oh boy, here I go. Tbh i feel a little embarrassed to ask for a headcanon request, but your hcs always make my day, and I couldn't resist. If kelbrey was real, I always imagined her hiding her relationship with kel from the rest of the group and the hooligans. Can I have some headcanons on this?
Embarrassed??? No nonnie!! I love to hear from you guys!! It’s the best part of my day (and trust me today is not a good one) I love to hear that I’m a good part of your day <333 I can’t always promise to be prompt in answering y’all but I love to see them and it makes me super happy!! Never any embarrassment necessary!!
I normally see it as Kel and Aubrey being like lol we’re dating get over it, but let’s play with this idea a bit together nonnie because I think it’s interesting.
Aubrey isn’t ashamed of Kel. That’s not it at all. She is just a complex person, and one of her complexities is her need to hide things. The others didn’t know about her home life, and they didn’t know about her connection to Kel, Sunny, and Basil, so it fits her character profile. Aubrey is used to hoarding and hiding the things she loves. If she never shows the world, there’s no way that they can be taken from her.
Telling everyone is just too much pressure on something that is young and still growing. They still don’t know what to call each other or what to do really. It’s a first relationship for both of them, and they’re jumping into the deep end head first.
In the end Aubrey asks if they can keep it secret. At least at first. Kel agrees steadily, mostly because he’s not sure how to explain to Hero that he’s dating his former bully. Then they just...never transition into telling people.
I imagine for the beginning it is fun. It’s interesting to see how they can get away with secret kisses and where they can go for discreet dates. But then it keeps going. and going. and going. Aubrey denies any romantic feelings towards him when Vance teases her for her “crush’ one day, she points out how hot one of his teammates is another. At night it’s his window she’s climbing into, and it’s him she’s saying she loves, but the duality of it starts to hit Kel in the face.
I like to HC Kel has a little bit of an inferiority complex (How could he not with literally the perfect big brother?) And usually he can deal with his low self esteem in healthy ways, but the longer they sneak around, the more he gets to thinking that maybe Aubrey doesn’t actually think he’s enough for her.
He tries to brush it away, but ideas like that are like weeds. They root deep and poisonous, and they don’t let go easily. He begins to pull away, to prepare himself for the inevitable moment she gets bored of him, for when she finally grows tired of being with someone who isn’t worth her time.
Now Aubrey isn’t the most emotionally intelligent person out there, but she can tell something is wrong with her boyfriend. He smiles less, he isn’t as eager to spend time with her, and when they do he sometimes looks at her in this wistful way that twists her stomach.
Now enter Basil. Beloved Bagel.
Basil is not a person for confrontation, but he is the one person that Kela and Aubrey told that they were dating. He has become Kel’s confidant for all questions relating to their relationship, and although he’s never had one of his own, he’s doing his best to help.
So Basil knows exactly how worthless Kel has felt to Aubrey the last few weeks. How he’s just waiting for her to be done with him. How low his self esteem has gotten when it comes to them. And Basil is...not happy.
He loves Aubrey, she’s the closest thing he has to a sister, but she’s also hurting his best friend, and he can’t understand why. So when she comes home from being denied to hang out at Kel’s for a third time that week because he’s “busy” and starts to rant to him about how “selfish” Kel is being, he kinda snaps at her.
He doesn’t tell her everything, but what he does tell her is enough to make Aubrey incredibly uncomfortable. She’s seen the results of bad relationships. She swore she would never be like that with her partners, but somehow it ended up just as bad.
She asks Basil what she should do, and he can’t tell her. He’s already far too involved in his best friend’s romance, and being stuck in the middle is stressing him out. Aubrey apologizes (a rarity for her) and asks him to help her with just one more thing
Late that night Aubrey texts Kel and tells him that they’re having an impromptu picnic together tomorrow because they “need to talk” Kel barely responds beyond telling her he’ll be there. He’s sure this is the end, and he can’t bring himself to drag it out asking her to tell him why. They’ll have a clean break after weeks of waiting, and they can both move on.
Kel gets to their secret spot in the park, and is surprised to see not only his girlfriend, but all of their friends. Even Sunny is there, seeming confused as ever, but happy to see him. Aubrey gets up from where she was sitting on the picnic blanket and walks over. She takes his hand in hers and leads him over.
She acts like they do when they’re alone. She leans against his side and plays with his fingers and presses short kisses to his cheek. Kel is in the twilight zone, everyone but Basil and Sunny seems confused, and Aubrey is pulling a total 180. Finally Angel cuts through the rising tension with a weak joke.
“What are you guys dating or something?”
Kel goes to correct him on autopilot, but before he can say anything Aubrey in a rush before him blurts out her own answer
“Yeah. Today’s actually our six month anniversary. It’s going really well, even if I can be a lot to handle sometimes. Couldn’t ask for anyone better,”
The Hooligans burst into shocked yelling demanding answers and shouting out their shock. Kel can’t help the tiny indulgent smile. He looks down at Aubrey and is surprised to see she’s watching his reaction with an uncharacteristically nervous expression. He rolls his eyes and presses a soft kiss to her hair, murmuring a quiet thank you that only she can hear. She squeezes his hand tight to her and nestles closer.
They still have a lot to talk about, and it’s not all solved, but it’s perfect for now.
