i'm a diamond in a rough

Kara was completely unaware of the way that Matt was looking at her with that interesting look on his face. If she’d noticed, Matt would probably have a crying mess on his hands. Thankfully, she was more distracted with the food she was currently shoving in her mouth. Hell, she didn’t even care that what she was eating was something that was all vegetables and quinoa with no meat or anything. It seemed like all Kara could really think about was food these days. She was just always hungry. Either hungry or tired. Swallowing some of her food, the blonde leaned over to Matt and took a sip of her juice, thankful that there was a straw and she didn’t have to lean over too much. “I’ll wait until you’re done your vegetable shopping to get the flowers then,” she mumbled in between chewing her food. Once her food was all gone, Kara looked down with a small frown and throwing the wrapper in the trash can. For a very healthy breakfast… it was surprisingly good and she finished it before they could even reach the vegetables Matt wanted. Finally happy, Kara followed Matt around as he did his shopping, looking at all the vegetables. It was all so… green. No wonder Matt enjoyed this place. “Is this all locally grown?” she asked her boyfriend, taking back her drink from him and thanking him. She knew that Matt was very particular about the food he made and what he put in his body, but she didn’t really realize he was this cautious. “What vegetables do you need? Did you get your kale?”

Up and down was basically how Matt would describe being with Kara these days. It was a good thing he was madly in love with her or else he would have left long ago. Then again, he would have left the moment she told him she was going to have a baby. But he could never leave Kara, especially over something that made her happy - something he couldn’t give her. It wasn’t her fault that he felt differently over children. And he loved her. So this was something he’d have to deal with. The price to pay to be with the woman he loved. Watching as Kara ate what he had given him--happily ate it, at that--he chuckled when he noticed she had finished all of it before even reaching the first vendor. “What was it that you usually call my healthy food? Gross and tasteless? By the looks of it...” He gestured to her having finished the food, chuckling to himself before he looked through some of the vegetables on display. “The usual. Broccoli, carrots, celery. I need some tomatoes for dinner I’m making us tomorrow night.” He said all this while picking up various carrots and inspecting them. “By the way, my mother sent me this recipe for some kind of soup that she claims helps with bloating. I guess that’s... a thing you have to deal with?” he glanced up at her unsurely before going back to the vegetables. “I should probably get the stuff for that as well. If you wanted me to make it.” At first, after telling his mother the news about Kara having Oliver’s baby, she had been confused, but Lindsay was a supportive woman and after getting over the shock and confusion of it all, she’d been texting Matt a lot of various recipes he should make for Kara.

It was still so weird to Maddie that the two of them had so much in common and that they felt the same way, especially given the fact that they were complete opposites of each other and Matt pretended they weren’t friends. She knew though that they were. Matt looked out for her often enough and he still was training her despite being ‘annoying’ as he liked to put it. Maddie felt bad for him as he began to explain that it was hard dealing with a pregnant Kara and the fact that the baby wasn’t even his. Maddie couldn’t help but stare at Matt in awe. He must really, really love Kara if he was willing to put up with her this way even if he didn’t want children himself. The fact that he as now going to be living with a child that wasn’t his and he didn’t like even like kids, that was true love. “You m-must really love her, huh?” If Matt was able to suck it up, Maddie knew that she wasn’t allowed to complain to Matt about how much life sucks for her because Oliver and Kara were having a baby. He had it worse because he didn’t like children, at least Maddie liked them and enjoyed taking care of them. “I really wish they considered us more. I mean, we just got with them when they decided to spring this on us,” she mumbled and nodded her head when he asked her to stop punching him. “Y-Yeah, sorry. I doubt it though. He’s really scared of your girlfriend,” Maddie explained. “You don’t miss it though? You don’t miss being intimate with her? Sometimes it’s hard being around Oliver because I want him.”

“Yeah, you have no idea,” he answered looking away briefly. Matt loved her to an amount that nearly scared him sometimes when he thought about it. He never knew this kind of love was possibly, and yet he felt it every day for Kara. Some days he was certain his love for her grew more and more as their time together passed. It felt like some dream he’s never even had before. It was an impossible that Kara made him believe. So yeah, Matt loved Kara a lot. Doing things for her that he’d never imagine himself doing ever for anyone. Living with a kid? Hell no. Matt hated kids. He hated being around them for more than two seconds, but he was about to live with one for Kara. All for Kara. Was he happy about it? No. But it was going to make Kara happy and it was starting to feel like that’s all Matt lived for now. To make her happy. Matt was about to answer Madeline’s question when he looked at her with knitted brows, looking at her absolutely ridiculously. “You know, sometimes I can’t believe you’re an actual fucking person. You’re like a mormon character from a mormon movie trying to rebel. Is there a moment where you’re not so fucking innocent?” He shook his head, hiding the amused grin before clearing his throat. This was why Matt could ever only see Madeline as a virgin. It was hard to think of someone like her actually having sex. Which made this entire conversation even more surreal given the fact that they were here because she was horny as hell. “The problem isn’t me fucking Kara. Of course I do. Have you seen her? The problem is that it’s hard to really get in the mood when I get all in my head about how fucked up this shit is. Then I can’t stop thinking about it and then boner is gone. And you know what, you should just fuck him. Like actually fuck him. Tell him he can’t tell Kara or you’ll break up with him. Simple.”

