them. You with your perky tits and arse..." Wren gestures all over Reese and continues her word avalanche, "On the other hand, if you are in the mood for preying on the weak today, that's your hunting ground. My mate Thea prefers them, though they cry after the first shag," Wren wrinkles her nose, and Reese stares at her. "You might also have an aggro with them after the bonk, they get clingy. But they are grateful, and again, if you are into gifting a poor sod with the piece of heaven..." Wren is moving into the hall, Reese is plodding after her. Wren seems to know everybody, introductions rain on Reese, and they are by the drinks table. A guy behind it gives them the first ones for free, 'for my island princess,' Reese cringes from the horrible pun, and yes, Britain is an island, but Wren smiles to the guy and then shoves her beer into Reese's second hand.
"I'm intolerant, but the brew shouldn't go to waste. Even if it tastes like donkey's pish. So yes, that group there, with a few chicks mixed in, those would be in Security. Network Security that is. Rad peeps, I'm mates with many, that's your middle ground. Most will work for big companies, like Shell, and for provincial government, so yes, they are slightly awkward as well, but there is hope for them." Wren picks up a glass of water and takes a sip. "There, a few chicks by the window, they are in Human/Computer Interaction, which means they are shite with computers and will be writing manuals when they graduate. They probably have some Minor though that will allow them to find a proper job and forget this hell on Earth. And there, closer to the DJ, that's web designers. The best of the two worlds. Creative, some do Minor in Arts, can actually talk to a person with a fanny. Anything to your liking?" Reese shortly wonders which category her new friend belongs to, but it's none of her business, and again she is already distracted.
On the couch nearest to the window, a few guys are laughing, and one of them, hipster glasses and a man bun, has the most beautiful eyes she's ever seen. They are dark and bright, and, let's face it, the fact that the legs he stretched in front of him seem to go on forever doesn't harm. He also has wide shoulders and nice posture, which is rare for those slouching in front of a screen all the time. Reese knows something about muscle atrophy, she is in Kinesiology.
"That's Killian Durinson, nothing stable for the last two years, light, friendly, decent bloke, I'd just go and say hello." Reese sharply turns and looks at Wren who is smiling to her over the glass. "And he likes brunettes. OK, I'm off in search of crisps. Bugger! Chips! It's called chips here." Wren disappears as if she was never here.
Reese and Killian have spent the last hour on the roof of the university center, drinking cheap beer and talking. Wren was right, he is light, and decent, and makes her laugh, and his knee has been touching hers more and more often recently.
He has gorgeous lips, a nice masculine line, plump, and there is a short black beard. He told her it's a family thing from his mother's side. She laughs and asks if he is certain that he isn't just a victim of hipster fashion.
Altogether he is gorgeous, hot, smart, and Reese feels like running. She could obviously sleep with him, but then again that might become something more that just a casual quickie in her dorm room and that's the last thing she needs these days.
And now she needs to pee. She excuses herself, he smiles and says 'I'll be here,' and she returns inside. In the washroom she splashes cold water on her face and decides that his biceps and narrows waist, and, damn it, his glorious butt are not worth it. She is heading for the exit when Wren's sarcastic voice from behind makes her jump up.
"Oh so you are the avoidant type?" The redhead is sitting on a couch in the lounge, her feet tucked under her, her cell phone in her hands. "I should have reckoned. Your OC is jolly too hard and straightforward for you to not compensate for your own personal qualities." Reese feels like that is the moment to tell the redhead to 'sod off' as the latter so eloquently mentioned before, but then she meets Wren's warm understanding eyes. "He is ace, isn't he? And I saw you two leaving to the roof, he looks smitten." Reese gives Wren a glare.
"Why don't you take him yourself? You seem to like him a lot." Wren softly laughs to that and scratches the tip of her nose with the cell phone.
"He is not my type."
"Oh really? What's there not to like?" Reese is snarling back, but the redhead seems unaffected.
"He is real. I am saving myself for Blackwall, the Grey Warden. All those muscles, and dark hair, and the thick black beard… Oh yum." Reese is looking at her like she is crazy. She is probably slightly loopy. Wren laughs, "I'm taking a piss, love. It's a character in a video game. Dragon Age: Inquisition." Wren shows Reese the screen of her phone, there is a picture of some guy there, it is indeed a video game screenshot. The man is drawn giant, massive arms, arrogant irked face, heavy eyebrows. He is pictured with a noose around his neck. Reese can write five fics from just this visual. Rain pouring over him adds a lot. Wren gives out a fake theatrical sigh and giggles. "So, you see, blokes interest me not. But your fanny wants some of that sugar on the roof. And if you run, you'll regret it."
