#yet they are best buds | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

artificialqueens · 2 years

Text

Dancing in the Kitchen (Group Fic) - Candy Cane

A/N: heres another thats not really my usual group of people to write! i love writing all of them tho the vibes are Immaculate. thank u @bogozbinted for beta'ing and cheerleading and everything i love u so much and u mean so so much to me!!!! <33 i hope everyone enjoys my potluck contribution :33 Summary: As the semester comes to a close, Bob decides she wants to hold a potluck and asks her four closest friends to participate. Kim takes the time to reflect on her friendships.

Three weeks before finals start, Kim’s new group of friends decides it’s very necessary to have one last “family dinner” to celebrate not only the end of the school year, but this new friendship they’ve all found in each other too. Kim recognizes it as the soft, special thing that it really is and is immensely grateful to be included in the small but infectious group that they have created for themselves.

When she met up with Bob in the library to study for English that very first time back in September, she never would’ve guessed it would turn into what it did. She is so glad that it did. Her freshman year at college was… interesting for lack of a better word. The people that she did know and consider to be friends mostly referred to her as reclusive, even a shut-in on some occasions, so she feels she’s made massive progress from her freshman to sophomore years. She’s definitely proud of herself.

Kim knows that has made friends forever here, she knows that in her heart. All of them are unique from each other and she genuinely believes that’s why the five of them get along so well. Just similar enough to get along and just different enough to keep things interesting, it’s a perfect balance that this small group has achieved.

Bob is not only funny and extroverted, she’s also the “group mom” for lack of better phrasing. She organizes everything they do and always carries a million things in her handbags to take care of them all. As much as Bob likes to tease them and joke around about the little things, it’s clear she also takes pleasure in making sure everyone is safe and happy, which is something Kim really appreciates about Bob. Despite only having known each other for a short amount of time, Kim doesn’t know where she’d be now without her.

Monet, on the other hand, is without a doubt the group’s wild child. She’s extroverted like Bob is, but always seems to find herself in one crazy situation or another, always hanging out with large and loud crowds of people. Kim sometimes has a hard time remembering all of the names of said people, but it doesn’t matter as long as Monet is having a good time. Kim knows how special freshman year is and she’s glad that Monet is at least taking advantage of it.

Tiana is the one person Kim has known for the longest, and even the reason Tiana is here at all. They were high school friends, and when Kim went off to college Tiana had vowed to follow her. Kim had laughed it off, thinking she was just being dramatic, but true to her word Tiana had FaceTimed Kim screaming and crying when she had been accepted into the same college a year later. Although she’s a freshman like Monet and Naomi, Tiana acts like she’s the most well known and well liked person on the whole campus.

And then there’s Naomi… Kim had it off with her like they had been friends since elementary school, like they were destined to be close to each other all along. Even though Naomi is quite personable and friendly, she’s much like Kim in that she’d rather lay in bed and chat while watching TV instead of going out to some random frat party. The few parties they had been to were hilariously bad, inspiring the two to spend more time just doing whatever they felt like instead of trying to fit in with other students.

Naomi understands Kim in a way she thought no one ever could or would ever try to, and she knows she’s lucky, which is why she refuses to take Naomi and her friendship for granted. Sure, they both enjoy making jokes at the other’s expense, but it works for them somehow and Kim wouldn’t want whatever it is they have any other way. She loves Naomi, more than she maybe should, and she never wants to lose her.

In short, Kim thinks this crazy group of people is very special, and she is in awe of them every day, though she would never say that to their faces, it would give them way too much ammo. With how much they all like reading each other Kim has a reputation to uphold as the sneakiest one in the group as far as jokes go. It’d be a shame for all of that to go to waste after almost two whole semesters of cementing her place.

“You’re thinking hard,” Naomi says, startling Kim out of her thoughts.

Kim shrugs, a sneaky smile on her lips, “Yeah, but you wouldn’t have much experience with that so I’m surprised you picked that up.”

“Oh my God,” Naomi giggles rolling her eyes, “You are so mean to me.”

“You’ll live,” Kim says, patting her best friend on the shoulder comfortingly.

