Archive of Our Own

It all just unfolds in phases, is this thing. Fez can’t be sure if he grows into it or discovers it. Maybe it’s that he develops it at just the right time? It might be a little bit of each. But it starts on that fucking couch. 

Really, it starts the first time he sees Lexi bloom under a compliment. That smile she can’t smother, the way it rounds out the apples of her cheeks. It’s that, more than anything, that keeps him rooted to that couch for so long. Like a little experiment. 

Is it just the initial shock, or will she keep making that face? Will she keep leaning closer with each little piece of praise? Yes, apparently. He honestly forgets for a minute that he’s at the damn party to beat Nate’s ass. 

And none of that’s to say he isn’t floored by how cool and smart she is, because he is. She’s pretty too. The delicate, soft kind of pretty that steals his breath— that he always thought was a little too pure for the likes of him. But he’d known she was pretty before, when Rue had brought her around. 

He’d never seen this. The way she fucking glows when he tells her what is honestly just the truth. It gets his breathing kinda fucked up. 

It sticks with him all week after the party. It’s where his thoughts drift in the shower and before he nods off to sleep at night— imagining what color she’d flush and whether it extends down to her chest. But every day that she doesn’t reach out after New Year’s confirms exactly what he’s been afraid of: he’s scared her off. Which stings pretty bad. Fez hates the idea that Lexi is yet another fucking thing made unattainable by living this life that he’d had handed to him. 

That, plus everything with Custer and having to take Faye in really has him all fucked up. Ash is pissy and making it his problem too, which turns everything up to eleven. Fez is essentially brooding about it the night Lexi comes to see him unexpectedly at the store. 

But she appears suddenly around this corner and his mood does a cartwheel. The swell of her hips in those pants and the pretty sway of her brown curls just hits him right in the chest. 

“Lexi Howard,” falls out of his mouth before he can think better of it. 

He knows it sounds over-eager, almost hungry. Oh, but it gives him exactly what he’s been dreaming about— that light in her eyes and her sweet, visible thrill. Her posture changes and her eyes sparkle. 

Except then the light flickers and gutters in her eyes as she looks past him to Faye, who abruptly introduces herself. 

“Are you two…?” Lexi asks. 

Fez thinks in that moment about trying to play it kinda cool, maybe brush the whole thing off. It’s a very near thing. But he has a split second to be more chill or less chill and he goes for less. 

“Nah, it really aint like that. She got a man. And, no offense Faye, but it’s a no from me.” 

Faye responds with something spacey, maybe a little offended, but Fez isn’t listening. He’s watching Lexi. 

She looks so hopeful. Something about that is so precious. The fact that she’s so open. Sincere. But Fez can tell it isn’t her usual way of being. The contrast there is pretty fascinating. The way it seems to happen naturally, but she can’t help fighting it. Like it’s against her normal practice to volunteer this side of her. Fez can’t tell whether it’s fucked up that it turns him on. But it does. 

He isn’t clear on where it comes from, but he feels this deep rumbling want inside of him. He wants Lexi to feel so safe and so held by him. Maybe so safe that she gives up all her little doubts and worries— that she melts into him. That she looks as fearless as he knows she can be. God, he wants to see that.

He really hasn’t spent a lot of time thinking about any, like, kinks or whatever that he might have. Not specifically. As a concept it always felt kinda… extra? Like. Being touched feels good, sex already feels good. Why bother? Not that he gets to fuck all that often. He’s pretty busy. Aside from the occasional girl at a party out of town, it’s mostly him and his hand. 

He aint the most or the least experienced, but he thinks he knows what he likes. Every now and again something on porn hub surprises him, but this feeling is something deeper. And more persistent. 

“I been hoping I’d see you again, Lexi,” he says. 

Her pretty red mouth falls open. “I wanted to see you too, I—” 

They both catch movement from the side. Some older dude, who turns out to be Cal Jacobs, as he finds out afterwards. Fez would have ignored him entirely if he didn’t see how it affected Lexi. She freezes like a deer, eyes wide. Playboy’s pops throws Lexi a suspicious look that makes Fez sit up straight. He’s not worried about any threat Cal presents. But he doesn’t fucking like that his mere presence makes Lexi shrink back into herself. 

When Cal walks around the back Fez beckons Lexi forward. She shuffles forward, tense all over. Like a reflex, he tugs her to the other side of him, though he stays seated on the counter. It’s strange to break the touch barrier between them this way, perfunctory but protective. He makes brief eye contact with Ash in the cooler room. Ash nods and gets ready in case anything pops off. Fez wishes firearms weren’t his brother’s immediate go-to. That’s a discussion for later though. 

As it turns out, all Cal wants to do is initiate honestly one of the more bizarre interactions Fez has been a party to, buying funyons and saying some shit about being a concerned parent. Fez knows the dude’s got a piece in his pocket, can’t really fathom why all he does is leave awkwardly. Another fucking thing for him and Ash to keep their heads on a swivel about. 

Fez turns back to Lexi, who still looks shaken. “Hey, you good?” 

She swallows and Fez feels his gaze stick on the pale stretch of her neck. “I’m… fine. That was Cal Jacobs. Nate’s dad.” 

Fez nods. “Aight,” he’s kind of determined not to let all this knock them totally off track again. “I aint really interested in him no more. Apparently he wanted to talk about it instead of be about it tonight. Shit, he hardly even talked about it.” 

Lexi laughs a little. “Yeah, I guess.” 

“So… what brings you my way?” He asks, trying to get their vibe back. He likes that she’s closer now. 

Lexi still looks stressed out though. “I’m… kinda too late. I was gonna warn you about… that.” 

Fez listens as Lexi spills about how Cal had come over to interrogate her and her sister. She’s all twisted up about not coming sooner. But Fez is stuck on the fact that she came to warn him at all. 

“You tryna keep me safe?” He asks, almost amused. 

“Uh… yeah, I guess. Sorry if that’s stupid.” 

“Nah, it’s real sweet,” he replies. 

She puts her hands behind her back nervously, twisting her shoulders a little and flushing slightly. 

“I should return the favor,” he says. “I can bring you home, if you want. It’s dark out and this aint the best neighborhood.” 

“Oh, you don’t have to. I have my bike.” 

“Yeah I know, but it aint about ‘have to’.” 

Lexi wavers on the edge of accepting. “I don’t want to bother you…” she says, biting her bottom lip. “But… yeah. That’d be nice.” 

Fez hops down off the counter, reaching for his keys and swinging them once around his finger. He raps his knuckles on the cooler door, nodding his head to Ash. A wordless request to take over. Ash scowls but nods. 

