Cooplee Fic: Mistletoe Truths
Dec. 20th, 2008 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jyl22075This is my final contribution to the Cooplee Christmas Party and you have no idea how glad I am that I got it done on time. So, I wrote this as a gift for Jai. Partly to say thank you for throwing the party and partly because she always writes such amazing fics for everyone and I wanted to return the favor. That being said, I hope this doesn't suck, because it wouldn't be good to gift somebody a crappy fic. So... here goes nothing. Jai: I hope you like it.
Ashlee shifted in the back booth at Company. When Daisy had invited her to the Cooper family Christmas party, she hadn't realized that it would be Coop and Beth's first family function together. It wasn't that she was shocked, exactly, she had known for two weeks now that they were together, it was more that she was... jealous and maybe just a tad disgusted. The problem was that she had not expected Coop to bring her to his family's party. She had heard from Daisy that none of the Cooper's were happy about his “relationship” with Beth and Ashlee had thought that would prevent him from bringing her along.
“I'm so sorry, Ashlee. I swear I didn't know he was bringing her.” Daisy said sliding in to the booth next to her.
“No... it's fine... really.” She lied.
“God, look at them. They are just standing there... they probably have nothing to talk about. What do they possibly have in common... aside from Lizzie... and that is too gross to even think about...” Daisy rambled. Ashlee supposed she was trying to make her feel better, but it definitely wasn't working.
“I think I'm going to get something to drink.” Ashlee interrupted, sliding out of the booth and heading for the bar. She helped herself to some juice and as she was coming back around the bar she smacked in to Coop.
“Oh... um... sorry.” She said meeting his eyes for a second before looking away.
“Don't worry about it... so... I didn't know you'd be here.” Coop said softly. Ashlee wondered if he was apologizing for Beth being there with him or if he was just making conversation.
“Daisy invited me.” Ashlee was trying to come up with some way to extract herself from the conversation when she heard Daisy shout across the room.
“You guys are under the mistletoe!” Coop and Ashlee both looked up, sure enough the offending decoration was hanging just above their heads at the end of the bar. Ashlee's eyes darted from the mistletoe to survey the room... she found all the Coopers, most of the Lewis', an assortment of other Springfieldians and Beth staring at them. She felt her cheeks flush and wondered how exactly to get herself out of this situation with the minimum amount of misery for all concerned.
Her eyes met Coop's again. He gave her a small shrug. “It's tradition right.” She nodded reluctantly and waited as he leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly. His smell invaded her senses and the stubble on his chin rubbed against her face reminding her of other times, better times... times when they were together.
As he was pulling back, Buzz's voice rang out across the room. “Don't you kids know anything about mistletoe? You have to ACTUALLY kiss.” Ashlee didn't miss the twinkle in his eyes as he made that announcement. The whole room continued to watch them. Nearly everyone looked amused, with the exception of Beth who was starting to look a bit pissed.
Coop hesitated for a moment, his eyes staring in to hers, as if asking her what to do. Then he leaned forward and his lips met hers. The kiss was soft and without thinking Ashlee responded, kissing him back. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that this was supposed to be a short friendly kiss, but that part of her mind didn't seem to be operating her body. She felt Coop's arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her arms instinctively wound around his neck. The kiss deepened between them, his tongue sliding between her lips. It was at that moment that she noticed the wolf whistles and applause.
The kiss ended abruptly, both of them coming to their senses at nearly the same instant. They pulled away from each other, panting. All Ashlee could think was that she had to get out of there. With that thought in her head she ran out of Company. She heard people calling her name but ignored them, flying out the door and plopping down on the steps outside. Tears fell down her cheeks and she wasn't sure if she was crying out of embarrassment or because of the sheer desperation she felt to be back in Coop's arms. When he kissed her, it was the first time she had felt like herself since July.
The sound of the door opening brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced up wondering which Cooper had followed her. She was momentarily surprised to see that it was Coop. He knelt in front of her, wiping the tears of her cheeks gently.
“Ash... are you okay?” His tone was tender. He hadn't spoken to her like that in so long. She felt another tear escape down her cheek.
