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It was a late evening, Brooklynn felt half asleep after the long drive from Colorado to her destination. She quickly grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and exited the car, swiftly making her way through the dino safe gate before heading to the door of Darius’s cabin.
Behind the blinds there was a vague light on, so she hoped it meant he was still awake. The unfortunate outcome of surviving on a dino island was falling asleep around any lights or sounds present around the members of the Nublar six.
Brooklynn wasted no time and knocked on his door, she waited patiently and heard Darius grab either a weapon or put something away before the door opened and she was greeted with an all too familiar face.
“Hey Dino nerd, what’s hanging?” Brooklynn greeted trying to let some of the awkwardness she was feeling just barging in on him like this.
“Brooklynn? What are you doing here?” Darius blinked in surprise as he quickly registered he wasn’t greeting a threat.
“What? I can't say hello to one of my all-time best friends?” Brooklynn responded as Darius dropped his dino stun stick.
“No, not at all, come in.” he eagerly invited her in. Brooklynn thanked him gratefully as she entered, closing the door behind her before Darius opened his arms for a hug.
She fell into his arms and let the sadness of Kenji’s breakup wash away to be replaced with Darius’s warmth.
She found herself smiling a little, it felt so good to see Darius again, they hadn’t met up in so long. His presence calmed her, in that moment she knew she was right when she couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.
“It’s so good to see you, D.”
“You too, B.”
Darius pulled away then “It's good to see you, but it is definitely a surprise.”
“Why’s that? I’ve definitely barged in on you before.”
“Yeah with a text saying ‘Hey DinoNerd I’m working a state away so keep ur weekend upon so I can steal yo food.’”
Brooklynn rolled her eyes as his on point impression of her. His smile slightly dropped. “I just mean Kenji told me last week you got time off so you were going to his place for a while, so I definitely wasn’t expecting you, and definitely not alone.”
Brooklynn swallowed thickly “Can I stay here for a while?”
Darius nodded solemnly “Of course, is everything okay?”
The question had set her off and all her strength to be cool, calm and collected had gone down the drain faster than a raptor could run when it was hungry.
Her eyes blurred as she revealed “Kenji broke up with me.”
Darius gasped softly and instantly gathered her in his arms once again as a sharp sob escaped from her throat.
She didn’t know how much she spent crying in Darius’s arms as he whispered assurances and apologies in her ear but by the time she had let go, she was exhausted. Darius rubbed his hand up her arm “You feeling better?”
“A little.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
Exhaling slowly Brookynn shook her head, she was not ready to spill out everything just yet “Maybe tomorrow?”
Darius nodded “Of course, whatever you need.”
“Thanks Darius, I’m really glad I can always count on you.”
“Of course. I can always count on you too, so do you want the bed or the couch?”
Brooklynn shrugged, “It’s your place, I’ll take the couch.”
“Okay, you know where the blankets are so take as many as you like.” Darius informed her, quickly going to clean the couch and the coffee table beside it for her.
Brooklynn dropped her bag beside the couch and went to his hallway closet, which was stuffed with loads of blankets as it tended to be cold during the night in his cabin.
After grabbing more blankets than the normal person would need for a good night's sleep, Brooklynn returned to a clean couch with a pillow on it. She smiled softly as she knew Darius had made it up for her when she wasn’t looking.
“I’m taking my turn in the bathroom first, you can take your time after.” Darius called from the bathroom.
“Cool, thanks.”
After changing into her pjs and after she had her turn in the bathroom, Brooklynn was finally ready for bed. She flopped down against the couch and clutched the blankets for comfort, she could Darius on them.
And despite her heart aching from Kenji’s sour expression when he ended it, she buried her urge to cry again and just let herself rest with the calming thought that she wouldn’t be alone when she woke up in the morning.
The next morning, Brooklynn was generously gifted with Darius’s attempts of cooking pancakes. Despite surviving months on end on an island with dinosaurs, cooking was not on his impressive set of skills.
“I tried to make pancakes for my dad once with Brand and we almost had to call the fire department.” Darius admitted sheepishly as they looked down at the half burnt pancakes on the table.
“How do you feed yourself if you live alone?” Brooklynn asked as she poured them both a cup of coffee.
Darius shrugged “I get by, most of my meals are on the road with work.”
“Well, bad cooking is better than anything scavenged on Nublar, so hand me the maple syrup.”
Darius grinned and the pair began to cut up the pile, only eating what wasn’t burnt between them.
“So, how are you feeling today, any better?” Darius eventually asked.
“Yeah, thanks for cheering up.”
“Anytime, so wanna tell me what happened?” He asked gently.
Brooklyn took a deep breath “I think it’s been coming for a while.”
“The break up?”
“He said I was always a million miles away when we were together, he couldn’t be with me anymore.”
“He dumped you?”
“On top of one of his climbing mountains,” Brooklynn groaned “Talk about an awkward climb down,”
“I’m sorry B, that sucks. I wish I could make you feel better about it but I’ve never been dumped.”
Brooklynn smirked “Guess that demisexual lifestyle is working out for you huh?”
Darius sent her a smirk, and his expression quickly returned to concern “Seriously B, how are you doing with it all?”
He placed his hand over hers and she met his eyes, years of friendship that created an unbreakable, it made it so easy for Brooklynn to be open with Darius.
“I don’t know, I guess I feel.. I’m not completely heartbroken if that makes sense.”
“You’re not?”
“Is it bad I feel… kind of relieved. I’ve got so much on my plate right now that I can’t even think about what I’m going to do with Kenji. We work but maybe not the way I wanted us to.” Brooklynn revealed, they had both been so busy lately that even organising time together became harder and more of a chore then something they wanted to do.
“Maybe he feels that way too, he broke up with you. He wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t feel like it was best for you both.” Darius wondered gently.
