Archive of Our Own

“Are you sure this is going to be fine?”


There’s a tone of self-doubt that creeps into her voice that has Fezco snickering softly into the receiver of his phone. “C’mon now Lex, actin’ like you ain’t sleep over before.”


She sighs hella dramatically into her AirPods. “Yeah but like, that’s different. Like it’s one thing to fall asleep watching a movie with you and crawl into your bed at like, 3am when one of us wakes up, or to crash at yours when a party goes late. Tonight’s just like, a sleepover . Like I have with Rue sometimes.”


“So you can have a sleepover with yo’ other best friend, but not me?”


“That’s different,” she insists quietly. Fez can hear her picking through clothes in the basket of laundry he knows she never puts away. Her comfy clothes she calls them, shit she’d never wear outside her own house, or his now apparently. He tries not to think too much about when that changed.


“Why? ‘Cause you know Rue since preschool? It sure as hell ain’t ‘cause she a girl, heard you talk ‘bout wanting Sansa Stark to step on you too much fo’ that to be a reason.”


“I’m just saying, if Sophie and Joe ever were looking for a third, I’m down.”


Fezco laughs loudly at that, causing Ashtray to startle from his spot on the couch. A few months into his friendship with Lexi, Ash had wordlessly dropped a box of brand new AirPod Pros off onto the kitchen table one morning as Fez ate his Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, a silent plea to stop talkin’ on speakerphone all the damn time. It was all good ‘cause now Lexi didn’t need to worry ‘bout Ash havin’ shit to tease her for when she came over but to his own detriment ‘cause sometimes Lexi would say sumn unexpected and the responding laugh from Fez would scare the shit out of him. Fez was pretty sure the kid was still happy with his choice.


“And no, it’s not because Rue’s a girl. I used to have a crush on her, remember? It’s just… different .”


Fez hums in acknowledgement, not wantin’ to give voice to it either. He knows how he feels, and he knows how she feels, and that’s enough for now. For it being an instinct he’d long been warned against trustin’, fallin’ in love with Lexi hadn’t even taken any thought on his part. It was as natural as breathin’, the fuckin’ easiest shit he’d ever done. Maybe that's the shit his grandma had been warnin’ him ‘bout as a kid though, that no amount of observational skills would be enough to predict sumn as unpredictable as fallin’ in love. 

Shit, it ain’t like he even planned on fallin’ for Lexi to begin with. Sure, Lexi was the prettiest girl he’s ever seen, and he had no problem lettin’ her know that shit, ‘cause he owned it, but it wasn’t just her looks that had him in love with her. She had more brains than she knew what to do with, and she never spoke to him like he ain’t gonna understand sumn, just explained what he needed her to with patience. Lexi was fuckin’ kind , to him, to Ash, to Faye - takin’ care of his lil family like it’s been her’s all this time too. She was the best fuckin’ friend he’s ever had, and it might seem silly to everyone ‘tound them to not act on their feelings when it’s so obvious how they feel, but he ain’t in no rush to fuck ‘round with the best thing he got goin’ on right now.


“You gone be ready if I leave now, ma?” he asks, plucking his car keys off the hook as he signals for Ash to lock up behind him.


“More or less. Mom wants you to come to the door, so pull into the driveway.”


Fez chuckles at that. “Anything fo’ Suze. I’d offer to run to the dairy and get her that wine she like so much, but I ain’t tryna piss you off.”


“She’s done better lately,” Lexi replies quietly, the rustling in the background becoming more frequent. “I’m not going to be here tonight and god knows where Cassie is, maybe she deserves a bottle of Apothic Red to go with her Housewives binge.”


“You sure ‘bout that?” he asks as he unlocks the front door to his grandma’s Cadillac. “‘Cause the diary can be on the way. I’ll even text Faye to have the bottle ready fo’ me, she workin’ today.”


He can practically see Lexi shrug. “Yeah, what the hell. Might rescue you from the ‘ don't get my daughter pregnant’ talk even.”


“She still on ‘bout that?”


Lexi laughs softly in his ear. “Suze absolutely refuses to believe we’re not dating despite us, Rue, Cassie and even Ash telling her otherwise.”