“No... I'm definitely NOT okay.” She said sucking in a breath. “I'm ... you... and everyone... I miss you.” She blurted out finally when it seemed no other sentence was going to form. He opened his mouth to say something, but since she didn't know if she wanted to hear it, she interrupted, “... and I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life when I broke up with you... and that's saying something, because I have made some HUGE mistakes...” she rambled, “I shot Alan and then there was that whole election thing and...”
“Ashlee!” He said with just a touch of exasperation in his tone. “Do you mind if I say something?” He asked when she finally stopped talking. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her response, when she gave him a nod he asked, “Why didn't you ever tell me any of this before?”
“I wanted to... in fact I almost did. It was the day I found out you were seeing Beth.” She said softly, trying to control the shudder that went through her every time she thought of Beth. “I figured... if you were happy with her, then I had no place interfering with that, especially since it was my fault that we...” another tear fell down her cheek.
“Ash, Beth is... she's pain management.” He said, his eyes begging her to understand. “There is nothing more between us than that. I was hurting and she was there, but I never stopped loving you.” Ashlee let out a relieved sigh. She had wondered if there were any real feelings between Beth and Coop and she finally had an answer.
“So... do you think... does that mean that... we're not... over?” She had to know, had to ask and it felt like her whole life relied on his answer to this one question.
He took her face in his hands and placed another gentle kiss on her lips. “There is something you need to know...” He said when he pulled away. Ashlee felt her stomach do a cartwheel at his words. “When it comes to you and I... it's never over.” He finished softly, rubbing his thumb across her bottom lip. “Come on.” He said standing and pulling her up with him. “I think maybe we should go some place we can talk.”
Ashlee nodded, her heart feeling lighter than it had in months. His words, it's never over, ringing in her ears.
“Coop, is everything okay?” Beth called, practically bursting through the door. She glanced between the two of them. Her gaze falling on their interlocked hands.
“Yeah... everything is fine. I'm going to take Ashlee home.” He added. Ashlee saw the look of understanding cross her features.
She gave him a sharp nod. “You two have a nice evening.” The words came out shrill and insincere, but Ashlee appreciated her attempt at civility.
After she shut the door, Coop turned to Ashlee and gave her a warm smile before murmuring, “oh, we will.” They left hand in hand, walking toward their future, together.
Ashlee shifted in the back booth at Company. When Daisy had invited her to the Cooper family Christmas party, she hadn't realized that it would be Coop and Beth's first family function together. It wasn't that she was shocked, exactly, she had known for two weeks now that they were together, it was more that she was... jealous and maybe just a tad disgusted. The problem was that she had not expected Coop to bring her to his family's party. She had heard from Daisy that none of the Cooper's were happy about his “relationship” with Beth and Ashlee had thought that would prevent him from bringing her along.
“I'm so sorry, Ashlee. I swear I didn't know he was bringing her.” Daisy said sliding in to the booth next to her.
“No... it's fine... really.” She lied.
“God, look at them. They are just standing there... they probably have nothing to talk about. What do they possibly have in common... aside from Lizzie... and that is too gross to even think about...” Daisy rambled. Ashlee supposed she was trying to make her feel better, but it definitely wasn't working.
“I think I'm going to get something to drink.” Ashlee interrupted, sliding out of the booth and heading for the bar. She helped herself to some juice and as she was coming back around the bar she smacked in to Coop.
“Oh... um... sorry.” She said meeting his eyes for a second before looking away.
“Don't worry about it... so... I didn't know you'd be here.” Coop said softly. Ashlee wondered if he was apologizing for Beth being there with him or if he was just making conversation.
“Daisy invited me.” Ashlee was trying to come up with some way to extract herself from the conversation when she heard Daisy shout across the room.
“You guys are under the mistletoe!” Coop and Ashlee both looked up, sure enough the offending decoration was hanging just above their heads at the end of the bar. Ashlee's eyes darted from the mistletoe to survey the room... she found all the Coopers, most of the Lewis', an assortment of other Springfieldians and Beth staring at them. She felt her cheeks flush and wondered how exactly to get herself out of this situation with the minimum amount of misery for all concerned.
