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granolabird · 1 year

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I Always Knew, it’s You

My final after-Stargirl hournite fic. It feels weird saying that. Still, this one is my favourite yet, maybe because it’s the first canon-complacent fic I can write where Hournite is ACTUALLY canon. But who’s to say? To everyone who loves my fics fear not, there are more to come, this is most certainly not the last <3

Title is from I Always Knew by The Vaccines :)

After the dinner at the Whitmore-Dugan house, Beth’s parents insist that Rick goes home with them. Between his intermittent withdrawal symptoms and his lack of parental support at home they are adamant that he stay in their guest room, even if it’s for only one night. He wants to refuse, he’s not used to this sort of kindness, but he knows they’re right. It’s safer for him to stay somewhere with other people, at least until he’s feeling one hundred percent. He fed Grundy (Who was very hungry after months of being buried) before the dinner, so he really had no reason to go back to Matt’s old house anyway. That’s something his mind latches on to for a moment. The way he’s never stopped thinking of that place as Matt’s old house, even after Matt left. Too many memories of Matt’s drunken rages, insults thrown that never quite faded from the back of his mind, and bloodstains that never quite faded from the floorboards. It was never a home, with or without Matt.

So, Rick resigns to his fate of sitting in the back of the Chapel’s SUV, listening to Beth’s father rattle on about all his new ideas for Beth’s costume. Beth seems completely embarrassed, but Rick can’t help but smile. It’s nice to see how much her parents care for her, and apparently him as well, as shown by her father’s ideas for his own new costume design. Yet throughout it all he’s entirely too aware of the way Beth’s hand is placed in the middle of the seat, resting just between them as they weave their way down the road towards Beth’s house. He keeps wondering if he should take it, hold her hand for the rest of the ride home, but he doesn’t. He already wonders if he pushed his boundaries with his whole spur of the moment hand-on-Beth’s-back decision during her earlier conversation with her parents. It’s all got him on edge.

He likes Beth. A lot. But he’s also terribly bad at showing it. As a friend, he always knows what to say to Beth, he always knows what to do. But as soon as his brain tells him he’s trying to romance her, it’s like he’s turned into Bambi on ice, limbs uncoordinated and heart uncontrollable. So he leaves her hand, playing the unaware card, barely even glancing Beth’s way for fear of the way it might make him implode entirely. Yet he still doesn’t miss the disappointed glance Beth sends his way when they pull into the driveway, ringing her hands together in a way that sends his mind into a further spiral.

The guest room is already made for him, and it’s ten o'clock when they arrive home so Beth’s parents immediately begin to get ready to go to bed. They both have an early shift in the morning, yet even when they emerge from their room in their pyjamas, they don’t stop chattering

“So Rick, what did you think of our costume ideas?” Her mother asks, voice full of excitement.

“I, uh, think they’re pretty good. I’d need a visual to get a full idea, but I think it sounds cool.” He agrees, trying his best to sound enthusiastic enough to match their energy.

“I definitely need to start drawing mockups on my break. I’m thinking shoulder pads!” Her dad chimes in, pointing at Rick’s shoulders for emphasis.

Rick shakes his head, but upon seeing the disappointed look on Beth’s parent’s faces, he immediately explains, “I don’t wanna change my costume too much. It is my dad’s originally, I have to keep the legacy.”

Beth’s father nods, suddenly very understanding. “Oh yes, of course! I suppose we’ve never asked. What was your father like, anyway?”

Rick feels his stomach sink. His memories of his father are vague and hazy but all good. Yet with everything that’s happened in the past few days, and tonight, somehow the memory of his father feels so much more raw. The hourglass and its limiter, Sylvester… He takes a breath.

“He was… incredible. What I remember of him, at least. Way better to me than Matt ever was. I miss him. My mom too. I miss them more than anything.” He explains, trying to steady himself.

“Well, we’re here for you Rick. If you ever need a parent to talk to, you have us, okay?” Beth’s mom assures him, resting her hand on his shoulder.

Rick blinks away tears, smiling softly. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks.”

Mrs. Chapel offers him a hug which he gladly accepts. It’s been so long since any adult has been this kind to him, much less the parents of the girl he’s not-so-subtly in love with. It’s a lot to process. He’s not sure what to say next, finding himself swaying awkwardly in the hallway, when as if sent from above Beth comes up the stairs. She looks between him and her parents, but if she notices the tears still welling in his eyes she doesn’t say a word.

“You two should be in bed! Don’t you have to be up at five?” Beth chides, crossing her arms sternly as her parents glance at each other, before sighing and nodding in sync.

