The Second Time Around [The OC; Ryan/Kirsten]
TITLE: The Second Time Around
CHAPTER 9
FANDOM: The OC
PAIRING: Ryan/Kirsten
SPOILERS: None; AU fic
RATING: PG
SUMMARY:
*****
When Kirsten awoke, she was blissfully exhausted, and her muscles ached... but she wasn't about to complain. No, instead she smiled to herself, stroked the arm that was thrown casually around her waist, and flipped onto her other side to gaze upon Ryan's sleeping form.
The hours of pleasure that preceded her slumber surpassed by far any other sexual experience she'd ever had. In her experience, first times were usually slightly awkward. In the beginning of a new relationship, people often weren't synced up with each other enough. But not her and Ryan. Even that first time, Ryan knew instinctively the right places to kiss, to touch, and the exact right moment to kiss them (or touch them). They could read each other just by gauging the sounds they made. And every time their bodies fit together, it was so dizzying, Kirsten was certain a few times that she was going to faint.
Ryan loved her; he'd said it a second and third time. And Kirsten knew without a doubt that she loved him back. But she hadn't had a chance to say it to him. When he said it to her, both the second and third time, it had been just as Kirsten was flying over the edge -- forming words, much less a coherent thought, had been basically impossible.
Kirsten gently reached up and traced his features with the pads of her fingers. She drew them down, over his feathery blond eyelashes and traced his pronounced nose. He'd commented to her a long time ago -- shortly after they'd first met -- that he hated his nose, thought it was too big. Kirsten, her girlish headiness overtaking common sense, had told him at the time that she loved it, and that it suited him. She still vividly remembered the way he had smiled at her -- so brightly, so sweetly. That had been the first time she felt the inclination to throw her arms around him.
"I love you," she whispered to him, and felt her breath bouncing back at her off his lips. She traced them with her fingers, too. He had that most beautiful lips. And they were a perfect fit for her own, like they were made to kiss each other. She leaned in, stroking his face gently, and swept her lips over his in a whisper-soft kiss.
She was only mildly surprised when those lips started to kiss back. And when she heard the low rumble of his chuckle, vibrating against her chest, she chuckled back. "So you're awake," she murmured against his lips.
"Mm-hmm." Ryan deepened the kiss and gently rolled her onto her back, covering her body with his. "Hell of a way to wake up, too."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, being kissed awake by the most beautiful woman in the world."
Kirsten grinned and tilted her head back as his lips went to her neck. "That's a nice thought, but so not true. I'm pretty certain Halle Berry has me beat in the looks department."
"Halle Berry doesn't have your eyes, or your nose, or anything else about you that I love." He kissed her stomach and swept his hand across it. "You're more beautiful than Halle Berry, Kirsten. At least in my eyes."
"Wow. Somebody's trying for brownie points."
Ryan grinned at her and slid back up her body, capturing her lips aggressively.
*****
The next time Kirsten awoke, the soreness of her muscles had increased, but so had her level of bliss. She smelled coffee and sat up, spotting some in the coffee pot that had come standard with the room. Ryan was nowhere to be found.
Kirsten frowned and grabbed his dress shirt, which was draped over the chair in the corner, and pulled it on, buttoning it up. She was swimming in it, but she didn't care; she loved the feeling. Not to mention it smelled like him -- not just his very light cologne, but that distinctive Ryan scent that she couldn't get enough of. Which brought her back to her current train of thought: where was Ryan?
Instinctively, she headed for the door and pulled it open softly, smiling as she saw him on the verandah, sipping a cup of coffee and watching the cars pass on the highway. "Morning," she greeted as she wound her arms around his waist. She pressed a kiss to his bare left shoulder blade and felt his smile as he rubbed her hands, turning his head slightly.
"Morning. Coffee?"
He held up a second cup, already filled and still steaming, and Kirsten's heart swelled just a little more. How could he have sensed that she would wake up soon and immediately go out to find him? "Thank you." She took the cup from him and joined him against the balcony, shoulders connecting.
"It's pretty warm out this morning," he commented. "A perfect Saturday."
"If only it could stay that perfect all day," she sighed, setting her coffee mug next to his on the balcony.
Ryan, his hands now free, wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her back against him, kissing her neck. "Why can't it?" he murmured against her skin.
Kirsten hummed at the back of her throat and closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the sensation of his kisses, before she opened her eyes again. "I have to go back to the house and start packing my things. And start looking for a place to stay that's a bit more permanent."
"You could always stay with me."
