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Ever since the opening night of Lexi’s play, when Fez showed up early with a bouquet of red roses in his hands, looking as handsome as a film star in his black suit — and the next day, when Rue came to her house and they spent the whole they curled up on Lexi’s bedroom floor, saying all the things they’d been too afraid to say for years — the three of them have become an unlikely, but inseparable trio.
Most days Lexi and Rue ride their bikes to Fez’s store after school. Sometimes just to say hi, before going off on their own little adventures; other times to hang out ‘till closing time, just talking and eating snacks he won’t let them pay for. Either way they always end up at his place by the end of the day, ordering pizza and watching movies. Sitting on Fez’s couch like that, tucked between her boyfriend and her best friend, since preschool, as Rue’s grown fond of saying — making Lexi’s heart swell a little each time, she finally feels like she’s found a place where she belongs, a place that’s just for her — one no one else could fill.
Lexi’s waiting for Rue at the gates again, it’s Friday and she and Fez have big plans for the weekend — a horror movie marathon with Rue and Ash tonight, a new cookie recipe to try out and Fez has promised to finally let her take him roller skating. Her lips quirk into a smile at the thought, Fez insists he’ll be like fuckin’ bambi on ice — but Lexi has a feeling he’ll pick it up fast, like he does most things.
Her smile brightens when she sees Rue coming her way, loose curls blowing in the crisp October wind and a bright smile on her make-up free face. She looks beautiful and happy — and that makes Lexi happy.
“Race you there?” Lexi calls and Rue’s smile widens into a wild grin. It’s one of their things, racing each other to the store — both going all in, as competitive now as they had been as little kids, flying into rages over games of tic-tac-toe and go fish.
“I’m gonna kick your ass, Howard!” Rue teases.
“Maybe you could, if your ass was as fast as your mouth,” Lexi shoots back, grinning. “On three?”
Rue does the count. “One, two, three—” and they’re off, pedaling hard and fast, flying down the sidewalks at a mad pace, hair whipping in the wind. Lexi loves the speed, it makes her feel fucking fearless — like nothing or no one could stop her and they’d regret it if they tried. They nearly wipe out on a wet patch of asphalt and come inches from death when a delivery van shows up out of nowhere — the relief of the near miss make them burst into giddy laughter, and Lexi’s still giggling when her front wheel hits some wet leaves and she goes flying off her bike — landing awkwardly on her right ankle. A sharp pain shoots through it, running all the way up her calf and she curses.
“Damn, Lexi. Are you okay?” Rue asks, crouching beside her best friend, who’s lying on the wet pavement clutching her leg.
“I’m okay,” Lexi says, trying to sound more brave than she feels — but the sharp pain in her ankle makes her voice a little wobbly and she doesn’t think she’s giving the best performance of her acting career.
“Are you sure about that? Rue frowns down at her. “Cause you look like you’re about to cry.”
“I’m not going to cry!” Lexi insists, propping herself up on her elbows. “But I think I’ve twisted my ankle.”
“Do you want me to look at it?” Rue asks and Lexi nods. Carefully Rue starts rolling up Lexi’s plaid pants. She’s being very gentle, but her touch still makes Lexi flinch.
“Yup,” Rue declares, inspecting Lexi’s ankle. “You’ve definitely sprained this.”
“Is it really bad?” Lexi asks, too scared to look.
“It’s totally gnarly dude,” Rue replies, but seeing the look of pure horror on Lexi’s face, she hurries to reassure her. “No, no, it’s just a bit swollen. I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
Sitting up to look for herself, brushing gravel from her hands, Lexi discovers that Rue’s right — there’s no blood or bones poking out, just a small swelling rising on the outside of her right ankle. Reassured by how undramatic it looks she tries rotating it, wincing in pain as she does. She bites her lip, considering what to do next.
“I think I have to see if I can walk on it,” she decides. “Do you think you can help me get up?”
