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“You chased the boggling down the muddy slope, Cal not far behind you. It was injured and afraid and you were determined to help it. You were so close when you felt the tip of your foot hit a small stump. For a moment you thought you might be able to recover but your momentum was determined to continue pulling you forward even if your feet weren’t planning on following. You grunted as your face hit the wet ground.
“(Y/N!)” Cal called, concerned.
You rolled over onto your back and whipped the mud off of your face. Upon sitting up you realized you were covered in the stuff. You groaned at the thought of having to wash it out of your hair and clothes. It was going to be messy and time-consuming, to say the least.
Cal skidded to a stop beside you sliding slightly in the mud. “Are you okay,” he asked kneeling beside you.
“Better now that you’re here,” you laughed out.
He grinned; happy to see that you hadn’t hurt yourself. “You wait here, I’ll go get that boggling.”
You watched him run into the small alcove the creature had disappeared into. While waiting you let your thoughts wander. You’ve had a crush on Cal for as long as you’ve known him. You’ve also been flirting with him for just as long and he still hadn’t caught on yet. There was the possibility that you were just a terrible flirt but you had broken enough hearts to be fairly certain that wasn’t the case. You wondered how someone could be so painfully oblivious.
“I got it!” Cal’s excited shout pulled out of your thoughts. Tucked gently against his chest was the injured boggling. He sat down in front of you, either not noticing or caring about the mud. “Do you have the stim pack?”
You pulled the small vial out of your pocket and flashed it to him quickly. “Yep!” Placing the end of the device on the small animal you spoke softly, “This’ll just hurt for a second, okay? I promise you’ll feel much better afterwards.”
You pushed the release button on the end facing you. The boggling squirmed but settled down quickly. “You know,” you started, “we may have to keep it. It’s almost as cute as you.”
“Nah,” he replied shaking his head, “definitely closer to BD1 in cuteness.”
Mentally you were banging your head against a wall. How could he be so dense? You decided to try again, maybe one of these days he’d figure it out.
“You’re right.” You lightly smacked your forehead with the heel of your hand, “ how could I forget. Obviously, you’re way cuter.”
He only looked at you confused and then you saw something akin to realization and embarrassment overtake his expression, “are you flirting with me?”
“You finally noticed?”
His face was redder than his hair at your answer and he just sat there at a loss for words.
You waved your hand in front of Cal’s eyes, “you still in there?”
He swallowed and focused his gaze on the animal in his lap. “Do you– Do you really think I’m cute?”
You shrugged, “I mean, yeah. I wouldn’t say it if it didn’t think it was true.”
“Well uh,“ he paused, “I think you’re pretty cute too.” He looked at you for a moment before turning his attention back to his lap.
“Even covered in mud?” You were glad he was to busy hiding his blush to notice yours.
“Even covered in mud.” he agreed.