"Guiding Light" Judd Birch x reader

nine.

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Y/n kept her hands stuffed in the pockets of her coat as she walked alongside Judd. They were walking a couple blocks through the city, the way back to the car from a hardware supply store. It was later in the afternoon at this point, and the sun would begin to set in around half an hour.

As they walked y/n watched the passing storefronts, eyes roaming the windows for anything that interested her. Then as they walked past a bookstore, she stilled.

"What?" Judd asked, watching her.

"Thats the writer." She said, pointing to a book in the window.
"The one I said your style reminded me of, I couldnt think of his name until now."

Judd stopped to look at the book as well. Then soon he grabbed y/n's hand and dragged her out of the cold and into the warmth of the bookstore.

The place was darling, Tall wood grained pillars and shelves that towered upwards and curled around the ceiling. There were leaves and vines that snaked around the walls and fairy lights that twinkled between shelves.

There were a few people there browsing or reading at that hour, but not many.

"Help me find his section." Y/n said softly in reference to the author.
So wordlessly, Judd helped y/n scour the alphabetized shelves for the man's name. And when they found it, he watched as her eyes lit up.

"I read this book years ago on a trip and I loved it." She mumbled, palms tracing the cover. Judd held his hand out, letting y/n place the book there.

"Whats it about?"

"Its a narrative about a young man with no family who has returned from the civil war devoid of the social aspects that came with belonging to society. Then he meets a woman and falls in love with her. Im not sure if thats really your type of story but you know.."

Judd listened intently, noticing her passion for the story in her eyes, and the smile on the edge of her lips as she spoke. But above all else he saw the pink light wash over her face once again.

But this time, the light didnt go away. Infact it covered her whole body, and the bookstore, and even Judd himself. And then his hands and chest began to feel tingly, almost like a vibration.

"Shes gorgeous isnt she?" A voice called out. A woman, she sounded to be older than Judd.

He looked around for a moment before spotting a pink and yellow butterfly looking thing. or woman. He wasn't quite sure.

"The fuck?" he mumbled.

"Im Sonya." She smirked, she didnt bother holding out a hand because she knew he wouldn't shake it.

"Your new Love Bug."

"How many of you fucking creatures are gonna show up in my life??" Judd huffed.

"I cant say, thats not my job." Sonya chuckled.
"But what is my job is helping you navigate your feelings for that girl over there."

Judd looked over at y/n's face, his gaze softening immediately.

"Feelings?"

"Yeah! You love her!" Sonya laughed.

Judd didnt agree, but he didn't disagree either, he didn't think he could even if he wanted to.

Maybe he really was in love with y/n.

Or maybe this human resources operation was bullshit.

"mm." He hummed. Judd readjusted the book in his hands, and then looked to y/n.

"How about I get it, you can reread it and annotate it like you do all your books, then ill read it afterwards." He said softly.

"Only if you promise to annotate too." The way she smiled up at him made his heart thump harder than before.

Y/n held out her pinkie.

Judd had seen the way y/n annotates the books she reads, she highlights, and underlines and leaves comments, questions, and analyses in the margins. He wasnt the type to do any of that, but he would for her.

He chuckled a bit, wrapping his pinkie in hers and smiling.
"I promise."

As they walked to the front counter, Y/n was giddy and Judd watched her with a flutter in his chest, and Sonya followed behind with a knowing smile.

"Thank you." She giggled, taking the small bag from Judd's hands after he paid for it and replacing it with her own hand. Then she pulled Judd down softly by his arm and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Judd blinked for a moment, cheeks warm and pink.
"Yeah." he mumbled breathlessly.

"no problem."

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