Kids Inc | Kiss Me [4]: Celebration

[luxken27fics]

Title: Kiss Me
Author: luxken27
Fandom: Kids Incorporated
Universe: Canon (Season 3+)
Genre: Friendship, Romance
Rating: T
Summary: Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss…and sometimes it means so much more. Seven pivotal moments that defined Stacy’s life and shaped her perceptions of love. A Valentine’s Day ficlet serial.

Author’s Note: Based on prompts chosen from challenge set one at 7snogs. Each ficlet can stand alone as well as be read into the context of a larger story.

DISCLAIMER: The Kids Incorporated concept, storyline, and characters are © 1984 – 1993 Thomas Lynch/Gary Biller/MGM Television/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/Disney Channel. Any resemblance to any person currently living or deceased is unintended (aka, I am writing about the characters, not the actors who portray them). No money is being made from the creation of this material. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Prompt #4: Celebration
Word Count: 1,687
Universe: Season 5

~*~
Stacy gripped the wheel with white-knuckle force. “I’m really, really nervous,” she admitted, turning a guilty glance to her right.

Ryan smiled patiently from the passenger’s seat. “Don’t be,” he advised, fastening his seatbelt. “Just try to relax.”

Easier said than done, Stacy thought to herself, dragging her gaze back to the dashboard. She eyed the dials and instruments doubtfully, everything she’d learned about driving flying right out the window. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” she mused aloud. “Your car is totally different from the one at school…”

A warm hand landed on her shoulder, heat curling through her body at the sudden, reassuring touch. “We don’t have to do this, you know,” Ryan reminded her. “You’re the one who wanted to learn how to drive a stick shift.”

“And you’re the only person I know who does,” Stacy murmured in conclusion. Though maybe she had expected to the contrary, it was really not helping matters that she’d secretly been carrying a torch for him for last three years. He was just about the last person she wanted to embarrass herself in front of, even if they were friends.

“How did I get so lucky?” he teased wryly, squeezing her shoulder. “Look, I promise – this will all be much easier if you just take a deep breath, and try to relax. You passed the permit test, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

He smiled. “Then you already know how to drive, so stop overthinking it. All you need is a little confidence.”

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, lifting her gaze to meet his. “You really think I can do this?”

Mirth sparkled in his dark green eyes. “I certainly hope so,” he replied airily. “I wasn’t intending to spend my entire Saturday afternoon giving you a driving lesson.”

The growing knot in her stomach tightened, a feeling she was all too used to having around him. “Got a hot date tonight?” she queried, trying to redirect her disappointment with false cheer.

He laughed. “No,” he responded, “but I would like to make it back into the city before nightfall.” He pulled away, settling back into his seat, turning his eyes to the country scenery that surrounded them. He’d brought them out here because of the nice stretch of open highway, yes, but also because it was not a heavily traveled road.

Stacy had been just as grateful for his foresight as she was about the prospect of spending time alone with him. Now, she wasn’t so sure…

Tentatively, she reached for the key, turning it in the ignition. “Good,” Ryan murmured from the seat beside her. “Now, just remember a few things: keep an eye on your tachometer, listen to the engine, and you’ll know when to shift gears.”

“I will?” she asked skeptically, prying one white-knuckled hand from the steering wheel and resting it on the stick shift.

“You will,” he reassured her, laying his left hand over hers, igniting a current of electric heat that snaked pleasantly up her arm and through her body. “You’ll feel it.”

She blushed, swallowing hard as she nodded in response. “Okay then,” she finally managed to choke out, dragging her eyes away from their joined hands, “here goes nothing.”

Carefully, she pressed the gas while easing her left foot off the clutch, yelping a little in surprise when the car started rolling forward. “Keep going,” Ryan encouraged, sitting up a bit straighter in his seat, his eyes focused on the street ahead of them. “Give it some more gas.”

Stacy complied, clutching the steering wheel with one hand and the gearshift with the other, so nervous she could barely breathe, much less keep all of his instructions in mind. Her eyes darted from the dashboard to the street to her rearview mirror, and she was startled when Ryan’s hand moved over hers, jerking the gearshift down into second.

“Clutch!” he directed sharply, wincing as he felt the gears grinding under their hands. The car lurched, and Stacy hit the brakes, both feet pressing the pedals as far back as they would go, bringing the car to an immediate halt.

Ryan took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said, gently moving the shifter back into first. “Let’s try this again. Remember that every time you shift gears, you need to use the clutch.”

