New, and a bit alarming, who'd have ever thought that this could be?

[getrichquick]

Lexi's first crush had come when she was about eleven, and had ended before she was twelve. Webby's interest in her and her family, though unnerving, had been flattering - and she was nice to Lexi. That went a long way to a kid who'd barely had friends outside of family prior to that. But, ultimately, it had been a passing infatuation with someone who she wasn't suited for, and who wasn't suited for her.

There had been other people in her teenage years - crushes and relationships alike - with all kinds of people, and plenty of meaningless flirtations in addition to those. For a while, she'd thought that was what she'd been doing with Gobo - flirting harmlessly. It was certainly fun, but he was, well, Gobo. It clearly didn't mean anything.

Right? The thing was, she found herself thinking about Gobo a lot, even when they weren't together. Notable experiences left her eager to tell him, and she often wondered if he'd like this or that thing... He was becoming a big part of her life. That was still a bit scary to Lexi with anyone, but in this case? Doubly so.

At least she knew who to go to when it came to any sort of strange thing like this. And she knew Louie was in town for a bit, so off to Donald's place she headed.

Comments

[getrichquick]

Why did that feel so right, that casual and familiar contact? Okay, so she knew why. It just had never been this easy before, even with all the complications.

"Well... I've been thinking about something, but I want you to know there's, you know, no pressure, okay? Because... Well, I don't even know for sure what you'll think about this, but also because it'd be this whole thing. There's so many differences to deal with..."

[gobetween]

...

Nope, he was already lost.

"Uh, alright. Take it a little at a time, okay?"

She seemed confused about something, but maybe baby steps can have her sort it out (and have him understand).

[getrichquick]

She sighed and nodded. Alright, she could handle this - she was Alexandria Duck, she could talk her way through anything.

"Gobo, I- I want you to know something. It's important, but it's not a big deal- No! It is a big deal, but just... It's not anyone else's business, you know? Not that I don't- Ugh." She dragged her hands down her face. Okay, she could talk her way through almost anything - but not this. So if she didn't have the words for what she was trying to convey...

She closed her eyes, leaned in, and kissed him. It was quick, and simple, but it felt so sweet - and at least it got her to stop talking. When she pulled back, she did so just barely, her face just a couple of inches from Gobo's as she watched him carefully.

[gobetween]

His tail twitched on her arm and, even if by tickle only, she'd be able to feel the poof spread out with a jolt through him. The kiss was quick but left a lasting effect on him, as he stared at her wide-eyed when she pulled away. This close there wouldn't be much to see but his eyes, though she might get the impression of a deep flush blossoming under his fur. His eyes ticked back and forth quickly and looked at her, long and deeply, almost picking her apart. Then they shut tightly, he took in a breath, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides-

Then he pushed into another kiss, holding it half a beat longer than she had hers. While she'd remained close on pulling away he didn't, turning his head to look elsewhere with his eyes still shut tight. He couldn't believe that happened! And she'd started it! So she had the feelings too- but this was new and even if she'd started it he was still nervous, and Not Looking made it easier somehow-

The tail was still draped across her arm, but the poof was still flared out, both pretty clear indicators of where his mind was right now.

[getrichquick]

Seeing Gobo so nervous, so concerned... It shifted something in her way of thinking about all of this. She cared for him so much, and didn't want him to be scared or ashamed of what he'd done.

He'd kissed her.

"Hey. Hey, it's alright... Listen to me, okay?" she requested gently. "It's a little scary to me, too. But for once, I don't think being scared is such a bad thing." Her arms wrapped around him in a gentle hug. "You've become one of the best parts of my life, Gobo."

[gobetween]

He drew in a small breath when he hugged her, and then it all just... sank in. She liked him. She liked him! She liked him the way that he liked her. He thought about however long now, being unsure if he'd felt like that, if she did. The idea that even if he did like her, what then? They led such different lives, were such different people... It'd taken talking to one of his own best friends, in an unknowing parallel to Lexi today with Louie, to sort things out. He just didn't know where to go from there.

And then she kissed him. And where to go suddenly became crystal clear.

"You're one of the best parts of my life too, Lexi." He wrapped his arms around her in kind, as good as he was able, and nuzzled against her gently.

[getrichquick]

That nuzzle warmed her from the inside out, and she gave Gobo a squeeze before she leaned back a bit, just enough to look at him properly.

