Written In The Stars Ch 02

A/N: Please note that this is a novel-length story. It will be a sweet, slow burn until Ch. 06 for these two, but we promise that it will be worth the wait.

~ LivANDJay

--- Chapter Two ---

Almost an hour after I'd settled in at Mum and Dad's place I had a glass of juice in my hand and I was telling my mother and Ida about my latest date. It wasn't all that recent, but it had been a while since I'd been able to catch up with them both, so it was the first time I could indulge their love of hearing my horror stories.

"So, he insisted on picking me up. I knew why as soon as I got downstairs. He had a nice, shiny red BMW. Convertible too," I added with a smile.

"Did you propose to him?" My mother asked excitedly. I chuckled and Ida rolled her eyes.

"No, and it was lucky too..." I said with a smirk, making both mothers lean in a little closer.

"So, I get in the car, it is lovely and all, but then he decides that instead of going to the restaurant we had agreed to on Tinder, he wanted to go to Newtown and 'take a look around'. So, being a Friday night, I was trying to talk him out of it. It was far too busy, but he insisted," I said with a shrug as I took a sip of my juice. I went on to explain how we spent half an hour driving looking for parking, and then when we found one it was a tight squeeze between two other cars. The guy spent five minutes trying to reverse park and failing and then went to drive away, but I jokingly offered to do it for him. He got really cranky and stopped the car, getting out and almost throwing the keys at me. I managed to get in in one shot. So, naturally, were both in a shit mood by the time we made it to the pub that his mates had told him about.

"We finally settle in and get our food, and we start talking about work and life in general. He was really short with me though, I don't know whether it was his obvious fail at parking, but he was not the nice guy I'd been talking to on Tinder. We were just about half-way through our meal - and I would have left early if I hadn't forgotten my cardigan in his car- but then he looks at my plate, where I had left my chips-"

"Got to save the best for last," Mum chuckled. I nodded; she understood my strategy well.

"And so, I was-"

I stopped talking when I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye.

There he was.

Nathan. Tall, still lanky, but with that same bashful grin he'd had ever since high school. He raised a single finger to his lip, clearly wanting me to pretend I didn't see him, as he crept up behind his mother. As much as I wanted to leap up and hug my oldest and closest friend, I didn't want to ruin his arrival, so I continued talking as if I hadn't seen him.

"And so, I was sitting there with the chips on my plate and he just reaches over and starts eating them. When I looked up at him he shrugged and said- get this- he said 'you don't really need them anyway, too many carbs for your figure'!"

My mother and Ida gasped and were just about to launch into a tirade when Nathan struck. He launched forward and wrapped his arms around his mother in bone-crushing hug. Everyone in the yard turned when Ida let out an ear-piercing scream. The moment they realised what had happened the yard erupted with laughter. Ida's face reddened with embarrassment and when Nate let her go she got to her feet and turned to face him.

"You brute! You're as bad as your father!" She scolded him in a truly terrifying mum-tone as she swatted his chest. He had the common-sense to at least look sheepish, but there was a sparkle in his eye that said that he had no regrets.

"What? I can't give you a hug hello?" He asked her innocently. She didn't answer, instead giving him one of her trademark huffs before turning back to my mother and complaining about the fact that children never really grew up no matter how old they were.

Nathan gave my mother a quick hug before striding over to where my father and his father were still arguing over whether you were allowed to turn a steak more than once. He held out a bottle of Jack Daniels that he had tucked under his arm and presented it to my father.

"Here you are, sir. I never did thank you properly for having me over for Christmas. I'm sorry I wasn't able to stay and enjoy your hospitality more," Nathan said. When he talked like that I could hear the effect that living in the States had on his accent. It wasn't overly noticeable, but it was something that you could hear in the formation and formality of certain words.

My father took the bottle gladly but waved off any further explanation.

"No, no, I understand. It's not like stepping into another room for you to come home, but thanks all the same," He said, setting the bottle on the side table of the grill as Nathan turned and shook his father's hand.

