Comfort Zone (Connor x Reader)

Thirty-One

(I'm not sure why this one is so long. Lmao)

Reed was left on his own for a few minutes, growing more nervous as the seconds ticked by.

What am I fuckin' doing? Why am I so goddamn insistent with this woman?

"Gavin? I'm sorry, that probably took longer than I wanted." Your voice cut through his brooding, making him shake his head and look towards you.

His breath caught in his throat. You just gave a slight smile, waiting for him to say... anything, really. You hadn't done much to get ready, just a shirt change, plus the hair-and-face ordeal. But the male was captivated, getting to his feet and wandering towards you without looking away. Reed lifted a hand, hesitated, lowered it a touch, then finally opened his mouth. "Um... f-fuck, okay, I n......" Deep breath. "... you are fucking gorgeous."

This time, it was you whose face flushed with color. He'd spoken with such conviction, there was definitely some fluttery feelings in your belly. "I... thank you, Gavin, I... whew... it's really warm in here..."

That made him laugh, head thrown back and letting some of his nervousness ebb away. Maybe he did know what he was doing, after all. "Yeah, pretty fuckin' warm, I completely agree. That's why I've got an idea for this, uh... date thing." Reed glanced down and noted that you already had shoes on, so he offered his arm for you to take. "All right, let's bundle our asses up. It may be sunny, but it's also cold as hell."

You dutifully went to bundle up for what you assumed was a walk outside. There was a park a few blocks down, and it was a cute idea. While he waited, your surprise date felt eyes on the back of his head again. Gavin turned to look, finding Connor leaning in his open bedroom doorway with his arms crossed. Where there was supposed to be rage, there was instead an air of hopelessness. He had to tear himself away from just staring the RK800 down, walking with you out of the apartment when you were ready to go.

■□■□■

"So. Detective Reed. Where would a man like you take a fellow detective on a date?" Your arm was linked with his, strolling down the sidewalk amidst other civilians. Sunny but cold seemed like a decent day for outdoor errands.

"Aw, man, don't call me Detective. Please. Shit, I only hear that when I fucked up." Reed's breath came out in thick white plumes, especially when he chuckled. The more he walked with you on his arm- willingly!- the better he felt. "... you said you... liked cara mia, yeah?" You nodded, which turned his smile soft. "Um... so... does that mean... I can put in a request for a nickname...?"

It was rather... unexpected, but incredibly cute. "You want me to give you a pet name? But I already branded you as a smooth, sexy bastard," you taunted.

"Rolls off the tongue, lemme tell you."

Giggling, you squeezed the arm you held onto. "Tell you what. Let's see how this date goes. Maybe something will come to me naturally. And if it doesn't, I'll just call you different ones until I figure out which one embarrasses you the most."

Groaning, your date ran a hand down his face. "Can't wait."

A few more minutes passed before the two of you suddenly crossed the street. The park was located there, so you realized you were right... until you also saw the skating area nearby. It looked like the type that was seasonal only, of course, but still had a stand for skate rental and such. And that was exactly where you were being led to. "--uh... Gavin? I don't..."

"Hmm?" He peered down at you, a little puzzled until it dawned on him. "Really? You're from Buffalo!"

"What does that have to do with anything? I know how to shovel my car out from under seven feet of snow, not walk on knives!" Reed snorted, but your mouth pulled to the side in annoyance. "Gavin. I've skated once in my life. I can balance, and... no, that's it, I can balance. Nothing more."