You and me at the end of time…
Just a one shot set post series. No real plot. Just some random goofiness. Title inspired by the Mipso song "Big Star." Spoilers apply for the series and canon is respected.
"What're you doing?"
Walt rifled through the pack that was set on the ground just beyond the edge of their blanket. The remains of their lunch were packed up and put away. As tempting as it was to just push it aside, this wasn't some sappy romance movie. It was real life. In real life, food attracted pests. True to form, Walt didn't answer her immediately. In a different, less relaxed environment, she might've repeated her question with more force.
Vic didn't like to be ignored.
But, today she was more relaxed than he had seen in her a long time. Maybe ever. The blanket that he spread across the grass wasn't one he kept in the Bronco. Those were his dead body blankets and she knew that. This was one he grabbed from his closet and tossed into the Bronco without much thought. It was blue and green plaid. Walt didn't even remember where he got it. But, that wasn't important.
It served a purpose.
The picnic was his idea. He was pretty proud of it. He wasn't exactly the most romantic man on earth, but he tried to let her know how much her new place in his life meant to him. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing that he threw together. But, Vic didn't seem to mind that aspect of it when he called her cell phone and cajoled her into coming over on her only day off that week.
Her surprise was only mild. Since their first night together, she seemed willing to roll with this newfound dynamic between them. Worries aside, she spent most of her nights at his cabin. Unfortunately, last night, work intervened. She wound up working a late night accident that drug on into the early morning hours. Tired and grumpy, she retreated to her RV with the intention of sleeping late.
Which she did. It was nearly afternoon before he called her. She denied it, but Walt still got the impression that he woke her up. Her initial surprise was rooted in the fact that he was supposed to be at the office. In an uncharacteristic move, he took the day off, telling Ruby to only call him if there was a serious emergency. He trusted her judgement and felt confident in Ferg and Zach handling the calls they faced.
With all the new twists and turns in his life, he found that he craved Vic's company. That was an appropriate word. Crave. That was how it felt when she was away from him for any substantial length of time.
The exact amount of substantial was open ended.
He liked being with her. Not that it was shocking. From the first day he worked with her, they were oddly compatible. That much hadn't changed. Only shifted. Expanded, really. Now, the were even more deeply bonded. It wasn't just about the sex either. Although, there were zero complaints in that department on his part. It happened often, and it was always breathtaking in some new way. Walt knew that Vic's sexual experience exceeded his. They both knew it and didn't pretend otherwise. His physical relationship with her cemented two facts in his mind. One was that you could teach an old dog new tricks. At least, Vic could. Two, he had a few tricks of his own that brought smiles to her face, sometimes even laughter that would ripple into his ear while her arms were wrapped around him, holding him impossibly close.
That was the thing. With Vic, there wasn't the awkwardness that normally came with new relationships. This wasn't new. It was simply a different aspect of a relationship that already existed. That gave it an unexpected depth and erased any self-consciousness that might have existed in other circumstances.
The idea behind the picnic was simple. He wanted to spend time with her. But, by necessity and conscious choice, no one knew about them. Well, Walt suspected Henry did, but kept it to himself. With his retirement pending, but not final, the better option seemed to be a low profile. They could tackle the public version of themselves later.
Right now, they were still discovering all the aspects of this new thing between them. Vic was still healing, her progress slow with a few setbacks. He liked to think he was good for her in that respect. He certainly had the experience to back up any words of wisdom he passed on to her. He didn't mind. He found the emotional depth that existed below her surface fascinating.
So, the point was a lunch by the creek that ran through his property. It was isolated and private with clear views and the sound of water running by them. In his mind, it was perfect. Vic seemed to think so to as she surveyed her surroundings from behind the lenses of her sunglasses and pushed out a breath.
"It's beautiful here."
Walt spread out the blanket and pulled food from the pack he prepared. He wasn't a picnic basket kind of guy. Vic sat beside him and they shared a simple lunch of sandwiches and cold cans of beer. Once they were done, he made quick work of putting the trash away while Vic stretched out on the blanket and allowed her eyes to drift closed.
He couldn't have picked a better day if he tried. The sky was an impossible blew and reached endlessly to the horizon. The air was still warm with no need for a jacket. Vic wore a sleeveless shirt that hugged her curves and showed off the toned muscles in her arms. She kicked off her shoes and let the wind blow over her bare feet.
From his view, she was even more beautiful than the day they were existing in with her hair down and a relaxed expression on her face. That didn't happen as often as he would like. For either of them.
