OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

thirty-nine.

JULY, 1991, OLYMPIA, WA

        DAVE'S ARRIVAL BACK home was perhaps one of the most joyous moments of Reagan's life, or at least she thought it to be after seeing him face to face after nearly a month of being apart.

She'd surprised herself by the way she'd leapt into his arms, grinning ear to ear and locking her mouth to his before he could even utter a 'hello'. It was all very romantic, or rather what Reagan might have called mushy once upon a time. But it was undeniable that she felt at home when she was with Dave and his return felt comparable to snuggling up against the warmest hearth imaginable.

As usual, her free time was at a minimum that summer, but Reagan was very analytical in how she divided her time during her days off. She'd been spending lots of time with Kate, secretly dreading the day when her little sister would leave the nest and enter a new world of college life in Seattle. Then there was also her obvious responsibility of work, which didn't seem to bother her as much when she looked forward to her next obligation on the list — Dave.

"I missed you!" Reagan repeated, following Dave through the doorway of his and Kurt's familiar apartment. The place had remained unchanged, still as shabby and unkept as they'd left it in June.

"I missed you too," Dave grinned, more than happy to assure Reagan over and over that she'd been on his mind since the day he'd left with the band.

Kurt nudged by them, eager to scamper away into his sorely missed isolation. It had been a lot on him, having to be surrounded by people with minimal time to himself. All Reagan saw was the back of his blonde head as he disappeared into his room, dropping miscellaneous things to the floor on the way.

"Do you think he really wants to be alone, or he's just trying to do us a favor by giving us some alone time?" Reagan inquired. She wouldn't have told Dave so, but she was personally stung by Kurt's neglect to talk to her about the tour. She'd thought that he would have had more to say to her, especially when she was always so willing to listen.

"He's just being Kurt," Dave answered, giving her the most simplistic answer possible.

Despite it being the middle of the day, Dave produced a bottle of cheap wine that they'd purchased on their way home and offered it up to Reagan. Together, they went into his room and took swigs back and forth of the sweet drink as Dave unpacked his things.

He relayed all of his experiences back to Reagan, babbling endlessly about the insane level of excitement he felt about what was to come. An energetic aura of high hopes seemed to shimmer around not only him, but the rest of Nirvana as well as the summer progressed. It was becoming more and more tangible that they were bound to see their aspirations coming to fruition, especially with a new album on the way.

Reagan raised the wine bottle to her lips and took a long pull, eyeing Dave over the glass that she rose level to her eyes. It was somehow odd trying to picture him in a famous rock band. Those kinds of famous people seemed so untouchable. She pictured all the celebrity drummers that she could think of, but Dave didn't fit into their niche. He was talented, yes, but to her, he'd always be just Dave.

"So Kurt's in love?" Reagan asked, sliding their conversation into the next topic as Dave paused to catch his breath. He stood in front of her, folding one of his (ironically) wrinkled t-shirts.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I don't know. It's too early to tell right now."

"But he likes her? That Courtney Love girl you told me about?"

"I don't know, he's too difficult to read when it comes to stuff like that. Shit, they'd sure make an interesting pair though."

Dave gave up on organizing his clothes and collapsed down tiredly next to Reagan on the bed. She passed him the wine bottle, but he pushed it away, leaning in instead to brush a soft kiss against her neck. The gesture made her shiver.