But If You Forget To Reblog Madame Zeroni, You And Your Family Will Be Cursed For Always And Eternity.

“But if you forget to reblog Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity.”

Rick's uncle probably: you don't deserve happiness.

Rick: okay, I believe you

Rick's brain probably: your never gonna be happy

Rick: okay, I believe you.

Beth: *exists*

Rick's heart: Op.

in whatever manner it comes, love is never wrong. especially between 

Paper Airplanes and Face Masks (Hournite)

Summary: Beth has Rick over for the night and is determined to get him in a face mask.

Warnings: Mild allusions to abusive gardian.

Category: Fluff

Note: this is my first attempt at fanfiction, please leave your thought about it below:)

Training lasted longer than usual that day. By the time it was over, the sun was already saying goodbye and slowly receded to the west. Pat had tried his best to make the obstacles more difficult in an effort to mirror what he believed was to come in the battles ahead.

The new JSA tried their best to work with and without their abilities, all while trying to work together as a team. It was challenging to say the least, not many of them had much experience working with others.

Curly blonde locks stuck to Courtney's face as she asked Yolanda if she needed to be driven home. The other girl thankfully accepted the offer before running off to grab her things.

Pat, hearing he was now driving Yolanda, went to the next girl who had no mode of transportation.

"Do you need a ride?" He asked Beth who faced away from him, her eyes instead on the boy leaning on the entrance of the building.

"Oh, no thank you." she replied sweetly.

"Okay, just make sure to get home safe." the man instructed, making his voice loud enough for the boy to hear him as well.

Rick turned his head to Pat, giving him a single nod before pushing himself off the wall and walking out toward the road.

"Will do Mr. Dugan." Beth replied brightly before briskly walking in the direction of the boy, goggles slung around her neck, the straps of her backpack gripped in broth her hands.

She found him standing still outside of the building, staring at his path home with a scowl.

He wasn't all that fond of going back to his house, knowing who would be there when he arrived, though with the hourglass he would be able to defend himself if need be. He quickly found himself sinking into his own mind, the multitude of reasons why that was a very bad idea taking over his thoughts.

His dark thought process was interrupted by a hand delicately brushing against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked in her sweet, yet concerned voice.

Rick nodded curtly and turned his gaze to the ray of sunshine beside him. Beth wore her wide smile and big doe eyes, wearing him down and making him want to tell her everything.

But he didn't, thinking better of it.

"I'm just getting ready to walk home."

"Me too!" she shook her head eagerly.

He nodded once more, awkwardly, in a gesture of understanding.

The two stood in a thick silence, Beth's hands were now shoved deep in her jean pockets as she contemplated opening her mouth again.

Rick began to walk in the direction of his house when Beth let out a quick, "Do you want to come over to my house?"

The boy stilled wondering if Beth had actually offered.

"I mean, you can if you want to. My parents are working tonight, and tomorrow night, and most nights. They've been doing that a lot recently." she laughed in an attempt to hide her sadness.

"It's getting dark, my uncle won't like me out for so long."

He heard the girl shuffle closer.

"You know, if he tries anything, Pat can always take his robot and exchange some...words," she tried. "Or any of us could suit up and do it. Not just for this, just any time you need."

Rick almost laughed, the image of Beth in her costume coming to his door to threaten his uncle, huge goggles and all, entering his head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm still not sure that's the best ide-" he stopped himself at the sight of Beth, shoulders slumped, but eyes still bright as ever.

He realized in that moment that she was just like him, lonely and in need of some company.

"Umm...maybe just for tonight." he gave in.

"Yes!" Beth squealed excitedly, hooking her arm through his and turning them in the direction of her house.

As they walked, Beth rattled on about everything from homework to superheroes. Rick had to hold back the smile that threatened to make it's way onto his face at the sound of her enthusiasm.