Grinning when he slapped her ass, Kara chuckled, enjoying the fact that he was such a fan of her ass. He should be, Matt was the one that helped her get it, though she had to admit, since her pregnancy, her ass wasn’t what it used to be. It was bigger, sure, but it was also saggier, making it hard for her to really want to show it off. So whenever Matt liked slapping her ass, it admittedly made her feel good about herself. At least he still found her attractive while she was a balloon. Kara gave him a look when he went on a tangent about raw kale and was about to ask her if she had ever tried raw kale. Of course she hadn’t. Kara generally didn’t like eating anything raw. Occasionally, sure, she’d have a salad, but her preferred salads were usually either just a caesar salad or a greek salad. Kara was not one to explore any other salads. “No,” she said flatly. She knew what he was doing. Matt was trying to challenge her and she wasn’t about to be some dumb ass fool who would take him up on it. Even if she ate it, she wasn’t going to be the winner. “I’ll eat the kale but I need something else in it. At least steamed with garlic or something,” she muttered as she started to make hers and Matt’s dinner. “Are you going to make your shake or are you just gonna drink some water?” she asked curiously, hoping that if he was going to make one he could make her a strawberry smoothie.

Matt rolled his eyes, but smiled at the same time. He’ll never understand Kara’s hatred for kale. Sometimes, he was convinced she hated kale intentionally just to get on his nerves and because it was deemed healthy. It was like a petty hate - her doing it just to spite him. It was something he wouldn’t put it past her to do. It seemed right up her alley. That was why he was more amused than anything. “Whatever. At least it’ll get you to eat kale. That’s a win in my book. So.” He gave her a shrug. Raising an eyebrow when she asked whether he was going to make his shake, Matt already knew what that meant. She never really cared about his shakes, so for her to ask meant she wanted him to make her one as well. Obviously not the same one he would make for himself. She always did that fake gag thing when he tried to get her to have some. One time, she even used her pregnancy to get out of trying it, claiming that it would upset her baby. He didn’t believe it of course. But she did like it when he made her a regular smoothie. “Let me guess, you want me to make you one,” he said, already going to the fridge to get strawberries, knowing her that well. She didn’t even have to answer him on that. Matt was already two steps ahead, getting the blender and all the ingredients to make her the smoothie. She did hers first so that she couldn’t claim that he was tricking her into secretly having more healthy things because he did his first. It was better to avoid that conversation. Once he was done with her strawberry smoothie, he went to the drawer and plopped a bendy straw right in. “Here you go.”

The look on Matt’s face caused her to snicker considering how predictable her boyfriend was. She knew that mentioning bringing his mother’s boyfriend would get a rise out of him and more often than not, Kara really did love getting a rise out of him. It was just so easy. Though, she did try not to push it too much with his mom’s boyfriend as she knew that it was an extremely sensitive topic for him. It was cute though, how protective he was of her. Cute but also painful as she knew the reason he was and really, no son should be so protective of their mother the way Matt was because they felt responsible for the beating his mother received from his father. Matt’s past was not an easy one and it broke her knowing that two of the most kindest people had to go through so much. It was why she was excited when Lindsay found the courage to move on and find happiness with someone else. The woman was like a mother figure to her and she also deserved the same happiness Matt had. “Oh I’m so fucking hilarious. You can all me The Joker,” she joked even though Matt didn’t really get the reference. Hell, Kara, herself, didn’t get the reference but Matt was even more clueless so what did he know? “You know, we could always make a little trip out of it after you win. Los Padres is near there, we could always camp a night or two,” she suggested and waggled her brows. “After you win, I don’t think we’re going to be very quiet.”

Kara shuddered at the thought of going back to that place, the one Matt loved so much, but she would do it for Matt. She would never admit it, but all Matt had to do was ask her to go with her the the restaurant on a normal day and she really would have done it. “And don’t forget it,” she replied back when he commented on how much she really loved him. Anything to make Matt happy, Kara would have done. “Are you in such shock that you’re missing the most important part where I’d even eat a whole plate by myself?” she asked with a small grin. “Granted, I’m still going to be complaining about it. I’ll still eat all of it.” Kara sighed and looked at him with nothing but complete love. She then placed a hand on his cheek. “I’m proud of you.”

The idea of them celebrating if he won (though he did really appreciate how sure she was that he would win), and getting away just the two of them did sound really nice. Almost like another incentive to win. By the time the competition happened, Kara would have her kid and Matt already knew he was going to be fighting for her time and attention and considering his thoughts on that whole thing, he was going to be kind of childish about it. It wasn’t his fault she decided to have a child in the middle of them just having gotten back together. And he didn’t even want a child around. And now this child was going to take away his time with his girlfriend. So yeah, he’ll be childish about it. So to hear her say that they’d get away together if he won was nice. And if he could extend it for more than a few days, he’d try. Because having as much alone time with Kara soon seemed like it’d be a treasured rarity that he’d have to take whenever the chance arose. “If I win, I think I deserve more than just a night or two to be as loud as possible with you. This would be fucking huge. I think a week seems more like it. Come on. I’d be a winner on fucking television. You gotta step up your rewards, babe.” He lightly shoved her before laughing. He then gave Kara a shrug. “Considering the state that you eat now, that doesn’t seem like the most shocking. I’m pretty sure you’ll eat just about anything if you’re hungry enough. It’s the fact that you’re suggesting even going to that place that really is the most shocking,” he answered before a soft loving smile overtook his features. Lightly bumping the tip of his nose with hers, Matt then kissed her. “Thank you.”