I sat in my chair, enjoying the sight of Nathan being back home and talking to our folks again. Behind me, I could hear Kate and Lewis trying to slip out of the pool to deliver another soaker-hug, but Hannah and Darren had caught them up in towels and were insisting that they dried off a little before hugging their uncle. Apparently, they didn't want their dripping kids to scare him back off to the States prematurely. They mustn't have been worried about me running away.

"Hey Shorty. Find the place alright?" Nathan asked as he finally walked over to me. I stood up and waited for him to reach me, and when he did he pulled me into a tight hug. For a moment I was stunned and just how tall he was. He had been taller than most adults by the time he was twelve, and had been using Shorty as a term of endearment for me ever since. Which was fair, I guess, given that I was almost a full twenty centimetres shorter than him and with enough curves to visually balance all of his lankiness. Still, it had been a good long while since I had seen him, and it was always a bit of a surprise to be reminded of just how small I was in his shadow.

When Nathan released me from the tight hug he reached into his pocket and pulled out a long thin box. My eyes widened and I looked up at him, bouncing on the balls of my feet with excitement.

"I brought some J.D. for your father... but this is for us," He said, winking at me as he held up the box of sparklers. There were squeals of excitement from behind me as Kate and Lewis barrelled over. I managed to step back just in time to avoid being caught in the crossfire of their overly enthusiastic tackle-cuddle.

"SPARKLERS!"

"Uncle Nate!"

Kate and Lewis looked just as excited as I felt as they jumped up and down around their beloved uncle. Judging by how much they were bouncing around in anticipation it would only be a minute before they tried to leap up and steal the sparklers, but Nathan chuckled and put them back into his pocket.

"When the fireworks start, guys, okay?" He said in a very parental tone. They whined a little but they returned to their parents, deciding it was more important to complain about how hungry they were instead. Practically starving, apparently.

"So, have I missed anything yet?" Nathan asked, stepping in a little closer and looking down at me. He was wearing his trademark jeans and a comic book t-shirt. Casual and comfortable, that had always been his style. I saw his eyes scan over me from my toes up, and I wondered what he saw when he looked at me.

"Not really I guess," I told him with a shrug, "I only got here about an hour or so ago. Though don't be fooled by the wet-patches. I was dry when I arrived," I added, gesturing to the sides of my dress which were still much darker than the rest. Nathan chuckled as he looked back over at his niece and nephew and let out a chuckle, clearly realising that he had dodged a bullet there.

"Though they are already well into the booze," I whispered conspiratorially, leaning in and gesturing to an empty bottle of wine beside one of the outdoor chairs. True to my words both of the mothers were drinking the last dregs in their glasses and reaching for the half-empty bottle I had brought with me.

"Well it wouldn't be a New Year's party without our mothers racing through bottles of wine, now would it?" Nathan asked. I was just about to say something when Ida turned around.

"Nathan! Since you scared the bejesus out of me earlier could you please be a dear and go and get a bottle of red from Leanne's pantry?" Ida called over. Nathan let out a low sigh and nodded in agreement. Ida chuckled before turning back to return to her conversation with my mother.

"Yes Ma'am," He called back crisply and turned back to me. "Looks like I'm being pressed into service. Don't go anywhere, I wanna talk with you before dinner," Nathan said before he made his way into my childhood home to do as he was told.

I shook my head and walked back over to the circle of chairs, sinking back into one while I waited for Nathan to return. I leaned back and looked into the backyard proper, a fond smile playing at my lips as I watched Kate and Lewis running around the yard in their swimmers. Hannah and Darren, as much as they complained about their rascals, clearly loved their two kids. You could see it in the way they watched them play. It was so lovely to see, but it always reminded me of the fact that the years were dripping by and I was still so far away from having a family of my own. Or even anyone I would be interested in making one with, especially if my recent dating history was anything to go by.

I was snapped from my thoughts by the sound of raised voices and I looked over to see that my mother and Ida were getting into a heated debate about one of the new reality cooking shows on television. I chuckled with amusement at their constant bickering. They were so unlike Nathan and I, who rarely ever argued. Every day it seemed the mothers found something new to disagree on, but somehow it only brought them closer together.