They made it to Beth's house quite quickly. The girl unlinked their arms and began to rummage through her bag in searched of her keys. Rick wouldn't admit his disappointment at the lack of contact, but he would make note of how he suddenly felt the warmth leave his body when Beth pulled away.

They entered into darkness, no one was home and all the lights were off, Beth haphazardly used her hand to search the wall beside her for the light switch. As she flicked it on, brightness washed over the two. Rick squinted his eyes at the sudden intrusion of light.

"Okay, you can put your stuff here, or you can take it to my room, or just keep it with you. Whatever you want to do." Beth supplied as she began speeding to her kitchen. "Alright, what kind of snacks do you like? We have a bit of everything, sweet, sour, savory. Unless you wanted some dinner, I should have some leftovers from the other day that I could heat up for you." she offered.

"No thanks."

"Are you sure, I have cookies." she called, walking out of the kitchen and holding a clear container filled with some cookies she had caught Rick eyeing the day prior.

This time he couldn't stop his lips from turning upward in a small grin, he nodded his head.

Beth pumped her fist in the air before grabbing Rick's arm and dragging him to her room. She plopped down on her bed opening the container and taking a bite out of the sweet.

"So what do you want to do first?" she questioned, extending the box for Rick to take from. "We can do homework, watch a movie, Chuck has this great karaoke setting-" she gasped. " Ooh, we can do face masks. I was going to do them with Court and Yolanda next weekend but there's no time like the present."

"No."

"What why?"

"Cause I don't want you putting anything on my face."

"But it'll be fun." she tried.

"Nope. Let's just finish the homework and then you can pick a movie." Rick countered.

" How about we finish the homework and then we do face masks."

"Not happening."

"I can help you," she sang "and Chuck knows all the answers."

"Still no." Rick shook his head calmly.

Beth's shoulders slumped but she soon fixed her posture and shrugged. She grabbed her backpack from the side of her bed. She shuffled through it and pulled out her folder full of assignments. She grasped her geometry packet and began working on it. Rick sat down at the foot of the bed, he too got out the homework and began start on the page.

They worked in mostly silence for half an hour, Beth occasionally looking to Chuck for guidance, earning a long and extremely detailed account of every question and answer she asked about. Rick tried his best to focus on the paper in front of him, but he was just plain disinterested in the numbers, letters, and shapes on the page. He instead opted to scribble down the first answers that came to his mind, accuracy be damned, just wanting to finish as soon as possible.

He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to restore the little energy he had before taking out the assignment to no avail. When he looked back to the work, he was surprised to see a paper airplane made out of a sticky note set on top of his work.

He stared at the small plane in front of him before turning his gaze to Beth who was laying on her bed, appearing to be concentrated on the packet on her bed, tapping her pencil on the comforter as she looked over the page.

Rick moved his eyes back to the paper airplane, gingerly unfolding the wings to see in neat handwriting the words,

Face mask plz:)

He snapped his head to the girl who's face was now hidden behind her folder. She peeked her head out shyly only to see Rick rolling his eyes playfully and once again shaking his head no.

Turning his attention back to his homework, Rick wrote down the solutions to three more problems before an airplane landed on his lap.

He haphazardly opened the paper up to read the words,

Please. It'll be really fun. Please.

Before Rick had the chance to reply with a no, yet another airplane cascaded across his field of vision landing just beside his shoe. He leaned to pick it up and undid the neatly folded paper.

Pretty please with cookies on top?

Rick furrowed his brows and turned his body to face to girl, who was now at the foot of the bed, her chin was resting atop the box of cookies from before. Her big eyes and hopeful smile pleaded with him to reconsider.

He caved.

He let his head fall to his chest and pinched the bridge of his nose. He raised one hand and lifted his index finger.

"Once, we do this once."

Beth's entire face lit up as she squealed "Yay!" dashing off her bed she leaned down to give Rick a quick hug before running to get the supplies from her bathroom.

Rick begrudgingly made his way over to the side of her bed and sat down uncomfortably. But if he was being honest, he would do this a thousand times just to see the overjoyed expression that overtook her features at his compliance.

