the rookie | andrew benintendi

xx | cincinattus

"Flight to Boone County, Kentucky now boarding. Flight to Boone County, Kentucky now boarding."

Ari sighed, standing up and flipping her braid behind her shoulder as she slung her carry-on bag, her backpack, onto her shoulder. She and Andrew were on their way to Ohio to spend a week with Andrew's family.

"Excited?" Andrew questioned as he extended the handle of his suitcase to its full length.

"Yeah, a little bit," she told him, adjusting the Bruins hat on her head. "It's been a while since I've been to Ohio."

"I'm excited to see my family again," he said as they slowly walked to join the line of passengers that were waiting to board. "And I'm excited for you to meet them."

"I'm excited, too," she told him, leaning forward to bit to mutter, "if only they knew we were dating."

Andrew shrugged. "It'd probably be going the same way. More cuddling though."

She laughed. "That's for sure."

The plane ride was a short two hours long, as they had previously taken a short connecting flight from Burlington to Newark. Andrew's sister, Olivia, was to pick them up and bring them to their parents' house, so Ari and Andrew waiting for her to arrive for a couple of minutes. They had already gathered their luggage by the time Andrew receive a text from Olivia, letting them know she had arrived.

Ari looked around, eventually spotting Olivia walking towards them. She pointed her out and Olivia smiled, waving at them. Andrew shoved his phone into his pocket before walking towards his sister, meeting her halfway.

"About time you got here," Olivia joked as she hugged him.

"Not my fault Ari was selfish and wanted to visit her family first," Andrew joked as he pulled away.

"I was not! You're the one that agreed to it!" Ari argued, causing both Olivia and Andrew to laugh.

Olivia turned to Ari, holding a hand out to her. "I believe you. I'm Olivia, Andrew's sister."

"Nice to meet you, Olivia," Ari greeting, shaking her hand.

"Likewise," she replied. "Are you two ready to go?"

Ari and Andrew looked at each other.

"I think so," Andrew replied.

Olivia smiled. "Let's go, then."

It was a forty minute drive from the airport to their family's house in Madeira. Olivia and Ari exiled—as Ari had called it—Andrew to the backseat, while Olivia drove and Ari sat in the passenger seat. They talked throughout the car ride, Olivia asking plenty of questions about the two of them(Olivia and Ari took a break to scream the intro of A Thousand Miles before promptly switching the song).

Eventually, they pulled into the driveway of Andrew and Olivia's parents' house. Ari sighed as she got out of the car, moving to grab her bags from the trunk. She was beginning to grow nervous about meeting Andrew's parents, though she wouldn't admit that to him. He hadn't looked nervous meeting her parents, she was determined to do the same with his.

"Andrew and Ari are here!" Olivia yelled as Ari followed her inside with Andrew close behind her. She looked around, taking in the view of Andrew's fairly-nice house as she set her bags down.

Andrew's 12-year-old sister, Lily, was the first to emerge, with her parents close behind. She jogged up to Andrew, giving him a big hug. He chuckled, hugging her back.

"Finally!" she cheered. Andrew chuckled, looking over at Ari.

She shrugged. "Wasn't my fault," she muttered.

Andrew's mom, Jill, laughed. "We're just glad he's home," she said, smiling at Ari. "And we're glad you've decided to visit as well, Ari."

"Had to make it even," she joked, smiling over at Andrew. "He was the one who suggested this in the first place."

"Are you dating?" Lily asked loudly and Ari fell silent, unsure of what to say. Were they obvious, or was she just assuming?

"No, Lily, we're not," Andrew lied, and Ari was glad he was convincing, "we're just close teammates."

Lily nodded, seeming to believe the lie.

"Make yourself at home," Jill told Ari before looking over at Andrew. "Andrew, why don't you give her a tour of the house?"

Andrew nodded, looking over at Ari, who nodded once in response. As they walked away from the group, she leaned over, muttering, "that was close."

"Tell me about it," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Good thing you're a good liar," she joked.

Andrew showed her around the house, pointing out anything important before the two found themselves in Andrew's bedroom. Ari laid on the bed, looking around at the posters that hung on the walls and the various trophies and metals that were strewn about on the shelf by the far walls.

"Why are you so good at sports?" she questioned as she looked over at the basketball trophies.

He chuckled from where he was sitting down on the chair in front of his desk, spinning back and forth slightly. "Practice, I guess."

Ari rolled her eyes, before holding a hand out to him and motioning for him to come over. He complied, getting up and walking over to his bed. She grabbed his wrist, causing him to flop down on the bed next to her. Unlike Ari's bed, his was able to fit both of them.

"That's better," she said, smiling as he glanced over to see if the door was closed, which it was. Upon noticing this, Ari raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can never be too careful," he explained with a sigh.

"Right, right," she replied, and though she didn't like it, she knew he was right. What were they going to do if someone found out?

Her thoughts were interrupted when he grabbed her hand, tangling their fingers together. She looked up at him with a questioning look.

"You're stressing about it again," he told her like it was obvious. "I can always tell when you are. You make the same face every time."

She smiled, leaning up and kissing his forehead. "I'm fine. I have you, and that's all I need."

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this is a little short but i would have felt bad about not posting at all this weekend

i tried so hard to not make a latin joke but i had to put cincinattus in the title. luscious lucius is great

12.10.17