Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#37 Making sure to be quiet while they’re taking a nap.
“El?”
Colt calls out into their dark bedroom, his fingers ready to switch on the lights when he stops himself. Ellie lays underneath their sheets, her body turned away from his side of the bed.
Colt takes long strides towards the bed and takes a seat next to her before he presses two fingers to her neck and lets out a small sigh of relief. He then runs his hands through her hair, pushing back the strands sticking to her forehead, before his hands wander down to her almost noticeable bump.
It always brings such a visceral and choking feeling when Colt touches her stomach, knowing that inside is his child growing. He tries to be nonchalant about it, maybe a little tough and angry to keep up his image in front of his crew and as a warning to people who might want to harm his family to get to him but nothing brings him so much joy and happiness than seeing Ellie, with their baby, and how beautiful she seems to be becoming everyday.
He knows that he loves Ellie, that will never change, but what he wasn’t prepared for was that so much of his love could also be poured into a person he has yet to meet or see. He even thought, briefly, that his love was going to be split between Ellie and their child. That love is something quantifiable and he’ll need to bring in a scale to make sure it’s always equal between the two most important people in his life.
But he’s learned that love isn’t quantifiable. That in him, there is an endless abundance and overflow of love that can cover and shroud the both of them. Maybe it’s even more than he ever thought he’d be able to give.
More than he ever thought he deserved to have.
Colt leans in and lays a soft kiss starting from her forehead and ending on her lips. Lately, Ellie has always been tired and has started to sleep at odd times. Which scared the living fuck out of him at first but after a thorough explanation and multiple reassurance from their OBGYN that it’s totally normal for pregnant women to take naps during the day especially if they sleep late or tend to wake up in the night, he has calmed down somewhat.
But even with the reassurance from their doctor; he still has that habit, a terrible habit he picked up from his line of work, where every time he sees Ellie asleep or unconscious at odd times of the day—his first instinct is to check her pulse.
It’s morbid and he hates that he’s picked it up and applied it to his home life and family…but he can’t help it. He’s seen too many things, lost too many people, to not be affected by it. It’s a primal reaction at this point.
Colt pushes himself off of the bed and pulls out his phone to set up a timer for himself. Her naps usually take about one to two hours and since it hasn’t been that long since he left to buy groceries, he’ll need to check back on her in half an hour.
He inputs the time on his phone, his feet already moving towards the door when—
“Fu—!” Colt clamps his mouth shut with his hand, his teeth biting down hard on his bottom lip it’s enough to draw blood. He turns to look at Ellie in a panic, relieved to see that she’s still asleep, before he glares at the offending nightstand that had stubbed his pinky toe. He unconsciously goes through the breathing exercises he learned with Ellie at her prenatal classes as he works through the absolute agony and pain that’s shooting up his system.
He hobbles out of the bedroom door, softly and quietly closing it behind him, and when he’s a good ways away from the bedroom—he lets out a string of curses that he pulls from the depths of his soul.
Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#49 Giving them a tight hug that makes them lose their breath.
Colt reminds himself to breathe, that oxygen is needed for the human body to function and live.
But how can he?
When he looks down at the bundle cradled in his arms, all brain function is delegated to committing to memory the image of his son, Kai Kaneko.
Colt has never had intrusive thoughts, always having a control on every aspect of his body and mind but when Ellie was holding his hand in a vice grip as she gave birth to their son—he was suddenly filled with thoughts he couldn’t control, ranging from the worst case scenario of her dying during childbirth to the terrible case scenario of her and his son both dying during childbirth, which sent his emotions and his head into a dark place he’d only ever experienced when he saw his father’s car go up in flames.
But the first breath of air their son took followed by the strong wails (which he got from Colt) and annoying cries (which Colt knows he got from Ellie) he let out and Ellie’s happy sobs wiped his brain instantly. Relief so painful and instant it almost brought him to his knees.
And now, as Ellie lays asleep on the bed exhausted and worn, his brain and his heart is filled with nothing but love.
“Hey…”
Colt turns to Ellie with a big smile, her eyes blinking lazily as she looks up at the both of them. He sits next to her and pushes back the hair sticking to her forehead before he gently lays their son in her arms.
“You were great El,” Colt says, his heart expanding at the image in front of his wife cradling their son in her arms. “You also nearly tore my hand off.”
