Happy late stitchmas, @camsten-neurosync! I wasn’t quite sure what to write you and somehow ended up with this odd, short little songfic thing. I hope you like it!
I’m headed straight for the castle, they wanna make me their queen
there’s an old man sitting on the throne saying I shouldn’t be so mean
It wasn’t the first time a man had stared at her like that, a frown of confusion written across his brows when she dared to question his authority, his knowledge of something that he so clearly knew more about than her. That confusion that she’d crossed the invisible line meant to keep her beneath it. She’d seen it in the faces of old boyfriends, the man who’d run the auto shop she worked at, and every single professor she’d come across in college.
Her favorite part, however, wasn’t the confusion. It was the dawning of awareness that she didn’t only dare to cross that line, but that she was right. That look was creeping into Blair’s eyes, and the terror that followed was far more satisfying than she’d seen in days. There was no way she’d let him hurt her team after what they’d all done to save Kirsten, and he knew it.
Camille leaned forward, eyes alight with danger in a way that had him sweating. “Right. Now that we’ve got that all settled, let’s discuss what will happen to you should you decide to sell us all out to your bosses...”
knock me out, knock me out
tell me that I want more, this is what I live for
it was far easier to let people step all over her when it was convenient to them, rather than stopping them. It was easier to listen to Kirsten complain and cry than it was to burst out saying I’m so lonely, and so tired, but nobody sees it or cares that I’m drowning. It was easier to swallow down her own misery than it was to let anyone see it.
When Fisher came to her (choking down tears because dammit, she would not be weak in front of any of them), full of encouragement to just keep on despite the guilt, she wanted to scream. It’s all she’d done, all she’d ever done; push those feelings away and ground them into dust.
So, of course, she nodded and smiled and pretended like it’d work, instead of telling him why she was really hurting.
some say he looks just like his father
but he can never love somebody’s daughter
“I dated his sister much longer.” such a simple phrase, said simply to fluster Linus (and oh, it had) and yet it still left a trace of fear in her heart long after it’d been said. Little jokes like that had been the ones that’d gotten her pushed against walls and left bruises littered all over her cheeks and chest. It made her wary to compliment Kirsten’s newly-found fashion sense when Linus was around, and stopped her from smiling at the pretty barista a block away from the lab that always gave her extra espresso shots for free.
He never brought it up, not even once to make some tasteless joke about threesomes, and yet anxiety nested in between her ribs for weeks afterwards.
all we do is drive
all we do is think about the feelings that we hide
and california never felt like home to me
Often after nights at Linus’ she’d sneak out and drive home, wary of the parents she’d never gotten a glimpse of but knew would disprove of the girl their son had brought home. His arms were warm and his kiss was sweet even if he didn’t always know what he was doing, but it didn’t feel quite right. Camille knew that he’d demand commitment again someday, and someday she might even give him a very reluctant yes.
She felt unsettled on those drives home, thinking she might be lonely enough to say yes to a life blanketed with normality and mundane domestic routines. She couldn’t imagine ever wanting those things unless it was out of desperation.
I let him climb inside my body
and held him captive with my kiss
She hated his eyes on her hips and ass as they’d walked toward the front door, and she’d hated his little self-assured smirk when he’d invited himself in for drinks. She hated that she’d leered at him when he’d first shown up at their doorstep claiming to be Kirsten’s boyfriend, and how she’d known she could have him if she wanted.
Now she did. She had him and his overly-attentive hands pressed to her stomach and waist and it felt like white-hot pain instead of comforting warmth. His lips to hers were more like suffocating than anything else, she thought, and she mumbled against him in a desperate attempt to tell him no.
Not that he cared, and not that it mattered as the kitchen lights came on and Kirsten appeared in the doorway.
do you remember the taste of my lips that night
I stole a bit of my mother's perfume
cause I remember when my father put his fist through
the wall that separated the dining room
She wasn’t exactly sure what was so damn funny about the story of a trailer being lit on fire - one she’d been in - but Linus still chuckled and tipped his beer back against his lips with a grin on his face. It had been and evidently still was Theo’s very favorite story to tell people; the story of his sister running through a trailer park naked.
He just never wanted to mention it’d been his fault, and that she’d screamed and cried outside in the dirt while they watched the trailer burn down. He’d never told the part where they’d had nowhere to go for weeks because their home had gaping holes in it, or how she’d missed school since she had one shirt and a few pairs of ragged, burnt jeans left that all smelled like smoke. He’d never talked about how he’d continued on, drunk and out of control, while she’d patched up the place.
I’m off the deep end, sleep end
all night through the weekend
There were papers and case files everywhere, all strewn out across the living room that Kirsten had long abandoned in favor of sleep. It was nights like this that Camille regretted ever sticking through school while Kirsten left it behind for a job that took less brain power and effort. She was already smart, and she knew it. Everyone knew she could’ve gotten a PhD like half the lab already had done, but it would’ve been a waste of money when she possessed the one talent the rest of them didn’t have.
Meanwhile Camille was left behind, struggling through classes and work day in and out just to show them that she was worth her place in the lab and the tablet they’d handed her to make her into a glorified search engine. She spent late nights at the school library reading, later nights at the gym fighting to be able to protect her friends, and it’d still be months or even years before it meant a thing to any of them.
And so she read, and worked, and waited for the sunrise.
you were red and you liked me because I was blue
but you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky
and you decided purple just wasn’t for you
It’d been so stupid to hope for someone to like her, someone who was hung up on an ex wife and trauma from work. She’d known how it’d end up, even after all the subtle flirting and kind encouragement from him. Despite his many, many issues he was still older than her and had seen far more than she probably ever would. And, more importantly, he’d had a woman by his side through those things that was older, more mature.
In his eyes, she was... she wasn’t sure. Young, maybe. Naive. Beautiful, she hoped, even if he’d never quite gotten those words out. But she was also a friend, and so she’d be there for him as he and his wife reconnected even if it was one of the last things she’d hoped for.
they think I’m insane, they think my lover is strange
but I don’t have to fucking tell them anything
Months after Kirsten woke, the lab settled back into its old pace, and Linus’ dad had somehow made a miraculous recovery, Camille found herself transfixed by a stranger in the Chinese restaurant above work. She was barely twenty-two, all soft edges with her hair curled close to her face and her shoulders draped in lace. Impulsiveness led Camille to sneak to the back and return with egg rolls, hoping that greasy Chinese food was the way to a girl’s heart instead of flowers.
Guilt tore at her heart and mind, but she repressed it, reminding herself that she and Linus had called it off weeks ago so he could focus on his family.
She’d forgotten how soft a girl’s skin against hers could be, or how sharp small teeth tugging at her skin could be. The next day at work she came in, her neck peppered with bruises and her entire expression beyond smug. When Cameron commented that she looked a lot like he had when he’d first gotten with Nina, she simply patted his arm and shrugged, telling him to think whatever he wanted about it.
oh, my heart is gold
and my hands are cold
There was something about giving so constantly that left her empty and alone, like a cruel trick of fate. Camille gladly stood up to defend herself as a smart, intelligent, capable person but when it came to pain or misery she kept it hidden away.
Linus’ dad was dying. Kirsten’s whole life had been a lie and she had no family left. Cameron’s dad was in jail and he’d changed his whole life to get away from that fact. Maggie’s son hadn’t spoken to her in years and was dying a million miles away. Fisher had been heartbroken and hurt, time and time again.
