FLASHBACK: When Rowyn Meets Julie (and all hell breaks loose)
I wrote this awhile ago, and it makes me laugh every time, so I thought I'd actually share it. This was a few months ago in their lives, compared to where we stand right now.
not a sickfic, just context
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Rowyn slowly pushes the Aquatic Staff door open, poking his head in and calling “Hello?” It’s the end of the night, so there shouldn’t be too many people there, but he’s not sure if he’s allowed to go in, or if he should wait in the lobby for Colin to finish.
Just as he’s about to retreat to the lobby, a woman hurries around the corner and towards him. She’s gorgeous, with rich brown skin, and intricately braided hair. She smiles at him, eyes twinkling.
“You’re Rowyn,” she says, rather than asking.
“Uh, yeah,” he answers, frowning.
“Colin said his boyfriend was picking him up, I’ve wanted to meet you for ages. I’m Julie,” she finally introduces herself.
Ah, so this is Julie. Now that he thinks about it, she does look familiar, from the pictures of her he’s seen.
“You’re shorter than I thought you’d be,” Julie remarks, looking him over, before waving him into the office. His frown intensifies, and he responds, “Well you’re taller than I thought you’d be.”
She rolls the eyes, “Yeah but that’s to be expected. I am taller than your average human.”
“It’s not like I’m shorter than the average human!” he answers, frustration edging into his voice.
“Chill man, I didn’t mean anything by it. It was just a comment.”
He feels himself tense at that. He’s not being overdramatic, she’s just blunter than he was expecting, that’s all. They settle into silence, as his frown grows stronger the longer she looks at him. It’s like she’s expecting him to say something.
He glances around the office, from the shelves of binders, to the water jug, to the filing cabinet, before looking out the windows to the pools. Out of the corner of his eye, he looks back at Julie, and finds her still watching him.
When he doesn’t say anything more, she frowns too, and says, “You know, I’d have thought you’d want to get to know me. I am your boyfriend’s best friend, after all. Some people think that’s worth an interaction, at least.”
He opens his mouth to snap something back, but Colin walks into the office at that moment. He looks between them, seeing the tightness of their postures, and the frowns on their faces.
“Everything okay?” he asks hesitantly, walking over to Rowyn and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He settles on the desk, toes scraping the ground as he swings his legs.
“Yep, everything’s fine,” says Julie with an eyeroll, “Just realizing your boy doesn’t like me, though I wouldn’t know why.”
“That’s ridiculous!” he exclaims, turning to Rowyn. He pauses when he notices the red flush on his boyfriend’s cheeks and the burning of something almost angry in his eyes.
“Okay or maybe it isn’t. So what, I leave the two of you alone for five minutes, and you already hate each other?” he says with a groan, “Let’s try this again.”
He stands, grabbing Rowyn’s arm and dragging him closer.
“Rowyn, this is my best friend Julie,” he announces, now dragging her forward too, “Julie, this is my boyfriend Rowyn.”
She grins slyly, before looking Rowyn up and down, “You’re shorter than I thought you’d be.”
Rowyn glares at her, but Colin chuckles, gently shoving her to the side.
“Well no wonder he doesn’t like you, if that’s how you start off,” he says, still laughing.
“Hey, you know I don’t hide what I think.”
“There is such a thing as first impressions, Jules.”
Rowyn’s skin prickles from the interaction, and he rubs his hand over his face. This is absurd. He’s heard so much about Julie, but something just rubs him the wrong way.
“Can we go home?” he asks suddenly, not feeling the least bit bad when he interrupts their joking.
“Yeah, sure,” Colin answers, rolling his eyes, and nudging Julie once more, before swinging his bag over his shoulder and grabbing Rowyn’s hand.
“See you tomorrow Julie,” he says, and Rowyn squeezes his hand just a bit tighter.
Once they’re out of the complex, Colin turns to his boyfriend with a frown, “What the fuck was that, babe?”
“I don’t know,” he answers, somewhat petulantly.
“I’ve wanted you to meet Julie for months, and this is what happens when I introduce you?”
“Something’s off with her!”
“The fuck do you mean ‘something’s off with her’?! She’s my friend!”
“But she’s so… cocky! And critical, and insensitive.”
“Or she’s blunt and confident, just like I’ve been telling you. What were you expecting, a bunny rabbit?”
Rowyn sighs, rubbing his hands over his face, kneading his forehead for a minute.
“Okay, can we drop it? I promise I’ll be nicer the next time I see her. And apologize. But I had a long day and really just want to go home.”
“Okay,” Colin sighs, but lets him grab his hand again and lead him to the car.
