#surfcheer fic

[keerysquinn]

ship: Argyle/Chrissy Cunningham wc: 1.2k A/N: Happy December 1st! I hope you enjoy the first of my stories for the season! This one specifically was suggested by the always lovely @mothellie and is dedicated to all of my rarepair server girlies (gn) for helping me come up with ideas for this challenge and helping me work out character weirdness in my head <3

“We can study in here,” Chrissy said as she led Argyle into the dining room. She'd invited her boyfriend over to study for their government exam, and she figured they'd be able to focus better if she didn't take him up to her bedroom right away.

They set their things down on the table, and Chrissy started to get her notes ready. However, Argyle was already distracted by a fancy looking box with numbered drawers that was on display on the room's sidebar.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the box.

Chrissy briefly glanced up before turning her attention back towards her work.

“That's Danny's advent calendar. My mom pulled it out and stocked it for him last night. There's a religious element to it, but it's mostly just an excuse for him to get a piece of chocolate every day leading up to Christmas.”

“Where's yours?”

“Probably in the attic somewhere.”

Argyle looked back at Danny's calendar and frowned.

“That doesn't seem very fair on your mom's part.”

“I don't mind,” Chrissy said with a small shrug. “I haven't had one since middle school, so I don't really expect one anymore. It's no big deal. Now, quiz me with these flashcards. As soon as I get every one of them right, we can go watch a movie or something.”

Chrissy could say that it was no big deal that she didn't have her own advent calendar, but he knew her better than that by now. They'd talked at length about how she was used to being forgotten or cast aside by her parents in favor of spoiling her younger brother, but it still stung. He could see the disappointment on her face when she told him how long it had been since she last had one. That just meant he had some planning to do.

The next day, Argyle was waiting at Chrissy's locker as soon as she got to school.

“You're here early,” she said as she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek hello. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I have a surprise for you,” he told her. “And I was hoping you could come over after school, so I could give it to you.”

“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

“You'll find out when you come over.”

“I don't even get a hint?” she pouted.

“Patience, my petite pineapple,” he said with a butchered French accent as he squished her cheeks between his hands to erase her pout.

“Okay, I'll wait,” she said between giggles. She removed his hands from her cheeks and retrieved the things she needed for her first couple of classes from her locker.

“Walk me to first period?” she asked, offering him her free hand.

He took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.

“Always.”

“Okay, keep your eyes closed,” Argyle said as he led Chrissy back to his bedroom. He had his hands covering her eyes as he steered her around the house. “No peeking.”

“I promise I won't peek. I've been thinking about this all day, so I'm not gonna ruin the surprise now.”

He positioned her to be standing in front of his bed, and once he had her where he wanted her, he double checked that everything was where he needed it to be.

“Okay, you can look now,” he said as he took his place next to her.

Chrissy opened her eyes and took in the sight before her. Sitting on the bed were three boxes. The first was a shoebox filled with small numbered envelopes, the second one was larger and filled with brown paper bags, and the third was another shoebox filled with small packages wrapped in newspaper.

“What's all this?” she asked.

“I made us some advent calendars,” he said, looking very pleased with himself. “I know they're not as fancy as the one your brother has, but I think I did a pretty good job with what I had around the house.”

“You made me advent calendars?” She beamed up at him. Nobody had ever done something so sweet for her before, and she was touched by the thoughtfulness of this gesture.

“So what am I looking at?” she asked. “Where do I start?”

He picked up the first box and handed it to her.

“So, this one is the only one that's technically all yours,” he told her. “It's probably the closest to what your brother is getting, and since you didn't get to open one yesterday, you can open two now.”

She pulled out the first envelope and opened it to find a chocolate coin and a note that read ‘for my toasty little pizza bagel’ which immediately had her blushing and giggling. She opened the second envelope to find another chocolate coin, but this time, the note read ‘for my blushy-faced bumblebee.’

“How'd you know these were going to make me blush?” she asked.

“I have psychic powers, obviously,” he teased. “But you always blush at my cheesy nicknames. It's one of my favorite things about you.”

He poked her cheek which was still positively pink, and she stood on her tiptoes to pull him in for a kiss.

“Have I told you that you're the best boyfriend ever lately?” she asked.