Stacy nodded wordlessly, absolutely mortified. “I’m not going to hurt your car, am I?” she whispered after a moment.

“No way,” Ryan said swiftly, squeezing the hand still under his on the stick shift. “This thing is a tank. You’re not going to hurt it.”

She nodded again, taking a deep breath of her own. “Okay,” she said after a moment. “I’m ready.”

She started again, full of determination, easing one foot onto the gas and the other off of the clutch. Ryan watched carefully over her shoulder, directing her when to shift gears, reminding her to use the clutch, his hand guiding hers on the gearshift.

Slowly, Stacy began to relax, her grip on the wheel lessening as her confidence bolstered. The highway was straight and flat in front of them; it was easy to attune herself to the car, listening and feeling and training herself to shift naturally. She stopped and started several times, gliding on and off the shoulder with growing ease.

Eventually, Ryan lifted his hand from hers, his arms drifting behind his head as he settled back in his seat. “See?” he pointed out after awhile, turning his eyes to the pleasantly passing scenery. “It’s not that hard.”

“No,” Stacy agreed with a smile. “It’s…kinda fun!”

Ryan chuckled. “Well then – onward!” he encouraged with a wave of his hand. “Let’s find out what’s at the end of this highway.”

Stacy grinned, a sudden feeling of wicked recklessness washing over her. She pressed down on the gas, expertly shifting into fifth gear as the car picked up speed. Soon enough, they were careening down the open road, the radio blasting between them. Ryan had found an old pair of sunglasses and donned them, singing along with the old beach tunes from the classic rock station.

Suddenly, Ryan sat up straight. “Watch out!” he cried, cutting off the radio abruptly.

Stacy, who’d mostly been paying attention to him instead of the road, looked up, her jaw dropping with horror as the ROAD CLOSED sign loomed ever closer. She slammed on the brakes, her left foot pressing the clutch all the way to the floor, and screamed when she realized the car wasn’t going to stop in time.

Ryan grabbed the wheel and jerked it hard to the right, the car squealing in protest as it spun out onto the sandy shoulder. For one interminable moment, Stacy couldn’t breathe, a horrible, sudden silence filling her ears.

“Are you okay?” called a voice, sounding as if it was on the other end of a very long tunnel.

Stacy opened her eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks as she stared at her violently trembling hands, still clutching the wheel. She exhaled sharply, her breath jagged in her chest as adrenaline coursed through her body.

“Stacy,” came a voice – Ryan’s voice – from her right. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” she managed to choke out, taking several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down. She had only just unfastened her seatbelt when she felt her car door open and arms reaching inside to pull her out.

“Jesus, Stace,” Ryan breathed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

Any semblance of pulling herself together vanished as she clung to him, tears cascading down her cheeks as she buried her face in his shoulder. He held her close, one arm secure around her waist while the other rubbed soothing circles over the planes of her back. He continued to apologize softly, directing his words into her hair.

As her tears slowed and her panic lessened, Stacy became very aware of just how very close they were standing, and a fresh wave of mortification washed through her. “This is all my fault,” she moaned, reluctantly letting him go and covering her face with her hands.

“No, it’s not,” Ryan said insistently. “I’m just as much to blame as you are. If I had been paying attention…”

Stacy let his words trail off, feeling her entire body heat as she fought through conflicting emotions – at being so close to him, and yet being so embarrassed about getting them into an accident; at wanting nothing more to lean into his still-unyielding embrace, and yet not wanting to receive only more of his pity.

She’d wanted to learn how to drive his car in order to impress him, and now he’d never think of her as anything other than a stupid kid.

“I was the one behind the wheel,” she said finally, drawing away from him. “It’s my responsibility.”

Ryan chuckled lightly, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Stacy, you’re adorable,” he declared. “We’re both in one piece, and the car is fine. It was just a little accident.”

She chanced glancing up at him. “So you don’t think I’m a stupid kid?” she asked, her voice small but hopeful, hyperaware of the way he continued to fidget with her hair.

“You’re not stupid, Stace,” he replied softly, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly as he studied her. “And you’re not a kid.”

Before she could place it, she felt him lean forward, his hand cupping the back of her neck as his lips brushed against hers. Her heart skipped a beat, shock coursing through her at the unexpectedly impulsive move, but she fought through it, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him, anything to prolong this long-awaited but never-anticipated intimacy.

Finally, he pulled away, his dark emerald eyes searching hers for a long moment. “I think I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he admitted, a shy smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Not nearly as long as I’ve wanted you to, Stacy thought, her own smile growing to match his.

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