Considering they really haven’t known each other for very long, Kim doesn’t know what she would be able to do without Naomi, truly. Currently, the two best friends are walking to Bob’s off-campus apartment that she got back in December. Bob had decided ot move there after the fire alarm in the dorm building she was living in had gone off three too many times at 2 in the fucking morning. She was understandably fed up with the conditions and moved out at her first opportunity. Luckily, Kim and Naomi hadn’t experienced that problem yet, but Monet and Tiana complain often about it, upset that they aren’t allowed to move off campus since they’re freshman.

Kim is just glad Bob moving to her own place strengthened the group’s friendship instead of weakening it, admittedly that was something she had been worried about but had refused to bring up at the time. She’s always preferred things just happen how they’re going to happen instead of trying to force everything all the time, unlike some other people that she knows.

Still, Kim is glad to have the friendships she does have. She’s never one to take those things for granted. Until she met Tiana, her junior of high school, friends were hard for her to make and manage. Tiana changed that in a way, even inspiring a confidence in Kim she had never felt before, which is one of several reasons she’s thrilled about tonight. Hanging out with Tiana is always fun, especially with these group dynamics Kim got so used to so quickly.

Tonight is also very special because they’re doing something Kim has wanted to for a few months now, a potluck. It’s a chance for her to show off her legendary cooking skills and judge everyone else’s. A win-win for her and a win-lose for everyone else, obviously. The late spring sun shining down on them is a promise for a good night and a fun time to be had by all of them.

She’s carrying the dish she had spent all afternoon painstakingly preparing in her favorite travel case, while Naomi is swinging her tote bag confidently, and Kim kind of wants to laugh at how accurate it is to their personalities. She isn’t sure where or how Naomi made her dish, considering Kim was in the only kitchen in the whole dorm building all afternoon and hadn’t seen Naomi until they agreed upon time to meet up and get ready together.

Kim is curious about what Naomi decided to bring to their end of the year potluck, and is excited to see everyone else’s contributions too, though she’s certain hers will be the best. There’s a reason everyone always asks her for restaurant recommendations and recipes, and she takes pride in her skills and knowledge, even if they may be a bit unconventional at times.

The walk to Bob’s apartment is always short, and when Naomi and her climb the stairs and knock on the door, Tiana is the one to throw it open with all the energy and happiness Kim expects from the girl.

“Yes! You’re here!” Tiana squeals, stepping back so her and Naomi can enter Bob’s apartment.

It was definitely a steal, although Bob does have to share with two other people to be able to afford it. Kim thinks that it’s worth it though, the apartment is fairly large and everyone living in it gets their own bathroom, even if they’re all tiny it’s better than sharing one bathroom between three people.

“Hi,” Naomi greets Tiana warmly, pulling the shorter girl in for a hug.

Kim watches with an amused grin, it will never cease to amaze her how short everyone looks when compared to Naomi. She quickly stops smiling when she realizes that she’s Tiana’s next victim, flinching when Tiana wraps her arms around Kim tightly and squeezes.

“Do you have to do that every time?” Kim asks, shrinking in on herself, secretly enjoying the casual affection from her close friend.

“As long as it always makes you uncomfortable,” Tiana grins widely, though she lets go.

Bob pokes her head from around the corner where the small kitchen is located, “Tia! Stop torturing Kimberly!”

“Awww, but it’s so fun,” Tiana whines, bouncing into the kitchen after Bob.

Naomi turns to Kim to share a soft smile that makes Kim’s heart flutter in ways she would rather ignore. They’re here tonight to have a good time with their closest friends, that’s it. At least that’s what Kim is going to keep telling herself.

“Where’s Monet?” Naomi calls out, taking Kim’s bag from her in order to set their dishes down on the dining room table.

Kim trails after Naomi, unsure of what else to do and just as curious as to Monet’s whereabouts. Normally, Monet is always at Bob’s apartment, unless she’s at classes or a party, so it’s strange she’s not here already. She glances around for Tiana too, but she seems to have disappeared somewhere else in the apartment. Kim finds it strange, while it’s not small it’s not big either so there’s not a lot of places to disappear to. Kim decides to chalk it up to classic Tiana behavior.

“She said she had to make a stop on her way over,” Bob says from where she’s standing in front of the stove, stirring something that smells genuinely delicious.

Ever the nosey guest, Kim walks over to Bob and peeks her head over Bob’s shoulder, curious to see what her friend is making.

“Oooh, that looks good!” She says, knowing that this annoys the shit out of Bob.