"Here."
He finally found what he was looking for. Two brownies he grabbed from Dorothy at the Busy Bee. He offered Vic one.
"Dessert?"
She gave him a bemused smile and took it.
"Sandwiches and brownies. You really know the way to a girl's heart."
Walt chewed and fought the urge to smile at her teasing. In truth, he wasn't good at this type of thing. Like so many other quirks in his personality, Vic seemed to sense that and accepted it. Vic tore off one corner of the brownie and popped it in her mouth. Her eyes lifted to his.
"Tastes suspiciously like the ones at the Busy Bee."
Walt gave her a sheepish smile.
"Guilty."
Vic grinned at her own sleuthing and polished off the chocolate square in three more bites. Wiping her hands off on her jeans, she reclined back down, clasping her hands behind her head. Walt surveyed her from his view sitting beside her. She still wore her sunglasses, which muddled his ability to see what her eyes were saying.
Walt reached down and removed the glasses from her face with one hand. Setting them aside, he noticed the questioning arch of her eye brow. As the seconds stretched into a minute or longer, he simply looked at her.
"What?"
Her tone was no longer light, but serious. Walt raised one shoulder.
"Your eyes in this light…"
He didn't finish the sentence because he didn't know how. As far as he knew, there weren't words to express the thoughts rattling around in his mind. He saw her throat move with a swallow.
What he didn't give a voice to was that her eyes were so impossibly gold, it was like a treasure he wanted to lose himself in. To him, she was so breathtakingly beautiful that sometimes he didn't know how to tell her that.
This was one of those moments.
It didn't require fancy clothes or jewelry. Other than the basics, she wasn't even wearing much in the way of makeup. But, that only heightened it in his mind. The simplicity of it all.
Sensing his hesitation, she reached up and pressed her hand against the rough stubble of his jaw. Walt pressed his face into her hand, her skin soft and warm. He closed his eyes when her fingers curled around behind her ear and he felt her give his head gentle, but insistent tug.
Walt abided and leaned down so that he hovered over her, stretching his own legs out alongside hers. Vic guided her face to his and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. The sheer sweetness of the kiss, combined with the smile that eased its way across her features when he pulled back slightly was overwhelming.
So far, the were taking things physically fast and emotionally slow. They were intimate most nights, with Vic showing up at his cabin frequently both on her own and by invitation. None of that mattered to him. She was welcome there any time. She seemed to know that. In those times, there were moments of such tenderness that the emotions were difficult to contain. But, he did. For her. He knew that her mind was still in a fragile place, oscillating between pain and trying to find some normalcy. With as much as he wanted to say to her, he didn't want to put any pressure on her. He tried to keep his expectations toned down. That seemed to put her at ease.
But, while they hadn't been overly verbal in their new connection, much was said with touch and looks. He didn't doubt the depth of his feelings, or hers. They simply needed time to get there.
Vic needed time and he respected that.
But, the way that she was looking at him right now gave him an irrepressible urge to say something to her. To declare out loud what he felt inside. Her eyes held his and her smile stayed in place, her hand still on his face.
Walt dipped his face just a little and nuzzled her nose with his. While his face was still down, close to her ear, he released it. Finally.
"I love you."
The words were barely audible. Over the beating of his own heart, he didn't even hear them. But, he could tell by the look on her face that she did. Something akin to lightning flashed through her eyes before vanishing. Her thumb stroked a slow, easy path along his lips and she licked hers with a quick dash of her tongue.
He felt her chest expand against his with a deep inhale, almost like she was breathing in the words and letting them fill her. Still, her eyes stayed connected to his in a searing fashion. When she exhaled, her breath was a warm puff of air with words attached.
"I know."
It seemed like an odd response for the moment. But, Walt understood. Nothing about them was conventional. Why expect it to be? The two words were a declaration of their own. An acknowledgement that let him know what he was trying to communicate to her during their time together was understood. Accepted.
He loved her.
She loved him.
It was simple and complicated in ways neither of them could describe.
He leaned in and kissed her again, deeper this time, his mouth invading hers. He felt her arms slide around his neck and hold him there. Breaking the kiss and pressing her mouth into his neck, she spoke once more on a breath fluttering into his skin.
"I love you, too."
Vic held him there as the day floated by them. Even though both knew it wouldn't go on forever, in that moment, it felt as though they were the only two people in existence.
In their world, they were.