OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

thirty-five.

FEBRUARY, 1991, OLYMPIA, WA

        REAGAN AWOKE TO the feeling of someone spreading kisses along her face. She could feel soft traces of a familiar pair of lips, caressing her forehead, cheeks, and eyelids as she squirmed beneath the sheets that she was tucked snugly into.

"Mhm," she mumbled, not yet having decided if she was satisfied to have been woken up in this way. When she finally opened her eyes, squinting against the sleep that was clouding her vision, she made out the lines of Dave's face leaning over her.

"Hi," he whispered. He looked as equally tired as she did, his eyes rimmed with faint rings of purple.

"You're up early," she remarked, though it came out as muted grumble. Reagan had yet to barely process that she was even awake, let alone that Dave was hovering over her.

"I know. We've got another studio session booked today. I wanted to see you before we head out."

"Couldn't you have seen me without waking me up?" Reagan groaned, rolling over so that she could stuff her face into the pillow her head had been resting on. In a surprising turn of events, it was she who had the day off for once.

"I guess, but then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of annoying you."

Dave took Reagan halfway into his arms, squeezing her as she hid her face from him. It did not take much of an effort to finally get a giggle out of her. The feeling of him kissing along her bare shoulders and tickling her skin with his warm breath was wonderful. Even though he'd woken her up, that did not defeat the fact that he was there holding her and planting his mouth all along her body. That would have been enough to wake anyone up, or at least Reagan thought so in her own opinion concerning Dave.

"You don't annoy me," Reagan said, turning over and cupping her hand against Dave's neck. He kissed her mouth and she jerked away. They may have been dating for several long months, but she still was not agreeable to the idea of Dave tasting hints of her morning breath.

"I know I do in the mornings. You're so fucking mean when you wake up," Dave said, tilting back his head and laughing.

Scowling, Reagan sat up and scooted herself into his lap. She interlocked her legs around hist waist in an attempt to trap him closer to her, tucking both her arms around his neck and putting her face close to his.

"Take that back," she whispered threateningly, finally starting to feel roused from sleep.

"I'm not that easy to break," Dave grinned.

Although they had only been a real couple since October, Reagan couldn't fight the feeling that somewhere within her subconscious, she had known Dave her whole life. She'd inhabited the fear of how she would behave in a relationship, but with him, she'd never felt so much like herself. He had reached within her and threaded out the best parts of her personality, bringing them to the surface of her every-day routine.

She supposed that her feelings were only fueled by Dave somehow defeating every previous misconception that she'd once had about being with someone. He'd conquered the ultimate feat, which had been meeting her family, and never failed to let her down. He was easy to love, reminding her of something out of a fairytale except only better.

All their momentous moments together had been special. She thought back to his birthday, which had taken place at the start of January. Reagan had excitedly planned Dave's day out, gifting him a new strap for his guitar and even cooking him dinner. Never in her life had she been so excited for someone else's birthday — it brought to light once more the seriousness of her feelings for him.