With her arm thrown over Rue’s shoulder, and her friend gripping her waist in support, Lexi gently tries putting some pressure on her injured foot — a little bit is okay, but as soon as he puts her full weight on it the same sharp pain shoots through her leg, and she nearly topples, leaning heavily on Rue to steady herself.
“Fuck,” she hisses. “I don’t think I can walk on that.”
“Nope,” Rue agrees. “I think sitting might be the safest option for now.”
They sit back down on the curb. Rue pulls Lexi’s legs into her lap and Lexi feels hot tears press behind her eyes — she said she wasn’t going to cry, but she’s starting to realize this isn’t something she’ll be able to just walk off and she really doesn’t have time to be injured right now. They’re starting rehearsals for her new play next week and she’s one of the leads.
“Hey,” Rue says, finding her hand and giving it a light squeeze. “Do you want me to call Fez?”
Lexi nods, wiping a couple of tears away with the sleeves of her sweater. “Yes, please.”
“Yo,” Rue says into the phone, when Fez picks up. “Lexi fell off her bike and hurt herself, can you come pick her up?”
Lexi flinches at the harsh delivery. She was worried that hearing her cry would scare him, but she really should’ve told Rue to start by saying it's just a sprained ankle. Fez is always so overprotective with her, especially when it comes to the bike and she knows exactly how she’d feel getting a call like that — like the solid ground just fell out from under her feet.
“She’s fine," Rue says. "It’s a sprained ankle, bro. Of course, I’m sure. I’m literally looking at her. Jesus Christ, just talk to her yourself.” Rue pushes the phone into Lexi's already outstretched hand.
“He’s freaking out,” Rye offers in a stage whisper and Lexi rolls her eyes to say well obviously.
“I’m fine,” she says, before Fez can get a word in. “I just twisted my ankle falling off my bike, you don’t have to worry. Rue’s right though, I kinda need a ride.”
“Yeah, I’m leaving right now. I’ll be there in five, aight? You’re sure you’re good?” Fez’s voice on the other end of the line is so frantic it almost doesn’t sound like him — she’s never heard him talk so fast before. She’s about to tell him they’re at least 10 minutes from his store, when she hears a loud clanging noise, followed by Fez cursing. The thought of him behind the wheel of a car in this state isn’t very reassuring.
“Baby,” she says, using her softest voice, the one she usually reserves for one of Cassie's drunk meltdowns — she never thought she’d have to use it on her normally composed, laid back boyfriend. “You need to take a breath, okay? You sound really stressed out, right now.”
“Of course I’m stressed out, you’re hurt,” he says, his voice still hectic — so unlike his usual syrup-slow drawl.
“I know,” Lexi says, touched by his concern. “I know you’re really worried. I would be too, if it was you. But I promise you I’m fine and I really need you to drive safely, okay?”
“How you gon’ be worryin’ about my safety right now, shawty?” he asks, finally starting to sound like himself again.
“Well first of all, you just told me you’d be here in 5 and we’re like 15 minutes away,” she says.
“Shit, aight. That’s a fair point,” he agrees, with a hint of amusement, settling her nerves a bit. “I’mma see you in 15, then. I love you.”
“I love you too. And drive safely!”
“Yeah, I promise," he says, and she can hear the smile in his voice when he says it.
***
Fez drives as slowly as he’s capable of, with a heart that’s trying to beat its way out of his chest and shaky hands gripping the steering wheel. Everything in him is screaming to go faster, to race through the streets at full speed so he can get to Lexi faster — he needs to see with his own eyes that she’s okay, but he promised her he’d drive safely, so that’s what he’s going to do. It’s not easy though, not with the images that flashed through his mind when Rue told him Lexi was hurt still lingering in his mind — causing bile to rise to his throat every time he pictures her lying crumbled and bleeding on the pavement. He fears they’ll be ingrained there forever — fodder for his worst nightmares.
When he spots them Lexi and Rue are sitting on the sidewalk, chatting brightly, like they just decided to take a little break. Rue’s got Lexi’s plaid-clad legs pulled up in her lap and she’s saying something that makes Lexi giggle with delight, animatedly shaking her head so her high ponytail and little blue ribbon swing from side to side. The sight’s a balm for his soul — if she’s laughing like that it can’t be as bad as he feared. Not even an angel descending from heaven could look as divine to him in this moment as his girl — smiling, happy, all in one piece.
