ONESHOTS ⊳ gavin reed x reader

[Family dinners]

In which Gavin asks you to pretend to be his girlfriend for a family Thanksgiving dinner.

[Personally I don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I do check my demographics, and a lot of you probably are celebrating it, so here's a little something to set the somewhat Christmassy mood. Happy Thanksgiving!]

What he's doing at that very moment is desperate, and he's fully aware of it. Fully aware of how pathetic he must look, sound, and fully aware of how pathetic he feels.

But he knows those feelings will presumably increase by a tenfold if he doesn't do this now. He cannot take it—not even one more mocking glance from Elijah, nor one sneer from Molly.

He's had enough.

Gavin is bringing someone with him to his Thanksgiving family dinner, in spite of the fact that he's nowhere near close to being in a relationship with anyone.

So here he is: clutching his phone, chewing the inside of his cheek as he waits—prays, even—for her, (y/n), to answer.

She's his best friend at the precinct and his best bet too.

The beeping on the other line stops abruptly, and is followed suit by rustling. "Gavin?"

"Yeah, hi." He answers, admittedly somewhat softly, then corrects himself by clearing his throat. "I need a favor."

"At two in the morning?"

Shit, he hadn't realized it's this late already.

"Yeah." Gavin answers with the same firmness in his voice. "Well, not right now, but- I wanted to ask. Ask something."

"Well, you've already woken me up, so go for it, I guess."

Why is he feeling guilty? She owes him something after that one time he saved her from a bullet. Which was roughly two years ago, but he supposes it still counts. Or at least hopes so.

"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend. For a Thanksgiving dinner with my family."

He picks up on another rustle on the other line, which sounds deceivingly similar to a sigh. She seems to ponder his words for a few more seconds and gives him an answer he hadn't exactly hoped for.

"That's just sad, Gavin."

"Fuck you."

"Okay, sorry." Another tired sigh. He can almost hear her frowning through the phone. "Tell me."

"About?"

"The family dinner. What's it gonna be? Restaurant? Your parents' house? Formal? Casual? Is the food gonna be good?"

"The last question is oddly specific."

"There's a lot of things I'd do for a good meal, Gav."

"Well, I mean, yeah, Mol's a good cook."

"Mol? Is that-"

"Stepmom." He interrupts, not really wanting to deal with explaining his tear-jerking past to (y/n). "So is that a yes or a no?"

"It's a yes, Jesus Christ. But you owe me."

"Wrong. Remember that one time in 2036 when I-"

"One more word about the shooting incident and I'll hang up."

He laughs through his nose. Maybe him and her wouldn't actually make such a bad pair. With some surprise, he realizes he's never actually thought of (y/n) in that way before. But maybe, just maybe it c-

No. She's his best friend. This is a once in a lifetime event where he pretends she's more, but that's going to be the end of it. Workplace relationships always turn out awkward, especially after breakups. A risk he's not willing to take.