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Assistant: Title: Krusie Apocalypse AU
        Author: ElliotAldor ElliotAldor 
        Chapter: 1/1 
        Summary: Sometimes life just doesn't go your way. One day you're just relaxing with your best friend, and the next day, the world ends. Ten years later, and a life you've forgotten comes to bite you in the @ss. By sheer coincidence, in an almost totaled world, two good friends are reunited after a decade of their own struggles, doing their best to pick up where they left off.
        Contents: Summary:
            
              Sometimes life just doesn't go your way. One day you're just relaxing with your best friend, and the next day, the world ends. Ten years later, and a life you've forgotten comes to bite you in the ass. By sheer coincidence, in an almost totaled world, two good friends are reunited after a decade of their own struggles, doing their best to pick up where they left off.
            
        

        
  Notes:






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          Chapter 1Susie grumbled. Light had yet again returned to the world around her, and the comfort of sleep escaped her yet again. Even through her jeans, her jacket, and the vest underneath, she felt the cold bite of the morning air on her skin. She opened her eyes, blinking as the sight of what used to be a fire came into view. It hardly smoldered, and no longer provided any warmth, even if she could’ve used it. Susie rolled sleepily to get enough momentum to sit up. She groaned again, peeved at the conditions she was forced to sleep in. On the ground, no blanket, no cushion or pillow, not even a tarp to hang over her head. She stood up, seeing no point in groveling in the dirt, as appealing an alternative as it was to what she had planned for today. She stretched, grunting as her hands were raised over her head. She twisted left and right, hoping to work out the stress of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. She slumped over, feeling the additional weight of her vest pull down on her. She kicked dirt over the fire a few times half-heartedly, she’d seen one disaster, she didn’t want to cause another. She grabbed her ax, and stared at the town beneath the hill, the one she wanted to spend the night in, but couldn’t. She had no money, and she’d spent the whole day walking to this town after the last one was put out of service, and she didn’t have the modern equivalent of a dime on her. It was either sleep in the alleys, hole up in the slums, or sleep out here. She was still alive, and it’s because she went with the latter option. But now she was going to have to march right into the heart of that city, because the only things she knew how to do in the woods were sleep and sh@t. She started trudging her way down the very obscure trail that had brought her here, this woods used to be a pretty popular hiking spot. Probably a park or something, it was good to see that some things stayed the same.The outside of the town was mainly shantys, at least the side she walked in through. It took almost half an hour to get here, and she wasn’t even in the town proper yet. She held her ax just under it’s head, in the least threatening demeanor possible. One of the downsides of having a weapon like this was that she had to carry it around, and people these days didn’t take kindly to showoffs. People lounging outside of their shelters watched her walk down the street, there weren’t that many, but there were enough for her to feel a bit more confident about this. The poor tended to surround the sort of places she found work at, at the hearts of these sorts of places were bars, trade centers, inns. The sort of places that reeked of visions of society past, whether they were an inevitability, hope, or coincidence, they were Susie’s meal ticket. Suddenly there were proper buildings, things that used to be stores turned into faux households, used for storage, or even places used for production. It was always strange to see people clinging to the world like this, working their @ss@s off to make essentials that would likely just be stolen. Nobody looked at each other on the street, if anyone looked anywhere but straight ahead, it was to check the buildings for signs, posters, and more surreptitious folk, whether it was to avoid them, or seek them out. Finally, she came across a building that had a bunch of old alcohol signs on them. That was the mark, and there was nobody standing outside of it. This was the first stop she’d make, she’d go to every single place she could to grovel for work, but she still hoped this one would be the only one she needed to. She slipped in through the door, the place was barren but for two people, one was bent over a booth, papers were spread out in front of him, the other was at the bar in an apron. The man at the bar looked over to Susie, she was a brutish looking woman with an ax in her hand, he looked worried. She walked up to him, flipping it over so the head of her weapon could plop onto the ground. It leaned against the bar as she took a seat.