Ellie chuckles weakly, the little bundle fussing quietly in her arms. “You’re lucky it would’ve been only your hand.”
Colt grins, unbothered by her teasing threat of castrating him as he carefully lays down next to her. They let the comforting silence settle as the gentle coos of Kai fills the spaces between them.
Colt never imagined—never really bothered to imagine—that an image like this would be a reality for him. That he would be a husband to a woman he adores and a father to a son he loves. Shit like that just doesn’t happen to guys like him.
And yet it has and he’s desperate to keep it, to hold it tight in his hands and make sure it never slips away.
“My dad’s coming tomorrow,” Ellie comments, breaking through the silence as she gently rocks Kai in her arms. “Which means you’ll need to leave.”
Colt scoffs, a sliver of anger bubbling inside him. Turns out Detective Wheeler really wasn’t lying about his deal and his intentions. That all he wants is to reconnect with his daughter, which both baffled and relieved Colt. But ever since Ellie has met up with him once a week, she has become a lot happier and lighter so Colt has learned to put up with it (even though he still has someone tail Ellie during their meetings just in case something happens).
“Fine,” Colt relents, reaching forward to lightly poke Kai’s chubby cheeks. “But I’m not leaving the hospital. As long as we don’t meet then the deal’s still valid.”
Ellie chuckles softly, glancing at him lovingly. “What rules are you willing to follow?”
Colt grins brilliantly. “You know I’ve never been good at that.”
Ellie hums in agreement, her eyes settling back on the sleeping Kai. Her heart flutters with something so heavy, it feels a little suffocating. The kind of feeling where she’ll do anything for her son. Which gives her a brief moment to reflect, a little guiltily too, that this must be what her dad felt towards her. If she looks back at herself and imagines Kai in her position—well, no wonder her father reacted the way he did.
“Ellie I...” Colt starts and Ellie looks up at him, her eyes suddenly shining with tears at the expression on his face. She reaches up and gently cups his cheek, smoothing her thumb over a stray tear that escaped his eyes.
“The feeling’s amazing huh?” Ellie finishes for him and Colt lets out a choked laugh in agreement.
“I love you Ellie,” Colt starts, turning to her with misty eyes and a loving smile. “I love this kid too and I’ll do anything, everything, to keep you both safe and happy.”
“I know,” Ellie smiles brilliantly.
“No, you don’t,” Colt lays his hand on top of her hand, gripping lightly. His gaze is sure, his heart is set and his face is at peace.
“I’m leaving the crew, the shop, all of it.”
Ellie’s eyes widen suddenly, a wild panic thumping hard against her chest but Colt holds tight and signals with his eyes to listen—to understand.
“Not immediately, not until everything is safe for me to do so and after I make sure no one will even dare to come after us. I’ve also stashed away enough money for us to live off of for the rest of our lives,” Colt reassures, his brown eyes resolute. “It’ll take awhile but hey, it gives me the opportunity to stay home and help take care of Kai more.”
“Colt…” Ellie says, her eyes filling with tears as the weight of his decision finally dawns on her. That he’s willing to leave his crew, his shop, his legacy and walk away from all of it—for her and for their son.
“Are you sure?” Ellie asks playfully, her chest seemingly expanding from a weight that seems to have suddenly been lifted. “I don’t want you to regret it in the future. I don’t want you to end up hating me.”
She tries to make it come out as a tease, as their usual banter, but the fear latches on to her words without her permission. Because she is scared that he’ll regret her—regret them—and that as the years go by, the fiery love that they possess between them fizzles out into nothing but hate and apathy.
Colt smiles, picking up on the fear in her voice, as he grips her hand reassuringly. “I’ve told you Ellie. I never regret anything with you. Not then,” He looks at her pointedly, his eyes shining with mischief. “Not now,” His eyes flit down to Kai in her arms, his voice soft, before he raises her right hand and kisses the brilliant glint of gold on her finger. “And not in the future.”
Ellie lets out a choked laugh as she blinks back her tears. “You’re terrible, you know? Making a pregnant woman cry like this.”
“Oh no, you can’t use that on me El. You’re not pregnant anymore,” Colt pauses, a wicked smirk pulling on his lips as he looks at her suggestively. “Unless…?”
