A River Runs Through... @river-phillips - Tumblr Blog

River and Charlie attend a fundraiser event at Soapberry Springs University. What starts out as a fun afternoon quickly turns into a whirlwind of jealousy and mixed signals...and a learning experience for the both of them.

@charliesfins

Charlie held River's hand as they led her toward the festival. When they'd heard about the fundraiser event for the university library, Charlie couldn't imagine a better way to spend the day, especially if it meant getting to show off with River a bit in public. They did hope that the overall numbers for the day weren’t too overwhelming to allow the two of them to enjoy themselves. "Any bands in particular you're excited about?" they asked, eyes flashing toward their girlfriend with a grin.

River was actually looking forward to today. It was nice out, and Charlie seemed excited for this fundraiser as they led her deeper into the campus from where they'd parked. This was only her second time at the university and she still wasn't very familiar with her surroundings, but at least she had a guide this time. "Oh, uh, I don't actually know a lot about the local music scene, but that one band of all female werewolves....fuck, what were they called?...Oh! The Femme Fangs! They seem pretty cool." The pair of them started to head over toward where music was playing, seeing the stage, booths, and carnival games set up for the fundraiser not far off now.

Charlie squeezed River's hand. “I hear there's going to be a seafood truck that's actually run by seafolk, so we should have plenty to come by for food.” Being on campus, Charlie was immediately back in their element. Their classes hadn’t started yet, so they were more than pleased to be able to chat with people they hadn't seen all summer. They ended up introducing River a lot, but they also didn't want to throw too many names at her. As they leaned against the counter at a milk crate throw stand, they glanced at her curiously. "Think you can win me a prize?" Charlie winked, knowing that if either of them had any chances, it was definitely River. Charlie may have looked good, but they had no athletic abilities, especially when it came to something like throwing. "I've got something special planned if you do."

"That offer an open one?"

Charlie turned around rather sharply, but they let out a squeak of delight and threw their arms around the neck of the man standing there. "Dre! I didn't think I'd see you here." Figuring it was best to introduce, they turned back to River. "Dre, this is my girlfriend. River, this is Dre. He was my partner for some pretty gnarly projects last year."

There were a lot of people around, but River was at least able to breathe in the outdoor atmosphere, and the whole thing wasn't as overwhelming as it could have been. Having Charlie glued to her side was an added comfort, and she smiled like a dutiful girlfriend as she was introduced to friendly people she honestly probably wouldn't remember, but every time she heard Charlie call her their girlfriend, her heart swelled with pride just a bit. Once they got to the milk bottle toss booth, River smirked cheekily at Charlie's challenge. "Damn right I can. I played softball in high school. I don't care how rigged these games are, those bottles are going down." She rubbed her hands together but when she heard the voice behind them, she turned quickly to find Charlie throwing their arms around the neck of a man. It seemed friendly enough, but River couldn't help the uncomfortable twinge that shot through her spine for a moment. She smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you, Dre," she said, offering him a hand to shake.

Charlie was looking at River and completely missed the hungry look Dre flicked down their body. Leaning against him, they said, "I don't think I would have made it through that one printing class without him."

"Nonsense," Dre said, waving a hand. "I only did so well because I had such a willing partner." He smirked as he shook River's hand. "Describes our Charlie well, don't you think?"

River definitely didn't miss Dre giving Charlie a hungry once over, nor did she miss his hand gripping their hip as they leaned into him. River felt her face getting hot as she squeezed his hand, probably a little harder than she meant to. "Yeah, that's them all right," she said quietly, actively having to focus on not gritting her teeth together. "You still want that prize, babe?" She turned to the counter and slapped a five dollar bill on it, getting 3 balls in return. With an elaborate windmill underhand pitch that felt like muscle memory from when she was a teenager, she knocked down all the bottles on her first try. She turned to smirk at Dre before grabbing Charlie's hand.

Charlie let out a sudden bark of laughter as River effortlessly knocked down the pins. "Knew you could do it!" they said as they let River pull them forward. Charlie pressed in, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll have to catch up later," Charlie said over their shoulder told Dre. "You're taking Douglas's medieval class, right?" But they didn't actually wait for his answer as they scanned the prize wall with River. "Do we go cliche and grab the puppy or in your direction and grab the baby seal?"

