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evesfallen · 2 months ago

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── ❆ you are my home, my home for all seasons.

— pairing: riley johnson x fem! reader

— summary: Throughout your childhood you were inseparable from Harper and Riley. Yet, after Harper and Riley’s messy breakup and university, you found that you lost contact with the two girls who were your lifeline. That is, until you’re invited back to your hometown to celebrate Christmas with Harper’s family.

— word count: 2,232

— a/n: anon, this one is for you. chat i love writing christmas stories.

You were never fond of Christmas. While the season brought cheerful lights and shades of red and green, you often found that it also dug up stress as well. The very stress that had sent you into the nearest dress shop on Christmas Eve. Letting out a small sigh, you ran your fingers along the endless racks of dresses, attempting to find one suitable for Caldwells’ annual Christmas Eve party. While you weren’t the type to want to impress people, there was something about Harper’s family that made you feel like you had to go out of your way to not be judged.

��Well I’ll be damned.”

The words come from behind you, trailing from the lips of someone you had longed for in your past. Instantly your head shot up from the dress you were eyeing, leaving you to turn your body towards the voice.

“Riley!” you gasped, quickly throwing your arms around the brunette that stood before you.

Caught off guard from your embrace, a surprised chuckle left Riley’s throat as she wrapped her arms around your waist. She was dressed in a silk blue blouse that remained partly revealed under a black blazer. The fabric of her dress pants brushed against your tights as you slowly pulled away to look up at her face. She was just as beautiful as you remembered her to be.

“Miss me?” Riley laughed, scrunching her nose.

“Of course,” you replied through your grin. “I thought you moved to New York?”

Riley shrugged off the question as she released her grip upon you.

“It didn’t work out.”

Your grin faltered slightly as you took a second to study Riley’s expression. Last you heard, she had gotten married to a journalist from the big apple, but the absence of a wedding ring made you question that notion.

“Oh I’m sorry…” you hesitated, quickly earning a small head shake from Riley.

“No it’s fine, don’t worry. I’m fine diagnosing everyone’s problems here.” she insisted, leaving room for her usual sarcasm in her words.

It earned a small giggle from your lips.

“So what brings you to town? I thought your parents moved to South Carolina to escape the cold.” Riley asked, tilting her head.

“Harper invited me to her family’s Christmas Eve party.”

“You willingly want to go to that?”

The question caused you to hesitate for a moment. You knew exactly the reason why you came, it was standing right in front of you. Yet, you couldn’t let her know that, not after the years of no contact.

“Kinda. It’s been a while since I’ve seen everyone. I missed you guys.”

Riley remained silent for a moment before shifting her attention towards the dresses behind you.

“Well, if that’s the case, you need something a little more eye-catching to wear.” she hummed, taking a step forward to begin looking through the racks.

Standing shyly to the side, you watched quietly as Riley occasionally glanced over at your body, attempting to decipher what shade she wanted to dress you in. Eventually, she lingered upon a scarlet velvet dress that fell off the shoulders. Raising a brow, Riley plucked it from the rack before holding it up to you.

“I don’t know if I can pull that off.” you stated, throwing your hands up defensively.

“Oh please, you can make any dress look stunning.” Riley reassured, before thrusting the dress into your arms.

Reaching for your waist, she began to guide you towards the fitting rooms. After finding the nearest empty room, she nudged you inside.

“Now change.”

Letting out a small sigh, you took a moment to stare at the mirror beside you. Unmistakably, your reflection’s cheeks held a soft dusting of red upon them, no doubt from the compliments Riley had showered you in. Memories flooded through your mind like an old kinetoscope, showing glimpses of quiet moments of Riley and yourself. The moment she had told you that her and Harper had started dating still caused your stomach to twist into a pit. Shaking off the thought, you turned your attention to the dress once more before beginning to strip yourself of your winter clothes. The air felt cold against your bare back, making you wonder what kind of store would have the air conditioning on during the winter months. Reaching for the dress, you slipped it on with ease. The velvet felt soft against your skin as you turned back towards the mirror. Your eyes widened at the sight.

Riley certainly knew how to pick the perfect dress.

Reaching behind your back, you fiddled for the zipper desperately. You managed to zip it up to the center of your spine before realizing that you’d need assistance.

“Riley?”

“Mhm?”

Riley’s voice came from right outside the fitting room. You sighed softly in relief as you carefully unlocked the door.

“Could you help me zip this?”

“Yeah, give me a–” Riley began, only for her words to stop as she opened the door.

Her eyes lingered upon the sight of you in the dress, taking in every inch that the velvet touched.

“Holy shit.” she murmured, causing your cheeks to burn.

“Does it look okay?” you asked hesitantly as she took a step closer towards you.

Turning around, you exposed the zipper to her. As her fingers glided to your back, you felt her knuckles graze your skin as she zipped the dress up.

“Are you kidding? It looks beautiful on you.”

“Thank you…”

You watched in the mirror’s reflection as Riley's hands remained upon your back for a moment, before slowly moving towards your shoulders. Gently giving them a squeeze, her eyes flicker to the reflection as well. Mentally you cursed the fact that there was no way you were able to hide your blush.

“You’re a little red, babe.” she teased, pressing her chin against your shoulder.

“It’s just really warm in here.”

“Uh huh.”

God you had missed her touch. The scent of her cinnamon vanilla perfume surrounded you as you began to melt against Riley. Lost in the moment, the feeling of the price tag against your thigh brought you back to reality. Carefully reaching for it, you tugged the small piece of paper upwards in order to read the cursive price printed upon it.

“On second thought it’s not that pretty.” you gasped, quickly dropping the price tag.

Raising a brow at your words, a frown formed upon Riley’s lips as she tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“They want three hundred for it. I could barely budget my plane ticket here.”

