Chapter Text
"Okay, blanket?"
"Check."
"Basket?"
"Check."
"Um… oh, umbrella?"
"We won’t be needing that."
"The food?"
"double check."
"And…"
Pike wracked her brain for a moment. They’d be walking for a while, and she really didn’t want to forget anything. Scanlan had told her about this place he found while chatting with a vendor back in Tal'Dorei. He said he’d scoped it out ahead of time, and that it was absolutely stunning around midday, a view to die for. That was all Pike needed to hear. She was in. And if he was taking care of the destination, she wanted to bring something of her own to the date. The food. She’d made sure everything she packed was just right.
"Water, some pillows, ice… check, check, check. Come on, let’s go!" Scanlan grinned, gently grabbing her wrist and tugging her toward the door.
She slung a pack over her shoulder and handed him the second one as they shut the door behind them.
"Alright, at least give me something. What’s it like?" she asked as they stepped outside.
"You’re just gonna have to find out when we get there," he said with a wink.
"You’re no fun," she muttered, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder.
"Oh, don’t worry. I’m making you walk the last bit with your eyes closed," he said, smirking.
"Is it… a waterfall?" she guessed.
The path started off familiar, one she’d walked before, but Scanlan led them down a few new turns. The trees grew thicker, the trail narrowing and growing more uneven. Squirrels scattered ahead of them, dropping acorns as they darted across the stony trail.
"I’m not sayin’ nothin’," he said, offering her his hand as she stepped over a fallen log.
"Oh! Cliff edge?"
"You’ll just have to wait and see."
"Hmm. Field of flowers?"
"I don’t know," he said casually, "is it?"
After a quiet stretch of walking, they came to a wide river. It was shallow near the edges but had no bridge in sight. The current rushed through the middle, bubbling over rocks that poked up from the surface. Pike leaned in, watching minnows dart past in the clear water. The riverbed below shimmered with slick stones and soft mud.
Behind her, she heard Scanlan shuffling around. When she turned, he was already pulling out his flute. With a few quick notes, he cast a short spell. A magical hand shimmered into view above the water.
"After you, m’lady," he said, bowing dramatically.
"Why thank you, sire," she said with a smile, stepping onto the floating palm.
Scanlan hopped on as well, standing beside her as they drifted across. Pike leaned over the side, peeking into the deeper part of the river. Dark shadows moved beneath the surface, large fish slipping between boulders and sunken branches. It made her shiver, but in a good way.
They landed safely on the far bank, and Scanlan helped her down. They kept walking. The forest around quiet.
"Okay! It’s time, You trust me?"
"I swear, if you let me trip-"
"Just trust me."
He slipped a blindfold over her eyes and gently took both her hands. His grip was warm and steady as he guided her forward, helping her around roots and rocks with a quiet hum under his breath. When they stopped, he stepped behind her and untied the cloth.
It took her eyes a moment to adjust.
Then she saw it.
They were near the edge of a cliff. A huge flat rock stretched out beneath them, overlooking a wide forest valley. In the distance, a waterfall tumbled down the far cliffs. The sound of it hummed in the background. Sunlight spilled through the trees, warm, golden, and soft, and the leaves rustled gently in the breeze.
It was perfect.
Pike couldn’t stop the grin spreading across her face. Scanlan was trying not to smile too hard, but she could see the excitement in his eyes, and maybe a little embarrassment too.
"Well, a place this good, I couldn’t keep it to myself," he said, spreading a quilt over a soft patch of grass. He pulled out two pillows and placed them side by side.
"Reminds me of when we used to camp every night as a group," she said, plopping down cross-legged and shrugging off her pack, "why didn’t we ever bring pillows before?"
"We were roughing it, plus Grog makes a wonderful pillow”
She snorted.
"Alright. Your turn. Eyes closed."
"What! No fair, I’m starving!" he said, already reaching for the bag of food.
She yanked it away. "Oh no, fair is fair. Put it on!" she said, tossing him the blindfold.
He groaned but slipped it on. She couldn’t help but snicker as she opened the bag.
Pike was a total foodie, and she’d made a real effort picking out the best picnic treats she could find. Some were from new places, but most were from people and shops she already trusted. Savory pastries, crisp chilled fruit, cheeses with ridiculous names, crackers, and sweet jam.
"No peeking," she warned as she pulled out the food.
He huffed in defeat while she laid everything out in waxy containers and onto a wooden board she brought just for the occasion. She placed two cups on a flat enough surface and poured something bubbly and sweet into them, then adjusted the layout, tweaking it until it was just right.
"Okay, you can take it off now," she said, her voice bubbling with excitement.
He pulled the blindfold off in a rush, and his mouth dropped open. He was silent for a moment before finally looking up at her.