Fez takes a few minutes to jam Lexi’s bike in the trunk and loops the top closed with a bungee cord he keeps in the back. Sure it looks goofy as hell hanging out the back but he couldn’t care less. Lexi hops into the passenger seat of the caddy and gives him her address. 

If she has any issue with Fez deciding to take the long way back, she doesn’t say anything about it. 

She does fiddle with the radio and hum along. He likes the range of her voice, low and sweet, the way it rings in her chest. He asks about school and what she’s got going on. She answers shyly that it’s going well, that she’s starting a writing project. 

They joke about stupid stuff too— the billboards they pass and strange specialty stores. Lexi looks over at him with this huge smile and Fez fights the urge to pull over every twenty seconds. 

She gets more comfortable talking as time passes. More like the end of the night at the party. Fez listens and watches and turns the idea of making a move over in his head. He’s not generally so bold. But he doesn’t generally feel this way either. Lexi has him all fucked up. 

Even just the way her hair falls in her eyes makes him a borderline irresponsible driver. The orange streetlights glimmer on her shiny hair in flashes and he loves the way she makes the interior dark of his car less quiet. 

When he can’t avoid it any longer Fez starts to cruise through her neighborhood and pulls up a few houses down from hers. He puts the caddy in park and finally looks his fill. The red of her lips and the way they tilt up at one corner have his full attention. 

“Why did you… want to drive me home?” She asks. He can see she’s being brave. He likes that. Wants to reward her. 

“Wanted to spend more time witchu,” he says plainly. 

He can see her breath catch on the inhale. “Really?” 

“I thought maybe since you didn’t say nothing after the party that you might not want to be around me, but…” 

“I want to,” Lexi says. 

“I… like to hear that,” he says. There it is again, that catch in her breath. “So you gon’ let me take you out, Lexi Howard?” 

It’s the biggest he’s ever gone. But Lexi’s leaning toward him like a magnet. He basically survives on reading people well. He’d already decided once tonight not to get tangled up in keeping it chill. Might as well go for it. 

“Are you asking me on a date?” Lexi asks, shy smile and a blush on her pretty cheeks. 

“Hell yeah,” he says, slow and intent. 

“I’d love to,” she says. 

“Good,” Fez says. 

It should be about the date, but he means it about her. And she shivers. So he’s pretty fucking sure she knows.

***

Fez takes Lexi to dinner at a little poké place on the south side of town for their first date a couple days later. Lexi wears a little blue dress that flutters around her thighs. Fez eyes her up and down as respectfully as he can as he pays for dinner. 

They eat as they walk around a little park nearby. Another long and winding conversation unspools between them. They talk about everything and anything and somehow end up back at god again. 

“I’m just saying,” Lexi says, finishing the last of her poké, “…like, thought experiment with me for a second. If god’s all knowing and all powerful, then what is prayer about? I mean… what, you think you’re gonna say something to change this being’s mind? What do you know that they don’t already? Or could have changed already?” 

“Damn, Lexi. Maybe the man’s busy,” Fez says, laughing. 

Lexi’s nose scrunches up with a giggle. 

“And maybe, Miss Playwright, it’s cause words mean somethin’. Even if who you talkin’ to already knows whatchu gonna say.” 

She smiles at him, and Fez thinks maybe she even looks a little impressed. “I still don’t believe, but I like that take,” she replies. 

The sun sinks in the sky as they talk about what poetry Lexi likes and what music Fez grew up on. They decide to go for acai bowls afterwards and split one, posting up on a park bench to pass it back and forth. 

“The sky’s so pretty right now. I love when it looks like this. Coral and peach and lilac. Which are normally like soft colors, but here they’re screaming at you. If colors could be loud, you know?” Lexi says. 

Fez smiles. “I tell you already that I like the way you talk?” 

Lexi’s eyes snap back to his. “Um… no, I don’t think so.” 

“I do. S’like… you string everything together in a way I aint ever heard. You make stuff mean more.” 

Fez watches her nearly sigh at him. The way she leans towards him has his heart racing. He doesn’t miss the way her thighs rub together a little. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. He pushes down thoughts about getting in between those thighs. Horny teenager thoughts aside, this is the most fun Fez has had in a really long time. 

Which is why Lexi kind of shocks him by doubting herself again. “Sorry if this is so awkward,” Lexi says. “This is kind of my first date. I mean… it definitely is.” 

Fez blinks a couple times. She hasn’t been awkward at all. All they had done was make each other laugh and look at each other like maybe they wanted to eat the other one whole. A perfect evening as far as Fez is concerned. 

“You good, Lex,” he says, tilting his head at her. “I told you, you aint gotta be doubtin’ yourself like that. I aint ever taken a girl out before, so I guess it’s my first date too.” 

“What?” She says, disbelieving. 

“I mean, I’m pretty busy workin’. But still. Aint ever wanted to do it that much. Before now.” 

Lexi blushes, pink as the clouds in the sky. “Why now?” She asks. 

Fez rolls his eyes at her a little. That’s fishing. But he likes it, on her. Asking for praise. “Cuz you something special, Lexi. C’mon now.” 

They walk back to the caddy slowly. Fez is feeling goofy as they pass a trash can and throws their trash away like he’s aiming a basketball for a free throw. He does a hop and follows through with his hands. It sails right in. Lexi does a surprised little hop and cheer that makes his heart flip. 

“Four points!” She says. 

Fez snorts a laugh and pulls her in under his arm. “Nothing worth four points in basketball, but we gon’ put you on eventually, no worries.” 

“Sports!” She chirps, undeterred. “Net!” 

Fez groans but keeps laughing all the same. They take a slow stroll back to the parking lot, and Lexi stays under his arm, pressed to his side. Back in the parking lot Fez leans back against the caddy and tugs Lexi a little closer, hoping just to flirt from close up. She’s so fucking pretty and he wants to see if he can make her flush under a compliment again. 

But Lexi steps all the way up, laying her hands on his chest. A quiet moment passes between them. Fez can’t think of anything to say. He just eyes those pretty red lips of hers. 

Only a heartbeat passes, and then it’s their first kiss. Which is unbelievable, wild, perfect. Lexi’s so soft and Fez is almost dizzy. Lexi presses up on her toes, sealing their lips together more firmly. Fez feels heat race through him. 

The connection between them is so fucking intense— something near electric. Lexi opens up under his tongue and Fez grips her tight around the waist, holding on like he’s in a storm. 

It’s only a matter of minutes before they tumble into his back seat. 