She returned holding a tube in one hand and a brush in another. Rick guessed to brush would be used to apply the mask.

"Okay, you ready?" she asked, popping open the cap and squeezing out a dollop of the mixture onto the brush.

"Why is it green?" Rick interrogated.

"Because it's matcha." Beth said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. At Rick's confused face she explained sweetly, "it's a type of green tea that's really popular to use in face masks."

He nodded cautiously as Beth stepped closer to him. She was directly in front of him as she softly touched the brush to his face. He hissed and pulled back quickly.

"Why is it cold?"

"It's not necessarily that it's cold. It's just that you're hot." Rick's eyebrows shot up. Beth didn't even realize what she had said until he made the gesture. "I didn't mean it like that! Not that you're not, it's just that- ugh, I meant body temperature. The average human body is between 97 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit and this," she held up the face mask tube, "is very much below that temperature." she rambled. "Besides, would you rather this be warm?"

Rick just stayed silent.

Beth gently brushed all around his face, sometimes imploring him to stop scrunching up his face. Rick hated to say it, but it was actually kind of relaxing. There weren't many times where someone tried to take care of him for a change.

"Alrighty, all done." the girl announced, removing the brush from his face and stepping back.

"How long do I have to keep this on for?"

"Until it's completely dry."

"And when is that?"

"Ummm..." Beth searched for an answer. " once it's hard to smile, you should be good to wash it off."

"I don't smile."

"I'm well aware, you can just wait till I take mine off."

She moved over to her mirror and began applying the mask to herself.

"I feel like an idiot." Rick complained.

"You are not, you look super cute!" Beth chided.

"I'm not sure if that's worse."

The boy watched her apply the mask all over her face, he couldn't control the expression of love and adoration that graced his face as he observed her.

He stayed like that for God knows how long until Beth turned to fully face him. He could say with the utmost confidence it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his life. Her face was green like his and a wide smile lit up her face.

There was no denying the smitten appearance he held as he gazed at Beth.

He was ripped from his trance when he heard the snap of Beth's phone camera. She smiled cheekily and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Beth." Rick began dangerously. "Don't do it Beth." already knowing she would share the photo.

"Just let me send it to Court and Yolanda." she pleaded.

"No, Beth."

Beth gripped her phone tightly behind her back as her eyes wandered to her open room door. Rick saw the plan forming in her mind and raced to beat her to the door. She ducked under his arm and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Rick knocked on the door frantically, "Come on, Beth. What's the point?"

"The point is you look adorable and that is not something that should be hidden from the world. And by world I mean the team." she called from behind the door.

"Beth Chapel I will turn this hourglass over right now and take this door off it's hinges." he said in an attempt to sound threatening.

"We both know you won't," Beth stated matter of factly.

"Dammit." Rick grit his teeth knowing she was right.

He heard the door unlock behind him, Beth wore a wide grin. He groaned, knowing he was completely incapable of actually being mad at her.

"Was it at least a good picture?" he asked, defeated.

"You tell me," Beth instructed, handing over her phone to the boy before slipping past him and back to her room.

The screen showed a picture of Rick, covered in a green face mask. But that's not what really got him. Plastered on his face clear as day was a lovestruck expression that could rival that of Beth's favorite rom-coms.

He sighed, accepting his fate. There would for sure be hell to pay the next day. He was certain Courtney and Yolanda would never let him live it down. But at the moment he wasn't to bothered.

"Is it okay if I put on 'The Breakfast Club'?" He heard from the other room. He lowered the phone and walked back to the room, prepared to spend the rest of the night with the adorable being that was Beth Chapel.

The End ♡

Again I will reiterate, this is my first time posting a fanfic so I would really appreciate some positive feedback, or if there was something you saw that you didn't really like please leave it in the comments, politely please. I am but an emotionally fragile egg trying my best. If you want to see more hournite oneshots or headcanons let me know. Thanks

Sincerely, Tessa.

