Balloons, Roses, And A VERY Romantic First Kiss

Summary: After being separated for THREE WHOLE MONTHS—Sam decides to greet Esther at the airport in her return from Taiwan. Summer can change one person a lot, you know. Het, oneshot, and extremely fluffy. Co-written Alice/YingYing. For Esther.

Genre: Romance/Humor

Rating: G

Getting off the airplane was a relief to Esther, who managed to survive despite her fears. Her laptop case banged slightly painfully against her leg as she walked out, but somehow she managed to ignore it…mostly because every other part of her body was aching as she got out. There was a strange feeling of euphoria mixed with discomfort, as she did her best to yawn to get rid of her popping ears. She followed her parents and her little brother out of the airplane terminal, dizzy and sore.

As they walked around the airport, following the directions to get out of the airport, they managed to go through the checking out and identification inspection (where Esther’s little brother, Alex, giggled, “It rhymes!”) smoothly. They soon approached the baggage claim, and eager to escape the airport as soon as possible, Esther offered tiredly:

“I’ll go get the luggage.”

Her mother only nodded wearily, while she and the rest of Esther’s family went to the more social area of the airport to get food. Esther sighed and rubbed her eyes jadedly, exhausted from the airplane ride. The next time she was going to go on an airplane, it better be in at least ten years when she’s going on her honeymoon.

–

Sam entered the airport nervously, feeling a little awkward since he was alone. His mom had reluctantly agreed to drive him there, but she was heading to Philadelphia anyway so she might as well have. She had no reason to say no, and besides, Sam really wanted to meet Esther there. Really.

In spite of everything, of course, after not seeing his official girlfriend for practically three months, he had to be the first one to greet her.

He didn’t even know whether he would be able to find Esther at all, though; much less catch her alone. Hopefully, luck would be on his side, and he’d be able to at least see her. And talk to her. And maybe…well…

He shook his last thought out of his mind, remembering how juvenile middle school—or high school, considering that they were going to be going into ninth grade—dating was. Sam slid through the second set of revolving doors in the visiting section of the airport, and then headed to Terminal 3, where he knew Esther would be coming from. (But only because she texted him before she had gotten on the airplane back in Taiwan. He wasn’t a stalker, you know.)

“Buy a rose, young fellow?” While he made his way in the airport, he spotted a toothless old vendor on the side, looking towards him and offering a flower in his hand with a grin. “Buy a rose? How about a couple of balloons?”

Now that he mentioned it, balloons and a rose did not seem like such a bad idea. Sam thought this over quickly, and decided that if his presence wasn’t a good enough surprise to greet Esther, maybe a few presents would be. He dug into his pocket for the money, and luckily found five dollars stashed at the bottom of it. He handed the money to the vendor in exchange for a rose and three balloons.

“What color, young man? What color for your sweetheart?” the vendor asked gleefully, surprised and jovial that he was actually buying the gifts. Sam considered for a moment, before replying, “Green and pink.” Even though he knew that Esther wasn’t fond of the color pink—or flowers in general, he knew that she wasn’t completely ungrateful, and besides, she might still like the green balloons.

Hopefully…

The vendor handed him the gifts, and he left, heading in the direction of Terminal 3 once more. He spotted Esther’s family in the distance, and then quickly ducked behind a giant plant out of anxiety. Nervously, he peered through the leaves of the plants to look over at them, hopeful that they weren’t looking in his direction (though, even if they did, as if they’d recognize him).

Nope, she wasn’t with them. That was odd. Then where could she be?

After studying the family further and noting that they didn’t have their luggage, Sam decided to head towards the baggage claim and to look for her. He stealthily walked a couple steps in the direction and spotted a figure that looked extremely similar to Esther. He carefully walked a bit closer (but not too quickly, in fear of seeming a bit creepy) to observe the girl—yep, it was definitely her, aside from the weary air she gave off and the tired look on her face. But it looked like she hadn’t changed—not one little bit.

Gosh, he missed her.

–

The luggage was spinning by in circles. Esther, still slightly dazed, squeezed her way in between two old people, to whom she gave apologetic nods. She stared at the rotating bags on the conveyer belt, only half paying attention to them, the other half mindlessly dozing off, practically falling asleep. She couldn’t believe how tired she was. Except, well, she could, considering she just got off of an airplane and every part of her body hurt. It was almost unbearably uncomfortable in a way she couldn’t describe.

As she stood boredly and almost sleepily, waiting for the bags, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, interrupting her mind sleep. She sighed.

“No, Alex, I have not seen your bag yet,” she replied without turning around.

To her surprise, however, a low voice that was definitely not her brother’s, answered slightly amusedly,

“Forgotten me already, Esther?”

Esther gasped, not believing what she was hearing? Was this a dream? She was practically asleep, after all. She lightly pinched herself on her knee and jumped up in surprise, before whirling around to greet her boyfriend with a whack and a lovely:

“Sam! What are you doing here?”

Sam grinned, rubbing his head sheepishly where she had hit him (he was used to it), and replied with a little nervous smile on his face,

“I came to see you.”