Lexi straddles his lap and Fez sinks his hands into her silky hair. She feels fucking perfect squirming around on top of him. It’s unpracticed, but not sloppy. Just earnest. That’s the thing— there aint no games with Lexi. She wants him like he wants her. She shows him with the sounds she makes and the way she touches him. 

The kiss escalates the way the best kisses do. Fez is half overwhelmed by Lexi grinding against him, and the soft moans already falling from her lips. 

“Baby,” he murmurs into her throat. “So fuckin’ beautiful.” 

Her fingers twist in the shoulders of his sweater. He knows in a primal way what he’s saying to her and her reaction are connected. Lexi’s little blue dress is riding up her thighs. He slowly slides his hands under the hem of her dress— a question. Lexi nods vigorously. 

He slides his fingers under her panties. “So good, so wet for me,” he says. 

She rocks into him with a cut off cry. Fez brings her off with quick, firm circles on her clit, right there in the back of the caddy. He keeps one hand tangled in her hair as the other works under the skirt of her dress. The sun sets behind them and paints Lexi coral and orange as she shakes apart in his lap. Fez wants to see it again.

“Can you give me another?” He asks, voice gravelly with want. 

She looks dazed, a little unsure. Fez slips his hand further inside her panties, feeling half feral about how sopping wet she is, and teases at her entrance. Lexi gasps and tilts her hips forward. She crowds even closer to him, pressing their temples together as he works her towards another orgasm. His fingers slide inside her and he almost comes just thinking about what she’ll feel like around his cock.

Lexi rides his fingers to another orgasm. Fez knows in his gut it’s his soft assurance of “That’s it, fuckin’ perfect, so good Lexi” that does it for her, just as much as what he’s doing with his hands. 

***

Falling into a full fledged relationship with Lexi is easier than Fez ever would have figured. Easy as breathing, honestly. They’re both zero-to-sixty kind of people, it turns out. 

That’s not to say finding where they fit into each other’s lives isn’t difficult. Ash is prickly with her, and Faye is very hard to get to know, on account of how she’s barely even in her own head most times. 

Lexi has told her mom she’s seeing someone, but not who. Fez can’t think too hard about what it’ll be like when she finds out her straight-A student daughter is dating a drug dealer. Lexi figures she at least needs to tell Cassie first, to do some damage control from how Cassie talked about him when Cal Jacobs came to their house. But Lexi can’t figure out how to tell Cassie without it creating some kind of shit storm. 

After Rue comes over to Fez’s place with some hair brained fucking scheme to lend her $5,000 Fez knows now aint the right time to break it to her either. So while they are intentionally not telling most people, it’s more like those people aint ready to hear it anyway.

Though admittedly it feels like the height of absurdity that Cal fucking Jacobs knows. When Ash drags Cal in from outside and busts his head open in their living room Fez and Lexi happen to be sloppily half dressed with swollen lips and flushed faces. Cal thinks he’s fucking slick, too, trying to leverage that he’ll play concerned parent and tell Lexi’s mom about them. But he’s not about to say anything about anyone once it comes out that he fucked Jewel and recorded it. 

Fez thinks maybe things are getting a bit too fuckin’ wild in this town, and honestly he doesn’t mind keeping it on the DL with Lexi for a minute. It aint like he’s got social media to announce it on anyway. None of that shit ever mattered to him. 

The stuff that does matter, the level that’s just the two of them? That clicks pretty instantly. In a way that’s more solid and true than he can really make sense of. That’s not even including the physical part. Although, Christ almighty, Fez has never had such incredible sex in his life. Or so much of it. 

Lexi firmly insists upon not making a big deal about her first time, or waiting very long to do it. Fez isn’t really sure at first. His instinct is basically just to rain attention and affection down on her. But Lexi has this whole spiel about virginity as a construct and putting too much pressure on things, and she lays it all out for him like a TED Talk. But the end she has him nodding along. Honestly? He fucks with it. As it were. 

Really the end result is that Fez has to increase his general water intake because suddenly he’s doing a lot more cardio. 

And it’s incredible. Like, every time. A huge part of that is how much he likes her— as a person, as a girlfriend, as a human. But there’s also that deep rumbling want inside him that feeds every time Lexi comes undone as he tells her she’s a good girl, that she’s perfect, that she’s gorgeous. It’s a little strange to come to terms with. 

But. So what if his girl gets off (hard) on him telling her how great she is? Honestly? A perfect arrangement, the way he sees it. 

He does wonder if he should be a little worried. They’re burning bright and hot— bordering on obsessed with each other. Everything between them escalates so quickly. But Lexi wants him. And Fez wants her back. She feeds that wildfire inside of him that wants so badly to see her praised and flush, secure and happy. 

He’s always kind of prided himself on his restraint, but for once he just wants to be a teenager that’s crazy over his girlfriend. 

And then there’s that voice at the back of his head. Telling him this aint puppy love. This is different. Lexi fits into him— in a whole host of secret ways, ones tat always felt impossible to show to anyone else. Like parts of his heart were made for parts of hers. 

When he watches her dissolve completely into writing her play, when he sees the moment her quick, beautiful brain figures out a little riddle, he knows he’ll always carry some piece of her with him. And he’s never, ever lying when he praises her. He really thinks she’s that special. 

***

Lexi sneaks out to see him the night before Maddy’s birthday party. Not that Fez knows when Maddy Perez’s birthday is, but they had planned to see each other that night and Lexi had forgotten that Cassie wanted to host the party at their house. 

Fez parks the caddy a block away and flashes the lights when he sees Lexi jogging quietly down the sidewalk, looking around. She slips into the passenger seat and Fez takes them to a quiet empty lot on the north side of town where they’re not likely to be disturbed. 

Ash and Faye are at home. Fez has asked too often recently for them to find something outside of the house to do, thus the parking session with Lexi. Once they find a good spot obscured by the branch of a low hanging tree they climb into the backseat. Not to get down to business, but so they can lay down together. Lexi puts her head on Fez’s chest as they curl together. 

Fez cracks the window and lights a blunt up, stroking Lexi’s hair as he smokes. He listens to her as she frets and worries about her play. She’s still nervous it will hurt people’s feelings. He tells her she aint got nothing to worry about, if her intentions are good. That doesn’t seem to soothe her. But sometimes Lexi’s just so wound up she needs to track through something fifteen times before she feels she’s given it enough thought. 

While Fez doesn’t get it, per se, he does understand that’s how she works. She aint had to live the type of life where she’s had to make hard decisions quickly. He’s thankful for that, honestly. Lexi takes a small hit from his blunt and that does seem to help a little. 