River leaned into the kiss on her cheek, but she didn't take her eyes off Dre over her shoulder as he slowly retreated, muttering a few words of farewell in Charlie's direction before leaving the two of them. River felt satisfied, but oddly conflicted in the pit of her stomach. She’d basically just flexed in front of this guy, and she couldn’t help feeling a little guilty for being so petty. She attempted to shake off the feeling as she turned to the prize wall. "The real cliche would be if they had a giant stuffed bear," she joked, but she ultimately pointed to the puppy, her next words seemingly innocent, but with an edge of something else. "I vote puppy, because I'm the only seal you need to cuddle, right?"

Charlie grinned at River's logic and gladly selected the puppy to carry around with them. "You have one, and now I do too," they teased, slinging it under their arm before leading her toward the main stage to watch for a while. They goofed off and laughed, dancing with the puppy since they knew River grew self-conscious about dancing. As Charlie pretended to grind on the puppy, they realized they'd attracted a few extra eyes, but they only paid attention to River and fell to the ground to sit with her after. Still, it was nice to have the extra appreciation.

River tried to let the encounter with Dre slip out of her mind and have fun with Charlie, and it didn't take long for just that to happen. Laughing and enjoying Charlie was so easy. So natural. They made it easy for her to relax and while her insecurities were always there, it was easier to not care about them. At least not as much. Familiar feelings flared up as Charlie's dancing got a little more raunchy. And while River was enjoying the view, she noticed others were as well. She shot off unintentional glares at a few of the wandering eyes, before she was pulled to the ground to sit with Charlie. "People were staring at you," she stated quite plainly, lifting Charlie's arm over her own shoulder.

Charlie shrugged as they lifted the puppy to pretend it was giving River a kiss. "Let them," they said. "I've got my eyes right here." They leaned against River as they listened to the music. Charlie teased their fingers across River's side, content to just sit there until River was ready to move. "Do you want to stay for the rest of the set or just the next song? I'm down for either."

River was comforted by Charlie's words, and she smooched the stuffed animal playfully before leaning up to give Charlie a quick kiss. She was being stupid, she knew she was, and she just needed to relax. "Actually, I'm pretty hungry," she answered. "Let's check out that food truck you were talking about." They stayed for the rest of the song, and then went on the search for the food truck, literally able to follow the smell of cooking fish to find it. Inside the truck taking orders was a young woman whose eyes lit up at the sight of Charlie, though River couldn't quite tell if it was because she knew them, or for other reasons.

Charlie closed their eyes and breathed in the smell of fish cooking. Landfolk did all right with it, but they could always tell when it was being prepared properly by seafolk. To all appearances, it was the same process, but Charlie knew better. They'd seen and accomplished the subtle differences that went along with it. When Charlie opened their eyes, they looked up at the trunk and grinned. "Jo-Jo!" Charlie said as she moved closer, still holding River's hand. "I haven't seen you in forever! Did you find a new roommate yet?" The woman had crashed on Charlie's couch a few weeks the previous semester when she and her roommate hadn't been speaking. "River, have you ever met Jolene? We're in for a treat today because she's one of the best seafood cooks I've ever met, and I don't say that lightly."

River let herself be dragged a little quicker toward the truck as Charlie excitedly greeted the woman. God, she was like, intimidatingly attractive. From her position up inside the truck, River felt like she was being looked down on like Jolene was the judge and she was the defendant in a courtroom receiving her sentence. "No, I haven't. Uh, nice to meet you," River said, almost unable to look at her. But it didn't matter because Jolene's eyes were glued to Charlie. They seemed to know everybody personally wherever they went. This was a small town, but jesus... "How do you two know each other?" River asked.

"Jo-Jo lived with me for a little while, but we go way back," Charlie said. "I actually knew Jo-Jo back in high school when I was just an awkward otter, and her pod would meet ours every once in a while. You had things way more together than me back then."

Jolene laughed and shook her head. "Oh please, you've always been a looker." She leaned forward, finally acknowledging River. "You've got good taste," she said to River. "Don't let anyone else snap them up."

Charlie rolled their eyes. "Teasing her seems really unnecessary." The words could have been a reprimand, but Charlie didn't put any heat behind them for their old friend. They glanced up at the menu, but it all looked good. "You want to make me whatever you like best? What would you like, babe?"

River steeled herself a little when Jolene finally addressed her. "I won't," she said, trying to sound playful, but her tone came out a little darker than intended. She wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulder and pulled them closer. She watched as Jolene pursed her lips a bit, but soon adopted that same sweet smile once Charlie started talking about food. "I'll just share with you," River answered. "I'm not that hungry anymore."

