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rubykgrant · 2 years

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RVB Secret Santa time! This is a gift for @robopastry ; a story featuring Donut and Wash, having a nice time on a winter drive, with a surprising destination. I hope you like it~ (I had fun making this something that was both out of the ordinary and yet comfortable/mundane, with a fun balance between Donut being a sweet-heart and also playfully mean, because he’s just like that. No angst though, this is a nice and pleasant story~)

“Wash, it’ll be fine, I promise! Everybody else has had a turn- taking a ride with me. In a vehicle. That I am driving,” Donut carefully phrased that so it only had ONE meaning, nothing to be misunderstood. “And there’s never been a problem. I’m a very safe driver!”

“Mmm…”

Wash had agreed to take a drive with Donut, but made it no secret that he had some reservations. However, Donut worked a miracle and convinced Wash to come along with him today. He really, really, REALLY wanted to show Wash something; it was too far away to just walk, and absolutely worth the trip. As Donut packed some snacks, Grif predictably materialized nearby. Also predictably, Simmons was by Grif’s side.

“So, where are you off to… with tuna and dill pickle sandwiches, cinnamon oatmeal raisin cookies, peanutbutter celery sticks, slices of salami and swiss cheese, a thermos of potato soup, and a thermos of hot chocolate?” Grif asked. He hadn’t even LOOKED at the food, he just KNEW.

“Well, I’m going to this neat new club. It’s called Nunya,” Donut answered cheerfully.

“What’s Nun-” Simmons began, before Grif nudged him with an elbow.

“Nice try Donut, I have a little sister, I know what that means!”

“Oh, fine. I’m going for a drive outside the city, and Wash is coming. I want us to have a nice time, so I’m bringing lunch!” Donut explained.

“What’s outside the city?” Simmons asked (internally processing that Grif had in fact saved him from hearing “Nunya Business” as an answer earlier).

“A surprise~” Donut told him with a wink, putting the food inside the backseat of the car (cold stuff in a small cooler, warm thermoses in a cozy carrier). “We’ll tell you all about it when we get back… maybe I’ll even bring home some HEADLIGHT FLUID and ELBOW GREASE for you two!”

“Ha-ha, you’re hilarious Donut,” Simmons’ voice dripped with sarcasm. “How about we dig up an old Blue Team Flag for you and Wash. You can use it like a picnic blanket!”

“Would you? Simmons, you’re such a DEAR,” Donut returned the sarcasm, which was followed by Simmons attempting to flick him on the forehead, so Donut started smacking the hand away.

“Well, if this surprise is so special, maybe we can just tag along and-” before Grif could continue, he was cut-off by a voice from behind.

“No way. I am NOT getting in a car with more than one Red Team member at a time,” Wash said, walking up to the passenger door.

“What? Why?” Simmons and Grif spoke together.

“Because! You all make each other crazy, and it makes ME crazy!” Wash gave them a glare, and rather than shrink away, Grif and Simmons just smirked (because they knew it was absolutely true).

Wash got in and shut his door to the sound of Grif and Simmons dissolving into laughter. Donut shook his head, an amused smile on his face, and went toward the driver’s side. Before he got in, he glanced up and saw Doc leaning over the little railing that led from the garage up to the apartment stairs. He smiled as well, giving Donut a small nod and a wave; unlike the others, Doc had an inkling of what Donut wanted to show Wash. Donut nodded back, then got in the car, buckled up, and turned the key. It was time to hit the road.

Wash sat in his seat looking as sullen as possible … but as Donut drove through the city, Wash began to relax. For the last few weeks, it had gotten colder and colder, then clouds gathered in the sky, blocking out the sun. Finally, it snowed. Big, fluffy flakes that blanketed everything. The day before, the clouds let the sun come back, and the roads were quickly cleared away. About a foot of snow still covered the yards and parks of the city, and more in the hills beyond.

That was where they were going now. The hills to the north-west of the city, where the forest began. A few days before the first frost hit, Donut had been driving out there with Doc, the two of them tracking down a small road-side shop that sold fruit preserves (intending to get some jars of spiced peaches and apples). As they passed various cedar and oak trees, Donut had noticed something else out there… and he was sure that it was still waiting for him and Wash today.

