With You ✔

38

"Honey, I'm hoooooome." Ellie sings out as she opens Kit's bedroom door, walking in and dumping her backpack on the floor as she skips over to the bed where Kit is leaning against the headboard and doing homework on his laptop.

"Did we get an A?" He looks up from the screen and toward Ellie, who is kicking off her booties and climbing into the bed next to him.

"Of course we got an A. We're the most responsible, well budgeted, fake married couple in the whole class." She flashes him a smile before reaching over him to take a handful of chips from the bag next to him.

"But I did forget to pay three bills that day that you had to miss class to help Gwen with the pep rally."

"Yes, but you're lovely wife took care of that the next class when she saw that you had forgotten, and we didn't even have to pay the late fees." She pops a chip in her mouth as she gives Kit a wink.

"And how did my lovely wife do that?" Kit smiles back at her, Ellie's amusing and carefree mood rubbing off on him.

"I may have told Mr. Mattox, aka the bill collector, that my husband has a brain tumor and can be kind of forgetful and he feels really bad about missing the payment, but it wasn't his fault." She shrugs, biting her lip but still smiling as she looks at his shocked expression.

"You played the tumor card?" He says in disbelief.

"I played the tumor card. Grades are important, Kit. It had to be done."

"I can't believe you - wow." He laughs, shaking his head at the image of Ellie telling their teacher that Kit's tumor was the reason he forgot to do part of their assignment, even though it was really because he had no idea what he was doing. Ellie always did that part of the assignment, and she had a system - one that he did not understand.

Ellie tilts her head back and dumps the rest of the chips in her hand in her mouth. Crumbs fall on her shirt and Kit swears he could never want or love anything more than he does this girl.

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"Dude, you're supposed to be helping me practice." Finn bounces the basketball towards his brother, who catches it and begins bouncing it against the concrete.

"Sorry, you know I haven't played in awhile."

"It hasn't been that long." Finn gestures for Kit to give him back the ball, and he does so, bouncing it to him from across the driveway. Finn catches it and shoots, making the shot. "Do you miss it though?"

Kit shrugs his shoulders, "I miss parts of it. I miss being part of the team and hanging out with everyone. I miss the games, the competition, and the feel of winning." He moves to the shade and takes a seat on the pavement, "But I don't miss feeling like winning a game is the most important thing in my life. I don't miss overworking myself for a game or coach yelling at us."

"He is pretty harsh sometimes." Finn takes a seat across from his twin, leaving some distance between them and rolls the basketball to Kit.

"I get it, we're state champs and have a reputation to live up to. But that's just not me, it never really was. I'm happier cheering you on from the stands." Kit rolls the ball back to his brother.

"Sometimes I wish you and El would cheer a little quieter." Finn doesn't mean it. He loves that his brother and best friend come to all of his games. Well, Kit comes to the ones that he can. It makes him happy to be able to look up in the stands and see his family cheering him on and supporting him.