Charlie frowned slightly. "But you're always hungry," they protested. Turning back to Jolene, Charlie offered a quick smile. "Why don't you give us two of whatever it is."

"Anything you for," she said as she disappeared from the window to figure out the food.

While she was gone, Charlie slipped an arm around River's waist again. "You okay?"

River shrugged, trying to sound chipper even if her face might have been betraying her a bit as it faltered. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry." She was doing the one thing she'd told herself not to do: swallowing down her emotions. But it felt like the right thing to do. She knew she was being irrational. No point in ruining the day with her stupid emotions.

Charlie didn't quite buy River's story, but they let it go. When Jolene appeared at the window again with two plates of food, Charlie took them happily. "You're the best, Jo-Jo!" Charlie raised an eyebrow up at her with a smirk. "Do I owe you anything?" It was a cheeky comment, but the kind that Charlie was pretty sure they could get away with.

"You?" Jolene asked. "Honey, you know you can have whatever you want."

Charlie winked at her as they said a quick goodbye. They led River to a nearby table, coaxing her to eat some as they listened to one of the side performers fill time in between big events.

River scowled slightly at Jolene's comments, and couldn't help but shoot a side-eye glance at Charlie as she watched them wink back. But Charlie didn't notice, and as they left, River glanced over her shoulder at Jolene, who was giving her the same type of smirk River had given Dre. It made a heat boil in her chest, but she took a few deep breaths as they sat down at the table. River picked at her food, and for the first time in the day they were both pretty quiet. River at least had the excuse of eating to cover up the fact that she wasn't in the mood for conversation. And dammit, the food was amazing, which honestly only made River angrier. But she just focused on calming herself down, repeating to herself how dumb she was being. "What now?" she asked as they finished cleaning up their food.

Charlie swallowed their last bit and looked at their girlfriend. "I could be down for just about anything. We haven't looked at the shopping stalls yet. Want to do that?" Charlie waited until they had River's confirmation and wandered that way. Most of what they passed included things like pottery and jewelry, but Charlie quickly zeroed in on a stall filled with leather work. "This is beautiful," they said, holding up a leather bracelet. Charlie's attention quickly shifted from the bracelet to a selection labeled bikinis that were clearly not intended for the beach.

"What do you think?" they asked River with a smirk as they held up what would have been a bikini top, had it not been simply long fringe trailing down from the collar. "I think I could rock it."

"If you put it on now, you can get anything else cheaper free," offered the woman in her late thirties manning the booth. She smirked at the two of them.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "When there's nowhere to even change? Come on, I'd think the bikini itself should be free for that kind of show."

River happily agreed to go over to the vendor stalls, feeling a little better once she'd eaten despite who had prepared it. The two sort of drifted away from each other, though not too far, as they checked out different stalls. River had been eyeing some tie-dye shirts when she heard Charlie call something beautiful and strode up to join them. As Charlie held up the leather top to themself, River swallowed hard as she couldn’t help imagining them in only the leather piece, biting her bottom lip slightly. "You definitely could," she confirmed with a nod. But apparently she wasn't the only one that thought so as the vendor's voice cut through her dirty thoughts. She cocked her head to look past Charlie at them, raising her eyebrows. "Do you ask all your customers to strip?" she asked, her tone a little indignant.

Charlie put a hand on River's shoulder. "It's not a big deal, babe. You and I both know I'm comfortable with it." Charlie held it up as though inspecting the quality. Really they were still hoping to end up with an offer of it free if they got the bracelet or something else smaller. It was fun to wiggle their way into a better deal.

"Hell," the woman said. "Change here and now, and I'll give ya two. You and your girlie friend can have a matching set of them." She smirked, as though the idea was funny and looked around. "I'm sure you'd drum us up plenty of revenue."

Charlie laughed, shaking their head. "Oh I'm sure I would, but I'm not about to go strutting around in it." They were standing with large displays on what were the most traffic heavy sides, so Charlie pulled their shirt up and over their head. They'd actually worn a bra that day, but they didn't bother removing it before fastening the glorified necklace around their neck. "And how much is this worth?" they asked, their voice teasing as they posed a bit.

River resisted the instinct to pull away from Charlie's touch. They might be comfortable with it, but she sure as hell wasn't. But she just kept her mouth shut, knowing that wasn't fair. Charlie's body wasn't her's to police. That didn't mean she had to be happy with what was going down in front of her though, grinding her teeth and crossing her arms as Charlie took off their shirt and put on the leather piece. She was standing behind Charlie, and they couldn't see just how upset she was getting as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair, glowering at the vendor who looked overly pleased with herself.