She wasn’t the only one hurting, and so she bit back her own howls of pain in favor of listening to everyone else.
@xoheatherkw okay Heather here’s the second part of your gift fic! (read part one here) I hope you like it! {also sorry if there are any errors or anything bc I didn’t have it beta’d}
They drifted off to sleep, each on their own side of the bed; however, when Cameron awoke to the sun streaming in through the open window, Kirsten’s head rested on his chest, and their legs were tangled together. Cameron’s arm was tucked under Kirsten, holding her close. He let his eyelids drift closed, soaking up every second of Kirsten’s warmth and their closeness. Cameron waited until Kirsten rolled off of him before delicately extricating himself from the bed in an effort not to wake Kirsten.
He padded quietly down the stairs to the kitchen where he began pulling out ingredients to prepare breakfast. Cynthia entered close behind him, wrapped in a dainty robe.
“Well, what do you think?” Cameron asked, turning to face his mother. “About Kirsten.”
“Does she make you happy?” she asked. Cameron grinned automatically, his eyes lighting up thinking back on all the adventures they’d had since Kirsten joined the Stitch Lab.
Before he could even say anything, Cynthia continued, “Well that answers that. I think she’s lovely, Cameron.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Just then, Kirsten walked into the kitchen, eyes not fully opened and bright yet.
“Hey, Cupcake. I was just about to make you breakfast. What would you like?” Cameron said.
“I don’t care, Muffin, as long as it’s not that disgusting green smoothie again,” Kirsten retorted.
“That was one time!”
“One time I will never let you forget,” Kirsten teased. Cameron swatted her with a dishtowel. Kirsten howled with laughter. “Watch it mister. I’ll get you back for that.”
“Don’t I know it.” Cameron and Kirsten stared at each other for a brief moment before Cameron abruptly said, “So how do eggs and toast sound?”
Kirsten stepped closer to Cameron and said quietly, “Perfect,” before planting a quick kiss on his cheek.
“I’m going to let you two kids have fun. Be ready for the party at four o’clock sharp, Cameron.”
Cameron tore his gaze away from Kirsten to answer Cynthia, “Yes, Mom.”
As soon as Cynthia was out of earshot, Cameron turned to Kirsten and said, “What was that about?”
“You said last night we need to be more convincing,” Kirsten said with a nonchalant shrug.
“No, Angie said that. I told you not to worry about it,” Cameron countered.
“But I knew you were worrying about it. So I couldn’t just ignore it, Cameron,” Kirsten argued. “Now. Can you please fix me some breakfast? I’m starving.”
“Coming right up, Buttercup,” Cameron said. Kirsten rolled her eyes and took a seat at the kitchen table to watch Cameron prepare their food.
They sat in silence eating their eggs until Angie walked in.
“So what do you want to do today, Pumpkin?” Cameron asked.
“I just want to be with you, Snookums,” Kirsten cooed. Angie cast them a wary glance from across the kitchen. Cameron shot Kirsten a bug-eyed look.
“Too much?” she whispered.
“Ya think?” Cameron whispered back.
“Sorry. I don’t care. What do you want to do today?” Kirsten said.
“How about I give you a private tour of my mom’s gardens?”
After ambling through the gardens away from the Goodkin family’s prying eyes, Cameron and Kirsten returned to their room to get ready for the evening. Cameron changed into freshly pressed khaki pants, a pastel pink button-up, a light blue linen blazer, and a matching blue-with-pink-polka-dots bowtie. Cameron had just sat down on the bed to slip on his brown leather loafers, complete with a tassel, when Kirsten exited the bathroom. Her golden locks cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, with the slightest hint of waviness. Her makeup in pink nudes and with shimmery gold eye shadow to match her jewelry made her look soft and angelic.
“Can you help me zip this?” Kirsten asked stopping in front of Cameron. He simply sat there half-dazed until Kirsten turned around and asked, “What?”
“Nothing, nothing. You look really nice,” Cameron stumbled over his words. He stood up and slowly zipped the back of Kirsten’s pastel pink chiffon high-necked dress; it cinched in at the waist and fell straight in petite pleats down to her knees. The thin braided straps accentuated her collarbones perfectly.
Kirsten turned around and stood toe to toe with Cameron, their faces inches apart. He reached up and brushed a stray hair out of her face, and she inhaled a sharp breath upon the light touch of his hand on her cheek.
“Cameron, Cynthia wants you downstairs,” Angie called from down the hall, startling Kirsten and Cameron. Kirsten stepped away from Cameron.
“Coming,” Cameron called back, eyes never leaving Kirsten’s.
“Are we going or what?” asked Kirsten when Cameron didn’t move.
“Right,” Cameron said. Kirsten grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along. She held his hand all the way down to the foyer where Angela and Cynthia waited to greet their guests.
***
They finished dinner as the sunset faded into dark, the twinkle lights strung around the garden creating a balmy, magical atmosphere against the milky ebony sky. A live band quietly played music, which complemented the ambiance of chatter and clinking silverware and glasses.
Cynthia came up to Cameron and asked, “Cameron, dear, will you and Kirsten do us the honor of being the first dance of the evening?” Cameron looked at Kirsten, panic surmounting behind his eyes.
“Um, yeah Mom, of course,” Cameron choked out.
“Wonderful.”
Cameron stood and outstretched his hand to Kirsten. She gingerly placed her hand in his open palm, and followed him to the center of the well-lit garden. The band played a slow song, and Cameron guided Kirsten’s arms to rest on his shoulders. He tentatively placed his hands on her waist, and they shuffled awkwardly.
“Spin.”
“What?”
“Go on, spin.”
Kirsten twirled as Cameron directed, and a smile lit up her face, glimmering in her eyes.
“There ya go, Gumby,” Cameron said with a mischievous smile. Kirsten wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow in mock anger.
“Well you’re no Kevin Bacon,” Kirsten shot back.
“I’m not, am I?” Cameron asked, spinning the unsuspecting Kirsten around once more. Kirsten stumbled towards Cameron. They stood frozen there with Cameron’s hands wrapped tightly around Kirsten’s waist and her arms draped around his neck, their noses just barely touching. They stared deep into each other’s eyes as if momentarily lost in a trance. Cameron leaned a smidge closer, Kirsten’s breath hitched, and her eyes flickered down to his lips and back up to meet his eyes. Suddenly, Kirsten pulled away.
“I can’t do this. I’m sorry,” Kirsten said before speedily walking back towards the house and disappearing out of sight.
Cameron stood rooted in the spot, suddenly aware of Kirsten’s absence as the cool air swirled around him.
Angie came up to him and said, “Aren’t you going to go after her?” She gave him a shove, and he took off after Kirsten as people started dancing where they’d once been.
“Kirsten, Kirsten!” Cameron called out, running through the house. He came to a stop outside his room. “Kirsten what are you doing?”
“I can’t do this. I have to leave. I’m sorry.” Cameron stepped closer and saw the tears streaking down her face. She shoved the last item into her bag and brushed past Cameron. He chased her down the stairs and into the foyer.
“Kirsten will you just stop,” he demanded.
“Why me, huh? I’m not good at feelings,” Kirsten said. With her spare hand she wiped at her tears.
“I think you’re doing just fine, Sparky. We both were,” Cameron argued.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Kirsten asked, the anger and bitterness evident in her voice.
“Get what Kirsten?” Cameron snapped. “Talk to me, K.” His voice softened just barely above a whisper.
