I Want To Be With You

by Enouement_16_21

Summary:

It's Christmas Eve and Ellie's stressed. Alongside study, work and an injured Joel, she also has a massive crush to worry about. Luckily, her friends are there to help her along, and just maybe, Abby will have feelings for her too.

Notes:

I got tired of everyone trying to murder each other so I wrote this lol. They're all in a friendship group now because I said so.

Title is from the song 'I Want To Be With You' by Chloe Moriondo.

Enjoy!

Ellie adjusts the straps of her backpack before ringing the doorbell.

 

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to wait long before the door swings open and she’s met with Jesse’s grinning face.

 

“Hey Ellie” he greets, stepping aside and letting her into the apartment. “Well, don’t look so happy to see me,” he teases, closing the door behind her.

 

"Hey," she says, taking her jacket off and hanging it on the coat rack. It had been snowing outside, and she didn’t want to carry her cold wet jacket around Abby’s apartment.

 

“Let me guess, you were expecting to see someone else?” Jesse continues, “someone whose name starts with an A” he drags the letter out.

 

Ellie rolls her eyes, “nice to see you too Jesse”, she retorts, but there’s no bite to her words.

 

It’s no secret amongst her closest friends that she’s been crushing on Abby Anderson. For that reason, they’ve been pushing her to make a move since they’d first found out.

 

“You make it way too obvious I like her.”

 

“Oh, I see, sorry miss ‘I’ll definitely tell her soon’”. Jesse makes air quotations with his fingers, “I figured now might be a good time.”

 

“Shut up” she says, but she knows he’s right. She can’t keep going like this. Feeling nervous every time her and Abby are in the same room. Or daydreaming to no end about what it would be like if her feelings were somehow reciprocated. And if is the keyword here. Plus, as much as she loves her friends to no end, their incessant teasing will be the actual death of her.

 

Jesse shakes his head but there’s a smile on his face. “Come on Ellie, the others are waiting,” he responds. Before ushering her down the hallway and towards the sound of chattering voices.

 

She’s more than a little impressed when she enters the living room. A rather large and what looks to be real Christmas tree sits in one corner. Colourful blinking lights hang from the ceiling. As well as other Christmasy decorations that give the place a homey and festive vibe. She’s sure it was a group effort that brought this all together, and suddenly she feels bad for being too late to help out.

 

“Ellie’s here!” Owen calls out, waving her over.

 

He’s sitting on a cosy chair in the corner, his girlfriend Mel perched comfortably on his lap with a Santa hat on her head. They look adorable and Ellie can’t help but smile as she approaches them.

 

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Nora says, poking her head out of the kitchen, “how have you been?”

 

“Oh, you know,” she sighs, “busy with work and stuff.”

 

“I get it, but let’s not worry about that, at least you’re here now,” Nora responds, before disappearing again.

 

Jesse places a hand on Ellie’s shoulder and gestures for her to take a seat on the couch. Which she does, placing her backpack on the ground next to her before getting comfortable.

 

“Yeah, it’s time to take a break,” Manny chirps up. He’s standing next to the Christmas tree and taking a swig of alcohol - some type of cheap beer. “It’s the holiday season, this isn’t the time for working or studying, it’s about having fun!”

 

“You know Manny,” comes another voice, “you could probably learn a thing or two from her.”

 

Ellie spins around a little too fast and tries not to cringe at her over enthusiasm.

 

Abby’s standing right behind her, arms crossed, and a smile on her lips. She has her usual braid hanging over her right shoulder. Yet Ellie’s sure she manages to look better every time she sees the other woman.

 

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Manny questions, but he knows Abby’s only joking.

 

Abby shrugs, an almost devious look in her eye. “Should I bring up that one time that you missed your exam because you were at a bar and happened to meet-”

 

“Now wait.” He cuts her off. “That woman was very, and I mean very pretty. I don’t regret it. Plus, the teacher let me retake the exam. So, there you go Abs.”

 

The others laugh at this, including Ellie, who is not unfamiliar with Manny's little adventures.

 

She’s glad to be back with her friends. Things haven’t been easy for her recently, but she can feel the stress melting away the longer she listens to them joke around with each other.

