Page 124 of Should the Sky Fall

Cal points a finger at the center of his chest. “Me?” He looks so adorably confused, Dawson wants to pat his cheek.

“Yeah!” His enthusiasm diminishes as it occurs to him that he might be the only man-child excited about plushies. “But if you don’t want it—”

The cat is snatched out of his hands.

“I want it,” Cal blurts out, clutching it to himself like he’s afraid Dawson is going to take it from him. He gazes down at the plushie, running a reverent hand over its head. When he brings his gaze up, his face is incredibly soft. “Thank you.”

Heat spreading across his face, Dawson shrugs lamely. “You’re welcome. It reminded me of you, because of…uh…”

“Donuts,” Cal finishes with a smile. He traces the shape of the donut. “I love it.” He eyes the machine with a thoughtful expression. “I want you to have one too.”

“So yours doesn’t get lonely?” Dawson jokes, already getting a payment on his watch ready. He pays for the next two games and moves to handle the stick, but Cal pushes him gently aside.

“Let me,” he says with a determined expression.

“You want to play?”

“I want to win one for you.” He looks around the inside of the machine. “What are the rules?”

Dawson laughs. “There are no rules, but arcade games set you up to fail There’s a trick, though. Once it’s down, you smash the button again. You need to be quick. It will grab the plushie and drop it over here. Also, you want to pick one on top. The claw won’t be able to grab it otherwise.”

Cal’s focused expression turns even more serious. He gives a curt nod, like he’s making a battle plan. “I can do it.”

“Go for it,” Dawson says with a chuckle, Cal’s seriousness making his chest fill with warmth.

“I’ll get you the one with the pineapple.”

“Why pineapple?”

“Because you put it on the pizza,” Cal says with obvious disgust.

“Because it tastes good!” Dawson argues as usual, but Cal is too focused on playing to join him.

He watches as Cal positions the claw, his other hand hovering over the button. Dawson surveys the position of the claw and places a hand on Cal’s shoulder.

“You might want to move it a little…”

He hopes Cal won’t be mad at him for interfering, but he needn’t worry. Cal leans to the side to make room for him, letting Dawson wrap his hand around Cal’s and shift the claw a few degrees. The warmth of his body seeps into Dawson from where they’re pressed together arm to hip, and his scent fills Dawson’s nose, making him want to press closer. He smells like their fabric softener and ocean air.

“Yeah, like that,” Dawson mumbles once the claw is in place, then steps aside to let Cal do the rest.

Cal punches the button. The claw descends, but he pushes the button the second time a tad too late, so the claw never closes around the plushie properly. His expression is absolutely devastated as he watches the claw come up empty.

“Hey, that’s fine,” Dawson jumps in to reassure him. “You get two tries. You have another shot. Remember: you need to be quick. It descends quite fast.”

Cal’s jaw works, his eyes narrowing like he’s assessing a target. “I’ll get it this time.”

Dawson can’t help but smile at the dedication. He doesn’t need to correct Cal this time—the claw is positioned perfectly. Then Cal punches the button, doing it again once the claw surrounds the plushie. It wraps around it, moving back to the dispatch door and dropping the plushie.

Cal steps back from the machine, looking stunned that it worked.

“Hey, look at you! Nicely done.”

After a few seconds, Cal reaches inside for the plushie, gazing down at it with a huge smile. He offers it to Dawson, and Dawson takes it, giving Cal his plushie in return.

“Now they won’t be lonely,” Cal says, absolutely precious.

Dawson can’t stop the huge smile that stretches his lips just as he can’t stop his legs from moving him forward until they’re chest to chest, the plushies squashed between them. He’s grateful for the make-shift barrier, so Cal can’t feel his frantically beating heart. With a shaky hand, he cups the back of Cal’s neck, his fingertips grazing the soft hair on Cal’s nape.