Mended Hearts.
Part XXII.
To say that Wendy had reluctantly wriggled herself out of Stan's warm embrace would be an understatement.
And while she definitely would've loved to cuddle and kiss Stan for much, much longer, her stomach growling rather loudly had signaled that it was probably the time for the two of them to finally get up and for her to whip up something for herself and her boyfriend to eat.
The teenage girl tried her best not to wake him up, so she hopped over Stan's still snoozing form and reached forward to locate the discarded panties and Stan's old Denver Broncos t-shirt that had been thrown on the floor earlier. She quickly pulled them on and made herself look somewhat decent, before grabbing her phone and walking out of her soulmate's bedroom.
Wendy quickly made her way downstairs towards the living room area of the Marsh residence, but also let out a groan as she unlocked her phone and realized that it was almost one PM now – but honestly, that shouldn't have surprised her all that much, considering the fact that she and Stan had fallen asleep pretty damn late last night and had gotten up not even two hours ago.
Once she was inside the Marsh family kitchen, Wendy looked around the room and walked over to the fridge, thinking about what she should make for herself and Stan to eat.
''Should I maybe make medianoches?'', Wendy muttered to herself as she opened the fridge and scanned the neatly organized shelves. ''I haven't made those in a while though...''
However, and once she realized what exactly she would need in order to prepare one of her favorite meals of all time and how long it would take for her to do it, the raven haired girl let out a slightly frustrating groan and chose to make pancakes instead.
Once she gathered all the necessary ingredients and was done mixing the pancake batter she had made from those same necessary ingredients, Wendy hummed contently to herself as she began making breakfast (well, more like early lunch) for herself and Stan, smiling with satisfaction as the first pancake began to form and simmer lightly in the pan.
She then continued making pancakes in relative peace, but was also waiting patiently for her boyfriend to finally wake up and join her downstairs for their very, very late breakfast. She also pulled out bottles of both maple syrup and chocolate syrup, just in case either she or Stan would've liked to make their food a little bit more delicious.
And just as she was beginning to pour the last remnants of the pancake batter into the pan, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching behind her, causing her to flinch slightly on the spot.
However, the teenage girl quickly relaxed as a pair of familiar arms wrapped themselves around her waist and a mop of raven black hair got nestled at the juncture of her neck and left shoulder. Her favorite person in the whole wide world also leant over her shoulder and pressed a kiss on the side of her neck, which made her let out a surprised squeak as Stan pulled away from her and chuckled at the adorable sight of her making breakfast for the two of them.
''Morning baby.'', he mumbled, his voice still a bit hoarse. He nuzzled his face against her neck affectionately, which prompted him to get smacked playfully on the arm by Wendy, before she giggled and turned around again in order to remove the last pancake from the pan and turn off the stovetop.
''Morning to you, too.'', Wendy replied, stepping on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Stan's lips.
He returned the kiss just as eagerly, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him again.
''Pancakes?'', Stan asked as he pulled away from his girlfriend and noticed a stack of pancakes sitting on a plate on the stovetop, causing his stomach to grumble rather loudly at the very appetizing sight. ''You know I love those!''
''I'm pretty sure everyone loves those, Stan.'', Wendy replied, shaking her head teasingly at Stan's silly little statement. ''But yeah, I actually wanted to make medianoches, but then I realized that we probably don't have all the things needed to make them and that neither one of us is probably in the mood to drive all the way to the nearest Walmart.''
''Medianoches?''
''Yeah, medianoches.'', Wendy confirmed and nodded her head in response. ''Those are traditional Cuban breakfast sandwiches. My grandma used to make them all the time for my cousin and me whenever we would spend the weekends at her place, you know?''
Stan grinned. ''Oh yeah, grandma Isabelle, right?''
''Isabella.'', the ravenette corrected, giggling as Stan started to pepper butterfly kisses all over her cheeks and neck. She eventually wriggled herself out of his firm grasp and leaned her head against his chest instead. ''Although we used to call her Abuelita Bellita.''
Humming in agreement, Stan glanced back at the stack of pancakes and felt his stomach grumbling yet again.
