Chapter Text
“Root, what the hell are you doing here? It's like 4am.” Shaw pulls her front door open wearily, lowering the stake she’d had raised. At the sight of the altogether too-gleeful smirk on Root’s lips, all the adrenaline that had practically launched Shaw out of bed at the sound of the knock at her door drains from her body.
“Can't a gal just stop by for a visit with her favorite Slayer every once in a while?”
Root ignores Sameen’s unamused glare and flashes her most charming smile. “Well aren't you going to invite me in?”
“No.” Shaw deadpans.
“You aren't still mad about that little thing, are you?” Root asks with an exaggerated pout.
“Oh, lit- little thing—you mean when you snuck into my apartment while I was sleeping, tasered me, and kidnapped me?”
Root shrugs innocently. If anything she looks proud. “Well it's not like I ate you or anything! Well. Not—”
“Root.” To anyone else on the planet, the warning in Shaw’s voice would be enough to send them running for the hills, but Root only seems to take it as encouragement.
“Come on, that's gotta count for something, right?” God, Root’s eyes look like they came straight out of a Disney movie. It’s like trying to say no to Bambi.
Fuck her, that’s so playing dirty.
“I’m still not inviting you in.”
“The sun's coming up soon.” Root laces her voice with syrup. “You're not really going to let a girl burn right here on your doorstep, are you?”
“Really, Root?” Shaw almost laughs. “That's what you're gonna go with? We're in an apartment building. And anyway that was lame, even for you.” Root should have stuck with the Bambi thing. She never knows how to quit pushing when she’s ahead, it’s almost endearing. Fuck. Shaw’s going to blame that one on 4am.
Root huffs. “I know. But I'm hungry,” she whines. “I know you have blood bags in your fridge. I helped you steal those blood bags in your fridge. So technically they're like, half my blood bags.”
Rolling her eyes, Sameen just turns and walks away from the open door without another word.
She comes back with a blood bag in her hand and holds it out for Root. “Here,” she says, shaking her head with a sigh.
Root lights up.
“This is just because I don't want you flipping out and eating someone by accident,” Shaw adds quickly. “Don't get used to it. This blood is for medical emergencies, you know that.”
“I have a medical emergency, doctor—”
Shaw rolls her eyes again and closes the door in Root's face.
…
Three hours later, when Shaw leaves her apartment to meet Reese and Finch in the subway, she finds Root sitting on the floor of the hallway outside her apartment, back against the wall. She’s still nursing the blood bag, like a kid with a juice box.
Sameen rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Alright, come on.” Root clambers up immediately at the slight jerk of Sameen’s chin. “We'll take the tunnels.”
Root falls into step next to her, practically bouncing.
“Goddamn it, I shouldn't have given you B-pos I forgot that shit makes you hyper as hell.”
“I don't seem to remember you complaining last time I had some before we—”
“One of these days I really am going to stake you.”
“Mmm… can’t wait.”