“I can’t pretend to be your girlfriend anymore, Cameron,” Kirsten snapped. The floor creaked, and Kirsten glanced past Cameron. He turned to follow her gaze and saw his mother and Angie. Kirsten took the opportunity to slip out the front door. Cameron jumped when it slammed closed.
“Honey, is this true?” Cynthia asked in disbelief. Cameron simply nodded his head and stared dejectedly at the ornate carpet protecting the pristine hardwood floors.
“Why don’t you go get her?” Angie asked.
“I think Kirsten made it pretty clear she doesn’t want to be here with me,” Cameron said.
“For someone so smart, you sure are an idiot sometimes,” Angie said. Cameron looked up at Angie but didn’t say anything.
“Do I seriously need to spell it out for you? She loves you, meathead,” Angie over-enunciated each word for emphasis, “Yeah, it’s stupid obvious you’re both crazy about each other with your dumb flirty arguments and the way you can’t take your eyes off each other. I’ve never seen someone who knows you better. So please, just tell her how you feel.”
“Get your ass out there because that girl has changed her mind and she needs to hear you say it again,” Angie demanded shoving him once more after Kirsten.
Cameron didn’t make it far down the long, winding driveway before he spotted Kirsten sitting on a bench, sobbing. Cameron sat wordlessly beside her and pulled her close so her head rested against his chest. He thought back to that morning and the symmetry of the moments and yet their utter difference. Kirsten pulled away from Cameron and sniffled. She no longer bothered to wipe her tears.
“Cameron can you please just leave me alone?” She begged.
“No, Stretch, I can’t. Because I still love you, and I need to know: do you love me?”
Kirsten grabbed Cameron’s face and kissed him passionately in lieu of answering him.
After her tears had dried, Cameron led her back inside, their hands intertwined. Cynthia and Angie rushed into the foyer at the sound of the door opening.
“Mom, Angie. I’d like to introduce you to my new girlfriend, Kirsten Clark,” Cameron beamed. Kirsten’s cheeks blushed pink and her eyes shown.
“Come on, KC we have a dance to finish,” Cameron said to Kirsten.
@stitchedatbirth ! Merry Stitchmas Alyssa! Thank you for all that you’ve done to try and renew Stitchers. You’ve done a fabulous job. So this fic is a little wacky, but I wanted to kind of tie in the renewal hashtag. You’ll see what I mean. Thank you to @xoheatherkw For betaing even though she was also on a deadline. What a cheerleader! Also thank you to Sheila ( @lady-gryffindor) and Alyssa for being admins for this project.
——————–
It wasn’t the first time that Cameron had shown up to work bleary-eyed and sluggish that month. In fact it wasn’t the first time that week. To be honest, he hadn’t been himself in a while. In the two months, one week, and two days since his breakup with Nina, Cameron had been nearly late to work twenty times. His poor lunch had gone bad five times in his car. He had fallen asleep at his desk four times. Camille assured Kirsten that wallowing and bingewatching TV shows for a month was completely normal post-breakup behavior.
A wave of uneasiness swept over Kirsten though as she watched her partner. He had been getting better. The guilty, haunted look had faded a little more each day. Kirsten’s gaze followed Cameron as he shuffled into the break room. He downed whatever was left in his to-go cup, then set it under the coffee maker. Kirsten watched him for a moment before she made her way over. She wondered idly if the tightness in her chest was the same sort of worry Cameron felt over her obsession with finding Daniel Stinger. That thought made her stomach roll.
When Kirsten finally entered the break room, she made sure Cameron knew she was approaching. Her footsteps were a little louder than normal. The last thing she wanted to do was startle him. He had taken off his glasses and started to polish them so his vision was severely limited.
“Morning, Stretch,” Cameron said, not looking up from his glasses. “Give me one more cup of coffee and then we can go over today’s stitch.”
Kirsten arched an eyebrow at him. “How many would that put you at?”
Cameron slid his glasses on. “Three.” He yawned loudly, practically popping his jaw from the force of it. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Or the night before, Kirsten thought.
“Do you want Camille to pilot today then? I’m sure she’d love to.”
That was the understatement of the year. Camille was backseat piloting Cameron every chance she got. There were times it felt like she had hip-checked Cameron and stolen the controls.
Cameron frowned. “Would you be more comfortable with Camille?”
And that invisible wall between them was back. They hadn’t really talked about how their relationship would change, could change, when Nina left. They both needed time and space to think, but neither tried start the conversation about how they felt about the other. Anything past “please don’t leave me” and “I don’t know what I’d do without you” was off limits.
Kirsten pressed her lips together before answering. “You look exhausted.”
Cameron picked up on her unasked question: why?. He removed his glasses from his face again, scrubbing at an invisible smudge. This, Kirsten had learned, was a stall tactic of his. It distanced Cameron from the other person’s reaction.
“You know Kelly?” When Kirsten didn’t respond he clarified further. “My neighbor?”
Kirsten was suddenly glad Cameron couldn’t see the look on her face. She felt suckerpunched.
“Anyway, her boyfriend lives on the East Coast. He’s in town for a few days and they’ve been quite -” Cameron fiddled with his glasses. “- enthusiastic about seeing each other again.”
Kirsten relaxed slightly at his words. Cameron wasn’t backsliding. He just had noisy neighbors. “You’re always welcome at our house.”
A smile crept over Cameron’s face. “I’m definitely taking you up on that. I almost put orange juice on my cereal this morning.” His smile grew wider at the sound of Kirsten’s laugh. It was a fragile soap bubble of a moment where their partnership felt whole again.
Until Camille popped it.
“Goodkin, did you hear who our newest dead guy is?” Camille leaned against the doorframe. “Please tell me I get to break it to you.”
“Enlighten me, Engelson.” Cameron picked up his coffee and blew on it.
It was conflicting seeing Cameron and Camille get along so well. They had become closer recently. Since Kirsten factored heavily into both of their romantic entanglements, Cameron with Nina and Camille with Liam, it was easier to talk with each other than with her.
“The corpsicle we’ve got is Peter Terrence, the guy in charge of SphereTV.” Camille waved the file in her hand around. “He died suddenly this morning, hours before he was set to acquire several smaller channels.”
Cameron’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious?” He moved toward Camille, intent on taking the folder.
“As the aneurysm that supposedly killed this guy.” Camille hid the papers behind her back. “It would be unethical to take a peek at his renewal plans, wouldn’t it?”
Cameron turned to Kirsten. “I am definitely piloting this one.”
——
If Kirsten had felt like she was on the fringes of the conversation earlier, she was damn near Siberia now. Only every fifth word made any sort of sense to her. Maggie and Ayo at least looked just as out of the loop if their expressions, exasperated and amused respectively, were anything to go by.
Alex and Camille had devolved into the strangest word association game. They were literally exchanging single nouns that had nothing to do with the other. And yet each word caused the other person to gesticulate wildly.
Cameron, Chelsea, and Linus were at least discussing a coherent theme. They batted around words like ‘paradox’ and ‘fixed point’ which gave Kirsten some sort of context. Tim muttered darkly every time Cameron spoke, unhappy with his coworker’s analysis.
The show they were talking about had something to do with time travel. And organized crime if Camille shouting ‘mafia’ was anything to go by.
Kirsten adjusted the sleeves of her suit. “If you’re all done, we’ve got a murder to solve.”
Cameron looked down at the floor then back up at Kirsten. “Sorry we got carried away.” He tilted his head, never taking his eyes off of his partner. “She has seen it, right Camille?”