“You’re so annoying,” Ellie laughs, leaning her head on his shoulder as Colt immediately wraps her shoulders in a tight side-hug as his breath leaves him and he buries his face into her hair.
“Colt?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you,” Ellie says, her voice coming out shaky as she sniffs a little and her eyes flit back to their son in her arms. “Thank you for making this decision for me—for us.”
“Mm,” Colt acknowledges as he looks down at Kai, his head leaning against Ellie’s. “I’ll be a regular old boring dad now. Running a legit shop, beer with the guys, talking shit about sports. Looking forward to it El?”
Ellie chuckles, turning her head a little to kiss his cheek. “There’s nothing regular or boring about you Colt Kaneko,” Her eyes twinkle, her lips pulling into a teasing smile. “Old on the other hand…”
Colt grins, ready to retort with his own banter when Kai starts to fuss and cry loudly. Colt immediately takes him from Ellie’s arms as he stands up and bounces him around in his arms, his cries already starting to soften little in his father’s arms.
“I’ll take care of him, you’ve done enough for today.”
Ellie smiles in gratitude and relief, the exhaustion pulling at the edges of her consciousness again as she settles back on to the bed.
Her eyes start to flutter close but she tries to keep the image of Colt, cooing and bouncing Kai in his arms, in the forefront of her memories. So she can try to manipulate her dreams, in the hopes that the happiness, love and content she feels in this moment can be carried over into the depths of her soul and her consciousness will be filled with just Colt, the boy she has loved since her past and her present, and Kai, the child she will love until her future.
Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#35 Running out in the middle of the night to get a food item they’re craving.
“…lt? olt…Colt!”
“Huh?” Colt blinks wearily, his eyelids heavy and slow before he squints blearily around looking for the source of the sound. When he sees Ellie’s apprehensive and guilty face looking down at him, he already knows why she’s chosen to wake him up in the middle of the night. He groans and covers his eyes with his forearm and repeats his usual mantra for nights like this. All in, All in, All fucking in.
“Alright, what do you need?”
Ellie smiles sheepishly, rubbing her two month-old bump. “Ice cream, peanut butter and bananas.”
Colt tries to mentally project himself out of the bedroom and into the kitchen so he can check the inside of their fridge and pantry. Ever since Ellie started to crave the most ridiculous of things, he has constantly kept a mental catalogue of the contents of everything in their kitchen so he can keep it stocked and ready to avoid nights like this.
“We still have peanut butter and bananas…” he sighs. “But no ice cream.”
“Yeah,” Ellie affirms, gently rubbing his arm to entice him. Although she never really needs to because Colt is a kind and loving husband. She knows how tiring it is to wake up at two in the morning to run to the nearest store just to satisfy her cravings. That’s why he’s really the best in moments like this because he always ends up giving in to her no matter what.
“Are you going back to sleep? Wake up Colt! I’m hungry!”
…Well, eventually. Eventually, he gives in.
“I’m up! I’m up!” Colt groans loudly and sits up, trying to rein in his consciousness as he weaves his hand through his messy hair. “Okay, what flavor?”
“Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough,” Ellie confirms, then goes in to give him a hug because he deserves it for being such a great partner and husband. “You should get one for yourself too.”
“Is Uninterrupted 8-hours of Sleep a flavor I can buy—ow…” Colt sleepily rubs the shoulder that has, unfortunately, taken the hit although it never really hurts enough to warrant an injury. So far. Lately Ellie’s hits have become just a tad bit sharper.
Pregnancy superpowers, she reasoned.
Colt lazily kicks the blankets from his legs and goes through his routine—he’s done this so much he has a fucking routine now—of putting on some sweatpants, whatever shirt he grabs first and patting down his pockets for the essentials of wallet, keys and phone.
“Hey Colt?” Ellie calls out just as Colt is about to open the door and he immediately sighs, already anticipating another requested food item. “Thanks for doing this, I know it’s annoying.”
Colt melts, all the annoyance and sleep vanishing, before he pads towards her and encircles his arm around her head and lays a lasting kiss on her hair.
Yeah, it’s annoying but it’s not like he’s going to stop doing it.
“I’ll get you those sugary cookies you like too just in case.”
