One Step Closer
“Please tell me your aim with a gun is better than that?” he questioned you and nodded to the dart which had landed in the wooden wall.
“My aim is fine, Dex. I just haven’t hold a dart in years.” you sighed and rubbed a hand over your face “I was starting to think you weren’t gonna show.”.
“Looks like I got here right on time.” He says as he walks past you to the dartboard. He looks at the dart you had thrown with what looked like a pained expression. You crossed your arms as you saw the look on his face.
“Watch it. I am still holding the other two.” you narrowed your eyes at him.
He looked over his shoulder at you “Let me know when you throw them at me, i’ll just stand in front of the board. I’m pretty sure i’m safe there.” the sarcasm in his voice was obvious.
You shook your head at his comment.
He took the dart out of the wall “At least you throw hard enough.” he walks back to you. “So you have actually used darts before ?”
You still had your arms crossed “Yeah. Yeah I have. I got my first set of darts when I was 10, I think. My mother used to tell me how my grandfather would play it almost every night.”
Dex was listening, you were not used to talking about your family much and you know you never really had mentioned them to Dex either.
You shrugged “I was never really good at it.” you admitted “When my grandfather returned from the war, he played it in the same bar almost every night. There were small friendly competitions and he would always win. Mom told me he would always bring home the chocolates and other stuff he had won for them. He never got drunk, just played this game over and over again. I guess it was his way of dealing with what happened.”
“He fought in the war? Which one? ” his attention was on you as he listened intently.
“The big one. He and his unit were captured and kept as a prisoner for almost an entire year before he was released. I don’t even know if anyone else from his unit survived. My mother said he never spoke about it. Not a word. I think he wanted to protect his family. I guess my mother was very similar to him in that matter.”
Dex was twirling the dart between his fingers and stopped before he spoke “My parents were never really that involved.”
He never had told you about his family before either. You noticed that it might be a hard subject for him to talk about.
You smiled softly as you gave his shoulder a nudge making him look at you “Yet, you still turned out to be a kick-ass FBI agent who saved my life.” he gave a half-smile “And.. I personally think you are a pretty awesome. That is why I like to be around you.”
A smile spread on his face and his eyes gleamed, his stance become more relaxed. As if you had lifted some invisible weight off of him.
There was a moment of silence between the both of you. Both not really knowing what to say as Dex continued to twirl the dart between his fingers.
“Do you still want to learn?” he suddenly says.
Confused you looked at him “Learn?”
He chuckled as he held the dart in front of your face.
“Oh, Darts?” you reply as you understood the question.
His usually smirk reappeared on his face “Yes. Darts. Do you want to learn how to throw them IN the board.”
You glared at him before rolling your eyes. “Yes, I do. Do you plan on teaching me then?”
“I’m quite sure I am the right person for the job, or you could ask Agent Johnsson before he gets to his ninth beer.” he said nonchalantly.
You crossed your arms again and gave him a lopsided grin “Proof it.” daring him.
The smile that appeared on his face made his eyes lit up even more and you knew he had accepted the challenge.
“Do I need to step aside?” you ask him after realising he wasn’t really in front of the board but more at an angle.
He scoffed “No. I’ll manage.”
You didn’t move, it would be harder to throw the dart at his angle.
He held the dart in his hand and with a flick of his wrist he threw the dart.
It landed perfectly in the middle of the dartboard, in the middle of the bullseye even.
You gasped and breathed out in suprise, you knew he had great aim but seriously?
He seemed pleased with himself and at your reaction. “Did I pass your test, (y/n)?” he asked cockily.
You walked to the dartboard to take the dart out, shaking your head. “With ease, it appears. I guess you may teach me.”
He motioned you over to him and you went to him. He turned you to face the board. Standing behind you as he gently took hold of your wrist. “First of all, don’t look at the dart in your hand. Don’t focus on what you are holding, a lot of people make that mistake.” his breath was on the side of your neck and it send a strong shiver down your spine, one you were certain Dex must have noticed that. He cleared his throat before he continued “You have to focus on your target. Let your eyes anchor on it.”
You let your eyes focus on the dartboard.
“You’re holding onto the dart too much.” he tells you and uses his hand to make your fingers unclench the dart more. “That’s better. Now..” he moves his hand back to your wrist. “I’ll help you throw this one, okay?” his voice sounded deeper and you could only nod. He stood partly against you so you could even feel the warmth of his body against your skin. You were certain you would throw the dart in the ground this way, it was hard to focus.
He let his fingers glide to your hand and held it, he helped you aim, then he moved your hand and the dart flew straight into the middle of the dartboard.
“I DID IT!” you exclaimed enthusiastically. You looked to Dex who was still standing as close to you “We did it.” you corrected yourself and you put both your hands on his upper arms. He was less nervous then he usually was around you, he was comfortable even if you two were standing so close. “We work well together.” you say to him and he gazed at your face. “I work better with you in general.” there was an honesty in his voice that you were not expecting. You wondered what he really meant by that.
A blush was creeping up your cheeks as you were still holding on to him. “Thank you, Dex. For teaching me. For listening. For everything. I owe you big time”.
He quickly shook his head “No. No you don’t owe me anything (y/n). You’ve already helped me. I know you defended me against that as– Agent.” you tried not to laugh as he corrected himself and he did the same “You’ve helped me more then you realise.” there was only sincerity in his eyes. You were taken aback by his words. You felt your eyes starting to well up, you didn’t want the other agents to see you sob. His words had touched something in you. Dex gave you a confused look “I’m sorry, did I say something wr-” You took a step closer to him and wrapped your arms around his waist closing the distance between the both of you. You held him in the hug as you let your head rest against the side of his chest. He tensed up for a brief moment, not knowing how to respond to you being so close, to your arms around him. You felt him put his hand on your back as you heard his breathing steadying. He let his chin rest on your hair as he closed his eyes, wallowing in the sensation of holding you against him.
A loud popping noise brought the both of you back to being aware of your surroundings and you let go off him. Someone had opened a bottle of champagne.
“I’m suprised they still managed to find one that was closed.” Dex says to you.
You laugh at his remark “Yeah. I’ve actually had enough with one drink. I think i’ll be heading home.” you say as you start to rummage through your bag. You pull out your car keys and dangled them in front of Dex’s face. “You did promise to drive me home, didn’t you Poindexter?”
He took the keys from your hand “I did.”