“Not with me,” Camille called back.
“Tonight,” Cameron promised. “But first into the stream.”
Cameron had used his quoting voice. The added emphasis and the amusement of her coworkers clued her in as well. Usually, Kirsten didn’t mind it when he did that. It seemed like today she was the only one who didn’t get the joke even if she wasn’t.
Kirsten shook her head and climbed into the tank. She needed to focus on the task at hand. Especially if her coworkers were all this distracted.
Cameron rolled through his normal rundown. It was practically muscle memory at this point, but it helped keep them from running into problems. He hesitated just after the comm checks.
“This one’s going to be a bit tricky. Based on his wife’s account, we think Peter was killed by a brain aneurysm. Some parts of his memory are going to be really weak or damaged.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”
“You always are,” Kirsten replied, not just talking about when she was in the chair. With that the countdown continued until it was time to induce stitch neurosync.
It was quickly apparent to Kirsten how accurate Cameron’s warning had been. There was a fuzziness to some of the memories, burnt edges at others. They slid around her like she was a rock and they were carried along by a river.
A dog at the park.
A high school graduation.
A day at the beach.
“What do you see, Ace?” Cameron’s voice was the only steady thing she could hear.
“Nothing useful,” she called over the static of Peter’s memories.
The moments slowed down some. It became easier for Kirsten to focus on them. “How’s that?”
“Much better.” Kirsten looked around an ornate office. “I think I’m in Peter’s office. He’s sitting behind an expensive desk talking with a woman. She seems really upset.”
Kirsten continued to describe what she saw.
Short, brownish hair.
Slight Southern accent.
A name: Daphne.
A bright light seared the memory, making it impossible for Kirsten to see anything. She heard the sound of glass, smelled the metallic tang of blood.
Memories flickered, winking on and off like a strobe light. A tall woman in a wedding dress. Two children running around. A group of people circled around a cake. It all became too fast for Kirsten to process what she was seeing, but she felt one thing overwhelmingly.
He had been happy. He wasn’t ready to die.
Kirsten whispered her code to bounce. Her eyes shot open, but she remained lying down. It was hard for her to fathom how feeling that much joy could cause her so much pain.
Cameron’s face entered her field of vision. “Any nausea? Headache? Feelings of the not normal kind?”
Kirsten shook her head and sat up. “That wasn’t fun, but I’m doing okay. There wasn’t much to get. That Daphne woman is the closest thing to a lead I’ve got.”
“Luckily for Peter, we’re excellent investigators. We’ve solved more with less.” Normally, Cameron’s hand would’ve found her shoulder, her hand. Kirsten wasn’t much for physical contact, but she missed it.
Camille swore loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. “Is this the woman you saw?” She was next to the tank in three large strides, holding up her tablet.
The features of the woman were much clearer than they were in the memory. “Definitely.”
“Well I can tell you what her motive is.” Camille winced before continuing on. “You’re not going to like this.”
—–
According to Camille, the woman that Kirsten saw was one Daphne Waldson. She was the youngest person acting as showrunner at the Peter’s network. Her first job there had been as an intern. She worked her way up to script assistant then writer which led to her current job.
The head writer and showrunner of Glitches, the show half of the Stitch Lab was obsessed with.
Remaining objective would be hard for them. Kirsten knew she could do it, given that she didn’t really know who this woman was. Cameron, on the other hand, was a bit of a wildcard. He usually maintained his professionalism, but Kirsten had seen him at one too many cons. Being around people he admired turned him into a giant puddle of goo.
That was why Kirsten was taking the lead on this interview. Actually it wouldn’t be all that different from a regular interview in that respect.
They decided to visit thesuspect at her home. It was a tiny bungalow tucked behind several oak trees. The house was cozy and inviting, not exactly where a murderess lived.
It was hard to consider Daphne a suspect after the first few minutes. No one had thought to tell her that her boss was dead. When Kirsten broke that news, the other woman ran toward the railing of her porch. Both agents caught up to her in seconds. All Daphne wanted was to not vomit all over the people on her doorstep. Her reaction was so visceral, so shocked, that there was no way she had been the culprit.
Protocol mandated that they still had to interview her though. Once Daphne splashed some water on her face and brushed her teeth she was together enough to talk. They sat in her living room and went over her entire history with Peter, her rise from intern to showrunner. She spoke so highly of her boss. He was fair and honest, even when it hurt.
Daphne brought up the memory Kirsten had witnessed without being asked. It was when she found out her show was in limbo. Peter had called her in to make sure she understood what was going on. Her hands had been shaking so much that she knocked her glass on the floor shattering it. When she tried to clean it up, a shard of glass sliced her finger.
“He was so kind even though I had made such a mess of things.” Daphne’s chin wobbled slightly. “I need to make sure I send flowers to Gina.” Daphne scribbled a note to herself on her hand in ink.
Cameron leaned forward on the loveseat, his shoulders brushing Kirsten’s as he did. “Do you mind if I ask a question totally unrelated to the case?”
Daphne pulled a tissue out of a box on her coffee table and rubbed at her runny nose. “Sure. Go right ahead.”
Cameron glanced at Kirsten from the corner of his eye, silently asking forgiveness for what he was about to do. “So now that Hedy knows the truth about her timeline is she going to abandon the team permanently?”
Daphne let out a strangled laugh that quickly turned into a cough. “Oh wow I really wasn’t expecting that.” She cleared her throat. “What do you think? You have a partner and a team.”
Cameron shifted uncomfortably. “It’s different.”
Something about the question unsettled Cameron. His incredible lack of eye contact made Kirsten think that it was probably her presence. It seemed like a great time for Kirsten to excuse herself to a bathroom.
Once inside, she set a timer for seven minutes. It sounded like a good amount of time. Just enough to be believable, but not so incredibly long that Cameron would think she had food poisoning.
Kirsten spent those seven minutes leaning against the door, reading an article about Glitches. The show was about a group of scientists who were studying a phenomenon where people could glitch in and out of the time stream. They couldn’t do anything to change time, just witness it.
The synopsis intrigued Kirsten enough that she wanted to watch the show. She almost read more, but she heard both Cameron and Camille in her head yelling about spoilers. Cleaning out her e-mail inbox helped quiet those voices.
The timer went off thirty-seven deleted messages later. Kirsten left the bathroom and returned to the living room. Cameron was staring at Daphne, hanging on her every word.
“There’s a very specific reason why Art always says goodbye so vehemently,” Daphne whispered.
Cameron’s smile dimmed slightly. It was just enough for Kirsten to notice he didn’t like hearing that. He cleared his throat and noticed Kirsten finally. His shin hit the coffee table from the sheer force he put into standing up. He winced and rubbed the newly tender spot.
“Ready to go, Stretch?” He asked.
—————-
“So at one point do we rule out foul play? Because I’m thinking we’re about there,” Cameron sighed as he flopped into his car.
They had just finished their fifth interview of the day. Peter’s former employees weren’t angry enough for murder. The widow was the hardest for them to handle. Gina cried most of the way through it. Cameron was convinced she was truly distraught, which made sense. Peter had been talking with his wife when he stopped midsentence and died.
Even the head of the channel he was planning on buying seemed upset. She was worried about whether or not the deal would fall through. No one else was looking to acquire them. The deal would’ve saved so many jobs.