Rick: I'm a bad*ss b*tch, I feel nothing, I get into fights, I'm a real tough guy.

Beth: *Breaths*

Rick:💕💕💕😘😘😘🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍☺☺☺☺

Movie Nights and Pillow Forts. (Hournite)

Summary: The team has a movie night and Beth and Rick share a pillow fort.

Warning: None

Categorie: Fluff

Read notes at the end.

The week had been hectic for the new JSA, fourteen tests collectively, a fitness gram in Beth's gym class, six late assignments for Rick, and sleep deprived Courtney and Yolanda were not having any good times. And that's not even mentioning the ISA and their mysterious plans.

Pat tried to take it easy on them during training, his parental instincts telling him something was wrong.

As they walked into Pit Stop for their training session on Friday, they found the training room to be void of equipment. No half made puppets of the ISA, no punching bags or targets to aim at.

The team gave Pat a questioning look and he explained himself.

"We're gonna try something different. You guys have had a hard week and over exerting yourselves isn't helping anyone out in the long run. So you're gonna take it easy for today."

"Thanks dad," Yolanda and Rick joked.

"So what are we going to do?" Courtney questioned.

"Just some easy team building excercises. You all have to feel just as comfortable being together as you do being apart."

"We do," Beth defended brightly, but shrunk at how everyone stared at her. "at least, I do."

"Yeah, no thanks. Team building excercises? This isn't summer camp and I'm not three." Rick stated.

"Be nice, Pat's just trying to help." Beth chided.

Rick rolled his eyes but complied.

"So what did you have in mind?" Yolanda requested.

"Well, just something easy, hopefully that you'll find fun. Get you guys a little de-stressd."

"Pillow forts!" Beth exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rick turned to her.

"Pillow Forts. I never had any friends to make pillow forts or have sleepovers with, but they always seemed super fun to make." she explained brightly, not even realizing the sadness in that statement.

Rick's heart hurt at the underlying weight of the words she didn't even realize was there. He understood what it was like to feel alone. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand but he didn't.

Courtney smiled at the girl and said, "I think that's a great idea, we could build them together as a team-"

"And Chuck could project a movie while we're inside. We could totally have a sleepover." Beth proposed.

"And where are going to get pillows to make the forts, this is a car shop not a mattress firm." Yolanda brought up.

"Pat can go home and get stuff." Courtney offered.

The team looked to Pat, the girls had pleading eyes and Rick looked plain uninterested.

"I don't see why not." Pat said.

Smiles took over the girls' faces and Courtney highfived her friends.

"Ooh, and I could get snacks from my house. Just get on comms and tell me what you guys want." Beth offered. "Of course, if you're willing to drop me off, Mr. Dugan." she said sheepishly.

"Sure, kiddo."

"Yay!"

"Okay, well, let's get going. Court, I'll tell your mom you're staying over at a friend's house, the rest of you call your parents and let them know you'll be out."

"It's fine, my parents probably won't even notice I'm gone." Yolanda grumbled bitterly.

"Same here," Beth chided. "They work at night a lot now that I'm older."

Rick stayed silent, wondering if his uncle would come home at all that night. Not that he'd bother to check on the boy.

"Okay, well be back soon," Beth smiled, grabbing her goggles our of her bag and running out the door to catch up with Pat who had already gone outside.

The three teens stood in silence for a bit before Courtney and Yolanda started looking for good spots to set up their fort.

"Don't forget comms," Courtney reminded before turning hers on.

Yolanda and Rick followed her example and were met with Beth's voice.

"Alright, we're almost at my house, what movie were you guys thinking of watching?"

"Umm, we're not really sure, what can Chuck play?" Courtney replied.

"He can do anything really, oh wait, okay, anything but badly done historical drama or science fiction. He prefers something more accurate."

"But isn't the entire point of both those genes the fact that they're dramatic and fictional?" Rick queried.