''These look good, not gonna' lie.''
Wendy smiled at Stan's sweet comment and brushed some stray hairs out of his eyes and kissed him on the cheek appreciatively. ''Well, dig in then.''
She rolled up one pancake and reached for both maple syrup and chocolate syrup bottles to drizzle them generously onto Stan's pancake, giggling as he took a big bite out of it and now had some of the syrup smeared around his mouth.
The whole sight was so adorable and amusing to the dark haired girl, that she cupped Stan's face with both of her hands and leaned forward to capture their lips together in another kiss, trying to savor the taste of both maple and chocolate.
''They taste really good!'', Stan admitted after he pulled away from Wendy, wiping away the last remnants of chocolate syrup off her face. ''You will make some more, right?''
''Mhm well, only if you promise to help me.'', she teased as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, making her counterpart laugh softly and to roll his eyes teasingly.
''But in all seriousness, these are really good.'', the dark haired boy said.
Wendy blushed. "You're so sweet."
"You mean the sweetest?", Stan teased back.
''Jerk!'', she slapped him playfully on his exposed pectoral, tugging onto his hand and pulling him into another kiss.
Stan held her tighter for a moment, before reluctantly pulling away. ''So, do you wanna' finish these and then we can go watch something on TV or on Netflix?''
Wendy beamed up at Stan and kissed him again, albeit less intensely this time around. ''M'kay, it's a deal then.''
The rest of the day had seemed to drag on endlessly, although neither Stan nor Wendy frankly wanted it to end, as they wanted to spend as much time together as they possibly could before she would ultimately have to go back home.
The two teenagers were currently chilling on the couch and watching some random movie they had come across on Netflix, cuddling and snuggling against one another and being wrapped up in a blanket burrito. Although they had spent more time talking about various topics and cracking jokes rather than paying attention to whatever was playing on TV right in front of them, all what mattered to both Stan and Wendy was the fact they had managed to finally sort things out and had been able to spend so much time together now.
''So, should I drop you off later?'', Stan asked as Wendy snuggled closer to him.
Wendy simply nodded her head ''no'' in response. ''No, you don't have to. I came with my own car, remember?''
''Oh yeah, right.'', the teenage boy smiled apologetically, clearing his throat before he spoke. ''But hey, I really don't want you to think like I'm forcing you to go home or anything, but it's just that I don't want your parents to get angry with me; you know, especially after everything that's happened with your dad…'', he continued further, his smile faltering a bit. "I believe your mom's been worrying enough about your dad as it is, so I don't want her to worry about you as well."
''Hey hey, it's okay, don't worry.'', Wendy replied in a reassuring tone, cupping Stan's cheek and stroking it tenderly with her hand. ''My dad's been doing just fine, and his health's been improving ever since he came home from the hospital.''
''Heh, good to know then.'', Stan said, letting out an inner sigh of relief.
''Well, actually…'', she began. ''Yesterday, I told them both that I was gonna' stop by at your place to talk about everything that's happened between us recently and to hopefully sort things out. They both wished me good luck and told me they hoped we could work things out.''
''Really?'', the quarterback exclaimed, shooting his girlfriend a surprised look as he sat upright on the couch.
''Yeah.'', Wendy confirmed. ''Stan, they've always adored you. And even when we lived in Florida, they would still occasionally ask me about you, even though at the time I did my best to shoot down any questions regarding you and chose to ignore them.''
Stan beamed in pure happiness, leaning forward and cupping Wendy's face with both hands. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and felt his heart beating faster at their contact, causing his favorite person in the world to smile as she leaned forward to return the kiss, holding onto his arms tightly as they remained cuddled together for quite some time.
Eventually, they parted their lips and took a moment to catch their breath.
''Thanks, Wends. You are awesome.'', Stan declared as he pulled away, giving her another quick peck before he returned back to lying down on the couch.
She chuckled softly and laid down next to him, resting her head on his chest as she listened to the steady heartbeat of the boy she loved as his fingers ran through her long, raven black locks affectionately. She tugged on the sleeves of Stan's football jacket she had ''borrowed'' for herself, loving the unique scent that reminded her of him – Axe pine body spray mixed with his irresistible musky scent.
