Shourtney Oneshots (M)

Impossible, Part One

Still fictional writing about fictional characters that merely borrow names from elsewhere.

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Shayne is, to put it lightly, really fucking bored. Between actual COVID lockdown rules, his two jobs' requirements and his own paranoia about getting sick because his immune system has always been kind of trash anyway, he's barely left his house and definitely not interacted with another person in three months. It's why he feels himself almost giddy with excitement when, mid-afternoon on a lazy Saturday where he's hours deep into Stardew Valley on his Switch, his phone chimes with the dumb custom text sound Courtney set for herself when she stole his phone on the flight back from Australia. Ironically, the last time he'd seen anyone in person, too.

"Hey dumbass, you already got yourself a single-bubble buddy now those rules changed or wanna come over for drinks and whatever hang out?" the text reads, Shayne blinking in confusion for a moment before he navigates to the LA COVID restrictions page and finding that there is, indeed, an update saying people that live alone can choose someone to visit.

"I'm not that popular. Yeah, when? Today?" he replies, quickly, not giving a second thought to it. Of course Courtney would be his living-alone buddy.

"Literally whenever my guy I'm bored as hell but I got your favourite beer and, the best thing of all, my company." She replies, almost instantly. It makes him almost scoff to himself, quickly saving and exiting out of his game to go and get ready to leave.

He knows the drive between their apartments well, and not 45 minutes later he is standing awkwardly at her door, one hand stuffed in his jeans' pocket as the other forms a fist to knock, knowing she hates the sound of her own doorbell.

"Hey Shania," she greets him, opening the door with an almost nervous smile. It makes his own nerves flare, too, as he grapples with the presence of another person for the first time in ages.

"Hey," he answers, a little awkwardly, ambling into her entryway when she gestures for him to come in. He holds one hand out behind himself to let the door close without slamming, but after he does, he stuffs that hand into his other pocket, too, as he glances around her apartment for a moment. There's nothing particularly new to see, and when he glances back to see her awkwardly rocking on her own feet, he feels his mind scramble as he gives her an almost-grimace before reaching out his arms for a hug.

"You're so weird," she tells him, but she steps forward too, her own arms looping around his upper back and squeezing slightly as his settle around her waist.

"Well I'm sorry I haven't interacted with another actual person since- literally since you dropped me off at my apartment when we got back from Australia," he answers, reluctantly pulling back from the hug and feeling himself slip into awkwardness again for just a moment until Courtney laughs and seems to shrug it off.

"Yeah, that's the vibe. I know it's only like 4pm, but want a beer?" she asks, moving further into her apartment towards the kitchen.

"Sure, why not," Shayne agrees, slowly following her and throwing off his own awkwardness as he leans against her kitchen doorway, "I'm up for getting tipsy and playing or watching some bullshit on your sofa like it's the shutdown all over again."

"We did continue that post-shutdown, actually, just haven't since the world went weird and virus-y," she reminds him, turning back from the fridge and handing him his beer before twisting the cap off her own cider as she hip-checks him out of the doorway and moves past him over to the couch.

It's so easy for Shayne to slip into the comfort and the familiarity of hanging out with Courtney in her living room. They end up picking back up what he'd been doing all morning at home – Stardew Valley – but it's so much more entertaining doing it co-op on her Switch, where he can be mean to all the other villagers and constantly hide behind trees when she's trying to find him for some reason or another. They move onto Netflix after they've had enough of the game, letting a show they've both seen before – together, actually – play in the background as they order in Korean for dinner (Courtney's pick, but he goes with it) and banter aimlessly as they eat.