Title: A Poster Boy for Maturity

Author: Izzychase

Summary: Priestly returns to the grocery store (Priestly/Tish)

*

Priestly finds himself back in the same grocery store where he had made his spectacular dramatic speech with the tampons last year when Tish asks him to pick up some groceries for dinner. He's got the list written down, and he's going through the aisles with his mini shopping cart.

Last year he was making the run for the sandwich shop when he was in this grocery store, and he and Tish were certainly not living together. She was still dating every cute guy who walked into the store and he was still making wisecracks over the grill at her promiscuity while secretly eating his heart out for her. Then Tad and Brad happened, and he got the courage to show her the "Boaz" side of him and she realized that underneath all the piercings and crazy hair he was actually a really sweet and nice guy.

The "Boaz" phase didn't last very long in their relationship. Priestly was never comfortable with wimpy Boaz and while Tish told him that she had never realized he was so hot (which made him blush), she ended up confessing two weeks later that she also missed his funky hairstyles and piercings. He had grinned when he heard that, and with some input from Tish, styled and dyed his hair into a blue Mohawk and while he kept some of the piercings, he didn't put them all back in and he and Tish also shopped for some new t-shirts together. The ones she got for him were a bit edgier and contemporary without as many witty sayings (she still liked those, but she said that she wanted to see him in some new ones too) so he was quite happy to rotate them every other day. He mentioned that he actually liked it when Tish wore some more jeans and cute little t-shirts and tops instead of just shorts and spaghetti strap tank tops that showed so much cleavage, and she actually took his opinion. He, like most other red-blooded males, still thought she was really hot with a really great body, but he liked it when not as many jerks mentally undressed his girlfriend every single time they walked into the shop.

He was actually in a grown-up relationship, and against all odds, with Tish, of all people. Sure, they still had their fair share of fights, but all in all, things worked out quite well. After several dates that helped them get used to just being together without bantering or verbal sparring, they found that they both enjoyed each other's company and both got something out of this relationship that hadn't been there in previous ones. Priestly had never anticipated how happy Tish would make him (and not just in a sexual way). She was loyal and she was very kind and sweet- she had a smile that made him want to smile along with her and she surprised him by doing nice things for him too, like the time he had come down with the flu for a few days in the winter, and she had totally surprised him by hunting down some of his favourite movies with the help of Jen and cooking for him. He had also liked how she told him stuff that she didn't tell anyone else, beginning with her real name. He found himself smiling for no reason in between filling orders, just listening to the way she interacted with Jen, Piper, and Trucker and then she would pass the grill and put orders in his Mohawk.

His phone rings, and he can recognize by the ringtone that it's Tish.

"Renaissance Man," He answers the phone. It's a little joke between the two of them.

"Hey, baby," He can feel Tish smiling into the phone and he can't help but grin back a little. He used to make fun of his buddies for acting all love-stoned over a girl, but he's no different now. "I'm almost done so I'll come by the grocery store- can you also get a box of tampons for me? The slender regulars?"

He almost wants to laugh out loud at the irony of the situation but he doesn't want Tish to think he's laughing at her.

"Ok, I think I know which ones those are by now, so sure, baby," He replies instead. She gives a chuckle into the phone.

"Well, you're the one who mentioned that you're the poster boy for maturity," She teases him.

"Yeah, yeah," He grumbles good-naturedly. "I'll see you soon."

He hangs up the phone, and finishes in the produce aisle.

Priestly had always desperately wanted to sleep with Tish (and had way too many fantasies of her while he was showering), but after the mess with Tad, he and Tish agreed to take the physical side of things slowly. He wanted Tish to know that he cared about her and liked her beyond her looks and her body, and he wanted her to trust him. He liked the companionship and cute romance of dating. He liked opening doors for her and putting his arm around her; he liked being able to do nice things for her like surprise her with a picnic at the beach; he liked being the guy who got to drive her home and kiss her goodnight even though other guys continued to check her out at the store. To Tish's credit, ever since they've been together, she hasn't been flirtatious at all- she remained friendly and nice, but she wasn't actively trying to get guys anymore.

Their group of friends had been supportive of them getting together- Trucker made him feel slightly embarrassed one day when they were picking up vegetables and Trucker said that he trusted Priestly but told him in no uncertain terms that he expected him to treat Tish nicely so that "she won't ever go for the douchebags ever again" and then patted him on the back; they went on triple dates with Piper and Noah and Jen and Jeff; Jen helped him pick out a six month anniversary gift for Tish; even Zoe stopped by one day and saw him and Tish bantering and said that she had known it all along as she picked up her marinated tofu sub.