“Kim! No! It’s a surprise!” Bob shrieks, batting Kim back with her hands.

Kim giggles, “You probably would’ve been able to achieve that if you hadn’t waited until the last minute to cook.”

“Wowww, Kim,” Bob drawls sarcastically, hugging her from behind to easily maneuver her away from the stove, “Absolutely no slack for the host, huh?”

“Since you’re the host you should be the most prepared!” Kim insists through bouts of laughter as Bob practically walks her to the other side of the room to where Naomi is doubled over in laughter.

Kim can’t stop smiling and laughing herself, she loves it when Naomi has as much fun as she does. She wishes all of them could be like this all the time, happy and carefree. She knows it’ll never happen, but that won’t ever stop her from hoping. As a kid she was told to wish on a star, and for whatever reason she still believes that wish will come true. One day, maybe not anytime soon, but she can wait. She has more patience than Bob at least.

“Oh my God my cheeks hurt!” Naomi gasps out, reaching out to pull Kim into her arms, effectively freeing Bob to go back to finishing her dish for the potluck.

Kim grins at Naomi, “Okay, but you can let go of me now.”

Naomi gasps, scandalized, “Never! I will never let you go!”

“And IIIIIIiiiIIIIII-” Tiana pipes up, appearing out of nowhere, purposefully singing ‘I Will Always Love You’ as shittily as she can manage.

“Someone save me!” Kim groans dramatically, tossing her head back against Naomi’s shoulder.

“Oh no, the awful reality of having people who care about you,” Naomi bemoans along with her.

“I just came here for the food and now I have to put up with all of this too,” Kim adds, pouting as pathetically as she can.

“Physical affection? How evil,” Bob rolls her eyes, taking the pot off the stove with her back turned to her friends, making it impossible for the three of them to see what exactly she chose to make. Kim definitely has her suspicions.

There��s a rapid knocking on the door, and Kim takes advantage of a startled Naomi. She worms out of her best friend’s arms and speeds over to the door, right on Tiana’s heels. Unfortunately, Tiana still beats her to it and is the one to open the door for Monet.

“The party can now begin,” Monet announces brightly, cocking her hand on her hip.

Monet looks incredible as always, but only has a heavy, black plastic bag in her hand, two glass bottles peaking out. The group exchanges greetings and light hugs all over again, and Kim is excited to finally get to the main event of the evening now that the last member of their little group is here. Monet roughly sets her bag down on the dining room table next to the plastic grocery store bag that Tiana brought.

Bob comes in from the kitchen carrying a red casserole dish covered in aluminum foil, the smell of whatever it is Bob has made making her mouth water. One glance at her friends confirms they’re all eager for this last ‘hoorah’ of sorts to begin too. Each of them takes a seat at the dining room table, all of them making a comment of some kind about their excitement, and Kim feels at home in a way she only does when she’s with them.

Bob stands up at the head of the table and clears her throat dramatically, and Kim knows they are all about to be in for a treat.

“Friends, sisters, Monet,” Bob starts, ignoring Monet’s chuckle of protest, “We have come here today to rub shit in each other’s faces, celebrate the end of the school year, and eat way too much food. Without further ado, I present to you my dish, the world’s best motherfucking mac n’ cheese to ever grace the face of this goddamn planet.”

She dramatically lifts the foil off of her casserole dish, revealing said mac n’ cheese. Kim definitely can admit that it does look good, but she’s still skeptical it will hold up against everything she brought.

“Girl, that is the most predictable thing of all time,” Monet says, rolling her eyes.

Bob crosses her arms over her chest, clearly unamused, “Says the bitch who only brought alcohol.”

“Okay well someone had to bring drinks,” Monet argues.

Kim glances at Naomi, and the two smile knowingly at each other. They’re both incredibly familiar with the fact that once those two get started it’s basically impossible to get them to stop.

“Well, what drinks did you bring?” Tiana asks, pulling the two girls out of what was most definitely going to be a ten minute long argument.

Monet stands up now, smiling proudly as she pulls the two bottles she brought out of the bag, “Today, I present for you all two timeless classics.”

Kim glances at the bottles, then quirks an eyebrow at Monet, “Three dollar champagne and the driest red wine you could find?”

Monet stares at Kim blankly.

“Drag her ass, Kim!” Bob cackles.

