#misskielrambles

literally i love this man so freaking much okay here goes

you wake up to the quietest sneeze and ensuing sniffles, and Bob is apologizing profusely as you stir

he'd had to sneeze for like ten minutes and had been trying to get it to go away but it wouldn't and he feels genuinely so guilty for having woken you up, but you're barely awake and you don't really mind so you mumble and turn around to face him, not even opening your eyes

of course, easier said than done

your legs are tangled up in blankets and when you turn over your forehead hits his jaw and he grunts and now you're both apologizing, which leads to sheepish giggles because okay yeah, now you're not going back to sleep

since you went through all that effort to face him, he kisses you, soft and gentle

hands over soft cotton tshirts, warmed through by soft skin, and there's no urgency just sweet and curious and simple delight as you slowly wake up together

he'd ask how you slept before pulling back, finally opening his eyes all the way to stare at you, brushing some of your hair out of your face as he watched your response

he'd be so earnest, genuinely wanting to know about your dream and responding in absolutely the right way--expressing indignation on your behalf, nodding seriously when you explained the very pressing conflict, smiling to himself when you conclude

he could watch you forever, would listen to any stories you'd tell, and when your stomach growls, he doesn't tease you about, his brow just furrows with concern and he asks if you want him to make something or he can run out to grab bagels

you insist that you're fine but he insists on taking care of you, carefully wrapping a blanket around you before he gets up, so the bed doesn't feel too cold without him

you wait until he's just out of eyesight before following him into the kitchen, dragging the blanket with you and padding into the room because he takes the sunshine with him, wherever he goes

you have a routine down--you start fixing coffee while he does breakfast, stepping around each other with quiet familiarity. if he needed something from a drawer in front of you, he'd guide you out of the way with a large hand on your waist; if you needed something by him, you'd poke him and he'd move without thinking

he'd be so focused on pancakes, his little forehead wrinkle prominent and his lips pursing as he carefully checked the edges before flipping them

when you finish his coffee, he takes it from you without looking, then holds out an arm for you to slide under it

literally no one asked lol but my qualifications are (1) my father is Texan (2) every summer my parents shipped us off to Dallas to swelter at my grandma's house (3) I was in a sorority in Texas (4) I lived there for 5 years and also worked my first job there, okay let's discuss

First things first, he trusts you. So when you come to him in a panic or in tears, he knows you don’t want him to solve the problem, and he knows you’ll ask for what you need from him

So he’s not doing the thing of “well have you tried—“ or “did you consider—“, no, he trusts that you don’t need that right now, and you can rationalize later, but right now, you want to be held

So that’s all he does

He tucks you into his side, chin on the top of your head, and just listens, holds you, quietly stroking your back as you hyperventilate, and he doesn’t try to pull you out of it

He wants you to know he’s there with you, in whatever is stressing you out, not that he’s trying to fix it

When you’re done, he wipes your eyes for you, watching carefully, checking you’re okay, but still doesn’t make any move to suggest what he thinks you should do.

He’s really good at giving you options for the immediate future, things you can decide and resolve, independent or whatever it was that set it off—do you want him to start on dinner? Give you some space for a minute? Go order pizza?—and you get the feeling he’s not pulling one way or another, he wants what you know is best for you now

When you thank him for it later, he always looks a little confused, bc he doesn’t think he did anything special

He genuinely loves being there for you

Plus, knowing that he’s the one you turn to when you need support? That he’s THE one that you want to talk something through? I think there’d be this moment of quiet pride for him, where he feels affirmed that he’s doing something right, to be the kind of man you depend on

Now, the other way around

When Bob’s had a bad day, you don’t know it from his temper or from slamming doors or anything. You know it because of the quiet

He’s normally quiet, aware of the space around him and moving through it carefully, but this kind of quiet is subdued, defeated

He comes home and he doesn’t ignore you, but he just wordlessly kisses your forehead hello, and when you hug him, he latches onto you.

When you look up at him, his brow is furrowed and his eyes are pressed shut, and you turn off whatever you’re working on, to guide the both of you over to the couch.