He seemed a lot less passive than she had remembered him to be. Not that she was complaining. She could still see a little of the old Sam in there, despite the deeper voice…the rapid growth spurt…man, a lot had changed over the summer. She felt herself shrink a little, but her heart fluttered in delight. It was a lot more important in seeing Sam, rather than her unchanged self.

It was evident that a lot had gone on within the span of two months, she observed, in comparison to the shy little boy Sam she knew that was before. Now, he leaned against a stray cart and teased her casually, “No hello kiss?”

Esther could only stare even more. This was strange. In a good way. But so strange. What happened to the timid, pushover Sam she knew from eighth grade? Going into high school…did it really cause that many changes in both appearances and personality? She voiced her suspicions with raised eyebrows.

“Who are you and what have you done to my boyfriend?”

Sam’ s ears turned red, which pleased Esther since she was aware that this wasn’t a dream, and still wanted a little bit of her old Sam, though the refined one wasn’t too bad. Correction: It was excellent. But, well, she had liked the “old Sam” for a reason. A little of that “old Sam” shone through, as he proceeded to explain,

“Well, uh, I thought, I mean, I prepared, well…no, I mean, I practiced. Wait, that’s not what I meant to say either…Uh, what I meant to say was , I’ve really missed you and I wanted to seem more confident.”

Esther’s heart started doing somersaults again. “Why would you want to change yourself? I love you just the way you are.”

Sam looked at her perfect sincerity, feeling somewhat self-conscious and tense, and then muttered slightly to himself, “I wanted to be more confident so I’d have the courage to do this.”

Before Esther could respond to the statement in confusion, or think, or anything— Sam’s lips were suddenly and quickly pressed to hers, while she stood there in shock for about, what, ten…thirty seconds?…before kissing back, of course. Her eyes magnetically closed, as their lip-lock went on for about another twenty seconds. It was short, sweet and innocent, feeling like something electrical and magical had flowed between them. Both Sam and Esther felt slightly dazed with their bodies so close to each other, before Sam swiftly realized he was doing…

…and pulled away.

Esther stared at the boy, in shock.

Sam stared at his shoes, in embarrassment, as he talked to himself.

“Sorry, impulse. I mean, not impulse. I planned this out. NO! I mean, I didn’t plan this out. I, uh, ok, yes, I did plan this out. Kinda. I’ve had 3 months to plan or I would’ve chickened out. I mean, I really wanted to do it. Like, a lot. I was just afraid that I wasn’t going to. So I decided to. Yeah. Like, right after you left, I decided that that was how I was going to greet you or something. Uh. I think.”

He continued to stare at his shoes.

Esther could see that this was not going so well, and felt slightly bad for her boyfriend to be in such a pressurized situation. But the kiss…it was something thrilling and, well, different, in a good way, of course. Fireworks. All she could see were fireworks. Little stars, twinkling and exploding in her eyes. She shook her head, trying to snap out of her daze. And she still wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. It wasn’t that bad. Uh, no, I mean, it wasn’t bad at all. It was…great. Yeah, uh, great…” She hastily changed the topic, avoiding her blushing boyfriend’s gaze. “So, how was your summer?”

Sam was grateful as the conversation shifted gears, so that he had time to think about what he had just done, what to say, and how he could somehow not seem like a complete loser while experiencing the aftershocks of a first kiss.

“Cool, I guess,” he said, managing to regain his composure, and doing his best to keep the flush from filling his cheeks. He looked back up at her, just to see the slight happy glint in her pupils. “The cruise was amazing, the stars were so bright in the Caribbean…they were so pretty. But you know what?”

“What?” Esther asked, puzzled at the sudden random question. Sam’s ears turned red again as he spoke:

“They were dim compared to your eyes.”

Esther scratched her head, confused and oddly flattered. What had gotten in to him? This was strange. “Sam, was that a cheesy pick-up line?”

Sam grinned, and evidently found the courage and assertiveness he was looking for. Happily, he replied, “Yup. Found it on the Internet.”

Esther rolled her eyes, used to this behavior, and smiled fondly. “Yeah, you would have.”

“Would it be terrible to say that it’s true though?” he asked, still with a grin on his face. She rolled her eyes again, but didn’t hesitate to smile back, which only made Sam beam even more.

“Of course,” she said, and to that, he couldn’t help but pecking her on the lips again. She blushed, unnaturally out of character for her, before suddenly spotting something colorful behind Sam’s back and asked curiously,

“What is that?”

“Oh, it’s…” Sam took the flowers and balloons from behind his back. “Yeah, I know you don’t like flowers or anything, but I figured I should have given you something just in case I wasn’t good enough. So. Here.” He stuck out his hand.

“Sam! You loser!” Esther laughed, whacking him on the head yet again. “I told you I hated getting flowers from guys! And pink! Ugh! I might just use these for fertilizer or those…those trash thingies…”

“Compost piles?” said Sam with a grin. Esther hit him again, but only more teasingly and fondly.

“Stop being so smart! Or, trying to be so smart! Is this your way of greeting me at the airport? With a kiss, flowers, and balloons? Though…I do like balloons.”