 

“Hey, you good?” Abby says, voice quiet enough that it doesn’t disrupt the conversation between the rest of the group.

 

“Yep,” and it’s only then that Ellie realises she's been staring at Abby for a good few minutes. “I was ah, wondering where I should put… the cookies?”

 

“The cookies?” Abby tilts her head in confusion.

 

“Yep. I brought some gingerbread cookies.” She rummages around in her backpack. “I know it’s not much seeing you guys did all this.” Ellie gestures around the room to the decorations, “and are cooking dinner but yeah.”

 

“Oh, that’s fine” Abby says, “you can leave them in the kitchen for now.”

 

Ellie nods, standing in a rush and excusing herself.

 

Real smooth she thinks to herself. Oh well, it's not like Abby can read her flustered mind. Still… How obvious is she? According to her friends, the answer is, painfully so.

 

Ellie snaps herself out of her thoughts once she enters the kitchen.

 

Nora and Dina are there already, finishing off the last bits of food prep for dinner.

 

“It smells amazing in here” she comments, and it really does. There’s an inviting smell wafting over from the oven, and it makes her realise just how little she’s eaten today.

 

“Look who showed up”, Dina exclaims, pulling her into a hug that has Ellie melting with the familiarity. The shorter of the two pulls back and looks her over, “are those gingerbread cookies?”

 

Ellie nods and places them on the kitchen counter. “I didn’t exactly have time to do anything else, so I picked them up on the way here.” She once again feels bad that she hasn’t done more to pitch in, but there’s been other things occupying her mind recently.

 

Dina understands of course and doesn’t chastise her which she's thankful for.

 

“So, what are you guys’ cooking?” She asks, glancing into the oven.

 

“A turkey” Nora responds, leaning against the countertop. “Dina’s been helping me out with it, she’s a pretty damn good cook.”

 

“Yeah I know I am,” Dina brags, but Ellie can tell she’s flattered.

 

Nora grins and shakes her head, “I’ll be back in a second guys, just need to ask Abby a question.”

 

The moment she’s left the kitchen Dina turns back to her, “Hey I’ve been meaning to ask; how’s Joel doing? Last time we spoke you said he was struggling to stay settled.”

 

Ellie isn’t surprised by the topic change, but it takes a moment for her to answer. “He’s okay. Getting better, but you know how he is. He won’t sit still for that long despite his injury.”

 

Unfortunately for Ellie, the stress of work and College aren’t the only things she’s been struggling with. Joel - her surrogate father, had been in a work accident that meant he’d be stuck on crutches for the next few months. It wasn’t life threatening by any means, but when she'd found out, her greatest fear crept back into her mind. Ending up alone.

 

She has amazing friends now, but sometimes she thinks back to when she was a child. Things were different back then, before she knew Joel or any of the others. People had come and gone, but never stayed.

 

Dina seems to read her mind. Her hand coming up to squeeze Ellie’s forearm in a comforting way. “I’m glad,” she says gently, “Joel’s lucky to have you.”

 

Ellie nods and purses her lips, the moment coming to an end when Abby and Nora enter the kitchen.

 

“Everything okay?” Nora asks.

 

“Yeah,” Ellie says, but she feels caught in Abby’s gaze. The blonde is glancing between the two women, a look of concern on her face.

 

Before Ellie can say anything else, Dina ushers her out of the kitchen and into the living room again. Where she finds herself back on the couch next to Jesse.

 

The night progresses as she tries to take her mind off Joel. It's not so difficult to do when her friends are around, and Ellie finds that she’s enjoying herself for the first time in the last week.

 

At some point Abby returns from the kitchen and takes a seat on the other side of Jesse. The group’s listening to Manny, who’s telling them about his new girlfriend who he’s moving in with. Manny, who also used to be Abby’s roommate.

 

“Abby’s going to be all alone now, how will she live without me?” He teases.

 

Abby snorts and crosses her arms, “I think I’ll survive, thank you.”

 

“You sure?” He counters.

 

“Look, you weren’t that bad. At least when you weren’t bringing random girls over.”

