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Veronica’s sure that, given enough time and enough chances, she could fall in love with Heather Chandler a thousand times over.
As it stands, She’s falling for a second time now. Here, at their ten year high school reunion, she locks eyes with Heather from across the room, sees that familiar flowing red hair, the freckles dusted across her cheeks, visible under the minimal makeup she wears, looking regal and alluring as she has for as long as Veronica had known her, in a simple red dress and heels, and she feels her heart stutter in her chest.
It’s happening all over again. She’s free falling and there’s nobody to catch her.
But, looking back on things, it seems she’s always liked a bit of danger.
Maybe that’s why she stands up from her table, whispers an explanation to Martha and Betty, and walks up to Heather to say hello.
Heather looks like a deer in the headlights when she recognizes her, and Veronica almost falters. Heather has never been one to look scared, especially not of her, especially not when they’re in public.
She’s never looked so unguarded in all the time Veronica knew her.
“Hey.”
Heather blinks, then smiles shyly.
“Hey.” She looks Veronica up and down, smiling appreciatively at what she sees. “You look good.”
“You look better.”
“That’s a damn lie,” Heather says, grinning, “You look phenomenal, Veronica.”
Veronica snorts. “Yeah, well, I finally figured out how to accessorize.”
Heather’s laugh is still one of the most amazing things Veronica’s ever heard.
Heather isn’t sure whether or not she hoped to see Veronica at the reunion.
Either way, When she sees that familiar curly brown hair and tanned skin, those dark brown eyes, and that smile that used to make her heart race and blood rush to her cheeks, she’s glad and scared all at once. Because Veronica’s here and she’s coming closer and Heather still doesn’t trust herself not to dive headfirst into loving Veronica Sawyer.
But she smiles. She’s nervous and she knows it shows. She’s had years to learn how to keep from repeating her mistakes.
Veronica makes some quip about accessorizing and Heather laughs at the memory of the denim jacket and ugly scarf and monocle that she used to wear. She’s surprised that Veronica even remembers any of that.
They talk for hours, drinking and flirting and very obviously falling back into each other. By the time they finish their conversation, most of their classmates have already left the reunion.
“Will I see you again?” she asks as they walk towards their cars in the parking lot, squeezing Veronica’s hand tight.
“If you want.” Veronica grins, a confidence she didn’t have before showing as she pulls a small notepad out of her purse, scribbling something on it and slipping it into her hand.
Heather looks at it once Veronica drives off in her own car. It’s a phone number, along with a short note.
I’m staying at my parents’ house for the reunion. They’re away for the weekend. Come over if you want.
Heather’s learned how to keep from repeating her mistakes.
It just so happens that falling in love with Veronica was never a mistake in the first place.
They end up in bed together. They’d say they didn’t know how, but they’d be lying. They’d flirted constantly during the reunion, which led to lingering looks and teasing touches, which led to lips crashing against each other as Veronica picked Chandler up and pressed her against the door of her old room, fingers weaving into dark hair and tanned hands gripping pale, freckled thighs.
They wake up late the next morning, limbs tangled in the sheets, and Heather smiles and leans into the feeling of Veronica’s arms around her waist, holding her from behind, her face pressed to Heather’s shoulder and warm puffs of air tickling her neck.
“We shouldn’t do this again,” Veronica murmurs, pressing kisses to Heather’s collarbone.
Heather hums in what could be agreement, tracing patterns against the back of Veronica’s hand where it rests against her waist.
“We’ll stop eventually,” she says.
Veronica snorts, nipping at Heather’s neck and smirking as her breath hitches in her throat. “Will that be before or after one of us falls in love again?”
Heather smiles ruefully. “What makes you think I ever fell out of love with you?”
Veronica rolls Heather onto her back, straddling her waist and grinning down at her. “That makes two of us.”
“Good.”
Veronica doesn’t have time to think before Heather tangles her hand in her hair and pulls her down for another kiss.
They don’t stop. Neither of them wants to, and both hope that maybe they won’t need to.
Instead, they talk.
“Do you think we could have made it?” Veronica asks one night, hands carding gently through Heather’s hair as they lay splayed out on the bed, the moonlight streaming in through the blinds.
Heather shrugs. “Probably not. Not then, at least.”
“Could we do it now?”
“Maybe.”