"Chuck says some stuff just goes too off the charts. It's more the inaccuracy that irks him. What about something from the 80's, that's always fun. Maybe something like The Breakfast Club, or Heathers." she proposed.

"Nah, not Heathers. That Kurt guy was a real asshole." Rick chided.

Courtney and Yolanda turned to him in confusion, surprised he knew anything about the dark teen drama.

Rick simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, we're at my house, gimme a minute while I look for my keys. Be right back." Beth said before their connection cut out.

"Kurt was an asshole?" Yolanda prodded

"What?" Rick defended. "Beth told me a bit about the movie."

Courtney snickered.

"You shouldn't say profanities around Beth. It would be a shame if her Prince Charming was a bad influence."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rick interrogated

"Nothing," Courtney shrugged before giving Yolanda a knowing look.

"What?" Rick pushed.

The girls only shook their heads. He was about to say something else when Beth came back online.

"Hey guys, sorry, I kept dropping my keys. What do you guys feel like. There's a ton of chips. And some chocolates. Ooh, I found a huge bag of candy from Halloween. It's still closed!"

"Uh-" Courtney was interrupted.

"Popcorn is a must." Beth added before the sound of something being placed in a bag took over the coms.

"Are you just taking everything?" Yolanda asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." Beth confirmed. "And Pat shouldn't be back for another fifteen minutes so I should have time to grab some pajamas."

"Oh, that's smart. We're just going to be sleeping in our school clothes." Courtney stated.

"Actually, I have some clean gym clothes in my bag, a few shirts and a couple pairs of shorts. You can borrow some." Yolanda supplied.

"What about you, Rick?" Beth spoke.

"It's fine."

"No, come on, we're all gonna have something to wear. I'm sure I can find something, or maybe Pat can get you some clothes."

"It's okay, really."

"Nope, too late, I already have clothes for us."

"How are you so fast?" Courtney wondered aloud.

"I'm magical." Beth joked.

Rick almost said 'yes, you are.' But pushed that thought down to the furthest reaches of his soul.

"Maybe something scary?" Yolanda said.

"I'm not a huge fan of scary movies." Beth replied.

"What about a rom-com?" Courtney offered

"No way." Rick opposed.

"How about Twilight." Courtney said.

"No!" Rick and Yolanda exclaimed in unison.

"Harry Potter?"

"We don't stan JK these days." Beth expressed, earning a nod from Yolanda.

"How about a mystery movie?" Rick proposed for the first time.

"I'm unopposed." Yolanda declared.

"Me too," Courtney agreed.

"Okay, I'll if there's any mysteries Chuck reccomends. He says he likes Clue." Beth provided.

"Sounds good." Courtney replied

"Yeah, sure." Yolanda answered.

" M'kay," Rick added.

"I'll be back, I need to get the rest of my stuff."

"Rest of your stuff," Courtney began. "I thought you had everything, what else are you-"

"Bye guys!"

"-getting?"

Courtney quickly shrugged it off before guiding Yolanda to once again look for a place to set up their pillow fort.

Rick leaned against the table behind him until Pat and Beth got back a bit later.

The short girl came in wheeling a suitcase behind her.

"What do you have in there?" Yolanda was first to question.

"Food, clothes, nail polish, some toiletries, pillows, blankets. Just the basics."

"Isn't Pat already bringing blankets? That might be too many."

"We're making pillow forts, is there ever such a thing as too many blankets?"

"That's fair." Courtney input.

Pat came in, sliding a cardboard box against the floor.

"These are some covers we never unpacked and I have pillows in the car." The man announced.

"This is going to be so much fun." Beth proclaimed, opening her suitcase and pulling out five blankets. Two pillows that had been shoved inside sprung out and we're grabbed by the girl. "So, where are we making these?"

"Court and I decided we'd have a place over here," Yolanda pointed to a corner below the stairs. "And we would tie some of the blankets up and let them hang down and then we could space the sides out with the stools."

