Something you wanted for a while and it took me ages to get to you.

***********************************

Kennedy jerked upright and rubbed her eyes, trying to understand what was going on. As her sleepy vision cleared, she noticed the book on her lap and realized she'd fallen asleep reading. Again.

After checking the time, she tossed the book to the end of her bed and switched off her lamp, leaving her room glowing with the soft lights that lined her ceiling.

She snuggled down into her blankets, already halfway back to sleep when she heard the faint click of a door closing. She stilled, listening. A floorboard creaked.

Instantly awake, she whipped aside her blankets and crossed to her doorway. Instead of opening her door, she pressed herself against the wall, waiting.

The soft sound of creeping footsteps drew closer. When they stopped outside her door, she held her breath. Her heart hammered against her chest as adrenaline fueled her nerves, making her fingers tingle. The handle turned slowly.

When the door swung open, it concealed Kennedy from view. A dark silhouette of a guy inched forward on tiptoes. Before he was out of reach, Kennedy grabbed the intruder's arm, spun herself into the circle of his arms, and slammed an elbow into his side. Bending over, she flipped him onto the carpet floor. The second he hit the ground, Kennedy knelt beside him, and grabbed a fist full of his shirt ready to strike.

"Kenny! Hold it, hold it, hold it!"

Squinting, Kennedy stared down at a wincing Harrison, hands raised in front of his face. She blinked, all her fight vanishing in an instant. Tentatively, Harrison dropped his hands away from his face. Kennedy let go of him and sank back on her heels, confused.

"That was terrifying," Harrison said, pushing himself up.

"What are you doing here?"

Harrison propped himself on his elbows and grinned up at her, the incident of her nearly beating him completely forgotten.

"I'm taking you on our first date."

After a second of staring at him, Kennedy climbed to her feet and got back into bed.

"Goodnight, Harrison."

Before she could tuck the blankets back around her, Harrison grabbed them.

"Don't be like that," he said. "I just said I was taking you on our first date and you're showing no interest nor excitement."

"Because it's one in the morning."

"And we're both awake."

"I look awful."

"You look awful most of the time I see you, so there's no difference."

Kennedy kicked out at him but Harrison only jumped back avoiding her blow and chuckling.

"Kenny, you know I've seen you look awful before. It isn't going to change now that we're dating and won't change when we're married."

At that, Kennedy eyed him skeptically, leaning her head in her hand.

"We haven't even had our first date and you're talking of marriage. Isn't that a bit of a leap?"

"Do you not see this ending with us growing into sarcastic old people who wield canes like weapons? Cause if not, maybe we shouldn't date since you don't see this going anywhere."

"You are so dramatic."

"And you are pointlessly stubborn at times."

They stared at each other for a long time, proving they both held a strong trait of stubbornness and Kennedy didn't own a monopoly on it.

"Why now?" she asked.

"Because we've already done everything normal people do on a first date. I thought waffles at one am would be a new thing for us."

"Fair."

Kennedy got out of her bed and headed for her closet. "My parents will most likely tail us."

"They would if they even knew we were leaving. You flipped me onto the floor and they didn't come racing in here. Right now they are sleeping like the dead."

Once Harrison said it, Kennedy realized that was true. Huh, she wondered what consulting case had them this exhausted.

But it worked in her fair this time. Waffles at one am... okay she wasn't going to admit it but that was kinda romantic of Harrison.

Kennedy emerged from her closet a few minutes later dressed and completely fine with only looking half decent, Harrison was right, he'd seen her in all her different states why pretend to even try? Not that she couldn't make an effort for him but at one in the morning? Nope, not worth the hassle right then.

Since Harrison made no note of what she looked like, she knew that what she wore didn't matter. She was simply Kenny to him like he was simply Harrison to her. Wasn't that the positive of dating your best friend, no illusion to try to hide behind?

They slipped out of Kennedy's room and into the living room as quietly as they could despite the evidence that her parents were completely comatose. In the hallway, Harrison checked his side.

"You know I'm going to have a bruise from this, right?" he said.

Kennedy shrugged and called the elevator. "Was I not supposed to be on my guard when I heard your footsteps?"

