Tanned. Toned. Tall. (original fic)
I actually wrote last night, for the first time in several millennia. It's for the fiction component of thesovereignty, and it's basically an original fic of Christmas silliness (with a dash of romance). Enjoy!
Title: Tanned. Toned. Tall.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1200, ish
Additional notes: The instructions were; We want you guys to write a short story <3000 words involving a disastrous situation during the holiday season. This is the result.
“It’s 4am.” Kyle sounded disgustingly awake for the hour that it was.
“Oh, gosh, really? I feel so rested.” Stevie’s voice held more than a hint of sarcasm, and also a considerable dosage of early morning croak.
“Get out of bed.”
“I’m out of bed!” She buried her head further under the covers and tried her best to sound alert.
Quick as a flash came Kyle’s response down the phone, well trained by now. “What room are you in?”
“I’m, um, in the bathroom, about to shower.”
“Run the water.”
Panic stations. She took the last resort option in an attempt to convince him. “I can’t, I’m peeing.”
“Put -“
“You’re not listening to me pee, Kyle.” He took a deep breath and Stevie held the phone away from her ear, knowing what was coming.
“GET UP RIGHT NOW! We have to be on the plane in just over two hours!” His outburst was met by silence. “Do you want to miss our flight to Rome?”
“Being educated is overrated…” she mumbled, far too enticed by the thought of grabbing a few more hours shut eye. This was where she belonged, here in this warm dark cocoon, for all eternity.
“You know the guys in Rome are likely much hotter than English guys, right?”
Stevie scoffed, and rubbed her eyes. Like that was going to work on her.
“Tanned. Toned. Tall. The three T’s that so please your very shallow self.”
Less than a second’s hesitation. “Give me half an hour.”
* * * * *
Except a whole terrifying hour later, Kyle still hadn’t received the call from Stevie to confirm she was ready, and after a while pacing his bedroom, he called her.
“Stevie, if we don’t leave now, we’ve had it!” His voice rose several octaves as it did when he was properly panicking. Which was definitely round about now.
“God, I know, I know, I swear I’ll be out the door in two minutes. It’s only five minutes to the airport.” She took several gasping breaths, clearly tearing around the house at top speed. “It’ll all be… fine and dandy.”
“You’re being too casual about this! You’re late for everything and usually drag me down with you, but with this you get no second chances. That plane is not gonna wait for you, Stevie, trust me on that.” Even his hands were clammy, damnit. This was more trouble than it was worth. She was. He stepped out of his flat and locked the door behind him swiftly, heading down the stairs, cradling his phone with his ear whilst carrying two large suitcases.
“Nearly done, nearly done…” She still sounded a bit too chilled for his liking.
“Think of the guys.” A silence. “Are you?”
“Hmm, yeah. I think it might be slowing me down,” and she giggled, much to his irritation.
“If you are not leaving the house right now…”
“What, you’ll shout down the phone at me?” He could hear the smirk in her voice, and something snapped, as it did on a regular basis when in the company of Stevie.
“No. I’ll leave you in England.”
He heard a quiet gasp. “What?”
“I’m going to the airport now, and I’m checking in. So you’re either there, or you’re not. You’re not making me miss this, Stevie, it’s Christmas and I’m going to Rome with my friends.”
There was a pause, then nothing but a continuous beep as she hung up on him. He swallowed and began walking across the glistening snow, in the direction of his car. For once, he wasn’t going to be there to bail her out.
* * * * *
The airport.
Five minutes until the last check in.
Despite his dramatic statement earlier, Kyle somehow couldn’t bring himself to move without knowing Stevie was there, catching the plane with him. He’d have to go eventually, of course, because the plane was leaving in ten minutes and he’d said he’d be on it, so he would be.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t stay there until the last minute, his fists clenched, hoping she would suddenly appear round the corner in her usual speeding rush. She would race through the check-in with seconds to spare, and all would be well.
Except, that only happened in cheesy movies. And he was a soppy idiot, particularly when it came to her. He could never quite work out why.