It was dead end after dead end. At one point Cameron searched for a list of the top ten motives people had for murder. The one he found was actually a tally of the deaths on Murder, She Wrote but it was a helpful jumping off point. Jessica Fletcher had solved over 10 seasons of cases so she had seen everything, or so he claimed. Kirsten tried not to laugh at his logic. She knew he just liked that show because it reminded him of his grandmother.
“The real question is whether or not we want to try stitching again. We still don’t know whether it really was an aneurysm. An autopsy would confirm that, but once we open him up I can’t get in,” Kirsten reasoned aloud.
They charted through all the pros and cons of stitching again versus an autopsy now. The longer they waited, the more certain kinds of evidence would degrade.
Kirsten had been so wrapped up in their discussion that she didn’t notice that Cameron had parked his car. “Oh. We’re at your place.”
“I’ve gotta go grab clothes for tomorrow.” His expression grew uneasy. “Your offer to stay over still stands, right? I can drop you off now if not.”
Kirsten shook her head. “Of course. I was just surprised we were here already.”
The smile that spread across Cameron’s face was one of the most genuine ones she’d seen from him in a long time. It was so nice to see.
Even if it only lasted until they made it to elevator.
Kelly and her boyfriend were exiting the elevator as Cameron and Kirsten walked up. The change in Cameron’s smile was minimal, but Kirsten could tell it was a knockoff of the real thing. There was something plasticy and overly bright about it.
“Hey Doc!” Kelly missed how both of them winced at the nickname. “This is Aiden. Remember I was telling you he was visiting? Anyway we’ve gotta run. Only three more days left so we have a lot to do. Catch ya in the hallway!”
Kelly had somehow managed to have the entire conversation while walking backwards. And without breathing. Once done, she pivoted and pulled Aiden along with her.
Cameron entered the vacant elevator and leaned against the railing. He rested his head against the wall. Kirsten stood next to him. As soon as the doors closed Cameron swore under his breath.
“You should probably grab some extra clothes.” Cameron’s head snapped toward Kirsten. She shrugged one shoulder. “And pick up some wine for Camille as a bribe.”
The tension leaked out of Cameron. “God, Stretch I lo-” Cameron stumbled over his words. “literally don’t know what I’d do without you. I owe you big time.”
The way Cameron smiled at her made a tiny current dance around Kirsten’s chest. “Dinner would be an excellent place to start.”
“Done.”
——
“Please stay forever,” Camille pleaded around a mouthful of risotto. “Be our live-in chef.”
“And give up my shiny badge?” Cameron joked.
“I’ll make you a billion shiny badges if you cook for me everyday.” Camille pretended to write something in the air. “Culinary Agent. No, that’s terrible. Give me time. I’ll come up with a good title.”
They soon finished their meal. Kirsten did the dishes since Cameron cooked. Camille promised that she’d take the next day. It took Kirsten seemingly forever to round up all of the dirty dishes. Cameron had managed to use nearly everything in the cabinets. Anytime he had a spice or something finely chopped he set it in its own container. At his place they were usually small glasses he had for the task or ramekins. The Clark-Engelson kitchen was not that well equipped so he had to settle for Camille’s collection of souvenir shotglasses.
“If you become our Culinary Agent, I’m negotiating dishes into your contract,” Kirsten grumbled at Cameron, who was leaning on the cabinets to keep her company.
He threw his head back and laughed. “I can finish those if you’d like, Stretch.”
“That wasn’t our deal.” She pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, leaving soap bubbles in its wake. “I won’t make that mistake again though.”
Cameron grabbed a dish towel and gently wiped the soap from Kirsten’s cheek. “I’m sure you won’t.” HIs voice was gentle and warm.
They were close in a way they hadn’t been since she had almost been trapped in her own mind. When she finally came to, she had practically flung herself into Cameron’s arms. They clutched at each other as though their physical proximity was the only thing holding them together.
Cameron hadn’t touched her since.
It was clearly too much again for him. Cameron took a step back and returned the dish towel to it’s original location. He went toward the refrigerator and started rearranging the MagneticPoetry magnets Camille had recently purchased.
Camille entered the kitchen, hair still wet from the shower, just as Kirsten finished the dishes.
“So what’s next on the docket, roomies?”
——
“You can’t keep pausing the show for spoilers,” Camille got up from her spot on the couch and stole the remote from Cameron’s hands.
“They aren’t spoilers. Kirsten asked a question so I answered it,” Cameron explained, trying to swipe the remote back.
Camille held the object out of his reach. “With things you don’t find out until the midseason finale!”
Kirsten took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew it would be weird to watch Glitches with both Cameron and Camille. She hadn’t guessed it would be this bad though. They both watched it at the same time, texting each other during intense moments. The timer at the bottom of the screen claimed that they were twenty minutes into the episode, but the clock on the wall said forty-five minutes had passed.
“How about neither of you talk for the rest of the episode?” Kirsten interjected. “And I’ll take the remote.”
Camille rolled her eyes and handed over the remote. She nestled back under the blanket on her side of the couch. Kirsten unpaused the show. They went another twenty minutes without incident. The only sound other than the TV was Camille occasionally murmuring ‘yes’ under her breath during particularly badass parts.
A slight movement caught Kirsten’s eye. Cameron was shaking. It was a tiny jolt. He curled further into his chair, hugging his knees to his chest. Kirsten found the remote and paused the show. She untangled herself from her blanket and went to her bedroom. Buried under her comforter was a grey hoodie. She brought it back and tossed it at Cameron.
A smile teased the corners of his mouth. “This looks suspiciously like the sweatshirt that went missing from my place months ago.”
“I plead the fifth,” Kirsten replied.
Cameron pulled the hoodie over his head, careful not to disturb his glasses or hair. He snuggled into it and pulled at the collar to sniff it. “Having you been sleeping in this?”
Kirsten tried to remember the last time she washed the sweatshirt. “It got cleaned in the last week or two. I think.”
“It’s not a bad thing.” The tips of Cameron’s ears turned pink. “It smells like your perfume.”
Kirsten nodded unsure what to say. She had been about ready to give back because it no longer smelled like Cameron’s cologne anyway.
—-
Two episodes later and Kirsten was done watching Glitches. Or more accurately she was done being watched while watching it. Cameron and Camille would both shoot her looks during particularly interesting parts, trying to gauge her reaction. Kirsten felt so much pressure to enjoy the show that she couldn’t enjoy it.
There were parts she liked. Marley and Sofia - Mafia, as Camille gleefully referred to them as - were incredibly sweet. The shy archivist and awkward neurologist made for a very cute couple. They were a nice balance to Camille’s other ship, HeArt.
Kirsten wasn’t sure how Camille could be so invested in something she called an angsty dumpster fire of broken hope and dreams.
And yet here she was.
Cameron wasn’t so sold on them being in a romantic relationship. He conceded that they were important to each other, but that the show clearly wanted them not to be in a relationship.
“All I’m saying is that they’re best friends. They should be able to talk to each other about anything,” Cameron said defensively.
“I just think it’s too convenient to have a ship name like HeArt and not use it romantically,” Camille shot back. “Plus, the way they look at each other!”
Cameron ran a hand through his hair roughly. “Well, Hedy told Arthut that they were just friends.” A touch of color flushed up his neck. “She outright said she doesn’t want him.”
Camille stared at Cameron for a moment. “Well we’ll just have to agree to disagree then.” She stood up and made her way to the kitchen. “I’m gonna make popcorn.”
Kirsten spun the remote in her hand. “Well as much fun as this has been, I think it’s time for something completely different.” She shared a small smile with Cameron at her reference. “How do you feel about cards?”