“Yes I suppose you’re right.” Her father huffs, already heading into the room.

Her mother begins to follow, but pauses in the doorway, turning to Rick.

“You know sometimes I think this girl is more of a parent to us then we are to her. You have to watch out for this one Rick, if you’re not careful she’ll be setting your bedtimes and making you breakfast within the week.”

That makes Rick laugh, even more so when Beth halfheartedly bats them away, herding them into their room. They all say their goodnights, going their separate ways, but as they walk past Beth’s room, she stops him.

“Hey do you wanna… talk?”

That could mean a lot of things. Rick and Beth talk a lot, that’s nothing out of the ordinary. He’s spent too many nights to count holed up in the Pit Stop, pouring over books, talking about the day to day nothings of highschool life. That’s normal. But the hesitancy in her voice, the quiet waver that only Rick could pick up, makes him think this is different. That Beth has something important to say. So, he nods and follows her in. He’s been in her room before but it never gets any less exciting for him, walking into her space. The walls covered in drawings, and polaroids, and sticky notes faded with time. She gestures for him to sit on her bed so he does, his hands coming together automatically so that he can twiddle his thumbs to try and rid himself of some of his anxiety.

“So? What’s up?” He asks, trying to not sound as unsure as he’s feeling.

“It’s just… I… hmph!” Beth makes a sound of frustration as she paces in front of him, clearly searching for her words.

“You… hmph?” Rick asks, trying his best to mimic the noise Beth had just made.

“Rick! I’m trying to be serious here!”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” He raises his hands in feigned innocence, which only seems to fluster Beth more.

She seems to debate what to say next before she sighs and walks over to her desk. Beth picks up a photo, running her fingers over it as she stares at it. Rick waits a moment before he stands, peering over her shoulder to see what she’s looking at. It takes him a moment to register what he’s looking at, but as soon as he recognises the photo, he speaks.

“Hey, I remember that one.”

Beth jumps, whirling around to face him so that they’re practically chest-to-chest. She backs up as far as she can, leaning against her desk.

“Don’t scare me like that!” She yelps, her grip tight on the photo as she recovers from the scare he’s just given her.

“It’s not my fault you were too busy gazing longingly at a photo of us bowling to hear me coming.”

“Rick!” She waves the photo at him in a feeble attempt to dispel him.

He laughs, gesturing for her to hand him the photo. She does, and he takes it carefully, eyes tracing over its laminated surface. It’s him and Beth, from over the summer. He’d driven them out to a bowling alley for a day trip, while Courtney was still out camping. Beth had a great time, while Rick had never felt so angry at a stupid game in his life. He wouldn’t doubt it if someone told him he hadn’t hit one pin. Apparently bowling was not his forte. The photo is a happy one, though, with Beth leaning into him as they stand in front of their scoreboard. They’d had some woman take the photo, she’d been taking her son to the arcade. She’d told them they’d made a cute couple and they’d both vehemently protested they were just friends. The memory floods back as if it were just yesterday and not months ago. Rick can’t help but smile softly, handing the photo back to Beth.

“Why are you looking at that photo, Beth?”

Beth pauses, still staring at the photo.

“Because… Do you remember what that lady said after she took the photo of us?”

Rick nods, “That we’d be a cute couple.”

“Right.”

“And?” He pries, mind already racing, thinking of where this conversation might be going.

“And, after everything, with you all alone, and my family being so welcoming… I don’t know.”

“Are you trying to ask me if I’d date you, Beth?”

Beth immediately begins to backtrack, “If you don’t want to, it’s fine! You’re my best friend, and I’d never want to ruin that, it’s just-”

Rick takes a step forward so that he’s right in front of Beth, carefully raising his hand to her cheek.

“Oh.” Is all she can utter, staring up at him wide eyed.

Rick takes a breath, making sure he’s sure about what he’s about to say.

“Beth, I’ve been in love with you since the day you helped me find out what happened to my parents. I’ve never wanted anything more than to date you.” Rick reassures her quietly, eyes searching her own, hoping somehow he can tell if she feels the same.

Finally Beth speaks, her voice filled with excitement, “Well then why didn’t you say anything! We could’ve been together ages ago!”

Rick finally allows himself to feel relieved, nearly beginning to cry again.

“I just wasn’t sure, I didn’t know if you felt the same way.” He admits.

Beth laughs, unbridled full laughter that causes her to bend over, burying her face into his shirt. Rick doesn’t know how to respond, so he simply puts a hand on her back, trying to keep the confusion off of his face.

