Only if you want to!!! Don't feel pressured to 🧡🧡🧡🧡
"You're still here?"
David looked up from the paperwork he had been staring down for the past--he didn't even know how long, actually--to see that you were standing over his desk. In spite of your words and your incredulous tone, you had two steaming mugs in your hands and there was a smile on your face that said you'd found him exactly where you'd expected him to be.
"I told Bo to go home," he said, and you nodded, because of course he had. His partner had his kids to think about. He eyed the mug you were lowering down to him, eyebrows going up. "What'd you bring me?"
"Nothing your poor body would reject," you said with a laugh. You set the mug down on his desk and he could see now that there was a tea bag in it.
He gave you a grateful smile and reached out a hand, which you happily slid yours into so he could give it a squeeze. On late nights like this you were typically the only one left in the station with him. You claimed it was because you had poor time management and you were always scrambling to get paperwork done, but Bo said he'd never once seen you struggle to get your work in on time.
"What would I do without you here to help me?" he said.
"Die," you told him promptly, which sparked a laugh from deep in his gut as you sipped from what had to be a truly disgusting cup of coffee.
He couldn't help smirking as he watched you, eyes sparkling with mirth and heart throbbing with affection. You really had no idea how much it meant to him, this time he got to spend with you during the late night hours. Any time he got to spend with you, really--whether it was convincing you to come volunteering with him on the weekends or meeting up before work to hit the cafe across from the precinct. It always made his chest swell with warmth to see you smiling or hear you laughing.
Without thinking, he lifted up the hand he had held in his and pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles. You stopped what you were saying mid-sentence to stare down at him.
"David?" you said. He blinked, and realized his mistake as your fingers twitched in his grip. "A-are you okay?"
He let go of you quickly, face heating as he lifted a hand to scratch behind his ear. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, I--I'm pretty tired. Thank you. For the tea."
Your eyes were burning into the side of his skull, but he couldn't really look at you after all that. He had to pull his hand down in his lap to make himself stop fidgeting, biting his lip as he waited for what you were going to say.
Finally, you seemed to let it go. "You're welcome," you said, and you gave him an easy smile as you plopped yourself down into Bo's chair and pulled over a stack of paperwork. "You're buying my coffee tomorrow morning, though."
He chuckled and shook his head as he pushed his reading glasses back up his nose.
I wish you would write a fic where Lee helps reader forget about her problems for a little bit, maybe he tells a story or just cuddles with her or something along those lines. Just pure fluff
Yeah... I think I can do that
title: Distractions
summary: You need a bit of distracting, and Lee knows just how to do that. All of the fluff. It's like a Persian cat and a ragdoll had a baby.
warnings: gn!reader, enough fluff to cause a choking hazard
word count: 1863
You didn’t know how long you’d been staring at the letter when Lee finally pulled it from your hands. You almost didn’t react at first—you’d been sat in the same place, staring at the same thing for so long that it took a moment to register that the letter was even gone—but when you looked up, there he was.
“Lee!” you exclaimed, reaching up a hand to grab it back. He pulled it out of your reach and you huffed at him. “What are you doing? Give it back!”
Now that your concentration had been broken, you could finally start to take in the details around you. It had gotten dark at some point in the past few hours, enough so that Lee had lit the lanterns, and the clouds were rolling gently through the moonlight, some ten-odd meters below the basket of the balloon. You didn’t know how you hadn’t noticed the chill of the wind as the sun sank below the cloud level, but almost as soon as the thought crossed your mind a shiver rolled down your spine.
“Normally I’m not one to poke about in another person’s business,” Lee said, and ignored the flat look you gave him at the blatant lie. “But given the fact that I’m pretty sure a one-page letter doesn’t take hours to read, I’m going to say this isn’t exactly good news.”
He glanced between the letter in his hand and your face and for the first time since you’d sat down to read that afternoon, you really took in his face. He hadn’t had the opportunity to shave with water for a couple of days now, leaving him a bit more stubbly than he would have liked. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced from sleeping on the bench or the bedroll instead of on a real mattress, and his clothes were creased from wearing them for as long as he hadn’t been shaving.
It was absolutely ridiculous how handsome you found him, even sleep deprived and a little sloppy, but you clung to the thought as a welcome distraction from the letter Lee still had clutched in his hand.
“It’s nothing, honest,” you told him, holding your hand up for him to hand the letter back. When he didn’t you wiggled your fingers. “Come on, isn’t it illegal in Texas to read someone else’s mail?”
He didn’t respond to the joke or lower the letter, instead just raising one of his eyebrows at you. Hester hopped up on the bench beside you and despite being completely different species, their expressions were exactly the same.
“You’re normally not this quiet. What’s wrong?” she asked, and the clear concern in her tone told you well enough how they were both feeling at the moment. You glanced back up at Lee and knew from the set of his jaw that he wasn’t going to budge
You had to bite back a sigh as you shared a glance with your own daemon, and finally dropped your hand. “It’s just...you know, stuff from back home. Things that I forgot about.”
When you’d left home to travel with Lee, you’d had a whole life you’d left behind. Though you visited (infrequently) and sent money back (when you had it to spare) and exchanged letters with people back home (if you remembered), it was actually pretty rare that your old life intruded on your new one. You had too many things to do and places to go and people to see when you were traveling with Lee, and sometimes those distractions included such thrills as running for your life or trying to talk down a bounty hunter from taking the only person who knows how to fly your method of transportation.
The letter had been expected—it had been a while since you’d visited the post office box you’d rented for this very purpose—but the contents were not, and there was little you could do about the problem they presented. You’d so looked forward to opening this letter and getting some word from home, and now...