Ellie grins, laying a kiss on his collarbone in gratitude. “You’re the best.”
Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#27 Leaving a plate of food in the microwave for when they have a late shift.
Ellie lets out a big yawn, her eyes squeezing out a few tears from the force of it.
It’s one in the morning and her fiancé is still not home.
Which isn’t a surprise. Colt had already texted her around 9 p.m. that a job he’s working on is probably going to run late so she should just order and eat first (which she did) and go to bed before him (which she has not).
It’s a strange thing to be doing. Ellie valued her sleep above most things and although she knows that he’ll be a hundred percent safe, he did promise her after all, she ended up staying up and waiting for him.
Maybe because one of the things she’s loved doing, ever since they started living together a year ago in his bedroom in the shop, is welcoming Colt home. Mainly because after two to three times of doing so, Ellie noticed that Colt gets this specific smile that’s a mix of relief, warmth and happiness that he only ever reserves when she’s welcoming him home. Even in his crankiest days, he gives in to the smile for a few brief seconds before he goes back to being cranky.
Ellie lets out another yawn as she leans her head on the couch, her eyes becoming blurry from the sleepy-tears continuing to gather in her eyes as the documentary on the TV drones on and on about avocados and green money.
She’s still not sure what time Colt will be coming home and although she loves welcoming him home and seeing that smile, she’s fighting a losing battle and she has work tomorrow.
With a resigned sigh, she turns the TV off and pushes herself off of the couch. She takes a moment to stretch and rotate her shoulders to wake up her sleeping limbs before she makes her way to the kitchen, her steps lonely and loud in the empty space.
She takes the plate of food on the table that she’s left for him and places it into the microwave before she pulls out her phone and sends him a quick text to inform him of the food along with a loving goodnight and a sweet take care of yourself for me, love you.
After one last trailing yawn, she makes the rounds of checking the security system, double checking the locked doors and turning off all of the lights before she makes her way into the bedroom and practically falls down the bed in a heap of exhaustion.
~*~
Colt lets out a sigh of exhaustion when he finally reaches their front door of their home and types in the entry passcode into the keypad before it opens with a resounding click.
It’s about two in the morning and he’s worn out to the bone.
Although majority of the grunt work in the MPC is supervised by Sam, task delegation and planning for a job is still within the realm of his workload which usually doesn’t last longer than 9 p.m., 10 if it’s a particularly busy night.
But if something’s going to keep him beyond his usual hours, it’s cleaning up their mess after a major fuck up like tonight.
Colt pushes out the feelings and memories, vowing and trying to never bring work frustration and anger into their home, as he flicks the lights on. He turns to the security system, checking it to make sure nothing is amiss, before he makes his way into the living room with a small frown tugging his lips.
He should’ve expected it, he did tell her himself that she should get to bed first, but it’s still pretty shitty that he isn’t able to hear her welcome him home with a hug and kiss.
Colt runs his hands through his hair and pulls out his phone, the first time he’s been able to actually check on it since he sent his last text to Ellie, and smiles fondly when he sees the messages she’s left for him.
He turns around and makes his way back to the kitchen and pulls open the microwave, the smile on his lips growing when he sees the plate of food left for him. He closes the microwave door and pushes the buttons to heat it up before he turns to the refrigerator and looks for some fruits he can cut up.
Colt knows two things to be true.
First, Ellie hates it when her sleep gets interrupted but she can easily be enticed and bribed with fruits.
And second, ever since she’s crashed and wormed herself into his life he absolutely hates eating dinner alone now.
So with the beep of the microwave and the last of the apples and pears sliced up, he takes both plates and makes his way into the bedroom with an excited and playful grin.
Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#31 Pulling out a chair for them to sit down at the table.
Ellie knows Colt to be a pretty practical and rational guy, some would even say heartless and emotionally stale but that’s only for those who've never been past the barriers and walls Colt has built over the years.
Some of her co-workers and friends sometimes, annoyingly, bring up the issue of how could she possibly love or be married to a man like Colt? That every time they’re together, all they do is fight and insult each other (which at first, felt like a total misinterpretation of their banter until Ellie realized that if she was a stranger looking in—then yeah, it does look like all they do is fight and shit on each other) and Colt, according to them, never has time for her to take her out on regular dates outside of the once a month date night.