“I just feel bad that he had to do it, I wasn’t there enough for him and after what he had lived through with his dad, I could have hurt him.”
“By not appreciating him?”
“He said we both changed and that not everyone can stick to a long relationship that started when we were teenagers. I always hoped that this- us growing and becoming different people wouldn’t affect our relationship, I guess I was wrong.”
“There’s nothing wrong with growing Brooklynn, you both have changed since nublar, it doesn’t make you less of a good person or has lessened how important you are to each other.”
“It feels different though.”
“How come?”
“What if this affects our friendship or the group's friendship, I don’t want anyone to take sides.”
He squeezed her hand gently “No one is going to take sides, we’re all way too close for that, we’ll be alright.”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime B.”
“Has he texted you or anything?”
Darius shook his head “We talk often enough but he doesn’t usually text me unless he’s spamming me with memes.”
Brooklynn rolled her eyes, that was how Kenji texted everyone unless it was in the groupchat.
“Okay, I was wondering if maybe he told you yet.”
“We’ll see, maybe he wants to be by himself for a while.”
“It seemed so when I left.”
“Does he know you’re here?”
Brooklynn shook her head “Nope, I told him I was leaving and he didn’t ask where I was going, just told me to stay safe.”
“I know he still cares, B, and maybe the space will give you both time to be friends again.”
Friends, Brooklynn could live with that, her heart still hurt but she did have hope she and Kenji could be friends. And in the meantime, she had Darius, the one she could always count on.
Darius didn’t ask Brooklynn how long she wanted to stay for, and after a week had passed, he didn’t want to.
She could do her work from anywhere so she got comfortable quickly. Sleeping on his couch, making them both coffee in the morning before Darius left for work, having dinner with him in the evening before they both retired to the couch to watch some tv before bed.
They quickly fell into a routine, a way better routine than their island days, Darius felt seriously lucky to spend time with Brooklynn like this.
Despite growing up and changing himself, he was right about one thing, their friendship and love shared within it hadn’t changed since the day they became friends.
Something did feel different though, but for some reason Darius couldn’t figure out what. He was usually smart so this was stumping him.
For one thing, he began to admire Brooklynn’s natural beauty that he used to, the way her short hair framed her face or how her eyes lit up from excitement when she figured something out on a case she was working on.
Or simply just how lighter he felt in her presence, talking with her, making her laugh, he woke up happy to do those things.
And while it was stupid back then, Darius could still remember the Nublar days when he felt he had a small crush on her but with the need to survive being so important he buried it instead of letting it grow.
Then she dated Kenji when they arrived on Mantah Corp island and that was that. Darius got over it and nothing had to change, she was always close by even with distance she kept in contact and brightened up his life.
Over the years Darius had kept a stash of cards with some inspirational wording that always had a metaphor of being a bright light or star. Brooklynn sent them for birthdays or achievements. His last one was from receiving a promotion from the DPW.
Brooklynn was someone who supported him constantly, it never faltered. She talked him through tough times despite having some tough times herself.
Brooklynn was one of the strongest people he knew, she never gave up and she didn’t let him give up either.
She was smarter than anyone else, incredible combat skills and had always shown a brave face. How could he not like her?
Brooklyn ended up really liking staying at Darius’s, living with him didn’t feel awkward or weird, they had already lived together once before so it wasn’t so new.
Granted that time was on an island with four other people present but Brooklynn didn’t find it strange. Brooklynn found herself almost too comfortable that she forgot she had her own place to eventually go back to. Truthfully escaping into Darius felt easier than going home to post Kenji’s things back to him.
She loved the routine they had adapted together, Darius wasn’t messy and he was a quiet roommate (when he wasn’t playing video games)
“Ow!”
Brooklynn looked up from her laptop to see Darius leaning against the door for support. He had just returned home and she was working on the kitchen table.
“What happened?”
“I almost broke my neck!” he said pouting, Brooklynn smiled as she thought how cute his little pout was “Aww, how?”
“Your shoe!” he exclaimed holding it up “Why are you always leaving shoes everywhere? And why did you pack three pairs?”
“Hey, I need three pairs, one was for rock climbing and one is for comfort and the other is a really good pair of boots.”
“And they're all on the ground as an accident waiting to happen.” Darius mumbled as he put her shoes away in the small corner where he had all his shoes.
“Whatever dino nerd, how was work today?”
“It was good, oh we found a baby stegosaurus in a kids petting zoo.”
Brooklynn stifled a laugh “Wow, was it a part of the attraction?”
“Nope,” Darius answered, taking a seat opposite her. “It was in the goat area, and we only got the call because some kid was begging to adopt her.”
Brooklynn laughed, she quickly closed her laptop and nudged “Well done dino nerd, you crushed a kid’s dream.”
He rolled his eyes playfully “How was your day?”
“It was alright, just did some online research for my case.”
“How's it going?”
“Pretty good,”
“I’m glad, you’re working hard B.”
Brooklynn returned his smile, his smile was sincere as was the genuine look in his eye, there wasn’t a bad bone in Darius’s body. Brooklynn always knew that, what was odd was that noticing it now made her feel like there was something in her stomach and her cheeks felt warm.
“Thanks, you too.”
“What do you wanna do for dinner? I think I have some ramen left.”
“I do like the sound of that.”
Darius got up and went to his pantry, before he could open it, his phone rang, and a familiar loud ringtone came from it.
“ITS K-K-K-KENJIIII! THE COOLEST BROTHER EVA, PICK UP THE PHONE!”
Darius rolled his eyes at the ringtone he clearly didn’t set and grabbed his phone from his pocket “Is it cool if I take this?”
“Of course, he’s your brother, you don’t need to ask.” Brooklynn assured him.
Darius nodded “Give me a sec.”
He headed to his bedroom and answered the phone “Hey Kenj, how’s life?”