“D’you want to talk about it?”
Lee’s voice broke you out of your thoughts and you looked up once again to see that he hadn’t moved. He was still staring down at you, worry shining out of those pretty eyes of his, his mouth and mustache tilted down in a thoughtful frown, and your heart melted a little bit at the look.
“No, not really,” you found yourself saying. You really didn’t. You just wanted to put the issue out of your mind for now and focus on something else. Anything else. You sighed and rubbed a hand over your eyes. “I could really use a distraction, though. Do you still have that copy of Lupin?”
Lee hummed. “I think I’ve got it somewhere around here. Why don’t you stretch a bit while I look for it? You haven’t moved in hours, sweetheart.”
At his behest you got to your feet, and immediately you groaned as several bones clicked at once; both of your knees and at least two in your back. You could hear Lee snorting to himself and decided it wasn’t worth the huff he’d work himself into to point out that he was even more creaky when he stood up than you, instead choosing to walk around to the other side of the basket and stretch out your legs. When you lifted your arms above your head, you felt another bone in your back pop.
“You’re so old,” said your daemon with a quiet little chuckle, and you swiftly proved that maturity does not come with age when you stuck your tongue out at them in response.
There was a bit more rustling going on behind you than you would think it would take to look for a book, but by the time you had turned around to see what was going on, Lee had already finished what he was doing. He saw you looking and his face lit up in a bright smile and he waved you over.
“C’mon,” he said, and once you got within touching distance he had an arm wrapped around your shoulders to lead you over to the little nest of blankets he’d made on the bench.
“Lee...” you said, voice soft and a little wondering. “You didn’t have to do this.”
He didn’t seem to hear you. Instead he busied himself with wrapping a blanket around your shoulders, checking to make sure it was positioned just so, and then he took a seat on the bench and patted the space between his legs, gesturing for you to come and sit with him.
On any ordinary day, you would have been flustered beyond belief at such an idea, but it was a testament to how much that issue at home was weighing on your mind that you only hesitated a moment before you followed his direction. You sat with your back to his front, wrapped in the Texan quilt, and felt his arms coming up around you to get you settled properly, encouraging you to lean back against his chest and settle your head into the curve of his shoulder. The combination of the quilt and his arms made you feel plenty warm, and you were sure your heart was beating a mile a minute.
This was definitely a distraction from the letter, that was for sure.
Once he was satisfied that you were comfortable, you felt Lee shifting behind you. His leg was stretched out on the seat in front of you, boot twitching as he moved around, and when his hand appeared in front of you again, he was holding the book you’d been asking for.
“Found it!” he exclaimed, and the cheek in his voice had a ghost of a smile beginning on your face. Instead of handing it to you, he opened it himself and started flicking pages. “Where did you leave off?”
It took a moment for what he meant to sink in, and this time you did get flustered. You started to shift, trying to sit up, but the way was blocked by the arms he had wrapped around you, connected by the book he’d flipped open to the table of contents.
“Lee, you don’t have to—” you started again, but he shushed you softly and cut you off, letting go of the book with one hand to encourage you to lay down your head once more.
“Where did you leave off, darlin?” he asked again. Out of the corner of your eye you could see that Hester had also blocked in your daemon, settling down right up against them with her paws curled underneath her and her eyes closed, like she was settling down for a nap.
Your daemon looked up at you with a helpless expression in their eyes, and you could only give them the same look back from your position. The two of you were powerless to fight back.
“Um, I was on the fourth story,” you said quietly, and Lee hummed as he turned to the correct page.
With your ear pressed up against his chest, you could hear him humming like it was in your own head and you closed your eyes for a moment as the sound washed over you. He didn’t have the deepest voice but it was melodic and lilting, and hearing the echo of it in his chest as he spoke was soothing. Though you’d only intended to shut your eyes for a moment, you were finding it increasingly difficult to open them again.
“Okay, this one is The Mysterious Traveler,” Lee murmured above your head, and then he started to read.
Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar was probably not your best choice for a distraction, as it was a book you’d read a few times before, but with Lee reading it to you it was a new experience entirely. He kept his voice low and soft, his pace was steady but not too slow, and after a few minutes he got tired of holding the book up with both arms and moved it to one hand, leaving the other one free for Lee to wrap it around your waist and hold you to him more securely.
Between the familiar story unfolding and the warmth of the blanket and Lee’s arm around your waist it was only a matter of time before you started to fall asleep. You fought it as long as you could, wanting to enjoy the feeling of being held, of being read to, of being cared for, but the pull was just too strong.
When he could feel that your breathing had finally settled and you were asleep, Lee gratefully dropped the arm holding his book to his side and let out a deep, relieved breath. Hester’s ears flicked, amused at his predicament, and Lee watched as she settled herself even deeper against your daemon, this time truly getting ready to go to sleep. He looked down at the top of your head again, a fond smile on his face, and he gently pressed a kiss to your hair.
Okay I know I haven’t been participating a lot but it’s time for me to jump in for the last day of Beezie December!!! This is for everyone, but also specifically @thehandsomelamplighter , since everyone caters to a certain someone’s brain rot.
@beecastle @serpentstyles you guys get in here too 💖
Cheek to Cheek
Prompt: “This feels like home.” You and Jack the lamplighter get cozy for Christmas. 🎄
The Trick Ace was the pub of choice for the leeries of London, and you knew that if you were asked, you could never pick a better place to work. Once the sun had gone down and the lamps had gone up, they would come pouring through the doors in ones and twos and threes, smiling and kicking up their heels and turning little winks your way before they joined up with their mates. Someone in the group always had a pence or two to spare for the tip jar, and they were fascinated with the coin-operated record player as always.