In his rush to get to her he forgets to unbuckle his seat-belt before opening the car door, gracelessly getting yanked back when he tries to get out — making both girls laugh. Lexi has the grace to hide her giggles behind her hand, while Rue cackles openly — he couldn’t care less though, there’s only one thing that matters to him right now, the beautiful brown-eyed girl in front of him.
He kneels down on the ground and pulls Lexi into a tight embrace, gently rocking her back and forth in his arms.
“Are you okay?” he mumbles into her hair, kissing the top of her head again and again.
“I’m fine,” she says, “I promise.”
Having his girl back in his arms, safe and whole, send warm waves of relief through his whole body. He holds her for a long time and she lets him, rubbing soothing circles on his back like he’s the one in need of comfort. When his heart’s finally stopped racing, he loosens his tight grip on Lexi, pulling back to look at her — she’s smiling, but her red-rimmed eyes tell him there’s been tears too.
“Yo, let me take a look at this ankle,” he says, shifting to carefully examine her injury. There’s an almost golf ball sized lump on the outside of her delicate ankle and he thinks he sees some bruising as well. He feels a pang in his stomach, cause even though he’s intensely relieved it’s not much worse — the sight of Lexi in pain is not something he’s equipped to handle. His anguish must be painted all over his face, cause Lexi reaches out and takes his hand.
“I’m okay,” she says. The tender concern in her eyes makes him feel embarrassed and touched at the same time. She’s the one who’s hurt — he’s supposed to be taking care of her.
“No, you’re not,” he says, decisively. "Let's get you to the hospital.”
“But it’s just a sprained ankle,” Lexi protests, wrinkling her nose and frowning. “Can’t I just like, ice it or something?”
If he’s being honest, that’s probably what he’d do — but he’s not going to tell her that. She’s going to see a doctor if she wants to or not.
“Is there an x-ray machine on this street corner I’on know about?” he says, looking around, making the corners of Lexi’s lips tug upwards.
“Your boy’s fucking corny, but he’s right,” Rue adds. “You should probably get an x-ray.”
“Okay,” Lexi agrees in a small voice, biting her full bottom lip, sounding like she might cry again. Fez guesses that she’s already worrying about the potential results — she’s always five steps ahead. He doesn't want to scare her, but he's grateful she agreed to get checked out so easily — he’ll feel a lot better once a doctor’s looked at her.
Fez gets up from the curb, bends down to scoop his girl up in his arms and carries her to the car.
“What about my bike?” Lexi says, when he’s placed her gently in the front seat. Fez pauses with his hand on the car door, not sure what to do about the bike. He’d be happy to leave that fucking death trap by the side of the road — but he knows Lexi would have some things to say about that.
“I got it,” Rue says, reaching out to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You go take care of our girl."
“Thanks, Rue!” Lexi calls from the car.
“Yeah, thanks kid,” Fez says, covering her hand with his own, his chest filling with real gratitude for her.
More than six months into her sobriety, he still hasn’t gotten used to this version of Rue. At first he'd been surprised she still wanted to be friends with him. Keeping your drug dealer around for your new start didn’t sound like the wisest move — but when he’d expressed his concern about that both girls had rolled their eyes at him and Rue’d said we’re family, Fez, you’re kinda stuck with me — it’d touched his heart more than he’d like to admit. If he’s being honest getting to know Rue, sober, has been one of the greatest gifts of his life. She’s as goofy and annoying as ever, always talking his head off with her crazy plans, but she’s also considerate, generous, caring — a really good friend. He’s grateful she still wants him in her life even without the drugs, and even more grateful to see the way her and Lexi’s friendship has blossomed over the past few months. They’ve always got their curly heads pressed together, whispering and laughing at shit on their phones.