"If I'm honest ladies, I think both shows are scripted. I mean, come on, it isn't like they're live or anything. If you want a real cooking show all you need to do is look behind you at those two old geezers," I piped up, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder at where the two fathers were standing by the barbecue.

"Hey Ness, you better tell them to start paying you for refereeing their bickering matches," My father called out, I chuckled.

'Nah, they'd never agree on a rate!" I called back. He and Henry laughed appreciatively but Mum and Ida just jumped right back into their argument. They didn't even notice when Nathan put the bottle of wine down between them.

"Man, this place never changes..." Nathan sighed idly as he sunk into the chair beside mine with a glass of something in his hand. His bright blue eyes turned to me and my cheeks flushed a little. I shrugged, trying to brush it off. There was something about the way he looked at me that always made me blush.

"It certainly doesn't," I agreed with him, reaching out and taking his drink without asking. I took a sip and gagged. "Shit! What's in this? Paint stripper?"

I scrunched up my nose in disgust and gave the glass back to him. From the colour of the drink, I had assumed it was Coke, but it was spiked with something much too strong for my tastes. To his credit, Nathan didn't even react when I took his drink. It had been like that forever between us; we shared pretty much everything when we were kids, and it seemed that we still hadn't kicked that habit.

"So, is it nice to come home? Is it nice to see that things are still pretty much the same even though you've been away for a while?" I asked Nathan as I turned in my chair so I could face him better. He wobbled his head back and forth in indecision as he mused over my question.

"Yes and no. It's good to have something familiar to come back to, but I need to feel like things are moving forward. That things are changing. I worry that life would be stagnant here... Which is what I wanted to talk with you about..." Nathan shifted in his chair too, and then we were both leaning on our sides and facing each other.

In moments like those the rest of the family seemed to drop away and we could easily get lost in our own bubble. I watched as he bit his lip in that way that he did when he was thinking about something. He was trying hard to find the right words to use to tell me whatever it was, and I could see he was mustering up the courage. Nathan had a tendency to get rather serious quite quickly, and when he did I knew it was always about something that had been on his mind for a while. Nathan never did half-measures; he always thought carefully over pretty much everything he did or said (often, I told him, he overthought things). I waited patiently, as always, but just as he looked up from his glass of paint-stripper I heard Henry's voice cutting through the silence.

"Dinner's ready!"

The announcement was met with a chorus of cheers from the others and I chuckled; you couldn't have a good family gathering around here without food. Kate and Lewis stopped their game of tag and sped for the house, their aching hunger suddenly remembered as their mother and father yelled after them to wash their hands before sitting down at the table.

"Dammit, I thought I had more time..." Nathan said as he looked over at me. I tilted my head to the side in a silent question but he just shrugged noncommittally. "I guess you'll hear it like everyone else," He said in a tone of finality as he got to his feet and brushed off the thighs of his jeans.

"Hey, that's not fair! You can't go all broody like that and not tell me whatever it is," I argued. It was pointless though. Nathan was nothing if not stubborn. He'd clearly made up his mind that I would have to wait to hear whatever the news was, and I knew better than to bother to try and change it. I had no desire to waste my breath.

Nathan reached out, offering me his hand to help me up. I didn't need the assistance but I took his hand anyway, pulling myself to my feet and smoothing out the wrinkles on my dress before we made our way inside together.

~*~

The dining room of my folks' place backed onto the deck with large, sliding glass doors. They weren't part of the initial build, but when my parents renovated years ago they converted the separate lounge, dining and kitchen in the rear of the house into one large and modern open-plan area. The parents set about getting all of the food on the table while Nathan led us over to our usual seats, side by side as always. Hannah and Darren managed to wrestle Lewis and Kate into their seats just as the food was being put onto the table. In addition to the steak and the sausages, Ida set down her famous marinated chicken breast fresh from the oven and my mother put some salad and coleslaw down as well. As soon as everyone was in their seats the serving dishes were passed around. When I picked up the plate with the steak on it I held it up between myself and Nathan.

