FICLET FRIDAY THE THIRTY-SIXTH: STILLXMYXHEART
i still love you (Hannah, Madison, Seth, mentions of Thomas [Hannah/Seth]), PG
"Still can't believe you actually came running with me," Hannah says with a grin as she and Madison push into Hannah and Seth's apartment.
"Yeah, well, these days it's about the only way I get to spend time with you," Madison replies, a little out of breath as she pushes the door shut. "Plus it's cold out, which makes it easier."
Seth is in the kitchen, and Madison pulls up short, her nose crinkling involuntarily as she hovers by the table.
Hannah greets her boyfriend with a kiss before reaching into the refrigerator to pull out two bottles of water.
She hands one to Madison, and then squeals when Seth walks behind her, his hand dropping to squeeze her backside.
"Still got a bit too much there," he murmurs, his hand sliding around to pinch her side.
Madison stares incredulously, not missing the hurt look that passes briefly over Hannah's face before she blinks, smiling a little as she swats his hand away.
"I'm gonna be with the guys most of the afternoon, but don't forget, we're going out tonight, so be ready when I get home."
She nods, still smiling as she looks up at him, and he drops a quick kiss to her lips before striding to the front door.
"Love you," she calls after him, receiving a brief smile and a hurried, "Love you too," that's cut off as the door closes behind him.
Madison stares at Hannah, watching the way her smile disappears as she looks down at herself, pressing a hand to her stomach.
A moment later she looks up, and Madison raises her eyebrows.
"Really?"
Hannah frowns, taking a sip of her water. "What?"
"Your boyfriend just called you fat!"
Hannah rolls her eyes as she turns away, walking back over to the refrigerator. "He didn't call me fat."
"Maybe not in so many words -"
"Maddie, it's not a big deal," Hannah says dismissively as she pulls out a large bowl of salad. "It can't hurt to lose a little bit of weight."
Madison stares at her, dumbstruck. "How much have you lost already? 10 pounds? 20? None of which you even remotely needed to lose."
"What difference does it make to you?" Hannah finally snaps, annoyed.
"You shouldn't have to change the way you look just because of whatever that asshole thinks -"
Hannah's face reddens. "He's not an asshole, he's my boyfriend."
"Like that's mutually exclusive," Madison mutters. "I get that you love him, but he's a jerk, Hannah. He's a douchebag, and you are way too good for him."
"Seth and I have been together for over four years," Hannah says, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "Who are you to judge my relationship when you can't even stay with someone for more than two months?"
Hannah's breath catches as soon as she finishes speaking, her eyes widening as though surprised by her own words. Madison expects her to apologize, but then Hannah's arms fold over her chest, her eyebrow twitching as she presses her lips together, and Madison blinks.
Hurt and anger swell within her, and she shakes her head, muttering, "Whatever," as she sets her bottle of water down hard on the table.
She spins on her heel, snatching her purse from the coffee table as she passes, and storms from the apartment without another word, the door slamming hard behind her.
Several months, and one very bad breakup, later, the girls are sitting side by side on a blanket on the beach behind Thomas's house, staring out at the water.
"It's amazing out here," Hannah murmurs, smiling as she looks over at Madison. "Thank you for inviting me."
Madison shrugs, smiling back. "I figured you needed a break after all the shit with Seth, and Dad was more than happy to have you. I barely got to ask him before he said it was okay."
Hannah laughs softly, raising a hand in a futile effort to tame her hair as it gets tossed around in the wind off the ocean, and then leans forward to rest her head on her knees, still looking at Madison.
"I'm sorry, Lexie."
Madison shifts closer to her, mimicking her pose as she frowns a little. "For what?"
Hannah sighs. "For everything. You know." She grimaces a little, her eyes dropping to look at her hand as she picks at the blanket. "Especially for what I said about you not being able to stay with someone for more than two months."
Madison laughs a little. "That was forever ago."
"I know, but I've just - regretted it ever since I said it. It wasn't fair, and I'm sorry."
"I know, Lisey, it's okay." She smiles, shifting even closer so she can slide her arm around Hannah's waist. "I still love you."
Hannah laughs softly. "I love you too."
Madison leans over to press a kiss to the side of Hannah's head, and then Hannah sits up, leaning against Madison's side as her head falls onto the other girl's shoulder.
Madison smiles and gives her a squeeze as she lets her cheek rest against the top of Hannah's head.
more than okay (Madison, Thomas, Grace, Jamie, Hannah, David [Thomas/Grace]), G
Madison and Jamie head out to their dad's for Christmas again, and are only there for a couple of days when Thomas takes Madison out to lunch, just the two of them, saying he wants to talk to her about something.