Charlie ended up getting the top at half price, which was plenty off for them. They'd seen landfolk wear just as little at the beach and still didn't really understand what the distinction was between bikini showing off and bra modesty when they covered the same things. "What do you think? Should I just wear this all day?" Charlie asked as they turned back to River. Once they saw her face, Charlie faltered, taking in the heavy frown on her face. "What's wrong? Am I supposed to change or something?" The vendor snorted, and Charlie shot her a look now that they weren't using being cute as a bartering chip.

River tried to cover her expression as Charlie turned back, but they were too quick for her, and the thin lips and furrowed brow gave her away before she could relax them. "You look great," she muttered, her face softening. "You always do." Too good, apparently. She shot the vendor a look too, before shrugging and leading Charlie away from the stall. "You can wear whatever you want. I won't stop you."

Charlie followed behind River, still holding their shirt instead of wearing it. Obviously River was annoyed about the clothing, but Charlie didn't know what to do about it if she didn't want to talk about it. "Do you want to watch the main stage again or do something else?" they asked. Since River was looking the other way, Charlie glanced down, enjoying the way the fringe parted to show off their bra. If she learned to forgive them for buying it, Charlie suspected River would enjoy coming home to find Charlie in it.

River suddenly felt exhausted, stopping in her tracks as Charlie questioned what she wanted to do now. If she was honest, River wanted to go home. She felt uneasy now, like something was crawling underneath her skin and making her itchy and paranoid. She kept glancing all around her, as if watching where the eyes of passerbys were resting. And as she could have guessed, most of them rested on Charlie's new article of clothing. Or lack thereof, really. She took a deep breath and scratched her cheek absentmindedly, trying her best to swallow down her emotions and act normal. Maybe they needed to talk about this, but if they did, they'd do it later. River's anxiety had ruined the last time they'd went out somewhere. She wouldn't let it happen this time. "Main stage is cool," she decided. "You really do look great in that, by the way."

Charlie preened under River's compliment, not necessarily paying attention to the other eyes around around them (but appreciating the attention in an absent way). "Cool." Charlie grabbed her hand, the puppy from earlier still tucked under their arm. Once they got to the main area, Charlie found a nice stop for the two of them to sit, and they leaned back to do a little sunbathing while they listened. They didn't need the tan by any means, but if they couldn't be in the water, this was nice too.

River sat down next to Charlie on the ground and tried to crawl out of her own head and just listen to the music and enjoy the sun as it got lower and lower in the sky. They'd been out all day and while River's paranoid mind was focusing on the negatives, they'd had a lot of fun today too. She just needed to calm down. "This is nice," she said, finally unfolding her legs out from under her and leaning back on her hands. The current band wrapped up their set and River perked up a little as she glanced at her watch. "Oh, the Femme Fangs is up next I think!"

Charlie looked over at River with a smile. They were glad she was having fun. "Did you look up their music at all or just like their aesthetic?" Charlie asked. While they didn't personally have an opinion on the band, Charlie had a feeling they'd enjoy listening to them purely because River did. Actually Charlie planned to spend most of their set watching River's reaction. In the back of their head, they thought it would be nice to make out a little, but they had a feeling River wouldn't go for that in public. Since Charlie didn't want to freak her out, they refrained from suggesting it.

River smiled a little sheepishly. "I might have looked up a thing or two," she admitted. "They're totally cool though, like they've got this weird punk techno sound that just fits together so well and like, the lead singer is the bassist, which I'm always a little weak for." She furrowed her brow at her last comment, acutely aware that if Charlie had been the one to say that to her, she wasn't sure how she'd feel about it. "I might be fangirling a little," she said, pressing her finger to her lips. "Shhhh, don't tell."

Charlie didn't mind River's comment about the bassist. They'd always been a pretty firm believer of look-don't-touch as a relationship philosophy, but maybe that was because they knew more than a few people's girlfriends had flirted with them over the years. Charlie had always had a rule about pursuing that kind of thing. They'd never willingly help anyone cheat, but Charlie figured a little flirty conversation was harmless. "I've always been more about drummers," Charlie said. They reached over to poke at River's rather defined biceps. "They've got good arms."