He's finally in the aisle with the tampons when Tish comes into the grocery store, and his breath slightly hitches- they've been together for a year and he's still madly in love with her. Her long and curly brown hair looks shiny and pretty with its reddish tints in the sun and she's wearing a pretty sundress with a pink and brown pattern that has a v-shaped neckline that isn't too risqué but still hints at her generous cleavage.

He shoots her a crooked smile and she comes up to him, giving him a light kiss on his lips.

"Hey, babe," She says, winding her arms lightly around his waist. He grins and kisses the top of her head fondly.

"Hey yourself. Which box do you want again?" He asks, gesturing to the variety of boxes of feminine products that surround them. Tish reaches for one of the boxes on the shelf, doing it almost automatically.

"There," She says, dropping it into the cart. "We have everything else, right?"

He nods in the affirmative and she smiles happily.

"You are so good to me," She says softly and he loves that smile- it's sweet and slightly shy and so unlike the flirtatious Tish that the rest of the world knows.

"Anything for my girl," He shoots her another crooked smile and as they're heading over to the check-out counter, he sees the two guys who had made fun of him last year, as well as one of the other guys who had heard his dramatic speech. Their eyes widen in recognition and then they see Tish beside him, who's blissfully unaware of what had transpired here. The cashier starts ringing through their groceries and then his eyes get the light of recognition when he finally looks up to tell them the total amount. He pulls out the debit card with the joint account that they have (if anyone told Priestly that he and Tish would have a joint account at this time last year Priestly would've rolled his eyes and laughed) and the cashier gives a slow nod of appreciation at Priestly, wordlessly looking between him and Tish.

"You're awesome, dude," A voice breaks out and it's the guy who had heard his tampon speech from last year. "I wasn't sure if I believed you, but I definitely believe you now."

Tish has heard this last exchange and gives him an amused 'what's going on?' glance and Priestly is desperately trying to find an out.

"Yeah, what can I say?" is all he manages to shrug and grin and he picks up the two heavier bags, leaving Tish to carry the remaining one. Underneath all of his somewhat unconventional outward fixings, he's still a polite California boy who's mother taught him how to treat women right, including carrying the heavier bags.

"Keep it up, dude!" The guy gives him the guy nod of approval and Priestly can't help but grin back before following Tish out the door. They make their way over the car, and Tish unlocks the trunk to put the groceries in. He finishes putting his in and is about to close the trunk when Tish says,

"How do they all know you?" She asks curiously, tilting her head and Priestly is trying to figure out whether or not he should tell her the story or to make an excuse.

"Well, something really funny happened here last year, and me, being Priestly, made quite an impression," He leaves it at that, wagging his eyebrows for dramatic effect. Tish laughs, and the sound is musical and sweet in his ear.

"You should tell me the entire story one day," She suggests. She closes the trunk and he walks over to unlock her door and to open it for her, and she thanks him as she gets in. When Priestly is ready to start the engine, Tish puts a hand on his thigh.

"Since we're celebrating our anniversary together a few days from now, I just wanted you to know that I went shopping today," She says softly before scooting close to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I bought some lingerie."

Priestly's breath catches when he hears that and his hormones are about to go into overdrive.

"You know, we can just celebrate tonight, get an early start on things," He weakly suggests and Tish giggles but shakes her head.

"You're just going to have to wait- but hey, half the fun is in anticipation?" She responds, and gives him the grin she first gave him when she told him her real name.

"Woman, you are going to be the death of me," He mock-groans but they both know it's all in good humour.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." She says sweetly and softly in his ear and gives him another peck on the cheek before settling back on her seat.

Priestly simply grins and starts the engine. Tish was every bit as hot as he had fantasized about her to be and if someone had told him a few years ago in college that he would be able to land a girl like her, he would have scoffed. Sometimes it's hard to believe she's actually here with him and he's the one that gets to sleep with her and spoon her at night, but then when he wakes up and she's curled up into him with her head resting on his chest and his tattooed arms wrapped around her back and the soft fragrance of her body lotion wafting over to him because she's in his arms he's reminded that this is real and that they're real.

As he's driving them back to the apartment they share, he catches her eye and simply gives her another smile, satisfied when she smiles back, no words needed. Given that they used to banter and argue all the time (and sometimes still do), Priestly also likes this side of their relationship- it's a sign of maturity. Nobody would ever associate Priestly with being domesticated but he's looking forward to cooking dinner with Tish tonight, listening to some of his music on the patio with her, and then hopefully he'll convince her to give him a sneak preview of the lingerie she bought followed by some sex and cuddling afterwards. And if anybody ever made fun of him for being too weird or being too domesticated, hey, it doesn't matter because Priestly can still be a poster boy for maturity.

END