Kara struggled a lot with her feelings and keeping her hormones in check. Everyone knew it and often she was sure that Matt and Oliver avoided her. She cried so much that she even cried while hanging out with Maddie over the dumbest thing. She was upset that she had missed a sale on a dress that she wanted and she was crying so much that Maddie had to buy it for her. It was definitely not one of her finest moments, but she did get a free dress out of it so she wasn’t going to complain about that moment. Still, she was sure that her eyes were red for most of the day every day it seemed and as if creating a baby wasn’t exhausting enough, crying made her even more tired and sleepy. Despite Matt’s jibe about her soon having a crying baby twenty-four seven, Kara was excited about it. It didn’t dampen her excitement for her baby and the fact that she was going to have a human being that was hers in her arms. Besides, she had every faith in Oliver and knew that he was going to be an amazing father and an even better co-parent. “I know, but it’ll be exciting!” Kara said with a grin before then grabbing some of her food and quicky shoving a few in her mouth. She was just starving and her baby wanted food as well. She found herself eating… a lot. It further proved that this baby was definitely Oliver’s son. “Oh please, you’d feed me if you could,” she mumbled, asking him to hold her drink so that she could eat more. Kara then nodded her head. “Yeah, I want to get flowers for the hallway. It needs to be replaced since it’s dying now. What else do you need to buy?”

Matt obviously gave her a total judgmental look when she talked about how exciting it would be to have a crying baby. He didn’t say anything, but that look spoke volumes. He could never and would never be able to see how it could be deemed as exciting to have a baby that cried all day and night. Then again, he was a little biased with children. He hated them. He couldn’t see anything positive of children. But he wasn’t going to tell Kara that. She was excited and although he couldn’t understand it at all, he wasn’t going to ruin her excitement with his own personal opinions. Matt slowed down his walking when he noticed just how his girlfriend was eating. Since she’s been pregnant, watching her eat was... an experience. Before this whole pregnancy thing, Kara was quite the eater. Really, he was always amazed at the way the blonde could eat. She could eat. But not only that. She could eat and still look the way she did. It was a mystery. And now that she was pregnant, it was like it was amplified. It both disgusted him and amazed him. As she shoved the food into her mouth, Matt stared, eyebrows furrowing his he lifted the straw of his drink to his lips. She did’t even notice that he was staring as she was far too focused on her food. At least she was eating something healthy, so there was that. When she shoved her own drink into his hands, he fumbled a little due to the impact. He looked down at his hands that were now carrying two drinks before glancing back at Kara and shaking his head, a little smile twitching at his lips. “Just a few more vegetables. The flowers are at the end, so you can get them there.”

Deciding not to say anything else after his comment, Kara knew that anything she said would just cause an argument and that was the last thing she wanted between them. Today was supposed to just be a happy. domestically blissful day and the subject of children, marriage and any forms of other commitment aside from what they have now was just an argument waiting to happen. An argument that was never resolved. Thanking him and kissing him on the cheek as he helped her off the table, Kara started to rummage through the kitchen once they were there. She understood Matt’s hesitancy to eat whatever it was she was cooking because of how often she teased different ingredients that she knew Matt would never touch with a ten foot pole. He was already touching bacon for whenever she would ask for it but him putting it in his mouth? Matt would rather kill her than eat it. “You just did all the moving without me having to lift a finger,” Kara pointed out. “Of course I’m gonna make whatever you want, however you want it.” Kara made a face at her boyfriend when he mentioned he would be down for anything that had kale in it. “Do you wanna just eat raw kale leaves?” she asked jokingly before looking through the fridge. “I mean…. we could make kale chips or quinoa and kale pilaf. What do you want, handsome?”

“However I want it,” he teased, smirking and quirking an eyebrow playfully before slapping her ass. Since Kara was about to be doing all the cooking here, Matt went to go sit down. It did feel nice to have someone cooking for him from time to time. Obviously, he didn’t trust anyone. Whenever he did go out to eat, he made sure to know everything about the restaurant, making sure they didn’t add anything he couldn’t eat into his meals. He was very particular about that kind of stuff. Kara liked to tease him, but he knew that at the end of the day, she was good at making sure she didn’t break his diet and he appreciated that more than she knew. For some, it may be ridiculous, but this was what his life revolved around. Being healthy, eating healthy. He made a living out of his body, so to speak, so he had to be careful what he did with it. Kara had grown to understand that and it was more a reason of why he loved her. Crossing a leg over his lap, he shrugged at her question. “You make that sound like a bad idea. Have you ever tried ra--You know what, never mind. I know for a fact you’ve never tried it, but yeah. I would just eat raw kale leaves. It’s good.” He looked at her as if he were challenging her before he chuckled. “Quinoa and kale pilaf sounds pretty delicious to me.”

There were times where Maddie felt like a complete outsider because she wasn’t intimately in Kara’s circle. Oliver was Kara’s best friend and now baby daddy, Matt was Kara’s boyfriend and the love of her life, and Maddie, Maddie was just Oliver’s girlfriend. Sure, she exchanged pleasant conversations with Kara but it wasn’t like Kara was about to start calling her to talk about boys or relationships, no, Kara had Oliver for that. This whole group dynamics felt like everything orbited around Kara and Maddie wasn’t really a part of that orbit. So this whole thing made Maddie feel even more isolated. Kara had made this decision without considering her and Oliver agreed to it without considering her. Now it felt like she definitely wasn’t going to be added into more conversations when Kara wanted something that involved his relationship with Maddie. When Matt reassured her that she wasn’t selfish or awful for feeling the way that she did, it felt like this weight on her shoulders had disappeared. It was a heavy thing to feel and for a while, Maddie felt selfish for feeling the way that she did. It was like she wasn’t supporting Oliver’s happiness. “It’s just… hard, but at least I don’t h-have to deal with a hormonal pregnant woman, huh?” she asked with a raised brow, giving him a small chuckle. “How are you dealing with all of that?” Maddie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “It just hurts that w-we weren’t really considered in all of this and if I s-said I wasn’t comfortable with all of this, either Oliver would have broken up with me, or I would be resented by the both of them and I-I don’t know how to deal with all that.”