Brooklynn sighed sadly as she looked away to give Darius his privacy, he left the door open so it was easy to listen if she wanted.
The thing was she didn’t know if she knew that was what she wanted. She had adjusted so much to her new arrangement with Darius that she just.. forgot what brought her here in the first place.
Breakups were hard and it was surprising to want to move on so quickly. Brooklynn had her own life and so did Kenji. It was a healthy thing that she didn’t care that he called Darius.
“Hey Kenj, how’s life?”
“Totally rad, my guy, how are you?” Kenji answered.
Darius cleared his throat “Oh you know me, just catching dinos left and right, totally chill.”
“6 years of friendship and you still can’t bro talk.”
“Sorry, I’m uh just trying not to be awkward I guess.”
“Why would things be- Oh.. she told you didn’t she?”
Darius could hear the sadness in his voice, while he tried to hide it at first Darius knew him too well to know it was there.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, how have you been doing?”
“I’m alright I guess, is that a bad thing?”
“No of course not, your feelings are valid Kenj, I’m glad you’re alright.”
“Thanks, I would have called sooner but I didn’t want to tell you right away, I know I ditched plans with you that week because B was visiting.”
“It’s all good, I got to see Brand so it’s not all bad.”
“Yeah, I called him last week, he’s doing well.”
“Yeah, he is, we should all try to meet up again sometime.”
“Dude of course, we’ll figure something out I’m sure of it.”
“Yeah, we will.”
“I have to go but I’m glad you picked up, I miss you.”
“Miss you Kenj.”
“Oh I know, I am the coolest man you know.”
“In Colorado yeah.”
“Ugh, just for that I’m hanging up first,”
“Don’t miss the button with your fake tears.”
“Bye Darius.”
And with that, Kenji was gone. Darius slightly chuckled as the call ended, it was good to hear him all light and full of jokes. Kenji didn’t call or text back when the breakup happened so Darius imagined he was hurting.
Darius had hope that Kenji and Brooklynn could heal and move on from their breakup, they would be friends again.
A slight hope lived in Darius, that when Brooklynn moved she could date someone else, someone who she got on well with and who she liked and more importantly someone who wouldn’t hurt her and understood her.
And a small voice in the back of his mind liked to wish that one day it would be him. He quickly turned back and headed to the kitchen.
While Darius was on the phone, Brooklynn quickly distracted herself by texting Yaz to hear how things were going.
B: Heyy, how’s Wyoming?
Y: Hey! Things are good, I just came out of a session.
Yaz was doing well, and it made Brooklynn smile, she was relieved to hear her friend was doing well. She wanted the best for her, for all of them.
B: How was the session?
Y: Eh, same as always, open and honest, but I think I’m making progress.
B: Progress is great Yaz, how are things with Sammy?
Y: We’re fine.
B: Fine?
Y: We haven’t talked much, and yk she’s busy.
B: Alright, but if you both ever need a camp fam girl adventure you know where to find me!
Y: Oh yeah?
B: Yep!
Y: Did you not go to Darius’s after VIP dumped u
B: I did
B: But I can come to Wyoming
Y: Okay weirdo just stay safe alright
B: Aww when am I not safe?
Y: I think of 1000 examples for you alone
B: And to think I was nice to you :/
Y: Serious tho B, how r u after things w Kenj ending?
B: I’m alright,
Y: Six years together, and ur just alright?
B: Surprisingly, yeah
Y: Is there something more concerning I should know ?
B: Like what?
Y: Like if I called Darius right now, he can tell me you’re alright and not having a complete breakdown
B: He’s talking to Kenj on the phone rn
Y: So I should call him later ?
B: Do whatever you want, I’m okay
Y: Why did you go to Darius’s anyway? I would have been happy to let you stay with me, Wyoming isn’t too far from Colorado
Brooklynn hesitated on her reply, Yaz had a point, Wyoming was a lot closer than California was when she left Kenji’s place. When Brooklynn got on the road, she didn’t think, she just knew she wanted to see Darius.
He was the first one that came to her mind, not her Dads, not Yaz or Sammy or anyone else, just Darius. Why was that?
B: Idk I missed the guy, the world doesn’t spin unless he’s in your ear telling a dino fact you didn’t ask for ig
Y: Ur weird
B: ily too
Y: Whatever, I'm glad you’re not alone in what you’re going through, there’s nothing wrong with moving on. If this is why you’re okay after the breakup w Kenji, then I’m glad, you and D deserve to be happy together
B: Wdym by that?
Y: By what
B: Happy together???
Y: R u guys not dating...
B: WHY WOULD WE
Y: Idk man ur weird
B: WTF YAZ
Y: Well maybe I’m wrong but ur both v close and I just wondered since you drove so many hours just to see him
B: He’s my friend!
Y: If u say so
B: Yazzzzz
Y: Have fun shacking up ;)
Brooklynn groaned, what was she on about? Her and Darius were just friends. Why on earth would Yaz ever think otherwise?
She began to type out a good comeback when she looked up and noticed Darius had re-entered the room, she closed her phone and turned to face him as he took a seat again.
“Is Kenji doing okay?” she asked, trying to seem composed.
Darius nodded “He seems alright, is that the answer you want?”
“Of course, I want him to be happy.”
“You okay? you seem annoyed.”
Brooklynn studied his expression, she could read him so easily, he was curious and looked relieved for some reason, she guessed his convo with Kenji was good and that Kenji was doing well, if not Darius would be wearing his cute worry frown.
“I’m fine, Yaz is just getting on my nerves and in my head.” Brooklynn answered honestly.
“What happened?”
“She’s just…” Brooklynn trailed off with a sigh, how could she explain this to him without sounding weird.
“She’s in my head, about how I’m dealing with the split from Kenj.”
“Anything I can do?”
She met his eyes and found nothing but sincerity in them, the same pure sincerity that made her heart pound 100 times faster than usual.
