"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." - Winnie the Pooh / It's the way she sings in the shower and calls out his mistakes that makes him (eventually) fall in love with her.
take life in moments, not wholes
i.
"You're kidding me."
"I kid not," she responds, grinning.
"You -"
"MISTER KABRA!"
"I signed us up to babysit."
ii.
"It's one in the morning, Amy."
"There are some things I have no control over."
"And why are they suddenly made my problems?"
"Roommate rules: What's mine is yours."
"I'm sure it doesn't count with this sort of stuff."
"I don't care, Ian. Now go out and buy me some ice cream, and don't come back until you do."
iii.
It's dark. Too dark. He realizes this too late, though, and before he can escape, a crowd of people jump out, streamers and all.
"Happy birthday, Ian!"
And she's right in front of him, smiling with that stupid party hat on her head. "And you thought I forgot."
iv.
"I'll miss you."
"Oh, don't get all mushy on me now, Amy."
"Fine. But really, I will. I don't know how I'll survive without the scent of hair gel in the bathroom every morning."
"Now you're just being sarcastic, aren't you?"
"I'll miss you."
"I'll be back in a week."
"I know. Have fun."
"Bye..."
"Bye."
"... I'll miss you, too."
"I know."
v.
She's leaning against a wall, checking her phone. He grins, approaching her quietly in hopes of scaring her. But she's not scared, just irritated.
"You're late."
"There was a baggage delay."
She just stared.
"I brought you back chocolate."
"... Give it here."
Laughing, he hands her the bright red bag.
vi.
"Ian, this is Caleb, my boyfriend."
"Pleasure to meet you."
He can't say the same back.
vii.
"Were you just singing in the -"
"No."
"Are you sure?" he asks, grinning now. "Because I heard -"
"I wasn't," she insists, glaring at him with her hands on her hips. But it's the flush on her cheeks that tells the truth.
"Fine," he says, pretending to let go of the topic at hand. "But next time, just know that I prefer something more tasteful than pop music."
viii.
"How's your project coming along?"
"It's coming."
"You haven't started."
"No, and it's due tomorrow."
"I'll start the coffee."
ix.
"I tried out this new sandwich yesterday at the cafe."
"... Fascinating, Amy."
"I'm hungry. We should go check it out together. It's new, too."
"Are you, by chance, asking me out?" He's smirking now, his arms crossed as he watches Amy redden from either anger or embarrassment. Maybe it's both.
"No," she grinds out, grabbing their jackets and throwing his to him. "And just for that, you're paying."
x.
He's working on a paper and she's looming over his shoulder. She's sipping on milk through a straw - she keeps straws in their kitchen drawer, for she enjoys drinking through them - and reading his work.
"You spelled it's wrong. You meant 'it is', but you typed its instead."
He's astounded, because he never makes mistakes as pitiful as that. But what do you know - it's there, screaming at him now.
"It's a typo," he mutters, correcting it.
Amy snorts. "I know. Everyone makes mistakes, Mr. High-and-Mighty."
xi.
"Want to see a movie tonight?"
"I can't."
He turns to look at her, raising his eyebrow. "Why not?"
"I'm going out with Caleb. I told you yesterday."
"Oh. Right." Ian looks away.
xii.
"Where are you going?"
"Somewhere," he answers stiffly.
"Ian, what's wrong?" she asks, concerned.
But he's already out the door.
xiii.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
He's surprised by the sudden question, but he answers, "Why?"
"Because you're always out, and you never hang out with me anymore."
"You're with Caleb."
She crosses her arms. "I'm not always with him."
"If you think about it," he says, his voice a little darker than he meant it to be. "You really are."
She doesn't press it any further.
xiv.
"I thought you were going out tonight."
Amy barely looks up from her book. "You thought wrong," she says as she turns the page.
"Why?"
"I'm just not. Now, unless you have your own book to read, leave."
xv.
"I broke up with him."
Ian blinks, surprised. "You did?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
She looks at him.
"I don't know."
xvi.
She wakes up to see a new book on her nightstand.
"What's this?"
"Happy birthday?"
"You remembered."
"Of course."
"And all you got me is a book?"
"Open it."