Yet, none of them really know the sides of Colt that he only ever shares with her. The nights where he lovingly slices up fruits for her even when he’s bone tired, the afternoons when he whisks her way to ride his bike along the coast, the mornings where he makes sure she eats her breakfast because she always forgets and the weeks, months and years where he challenges her, supports her and loves her in his own Colt ways.
The language of love is different for each person after all, she just happens to speak Colt’s fluently.
So sure, he isn’t going to be the type of guy to regale her with flowers and poetry and he isn’t ever going to be the guy who’ll set up a surprise romantic dinner on the beach but he is the type of guy who’ll push and support her to be the best version of herself and he is the type of guy who’ll sit with her and hold her on the rare nights when she starts to miss her dad.
But he has been making upgrades.
Specifically on their once a month date nights which she always looks forward to. Just because she gets the opportunity to doll herself up and actually get the chance to put on the multitude of jewelry Colt gives her.
In the earlier versions of date night; they will take a car (usually hers, but Colt splurges once in awhile and brings out a high-end car from the shop), pick out a fancy and expensive restaurant, order their food and start their favorite game of ‘Who’s here on an affair?’ (which Colt is, annoyingly, really great at).
For this month, specifically today, date night started out a little differently; they specifically took a car that Colt picked out as safe and secure, the restaurant he chose is now determined by menu choices and the amount of stairs it took to get to the door, and the food ordered is pre-approved and double checked with the chef. But luckily their favorite game of ‘Who’s here on an affair?’ remains the same.
And Colt has added a new element to the routine, something that Ellie found to be quite endearing.
After they were led to the table, Colt pulled out her chair before she sat down. She never really found it a problem before, she can pull out her own damn chair for all she cares, but she doesn’t mind the extra pampering that he has shown in the last two weeks.
Although, sometimes, it does get a little annoying.
“Stop being so weird, you’re making me nervous,” Ellie chastises him playfully as Colt sits across her from the table, his leg bouncing nervously which makes the table shake a little too.
Colt scoffs, trying his best to look calm and collected and not the bundle of fear and anxiety that he has been feeling in the last two weeks.
“I’m trying El,” Colt replies, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Just. You know? I get scared, uneasy when you’re outside.”
“Mm, so you’ve said a million times in the car,” Ellie laughs as she cuts into her steak. “I’ll be fine Colt. Nothing’s gonna happen.”
“Don’t say that! You’re gonna jinx it El, come on,” Colt scolds as he reaches out to pick up his glass of wine and starts to drink it in the hopes that the alcohol will calm him down.
Ellie chuckles at her husband, reaching out to his hand to give him a reassuring and loving squeeze and he responds immediately with his own squeeze.
She looks at him teasingly, her lips pulled into a playful grin. “If you’re like this two weeks in, I can’t imagine how you’ll be when I actually start showing.”
“Fuck, I’ll be a mess,” Colt confesses honestly, giving her hand another squeeze. “Just—any discomfort or pain and we go home, okay?” Colt pauses and thinks. “No fuck that, we go straight to the doctor.”
Ellie lets out a burst of laughter but tries her best to tame it so she won’t disturb the other people in the restaurant. “Roger that Mr. Kaneko. Now eat your steak before I eat it for you.”
Colt pauses a little, eyeing her cautiously. “…Should we order another one then?”
“Colt!”
“Fine! Okay! Fuuuuck,” Colt tilts his head back with a groan as he squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m not handling this well am I?”
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news baby but yeah, you’re kind of a mess,” Ellie chuckles at the weary expression on his face before she gives his hand one last comforting squeeze and goes back to eating her steak. “It’s fine, you get a pass since it’s still two weeks. But if you start to constantly hover over me like this for the next nine months, I’m seriously going to consider knocking you out,” Ellie takes her fork with a teasing grin, pretending to lightly whack his head from a distance. “Factory reset.”
Colt lets out a choked laugh, shaking his head at her as relief starts to flood into him slowly. “Thanks El.”
Ellie hums in acknowledgement before her eyes soften at the sight of her husband. Sure, of course she knows how nervous and anxious he feels—she feels it too—but she doesn’t want it all to be just about nerves and fears. They’re having a baby, a child of their own. And the happiness, love and joy should surpass all of the other pesky negative emotions of being first time parents.
