hey, big guy

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.

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. 

“Tootles?” The suggestion seemed at first so random that it might have been plucked out of a hat, but Tink was too analytical to assume that Fawn had really chosen it arbitrarily. She knew that tone of voice—feigning nonchalance to hide that there was something more hidden behind her words. Her friend wanted her to think the idea was being casually brought up, but she knew better. She just didn’t know why. Why would Fawn want her to try going out with Tootles? He was one of her closest friends, if the goal was to date someone she was already familiar with, but…He was one of her closest friends. That made it way more complicated. Without even getting into the possibilities of what could go wrong if they did attempt to go out, there was the problem of how they would get to that point in the first place. “What makes you think he would want to date me?” Tink asked, translated: What do you know that I don’t know?

“You’re extremely smart and resourceful, Tink.” Fawn claimed, tilting her head towards the side. “Tootles is the kind of guy who would notice that about someone, especially when that someone is a person he’s known for so many years, like you.” She then said, emphasizing the word ‘notice’ as a small dig towards the fact that though Peter has known Tink for just as many years (longer even), he wasn’t exactly the type to focus on the beautiful brain that Tink has inside of that spunky head of her’s. “And he’s always on your side for just about everything. And I mean everything— not once have I ever seen Tootles disagree or not back you up on something. Unlike with Peter, who you gotta admit, has not only disagreed with you on certain things but has even dismissed you on some of them too.” Fawn shrugged. “And just the way he looks at you…” 

Tink began tugging on her bangs as she gave this conversation so much thought. It wasn’t that she was closed to all suggestions—she was a solution-minded person generally. Of course in this situation the one solution she wanted was for Peter to magically return her feelings without her needing to even confess, but if that was as unlikely as it seemed, she was willing to hear Fawn out. She just didn’t see how dating around was a viable answer. “Am I supposed to go out with someone who already likes me, even if I don’t know if I like them yet? Or with someone I don’t even know and who doesn’t know me?” Neither option sounded right to her.

“You can casually date someone without the fear of things getting serious.” Fawn tried to explain. “I’m not telling you to jump into a relationship with someone just because they have feelings for you even though you don’t feel the same. All I’m saying is that there are so many people out there that you can get to know and even connect with— people who you might end up falling for even harder than you have for Peter. But you won’t be able to find that out if you let yourself hold out for him forever.” The brunette claimed, once again sighing at her friend. Fawn felt like she still hadn’t been able to get her point across just yet, trying to figure out what else she can say that could push Tink into at least considering in the idea of dating someone. No— have her at least considering the idea of getting to know someone else in a deeper level to the point where maybe she would be okay with potentially dating them. “You just gotta start slow.” The brunette then ended up saying. “Don’t even need to try looking for anyone new, or better yet, how about someone we do know that way you can at least have the comfort of being familiar with them? Like, I don’t know, say— Tootles maybe?”

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."

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.  

"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?"

“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.”

Tink blushed at the compliments—flattered, proud and embarrassed at the same time, which all culminated in her being a little lost for words. She never knew whether to preen or demur when faced with such glowing praise, so she got stuck in the middle making awkward replies like, “That’s nice of you to say…” She hadn’t been fishing for her friend to say all that about her when venting about her romantic woes, but it made sense that Fawn would want to assure her of all her positive traits to counter any negative thoughts she was possibly having. In truth, Tink recognized herself for how great she was; it wasn’t insecurity that troubled her. It just stung that the person she really wanted to notice all those good things about her was the one who, if he did notice, still never wanted anything more from her than what they already were. “I am happy,” she added. “For the most part. I just think I could be happier if he cared about me like I care about him...It’s hard to let go.”

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?"

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?"

Tootles looked at Tink's friend with a confused smile, as if trying to decipher what the hell Fawn meant from that. Tink wasn't shallow like that, right? It couldn't be that easy. "I don't think it really works like that," he answered with a chuckle, though he was still looking at her with narrowed eyebrows, as if wondering if it really were that simple. Maybe the brownie just had him overthinking. He thought it would help shut his mind up, but instead it only made his thoughts louder. He chuckled again, his smile growing. "Seriously, that's the best advice you got?"

Instead of saying anything in return, Fawn snorted before shooting Morty a knowing look. As his recently turned ex-girlfriend yet still date for the night, one would think that after noticing the amount of times his eyes would stray away and stare at a certain dressed in blue and blonde haired girl, that it would annoy Fawn since he wasn’t paying much attention to her. If anything, the brunette should’ve maybe even been kind of jealous that he was looking at another girl who wasn’t her. And yet— there was no jealous feelings there. That was more Tink’s kind of brand anyways, even though she can admit that it was kind of annoying with how many times Morty had gotten distracted since arriving to the ball. Almost as if he wished he had asked her to be his date for the this masquerade ball rather than agreeing to come here as friends with Fawn. Why he didn’t do so, she wasn’t about to question it, but what the brunette will do is say this to him. “You’ve been staring at her the entire night.” She commented, now smirking at him. “I think everyone here can see how transparent you’re being right now. Which leaves me to say— go talk to her! You look like you’ve been dying to anyways.”

“Maybe I’m waiting for her to talk to me,” Morty retorted, lifting his chin pridefully as if the idea of playing hard to get with one of his close friends wasn’t a ridiculous concept in itself—let alone with the addition of the fact that she was also his ex girlfriend and had already found him hard to want. Who approached whom shouldn’t even be a detail that mattered this many years after their secret high school breakup, not when they were still good friends and had been all along, but Morty could get like this sometimes over petty things. He had always felt he was the one more invested in his relationship with Bubbles when they were together; should he also be the one to give more focus to their friendship and go out of his way to reach out to her every time they were at the same party? He wasn’t obsessed. 

Although, Fawn’s assessment didn’t paint a flattering picture if she thought everyone could tell that he was looking at Bubbles…He never even realized he glanced at her that often, but that very thought prompted his eyes to flash in her direction once again, finding her immediately as if he was always acutely aware of her presence in a room no matter how crowded. “Whatever. I’m here with you. You have my full attention.” Morty pulled his gaze back to Fawn and smiled, deciding that he would focus on his date tonight and talk to his other ex if he happened to have an opportunity. Fawn didn’t even seem jealous that he’d been neglecting her so far if her encouragement for him to go talk to another woman was a sign, but now he had a point to prove—that when he took a girl for a date he treated them well regardless of any agreed-upon lack of romantic intentions. They were still friends after all.

“You sound like a five-year-old when you said that.” The brunette commented. And with the way he was acting, Morty might as well be a five-year-old with how hopeless he’s been acting. Kind of had her wondering why the two hadn’t dated if he had feelings for the blonde. If the two were as close as they say they were, and Fawn was aware of their closeness after dating the guy for a while herself, than who’s to say Bubbles didn’t feel the same for Morty? Had he even tried? “Oh, do I now?” With a raised brow, she smirked up at him when he finally pulled his gaze back on her. She doubted that she’ll be able to hold Morty’s attention for so long, and even if she did, at some point she may be inclined to give the guy a quick shove towards the actual person he wanted to be staring at so he could finally courage up and take charge in whatever it is that’s had him so hopeless like this. But intel then, she might as well mess around with her ex now that he was looking back at her. Slipping her arms over his shoulders and bringing him down to her, Fawn leaned in as if she was about to kiss him, only to pause mid-way and have her forehead resting against his. “You know it’s not nice to be staring at another girl when you’re here with someone else, right? What if I had been the jealous type, huh? What would you have done then?”