Matt scoffed and nodded his head, suddenly having this craving to down a few beers, but something told him Madeline wouldn’t exactly agree to the change of scenario to a bar. Or maybe she did with how this conversation was going. But he wasn’t about to ask her and make her feel like they were friends any more than she already did. But he couldn’t really complain right now considering she was willing to hear him out even after punching him because she hadn’t gotten laid. At least now she was being more understanding and for that, he was grateful. There was someone out there on his side. “Yeah, dealing with a hormonal pregnant woman who is pregnant with another man’s child while living with you is really fucking surreal and really fucking sucks. I can’t pretend it’s not happening even if I tried because it’s right there in my face. A constant reminder. It’s there when I wake up. It’s there when I get home from work. It’s there before I sleep. It’s just always there. A reminder that Kara is pregnant. A reminder that a child will now be living in my home and I fucking hate children. But now a child will be living in my home and that child is not in any way related to me. And I have no say in any of this. Because if I say no, then I lose Kara. It feels like we lose either way. We gotta deal with it or we lose them.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “So now will you stop punching me for you not getting laid? I’m sure boy wonder will break eventually.”

“I’m telling you to shut up because you’re being a dick,” she said with a raised brow and rolled her eyes. Kara definitely didn’t want to admit that she was someone who could become so easily insecure. How could she not be though? Matt was perfect. He was the perfect boyfriend that she never deserved, it was hard to even live up to the expectations of being even remotely a good girlfriend for him. Chuckling at his comment, Kara shrugged and looked around before leaning back a little and swinging her legs. “See, I would love to help but it kind of looks like you did everything already. Not only that, but I am pregnant!” she pointed out, placing a hand on her stomach and caressing it a little bit. A soft smile appeared on her stomach as she thought about the baby that was growing inside of her. “I thought that you were at your peak shape. This, this is nothing! All this moving around should not be so hard!” she argued. Spreading her legs a little to make room for Matt, she wrapped them around his waist and pulled him even closer to her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Kara sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying this small moment with her boyfriend. Smiling as he placed a small kiss on her lips, Kara nodded her head at his rules. “Do you want me to make you something to eat? As a thank you for helping me?” she asked, sliding to the side so that she could get off the table. Taking Matt’s hand, Kara lead him to the kitchen, wondering what she could even make him right now. “What do you want?”

“Trust me, I haven’t forgotten that,” he said, that statement holding very many meanings and none he was willing to get into at the moment. Or ever, really, knowing where those conversations usually ended up. It was never pleasant and Matt liked to avoid unpleasant conversations. He liked to avoid most conversations, but this was Kara. So he quickly moved on to the next subject. “You want to make me something?” Matt asked just a bit skeptically. It wasn’t that Kara was a bad cook. She wasn’t. It was just that most of the time, he preferred to eat what he made. No one knew his diet better than he did, obviously. And for probably most of their relationship, Kara had always been trying to make him break it, even if it was a little. She was clearly way more lenient when it came to ingredients in the kitchen. Although she had gotten much better now with respecting what he ate and what he wouldn’t eat, it was still hard to shake off that feeling that maybe he couldn’t trust her when it came to his food. “Uh... That depends. Are you actually going to make me what I want or are you asking me and then turning this around to try and make me eat something gross?” Matt asked her, helping her get down from the desk carefully. Following her into the kitchen, he let go of her hand as she went to go look for things, him watching her from the kitchen counter as he leaned against it. “I’m always up for anything with kale.”

Kara didn’t know what to do. This was not how she planned planned things for his birthday of all days. She wasn’t expecting an argument to happen and the two of them talking about their future and questioning it. All she wanted was for everything to be perfect for her boyfriend’s birthday, something to be memorable. The whole thing had gone the complete opposite and instead, she upset him and made him angry all because she couldn’t keep her stupid mouth shut and had to make a comment about it. Kara should have just sucked it up and saved the conversation for another time. In all honesty, Kara made a joke. She didn’t think twice about the comment, nor did it really have any other meaning. Kara loved Matt almost more than anything in the world; of course Oliver and their son held an important place in her heart. All she ever wanted was to spend the rest of her life with Matt. As she was leading him towards the exit, he pulled her back, causing her to furrow her brows and look at Matt with confusion. Kara was about to open her mouth and ask him what he was doing when he then pressed his lips against hers. Tensing and looking at him with wide eyes for a moment, it wasn’t long until Kara’s whole body relaxed and she melted into the kiss. Matt always did have this thing where he made it feel like the whole world disappeared and it was just the two of them. When he then started to remove her sweater, Kara pulled away, stepping a small step back and pressing her forehead against his. “It’s your birthday,” she whispered, kissing him again but this time, she had every intention of taking charge. “I want it to be about you.” Reaching for his beanie, Kara removed it, throwing it to the ground and started to unbutton his shirt.

Matt was relieved that Kara wasn’t put off by the sudden kiss and sudden change of atmosphere. He half expected her pull back in confusion and ask her what was going on. His eyes were shut when he kissed her, so he didn’t notice the way she had looked back at him. Matt just noticed the way she relaxed against his body. It wasn’t that he was trying to ignore what had happened, but this was his birthday and the last thing he wanted to think about was arguing with Kara. She did spend a lot of time and money planning this for him and he didn’t want it to go to waste with something that they’ll inevitably argue about in the future anyway. He wasn’t mad and she wasn’t mad and it would be stupid to let this conversation hang over their heads, especially at a place like this. Right now, he wanted to spend his birthday with his girlfriend, not spend it fighting with her. When she pulled away, though, he worried it would be Kara pulling away to stop. Luckily, that wasn’t the case and it seemed like she was on the same page that he was. His breathing was heavy as he stared at her, his eyes having darkened over with lust. Matt had to admit that he did find it hot when Kara got a little more in charge and he could tell that that’s what she had in mind. “I’m all yours then,” he whispered right before they were kissing. She began to remove articles of clothing of his. Helping her with his shirt, it fell to the floor before he reached over to grab Kara’s face between his hands rather firmly. “So what are you going to do to me?”