Fez didn’t mind Suze Howard one bit, in fact he was honestly surprised with how cool she was with her seventeen year old spendin’ a majority of her free time with him this summer, knowin’ what she does about him and the family business. Suze surprised the hell out of him and Lexi the first time he came to the door to scoop Lexi up for some party they were headed to, asking after his grandma, mentioning his mom Erin, name and all, telling them they was classmates as kids. Of course there was the fact that her ex-husband had probably been a customer of Kitty’s before the stroke, Gus Howard not being a name Fez recognized by any means but becomin’ a face committed to memory to never sell to for Lexi’s sake.


“Aight. Imma go grab that and I be right over, better have yo’ ass ready to go.”


Lexi snorts. “You’re not going to leave me here. You invited me over, remember?”


“So what baby? Maybe I’ll ask Suze to sleep over instead, bet she’d be ready to go ‘fore you.”


He hangs up to the sound of Lexi’s giggles still ringing in his ears.

Fez pulls into the Howard’s driveway a solid twenty minutes after pulling out of his own, the quick stop at the dairy to produce a chilled bottle of the Apothic Red Suze favors adding several extra minutes to his time. The front door opens before he even gets to the step, a clear eyed Suze greeting him warmly and ushering him into the foyer while eyeing the bottle in his hand.


“That a bribe?” she questions, head dipping at the bottle he carries. “Because you already know I’m being awfully trusting of you two by letting Lexi spend the night when she’s insistent there’s nothing going on.”


Fez holds the bottle out in offering. “Nothin’ to worry ‘bout ma’am. We just gonna hang out with Ashtray and Faye tonight.”


“Whatever you say kid,” the older woman responds, taking the bottle from him. “ Apothic Red? This really is a bribe, O’Neill.”


“Nah, promise it ain’t. Was Lexi’s idea.”


Suze snorts, setting the bottle on the front table. “That doesn’t make me feel any better about it. Do I need to have the talk with you?”


Fez can feel his cheeks flush bright red, eyes flicking towards the stairsteps as if he can will Lexi coming down them and saving him from this conversation with her moms.


“I ain’t gone have sex wit’ yo’ daughter Ms. Howard. On god, it’s not like that with us, Lexi just my best friend.” It’s awkward and he stutters through half of it, like he ain’t had to deal with real fuckin’ gangsters before or nothin’, but it’s the truth.


He doesn’t get a chance to find out if the woman believes him, because suddenly Lexi comes bounding down the stairs, backpack over both shoulders as an extra large tote bag looks stuffed with her overnight things. She smiles brightly at the two of them as she walks to where they stand, hardly noticing when Fez reaches to her shoulder to grab the bulky tote, because it’s just second nature to them at this point - entirely muscle memory.


“What’s the backpack for?” he asks quietly as he shoulders her tote.


Lexi blinks up at him. “Oh, just my laptop and a few of my summer reading books. Thought I might have some time to work on something in the morning, you sleep like the dead Fezco.”


“C’mon now Lex, you know that ain’t true. Just like, when everyone’s home and safe and I ain’t gotta worry ‘bout nothin’.”


“Last time I crashed at yours it took me, Ash and Faye to get you up. Ash said he hasn’t seen you sleep so deep in forever,” she responds, lil grin spreading across her red lips.


Fez rubs a hand anxiously across his buzzed head. “Like I said, only when I ain’t got nothin’ to worry ‘bout. So like, never, pretty much.”


Neither of them even notice the way Suze watches the interaction with deep interest.


“This has happened more than once, Fez.”


“If you say so, ma.”


Lexi preens at the endearment before turning back towards her mom, allowing Suze to pull her into a quick hug, pressing her lips to her mom's cheek. The Howard women pull apart and Lexi’s quickly making for the front door, not interested in dawdling when she’s clearly got other places she wants to be. Suze pulls Fez into a quick hug of his own, unexpected but not unwelcomed, letting him go just as quickly, but not letting him walk away.


“I’m expecting you to take care of my girl Fezco. I try not to think too much about what type of business you have going on, but I trust you to keep Lexi safe from it.” It’s solemn and spoken in only a way a mother could deliver. 