"So... You and me, then?" she asked, the hope in her voice strong. She brushed a hand sideways through his hair, then rested it on his cheek.

[gobetween]

That simple touch thrilled him and he nodded, placing a hand atop hers.

"Yeah. You and me."

[getrichquick]

She beamed at that, nodding just a little. Her voice was small and strained, in a deeply emotional but happy way, as she spoke. "Cool."

Because it was. It was extremely cool, and comfortable, and- Man, she was just so happy. She hugged him again; held him close.

[gobetween]

He hugged her back in return and, because he couldn't quite help himself, he kissed her again. Man. He could get used to that...

"So," he started when he leaned back again, "what happens now? Telling people, I guess?"

[getrichquick]

Yeah, she could get used to it, too.

At his question, she shrugged one shoulder. "If you want to?" She was still a little nervous about that, but then a thought occurred to her, and she chuckled a bit. "Actually, you know what? You could meet my family. I mean, not right now, but- Maybe someday soon? You wanna see where I grew up?"

[gobetween]

He lifted his head a little at that, then smiled and nodded.

"Sure! I'd love to see where you grew up. And maybe someday, I can take you down to mine." One hand waved toward the part of the yard he'd appeared from. "The entrance is a little small but once you get through, you'll be good, the tunnels are more spacious than you'd think they would be."

[getrichquick]

"That would be cool," Lexi said with a chuckle. Honestly, she'd been curious about visiting Fraggle Rock for quite some time now, it seemed like a great place. And meeting Gobo's friends would be- well, really nice. "And hey, if I could get into a shipwreck, I'm sure Louie or Unca Scrooge could help me find a way to get in there."

[gobetween]

He looked up at her with a blink, then laughed some.

"Get you into a shipwreck? What happened there?"

[getrichquick]

A smug grin; she'd hoped he would be curious.

"Oh, it was when I was a kid, back in the days I just visited here - and before I even did it all that much. Unca Scrooge'd had some kind of magical incident, I don't remember much about that part, but... He was a merduck. I thought that sounded pretty funny, and Louie set me up with this magic charm that let me join him as one. Uh... Should I explain what a merduck is?"

[gobetween]

He was already eager to hear more, sitting a bit forward. At her question he snickered, shaking his head.

"No, there are merggles. Go on, what happened next?"

[getrichquick]

Lexi blinked a couple of times. "We've got to loop back to that," she snickered, before carrying on with the story.

"Well, Unca Scrooge found a sunken shipwreck, and we brought up a lot of treasure, which - you know - was awesome! But... There was a lot more that happened that day. That's when I started really feeling close to Unca Scrooge, and thinking I kinda might fit in here."

[gobetween]

"Really? That's great! You and Scrooge have been really close for a long time then, huh?"

[getrichquick]

She nodded. "We have been. He's supported me in so much - and he's never afraid to tell me when I'm being a dumbass. I may not love hearing it, but... Sometimes I need to."

Openness and honesty. It felt good to want to express those things.

"And he treats me like family - I mean, he does that with a few people, but it still means a lot to me."

[gobetween]

Gobo snickered, rubbing behind his head some.

"Scrooge seems like a lot of fuss and fire to me, but," he smiled at her, "I'm glad you've got him."

[getrichquick]

Lexi snorted out a laugh. "Well, yeah, he's that stuff, too," she admitted. "...Thanks, Gobo. And man, okay, Merggles?"

[gobetween]

He laughed at that himself and nodded.

"Yeah! Merggles. Red found 'em first so she'd have to tell you the whole story, I didn't really meet them until later. But apparently there's a passage pool that leads to their lake. There's not a whole lot of back and forth between us, if only because the tunnel is about the upper limit of us normal Fraggles' lung capacity, but it was pretty cool to discover they existed."

[getrichquick]

"Huh, like with the little flipper-tails and everything? Sounds pretty cool! You know, with how much you love water, you might want to talk to Louie about getting one of the charms like I have."

[gobetween]

"Flipper tails and everything. And you know, that's not a half bad idea, but I think it might be better suited to Red than me."

[getrichquick]

"From what you've told me? Yeah, it might be. But then again, I never cared much about water until that day - and I spent the first ten years of my life on a houseboat!"