it's nice to know that you love somebody (okay, do you want to party?)
The Fourth of July is Susannah's favorite holiday, and it happens to be the day Conrad's invited you to meet her for the first time. You're extra eager to make a good impression but it turns out, he's right: you have nothing to worry about.
Simple, sweet, pure fluff.
Title from the song "Rimbaud, Come and Sit For A While" by No Rome / crossposted to ao3
I'm not much for celebrating America, but who am I to deny Susannah her 4th? If you're US based (or not!), please consider using your resources today to support oppressed and underprivileged communities in our country. Happy to provide reputable organizations at request.
You had tried on four possible outfits already and were reaching for a fifth when Conrad finally spoke up. He was lounging on your bed, one arm behind his head, enjoying the view as you stripped, but even he was getting impatient. "You look great in all of these," he said. "Just pick one."
You twisted your lips at your reflection, unconvinced. "But which one is the best?" You asked, meeting his eyes in the mirror.
Conrad smirked, angling his chin towards the cherry-red romper you'd declared too short. "You know which one is my favorite."
You rolled your eyes and turned so that you could kneel on the edge of the bed and lightly slap his arm. "Which one is best for introducing me to your mother?" You amended.
He reached his arm out to rub your thigh. "Anything, seriously. You don't need to worry. She'd adore you even if you showed up in a clown costume. And so would I, for what it's worth."
A short laugh escaped from your mouth. "How romantic."
"I thought so."
You leaned forward to kiss him chastely, pulling back with a grin before you could get even more distracted. "Okay." You said, standing back up and returning to the mirror. Head cocked, you surveyed your options once more. You reached for the discarded clothing, sifting through until you found a blue linen skirt and white top, opaque enough that no more than a hint of your bikini peeked through. "Okay," you repeated, once you had it all on. "How's this?"
"Perfect." Conrad said dutifully, and you saw the bed dip in the mirror as he hoisted himself up. "You look absolutely beautiful." He came up behind you, resting his chin atop your head and curling a hand around your hip.
"We look pretty good together." You mused.
"All thanks to you." He winked. Of course, you would say the same to him. Conrad looked as gorgeous as always: sandy hair perfectly tousled, seaglass eyes bright and clear, t-shirt perfectly fitted against his strong arms. You gazed at each other for a moment, and then Conrad kissed you on the cheek. "Ready to go?" With just a few last touches you were, and you slid your sunglasses on as you hopped into Conrad's front seat.
"Let's do it."
The radio was playing Taylor Swift when your turned it on, and this helped you keep your nerves in check on the short drive over. However, as soon as you began approaching the driveway, they hit in full force. It didn’t feel like butterflies in your stomach - it felt like you had swallowed a pound of stones, one dropping down after the other. You pressed lightly on your abdomen and exhaled slowly as Conrad parked the car and swiveled to face you.
"You ok?"
"A little bit terrified," you admitted, avoiding eye contact. You knew how much Conrad loved his mom and respected her opinion. What if she hated you and he broke it off? What if she was indifferent and so he kept you around but it was never the same, and it fizzled out? What if, what if, what if.
"Hey," Conrad said softly. When you still wouldn't look at him, he put a hand under your chin and gently angled your face in his direction. You were relieved to see his expression was earnest. "I told you," he promised soothingly. "My mom is going to love you. You're kind, and generous, and smart, and funny, and beautiful, and she sees how unbelievably happy you make me." He was so sweet and sincere that you had to blink away a few rising tears, bowing your head ever-so slightly to rest in his cupped hand.
“But what if she doesn’t?” You breathed, barely audible.
Conrad’s thumb stroked your jaw delicately. “If, for some extraordinary reason, like that she’s been replaced by an alien, if she doesn’t like you, then she’ll learn to like you. I wouldn’t stop being with you.”
Maybe it was silly, but the reassurance calmed you instantly. You could feel your shoulders lower, your jaw unclench. "I'm so lucky I found you." You marveled in a whisper, and Conrad's face split into a grin. Right then, before you could kiss him like you so badly wanted to, you were quite rudely interrupted by a car behind you slamming on the horn thrice in quick succession. As you stepped out of the car, you saw that it was Jeremiah and Steven, each carrying two large bags of ice.