Reaching for the tag, Riley let go off your shoulders before studying the printed price. Refusing to look up at you, she tugged at the tag until it pulled from the dress, causing you to gasp.

“Riley? What are you doing?” you asked, turning around to face her.

“Giving you your Christmas present early.” Riley replied simply, stepping out of the fitting room before you could grab onto her.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, you quickly reach for the zipper behind your back in a desperate attempt to free yourself from the dress.

You failed miserably.

A groan slipped from your lips as you plopped onto the circular seat in the corner of the fitting room. After waiting for what felt like forever, Riley returned with a receipt in hand.

“Riley, you didn’t have to do that.” you protested quietly, pouting as you rested your chin in her hands.

Shrugging innocently, Riley held out her hand to you. “I wanted to.”

Staring at her hand for a moment, it didn’t take you long to grab onto it. Standing up, you intertwined your arm with Riley as the two of you began to walk out the store. It didn’t make any sense to change, after all the party was merely hours away.

“Why?”

“Because…”

“Because…?”

“Because.”

Her words made a giggle escape your lips as the two of you stepped into the snowy streets of Pittsburgh. The frosty breeze nipped at your skin, causing you to push yourself further against Riley as you walked. A faint smile tugged at Riley’s lips as she kept you close beside her.

“Want to take my car? We can stay at my place until it’s time for the party.” Riley asked, raising a brow.

“Please.” you replied, ignoring the chattering of your teeth from the cold.

Hurrying over to Riley’s silver SUV, you watched as she tugged open the passenger door for you, before guiding you inside. Her car was everything you’d imagine it to be, neatly organized with a beaded air freshener dangling from her mirror. As she slid into her driver’s seat, the car’s engine roared to life.

“You know those are illegal right? You can get pulled over for having stuff on your mirror.” you teased, pointing at her air freshener.

“What are you a snitch?” she shot back, laughing softly at your remark.

“Maybe. A criminal doctor sounds pretty dangerous.”

“Ooh, watch out now.”

Meeting each other’s gaze, the two of you erupted in laughter as Riley began to drive to her house on the East side of the city. The car ride was filled with aimless chatter, the two of you catching up on old high school drama that no longer concerned either of you. Harper was brought up as well, very faintly as you recalled seeing her new girlfriend Abby.

“Think they’ll last?” you asked, curiously, raising a brow as Riley pulled into her driveway.

Her house was bigger than you expected.

Sighing softly, Riley set the SUV into park before running a hand through her chocolate colored hair.

“Not if Harper doesn’t accept herself.”

The words held a crucial amount of weight as the two of you hopped out of the vehicle. You couldn’t imagine the pain Riley had gone through. You were there when it happened of course, but it was almost a little too grimacing to look back on. Harper had managed to turn everyone against Riley, leaving only you to stick at her side. Part of you wondered if Abby would suffer a similar fate. Ignoring the thought, you followed Riley up the front steps to her home. Her window revealed a large Christmas tree, dimly lit with an absence of decorations.

“What’s with the sad looking tree?” you asked curiously, nodding your head towards the sight as Riley twisted open the door.

Raising a brow, Riley pushed the door open before following your gaze.

“Haven’t had the time. The clinic has been insane with everyone and their mother thinking they’ve the flu.” Riley sighed.

“Those common colds can be pretty risky.” you snickered, earning a small smirk from Riley.

“Get in here.”

‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

“You’re going to drop me.”

“No I’m not! I swear.”

Riley’s arms wrapped around your waist firmly as she raised up into the air. Holding your breath, you held a Christmas tree star tightly in your hands in an effort to add a finishing touch to the now decorated tree. Swaying slightly, you felt your heart rate quicken as Riley regained her footing.

“This is how I go, at the hands of a doctor.” you whined, reaching out to place the star upon the top of the tree.

It shimmered against the light as your response earned a playfully squeeze upon your waist.

“Hey!” you gasped, as Riley’s laughter surrounded you.

Setting you back on the ground, Riley’s hands lingered upon your waist as she caught her breath. There was a new found softness within her gaze as she pulled you closer.

“That wouldn’t be such a bad way to go, would it?” she hummed.

You stumbled slightly against her while your cheeks burned a soft shade of red. Pressing against her body, the two of you managed to lose your footing. Falling against the tan sofa behind you, you land upon Riley’s lap. Her eyes widened for a moment and you noticed the faintest blush creeping onto her cheeks. Your own face mirrored the same image. Keeping her arms wrapped around your waist, Riley smiled gently up at you before hesitating.

“Do you really want to go to Harper’s party?” she asked, her question quiet.

Tilting your head, you hesitated before draping your arms loosely around Riley’s neck.

“What would we do instead? You know she’d flip if we didn’t go.”

“I don’t care about what she thinks.”

“You’ve made that quite apparent m’lady.”

Riley chuckled at your words before reaching up to tuck a loose strand behind your ear. A storm of butterflies fluttered within your stomach as you leaned into her touch.

“I’m glad you came home.” Riley whispered softly, a genuine flicker within her eyes.

Your words leave your lips before you could even think of stopping them.

“You are my home.”

Riley’s eyes widened at your words and you quickly bit the inside of your cheek in horror.

“I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have sai–”

Before you could finish, Riley’s hands reached for your face to gently tug you into a soft kiss. Her lips tasted like peppermint, like the holiday chapstick collections you could buy only at Christmas time. Yet, there was more than just that. She tasted like home, no matter what the season was. Pulling away for a moment, Riley rested her forehead against yours as the Christmas tree’s lights brought a warm hue to her hair.

“You’re my home too.”

#riley johnson x reader #happiest season #aubrey plaza happiest season #riley johnson

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