Fez finds himself nodding immediately. “Wouldn’t dream ‘bout havin’ her ‘round any of it. Always gone do my best to keep Lexi far from it Ms. Howard. Issa priority, I promise.”


Suze smiles weakly. “Alright,” she sniffs before speaking louder as she walks Fez to the door where Lexi waits. “Don’t do anything stupid. I’m not ready to be a grandma yet.”


“Mom!” Lexi whines, face reddening as Fez stifles a laugh. “It’s not like that. He’s my -”


“- best friend. Yeah kid, I’ve heard it all before. Still going to remind you two to be smart.”


With one last goodbye, Suze effectively kicks them out with a gentle shove towards the waiting car, door locking with a click behind them. Lexi stands on her front walkway just staring at him for several long moments before she shakes her head and heads towards the car. Fezco manages to beat her to it, unlocking the passenger side door and grabs her backpack from her before openin’ the door and letting Lexi slide in. She dimples up at him as he hands her the backpack like it’s precious cargo, which it kinda is considerin’ her laptop is in it, packed full of all her stories.


He’s rolled the windows down before they are even out of the neighborhood, cigarette in his mouth as Lexi leans over the center console to help him light it as he turns off her street. It’s practiced and intimate, the way they so easily fall into this lil routine of theirs as they head back to his place. Fezco fuckin’ savors every moment of it, even though he knows he’ll have this exact experience again.


“What did my mom say to you?” Lexi asks as she reaches over and plucks the cigarette from his mouth, taking a drag even though it makes her nose fuckin’ wrinkle up still. It’s prolly the hottest shit he’s ever seen, every single time it happens.


He snatches his cig back to a roll of Lexi’s eyes. “Ya know, just the normal. Wanna make sure yo’ ass is safe with me.”


“What did you say?”


“Why you wanna know?”


“Come on Fezco. It’s not like you told my mom anything bad .”


Fez laughs lowly in response. “Shit, you right. Tol’ her Imma keep you safe, that issa priority of mine.”


Lexi smiles soft and loving at him, before her face grows mischievous. He knows what she’s planning before she even gets a chance to do it, batting her hand away as she tries to steal his cigarette again.


“The fuck outta here Lexi. You can have one from the pack if yo’ ass really be wantin’ to smoke,” he says around a laugh when she reaches again.


Lexi pouts. “I don’t like it as much if I haven’t stolen it directly from you.”


“Good. This ain’t a habit you needa pick up anyways.” Fez reaches across the console and squeezes right above Lexi’s bare knee before she snatches his hand and flips it over to interlace their fingers.


“Can we order out for dinner later? I want to try that new ramen place on Crescent, Bobbi was raving about it the other day.”


Fezco squeezes her hand fondly. “Yeah baby, whatever you want.”

Fez can’t really remember the last time he had a real summer break, a time period to look forward to less responsibility like his peers did. It was probably back when he was still with Paulie, eating chicken fingers at the bar of one of the clubs his old man owned, having a never ending line of girls that worked there ruffling his hair and telling him he’d be a heartbreaker someday while he learned to maintain eye contact at nine years old. Even when he was still in high school he had the dairy, raising Ashtray, taking care of his sick grandma and upholdin’ her legacy to worry about, so time off from school just meant more time for something else.


Gettin’ to see Lexi let her hair down now that her junior year was over was a trip, the worry lines he’d been certain were becoming permanent between her brows meltin’ away as she settled into the ease of summer. It was almost like he gotta be a kid again too, if only for a few hours a couple of times a week. Messin’ ‘round at the dairy, goin’ to parties just for the fun of it, takin’ long ass drives ‘round East Highland with Lexi in the passenger seat. He didn’t know he could feel nostalgic fo’ shit that he ain’t even experience before, but somethin’ ‘bout doing all these things with Lexi made him feel like it was possible.


They’d scaled back on the dealing recently despite the reluctance of Laurie - Ash had gotten real good at that crypto shit of his, and their bank accounts were looking better than he ever thought they would. Another year or so, they’d be out the game fo’ good, plans to sell up with their debts paid and mortgage balance zero being made with every dollar they stash away. If the timin’ of it worked out with Lexi goin’ to college, he’d consider it a coincidence.