Your favorite nights, though, were the ones when Jack decided to pop by.
He’d been coming to the pub longer than you’d been working there, but he’d instantly warmed up to a new face and made you feel right at home. Whenever Jack was in the pub, you knew everyone was in for a good time. He always had a joke on his tongue and a smile on his lips, eyes sparkling and ready to laugh, so it was no wonder you‘d been smitten from the first night you met. A few years on and you were truly head over heels.
It was worth the ribbing you got for your flustered face to take his order (for “a pint of your finest ‘ouse brew, if you’d be so kind, sweet’eart,” accompanied by that dimpled smile), and get those sparkling eyes when you offered him a free play on the record player. Though the other waitresses teased you and the leeries snickered to themselves over your obvious plight, no one thankfully said anything about your little crush and Jack didn’t seem to be any the wiser. He never seemed to notice that he was always the first to get a refill, or that the table he and his group preferred always seemed to be free when they stopped by, or that the jar on the bar always had his favorite, putrid, green apple candies. (And you preferred it that way, honestly, because you didn’t know what you’d do if he found out. You’d probably have to quit. Change your name. Move to Wales. Cardiff wasn’t so bad this time of year.)
Tonight should not have been an exception to any of those rules. Beautiful place to work, lovely customers, handsome faces. It was December and the pub was already decked out in Christmas finery with garlands and holly and candles tucked into every corner. The leeries were out in full force, taking over three tables alone in the corner by the record player and scattering themselves at the bar, being politely boisterous. It was a typical Friday evening and would not have been an exception, but for the fact that one Angus Jackson had the absolute nerve to get tipsy and ask you, in front of God and everybody:
“Oi, ‘ow comes Jack’s the only one you ever let have a free go at the record player?”
He was leaning backwards out of his seat, smiling up at you with slightly glazed eyes—certainly not enough not to know what he was doing, the bastard—and seemed completely oblivious to how half the bar had paused to watch the two of you and, presumably, listen for your answer. Someone swatted at Angus and cried out his name to admonish him but the damage was already done. You looked up and saw that Jack was also staring at you. But it, as usual, was a look of fondness with none of the accusation of the others and all the warmth in the world. Something in your chest eased.
“Jack’s the best behaved, that’s why,” you said, and you kicked lightly at the leg of Angus’s stool to remind him not to lean on it. The front legs of his stool quickly hit the ground. “Maybe if you’d stop abusing our furniture you’d get a free play every now and then, Angus Jackson.”
That roused a laugh from his compatriots and the moment passed. Conversation started to flow again and the attention of the room was no longer focused on you. You busied yourself with grabbing empty pint glasses and dodging the gesturing arms of the other patrons, and it wasn’t until cool fingers slipped around your wrist that you noticed Jack had followed you away from the table. He gave you a smile and your wrist a squeeze before his fingers slipped away, skimming over your pulse.
“Hello, Jack,” you said, and in spite of your best efforts it came out a bit breathless. You were quick to dump the pint glasses you’d grabbed in a bus bin, wiping your hands on your apron as you faced him again. Your face felt so hot—god damn Angus and his nosiness! “Is there something I can help you with...?”
Candles were set into the mantle behind the bar, and you could see them glowing in his eyes like coals as he nodded. “Actually, yes, I think there is,” he said, and there was something in his voice you couldn’t place. “Y’see, I felt kinda badly after you got onto Angus, cos... he wasn’t really the one askin’ about you givin’ me a free go at the record player.”
You blinked, and your lips parted, but you couldn’t quite make anything come out for a moment. Jack’s eyes were still warm, still bright, but he was watching you.
“Who was it, then? S’my pence, I get to decide who I give a play to,” you said, and somehow your voice didn’t sound as thin and high as you expected it to.
“You’ve been paying out of your own pocket?” Jack said, seeming surprised. You hadn’t ever told him that you’d done it, but when your tips came out of the jar you figured it hardly mattered if it went straight into the record player. His eyes softened, and he shook his head. He reached out for your wrist again, fingers brushing over your skin as he stepped closer. “I was askin’, luv. I do wonder, you know. I think about it. I think about you.”
He did? Of course he did, he was Jack. He thought about everyone. Your breath caught in your throat and you could feel your pulse pounding under his fingers. Could he feel it, too?
“I’m glad I caught you back here, actually,” he was saying, and you blinked as you made yourself focus on his face again, heart in your throat.
“Y-you are?” You bit your lip when your voice shook and he grinned as he nodded. He was obviously waiting for you to ask so you swallowed and said, “Why’s that?”
He was wearing some kind of aftershave, you realized. Even though it had been a few hours since he’d had a chance to use a razor, he still smelled faintly of it. It was clinging to his coat, and you could almost feel the heat of him he was so close. His eyes were absolutely sparkling as they glanced up and when you followed his gaze your breath caught in your throat.
Mistletoe was hanging from the archway above both of your heads. You glanced back down again and found that Jack had gotten even closer. You could feel his breath on your cheek. Those candles from the mantle were still burning brightly in his eyes.
“Maybe when you give me that free play tonight...you can join me on the dance floor,” he said. You gasped as his free hand touched your waist, taking a step closer to him. One of your hands fell on his chest. “I’m sure your boss wouldn’t mind if you had a dance or two...? Trip a little light fantastic with old Jack?”
“I...I think I’d really like that,” you managed to say, still feeling breathless. He still beamed down at you at that response, and your throat clicked as you swallowed.