Kara rolled her eyes at his attempt at a joke but pouted at him nonetheless. As if Matt wouldn’t want her to go. She was his biggest supporter, Matt was definitely going to want her to be there with him. Even if he didn’t, there was no way he was going to stop her from going as this meant too much for her. “You’re so fucking rude. All I said was that you did get extremely lucky that you got me,” Kara shot back and stuck her tongue out at him. Truth be told, Kara knew that she was luckier knowing that Matt had come into her life. He changed her life for the better, made her want to be better person. Sighing softly as he pulled her into his arms, Kara closed her eyes for a moment, feeling safe in them. He had a way of making her feel safe, like nothing could ever touch her.  Kara’s favourite place was always in Matt’s arms. Pressing her forehead against his shoulder, Kara smiled to herself and nodded her head when Matt reassured her that he could also take Lindsay with them. Kara wanted Matt surrounded with the people he loved and cared about whenever he was doing something like this. Something important that could help him achieve his dreams.

Looking up when he explained that his mom wouldn’t go as she would be too busy with work and her new boyfriend, Kara laughed and scrunched her nose at him. It was amusing seeing him trying to come to terms with his mother dating someone, especially since she’d been dating him for almost a year now. She wondered what it would be like if his mom got married, would he be in denial until ten years later that his mother was in fact married? The thought made her chuckle a little. “Oh c’mon, her boyfriend’s name is Jonathan,” she joked. “Maybe we can offer for both of them to come with us. I’m sure your mom wants to be there to see you win.” Once she was done reading the email, she turned off his phone and set it to the side before smiling. Staring at her boyfriend lovingly, Kara pushed back some of his bangs and sighed before kissing his forehead. “I’m so fucking proud of you. This is just… this is incredible,” she whispered, giving him a soft and loving smile. “We’re going to celebrate tomorrow, okay? We’re gonna go to that vegetarian place you love so much, and hey, I’ll even eat a whole plate by myself,” she teased.

Matt gave Kara the most offended look ever when she suggested that they take his mother and her new boyfriend while he competed. The fact that she would even bring that up had him questioning how well she actually knew him. It was either she didn’t know shit about him or she really loved messing with him. Either way, Matt glared at her and shook his head. It wasn’t that he hated the guy, he didn’t even know him. He really had no intentions to. Call it immature or straight up mean, but considering he wasn’t the type to put himself in situations that he wasn’t ready for, it shouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone. And Matt wasn’t prepared for this, for his mother dating because no matter what, he was never going to trust whoever she dated. Never. They could be a fucking saint who did nothing but volunteered at children hospitals and had found the cure to cancer and Matt would still not trust them. It was just the way that it was. “You must think you’re so fucking hilarious, huh? You know that the chances of that ever happening is impossible. So. Guess it’ll just be you and me. How awful.”

Smiling when she kissed his forehead, he shut his eyes for a moment. It was brief, but in the brief time that he did so, he felt that utter and complete happiness. Matt felt just how happy he truly was - in this moment with Kara just thinking about all the good that was happening to him. It felt nicer than he ever thought possible. After he opened his eyes, he smiled even brighter and sometimes, he couldn’t believe that Kara managed to make him smile like this. “Holy shit, you’re actually gonna take me to the vegetarian place? You hate that place. Like really fucking hate it. You hate it more than general healthy places.” He laughed as he recalled the first time he had taken her. They’ve never gone together ever since. “Wow, you must really love me.”

Kara knew that thanks to her hormones and general confrontational attitude, she was unbearable to be around. She was lucky that Matt even continued to want to live with her and hasn’t gone off to the bar every day. Of course if he were to, Kara would have something to say about that, feeling offended that he didn’t want to be around her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Kara felt guilty for having been such an awful bitch and being rude to Matt about the whole ordeal. He was doing his best. She was lucky that he was even still with her after she revealed that she was going to have a child with Oliver. Feeling his arms around her, Kara continued to cry even more as the guilt started to set in. She hated how everything was so out of whack that anything could make her cry and once she was cry, she was crying for hours it seemed like. “I don’t even know what’s wrong with me anymore,” she whispered, letting out a small chuckle when he teased that she was only a little bit awful. Kissing his cheek, Kara took a small step back and started to go through her food. “Thank you for staying to get my food,” she said, taking the container out of the plastic bag and started to eat her food. “I’m ready to continue walking if you are. I think I can manage eating and walking at the same time,” Kara proclaimed proudly and waited for him. “Oh and I wanna get some fresh flowers.”

Aside from the rage outbursts, Matt was also used to the crying. Boy was there a lot of fucking crying. He didn’t even think it was possible for Kara to cry so much. But just as easily as it was to tick her off, it was even easier to make her cry. Sometimes, Matt would be reading and all of a sudden, he’d see her crying as she sat beside him. It was hard to understand and he didn’t think he would ever understand it. It was weird and yet another thing he had to get used to. He gave her an understanding look, wishing he had some sort of answer he could give her. But frankly, he had no clue either. This wasn’t his area of expertise and considering this was Oliver’s baby, it felt weird to do any kind of research. Besides, the other guy had all that covered. “Before you know it, it’ll all be over. And instead of dealing with you crying all the time, you’ll be dealing with a baby crying all the time,” he teased her, trying to get a smile out of her. Though, his statement was kinda true. “I hope you don’t expect me to feed you if you can’t manage. I draw the line at feeding you in public. That’s reserved for the house when no one can see what a fucking loser you’ve turned me into.” Smiling at his girlfriend, he leaned in to kiss her forehead before he lead her towards another part of the farmer’s market, taking a sip out of his smoothie. “Flowers for the house?”