"You got all of this?"
Pike suddenly couldn’t tell what he was thinking. "Oh. Yeah. I, uh… might’ve splurged."
"Pike, this looks amazing!" he said, beaming, "have I ever told you how hot you are?"
She laughed. "Just eat your food."
Blushing, she grabbed a pastry. He joined her, and they clinked them together without much ceremony before taking a bite. Scanlan immediately chugged his drink.
"Fuck, that’s good. Alright, now you have to walk me through what all of this is."
She laughed. "Okay, okay. So, if you dig into the cheese, you’ve gotta eat them a specific way. That black cracker, you want to dip that in the peach jelly. It's so good. The other two cheeses go with the lighter crackers, and—"
He was staring at her, eyes soft.
"You’re not even looking at the cheese," she said with a huff.
"Sorry. You're just… so beautiful," he said, dreamy and unbothered. Her eyes sparkled when she talked, and he always loved learning new things about her. In the list he kept in his head, he added a new line. Loves cheese (must talk to more cheesemongers.)
She rolled her eyes, blushing. "You're impossible."
So, she had to go back to the beginning. She lectured him sternly at first and then sweetly, building him little cracker sandwiches. God, each one was better than the last.
“Okay! That was good, but if we add some apple-” she said, handing him another, “I mean, come on, you can taste the difference! It highlights the cheese so well!”
It tasted the exact same as the last one, but Scanlan would rather fight another dragon than admit it. He nodded, exaggerated and delighted, like she had changed his world.
She told him the stories of each item she packed, where she found the pastries, what the fillings were, what fruit she hadn’t tried before but thought he might like. Scanlan was pretty sure this was his first time trying this kind of stuff too. It pulled at his heart thinking she had done this all for him.
It was the perfect day-
Plip.
Scanlan felt something wet hit his forehead. Then again-
Plip… plip, plip.
No…
Plip, plip, plip, plip.
Rain.
And not just a sprinkle. The rain came fast and heavy, soaking them within seconds.
“Okay, well…this isn’t a dealbreaker-” Scanlan started, and then came the thunder. A sharp crack split the sky, loud enough to ring in his ears.
They scrambled to their feet.
“I guess that’s our cue!” Scanlan said, grabbing both their packs and stuffing everything in haphazardly before they started speed-walking.
They ran, slipping a little on the stone and dirt. Scanlan laughed breathlessly, casting a glance around before pulling Pike under the arch of a wide, hollowed-out tree trunk. It wasn’t much, but the bulk of the tree shielded them enough to stay mostly dry.
“Well… “ he said catching his breath ”that’s certainly a way to end the evening,” wringing out his vest with a groan. “Great. Now it’s wrinkled to all hell. I’ll have to re-steam it and-”
His words stopped short.
Pikes face was wet, but not just from the rain. Big, hot tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“Oh,” he said softly, his tone dropping as he leaned forward. “Did you trip? Stupid rain,” he muttered, glancing down, checking for any signs of injury.
She shook her head quickly and pressed the heel of her hand to her eyes, then slumped down, back against the inside of the tree, knees pulled close to her chest.
“No, no. I’m fine. I’m just-” she took a deep shaky breath “It’s just dumb... It’s dumb.”
Scanlan sat down beside her, gently. “Don’t be upset, I have a new goal for our group now we've fought dragons, mages, now we gotta kill the god of rain”
She let out a shaky laugh, but her eyes were still shiny. “I know. I just… I really wanted it to be special. And it was. It was so nice, and I didn’t want it to end yet. Not like that. I thought we’d just… sit there longer. Talk more. Finish the food. Watch the sun go down. I know it’s stupid, but now the blanket’s soaked, and everything’s rushed and wet, and I can’t... I can’t just get that moment back.”
Scanlan didn’t say anything at first. Because she was right. And hearing her say it made something tug in his chest too.
So instead, he just reached for her hand and gave it a steady, gentle squeeze.
“Pike,” he said. “I wish it kept going too. But think of it this way, we get a warm bath and a cozy bed tonight, and I swear to you, we’ll do a proper do-over. I’ll bring an umbrella. I’ll bring a million umbrellas. I’ll build you a gazebo!.” He cleared his throat “What I mean is… we’ve got time. There’s gonna be a lot more adventures and things we can do, So if you want to come back here again- we can. Just say the word!”
She turned to look at him, cheeks blotchy from the cold and tears, but smiling now- a little embarrassed. She leaned her head against his shoulder, damp and warm, and he rested his own on top of hers as the rain pattered on the tree above them.
"...How are we gonna get home?" she mumbled.
“I was thinking we run.” He said with a smile