He never really feels like his day has started ‘till they show up, calling his name, still slightly breathless from that crazy race they think he knows nothing about — like you couldn’t hear the roar of victory from whoever won that day 5 blocks away. Those girls are both as graceless at winning as they are at losing — it’s a miracle their friendship survives the cataclysmic arguments that erupt over who beat who at Mario Kart that time in 6th grade. He'll have to talk to Lexi about the racing, he decides, getting into the driver’s seat while Rue leans into the car to kiss Lexi goodbye — clearly that shit ain't safe.
“Do you really think it might be broken?” Lexi asks him, as soon as the car's on the road.
“I’on know, baby,” he tells her, putting his hand on her thigh. “But I’d rather be safe than sorry, you feel me?”
“But I can’t have a broken ankle now,” she says, her voice getting wobbly. “We’re starting rehearsals next week and I’m the lead.”
Of course that’s what she's thinking about right now, her play, he should’ve guessed really. Lexi’s mind’s always racing, making her worry about stuff that might not even happen.
“You ain’t gotta worry about that right now,” he says, rubbing her thigh with his thumb. “Let’s just get you checked out and see what we’re dealin’ with first and once we know more, we can figure everythin’ else out together, aight?”
He knows by now that nothing he says will stop her anxious mind from torturing her with worst case scenarios, but he’s still going to try his best to reassure her — even it just means telling her the same thing over and over again. If he can be the pleasant background sound that helps drown out the noise in her head, that’s more than enough for him.
“Okay,” Lexi agrees, with a small sniffle and a sweet smile. “Thanks for being so nice to me.”
He smiles back. “I ain’t even bein’ nice, I’m just takin’ care of my girl.”
***
Once the doctor’s examined Lexi’s ankle and she’s had her x-rays taken, there’s nothing to do but wait. Fez is glued to her side the whole time, holding her hand, stroking her back and kissing the top of her head when she gets anxious. He loses count of how many times he tells her that it probably isn't broken, that the doctor didn’t seem to think so and that even if it is, they’ll make it work — it must be close to 50, and he’d tell her 500 more if that’s what she needed. At one point he gets a laugh out of her, saying he’ll come carry her around the stage if he has to — it’s fucking music to his ears and he decided that this will be his job while she recovers, making her laugh and doing whatever he can to make her feel good.
Thankfully Lexi’s x-rays come back showing no fractures, and they both let out big sighs of relief. The verdict is a 2nd degree sprain and she’s told to stay off her foot completely for two days, then use crutches for support for another week. A middle-aged nurse with thick braids and a steely gaze comes in to wrap Lexi’s ankle up in an ace bandage and teach her how to use the crutches. Lexi’s usual grace does not translate well to crutches, she’s as awkward as a fawn who's learning to walk, an impression that’s only heightened by the pleading look she sends him with her doe eyes. The nurse is nothing but kind and patient with her, but Fez can tell his girl is getting frustrated. Lexi’s good at a lot of things, but being bad at something isn’t one of them — she’s so impatient she can’t stand not getting something right on the first try.
“It’s aight,” he tells her. “You won’t be needin’ those. I’mma carry you around like a princess.”
The smile Lexi sends him is so full of gratitude Fez doesn't even feel embarrassed about acting like a sap in front of the stern looking nurse. She smiles too though, amusement softening her features.
“Sounds like you got someone who's going to take good care of you,” she says, shooting Lexi a wink.
“He always does,” Lexi smiles, and her sincerity warms Fez's heart. It’s not that he hasn’t heard that before. Lexi's always praising him for all the things he does for her, telling him how special he makes her feel, how wanted, how loved. It still hits a little different — hearing her say it to a stranger.
***
Once they’re back in the car, Fez realizes he’s been taking for granted that Lexi still wants to come back to his place, when she might be more comfortable recovering at home.
“You still wanna come to my place or do you want me to take you home?” he asks, straining to sound neutral, like it wouldn’t crush him a little if she said she’d rather go home. Lexi doesn’t answer right away and when he looks over at her she’s biting her bottom lip, wearing a worried look on her face. She’s probably trying to think of a way to let him down easy, he thinks. He should just tell her it’s okay if she wants to go home, she’s had a long day — but he selfishly doesn't want to let her out of his sight.
