OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

thirty-three.

[ forewarning; this is probably the most r rated thing i've ever written, at least publicly. it's taken me days to post it because i honestly am a bit embarrassed. so i guess prepare yourselves and don't judge me too harshly lol ]

          AFTER REAGAN HAD snatched Dave's gift from upstairs, together they'd bid a rushed wave of goodbyes and thank-you's to her family. She dragged Dave out of the front door by his hand before sliding her arms into her oversized coat. She was breathing hard, hard enough that the cloudy puffs of air that left her mouth hung still in the might, a clear sign of the outside chill. Dave was on her heels as the door shut and left them alone in the dark.

"Are you okay?" he predictably asked, trying to catch up with her as she walked determinedly down the driveway.

"Yeah," Reagan said. "I'm fine. I just . . . had to get out of there for a bit."

"Did I say something? I thought we would end up staying longer than that."

Dave caught her by the arm and slowed her pace, looking concerned as he spun Reagan around to face him. They stood outside of what Reagan concluded was Krist's van, borrowed by Dave for the night. He was really going to have to get a car of his own soon if he planned on staying permanently in Washington.

She shook her head, feeling the tendrils of her hair brush against her face as she did so. Her annoyance with Kimberly was building higher and higher, like a junk tower in a landfill that was bound to spill over. Even with a solid amount of distance between them, her anger had yet to fade.

"It's my mom," she babbled, losing her sense of a filter. "She just drives me crazy sometimes. She was being so weird and I wanted to get out of there. And I wanted you out of there too and I'm sorry. I know you like them a lot but her and I, we don't get along sometimes —,"

Dave cut Reagan off, gently touching his fingertips to her mouth. He moved closer to her, comfortingly wrapping his arm around her waist in a protective cradle. His eyes spoke volumes of understanding as he peered into her apologetic gaze.

"It's okay," he whispered. "It's okay."

He pulled her into a hug, kissing her head twice as she pressed contentedly into him and sighed. He hadn't asked for a bigger explanation, which was what she'd hoped for. Reagan would have rather saved her commentary on her mother for another night, one in which they weren't standing outside in the cold on Christmas with gifts for each other in hand.

Their drive back to the apartment was filled with little conversation, though Reagan couldn't complain. Dave turned up the volume of the radio, and instead of playing the cheesy Christmas music from the local radio station, he played one of Krist's homemade tapes. The sound of the music that Reagan was so fond of was what eventually soothed her. Between that and Dave's close proximity to where she sat, Kimberly became a distant thing of the past as they drove farther and farther away from her house.

When they arrived at Dave's place, they found that Kurt was not even home yet. The apartment was pitch black until Dave switched on the lights, calling out for his roommate.

"So much for keeping him company," Reagan said, taking off her coat and looking around while hugging Dave's present to her chest. She was surprised that Kurt had not escaped his mother's house yet.

"I'm not upset about it. I'd rather us be alone anyways," Dave admitted, wearing one of his shamelessly wicked grins. Reagan smiled back at him and took a seat on the couch, laying his gift across her lap. The wrapping job that she'd done on it had not been her best work and she winced as she noticed the tape that she'd stuck on haphazardly.