River smirked, shaking her head. "But have you seen a bassist's forearms? They're like rocks." She curved her arm to flex her forearm. She liked when Charlie admired her muscles, even if it did make her feel like a frat boy a little bit, especially given that they were on a university campus. "Fingering the strings is hard work," she quipped, her voice a little lower now. She blushed, but she knew what she'd said as she quirked an eyebrow at them.

Charlie raised an eyebrow, unable to hold back a smirk. "Is that so? I can think of a few other things a bassist might be good at fingering." Charlie knew logically that the line was garbage since neither of them played, but they couldn't resist when River had set them up so well with the innuendo. Since River seemed to have enjoyed their touch, Charlie continued to run their fingers along her arm and shoulder. Hearing strings plucking from on stage, Charlie looked up to see sound testing. "Looks like they're getting ready to start."

River leaned over a little so their faces were inches apart. "Maybe I should learn how to play?" But when she heard the noise of a sound check up on the stage, she pulled back, almost bouncing a little where she sat. She knew she had probably just teased Charlie a little, but she relished in it. When the band was announced, everyone shot to their feet, including River, and the crowd was alive more than they'd been for any other performer (because most of the others had been pretty chill acoustic sets, admittedly) and River was nodding her head to the beat and jumping around with the rest of them, even if her and Charlie were a little further back as not to be overwhelmed by the crowd.

Charlie was about to go in for a kiss, but the sound check was very poorly timed. They pouted up at her in amusement for a second as River jumped up so quickly, but Charlie followed suit. Wrapping an arm around River, Charlie pulled her closer to dance more together. It was about the music and the band first, but Charlie just enjoyed being together and being able to have fun like this. As they danced and jumped through the various numbers, Charlie was having a great time, almost glad they hadn't put their shirt back on to soak with the sweat forming on their back. "This is great!" they said to River at one point as the band played a particularly catchy anthem.

River was focusing on letting loose, which probably sounded pretty counter-intuitive. But she had to force herself to not worry about how she looked as she jumped and danced around. Charlie always helped with that. The way they looked at her, the way they moved... "I'm glad we did this," she said, finally able to overlook all the weird feelings she'd had throughout the day as she watched the fringes of the leather piece Charlie was still wearing dance around on their chest, and watched their smile brighten up the world around them even though the sun was quickly setting.

"It's amazing," Charlie agreed, leaning in to press a quick kiss against River's face. The two were moving enough that their aim missed, and Charlie ended up leaving a sloppy kiss against her neck. "You're so much fun to dance with, babe." They pretended to survey the band again, although they'd formed an opinion songs ago. "And I suppose I agree. That bassist can really play." Charlie internally groaned as the band announced their last song. "Guess we'd better make it count," Charlie said with a grin. Their was one more group after who were pretty well known in the area, but their music was more jazzy than upbeat. They didn't know if it would honestly be something worth sticking around for when they'd already had such a great time listening to this group. "Do you want to get in the signing line when they're done?" Charlie asked. "I think we can buy and get signed all in one go, it looks like."

River shivered at the kiss against her neck, brazenly pulling Charlie a little closer as they danced. "What can I say? I have good taste," she said, having to yell a little bit over the music. As the set ended, River cheered loudly with the rest of the crowd, feeling newly energized even though she was drenched with sweat and panting. "Yeah! Though I'm a little nervous to like...meet them." But she still started heading in the direction of the merch line, even as she voiced her hesitations.

Charlie pumped their fist a couple times as everyone cheered at the end. Charlie scooped up the puppy as River yanked them away. Their shirt got left behind, but it wasn't an expensive one. They weren't too concerned about leaving it behind. "I'm sure they'll be friendly," Charlie commented as they got into the line. "After a show like that, they've got to be lit up at least a little bit."

River nodded along with Charlie's logic. "I hope so. I also hope I don't just stand there and not talk like an idiot. It's happened before." She shrugged casually, but freezing up like that always made her feel broken somehow.

Charlie squeezed River's waist, providing her with a little chatter to ease her nerves as the two of them moved up the line. Finally they were at the merch table, and Charlie looked between their most recent CD and a poster. "What are you getting?" They asked. Charlie debated also getting something, but they decided the memories would be enough.

River looked over the merch table and decided on a CD and a t-shirt with a pretty cliche picture of four wolves howling at the moon with the band's name on it. She loved it though. "You ever tattoo an autograph onto somebody?" River asked as they moved down to get in the signing line, but then she let out a chuckle. "Just kidding, I'm not fangirling that hard. Still curious though."