She already suspects what it is, but she waits for him to bring it up, which he does just after they order.
"I was thinking of asking Grace to marry me."
"Finally," Madison says, grinning broadly.
Thomas laughs. "I guess I don't need to ask if you're okay with it."
Madison rolls her eyes. "Dad, you know I love Grace. Jamie loves her -"
"And she adores you guys."
"Then there's nothing to worry about, is there?"
Thomas grins. "Well, there is one small thing. I haven't found a ring yet. I was kind of hoping you could help me pick something out."
Madison nearly bounces in her seat, and nods quickly. "I would love to."
She waits anxiously, wondering when her dad intends to propose, and then squeals on Christmas morning when Thomas and Grace step into the living room, and she sees the ring sparkling on Grace's finger.
She hurries to hug her, and Grace laughs as she hugs her back.
"Guess I don't need to ask if you're okay with this."
Madison rolls her eyes as she pulls away. "Oh my god, you sound just like Dad. I am more than okay with this, okay?"
Grace laughs and nods, and Madison moves to hug her dad.
"What's going on?"
They all turn to look at Jamie, who's staring at the three of them, a confused look on his face, and Thomas smiles as he walks over to him.
"Grace and I are getting married," he says, kneeling down in front of his son.
"Oh!" Jamie says, his face lighting up. "Awesome!"
Thomas laughs and leans forward to hug him, nodding as he glances over at Grace and Madison, his smile widening when he sees them standing with their arms around each other.
"It's very awesome."
Caroline is not so happy about it, and when the wedding rolls around a year later, refuses to let Jamie go.
Madison has to remind her that Christmas is Thomas's allotted visitation time anyway, and she can't keep Jamie from seeing his dad.
Thomas and Grace invite Hannah to the wedding as well, and she brings David as her date, since she wants to go, but doesn't want to be apart from her dad at Christmas.
It's later that night that Hannah and Madison are lying in Madison's bed, talking. Jamie and David are both in bed, and Thomas and Grace left on their honeymoon hours ago, so the house is silent except for Madison and Hannah's quiet conversation.
"Still can't get over how beautiful everything was," Hannah murmurs, smiling a little.
Madison grins. "That's what happens when a bunch of artists come together to plan a wedding."
Hannah giggles and nods, and Madison shifts a little.
"Do you want to get married?"
Hannah giggles again, snorting softly. "Are you asking?"
Madison laughs, and then claps her hand over her mouth as she gives Hannah a playful shove. "You know what I mean."
Hannah nods. "One day. I thought maybe Seth, but obviously that didn't work out."
"For the best," Madison reminds her, raising her eyebrows as she reaches for Hannah's hand.
Hannah takes a breath and nods, smiling slightly as she squeezes Madison's fingers. "I know. But yeah, I want all of it, a husband, kids, the whole deal."
Madison grins. "You'll be so good at it, once you find somebody who deserves you."
"I hope so."
"You will."
Hannah smiles again, and then raises her eyebrows. "What about you?"
Madison shrugs, crinkling her nose a little. "I don't know. I've never really seen myself getting married. Maybe because Mom and Dad's marriage wasn't all that great."
Hannah frowns a little. "That doesn't mean your marriage would be like that. Maybe your parents just weren't right for each other, but look at how happy your dad is with Grace."
"Yeah," Madison murmurs, and then shrugs again. "I don't know. I'm only gonna be 22 in a month. I'm not even done with college yet, it feels too soon to be thinking about things like marriage."
Hannah nods, though her brow is creased a little, and Madison has a feeling she's worrying about her again.
There's a soft tap on the door, and both girls look up when it opens a second later, showing David framed in the doorway.
"Hey, Dad," Hannah says, surprised. "I thought you went to bed."
"Well, I did, but I couldn't sleep because of these two giggly girls..."
He trails off, the corner of his mouth rising, and Hannah laughs, waving a hand at him. "We weren't being that loud, shut up."
He laughs too and shakes his head. "No, I was reading, and my mind kept drifting to the leftover wedding cake. Decided to give in to temptation, and figured I'd ask if you guys wanted to join me."
Hannah looks at Madison, who grins.
"I'm always up for late night cake. Let's just try not to wake Jamie, that's the last thing he needs at midnight."
David laughs again and nods, standing aside as the girls step into the hallway, and then follows them to the kitchen.