When he finally leaned down to kiss you, your whole head was spinning. You let out a soft little sound as you finally leaned into his hold, closing your eyes as you relished the softness of his lips. His hand skimmed up your arm to your neck, fingers brushing over the skin by your ear and driving a little shiver down your spine. When he pulled away again your ears were ringing, except...
Oh. The bar was cheering. Behind Jack’s back you could see the other patrons hooting and hollering, clearly having been watching, and your face could have fried an egg as you buried it in Jack’s chest.
“How do you feel about Cardiff?” you mumbled into his shirt, and he gave you a bewildered laugh.
“This feels like home, doesn’t it?” he said softly down into your ear, and you couldn’t help smiling as you nodded against him.
“I have good news and bad news,” Lee said as he approached. Hester was weary as she hopped along beside him, but then you all were.
You’d been up in the balloon for an extended period of time with your current cargo, and it had been bitterly cold for the entire time. You were all looking forward to some real rest on the ground, and the inn you’d found was the closest for miles.
“As long as they have a room, I don’t care,” you said.
“They do have a room,” he started, and you could feel the but coming and decided to ignore it, turning your head away and lifting your hands to tell him to stop.
“I don’t care,” you said again. You picked up your bag and gestured to your daemon to follow so you could start inside for your room.
“They don’t have central heating—” Lee said.
“Don’t care.”
“—so we’ll have to use the fireplace—”
“Don’t care.”
“—and there’s only one bed.”
Okay, that one made you pause. You turned around to look at him, this time really taking stock for the first time since you’d arrived in town. He looked about as tired as you felt, cheeks chapped from the constant wind and clothes wrinkled from too many nights spent sleeping in them. His eyes were uneasy as you mulled over what he said.
“Did you still book it?” you asked.
He gave you a bit of a hapless look. “It was the only room they had, and we’d have to walk miles to find the next town over. I had to.”
You looked down at your daemon and the two of you shared a sigh. It would have to do—you couldn’t spend hours walking just for a chance at a second bed.
“Okay, we’ll make do,” you said as you shouldered your bag once more and allowed Lee to lead you into the inn.
The room was small, but you weren’t expecting a five star hotel at this point, and would probably be cozy with a fire going. The bed was at least a double, and it even smelled like the sheets had been changed recently. You let out a delighted sound when you saw that there was a door to an adjoining bathroom. You could have a shower!
“You can have the bathroom first, just don’t use up all the hot water,” Lee said from behind you, and you flashed him a smile. You didn’t see the way his eyes followed you as you leaned through the bathroom door to check out the amenities. “I’ll get a fire going in here. I figure we can look for some scram in the morning?”
You nodded, already going through your bag for a change of clothes. Again, you didn’t notice the way his eyes tracked your movements or the slight, amused smile that curled his lips as he watched you gathering up what you needed to get clean.
“See you in a few, cowboy,” you called over your shoulder, and you heard him chuckle behind you as you closed the door.
—
True to his word, Lee had gotten a nice fire roaring in the fireplace and it was doing a better job than you expected at warming the small room. You were taking the time to put some cream on your hands and your face while Lee took a shower himself. The wind had really chapped the both of you good, and you needed to do something before your skin started to crack.
You were just finishing up with your cheeks when the door to the bathroom opened up and steam billowed out, followed by Lee in a pair of woolen pants and little else. He was still toweling his hair dry as he walked out and you couldn’t help the way your eyes tracked a drop of water that fell down his his shoulder and to his chest. They quickly snapped back up to his face and you were grateful to see that he hadn’t caught you staring.
“Aren’t you cold like that?” you said, knowing even before you were finished what his answer was going to be. You could almost mouth it along with him.
“Maybe now, but I’ll get hot once I’m under the blanket,” he said without missing a beat, and you rolled your eyes. You offered him the jar of the cream you’d been using, but he shook his head and you shrugged and put it away.
As exhausted as the two of you were, you didn’t fuss long before you were both climbing in bed. Hester and your daemon were curled together on the living chair in the corner, already asleep, and you would have been happy to follow suit—except you were laying next to Lee, who wasn’t wearing a shirt, and didn’t seem to be affected at all by the fact that you were inches away from him, and—
“I can practically hear you thinkin from over here, darlin,” Lee said softly in the dark.
You flinched a little bit and tried to force yourself to relax. “Sorry. I’m just—not used to sharing a space with someone. You know how I can be.”
“I know,” he said, and again his tone was soft. Reassuring. The blankets rustled a bit as he shuffled closer to you and you turned to see that he was truly inches away from you now, eyes glowing in the light of the fire. “...here, c’mere. We’ll just pretend like we’re back on the balloon, right? Huddling up for warmth.”
Your cheeks burned at the thought. There had been several times over the past few days where you’d found the cold up in the air to be practically unbearable. To help ease your shivering both Lee and Hester had kept physically close to you until you could get to a more agreeable climate. At his urging, you slowly shuffled over into his space and sucked in a breath when you felt his warm arm wrapping around your waist.
“Just like this,” he said, and his breath brushed over your cheek and ear as he reached behind you to arrange the blankets. Between him and the sheets you were securely tucked in, and even with your heart racing from being in proximity to Lee, you knew it wasn’t going to take long to fall asleep.
You managed to murmur a quiet, “thank you,” before you drifted off, and you never got to see the tender smile or feel the gentle kiss he dropped on the top of your head before Lee settled down to sleep as well.
“Am I your lockscreen?” “You weren’t supposed to see that.”
“We’re not just friends and you fucking know it.”
@serpentstyles come get y'all juice
warnings: f!reader
"Come on, you admitted that you liked the movie last time."