“Oh shut up,” she muttered, giving her boyfriend a playful nudge. There was no way that Kara was insecure the way he made her out to be. Sure, their relationship, sometimes she was insecure but that was different. Kara still couldn’t believe that she was with such a perfect man that made her want to be the best version of herself possible. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Matt even wanted to be with her, especially after everything and on top of that, her carrying another man’s baby. When it came to herself, to her appearance and her body, sure she was one of the most secure people in the world. She knew that she was hot and she knew that everyone wanted her, it was being with someone long term that made things hard for Kara to believe that someone actually wanted her. Grinning when he went to move his desk, slapping her ass on the way, Kara chewed on her bottom lip, enjoying seeing Matt doing all the heavy lifting. Once he set the desk where she wanted it, Kara moved so that she was now sitting on top of his desk and grinned. “You look so hot doing all that work,” she teased and licked her lips before stretching her arms out and motioning for him to stand in front of her. “So, now that this room has basically become our work room, what should we do now?” Kara wondered. “Do you want to maybe get a bite to eat? Any rules about this place that I should know about? Like no eating here?”

“You’re only telling me to shut up because I’m right,” he argued, giving her a knowing look, though he was sure that would earn him more than just a playful nudge. After he had settled the desk in the right spot, Matt watched as his girlfriend sat herself on desk. He rolled his eyes and scoffed - his signature move - at what she was saying before he eventually did as she was motioning him to do, now standing in front of her. “It’d be so much hotter if you actually helped instead of barking out orders.” He looked at her through narrow eyes at first before cracking into a small smile, his hands on her knees. They may have been joking around here, but truthfully, Matt was grateful that they were done with that. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand Kara being so damn indecisive and demanding him around. And on top of her being so insecure. It wasn’t the best of combos. And he was just glad that the office was now finally done being set up. It was one less thing they had to worry about and do. “Now, I want to rest. You may not feel it, but I’ve spent all day rearranging all this stuff. I know I’m in perfect shape, but even someone like me gets tired,” Matt answer, grabbing her chin and lightly pressing his lips towards hers. Shrugging his shoulders, he shook his head. “Uh, no. No rules. If you eat in here, just clean up your shit. That’s all. You know how clean I like to keep things.”

Taking in some fresh air, Kara looked around for a moment and sighed. The blonde ran a frustrated hand over her hair, not caring that her curls were getting all messed up or that she looked like some frantic mess. Generally, Kara was all about appearance. Even when she was upset about something in public, Kara never let it show in public. No matter what, Kara was not the type to let anyone see her as anything less than perfect. Once she was a little calmer, Kara sat down on the edge of the windowsill knowing that Matt was going to come out soon and hopefully with her food as she was hungry. She knew that if he didn’t come back out with food that Kara was going to lose her mind. She also knew that she should be offended that he didn’t chase after her but it was Matt, and Matt wasn’t about to let food he paid for go to waste, especially if it was his kale juice thing. Looking down at her feet, she kicked the ground in front of her and only looked up when she saw his shoes. Kara sniffled and wiped her tears, stubbornly looking away from him with a frown on her lips until he finally apologized. Kara’s head snapped to his direction, her eyes widening and she felt guilty. He didn’t deserve her anger and hearing him apologize now, it was like he was a different man from when she first met him.  “I’m sorry, what?” she asked, slowly taking the food from him and looking into the bag. Kara chewed on her bottom lip and started to go through it before then standing up and crying all over again. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know you hate me but I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for being a psycho.” Once the tears started rolling, Kara couldn’t stop crying until she was practically sobbing and trembling. “I’m sorry for being so awful. I know you didn’t sign up for this. I just wanted to have a good day with you. I didn’t mean to be so mean.”

Matt knew Kara well enough to know that she very well expected him to chase after her. His girlfriend sometimes lived in this fantasy land inside her head. Like she always felt the need to be in a romantic comedy while Matt, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Obviously. He was a stubborn man who always held his ground. He was far too blunt to ever do something for someone just because they wanted it. Always, he’d be more rational about it. So when it was Kara’s fault that they got into some argument, he wasn’t the type to budge. If he was the one who was right, he’d die on that hill, not once giving in for the sake of ending something. If he was right, then he was going to act like it. It drove Kara crazy and he knew that, but it was simply the kind of person that he was. Argument could be made that things were different now since dating Kara and for the most part, it was true. But generally speaking, he was still that type of person. So, no, he wasn’t about to chase after her like the dramatic climax in one of her rom com films. No he wasn’t about to get on his knees while she stormed out. Matt was going to wait for their order and calmly approach her outside. That in itself was growth alone. Once he was outside apologizing and handing her the food, he waited until she said something. He was apologizing for kicking her while she was down, so to speak. He spoke his mind, but with all the emotions she was currently dealing with, he knew better than to push her buttons. “I said, I’m sorry,” he repeated, doing his best to not let any kind of attitude cover his tone. It was always hard, really, to see Kara crying, even when he was mad. Now was no exception. Sighing, he reached over and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. “It’s okay. You’re only a little bit awful,” he teased her, trying to lighten the atmosphere to help her with her mood. “I know it’s not your fault. I have to learn to be more patient. That’s all.”