“Bit early for a drink, don’t you think? S’pose it’s none’a my business, but I prefer to wait ‘till the birds stop tweetin’ myself.” the man said. Susie realized that there might not be a bouncer in front of the bar for the reason of it being very early, not because they just didn’t have one.“I’m not here to drink. I’m here for work.” Susie said bluntly. It was the truth, that’s all she was there for, there was nothing more for her to say.“Work, huh. Walkin’ in here with yer ax an’ yer vest ‘n all that, doubt yer in here to bus tables and wipe glasses.”“Mmm. Never been one for all that. I’m sure you know how it works. I stand around and look tough, inside, out front, wherever you need me; you pay me for my time.”The man put the glass in his hands on the counter behind him, before picking up another one without missing a beat. He looked over from Susie to the man at the booth, his hands staying busy, the look on his face calm now that it was business being discussed, and not ransom.“Wuddyou think Bill? We got room for a tough guy in the budget?” the bartender said to the other man before looking back to Susie, not expecting an immediate answer. “Can’t say I ain’t tempted, and I mean this in no offense to you, but I never thought I’d need any muscle in here. Sort of against the idea myself. Always thought it’d just be me an’ Bill, my customers are decent folk, most of ‘em hard working, always imagined they’d come to my side if I ever needed ‘em.” the man said before letting out a long sigh. “Bill?”“Eh!?”“I know you heard me, I know you heard ‘im, come on.”This conversation was starting to really nag at Susie's limited patience, especially the whole “Tough guy” and “Him” remarks.“You tell me Hank. You were there, you remember what happened. How long you think it’ll take ‘for it happens again? Ain’t gon’ be so lucky next time. Hell, I almost paid the feller that stepped up right there and then, ain’t seen him since though.”It was promising, though a bit saddening. A dive bar that got most of its customers from the town it was in, the sort of place that only ever has one or two disputes every month? It sounded too good to be true, but the story they hinted at ate at her. Everywhere she went seemed to have the same problem, places people could leave their doors unlocked got more and more dangerous. These were the kind of people ten years ago would have had rows of expensive alcohol on display, she knew anything decent was kept under lock and key now. Friendly people, welcoming, neighborly, now too afraid to run a bar without hired muscle. She shook the idea out of her head, she didn’t like the situation, but there was nothing she could do about it other than live through it.“Look, we ain’t no country club, ain’t no inn. This here’s a bar, son, now we can pay you, but don’t expect just hanging around a place like this to put silver linings on yer clothes or anything. A living wage, sure, but.. Well, I’ve dealt with mercenaries before. They expected a lot more from me than they got.” he said, punctuating what he said sharply.“You wanna maybe throw a number in next to all of those assumptions?”The man furrowed his brow, looking her over. “Twenty five pieces, you’re here noon to midnight. Don’t care where you spend the rest of your time, so long as we don’t get anyone coming around complaining ‘bout with who they saw you or where. Also, don’t figure it, but the ax stays behind the bar. Supposed to make folks feel safe, you know?”“Deal. Don’t worry about any of that sh@t, that’s not my deal. I got it, behind the bar would be best, always nice to have it close, you never know.”“Alright! Put ‘er there, good to have ya, glad to have ya- Uh, never quite caught your name there.”She grabbed his hand, giving him a grip that even a strong working man like him winced at. “Susie.”The man blushed, having realized his previous errors. The other man had made his way over to the bar, even standing his frame was dwarfed by Susie’s. He was a good bit older than the bartender, he seemed to be in charge of finances. His voice was more raspy, his hair was gray. “Congratulations then Susie. I’ve got a good feeling about you, you know? Yer’ one of them people what don’t smell like p@ss or booze.” he said bluntly, patting her on the shoulder before  walking past the other man, into the back. She didn’t mind, words rarely got to her, not nearly as much as they did when she was younger. Her ego had been shot to p@ss over the last ten years, she wasn’t about to punch her newest employer. In a way, the old man was strangely charming, his carefree attitude coupled with his southern accent.. She certainly wouldn’t mind taking a punch for him, especially for twenty five pieces. She was pretty excited, as excited as she could really get nowadays, that was enough for a day's food, a bed, and a little bit extra so that she could build up a rainy day fund for whatever inevitable disaster would ail her. Her ax breaking, her armor getting busted, clothes getting torn, you never knew when sh@t was about to start tumbling downhill.