You could see his lips curling, even as he lifted his to-go cup to his mouth to try to hide the smile. He took a sip of his green tea (the cafe manager, bless her heart, kept a separate brewer just for him due to his allergies) and gave you a carefully engineered flat look that did absolutely nothing to hide the amusement in his eyes.
"I said that because you were making those big, sad eyes at me," he said, setting his cup down on the table in front of him but keeping his hands on it. You'd had to take an outside table with the cafe being so full, and the fall air was brisk. "Also, you told me flat out that if I didn't say I liked it you would take personal offense and cry real tears. Those were your exact words."
"I said no such thing!" Your voice pitched up on your protest and he laughed a bit, lifting a hand when you got a bit too loud to try to calm you. Of course you had said exactly that but you would never admit to it, and he knew it very well if the way his eyes twinkled were any indication. You gave him a brief sour look, but were quick to relent again to try to wheedle him some more. "Please, David, you need to do something to unwind this weekend."
"If I say yes, will you come hiking with me next week? You said you would when the weather started to cool down again," he said, giving you that wheedling tone right back.
It really was an absolute sin that he had such pretty eyes, and such a pretty face, and such pretty hair, and such a pretty voice. You really never stood a chance when he asked you for anything. How you'd remained friends with him for this long without losing your soul to those deep brown eyes was an absolute mystery.
"Absolutely," you promised, knowing that Future You was going to regret that decision very much.
It was still worth it to see the delighted smile on his face. Maybe you had lost your soul somewhere down the line after all.
He picked up his phone to check the time and you swore—just for a second as the image flashed by—but it couldn't be. That would be ridiculous. This was David, after all. The golden child, the Lieutenant, the most perfect man in existence. You shook the notion out of your head and gave him a wry smile as he told you he had to go.
"I know, I know, duty calls," you said, waving him off. "Go save the world from drug dealers and murderers, and I'll save you from boredom on Saturday at seven. Don't be late!"
He promised and left, and you absolutely did not think about how for the briefest moment you thought you'd seen a picture of yourself for his lock screen.
Saturday arrived more swiftly than you would have expected; your weekly activities thankfully kept you better distracted than you normally would have guessed. Knowing David's preferences, you skipped out on microwave popcorn for healthier snack alternatives most of the time. This week you had gone with a bit of a lazier route of veggie straws and the fancy organic gummy bears his partner had once clued you in that he liked. The movie was a standalone thriller, no franchises for the pop culture baby, nothing to do with cop work just to keep his mind at ease. Simple, casual. Friendly. Just like always.
(You were not thinking about his lock screen.)
He arrived at two minutes before seven with a smug smile on his face, as though he'd done it specifically to show you up for your comment about being late. (Thinking back on it, you wouldn't have been surprised if he had.) He had a container of your drink of choice and a wide grin on his face, and when he saw the baggie of gummy bears on the table he pressed a kiss to your temple that had your cheeks heating.
The movie went mostly smoothly, in that your streaming service didn't crash while it was running. Everything else seemed to be going awry.
You were hyper aware of David through the whole run of the movie, which wasn't necessarily unusual. as like any fan of movies, you loved to watch for the reactions of your friends. Tonight, though... it felt like every single time he moved or breathed or, hell, every time he blinked, it grabbed your attention away from the movie. You'd long known that you couldn't beat down your attraction to him, but it was getting to be a bit much.
Every time he shifted in his seat your eyes would flick over to his legs as he readjusted. Whenever he moved to lean on the armrest of the couch you found yourself fixated on the flex of his fingers under his chin. He laughed at a joke and your heart soared, and he crossed his legs and you just—you couldn't help yourself peeking—
"You alright?"
His voice broke through the fog you'd been in when he'd uncrossed his legs and hooked his ankles together instead, and your eyes jumped back up to his face.
"Yeah, sorry! I guess I'm a little tired," you said, giving him a soft smile. "Maybe we can take a quick break? I need a new drink anyway."
You lifted the drink he'd brought for you and he nodded, groaning a bit as he stood. "I'm going to run to the bathroom, then. Meet back in a minute."
The two of you separated to take care of your self-appointed tasks, and it wasn't until you got back with your refill that you saw that David had left his phone on the arm of the couch.
It was too much to resist. You didn't hear the toilet flushing or the sink going in the bathroom, yet, so you knew that you had at least a few seconds. That was all you'd need to disabuse yourself of this wild idea, right? Just a few seconds to confirm that you'd seen some model or some kind of group precinct photo or—anything but your own face underneath the time display.
But when you raised the phone, there you were.
It was a photo of you that had been taken at a Santiago family gathering, you remembered. Everyone had been out by the pool, and you had been convinced to wear a top that was more revealing than your usual fare. The arm around your shoulders in the picture had been David's, but everyone else was cut off but you. It was just your smile, your laugh caught in the moment, and you jumped out of your skin when you heard David calling your name behind you.
"What are you doing with—?" he started to ask, but you turned it around to face him before he could finish the question.
"Why am I your lock screen?" you said, voice hoarse.
He blinked, and something passed through his eyes that you didn't fully understand.
"You weren't supposed to see that," he said softly, and he held his hand out for his phone. You didn't want to hand it over quite yet, and you held out for a moment longer. He said your name in that same quiet tone. "Please."
"Is this some kind of joke?" you found yourself saying, even while you knew in your heart it couldn't be true. Not David. Never David. But it was the only explanation you could think of. It was the only thing that poisonous little voice in the back of your head would let you believe, because this was David. Amy's sainted brother, the golden child, the perfect one.