————
“I really hate poker,” Cameron called from where he was laying down on the couch.
There was something incredibly difficult about playing against Kirsten and Camille. They were both razor sharp in their ability to strategize and analyze other people. Even with both of them eating most of their Skittles in the beginning, Cameron lost hard. The game reset once all the candy was gone. It didn’t take long for Cameron’s pile of pennies to dwindle either.
Cameron’s commentary slowed down after a while. Kirsten peeked over at him. His eyes kept fluttering shut. She lifted her chin in his direction, silently letting Camille know Cameron was asleep.
Camille snorted. “I’ll go grab a pillow for Sleeping Nerdly.”
Both girls stood up together. Camille went off toward the bedrooms while Kirsten found the blanket she had abandoned earlier. She flung one corner over Cameron and draped the other over the end of the couch.
Next came Cameron’s glasses. Luckily, he was laying on his back so it was easy to slide them right off. Kirsten folded them and set them on the end table.
Camille returned with a navy blue pillow. Both girls silently set about maneuvering the pillow under Cameron’s head. He was a remarkably heavy sleeper in more ways than one. Despite their level of fitness it took both Kirsten and Camille to lift him enough for the pillow.
“That’s the last time we do that,” Camille groaned.
———-
For Cameron’s final morning he decided to make pancakes. The night before they made a late night run to the store to pick up blueberries and the ingredients to make a lemon curd topping.
The smell of sizzling blueberries hung in the air as Kirsten padded through Cameron’s makeshift room. She slipped outside with her cell phone in hand.
Daphne picked up on the first ring. She sounded undercaffeinated and overtired. “Waldson.”
“This is Agent Clark. I wanted to let you know that you’re officially no longer a person of interest in Peter Terrance’s death. We’ve ruled that he died of natural causes.”
There was silence on the other end. Kirsten was about to hang up when Daphne spoke up.
“Thank you,” she said. “Gina sent out a message yesterday, but I appreciate you calling me too.”
Kirsten bit her lip. “That’s not the main reason I’m calling actually. I wanted to ask for a favor.” She wandered idly around the porch. “Could you give me a call when you find out about your show’s renewal?”
“I’ll do you one better. We got renewed,” Daphne told her, warmth in her voice. “Peter and the board signed off on it hours before he died. He didn’t get a chance to tell me and then well you know.”
A vice loosened in Kirsten’s chest. “Cameron is going to be so happy.” She paused a moment to think. “And most of our other coworkers as well.”
“Not a fan?” Daphne joked.
Kirsten shrugged even though the other woman couldn’t see her. “I’ve seen a few episodes. It’s pretty good, but I know Cameron and everyone else would’ve been upset if it got cancelled.”
“So Cameron asked you to call me? I would’ve given him spoilers if he called me himself,” Daphne teased, her accent becoming more pronounced as she spoke.
“We got a lecture about that.” Kirsten switched her phone to the other ear. “He follows rules so I had to break them for him.”
“That’s sweet.” Daphne paused for a moment. “You guys are lucky to have each other.”
“He’s the most important person in my life.” She walked toward the end of the porch and untangled the windchime near the corner. “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
A noise near the front door made Kirsten turn around. Cameron stood there sheepishly holding two plates of pancakes. He was still in his pajamas and glasses, slightly rumpled and sleepy looking. His smile told Kirsten he’d been standing there for a while.
I want you.
The thought appeared in Kirsten’s head without warning.
“You should tell him that.” Daphne’s voice sounded so far away.
Kirsten stared at Cameron, her hands shaking. “I think I just did.” Then she accidentally turned the speaker on before ending her call.
“Who was that?” Cameron nodded toward the phone.
Kirsten reached for a plate of pancakes and sat down on the bench. “Daphne. Her show got renewed.” She cut a large triangle out of them with her fork and shoved them into her mouth.
Anything to keep from telling Cameron how she felt before she could figure out the right words.
Cameron flopped down next to her, balancing his plate on his crossed legs. “Are you serious? That’s awesome.” He cut a bite out of his own pancakes and started to eat them. “You seriously have to catch up so we can watch it together.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Kirsten spread the lemon topping around her pancakes. “Hey, are we ever going to talk about things?”
“What things?” Cameron peered at her face.
Kirsten knew she was going to mess this up anyway so she might as well go for it. “I kissed you.”
Cameron nearly choked on his pancakes. “You did.” He cleared his throat. “And then you apologized. Said it was a mistake.”
“Which it was.” Kirsten winced at how fast Cameron’s face fell at that. “But only because it was awful timing.”
Cameron set down his fork and plate. He turned so he was giving Kirsten his full attention. “Because you were upset?”
The answer to the question clearly mattered to him. He was giving her an out. She had to be direct. It was the only way they were ever going to get past the awkwardness.
“That too.” Kirsten set aside her plate too. “Mostly because of Nina though.”
“Mostly because of Nina,” Cameron echoed. He took his glasses off and scrubbed at face.
“You weren’t available during Nina. I wasn’t ready before Nina.” Kirsten took a deep breath to steady herself. “But I think I am now.”
Cameron toyed with his glasses before returning them to his face. “Ready for what?” His whisper was barely audible over the thudding of Kirsten’s heart.
Kirsten inched her hand closer to Cameron’s, lacing their fingers together once she reached them. “Us. I’ve made peace with my issues with my dad. I think that when - well if - you’re ever ready, I’d like to try this.”
Cameron’s free hand came up to sandwich Kirsten’s. He didn’t look up from them. “You’re serious.” His thumb rubbed the underside of her wrist.
Kirsten used her other hand to gently lift his chin. Once they were eye level, mere inches apart, she whispered ‘yes.’
That was all the encouragement Cameron needed. He surged forward, kissing Kirsten with all he had. She could smell the lemons he had been cooking with. His hands plunged deep into her hair.
This was what their first kiss should’ve been like. Not a stitch-induced moment she couldn’t remember. Not something fueled by sadness and tempered with guilt. This was what she wanted: both of them diving into each other with nothing holding them back.
A rattling noise startled them both. They pulled away and looked toward the window. Camille shuttered the blinds, covering her eyes with one hand. “Don’t mind me. Keep making out.”
Cameron buried his face into the crook of Kirsten’s neck. At first she thought he was embarrassed, but his laughter shook them both. “I’m so glad I’m going back to my place tonight.” At Kirsten’s expression he added, “you’re welcome to come too.”
————–
Months later, Camille sent out a group text. It took Kirsten a moment to unravel what the message was between all the emojis and exclamation points. Along with it was a blurry picture of a boat. Kirsten sent back a single question mark.
my favorite ship is LITERALLY A SHIP!!!!!!
There was also a link to a collection of behind the scenes photos for Glitches. They were filming around some sort of giant pirate ship. It took several pictures before Kirsten got a good angle on what Camille was talking about.
When Kirsten finally clued in on it, she threw her head back and laughed. She was still snorting, clutching her stomach when Cameron walked in. “What’s got you so amused, Little Darlin’?”
Kirsten held up her phone. “Daphne ships us.”
A confused look crossed Cameron’s face. “Excuse me?”
“She named a ship on her show Camsten. We’re literally a ship,” Kirsten explained as she pointed to the photo.
Cameron pulled her in close. “Camsten is a pretty great OTP.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead.
Merry Stitchmas in July Chelsea! @msbricolage I hope you enjoy this Camsten fic + sassy Camille.