“Nah, don’t worry about it.”
“You sure?”
She nodded, “Yeah, thanks.”
“Okay, well I don’t know about you but I could use some take out.”
“What happened to the ramen?”
“One packet won’t feed both of us and I don’t wanna share.”
“You’ve been sharing your food with me for weeks.”
“Yeha, but one packet between two makes me feel like I’m rationing food.” Darius huffed, Brooklynn nodded then, understanding immediately.
“Then pass me a menu, I wanna see what my options are.”
“Yeah, we do need to pick it up though,” Darius explained as he handed her a menu.
“Why?”
“Delivery isn’t gonna find me out here in the middle of nowhere,”
“Fair enough,” She agreed before gazing at the menu to see what was appealing, her conversation slowly going to the back of her mind, not long forgotten just sealed gently with a lid.
A while later, Brooklynn found herself standing with Darius at his favourite restaurant, waiting for their order to be collected. They waited patiently casually chatting and making jokes to get the other to laugh.
“Well, you two are adorable together,”
Brooklynn blinked, in front of her was an older woman smirking in Darius’s direction.
“Uhm thanks Dani,” Darius answered blushing slightly, Brooklynn held her arms around herself as she tried not to make any eye contact, her face felt hot almost like she was blushing at Dani’s comment.
“Here’s your order, Darius, you didn’t tell us you were getting dinner for your girlfriend, or that you had one? You keeping secrets from us?” Dani quipped as she handed Darius their food.
Darius’s blush deepened and Brooklynn cleared her throat.
“Oh, thank you but we’re not-” Brooklynn began nervously.
“Definitely not-” Darius finished.
“We’re just friends.” Brooklynn confirmed,
“The best of friends,” Darius chuckled nervously, avoiding eye contact with everyone. “I’m gonna grab some napkins now.”
Brooklynn nodded as Darius walked away, she was left with the nice waitress alone. “Darius comes here often, he’s such a nice boy.”
“Yeah,” Brooklyn agreed, her eyes drifting to Darius “He’s the best.” she added quietly.
“You two do look sweet together, I never saw him smile the way he did with you just now.”
Brooklynn whipped her head around to face the woman again “What do you mean?”
“I mean if he’s not your boyfriend, maybe he oughta be.” Dani suggested.
“W-why would you say that?” Brooklynn asked, ignoring the blush on her cheeks.
Dani simply smirked “I could be wrong but it was hard to believe you two were just friends, the way you both look at each other.. I know adoration when I see it.”
“I mean yeah I admire Darius but we’ve been friends for a really long time.”
“You never felt anything else for him?”
Brooklynn blinked, taken aback by the question, she never looked at Darius that way before or maybe she had but she was with Kenji so she never spared it a second thought, she and Darius had always been close but that was purely friendship.. Right?
Yaz’s implications started to come back to her mind, what she wanted to ask and what she thought was happening, she had to be wrong.
But deep down though, Brooklynn knew her friendship with Darius never matched the friendships she shared and treasured with Ben, Yaz and Sammy.
“Got the napkins, are we ready to go?” Darius’s reappearance had pulled her from her thoughts, Brooklynn simply nodded “Yeah, totally, let’s get outta here.”
After the quick drive back to the cabin. Brooklynn and Darius quickly took out their food, ready to head inside and eat it when Darius suddenly gazed up at the sky.
Brooklynn silently followed his eyes and looked up, the sky was full of stars, it was a beautiful sight.
“Hey, are you cold?” Darius asked then, Brooklynn looked back at him “No. Why?”
“What do you say to a late night picnic?”
Brooklynn gave a sceptical look but Darius simply smirked at her “We can eat at the back of my truck, all we need is cutlery, I’ll go grab some if you set up and I’ll grab some blankets if we do get cold.”
Brooklynn chuckled as Darius gave his take out bag and raced inside, deciding to put her feelings away and just enjoy herself, after safely putting the food down on the front seat she went pull the back of the truck down so they could climb up on it.
Darius came back a few moments later with cutlery, sodas from his fridge, pillows and three blankets. He set the pillows against the backseat window and then one blanket to sit on before climbing up while Brooklynn handed him their food.
She climbed up to join him and sat by his side, devouring their food as they chatted the night away, barely breathing from laughter every time something funny was said. Brooklynn wasn’t entirely what it was about Darius that made her feel so free and alive after a hard time but she did know she didn’t want it to end.
She just wondered if Darius ever questioned the feelings behind their bond. Yaz seemed to be determined to think it was some kind of budding romance between them and so did that waitress Dani.
But they were just witnesses, they weren’t her or Darius, they had assumptions not answers and Brooklynn loved finding answers. Looking at Darius now, as he threw a blanket over them both and started talking about stars, Brooklynn needed to talk to him about this now.
“Darius?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know I came here?”
He turned to her “To vent about Kenji.” he guessed
“Not just that. I mean why I came to you.”
“Same answer still applies… or not?”
Brooklynn frowned, sighing slightly, her feelings were so easily trapped inside that it was hard to get them out. “I just… you’re my best friend Darius, I needed you.”
He smiled and little by little, his smiles cure her heart from all the darkness in her life.
“I think we’ll always need each other.” Darius revealed.
“It just feels like you and I have been close since that day we stuck in that gyrosphere together and I know you and Kenji have been closer than we have been because you two are brothers but… I needed my best friend. You’re my bright light when I don’t fight the darkness alone.” Brooklynn confessed, using everything in her power to look away from his eyes, it was easier to let things out when there wasn’t a pair of eyes staring back.
A moment of silence passed and then Brooklynn felt Darius’s arm around her, he pulled her close to his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
“You won’t be alone. And I feel it too, we’ve been through a lot together, you and I will always have each other.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I’d follow you anywhere too B, always will.”