“Only all the time. But it's always nice to hear.”

He gave her another quick kiss, and then she turned her attention back towards the bed.

“What's in the big one?”

“That one is the one I made for myself, but it can be shared with you whenever you come home with me if you want. Each bag has a joint and a snack in it for when the munchies hit afterwards. I call it Holy Smokes.”

Chrissy doubled over laughing.

“I love it,” she told him. “It's very you, and I will gladly cuddle up with you while you smoke and share your snacks. But maybe we don't mention this one around my mom, okay?”

“I don't know,” he teased. “I think she'd like it. It's very festive.”

“Sure, she would. What's in the third one?”

“That's another one that's just for you, but really, it's also a treat for me when you think about it. Each one of those packages has a different flavored lip gloss or chapstick in it, and I was thinking that we could turn it into a game where I have to guess the flavor you're wearing every day.”

“Oh really?” she asked with a knowing smirk. “But wouldn't it be very easy for you to guess since you're the one who made it?”

“I thought of that, and that's why none of those ones are numbered. So you can choose at random, and I'll have no way of knowing what it is.”

“Good thinking,” she said with another giggle. “We should probably get started soon then. We have two days of lip gloss for you to guess already, and who knows how long that'll take.”

“Definitely,” he agreed. “And I'm a terrible guesser, so you're probably going to have to reapply it a couple times. Just so I can be really sure of what it is.”

“Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way.”

[jonathanbiers]

sen’s fic rec!

i was going to write an introduction to this but i couldn't think of anything. i just want to show appreciation for a few fics i absolutely loved which in my opinion, haven't got the recognition they deserve. reblogs are encouraged, that's kind of the whole point of this! go and appreciate a writer you love rn.

Hands in your Heart, and Hearts in your Hallway by @sharpbutsoft

stonathan teen & up 3,220 words Jonathan knows, with an aching certainty, that there’s another version of events, another timeline, Will might have said, where this could go differently. Where the first time he straddles another boy, and is forced to face the fact that he likes it more than any boy should, is a tender moment.

my comments: i fully acknowledge that there might be a bias here, as this fic was gifted to me and i got to see it through the various stages of completion, but it’s really something so special. please give it a read if you miss s1 stonathan as much as i do, it does their characters justice in a way that feels so realistic yet hopeful.

how the light gets in by @fastcardotmp3 (series, still in progress)

wheelingham some parts rated m, some rated e 29,427 words Chrissy looks at Nancy Wheeler every day and she knows that this is the good, this girl is the good, with her offerings of sustenance (no matter how limited) and her promises to come back tomorrow again and again and again, never breaking and never missing. And Chrissy would die twice before she hurt the good. That’s the difference, because Chrissy sees blood on her face and in her hair, sees the knots in it and the lack of washing, and all she wants is to create her own pocket of good here.

my comments: the kas!chrissy au i didn't know i needed until it happened, this series is everything. i'm feral about it in a way i can't articulate here without sullying you guys' good image of me (lmfao as if) or getting very, very tmi

Let’s Get Out of This Country by @walkingsaladshooter

surfcheer (argyle/chrissy) teen & up 2,579 words They drive until they find a field of wildflowers. They pick them and weave them into crowns, place them on each other’s heads. The sun is warm and Chrissy asks him if he’s ever read A Wrinkle in Time and he gasps like he just won the lottery. They lie in the sun until her cheeks burn pink and talk about tesseracts and gentle beasts until she nearly feels hoarse.

my comments: this fic was so soft and i still think about it. it captures the vibe i envision them sharing so well. healing to read fr

What Water Gives, It Takes Away by @bitchsteve (saintmares on ao3)

nancy-centric teen & up 3,224 words It’s a strange feeling, the sinking. It’s almost serene, and nothing at all like she had imagined it would be. Not that she had imagined it all that much. Still, as she descends down further and further toward the very bottom of the pool, slipping into a somewhat suspended sitting position, all she feels is calm as all the peace that she had been searching for since they left the Upside Down finally finds her.

my comments: i'm not getting over this fic any time soon. such a spot-on characterization of nancy and all she's been through. getting to see her start down the path of healing and being surrounded by the people she loves (and who love her) it's just...so good.