“I ate too much,” Lexi grumbles as she stretches out against the back of his grandma’s couch. She pats her stomach in a gesture that has Fez laughing at her antics.


Across from them, Ashtray flicks his chopstick wrapper at her, the piece of paper bouncing pathetically off Lexi’s knee. “You the one that ate a whole fuckin’ order of Shoyu, Howard.”


“So did you?” she counters, tilting her head up to where Fez sits beside her, hoping for back up. He just gives her a lazy grin as he lights a joint, blowing the smoke out of the side of his mouth as she rolls her eyes over his lack of response.


Ash snickers before stretching out across his own couch. “Yeah, but Imma growin’ boy Lex. I could eat the extra order you put in the fridge an’ still be hungry.”


“Don’t you dare. That’s for Faye.” Lexi protests it half heartedly, eyes growing tired like they always do when she eats too many carbs. He shoulda known she’d be ready for a food nap after she devoured her take out - she always is.


Fez nudges her with his shoulder. “You ready for bed already Lex?”


Lexi shakes her head but yawns anyway. “No, it’s like 8:30. I just had too many noodles. I’ll be fine.”


“Ain’t yo’ bedtime like 9pm anyway?” Ash interjects as he flips through the channels on the TV trying to find something for them to watch.


“No,” Lexi retorts quickly before thinking better of it. “Okay, so maybe that’s not entirely true during the school year. But it’s summer vacation.”


Ashtray glances over at Fez, lifting a single eyebrow before turning his attention back on Lexi, feigned nonchalance settling on to his face. “The fucks summer vacation?”


Lexi startles up from her spot, eyes tracking between the two brothers as if she’s trying to figure out if Ash is just fucking with her. He definitely is, but Fez ain’t gone be the one to tell her that, ‘sides watching his lil bro be comfortable enough to mess ‘round with his best girl made his heart fuckin’ happy. Ash ain’t ever really be comfortable with anyone else ‘sides him - even Rue and Faye were tolerated for Fez’s sake most the time.


“Are you fucking with me?”

“Nah, man. Fezco keeps me pretty busy all year ‘round,” the lil shit says it so seriously that even Fez believes him momentarily. “Ain’t hadda vacation ‘fore.”

Lexi side eyes Fez, as he’s failin’ miserably to bite back the grin that’s formin’ on his face. She attempts a glare but her eyes soften ‘round the edges when he gives her that toothy grin he’s reserved for just her since New Years. He's so in love with her that he feels like he might choke on it, the way it climbs up the back of his throat during moments like this, making its presence known in a visceral way compared to how it just always lingers under the surface of his skin. He wonders briefly if she feels it like this too in these moments - if it’s just as physical a feeling for Lexi as it is for him. Someday he’ll ask, once they have finally let the foundation settle on this relationship they’ve been buildin’ since that night on the couch and get to work on the framin’, putin’ together the life they’ve been planning for in whispered phone calls and lingering touches.


“Why do you think I’ve been around so much recently? Like, do you think I’m just skipping school or something?” Lexi asks Ash around a giggle, snapping Fez back to the conversation at hand.


The kid holds his hands up innocently, keepin’ his charade up longer. “Ion know whatchu do with yo’ life. Yo’ judgment seems sound, even if yo’ attachment to Fezco is a bit concernin’, dunno why anyone would wanna spend all their freetime with that bitch.”


Lexi’s laugh is bright and loud, more awake now than she was minutes ago. Fez takes a long hit of the joint he cradles in his fingers before stubbing it out in the ceramic ashtray he keeps on the coffee table, smoke rolling gently out of his mouth as he leans back against the couch, extending his middle finger out towards Ash.


“You the bitch Ash. Jus’ jealous the prettiest girl in East Highland wanna be ‘round my ass and not yours.”


Lexi smacks him lightly on the arm. “Hey. I like being around both of you.”


Fez rolls his head towards where Lexi sits right up next to him, briefly wondering how they got so close together without him even realizing it, and stares at her through half lidded eyes. He’s met with big brown eyes and the splash of freckles across the bridge of her nose - reminiscent of his own - and the faintest of blush on her cheeks. What he does next is either the stupidest or smartest thing he’s ever done over all these feelings he has for this girl, it’s yet to be determined, but getting to watch her face flame red and the way she chokes her response makes it all worth it when he dips his head down by her ear and speaks low enough that Ashtray can’t hear him.


