C'est La Vie—Chapter Twenty-Three

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Randy Cunningham 9th Grade Ninja or its characters.

Prompt: Okay, so we've seen Julian insecure about his relationship with Randy, right? How about Randy sees Julian getting close to someone else (you choose the character-probably not Theresa, since she's Julian's cousin and all) and gets jealous, but feels that Julian might be better off with the other character than a shoob like him, and Julian has to reassure him? (tumblr)

Author's note: Chapter 22 was skipped for the rating. You can read it on AO3 or tumblr.

If you have any CC, please share and I'll listen. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 08-25-16

Randy knew he was being ridiculous. It wasn't even a matter of maybe, he was. But even knowing that he had nothing to worry about didn't change that terrible gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he saw Julian hanging out with Rachel. Julian loved him, and Randy didn't believe for a moment that he'd ever cheat on him. And Rachel had been one of their biggest supporters when the two first came out, so she'd never try to break them up. And yet…

"Randall, what's wrong?"

The walk home was something they'd done since they'd started dating. Randy would accompany Julian home, feel out of place in the nice, wealthy part of the neighborhood, then go home before he was accosted by Julian's weird parents. It was only recently that "wonder what someone like Julian was doing with someone like him" had come into the equation.

"Nothing's wrong," he lied, not wanting Julian to worry. The look on his boyfriend's face told him it was too late for that. "I was just thinking about earlier today. I, ah, saw you and Rachel outside while I was in English."

"Yes, we have study hall together. We're partners in AP Chemistry, so we were working on our report." To say that Julian looked confused as to how that could be upsetting was an understatement. "You can't possibly think that the two of us—"

"No," Randy interrupted, shaking his head vehemently, "that's not it. I just… Sometimes I wonder…"

Julian stopped suddenly, turning to give Randy his full attention.

"You wonder what?"

"…If someone as smart and nice and wonderful as you won't be better with someone like Rachel instead of a shoob like me."

Julian starred at him, unbelieving, for many long moments. Randy was seconds away from having some sort of breakdown, when Julian began to laugh. Not his normal giggle, but a full-blown, gut wrenching laughter. Randy frowned and waited as patiently as he possibly could for Julian to calm down. It look longer than he would have liked.

"Oh Randall, you cannot be serious!" Randy didn't say anything, but his frown certainly deepened. Julian rolled his eyes and threw his arms around Randy, pulling him close. Randy put up no resistance to the embrace, though he couldn't help but wonder how exactly Julian had gotten so much taller than him. It was almost a perfect fit for him to bury his face in the nook of Julian's shoulder. "I apologize for that outburst. I merely cannot believe you're the one having any doubts about our relationship. I thought I'd done enough of that when we first started dating for the both of us."

"I know I'm being wonk," Randy admitted, his anxiety calming down as Julian traced nonsensical patterns onto his back.

"You are," Julian agreed teasingly. Randy was glad Julian couldn't see him at that moment, because he was pretty sure Julian would have called him out on his pouting. "But at the same time, I'm honored by your concern for my wellbeing, flawed as it is. Just, please realize that are the only person I love. It has never been anyone else, nor will that ever change. I love you for you, Randall, flaws and all."

Randy slowly pulled away from Julian, a small smile finally gracing his face. He still couldn't completely shake the feeling that Julian deserved better, but that wasn't his decision. Julian loved him, and he loved Julian. He was just going to need to continue to be the best boyfriend he could be.

"I love you too." He poured all of his sincerity into his words, locking his gaze with Julian's. "So much. Just, you know, so you know. I really love you."

"I know."

And as Julian leaned down and captured Randy's lips, Randy didn't doubt that at all.