"What? No, god, no!" He looked at you incredulously, obviously insulted by the mere suggestion, and he ran a hand over his face and for the first time since you'd known him he looked genuinely irritated. "You know that's not the reason."
"I don't see what other reason there might be," you said, voice pitching up as your anxiety started to rise. There was no way this meant what you thought it meant. It couldn't possibly—
"What reasons would a man have for making a woman he's close to his lock screen, do you think?" he snapped, and when you were finally able to meet his eyes again they were absolutely blazing. "What reasons do you think he might have for taking a beautiful picture and putting it somewhere he can look at it as often as he likes?"
Your throat felt tight all of a sudden, making it a struggle to swallow, and your hand holding his phone shook.
"That's something you do for a girlfriend, David," you said after a long moment. "We're not—we're just—"
“We’re not just friends and you fucking know it!" It was the first time you thought you'd ever heard his voice raised outside of work, and while it didn't make you flinch you were definitely surprised. He seemed to see it, because he calmed himself again and took a deep breath. "This has been going on for too long, and I'm starting to lose my patience. I knew that you could be skittish—"
"Skittish!" you said in a squeak.
"—but this is a bit much," he finished, giving you a bit of a flat look for the interruption.
He approached cautiously, like you were truly a wild animal he was afraid of frightening off, and he gently pulled his phone out of your hand to stick in his pocket before he reached up for your shoulders.
"I'm going to kiss you now," he said, watching your face and smirking a bit to himself when your eyes widened. You hated and loved how satisfied with himself he looked all at once.
"Okay," you breathed, and he smiled as he leaned in to press his lips to yours.
You’d thought it would be a cute idea. It was only a couple hours’ drive out of the city to get into the upper state where the orchards were and they had all kinds of fall activities going on. Apple picking, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, hay rides. You were desperate to do something fun and autumnal and David surely needed a break from work.
You just hadn’t counted on your allergies.
“Hey, there you are.”
You blinked at the sound of David’s voice and sat up where you were perched on the open hatchback of his SUV to see that he was approaching, thermos in hand. He gave you a soft smile as he got within touching distance and lifted a gloved hand to swipe some hair away from your eyes. Your heart pounded in your chest at the gesture and you gave him a wry grin of your own.
“I told you I wasn’t going anywhere,” you said, wincing immediately at how nasally you sounded. You didn’t miss how David bit his lip, clearly amused, and you huffed, grabbing his hand and pulling it away from your face. You didn’t let it go, and he squeezed your fingers. “What’s in the thermos? I didn’t think you brought anything with us.”
“I didn’t,” he said, and he offered it to you. “The venue owner offered it from her own kitchen, since you were feeling so poorly.”
“She did not,” you said incredulously, but David merely smiled and shrugged and again held it up for you to take. You did, because you couldn’t refuse such a kind gesture, and the thermos was even warm. You still couldn’t get over how people acted around David sometimes, it was like he was from another world. You pulled the cup off the top of the thermos and even before you could unscrew it the smell of chicken and herbs hit you. “Oh my god, how do you manage to do it?”
He laughed and took a seat beside you on the hatchback, shrugging back into his coat a bit to ward off the chill air. He was close enough that your arms were brushing and his elbow gently nudged yours every few seconds.
“Do what?” he asked, digging his chin down into the warmth of his scarf and absolutely melting your heart in the process. If you didn’t know better you’d think he was entirely innocent. But you did know better, and you could see that his eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“You bewitch people, David,” you said, nudging him back with your arm. “Like that girl at the cafe who does your green tea in the mornings, she set aside a brewer just for you because of your stone fruit allergy.”
“It wasn’t just for me,” he said, but you gave him a flat look in response.
You unscrewed the top of the thermos and poured some of the soup out into the cup, handing it over to him. He murmured in thanks, holding it in his hands for some heat, and you took a tentative sip from the thermos itself. It was delicious, of course, because the universe just worked out like that for David. You sighed, turning your eyes up to the sky. The light pollution wasn’t as bad upstate, but the stars were still a little sparse.
“I’m sorry about all this,” you said softly. You fidgeted your fingers where you were holding the thermos, passing the screw cap back and forth over your knuckles. “I guess I hadn’t been around enough hay before to know I was allergic.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” David said, almost immediately. He leaned into you, pressing your arms together from shoulder to elbow. His voice was pitched a little lower as he tried to soothe you and it gave you a shiver that had little to do with the cold. “You didn’t know, or else you wouldn’t have suggested the hay ride. And you know I know how allergies can be.”
You pouted against the rim of the thermos. “I still ruined the night. We’re having to go home early because the Benadryl made me dizzy.”
“Ruined—?” He gave you an incredulous look and set down the cup of soup in the trunk behind him, reaching out to take one of your hands. “Baby, you didn’t ruin anything. So we’re going home early. I can’t think of anything I want more than to lay in bed with you for the rest of the night. Sounds like the perfect way to unwind to me.” When you still looked disbelieving he lifted his other hand to your face. The leather was warm against your cheek, but his eyes were warmer. “It’s really okay. We can always come out again another weekend. We’ll just skip the hay ride next time.”
You bit your lip as you looked up at him through your lashes. “Are you sure that’ll be okay? I know it kind of killed you not to go out to the soup kitchen today...”
He gave you a melting look and leaned down to kiss your forehead with a soft sigh against your hairline. You couldn’t help smiling, and something in you finally broke as you closed your eyes and leaned into those gentle touches. His arm slithered around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest.
“The soup kitchen is always going to want volunteers, and you have spent as many Saturdays as you’ve had available going out there with me,” he said, hot breath wafting across your forehead. He gave you a squeeze. “If you want to come apple picking another day, I’m not gonna say no.”
