Honolulu, Hawaii
Breep !
Beep !
Breep !
With shrill, warbling electronic shrieking, the bedside table alarm clock began its song.
Breep !
Breep !
Breeeep !
With a string of ruby red block numbers unequivocally stating that it was 7:44am, the obsidian colored, rectangular clock screamed again, as it had been set to do.
Breep !
Breep !
Breep !
More effective than a rooster ( or anything else from the countryside ) at waking you up sharply on time, the alarm went off again. And, again, and again, and so on. That was the thing about alarm clocks- like newborns, they simply do not stop screaming until you take the effort to shut them up yourself.
Breep !
Breep !
Bree-!
Smck !
With a heavy strike of a palm, that's exactly what happened to the clock. One second it was wailing and raising an awful racket, but the next its snooze button was pressed, and everything was quiet again.
Still, the clock had done its job. All that noise- high pitched, sharp as a tack, and produced right at the time of day when its hardest to stay asleep- had done its job. There was no avoiding waking up now.
As both eyes reluctantly eased themselves open-like they were doing it completely on their own-, Tani swore she's only been asleep for half as long as she must've been, at most. Fuzzily attempting to focus on the face of the wretched clock that'd pulled her from much-needed rest, spotting the numbers on it didn't quite register with her at first.
Son of a-what ?
Its already- ?
As much as she hated to find out, it really was exactly what the clock was saying. Even in her dazed, barely awake state- head buzzing, limbs sore, moth cottony-she could understand that. Shafts of sunlight were flooding in through the gaps in the shades, pale and white from obviously having come in through an overcast sky.
Nighttime was over and done now.
It really was time to get up.
No matter how relaxing and comfortable the mattress was- and it really was both of those-she couldn't lie there all day. Today was like any other; there was work to do, and she wouldn't get any of it done here.
It was so tempting to lie back down, but-
Criminals to chase down, cases to solve, etc. Same as yesterday.
At least its always exciting out there.
For about 30 seconds or so, Tani attempted to pretend she could actually get back to dreamland- eyes were closed again, and she pressed her face deeper into the sheets, seeking a cooled section.
It was close, but it didn't actually put her back to sleep- she was still aware of things, and could still think. Which meant, she wasn't actually asleep, and the threshold of getting back there was already long gone.
With a string of unintelligible muttering, she rolled over, stretching out an arm off to one side-
-and it made contact.
With what could only be someone lying beside her.
Junior ? Oh, that's right-
Blinking, Tani turned onto one side, and found herself looking at the SEAL's back. He was on one side, lying completley still.
Quite clearly still asleep. Which Tani didn't mind at all- waking up next to him was something she'd decided she rather liked, and for more reasons than one. On top of that, it was nice to find that at least one of them was having more sucsess at sleeping in. God knew they'd more than earned a few extra minutes of sleep per morning.
Extra minutes that, frustratingly, Tani couldn't get ahold of. Junior obviously oculd, though- he wasn't moving at all. It must've been that military skill of being able to grabe shutyeye at any and every oppritunity.
Sighing with the lingering fondness for sleeping in even another minute, Tani slowly eased up to a sitting position. The blanket that'd been draped over her all night fell, gathering about her waist. Blinking, she brought both hands up to her eyes, and used them to briskly rub away the grainy sleep. Her hair was mussed, and her clothes were fittingly rumpled.
" Man, if a night couldn't be 18 hours long...".
She was still stiff in places, and on top of that, she had a raging thirst. And a gnawing sense of hunger to go with it too-tunrs out missing dinner last night wasn't a good idea.
Tani really was in the mood for something to eat right now.
Even my usual "Dunkin' Donuts coffee for breakfast " isn't enough this morning...I need an actual meal
Before any of that work got attended to, taking care of getting some food had come first.
Slowly swinging her legs off the side of the bed, Tani put both feet on the floor, and took a moment to rub the corners of both eyes again, before glancing over at the sleeping SEAL. He was still there, utterly imobile, and absolutely calm.
A wave of fresh affection came over the former lifeguard, and the corner of her mouth twitched up in a smile. This was such a domestic moment- waking up next to a man, and then spending a few seconds watching him sleep. It was all so...normal. It was all so genuine, and real.
This was no illusion. She really was having all this to herself. Once agin, Tani was torn between savoring those emotions, and the grimer ones of her old fears of being in a relationship that was as wholesome as this.