“Do you still want me to come?” she asks, fiddling with her gold necklace. “I wouldn’t want to like, inconvenience you or anything.”
He can't believe that's what she’s worrying about, it makes his heart clench hat she'd ever even wonder about that — he always wants her around. He wonders if anyone’s given her a reason to think that or if that’s just how she sees herself — either way he’ll do everything in his power to make sure she never feels like that again.
“Of course I still want you to come. There’s nothin’ I want more,” he tells her, honestly.
“But I probably won’t be any fun,” Lexi says, wrinkling her nose and shrugging self-deprecatingly.
Fez thinks of all the weekends they’ve spent together, all the fun activities she’s always got planned. He really hopes she doesn't think she has to do all that for him to want to spend time with her. He'd never expect her to entertain him, especially not when she's injured. He just really wants to take her home and take care of her.
“I always have fun when I’m with you,” he tells her, taking her hand and rubbing the back with his thumb. “But I don’t ever want you to feel like you gotta be fun for me. That’s not why I want you to come.”
“Why then?” Lexi asks, looking at him wide-eyed.
“Cause I wanna take care of you, you goof. You can be as sad or tired or boring as you feel like, if you just let me do that — aight?”
“Are you sure?” Lexi asks, a small, disbelieving smile on her lips.
“Hell yeah. You know I’mma spoil your ass all weekend if you let me,” he says, squeezing her hand.
Lexi lets out a surprised laugh and shakes her head. “You really don’t have to do that, but of course I wanna come with you. If that’s okay.”
“Ain’t you listening to me at all?” he asks, starting the car and backing out of the parking spot. “I would’ve been fuckin’ devastated if you didn’t wanna come”
“That’s not true,” Lexi says, echoing her words from New Year’s. She’s grown a lot since then, he thinks they both have, but some of the same insecurities still linger — always making her doubt herself. If he really wants her to believe it, he's going to have to show her that taking care of her's a privilege to him, not an inconvenience.
"Why would I lie?” he shoots back. “I always wanna be the one who gets to take care of you. You're my girl, Lex.”
***
Making good on his word from the hospital, Fez lifts Lexi up and carries her bridal style from the car, into the house and straight to bed.
“Fez, it’s like 7 o’clock,” Lexi protests, as he gently lowers her down on the bed, careful not to hurt her. “You don’t have to put me in bed, I’m not an invalid.”
“I know I ain’t as good with words as you are, but I think you technically are — at the moment.”
“I have a sprained ankle, not — consumption,” she says, a look of amused exasperation on her face.
“Sorry, baby. It's doctor's orders,” he says, leaning down to kiss the confused furrow that appears between her brows. “They said bed rest for the first 48 hours.”
“What?” Lexi says, still frowning in confusion. “The doctor definitley didn’t say that. Did she?”
“That’s what I heard,” Fez says.“You’re supposed to keep your foot elevated as much as possible for the first 48 hours.”
“Yeah, as much as possible.” Lexi says, propping herself up on her elbows.
“It ain’t impossible for you to stay in bed is it?” Fez asks, gathering a pile of pillows for her to rest her ankle on.
“You’re crazy,” she says, but the bright light in her eyes and the rosy pink blush in her cheeks tells him she doesn’t exactly mind the attention he’s lavishing her with, good news — since he has no intentions of stopping.
“Nah, I’m just takin’ care of my girl. Now, let’s get this baby elevated,” he says, helping her prop her injured foot up on the pillows.
“How’s that? Does that feel okay?” he asks, stroking her leg carefully.
Lexi nods. “Yeah, that’s great.”
“You sure? It says you’re supposed to keep it above your heart,” he says, looking at the article he’s pulled up on his phone. “Do you think you need more pillows? I can get you some more.”