Maybe. That’s the keyword. There’s a chance this time. Or maybe that’s just what they both want to believe. But maybe, maybe there’s a way they could make things better this time.
They both hope so.
Neither of them wants to repeat what happened last time.
Veronica, as Heather later learns, is far more confident than she had been when they were in high school.
She’s also entirely unbothered when Heather rushes into her office one day to return the jacket that Veronica had left there the previous night.
“People were asking me if you were my girlfriend for the rest of the day,” she says over the phone that night.
“What did you tell them?”
“I said we hadn’t talked about it yet. I didn’t want to say yes if it turned out you weren’t comfortable with that, and I didn’t want to say no in case you actually wanted to try again and see where it goes.”
Heather sighs in relief. Leave it to Veronica to be considerate of her feelings before even Heather knows what those feelings are.
“If you want to, then I wouldn’t be opposed to dating,” Heather says.
“That’s not a yes, Heather,” Veronica chides, “It’s just not a no. I’d love for us to be girlfriends again, but I don’t want it unless you do, too.”
Goddamn considerate asshole.
“I…” Heather hesitates. “What if things don’t work out?”
“Then they don’t work out.” Veronica sounds so nonchalant about it all. Heather wonders how much of that indifference is forced. “We know there’s a chance we might hurt each other again, but maybe things can be different this time. I’d like to see what happens. If you don’t want to risk it, then I completely understand, and I won’t bring it up again, but I need you to tell me what you want instead of just going with it because you think it will make me happy.”
Heather almost laughs. They’re older now, but neither of them have forgotten how they both used to put their own feelings on the back burner for the other.
“Alright,” Heather concedes, “I want to try again. No more prioritizing the other’s wants over our needs, and no more bottling things up until it blows up in our faces.”
“Deal.”
The next day, they go out to lunch together, and when Heather arrives, Veronica kisses her cheek, and they hold hands the entire way to the restaurant Veronica picked for them.
Heather had softened out a lot around the edges since the last time they were together. Veronica couldn’t help but notice how much more open and honest Heather was with her feelings.
She finds out why when Heather cancels their plans one afternoon.
“Sorry!” she says, for possibly the tenth time, “I forgot I had an appointment today! I’ll make it up, I promise!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Veronica says, doing her best to reassure her, “Maybe after your appointment, we can spend a night in? Curl up on the couch, eat some junk food, make fun of bad movies. I could give you a massage and you can tell me about your day.”
Heather hums. “I’d love that, but I think I might need some time to myself once I get home.”
“Alright. No worries. Just let me know if you want me to come over.”
“Veronica, I live two hours away.”
“And?”
Heather huffs out a laugh, and Veronica smiles. “Okay, you massive dork. If I want company later I’ll let you know. Now, I need to go. I just got to my therapist’s office. I’ll talk to you soon, though!”
“Alright! Get home safe!”
“Love you!”
Heather hangs up before she can respond, and Veronica is left staring at her phone in bewilderment at the fact that Heather just said “I love you” first. She never said it first.
Still, Veronica decides not to make a big deal of it. If Heather wants to talk about it later, then they will. If not, then Veronica won’t call attention to it.
As she always has, Heather spoils her rotten. And, as she always used to, Veronica finds herself feeling more than a little weird about it all.
“It’s not that I don’t like the presents,” she explains, “It just feels kind of weird for me. You’re able to do all this stuff for me, but I can’t really afford to get you anything like the stuff you keep getting me.”
Heather is a bit upset, but she ultimately accepts that, no matter how much time they have to work on things, some parts of their relationship are going to be harder to fix than others. So, she promises to dial it back a bit.
“At least until you’re comfortable with the fact that I won’t hesitate to give you the world.” Heather murmurs the words against her lips as they kiss. “Anything you want, just say the word and I’ll find a way to give it to you.”
Veronica giggles and chases Heather’s lips as she pulls back.
“All I want is you.”
“Then I’m yours.”
Heather’s always been a little jealous of how good Veronica is at cooking. She can barely make toast without setting something on fire, but Veronica moves around the kitchen with the grace and precision of a trained chef, her movements sure and confident and the finished dishes perfect in presentation as well as taste.
“I still think you should have gone to culinary school,” Heather says, “You could have opened your own restaurant or something.”
Veronica shrugs as she sits across from her at the table, a glass of wine in front of each of them with a few candles lit in the middle of the table. She sets a plate in front of Heather and sips her wine. “I guess I could have, but I’m more than happy to just cook for you.”