“Don’t let Bill get to you, he’s ah.. Been through a bit. Bitter old coot. Used to run this place before his leg started to nag him.”“Haven’t we all.”“Suppose so. Well, suppose we should get to know each other, this place is pretty dull before the sun goes down, and call me old fashioned, but I like to know who I’m workin’ with.”“You already know everything you need to about me. Oh, and my name, I guess.”“Huh.. Right. Sorry about uh, you know.. Never got many folks like you here till ‘bout a few years back. You want a drink or somethin’? On the house, only thing we got in excess ‘round here after all is drinks. You want one or two during the day, you’ll get no complaints from me.”“I don’t drink.”“Hmm. Now that’s certainly unusual. Any rhyme or reason to that?”“I don’t like the taste.”The man was silent for a minute. He had a brown handlebar mustache, he looked to be in his early forties, though unfortunately the top of his head was bald and shiny. He chewed on his mustache at this brick wall of a person that he’d just agree to pay to stand around his bar.“I don’t believe that for a second. Taste ain’t never stopped no-one. You really like playin’ the mysterious stranger angle, dontchee?”Susie sighed, and sagged more over the bar.“Look, I used to drink. I didn’t like the way it made me feel, sometimes, so.. I stopped. Simple as that.”“That’s a better excuse than not likin’ the taste. Hard to believe a thing like you can’t handle ‘er liquor though.”“Not like that.”They were silent again. Susie tried to sit up more, she had a habit of slouching pretty hard, and figured it wasn’t a good first impression to look this mopey. Some time passed, glasses were wiped off and cleaned, Hank stayed wherever it was that he was in the back.“You didn’t sound too keen on hiring a bouncer.”“It ain’t you. Ain’t even bouncers, really.. Hard to explain it, I don’t care about the bouncers, mercs, soldiers of fortune.. Just never thought I’d need one. This place used to be so.. Well, it was a neighborhood. People waved to each other, said hello, now you’re lucky if someone b@mps into you and says sorry. Never thought I’d have to have a mediator for my own customers..”“Booze makes people do stupid things sometimes. That’s why people like me exist, we’re like.. Grown up babysitters. Something like that.”“I don’t just mean the drunks, hell, they’re harmless compared to some of the people that moved in here.”“Yeah.. Said something about something happening earlier? Someone break a bottle over someone’s head or something?”“Eh.. Little worse than that. Some scrawny, raggedy feller got in here, went right to the back. Man was crazy, we think he was an alcoholic, been too long without a drink and picks the easiest place to steal from. He didn’t get nothin’, but he sure tried. One of our regulars shooed him off, I was just so startled from the whole thing. He was ramblin’ like crazy, dove straight to the back, lookin’ for a bottle of whatever he could get his shakin’ hands on. Ain’t seen him since. You look like you coulda thrown him out by the scruff of his neck, he was that skinny!”“That so?”“I’m sure you’re used to sortin’ out messes like that though. Thing is things like that didn’t happen here until recently, I’m sure that’s probably as boring to you as wipin’ glasses is to me.”“You don’t say.”She was leaning back by now, Hank had finally finished polishing off the last of the mugs. He treated her dismissive response with silence, and she couldn’t care less.“You ain’t one much for talkin’, are you?”“Nope. Never was any good at it, I stick to my strong suits.”“Don’t talk, don’t drink, what do you do?”It was an annoying question. One without an answer. She didn’t do anything, she didn’t want to. She worked for money, money for food and shelter, to keep her heart beating. It was as simple as that, it wasn’t an uncommon philosophy, even if it was an unnerving one.“What’s it to you?”“Ain’t nothin’. Forget I said anything. Just old fashioned I suppose.”He was. She wanted to be, but she couldn’t. It pained her that this was the first person willing to open up to her, and she was being a dismissive c@nt. She knew it wasn’t worth the trouble though, the last time she’d opened up to someone, the world f@ck@ng ended.