“From where?” Lexi asks with a laugh. “I’m pretty sure you’ve gathered all the pillows in the house.”
She's right, but if she needs more pillows he'll just go buy her more pillows. He wants her to be comfortable.
“You can have mine,” he says, reaching over the bed to grab it, but Lexi catches his hand in hers and shakes her head, smiling fondly at him.
“I don’t need any more pillows,” she says. “This is really great.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, “Cause I can get more. For real.”
“I’m sure,” Lexi says, her eyes softening. “It feels really good having it up like this. Thank you, baby.”
“Aight, I’mma go get you some ice," he says, leaning down to kiss her forehead one more time. "You need anythin’ else?”
“No, just you,” Lexi says, leaning back against the pillows he’s propped behind her back.
He walks out of the room, with a cheesy grin on his face — cause he knows she really means that and there's nothing that makes him happier than being the thing Lexi needs.
***
Lexi leans back against the pillows, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. Fez has been so sweet and patient with her all day, listening to her freak out over the same scenarios over and over again, reassuring her just as gently each time — never making her feel stupid or needy for getting upset. She’s almost embarrassed by how much she’s been basking in his attention. She's just never had someone take care of her this way before — not without making her feel like an inconvenience and it feels too nice to resist. It's like she's a little kid again, getting tucked into bed and kissed on the forehead, still young enough to believe love will always come this unconditional and free — and with Fez it does.
Fez comes back with an ice pack, which he gently places on the swollen part of her ankle. “How does that feel?” he asks.
“That’s perfect.” she says, smiling softly at him. “Thank you so much, baby.”
“You feelin’ hungry or thirsty or somethin’?”
“Not really,” she says. The painkillers they gave her at the hospital made her a little nauseous, but she doesn’t mention that. If she did he’d probably drive straight to a pharmacy to get her anti-nausea medicine, and all she really wants right now is him.
“Anythin’ else you need?” he asks, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, like he’s trying hard to think of something else to offer her.
“Yeah, I need you to come here,” she says, reaching for him with wide open arms. “I need cuddles.”
“I can help you with that,” Fez says with a boyish grin and a chuckle, it's the first time she's heard him laugh all day. Fez crawls into bed with her, but stays on his side — probably afraid of hurting her if he gets to close.
“No, come here,” she says, reaching out for him again and this time he does, laying down on his stomach, with his head resting on her chest. The warmth and weight of his body on top of hers is the most comforting feeling she knows, and she starts rubbing slow circles on his back, wanting him to feel as safe and soothed as she does.
“How are you feelin’?” he asks her.
“I feel really good,” she says. “The ice and elevation's helping a lot, it almost doesn’t hurt anymore. Thanks for taking such good care of me today."
“I’m just gettin’ started,” he promises, bringing a smile to her lips.
She doesn’t even care about her stupid ankle anymore, she's perfectly happy and content lying here with her boyfriend in her arms. The next week no longer feel like it’ll last a year, not with Fez taking such good care of her. She’s not sure he’s feeling quite as carefree as she is though, he’d sounded so scared on the phone and they haven’t really talked about that yet.
“What about you, how are you feeling?” she asks softly.
“What you askin’ me for, when you’re the one who’s hurt?” he says, like she's making no sense.
“I know it’s been a really stressful day for you too,” she says, still rubbing his back, trying to ease some of the tension in his body. “You sounded really scared on the phone.”
“I was fuckin’ terrified,” he confesses, a slight shudder runs through his frame and she hugs him to her. “When Rue said you fell off your bike, I had all kinds of shit racin’ through my mind, y’know?”
“Yeah, I thought she’d break the news a bit more gently,” Lexi offers. “I’m sorry we scared you.”
“You ain’t gotta be sorry, ‘s not your fault. I just — that shit coulda been a lot worse, you feel me?”
He’s right. They’d been reckless, going way too fast, not wearing helmets — she’s lucky she’s got a sprained ankle right now, and not a broken neck.
“I know,” she says, scratching his buzzed head with one hand, while the other comes to rest on his back. “I’ll be more careful from now on, I promise.”