“You’re sweet.” Heather says, carefully cutting into her steak, feeling almost guilty as she does. Part of her feels like she’s ruining something beautiful, but the moment she takes a bite, all of that melts away and she finds herself swearing, for possibly the thousandth time, that nothing will ever top this, that this is by far the most amazing thing she’s ever tasted, or ever will taste.
Veronica notices how Heather’s expression changes, and chuckles a bit in amusement at the face she makes. “Is it good?”
“Good isn’t enough to describe how absolutely amazing this is,” Heather says earnestly.
Veronica snorts. “Well, if you like that, then I’m sure you’ll love dessert.”
Heather’s sure she’s the luckiest woman alive for somehow managing to get Veronica to agree to be her girlfriend.
Heather, understandably and unsurprisingly, doesn’t spend much time with her family. They’ve done too much to hurt her under the guise of helping her to succeed, and she doesn’t feel like forgiving them, doesn’t think they’ll ever deserve her forgiveness. Veronica doesn’t argue. As far as she’s concerned, no amount of apologizing would be enough for them to atone for how much they hurt Heather in her life.
So, they spend holidays with Veronica’s family, or alone together at one of their apartments. Veronica’s parents are kind and welcoming in a way that Heather’s own never were, and she finds herself looking forward to family gatherings at Veronica’s house.
She’s at the Sawyer house for the first night of Hanukkah when Mrs. Sawyer asks to speak to her in private.
“You know, it’s so good to see Veronica with someone again,” she says, watching the way Veronica plays with her nieces and nephews, “She hasn’t brought anyone around for us to meet since you two broke up in high school.”
Heather winces. “I won’t-”
“Don’t.” Mrs. Sawyer’s tone is unreadable. “Don’t promise me you won’t hurt her. You will. It’s inevitable.”
Heather nods.
“What you can promise,” Mrs. Sawyer continues, “Is that you’ll always try to fix it when you mess up. People hurt each other. That can’t be helped, but you can make sure it doesn’t destroy either of you.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Heather asks.
“Because, you make Veronica happy, and if you’re going to be my daughter-in-law, I might as well give you a little advice.” Mrs. Sawyer laughs at the blush creeping up Heather’s face all the way to the tips of her ears. “Come on. I think we should get back to the party. We don’t want Veronica worrying about me scaring you off.”
Later that night, when everyone is opening their presents, Mrs. Sawyer hands her a box.
“What’s this?”
Mrs. Sawyer gives her a smile. “Open it.”
Inside is a red and white sweater, obviously handmade, with “Heather Sawyer” stitched into it.
“Welcome to the family, dear,” Mrs. Sawyer says, grinning at the way Veronica and Heather both blush.
They move into a one bedroom apartment together a few years after getting back together. It’s small, but it’s home. Heather gets a new job closer to home that pays better than her old position in her father’s company.
“Remind me why I’m a graphic designer again?” Heather groans, flopping onto the loveseat, her head on Veronica’s lap.
“Because you’re a fantastic artist and graphic design allows you to be creative and make good money at the same time,” Veronica says, playing idly with Heather’s hair. “Did something happen at work?”
“One of my clients is a dick,” Heather growls, “Last week my logo design was great, but this week he decided he wants me to scrap the whole thing and start over!”
“I’m sorry to hear that, sweetheart.” Veronica pulls Heather into her lap and kisses her cheek. “Do you want to watch a movie? I can make some tea and we can cuddle until it’s time to make dinner, and then once we’ve eaten, we can go to bed, and I’ll give you a massage to help you relax.”
Heather sighs and smiles tiredly up at Veronica. “How do you always know just what to say?”
“I don’t. I’m just winging it,” Veronica admits, “But it helps that I know what you like me to do when you’re stressed.”
“You’re perfect,” Heather murmurs, tucking her face into the crook of Veronica’s shoulder and relaxing in her arms.
Veronica snorts. “I think you’ve got it backwards. You’re the perfect one here.”
“Nope,” Heather sighs, obviously beginning to doze off, “I just gotta marry you and I’ll be the luckiest woman alive.”
Veronica laughs nervously. “Come again?”
“Gotta marry you,” Heather says, sleep slurring her words as she speaks, “Then I’ll get to call you my wife instead of my girlfriend.”
