↳ summary: in which they meet again after their fateful summer romance has come to an end, this time chris is determined to stay with her.
↳ warnings: swearing and angst.
↳ author's note: title loosely translates to finally home in english from french.
↳ author's note pt 2: second part of été cruel.
THIRD PERSON POV
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
months later during the halloween craze of the second to last week of october, y/n had rounded the corner of the perpetually wet concrete of the downtown boston sidewalk, the busy hustle and bustle of people blurring by the girl that admired the cool air, festive decorations and the warm drink that she held in her hands. she was so lost in her childishly innocent admiration of the ever so celebrated holiday that she had narrowly missed walking into the chest of someone. looking up to apologize, she was met with the same cerulean eyes she was still in love with, the same bashful grin she met many months ago, the same unruly hair and cheeks dusted with permanent blush in the cold air.
"chris?"
"y/n, hi."
y/n felt her heart that was once light as a feather, suddenly fill with mixed emotions and fall to the pit of her stomach. sure, she still loved chris but she was hurt. the brief summer romance has spiralled out of control, becoming something so much more than they expected. than they wanted. than they needed. she had seen the warning signs and ran straight toward them, knowing it was gonna leave her nearly the shell of who she was when she landed in los angeles.
the gears in her mind came to a sputtering halt, her rapid influx of emotions acting as the ear piercing, high pitched whine that often accompanied halting gears. she met his gaze once again, the warm smile on his face hitting her like a tonne of bricks, the grief of his absence over the course of the last few months settled deep within her chest. she ignored her feelings from august onward, she couldn't bear to face them. facing them meant chris was gone for good and out of her life, happily living his as she was stuck in an endless loop of missing him.
"i have to go." she spoke, her words hesitant but rushed as she maneuvered her way around him, trying so hard not to give into the touch of his palm resting on her bicep in a pitiful attempt to stop her, just for a moment. not only was her mind buzzing as she had him within his grasp again, but so was her body. she needed to get away from him. with one last look, she pulled away from chris' touch, carrying on her walk home.
as she stepped in the suffocatingly warm embrace of her apartment, she breathed out a sharp sigh she hadn't been aware she was withholding. many futile attempts later, she shake the blue eyed boy from her mind. she hasn't expected him home, and nevertheless expected to see him again. she was tired and her body ached from the cold, late october air that had settled deep in her muscles hours ago.
a week had passed and the girl hadn't been able to go about her day without the boy's lingering memory creeping in her mind every single fucking second. she was fed up, she couldn't fathom going through another second of wanting him back, of needing him back, of missing him.
she had promised her sister when she left los angeles that she wouldn't allow herself to succumb to her feelings, that she wouldn't wallow like had been for the last week. she promised she wasn't going to let her emotions override her thoughts. but she had failed, miserably. a mere sighting of the boy on social media had y/n crawling back beneath her covers, her phone laid askew on the counter far away from her as she sunk into what felt like raw and utter heartbreak.
her downright depressive behaviour hadn't gone without chastising from her sister and her own self. she had scolded herself many a time, yelling within the confines of her mind to get up, to stop acting like this, but she knew the only thing that would save her from the melodramatic breakdown was chris. and she didn't want to resort to that yet.
but giana has had other plans, when the triplets returned to los angeles to celebrate halloween with madi and her mother, they were met with a determined giana. the older l/n was frustrated and saddened for her younger sister. to see someone so independent and well off on their own be completely battered by her own succinct feelings of distress, she was adamant on fixing it.
"chris, the second you get back to boston, i'm taking you straight to y/ns. she is completely destroyed. seeing you so abruptly created a fucking shitshow. she misses you." the older l/n berated, her stern demeanour faltering heavily when the most infatuated smile split across the youngest triplet's face.
"good because i fucking miss her, giana. the last couple weeks after seeing her have been hell." chris sighed, immediately getting lost within the abyss that were his thoughts. the most prominent thought swirling around the whirlpool of memories in his mind was the one where he realized he was in love with the girl.
it was a week before y/n was leaving and everyone had gathered at the vacation house in palm springs that laura had rented. every person in the house was sporadically stationed throughout the house, each one in a varying state of disarray due to the heatwave powering its way through palm springs.
chris and y/n we're currently sitting on the far edge of the pool, shaded by the large palm trees lining the fence, the two in their own world as they allowed themselves to succumb to the rose coloured bubble to encase them.
the boy was so utterly enamoured by her, her hair tied up in a bun, dark sunglasses perched on her nose as she animatedly spoke to him, telling some wild story about her and nick's antics spent at target earlier that day.
"y/n?"
"yeah chris?"
"i think i'm falling in love with you."
"how about you tell me that again when you know for sure."
"does that mean we'll see each other again after this trip?"
"it's uncertain but i'm hoping we will."
after that moment he knew with every single fucking ounce of certainty he could muster, that he wholly in love with her. there was never going to be a chance that he wasn't. she consumed every single fucking thought he possessed. she was his lifeline in one way or another.
so when he hopped on that plane home, he couldn't sit still. his heart and mind were racing and his brothers could sense how nervous he was. this was the first time they had ever witnessed chris in love. they did their best to keep his mind free from the abysmal doubts plaguing his mind every second, making him consider the possibilities of everything he's ever wanted falling from his grasp in mere seconds.
the second they were freed from the plane, he was taking off as quickly as he could, hailing a cab home for nick and matt while they dealt with his luggage. y/n lived maybe two blocks from the airport and he took off running, not wanting to waste a single fucking second. the boy, so surely consumed with love, ran through the crowded side and cross walks of boston, the heavy rain pelting his skin through the thick hoodie he wore as he made it his mission to reach her apartment complex as soon as possible.
as he stood out side her door, his knuckles rapped against the wood-adjacent door, his skin as cold as ice as the freezing temperatures caught up to his rash actions. his heart pattered against his ribcage, making him feel like he was going to puke as she opened the door, her hand dropping from the doorknob as she realized who stood in front of her.
without a second to waste and without a single word, his hands cradled her face, gently pulling her toward him. she shivered as his cold touch, soon melting into his hands as his lips pressed against hers in such vehemence it took her breath away. his lips moved against her gently but desperately, needing her to understand that he was there. and that he was gonna stay. pulling away, he watched as her tongue darted across her lips, her expression morphing into shock as her hands grasped the front of his soaked hoodie, pulling him back against her, needing another kiss to prove to her that he was really there. pulling away from her a second time, he rested his forehead against hers.
"hi baby, i'm home." he whispered, feeling nothing but joy fill his chest as she nodded, holding his face in her hands as she ran her thumbs along his cheekbones.
"you're staying this time right?" she mused, giving chris all he needed to press another kiss to her lips.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
a/n part 4638748372: jesus chris 1, 544 words of pure and utterly in love!chris