Katie/TJ - circa 16. 750 words of awkward, and angry, teenage flirting. (This is legit my main ship from this show...)

-.-.-

Getting into a stupid argument over the best flavor of ice cream at an ice cream parlor. After arguing for a good 5 minutes, Person 3 (a worker at the parlor) yells "get a room, will ya!?"
Cue awkward sexual tension.
(from otp prompt ideas on tumblr)

Written for my Summer Prompt Challenge 2019 on Ao3.

Scream for Ice Cream

There is a universal truth that when you pick your friends as a kid, you're also picking your parents' friends by sheer force of proximity. Apparently his mother didn't get the memo though because TJ was damn sure he would never see Katie Moran again if his mother was not her mother's best friend.

Obviously, signals had been crossed.

Roxy LeBlanc was a true force of nature though, so it wasn't like TJ was surprised his mother had turned a stereotype around to benefit her. There was also that one about teen moms that she'd squashed well and good…

"Would you just pick one?!" TJ called across the ice cream parlor. He was standing by the register, head thrown back. He looked down to glare at Katie.

The brunette flipped him the bird and continued taste-testing. Every. Single. Flavor. TJ groaned.

"Keep it up," Katie gave him a smile so sweet and so fake it rivaled Splenda, "I could go slower."

Oh. He was aware. "This is like 2nd grade all over again!" TJ pointed a finger at her, "If you spend as long picking out ice cream as you did crayons I will leave you here!"

"And then you'll have to come back, AND your mom will ground you." Katie didn't raise her voice, but she did do some impressive hip/hair flip thing that TJ squinted at her for.

She turned back to the guy behind the ice cream counter with what TJ could only describe as a skip. Katie always won. It was yet another universal truth - with its exception being Mrs. Moran, because TJ had never actually seen Katie finish an argument with her mother. Pamela Moran was just as scary as his mother, and she had a gun.

"I'll take the double chocolate." Katie told the worker with a quick smile. She turned to TJ, eyebrows raised and foot tapping.

TJ blinked. Then exploded.

"Are you serious, Moran?!" He stepped closer and Katie merely placed her hands on her hips. "I have to wait an hour for you to pick a flavor and now you're impatient?!" She huffed, looking up at him as if she were above him.

He's literally 10 inches taller!

"You had an hour to think about it then, didn't you LeBlanc?" Katie smirked and TJ gripped at his hair. His face was nearly as red as his hair.

"Is this some weird foreplay?"

As if repelled by the statement, both TJ and Katie took a step back. TJ looked over at the Coldstone worker with mouth hanging open.

The worker deposited Katie's ice cream into a tiny paper bowl and placed it atop the glass cover on the shelf. "Cause, if so, please get a room somewhere else. My manager will be back in twenty and she's already chased out two old married couples who tried to make out in here.

Katie was sputtering, which, honestly, almost made the embarrassment worth it.

"I'll take the mint chocolate chip." TJ told the guy. He grabbed Katie's ice cream and held it in front her face. She took it.

"This is all -your fault- for the record."

TJ rolled his eyes. The ice cream parlor was silent. TJ handed over the twenty his mother had given him before shooing them both away. Katie made it all the way to crosslight before continuing her diatribe.

"As if I would EVER date you, you play football -"

"Whatever, drama dweeb." That one earned him a smack.

"-and you wear ridiculous clothes-"

TJ snorted, "Says the girl in the leather mini-shorts!"

"-and my mother would be far too pleased with the idea."

That one he had no response to so he just crossed the street and ate his ice cream. Katie continued to lament on how completely unsuited for one another they were for two blocks.

Somehow, she even managed to finish her ice cream, because apparently Katie could do anything while talking.

"Ew." TJ's face went red at the mental image his brain had conjured. Katie paused, mid-insult, to raise an eyebrow at him. He ignored her and threw his empty ice cream bowl in the recycling.

"What was the ew for?" Katie gave in to her curiosity after following him to the recycling bin. She had arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

TJ could feel his ears burning, but shrugged. Katie tilted her head. Her eyes moved up and down. TJ had had less invasive physical he was sure.

"Fine." And then she kissed him.

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