"I don't think it's any of your business, Wren."
"Of course not, but according to the requirements of the genre I'm the snarky mate to your OC tonight, Reese, so get your perky fit arse back to that roof, and explore your options." There is a strange authoritativeness in the redhead's tone, and Reese finds herself marching up the fire staircase again.
Killian is leaning over the railing, smoking. Reese is in health research and should mind, but it looks so sexy! He has beautiful hands, strong fingers, nice wrists, and he throws the cigarette aside when he sees her.
"I honestly thought you bailed," he is smiling, white teeth gleam, and she steps to him planning to kiss the hell out of him. It probably shows on her face, and he rushes to meet her halfway.
His right foot slips on the gravel of the roof, he tumbles down and groans. Reese is quickly near him, he is cradling his left arm.
"Fuck it, not the wrist!" He is growling, she understands, it's his working tool. She quickly runs her fingers on his wrist, it seems fine, but she suspects he has broken his arm.
She helps him get up, and they go downstairs. Reese is trying to reach the cab service, but they don't pick up, it's three o'clock at night on a Friday. Wren is still sitting on her couch, playing on her phone, and Reese is ready to kiss her. The redhead has a car.
Reese is not sure how they survive the drive, Wren manages to forget she is not home couple times and drive on the opposite lane, but they are finally in the hospital. Thankfully they don't have to sit in the emergency room for six hours, since Killian has an uncle who is doing residency there. He is Killian's mum's younger brother and is only a few years older than them.
They are sitting on the uncomfortable bench in the waiting room, Wren has delicately removed herself from the stage and is studying chocolate bars in a vending machine.
"Sorry about that," Killian looks slightly embarrassed.
"Don't be ridiculous, it wasn't your fault." Reese is uncomfortable. She wonders if she can leave him here, she is not his family or anything, and when that Uncle of his appears, they'll be introduced, and Reese doesn't do families. She doesn't do taking care of a hurt guy whom she was sort of going to kiss as well.
"Reese..." Killian's voice is soft, and she is staring at the wall behind him. "I think you shoulds stop freaking out and just go with it."
"I'm not freaking out!"
"We are sitting on the same bench, and it's shaking." She wants to tell him to fuck off, but he quickly leans in and catches her mouth. His lips are firm and confident, he is gentle though, and very, very sexy. She's had plenty of that, but he might be the best. At least when it comes to first clumsy kisses, when they are in a hospital emergency room and he can only use one hand. He cups her jaw, he has warm hands, and she opens her mouth.
"I'm glad to see your injury has not affected your sense of propriety," sarcastic low voice above them makes them jump away from each other. That must be the British Uncle, according to Killian he has grown up 'at the North,' whatever it means, and moved to Canada five years ago.
Reese lifts her eyes at him and feels her jaw drop on the floor. He is hot, no argument from her, but that's not what makes her gape at him like an idiot. He looks exactly like the picture in Wren's phone.
There is loud thud behind them, and all three of them, as well as all emergency room turn to see Wren impersonating an ice statue by the vending machine. The long fingers of her small hands are splayed in the air, she has just dropped everything she was holding in them. Two bags of chips are at her feet and a can of Mountain Dew that was the source of the thud is slowly and sadly rolling through the room and under the feet of the resident Uncle. He stops it with his sneaker and lifts one eyebrow.
They are putting a cast on Killian's arm, and he is whining like all men do when there is just a little something wrong with them.
"How will I type now? I have an assignment for next week. And a shower? How will I take a shower?" The nurse gives him a glare, and he shifts his puppy eyes at Reese. She assumes all these theatrics are for her. "I can't even take off my T-shirt like this. I will need help." Reese rolls her eyes and escapes the room.
She is obviously coming back to his place with him, he is renting it with his brother who is in Finances and 'has his own room, with great noise isolation,' as Killian has gleefully informed Reese before she gave him a nice smack at the back of his head. The nurse surely didn't need to know it. Reese smirks, taking off that T-shirt is becoming a more and more attractive perspective, he obviously works out, and she turns around the corner, only to freeze in her tracks.
The resident Uncle is standing by the wall, pressing a hand of one straight arm into it, while his second palm is cupping Wren's butt. Her legs are around his waist, arms wrapped around his neck, and one could think he is examining her tonsils he is that thorough.
Reese quickly turns around and rushes back to Killian.