“What’s so funny?” Rick finally asks, once Beth has caught her breath, his hand still snug around her, not quite ready to let go.

“It’s just that, I thought the exact same thing. I didn’t want to be the one to ask you, because I didn’t know if you felt the same, when the reality was we both felt that way all along. We’re hopeless.”

Now it’s Rick’s turn to laugh, though not nearly as much as Beth, as he takes her hand and leads her to her bed, before sitting beside her. He feels giddy, like his heart is about to burst from his chest from joy, and fear, and excitement, and nerves, and everything in between. He wishes he had Beth’s polaroid camera now, so that he could capture the look on her face forever. Her eyes bright, staring at him as if this was the first time she’d ever seen him, and he was the most beautiful thing in the world. He can only assume he's looking at her the same way.

“So, now what?” She asks, hand still gripping his tightly.

“Well, I think after everything we’ve been through, I should take my lovely girlfriend out to lunch tomorrow, and then maybe we can figure out who we’re gonna tell. Because I know as soon as your parents know, I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

“Girlfriend?” Beth asks, her face etched with complete disbelief.

“Uh… yeah, is that not what just happened? I thought-” Rick tries to amend, but Beth nods her head, silencing him.

“Yes! Yes, yeah, no please call me your girlfriend.”

They both lean forward, pressing their foreheads together, as they both giggle at their own romantic confusion.

“We really are hopeless.” Rick affirms, squeezing Beth’s hand with another huff of laughter.

When he finally opens his eyes, he sees her looking back at him. Their noses are touching, faces close together so that all he can see is Beth. Everything seems to go silent, as if they’re the only thing left in the world. Rick thinks he likes it this way. If he could stay in this moment forever, he would. Beth is the first to break the silence, her voice quiet, as if her speaking would break whatever moment they’re having.

“Rick?”

“Yeah?” He says, more as a confirmation than a question, letting his eyes trail down her face, towards her lips.

“Yeah.” She affirms.

And then they’re kissing. It’s everything that Rick’s ever imagined and more. He would be lying if he hadn’t thought about him and Beth kissing before. He’s thought about asking her on a date and kissing at Richie’s, or in his car, or at the park, a million times. But here, now, when it’s actually happening? Nothing can compare. It’s slow, and sweet, and Beth’s hand is threading into his hair in a way that makes him melt into her touch entirely.

He is Beth’s in all entirety.

He always has been.

They stay like that for a long time, kissing and giggling and holding hands, until the clock ticks past midnight and Beth can’t stop yawning

“I should probably go. We’ve had a long day, we need to get some rest.” Rick stands up to leave, but Beth catches his arm, her face pleading.

“Don’t go, please.”

“Beth-”

“Please?”

Rick sighs, but sits back down beside Beth. She doesn’t say anything else, just stands, gathering some photos, pens and a book, placing them down on the end of her bed in a messy fashion.

“Are we… scrapbooking?” He asks, picking up a pen and twirling it around his fingers.

“What? No! No, this is so that if you fall asleep here, my parents don’t get the wrong idea. We were scrapbooking, didn’t notice the time and both fell asleep. See?” She gestures to the mess she’s made with a self-satisfied grin.

“Beth Chapel, is my ‘town bad boy’ status rubbing off on you?” He teases, bumping her with his shoulder, which makes her start laughing again, burying her head into the crook of his neck.

“Only just a little.”

Then they’re kissing again, hands entwined, holding each other close.

When Beth falls asleep against Rick somewhere around halfway into him telling her stories from when he was a kid, he doesn’t dare move. Instead he lets his arm wrap around her and grabs a pillow for himself, letting himself fall into the most peaceful sleep he’s had in years. He thinks of Matt’s house again, during that nondescript haze when his brain is just on the verge of sleep. He thinks about it not being the place for him. But here, with Beth by his side, and a family that cares for him so deeply, a warm feeling settles in his chest.

A feeling that says he’s finally home.

When Beth’s parents awake in the morning to go to work, they peek into Beth’s room. They don’t say a word, just share a quiet smile. Rick and Beth are sound asleep, snuggled close to one another, still in the clothes they wore to the dinner.

Mrs. and Mr. Chapel don’t mind.

They always wanted a son.

#hournite #I am obsessed with my own fic oops #stargirl #stargirl spoilers #rick x beth #Rick Tyler #Beth Chapel #Dr Mid-Nite #Hourman #James Chapel #bridget chapel #stargirl fic #hournite fic #Never the end

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