Kirsten spun in his arms, draped her forearms loosely over his shoulders as she searched his eyes. "What about Tessa?"
"She moved out the night before last. The fumigation was finished."
"Oh." She frowned thoughtfully, smiling when he pecked at her lips playfully, nibbled them. "So, I'd basically be... moving in with you?" The thought of it panicked her and exhilirated her all at once. It was feelings like that that made Kirsten question her sanity.
"Well... you don't have to think of it like that. Think of it as, you're staying with me until things are settled between you and Sandy."
"Right." She nodded once, loving that he picked up on her hesitation and took the steps to ease her discomfort. Something Sandy was rarely capable of doing.
"Plus, that may actually be good. I could still use your help designing my house, after all. We'd have plenty of time to do that after work and stuff. And hey..." He grinned, waggling his eyebrows. "We could carpool."
Kirsten threw her head back and laughed joyously, then looped her arms tight around Ryan's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
*****
Going back to the house hadn't been easy; not only was Sandy there but Seth had returned from Rhode Island and had apparently been informed of what was going on... but only from Sandy's point of view, that something was going on between her and Ryan. Kirsten, rather than stooping to Sandy's level and jumping in about what she saw between him and Rachel, just gently let Seth know that his father was leaving many, many details out, and that if he ever wanted the full story, he could come to her.
Seth had made his decision, though. Rather than taking a side, he was practically saying to hell with both of them, deciding to pack his own things and make a permanent move with Summer to the east coast. While getting her things together, Kirsten barely looked at Sandy though she knew he was hovering nearby. She heard him make the comment that he figured she'd take the house away from him. Sneering, she had replied, "No Sandy, that's the difference between us. I'd never even consider something so petty."
She'd taken her stuff back to the hotel with her until it was time for her to move in with Ryan. The thought of living with him still pulled her in polar opposite directions -- butterflies of excitement and stomach knots of nervousness -- but she tried not to think about it. She told herself over and over that he was just doing her a favor, and that it would have no effect whatsoever on the advancement of their brand new relationship.
But then that was when the stomach knots would kick in, telling her that this wasn't just a favor. This would have an effect on their relationship. It would suddenly rocket it into the realm of being serious, and after everything she'd just gone through (gotten out of)... was she ready for that?
*****
"You're sure I'm not imposing?" Kirsten set her suitcases down with a grunt. A week after moving out of the home she'd shared with Sandy, she was now moving in (staying -- it was less nerve-wracking to say 'staying') with Ryan.
Ryan smiled at her as he came through the front door with a box of her things. "Kirsten, you could never impose." He grunted as well as he set the box down on the couch. Straightening up, he added, "Besides, you've come on a very special day."
"Oh?" Kirsten raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. "Why's that?"
"Well," he reached his hand out to her and winked when she grasped it, "it just so happens that this morning I had a new mattress delivered. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, though."
Kirsten smirked and rolled her eyes, but let him lead her to the bedroom nonetheless. "You really are insatiable."
"Nope, just madly in love," he chuckled, and tugged her into the room with his arm around her waist, slamming the door behind them.
*****
An hour later, Kirsten collapsed onto her stomach with a satisfied sight, smiling into the pillow when she felt Ryan drop down beside her. "I really like this mattress," she murmured.
Ryan chuckled and leaned over to place kisses on her bare back, ducking out of the way when her hair flew as she swiveled her head to face him. "I'm glad. I like it too."
She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before she asked, "So you're really okay with me staying here with you?"
He kissed her sweetly, passionately. "Of course I am. I love being around you, you know that. You're my best friend."
Kirsten smiled and propped herself up on her forearms, leaning over to kiss him back. "I know. You're mine, too."
"And I want to be here for you while you're sorting things out with Sandy. I mean, I know that you're pretty self-sufficient, and... don't get me wrong, it's one of the things I love about you, but... you've gotta let yourself lean on someone sometimes. You can't just be the supporter all the time; you need to let someone support you in return."
Kirsten blinked slowly, absorbing his words, and kissed him again. "I love you."
"Love you too." Ryan pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead.
She laid her head on his chest and draped an arm around him, staring at the wall -- through it, rather -- as she let herself think. She and Sandy were undoubtedly getting a divorce -- there was no way they could work out everything that had come between them. And she and Ryan were practically already neck-deep into a serious relationship. It practically turned serious the first time she realized she never wanted to be kissed by anyone else but him ever again.
But she had to remind herself not to get in too deep, too quickly. That was what happened with Sandy. They got carried away, two precocious twenty-two-year-olds, and got married just months after they had met. And look how well things had turned out. She didn't want that to happen with Ryan. What she had with him was too unique, too intense, to be handled so hastily.