Susie trudged through the streets, though the people she was now under the employ of were amicable enough, she didn’t leave her stuff with other people. The ax was back in her hand, she gripped it at the base as she walked down the street. She looked left and right, trying to find whatever building was decorated as the inn. It didn’t take long, even without directions, and even with this being a pretty big place. She walked through the door, it was almost noon, and she had a little bit of time and money to sort out a living situation. She walked right up to the bar, not even bothering to sit down. A much smaller, younger, and happier man in similar attire to her new boss walked over to her. “What can I do ya for miss? Mister? Sort of hard to te-”“Do you guys have any rooms or not?”“Sure do, ten piece a night, no refunds, that is if you just want one of the standard rooms, we got a penthouse suite way upstairs for about-”“As long as there’s a bed and a door I don’t give a sh@t. Ten pieces, let's see it.” she said in the same blunt manner she said just about everything else. She fiddled with the bag she had tied around one of her jean loops, showing the man she was good for the money.“What, you don’t believe it’s there? This is a reputable establishment ma- I mean, I assure you.”“Then show me the room.”“If you insist.” he said with the annoyed tone of someone who was forced to do the tedious part of their job that, were it not for others, wouldn’t even be a part of it. She was led upstairs, there were a bunch of small rooms right by each other. This place was probably an inn before, or.. What did they call them, hotels? The small man fiddled with keys on a ring, before unlocking and opening the door. It had a bed, a lockbox, a door with what seemed to be a working lock, it was luxury. How long could she actually make something like this last though? The last place seemed too good to be true as well. It never seemed to last. “There you go, got an outhouse out back, and you can pick up the key for the box off of me whenever you want.” Susie opened up her pouch and took out the fifteen pieces she’d been given, tossing five back in before pouring them haphazardly into the man’s hands. He counted them quickly, dropping them into his apron pocket before smiling. “Alright then, enjoy your stay, uh..”“I’m a chick.”“Ma’am~”She rolled her eyes, though under her unkempt hair nobody noticed. She walked back down to the main area, where an annoying amount of people were congregating. No band yet, but she suspected there would be music by the time she was back here and trying to sleep. At least the place had a door. She didn’t have any time to sit and screw around, even if she did want something to eat. Actually, she probably needed something to eat, it had been how long, a day? Two, since she’d eaten? She wasn’t going to be late if she got something to shove down her maw. She went back over to the counter, leaning over it. The tiny man looked back up at her, worried, especially with the ax in her hand, she looked like the kind of person to knock someone’s teeth out if a bed wasn’t made properly.“Wuddyou got to eat? I gotta be somewhere in like, twenty minutes.”“Oh! Well, ah.. Something that’ll hold up on the road, let's see..” He patted his thighs as he searched his mind for something to appease the beast in front of him. “One sec-” he said quickly before disappearing behind him, into what was likely the kitchen. It took about two minutes before he came back out with what looked like two burritos wrapped in paper. She knew what they were, anyone who’d been alive more than twenty minutes knew. Meat in bread, grain and protein, the moisture from the meat made what was usually dry, stale bread a lot more bearable to eat. Plus, it held its shape, it was something you could just eat on your way to work.“How much?”“Oh come on, it’s ah, on the house!”She looked down at it, her brow furrowing. There was a bit of an awkward pause, enough for the man to realize he could’ve done something wrong.“I’m no charity case. How much?”“Well, ah, if you insist, three pieces.”Three pieces were put down on the table, almost slammed from being clutched in Susie’s fist. She let go, and replaced them with the wrapped up pseudo-sandwich before she started out the door. The man sheepishly waved to his new customer, wondering just how long he was going to have to put up with this. She unwrapped one, cramming the other one into her jacket pocket. It was a little crumbly, but she didn’t care, it was food. Good food too, three pieces for something this small was a little ridiculous, if it wasn’t so good. It was something of a luxury, they didn’t last long enough for travel, and it wasn’t the sort of thing you’d order to sit down and eat in a restaurant. Made to taste good, and be carried short distances, it had a weird place in people’s lives, and quickly, Susie’s stomach. She was still chewing as she walked through the door, in a hurry she didn’t need to be. She wiped off her mouth as she walked over to the bar to set her ax down behind it.“Good to see you back so soon. You’ll get the rest when you go home tonight, wherever that may be. Did you find somewhere?”“Yeah. Got a room at the inn. Where do you want me?”