* * * * *
Ten mad minutes later, Stevie arrived at the gate. Just in time to watch the plane take off breezily into the air. With a soft thump she fell back against a nearby row of chairs, and without caring if anyone was around or watching, burst into tears.
She’d actually missed the plane.
All her friends were on that plane, including… Kyle. Her best friend in the whole world. And she’d let him down. Stevie was sure this was one time too many. He’d seemed really angry on the phone - which, admittedly, wasn’t exactly a personality trait Kyle had never demonstrated before, but this felt different. What if she had messed up -
“Ugh, don’t cry, you soft sod.”
Her head snapped up, and suddenly there he was. Standing just in front of her, looking… well, furious.
She stood up gingerly beside him, slightly worried he was going to slap her, or something equally dramatic. Humour came to her defence, as it often did. “I’m soft? You’re the one that got off a plane right before it took off, to rescue me, your dearest friend. Romantic, no?”
Kyle snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself, Stevie.”
She continued to stare at him, and was suddenly overcome with such a wave of relief that he was here, and she was not going to be spending Christmas alone because of her stupid disorganised mistake, that to relieve some of her feelings, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him right on the lips.
Not one of her better ideas, she reflected in the moment. He was already close to killing her. Although when she pulled back from him several seconds later, expecting the worst - it definitely wasn’t anger she saw in his expression.
“Come on,” he spoke after a few moments, a gravelly tone to his voice that made her heart beat slightly faster, “we need to - um - go and book another flight. There’s one later today.” They began walking, until Stevie came to a sudden stop.
“I can’t afford another flight!” she commented, panicking slightly. Was she going to get left behind after all?
Kyle looked at her strangely. “Yeah, you’ll be paying me back forever.”
“You -“
He waved a hand. “It’s nothing.” He suddenly reached out with his thumb and wiped away a tear that had escaped her eye. “You might wanna fix yourself up, your eyes are all... red and swollen.”
“Oh thanks, nice line.” He smirked at her.
“Ready for Rome?” he asked, when everything was eventually sorted out.
She paused as if to consider this. “Hot muscled men? I think I can survive.” She avoided his arm slap, looking at him suddenly. “Are you sure about this?”
He shrugged as he slipped his hand through hers. “It’s Christmas.”
Title: Tanned. Toned. Tall.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1200, ish
Additional notes: The instructions were; We want you guys to write a short story <3000 words involving a disastrous situation during the holiday season. This is the result.
“It’s 4am.” Kyle sounded disgustingly awake for the hour that it was.
“Oh, gosh, really? I feel so rested.” Stevie’s voice held more than a hint of sarcasm, and also a considerable dosage of early morning croak.
“Get out of bed.”
“I’m out of bed!” She buried her head further under the covers and tried her best to sound alert.
Quick as a flash came Kyle’s response down the phone, well trained by now. “What room are you in?”
“I’m, um, in the bathroom, about to shower.”
“Run the water.”
Panic stations. She took the last resort option in an attempt to convince him. “I can’t, I’m peeing.”
“Put -“
“You’re not listening to me pee, Kyle.” He took a deep breath and Stevie held the phone away from her ear, knowing what was coming.
“GET UP RIGHT NOW! We have to be on the plane in just over two hours!” His outburst was met by silence. “Do you want to miss our flight to Rome?”
“Being educated is overrated…” she mumbled, far too enticed by the thought of grabbing a few more hours shut eye. This was where she belonged, here in this warm dark cocoon, for all eternity.
“You know the guys in Rome are likely much hotter than English guys, right?”
Stevie scoffed, and rubbed her eyes. Like that was going to work on her.
“Tanned. Toned. Tall. The three T’s that so please your very shallow self.”
Less than a second’s hesitation. “Give me half an hour.”
* * * * *
Except a whole terrifying hour later, Kyle still hadn’t received the call from Stevie to confirm she was ready, and after a while pacing his bedroom, he called her.
“Stevie, if we don’t leave now, we’ve had it!” His voice rose several octaves as it did when he was properly panicking. Which was definitely round about now.
“God, I know, I know, I swear I’ll be out the door in two minutes. It’s only five minutes to the airport.” She took several gasping breaths, clearly tearing around the house at top speed. “It’ll all be… fine and dandy.”
