Wax

Thirty One

A/N: I'm so sorry I had to split this chapter into two because I was s t i l l in the middle of writing it but I've already skipped last week's update so I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any more but initially, the preliminary round was going to be in this chapter but it's getting way too long and I still can't finish it... ;-; I'M REALLY SORRY!! This little part will have to do. January weekends have been full of New Year visits and other chinese customs -dead- which will continue until chinese new year which is the first week of February so I don't exactly have much time to write ;-; 

Plus I've been trying to work things out with the Baked Love hard copy and because the COVID situation in the US is worsening in certain states, mail service has been quite the problem and the printing house has been slowing down too ;-; SOB.

As such, the Baked Love release date will be delayed again. I don't know for sure when, but I will keep everyone updated on Instagram. Thank you for waiting and being so patient and supportive! 

Enjoy.

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He was on his way back to the firehouse when it began to rain. The others had gone home after an evening's worth of winter-wonder-fun but Leroy had taken a bus back to the station after watching the backs of Zales, Vance and a snowflake recede in the distance—heading for the tube. He'd lingered a moment more, staring at the spot the other last stood. A spot that left traces of a winter chill, warmed by the hug of a soft fuzzy scarf around his neck. There had been no need for a candle.

Still, thought Leroy, he was cute. He'd turned up the collar of his shirt and the hood of his jacket to brace the cold, making his way past the guardhouse and into the engine bay. Drenched. He wasn't worried about Chicken. He knew one of the crew would've brought him in at the sound of a storm but still. He'd intended to clear his room and bring his boy with him back to his apartment by the end of the day. Things weren't exactly going according to plan.

He stopped by the common room first, checking in on shift B and throwing out some goods Jaeger and the team had snagged at the Christmas market. Chicken had welcomed him on the couch.

The lot exchanged a couple of jabs before letting him off, pointing out his clothing that was soaked and hands that felt like ice. He headed up to his private dorm and grabbed a couple of station shirts he'd left on a rack to dry, rolling them up and stuffing them into his duffel bag before gathering all his things and getting ready to leave. There wasn't much.

On his way back down, he checked the time and sent Rexi a text to check in on her and Annie, knowing that it'd just be a couple more days till she'd be home as long as her check-ups came through with a green. Along with the text came a mandatory snap of his middle finger.

Back in the common room, shift B had themselves piled up around the couch with blankets and coffee—the packaging of butter cookies he'd brought back from the Christmas market abandoned at the counter. Empty. The TV had some music going on; just the standard holiday tunes over an aged sound system, and over at the other end of the room was Parker standing in front of the unstocked fridge. He hadn't expected him to notice.

"Cox. You got your shit?"

"Yeah."

"I thought your apartment had a hole in it."

"They got that fixed."

Parker snorted. "Should've told chief to put me on clean up. Would've made that hole in your kitchen look like a fancy big door for you go through." Leroy rolled his eyes, turning to leave. Someone sneezed. He turned to look at the couch.