Her eyes met Coop's again. He gave her a small shrug. “It's tradition right.” She nodded reluctantly and waited as he leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly. His smell invaded her senses and the stubble on his chin rubbed against her face reminding her of other times, better times... times when they were together.
As he was pulling back, Buzz's voice rang out across the room. “Don't you kids know anything about mistletoe? You have to ACTUALLY kiss.” Ashlee didn't miss the twinkle in his eyes as he made that announcement. The whole room continued to watch them. Nearly everyone looked amused, with the exception of Beth who was starting to look a bit pissed.
Coop hesitated for a moment, his eyes staring in to hers, as if asking her what to do. Then he leaned forward and his lips met hers. The kiss was soft and without thinking Ashlee responded, kissing him back. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that this was supposed to be a short friendly kiss, but that part of her mind didn't seem to be operating her body. She felt Coop's arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her arms instinctively wound around his neck. The kiss deepened between them, his tongue sliding between her lips. It was at that moment that she noticed the wolf whistles and applause.
The kiss ended abruptly, both of them coming to their senses at nearly the same instant. They pulled away from each other, panting. All Ashlee could think was that she had to get out of there. With that thought in her head she ran out of Company. She heard people calling her name but ignored them, flying out the door and plopping down on the steps outside. Tears fell down her cheeks and she wasn't sure if she was crying out of embarrassment or because of the sheer desperation she felt to be back in Coop's arms. When he kissed her, it was the first time she had felt like herself since July.
The sound of the door opening brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced up wondering which Cooper had followed her. She was momentarily surprised to see that it was Coop. He knelt in front of her, wiping the tears of her cheeks gently.
“Ash... are you okay?” His tone was tender. He hadn't spoken to her like that in so long. She felt another tear escape down her cheek.
“No... I'm definitely NOT okay.” She said sucking in a breath. “I'm ... you... and everyone... I miss you.” She blurted out finally when it seemed no other sentence was going to form. He opened his mouth to say something, but since she didn't know if she wanted to hear it, she interrupted, “... and I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life when I broke up with you... and that's saying something, because I have made some HUGE mistakes...” she rambled, “I shot Alan and then there was that whole election thing and...”
“Ashlee!” He said with just a touch of exasperation in his tone. “Do you mind if I say something?” He asked when she finally stopped talking. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her response, when she gave him a nod he asked, “Why didn't you ever tell me any of this before?”
“I wanted to... in fact I almost did. It was the day I found out you were seeing Beth.” She said softly, trying to control the shudder that went through her every time she thought of Beth. “I figured... if you were happy with her, then I had no place interfering with that, especially since it was my fault that we...” another tear fell down her cheek.
“Ash, Beth is... she's pain management.” He said, his eyes begging her to understand. “There is nothing more between us than that. I was hurting and she was there, but I never stopped loving you.” Ashlee let out a relieved sigh. She had wondered if there were any real feelings between Beth and Coop and she finally had an answer.
“So... do you think... does that mean that... we're not... over?” She had to know, had to ask and it felt like her whole life relied on his answer to this one question.
He took her face in his hands and placed another gentle kiss on her lips. “There is something you need to know...” He said when he pulled away. Ashlee felt her stomach do a cartwheel at his words. “When it comes to you and I... it's never over.” He finished softly, rubbing his thumb across her bottom lip. “Come on.” He said standing and pulling her up with him. “I think maybe we should go some place we can talk.”
Ashlee nodded, her heart feeling lighter than it had in months. His words, it's never over, ringing in her ears.
“Coop, is everything okay?” Beth called, practically bursting through the door. She glanced between the two of them. Her gaze falling on their interlocked hands.
“Yeah... everything is fine. I'm going to take Ashlee home.” He added. Ashlee saw the look of understanding cross her features.
She gave him a sharp nod. “You two have a nice evening.” The words came out shrill and insincere, but Ashlee appreciated her attempt at civility.
After she shut the door, Coop turned to Ashlee and gave her a warm smile before murmuring, “oh, we will.” They left hand in hand, walking toward their future, together.
