WANTED // Sapnap X Reader

11

The wooden steps creaked in rhythm as you wearily wandered upstairs, the soles of your feet aching slightly after a dinner rush spent alternating between pouring your heart and soul into the piano and helping Anne carry plates and plates of food and drinks out of the kitchens to distribute them among the patrons. 

It wasn't uncommon for the trudge upstairs to be a little achy after a long night (like most nights were). Cigarette smoke hung around you like a haze from the sheer excess of it that hovered around the saloon. As you made your way up to the attic, you carried two plates in hand - one for you, one for Sapnap. 

You were looking forward to dinner for more reasons than one. A hot meal would feel nice before bed, and hopefully, you could get Sapnap to open up somewhat over dinner. 

Approaching the door, you shifted both plates over to one arm so that you could open the door, sliding inside. The room was a little too hot - not surprising though after the house sat in the sun all day. Inside, Sapnap was still sprawled on the bed. He took up almost the entire mattress, spread out like a starfish, just absently looking up at the ceiling. His eyes darted over to you when the door opened though, lighting up. 

"Hello." You greeted with a tired smile, setting the plates down on top of the dresser that sat against the wall between the two beds. "I brought dinner."

Sapnap sat up, rolling himself into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The ice that you had wrapped around his ankle earlier in the day was gone now. He had taken it off at some point, setting the waterlogged bag aside. "Thank god." He said, a joking grin making its way onto his face. "I thought I was going to rot away up here in the heat."

"You could have cracked a window." You said, reaching over to push one of the panels open. "Er- actually, I don't know if you could have reached over from the bed. I should have opened it before I left this afternoon."

"It's alright." Sapnap said. "I'm used to the heat."

You pushed the propped the panel open, letting a a stream of cooling evening air stream into the room. You plopped back down on your bed, sighing happily as your back hit the mattress. For a moment, you just sprawled out, letting your spine realign from being hunched over the piano all day. It was only when you heard the scrape of Sapnap pulling his plate off the dresser that you sat back up, grabbing your own.

Sapnap dug right in, stabbing his fork into the tender meat without even bothering to cut it into bite size pieces (even though you had brought a knife). He ate like an animal, and if it was anyone else you would have looked away. Instead, you laughed, cutting into your own dinner before you popped a piece in your mouth. 

Sapnap glanced up at your giggles, swallowing. "What?"

"I brought you a knife, you know." You said. "You know how to use one, right?"

Sapnap blinked down at his plate, and the untouched knife laying on the edge. For a moment, he just looked down at it, but then he was sheepishly picking the utensil up, cutting into the meat of his dinner that still remained. Sapnap ducked his head, and you could see that his ears were bright red.

You stifled your giggles by taking another bite, not wanting to make fun of him too much. 

"Sorry." He muttered softly. "I get excited about food. I didn't have a lot of it growing up." 

"Oh." You said, mood dropping suddenly. "I'm sorry."

"S'nothing for you to be sorry about." Sapnap said, taking another big bite. "We did our best with what we had. The ranch wasn't much but we were able to make ends meet most years."

"A ranch, huh?" You asked. 

Sapnap grinned, wide and bright. "Yeah - I love it there. Wide open fields as far as the eye can see, animals roaming around... you could ride for miles and not find anyone else out there. It was just you and the wind and the occasion bird passing by."

"What kind of animals did you raise?" You asked, curious for more details. You hadn't seen a light like this in his eyes before - it was obvious just by looking at him that he really loved his home.

"Cattle, mostly." Sapnap said. "We had a couple horses too though, and a foal was just about to be born when-" He stopped suddenly, cutting himself off with an abrupt cough. His eyes slipped away from yours, sliding over to the sun setting outside the open window. 

You didn't say anything, simply finishing off your plate while Sapnap did the same, the conversation that had been going. Your mind raced - rolling over what little new information he had let slip in your head. He had lived on a ranch, and from the way he talked about it, you could tell he'd really loved it. You could have guessed that on your own though - he seemed the type to like a wide open space. 

When you finished your plate you stood, reaching out for Sapnap's empty dish as well. When he handed it to you, he didn't meet your eyes. 

Taking a breath, you spoke. "I don't want to make you skittish, and you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want, but just know that I'm not going to say anything to anyone. I don't think anyone besides the people who live here even know you're holing up here to heal."

Sapnap's eyes slid to yours again, this time calculating. 

"I understand you might not want to talk about where you were runnin' from-"

He interrupted you softly. "My name's Nick. My first name."

You blinked at the soft admission, a smile coming over your face. "Alright Nick." You said. "I'll be right back up after I bring the plates down."