elixir ➳ gbg imagines

swagger - remnants

so i decided to add some angst to this request of slow dancing while listening to toto africa

—

a few moving boxes lazed about in his new bedroom, one of the walls a summer's green, while the rest whispered in baby blue hues. his hands closed around a hefty object, and styrofoam peanuts scattered onto the floor around him.

a video camera, the same one he'd used for quite a few pax vlogs. swagger stood, eyes ever-so-slightly widened. his eyebrows rose, and he clutched it close to his chest as he hastily made his way to his office, where the recently painted walls were a calming lavender.

he plugged the card into his open laptop, his pc setup still unfinished. raking a hand through his hair, he set the device aside while scrolling through the folder, his eye catching on one marked 'toto, africa.' 

"okay." he heard his voice, and with a gentle thud he'd set the camera on the table. the video was blurry, unfocused at first before it whirred, the figure in the background clear as ever.

"why'd you pull out a whole ass camera?" you had asked, and with a jolt in his heart and a quick click to pause the video, eric knew exactly what he was watching.

november 25, 2017. the timestamp confirmed his sudden heartache, but his fingers hovered over the space key.

if swagger simply closed his eyes, he would find that he could recall this day very clearly.

—

"i want to remember this moment." he muttered, barely audible. it brought a flush onto your cheeks, even though they were already rosy from the cold.

dressed in one of his baggy hoodies and fuzzy socks, your eyes lit up as you heard the introduction of africa, and a laugh split your lips.

eric looked up from his phone, adjusting the speakers to see you shuffling about, "you really can't dance."

"oh? like you could do better?" you arched an eyebrow as he stepped over and pulled you closer to him, grinning cheekily.

he didn't respond, twirling you around and dipping you after. you smiled, until he nearly dropped you.

the brunet's eyes widened, "shit! sorry." his arms steadied your waist, helping you to stand.

swagger couldn't help but gasp as his favorite part of the song came on, and he took a deep breath.

you immediately pressed a hand to his lips, muffling his screaming —except you applied it with more force then intended, smacking him.

"oh fuck!" he mumbled, releasing your waist to wipe his mouh, looking to see you laugh at his offended expression, "this is domestic abuse."

eric grinned, beginning to giggle too.

"it's not even that funny." you managed, an arm on his as you tried to compose yourself.

he wrapped himself around you, a protective embrace as you smiled into his chest, still amused.

you were spun out of the hug, and you both locked eyes as the song began to end, a hand on his shoulder and the other tracing his jaw.

even when it stopped, neither of you made a move to  step out of the other's grasp.

—

swagger felt a jab in his heart, followed by another and another as he stared at the video while it came to an end, remembering too clearly the talks about the future you two had had on that very day.

you hadn't spoken to each other in weeks. it was a messy breakup and ended up with numbers blocked and petty thoughts made public on social media platforms.

he couldn't deny that he missed you though, especially not after watching that. it felt like that video had been the key to unlocking a safe full of memories, kept tucked away for his own good.