 

Manny lifts an eyebrow and looks around the room. “How about you find someone else to live with?” His attention turns to Ellie, a knowing smile on his face.

 

“Ellie, would you like to move in with Abby?”

 

Ellie feels her insides churn. “I mean, I guess?”

 

“You guess?” Manny laughs, “I get it, she can be a lot sometimes.”

 

He’s only joking, but Ellie finds herself wanting to retaliate, “no, I’m sure it would be nice living with Abby”. She turns to said woman, who suddenly looks extremely interested her the answer.

 

“I mean,” Ellie continues, trying not to read into it too much. “I can’t live in the student dorms forever, and this place is nice and all”.

 

The room seems to be holding its breath, like they’re in on something that Ellie’s not, and it makes her head spin.

 

For better or for worse, the silence is broken by a timer and Abby leaves to check on the food.

 

Everyone’s attention is still on Ellie, but she pretends not to notice. Instead, changing the topic by asking Mel and Owen about their Christmas plans.

 

Thankfully, the conversation picks up again, and she feels like she can rest easy.

 

Crushing on Abby shouldn’t be this stressful, yet her minds turns to much when the other woman is brought up.

 

While the group shares their plans for Christmas Day. Which include seeing family or spending time with other important people in their life. Ellie pulls her journal out of her backpack. Her friends are pretty used to her impromptu sketching sessions by now and don’t bother her while she draws.

 

Wanting to capture the moment, she sets her gaze on the Christmas tree. She sketches the shape of the tree first, and then draws the decorations. The lights from the tree flicker gently. So, she adds shading where necessary to express their warm glow. Once she’s finished, she places the journal down, and Abby calls for everyone to eat dinner.

 

Altogether they work to set out plates and cutlery. Shuffling chairs so they can crowd around the small dining table.

 

Abby and Nora bring out the turkey and side dishes which look steamy and delicious. As a bonus, they're all delighted that Manny’s made some tamales. His own traditional touch to their Christmas Eve dinner.

 

The food is amazing, no thanks to her, but she accepts that it’s probably for the best that she didn’t end up in the kitchen. Lest she were to burn the food as she’d done once before.

 

They all eat until they're full and Ellie drinks a little more alcohol than she’d usually have. Partly because she feels she needs it after a long year. And partly because she doesn't want to feel nervous every time Abby so much as glances her way.

 

It’s getting late when they clear the table and stack the dishes.

 

Most of them have opted to nibble on one of the cookies Ellie’s brought, rather than worry about a full-on dessert. Which is probably for the best as they’re all stuffed.

 

The night’s finally wrapping up, and Mel and Owen leave first.

 

Mel hugs Ellie goodbye before she leaves. They hadn’t had much of a chance to talk, but she can tell just how tired the other woman is. It’s not easy being a med student - if anyone deserves a break, it’s her.

 

Eventually more of them started trickling out. Jesse has an early morning as he’s driving out of state to meet his family for Christmas. And Nora’s in a similar boat so she leaves not long after him.

 

When Dina leaves, Ellie walks her to the door, promising to see her again sometime soon.

 

The other woman doesn’t leave immediately though. Turning around to face Ellie as she puts her coat on. “Maybe you should hang out here a little longer? I heard Manny’s leaving soon, so you could, you know” she smirks “spend a bit of time with you know who.”

 

Ellie immediately searches for an excuse, but she comes up empty handed. “Yeah I guess, I’ll let you know how it goes,” she offers.

 

Dina shoves her shoulder lightly and they say their final goodbyes.

 

Once she’s closed the front door, Ellie stands there for a moment. Trying her best to muster up some bravery. God, she swears she was more confident when she was younger.

 

At least her friends are supportive in their own way. Even if that means being teased mercilessly until she does something about it. But will she actually gain the courage to confess one day? She’s still not sure…

 

When she finally returns to the living room it’s empty. Abby is washing dishes, and Manny’s in his old room. So, Ellie decides to make herself useful and joins Abby in the kitchen. Together they finish cleaning the dishes just as Manny announces his departure.