Charlie laughed. "No, but it could be interesting. I have to duplicate scripts and fonts when people have something specific in mind, so I suppose an autograph wouldn't be particularly different. I know one of Devon's regulars his mom passed down has a tat of Elvis's signature on her shoulder. She's an amazingly righteous hippie, so it works for her." Charlie wasn't sure if she was actually old enough to have met Elvis, but it was possible. They followed River over as she paid, still thinking about the autograph bit. “I could probably get one of those. It could be cool. I just don't know who I would do."

River was just thinking about all those women in the 80s that got hair bands to sign their chests, then ran across the street to a tattoo shop to get it on them permanently. She wondered if any of them regretted it. River had her impulsive moments, but that was too impulsive even for her. "It's like that 'who would you have lunch with, alive for dead' type question. Too much pressure to choose," she said. They were quickly approaching the table with the band. They all seemed friendly enough, but River felt herself freezing up. "Oh god, what am I supposed to say?" she asked Charlie frantically.

Charlie shook their head. "Well, the problem with that question is that it's too open. It has literally infinite possible answers that change with the day, your mood, and what you want to talk about over lunch. Hell, even what you want for lunch can change that one. It's just a rude question." Charlie realized they'd been babbling their way through the line. Squeezing River's hand, Charlie shrugged. "Whatever you want to say--that you liked their set and think they have an awesome name or whatever. It's the same stuff you were telling me."

River didn't have a lot of time to think on Charlie's advice though, because suddenly it was their turn. She approached the table, squeezing Charlie's hand for dear life, her palms gross and sweaty. "Hi," she said dumbly, her voice sounding weirdly high pitched and far away. "You guys are....cool," she chuckled nervously, handing her CD over. "Can you sign this?"

The band greeted the two of the warmly, and the bassist/frontwoman smiled directly at River. "Of course. What's your name, hun?"

River felt herself blushing. "River. And uh, this is my girlfriend, Charlie." She hadn't asked, but River felt like sharing.

The bassist smirked, signing her name and passing the CD around to her bandmates to sign before leaning forward a bit. "A selkie named River. That's adorable." She leaned forward a bit and inhaled deeply through her nose, before leaning back in her chair and smiling. "Both seafolk. You two are a cute couple," she said. "Plenty of fish in the sea but you've already caught yours." The drummer heard that and suddenly had to frantically writing something down, then passed the CD back to River.

Charlie grinned as they listened to River and the bassist interact. They angled their head in curiosity as the drummer added something, but they didn't want to take it until River had the option to look. "You guys sounded great," they said as the drummer handed the CD back. Charlie flashed another smile in the band's direction as they wrapped an arm around River's waist to lead her away. "What does it say?" they asked, unable to keep from asking.

River glanced down at the CD. Everyone else had signed their names but the drummer had added a little note. "It's what the bassist said," she said, squinting at it since the writing was a little messy. " 'Plenty of fish in the sea but you've already caught yours'...and next to it it says 'You're gonna be on the next album'...?" A confused smile set on her face as she cocked her head to look up at Charlie. "I think we just...inspired a song?"

Charlie leaned over River's shoulder, a smile spreading across their face. "That's so cute!" they said and spun her around to kiss her. Charlie pulled back, still smiling as they looked down at the CD again. "Is their whole set from tonight on their or is some of it like a separate EP?" They started walking again, dangling the puppy with one hand and holding River's waist with the other.

River fell into the kiss and with it all her troubles from the day fell away too. That cute little gesture had her riding high now. "They've got two EPs before this, and a couple singles too." She smiled sheepishly. "I might have done a little too much research. We gotta be big fans now though. They're apparently fans of us!" she joked. She held the CD up and waggled it a bit, draping the t-shirt over her shoulder.

"I thought you'd done more than you were letting on." Charlie pressed a kiss against River's forehead before moving away from her long enough to stretch.

"Charlie?"

They turned away, lighting up as they saw a blonde woman walking toward them. "Cordelia! What's up?"

She didn't hesitate to pull Charlie in for a hug as she commented, "I thought I'd recognize that ass anywhere. Love the top."

River turned slowly as she heard Charlie's name, almost as if in a daze. It made her reactions slow when Charlie was basically ripped away from her by Cordelia's hug, and reality came roaring into focus at full speed and volume suddenly as they disconnected, just in time to hear the blonde's comment. River just stood there for a moment, struck dumb by the suddenness that she'd been grounded from her high. It was all so fragile. So fleeting. "You just know everybody around here, don't you?" she finally said, trying to keep her voice casual still.