Maddie knew that Matt was the only person who she could talk to about the situation she was in because he was in the same situation. He understood what she was going through better than her own boyfriend. There was just certain things she couldn’t bring up to Oliver that she could with Matt in fear that it would cause a rift between them or it would make Oliver feel guilty. It was hard for Maddie to wrap her head around the fact that her boyfriend, the first person she truly felt a connection with, was having a child with another woman. Sure, he didn’t have sex with her to have the baby, but he was still having a child with someone else. There was a bit of jealousy she felt towards Kara knowing that she would have such a hold on her boyfriend. Maddie wondered if Matt felt the same way about Oliver. Did Matt fell some sort of jealousy towards Oliver for having a different hold on Kara that he never would have with her? Rolling her eyes at his comment about Mormons getting horny as well, Maddie wondered if the lack of sex between him and Kara affected him as well. It had to have, from what she heard from Oliver, the two were rather sexually active. Maddie nodded her head at the things Matt was saying, she understood to a degree. At least she didn’t have to look at Kara’s pregnant stomach when trying to get intimate with her boyfriend so it was easier to pretend it wasn’t happening. “I-I get it,” she murmured and sighed heavily. “S-Sometimes I f-feel a bit bitter when I remember they’re having a baby together. I think about how now I have to factor a baby into my relationship with Oliver wh-when I go out of the country for work. I c-can’t just spontaneously ask Oliver to come with me. We can’t just be two y-young people going where we want. Now a baby has to be thought about and I know the baby is a-always going to come first with Oliver. I just s-sometimes feel so… so… so upset that this was forced onto me if I want to be with Oliver. Am I-I a bad person for feeling that?”

Honestly, at the moment, there wasn’t a better feeling than the one he felt hearing Madeline say that she got it. It was odd, feeling this way, especially when it came to her. For the longest time, he liked to deny any sort of friendship with the girl. Matt was the type to deny any kind of relationship with anybody. Until Kara came around, but even so, he liked to refrain only having a significant relationship with her. No one else. Yet there was Madeline, a literal pain in his ass - a thorn on his side. She went from being one of the most annoying clients he’s ever had the displeasure of training to his best friend aside from Kara. Though he would never in one million years ever even think about telling her that. He’d never hear the end of it and that was something he was looking to avoid. Listening to everything she was saying as if she could feel exactly the things that were roaming in his head, he sighed a little and shook his head at her question. “No. It doesn’t. I mean, besides that just being a human being, you’re incapable of being a bad person even if you tried,” he answered, sincerity in his tone and words. “At least me and Kara had  a good run before all of this shit. We had time to explore our relationship in the beginning. You and Oliver have just started dating. You were really fucked on this arrangement. He was selfish. Even if this was done before you two got together, he never stopped to re-evaluate this decision and consider you once you two were official. And you’re allowed to say that. You’re allowed to feel what you’re feeling and think what you’re thinking. Just like I am.”

Kara knew that if Matt set his mind to something, he could easily accomplish it. He was the kind of man to never give up on whatever it was that he wanted. No matter what he thought, Kara thought the world of him and knew how incredible he was. If he hadn’t applied now, Kara would have sent in an audition tape for him sooner or later. He needed this. Not only could his client base expand but i when he won, it could go towards his ultimate dream of owning his own gym. Kara wanted her boyfriend to achieve all that. After everything he went through and how hard it worked to build the life that he had now, Kara just wanted him to get his ultimate dream. Matt deserved everything he wanted in life and she would do anything for him to achieve them. Plus, she knew how fit Matt was, how capable he was of flying through the courses, no matter what they changed. The two of them watched the show religiously, sometimes even more than once, she knew the course inside and out and so did Matt, especially Matt. “I get it,” she said, nodding her head as Matt tried to explain what was going through his head. Feeling his heart racing at his words about how he got lucky with her, Kara brushed back his bangs and quickly pecked him on the lips. “Maybe I’m just your good luck charm and it’s nothing but good luck from here.”

When he made fun of her, Kara just rolled her eyes. Typical of Matt to react the way that he was reacting now. “Don’t be such a dick,” she murmured and shook her head. “I just figured you’d want your mom there instead!” Kara knew that if Matt was only allowed to bring one person, she knew that Lindsay would be incredibly heartbroken if she wasn’t allowed to go to such a momentous moment for Matt. She’d been with him the longest and was his longest supporter, Kara knew it would mean the world to Lindsay if she saw him win. Sticking her tongue out as he continued to tease her, Kara wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. “I’m so fucking excited for you. Like holy shit, babe. You fucking did it! You got picked! You’re going to win so much money!” Taking his phone from him again, Kara then started to read the email once more, a grin spread across her lips.

Matt gave her a look, eyebrows raising before shaking his head as he pulled back. “Nope. I take it back. You’re the least good thing to happen in my life,” he said, waving his hand in her face. “That right there - totally ruined it. You’re now not allowed to go. Sorry. That’s on you.” He cocked his head to the side a little, looking at her seriously while biting back his smirk. As much of an ego that he had, Kara also had one and he enjoyed messing with her when it came to that. It wasn’t as if she didn’t do the same to him. Putting away his phone now that he showed Kara all that he needed to show her, he went back to being comfortable, pulling her back into his arms so they could lay together side by side, arms hugging her tightly. Matt rolled his eyes as she spoke about assuming who he’d ask to go with him. “Babe, you are aware that I can take more than one person, right? They don’t... They don’t really give you a limit. We just have to provide our own transportation to the place and since it’s not even that far from here, that’s not really a problem.” 