Veronica wants to ask her to elaborate, but before she can, she hears soft snoring, and sighs.
Now that the idea’s in her head, though, it sounds pretty appealing. It’s definitely not a bad idea to start thinking about it. They’ve been together for a few years now, after all. They might as well start planning for the long term.
Her wife.
Heather Sawyer.
She smiles. That definitely has a nice ring to it.
Slowly, so as not to wake Heather, Veronica carries her girlfriend into the bedroom and tucks her into bed, before going to the kitchen to get started on dinner. She’ll probably be hungry once she wakes up.
Veronica still talks to Martha and Betty. Heather knows this, and she’s happy that Veronica’s still managed to stay in contact with her friends.
She told her how much they helped her after she and Heather broke up.
So, when Veronica tells her she’s going out to meet them and talk for a bit, Heather doesn’t think much of it.
Veronica, on the other hand, is giddy and nervous all at once when she thinks of what she has to share with them.
“I’m going to propose to Heather,” she says as she slips into the booth at the diner they agreed to meet at.
Betty chokes on her coffee. Martha puts her fork down and moves around the table to give Veronica a hug.
“That’s so exciting!” Martha says, grinning from ear to ear. “Do you already have a ring picked out? Do you know when you’re going to ask? I’m so happy for you!”
Veronica chuckles nervously. “I haven’t really thought about any of that, to tell you the truth. I figured I’d propose first, and then I’ll probably take her to the ring shop some other day and let her pick what she wants.”
Betty gives an approving nod. “Solid plan. Any idea where you’re gonna pop the question?”
Veronica snorts. “If you think I’m going to propose to her in public, you’re out of your fucking mind. If she wants to stage a public thing after, then I’m all for it, but I’m not gonna just put her on the spot in front of a bunch of strangers.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’m curious though,” Martha says, “When did you and Heather get together?”
“A while after the reunion,” Veronica admits, “But we did date for a little while in high school-”
“You what?! ” Betty’s eyes are wide and disbelieving.
Veronica nods slowly. “You, uh, remember that time you and Martha came over to comfort me after my breakup?”
“No fucking way.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my fucking god.”
“Okay,” Martha says, “Enough about that. Now that we know, give us details! I want to know everything!”
Veronica laughs and starts talking, happy to tell them anything they want to know.
In the end, the proposal isn’t the most romantic thing in the world.
Heather wakes up late one lazy Sunday morning to Veronica’s arms wrapped tight around her waist.
“Morning,” Veronica whispers, pressing soft kisses to her shoulder and the back of her neck.
“Mmm, stop it, I’m a mess,” Heather whines.
Veronica laughs and leans forward, peppering Heather’s cheeks with playful kisses as Heather giggles helplessly.
They lay like that for a while, just basking in the warmth of one another.
Veronica’s not sure what possesses her to blurt out “Marry me,” while Heather has a trail of dried drool down her chin and her hair looks like a bird’s nest, but she knows that she means it.
Heather’s eyes widen in surprise. “What?”
“You heard me. Marry me. You said it yourself, it’d be great to be able to call you my wife someday.” Veronica grabs Heather’s hand and pulls it close to her face, kissing her knuckles softly. “I love you. I love you so much, and I want to be able to call you my wife. I want to be allowed to wake up next to you like this every morning for the rest of our lives.”
In that moment, Heather doesn’t care that she looks a mess, or that they both probably have morning breath and it would be gross. All she can think of is how much she wants to kiss her. So she does. She brings her hand up to Veronica’s cheek and leans in, pressing their lips together for a sweet kiss.
When she pulled back, Veronica looks to be in a daze.
“I want that too,” she says.
Veronica grins and squeezes Heather tight in her arms. “I don’t have a ring, but we can go to a store sometime soon and you can pick one out, or we can have a custom one made. Anything you want.”
Heather laughs. “I don’t need anything fancy. Hell, we don’t even need rings. You asked, I accepted, we’re engaged. We don’t need a physical reminder that we’re going to get married.”
Veronica shrugs. “If that’s what you want to do. I was kind of thinking we could talk to Heather about getting rings, though. She’d probably be happy to help us out.”
“Mmm, let’s not think about it right now,” Heather sighs, “You’re my fiancée now. I want to spend the first few hours of my engagement cuddling with my future wife.”
Veronica chuckles. “I think I can manage that.”