Charlie smiled as they turned to River, but they paused, realizing that she very much wasn't happy. "I guess I just know a lot of people from this and that," Charlie said. "This is Cordelia. She's a friend I partied a lot with a while back."

Cordelia let out a low whistle and made no pretenses about sizing River up. "I know we said no labels, but 'friend' seems awfully small for what we were doing."

Charlie cleared their throat, but they did chuckle a bit to relieve tension and acknowledge Cordelia's point. "I suppose that's fair. This is River, my girlfriend."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're doing labels now." She turned toward River with a bitchy smile. "Good for you, love."

River felt her heart sink at the realization. It was stupid. People were allowed to have exes. People were allowed to hug their exes. If Rye showed up in town again River would probably hug them. But the way Cordelia had her hand on their shoulder, touching remnants of the hug they'd just shared that Charlie wasn't rebuffing. The way River was unmistakably being sized up and talked down to. River had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. How did Charlie put up with this bimbo? Though looking at her, she was definitely more attractive than River was. Her chest was bigger, her hips curvier. Her lips fuller and her confidence stronger. "Thanks," was all River was able to get herself to say. She forced a smile, tight lipped though it was.

Charlie didn't think anything of the hand on their shoulder, but they could definitely tell that River wasn't happy. Charlie just couldn't pinpoint why. Because Cordelia was their ex? But they'd looked unhappy before then.

"You know I thought it had been a while since you called," Cordelia commented, squeezing Charlie's shoulder. "Is this why?"

Charlie may not have been good at relationships, but they were good at reading a room. "Actually I just thought you and I weren't clicking anymore," they said, trying to make it sound light. "I can only drink so many fuzzy navels in a short time before it becomes too much."

River couldn't help it. The scoff fell out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She was a this now? She couldn't couldn't stop seeing it though. The two of them together, despite Charlie's words. River not needed. Not wanted. Not when someone looking like that was around. Or looking like anyone else around them, really. Looking like anyone but her. Replaced by another blonde head. She could tell Charlie was picking up on River's vibes. She wasn't exactly hiding it anymore, but Charlie wasn't exactly disengaging either. A fact that Cordelia seemed to revel in. "So when'd you last fuck?" River asked bluntly.

Charlie tensed even before River's question, but they stepped back away from both women at that last remark. "It's been a while," they mumbled, shooting River a look. They could understand her being unhappy, but she didn't have to be rude about it in front of someone else.

Cordelia simply raised a brow as she studied River. "Not the secure type, hm? Didn't expect that for Charlie's tastes."

"Knock it off," Charlie snapped. "You don't know everything about me. Far from it actually. I was going to suggest we catch up, but I'm not sure that's a good idea."

She turned her nose up, scowling at River. "I understand. Can't pull too hard on a short leash." She turned to go and called out as she walked away, "Call me if things change."

"What a bitch," Charlie said under their breath. "Not calling her--deleting her number." They turned back to River, pursing their lips as they waited for some kind of explanation.

The moment the words left River’s mouth, she regretted it. But it was too late to take them back, and the chain reaction that was set off in front of her made her want to just throw herself off a cliff. While River couldn't say she was sad Cordelia was gone, she could definitely say that with the look Charlie was giving her now, she'd have put up with that bitch for an eternity instead. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," she began, squeezing her eyes shut and running a hand over her face. They were still sort of stopped off to the side of a path through the festival, but the crowd was starting to dwindle a bit. "It's just...people have been all fucking over you all day. I couldn't take it!" She sighed a huffy, angry sigh. "Did you even see the way that Dre guy was looking at you? He would have fucked you right there on top of the milk bottles if he could. And you were leaning all over him. Oh and 'Jo-Jo'." She did some air quotes to punctuate. "She was throwing herself at you with her words and you were just eating it up. A-and this!" She pointed to the leather fringe covering their bra, her hands trembling. "You stripped in front of that pervy vendor like it was nothing. Just soaking up the attention. Then Cordelia. That bimbo was just the last straw."