He doesn’t let go of you the entire shuffled walk over

Most people don’t know how heavily he carries the responsibility he feels for everyone on his unit. There’s camaraderie all around, of course, and team work, but Bob knows his role is a little different. Less about mechanics and more about strategy and though Phoenix and Rooster try to tell him it’s up to all of them in the air, he can always think of something he could’ve done differently

Usually it’s a drill, a exercise where a simulation reminds him of the thing they’re training for, and he gets overwhelmed but hides it until he’s home to you

babe you are ALWAYS welcome to talk about Bob smooches in my inbox or DMs 💙

he would always touch you if he could, but he’s also hyperaware of consent so early in your relationship he‘d hesitate to initiate, bless his heart. once you realize how much it grounds him, you get in the habit of physically placing him on you—drawing his hand into your lap and leaving yours on top of his, pulling an arm around your shoulders and keeping your fingers tangled, nudging him forward so you can lean your head on his shoulder.

He’d look over at you with an expression of wonder and gratitude, and it’d slowly sink in that you like it, too, and that the constant awareness of him is comforting to you. He’d always respond to affection from you with such sweet awe, and I feel like that would just be the gentlest thing.

He kicks off his shoes, flips on the electric kettle, grabs some fresh towels from the linen closet and quietly knocks on the bathroom door to ask if you want company

When you say yes, he lets himself in. He doesn’t strip, nothing sexual, just steps into the shower with zero hesitation or mind for his own comfort

Water plasters his tshirt down and half of his hair but he’s not paying attention, just steps under the spray to wrap you in his arms

He stands face first in the water so you can have the spray at your back and his body warming your front, and hold you while you cry it out

He breathes slow, deep, intentional enough that you know that when you’re ready, you can mirror the slow rise and fall of his chest to help you calm down

When you’re starting to sniffle and recover, he’s reaching around you for the shampoo, and takes forever to lather up your hair

He’s so careful, just very deliberate and slow, letting everything soak and then detaching the shower head and shielding your face with the back of his hand so no soap gets in your eyes

When you’re all clean, he leans out of the shower to grab a fluffy towel, and wraps you in it, over and around your shoulders

He helps you over the side of the tub, guiding you to sit on it before he grabs another towel and starts drying your legs for you

He’s dripping everywhere, his clothes having held water, but he’s gentle in drying your calves and feet, then flips the towel to get your arms, everywhere not wrapped in a towel

Then he’s standing, grabbing detangler and combing out your hair, maybe humming along to one of the songs

He learned to French braid from his sisters, so when your hair is all tangle free, he Dutch braids it and ties it with a scrunchie and then your limbs are dry enough for lotion

He perches you on the countertop by the sink, warming up shea butter in his hands then rubbing it into your skin; your eyes fall closed as he takes care of you in the humid room, warm and gentle and soothing motions

When you’re done, he quickly strips off his sopping clothes and takes a quick shower while you do your skincare routine

He’d ask if you want a chamomile tea and if you did, he’d go make it, in your favorite mug, and if you didn’t he’d just turn off the kettle and meet you in your room

When you do curl into bed, he’s wrapping blankets around you, and then laying his arm over you too, making sure you feel safe and sheltered and held, making sure you feel loved

Bobs favourite Christmas song is Little Drummer Boy because his grandma used to sing it for him

Payback makes a MEAN eggnog

Jake and Bradley making a big Christmas dinner as co chefs? Absolutely

Nat is #1 gift wrapper and every one comes to her to get her to wrap theirs

Fanboy and Bob get are the Christmas sweater enthusiasts of the group and will get everyone to wear at least one

Javy organises secret Santa every year (so real to me)

BABE BLESS YOU oh my god all of this fills me with such joy??

Bob walking around contentedly humming a song under his breath and everyone being like “…is that? Is that…?” but of course no one calls him on it bc they’re sure it’s an endearing thing that they can’t actually make fun of him for.

Payback rolling up to someone’s house with an industrial gravy pot full of eggnog and a jaunty Santa cap on his head?? He absolutely sticks a cinnamon stick in his mouth at some point, making fun of Hangman’s perpetual toothpick

Bradley and Jake simply HAVE to have matching aprons, something super trite and very live • laugh • love of them

Fanboy and Bob have have backup sweaters and the admiral shows up like sorry fellas, looks like I forgot mine, so sad, and they’re like ha nice try, and bring out like half a dozen in Beau’s size, specifically. (They also have those little elf ear/hat headbands)

Javy taking secret Santa SO seriously, and then lowkey buying up gifts for everyone just in case someone forgets??

omg she so would though

(not too racy, but it was longer than i planned, so i stuck it under the cut)

she's sitting in the living room of your shared apartment, waiting for you to come downstairs so y'all can head out to meet the other daggers for dinner