Reagan Kittrick

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

Cherry felt her heart swell in her chest as Chris told her to let him know if there was anything that he could do to help. It was nice to have a partner who was so supportive in the things that she was passionate about. To be fair, even before they were a couple, Chris was always supportive of Cherry’s thoughts, passions, and decisions. She couldn’t think of a single time when he was telling her not to do something she wanted, or did anything to make her feel as though she was foolish for doing something she enjoyed, that she loved. It truly made him a fantastic boyfriend, especially since he was willing to help her with this.

“I promise to let you know if there is any way that you can help,” she told him honestly as she smiled at him before she went back to making sure she didn’t burn her food. She did glance up though as Chris asked her if the even would be well received. There was a pause as she thought about it, sure that there would be people there who would be fully supportive of the event, and the department that they were raising money for. Even so, she also knew that there were people who were still prejudice against werewolves, who were just…assholes for no reason, as one of her favorite werewolves told her when she met up with him (although not nearly as often as she would have liked, but she supposed if he was doing well, then her not seeing him as often was a good thing).

The redhead took a breath before she nodded, returning her attention to her dinner. “I think that it will be. There are a lot more people who support werewolves than there are people who don’t. I think Jim’s been talking to people about it as well. He mentions it to the wolves who come into the office. He also is trying to see if he can speak with those working in the Creatures Induced Injuries Ward at St. Mungo’s to see if he could get their support as well,” she reasoned before she nodded. “I think it’ll have a good turn out. It won’t be like…a crazy gala, of course, but it’ll be something that I think will be perfect for the department and what we’re doing,” she said with a grin as she thought about it.

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

Chris seemed delighted when Cherry told him that she needed his help. He told her that he was happy to do so and while she was sure if he thought about it, he would realize she didn’t actually need his help, she did want it. She wanted him to help her because it was something fun for them to do together, and something that they could bond over. She hadn’t seen it herself growing up, but she had seen it in movies, couples cooking together. She had often dreamed of it for herself when she was trying to drift off to sleep and couldn’t quite get there, making up future scenarios in her head about what her life would be like to be happy with a partner who wanted to do things with her instead of leaving her to her own devices just to cook dinner like she had seen with her mother and father.

Cherry asked Chris about cooking the sausages, which he agreed to, after straightening up a bit, making her smile. She nodded her head before she opened up the packet, setting the sausages in the skillet and turning the burner of her stove on. She tossed the package and set out the tongs for him to use before she set about gathering eggs, cheese and veggies to make herself an omelette. While that would cook, she would make her toast, but for the moment, she was distracted by cracking eggs over a bowl and then chopping up vegetables to add to her egg mixture, whisking everything together with a fork before Chris spoke, garnering her full attention.

The redhead looked at him and smiled. “Things are starting to become more and more concrete. A tentative date which will be solidified once the venue has agreed to everything and we pay the fees,” she told him with a delighted smile as she poured the egg, vegetable mixture into the skillet and sprinkled some cheese in it as well. “Hopefully next week we’ll have an answer and we can start working on flyers and posters,” she continued, giddy at the prospect of finally doing something like this for the Werewolf Support Services since, well, they really did have minimal funding and this would be something to help boost their numbers for sure, and give people a chance to show their appreciation.

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

With the young couple  now in the kitchen, it was time to root around in the fridge to see if they could find something for the two of them to cook up for Cherry. She opened the fridge, looking inside of it, one of her hands still in Chris’ as she used the other to move a few things around before she decided that she wanted to do something simple. She looked over at Chris as he asked her what she was going to make before he asked her how she would like for him to help, making her smile even wider. “I was thinking of maybe making some breakfast for dinner,” she told him with a nod of her head. “I can definitely use your help,” she told him honestly.

The redhead adored that Chris liked helping her in the kitchen. She had been raised with a mother who did all of the cooking and a father who opted to not step food in the kitchen unless he was asking when dinner would be ready, or grabbing something to drink for himself. Her mother had done all the work in the kitchen, and her skills were the only thing that Cherry had, thankfully, inherited from the woman. So when Chris often asked if she wanted his help, especially when he genuinely sounded like he wanted to help her, it always made her smile and her heartbeat a little fast in her chest. It was truly the little things that Cherry enjoyed when it came to her relationships.