Matt laughed, unable to hold back how amusing he found this, before he brushed back some of Kara’s blonde hair. “Obviously I was going to ask you. You were the first person that came to mind to ask, but yes, I will also ask my mother. But she’ll politely decline because my mother doesn’t like to miss work. I’m pretty sure it’s because of that guy she’s seeing, but as you know, I don’t like to talk about that.” He laughed again when she reached over to grab his phone just to be able to read the email again, his lips leaning in to kiss her head as she did so. It felt nice having someone care this much over his success. It made him want to succeed even more to make her proud of him. “How about we focus on celebrating the fact that I got on at all and not get ahead of ourselves? I can very easily lose and I don’t want my ego to get too big here and get in the way of performing well.”

Kara grinned to herself when he reaffirmed that she was his girl. It wasn’t that she needed assurance, Kara just enjoyed hearing it from Matt. The way he said it, Kara just enjoyed hearing that she was his. It was something she never thought that could make her giddy seeing as, before Matt, Kara was never  the affectionate type. She was just someone who often preferred keeping her distance but with Matt, Matt was the game changer she never expected. Especially when Matt was someone who avoided relationships like a plague. So it was still sometimes so weird to her that two people who never did relationships ended up together and was just affectionate and loveable towards one another. Kara wouldn’t have it any other way though as Matt made her incredibly happy and made her feel so loved. Once he’d pulled away, Kara scrunched her nose and narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before then shaking her head. “Oh please, I don’t always need pep talks for my insecurities.” Sure, Kara had some insecurities regarding her relationship with Matt, especially considering they had broken up once before. This was one of the most important relationships of her life, Kara didn’t want to take the chance with it and have it ruined somehow. Pulling away from him, she then kissed his cheek and looked around the office. “Okay, so I think once we just move your desk here, I’m happy with how the office looks. Are you?”

“Perhaps not always, but a good ninety-eight percent of the time,” he said, continuing to tease her about it. Not that he minded that much by now. He was used to it and if Kara needed that reassurance, he gave it to her even if he never understood why she needed it to begin with. If she needed it, he gave it to her. Still, his girlfriend was a big contradiction. He’s never met someone so confident in herself and yet so insecure at the same time. Maybe it was just when it came to him, though he wasn’t sure how to take that exactly. When Kara pulled away and kissed his cheek, Matt gave her a smile and stuffed his hands into his pockets, watching as she immediately went back to working on the office. If it were up to him, they would have been done ages ago. The only reason he wasn’t complaining was because Kara wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he had and because it did give him a little bit of a workout moving everything around a few hundred times. He nodded along to what she was saying, only half listening because really, it didn’t matter what he’d have to say anyway. “Yeah, it’s great,” he said, beginning to walk over to the desk and giving Kara’s ass a light tap on his way there. “Alright, move over there so I can put the desk there,” he then instructed her, going to the edge of the desk. With a small groan, he lifted up his half of the desk and began to drag it over to where Kara had wanted it, careful as to not have it bump into the walls or anything. It took him a moment or two to get it exactly how she wanted it before he was done, slapping his hands together and looking at the blonde. “There. We’re finally done.”

Kara looked at Matt wide eyed and shocked when he spoke up, stopping her words. All of a sudden she started to feel small as he then started to scold her, telling her that she was being ridiculous. Leave it to Matt to not be so tolerant of her mood swings. When he then talked about how this wouldn’t work out between them if she kept it up and basically suggested she move back, Kara felt like she had been hit by a ton of rocks. All of a sudden it didn’t feel like she was living in her own home but rather living in Matt’s home. She didn’t feel wanted, like her home was no longer her home. Kara could feel her eyes starting to sting and she was sure her face had gone red, a tell tale sign that she was on the verge of tears and that she was just trying to keep it all in. Sure, on a normal day where she wasn’t pregnant it would upset her enough to say something, but Kara was pregnant and creating a baby, everything she was feeling was a fucking mess. It wasn’t long until she was hiding her face and quietly sobbing, her body trembling slightly. “Why are you so mean?” she asked, feeling hurt that Matt didn’t consider their house her house and she had to be the one to move all because she couldn’t control her emotions. “You know that this is all so hard for me. I just wanted to spend some time with you.” Wiping her tears, Kara looked helplessly at Matt before then standing up and making her way out the cafe. She needed to breathe and she felt like she was too hurt to confront Matt.

In hindsight, Matt should have known better than to speak to Kara the way he just had. There were times where Kara would cry because he didn’t cook the right breakfast for her that she was craving and never told him about. Just about anything pushed the wrong buttons and Matt had to deal with it enough to know this by now. But this was Matt. Yes, Matthew Lance. And although he was doing his best to keep his anger issues at bay, that didn’t necessarily mean his temper and his annoyance threshold were all that handled. They weren’t. He was getting better, but he wasn’t cured. So from time to time, when Kara’s attitude and mood swings were a little too much to handle, he wasn’t afraid to let her know how annoyed he was. Almost instantly, he realizes his mistake. Just as he was doing right now, seeing the tears brimming in her eyes. “Ah, fuck,” he muttered under his breath, probably going unnoticed by the now crying Kara. As she covered her face and proceeded to ask why he was so mean, Matt rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. “Oh, come on, babe. I’m not being mean. You’ve seen my mean. This isn’t mean. I’m just--” He cut himself short, knowing it was pointless to even try and reason with her. There really wasn’t anything wrong with him calling her out for being so unnecessarily rude and she should know how blunt he was. But of course, he couldn’t say any of that because she was already a crying mess. She eventually walked out of the cafe and Matt groaned, in disbelief that this was actually happening. He didn’t chase after her right away, choosing to wait until their order was ready. He grabbed it and that’s when he joined Kara outside, hoping that she had enough time to calm down. “I’m sorry,” he said with a sigh, handing over what she had ordered.