AN: im pacrim trash and im super passionate about mako and raleigh's relationship. i literally pulled this oneshot out of my ass so if it sucks, thats prolly why. but anyways, hope yall enjoy.
AU: "we're both at the grocery store at 3 am and you offered to arm wrestle me for the last box of cereal"
It's almost three in the morning on a Tuesday night and there were only five cars parked outside the 24-hour Target. Six now counting the beat up Audi that pulled into the parking lot. It was an awfully old car; the type that made protests upon starting up, and sometimes refused to provide heat when it was fifteen below. But, Raleigh cherished the damn thing with all his heart.
He put his car into park and headed towards the automatic gates of retail heaven. He could have gone to the local grocery store three blocks from his apartment, but Raleigh enjoyed the night drive. He also enjoyed going to Target and the lack of traffic, but that was beside the point.
Navigating his way through the red and white aisles, Raleigh hummed to himself his mother's favorite song. It was a bad habit that often resulted in his sister getting angry with him, but it was something automatic that he did now. Humming the songs didn't make him sad anymore either.
Raleigh wasn't sure what he wanted to eat this late, but knew for a fact that he wasn't going to settle for anything that contained or was related to pasta. He'd spent the last month and a half eating pasta and the mere thought of it was enough to make him feel like he was going to vomit.
He skimmed the signs as he passed the aisles until CEREAL caught his attention. The prospect of Cocoa Puffs this late was absolutely divine. He even started to salivate a little. Raleigh walked straight into the aisle, grinning like an idiot, and made a beeline for where Cocoa Puffs would usually be. There was one box left. It was almost as if God had written for him to have Cocoa Puffs on this particular night.
Raleigh leaned forward to grab the box, but just as he did, another hand latched onto it as well. Time stopped. He turned his head to see who wanted the cereal as much as he did and the sight of her was almost enough for him to let go of the box. He was in absolute awe.
He smiled and she returned it generously. Neither of them moved, though.
The honorable thing to do in that moment would have been to let go of the box and let the beautiful girl abscond in the night with the last box of Cocoa Puffs. But Raleigh really wanted the Cocoa Puffs.
They stood there, connected by the orange box filled with three dollars and nineteen cents worth of artificial chocolate bliss, staring at each other. He waited for her to let go, and she waited for him to let go, but neither of them did. It was almost as if an eternity had passed, but it really was only two minutes.
"I'll arm wrestle you for it," Raleigh said finally. The words left his mouth with little thought and he felt as though he should have regretted them, but he didn't. The mysterious girl smiled, almost triumphantly even though she didn't win anything.
"Okay," she agreed, letting go of the box. She had trusted him enough not to run off with it in that moment, and in conjunction with the sound of her voice made it difficult for him to stifle a grin.
…
They were flat on the ground with their bellies pressed against the seemingly clean floor. Raleigh could see the dirt that resided on top of the tiles, though. They faced each other and had their respective arms ready in position. She placed her small hand into his and they looked at each other.
Raleigh easily had sixty pounds of muscle on her, as well as half a foot (if that really had anything to do with an arm wrestle) which made him more than confident that he'd be the victor walking away tonight. His brother would have laughed at the fact that he was getting competitive over a box of cereal.
"One, two, three…" the both of them counted down simultaneously and it began.
He had the upper hand, literally, for the first few seconds. The back of her hand threatened to touch the white tiles and Raleigh anticipated seeing eyes that spelled defeat, but he was greeted with determination instead.
That was when it became harder to push her arm closer to the ground. She held her own very well and a burn was developing in Raleigh's arm. It wasn't until he couldn't take it anymore that she slapped the back of his hand onto the grimy floor.
Holy shit.
She was up and dusting herself off while he still laid there. Raleigh looked up at her and felt the urge to worship her. That was going to be the last time he underestimated anybody.
She began walking away after grabbing the box and her bag from the floor. Raleigh made a scramble to get up and took a few steps forward.
"Wait! Can I get your number?" He asked breathlessly. She turned around and flashed a brilliant smile.
Holy shit.
"Only if you can beat me in an arm wrestle."