Cherry released Chris’ hand as she started to gather the different ingredients that she would need to make herself breakfast. “Chris, do you think you could cook the sausage?” She asked as she placed a skillet on the stove, glancing over at him. If it was something that he wasn’t fully comfortable with, she would give him another task. She would make the eggs and butter the toast since that’d be easy for her to multitask with. Of course, if he would prefer eggs or toast, she wouldn’t mind switching with him.

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

It was best that the young couple take their time in getting to sex. Mostly because neither of them were the slightest bit ready. Cherry had never been to that point in a relationship before and Chris obviously hadn’t since he believed he was asexual before the realization that he was demi. Cherry had some experience in things leading up to sex, of course, but she wasn’t quite as experienced as some other people in her life. She knew, of course, that Chris didn’t mind, and it just meant that they could both learn and explore together which would make things a lot easier, or…so she hoped.

Chris thanked Cherry for allowing him to stay a bit longer, making her grin a bit wider. She was sure later when he left her cheeks would hurt from her smiling, but she couldn’t help it. He made her smile. She felt her heart melt in her chest as he picked up her hand in his and pressed his lips to the back of it. Butterflies erupted in her stomach at the action of adoration and she nearly had the urge to kiss him again, but she resisted, her smile softening as her eyes conveyed the love she had for him.

Then he suggested that he could help her make dinner if she wanted since she must have been hungry. She grinned. “You know I do love it when you help me in the kitchen. Come on, let’s see what I have,” she said as she stood up, her hand still in his as she waited for him to stand so that they could go into the kitchen and search for what she had so they could see what she could make. She knew they wouldn’t be able to hold hands forever, but for the moment, she was going to enjoy the feeling.

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

Chris nodded his head after Cherry thanked him for telling him about how he and Mike believed he was demisexual. He squeezed her hand and her smile widened before he told her that he didn’t really know what it meant for the future. His cheeks turned pink and so did Cherry’s when she realized that it meant that while sex had been off the table it was now something that could be put back on the table. It meant that now whatever fantasies that Cherry had been having (which Chris knew nothing about because she didn’t want him to feel awkward) were now possibilities. To be fair, her fantasies were rather…vanilla, but when he was asexual, they were something that were never going to happen.

Now they could.

Cherry’s attention returned to Chris as he told her that he wanted to try and figure out what it meant for the future with her, making her smile at him and nod her head. “Baby steps,” she told him, and herself. It meant that they could talk about things that perhaps they would be comfortable with talking about later. And it meant that there was no rush and they could take their time in figuring it out, especially since Chris was asexual before and now with the realization that he was in fact demisexual meant that things would need to explored slowly, and openly.

At the question about dinner Chris looked at Cherry, telling her that he and Mike had already eaten and she nodded her head, not at all upset about it. He added that he would like to stay for a while longer if it was okay and she smiled, nodding her head. “Of course it’s okay, Chris. I would love it if you stayed for a while longer,” she told him honestly. She loved him, after all, why wouldn’t she want him around? Even if the two would get into a fight (which…she didn’t think would ever happen), she still would want him around.

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

Chris had wanted to argue with Cherry when she had said that she had felt like she had been a bad girlfriend. She knew that, of course, he didn’t think so. That she was a good girlfriend and that he was the one at fault, but to be honest, she wasn’t blaming just one of them, she was blaming both of them for their shitty communication skills. She knew, of course, that Chris couldn’t argue with her in that regard. She was right. They were both horrible at communicating, at least when it came to negative emotions. They could easily tell each other they had a great time together or had fun on a date or loved one another, it seemed, but they couldn’t tell each other when things were not great.

Both of them needed to work on it, and Chris agreed.

The brunette nodded his head, telling her that he believed that was the case. He told her how he should have been more upfront with her about everything and he wasn’t and she nodded. “Me too,” she agreed as she looked over at him, feeling honestly like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders because it meant that there was now nothing in regards to “secrets” between them. Both were going to do better and be open books. Cherry was already feeling better since she had confessed some of her anxieties, and Chris had apparently felt the same.

Cherry listened as Chris told her that when he was with Mike they had been looking into asexuality and he had found something about demisexuality. Thankfully, Cherry didn’t have to ask him what that was when he told her that it meant he needed a strong, close emotional connection to someone before he felt sexually attracted to them. He added that he believed that was what he was and she smiled, nodding her head. “Okay. Thank you for telling me,” she told him with a grin. For any one other than Chris and Cherry, their minds would have immediately gone to sex, but Cherry was too excited at the fact that Chris was being open with her about everything and it made her feel good.