"It could've been your parents."

"No, you don't hear my parents coming."

Harrison laughed as they stepped into the elevator. "Your parents are so cool."

"They are until they are tailing us to a party and handcuffing us because we snuck out."

At that particular night of stupidity, Harrison winced. "Forgot about that. But their tactic worked, we never tried to sneak out again."

"Until tonight.

"Until tonight but if they handcuff us at a diner it will be less embarrassing."

The lobby of the apartment building was quiet, the man behind the front desk slumped against the counter, watching something on his phone.

Harrison and Kennedy packed themselves into one section of the revolving door and escaped into the night. The autumn wind was vicious and Kennedy huddled into her jacket, inching closer to Harrison.

Glancing at her, Harrison tucked his hand into the pocket of her jacket with her hand and laced his fingers with hers.

Kennedy fought against a smile trying to break free. Though they'd held hands before, it felt different now and yet somehow the same. New but just as comforting. They walked down towards the diner on the corner, their sides pressed against each other, fingers locked.

A cheery jingle of the bell over the door announced their entrance into the buttery-smelling diner. Located in the wealthier part of the city, the establishment kept to the standard its clientele expected with gleaming countertops freshly wiped and recently mopped floors. A lone patron sat at the corner, nursing a cup of coffee as he scrolled through his phone. Beyond the doors to the kitchen, the hiss of scalding water could be heard.

Kennedy and Harrison snagged the booth in the corner, taking opposite sides of the table out of habit. For a second, they looked at each other, then Harrison claimed the spot next to her. Kennedy bumped her shoulder with his.

"We don't have to be joined at the hip now that we're dating," she said.

"I feel like we've always been joined at the hip, so this is nothing new."

"We usually sit at opposite ends."

"Maybe I'm just cold and need your warmth."

Kennedy rolled her eyes even as she secretly grinned inside. "Are you going to be this cheesy from now on? Because I'm not sure I can take it."

Harrison tilted his head as if giving the question serious thought. "For this night, yes."

"But not after?"

"No, I'll be over it by then."

"Good."

A plump woman in her fifties with a friendly countenance and a name tag reading Lynda bustled over to them.

"Bit late, isn't it?" she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Harrison slouched in his seat. "Yeah, but you only get one first date, right?"

Lynda grinned and placed menus on the table. "I'll be back in a few. Want anything to drink?"

"Hot chocolate," Harrison said. Kennedy raised eyebrows at him. "It's too late for coffee and too early for organic juice."

"Fine, hot chocolate it is," Kennedy said.

Amused, Lynda left. Kennedy sank down in her spot and gazed out the window at the mostly silent city beyond. Because she could, and knew that it would make Harrison smile, she dropped her head on his shoulder.

"Now who is being the cheesy one?" he asked, though she heard the smile in his voice.

Something about the darkness outside made Kennedy feel like they had escaped the world. For right then only the two of them existed in this weird late-night, early-morning limbo. But as she thought of it, so many times when she was with Harrison it felt that way. It wasn't that they didn't notice other people around them, but it was that their connection outshone any others that they might make.

Kennedy realized that almost sounded selfish or self-centered but it wasn't. It was... It was knowing one person completely understood you and that time wouldn't change that.

"Were you serious?" Kennedy asked.

"About what?"

"About marrying me one day?"

"Do you think that I would ever be able to find someone else as annoying, stubborn, and infuriating as you that I still liked?"

"Probably not."

"You have your answer then."

Lynda returned and placed two mugs of hot chocolate, topped with whip cream, on the table. She left again with their order of waffles: peanut butter cup waffles for Kennedy, and blueberry for Harrison.

When Kennedy sipped her drink, she felt whip cream smear across her top lip as the hot chocolate warmed her from the inside. She lowered the mug and looked at Harrison only to find his phone out. He grinned as she captured her.

"Hey!"

"One more."

Rolling her eyes, Kennedy put her fingers under her chin and stared off into the distance like she was a great philosopher.