When the blunt is down to it’s end she looks up at him, a little sultry. “Shotgun?” She asks. 

He grins, takes the last pull off his blunt, and tosses the little butt out the open window. Turning back, he seals his lips over hers, slowly letting the smoke drift over into her mouth. 

Of course it becomes a kiss. Open and hot. Fez lays a hand against her throat gently. Lexi’s writhing against him. How anyone can be such a perfect blend of filthy and sweet, Fez still doesn’t know. He slips his hand down and pets her hardening nipples through her dress and she whines. So pretty. 

“These fuckin’ sounds are killin’ me, Lex. Gorgeous.” 

That draws a short, startled moan out of her. “Fez,” she whimpers. Oh fuck, he loves when she says his name like that. He’s already hard. 

Lexi sits up and straddles him as best she can, one leg hanging down. It’s hardly comfortable but neither of them care, still kissing hot and desperate. Lexi circles her hips with purpose down onto his cock. Fez groans into her mouth. 

“Fuck, Lex,” he curses. “Wanna fuck you so bad.” 

She shivers. “Touch me. Please, Fez.” 

He kisses her and slides his hand up under her dress. Her little cotton panties are so wet. Fez bites Lexi’s sweet bottom lip as he pushes her panties aside and touches her. 

“Perfect,” he says, awed even still by how hot and soft she feels, how his fingers slide so easily up to her clit. He rubs gently at first, then a little harder. Lexi wraps her arms around his neck, brings their foreheads together. 

Fez watches the pleasure play out on her face. She’s so open. His heart’s thundering in his chest as he watches her climb higher. 

“Wanna be under you,” she says, breathy, against his lips. Fez flips them faster than he would have thought possible. Lexi’s panties come off, tossed to the floor. His jeans are down around his thighs. Lexi’s got a hand on his rock hard cock and her knees are wide open for him. Fez grabs a condom from the center console between the front seats. 

In no time, he’s sliding inside of her. She locks her legs around his hips and starts to rock against him. Fez braces himself on his hands to get a look down between their bodies. 

“So fucking good, baby. Look at you. God, I can’t believe it. Fuckin’ perfect, Lexi.” 

Lexi keens underneath him. 

“Gorgeous,” he whispers, against her lips. 

“Am I?” Lexi says. Fez stops moving entirely. 

Lexi makes a short little sound of disappointment. 

“You think I’d lie to you?” He asks, looking down at her. Lexi looks taken aback. 

She shakes her head. “No, I didn’t mean… I just… I love how you talk to me, it’s just hard sometimes. I… love the way it makes me feel but it’s hard to believe all the time.” 

Something in Fez’s chest sinks but he’s all tangled up in the feeling of being inside of her and that wild need at the back of his brain screaming to make her feel good. 

“Aight,” he says. He thrusts inside her gently. Not quite like she likes. “I get that but… but, here’s the rules, Lex…” 

Her eyes get very dark and her mouth falls open a little. 

“You say you’re gorgeous,” he continues, “or I stop.” 

She blinks up at him. “I…” 

He slows when he’s pulled most of the way out of her. 

“I’m… gorgeous,” she says, quietly. 

Fez slides back in, firm and deep, just like she likes. Lexi nearly sobs. 

“Again,” he says. Commands really. “Say you’re beautiful.” 

“I’m b-beautiful,” she says, louder this time. 

He rewards her with another thrust and his hand on her clit. He builds a rhythm like that. 

“Perfect,” he prompts. 

“I’m perfect,” she groans, hips meeting his. Her face is flushed. 

“Sexy,” he grits out, hips working hard. 

“I’m sexy,” she gasps, sweat beading on her forehead. 

“You’re my pretty girl,” he says, thrusting a little harder. 

“I’m your pretty girl,” she says, sounding half out of it. 

“My good girl,” he says, head dropping down to her shoulder. 

Her nails dig into his back. “I’m your good girl,” she says, hips losing their rhythm and bucking as she comes. 

She moans and writhes underneath him, perfect and intense and drawn out. 

Fez lets go and follows after her, absolutely white hot with satisfaction, her voice ringing in his ears.

***

Apparently Maddy’s birthday party is a fucking disaster and Lexi needs a day or so to recover. Her social battery is fried. Fez more than gets that. They makes plans for her to come over early the next week. But he can’t stop thinking about their last time in the caddy. 

That had lit up some part of his brain in a way nothing they’d done before had. In a way he might have to actually, like, talk about directly with her. They’ve gotten so intense so quickly. He knows things about her he’s not even entirely sure if she knows (like the way he understands so clearly that while she loves physical compliments, he always saves “good girl” for last, when he wants her to come).

Early the next week Lexi arrives at his house after her play’s first rehearsal, and she’s glowing with excitement. She’d called him on the way over to gush before she even got there. 

“It was amazing, Fez. The cast are gonna be so good. I can see it. I can see it all unfolding just like it is in my head. I’m gonna do this! Holy shit, like it’s really going to happen!” 

“Course it is. My girl gets it fuckin’ done.” 

He fully plans to talk with her once she arrives, but she pins him back against his door once they’re alone in his room. She’s always enthusiastic, but rarely does she take control like this. Her hands are on either side of his face, kissing him for all she’s worth. Fez is kind of melting under it. He doesn’t have the best news for her though. 

“Baby,” he says pulling back, looking down at her darkened eyes. “Easy. We’re out of condoms.” 

Lexi takes that in for a moment. Then she bites her lip. “I’m… I’m on birth control, so…” 

All the air leaves Fez’s lungs. “Shit,” he says, eloquently. 

“Maybe not an ‘all-the-time’ thing,” she says, “but…” 

“Yeah,” he says, petting her hair, “yeah it’s your call if you want to, baby.” 

“Right now? I really, really do.” 

Clothes fall to the wayside as they make their way over to his bed. Lexi’s fully naked by the time she pushes him back on the bed and climbs over him. He’s down to his boxers but she makes quick work of them. She’s so determined. Fez revels in it. 

One hand works a nipple while the other teases her pussy. Lexi moans into his mouth, but it has that edge that sounds like she wants something. Fez is actually a fan of that sound. He loves to make her use her words. 

“Whatchu want, baby?” He asks, pulling back from their kiss. 

There’s an extra flush to her cheeks, but she looks him right in the eye. “I wanna ride you, but I… don’t really know… how.” 

Fez is already hard but another rush of blood pulses southward so quickly it’s borderline painful. He hadn’t even really registered that they haven’t fucked with her on top yet. 

“Fuck, baby. I’ll… I’ll show you.” 