Some of the tension finally started to relax out of your shoulders and you sighed, leaning into him and wrapping an arm around him in return.
“‘Sides, the venue owner promised us, like, a ton of apple butter if we come back.”
I saw the ask you sent Serpzie and I went through the prompts in case you want another, I think this would fit David perfectly (as in David is the one who's all about recycling)
Also also also, you're writerblocked on Ao3?
I am writerblocked on ao3! I've been double reviewing your fics in secret, muahaha. Okay, let me give a good whack at this.
@serpentstyles I'm assuming you'll want in on this as well!
To be fair to yourself, you really just hadn't been paying attention. There were a lot of people around for the event that your friend had dragged you out to, and the only place nearby that had any cold water hadn't even asked if you wanted a bag or not, and if you'd seen that there were like five different bins you would have absolutely taken the time to pick the right one to throw away your trash, but, well—
"Excuse me, did you just put that in the organic waste bin?"
You hadn't even fully let go of the plastic bag when the voice cut through the air, and you looked up to see that none other than the speaker for this event had just caught you accidentally putting inorganic, non-biodegradable plastic in the bin for compost. The whole reason you'd let your friend drag you along (aside from a mild interest in saving the environment, of course) was because you'd seen his face among the pictured volunteers on the company website and you'd wanted to get a better look in person.
Your face heated immediately and you hastily pulled the bag back out again, trying to stammer out an apology.
"You were actually going to walk up in front of me and put this—" he snatched the bag from your hand to wave it in front of your face, crinkling ominously. "—in the wrong bin, like I didn't spend my weekends for the past few weeks writing the speech I'm about to give about recycling."
Despite your mortification, you couldn't help noticing how bright his eyes were as he got himself worked up over his clear passion, the way he moved his hands as he spoke, the slight glow coming to his cheeks. He was really cute when he was angry.
"Excuse you? I'm what?" he said, eyes flashing, and you realized with a start that you'd accidentally spoken aloud. Oops. "Are you even listening to a word I'm saying? We all have to live on this planet, you know!"
You finally managed to grab the plastic bag back out of his hand and curled it up into the tiniest ball possible, tucking it into your back pocket and promising yourself you'd look up the proper way to recycle it later. You clapped your hands together in front of you in a pleading gesture and gave him the most apologetic look you could muster.
"I'm so sorry," you said, putting as much sincerity on it as you could. For any other face you might not have been able to work up this much enthusiasm for recycling, but those dark eyes had you captivated. "I swear, I just didn't see there were separate bins. I was just trying to find my friend so we could go to your speech together."
For a moment he still looked ready to tell you off, but then what you said finally seemed to process and the anger cleared off his face. He was still pretty damn cute, and you liked his smile much better than his scowl.
"Oh, really?" Fuck, okay, yeah, it was definitely worth coming out here and getting told off to see that smile. He held out a hand. "I'm David. I'm sorry if I overreacted, there, I'm just..."
"Very passionate," you said, taking his hand and giving it a shake. His fingers were long, and his hands were warm (and you really needed that fucking water, didn't you?), and you gave him a warm smile. "It's alright. Everyone's got a hot button issue."
"Oh, I've got a few," he said, and the chuckle that came with that statement said that it wasn't a lie.
You bit your lip, debating for a moment, and nodded your head back at the event space. "Maybe you could tell me more about them while I look for my friend? There's still some time before you have to speak."
The way his eyes lit up then was just as cute as it had been when he was about to rake you over hot coals for your mistake.
Oh, that reminds me! I haven't given you a Bethyl prompt in a while! The group is still on the road. One cold night. In the morning Daryl wakes up with Beth curled onto his side. He's too afraid to move, and pretends he's asleep when the rest of the group starts to wake up. :D
aww thanks so much, you’re the best!!
here ya go ~
It was months after the farm, maybe four or five, whenthe group had looked at their surroundings as night fell, the sun dropping quicklyin the pale sky stained pink, and realized they had no shelter. Rick grimaced,throwing down his backpack with too much force as Lori held Carl close to her expandingstomach. Beth looked to Maggie, who was holding Glenn’s hand, a worriedexpression being exchanged between the three. They had been on the road awhile, but they’d never slept out in the open. But there wasn’t another way,they would be stupid to keep travelling in the dark, and at least in the middleof the road, they’d see walkers coming.
‘We stop here.’ Rick announced. He turned to Daryl, whowas eyeing the open road. ‘You good to take first watch?’
Daryl nodded.
‘I’ll take the one after you.’ Rick patted Daryl on theback briefly before going to Lori and Carl. Beth turned to her father, who wasalready sitting down on the road, putting his pack under his head as he stretchedout under the darkening sky.
‘C’mon, Bethy.’ Maggie muttered as she sat down next toGlenn. They chatted for a while, small, nervous talk really, about how longthey would have to run if walkers came from one direction and then another, andhow they’d have to find a map the next day and mark out possible places forthem to stay longer than a night. For a place that wasn’t temporary. For aplace they could make into a home.