“Well shucks, I should’a known you was goin’ to the inn, closest place you can find a place to here. Me an’ Billy Jack is good friends, short, younger lookin’ feller, usually behind the bar? You’d know ‘im if you’d seen ‘im. Should’a told ya to say howdy for me, d@mn place keeps me too busy to do it myself.”She bore with the story. She was starting to get a feel for this place, that everyone talked like they were from the sticks. At least, the humans did. He’d called her “You folk”, it made her think monsters might have been a recent thing to them. Well, recent as of a decade ago. She didn’t like the accent, she’d seen too many shifty people pretending to be nice to her, only to swipe at her coin purse, her ax, and on a few occasions, her throat. It was off putting, even if it was genuine.“So where do you want me?”Most of it she just filtered. She didn’t care, even if it would’ve helped her relations with the man that was paying her, she just couldn’t. Sure she had time, but she told herself she didn’t. She didn’t want to.“Huh.. You know, never really thought about that. Whaddyou think? Somewhere inside, I dunno if they’ll see ya walkin’ in through the door if’n you’re right next to it. Maybe on the wall somewhere? If they see you sittin’ at a booth or sumthin’, I doubt they’re gonna assume yer one of them types..”Susie walked over past the bar, standing a few feet away from the side of the entrance to the back. You could see her from the room, and she was propped up next to something Hank wanted people to stay away from. She looked over at him for confirmation silently.“Hmm.. Ayep, I think that’ll work just fine, but you can sit down if’n you want, least ‘till we get some customers in ‘ere.”“I’m fine.”The man paused, looking over at her. He knew what she meant, but the literal words simply weren’t true. Susie caught it too, and hoped desperately Hank would take it at face value, and leave it at that.”“Welp.. Suit yourself.”She breathed a silent sigh of relief, slouching against the wall. It was gonna be a while until midnight, the low anxiety of getting a feel for this place hung over her, but she wasn’t too worried. The last place was a real dump, and the people that came in there on a regular basis weren’t any better, this place at the very least sounded remotely civilized. She just leaned there, she’d done it before plenty of times in plenty of places, but she couldn’t help how boring it was. Better than the excitement that came with more lucrative positions, most people would’ve called that trouble. Or a death sentence. Boring gave her time to think though, something she didn’t care to do ten years ago, and certainly didn’t look forward to now. Why not go bounty hunting? Work your way up a ring or die trying? After about an hour, someone came in, him and Hank got to talking at the bar. Susie looked over, then back at the floor. Why was she still doing this? Playing it safe. Bar after bar, escort jobs, she carried around an ax and had hardly used it more than half a dozen times. Why was she forcing herself to suffer in the dull illusion of safety? It had been ten whole years.. Why was she still doing this for him? She sure as hell wasn’t doing it for herself, that’s for sure.“Hey, Susie, right? Why don’t you come over ‘ere and say hello to Frank!”She sighed, her train of thought almost thankfully interrupted as she shifted off the wall, and walked over behind the bar. She was considerably taller and more broad than Hank, and while he was a bit uncomfortable with it, he certainly felt like he was getting his money’s worth. She leaned over to Frank’s left, and Hank’s right, looking at him through her hair silently.“Sure is freaky, wouldn’t wanna slip up around her.” Frank said with a laugh, before looking at Susie’s unchanged face. He wondered for a second if he’d just done the exact thing he said he’d set out not to do. “Yeeeah, ain’t one much for talkin’. One of those punks comes in here again though, they gonna think twice when they see her in the corner.”“Oh, fer sure, ain’t no doubt in my mind ‘bout that.”There was another awkward pause, the two of them looked to her a bit warrily. She just didn’t talk, even as the object of their speculation, she just sat there and listened.“Is that it?”Hank was starting to learn his lesson about trying to talk to her. Best to keep it business related, he assumed.“Sure, yeah. Sorry to bother ya.”She couldn’t help but feel a little bad, for a little bit as she got up, and turned around, walking back to her new post. She didn’t want more friends. She’d decided that after the first set she’d had. She’d done a few things wrong, sure, but in the end it didn’t matter. She was glad she didn’t make that mistake with her last employers, that’s for sure. She got to thinking again.. If she’d just going to do this, and act like this, what did it matter? Why not band up with a proper company, if not to make money, then to actually do things, go places, be someone. That last one was why. She would never be someone. Her chance at that was blown a long time ago, and now? She didn’t wanna be someone to anyone, least of all herself. Anything she’d ever be would be built off of that shoddy foundation, she’d spent the last ten years moping, her accomplishments would always be tainted by that. As she was lost in thought, more and more people started to pour in. Booths and stools alike were filled, mostly by older humans, but there were some monsters too. It was surprisingly quiet, but it wasn’t nighttime yet, nobody was really drunk. It sounded like they were swapping stories, “The good old days”, she was glad she was far enough away to tune them out. She didn’t like reminiscing. Thinking about any of that sh@t. Truth was, she didn’t exactly have a whole lot else to think about, and it p@ss@d her off.