She beams at him and surges forward to kiss him hard. Fez’s heart is thundering in his chest. He aims to bring her off once beforehand, nearly doing a speedrun of the things that make Lexi lose it. Hard circles on her clit, gently rolling her nipple between his fingers, low voice in her ear telling her her pussy feels incredible. He wants her soaking. She gives it to him just like he asks, crying out into his mouth. 

When she’s caught her breath he guides her back. He runs the head of his cock through her wetness and around her clit, biting back a grunt at how fucking good it feels. Lexi’s hands are braced on his chest and her nails dig in there. Shit, he hopes he makes it through this without embarrassing himself. 

He lines himself up and presses a little forward, already starting to sweat from how bad he wants it. Lexi sits all the way up and Fez shakes his head. 

“Might be better at just a bit of an angle, baby.” 

She nods and adjusts her hips, sinking down and back. “Oh,” she moans. “Ohhhhh.” 

Fez watches his cock disappear inside of her, feels her directly for the first time, all that close wet perfect heat. This is fucking heaven. 

“Fuck, Lexi,” he mutters, blissed out. 

She rocks her hips experimentally and Fez sees stars. She tries to rise up and sink down a couple times, face tense with some kind of frustration. He pets her thighs. 

“Not from the knees, so much,” he says, nearly breathless.

Lexi braces her hands on his chest again and adjusts her movements, immediately shouting her pleasure. “Fez,” she pants, hips catching a perfect rhythm as she moves up and down and back on him. 

Hearing his name like that scratches some itch. One that lives right next to the place that likes to praise her. He can feel his face get hot. 

“God, you feel incredible,” Lexi says, bouncing on his cock. “Fuck, you make me feel so good.” 

Fez can barely tell what’s happening to him it’s so intense. He can feel every inch of his body and everything feels incredible but it’s not like normal. 

“I can’t believe you’re real,” she babbles, thready and desperate. Fez wonders if he’s still breathing.

“You’re so gorgeous and you feel so fucking good. You feel perfect inside me.” 

He feels everything she’s saying deeper inside himself somehow. He feels deeper inside himself, somehow. Normally he’s got dirty talk for days but he doesn’t have a single word right now except her name, moaned like it’s the only sound he’s ever known. 

“Lexi,” he says, over and over again. Lexi brings his hands to her breasts and puts hers over them, keeping them there as she moves on top of him. 

“I’m close,” she groans. Fez can barely acknowledge it. She’s staring down at him with an awed expression. “These beautiful eyes,” she says softly, almost unthinking. 

Fez doesn’t know where on earth he is, only that it doesn’t fucking matter. He’s below her and the center of everything is where he’s buried inside of her. 

“Will you come for me, pretty boy?” She asks, making the sweetest noise as she tips over the edge. 

Fez is helpless against giving her what she wants. He comes just as hard as he did the other night. Toe curling, back arching, hoarse yelling. But it takes him a long time to resurface after this one. 

When he starts to register reality again, Lexi’s moved to lay half on top of him. She’s pretty boneless herself. He’s still floating up back into himself, but he can throw an arm around her to keep her close. 

“You went somewhere else for a while there,” Lexi says, quietly. Fez nods. “Was it too much?” She asks. 

“Hell no,” he says, feeling like it’s strange to hear his own voice. “But maybe we should like…” 

“Talk about it,” she finishes for him. 

He nods again and kisses her forehead. Minutes pass by, both of them drunk on sensation and unwilling or unable to move. It feels too important to break, this time spent recovering alone inside of his room. 

After a while Fez feels Lexi start to shiver and realizes they’re both covered in cooling sweat and other fluids. They both need a fucking shower. Fez looks at the digital clock on his bedside table. Ash and Faye will be back from closing up the store soon. 

With extreme effort he sits up. Lexi follows. They help each other stand and stumble to the bathroom. The shower isn’t even sexy, it’s just… close. Intimate. Somehow just as private as what they’d just done in his bedroom. 

Fez puts his forehead to Lexi’s as she runs a washcloth over his body. She turns and rests back against his chest as he does the same for her. They finish cleaning up and dry off in Fez’s room. He hands Lexi a big gray t-shirt of his and some shorts, which she puts on without question. 

The sounds of the door unlocking and Ash and Faye bickering drift down the hall. Lexi looks towards the noise, still towel drying her hair. His brain skips ahead to ordering dinner, whatever evening activity they think of, Lexi leaving. His whole body violently rejects the idea of being parted from her. Tonight especially. 

“Will you stay?” Fez asks. 

Lexi turns back to him. Some wave of understanding washes through those pretty brown eyes. “I’ll ask Cassie to cover for me.” 

“She’ll… know something’s up.” 

“Yeah,” Lexi says, plainly. 

Fez nods. Something’s shifted. Cemented. They’re in new territory. But they’re there together. He’s so glad he’s not alone. He can’t remember the last time he didn’t feel alone in something. 

They order cheap pizza for dinner and it gets there quickly. Dinner’s a pretty quiet affair. They all eat in the living room, watching Lethal Weapon through commercial breaks. Lexi stays curled up in his lap the whole time. Her still damp hair drips on his shirt, making a little wet patch, but he keeps her cradled up against him. 

“Did you guys just fuck?” Faye asks, in that abrupt but dreamy way of hers, during some infomercial about a dumb kitchen gadget. 

Ash’s lip curls. Lexi raises an eyebrow, looking around the room in a vague sort of disbelief. 

“We gotta get rid of her, bro,” Ash says, exhausted. 

“Lexi? That’s mean,” Faye says. 

“You. Obviously,” Ash says, from between gritted teeth. 

“What? All I did was ask…” 

“Keep your nose out my brother’s business, Faye,” Ash says defensively. “And why even ask? Clearly they did. Like, come on.” 

“I’m gonna go call Cassie,” Lexi announces. 

She gets up, kisses Fez on the cheek, and goes to find her phone. Fez scrapes a hand over his face. Faye and Ash continue sniping at each other and Fez tries to focus on the TV. A few minutes later Lexi returns and nods to him. “She’ll cover for me.” 

Fez gets up off the couch, waving behind him to Ash and Faye. Ash rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Fez will have to give him a break from Faye at some point soon. That should reel his attitude in. Back in his room with Lexi, Fez sits back against his headboard and Lexi snuggles up against his chest, sitting between his legs. 

Fez doesn’t know where to start. But luckily Lexi is who she is and finds the words first. 

“I want to tell you how I feel about you. And just be clear that it’s beyond the… the things we say to get each other off.”

“Okay,” he replies, kissing the top of her head. 

“I’m really in this, Fez. It doesn’t feel… like just sex.”