But she doesn’t tell him that, not now at least. It’s a learning curve for Colt, for her as well, and the best thing about their companionship, their friendship, their marriage and their love is that they’ll learn and get through it together—just as they’ve always done so in the past.
“Hey look,” Ellie says, nudging her head to somewhere over Colt’s shoulder as she smiles brilliantly at him. “Woman in a red and white dress. Hair in a ponytail. Affair or no?”
Colt raises an eyebrow, continuing to stare straight at Ellie. “Is she with the guy with the green tie?”
“Yeah.”
“Affair.”
Ellie balks, looking at him incredulously. “You didn’t even look!”
Colt smirks, his demeanor finally relaxing. “Don’t need to. I overheard her talking to the valet. Seems like her and her husband are regulars here and the valet asked her where her husband was. She gave some bullshit excuse about a trip to London before she camped out at the bar waiting for green tie guy.”
“I hate playing this game with you,” Ellie grumbles under her breath, crossing her arms in front of her.
Colt chuckles, nudging her knee playfully under the table. “You hate it because you lose all the time. If you get better at paying attention to your surroundings, then you might actually win.”
Ellie rolls her eyes but a smile tugs at her lips, happy that Colt is finally starting to relax and enjoy their date night. She quickly scans the restaurant again, trying to pick an easier target for her to win, as the rest of the night continues on with their usual laughter and banter.
Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#23 Taking a picture together to print and hang later.
“Fuck, why is it so hot?” Colt complains, trying his best to fan himself with the brochures in his hand as he leans back on his chair. He fans his sweaty biceps and pulls away the black tank top to stop it from sticking to his chest.
Ellie chuckles, moving closer to him so she can catch a little of the wind that’s being produced by the makeshift fan. Colt grumbles when her straw hat hits him on the cheek but he moves the brochure-fan closer to her flushed face.
“It’s summer in a tropical country, what did you expect?”
“I hope this Underground River is worth all this shit,” Colt groans, reaching up to wipe the sweat sticking on his forehead. “Why couldn’t we have gone somewhere cold like Finland or something? We get enough sun in LA.”
“Because you, mister,” Ellie leans in, her eyes moving from side to side to make sure no one is listening in before she whispers her next words. “Are a wanted criminal. Do you know how hard my heart was pounding in the airport?”
Colt scoffs as he slings his arm over Ellie’s shoulder. “I said I’ll take care of it and I did, didn’t I?” He turns to her with a beaming and confident smile, his voice teasing and light. “If I’m going down, it’s definitely not going to be in LAX.”
Ellie huffs and hits his arm lightly, ready to chastise him about his ego when the tour guide finally calls for them to board the boat and all discussion is shelved for another time.
It takes about five minutes to get to the island but the ride over was nothing but breathtaking and calming. With the water so blue and clear and the sky so expansive, even Ellie could see that Colt was enjoying the boat ride and slowly starting to relax.
After disembarking the boat and following the trail lead by their tour guide (while Ellie looked up at the tall trees most of the way to catch sight of the monkeys and Colt just wrapped his arm around her waist to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself), they eventually reached the waiting area with a group of other tourist where they’ll take a smaller boat into the Underground River.
While they wait, Ellie takes the time to explore the area and she’s all but fascinated and awed at the water coming out of the mouth of the cave that’s so clear and blue that she could see down to the bottom. Every fiber of her being is calling out for her to swim in it.
“Look! The fish aren’t even scared of us,” Ellie observes when a small fish swims right up to the shoreline, unbothered when Ellie pushes her toes forward into the water. “I want to swim in it so badly.”
Colt grins, pointing to sign just in front of them. “It says no swimming El.”
“Since when have you been so concerned with the rules?” She looks at him over her shoulder with a smile.
“Since my girlfriend wants to see some lame rocks inside a cave and breaking the rules could get us kicked out,” Colt laughs, his voice free and relaxed, before he walks next to her and leans in to give her a quick kiss on her pouting lips.
“Fine, fine,” Ellie relents sadly as she rummages around her handbag and pulls out her phone. “Let’s take a picture at least. I want to frame it and put it in the living room.”