“Um. Did you want to stay for dinner? I haven’t started anything yet but…” She glanced at the clock on the wall to see that it was getting around that time. Plus, it meant that they could spend more time together.

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

Chris spoke up, telling his girlfriend that he had been hanging out with Mike. He blushed as he added that they were just talking and he had just realized it. He told her that it sounded silly now but he had realized that he loved it and he just had to tell her. It made her smile. It may have seemed silly to him, but it wasn’t to Cherry. She found it endearing and adorable and almost like something out of a movie. The main lead realizes his feelings for his leading lady and has to rush and tell her his feelings? It sounded romantic and it made Cherry’s heart swell.

Of course, when Chris spoke again, she felt her heart break. He told her that he knew he hadn’t been a good boyfriend up until now and he knew that it was because he felt so awkward talking about things. He added that he got worried and scared that he would say something to ruin things between them and then he ended up doing something to seemingly wreck things anyway. Cherry gently squeezed Chris’ hand and shook her head, smiling at him and laughing quietly. “Oh Chris, you have been a good boyfriend,” she told him with a grin.

“And honestly I...I’ve been feeling the same way. Like...like every time I say or do something I screw things up. I just...I always feel like when I say or do something I just...I somehow am moving too fast and I never wanted you to feel like you weren’t...moving fast enough or that I was pressuring you. I mean...inviting you over to my apartment, our first kiss, telling you that I love you.” She looked at him, letting out a sigh and smiling at him a little. “I just...I feel the same way, like...like I’ve been a bad girlfriend.” She paused. “But maybe if we’re both feeling this way, neither of us are being a bad boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe we’re just...terrible  at communicating,” she told him honestly.

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

The couple sat on the couch and Chris spoke up, telling her that he was glad he hadn’t interrupted her night. To be fair, the only thing he could have possibly interrupted was a TV show or movie she was watching, or a bath if she felt like having one. Other than that, there wasn’t anything that he would be interrupting. Cherry, after all, didn’t lead a very exciting life despite how she worked around werewolves and was a witch. Her life was rather boring, uneventful in the grand scheme of things. Chris and their friends made her life exciting of course, but when they weren’t around? Cherry was the most boring person on the planet.

Cherry smiled back at Chris, her smile widening as he moved to thread their fingers together as she held his hand in hers. He spoke up, apologizing for not calling her or anything to let her know that he wanted to see her and she smiled at him. “Oh Chris, you don’t have to apologize. I really wouldn’t mind you surprising me more with visits,” she told him honestly. Chris, of course, hated surprises and he wasn’t one for surprises, but Cherry loved them. She loved being surprised, whether it’s a little gift, someone showing up to say hello, or calling or texting her randomly to talk for hours or go out for drinks or dinner. She enjoyed those moments because it meant that someone had spontaneously thought about her, and wanted to reach out to her. It made her feel good. Feel wanted.

“How...how did you come to this conclusion if you don’t mind me asking?” Cherry asked as she tilted her head a bit to look over at her boyfriend, her curiosity getting the best of her. She couldn’t help it. Chris seemed a bit more at ease and more relaxed as the two of them sat together on her couch after his declaration. So, she didn’t feel as guilty asking him how he knew that he loved her after all of this time. It wasn’t that she was upset, of course, she was just curious. When did he know? How?

Cherry’s day off from work had been pretty productive if she said so herself. She had spent the day taking down her Christmas decorations with care. She had been able to get most things down without magic and put away safely into their boxes and containers. The lights, ornaments at the top of the tree, and the tree topper she had to use magic to get down since she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach them. Chris had helped to put them up and while they were almost the same height, he was still taller so it had been easier for him to put them up than her.

Of course, as she took down the decorations, she was thinking about the beautiful holiday that she had shared with Chis and his family. She was thankful that Mark and Sarah loved their gifts from her, and the small family had spent most of the day relaxing, talking, playing random games around the house and snacking on foods. It had been the most fun Cherry had had during the holidays in a long time. It had become her favorite holiday memory with her last Christmas at Hogwarts being the second favorite memory and she hoped there would be many more in the future.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts at a knock on her apartment door. She blinked a few times and headed over, using magic to put away the last few boxes (shrinking everything to fit into a small box labeled “Christmas” that she would put into a closet later). She looked through the peephole and paused a moment when she saw the handsome brunette on the other side. She opened the door, thoroughly surprised. “Chris? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” She asked since, well, usually he told her when he was coming to visit and she couldn’t recall him saying he was coming over.