Brooklynn inhaled slowly, breathing in his scent, letting herself rest on his chest, it was like a familiar feeling entered her heart, one that she hadn’t felt in a long time.
It was like home.
The stars lit up the sky and the light from the cabin had made everything seem brighter in the dark night, Darius could navigate his surroundings easily.
But with a beautiful sea of stars up above to keep attention, Darius found his gaze being solely focused on the girl right next to him.
After pulling Brooklynn close, she clung to him, unwilling to let go and soon after they fell into silence. Brooklynn looked tired and worried recently. He knew she was working hard and he was proud of her for that. He was glad she joined him outside to give her a bit of a break.
“The stars look so clear from here.” Brooklynn then murmured, Darius quickly looked away “Uh yeah, totally.”
“Didn’t think I’d ever get a view like this since Nublar.”
“Cept this view doesn’t involve a pteranodon.”
Brooklyn snickered, “Yeah, did Ben tell you there’s some around his campus.”
“Nope, what about ‘em?”
“One of them stole a first year's bag and flew off with it.”
Darius chuckled and then tried to hide it “Oh wow that’s-”
“It’s okay Dino nerd, I laughed too.”
“Ben didn’t?”
“No, probably because he knows if he’s not careful one of them will snatch his dork pouch.”
Darius snickered, “That and he knows how dangerous they are.”
Brooklynn nodded then, her smile slightly disappearing “Sorry, that probably brought down the mood.”
“It’s fine, we all know how dangerous they are, and if we can’t laugh about it we’ll cry.”
“I know.”
Darius looked up to the sky again “I wonder why they went after a backpack though, maybe they resorted to stealing a long time ago,”
“Oh here we go.” Brooklynn groaned.
“What?”
“I can’t tell you any dinosaur stories without you coming up with a behavioural theory or a fact.”
“I’m just telling it like it is.” Darius replied quietly with a defensive tone.
Brooklynn cackled “I know, but you can never help it.”
“Are you complaining? Because I’m more than sure my facts have saved your life a few dozen times.”
Brooklynn folded her arms “Touche,”
Darius smiled and Brooklynn laid her head on his shoulder letting her eyes wander back up to the sky, Darius dropped his gaze back to her face.
Her lit up eyes, her small crooked smile and her sweet nose, she was just-
“Pteranodons or not, I would still say nothing beats this view, it’s breathtaking.”
“Yeah, it is.” Darius agreed, not talking about the sky, his heart beating a thousand times a minute and his cheeks warm and red.
He wasn’t expecting this, this warm fuzzy feeling in his chest and the thousand butterflies in his stomach when he was around her. He couldn’t escape it or her.
She was always around, filling in a gap in his life he didn’t know he had. And whether or not he admitted it to himself, Darius was in love with her.
The silly game of love had gambled on Darius and it had won.
Darius was acting weird. Brooklynn was a very observant person, so she noticed changes easily in something.
Lately she had noticed a change in Darius, since that day he got a call from Kenji, the day he acted differently.
He was becoming stiff with her, he barely talked during breakfast and he spent his evening in his room instead of on the couch with her.
Brooklynn tried not to let it bother her, if he wanted privacy he could have just said so instead of shutting her out.
But something was nagging at her to find what was going on. She had a working theory, the day Kenji called him they went to get take out and that waitress thought they were a couple.
That couldn’t be what was bothering him was it? Unless he was bothered about the amount they were spending together.
Brooklyn knew her stay wasn’t forever and that Darius wouldn’t kick her out. But he had been avoiding her, maybe he wanted some space and didn’t know how to ask for it.
“Hey, are you busy right now?”
Brooklynn looked up, her train of thought slowing down as Darius stood in front of her.
“No, why is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just need to go food shopping, do you wanna come with me?”
Brooklynn’s worry faded a little, she smiled “Sure,”
Darius nodded, he grabbed his keys and coat. “Alright, I have bags already in my truck so if you’re ready let's go.”
“Okay, I need to find my shoes.”
“Check the middle of the floor and try not to trip.”
Brooklynn chuckled, it was good to hear him making jokes again, she hadn’t realised until now he hadn’t made one all week.
They pair arrived at the grocery shop in no time. It was a small one but it seemed to have everything essential.
“Okay, do we need any vegetables?” Darius asked, Brooklynn shrugged “Did you make a list?”
“No,”
“Then how should I know?”
“Okay, do you want any?”
“Duh, now I can teach you how to mince them.”
“I don’t need cooking lessons.”
“You do, and if I was still doing my web channel I would make a video unboxing Darius’s hidden cooking skills.”
Darius cackled “How many views would that get you.”
“A couple million but I know the comments will have four particular people enjoying it.”
Darius smiled “Yeah, man I can’t remember the last time we had a camp fam meetup.”
“It was a few months ago, before college started for Ben and Yaz. We met up at a diner just outside california.”
“Oh yeah, man that was ages ago.”
“Well you know how life is, we can't always meet up.”
Darius’s eyes grew sad then. “Yeah, sometimes it makes me miss the safe moments on nublar.”
Brooklynn’s heart squeezed with nostalgia, as much of a relief it was to leave all the islands behind, there were treasurable moments on there that she wouldn’t think twice of reliving.
Her and Darius called them the safe moments, moments in that time where they were just kids hanging out and no one or nothing could pull them apart.
They had a lot of time to adjust to life after, but it wasn’t enough to fully heal, especially when they barely had 3 years dino free before some rich douchebags brought the dinosaurs to the mainland.
And some dinos that pop up around aren’t from nublar so it's clear there are people out there making more. It’s only a matter of time before they’re stopped or killed by their own creations.
“Speaking of, want some frozen pizza?” Darius asked then, interrupting her train of thought,
“Yes please,” Brooklynn replied, eager to actually cook the pizza to eat it properly.