“I will let you know that it is five dollar champagne, and that this red wine is a college student classic!” Monet frowns.

“How do you even get your hands on this stuff?” Kim asks, curious since none of them are the legal age to buy alcohol and yet they always seem to have it.

“Older friends,” Monet and Tiana say at the exact same time, causing the two to break into fits of laughter.

Naomi leans over to rest her head on Bob’s shoulder, “In just a couple months you’re going to be our older friend!”

“Oh, fuck you,” Bob laughs, pushing her away playfully.

As Monet takes her seat, Tiana stands up eagerly with her bag.

“I brought chips!” Tiana says cheerily and Kim can’t help giggling at her antics, “Barbeque, of course, and then extra spicy too.”

She dumps the bag out on the table, and Bob sighs dramatically, “Did any of you take this seriously?”

“I went all the way to Walmart for this,” Tiana pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.

“So boujee,” Kim smirks at her.

“Always,” she winks, playing along with Kim’s sarcasm.

Bob just groans and lays her head down on the table, “If all we have is sides and alcohol I’m not ordering pizza for y’all.”

Naomi pats Bob’s shoulder comfortingly, “You’re definitely going to be happy with what I brought.”

“I better be,” Bob says grumpily, though she perks up some when Naomi begins unpacking her tote bag.

Naomi first pulls out ice packs, and Kim is starting to get an idea of what Naomi has brought. Then she pulls out a plastic container with a label that Kim will always recognize, and even though it’s not homemade like Bob had wanted them to do, no one is going to be upset with this food choice.

“It’s sushi,” Naomi smiles brightly, and Kim melts from how precious she looks.

“At least it’s not another side dish,” Bob says, reaching out to grab the container from Naomi.

“Okay I’m really glad you brought that, we haven’t had it in forever,” Kim smiles at Naomi.

Naomi rolls her eyes affectionately, “We just had this, like, two weeks ago.”

“Forever!” Kim insists, unable to hold back her giggle.

“Alright, we get it, y’all have date night,” Monet says teasingly.

Kim and Naomi both whip their heads around to stare at her.

“Uhh… That’s not…” Naomi stutters.

“If we have date nights then you and Monique are married,” Kim immediately shoots back in a last ditch attempt to get the attention off of whatever it is she has with Naomi.

“Of course we are,” Monet says pleasantly, “She’s my best boo.”

“What am I then? Chopped fucking liver, girl?” Bob asks, pretending to be wounded.

“Nah you’re just my annoying older sister.”

“Okay if anyone is the annoying one in this relationship it’s you,” Bob says, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tiana pouts, “When do I get to be annoying?”

“Oh, honey,” Kim murmurs sympathetically, reaching across the table to hold her hand, “You already are.”

All of them start laughing, the playful nature of the group warm and familiar in a way that’s completely unique to their little group. It’s not something Kim has ever had before, she’s not even sure she’s had anything that’s ever come close to this. She doesn’t want it to ever end.

“Alright, Kim, your turn. And then we can finally have dinner,” Bob says, grabbing Kim’s travel bags and handing them to her.

Kim stands up to easily maneuver the bags, “Well… I may have gone a little overboard.”

“This is why I love you,” Bob smiles, excitedly leaning forward to see what she pulls out.

“Okay so I made some Jeyu Bokkeum, and also some vegetarian Bibimbap, and then a really traditional Doenjang Jjigae,” Kim trails off, holding up each container of food as she says the names.

“I’m going to pretend to know what any of that means,” Monet grins, “I’m just ready to eat.”

“I know what all of that is,” Tiana says proudly.

“She is smart after all,” Bob says teasingly.

As Naomi gets up with Monet to get plates, cups, and cutlery, Kim revels in this small family she’s managed to make for herself. Things haven’t always been easy for her, especially with lasting relationships, but this feels solid and real. She won’t let this go, not without a fight. She loves all four of these girls intensely, she loves that she has people to love. The five of them are going to be okay, she knows it in her heart. Especially here at this tiny dining room table, in this little apartment, sharing a piece of herself with them.

#rpdr fanfiction #s8 #naomi smalls #kim chi #bob the drag queen #monet x change #plastique tiara #group fic #lesbian au #college au #pining #budding relationship #fic challenge #potluck #found family #the best years yet #dancing in the kitchen #candy cane #concrit welcome

7 notes · View notes