 

He’s holding the final box of belongings from his now spare room. “I’ll see you guys around, don’t have too much fun while I’m gone.” He winks at the two of them, and Ellie waves goodbye.

 

“Adios!” He calls out before the sound of the front door shuts, and they’re left alone.

 

Abby shakes her head, but there’s a smile on her face. “It’s going to be weird around here without him”.

 

“Oh I’m sure” Ellie responds, placing the final dish into the cabinet.

 

“Did you” Abby pauses to look at her “want to stay longer? I could make us something warm to drink?”

 

“Yeah, I would love that”. Ellie pushes down the giddiness in her chest and leans against the kitchen counter.

 

Her mind wonders for a moment as she watches Abby make two mugs of what looks to be hot chocolate.

 

She thinks back to when they first met. It had been a year ago, but it still felt like yesterday. They'd hit it off pretty easily. Although Abby had been a little hard to get close to at first. They'd moved past it fairly quickly though, finding a middle ground which she was thankful for.

 

Then a few months after that she'd formed a raging crush on her.

 

Still, that begged the real question. Was Abby into women? When it came to her dating history the answer appeared unlikely…

 

Ellie’s brought back to the present when Abby hands her a hot mug of coco. Which she accepts with a thank you.

 

Together they move back to the couch, Ellie on one side and Abby on the other. She’s not exactly sure when it happened but the lights have been dimmed, giving the room a more intimate feel.

 

“I hope you don’t mind me bringing this up”, Abby starts, and a series of possible topics run through Ellie’s mind. “But I heard you talking to Dina-” Oh god what did she hear? Ellie takes a sip of hot chocolate and schools her features. “And I was wondering, is Joel okay?”

 

Ellie blinks.

 

“Oh.” Not where she’d been expecting the conversation to go.

 

“For the most part, yes, he’s okay," she starts. "He was in a work accident recently. Luckily nothing serious, but he’s been ordered to rest up and not move around for the next few months. So, I’m trying to help him out when I can.”

 

Joel’s injury hadn’t been the easiest to juggle alongside everything else going on in her life. Especially when the man himself refused most of the help he's offered. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t any other choice. Tommy and Maria were out of state and neither her nor Joel had any other family close by.

 

Abby frowns, resting her mug on her lap. “I’m glad he’s okay. That must be difficult on you as well though,” she gives Ellie a serious look. “Tell me if I can help in some way,” and before Ellie can argue with her she adds, “seriously, I’m here for you.”

 

Ellie crumbles a little and nods. She hadn’t expected Abby to offer herself up that easily. Still, she’s moved by how genuine and caring her words are. “Thank you, I mean, it should be fine... But I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

 

“Good.” Abby seems content with her response. “What will you two do for Christmas then?”

 

“Well, we can’t exactly do much of anything because he needs to keep pressure off his leg. Not that that would stop him of course” she laughs a little to herself. “But I'll visit him tomorrow night and we’ll have dinner together.”

 

Abby nods but she seems lost in thought. “My dad and I used to leave the city over Christmas, we would go skiing together. These last few years he’s been busy with work though. And now he hasn't taken time off over Christmas, which I understand, but...” She doesn't finish her sentence.

 

Ellie can hear the frustration in her voice, and she nods in understanding. “What your dad does as a surgeon is important. But I get it, it’s not always the easiest, being alone” she finishes for her.

 

Abby sighs and takes a sip of her drink.

 

They sit in silence for a moment. And Ellie tries to think of something to lighten the mood.

 

She finds herself staring at the red woollen sweater that Abby’s wearing, and it surprises her for two reasons. One, the blonde tends to opt for only the most practical clothing, and two, her sweater could almost be called, cute.

 

“Your sweater’s nice, not exactly what I’d expect to see you in.”

 

“What exactly do you expect to see me in?” Abby asks, curious.

 

Ellie hums in thought, “oh you know, the same set of brown cargo pants and exercise gear.”

 

Abby gives her a blank look, “are you trying to tell me my clothing choices aren’t good?”