They stayed that way for some time, before Stan eventually broke the silence between them once again, noticing just how comfortable Wendy had seemed to have gotten in his football jacket and how gorgeous she looked in it.
"My football jacket really suits you.", Stan commented, kissing his girlfriend on the forehead. ''Maybe you should keep it then, hmm?''
''Thank you.'', Wendy murmured, trying her hardest to hide the ever-growing blush on her face, although she knew her attempts were most likely futile. ''It's not like I planned on returning it anyway. I'll probably wear it even more often than my denim jacket.'', she admitted with a wink.
''Maybe you can wear it to school on Monday then?'', the raven haired teenager offered with a teasing grin.
Wendy suddenly fell silent at the mention of her and Stan potentially revealing their newly rekindled relationship out to everyone in school on Monday, which was something they hadn't managed to talk about yet – and since things had changed between so much over the past few weeks, the thought of everyone else finding out they were back together again had flown completely over her head.
However, she quickly dismissed that unnecessarily nagging thought, so her mind instead cycled back to what Stan had asked her a few moments ago. Her cheeks had also reddened considerably now, making her boyfriend simply stare at her and wait patiently for her response.
''Well, what do you say Wends?'', he quizzed.
''I would love to.'', Wendy smiled in response, snuggling closer to Stan again. ''And I guess then everyone will figure out we got back together, won't they?'', she added, her voice quieting a little at the last sentence.
''Yeah, and?'', Stan grinned as he gently nudged her side, wanting to ease her noticeable worries a little bit. ''You have no idea how happy I am that we are back together, and that we also got to experience something very special together.'', he added, reaching up to stroke Wendy's hair soothingly.
''I know, and I feel exactly the same.'', she mumbled, smiling into Stan's chest.
Stan didn't reply, but instead let out a content sigh as he held Wendy close to him and pressed a kiss on top of her hair – being excited over what was potentially in store for both of them on Monday morning and the fact they would get to spend yet another day by each other's side.
Come Monday morning, and just like he had promised to her the day prior, Stan decided to pick Wendy up and drive them both to school that day.
Although it wasn't the shortest drive from the Tegridy Farms headquarters to the Testaburger residence, it still gave the teenage boy plenty of time to think about how all of his and Wendy's friends would react to them getting back together after what had been nearly six years. The sounds of 70s and 80s rock music playing in the background had also helped him to remain calm about the whole situation and had been good enough to keep his positive spirits up.
Stan soon pulled his car up near the driveway of Wendy's house, eagerly waiting for her to come out of her house and join him in the car. He then grabbed his phone from the center console and opened the messaging app, sending a quick message to Wendy – with a smile instantly popping on his face as he realized that she had already seen his message and had sent him a cheeky thumbs up in response.
I'm outside, can't wait to see you❤️❤️❤️
Looking up from his phone and diverting his gaze towards Wendy's house, Stan's heart boomed in his chest as his girlfriend stepped outside of her house and locked the front door behind her, making sure once more that it was indeed locked before she would dash off towards her boyfriend's car.
Wendy looked very pretty today, dressed in a simple white cotton blouse and a pair of black leather pants. She completed the whole look off with a pair of black sneakers and Stan's football jacket that casually slung from her shoulders. There wasn't much makeup on her face, but her chocolate brown eyes were surely shining with happiness, and she had the same kind of smile etched onto her face as Stan.
She eventually made her way towards the passenger door and climbed inside Stan's car, putting her school bag on the floor mat and buckling her seatbelt. She smiled brightly at him and leant over to press their lips together in a very first kiss they would get to share that day, and for what she hoped wouldn't be their only one of the day.
"Good morning, beautiful.", Stan greeted her after they broke apart, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Wendy's ear and soaking up all of her beauty.
''Good morning to you too.'', Wendy replied with a soft laugh, reaching out and giving Stan's hand a gentle squeeze, her cheeks already blushing a faint shade of pink.
''You look amazing today.'', the teenage boy said, glancing over at his love.
