I'll Find A New Place To Be Found (Mike Schmidt/Reader)

Snowy Kisses

You had to fight every urge not to pinch yourself. His lip moved so slowly against yours, you couldn't help but melt. His hands gently squeezing your sides. A very sure sign that this was real. Your hands gripped his scarf and pulled him closer, causing his lips to curl into a smile as he kissed you. You slowly pulled back, feeling his gentle breath against your lips. You looked him in the eye, earning a stare back. Your thumbs gently rub the fabric of his scarf. You two didn't say anything, gazing at each other as the world seemed to just slow down. He had a bigger smile than he did before. You could see the aged lines of his smile. You felt his smile become infectious. It was quiet but so comfortable.

"So..." You started, looking away nervously. Though he didn't seem to stop staring at you. "So?" Mike repeated back, tilting his head a bit. You pouted a bit before side-eyeing him. "Well.. What was that for? A confession?" You questioned, pulling his scarf a bit. He let out an airy laugh. "Sort of." He said, moving away from you and walking ahead. Though, he lagged a bit to let you follow. You quickly did as well, padding up to his side and walking alongside him with a frown. "Sort of?" You huffed, "What does that mean?" He looked at you, his smile flattening a bit as he buried his face into his scarf. He was quiet for a bit which only killed you slowly as you waited for whatever he had to say.

"Because I really like you." Mike finally said, glancing at you, "But I don't think I'm ready for anything major. Yet, I feel as though I've met you before. Honestly I wasn't planning to kiss you but... I couldn't help it." This was the most you've heard him open up. He felt so guarded for a long time and here he was, telling you his feelings about you. However, one comment stuck out to you. 'I feel as though I've met you before'. Was that why he was so open. You reached and gently grabbed his jacket sleeve. "Mike. You have met me before." You said, your voice comforting. You knew what was to come was going to hurt. A painful memory that—if you knew any better—would just reawaken old wounds. He stopped and turned to you, a puzzled look on his face. You just gripped his sleeve tighter as you both stopped in the snow once more.

"The day... Your brother was taken. I was there." You started, your hand moving to grip his hand in comfort. He stared at you in disbelief, his mouth opening before closing. He was giving you the floor. "I'm telling the truth, I promise. I remember your mother asking me to come back if I wanted to play with you. I remember sitting with you at the picnic table while the adults went looking. I.. I had a strange dream about it last night. I was meaning to tell you but..." You felt your face heat up a bit. His face changed to be unreadable but he squeezed your hand. "We... Had the same dream." He said quietly, "I thought it was just my mind playing a sick trick but.. It was real." His eyes looked so mournful. Quite the difference from his previous smile. You moved closer to him, your arm wrapping around his.

"I thought so too." You said quietly, leaning your head against this shoulder, "I know it's painful to bring up but.. I wanted to tell you before I waited too long." He looked down at you. Even though he still felt a bit unreadable, he still managed a small smile. "Well... I'm glad you told me. I've been repeating that dream in hopes of seeing the man who took him. Well, I was until recently. I was wondering why it all returned but now that you're here.. I guess it really makes sense." He said, looking away from you. You nodded a bit before squeezing his arm. "Look, we will go at your pace okay?" You said, "Nothing official but... Someday we better be." You smiled at him, hoping it would rub off on him. It indeed did, and earned a playful eye roll. "Okay, okay. One thing at a time." He said, pushing his hand on your face lightly and moving away. He walked ahead of you, leaving you in shock from his push.

You looked down at the snow and felt your lips curl into an evil, mischievous smile. You carefully rolled a ball of the snow, pacting it as Mike walked ahead of you. You snickered as you aimed your snowball and threw it at his back. You earned a surprised yelp from him as he turned to you. "Oh, you—" Mike started before you ran away from him. You couldn't stop the giggling as you ran. He leaned down and pact his own snowball before chasing after you. "Come face me!" He called out, "Or are you chicken?" You leaned against a tree, leaning over to look for him. You couldn't see him. Peeking out from your hiding spot, you still didn't see him. Until you felt a snowball be shoved down your shirt. You squealed and heard Mike laugh from behind you. You turned to him as you tried to shake the snow out from your shirt, feeling it chill your spine. "Asshole!" You huffed, earning a louder laugh from Mike. He even had to wipe a tear from his eyes. You playfully shoved him, his laugh causing you to smile as well.

"You should... See the look on your face." Mike said, still snickering breathlessly. You huffed, turning away from him. However, you only grinned before quickly turning to him and tackling him into the snow. He gasped as he fell back into the snow and you were hovering above him. "Oh yeah?" You huffed before taking some snow and shoving it into his scarf. He shuddered from the sudden cold, taking some snow himself and pushing it into your face. You both were chuckling and eventually, you were both laughing. You weren't really together and you both found out you had a deeper connection, yet you couldn't help but like him a little more now. You looked down at him as she still was chuckling to himself. You pushed his hair out of his face and leaned down to kiss him again. He was once more quick to kiss you again. You only pulled away after a moment to look at him. "We should start heading back. You might give me a cold since you wanna turn me into a snowman so bad." You said, getting off him and offering your hand. He smiled more as he took your hand and got up. "You'd make a really cute snowman." He said, nudging you before dusting the snow off himself.

YOu gently took Mike's hand before starting to walk back through the trail. You wonder if this counted as a date. It felt like a damn good one with the large step in your relationship. Whether you were partners or simply exclusive, you were most definitely more than friends. The more you thought about it, were you technically with your boss? You looked up at him, thinking about it for a moment more. You were sure it wasn't as serious as if you were dating your real job boss. You were just a babysitter, although that fed into the cliche. That was more comedic if anything. You just squeezed his hand and moved closer to him. You went into these woods as simple friends and left as something much more.