 

Ellie pauses, trying to backtrack, “Wait, no that’s not what-”

 

Abby cracks a grin, “I’m kidding Ellie, I get it, it's not my usual style. Still, it’s really soft, that's why I got it. Plus, it suits the weather as well.”

 

Ellie sighs in relief, her poor heart can only take so much teasing. "I see...” She reaches out and runs her fingers along the material. The sweater is in fact very soft.

 

“So, what do you think?”

 

“It’s…” Ellie starts, “nice?”

 

Abby shakes her head, “you’re impossible.”

 

Ellie scoffs and retracts her hand, placing it awkwardly in her lap.

 

“You know…” Abby says, an amused look on her face. “I’m actually glad you stayed longer”

 

Ellie meets her gaze “why’s that?”

 

Abby places her mug down on the coffee table and stands up, “wait here a second”.

 

Ellie does just that. Her mind all the while swirling with anticipation as she finishes off the rest of her drink.

 

Abby isn’t gone for long, but when she returns, Ellie’s already gone through every possibility for what it could be.

 

“I got you something” Abby says, handing Ellie a small jewellery box. She seems nervous and perhaps a little impatient.

 

Ellie’s eyes widen, her gaze jumping between the box and Abby.

 

“I wanted to give it to you one on one.” Abby says, “I figured now would be a good time seeing it’s just us…”

 

Ellie gives her a look of disbelief. Out of all her guesses, this had not been one.

 

“You can open it, you know, if you want.” She adds, and that’s all the prompting Ellie needs before her curiosity takes over and she’s removing the lid.

 

Inside is a guitar pick. Not just any guitar pick though. It’s made of wood that’s been sanded. A small hole has been drilled through the top so a thin black cord can run through it. What amazes Ellie the most is the fact that the pick has an elegant ‘E’ etched into the grain. Stunned, she looks back at Abby who returns her stare, an expectant look in her eyes.

 

“So, what do you think?”

 

“Oh my god. This is amazing!" She’s elated by the surprise. So much so that she has to stop herself from leaping to the other side of the couch and straight into Abby’s arms. “This is legit one of the best gifts ever!”

 

“Better than that time Jesse bought you a ton of Savage Starlight comics?” Abby asks.

 

Ellie huffs in disbelief. “Sure, that was good, but this…” she trails off. “You really didn’t have to, you know.”

 

Abby shrugs, but it’s clear she's pleased with herself. “I made it for you in in the workshop. I know how much the guitar means to you.” She reaches out for the box and Ellie lets her take it. “Technically it’s a necklace, but I’m sure you could use it as an actual guitar pick,” she offers as a suggestion.

 

Ellie watches Abby pick up the necklace - not just because she wants to stare at her hands - and unclasp it with care.

 

“I can put it on you if you’d like?” Abby asks.

 

"Sure." She responds, happy to oblige.

 

Ellie spins around and moves closer to Abby, lifting her hair up at the back so it’s easier for the blonde to see what she’s doing.

 

Abby takes her time. Leaning into her space and positing the necklace around her neck. The material sits comfortably on her skin, and Ellie feels her neck tingle where Abby’s fingers make contact.

 

It ends as soon as it starts though, and Ellie turns around to face her again.

 

The necklace is long enough that she can see the guitar pick without having to crane her neck downwards. So, she holds it between two fingers, unable to take her eyes off it for one second.

 

“Thank you, Abs,” and she means it in more ways than one.

 

She’s about to move back to the other side of the couch, when something catches the corner of her eye, and she looks up.

 

“Um, is that what I think it is?”

 

“What?” Is Abby’s response. It takes her a moment, before she follows Ellie’s gaze upwards.

 

There's a small bundle of plastic mistletoe holding onto the ceiling by a flimsy piece of tape. It definitely wasn’t there before, and yet, there was no denying its existence.

 

Abby’s eyes widen, her face turning slightly red. “Fucking Manny” she swears under her breath.

 

“What was that?” Ellie's astonished. It had been a while since she’d seen the blonde this flustered.

 

“Manny... He must have put it up there. I remember he bought it a few years ago to mess with people, but I didn't know he still had it.” Abby’s looking at the piece of plastic like she’s conflicted about something.