"Hey!" Steven shouted in greeting. You said your hellos as they approached, and the four of you began moving together towards the front entrance.
"My mom's been talking about you all morning." Jeremiah informed you as you climbed the steps. "She can't wait to finally meet you."
"I'm not quite sure if that makes me more nervous or less." You said, but you didn't have time to consider it before the door was swinging open in front of you. Steven and Jeremiah stomped right in, bringing the ice through the kitchen, but you hesitated inside the doorframe. Conrad put a reassuring hand to the small of your back just as Susannah came rushing down the hall.
"You're here!" She squealed. "Oh my God, I am so glad you were able to join us today!" You’d seen pictures, of course, but there was something about Susannah’s beauty that was so specific to her livelihood. Maybe it was the unabashed crinkle by her eyes when she smiled, or the unbridled glee in her voice. Whatever it was, you could already feel the contagion of her energy spreading into your frozen limbs.
"Thank you so much for having me!" You gushed. “It's such a pleasure to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," Susannah said. "I'm a hugger. Are you a hugger?"
You were able to get out a "Yeah, sure," before Susannah was sweeping you into her arms and squeezing gently. She smelled classy but sweet, expensive but still young and fresh.
"Please, please, come in." She said, ushering you forward once her arms were withdrawn. "We have plenty to eat and drink, make yourself comfortable." Conrad was trailing slightly behind, a clearly amused grin on his lips.
This wasn't your first time in the house, but you were still awestruck by its beauty, especially now that it was filled with the sights and scents of Susannah's party prep. "Wow," you said, surveying the table of food. You had wanted to bring something, but Conrad was adamant that it wasn’t necessary, and he turned out to be correct. You couldn’t think of a single food or drink that wasn’t already laid out. There were even a few unfinished items still on the counter: a half-frosted cake, some freshly washed berries in their plastic clamshells, an open bottle of wine. "Is there anything I can help with?"
"Not at all, but I love you for asking." Susannah said breezily. "Connie, though, will you go help Steven and your brother break up the ice for the drinks?" He nodded, squeezing your waist and shooting you an encouraging smile before heading out to the back deck.
You observed Susannah for a moment as she picked up a knife and smothered it in frosting. "Conrad told me this was your favorite holiday, but I wasn't expecting all this...it's very impressive."
"Oh," Susannah said, touching a hand to her collarbone. "I love to do all of this, you know?" You nodded, watching her resume her cake decoration. "Conrad told me quite a lot about you." she said. "I hear you're staying in New England for school next year?"
"Yep," you confirmed, filling her in on the details: your school, your major, the reason you decided to attend. After your last point, she chimed in.
"And it's not too far from Brown."
"No," you laughed. "Not too far at all." Her smile wasn't at all subtle, but you took this as a good sign. "If I get my way, I'll be spending a good amount of time down in Providence." Susannah's smile grew just a bit wider.
You didn’t know what to say next and Susannah seemed content to focus on her cake. Did she think this was awkward? You wondered. Or was she comfortable with the silence? You cleared your throat, willing yourself to think of something, anything, to talk about.
"I'd love to hear more about the charity you're involved with." You landed on. "I'm really passionate about women's rights; I volunteer at a Planned Parenthood back home."
"That's wonderful." Susannah said. "You kids really are the future." She swept up the conversation from there, wanting to learn more about your experience and considering it against her own at the shelter.
It only took about ten minutes total before the boys came back in, but in that time, you moved on to tell Susannah about your family, your friends your summer plans, your hobbies, and more. She had an uncanny way of getting you to speak without asking too many questions, and she listened intently to every answer.
"How's it going in here?" Conrad asked, coming up to the counter beside you. You had just finished regaling Susannah with the story of how you tried to learn to surf last summer.
"Good," you said, trying to convey your excitement and relief through your eyes without embarrassing yourself in front of Susannah.