“You sure ‘bout that? You only spending time in my bed, baby.”

It takes several long minutes for Lexi to compose herself, during which Faye enters from her shift at the dairy. Lexi’s up and off the couch immediately, following the older girl into the kitchen where they giggle together about something while warming up the meal she had insisted they pick up when they were placing their dinner order tonight. Fez likes how easily the two girls have fallen into their friendship, keeping each other company when he and Ash still occasionally get called away to business, having their own jokes and secrets. He especially likes how good an influence Lexi has been over Faye, who’s sober more often than not these days and once told him it’s ‘cause she didn’t like how worried it made Lexi when she was doing more than smoking fuckin’ weed, how no one really cared about her like that before. He fuckin’ gets it - no ones ever cared ‘bout him the way Lexi does either.


Eventually they come back from where they’ve been whispering in the kitchen, Faye balancin’ a steaming bowl of ramen in one hand while she’s showin’ Lexi somethin’ on her phone in the other. The blonde could have made Ashtray share, but instead she nests herself down at the end of the couch he and Lexi were sharing, causing the other girl to tuck herself neatly into Fez’s side. Not that he minds one bit, any excuse to get his arm ‘round Lexi’s waist is a good one to him.


“Ash says he doesn’t know what summer vacation is,” Lexi informs Faye some minutes later during a commercial break in whatever fuckin’ show the kid had thrown on.


Faye snorts. “Ash is full of shit.”


“Shut the fuck up Faye. I ain’t ever been in real school ‘fore, how you know?” his lil brother argues from across the living room, eyes never leaving his phone.


“You’re literally on summer vacation from your online school,” Faye deadpans around a mouthful of noodles, “I heard you bitching about your summer reading like, fucking yesterday.”


Lexi’s been absentmindedly playing with the rings on his fingers where his hand splays across her stomach, twisting them round and round in a way that’s oddly soothing until Faye says what she does and causes his girl to yank a lil too hard on one. “Ouch,” he grumbles lightly only to get fuckin’ shushed in his own damn house.


“You go to online school?” It’s somehow a question and a statement all rolled into one, frantic energy coursing through Lexi’s words.


Ash glares at Faye, flipping her off as she returns the gesture.


“Why didn’t I know? What grade are you even in, Ash?”


The kid sighs loudly at Lexi’s earnestness, and Fez shoots him a glare. Lexi sinks a bit deeper into his side, fingers interlacing in with his as she glances up briefly at him, as if she’s hoping he has an explanation. He doesn’t, which kinda makes him feel like an asshole, it’s just that it’s never really come up in conversation and Ash would prolly try and murk him if he went ‘round talkin’ ‘bout his business. 

“Ion know, you ain’t ever asked if I was in school. Gonna be a freshman in the fall,” Ashtray replies nonchalantly, an easy shrug of the shoulders his only real explanation. 

“A freshman? Really?” her voice pitches up in that cute fuckin’ way it does when she’s all excited.


Ash nods. “Fuck, Howard, you ain’t the only genius ‘round here. Skipped a fuckin’ grade and everything.”


Lexi laughs loudly at that, her head knockin’ back against his shoulder while she can’t control her utter joy at his brother's statement.

Much to the annoyance of Ash and even maybe Faye, Lexi proceeds to give an impassioned speech about the importance of summer vacation, which Fez finds himself readily agreeing to. He’s never stopped longing for more of her tangents since she since explained the Christians stealing Christmas on New Years, but he knows listenin’ to Lexi go on ‘bout shit ain’t for everybody, so he convinces her to follow him back to his room when Ash finds some dumb movie he and Faye had wanted to watch inbetween pauses of rambling.


“Promise me you’ll take that kid on a vacation someday,” she huffs as he clicks the door behind them.

This time next year he’d be twenty, but he and Ash would fuckin’ take the whole damn summer off to make up for all the ones they missed out on doin’ this shit. Until then, Fez would gladly take the stolen moments he could get with his best girl by his side.


