we can fly!

The feeling of her lips pressed against John’s was exactly like how she imagined it would be. His lips were slightly chapped but she didn’t mind the feeling, so focused on how receptive to kissing her back he was that the brunette decided to risk it a little further by leaning in even more and deepening the kiss. Fawn wanted more. But their kiss couldn’t last forever and they needed to breathe, and so, the pair broke away. A grin soon bloomed right back onto her face at his compliment, hands squeezing against his own as the brunette had no intentions of letting go even with their New Years kiss done and over with. “It was,” she agreed “and I wouldn’t mind doing it again if you’re ever up for it?” and there she was, not bothering to beat around the bush with her intentions anymore. If John hadn’t already guessed she was interested in having something more than just wanting to get to know him, then hopefully her insinuating that she wanted to keep kissing him would do the trick. But Fawn was fine if he didn’t get it right away. She’ll just have to keep showing to how much she liked him if that was the case.

~ THE NEXT DAY ~

For the rest of the night, the celebrating of the New Years continued, but eventually Fawn needed to head back home to her beloved Gruff. But the brunette didn’t leave without planting a playful kiss against John’s nose, reminding him of their promise to spending the day together and even going as far as to say she’ll message him as soon as she wakes up. And message the Darling she did, for the minute after her eyes had opened, she had her phone in hand. Questioning him if he was awake, she smiled when he sent her a text not long after, confirming that he was. But just as she was writing her response to him back to meet up for breakfast, the brunette felt her beloved Rottweiler's cold nose press against her shoulder, gaining her attention.  “We’re going to have a special friend spending the day with us, Gruff.” Fawn commented, lifting a hand to give him a good scratch behind the ear. “You, me, and John.” She added, using her free hand to hit ‘send’ on her text message. 

I wouldn’t mind doing it again, he heard Fawn say as others chattered around them. His eyes glanced down to her lips again, already missing the feeling of them against his. He wasn’t sure if she meant right now or another time, but …. Well, fuck it, he had nothing to lose. He quickly leaned in for one more kiss, hoping he didn’t scare her away even though she seemed so interested in him. From how his past relationships played out, he couldn’t help but have a little insecurity and doubt lingering within him.

-TIME SKIP-

After the eventful evening, John ended up falling asleep on the couch at his brothers’ apartment. Aside from his and Fawn’s wonderful time together, a lot had happened that night that had him a little worried. Was Wendy okay? And what was going on with Peter and Tootles? But he didn’t have much time to worry further as he noticed a text message from Fawn the moment he woke up. Despite that he slept in, she hadn’t sent the text very long ago. He let her know he was awake as he got up from the couch to get the day started. He was already going over what he needed to do in his head as he waited for a response: rush home and brush his teeth, oh, and what should he wear? Everyone else still seemed to be asleep as he slipped out of the apartment to head home. “Meet you at the diner soon,” he confirmed as she mentioned breakfast, sending the text as he got in his car to rush home and get ready.

As sad as it was that she wasn’t heading into the new year with Gruff, the fact that John seemed to be content in going into it with her was more than enough to make up for it. “Yeah, it was for the best that he stayed home. Believe me, he put on a good fight trying to convince me with those big ol’ puppy dog eyes of his, but I couldn’t bring him knowing he’ll end up all tense and uncomfortable here.” Fawn sighed. Not only is she going to have to make it up to Gruff once she get’s back home, but even tomorrow she’ll need to make the best day ever for him during the first day of the New Year. But now that she was also admitting to how she wanted to get to know the Darling even better this upcoming year, a new thought came to mind. Maybe John wouldn’t mind spending time with both her and Gruff tomorrow as well? He smiled nervously at her admission, flattered even before suggesting they make a pact to spend more time together. This caused her to grin once again. “How about we start tomorrow?” She outright asked, before holding her pinky out towards John to solidify their pact. “What do you say? You, me, and Gruff?” With wanting to spend the party with him, with the hopes of getting to kiss him, and now the two of them making a pack to spend more time together in the new year, maybe requesting to start the very next day was too much. But even so, she stared up at him expectedly yet hopeful he’ll say yes.

Fawn smile widen even more, delighted to hear his confirmation as she now stood before him. And as the sound and commotion of the others about how the countdown to the New Year was about to begin, it didn’t escape the brunette’s notice on how the Darling’s gaze fell to her lips before he nodded and took her hand. ’50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45….’ Taking a step closer, her face was now inches away from his as she peered up at him. ’33, 32, 31, 30, 29….’ “Really?” She asked, wanting to give John one final chance to back out from kissing her the closer they got to the ending of the countdown. But just as everyone around them started to count down from 10, the brunette used their connected hands to tug him down closer to her. ’10, 9, 8, 7, 6…” And with one final look, Fawn smiled at John once more ‘5, 4, 3, 2,…’ and just as the countdown hit ‘1’ She leaned in but not without whispering “Happy New Years~” before kissing him.  