Charlie stood speechless as they listened to River's accusations. "Dre's just a friend," Charlie said. "Jo-Jo too. I'm sorry if it bothers you that I have friends." They knew that River was right about the level of attention today being a little high, but Charlie hadn't done anything to deserve it. And they didn't play along with any of it that they would have been uncomfortable with River doing the same. "And the lady in the tent? Who cares?" Charlie looked down at their chest, still not seeing what the big deal was. It was a rather skimpy piece, yes, but it wasn't any worse than what people wore to the beach all the time. "Before we were dating, you and plenty of other people saw me in much less before or after a swim. I don't see what the big deal is!"

"You don't--" River let out a sharp, gasping chuckle. "You don't see what the big deal is?!" She took a deep breath, letting the breath slip out her nose as she closed her eyes for a moment. "Look, you're right. It's your body and it's not my right to be policing it," she admitted. "But when you do shit like that, it makes me feel like I'm not enough for you." She spotted an empty paper cup on the ground and kicked it away in frustration. "I know it's stupid. You've given me no reason to think you're gonna walk away with the next best thing, but it's hard to watch you smile at someone else the way you smile at me, even if you're just trying to get something half price." She sighed again, running a hand through her hair, pushing it all out of her flustered face. "And I know that's just how you are. You flirt. You make dirty jokes. You smile at strangers and give friendly touches. But my mind won't stop telling me it's because they're all better than me. That you need...more than I can give you."

Charlie froze. "I didn't think about it like that." It sounded like a lame excuse in their own ears, and Charlie assumed that it was for River as well. "I just... I've always been a touchy-smiling person. It's not flirty, it's being friendly. I know-" They paused. "You remember when you were dating Rye? Think about how I treated you and how I treated people today. It's the same. You now? That's not the same." Charlie wasn't sure if River would allow them to touch her, but they decided to risk it. Reaching forward to pull her toward them by the waist, Charlie let their voice drop. "I don't look at you the way I looked at them. If it's the touchiness that bothers you, I can try to remember to tone it down. I'm not about to stop interacting with people, but I'll tone it down." They let out a shaky laugh. "This whole thing with relationship boundaries is new for me. I'm not used to being on this side of the line."

River knew they were right. Charlie had acted that way before they'd gotten together. Friendly smiles and arms draped over shoulders. Hell, she'd seen them basically naked the first time they ever met. "I know..." she answered, her voice tapering off. She didn't protest when Charlie touched her, and she let them pull her closer, and for the first time in the conversation she looked them straight in the eyes. Their piercing gaze bored right into her. "I wouldn't ask you to stop interacting with people. Never. I guess I just ask that you...think of me when you do. Think about how your actions might make me feel." She ran comforting hands up their arms. "I know this is all new for you. I mean, it is for me too, just in a different way. I’ll try to, like, lay off, you know? Not be such a petty bitch.” Charlie’s stare was so intense that River had to look away. “It’s just hard to make my brain shut up."

Charlie swallowed hard. "I don't think petty bitch is the right way to phrase it, but I would appreciate if you trust me, babe. I'm not going anywhere." After River looked away, Charlie pressed a kiss to the top of her head, just tall enough to do it comfortably. "I think maybe we should go over a few more ground rules of what we expect. I'm not... Those expectations would help me a lot. Again, I'm not promising I'll follow personally to what you want, but we can't figure out if it works if you don't tell me, deal?"

Trust. What a loaded subject. "I do trust you," River retorted. No offense in her voice, just an urgency she hadn't realized was there. "That's the problem. I trust you in my heart, but my stupid brain...." She leaned her head against Charlie's chest, wrapping her arms around their middle. As they made the suggestion of ground rules, River nodded against the leather fringes, a few of them sticking to her sweaty cheek for a moment as she pulled away and they fell back in place. "Ground rules. Yeah, okay." She furrowed her brow in thought. "We can talk about it later."

"Later seems like a good idea," Charlie agreed. They were still in public, after all. "Tell your brain I don't appreciate that kind of thinking." Charlie's track record wasn't great, but not in a cheating kind of way, just a confused hit-me-up way. Cordelia might have been being super passive aggressive about all this, but she was right about one thing. Labels weren't Charlie's usual fare. But they could handle it. They liked River enough to at least try. "Do you want to hang out a little longer or go get something else to eat?"

River smiled at Charlie's kinda sorta joke. River didn't appreciate her brain's kind of thinking either. "Actually, I think I just want to go home," she muttered, glancing around. She'd almost forgotten they were still on the campus. "Not home home. Your place like we planned." They both had the next day off and she'd planned to say over. "Is that okay?"

Charlie squeezed River once before stepping back. "Of course it's okay. And we can talk more on the way."

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