Summary: Deleted scene in which Kirsten’s friends intervene in the search for her father, to give her a much needed break.
FF / AO3
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Camille knocked on Kirsten's door for the second time that night. "Hey, just checking in."
Kirsten glanced at her roommate hovering in the doorway, but quickly turned back to her equations. If she could just figure out the algorithm to where her father traveled to, maybe she could make some progress.
"You going to eat that?," she asked, pointing at the plate she dropped off an hour ago. It hadn't even been touched.
"Not hungry." She wrote down another piece of the equation.
Camille tapped on the doorframe. "Just like every other night this week," she said under her breath. She tried taking it easy on her, but Kirsten was only falling deeper into her own obsession. It was time to call in reinforcements. She walked back out to the living room and pulled out her phone. Kirsten's gone off the deep end.
Cameron quickly texted back. I'm already on my way. He threw on a hoodie and was out the door in less than a minute, not even bothering to put his contacts back in.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Camille had been looking out the peep hole every five minutes, give or take. She opened the door as soon as she saw Cameron park his car in front of their house.
His expression softened when he saw Camille. "How's she doing?"
"Why don't you see for yourself." She closed the door behind him and followed him to Kirsten's room.
He surveyed her room. There was laundry piling up, her bed wasn't made, she had a few glasses of water at her nightstand, and her dinner was still untouched. "Hey there Sunshine. Why don't you take a break for a few minutes?"
"I'm okay."
"I'll accept that statement if you can answer me one question."
She finally turned to look at him. "What's that?"
"When was the last time you had a decent meal?" He took the marker from her hand and capped it.
"This morning I had breakfast," she replied glaring at him.
"Which was?," he asked.
Before Kirsten could get a word in, Camille answered for her. "A piece of toast and a cup of coffee."
"What? I like toast." Kirsten glared at her roommate and crossed her arms.
"No, you like toast with strawberry jam. But we ran out of jam because it was your turn to get groceries and you didn't." Camille equally stared her down.
Cameron stepped in between them. "Alright, alright. Before one of you starts throwing punches- I'm looking at you Camille. Kirsten you need to take a break with the whole hunt for your father thing."
She plucked the marker from his hand and turned back to her algorithm. "I'll stop when I find him."
"No," he insisted. He grabbed the marker back from her hand and set it on her desk. "You need an actual meal and some rest. You're no good to anyone if you're running on a few hours of sleep."
"A few hours of sleep for the week," Camille interrupted. "Pretty sure I've heard her awake at 4am most nights."
"I've heard enough. Kirsten you're coming over for movie night." His hands were on her shoulders and he was leading her out of her bedroom before she could protest.
"Go, try to have some fun. It's movie night, whether you like it or not," Camille agreed. She was already getting Kirsten's flats out of their hall closet and handing them over to her.
"Seems like I don't have a choice."
"And I am going to lock you out, until I have confirmation that you've slept for at least eight hours."
Kirsten turned to her two friends. "I didn't agree to that."
"You need the sleep. Just think of it this way, once you are well rested you can think more clearly about how to find your father." Cameron noticed that his hands were still on her shoulders, and he lightly removed them so she could put on her shoes.
Cameron's logic did make sense. She hadn't made much progress over the last two days... or was it three days? "Fine, I concede. Movie night it is."
Camille practically shoved the pair out the door. Kirsten heard the distinct sounds of the deadbolt and the chain after the door closed. "I guess she wasn't kidding about locking me out."
"Come on. It won't be that bad taking the evening off with me, will it?"
Kirsten was relatively new to the whole emotion thing, but the slightly pained expression didn't go unnoticed. "No, I guess it won't."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cameron led her directly to his couch and pulled up Netflix. "How about we pick up where we left off with Star Trek?"
"Yeah sure," she replied. The last time they watched Star Trek Camille had insisted on the new reboot because she wanted to watch the fine specimen of a man, aka Chris Pine, Camille's words of course. However that started a heated debate between Cameron and Linus as to which movie of the whole movie series was the best. That then turned into Cameron insisting they start the series from the beginning and they stayed up until 3am watching The Wrath of Kahn. Camille had vetoed them starting the television series, because she wanted to get to all the movies with Chris Pine. Logically it was quicker to go through the movie series, before watching all the seasons on television.
Kirsten just happened to let it slip that she actually enjoyed the movies. But with the search for her father, they hadn't gotten to make any further progress in the series.
Cameron pulled up the next movie, which apparently was The Search for Spock. "I'm going to make you some good old fashioned comfort food- fried chicken and mac and cheese. Plus a surprise for dessert." He smirked at her before rushing off to the kitchen. He had just found a recipe for Nutella bread pudding and this was the perfect occasion to try it out.
Cameron worked in the kitchen. Kirsten had offered to help, but he insisted that she not do any work on her night off. He wouldn't even let her set the table, because he didn't want to ruin the surprise dessert.
It wasn't long before the macaroni was boiling and the chicken frying. So while those were cooking, he pulled up the bread pudding recipe he had saved in his email. He had to keep organized, with the amount of recipes he had. He recently made a new tab just for Nutella recipes. So far he had acquired six recipes and already tried the Nutella brownies to bring into work. They were, of course, a big success at the stitch lab.
"You know," Kirsten called out, "you should be watching this too." She paused the movie and turned towards the kitchen.
He laughed. "I've watched it plenty of times. You haven't, which is why I'm making dinner."
"And I thought it was because of your culinary skills."
He pointed back at the screen. "Really, it's fine. I could probably recite the movie word for word. You just go ahead and watch."
She glared but didn't make any move to turn back to the movie.
"I will join you as soon as dinner is done. Deal?"
She nodded. "You drive a hard bargain girlfriend."
"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
Kirsten turned back to the screen and resumed the movie. "Just be thankful I haven't used it around Camille. She would be calling you girlfriend all the time."
He had just put the dessert in the oven, so they could eat that after the movie had finished. It wasn't long before dinner was done. Cameron got a slightly larger than normal portions out for Kirsten. If all she had was toast today, she would be hungry.
The movie was almost half over when he brought dinner to the coffee table. Typically he would eat at the dining room table, but he would make an exception for Kirsten. That combined with the fact that she really needed to rest up.
Kirsten's eyes were started to droop from her exhaustion. But she perked up when she smelled the cheesy goodness.
He handed the plate over to her and he eyes widened at the amount of food on it. "Eat up. I have plenty leftover, so you can help yourself to more. And you'll have a decent lunch for tomorrow too."
She took a few bites of the mac and cheese, savoring the creamy taste. "This is so good!" She ate a few bites of the chicken, which was the perfect combination of crispy and tender.
"Thanks, it's a secret family recipe," he smirked.
They ate in comfortable silence. Kirsten finished hers before Cameron was halfway done with his own plate.
She got comfortable on the couch, leaning back more. Then she leaned ever so slightly onto Cameron's shoulder. Within minutes she was asleep.
Cameron was so entranced by the movie that he didn't realize Kirsten had fallen asleep until he heard a light snoring next to his shoulder. With everything that had been going on, he didn't see the point in waking her.
He continued to enjoy the movie, until the timer went off for the dessert. He carefully extracted his shoulder from Kirsten's head, placing a pillow there as a placeholder. He quickly turned off the audible alarm and removed the pan from the oven.
He quietly returned to the couch to watch the last few minutes of the movie. As soon as he sat down, he was met with a pair of wide eyes.