She was so cute as she continued on about Gruff, though he almost felt a little bad, as he suddenly felt like he was bumming her out by bringing up her dog’s absence. Should he change the subject to make her feel better? However, the brunette seemed to light up as she thought of an idea for them all to spend the day together tomorrow, including Gruff, and John was delighted by the idea. Now he didn’t feel so bad about bringing up her four-legged friend. “I’d really enjoy that,” John agreed, wrapping his pinky with hers to solidify the idea. She had a hopeful sparkle in her eye that was just too irresistible to say no to.

“Ugh, I know! I should’ve, and I would’ve but sometimes Gruff doesn’t do well among bigger crowds, and since they’re some newer faces around who don’t know him yet, I didn’t want to scare anyone off, you know?” The brunette explained, sighing a tad when recalling those huge puppy-dog-eyes her beloved Gruff had given her when he found out that she was leaving for the night. Obviously, she was planning on heading back home and once she does, she’ll give him a good old cuddle and even have him sleep on her bed with her so they can celebrate the first official day of the new year together. But she didn’t want him accidentally scaring away any of her friends partners, and maybe she didn’t want any interruptions in case a New Years kiss with a certain glasses wearing brunette were to actually happen. And as he eyed her curiously, Fawn grinned once again when he caught on with what she was getting at. “You really do have such a big brain in there, don’t you.” She complimented, leaning in onto him as she did so. “You’re actually on the top of that list of certain people if you’re okay with knowing that.” The brunette confirmed, her cheeks heating up a little as she genuinely did wanted to hang out and get to know John some more within the upcoming year. 

The time was only getting closer, and by now everyone was paired up with someone. Fawn did not move from her position next to the Darling, and as he glanced back at her with curiosity again, noticing all the pairings himself, he then questioned her if she was sure about ringing in the New Year with him. At that, she smiled. “Don’t you want to ring in the New Year with me?” She questioned him in return, somehow not feeling discouraged by him asking her that nor at the possibility of his answer to that. From their entire interaction so far, the brunette was confident that John didn’t mind ringing in the New Year with her. But whether he was okay with kissing her for it was a different question. “I do— want to ring in the New Year with you.” Fawn elaborated with a nod, before moving forward so she now stood in front of the Darling instead of besides him. “I would like to kiss you into the New Year as well, if you’re down with that. We don’t have to if you’re not, we just talk but I think kissing you would be really nice.”

John listened as Fawn explained her reasoning for leaving her dog at home, noticing how her eyes lit up as she talked about Gruff. However, the sigh that followed made it obvious that she missed her pet, and John nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. The apartment is quite crowded tonight, so it would probably be difficult for him to enjoy the holiday," he agreed. If she had brought Gruff, she'd likely be busy calming him down all night, which would mean John wouldn't get to talk with her like he was now — he'd of course offer her a hand and help with her pet however he could in that scenario, though it would still be a distraction from enjoying the new year celebration together.

"That's what I've been told," John chuckled as she complimented his brain, watching as Fawn leaned into him. Not only did he learn that he was on the list she mentioned, but he was apparently at the top. "I'm flattered," he admitted with a nervous smile. "Perhaps we should make a pact, to spend more time together in the new year." The suggestion was casual, but John meant it genuinely. He was just as interested in spending more time with Fawn, so why not? With the countdown to midnight getting closer and closer though, the conversation began to focus more on the present than future plans. "Of course I do," the Darling brother confirmed that he wanted to ring in the year with her, followed by a smile as Fawn confirmed the same. John watched as she stepped forward to stand in front of him, his eyes gazing down to her lips as soon as she suggested a midnight kiss. With a nod, he grabbed Fawn's hand in his and grinned. "I'd like that a lot."

“Is it?” Tugging at the ends of the shirt to take a good look at it as if he hadn’t inspected it earlier before putting it on, it was clear as day due to the smile that soon sported onto Michael’s face that he knew for a fact, this shirt belonged to John. But he wasn’t going to admit to that yet. Instead, the younger of the two glanced back at his brother and cheekily smiled at him. “Hmm, I don’t know. Pretty sure that this shirt belonged to me! I found it in the laundry basket, so it has to be mines!” Michael stated, choosing not to elaborate which laundry basket he discover the shirt from, nor how he and his siblings alternate when it came to doing the families laundry. For all anyone knew, he could’ve snatched the shirt from John’s pile and hoarded it within his closet until now. Wouldn’t even be the first time Michael has stolen a clothing item from one of his siblings.

Eyeing him from where she now stood besides him, a smirk formed onto the brunette’s face. Though she couldn’t considered them as close, Fawn isn’t going to lie— she's into him. There’s something about John that peaked her interest since the moment they first met. Maybe it had been the way she had him flustering when she had playfully flirted, expecting for him to blush in response at most or even flirt back like many others do, but when his face had shifted into a bright maroon color and he had fumbled with his words, Fawn just knew she needed to see that kind of reaction from him again. And so flirt with him again and again she did, putting more effort than she normally would when she flirted with a friend, only for her to be pleased with every reaction she gotten from him and had even playfully teased him about it in return. It came to a point where Fawn even felt proud of how she can make John get this way—he was such a put-together guy, so it felt almost like an accomplishment of some sorts that she was the one who could get him that way. She wondered what kind of reaction she could get from him if she did more than just flirt.