Chris was a man who tended to plan things out. He always made sure to let Cherry know when he would be coming over, not just the date but the time as well. He didn’t really do surprises since, well, they made him uncomfortable (Cherry had learned that the hard way when she had surprised him about her apartment). He planned things out, wanting to make sure that there weren’t any surprises and that things fell into place as they were supposed to. So when Chris arrived at Cherry’s door, she was wondering if she had forgotten that he was coming over to visit her today, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember anything.

The brunette blurted out that he loved her and Cherry’s eyes widened at the declaration, her eyebrows raising up in surprise. Chris continued, telling the redhead that he was in love with her and apologizing for interrupting her evening, but he had really needed to tell her. Honestly, Cherry was elated by this confession and she couldn’t help but smile at Chris as his words continued to bounce around in her skull like a bouncy ball. A part of Cherry wanted to move forward and plant a kiss on him, but with the way that he was breathing hard, she opted to instead, gently take his hand and pull him into the apartment and out of prying eyes.

Once they were both inside and Cherry had shut the door, she turned and pressed her lips against his, although not for too long since he still seemed winded and the smile on her face made it a bit difficult to be a proper kiss. Her eyes searched his own as she pulled away from his lips, her wide grin still on her lips. “I love you,” she stated, repeating his sentiment back to him, before she paused. “And you...you didn’t interrupt my evening, I just got done putting away the decorations...” she told him as she led him towards the couch so that he could take a seat and catch his breath, still grinning, unable to help herself since her heart had swelled at being told by Chris that he loved her. She wanted to ask him how he came to such a conclusion, but she opted it was best not to for now, and to instead try and take care of him.

Chris' final exam for university took place at the beginning of the month, which meant that he only had three assessments to worry about before the close of study for the Christmas holidays. He'd carefully worked out his schedule so that he could dedicate time to them, while also ensuring he had time for everything else. Mike had rubbed off on him. But there was also something on his mind, something that had him worrying about who he was entirely.

The kiss with Cherry.

He'd been thinking about it a lot since, and on their lads' night out, after a few drinks, Chris confessed to Mike how conflicted he was feeling. He was asexual, so why was he now suddenly thinking of Cherry in that way? The drink had helped him speak a little more openly about it, although he still blushed as he did, and Mike did his job as his best friend and soulmate in reassuring him. So when Cherry asked if Chris would like to help her decorate her apartment for Christmas, he'd agreed with butterflies in his stomach.

He had once again dressed casually, the primary motivation for it being that Cherry had seemed to like it when he'd dressed this way. Chris had also stopped by a shop on the way to pick up some things for them to snack on, including a chocolate box, some popcorn, and some cloudy lemonade. Standing at her door he found himself replaying the kiss in his mind, clearing his throat to try and get his focus as he knocked on the door.

Cherry had told Chris the truth, or most of it. She didn’t want to tell him that she had been scared he would break up with her. He would feel even more guilty than he already did, and she could tell by the look on his face that he felt guilty after she spoke. He had shaken his head at her words before he spoke up, getting halfway through telling her that it wasn’t her, that it was him and he stopped himself, allowing his words to trail off and Cherry had never been more thankful for it. She had heard that line far too many times from past boyfriends right before they broke up with her, or right after they did. It still had relatively bad memories for her so hearing it, she wasn’t sure how she would react.

Chris continued, not with the sentence thankfully, as he apologized for worrying her. He said that he should have explained to her how he was feeling and what he was feeling, but he had panicked before his eyes turned towards the bathroom door. He told her that he had called Mike (which didn’t surprise her in the slightest and she wasn’t going to comment on it since she loved Mike and Chris’ friendship). He then added that his best friend had told him that he should talk to her, which Cherry was glad that he had. She didn’t want to end up crying in the middle of her living room since, well, that seemed to be what was going to happen if Chris had stayed in there any longer.

The brunette looked around at the decorations both put up and waiting to be put up before he asked about them continuing and Cherry smiled as she leaned over to press her lips to his cheek and give his hand a squeeze before she let go. “I would love to continue decorating with you,” she told him with a bright grin before she stood up and motioned to the stockings so that they could get them put up.