They left behind the tall buildings and neighborhoods. The road began to curve more with the flow of the land. Donut slowed down when they got to the first big hill.

“Hey, roll down your window,” he said to Wash, who did just that. The air that rushed in was cool, but also surprisingly FRAGRANT. It was something… floral, most definitely, and very strong. Wash felt like he should KNOW this scent, but it wasn’t coming to him.

“Oh WOW…” Wash breathed in deeply through his nose, savoring whatever this smell was. It seemed to be at odds with the Winter scene, something that belonged in Spring or Summer. “What is it?” Wash asked. He could almost taste this… in fact, he thought he must have tasted this before, something very sweet…

“You’ll see in a minute. I’m taking us up over there, by those rocks!” Donut nodded up ahead and to the right. Wash looked, and could see an old broken-down wooden fence from some long-ago horse corral, and several rocks clustered nearby. They looked like they had been warmed and dried by the sun, which was still shining overhead, making the white snow even BRIGHTER.

Donut pulled over, and the two men got out of the car. They walked past the rocks, the lonely fence posts, and finally stood before the trees. Wash saw the source of the smell; growing up the tree trunks and twisting through the branches were a multitude of vines, wrapping around each other in knots, with oval-shaped green leaves, and thousands of white/pale-yellow blossoms.

“Honeysuckle~” Donut said, moving his hands in a grand ta-da gesture, beaming proudly. “I saw it starting to bloom a while ago, and I figured it must be in full-swing by now. And I was right!”

Honeysuckle was indeed a spring and summer flower… but it also just did whatever it felt like. Honeysuckle didn’t always go dormant like other flowers. It could bloom in the fall, or even the middle of winter, like right now.

For the next 4 hours, Wash and Donut walked through the woods, picking a few honeysuckle blossoms to taste the nectar, admired the scenery of the trees, and rolled a GIANT snowball. They didn’t want to make an actual snowman; just begin with a small clump of snow, push it around, making it bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER, until it was taller than both of them stacked up on each other’s shoulders. They only stopped when it was officially a snow-boulder and too large to move. After that, they ate the snacks while sitting on the warm rocks, took one more trip to pick an armful of flowers each, then packed everything up and returned to the car. It wasn’t until they were half-way home, the memory finally came…

“I told you about the creek I went to when I was little. The one at my grandpa’s house, where all the honeysuckle grew,” Wash said quietly, turning toward Donut in his seat.

“Yeah. And I told you-”

“You told me about how there was a tree at your school, when you were in kindergarten. The tree was dead, but a whole bush of honeysuckle had grown over it,” Wash continued, not only remembering being at the creek so long ago, but having the conversation with Donut more recently.

“Mmm-hmm. And neither of us has even seen any honeysuckle since then,” Donut finished. He didn’t elaborate further, no explanation about why this was important, or what it meant for either of them. He just let it be what it was.

When they got back, there wasn’t a long exchange of gratitude… but before they went up to the apartment, Wash reached one hand out, touching Donut’s arm. Donut paused, and smiled as Wash very slowly (to avoid any painful head-bonks) leaned forward just a bit, and gently touched his forehead to Donut’s. That was all, a brief yet cozy sign of affection that was much appreciated.

Inside, Wash explained about the honeysuckle to the others. Doc helped him find some water pitchers to use as vases. Donut, on the other hand, snuck behind the group as they looked at the flowers, the cooler he had used for the snacks in his hand, now empty… except for the snow he had gathered up before leaving the hills. Donut shoved two fistfuls of snow down the backs of Grif and Simmons’ shirts. When they shrieked in alarm, turning to see what HORRIBLE and EVIL creature had just attacked them, Donut flung snow in their faces, the gleam in his eyes positively wicked. The next few moments were filled with angry cries from Grif and Simmons, threats from Donut (who was perfectly capable of nailing them snowballs from a long distance), laughter from O’Malley who encouraged Donut to keep escalating, Sarge trying to turn this into a fight against the Blues, and a few voices of reason suggesting the whole thing move outside so the snow wouldn’t make a mess. Wash just rolled his eyes, helping himself to more drops of nectar from the honeysuckle.

#red vs blue #rvb #franklin delano donut #agent washington #rvb secret santa #rvb secret santa 2022 #robopastry

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