"Nice," Beth complimented. "How about you Rick?"

"Umm...I don't really know how to make a pillow fort." He stated plainly.

"Oh, that's okay, I can help you. I read up on it during the ride back."

Rick nodded his head curtly before standing up straight and allowing the girl in front of him to lead the way.

With arms crossed over his chest, the boy listened intently to Beth as she rattled on about all the different ways and places they could put up the fort. He felt strangely giddy at the amount of excitement in the girls voice.

The two settled on a spot next to Courtney and Yolanda, choosing a similar approach to the construction of the fort. Beth ran up the metal stairs and instructed Rick to toss up a blanket. She tied two of the ends around the rails of the walkway and repeated the steps until the fort had four 'walls'.

Beth ran down to Rick, who was tossing pillows inside the fort, taking an excited look at their creation.

"And for some added structure," the girl grabbed two foldable chairs from across the room, dragging them to the fort, placing them inside. She moved one back until it, and the fabric covering it, met Courtney and Yolanda's stool. She then moved the other side approximately the same distance on the side parallel.

Beth emerged from the fort all smiles. Rick embraced the slight smile that made it's way onto his face when he saw her ecstatic expression. She raised her hand to highfive him which he awkwardly returned.

Pat had sat watching the kids build their forts, happy that they were having fun, but stood when he realized it was getting dark.

"Okay, I'm gonna head home. Please, keep everything in one piece. And Court," Pat gave the blonde a pointed look, " the staff comes home with me."

"What?" Courtney, who had built her fort with the help of the staff, asked caught off guard

"Yes. I'm going home and it needs to come with me. It had to go back in its box for the night. I'm glad the two of you..." he struggled to find a word," bonded. But it needs to go back home."

"But Pat," Courtney groaned.

"No 'but pat's, it needs to go back home." he stated softly.

Courtney looked at the glowing stick that levitates next to her. She pouted, but moved her head in Pat's direction, signaling the staff to go with him.

"See you tomorrow," she told it.

"There's a mini fridge and a microwave in my office. Remember, one piece. Night kids, have fun." Pat chided as he walked out the door.

"Goodnight Mr. Dugan." Beth called.

When he drove off, the teens sat in silence before Beth spoke up.

"I'm gonna go heat up some popcorn. There's snacks in my bag and Rick, I brought some clothes for you to change into."

"Thanks." he said as she tossed a large t-shirt and pair of pajama pants in his direction.

Beth went into Pat's office to make to popcorn as Courtney and Yolanda settled into their pillow filled heaven, wrapping themselves in blankets and waiting for Beth to get the movie started.

Rick went in his fort and decided he might as well change into the clothes he was given.

He had just reached for the t-shirt when he heard the fabric pulled back.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Beth cried and turned away when she saw Rick was shirtless.

"It's, fine, what's up?" he asked masking his blush by pulling the shirt over his head.

"Um," Beth flushed. "I was just wondering if you wanted any popcorn. She said shaking the bag in her hand.

"No, I'm good, thanks though."

She simply nodded before uttering,

"Chuck's gonna start the movie soon."

"Kay."

Beth shuffled off to give the girls popcorn. Entering the tent she was greeted by Courtney and Yolanda saying, "Hey," in unison.

"I have popcorn." Beth sang.

"Ooh, yay." Courtney praised.

"Give," Yolanda said, making a grabbing motion with her hand and smiling happily.

Beth gladly complied, handing the bag over to the girls.

"I'm gonna get Chuck to start up the movie. Don't eat all the popcorn without me, I'll be right back."

The two girls nodded, grinning, and opened the popcorn.

Beth left the fort and got her goggles, placing them over her eyes.

"Ready Chuck?"

"Indeed."

"This is going to be great!"

Beth took off the goggles and pointed them at the wall across from her, gently placing the goggles on the floor as the opening credits began projecting on the wall.

