written for the inspired by oq week. season 7 au.
Just the Little Things
.
She likes him, she really does.
Roni is a bit rough around the edges – and it shows, because how else can she keep a resemblance of order around her bar? She almost never cries – well, just, every time she watches The Time Traveler's Wife, but that's it, and it's a bit cathartic because she can keep everything bottled up and then choose a free evening and let it all out.
So she likes this Robin, one of her regulars. And she wouldn't say she is one to be moved for every little thing; you know, like those frilly girls who watch a cute video with kittens and start awwwing and get all dreamy.
But, today Robin has managed to do what seemed impossible, and she finds herself wiping away a tear.
Thing is, he hasn't slept at her house yet. Or better, he didn't exactly… spent a lot of time there. They've been together a couple of times, once when they were getting back from the movies and she wanted to do it in the deserted parking lot, but he made her wait till they reached his apartment and she hasn't even let him close the door before – and then there's been that brief period when her ex was back and oh, how jealous he was, Robin, his hand gripping that glass of beer so tightly she thought it'd explode, but she smiled at Samdi and told him she was seeing someone else, and as the gentleman he was, he'd gone to shake Robin's hand and told him to treat her well.
And.
She guesses he's her… boyfriend, now, but really, it's still new, there's a lot she has yet to experience with him and yet she feels like she has always known him. But. They don't really know each other, do they? Not every bit and piece.
One day she calls in sick and leaves the bar in the capable hands of Remy – and as much as she loathes it, she must stay put on her sofa because her cramps are being a bitch and there's no way she's moving. Until, she realizes she has forgot to buy her tampons, and well, Robin was coming to see her anyway, so what?
She texts him, Can you buy them for me? and snaps him a picture of the empty box, too tired already, and manages to send Oh, and a bottle of shampoo too, before she falls asleep as the pills start kicking in.
Her sleep is light and brief because he's there, after a little while, but she doesn't even get up, she told him where the spare key was. He gets in, silent, and greets her with a kind Hello, lovely, how are you feeling? as he plops down on the sofa, next to her, the Walmart bag still in his hand, and kisses her forehead.
"I feel like crap," she answers, tiredly. "Thank you for getting them, by the way. I completely forgot to buy some more."
"No worries," he smiles. "The shampoo was a bit harder, tho."
"Oh, sorry! I forgot to tell you which one," Roni says, and opens the bag, but. Next to the box, there's… her usual shampoo. The right brand, the right scent. "Wait… how did you…"
"Well…" he averts his eyes, and seems embarrassed as she lifts her gaze. "I, uh, actually… I smelled them, and that one smelled the closest."
"You… smelled them."
"Yeah," he says sheepishly.
"As in… you tried a lot of shampoos and actually managed to find the one I use." Roni doesn't know whether to laugh or – her heart squeezes a bit, and he meets her eyes now, his gaze soft, and she feels a little bit of something that melts inside of her. And that's where the little tear springs out – to know he'd go to such lengths just to make her smile.
"I… thank you," she tells him, as he shakes his head and smiles, and all embarrassment seems to be gone as he circles her shoulders and says, It's nothing, and helps her settle with her head on his lap; but it's not nothing. It's a kind act in a rough world, and he caresses her hair slowly, as she wipes away that tear and drifts off to sleep.