As much as she told herself that, and knew that that was the correct way to handle things... she also knew that what she had with Ryan would never be as malleable as her relationship with Sandy. What she had with Ryan seemed unbreakable. A bone-deep bond like that couldn't be severed too easily. Still... she had to be careful.
"You think we're going too fast?" his voice broke into her thoughts.
Her head came abruptly off his chest and she searched his eyes. "How do you do that?" she asked quietly.
Ryan just laughed. "I have no idea, but I like how much it freaks you out."
She whacked him in the chest -- then, as if feeling bad about hitting him, she pressed a kiss there to soothe. "Shut up," she grumbled playfully, nestling against him again.
"You do, though, don't you?" he asked, tone serious.
Kirsten closed her eyes and sighed. "Sometimes, yeah. I think things are moving a little fast. Part of me loves that because it's exhilirating and because you and I share something that I've never had with anyone else, but... at the same time it scares me. I don't want to lose you."
"You won't," he vowed, kissing across her forehead, just above her brow line.
"It's just... me and Sandy happened so fast, y'know? I mean, one minute we bumped into each other in the quad and introduced ourselves, and then a month later we were living in the back of a mail truck together. Just a couple months after that, we got married. And I wouldn't trade those times for anything in the world, because we had fun, and we loved each other, but..." She sighed. "I look at how things are now. For how connected we were at first, things sure went to hell fast." She propped her chin on his chest and her hair fell all around her face, like a curtain. She smiled when Ryan pushed it back. "I don't want that to happen with you."
"I know. And, to be honest that sometimes freaks me out a little bit, too. But..." He shrugged one shoulder, still holding her hair back. He tilted his head and smiled. "Then I think about how great I always feel when I'm around you. How well I know you without having to know absolutely everything about you. And... then I think, it doesn't really matter how slow or how fast we go. No matter the speed, we'll reach the same destination."
"That's beautiful," Kirsten smiled.
Ryan hummed a brief chuckle. "I figured out awhile ago that we're going to end up together no matter what, Kirsten. But we can get there as slowly or as quickly as you'd like."
"Thank you."
And Kirsten finally, thankfully, was able to relax.
TBC
{x-posted to rystenlove}
CHAPTER 9
FANDOM: The OC
PAIRING: Ryan/Kirsten
SPOILERS: None; AU fic
RATING: PG
SUMMARY:
*****
When Kirsten awoke, she was blissfully exhausted, and her muscles ached... but she wasn't about to complain. No, instead she smiled to herself, stroked the arm that was thrown casually around her waist, and flipped onto her other side to gaze upon Ryan's sleeping form.
The hours of pleasure that preceded her slumber surpassed by far any other sexual experience she'd ever had. In her experience, first times were usually slightly awkward. In the beginning of a new relationship, people often weren't synced up with each other enough. But not her and Ryan. Even that first time, Ryan knew instinctively the right places to kiss, to touch, and the exact right moment to kiss them (or touch them). They could read each other just by gauging the sounds they made. And every time their bodies fit together, it was so dizzying, Kirsten was certain a few times that she was going to faint.
Ryan loved her; he'd said it a second and third time. And Kirsten knew without a doubt that she loved him back. But she hadn't had a chance to say it to him. When he said it to her, both the second and third time, it had been just as Kirsten was flying over the edge -- forming words, much less a coherent thought, had been basically impossible.
Kirsten gently reached up and traced his features with the pads of her fingers. She drew them down, over his feathery blond eyelashes and traced his pronounced nose. He'd commented to her a long time ago -- shortly after they'd first met -- that he hated his nose, thought it was too big. Kirsten, her girlish headiness overtaking common sense, had told him at the time that she loved it, and that it suited him. She still vividly remembered the way he had smiled at her -- so brightly, so sweetly. That had been the first time she felt the inclination to throw her arms around him.
"I love you," she whispered to him, and felt her breath bouncing back at her off his lips. She traced them with her fingers, too. He had that most beautiful lips. And they were a perfect fit for her own, like they were made to kiss each other. She leaned in, stroking his face gently, and swept her lips over his in a whisper-soft kiss.
She was only mildly surprised when those lips started to kiss back. And when she heard the low rumble of his chuckle, vibrating against her chest, she chuckled back. "So you're awake," she murmured against his lips.
"Mm-hmm." Ryan deepened the kiss and gently rolled her onto her back, covering her body with his. "Hell of a way to wake up, too."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, being kissed awake by the most beautiful woman in the world."