She rushed back to the girls' fort and stepped inside to see Courtney trying to throw popcorn into Yolanda's mouth.

"Okay, it's on." Beth announced, loud enough for Rick to hear as well.

The girls moved closer to the opening of the fort and peeled back the opening to watch the movie.

They watched lazily, sometimes shifting to find a better way of sitting. Courtney and Yolanda carried on their own conversation as Beth painted Courtney's nails listening to the movie in the background.

As the girls waited for their nails to dry spoke to eachother lowly as to not disturb Rick next to them.

Beth lightly tapped her nails to see if they were dry and Courtney and Yolanda shared a teasing look.

"Do you think he's lonely over there?" Yolanda asked Courtney, just loud enough for Beth to hear.

"I'm sure he's fine." Courtney continued

"I don't know, maybe someone should check on him?"

The two turned to Beth with a knowing look.

"I'll do it," she offered immediately. "Yeah, it's not right for him to be all alone."

She rose from her position and stepped over pillows to leave the fort. She quietly walked over to his fort, hearing Courtney and Yolanda's quiet giggles behind her.

The front Rick's fort was a little open. Beth walked to the side and pulled the blanket back.

"Knock, knock." Beth spoke

"Hey," he greeted.

"I thought you may be lonely. Well, Court and Yolanda thought, but I wanted to see if you needed company. So I can stay. Only if you want me to of course." she rambled.

"Yeah, sure." Rick responded softly, scooting over and patting the spot next to him. She gladly entered and took her place next to him.

Her legs were crisscrossed and she twiddled her fingers, appreciating the glittery polish on her nails.

Rick turned to her, a smirk on his face.

"Thanks for making this with me," he gestured to the fort around them. "It was...surprisingly fun."

"Told you." Beth gloated, bumping her shoulder to his.

"Yeah, you did." Rick said under his breath as he gazed at her. He admired her eyes, the way the light reflected off of them. Rick inhaled sharply before taking a leap of faith.

He draped his arm across her shoulders to test the waters.

She quickly moved closer and laid her head on his chest. A wide smile graced his face, she didn't notice though, focusing all her energy to prevent the blood rushing to her face. She failed.

They stayed in that position until the movie ended.

Rick was half asleep by the time the credits finished rolling. He was snapped awake by Beth moving from her position and making a move to leave the fort.

"Where are you going?" He whispered.

"I'm gonna change then go to sleep in the girls' tent. And of course say goodnight to Chuck."

"Oh," he responded, trying not to let his disappointment peek through. "Okay. Goodnight."

"Night." she smiled and left the fort.

Rick frowned but perked up just a bit when her heard Beth's sweet voice say goodnight to the goggles. He thought it was adorable how much she cared about the AI in those goggles.

He layed back and tried to fall asleep but soon realized it was much more difficult when Beth wasn't in close proximity. He ran his fingers through his hair frustratedly and tried to build up enough courage to just ask Beth to stay with him that night.

But he quickly found he didn't have to. As if the universe heard him, he saw Beth cautiously lift up the opening of his fort.

She looked sheepish as she met his eyes.

"Courtney and Yolanda are hogging all the space inside. Would it be alright if I could, maybe, stay here. It's up to you." she questioned quickly.

Rick nodded his head as apathetically as he could, when on the inside he was absolutely thrilled.

Beth slowly stepped into their fort. Rick made note of the oversized black t-shirt she wore that fell over her light green pajama pants.

She layed down facing the opposite direction as he did, but bot could still feel the body heat radiating off the back of the other.

"You know the reason Court and Yolanda sent you over here was probably so they could have the tent all to themselves." Rick stated.

Beth thought about it for a minute before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness. I was worried they were getting tired of me. Phew."

"Why would they get tired of you?"

"Everyone does at some point. Even if it's just for a little bit."

"Hey," Rick said darkly. "I'm never gonna get tired of you. Ever. Not even for a little bit. You understand?" He asked with a seriousness yet softness she didn't see often.