Wendy blushed even more at Stan's unexpected compliment, as she still hadn't gotten accustomed to him showering her with compliments at almost every given opportunity during the very short period of them being together again, but she couldn't deny the fact that it had already made her day better about tenfold (and the day had barely even started for both of them).
''Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself.'', she teased with a wink.
''So, are we ready to go?'', Stan asked, before he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that it was safe for him to drive out of Wendy's family driveway and start driving towards school.
Wendy simply nodded her head approvingly, relaxing into her seat.
As they drove to school, Stan and Wendy chatted about the romantic and amazing weekend they had spent together, as well as about whatever school-related things they had going on and the upcoming Spring dance that would take place in about two weeks' time. They also had their hands entwined on top of a gearbox, listening to the music playing from the radio and simply having a good time with each other – even if it was just a simple car ride to school.
They soon made their way towards school, with Stan making a left turn and driving into the school parking lot. He circled around for a little bit in order to find an empty spot, and once he found it, he quickly parked his car and turned off the ignition. They both then got out of Stan's car, with Stan locking his car behind them and them then walking hand-in-hand towards the building's main entrance.
Although they could feel that some people were giving them weird looks and were probably saying something about them suddenly getting back together and making their relationship known out to everyone now, neither Stan nor Wendy frankly gave two shits about it – happily walking towards the school and being too wrapped up in whatever conversation they were having at the moment.
''So…'', Stan began, breaking the blissful silence for a few moments. ''I have this football game coming up on Friday, so I wanted to ask you if you wanna' come and cheer me on?''
''Oh really?'', Wendy asked, squeezing Stan's hand tightly. ''That would be so great! When is it?''
''Friday afternoon, although I'm not sure whether it will be held either around five or six PM. I'll tell you everything on time, of course.''
''Great then!'', she beamed. ''And I'll obviously cheer you on, silly! Have you forgotten that I re-joined the cheer squad all the way back in October?''
''No, of course not.'', Stan replied with a chuckle. ''And I'll admit it, it will be great seeing my girl cheering me on right in front of the entire school and so many people from South Park.''
They then continued walking towards the main school entrance, obviously lost in their own little world and in their conversation and laughter – well, at least until Stan whipped his head around to check whether any of his or Wendy's friends were nearby, but he instead ended up spotting his ex-girlfriend who stood nearby with her own little group of friends and had an unsurprisingly shocked facial expression plastered all over her face.
Not wanting to waste any of their precious time on Melissa and whatever unnecessary drama she was ready to start, Stan and Wendy instead swapped an amused glance with each other and promptly ignored the now seething girl, walking past her and her girl friends.
Once they were inside the school building, Wendy linked her arm through Stan's as they walked down the hallway together, catching a few curious glances that were thrown their way but still not allowing anything to disturb the peaceful time they had been having.
''So…'', Wendy began, stopping in her tracks as the two of them now reached her locker and she took a small step closer to her boyfriend. ''I still can't believe this is actually happening, you know? That we're back together again after such a long time…''
Stan smiled back at her, wrapping an arm around her waist and gazing deeply into chocolate brown eyes he loved oh so much. ''Neither can I, honestly.''
Wendy giggled and leaned forward to plant a soft peck on Stan's lips, to which he responded by pulling her closer to him and cupping her face in between his hands – simply allowing the emotions to get the best of him and pour all the love he had for his girlfriend in a public display of affection that probably wouldn't be the only one they would get to share that day.
Both Stan and Wendy decided to, at least fleetingly, ignore whatever the heck was going on around them, and show everyone that they indeed were back together better and stronger than ever before.
Well, I'm finally back!
To be completely honest, I'm not exactly the happiest with the way this chapter turned out, but I'm at least glad that I finally found the time to work on it and post it (even though it probably sucks ass compared to the previous two or three chapters). Regarding the lack of updates since May, I really have nothing else to say other than I went through a major case of a writer's block and that I just couldn't force myself to write anything good as a result of it!
And holy crap, we only have three more chapters before this story is officially over, which is a very bittersweet feeling, not going to lie! However, and fear not, I'll start working on an all-new multi-chaptered Stendy fanfic in September, which is called Serendipity, so definitely stay tuned for that!