The shopping trip ended up being more fun than Brooklynn thought it would be, Darius wasn’t avoiding her anymore it seemed.
She wanted it to stay that way, they were best friends, she could respect that he needed personal space, she did too but being straight up avoided sucked.
Kenji already made it clear he needed space and she didn’t want to mess up with things with Darius too.
The pair had packed their food in the back of Darius’s truck ready to go when a loud stomp could be heard in the distance.
Darius stood still waiting to see if he could hear anything more. Brooklynn came to his side “What do you think that was?” she whispered quietly.
“Something big, and near.” Darius answered, as another stomp was heard, a low grumble as well.
“Has there been carnivore sightings near here?”
“Not really but, there’s always a first for everything.” Darius mumbled as the stomps began to get closer, it wouldn’t be long before it came here. The shop had bright lighting. No way a carnivore nearby would steer clear with humans around in a bright area.
“We need to leave then.”
“I’m DPW, I have to call for backup, you get back into the truck, get home safely, I’ll warn everyone else in the shop.”
“You’re nuts if you think I’m leaving without you.”
“You’re a civilian, I’m not risking your life.” Darius said stubbornly, he quickly reached into the truck for his tranq and handed Brooklynn the keys before he could say anything else, the dinosaur nearby revealed itself.
A large familiar head poked through the trees and a menacing screech was heard, it was a baryonyx, an old friend from Nublar, Chaos
Brooklynn flinched and Darius gapped “Get inside now.”
“And what? If I tell anyone to run they’ll become her dinner.”
“My radio’s in my pocket, grab it and call for help while I try to tranq her.”
Brooklynn nodded and grabbed it, she quickly backed away while the baryonyx was distracted and was aiming for Darius. Her jaw opened wide and snapped, but Darius was fast, he moved to narrowly avoid getting bitten. Brooklyn carefully moved away, quietly hiding by the truck as Darius began tranqing Chaos.
She turned on the DPW radio “Help, I’m requesting DPW to my current location, a small grocery shop in the california mountains, I’m with Darius Bowman one of your DPW workers, we have a baryonyx, a predator here and need help to evacuate it away.”
She let out a relieved sigh as a response was heard almost immediately “Copy that, DPW is on their way, gathering location coordinates from the radio.”
“You guys track each other?”
Before she could hear a reply, a piece of drool fell from above her, Brooklynn tensed and slowly looked up to see Chaos hovering above her, a low grumble coming her throat.
Brooklynn flinched for a second before quickly scrambling away as Chaos attempted to chomp down on her, a small whimper escaped her throat as Chaos got stuck between someone’s parked van and the wall of the shop.
It sneered at her direction and Brooklynn left around for anything to defend herself with. Chaos screeched then and Brooklynn spotted two tranq’s in her torso.
Roaring loudly Chaos moved up and forced the van away before charging forward at Brooklynn, she flinched before someone grabbed her arm and moved her away, Darius stood before her and tranqed Chaos once again.
“GO GO GO!” Darius called, Brooklynn got to her feet and ran towards the entrance of the shop, Darius trailed behind her and they both almost made it in before Chaos caught up to them, they crashed to the ground as Chaos broke through the glass doors and started snapping her jaw at them. Her body had slammed to the ground but she was still somewhat awake, Brooklynn spotted three tranqs in her torso, but it obviously wasn’t affecting Chaos as much as it should have.
“What the fuck? Darius, why aren’t your tranqs working?”
“My tranqs aren’t strong enough, they’re only making her woozy.”
“WHO LED A DINOSAUR INTO MY SHOP!” An angry man yelled from behind the shop counter.
Darius got to his feet. “Everyone remain calm, my friend here has called DPW, they’re sending help, just stay away from the door until now.”
“Why should we listen to you?” A civilian asked.
“I'm from DPW, so I had my radio on me to call for help.” Darius explained as Brooklynn stood up herself.
“Why didn’t ya kill that thing then?” the civilian man asked, Darius winced “My tranq’s aren’t strong enough.”
The man scoffed “DPW is useless,”
Brooklynn rolled her eyes “Alright leave him alone, he’s tryna help.”
“And he isn’t helping.”
Brooklynn glared at the man “Hey, if it wasn’t for Darius being here that thing over there would have broken in and could have caused serious damage.”
The man glared back for a half a second before backing off “Whatever, now I’m gonna be late gettin back home for the game.”
Brooklynn sighed, this night was becoming tiring. She turned back to see Darius watching her, she gave him a half smile “You didn’t have to do that, not everyone is as good with dinos as we are, he could just be freaking out.”
“I get that, but you helped, you shouldn’t have to put up with him being rude because this dino ruined his day.”
“I’m okay B.”
Brooklynn leaned her arm on his shoulder “Thanks for saving me though.”
“Anytime,” he responded, glancing at her before returning his gaze to the half conscious dinosaur.
“It's a good thing we ran out of food, if not Chaos would have hurt someone or worse.” Darius murmured.
“Yeah, well I’m surprised you even let me tag along,”
Darius turned to her “What?”
“You’ve kinda been avoiding me all week, is something going on?”
“No! W-why would there be anything wrong?” Darius replied hastily, his cheeks slightly blushing.
“Darius, did I do something?”
“No.” He was quick to reassure her, but Brooklynn couldn’t help feeling like he was still hiding something.
“I’m sorry, I was super busy this week and I wasn’t in the mood to hang out, I never meant to ignore you.” Darius apologised, Brooklynn exhaled and placed her hand on his shoulder “It’s okay, you’re allowed personal space, I was the one who invaded your home.”
“I’m not saying I want you to leave, you’re welcome to stay for as long as you want.”
“I know but maybe I should start thinking about going.”
Darius frowned “B, if that’s what you want, that’s okay but if you’re doing it because you think I want space, then don’t. I love having you around, I mean it.”