Kirsten grinned and tilted her head back as his lips went to her neck. "That's a nice thought, but so not true. I'm pretty certain Halle Berry has me beat in the looks department."
"Halle Berry doesn't have your eyes, or your nose, or anything else about you that I love." He kissed her stomach and swept his hand across it. "You're more beautiful than Halle Berry, Kirsten. At least in my eyes."
"Wow. Somebody's trying for brownie points."
Ryan grinned at her and slid back up her body, capturing her lips aggressively.
*****
The next time Kirsten awoke, the soreness of her muscles had increased, but so had her level of bliss. She smelled coffee and sat up, spotting some in the coffee pot that had come standard with the room. Ryan was nowhere to be found.
Kirsten frowned and grabbed his dress shirt, which was draped over the chair in the corner, and pulled it on, buttoning it up. She was swimming in it, but she didn't care; she loved the feeling. Not to mention it smelled like him -- not just his very light cologne, but that distinctive Ryan scent that she couldn't get enough of. Which brought her back to her current train of thought: where was Ryan?
Instinctively, she headed for the door and pulled it open softly, smiling as she saw him on the verandah, sipping a cup of coffee and watching the cars pass on the highway. "Morning," she greeted as she wound her arms around his waist. She pressed a kiss to his bare left shoulder blade and felt his smile as he rubbed her hands, turning his head slightly.
"Morning. Coffee?"
He held up a second cup, already filled and still steaming, and Kirsten's heart swelled just a little more. How could he have sensed that she would wake up soon and immediately go out to find him? "Thank you." She took the cup from him and joined him against the balcony, shoulders connecting.
"It's pretty warm out this morning," he commented. "A perfect Saturday."
"If only it could stay that perfect all day," she sighed, setting her coffee mug next to his on the balcony.
Ryan, his hands now free, wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her back against him, kissing her neck. "Why can't it?" he murmured against her skin.
Kirsten hummed at the back of her throat and closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the sensation of his kisses, before she opened her eyes again. "I have to go back to the house and start packing my things. And start looking for a place to stay that's a bit more permanent."
"You could always stay with me."
Kirsten spun in his arms, draped her forearms loosely over his shoulders as she searched his eyes. "What about Tessa?"
"She moved out the night before last. The fumigation was finished."
"Oh." She frowned thoughtfully, smiling when he pecked at her lips playfully, nibbled them. "So, I'd basically be... moving in with you?" The thought of it panicked her and exhilirated her all at once. It was feelings like that that made Kirsten question her sanity.
"Well... you don't have to think of it like that. Think of it as, you're staying with me until things are settled between you and Sandy."
"Right." She nodded once, loving that he picked up on her hesitation and took the steps to ease her discomfort. Something Sandy was rarely capable of doing.
"Plus, that may actually be good. I could still use your help designing my house, after all. We'd have plenty of time to do that after work and stuff. And hey..." He grinned, waggling his eyebrows. "We could carpool."
Kirsten threw her head back and laughed joyously, then looped her arms tight around Ryan's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
*****
Going back to the house hadn't been easy; not only was Sandy there but Seth had returned from Rhode Island and had apparently been informed of what was going on... but only from Sandy's point of view, that something was going on between her and Ryan. Kirsten, rather than stooping to Sandy's level and jumping in about what she saw between him and Rachel, just gently let Seth know that his father was leaving many, many details out, and that if he ever wanted the full story, he could come to her.
Seth had made his decision, though. Rather than taking a side, he was practically saying to hell with both of them, deciding to pack his own things and make a permanent move with Summer to the east coast. While getting her things together, Kirsten barely looked at Sandy though she knew he was hovering nearby. She heard him make the comment that he figured she'd take the house away from him. Sneering, she had replied, "No Sandy, that's the difference between us. I'd never even consider something so petty."
She'd taken her stuff back to the hotel with her until it was time for her to move in with Ryan. The thought of living with him still pulled her in polar opposite directions -- butterflies of excitement and stomach knots of nervousness -- but she tried not to think about it. She told herself over and over that he was just doing her a favor, and that it would have no effect whatsoever on the advancement of their brand new relationship.
But then that was when the stomach knots would kick in, telling her that this wasn't just a favor. This would have an effect on their relationship. It would suddenly rocket it into the realm of being serious, and after everything she'd just gone through (gotten out of)... was she ready for that?