 

“Well, that does sound like something he’d do,” Ellie tries to laugh it off.

 

Evidently, it must have been right before Manny left. When there was no one else in the house but the three of them. Which leads her to the realisation that he did it when he knew it was only going to be Abby and Ellie alone.

 

Curiosity gets the better of her, so she asks, “did he ever try to use it on you?”

 

“You mean, so I would kiss him?”

 

Ellie nods.

 

“No, which I guess is surprising considering his track record.”

 

“Wait really? That's his loss then.” The words slip out of Ellie’s mouth before she can stop them.

 

Abby fixes her with a surprised look. “You think so?” She asks.

 

Ellie’s hand comes up to play with her new necklace. She’d been hoping Abby would just agree with her and move on. “I mean yeah of course. You’re…” She trails off.

 

Abby raises an eyebrow, “I’m?”

 

Ellie’s mind draws a blank. What exactly is the 'friend safe' answer to this? The one that doesn’t expose just how down bad she is.

 

Her eyes flit around the room, from the Christmas tree to the ceiling, anywhere but Abby’s face. And to her dismay, she realises the longer it takes her to the answer, the less likely it is she can play it off as a joke.

 

“Um, you’re cool” she manages.

 

Abby narrows her eyes. “Cool enough to be kissed?”

 

Ellie shrugs, trying to defuse the tension. But she doesn’t realise her fingers are drumming a nervous rhythm against her knee. That is until Abby reaches out and places a hand over her own.

 

“Of course,” she admits, and it’s more of a whisper. Her gaze dropping dangerously low on Abby’s face. The distance between them decreases slowly but surely.

 

The moment ends when the mistletoe falls between them. Dropping unceremoniously onto a couch cushion with the not so useful sticky tape still attached.

 

Ellie turns away, suddenly anxious. It’s silly, but all her previous doubts resurface with a vengeance, and she pulls away from Abby’s grasp.

 

Any confidence she had built up is gone by now, including the warm fuzzy feeling in her chest. Instead, it's replaced by the cold painful reality that she might be messing things up between them. She knows for sure that she was about to kiss Abby. But what if Abby didn’t want to kiss her? Maybe she’d just been too caught up in her own feelings to notice her reaction.

 

“It’s getting late” Ellie starts, but she’s already standing up. She reaches for her backpack and then remembers her journal.

 

“Oh, okay?” Abby sounds dejected and confused. She stands as well watching Ellie glance around the room like she’s in a hurry.

 

“Are you looking for this?”

 

Ellie turns around to see Abby pointing out her journal.

 

At some point during the night, it had been moved from the couch to the other side of the room.

 

“Yeah, thanks” she makes a move for it but so does Abby, the journal falling to the floor as they both reach for it.

 

Ellie looks down, and freezes.

 

The journal lays open, revealing a drawing inside - not just any drawing but one of Abby.

 

Ellie bends over and snatches it up, shoving it into her backpack hastily.

 

Well shit. If Abby couldn't tell she had feelings before, then she most definitely can now.

 

Ellie doesn't know how to react and if she’s being honest she doesn’t really want to think about it. The problem isn’t so much the drawing itself, which had been a closeup of the blonde’s face. It was the fact that she’d written notes along the margins about how she was feeling. About how Abby made her feel.

 

God, it was like she was a young teenager again, fretting over a crush rather than actually talking to them. She thought she’d become more direct as she got older. Clearly that wasn’t the case because she wanted nothing more than to sprint out of there.

 

“Ellie-”

 

Abby sounds calm, but she rushes to speak first.

 

“It was a little sketch from when we hung out with Owen and Mel. You know how I like recording memories so… yeah.”

 

Somewhere in the back of her mind she can hear her friends' voices. Especially Dina and Jesse, telling her to suck it up and stop hiding. So, hesitantly, she lifts her eyes to finally meet the blonde's.

 

Abby looks relieved? Amused? Intrigued? A mix of all three? Ellie isn’t sure.

 

“Can I see it?”

 

“Sorry?” Ellie's taken aback.

 

“The picture that you drew of me. Can I see it, please?”