“Fuck yeah,” he replies quietly as he watches Lexi flop down on his bed. “Somewhere fuckin’ nice too. Gonna get us fuckin’ passports and shit.”


Lexi snorts. “I don’t think you can put the name Ashtray on a passport. Or Fezco for that matter.”


Fez lumbers over to his bed, leaning teasingly over Lexi, hands landing on either side of her face. She goes from giggling to serious very suddenly, eyes growing big as he leans in just a bit closer, noses brushing. “You really been thinkin’ Ashtray and Fezco are our government names?”


“I don’t know,” she replies, eyes blinking rapidly. He longs to close the distance and press his lips to hers, but instead he leans up and brushes a kiss on her forehead before flopping down next to her, eyes never leaving her face.


Lexi turns into him, curling her body up on top of his hastily made bed. It doesn’t take much for him to mimic her pose, hand reaching out in the space between them to grasp her own.


“I guess I figured Ashtray was just a nickname, but I’ve never heard you call him anything else. I honestly haven’t thought much about Fezco though, you’re like fucking mythic around the halls of East Highland High School, someone's always casually whispering your name. I’ve heard it for years.”


“When we got Ash and knew he’d be stickin’ ‘round, Kitty did right by him, ya know, in her own way. Got him documents, she had people fo’ that shit. Dunno how legit they really are, but I ain’t ever had a problem with them passing. He’ll fuckin’ kill me in my sleep if he finds out you know it, but it say Asher on his birth certificate.”


Lexi beams over at him. “Asher? That feels… appropriate. I should call him that.”


“Don’t fuckin’ call him that. On God Lex, he ain’t gone go fo’ yo’ ass, it’ll be me who gotta worry,” he tells her as serious as he can manage, which ain’t all that much given the goofy grin she’s givin’ him.


“Alright, alright. Ashtray it is,” she says with a lil pout. “What’s yours?”


“What it matter?”


“I’m just curious.”


Fez chuckles lightly, ‘course Lexi curious. She the most curious girl he’s ever met.


“Ion’t fuckin’ use it fo’ a reason. Shits fuckin’ cursed, my old man had it and so did his asshole dad, and he got it from his deadbeat pops. Paulie hated it too, that’s why he never used it, dunno why he ‘cided to pass it on.”


Lexi gives him a soft look, strokes a thumb over his knuckles. “Just tell me what it is. It can’t be that bad.”


“It’s Francesco. Couldn’t pronounce it as a kid, so I became Fezco real little. Remember my moms callin’ me that too,” he tells her quietly, words fallin’ out into the space between them on his bed.


“Alexia.”


He blinks over at her. “Huh?”


“My full name is Alexia. You told me yours, so I’ll tell you mine.”


“Alexia,” he drawls lowly, testing the weight of it out in his mouth. It’s different than Lexi, but no less fitting. “I like that, issa nice name.”


“You’re such a dork ,” she replies with a laugh, but her cheeks flame pink in the same way they did the first time he said those words to her.


Giggles continue to erupt from her as she lays across from him, clearly tired by the way her laughter starts to border on hysterical. Honestly, Fez’s got no fuckin’ idea why she’s laughin’ like this, but it’s fuckin’ contagious because he soon finds himself joining in. It’s so fuckin’ nice to just lay back on his bed with his girl, even if she ain’t really his yet, AC unit blasting from it’s spot in his window, getting to act like goofyass teenagers as they giggle ‘bout absolutely fuckin’ nothing.


He longs for more of this.

Lexi’s giggles eventually taper off, unable to fight the yawns any longer. She gets up sluggishly from his bed, offering a hand to help him up so they can both get ready to sleep. He watches as she rummages in her tote bag, pulling out the lil bag that normally lives in her backpack with her contact case and glasses she only wears at night. Fez eyes her pulling out her pajamas, sleep shorts and some t-shirt of his she must have stolen at some point, before she looks up at him, givin’ him a lil smile before paddin’ out of his bedroom and into the bathroom.