Taking a sip of his drink, Harrison gave himself a mustache. He wrapped his arm around Kennedy and held up his phone. At the sight of them both with white mustaches, Kennedy laughed and Harrison snapped the picture.

They'd never done anything so typically teen before and Kennedy found she didn't hate it. She was doing it with Harrison after all so it made it less embarrassing.

"If we are to spend the rest of our lives annoying each other as much as possible," Kennedy said after licking off her whip cream. "I think we need to decide what exactly we're going to do in life."

"Whatever we want," Harrison said.

"That sounds nice but I'm talking about a solid plan."

Harrison sat back in the booth and held his mug. "FBI?"

A Special Agent for the FBI. A future Kennedy had always thought she'd do since hearing the stories of what her parents had done at the Bureau always inspired her. But she found as she continued through senior year and got closer to when she would step out into the world that dream... Well, something about that dream didn't fit anymore.

"You know if we both go to the FBI, you'll be a legacy," Harrison said.

There was. The truth that her younger self hadn't thought out when she'd dreamed of following in her parent's footsteps but seventeen-year-old Kennedy understood.

"Yes," Kennedy said. "And I'd spend my time there trying to prove I was just as good as them. But they're-"

"The Unstoppable Couple."

"Exactly. That's not something either of us could live up to."

Harrison nodded and Kennedy loved that he understood and didn't try to persuade her that it wouldn't be that way. They both knew how good her parents were. So good that even years later after they'd quit the FBI, they'd been asked back to help with one final case. That was a shadow Kennedy didn't want to try to find her way out of, best to take a road that didn't follow theirs.

"What do you want to do?" Harrison asked. "We could become lawyers. We both know we love to argue."

"Too much research, I would go out of my mind with boredom."

"True. The CIA? We could be spies?"

It was a good option but it was also grand in a way that Kennedy felt didn't fit her. She'd grown up with her parents talking to her about helping out those who needed help. The little guys in the world that simply needed support to stand up.

"What about joining the police force?"

"The police force?"

Kennedy understood his surprise, they'd never talked about the police force. It had always been something impressive like the FBI, or even the Secret Service for a time. But the police force sounded simple, average.

But as Kennedy thought about it, she liked the idea more and more. Yes, they could take down drug cartels and mobsters with the FBI. But what about helping those who'd been hurt by smaller crimes? Those who needed someone who would fight to help them. Instead of being once removed from the problems of the every day, they could be the solutions to them.

"It's a thought," Kennedy said. "We don't have to decide now. Besides, we've already figured out we'll be studying criminology in college so that means we can decide later."

Lynda returned with two plates of waffles trailing wisps of steam. She set them down and left with a kind smile. Before they dug in, Harrison looked at Kennedy.

"The police force is an option," he said. "All that matters to me is we take on the world together."

Kennedy cut into her waffles, knowing her smile was way too wide, and couldn't handle the look of complete certainty in Harrison's eyes. She always knew that they'd be linked in life but to this level... It was something she hadn't imagined.

"How big of idiots are we for not realizing sooner that we were eventually going to be together?" Kennedy asked, after swallowing the delicious mix of waffle and chocolate, and peanut butter.

Harrison chewed, mulling over the question. "Pretty big idiots. Everyone else seemed to know it but us. For two smart people, that's pretty dumb."

"You're right. Even Sophia saw it and she struggles to understand some basic human dynamics."

Harrison winced. "You're right. We're the biggest idiots in the world. Why did it take us so long?"

"Fear. Looking back I didn't want to lose the one person in my life that meant everything to me."

"Aww," Harrison teased.

Rolling her eyes, Kennedy nudged her shoulder with his. "Shut up, you felt the same way."

"I did, so I can't blame you."

They grinned at each other and went back to eating. As the waffles diminished, they talked as they always had, the shift in their relationship status not changing the core of what they were to each other.

After Harrison left money on the table and slid out of the booth, Kennedy started to follow but stopped, spotting a familiar couple on the other side of the diner.

She stared, shocked and yet completely unsurprised. Of course, they would do this.

Harrison followed her gaze and swore under his breath.

"How much trouble do you think we are in?" he asked, looking afraid to move.