“Wasn’t going to leave you alone even if you did minded.” Fawn remarked, playfully nudging him on the arm with her hands before wrapping them around it. She gave him a questioning look as if to make sure it was okay—she enjoyed the reactions she got from John, but she didn’t want to do anything that’ll make him uncomfortable while she was at it—before smiling. “I’m not looking forward for too much. Maybe spending another whole year with Gruff and seeing if I could get him a long-term buddy since I know he can get a little lonely sometimes when I have no choice but to leave him at home.” She replied with a shrug, taking note how much closer to midnight it was getting. “Oh, it would also be nice to get closer to more people this upcoming year. Get closer to certain people.” As she said that, she stared back up at John once again, praying he would get the hint on what she meant by that. "There's like five minutes left until midnight.....you know what that means, right?"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he smiled in response, watching as she nudged him before comfortably wrapping her arms around his. She did it so casually, as if the gesture meant nothing at all, and his heart nervously fluttered. Still, he welcomed the action, playfully letting his hip bump into hers. Fawn seemed to know how to bring out his silly side. "I'm surprised you didn't bring him tonight," John admitted as she brought up Gruff, but as she continued, his eyes met hers curiously. "May I ask if I'm included in that list of certain people?" She couldn't be more obvious, but perhaps he just wanted to hear her say it. It would help him confirm some of his lingering suspicions, maybe give him the extra confidence boost. Which, speaking of .. Fawn mentioning midnight once again brought John back to his initial predicament. He glanced around, noticing that everyone was getting more comfortable with the person they were pairing up with. John smiled at Fawn's question — he knew where she was getting at, but he still wondered if she was just doing it to be nice. "I do .. It means everyone's starting to pair off .." he trailed off, meeting her gaze curiously again. "You're sure you wanna ring in the new year with me?"

With most of everyone coupled up even long before the countdown to midnight began, it was obvious who was planning on kissing who once the New Year hits. Even Peter, who was the biggest wildcard of their bunch in terms of how he could’ve celebrated this upcoming year, had attached himself to Wendy for most of the night and with the way the two had been mingling with one another, it was safe to assume that Wendy was who Peter wanted to kiss at the struck of midnight. A realization that no doubt had pained one of her closes friends if the looks she had seen Tink give the pair was any indication. But after giving some advice to Tootles and encouraging him to go up to her best friend—both as a means to distract her but also because he sure as hell would be able to cheer her spitfire of a friend up—that then left Fawn back to her current own dilemma. Who should she kiss at midnight?

There was only a handful of choices left, and none of them were bad ones. She could go up to one of the twins—or even both and just make sure to plant a big one on their cheeks rather than lips in fairness as she was sure neither Duke or Benji would mind if she asked. Or maybe she could go up to the youngest Darling, Michael, and give him a small peck instead? She bets his reaction to even just a small kiss would be fun, and from that thought alone, the brunette almost considered it. But as she looked around the room for him, another Darling caught her eye. John. Standing at the other side of the room, she watched as the person he had been conversing with walk away (the person most likely heading towards the partner they were planning on kissing for the night), leaving the middle of the biological Darling siblings alone. Staring at him, it struck her that he was an option as well. It also hit her that this could be one of her only chances to actually get to kiss him if she were to go up to him and ask.

Without a second thought, Fawn made her way to him, and once her eye caught his, the brunette smiled. “Noticed you were left alone, and thought 'we can't have that', so I came over to join you. You don't mind, do you?.” She replied, sliding into place right next to him. “That, and it’s almost midnight. A brand new year, you excited?” 

He met Fawn's gaze from across the room as he began contemplating his next move, a nervous smile forming. John was always the put together Darling, the smart one who was almost always sure of himself. It wasn't until he met Tink's friend that he suddenly questioned if that was even true about himself. Something about her always had him fumbling and unsure of himself, whether it was her natural flirtiness or just the way she always seemed to surprise him. She kept him on his toes, watching as she came over to him without a second thought. John wondered if she was just coming to check on him out of kindness; logically, it didn't seem likely that Fawn actually liked him as more than a friend. Her flirtiness was just natural with her personality — it wasn't just special for him.

Her response only confirmed his suspicions, that she was coming over because he'd been caught alone, but that didn't mean that he didn't welcome her company. "Of course not," John smiled again, watching as Fawn slid right by his side. "A new year is always exciting — it's the perfect time for resolutions and new beginnings." He didn't intend to bore her with his resolutions, the mention of midnight reminding him of his initial conundrum. "How about you? What are you looking forward to?"