But those fears were playing second fiddle to how much she wanted him in her life. When they'd talked in the yard that night, she'd opened up to him like not ever before, and it'd been a daunting experience. Even more than when she'd gotten trapped in a burning cabin in the middle of the jungle on the day she'd met Steve and Danno.
It'd been worth it, though. She had no doubt, from the confidence in how Junior responded to her, that he was a rock to her. He wasn't going to leave her, or do something terrible to ruin this. He was good to her.
She wanted him too. She wanted to return that commitment, 100 percent.
What is it about you, Junes ? I don't know- but I'll spend as long as I have to finding out
I'd stay here longer, but...well, we both need to eat.
Reluctantly, she took her eyes off the dozing SEAL, and stood up.
Somewhat lethargically she began wandering out of the bedroom, headed for the kitchen, which was thankfully only a few seconds walk away. Her house wasn't difficult to navigate, unlike for example, the mazelike halls of Buckingham Palace.
Still blinking, and not moving at full speed quite yet, she entered the the room she was headed for-
- and was instantly greeted by a variety of assaults on her senses.
Woah. Wait a second-!
Stopping, Tani instantly recognized the aroma of maple syrup. Quite a bit of it, too.
What is this ?!
And it wasn't alone. Joining that plesant scent was the heartily earthy one of something made of lots of carbs: waffles/pancakes/english muffins, and all of them at piping temperature.
Going along with the scents, was the sight of where there they were coming from. On the table at the center of the kitchen, was a formidable spread. Several of the serving plates were-sure enough- piled high with pancakes, all of them golden tan and wafting steam. Sitting beside them, was another pile of bready goods: English Muffins, also baked to perfection ( or at least, reasonably close enough, given their appearance ).
And it still wasn't the end of it ! A bowl of raspberries, and another one of blueberries, coated with a layer of water from getting recently rinsed, were squeezed in on the table too. A slab of butter ( or maybe it was margarine. They do look similar ) was present as well, as was a full pitcher of orange juice !
Good Lord ! Look at this..!
There was food here.
Tani had been- was, actually-still hungry, and had been thinking hard about addressing it, one way or the other. At the very least, she'd been planning to whip up some instant oatmeal, or grab a handful of those chewy and crumbly breakfast bars. It wasn't that she couldn't cook, or didn't want to- it was simply that in the morning, and right after waking up, that she wasn't inclined to do so.
Evidently, though, someone had taken care of that well ahead of her. This was a veritible feast, and it was all prepped and ready !
Wait a second-
How did-?
What- ?
" What- you're not going to dig in ? "
!
With a quick gasp of surprise, Tani spun around, to find Junior standing there !
Arms crossed, and a bemused expression on his face.
" I kind of went to a lot of trouble making all that, y'know. "
" Again. ", he stressed, though not angrily.
Tani was still caught off guard, and quite heavily too.
" Junes, I- ", she stammered, at a loss for words.
Junior had pulled this off, twice. Concocted an incredible meal. Gordon Ramsey would complain about it anyway ( which is moot to point out, as, like a Marine sergeant, nothing is ever good enough ), but Tani thought it looked very appetizing anyway.
Twice !
As if it hadn't been impressive enough the 1st time around ( and it had been, of course ), but now he'd gone and done it again. A full contitental spread ! Pancakes, fruit, and juice and all.
And that was even after the, less than appriciatve reaction Tani'd had to it back then, too. She hadn't exactly been grateful to him for it, to be honest. Seeing all this food ( again ) defintely reminded Tani of that.
I was a jerk. I couldn't help it. Why couldn't I have been better ?!
That was so dumb of me...!
" I can't beleive this. You absoulutely didn't have to do this ! ", Tani exclaimed, turning back to stare at the spead again. There was so much of it !
" You did all- "
" Wait, wait. Hang on. ". She'd realized something.
" You- you weren't actually asleep back there, were you !? "
Junior didn't say anything. But, the smirk he had on right now was enough of a response. It told plenty.
" You did this- all this- and then got back in bed ? "
The SEAL shrugged.
" Hey- I am an extenisvely trained operator, after all, in case you forgot. Being sneaky is kind of what I do. "
Oh, he was a smug one. Slick to boot.
But, seeing what kind of culinay masterpiece he'd been able to put together, Tani didn't have an issue with that. It looked amazing. Really, really good. In spite of how she usually went for an on-the-go breakfast, she couldn't resist the appeal of all this here. It was not a lie to say women liked men with hidden talents.
Again, Tani badly wished she hadn't snubbed the last breakfast Junior'd made for her. It was a like a cold spike rising in her. Junior hadn't earned that kind of reaction, and certainly not after doing what he'd done.