She opens it, and out falls an envelope. She rips it at the top, and takes out two tickets to a concert. It's Taylor Swift, a.k.a. what she sings in the shower. She thinks about hitting him or hugging him.
She settles for the latter.
xvii.
"It smells good."
"Food always does."
"Reason for making dinner tonight?"
"I was bored?"
"At least you didn't burn it this time."
"Let. That. Go."
xviii.
"I heard you on the phone the other night."
"... Oh."
"Yeah."
"... And what do you think?"
"I don't know what to think."
"Okay."
She leaves.
xix.
"What are you doing?"
"I was waiting for you to get back."
"Why?"
"So we could watch a movie together. I picked out a comedy."
"You know I prefer foreign movies."
"You know I do, too. But we need a change."
"And this is that change?"
"What else is there to change?"
"Let's start with you waking up at a more humane time. Let's face it, Ian - only maniacs wake up at five in the morning on a Sunday."
xx.
It's sunrise.
She wakes up on his chest, and his arms are wrapped around her. The warmth is both familiar and unfamiliar, and she can't decide if she likes it or not.
"I decided what I thought about it."
"About what?"
"About your phone call."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"And?"
"We could give it a try."
xxi.
"You're cooking."
"Yes."
"I've never seen you turn on the stove in my entire life."
"Oh, shut up."
xxii.
"This is a more appropriate date."
"Thanks?"
"Because burnt chicken isn't exactly ideal."
xxiii.
"It wasn't what you thought -"
"I never said anything."
"But, Amy -"
"Seriously, Ian, drop it."
"She came onto me, I swear."
"I believe you, okay?"
"No, it's not. Not yet."
xxiv.
"Why am I here?"
"To prove to you that I'm faithful."
"Never said you weren't."
He ignores her as he proclaims to his entire office floor that the beautiful girl beside him is Amy Cahill, his girlfriend.
xxv.
There is an array of dessert over their coffee table, with two cups of coffee in the middle. She can only stare.
"What is this?"
"Congratulations," he says, grinning as he hugs her tight from behind. "I heard you got accepted into the paper's staff."
She turns around and smacks him. "You go overboard too often."
But that doesn't stop her from running over to the table and falling onto the couch, taking a piece of cake and dropping it into her mouth happily.
xxvi.
"You signed us up for baking classes?"
"Blame the cakes on TV."
xxvii.
"Is that a suitcase?"
"Yes."
"Is that a passport?"
"Yes."
"Are those plane tickets?"
"Yes."
"Are you going on a vacation?"
"Yes."
"... When were you planning on telling me this?"
"Right now."
xxviii.
"Stop laughing!"
More giggles escaped her lips, no matter how hard she tried to bite them back.
"This hurts!"
"I told you to wear sunscreen," is her only response before bursting out in laughter again.
xxix.
"It's nice to be back home."
"I'm always at home."
"... You're so cheesy," she says, but she's grinning as he falls beside her on the couch comfortably.
xxx.
"This is beautiful, Ian," Amy breathes.
"I know I am."
She glares at him, but refuses to let it ruin the moment.
"You didn't have to rent out a park for me, you know."
"I don't have to do a lot of things, but I want to."
She snorts. "Happy one year anniversary, Ian."
"Happy one year anniversary, Amy."
xxxi.
"What did you mean you're sick of having me around?" she snaps, glaring at him with her arms crossed. He's standing across from her, exasperated.
"I didn't mean it like that -"
"Then what did you mean?"
He sighs. "Okay, maybe I did mean it, but -"
The door to her room slams, cutting him off.
xxxii.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"I overreacted a bit."
"Yeah, but maybe I didn't react as much as I should have."
"That makes no sense."
He smiles. "Who cares?" he asks, leaning down to capture her lips.
xxxiii.
Amy sniffles, tissues surrounding her on bed. "Ian, could you -"
He enters, a tray in hand with a bowl of soup and a cup of tea on top.
She smiles in her sick state. "You read my mind."
xxxiv.
"It's a nice day today."
He glances out the window. It's sunny. "I suppose."
"Let's go out for a walk."
"To where?"
"Anywhere."
"Anywhere with you is fine by me."
xxxv.
"Don't you think a June wedding would be nice? Right at the beginning of summer."
He smiles. "Are you hinting at something?"
