Something Simple
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine, I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- I still have four January challenge fics to finish (hopefully by Monday) but this is the first of my two 750/800 followers contest. This one is some Seth/MC fluff. This starts out a little angsty but turns into fluff. It’s set right after Chapter 9 because I had some issues with the chapter that I wanted to work out.
Pairing- Seth/MC
Rating- PG-13
Summary- After coming back from Vegas, Katerina and Seth have a talk.
Words- 1376
I got into my apartment and collapsed on the couch. Vegas had been fun, but exhausting and a little surreal. I couldn’t believe people actually lived like that and thought it was normal. Would I ever get to that point?
I hoped not. It had been fun to live like that for a night, but I couldn’t imagine that becoming my reality. I know my parents would have freaked out at the sheer extravagance of it all and a part of me had too.
I was grateful that Matt had picked up my tab, though that felt a little weird too, especially since I had turned him down, though he’d been really nice about it. It had left me feeling weird though and questioning his motives for inviting me along and I hoped it didn’t affect our working relationship.
I liked Matt, but I didn’t want to get involved with him, for multiple reasons. Including the fact that I was starting to fall for someone else. Just then there was a knock on my door, jolting me out of my thoughts. I got up to answer it and saw Seth standing there, a couple gift baskets juggled in his arms.
“I collected these last night so we could walk in the hallway,” he told me as he entered the apartment, “Gloria said you left with an overnight bad, something about how you were ‘soaring with the stars’. Did you take a trip to outer space?”
“Close, I went to Vegas,” I told him, taking the gift baskets from him. This was getting ridiculous, but I’d probably a year’s supply of champagne and chocolate.
Seth raised an eyebrow. “You just decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Vegas?”
“Matt invited me,” I explained, “I went with him and a few of his friends.”
“Matt, huh?” Seth commented and I could hear the edge in his voice, “I guess that’s part of being a big star, right? I’m guessing you didn’t stay somewhere cheap and tacky and get the whole Vegas experience.”
“Josh would probably have been ok with that,” I joked and then stopped when I saw the look on his face. The name dropping wasn’t making things better. I wasn’t trying to brag, I just… “Are you upset I went to Vegas?”
“Why would I be upset?” Seth questioned, but he didn’t meet my gaze. “it’s not my place to tell you where you should or shouldn’t go.” He turned to go towards the door. “I should go.”
“Do you have to?” I asked him, motioning to the baskets, “I have a lot of fruit to use up. I was thinking of whipping up a fruit salad, you could share it with me.”
Seth hesitated.
“Please?” I asked quietly, I didn’t want him to leave and I didn’t want things to be weird between us. He was the first friend I had made in L.A and I hoped he could be a lot more than that.
“Ok,” he agreed. “Do you need help?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head as I moved to the kitchen, “I am very efficient with a knife.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Seth said with a laugh, his mood lightening a bit.
I chopped the fruit quickly and then tossed it with the dressing I had prepared and stuck it in the fridge. “It needs about half an hour,” I told him, “want to go up to the roof?”
“I guess we can,” Seth agreed, though he still seemed uncomfortable.
“Or we can stay here,” I said quietly, studying him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he told me and then sighed, running his hand through his hair, “I guess I’m just jealous.”
“Of how fast my career has taken off?” I asked quietly, thinking of the conversation we’d had the previous day.
“Of Matt Rodriquez,” he corrected, looking embarrassed, “I mean, how could I possibly compete with Hollywood’s biggest action star?”
“No one’s asking you too,” I told him.
His face shut down and I realized he’d misinterpreted what I said.
“I mean, I don’t want Matt,” I explained, stepping towards him, “he’s a nice guy and I like working with him, but I don’t want to be with him and I told him that.” I winced, I hadn’t meant to tell him that last part.
Seth looked stunned. “You turned down Matt Rodriquez?”
“I did,” I confirmed, “I don’t want to be with Matt.” I took a deep breath, summoning my courage. “He’s a nice guy, but he’s not the one I can’t get out of my mind.”
Seth was very still for a moment. “Please say it’s me.”
“Of course it’s you,” I told him quietly.
That was apparently all he needed to answer, because the next thing I knew, he was gathering me in his arms and kissing me deeply. I kissed him back eagerly, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my body against his. His hands rested on my hips as he continued to kiss me, his tongue pushing my lips apart.
Seth eased me backward, until my knees hit the couch and we toppled onto it, never once breaking the kiss. I reveled in the feel of his body on top of mine. I eased my leg between his as we continued to kiss, my hands slipping under his shirt, moaning as his hands did the same.
We broke the kiss long enough for me to tug at his shirt and pull it over his head, shifting so that he could do the same with mine and then his lips were on mine again, his bare skin pressing against mine, making me want him more.
“Seth,” I whispered as his lips moved down my throat to my collarbone, “oh Seth.”
His hands rested on the button of my jeans and then he stopped, pulling back slightly, though his body was still on top of mine.
I gazed up at him in confusion. ‘What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he assured me, “except I’m not sure this is the right place.” He motioned to my apartment, reminding me that we were still in the living room. “I mean Rocket could interrupt us at any moment.”
I laughed, despite the awkwardness of the moment. “I guess the setting does leave something to be desired,” I agreed, “But we could always move to my bedroom.”
Seth hesitated.
I bit my lip. “Don’t you want me?”
“Of course I do,” he assured me, shifting his body so I could tell exactly how much he wanted me. “But I’m not sure this is the right time. I mean, I’m not sure this is a step we should take because I was a jealous ass. I want it to be about us and nobody else.”
I melted at his words. He was such a nice guy. Part of me wanted to continue what we were doing because I wanted him so badly, but I knew he was right. “Ok.”
Seth took a deep breath and then pulled back, getting off the couch. He grabbed his shirt and put it back on, while I did the same.
I stood up as well. “That was…”
“Yeah,” he agreed, running his hand through his hair. “It was.”
“We need to do that again,” I told him with a smile. “Soon.”
Seth grinned. “That can be arranged. How about I even buy you dinner first?”
“I’d love that,” I assured him, unable to keep the smile off my face at the idea of a real date with Seth.
“Good,” Seth told me and then he hooked an arm around my waist pulling me close and kissing me again, “because this is definitely worth repeating.”
“It is,” I agreed, kissing him back before pulling away, “but for now, I think I owe you some fruit salad.”
I headed to the kitchen, a happy smile on my face. As exciting as Vegas as had been, these moments with Seth in my apartment, this new dynamic we were establishing, was 100x better. I never wanted to lose this feeling or reach a point where I no longer savored the little moments and I hoped that Seth would always be there to ground me and to share those moments with.
- End