 

Ellie thinks for a few seconds. Then finally concedes. What else does she have to lose? If Abby isn't disturbed by her sappy lovesick journal entry, then she'll take it.

 

“Okay…” Placing her bag on the ground, she goes to pull out her journal again, scanning the pages to find the correct drawing. It’s not the only one she’s done of Abby, but now doesn’t feel like the right time to reveal all the other ones.

 

She stops on the same page as before, and immediately, her writing jumps out at her. Sentences detailing her feelings and how she wishes she could kiss the woman currently standing right in front of her. Fuck.

 

Ellie knows there’s no way she’s being subtle when she turns the journal around. Her fingers placed directly over the writing in one last attempt to pretend everything is normal.

 

Abby doesn't comment on it though. Instead, she takes a long moment to inspect the drawing of herself.

 

It’s a little more than a ‘sketch’ despite what she’d said earlier. Ellie had taken the time to pour more detail into this drawing than she did in a lot of her other ones. It was a closeup of Abby when they were out Christmas shopping. She’d looked so pretty under the lights and decorations that Ellie had drawn her the moment she got home.

 

Abby finally breaks the silence. “I don’t think anyone’s drawn me before, not like this at least. I look so…” She seems at a loss for words.

 

Ellie bites the inside of her cheek, waiting for her to finish her sentence. She’ll probably say it looks nice and skip over the part where her friend has the most painfully obvious crush on her.

 

Instead, she’s shocked to find that Abby has moved closer. A different kind of look in her eyes. One that Ellie's caught on the blonde's face when she thinks no one is looking. Full of fondness and hope.

 

She’d always brushed it off though. Chalked it up to Abby zoning out or staring at her for some unknown reason.

 

"You know I like you, right?" Abby confesses, her eyes drifting down to Ellie's lips.

 

Oh.

 

Her heart skips a beat.

 

It feels like she’s frozen to the spot as the words run through her mind. Suddenly overwhelmed by every ecstatic emotion under the sun.

 

Thank god it isn’t just her.

 

"How would I have known that?" She says instead, her brain jumpstarting and shoving out the first response she can think of.

 

Abby tilts her head and feigns innocence. "I thought I was kind of obvious?"

 

"Not really." She doesn't know why she’s bickering at this point when she can feel her gaze drop down to Abby's lips as well.

 

"Did it not seem strange that I gave you a very specific present and no one else?" She swears Abby's voice drops to something lower as the world shrinks down to just the two of them.

 

"How was I supposed to know that?" She retaliates. “For all I know… You could have given one to everyone.”

 

She can feel their bodies gravitating closer, the journal laying limply at her side. Abby looks extremely amused and it makes Ellie want to wipe the smug look off her face.

 

"Ellie, can I kiss you or not?"

 

"Please." She responds, and their lips finally meet.

 

Abby's hand makes its way to the back of her head, and Ellie feels her heart clench as she deepens the kiss.

 

It's everything she's imagined and more. Abby's lips are soft but insistent, and the way she angles Ellie's head has her melting against the taller woman.

 

Any lasting doubts are obliterated in that moment, because this is really happening, and she can't get enough of it.

 

Their friends are going to have a field day when they learn about what happened between them. But right now, she really can't bring herself to care. Not when Abby's other hand makes its way to her hip, pulling Ellie impossibly close.

 

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that” Abby pauses to mutter against her lips.

 

"Me too" she responds "you have no idea".

 

"You should stay the night" Abby says and Ellie's thinks she might die then and there.

 

"Are you sure?" She says, still hesitant despite herself.

 

"Yes, El, I'm sure."

 

Ellie places her journal on a side table and turns back to Abby, a smirk on her face.

 

"Good," she responds, pulling her back down and connecting their lips again.

 

Ellie sighs contentedly into Abby’s mouth. At least she won’t be waking up alone on Christmas Day.

Notes:

So, this fic's pretty late for Christmas Eve... but oh well. Please let me know your thoughts and if you enjoyed it!

Sorry if there were any mistakes in my writing, I am in fact very sleep deprived.

Anyways, thanks so much for reading and happy new year! :)