He’s quick to change, pulling a clean tank over his head as he finds a pair of basketball shorts to sleep in - it’s too fuckin’ hot for anything else and if Lexi wasn’t here he’d be wearin’ even less. A few minutes later Lexi’s pushing the door back open, glasses perched on her nose as she holds her clothes from the day to her chest, the tshirt she wears long enough that he can’t even tell if she bothered with those sleep shorts. It’s enough to cause him to make a hasty exit - he ain’t tryna be disrespectful but sometimes his dick ain’t on the same page as the rest of him when it comes to Lexi Howard.


The ice cold water he splashes on his face seems to do the trick, but he takes his time washing his face and brushin’ his teeth just to make sure.


Lexi’s under his covers, pressed up against the wall with her glasses still on as she looks at something on her phone when he comes back in. It feels so domestic it makes his heart ache.


“Rue’s mad she didn’t get invited to the sleepover,” she says as she sets her phone down in her lap.


Fezco scoffs, turning the overhead light off and pulling back the sheets to get under them with Lexi. “She can stay mad. Her ass would be out on my fuckin’ couch snugglin’ with Faye if she was here.”


“What, you wouldn’t be a gentleman and let her sleep back here with me?”


Moonlight streams in from his window where Lexi pushed back the curtain to see better in the dark, it illuminates her teasing smile in a way that makes her look like a fuckin’ angel.


“Ain’t ever claimed to be a fuckin’ gentleman, Lex. ‘Sides, I like sharin’ with you too much to give that up for fuckin’ Rue.”


“I like sharing with you too,” Lexi whispers next to him.


He thinks she might be ‘bout to lean across the sliver of bed that separates them, to finally cross the line they’ve carefully constructed and been tiptoeing ‘round ever since, when another yawn breaks out of her. Fez gently reaches across the barrier between them and pulls Lexi’s glasses off her face, setting them on his nightstand before he grabs her phone and does the same. She’s half asleep as he pulls the pistol he keeps tucked between his headboard and mattress out, double checking the ammo and ensuring the safety is on before returning it to its rightful spot. Lexi told him once, months ago now, that she hated guns, but the way her eyes track his movements before they start to drift closed tells him she’s at least reassured by the fact he has one close by in case shit happens. Been a long ass time since a crackhead tried breakin’ into his place, but if it was gonna happen, it’d be when everyone was sleepin’.


“Night, Fezco,” Lexi half murmurs as she burrows herself deeper into his pillows.


Fez settles down next to her on his side of the bed. “Night, Lex.”


He thinks, maybe, she mumbles something else, but he’s out like a fuckin’ light as soon as his head hits the pillow.

Early morning light is streaming in through the damn curtain Lexi had pushed open last night, bright enough to wake Fezco up with a groan. He moves to shut it, or well, he tries to anyway, but somehow during the night Lexi’s latched on to him like a fuckin’ barnacle, and he finds himself trapped. He’s decidedly not upset by this - the overwhelming feeling of girl has flooded his senses and he can’t find it in himself to complain about that. It feels good, her messy bun pressing into his nose and the soft skin of her thigh under his fingertips where her leg has hitched itself over his hip. 

And he’d be more than happy to settle back down and bury his face in Lexi’s hair, ‘crept the light is right in his damn eyes. His phone reads 5:42am, way too early to be up on a day he’s got nothing to do ‘sides spend time with Lexi. Quick contemplation results in him wiggling his way outta under his bed companion, a sigh of relief escaping when all she does is turn and fold up into herself. A snap of his wrist has the curtains shut tight, and there’s no second thought when he lays back down and curls his body back around Lexi’s, one arm slipped under her waist to drag her into his chest while the other grasps her hand, nose tucked into the back of her neck. 

The next time he wakes up, it’s to the feeling of a tight lil body pressed up against him and soft whimpers near his ear. He’s slept so deep that he’s honestly feelin’ a bit disoriented as the noises drag him back to the waking world. The body that's laid up next to him radiates heat, tucked so neatly beside him they must be sharing an oxygen supply, an undercurrent of coconut and sandalwood cutting through the haze of post-sleep grogginess that still clings to his bones. 

A round ass presses firmly back into his hips, right up into where his dick strains against the fabric of his basketball shorts and it’s mostly instinct driving him in his half awake state to wrap his arm tighter around the waist he’s cradling in order to press back. Simultaneous moans cut across the last refuges of sleep and that’s when Fez realizes he’s fucked up. 

