a/n
i lowkey kind of hate the way i wrote this chapter but oh well some good stuff is happening so hopefully y'all enjoy
also im too lazy to proofread this so hopefully it's good
♔
rami and nour made their way up to the steps and into ben's apartment which by now was flooded with people. nour playfully slapped rami on the arm as she noticed a pair of blondes across the room, "thanks for taking so long. you know how much i love being the last person to show up."
"you walked in before me so if it makes you feel any better i was technically the last one to show up."
the pair was immediately bombarded by a group of people as nour screamed, "oh my god what are you guys doing here?" she grabbed melissa and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her as if her life depended on. "holy shit i missed you."
the rest of the cast joined in as well—terry, joe, andy, chelsea, dirk, and joel all standing around the two women as they embraced each other in a group hug. mumbling could be heard from the center as melissa spoke up, "rami told me about the holiday party and said it would mean a lot if we could all come down."
the group eventually let go of one another and nour turned to her twin brother, pulling him into a hug as she kissed his cheek. "thank you."
rami smiled back as he held her close, "i know the holidays are a tough time and you've been missing them, mel especially so i figured i would be a nice brother and invite them."
the two eventually separated and went their separate ways, rami joining the boys while nour turned to face her friends. "i really can't believe you guys came all the way out here."
mel smiled, taking a sip of her drink, "i couldn't pass up the opportunity to see mah boo thang."
upon hearing this nour rolled her eyes teasingly as she smiled back.
"how are these kids treating you?" terry asked protectively.
nour laughed as she looked around the room. everyone was here. the boys and lucy were catered across throughout the room along with brian, roger, and their wives. brian's daughter, emily, was also here with her husband as was john's son, luke. she had recognized some other people from the film along with random people they had partied with before while in london. "they're amazing, really. i love it here and they've made this such an amazing film to work on. couldn't imagine anyone else by my side."
"they seem very nice," dirk commented, "im glad you've got them over here with you."
"have you guys all met?" nour asked.
at this moment joe walked over and stood by joe, the two of them wrapping their arms around each other's shoulder. "name twinsies."
"you know, we really need a way to tell us apart."
nour shook her head as she grinned. "joe," she pointed towards borhap joe, "and j-lo" she nodded towards b99 joe.
joe gasped as he held his hand against his heart, "that's not fair. why don't i get a fun nickname."
"cause you're a loser," gwilym screamed from across the room.
this caused the entire group to laugh as nour looked over towards gwilym. he was standing with rami, ben, and lucy—who was now staring back at nour with a smile on her lips. nour excused herself as she made her way to the blonde before being pulled back by melissa who pulled her down, whispering in her ear, "she's beautiful and incredibly nice. you've got yourself a keeper there."
"we aren't dating," nour rolled her eyes, playfully pushing mel away before walking over to lucy and the boys. she smiled as she stood next to lucy, "hello darling."
the blonde smiled in return, her eyes lighting up as she glanced at nour. "your friends seem really nice."
nour nodded, turning back to look at the group who were now all staring back at her and lucy. mel stood there with gwilym as the two shared whispers. "yeah, they're pretty great. a nice group of kids." lucy watched in adornment as nour looked back at her friends. the blonde smiled, reaching up to move a piece of hair that had fallen into nour's face behind her ear.
joe walked towards the two of them, a smirk on his face as pointed above their heads. the two girls looked up to see a piece of mistletoe hanging above them. a confused look fell upon the blonde's face as she squinted her eyebrows before turning to nour, "has that always been there?"
nour looked around, her eyes landing on roger who was standing a couple feet away. he held a fishing pole in his hands, the end of which was connected to a piece of mistletoe. she gave him a disapproving look before turning back to lucy, "definitely not."
"you guys know what that means, huh?" joe smirked as he walked away, taking his place next to roger.
"im not kissing lucy," nour sighed as she watched lucy's expression turn somber. it wasn't that she didn't want to kiss lucy—it was that she wanted it to be done right. she wanted the moment to be perfect. she wanted it to mean something to them rather than just some dumb holiday antic. there was nothing more in this world she wanted than to take the blonde into her arms and show her how much she loved her, but this wasn't the time or place.
"you have to kiss her, nour, it's the rules," gwilym added, his arm around melissa's shoulder as they both smirked.
rami jumped in as he began to tease his sister, "come on kid, you know you want to."
"im older than you," nour snapped as she flipped off her brother.
this seemed to lighten lucy's mood a bit as she giggled. "we don't have to if you don't want to. it's just mistletoe, nothing serious." she whispered as she gently placed her hand atop nour's, rubbing her palm in an attempt to comfort her.
"are you comfortable with this?" she asked.
lucy nodded, a small smile falling onto her lips as the two stepped closer towards one another. "you seem to forget i was the one who made the first move last time."
nour held back a laugh as she brought her hand up to cup the side of lucy's face, the other still holding her hand. "a bold woman you are indeed, miss boynton." the two inched closer as nour closed the distance between them. the world seemed to move in slow motion as nour's lips brushed softly against lucy's. she was able to feel the warmth radiating off of the blonde's skin and taste the subtle pomegranate flavor of her favorite red lipstick.
lucy moved her free hand to slightly grasp the edge of nour's jacket as she pulled the older woman closer. she thought back to their previous kiss which had been over before it even started. she had dreamed of this moment for ages and now that it was finally here she couldn't believe it. nour was the first woman lucy had ever kissed. her lips were soft and delicate—a pleasant change from all the rough ones she had gotten used to. she could taste the faint flavor of cherry chapstick, a staple item nour never left the house without.
the room was quiet except for the sound of elvis presley's can't help falling in love playing softly throughout the speakers. a rather fitting song for the situation, nour thought to herself. everyone in the room watched in awe as the two shared their moment.
the two pulled apart after a few seconds and stood there breathless. their foreheads were pushed against one another as their eyes remained closed. the room erupted into cheers and laughter as everyone started clapping their hands. this caused nour to roll her eyes as she looked across the room at all her friends. lucy tried to hide a smile as she burrowed herself into nour's shoulder, her face turning red from embarrassment.
roger gave nour a knowing smile as he walked towards the two, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "she's obviously got feelings for you even if she won't admit it. take a chance and tell her how you feel. i think you'll be surprised by the outcome."