She nodded her head, hoping he could understand the gesture even if he wasn't looking at her.

Beth moved back until she made contact with Rick. Their backs were pressed up against eachother and they both found comfort in the warmth of the other.

Beth lay frozen, worried about if Rick was okay with the contact, but her worries were soon relieved when she felt Rick's hand reach for hers.

They interlocked their fingers, still not looking at one another, before they both fell into a peaceful sleep.

...

Rick woke up to light streaming through the covers of the fort and the sound of giggling.

He looked to the source of the noise to see Beth and Yolanda holding the blankets open.

"What?" He asked groggily.

They only giggled more.

That's when he registered the weight that covered half his body. Beth was practically on top of him, her face snuggled in his chest.

Rick's eyes widened and his system was shocked awake. He heard Courtney smack her hand over her mouth to muffled her laugh at the sight of the boy.

"Pat's going to be here in half an hour. We need to take everything down." Yolanda supplied.

Rick nodded his head tiredly and the girls walked away, letting the blankets drop behind them.

Rick gazed down at Beth, angry with himself for liking their position so much. He groaned internally as he tried figuring out how to wake Beth up.

He gently tried to move her off of him, laying her just beside him.

"Beth, you have to wake up." He tried softly, lightly shaking her shoulder.

She groaned, but complied, blinking several times.

"Pat's gonna be here soon, we have to start taking everything down."

Beth frowned.

"But it's Saturday, can't we just stay here for a few more...hours?" She proposed.

Rick chuckled softly at her question but shook his head.

"It's already light out, my uncle probably knows I'm gone." the boy grimaced.

"I wish you could just live with one of us."

"Yeah me too," he whispered.

Beth propped herself up before crawling out of their fort.

Rick followed and saw she was heading up the stairs to untie to blankets. He saw the pout on her face as she undid the knots and watched the sheets fall to the floor.

"You know, maybe we can do this again sometime?" Rick called up, smiling when he saw Beth perk up.

The team worked together to undo everything and neatly organize their pillows and blankets. They all decided to change back into their clothes from the day before, Courtney and Rick returned their borrowed clothes.

Rick helped Beth stuff everything back into her suitcase and they finished just as Pat arrived.

"Hey guys, how was your night, good I hope?" he questioned.

"We had a really great time," Courtney confirmed. "Thanks for coming up with the idea, Beth."

"No problem, I always wanted to do something like this." the girl smiled.

"You guys ready to go?" Pat asked.

"Yeah, we're all set." Yolanda said.

Beth just nodded happily.

"Help me get everything in the back." the man directed.

Once everything was done, the girls began piling into the car.

"Rick, you coming?" Courtney asked.

"Oh, nah, I'm just going to walk home."

"You sure kid," Pat verified.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Aw, okay, talk to you later Rick," Beth came over and gave him a quick hug before retreating into the car.

Pat drove off and Rick waved goodbye to the girls.

The boy turned and made his way home. As he walked, he thought of his interactions with Beth. He couldn't explain the flutter in his stomach when he saw her excited, or how naturally comfortable he felt by her side.

One thing he did know though, was that Beth made him happy. They could do anything from sitting in silence at lunch, to fighting crime, to sleeping in a pillow fort.

One thing was certain, Beth Chapel was a wonder, and Rick was all there for it.

The End.

Okay, that was my second hournite fic, i hope you liked it. I'm super lazy so i didn't edit it, so if there are any errors please let me know. I'm not sure if anyone picked up on the reference I made when Rick said Kurt Kelly was and a-hole. For those who didn't know, Cameron Gellman played Kurt Kelly in a television adaptation of Heather. I just thought it was something funny to throw in there. If you have and comments or criticisms, let me know in the comments. I sound like a YouTuber, lol. I hope everyone has a great day and if anyone has any prompts they'd like to see, let me know. That's all for today💕💕

Sincerely, Tessa.