Not at all.
" Come on. Don't stand there gaping at it; let's dig in ! ".
Junior came over to her. Putting a hand on her back ,he began gently guiding her toward the table.
" Ok, ok, but, Junes- Junes, I want to tell you something. "
Stopping, Tani turned to face him.
" What- Tani ? ", the SEAL blinked, clearly surprised.
Not waitng for him to continue, Tani did first. She had to say what was on her mind now, while the moment was still fresh. She coun't let this morning be a repeat of the last one-in the bad way, at least.
" I wanted to say ,thanks- ".
Exactly like that, she hit a wall.
Well, at least that was proof she was real about this- no rehersal here. But, that was a problem. She had to tell him how much this mattered to her.
Somehow.
I told him how hard it was for me, to get used to others treating me so kindly. I told him how stupidly fragile I am when it comes to trust-
And he's still being nice to me. I don't deserve this.
She had to tell him, though. Tani had to tell Junior , this time around, that she did appriciate what he was doing. Not only this meal itself, but what it represented: how good he was committed to being towards her.
" Hey, hey, its ok. From you ? That's plenty ", Junior told her, smiling again. " Glad to know I didn't screw up twice in a row ".
He didn't seem to understand that a " Thanks "wans't enough for Tani, though. She wasn't content with simply saying " Thanks ".
" No, no- listen, Reigns. "
I will get my point across, damn it.
" Reigns ? Wait-did I actually do something wrong ? ", he asked.
" No ! That's exactly the point ! ", Tani emphasized.
Fumble forward. Find the words as you go.
" You did- you've done great. And I don't even mean all this ".
She gesurted at the spread, which was still producing curling and visilbe steam wisps.
" I know you don't plan for this to be a normal kind of thing-but that doesn't matter. "
"You were great before, and you are right now, and- and we're great, Junes. "
" We are great. "
Stinging manifested at the conrers of Tani's eyes, but she resisted the urge to blink it away. Instead, she reached out, and grasped Junior's hands.
Lightly, nearly tenatively.
" That's what I wanted to say: Thanks for being...well, you. Today. Yesterday. Always. "
A moment of silence ensued. Nobody said a word. Tani wanted to say something- something witty and charming to segway out of this- but she couldn't. She'd blanked out again.
Mostly, though, she was a tad busy beating down those old demons of fear that'd crept back in for a fleeting second or so into her. She'd thought they were gone, especially after their garden talk. But, it appeared she had to take them on at least once more.
Biting her lower lip, she stared at the floor.
Then-
" You can count on that, Miss Rey. I don't plan on turning into a different guy anytime soon. "
Confident. Like in the garden.
Junior wasn't putting up a front. Tani detected no note of that. She llooked up, and saw the same expression on his face.
He was serious about this. About her. She'd known that, of course. It'd simply taken her longer to understand. Amazing breakfast or not, she couldn't have those fears lingering anymore.
I really don't deserve this. But, doesn't matter: I am taking it.
I can't let this get awy from me. I won't let it.
" Junior, I-
" I-"
Abandoning her efforts to find something to say, Tani did something: embraced Junior as hard as she could, and pressed her face into his shoulder.
He didn't waste a second in hugging her back, even more tightly. It was nearly painful- but not quite. And even if it had been, Tani wouldn't have cared.
It was a trivial kind of pain, anyway.
This is worth it. All of it.
Every second. The food is still warm. We can take this as we are.
" Did I ever tell you that I love you ? ", Junior murmurred.
Despite a rising lump in her throat, Tani nevertheless whispered back. " I don't...think so. Not that-"
" Well, I do. Can't explain it. You being you, I'd say is why,if I had to guess. "
It didn't matter that he hadn't said he loved her- and yet it did matter so much that he had. There wasn't any way at all to put it into words, either. It was well beyond words.
Living every day with him, though ? That would be more than enough. Tani didn't doubt that either. She couldn't express how much this mattered- so she'd live it instead.
And she knew she'd try saying it anyway. That couldn't be helped. No way.
" I love you as you, too. ". Tani worked her voice back up, enough to get that across.
" You'd better remember that. Till I tell you again. "
" Count on that too, Tani. Count on that too. "
They stayed that way for another few- minutes ? Maybe. It was impossible to tell for certain.
All Tani could be sure of was how she wanted this. Him and her. It was good, it was wonderful- and fear had no place in it.
None whatsoever.