Ellie pulls him towards her and Colt easily leans down and presses his cheek close to her. Ellie extends her arm forward and tilts it up, aiming to catch the blue water behind them, as she smiles and takes the picture. After about three more tries—Colt was already complaining by the third try—she goes through her camera roll with a warm smile, her heart tugging at the picture of the two of them on their first vacation outside of the country together.
“Thanks Colt,” She looks up at him, her eyes a little watery and her voice a little sad. “I’ll be honest, I never really thought we’d ever get to go on vacation outside of America.”
Colt frowns, a small pang of guilt and pain resonating somewhere deep in his heart. He knows the circumstances, he knows the rules that bind him but he’ll be damned if Ellie is going to feel and receive less than what she deserves.
He reaches forward and takes her chin in between his fingers, his brown eyes boring into hers as he reiterates his promise of security and happiness to her. A thousand times if he has to.
“I’ve told you Ellie, all you have to do is ask and I’ll make it happen. One way or the other, I’m going to do it.”
Ellie smiles brilliantly, taking hold of his wrist and laying a kiss on his open palm. “I’m starting to see that now, yeah.”
“Miss! Sir! It’s okay to get on the boat!” The friendly tour guide shouts and waves at them and Ellie grins as she waves back at her, signaling that she heard her.
Ellie turns to Colt with a big smile, her tone teasing and playful. “Ready to get your mind blown by ‘lame’ rocks Mr. Kaneko?”
“Not the only thing ready to get blown—ow Ellie!”
Ellie punches him on the arm mid-sentence before she laughs and runs ahead of him towards the boat. Colt merely looks at her retreating figure with a fond smile, his heart squeezing in a feeling so familiar and welcomed that it’s nothing short of an addiction.
Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#43 Holding shopping bags that are too heavy for them.
“Hmm…” Ellie holds up two tubs of ice cream, her mind pulling up her mental list of pros and cons between Cherry Garcia and Half Baked. “Which one should I get?”
“El just choose one,” Colt sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “We’ve been at this for five minutes.”
“Shush. If I choose wrong, you’ll have to come back here and get the other flavor.”
That effectively shuts him up as he grumbles under his breath and crosses his arms in front of him.
But after about three more minutes with Ellie no closer to her decision, Colt finally just plucks both tubs of ice cream and drops them in the cart. “There. New option, we get both.”
Ellie huffs, trying to look annoyed but realizing that it’s a brilliant solution since she wants to eat them both anyway. “Is this the kind of problem solving you use at the shop?”
“No, just for you,” Colt grins as he reaches around and pats her ass lightly to get her to move, earning him a small glare from Ellie, before he pushes the cart and scrolls through his phone to see what else they need from their list.
Usually, Colt does this on his own but Ellie has been complaining about being cooped up in the house. With her maternity leave fast approaching, most of the tasks she’s been given has been delegated to the other employees in her office so she doesn’t really need to take home her work now. Which is strange for Ellie because she’s not used to being not busy so she’s getting a little antsy and since Colt has no other plans other than this—he thought it would be a great idea to take her out somewhere that’s safe, near their house and doesn’t involve a lot of stairs.
But he’s usual thirty to forty minute grocery run has effectively been stretched out into an hour now because whenever Ellie sees something she likes, she pauses to contemplate whether she should buy it or not.
Which always confuses Colt. Ellie can buy the whole fucking shelf if she wants to and it won’t even leave a dent on his income so what does it matter if she should or shouldn’t buy it?
But he tries to be patient, understanding and…less cranky. After all, he brought her here so he needs to put up with it. And he loves her. She’s his wife and partner, the mother of his child, the light and love of his life—
“Oh Colt! Wait hold on, what fruits should we buy? I really like pineapples but those apples look so good! Hmm…”
Colt sighs.
All in, All in, All fucking in…
~*~
Colt gives a handful of cash at the counter, his body and his mind going in full auto mode as he waits for their items to be bagged. Ellie stands next to him silently as she scrolls through her phone, humming a little song that he can’t quite pick up on. Once their grocery bags are ready, he reaches out to take them when a sudden blur from his peripheral view shoots pass him.
Ellie takes one of the bags and Colt’s eyes immediately widen, the pace of his heart picking up speed as he quickly takes the bag from her hands before she can start to carry them.