Fez nods. “It aint like that for me either. It’s real, Lex.”

“I know… I also know we’re young. And this isn’t the oldest relationship. I know I don’t have any experience to back up why I feel so certain about you, but I know me. I know how I feel,” she says. Quiet and firm, as sure as she spouts any of her hundred little facts about the universe.

“I know you do. And just to be clear, I aint ever said anything just to get you off. Everything I ever told you is true.” 

Lexi smiles, a little self deprecating. “Yeah, but would you… would still call me fearless, now? Knowing how I worry and obsess over stuff?” 

Fez frowns down at her. “Yeah. I would. When… when I first said that we was talkin’ ‘bout god and shit. Like. Growin’ up, my grams always said that with all the shit we did, it all just came down to askin’ for forgiveness. Just repent and you good, you know? But you was sayin’ you don’t think it’s that easy. That you out here livin’ without that net. Being good for the sake of being good even when you aint sure what you’re doin’ is right. That was the bravest shit I ever heard.” 

Lexi reaches up and lays a hand on his cheek, eyes soft. “Maybe… that’s why I like being told. That I’m good. Like I’m not just trying for nothing.” 

Fez pets her hair, winding his fingers through it. He’s scared to ask. But he feels like Lexi is the one to help him with this. 

“So… whatchu think I wanna be told?” 

Lexi frowns a little. “I…” 

“Please? Aint nobody else I know can make sense of shit like you.” 

“You want me to string you together?” Lexi asks. 

Fez grins. “With the nice words, yeah.” 

Lexi strokes a thumb across his cheekbone, studying him silently. “Well. You really liked hearing that you’re pretty.” Fez feels the heat rise to his face. “And for me it works because… it’s something that I never heard, but always wanted to. For you I think it’s more like… something about you that you don’t have to work at. Kind of the opposite of me. Something that you’ve never had to stress over. A way you’re good automatically. A place that’s still you, but minus all the shit you have to deal with. Something… that doesn’t need to be forgiven. Or redeemed.” 

Fez lets out an uneven breath, brows knitted in thought. 

“Plus,” she adds, “…boys never get told they’re pretty. Anyone would like to hear it.” 

Fez laughs a little and kisses her forehead softly. He’d love it to just be that second one. But his pretty, clever Lexi has a mind like a knife sometimes. He asked her to use it. Shouldn’t be surprised she acted with such precision. 

“Why d’you think we like to hear shit like this so much?” He asks. 

Lexi shrugs. “People are weird. It doesn’t always have to be a one for one, where everything means something else. But… you were the one who said, you know… about prayer? That words mean something, even if the person already knows what you’re about to say. Maybe prayer and praise aren’t that different.” 

“They both like worship, huh?” 

Lexi tilts her face up and pulls him in for a kiss. “And you say I’m the one with the nice words.” 

Later on they do some research in incognito mode on Lexi’s phone. They make some progress on identifying what they’re doing, what to call it, how to be responsible about it. They also agree that, like fucking without a condom, it’s not an every-time thing. It’s actually pretty intense for both of them. And what they normally do is incredible enough. 

That night, when everything else has gone quiet, Fez eats Lexi out slow and steady with the lights off— only the muted orange glow of the streetlight coming in through the window painting her body. They’ve worshiped each another enough with words tonight. 

He teases her till his jaw aches and then brings her quickly over the edge by adding his fingers. Lexi crawls down his body afterwards and takes him into her mouth, turning on her side and nudging his hips so he can fuck her face. It’s just as unhurried as he’d been with her, gentle thrusts in an out but he the visual of her pretty lips stretched around him as he holds her hair is obscene enough. 

When he comes, stuttering her name, he has barely enough presence of mind left afterwards to tug her back up into his arms. He’s never slept so deep in his life.

***

The reveal of their relationship to Cassie is… well, Fez isn’t there for it. Lexi is able to hold out for a week or so, but decides to do it early the next Saturday. Fez gets one text from Lexi that day confirming that it was tense but ultimately not a screaming match, which is what she’d feared. 

Then Rue goes on her town-wide destruction spree. Fez hasn’t even had an hour to process how she’d stormed into his house and tried to steal his grandma’s meds before he starts getting panicked texts from Lexi about the situation at her house. 

Apparently in a bid to take some of the heat off of herself when Rue exposes her and Nate’s relationship (Jesus fucking Christ, that throws Fez for a loop), apparently Cassie reveals to an entire room of people that Lexi is fucking Fez. 

Lexi is pretty distraught about it, especially about the way Cassie frames it like they’re only hooking up. She ends up having to declare to the whole room that it’s not like a cheap hookup, they’re really serious about each other. Which feels like a betrayal of trust and a very forced confession. In light of all that, Fez doesn’t say this, but he thinks in a weird way maybe ripping the band aid off like that isn’t that bad. 

And the two relationships side by side actually make him and Lexi look… not as wild. Lexi didn’t betray her best friend to be with him, at the very least, so there’s that. Apparently the news is also enough of a shock to keep Rue from bolting for a few minutes. It’s enough for Leslie to corral her and get her back in the car. From there they don’t really know what happens. 

When the chips have fallen where they will, and Lexi is at his house that following night relaying it all, she’s able to at least admit a little comedic value in the whole thing. 

“Rue… she was like: ‘You had sex and you didn’t tell me? You had sex with Fez and you didn’t tell me?’… What a mess.” Lexi says, passing a bag of popcorn back to him. 

They’re out in the living room with Faye, who is watching a telenovela. She’s completely rapt, despite not speaking Spanish at all. Fez chuckles and grabs a handful of popcorn. 

“You talked with her since?” He asks. 

Lexi shrugs. “Not really. I talked to her mom. Rue texted me to ask when the play was, so I told her. Ugh.” Lexi flops sideways into the back of the couch, hugging her knees. “Maybe I shouldn’t do this fucking play.” 

“First of all, it’s called ‘Our Life’. Second of all, you doin’ the play. You worked hard on it. You aint let me read a lot of it, but what you did let me see was good.” 

“Really?” 

“Hell yeah. And listen, do I still think you should put me beatin’ Nate’s ass in the play? Of course—” 

“Oh my fucking god.” 

“—but! It’s big Stand By Me vibes, baby. It’s good.” 

Lexi makes the biggest doe eyes at him that tear right at his heart strings. “I love that movie. That’s a huge compliment.” 

“Grandma’s got it on DVD, I musta seen it like fifty times.” 

Lexi smiles at him. “Should we watch it?” 

“Faye, you ever seen Stand By Me?” Faye shakes her head. 