*****
"You're sure I'm not imposing?" Kirsten set her suitcases down with a grunt. A week after moving out of the home she'd shared with Sandy, she was now moving in (staying -- it was less nerve-wracking to say 'staying') with Ryan.
Ryan smiled at her as he came through the front door with a box of her things. "Kirsten, you could never impose." He grunted as well as he set the box down on the couch. Straightening up, he added, "Besides, you've come on a very special day."
"Oh?" Kirsten raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. "Why's that?"
"Well," he reached his hand out to her and winked when she grasped it, "it just so happens that this morning I had a new mattress delivered. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, though."
Kirsten smirked and rolled her eyes, but let him lead her to the bedroom nonetheless. "You really are insatiable."
"Nope, just madly in love," he chuckled, and tugged her into the room with his arm around her waist, slamming the door behind them.
*****
An hour later, Kirsten collapsed onto her stomach with a satisfied sight, smiling into the pillow when she felt Ryan drop down beside her. "I really like this mattress," she murmured.
Ryan chuckled and leaned over to place kisses on her bare back, ducking out of the way when her hair flew as she swiveled her head to face him. "I'm glad. I like it too."
She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before she asked, "So you're really okay with me staying here with you?"
He kissed her sweetly, passionately. "Of course I am. I love being around you, you know that. You're my best friend."
Kirsten smiled and propped herself up on her forearms, leaning over to kiss him back. "I know. You're mine, too."
"And I want to be here for you while you're sorting things out with Sandy. I mean, I know that you're pretty self-sufficient, and... don't get me wrong, it's one of the things I love about you, but... you've gotta let yourself lean on someone sometimes. You can't just be the supporter all the time; you need to let someone support you in return."
Kirsten blinked slowly, absorbing his words, and kissed him again. "I love you."
"Love you too." Ryan pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead.
She laid her head on his chest and draped an arm around him, staring at the wall -- through it, rather -- as she let herself think. She and Sandy were undoubtedly getting a divorce -- there was no way they could work out everything that had come between them. And she and Ryan were practically already neck-deep into a serious relationship. It practically turned serious the first time she realized she never wanted to be kissed by anyone else but him ever again.
But she had to remind herself not to get in too deep, too quickly. That was what happened with Sandy. They got carried away, two precocious twenty-two-year-olds, and got married just months after they had met. And look how well things had turned out. She didn't want that to happen with Ryan. What she had with him was too unique, too intense, to be handled so hastily.
As much as she told herself that, and knew that that was the correct way to handle things... she also knew that what she had with Ryan would never be as malleable as her relationship with Sandy. What she had with Ryan seemed unbreakable. A bone-deep bond like that couldn't be severed too easily. Still... she had to be careful.
"You think we're going too fast?" his voice broke into her thoughts.
Her head came abruptly off his chest and she searched his eyes. "How do you do that?" she asked quietly.
Ryan just laughed. "I have no idea, but I like how much it freaks you out."
She whacked him in the chest -- then, as if feeling bad about hitting him, she pressed a kiss there to soothe. "Shut up," she grumbled playfully, nestling against him again.
"You do, though, don't you?" he asked, tone serious.
Kirsten closed her eyes and sighed. "Sometimes, yeah. I think things are moving a little fast. Part of me loves that because it's exhilirating and because you and I share something that I've never had with anyone else, but... at the same time it scares me. I don't want to lose you."
"You won't," he vowed, kissing across her forehead, just above her brow line.
"It's just... me and Sandy happened so fast, y'know? I mean, one minute we bumped into each other in the quad and introduced ourselves, and then a month later we were living in the back of a mail truck together. Just a couple months after that, we got married. And I wouldn't trade those times for anything in the world, because we had fun, and we loved each other, but..." She sighed. "I look at how things are now. For how connected we were at first, things sure went to hell fast." She propped her chin on his chest and her hair fell all around her face, like a curtain. She smiled when Ryan pushed it back. "I don't want that to happen with you."
"I know. And, to be honest that sometimes freaks me out a little bit, too. But..." He shrugged one shoulder, still holding her hair back. He tilted his head and smiled. "Then I think about how great I always feel when I'm around you. How well I know you without having to know absolutely everything about you. And... then I think, it doesn't really matter how slow or how fast we go. No matter the speed, we'll reach the same destination."
"That's beautiful," Kirsten smiled.
Ryan hummed a brief chuckle. "I figured out awhile ago that we're going to end up together no matter what, Kirsten. But we can get there as slowly or as quickly as you'd like."
"Thank you."
And Kirsten finally, thankfully, was able to relax.
TBC
{x-posted to rystenlove}