Pairing: Dennis Whitaker x F!Reader
Summary: You meet Dennis Whitaker at the grocery store after an unexpected event brings you together.
Contains: Fluff, swearing, brief angst
Author’s Note: A much needed Dennis Whitaker meet-cute.
You sit on your couch scrolling through social media, the show you put on long forgotten. A recipe for homemade peach cobbler pops up on your feed, and it looks absolutely divine. Your mouth waters.
You had an excruciatingly long day at work, and now you think it’s only fair that you are rewarded with a treat, even if it’s one that you have to make yourself.
That's how you end up at the grocery store at almost 9pm, crossing off items from the ingredient list as you make your way through the aisles. The cool air serves as a pleasant contrast to the summer humidity.
Vanilla ice cream, check.
All you need now are the peaches.
There is a certain atmosphere about a grocery store at night. Some may call it calm, while others may call it eerie. You find yourself in the first group. It’s refreshing to be able to shop without having to wait in line or navigate around other shoppers.
You walk up to the peaches and begin inspecting their ripeness, putting the ones you want into a plastic produce bag.
A man is standing across from you at the avocados, basket-in-hand, seemingly doing the same.
He immediately catches your eye. Soft blond curls fall on his forehead and the nape of his neck as he looks down.
He looks up at you, catching you staring at him. You quickly look back down at the fruit in front of you, trying to ignore the heat rising to your face.
You continue grabbing peaches, though you’re no longer looking over them before putting them in the bag. You’re only focused on getting out of the store and away from the source of your embarrassment as fast as possible.
You see the man move in your peripheral, making you slightly glance up at him once more. This time, he’s already looking at you.
He doesn’t look away, and neither do you.
Neither of you said a word, instead continuing to hold each other’s gazes.
He has beautiful blue eyes that find yourself getting lost in.
The sound of the intercom that snaps you both back into reality.
Attention customers, the store will be closing in 10 minutes. Please make your way to the check-out area with your items. Thank you.
Despite the cold air surrounding you, you feel your face heating up again. Clearing your throat, you tear your eyes away and tie up your bag of peaches and set it down into your basket.
You turn around and take a step towards the check out, but you hear a curse leave his lips.
When you look back, you see the entire display of avocados tumbling onto the ground. The man's hands reach out to try and stop them, but to no avail. Every single one falls to the floor, scattering around you both.
He looks absolutely mortified—eyes wide and mouth agape. The tips of his ears turn bright red.
You’re unsure how to react. Both of you stand in shock as you take in the situation that has unfolded. His eyes meet yours once again, and he seems to be hoping that you somehow missed what just happened.
Then, you can’t help but cover your mouth to silence the laugh that escapes you. To your (and perhaps to his own) surprise, he starts laughing too.
“I cannot believe that just happened,” he shakes his head in disbelief.
He squats down and starts picking up the mess of avocados, holding as many in his arms as he can before putting them back into their display. You set your basket down and begin to help him.
“Oh—you don’t have to help me pick this up,” he gestures. “This is my mess, not yours.”
"You’ll be here forever if you do this by yourself. Besides, I'm sure the employees will appreciate not having to clean it up."
"Fair point," he responds.
You get down next to him and roll out the avocados that went under the surrounding displays while he wipes them off and puts them back into their bin. Soon, the two of you have picked them all up and you’re back on your feet.
"Thank you. Even though you really didn't have to help me at all,” he says earnestly.
"It's no problem, seriously," you assure. He takes a breath.
You introduce yourself. "It's nice to meet you, Dennis."
"It's nice to meet you too, even though I wish it had been under different circumstances.” You giggle.
Just then, another announcement rings out.
Attention customers, the store will be closing in five minutes. Please make your way to the check-out area with your items. Thank you.
"I guess we should head up to the front," Dennis says.
"Yeah,” you look around. “I'm pretty sure we're the only ones in here at this point.” You start to walk to the registers. Dennis follows suit behind you.
After you check out, you stand facing each other outside the storefront. The sounds of the city nightlife surround you.
"Thank you again for your help,” Dennis says looking down. “I'm honestly still really embarrassed that that happened." He’s glad it’s dark outside so you can’t see blush that has taken over his face.
"Life would be boring without moments like that. Plus, now you have a story to remember me by." That earns an honest laugh from him.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
God, I hope I’m not reading this situation wrong, you think.
Unbeknownst to you, he’s thinking the same thing.
You continue to stare at each other under the night sky, not wanting to walk away.
Fuck it. Just ask for his number.
You get cut off by the sound of his phone ringing.
He pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the screen, releasing a deep sigh before answering.
You can hear a woman’s voice on the other end. She calls him something that sounds like… Huckleberry?
“Why are you taking so fucking long?” She snips.
“There was just a slight mishap,” he tells her, looking up at you and smiles half-heartedly. “I’ll be back soon.”
He has a girlfriend. Of course he does. Why wouldn’t he?
The call ends and he looks at you apologetically.
“Sorry about that,” he says, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “What were you saying?”
“It was nothing. We should both probably get going. Sounds like you have somewhere to be.” You offer a smile but you can’t help the feeling of disappointment that pains your chest. He returns the smile.
“Have a good night. Get home safe."
“Thanks, Dennis. You too.”
With that, you both head your separate ways into the night.
Thank God she called when she did. I was about to make a complete fool of myself.
After some steps, you can’t help but stop and turn to look at him, hoping you’d see that he also turned around. You blame it on being a romantic.
To your dismay, you see Dennis’ figure getting smaller as he continues down the sidewalk. You sigh.
He’s just a guy I met at the store and talked to for a few minutes, you reason with yourself.
You force yourself to brush off the lingering sadness and continue walking home.
Dennis walks towards his shared apartment with Trinity, mind racing.
He had gone to the store to pick up a few items for Trinity since she hadn’t been feeling well.
After their shift on the 4th of July, Dennis decided that he should start buying his own avocados instead of eating hers, a habit she voiced her annoyance of. They were the last thing he was grabbing before checking out.
He has never been the type to believe in love at first sight, but he can’t deny the fact that right now, his thoughts are completely consumed by you. He wants to spend the rest of the night getting to know you as you sit together under the stars.
Why did Trinity have to call?
Then it hits him. He knows what he has to do.
Fuck it. Just ask for her number.
When he works up the courage to turn around, his heart drops. You have disappeared into the night. He missed his chance.
Now, it’s his turn to be disappointed.
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