Later that night, when the sky was dark and the starsstarted to shine, Beth heard a small noise and realized it was Hershel snoringlightly. Shivering, she sat up, holding the cardigan that she was using as ablanket closer to her chest as she watched the others. Lori and Rick, side byside, Carl not far away. Carol and T-Dog, light sleepers, tossing and turningnext to each other, Maggie and Glenn, their arms intertwined as they sleptsoundly. And Daryl, standing to the side, his crossbow swung onto his back ashe walked up and down the road, his keen eyes watching the distant trees forthe slightest disturbance. The cool, harsh breeze made Beth shiver again, andshe was about to get up when she heard a noise, and snapped her head around,suddenly wide awake, her senses alert, but then realized it was just Rick. Hegently rolled Lori over so she was closer to Carl before stepping around thegroup to go to Daryl, who nodded after quiet words were exchanged and thenwalked a little further away from the group, taking his crossbow off his back.He tensed his arms as he sat down on the hard road, flexed his torso as hissore muscles got some relief from the burden he carried on his back. Instead oflying down, he pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his knees. Beth watchedhim curiously. There was something about watching Daryl when he thought no-oneelse was looking. There wasn’t a scowl on his face, his eyes weren’t narrowedas he looked up to the sky with tired eyes, and Beth thought suddenly, that Darylmight be able to love someone so easy if he knew he wouldn’t fall so hard. Buthe wouldn’t like her the same way she liked him. Or at least, that’s what she toldherself as she lay back down quietly, shivering in the cold until a restlesssleep finally took her. Sometime later, she woke again. It was colder thanbefore, probably the early hours of the morning. Her bright eyes darted betweenthe group, looking for a blanket or anything someone wasn’t using that shecould throw over herself, but there was nothing. Rick was in the same spot asbefore, sitting down now as he played with his knife, stabbing it aimlesslyinto the road as he watched the trees. Still half-asleep, Beth got up andstumbled around everyone, the light of the moon the only thing stopping herfrom tripping over them as she walked a little down the road to where Darylwas. He was lying down now, his crossbow not far, curled, with his knees nearhis chest and his arms tucked tight. And in her exhaustion and tiredness, Bethfelt herself smiling. Screw it, she thought and she lay herself down behind himand grabbed onto his angel-winged vest, sliding her arms around his back andthen to his chest. She felt his warmth immediately, sighing in relief. Shewiggled closer, making herself comfortable as she heard his even breathing.Beth closed her eyes, finally feeling like she could go to sleep in the cold,after all, when she was next to him. He smelt faintly like leather and sweat andblood and the familiar scent of the woods that always seemed to linger on him. Shefell asleep the quickest she had since the farm.
A few hours later, when the sky was getting brighter andthe cold had broken a little, Daryl was stirred awake by the tight feelingaround his chest, and almost jumped, almost yelled out when he realised someonewas grabbing him. A second later, he was stiller than he had ever been, tryingto slow his quick breaths, recognizing that it was soft skin that was on his,not the skin of rotting, dead, reanimated corpses. Mostly asleep, he turnedaround on his other side, not fully understanding that there was actuallysomeone else next to him, someone holding him. His eyes closing as he foundsleep again, he faintly recognized that it was soft breathing he heard, and hefelt himself, almost without even realizing he was doing it, adjust his arms torest over her small waist, pulling her in before sleep took him away.
And then when the sun rose in the sky, Daryl slowly woke.He opened his eyes, squinting at the brightness of the sky at first, but then,his eyes widened as he saw, centimetres from his face, Beth sleeping next to him.His heart racing, he realized his hands were holding her waist tightly and herhands were on his chest, around his vest. One of Beth’s legs had wrapped aroundhis, and he lay there, completely frozen. He recalled very faintly, waking upand realizing someone else was there, but he had been too tired to think aboutit, instead finding the only comfort he could; her. He heard everyone slowlystirring awake, the faint whispering of the group carrying over to him as theygathered their weapons and asked each other tiredly how they slept.
What the hell was she thinking when she came over to himand curled up next to him? Panicking, he heard footsteps approach from behindand guessed it was Rick, and, for a reason unknown to him, he closed his eyesand pretended to sleep. Seconds later, he heard a disbelieving chuckle comefrom the man’s mouth as he called Lori in a whisper and Daryl swore under hisbreath. Beth gave a tiny jump at the close sound, and he almost felt himselfrubbing his fingers on her hips to soothe her back to sleep before he caught himself.Daryl’s eyes still closed, he head footsteps of others, Lori and Rick’s excitedwhispering, and then Maggie’s laugh. At that, Beth’s eyes opened, big andbright and then confused as she stared at him. Maggie, Rick and Lori hurriedaway with grins on their faces. Daryl could feel her stare and the whole thingwas so bizarre that he opened his eyes and watched her steadily, still tooscared to move in case she started to yell at him or tell him off and for asecond he thought he might yell at her instead. But instead of the yells he wasexpecting, because that’s what he did to everyone else who tried to get tooclose, she blinked softly and he felt his stomach twist.
‘Sorry.’ She whispered and she looked down to their legsas she untangled hers and he sat up, hastening to take his hands off her. ‘Iwas really cold last night –’ her voice was filled with sleep – ‘I didn’t evenrealize – I mean, I didn’t think –’
‘Y’alright,’ Daryl’s voice was lower than he had heard itand he tried to fight off the roughness as he said, ‘ain’t expectin’ y’there s’all.’
Beth nodded. ‘Still . . . sorry. I – shouldn’t have donethat. I get that you –’
‘Nah, Beth. S’fine.’ He pulled his crossbow off theground to avoid her eye as she stood up. Maggie and Glenn were watching themfrom afar and Beth saw her sister’s knowing look and rolled her eyes. Theyjoined the rest of the group, Daryl not looking anyone directly in the eye incase he got one of those looks, but he didn’t need to see them to hear the grinin Rick’s voice as he gave Daryl and Beth their jobs. And for the rest of theday, everyone could keep staring at them with new eyes, but the only people thetwo of them were looking at with new eyes were each other.