Brooklynn pulled him into a hug “I’m glad we cleared this up, I don’t know when I’ll move out but is it okay if it’s not anytime soon.”
Darius quickly returned the hug “It’s completely okay.”
As they pulled apart, Brooklynn couldn’t help but return his sweet smile. There was a sweet small moment where Brooklynn had forgotten about the baryonyx, the other people in the shop and everything but the eyes staring right back at hers.
That was until the sound of a vehicle pulled up, Darius moved away to the nearest window and smiled a little.
“It’s DPW.”
Brooklynn let out a sigh of relief “Great.”
“Everything’s going to be okay guys,” Darius announced to the people in the shop.
“Tell that to my broken door,” the shop owner huffed. Darius and Brooklynn shared an awkward glance.
Chaos was quickly fully tranqed by the DPW officers and evacuated into a truck, everyone was eager to head out.
Darius seemed happy to see who had been called to the scene “Ronnie! Hey,”
“Darius,” A DPW worker. Ronnie replied happily before the two quickly fist bumped before Darius turned back to Brooklynn.
“B, this is my boss Ronnie, Ronnie, this is my best friend Brooklynn.”
Ronnie smiled in her direction “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Brooklynn responded as she shook Ronnie’s hand.
“I didn’t realise one of your nublar six friends was around Darius, you should have introduced us sooner.”
Darius chuckled “Brooklynn happens to be busy too, but I’d be happy to bring her along sometime.”
“Really?” Brooklynn asked “You want me to help you out,”
He smirked at her “What? We’re a good team, I couldn’t have tranqed Chaos without you.”
“Chaos?” Ronnie asked, Brooklynn and Darius laughed “Oh, Chaos is the baryonyx, our friend Sammy named her that when we first met her on Nublar.”
“Oh yeah, we found 1 in a cage at a medical station for dinos and then 2 more showed up, they were a family of 3, Chaos, Grim and Limbo.”
“Wow, you guys took on three of them?” Ronnie asked, clearly impressed, Darius flashed her a smile “Yeah, but we wouldn’t have survived without each other.”
Brooklynn met his eyes, they shared a look that spoke without words, each knowing what it meant, they were grateful to have each other and they knew Darius’s words were true. They would have stood a chance without each other.
“Well, as survivors I’d say you are welcome to join us Brooklynn, but I will have to check with my boss if it’s alright, you are still a civilian Brooklynn. It is against the rules to let you work with us without the proper training.”
“Pfft, she had more training than you.” Darius scoffed, Ronnie have him a quick look and the smirk on his face vanished.
Brooklynn chuckled “It’s okay Darius, I’m sure Ronnie can figure something out.”
Ronnie rolled her eyes “In the meantime, you should head home, it’s getting late and we can take things from here.”
Darius nodded “Right, let’s go.”
“It was nice to meet you,” Brooklynn said quickly before she and Darius got back into his truck and headed back to his cabin.
Darius stared the ceiling as he heard the rain patter against his bedroom window, the night evening ended up being exhausting than he had anticipated, a shopping trip turned into a baryonyx attack.
Luckily no one was injured, but it was still terrifying, Brooklynn was almost eaten until he tranqed Chaos a third time and distracted her.
If he had run out of tranqs or didn’t get there in time, who knows what could have happened. Truthfully, he was just glad she got out of there alive.
The past week was a mix of emotions, ever since that night on his truck, Darius had a realisation, a stupid silly foolish realisation.
His crush on Brooklynn wasn’t going to go, no matter how much he thought logically he should, because she was his brother’s ex.
He had fallen in love and there was nothing he could do about it. Brooklynn would never feel the same way. He avoided her during the week to try to move on, find some escape from these feelings, taking over his heart consumed by the girl who was now living with him.
All he wanted was to be around her but he didn’t want the feelings to grow when there was no way of them being returned.
He could have lost her tonight and that was somehow more terrifying than any consequences of him facing his feelings for Brooklynn.
Darius pulled a pillow over his face and groaned into it. As tired as he was from the night's events, he couldn’t sleep. He quietly got up to grab a glass of water that might help him sleep.
As he exited his bedroom, he found Brooklynn still awake. She was standing by the window in her pjs, looking out at the rain in front of her.
The moonlight almost made her look like a silhouette, she looked beautiful. Darius almost didn’t want to disturb her.
He gently walked to the kitchen and filled up his glass, it was quiet enough to catch her attention without startling her.
Her head turned in his direction and she smiled a little “Hey,”
“Hey, you okay?”
She nodded, “Yeah, I just can’t sleep.”
He walked over to her, gazing out at the rain with her “I get that, tonight was scary.”
“I forget how terrifying it can be.”
“Just because we survived a lot at a young age doesn’t make it any less scary at this age.”
“I can’t believe we actually ran into a familiar face.”
“Yeah, it brings back memories.”
“Gyrosphere and Sinoceratops memories,” Brooklynn joked as Darius put his glass down and wrapped his arms around her, she crumbled into his embrace and Darius silently inhaled her scent.
He knew it was selfish, but he wanted to hold her forever, cause at this moment, they were both safe and nothing was out to get them.
“Thanks Darius, you always know how to make me feel better.”
“No problem, I’m here for you.”
She pulled away then and he met her eyes, in the rainy moonlight her eyes shined and Darius gently moved some of her hair behind her ear.
Her gaze was piercing and it felt magnetically drawn to it, like he was being told to go for it and close the gap between them.
“Brookynn I-”
She stood closer to him, almost like she was leaning in too “What?” she whispered.
“Are you really gonna make me say it?” he asked, ‘Are you really gonna make me tell you I love you when I think you might already know.’
“I’m not telling you to stop.” she whispered and Darius’s hand stayed on her cheek, a red blush on her face.