Kennedy didn't blame him, her parents were... Something else. Sometimes that something else wasn't good.

"I have no idea. At least we're not at a party this time."

"Can we sneak out the back?"

"They might look like they don't notice us but believe me, they do."

"So much for our first date."

He held out his hand to her and she locked her fingers with his. At least when they got in trouble they would be together. Not a very cheering thought but it was something to think of as they walked across the diner.

As they approached her parents, Carter turned away from Donovan and smiled in surprise.

"Hey, Cadet," she said. "What are you two doing out so late?"

"Yeah, funny," Kennedy said. "We snuck out and you followed us. Are you going to handcuff us again this time?"

"What are you talking about, Cadet?" Donovan said. "We weren't aware you were here."

"I don't believe you," Kennedy said.

Carter and Donovan exchanged a look.

"Okay, but we just got done with our paperwork and stopped by for some food," Carter said.

Kennedy studied both her parents, her skepticism slowly fading. "Really?"

"Yeah," Donovan said. "I'm almost a little offended that you didn't know that we weren't in the apartment. That hurts."

"We just thought you were sound asleep," Harrison said.

Carter cocked her head at him. "Does that seem like a trait we have?"

It was Kennedy and Harrison's turn to exchange a look.

"No," Kennedy said. "Ummm... Does this mean we're not in trouble since you didn't tail us?"

"Technically," Carter said, raising her mug. "We found out now. Do you want to be in trouble?"

"No, I want to think that our first date didn't end with a sentence of military drills on the weekend."

"Since it's your first date then we'll let it slide," Donovan said. "But Harrison."

Harrison swallowed and Kennedy almost laughed that her father simply saying his name could cause such a strong reaction. This was a man he'd known his entire life. Though now things were different between them.

"Don't sneak my daughter out again," Donovan said. "Because if anything happened to her because we didn't know where you were, I'd come for you."

"Way to kill my first date vibe," Kennedy said.

Donovan smiled at her. "Love you, Cadet."

"Sure you do."

Kennedy dragged Harrison away before her mother could add something that could completely traumatize Harrison as well. She still remembered the terror they'd instilled in her first Homecoming Dance date. He looked as if he were going to wet himself with fear.

When they got out of the diner, Harrison glanced back once.

"I forgot how terrifying your parents could be," he said.

"Yeah but they like you so you don't need to worry. Well, not more than necessary."

Harrison managed to laugh and squeezed her hand.

At her apartment door, Kennedy paused in the doorway and looked at Harrison. Her parents were intimidating and that was a facet he might not have thought about when getting into her relationship with her. Were they scary enough to eventually whittle a break between them?

"So first date and my parents threatened you," Kennedy said. "Still thinking of that lifetime-marriage-till-the-end-of-our-days plan?"

In answer, Harrison kissed her.

When he pulled back, he gazed into her eyes. "Of course. I can't live without my best friend."

**********************************************************************

Say it with me: awwwww! 🥰

If you didn't say it then... *pulls on lab coat and wraps hands around the stethoscope hanging on my neck* I have bad news for you... You don't have a heart.

Shocking how many people live these days without the vital organ but that seems to be the way. If you didn't aww because it goes against every fiber of your being not to get pulled into the herd mentality... Well okay.

I gave you a first date, you know what that means right? *slaps away the ice cream cone* Not that, I want your thoughts on it! 💬🗯💭🥰

*quickly saves ice cream cone*

You know, can't let a good thing go to waste.

I always find it funny writing these two because they are so... Not Carter and Donovan. Which is a good thing but it always surprises me how more down to earth, more average human beings they are.

Makes sense they aren't coming to life with barrage that has to be checked. Instead they have a small carry-on that will easily stored in an overhead compartment. What wonders!

I usually write damaged characters so it's funny that they are more normal.

Any-diddly-doo I hope you liked it! If not go ahead and put all those dislikes into a duffel bag and ship them off cause I already got enough baggage of my own, don't need to add more!

Yay!! I've written that baggage analogy to death! That means it's time for me to leave!

And time for you to leave a vote, comment, follow!

Because everyone needed this in their life!