A/N: Don't own. Well struggling with what to do about Seven because have a chapter all ready to go but it is heavy. So wrote this as an exercise in something light.
Cotton
Charlie shook his head again; he left his house without running a Q-Tip in his ear. He knew he should not put anything bigger than an elbow in there but damn it he really wanted one. He had wanted one for close to 12 years, after every time he got out of those god-awful showers. His ears just felt strange. For 12 years it was always the little things.
He'd ask Reese for one, he knocked on the door hoping he had the right address. He heard some struggling and then some swearing, until finally the door opened. Reese was standing there squinting against the morning sun.
"Crews, what do you want?"
Charlie walked in and looked her up and down.
"Hello Granny."
"What?" said a confused Reese.
"You're wearing a robe over…" He took a longer look and realized what she was wearing under the long robe that was not fully closed; he could see she was wearing purple under ware and what appeared to be a tank top. Definitely not Granny. "…Your—um, robe and slippers that looks like the ones my Grandma used to wear."
Yes think of Grandma and her ointment that she used to put on her feet, not Dani's tussled hair and the panties. He willed himself to either look in her eyes or stare at the slippers because she looked downright cranky, plus he wanted to keep his testicles.
"Crews," she said bringing him out of his thoughts, "You're here because…?"
"Because my partner was hurt and it is our second anniversary as partners today."
She groaned, "Crews, it is 9am on a Saturday."
"I'll take you out to brunch where they have these amazing waffles."
"I like French toast and besides I'm supposed to be resting."
"Okay I figured you might say that. So…," said Charlie drawing out 'o', he opened the door letting the sun back in and grabbed two bags that he left outside. "I brought brunch and gifts."
She just looked at him with one of her patented; you have five seconds to explain.
"Hear me out," he said. "Like I said it is our second anniversary so that means cotton. And since you need your rest I brought some cotton, bamboo blend sheets."
He unzipped the package and held it open for her to touch. She grabbed it and she got a pleasantly surprised look on her face. The salesgirl told him these would be perfect.
"I know nice. Okay," he said handing her the other bag. "You go set up in the kitchen and I'll put the sheets on your bed."
"Crews, don't go in there."
"Oh is Tidwell over?"
"No."
"No? I've seen messy before Reese. I once had a whole family of rats living in my bedroom when I was in high school but I had no idea because my room was so messy."
"No it's nothing like that; its fine. Let me help you though."
The two walked over to her room and Charlie could smell old books. He looked into Reese's room and saw the walls of her bedroom all had bookshelves. The floor space in front of her bookshelves which lined the walls was full of books.
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"Did you read all these?"
"Most of them."
"How do you know if you read them or not?"
"I just do."
Charlie could imagine little Dani sitting in her room escaping into a book. A TV you can only turn up so loud but the mind like he learned at Pelican Bay can help you completely escape.
He helped her strip then make her bed. They then sat down and enjoyed their brunch together discussing all the books that currently sat on her table. One in particular caught his interest.
"Is this a kid's book?"
"No."
"I think this is a kid's book."
"Harry Potter is not just a kid's book, it is an every person series."
"So it's a series?"
"Yeah, actually take it, you should read it. There's a character in there who I think you'll identify with. Well he's mentioned briefly in the first book but you don't meet him until the third."
"There's three books?"
"Seven."
"Seven?! They're all this long, right?" he said gesturing to the short first book.
"No, the longest is the fifth one, it is 870 pages."
"And children read this?"
"Like I said it is not just a kid's book, I think you'll like it."
Just before he left, the first three books tucked under his arms, Dani handed him a cotton Q-Tip.
"I noticed you fidgeting with your ears. It's the little things, right? Happy second anniversary partner," she said with a smile as she closed the door.
Charlie smiled, he walked down the steps and stopped in her walk way looking up at the sun and cleaned his ears. Yeah that's the stuff, he thought.
It's was the little things, her words echoing his thoughts earlier. I noticed you fidgeting with your ears, wait she had noticed him, but he did that before he had walked into the house. Was she expecting him? Did she remember the day? He almost turned back to the house but instead stared at the soiled Q-Tip, he stared at with a look of wonder. His thoughts traveled to all that it implied.