“I’m not listening,” she says. 

Lexi snorts a laugh. “You wanna just watch it in your room?” Lexi asks. Fez nods, tells Faye to behave herself, and goes to set up her laptop on his bed. 

They watch Stand By Me and cry like babies. They warble along to the song over the end credits and Fez wraps his arms around Lexi’s shoulders tight. 

“If it’s half as good as this, and it will be, you’ll be aight, baby.” 

She grips one of his forearms in both of her hands and dips down to lay a kiss between them.  “I love you, you know.” She says. 

Fez nods. It’s been kicking around in his head for a while. It feels important, but not like some wild revelation. “I know,” Fez says. 

Lexi jerks around to look at him with a frown. “Okay, Han Solo.” 

Fez rolls his eyes. “You said ‘you know?’— I answered. Fuckin’ course I love you too. Christ, Lexi.” He squeezes her a little tighter in his arms, even though she’s being a brat. Brat’s cute on her. 

Lexi teases him about it, baits him, huffs about her unrequited love. He kisses her to quiet her, which is absolutely what she was aiming for. One thing leads to another, as it does between them. 

When Fez puts Lexi on all fours he takes it slow enough to make her beg for more. It’s easy and hot and fun. She says she’s his good girl, and when she comes she says she loves him. 

It’s crazy simp behavior but holds her afterward and whispers into her lips about how fucking happy she makes him.

***

Lexi begs him not to do a full suit for opening night of the play. She knows he gets fussy when he does a full look and says it’ll be overkill for the dress code anyway. He reluctantly agrees to only do a suit jacket since it saves them all time getting ready anyway. Lexi makes a point of inviting Faye and Ash as well. Ash dons an extra chain and Faye puts on full length pants, which for her is basically formal wear. 

Fez thinks he sees Custer’s car in his rear view mirror as he pulls out onto the main street, but figures he’ll text if he needs something. Tonight aint the night. They make it just in time for the curtains to open.

“Yo, this shit’s fuckin’ buck wild,” Ash murmurs to Fez, not ten minutes into ‘Our Life’. Fez makes direct eye context with Lexi in her little pink dress and could swear she’s eye fucking him from twenty paces away.  

It only gets wilder from there. People are screaming, whooping, losing their shit. It’s crazy. That even before the dance number. Fez looks around with a grin, spots playboy looking sour several rows back. 

Maddy screams her support of Lexi from a few rows over. Fez mentally awards her a few more points than he’d been inclined to give in the past. Then of course it all breaks bad. 

Cassie storms the stage, totally unhinged. “What the fuuuuuck,” Ash whispers, taking out his phone to record. On stage, Cassie reads Lexi the riot act. Fez moves to jump out of his seat but Ash’s arm holds him in. What a fuckin’ crazy reversal that is. 

Cassie’s still yelling at Lexi. “I’m the one who takes risks, I’m the one that falls in love, not you.” 

Lexi’s eyes flare so wide and so angry Fez is almost impressed. “You know that’s not true!” She yells back. 

Maddy rushes the stage then, chases Cassie off. They pull the curtain for a long ten minutes. The whole audience is buzzing. Fez nearly jumps up half a dozen times, but he knows Lexi can handle her shit. And he wouldn’t even know where to find her if he left. 

Rue starts chanting Lexi’s name, and he’s the first to join in. It makes him feel like maybe there’s hope for her. It’s kind of a blur for Fez from there through Lexi restarting the play. 

It’s good, and there’s parts that make him laugh out loud, but it’s also got so much heart. He leaps to his feet when the applause starts after the final scene. Lexi takes her bows with the cast, but then gets an extra one at the very end. 

Fez plucks a few flowers from the bouquet he’s gotten her and hands them to Ash and Faye to throw up on stage. Seeing Lexi under the bright lights like this, bathed in thunderous applause, glowing with her accomplishments— it absolutely ticks that box at the back of his brain. 

At the end of the evening, after Lexi changed into a little black dress, seen the cast off, and touched base with her mom (and Fez has awkwardly introduced himself to Suze, who does seem at least charmed by his suit jacket and the bouquet), Lexi meets Fez, Ash, and Faye out by the caddy in the parking lot. 

Fez picks her up and twirls her. “Amazing, baby,” he says, kissing her cheek. 

“I liked the singing and dancing!” Faye says. 

“That was fucking crazy, Lexi,” Ash says. “You really did that.” 

Lexi blinks a few times at Ash. “That’s the most words you’ve ever said to me.” 

Ash flips her off, but he isn’t scowling, which Fez takes as a sign that he’s finally warming up to her. Fez drives them all back to the house, his hand on Lexi’s thigh as she answers Faye’s many, many questions about what was going on in the play. They find Faye’s phone, which had fallen under the passenger seat, with about fifty missed texts and calls from Custer. 

“He’s so annoying! He made this whole thing about how I should get out of the house tonight, then we all went out and now he’s mad.” 

Fez shoots Ash a look in the rear view mirror. Ash nods back. They’ll look into it tomorrow. 

When they get back to the house, Ash goes to check the cameras and Lexi and Fez retire to Fez’s room. Fez is once again thankful it’s a Friday night and it was easy enough for Lexi to find an excuse to stay over. Lexi keeps dipping her head to the roses in the bouquet, lips the same shade of red, and smelling them with a dreamy expression. 

“Did you… get a copy of the program?” She asks, when he’s closed the door to his room. 

“Oh,” Fez says. “Yeah, but I didn’t get a chance to look through it. We was barely on time. Got there right before it started.” 

Fez takes the little pamphlet out of his suit jacket. Lexi plucks it out of his hand and flips it open to her headshot and the blurb beside it. She taps the end of the paragraph with one darkly painted nail. “Lastly, thank you to Fezco— the voice in my head that drowns out all the mean ones. I love you.” 

Fez feels warmth bloom in his chest. He steps in to brush Lexi’s hair behind her ear. She looks up at him with a grin. “I wanted to write ‘to the man with the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen’ but then I thought maybe that’s just for when we’re alone.” 

Fez feels his heart pound in his chest. He looks down at Lexi, and realizes that she kind of all at once that she’s got that same hyper-confident glow she had when she’d come back from her first rehearsal. 

He quirks an eyebrow at her. “Well it’s just us now, shawty.” 

Lexi places her flowers down on top of his dresser and slides her hands up his chest. She tucks her head under his chin and kisses his neck. His eyes flutter closed. 

“I know you usually focus on me. Which is incredible. But…” 

“You wanna focus on me tonight?” Fez asks, getting hard already. 