"Fantastic." Susannah agreed. "I can certainly see why the two of you get along so well." Under the lip of the counter, Conrad squeezed your hand.
"Belly just came out," Conrad said to you. "Do you wanna head outside, and I'll come meet you in a minute?" You knew that he wanted to get his mother’s unfiltered opinion, and as anxious as you were, you wanted to know to. So you agreed, excusing yourself and stepping out. Just as you did, your sandal came undone and you knelt on the deck to fix it. You really, truly had no intention of eavesdropping; the doors were fully closed, but an open window above you carried Susannah and Conrad's voices out to you.
"She's lovely," Susannah said, and you didn't know her well enough yet, but she sounded genuine to you. "Just as sweet and bright as you described her." Conrad murmured something a bit too low for you to make out, but based on his mother's reaction, it had to be good. “She’s good for you. I like the way you’re smiling around her. I feel like I haven’t seen that in a while.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I don’t know, I just feel, like, lighter, or something. Like I don’t have to think so hard, I can just…be.”
“Someone who gets Conrad out of his own head.” Susannah mused. “Isn’t that something.” They were both quiet for a beat before she spoke again. "You really like her." It was less of a question, more of a confirmation.
"I really, really do." He said. "Mom, I think…I think I love her."
"Oh, Connie." Susannah cooed. Your shoe was fixed now and your heart was beating too erratically to stay so close. As you stood to inch away, you could see Susannah cupping Conrad's cheek in her palm, her adoring face matching his beaming one.
You felt...fuzzy, almost, like you were covered in something soft and warm and safe. He loved you. Conrad Fisher loved you. And you loved him back. How rare, how fortuitous, was that? It didn't matter that he hadn't said it to you yet. It didn’t matter that he said “I think.” It was enough to know it was there, that the seed was planted and growing. You could be patient and soon enough you would see it’s spectacular bloom.
The revelation was so all-encompassing that you nearly tripped on your own feet as you approached the small group of kids who had arrived, other friends of the Conklins and Fishers. "Did someone have too much to drink already?" Belly teased, coming forward to give you a hug.
You laughed, squeezing her back. "Nah, too early for me." You said. "I'm just a natural klutz." You settled in and began chatting, trying to fight the urge to crane your neck every thirty seconds to see if Conrad was coming. Thankfully, it was only a few minutes before he showed up, gesturing for you to step away with a jerk of his neck. He was holding a frozen red drink in each hand, a margarita from the looks of it, one of which he offered to you as you got closer. You thanked him and the two of you wandered over to sit on a bench.
"So," he said before taking a long sip of his drink. He swallowed and looked off thoughtfully, drawing it out to raise your anticipation.
"Conrad!" You swatted at him. "Just tell me if I passed the test." You knew what you had heard, but what if you misconstrued part of it? You couldn't read their faces or body language. You didn't know Susannah's tones. You had no clue what they said after you walked away.
Conrad grinned, extending an arm around your shoulder to pull you closer into his side. "Oh, with flying colors." He said, and you buried your face into his chest, both relieved and ecstatic. "You aced it. She thinks you're amazing. She wanted to know if you'll come back tomorrow night for dinner." His hand drifted to your back to rub soothingly along your spine, dipping down just under the waistband of your skirt and trailing back up again.
"Thank God." You muttered into his shirt. You breathed in his scent, laundry detergent and cologne and a hint of sweat, before lifting your chin towards him. "Yes, of course. I would love to." He dropped his forehead to you and let the tip of his nose brush against yours. He was thrilled, too; it was apparent in his dancing eyes, even as they were half-hidden behind his ruffled hair. "Wow," you breathed, mouth practically meeting his. "I can't believe after all that build up, I can finally just relax."
He kissed you then, cutting off the end of your sentence by parting your lips with his own. He traced your bottom lip with his tongue, slowly, before nipping at it with his front teeth, and you keened.
"Well," he said, drawing back an inch. "I wouldn't relax just yet." You furrowed your eyebrows, questioning. "That wasn't even the hard part." He kissed you again, once, then smirked. "You still haven't met Laurel."