"I should get back home," she stated.
"You've barely been asleep for thirty minutes. And besides, I don't think Camille will let you in. Unless you plan on breaking into your own house."
She raised an eyebrow as if seriously considering that idea.
"It wasn't a suggestion. And would you really want to explain to your insurance that you broke in because your roommate wouldn't let you inside?"
She thought about it for a minute, realizing that Cameron was ultimately correct. Camille wouldn't let her in, and she really didn't feel like putting forth the effort of breaking in. "Fine," she resigned.
"Good," he nodded. "Then why don't you take my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch." He was already on his feet, leading her to his bed.
"Alright. But only because your bed is comfortable." It absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that his sheets smelled of his cologne, and that could relax her like nothing else could. Well, other than Cameron himself. She got settled in and under the covers, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
"Goodnight princess," he whispered. He placed a feather light kiss to her forehead and shut off the light.
While his couch wasn't nearly as comfortable, he fell asleep with a smile on his lips. If nothing else, he helped out his best friend today.
Happy Stitchmas in July, @xoheatherkw !!! I hope you enjoy this fic Heather :) This is the first half of the story & I’ll post part 2 as soon as it’s finished!! (this fic turned out way longer than I intended haha)
UPDATE: read Part 2 here
“Hey, what’s with you?” Kirsten sidled up to Cameron as he poured his third cup of coffee for the day.
“Nothing,” Cameron said, eyes trained on the steaming mug and the creamer in his hand. Kirsten placed her hand over Cameron’s and gently pushed it down until he set the creamer on the table and looked up at Kirsten.
“Spill it.”
“Ahem, well… I was wondering if-“
“Spit it out.”
“I need a girlfriend for this annual family dinner party this weekend,” Cameron spoke so quickly his words slightly slurred together and his cheeks blushed a bright rosy pink.
“Oh.”
“Would you be my uh… fake girlfriend?” Cameron asked, head ducked but peering up through his eyelashes.
“Oh.” Kirsten repeated, the surprise evident in her voice. “Well, sure. That’s what best friends are for, right?”
“Right,” Cameron said tersely. Kirsten furrowed her brows momentarily at Cameron’s tone of voice before smiling brightly at him. Cameron returned the smile, and they walked back into the Stitch Lab.
***
“Okay so remember, we met at work last year and-“
“We did me at work,” Kirsten interrupted.
“Kirsten, this is serious,” Cameron cast a pointed glance at Kirsten riding in the passenger seat beside him.
“Cameron, eyes on the road,” Kirsten mimicked his tone. “We’ll be fine. Your family won’t grill me about you.”
“You haven’t met my Uncle Charles.”
As they neared the Goodkin estate, Cameron became increasingly tense.
“Relax, Cameron. I’ve been in your head. I know you better than you think,” Kirsten said. Cameron shot Kirsten a forced smile that didn’t quite erase the worry in his jade eyes.
***
Upon entering the lavish home, Cameron and Kirsten were surrounded by inquisitive aunts and disinterested cousins who were sipping on glasses of wine despite their youth and the early hour.
“Cameron, so nice of you to finally join us,” Cameron’s mother chided through her smile. She embraced Cameron in a brief hug and swiftly kissed his cheek before turning to Kirsten. “And who is this?”
“Mom, this is my girlfriend, Kirsten who I told you about,” Cameron said, avoiding Kirsten’s gaze.
“It’s lovely to meet you Kirsten,” Mrs. Goodkin-Williams said.
“It’s nice to meet you as well. You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Goodkin,” Kirsten said.
“Please, do call me Cynthia,” she said before turning to Cameron. “Honey, I’ve set up your old room for the two of you. I’ll let you get settled in. Dinner’s at six sharp.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Cameron said. He led Kirsten up the mahogany staircase to the second floor and down the hallway on the left. He stopped in the open doorway on the right and peered in.
“Hey Angie,” he said, addressing the teenager with long dark locks seated at the desk with her combat boots propped up on the desktop.
“Hey, Loser,” she said without turning away from her computer.
“Sister?” Kirsten asked.
“Step-sister,” Cameron clarified before saying, “Come on, my room’s this way.” He led her further down the hallway and through an ornate door on the left side of the hall. “This is it.”
Kirsten stepped through the threshold and took in the perfectly preserved room. A flat screen was mounted on the wall opposite the bed. Underneath the TV sat a shelf overflowing with dusty DVDs. A NASA poster hung over the desk, which was piled high with worn science textbooks including everything from astronomy to physics to chemistry and biology. On the ceiling above the bed were glow-in-the-dark stick-on stars.
“Cameron, you didn’t tell me you were such a space dork when you were a kid,” Kirsten gently teased.
“Let it all out, Princess.”
***
Cameron’s family sat around the long wooden table in the oversized dining room. Cameron and Kirsten had been placed between Cynthia and Cameron’s chatty-when-drunk-which-was-always uncle, Harold. “So Kristen, tell me-
“It’s Kirsten, Uncle Harry,” Cameron interjected.
“So Kirsten, what made you fall for this guy?” Harry asked.
“He’s always there for me,” Kirsten answered immediately. Cameron looked at her with questioning eyes. “”And, uh, he’s really fun to pick on,” Kirsten added quickly followed by a nervous laugh.
“You did good, kid,” Harry said, slapping Cameron on the back and chuckling before taking a long gulp of wine. Cameron reddened.
***
Cameron and Kirsten ambled up to their room, sleepy with wine and bellies full of food. Cameron opened the closet and began pulling out blankets and extra pillows and tossing them onto the floor.
“What are you doing?” Kirsten asked.
“I thought I’d sleep on the floor and you’d take the bed. It’s the least I could do for making you come here,” Cameron said.
“Don’t be stupid, Cameron. First of all, you didn’t make me do anything. And secondly, this bed is big enough for the both of us. I don’t want you to be moody tomorrow because you didn’t sleep well,” Kirsten said.
“I’m not moody. You’re the one who’s moody, Stretch,” Cameron argued.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Cameron?” A small voice asked through the closed door. Cameron opened the door revealing Angela while Kirsten tossed the extra pillows and blankets on the bed.
“Angie. What’s up?” Cameron asked.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.”
“Alone?”
Cameron followed Angela out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
“What’s up?” Cameron turned to face Angela.
“Is everything okay between you and Kirsten? You would tell me if something was wrong, right?
“Everything’s fine. What made you ask that?”
“I don’t know. You guys just seemed really tense and uncomfortable around each other,” Angela confessed.
“Angie, I promise everything is great between Kirsten and me. And I promise I’d tell you if it wasn’t,” Cameron said.
Angela slugged him in the shoulder and, sauntering back towards her room, said, “Night, Loser.”
“Good night,” Cameron called back to her in a sing-song voice.
By the time Cameron got back to his room, Kirsten had already changed into her pajamas and was tucked under the soft duvet cover. Cameron paused next to the bed until Kirsten pulled back the covers and patted the empty side of the bed.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am. What did your sister want?”
“She was worried about us. Apparently we aren’t acting couple-y enough,” Cameron said.
“Oh,” Kirsten furrowed her brow.
“Don’t worry about it, Cupcake. I’m sure no one else noticed,” Cameron said.
hello @i-mightlikesax ! here is your stitchmas in july present :) pokemon!camille is my new fave lol. I hope you like it xoxo (ps: i was gonna do another fanart as well with cameron but I ran out of time sorry) [dont repost w/o credit thx]