He can feel her smiling against is throat. “I’ve already been the center of attention tonight. Kind of in a way I’d always dreamed of. I want to say thank you. You made that happen for me. More than you realize, probably.” 

Fez shivers as he feels her lips move against his skin. “I, uh… I’m listenin’,” he says, hands flexing at her waist. 

Lexi pulls away and walks backwards, further into the room. She tugs him along by his suit jacket. When she pulls him down for a kiss, Fez can tell she’s feeling herself. The kiss is sultry and slow. It makes his knees fucking weak. 

She breaks away to look him up and down. “You look handsome,” she says, plainly and truthfully. Fez almost bites his lip— feels his cheeks flush. “Even prettier when you blush,” she adds. 

Turnabout’s fair play, he’s done this to her a hundred times. But there’s something crazy about how it makes his heart race. Like it’s on the knife’s edge of being embarrassing. If he didn’t trust her so much he wouldn’t believe it. It wouldn’t do it for him. But he does, and oh fuck does it work for him. 

Lexi slides her hands under the shoulders of the suit jacket, slipping it off of him. He reaches out and puts his hands on her hips, needing an anchor. Lexi goes back to kissing his neck as she unbuttons his white dress shirt. He cradles the back of her head to hold her in place when she finds the sensitive place right under his jaw. He lets out a choked noise. 

She moans into his jawbone. “Perfect noises, baby,” she says softly. 

“Lexi, holy shit,” Fez says, hand twisting in her hair. 

Her hands go roaming inside his open dress shirt, soft hands skimming his chest and the planes of his back. Her nails scrape lightly and she leaves little bites along his throat. She tugs the shirt off of him. Fez has to let go of her for that, but pulls her back in quickly for a kiss. She moans into his mouth and he pulls the zipper of her little black dress down in one long stroke. She shrugs it off. 

Fez pulls away to see her. Fuck. He loves these black lacy bra and panties. “D’you wear these just for me?” 

“I did.” 

“Too good to me,” he says. 

“I try,” she replies with a grin that scrunches her nose. 

She unbuckles his belt and makes quick work of his pants. They tumble together onto his bed, and Lexi rolls on top of him. Fez grabs her ass, slapping a cheek affectionately. Lexi squeaks, a happy and carefree sound. She bites her lip and looks him in the eye as she rocks on top of him. He can feel the heat of her even through both their underwear. 

“Hey, pretty boy,” she says, voice low. He loves that her voice is already in that lower register but she’s really putting something extra into this.

“Jesus, Lexi,” Fez says, feeling strung out as she grinds on him.

He arches up into her, achingly hard. She braces her hands on his chest and grins. Her lips are still that perfect red, though smudging a little at the edges. 

“I love how you blush,” she says, reaching up to his face and tracing a dark red nail all the way down his neck and chest. “And these freckles!” She says, smiling. 

She bends forward and kisses all over his shoulders, her soft hair sweeping all over his chest. Fez can feel himself slipping further into that crazy head space with every little thing Lexi whispers to him. 

She says loves his hands, how rough they are, how good they feel on her body. She loves his eyelashes and the color of his beard and the curve of his jawline. She tells him she loves his hip bones as she sucks a bruise into one. 

She peels his boxers off and licks a stripe up his cock. “This is pretty perfect too,” she says. 

Fez grits his teeth and moans as her little pink tongue licks around the head of his cock. Lexi climbs off of him to slip her bra and panties off. Fez never gets tired of seeing her naked. He beckons her back to bed but pulls her up to straddle his face. 

“You want to?” Lexi asks. He nods, licking a stripe from her entrance to her clit. 

She moans, low and loud. “So good with your tongue,” she says, nails scratching at his scalp. 

He’s gone. Hearing her lavish praise on him as he laps at her clit has him in another dimension. Lexi pulls away before she comes though, maneuvering back down his body and grabbing a condom from the bedside table. 

Lexi pumps his cock in her hand a few times. No need, he’s beyond ready, but he can tell she likes watching it play over his face. She rolls the condom onto him and straddles his hips. 

“Fuck,” he says, half choked, as she sinks down onto him. It only the second time she’s ridden him and she looks goddamn incredible.

She sets fast pace. Fez makes the same breathy noise every time he thrusts up into her. 

“So hot, Fez,” She says, rocking hard on top of him. 

She reaches up and turns his chin to the side. He can see his own reflection in the mirror hanging off his closet door. His face is flushed pink, mouth swollen from kissing, pink from Lexi’s lipstick and a little shiny from eating her out. 

He’s sweating, and there are a dozen faint blue bruises down his neck surrounded by the faint outline of Lexi’s lipstick. He looks fucking wrecked. Marked all over as hers. With her dark nails against his chin. And she thinks he looks perfect like this. 

Lexi turns his chin back to her and Fez can feel himself fading into that wild perfect space she makes for him. It fills his whole body with intensity but he’s also on some other frequency where they’re the only people alive. He fucks up into Lexi, rutting and desperate. Lexi reaches down to play with her clit. 

“You feel so fucking good. Can’t believe how gorgeous you are,” she says on a moan. 

Fez comes, shouting, tipped over the edge by the sound of her voice. Lexi follows seconds after. 

It’s a full blackout for him this time. When he floats back into his conscious mind Lexi’s already gotten them under the covers. He’s warm and safe and she’s curled up on his chest, a reassuring weight. 

“You back with me?” 

“Yeah,” he says, voice like gravel. 

“Doing okay?” 

“Best I ever been, Lex. Take that to the fuckin’ bank.” 

“Good,” she says, snuggling into him. 

***

It feels pretty absurd that Custer being a snitch isn’t the most revelatory experience Fez has had that week. But forewarned is forearmed. He and Ash put the pieces together between Faye’s confused interpretation of events and the footage from just after they left. It’s easy as anything to turn it around on him the next time he comes around. And that’s one problem fucking solved, at least. Now they just have to find a real place for Faye to live.

Fez still wonders from time to time if he should be concerned about how intense and deep everything with Lexi feels. But the truth is he can’t shake it. He doesn’t want to, either. In quiet moments he goes poking at it in his head for potential weaknesses but it’s too rock solid. 

There are plenty of things that could happen from outside themselves to potentially break them, but Fez will never be able to control that anyway. 

The real shit, the shit that makes him confess to her how many kids he wants— and the way his chest fucking lights up when she wants the same— that’s here to stay. And maybe he could do some work on feeling like he deserves something solid. Maybe he has time to sift through feeling worthy of what it is he’s found with Lexi. But he won’t be alone. 

And that’s something damn worthy of praise, in his opinion.