Decorating her apartment really didn’t take too much longer to decorate the rest of her apartment. It was nice that they were able to get everything done in a timely manner but that unfortunately meant that with that ending, Chris left and Cherry was left alone in her apartment once again, but at least she had a beautifully decorated home to spend some time with before Christmas with her boyfriend and his family.

Chris' final exam for university took place at the beginning of the month, which meant that he only had three assessments to worry about before the close of study for the Christmas holidays. He'd carefully worked out his schedule so that he could dedicate time to them, while also ensuring he had time for everything else. Mike had rubbed off on him. But there was also something on his mind, something that had him worrying about who he was entirely.

The kiss with Cherry.

He'd been thinking about it a lot since, and on their lads' night out, after a few drinks, Chris confessed to Mike how conflicted he was feeling. He was asexual, so why was he now suddenly thinking of Cherry in that way? The drink had helped him speak a little more openly about it, although he still blushed as he did, and Mike did his job as his best friend and soulmate in reassuring him. So when Cherry asked if Chris would like to help her decorate her apartment for Christmas, he'd agreed with butterflies in his stomach.

He had once again dressed casually, the primary motivation for it being that Cherry had seemed to like it when he'd dressed this way. Chris had also stopped by a shop on the way to pick up some things for them to snack on, including a chocolate box, some popcorn, and some cloudy lemonade. Standing at her door he found himself replaying the kiss in his mind, clearing his throat to try and get his focus as he knocked on the door.

Cherry hated how utterly useless she felt in this instance. She wanted to help Chris, to comfort him, to do something to make him feel better, but she didn’t have the words and she was sure that physical comfort wouldn’t be best in this situation. She was at a loss and there was nothing that she could do in that moment, she felt, that was at all helpful to Chris. It was then that she wished that Mike was there, always able to know how to help his best friend and what to say while she was utterly shit at it. The best she could do was hold his hand and give it a gentle, comforting squeeze. It was all that she could offer him then.

Chris looked up at Cherry after she spoke and he took a deep breath before he surprised her by apologizing. She blinked as he told her that he had felt as though he had derailed the entire day and how he hadn’t meant to and how he hoped that he hadn’t upset her. She felt her heart crack in her chest when she heard those words. He hadn’t, of course, derailed the day. This conversation and realization was more important than helping her put up Christmas decorations. She could easily do that on her own later. She had just picked this activity so that the two of them could spend some time together that wasn’t sitting on a couch watching TV in her apartment.

Then Chris asked her if he had upset her and she paused a moment. “I...I was worried when you had rushed off that maybe I had done something,” she told him, wanting to be honest despite the fact that she didn’t want to hurt his feelings or make him feel worse than he already did. “I had thought that perhaps I had done something to upset you, again, and...I was worried,” she confessed as she gazed over at him, a bit embarrassed at her words. She hadn’t wanted him to feel bad, but she knew that she couldn’t lie to him either since that could potentially do more harm than good.

Chris' final exam for university took place at the beginning of the month, which meant that he only had three assessments to worry about before the close of study for the Christmas holidays. He'd carefully worked out his schedule so that he could dedicate time to them, while also ensuring he had time for everything else. Mike had rubbed off on him. But there was also something on his mind, something that had him worrying about who he was entirely.

The kiss with Cherry.

He'd been thinking about it a lot since, and on their lads' night out, after a few drinks, Chris confessed to Mike how conflicted he was feeling. He was asexual, so why was he now suddenly thinking of Cherry in that way? The drink had helped him speak a little more openly about it, although he still blushed as he did, and Mike did his job as his best friend and soulmate in reassuring him. So when Cherry asked if Chris would like to help her decorate her apartment for Christmas, he'd agreed with butterflies in his stomach.

He had once again dressed casually, the primary motivation for it being that Cherry had seemed to like it when he'd dressed this way. Chris had also stopped by a shop on the way to pick up some things for them to snack on, including a chocolate box, some popcorn, and some cloudy lemonade. Standing at her door he found himself replaying the kiss in his mind, clearing his throat to try and get his focus as he knocked on the door.