"Breast or rump, Nate?" I asked with a smirk, making my parents groan.

"I'll go against my natural instincts and say rump today. You should have the breast and keep up that girlish figure," He teased me.

I rolled my eyes and messily plopped the least-burned cut of steak onto his plate before handing the dish to Darren. I couldn't help but wonder if he chose that comment because he heard the end of my bad-date story, or because he could fit breast and girlish figure in the one sentence. One of the reasons our friendship had survived the years was because of a shared love of terrible puns and double entendres. When the chicken was passed around I took a bigger piece, slid it onto my plate, and promptly cut it in half. By the time I settled the chicken dish back onto the table I looked up and Nathan was already putting half of the steak onto my plate.

"Life is always better when you can share a rump with a friend," I told Nathan as I gave him half of my chicken. Going halves in our meals was something we had been doing ever since we were kids. Initially it started as a way to get the best of all the menu options available, but then it just became a habit. Nate smirked at my comment and held back whatever response he had been wanting to make, probably because Kate and Lewis were seated on his other side.

Once everyone had a mountain of food on their plates and started eating, conversations started to stir over the din and clatter of the meal. Darren and Hannah begun to talk about the fact that Lewis would be starting kindergarten in a couple of weeks. I tuned out when they started talking about skyrocketing uniform prices.

"So," I started quietly as I stabbed a piece of cucumber with my fork and transferred it to Nate's plate, trading it for a chunk of tomato. "Your Mum was very sure to tell me you were not bringing a lady friend home with you this visit..." I trailed off, giving Nathan the funny look that we always shared whenever our parents would divulge gossip like that.

"And once again, she can't help but share something I told her in confidence," Nathan chuckled, shaking his head as he ate the piece of cucumber I saddled him with. "Nah, I'm just too busy with work and everything, but..." He bit his lip and I sat up a little straighter, interested in whatever was going through his mind that made him get that serious broody look again.

"What is it?" I asked as I set my fork down.

"I'll give it a bit longer. I don't wanna stop everyone just yet," He said, his thoughtful frown turning to a smile. I wanted to push him for more information but he changed the topic. He started to tell me a bit more about why his love life hadn't been working out and it seemed that he really hadn't had much luck with women lately. There had been a few dates and very short term relationships, but nothing that sounded serious. It seemed we were both in the same boat yet again.

"I mean, not one of them could understand why I needed to meet up with friends from work, roll dice, bullshit, and pretend to be someone else for a few hours," Nathan said, exasperated, as he neared the end of his explanation.

I nodded. I could understand where he was coming from. Nathan and I had always been very much into the geekier sort of past times, and I could see why some of his girlfriends had overlooked the reasons that he wanted to game. I was tempted to ask him about his new gaming group, but I knew that wasn't the point. Besides, if Darren had picked up that we were talking about gaming at the table he would have had endless fun teasing us for being nerds. It wasn't the sort of thing I thought Nathan would want in that moment.

"Well," I said with a cavalier smile, "I am selfishly glad you didn't bring a lady friend. I don't imagine the way you and I eat would go down well with one, and where else would I get my red meat fix tonight?" I asked, sawing off a piece of steak and popping it into my mouth for emphasis. Nathan chuckled.

"Yeah, I tried to explain how we eat to a girl I was out with and she thought I was mental. I mean, I like steak and chicken, so do you, so why can't we have both?" He mused, shaking his head and making it sound as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Under the table I felt Nathan's hand settle on my knee and he gave it a gentle squeeze before he continued eating. It was nothing more than a friendly gesture of affection,but I could feel a warmth growing in my cheeks. I quickly shoved some more steak in my mouth before I could say something stupid. Every time he went away I tried to tell myself that my silly childhood crush on him was a thing of the past, but then he came back - the same old Nate - and did things like that which proved that a part of me was still smitten with him. I wondered whether it was natural to feel so overly affectionate towards such a long-term best friend, or whether there really was something more there. I sighed softly as I realised that I knew what Hannah would say about it. Or - for that fact- what anyone in our combined families would say about it. It just seemed like Nathan was the only one who wouldn't consider it.