Up For A Challenge
Summary: A typical morning on the beach ends with the promise of more. Bingo Squares: Idiots in Love @thebo3bingo // idiots in love - resa’s 3k // mutual pining spnfluffbingo // sparks fly @anyfandomfluffbingo Words: 1352 Warnings: Idiots in love Credits: @ryebecca for the gorgeous moodboard header // @princessmisery666 for the beta A/N: Originally, Jess asked for Honeymoon Harrison but I have a honeymoon idea with Beau so she gets idiots in love. And boy are they idiots. They’re lucky they have Chloe. A/N 2: The Murlocs is a real band (are a real band?). They do a lot of surf rock if that’s what you’re into!
The Hawaiian sun beat down upon the sand, heating up the early morning as it rose. Harrison rode wave after wave while his sister, Chloe, lounged on the shore with a cup of coffee and a book. The beach was sparsely populated, a few other surfers, a few other loungers, a few people jogging. Harrison broke the surface after wiping out, shaking the water out of his hair and catching a glimpse of the girl that worked across the street from the record shop, Rachel, taking a few pictures of the sunrise.
He trudged through the waves to the shore, his eyes focused on the photographer. He stood his board in the sand next to Chloe and faced the sea. His gaze kept wandering to Rachel as she made her way towards them. He had been eyeing her for weeks, seeing her in the bookshop window across the street, grinning shyly when Cooper called him out.
Chloe was not immune to the gaze of her brother. She knew he had a thing for Rachel and she knew that it was reciprocated. She’d tried to encourage him to ask her out daily but he always insisted that he had no idea what she was talking about. There was one sure-fire way to get him to agree, though. “Are you up for a challenge?” Chloe asked with a smirk.
“Always,” Harrison replied enthusiastically as he faced her.
“Go ask Rachel out.”
“Uh, no,” he refused, turning his gaze back to the sunrise. “I don’t want to disturb her.”
“When have you ever disturbed her? You go into the shop like four times a week just to see her.”
“I do not. I go to look for a book,” he denied, crossing his arms over his chest, refusing to look over at his sister.
“You have never bought a book in your life.”
“I read! Comics. Sometimes.”
“First of all, I never said you didn’t read. Secondly, you made my point. You go into the shop to see her all the time. Why not go talk to her now?” Chloe pressed her brother for more information, noticing the way his gaze darted over to Rachel before quickly returning to the sunrise.
“I…she’s busy.”
“Harrison, you’re an absolute moron,” Chloe sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re absolutely head over heels in love with her but you won’t ask her out.”
“She doesn’t like me like that.” His shoulders slumped and his head drooped and Chloe saw just how much he believed that.
“God, you really are stupid. Do you think it’s a coincidence that she leaves at the same time as you every day? That she lets you walk her to her street? That she spends her lunch break in the shop with you? That she has never once told you she’s too busy to talk when you go into the shop, even when she’s with a customer? She’s in love with you, too!”
“She is not,” he insisted as he turned back towards her.
“Oh my god,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes. “Hey, Rachel,” Chloe yelled, fully irritated with the amount of stupidity Harrison was displaying.
Harrison tried to shush his sister but Rachel was already heading over.
“Hey guys,” she chirped, “what’s up?”
“Chloe, don’t,” Harrison hissed.
“We have two tickets to see The Murlocs tonight and I can’t go. Would you want to go with Harrison?”
“I’d love to! They’re one of my favorite bands,” Rachel smiled.
“Chloe!” Harrison exclaimed quietly as he stepped up behind her, his leg pulled back by the tether on his surfboard.
“The show starts at eight,” Chloe continued, lifting her hand to cover her brother’s protests. “How about you meet him at the record store at six and he can take you on a dinner date before your concert date?”
Rachel suppressed a giggle when she saw how red Harrison’s face had gotten. His beautiful blue eyes were wide with surprise and when they met hers, Rachel ducked her head and bit her lip before turning her attention back to Chloe. “I would love to.”
“Perfect.” Chloe jotted down Harrison’s number on a piece of paper and thrust it into Rachel’s hand. “I’ll make sure he looks like an adult.”
“It’s fine,” Rachel insisted. “I like the down to earth look anyway.” This time, Rachel held Harrison’s gaze with a shy smile for a moment before giving them a slight wave and walking away, looking back to see Harrison staring after her with a huge grin.
She turned the corner and Chloe elbowed her brother, facing him with a knowing smirk. “I told you so.”
“Uh huh,” he replied automatically. His brain was already detailing ways to make this the first of many memorable evenings for them.
At five minutes to six, Rachel turned the corner to the block the record shop was on and froze. “I can’t do this,” she muttered, “this is just a joke. A prank. He didn’t even say - No.” She took a deep breath and stepped forward. “It’s not a joke. It’s real. It will be amazing. I get to see The Murlocs and have dinner with the hottie I’ve been eyeing for weeks.”
As soon as she made it to the shop, the door swung open and Harrison stepped out wearing khaki shorts and a white henley, an outfit that not only looked fantastic on him but went well with her jeans and The Murlocs tee. A lopsided grin adorned his face as he walked the few steps towards her.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he admitted, “Chloe is kind of pushy at times.”
“If you’re not okay with this, I -”
“No, that’s not it at all!” he interrupted, his ocean blue eyes widening. “I’ve, uh, god how do I say this without sounding creepy?” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and cleared his throat before continuing. “I’ve been kinda watching you from the record shop.”
“That’s not supposed to sound creepy?”
“I don’t mean it creepily. At first it was because you were pretty, which you definitely still are but you’re also really interesting. Every day you have a different book and it’s never the same genre. You’ve always got a smile on your face when you’re dealing with customers and you interact with the kids and -”
“Harrison, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain why you were watching,” she giggled. “We work across the street from each other. It’s not like I didn’t notice you, too.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’re pretty hard to miss.”
“So Chloe’s right, then.”
“Right about what?”
“That you like me, too.”
“Yes, she’s right.”
“I guess I owe her a thank you.”
“Can we go out first?”
“How about we skip to the end?”
“Oh?”
Harrison closed the distance between them and lifted her chin with his finger, ducking down to capture her lips softly, his own mouth moving tentatively against hers. Her eyes fluttered shut and her hands rested gently on his chest as she leaned in to the kiss. The moment came to a natural end and neither of them moved, both committing the moment to memory before their eyes opened slowly.
“Wow,” he whispered, “that was better than I imagined.”
“I’m glad I could live up to expectations.”
Harrison chuckled and stepped back, letting his hand fall from her chin.
“So this is the end of the date?” she repeated with a smirk.
“I didn’t mean -”
“Good, because there’s no way I’m missing that show.”
“Is that all I’m good for? Tickets to a show?” he gasped, his hand slapping his chest in mock offense.
“What am I? Shallow?” she scoffed. “I get dinner, too.”
He laughed, a deep sound rising from his chest making him throw his head back. “That’s right, you were promised dinner.”
“I was promised dinner and a show with you,” she clarified, “but if you’re not up to the challenge.”
“Oh no, I’m up for the challenge. Just making sure you were okay with the terms.”
“I insist upon them.”
“Good. I know the perfect place.”