Cherry was surprised by this revelation, although probably not as surprised as her boyfriend. He had thought he was asexual and yet his body had responded in a rather sexual way to the two of them kissing. The redhead wanted to help her boyfriend, who she was sure was even more confused than he was before. What he knew about himself suddenly wasn’t completely true and he wasn’t sure what was going on. So, she wanted to help, it was why she told him to tell her what was going on in his head, so he could voice his thoughts instead of keeping them inside, and so she could hopefully try and help him through what was going on.

Chris spoke up, telling his girlfriend that it didn’t feel okay, despite how she told him it was. He added that he felt like he had only just accepted that he was asexual and now he didn’t know what he was. There was a pause as Cherry tried to think of something that would help, but she wasn’t sure what. Perhaps she wasn’t as good at this as she had thought she was. Maybe she could suggest that he do some research, or he and Mike do some research if that was something that he wanted to do. She wasn’t sure and she felt herself growing guilty that she couldn’t help him.

The young healer in training spoke again, saying that it wasn’t just that. He added that if felt disrespectful and her eyebrows knitted together as she looked at him. He said that he respected her and cared about her, but what had just happened had felt disrespectful. “Oh, but Chris it’s not,” she told him as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s completely natural,” she tried before she let out a sigh. “And I know what I’m saying won’t help much in the grand scheme of things because I have no clue what it’s like to be in this situation, but I hope you know you’re not being disrespectful. Nothing about this is,” she tried before she wondered if she should just shut her mouth and sit there.

The redhead had no clue if she was helping or making it worse, and she hated this feeling more than any feeling she had felt before. Being so useless.

Chris' final exam for university took place at the beginning of the month, which meant that he only had three assessments to worry about before the close of study for the Christmas holidays. He'd carefully worked out his schedule so that he could dedicate time to them, while also ensuring he had time for everything else. Mike had rubbed off on him. But there was also something on his mind, something that had him worrying about who he was entirely.

The kiss with Cherry.

He'd been thinking about it a lot since, and on their lads' night out, after a few drinks, Chris confessed to Mike how conflicted he was feeling. He was asexual, so why was he now suddenly thinking of Cherry in that way? The drink had helped him speak a little more openly about it, although he still blushed as he did, and Mike did his job as his best friend and soulmate in reassuring him. So when Cherry asked if Chris would like to help her decorate her apartment for Christmas, he'd agreed with butterflies in his stomach.

He had once again dressed casually, the primary motivation for it being that Cherry had seemed to like it when he'd dressed this way. Chris had also stopped by a shop on the way to pick up some things for them to snack on, including a chocolate box, some popcorn, and some cloudy lemonade. Standing at her door he found himself replaying the kiss in his mind, clearing his throat to try and get his focus as he knocked on the door.

There was a moment before Chris nodded and moved to sit down beside her. Chris avoided eye contact as he sat beside her, but Cherry stayed quiet as she waited for him to speak up. She didn’t want to pressure him into speaking so she stayed quiet and waited. He would tell her what he wanted to tell her in a moment, a moment that was a lot longer than the two of them wanted. Grant it, despite how it felt like forever for them, it truly hadn’t been that long that she had waited for him to speak.

Chris surprised Cherry when he told her that he had liked it. He added that he liked kissing her. It made her smile a little when he confessed this. He added that he liked it more than he thought he did and she paused as he looked over at him to see his cheeks were bright red. He said that it had surprised him because he thought he was asexual before he trailed off. She raised an eyebrow as he added that if he had been it wouldn’t react like he had.

His statement made Cherry confused and she blinked a few times before it finally clicked for her. Her eyes widened and her mouth in the shape of an “o” as she realized that it meant that he had...really liked the kiss. She looked over at him before she reached over to gently take his hand. “You know that’s...okay, right?” she asked him, her voice quiet as she tried to comfort him. She gently squeezed his hand and hoped that she would be comforting him somehow. “Tell me what’s going on in his head, let me help…”

Chris' final exam for university took place at the beginning of the month, which meant that he only had three assessments to worry about before the close of study for the Christmas holidays. He'd carefully worked out his schedule so that he could dedicate time to them, while also ensuring he had time for everything else. Mike had rubbed off on him. But there was also something on his mind, something that had him worrying about who he was entirely.

The kiss with Cherry.