“What the hell are you doing El?” Colt looks at her, his eyes narrowing in disapproval.
Ellie furrows her eyebrows, confused by the anger in his voice. “I’m taking one of the bags, why?”
“You’re pregnant, you can’t just be carrying heavy things,” Colt sighs, taking the other bags before she gets to them first as he gestures to his leather jacket and starts to walk out of the store. “Take the keys and open up the trunk.”
Ellie rolls her eyes with a smile, rummaging around his pockets to find the keys as they make their way to the One-77 parked close to the main doors.
“You’re so fussy now.”
Colt scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief at the idea of not wanting his wife hurt can be categorized as “fussy”.
“One of us has to be.”
Colt hauls the grocery bags into the trunk and closes it with a loud thud. Ellie sends him a wide grin before she takes her place in the passenger seat while Colt takes the driver's seat, starts the engine and pulls out of the parking space.
“It’s so weird seeing you in a car sometimes, I kinda miss you on the Cavalieri.”
Colt chuckles with a wide grin, his eyes looking forward. “I would’ve taken the Cavalieri if a certain someone wasn’t complaining about being bored in the house.”
Ellie looks at him in disbelief. “Where would you even put all those bags on the bike huh?”
“There wouldn’t even be that many bags if you just make up your mind!”
Ellie opens her mouth, ready to refute his accusations when she realizes that yeah, he’s right.
“Fine, my bad,” She relents easily, knowing when to quit when she’s been beat.
Colt grins at his victory as he reaches over to her to intertwine their hands together. She easily takes his hand, placing soft kisses on his knuckles before she intertwines them and lays it on her lap.
“Think we can run by McDonalds for some fries?”
“Mm,” Colt agrees, already mentally mapping out the nearest McDonalds as he squeezes her hand lightly. “Sure we can El.”
Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie
Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life.
A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard
#33 Throwing away their piles of tissues when they have a cold.
“Ellie you need to leave,” Colt practically growls out the words, his eyes set into a hard glare. “You need to fucking leave right now.”
Ellie looks down at him laying on the bed with a bored stare, one hand on her hip while the other holds up a glass of water.
“You know, you don’t sound threatening at all when your nose is red and your voice is all gravelly.”
Colt groans with a hard sniff to unclog his stupid nose before he covers his eyes with his forearm. “El, I don’t want you to get sick. I don’t want to hurt the baby.”
“And you won’t,” Ellie reassures with a gentle voice, sitting down on the bed next to him as she extends the glass of water. “I’m just here to make sure you drink your medicine and then I’m out.”
Colt relents with a heavy sigh as he sits up on the bed. He reaches towards the nightstand to pop a pill in his mouth, takes the glass of water and practically downs it all in one go. “Done, now leave.”
“You hear that baby?” Ellie tuts disapprovingly as she takes the glass and places her hand on her barely visible bump. “We lovingly get your sick dad some water and he can’t even manage a thank you.”
Colt groans as he drops back to the bed, trying his best to keep his germs to himself so he doesn’t accidently infect his pregnant wife. “Ellie…please just leave, I’m begging you.”
“The Colt Kaneko, begging?” Ellie laughs as she stands up from the bed. “This cold might very well be his demise.”
Colt turns over the bed with a groggy grumble, pulling the pillow from her side of the bed and pressing it against his head in an effort to sandwich the germs between the pillows.
Ellie grins as she reaches over to the trashcan full of tissues and glances over to the box of tissues on his nightstand and notes that it’s almost running out so she’ll need to replenish that as well.
“I’ll be back later to bring you dinner,” Ellie calls out from the door, her heart melting at the sight of him so sick as his chest rises and falls and he slips into a cold-induced sleep. She really hates seeing him sick and because of how pregnant she is, he’s basically quarantined himself in the bedroom so he doesn’t infect her. It sucks that she can’t even properly take care of him when he needs her most.
But Ellie is stubborn and she wants to do what she can to make him comfortable even if he does tell her to leave every time she enters the bedroom. She gently closes the door behind her and goes to empty the trash can so she can put it back near his bedside along with a new box of tissues.
It might not be much but she’s hoping that the little things she’ll do can ease his worries and exhaustion. After all, that’s what they had promised to each other on their wedding day in Las Vegas one year ago.