He closed his eyes, letting every doubt fall away, he leaned in and-
CRACK
A flash of lightning pulled them apart, Darius almost yelped and Brookynn squeezed his shirt “Oh my god, I completely forgot there was a storm tonight.” she muttered.
“You and me both,” he responded.
She looked up at him and cleared her throat. Despite her tough act, he could tell she was still scared.
“You can stay with me tonight, if you want.” Darius offered quietly.
Brooklynn hummed “You sure?”
“Might be easier to sleep if we know we’re not alone.”
“Yeah, is that okay?”
“Course, c’mon, you need a good night's sleep before you can kick ass on whatever new case you’re working on.”
Brooklynn scoffed, she grabbed her blanket before Darius led her to the bedroom, the pair climbed in with ease.
It felt less lonely and somehow warmer with Brooklynn with him Darius could drift off easily now, he turned his head to find her staring at him.
“Night Dino nerd.”
“Night superstar.”
Brooklynn smiled at him once more before closing her eyes, Darius’s heart lurched with longing, he kept mentally reminding himself that they were just friends.
Just friends. He almost kissed the girl he was supposed to be just friends with, nice one Darius.
Darius quietly listened to the sounds of the rain against his window again, it was mixed with the sounds of Brooklynn’s sleepy breathing.
As he turned away to keep himself from staring, he quietly sighed “I love you,” he whispered, knowing well that she wouldn’t hear.
When the next day arrived, things began to change again and not for the better. Brooklynn seemed to get more and more engrossed in her work than usual. Darius kept to his promise and stopped actively avoiding her.
But they did just get busier and Darius hoped this would help him get over his feelings, that was the plan at least.
Until one night, he arrived home late and she was sitting alone at the kitchen “Hey,”
“Hey,”
“Can we talk for a few minutes?” Brooklynn asked, Darius sat opposite her “Course, what's’ goin on?”
She took his hand. “I just wanted to let you know I’m going to move out soon.”
“Oh,” His heart dropped a little, but he shouldn’t have been surprised, she wasn’t planning on staying forever.
“I just- I have so much work to do and I need to go back to my place.”
Darius nodded “It’s okay B, you don’t have to explain yourself to me, I get it.”
“I had a great time here, thank you so much.”
Darius smiled, “You’re welcome anytime.”
She returned his smile “So uhm, about the other night.”
Worry grew in his stomach, they hadn’t discussed anything about that night, not the morning after when they woke up in the same bed or any day following.
“What about it?” Darius asked cautiously.
“I was scared, the storm and the attack just brought back some unwanted memories from nublar and you were there, I’m glad you’re here for me.”
Darius nodded “I will always be here for you, B.”
“You’re a great friend Darius.”
“What else would I be?”
Darius hated how much this stung, he hadn’t planned on telling her but now he was certain he never would and he was right. There was no way she’d feel the same way.
Despite the ache in his heart, he didn’t hold a grudge and he hoped this would give him closure, he could move on.
As if he would ever find anyone better than her would be a giant longshot that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Brooklynn was happy. And right now, chasing leads and uncovering mysteries made her happy.
The next few days became a bit of a blur, he helped Brooklynn pack up her things. And when the time came. He had to watch her go.
With her car packed up and ready to go. They stood at the porch of his cabin, and she wrapped him in one more hug.
“I’m still here for you, call me whenever you need something.”
He returned her hug “I will.”
She pulled away “Pick the phone once in a while alright, I might still need your help.”
He chuckled, “Of course, now drive safe.”
She headed to the car “Later Dino nerd.”
“Later superstar.”
Brooklynn had wished she never heard it, the silent confession that Darius never had the guts to tell her for real. When she got to her apartment, she realised how much Darius’s place felt like home. Her heart ached with the urge to text him again.
She opened her phone again, the screen showing her the smiling faces of the entire camp fam, they were what family felt like. The past couple weeks with Darius felt slightly different somehow, their bond only deepened during that time. They had spent countless nights laughing, reliving memories and opening up old wounds that would never fully heal. Darius was her light in the darkness, she never wants that light to go out.
Despite the depth her relationship with Kenji held, her heart still reached for Darius and the idea of letting it go as far as he wanted it to, it scared her. So she had to go.
Knowing he felt the same way was both a blessing and a curse, they could have been something but it was too soon, Kenji didn't deserve to be betrayed again. She hurt him enough.
Brooklynn was already regretting leaving but her work was calling her and she had to stick to it. She didn't have time for boy problems. Besides, it wasn’t goodbye forever, Darius was always the one place she could go.
Late evening weeks later.
Camp Fam Group chat
Brooklynn: Guys has anyone heard from Darius?
Yaz: No, why?
Brooklynn: He was supposed to meet me tonight and he’s not answering!
Sammy: Maybe he’s busy
Ben: Send him at least 50 dino images and then he’ll respond
Brooklynn: this isn’t a joke Ben, I need him to pick up now
Kenji: I’ll try him
Brooklynn: thx
Kenji: 👍:)
Sammy: So how r yall
Ben: good
Yaz: good
Sammy: aren’t yall descriptive
Kenji: emos
Ben: 😡
Brooklynn: he’s still not picking up
Brooklynn: im actually gonna kill him
Yaz: lol
Ben: I’ll try him again for you
Kenji: he hasn’t returned any of my calls today
Sammy: weird
Brooklynn: Very weird Sammy. He knows this is important, he said he’d be here!
Many chats and hours later.
Darius: hey guys sorry for going mia
Ben: HE SPEAKS
Yaz: surprised brooklynn let him live
Sammy: I hope ur okay D
Darius: I’m not really
Darius: I can’t explain over text but there’s been an emergency so I need everyone here now, I can explain in person.
Kenji: I’ll be there
Ben: I’ll call a cab now.
Yaz: Darius, do you need any of us to call you?
Darius: no just get here.
Yaz: Darius, what happened?
Darius: I’m so sorry.
The End.