She elbows him. "No. I'm just saying, it'd be nice."
"As long as you're the bride, I think any kind of wedding is nice."
xxxvi.
"Why don't you ever buy me expensive things?"
He raises an eyebrow. "Do you want expensive things?" he asks instead.
"No, but you used to buy nice things for your other girlfriends."
"You're not those other girls, though."
"Do I want to be?"
He takes her in his arms, and says, "No, because they don't mean half as much as you do to me."
xxxvii.
"I think I know everything about you, Ian."
"What's my favorite book?"
"Easy. Fahrenheit 451."
"And yours is Flowers for Algernon."
"We go quite well together, don't we?" She tilts her head to the side thoughtfully.
"We do."
xxxviii.
"Dinner tonight."
"Yes, we do eat dinner at night."
"I mean, dinner tonight at a restaurant. Dress nicely."
"Are you saying I usually don't?"
He grins. "Stop being difficult and just do it."
She laughs and complies.
xxxix.
There's a ring in the champagne.
"Will you marry me?"
"I don't approve of the method of asking," she replies, gesturing to the glass. "I thought you'd be a little more original."
"But what about the question at hand?"
"Oh, that? That I approve of greatly."
xxxx.
"Do you take Ian Kabra as your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
"And do you take Amy Cahill as your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do."
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
"Finally."
xxxxi.
"What should we name her?"
"I like the name Verity. What do you think?"
"Sounds beautiful."
xxxxii.
"Are you crying, Ian?"
"No."
She smile softly. "It's okay to cry sometimes, Ian. Would you like to hold her?"
He barely manages a nod as he takes his newborn child into his arms.
xxxxiii.
"It's your turn, Ian."
"But -"
"And don't come back until she stops crying."
xxxxiv.
"Ian! Come here! She's about to walk!"
There's a crash as Ian bolts over to the living room.
Amy's left to take care of the mess as Ian is much too fascinated by his own daughter's progress to do anything.
xxxxv.
"Hello?"
"Ian?"
"Amy, why are you calling me at work -"
"She spoke."
"What?"
"Verity. She spoke."
Ian's hand was shaky. "What was her first word?"
"Momma."
He laughs softly. "As expected."
"I raise them right."
"More like you brainwash them right."
xxxxvi.
"Is that...?"
"Yep."
"Yay."
She smacks his arm. "What does that mean?"
"Another mini-you. And I thought I could handle just you and Verity."
xxxxvii.
"He's beautiful."
"He looks like you."
"I know. That's why I said it."
"What should we name him?"
"... I think the name Leo has a nice ring to it."
xxxxviii.
"This time, his first word will be daddy."
Amy scoffs. "Is that a challenge?"
"It sure is."
xxxxix.
Click! The moment is captured in a picture, then in a frame. There's a father and a mother, and two children beside their arms. This is the moment they have been coming to, and Amy thinks it could not have turned out any better.
xxxxx.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
A/N: They are not a couple throughout the story, which I hope I made clear. They're roommates (kind of like in "Fragments of Forever"), and they're friends. But I show how they eventually fall in love. Kind of. Meh, this is just random bits of randomness, but it was fun to write.
And by the way... can anyone explain why people alert my oneshots? o.o I mean ONEshot when I write them. I barely ever write sequels, and even if I do, it'd be on a separate story. Like, really guys. I just - I don't understand. Why do you do this? It actually really annoys me -.-" Sometimes people do it by accident, but really. Really.
This was fun to write, but it's not all that great. It's just... there. Not meant to be taken seriously, but just to read for fun. /shrug.
I think I was somewhat inspired by music4evah's "How to Kiss" unconsciously. The mainly dialogue thing, I suppose. I didn't mean to, but it happened. It's just so nice to write without having to think about tiny details. For those who haven't read it yet, go do it.
And that's right - Ian and Amy stay together in this story. It's been so long.
Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading! If you notice any errors, please throw them this way!
p.s. Kind of irrelevant, but I got onto my school's paper's staff. ^^ Kind of happy about that, and yeah... if you guys wanted to know... I figured I should tell you guys since I told my other fandom. And this fandom is pretty responsible for my improved writing, so yeah. Thanks. :)
p.p.s. Their kids' names - anyone know where I got them from?