“You’re being too casual about this! You’re late for everything and usually drag me down with you, but with this you get no second chances. That plane is not gonna wait for you, Stevie, trust me on that.” Even his hands were clammy, damnit. This was more trouble than it was worth. She was. He stepped out of his flat and locked the door behind him swiftly, heading down the stairs, cradling his phone with his ear whilst carrying two large suitcases.
“Nearly done, nearly done…” She still sounded a bit too chilled for his liking.
“Think of the guys.” A silence. “Are you?”
“Hmm, yeah. I think it might be slowing me down,” and she giggled, much to his irritation.
“If you are not leaving the house right now…”
“What, you’ll shout down the phone at me?” He could hear the smirk in her voice, and something snapped, as it did on a regular basis when in the company of Stevie.
“No. I’ll leave you in England.”
He heard a quiet gasp. “What?”
“I’m going to the airport now, and I’m checking in. So you’re either there, or you’re not. You’re not making me miss this, Stevie, it’s Christmas and I’m going to Rome with my friends.”
There was a pause, then nothing but a continuous beep as she hung up on him. He swallowed and began walking across the glistening snow, in the direction of his car. For once, he wasn’t going to be there to bail her out.
* * * * *
The airport.
Five minutes until the last check in.
Despite his dramatic statement earlier, Kyle somehow couldn’t bring himself to move without knowing Stevie was there, catching the plane with him. He’d have to go eventually, of course, because the plane was leaving in ten minutes and he’d said he’d be on it, so he would be.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t stay there until the last minute, his fists clenched, hoping she would suddenly appear round the corner in her usual speeding rush. She would race through the check-in with seconds to spare, and all would be well.
Except, that only happened in cheesy movies. And he was a soppy idiot, particularly when it came to her. He could never quite work out why.
* * * * *
Ten mad minutes later, Stevie arrived at the gate. Just in time to watch the plane take off breezily into the air. With a soft thump she fell back against a nearby row of chairs, and without caring if anyone was around or watching, burst into tears.
She’d actually missed the plane.
All her friends were on that plane, including… Kyle. Her best friend in the whole world. And she’d let him down. Stevie was sure this was one time too many. He’d seemed really angry on the phone - which, admittedly, wasn’t exactly a personality trait Kyle had never demonstrated before, but this felt different. What if she had messed up -
“Ugh, don’t cry, you soft sod.”
Her head snapped up, and suddenly there he was. Standing just in front of her, looking… well, furious.
She stood up gingerly beside him, slightly worried he was going to slap her, or something equally dramatic. Humour came to her defence, as it often did. “I’m soft? You’re the one that got off a plane right before it took off, to rescue me, your dearest friend. Romantic, no?”
Kyle snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself, Stevie.”
She continued to stare at him, and was suddenly overcome with such a wave of relief that he was here, and she was not going to be spending Christmas alone because of her stupid disorganised mistake, that to relieve some of her feelings, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him right on the lips.
Not one of her better ideas, she reflected in the moment. He was already close to killing her. Although when she pulled back from him several seconds later, expecting the worst - it definitely wasn’t anger she saw in his expression.
“Come on,” he spoke after a few moments, a gravelly tone to his voice that made her heart beat slightly faster, “we need to - um - go and book another flight. There’s one later today.” They began walking, until Stevie came to a sudden stop.
“I can’t afford another flight!” she commented, panicking slightly. Was she going to get left behind after all?
Kyle looked at her strangely. “Yeah, you’ll be paying me back forever.”
“You -“
He waved a hand. “It’s nothing.” He suddenly reached out with his thumb and wiped away a tear that had escaped her eye. “You might wanna fix yourself up, your eyes are all... red and swollen.”
“Oh thanks, nice line.” He smirked at her.
“Ready for Rome?” he asked, when everything was eventually sorted out.
She paused as if to consider this. “Hot muscled men? I think I can survive.” She avoided his arm slap, looking at him suddenly. “Are you sure about this?”
He shrugged as he slipped his hand through hers. “It’s Christmas.”