Until You Met Me

“When did you buy a new sofa?”

Molly, who was pulling a sweatshirt over her head, quirked a small smile as she walked into the living room, finding Gerard smiling up at her cautiously from his spot on the sofa. It had been a weird few minutes. The tension that had filled the air between them from the moment Gerard had stepped into Molly’s apartment had dissipated at his admission that he wanted their relationship to change, but it had been replaced by uncertainty and awkwardness, something neither of them seemed able to shake. They were both relieved. They had both had their feelings bottled up for a while, and there was an immediate relief in finally letting them out, and knowing that they were reciprocated, but the prospect of their friendship changing was scary, and after the immediate moment of happiness that had followed hearing that they both felt the same way, the doubts had started to creep in, leaving them both unsure of what to say or do next.

“I didn’t buy it” Molly quipped “You really don’t recognise it?” she added, plopping into the space next to him.

Gerard’s eyes dipped to the sofa, in part to look at it again, and a little bit to avoid Molly’s eyes. “Am I supposed to recognise it?” he asked.

“I just thought you might” Molly replied “It was in my parent’s living room for a couple of years. Has it been that long since you went over there?” she prodded.

Gerard’s lips quirked upwards slightly into a slightly pained smile. “You’ve not exactly needed your stand-in date for a while” he quipped “It’s not been a year yet since you and Tiago broke up, and I am pretty sure that I avoided most of your parents’ parties when you were with him. I really got the sense that he didn’t love how well I knew them” he added.

Molly nodded her head in agreement, but didn’t say anything. It was one of many things about her friendship with Gerard that had bothered Tiago.

Gerard watched her for a moment, smiling slightly when she moved to twist her fingers in the material of her sweatshirt, before he gently reached out, pulling her hand into his. “I think we should wait a while before we tell people” he announced.

“People, or just our parents?” Molly’s answer was caught somewhere between teasing and shy, but it was accompanied with a smile that made Gerard laugh softly, relieved to see it.

“I mean people” Gerard quipped “But now that you mention it, I think we should keep it from our parents specifically. I don’t know what it’s going to be like. We might go on one date and decide it’s too weird, or it could be something...something really good, but until we’ve got a sense of it, I don’t think involving them would be a good idea. I am pretty convinced that they’ve been waiting for us to come home and say that we’re seeing each other since we were kids” he added.

“They have” Molly confirmed “My papa let it slip when he was drunk once” she added.

Gerard laughed, his thumb lightly tracing the back of her hand. “I am crazy about you, too” he said softly “I don’t think I said that earlier” he added.

Molly grinned down at their hands, her cheeks glowing pink. “I don’t know what to do now” she admitted.

“Well, I think we’re supposed to go on a date” Gerard chirped, flashing her an impish smile.

Molly rolled her eyes. “I had figured that out myself” she quipped.

“You asked what we do next” Gerard countered, holding his spare hand up innocently “That’s what we do” he added.

“And you’re not at all nervous about that?” Molly quipped, her expression softening a little.

Gerard’s hand squeezed hers gently when he saw the change on her face. “We did it once” he said.

“That doesn’t count” Molly argued “You knew it wasn’t a date. You were just your annoying self” she added.

“You mean charming” Gerard quipped with a grin.

“Gerard...”

“You were yourself, too” Gerard interrupted, sensing that Molly hadn’t appreciated his attempted joke. He knew why. They were talking about the prospect of risking their friendship to pursue something more between the two of them, and he knew that the joke would have made Molly think that he wasn’t taking it seriously, but he wanted to assure her that he was. He knew how big a risk it was, and whilst it did scare him, he knew it wasn’t a risk they could avoid any more. It was out there. Both of them had admitted to feeling something more than friendship, and as scary as the thought of it going wrong was, the thought of it going right was enough to convince him that they had to give it a chance.

Molly blinked a couple of times. “What?” she asked.

“You thought it was a date” Gerard clarified “You thought that Ava had set us up, and you were still yourself. You were maybe a little dazed, but you were you, and I think that it would be the same when we do it for real. Maybe we’ll be a little more nervous, but we’ll just counter that by choosing something we’d normally do. I think we’ll be able to handle it. I want to at least try to handle it” he added.

Molly searched his face for a moment, something which made Gerard smile nervously. “Is that a no?” he asked “I can call Ava. I am sure she’s got other guys she can set you up with” he added.

Molly’s expression brightened as she let out a laugh. “I’ve already told her that she needs to give it a rest for a while” she quipped.

“Because of me?” Gerard poked.

“Because I am pretty sure that, eventually, she’s going to set me up with someone she’s already set me up with” Molly replied.

Gerard let out a playfully indignant scoff, causing Molly to giggle. “I’d like to go on that date, Gerard” she said.

Gerard’s smirk softened into a warm smile. “I’d like to take you on it” he replied.