Lexi Howard slept over last night, right here in his bed with him, because they’re best friends and it’s not weird to share a bed with your best friend. Who cares if they’re both aware of just how fuckin’ in love with the other they are, things between them were so good it didn’t make no sense to change it up yet. ‘Cept now they’ve grinded up on each other in his fuckin’ bed and really, is there any going back from that? 

Lexi moves in his grasp, twisting in his arms to face him, causing his eyes to finally open. The look she’s wearing is full of certainty, sleep heavy eyes sparkling with her love for him. She’s reaching for him while he’s dragging his hands to the back of her neck and thighs, hauling her into his atmosphere as they finally get their mouths on each other. 

It’s somehow hot and soft all at once, Lexi’s plush mouth capturing his before she presses her tongue along the seam of lips, licking across his teeth before she slides it against his own. Fez let’s out a groan that don’t even sound like him in his own ears, one arm wrapping around her hips where she straddles him, the other finding it’s way to tangle into the mess that’s already her hair. Kissing Lexi is the most natural thing in the fuckin’ world, the way their bodies move against each other without any thought from either of them. 

“Fuck, girl,” he drawls after Lexi drags her teeth across his bottom lip, sucking on the fullness. 

“What the fuck were we waiting for?” she asks against his mouth, seemingly unwilling to keep her lips completely off his. 

Fezco just grins devilishly as he wraps his arms around them, flipping their positions so Lexi’s spread out underneath him. She’s breathless as she looks up at him, eyes alight as he pushes her sleep shirt up to grip tight on her hips, sleep shorts clearly skipped as he takes in the sight of her simple pink cotton panties. For the last six months, Fez has always thought himself the dangerous one in this relationship - the guns, the drugs, the way he uses his fists in retribution -  but he immediately changes his mind upon finding himself in the cradle of Lexi’s hips in his own fuckin’ bed. Nothin’ could be more dangerous than this.


He presses soft kisses to her chin, her forehead, her nose, her mouth. “Ion’t fuckin’ know. Got me thinkin’ whatever it was is hella stupid though.”


“We could have been doing this for months,” Lexi says between a series of deep kisses. “I wanted you to kiss me on New Years.”


“Yeah? On god, I wanted to baby. Prolly why Jacobs gotta couple extra hits from me, I was pissed I was beatin’ his ass instead of tryna kiss you.”


“We’ll make up for it in a few months.”


Fez trails his mouth down the slender arch of Lexi’s neck, noting what makes her shiver underneath him as he licks and nips at the length of it.


“You think we be doin’ this still in a few months, ma?” he mumbles it into the hollow of her throat, already knowin’ her answer because it’s not gonna be anything different than his own, but he wants to hear it out loud for the first time.


Lexi places a hand gently on his chin, tipping his eyes back up to hers. “If I have it my way, we’ll be doing this forever. You got to know I’m like, stupidly in love with you, right?”


“Hell yeah I do Lexi. Been stupidly in love witchu fo’ a while now too.”


She gives him one of those smiles that causes her eyes to crinkle ‘round the edges and her nose to scrunch all up, blindin’ him the same way lookin’ at the sun does when he’s driving. Finally gettin’ to tell Lexi this shit feels like a weights been lifted off his chest in the very best way, fuckin’ elation runs through him as he smothers her with kisses, pressin’ her deep into his mattress untl she whines into his mouth.


He pulls back enough to give her a teasin’ look. “Have me lyin’ to yo’ moms baby.”

“What do you mean?” Lexi gasps as he rolls his hips against hers for the first time.

“Told her I ain’t gonna have sex witchu, but now you gone and made me a liar to Suze. She gone murder my ass.”

“Pfft. She wants to be a grandma eventually Fezco, no way she’s going to ruin her chances. Besides, practice makes perfect right?” It’s breathless and sexy as fuck, Lexi pushin’ her lil hands under the edge of his tank in a bid to rid him of it.

Fez leans up on his knees, tugs the offending article over his head before coverin’ Lexi’s body with his own again. “You still want three?”

“Yeah.”

“Wanna start practicing now?”