He'd been thinking about it a lot since, and on their lads' night out, after a few drinks, Chris confessed to Mike how conflicted he was feeling. He was asexual, so why was he now suddenly thinking of Cherry in that way? The drink had helped him speak a little more openly about it, although he still blushed as he did, and Mike did his job as his best friend and soulmate in reassuring him. So when Cherry asked if Chris would like to help her decorate her apartment for Christmas, he'd agreed with butterflies in his stomach.

He had once again dressed casually, the primary motivation for it being that Cherry had seemed to like it when he'd dressed this way. Chris had also stopped by a shop on the way to pick up some things for them to snack on, including a chocolate box, some popcorn, and some cloudy lemonade. Standing at her door he found himself replaying the kiss in his mind, clearing his throat to try and get his focus as he knocked on the door.

Cherry had forced herself to sit  down on the couch after some pacing. She felt her throat close up as her emotions tried to get the best of her and she had done everything she could to get out of her head for a minute. She would wait for Chris to step out of the bathroom and tell her what was going on. Thankfully, the bathroom wasn’t somewhere that was close by so she could hear Chris. Well, she wasn’t sure if she was thankful at that moment, but it at least gave him some privacy as her mind slowly twisted what had happened into a situation where she was single and heartbroken in her home as Chris hastily told her it wasn’t going to work out and bolted from her apartment.

The witch took several deep breaths, calming herself down the same way that she had heard Jim talk to the other werewolves in the WSS. It had worked rather well and by the time Cherry had heard the bathroom door open and her eyes opened, she was feeling less anxious. She was still anxious, and scared, but she was at least not going to burst into tears at any given moment when she saw Chris. And when she laid eyes on him, she honestly wondered if they were both feeling the same sort of anxiety at everything that had just happened.

Chris blurted out an apology before he said that he hadn’t left because of her and that he should have said something but he wasn’t sure how to talk about something. “This” whatever it was. Cherry wanted to stand up and comfort him but she wasn’t sure how so she stayed where she was. “Why don’t you come and sit and perhaps we can try to work through what’s going on?” She asked, wondering if he would agree to it or not. She hadn’t a clue what he was talking about, although if they had been close enough to feel what had happened, she’d have a better idea, but she hadn’t been, so, she was clueless.

Chris' final exam for university took place at the beginning of the month, which meant that he only had three assessments to worry about before the close of study for the Christmas holidays. He'd carefully worked out his schedule so that he could dedicate time to them, while also ensuring he had time for everything else. Mike had rubbed off on him. But there was also something on his mind, something that had him worrying about who he was entirely.

The kiss with Cherry.

He'd been thinking about it a lot since, and on their lads' night out, after a few drinks, Chris confessed to Mike how conflicted he was feeling. He was asexual, so why was he now suddenly thinking of Cherry in that way? The drink had helped him speak a little more openly about it, although he still blushed as he did, and Mike did his job as his best friend and soulmate in reassuring him. So when Cherry asked if Chris would like to help her decorate her apartment for Christmas, he'd agreed with butterflies in his stomach.

He had once again dressed casually, the primary motivation for it being that Cherry had seemed to like it when he'd dressed this way. Chris had also stopped by a shop on the way to pick up some things for them to snack on, including a chocolate box, some popcorn, and some cloudy lemonade. Standing at her door he found himself replaying the kiss in his mind, clearing his throat to try and get his focus as he knocked on the door.

Chris seemed to return Cherry’s kiss more eagerly, harder, before he pulled away from her, breathing hard, just as she was. He started to speak before he cleared his throat, blushing, before he excused himself, heading to her bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Cherry stood there a moment, breathing hard for a moment before the shock wore off, both from the kiss and Chris running off. But, once that shock wore off and Cherry was back to breathing normally, her mind started working again and Cherry started freaking. Out.

She was absolutely freaking out. Sure, Chris had kissed her but she had kissed him back and perhaps she had pressured him? Somehow? Maybe he realized how much he didn’t like kissing her? Had she done something to upset him? She wasn’t sure what she could have done wrong, she only knew that he had run off and she was suddenly feeling very small, very self conscious, and very emotional. She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to keep herself grounded and from getting too emotional as her mind whirled with what was going on.

Little did Cherry know, in the bathroom Chris was on the phone freaking out about what was going on. Mike was doing his best to calm his friend down, talk him through things, and get him off of the phone and out of the bathroom quickly so that he could get back out to Cherry, who he was sure was freaking out. Hopefully she wasn’t in tears by the time Chris finally left the bathroom.