“Well, there we go,” said Sam, smirking. “At least I got one thing right.”

“Yeah! And they’re green! My favorite color! Like yours!” said Esther happily, ignoring the flowers that Sam had in his hand and proceeding to pluck the string from his fingers. She tied the bottom into a small knot, and then slipped in on her pointer finger, before progressing to whack Sam on the head once again.

“What did I tell you young man? No flowers, no anything!” she said in a stern-mother voice. “I don’t go for cheesy romantic stuff like that! That’s like…YingYing stuff! Not Esther stuff. Geez. Though I do like these balloons. They’re very round and squishy. See, look?” She poked one of the two balloons that Sam was still holding. “They’re so cool! And clear! And green…”

“Ha, well, I suppose you don’t want these then,” Sam said, as he handed over the rest of the balloons to her and then pulling the flowers back. Esther hit him again, for the fourth time, but still, as usual, light and teasing.

“Of course I still want them! Did you not hear what I said before? They’d be great for fertilizer…and compost pile and stuff…yeah…” she said, grabbing the small bouquet and trailing off into thought. Sam himself laughed this time, which made Esther’s heart do about seven million flips, but she did her best to ignore them.

Suddenly, she was aware that the people around them were starting to disperse, obviously already getting their luggage. There were only four identical suitcases left twirling on the conveyer belt, clearly Esther’s and her family’s. She blushed to herself as she looked around and said to Sam, “Uhh, I should probably get my stuff.”

“Good idea,” he responded, and then the two of them went to get the luggage off the belt. Sam, evidently much stronger than before, got three bags off with ease, before going over to help Esther get the last one off. Then, when they were done, Esther looked at Sam wistfully (though she did her best to hide it).

“Umm…I have to go meet up with my family. They’re probably all wondering where I am.” She reluctantly looked over towards the food court before looking back at him. Sam, however, refused to let go of her.

“Wait, wait. First, give me another kiss.” He pulled at her hand, tugging it towards his body. “Or I won’t let you go. And this time, you initiate it.”

Esther turned red, embarrassed to be asked of such a task (though obviously she didn’t mind). She self-consciously looked around to see if people, specifically her parents, were watching, before replying, “Fine. And don’t move.” She closed her eyes and leaned in.

Like every time they hugged, this felt right. They were in a secluded area behind the elevator, so hopefully it wasn’t like they were being watched. She was able to enjoy the softness of his lips, as they brushed against hers, before staying in one place and allowing the energy to go through each other. His arms were protectively around her shoulders, , and she allowed her own hands to touch the back of his head. She lightly ran her fingers through the strands, enjoying every moment of it. They all said that the first was the best, but maybe it was just every kiss that needed to be the best.

After a while—however long it took, though neither one knew, both lost in each other’s presence—they finally broke apart (though no one was sure who had first, though it didn’t seem too important). Esther took her time to grin at Sam, who grinned back, before realizing that they had probably spent about a half an hour since he had first appeared, and said,

“Oh crap! I better get to my parents fast, before they come looking for me!”

“Ha, they still don’t know yet?” Sam said, ever the more amused. “You know, you should tell them soon…can’t leave them in the dark for too long.”

“They don’t have to know…oh wait, what if we never break up?” said Esther worriedly. Sam raised his eyebrows.

“You mean, we get married?” he said.

“Yeah!” Esther said, with so much anxiety in her voice that it almost seemed real. Sam chuckled.

“‘And how long have you two been going out?’ ‘Uhh…since the end of eighth grade?’” he said, mocking her parents interrogating her. Esther giggled.

“You’re so bad at Asian accents!” she said. “Anyways. I really should go. But maybe we could hang out this weekend? And, you know, like, do other stu….hang out. I mean, yeah, you should come over to hang out.”

“What?” asked Sam, confused. Esther hit him playfully.

“Never mind!” she said, though she blushed all the same with the idea. Sam grinned.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “All right. Definitely. I see.”

“Yeah, yeah, you would, you pervert,” said Esther, though she winked and laughed all the same. She grabbed her bags and took off in the direction of the food court. “See ya this weekend!”

“Of course,” Sam said, heading off in the other direction and waving to her. He jokingly gave her an air kiss. “Bye!”

Esther walked off and found her the rest of her family at KFC, which was thankfully a tad farther away from the baggage claim so the chances of her parents seeing them at all was slim to none. She greeted her parents with a slight bounce in her step, which seemed like a slight surprise to them (but not much to her little brother, Alex). They looked at her oddly, but didn’t say anything, until her mother pointed out confusedly,

“…where did you get those flowers? And those balloons?”

“Oh!” Esther blushed. “Uhh…I found them?”

Her parents looked at her oddly, but didn’t ask any further questions. Alex, however, smiled sneakily to himself and looked down at his camera in his hands, going through the pictures he had taken, the smiles on both Sam’s and Esther’s faces so radiant together than anyone had ever seen before. He cackled gleefully at one in particular, in which Sam and Esther had their lips pressed together, and what was that? Distortion in the camera? Alex shrugged. He could have sworn there was a golden glow surrounding them, as the stories say surrounded all true love.