“What if you’d hit your head?” he mumbles, his voice muffled by her shirt. Her fingers absentmindedly trace the smooth line of the scar on his head, and she feels a pang in her stomach when it dawns on her how deep his concern for her cuts.
It always seemed a little ridiculous to her, Fez worrying about her riding her bike around town — when his own life is so full of real dangers. But now she realizes that from his perspective there’s nothing silly or overprotective about it, he’s been terrified that something really bad would happen to her, something like what happened to him — and today it almost did. It must’ve been so scary for him getting that call, not knowing how badly she was hurt — and all this time she’s been racing around without a helmet or a care in the world, courting danger as recklessly as if she were immortal. She feels fucking awful about it. She never wants to scare him like that again. She won't, she promises herself. She'll be more careful.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” she says, tears pooling in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I scared you like that. I promise I won’t ever do that again. I’ll be so careful, from now on. I promise you.”
When he looks up at her, there are tears sparkling in his blue eyes as well. "You have to be,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. “Cause I can’t fuckin’ lose you.”
“I promise you’ll never lose me,” she says, even though they both know, perhaps better than most kids their age, that's not a promise anyone can make. Love isn't always rational or reasonable in it's requests though — so Lexi tells her boyfriend what she knows he needs to hear, hoping it’s a promise she’ll be keeping m for a long, long time.
***
Fez lies with his head buried in Lexi’s chest for a long time, listening to the steady beat of her heart — the most beautiful song in the world. Occasionally a stray tear escapes his eyes to wet her sweater, but they’re tears of relief more than anything else. They had a close call, but now she’s here, safe with him — where she belongs.
When Lexi softly drew her fingers along the line of his scar, Fez knew she’d guessed exactly where his mind had gone when Rue told him she was hurt — it’s his deepest fear, having to watch Lexi or someone else he loves go through something like what he went through. He thinks it might’ve killed him, seeing Lexi in that kind of pain.
All day he’s been trying to think of a way to talk to Lexi about her and Rue racing on their bikes without coming off too controlling — but now he knows he doesn’t have to, not after Lexi tearfully promised never to scare him like that again. He saw the sincerity in her eyes, there’s no way she’ll ever be that reckless again. He’s still going to buy her a helmet though — and one for Rue too while he’s at it.
After a while Lexi starts shifting beneath him, and he immediately props himself up on his elbows to look at her, searching her face for any signs of pain or discomfort.
“Are you okay? Is your ankle hurtin’ you?” he asks, concerned.
“Not really,” she says, shrugging. “It feels pretty numb right now. But I really have to pee. Do you think you could go get my crutches for me?”
“Nah, I told we ain’t gonna do that shit,” Fez says, jumping out of bed."I’ll carry you.”
“You don’t have to do that, I’ll be fine if you can just grab the crutches. I’ll have to get used to them sooner or later” Lexi says, but he hasn’t forgotten her pleading looks. There’s no way she’d rather hobble around on those thing when he could just carry her.
“Hell nah, you want piggyback, fireman or bridal style?” he asks.
“Bridal, I guess.” Lexi says, wrinkling her nose and gigging sweetly as he bends down and lifts her into his arms — trying to stifle a small groan as his back protests against this new activity.
“You know you're going to throw your back out if you insist on carrying me around like this for a week, right?” Lexi says, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“It’s worth it,” he says, breathing in the sweet vanilla and cinnamon scent of her hair. “And you’ll be all better by then, so you’ll take care of me, right?”
“I don’t know. I might,” Lexi says, deliberately drawing out her answer. “If I’m not too busy with my play and stuff.”
“So it’s like that, huh?” Fez says, turning around, like he’s going to carry her right back to the bedroom, making her giggle. “You better find some other means of transportation then.”
Lexi tightens her grip around his neck. “Of course I’d take care of you, silly,” she says, her voice as soft and warm as the tender kiss she presses to his stubble-covered cheek. “You know I would.”
“Yeah,” he agrees, wholeheartedly. “I know you would.”