“You get outta here! I told you, you ain’t never to come in here no more!”Susie’s head snapped over to the commotion. Someone had come in, a real train wreck of a man. Rags around his waist, stringy white hair, a crooked, rotted smile. He was hunched over, there was a circle of people around him, people had gotten out of their seats to back up as Susie made strides toward him.“Eheheheh.. Ahah, HAHAHAAaah.. Y’all got me once b’fore, pushed me out ‘for I could get my fill, but this time, I brought COMPANYYY!”He was crazed, and from behind he pulled out what looked like a kitchen knife. He was starting to move over to the bar as Susie broke the line of people around him, shoving two bystanders out of the way before getting a proper look at him. He looked and sounded like a lunatic, no shoes, rags around his waist, it was hard to tell if he was old, crazy, ragged, or a combination of all three. Hank’s eyes were wide at the knife, until a large purple hand grabbed the wrist that held it. The man was scrawny, and he cried out audibly in confusion and pain as his wrist was practically crushed. She kept with her momentum, the man flew with her like a rag doll. She slammed her fist with the man clutched within it against the wall. His hand barely touched it, but his body slammed against it, disorienting him. She squeezed hard, the man let out what sounded like an almost feral howl as the knife clattered uselessly to the floor. She kicked it away, toward Hank, it skidded to a stop right next to the wall behind him. He didn’t see it, he knew it happened, but his eyes were peeled to the scene before him, just like everyone else in the bar. She let go, the man stumbled, but stayed on his feet as he brought his wrist to his free hand, tears already forming in his eyes. In not even a second, she swung the back of her fist at him. It connected right with the side of his head, the noise it made hitting him was louder than the one he made. He didn’t just fall on the floor, the force of the swing knocked him against it, and he didn’t get up. He twitched, falling facing away from her as she waited for him to get up. He just shuddered, clutching his wrist as Susie began to hear him cry quietly.“Get up. Get UP! And GET THE F@CK OUT!” she screamed at him. It only made him cower more, she looked around at everyone. They looked clueless. They had no idea what to do with him, to him, how to react, it was why she was here. “Fine”, she decided, before grabbing his arm. She pulled him up to his knees, his feet scrambled to try to touch the floor as he let out panicked gasps and protests, though she was the one responsible for moving him. She pushed through the door, it had been very bright out when she’d first come in, and now, the sky was orange. The sun was setting. She tossed him forward, and he landed on the dirt road in front of the bar, in the same curled up position he had been in earlier, just crying. She looked down at him, this was the man that had come in before, he’d even said it himself. He was going to stab those seemingly nice people over a bottle or two of booze he probably couldn’t get the safe combination to unlock. But here he was, clutching his likely destroyed wrist in pain, sputtering on the ground like a baby. Someone probably twice her age. The adrenaline in her system was still there, and she felt it rising.“What the f@ck are you doing? Get up! Get the f@ck out of here, and I know you didn’t listen the last time uh, Hank said it, because he wasn’t gonna kill you if he ever saw you again!”Nothing. He just sat there, defeated easily. Was he drunk? No.. If he was drunk he would’ve gotten up, his wrist wouldn’t be troubling him so much. She got angry, she felt her arms flex, her fists tighten. She hated him, the audacity, he’d run himself ragged and now here he was trying to maim and kill for a f@ck@ng drop of alcohol. And now that he was thrown onto the street with a broken wrist, he didn’t have the wherewithal to just get up and admit defeat. She didn’t even care if it was to try again, he wasn’t doing anything.“Just get up and go! Come on! Do something! F@ck@ng move, don’t just.. Sit there.”For some reason she felt that anger start to leave her veins. He just sat there. He was given a chance to leave, she could’ve caved his head in there and then, and she was willing to bet nobody would care. But she didn’t, and she couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t figured it out yet. She’d even screamed it at him, but he just laid there, not even crying anymore. Should she just go back inside? She turned to the door, seeing if that would seem to be a more appealing option if she was physically moving towards it. Nope, not at all. She turned back to the huddled mess on the ground, and sighed.  About half an hour later, Susie walked back into the bar. People looked up at her, before going back to their drinks. Everyone was on edge, talking about what had just happened. Susie wasn’t one for talking, as she’d made clear several times, so she made the most casual bee-line to the spot she’d picked to lean against as she could. Hank caught up to her before she could.“Woah woah woah, hold on there, you can’t just get mixed up in sumthin’ like that and just walk back in here!”She felt a frog in her throat. She knew this would happen, someone saw what happened outside, and there was no place for someone like that here. Not to mention the fact it took her half an hour to “Be done with him”.“Look, I-”“Hey, none of that now, you did what you done had to do. Heck, did what I paid you for, did that much, yessir-e! D@mn near saved my life, if I hadn’t a hired you Bill might’ve been running this place solo!”Thank angel. She thought they’d just assumed she went out and whacked the guy, if they did, they certainly didn’t seem to care..“Yeah, well.. You’re welcome.” She said in the same flat tone, with almost a hint of embarrassment behind it.“Look at you, just a ‘Thank you, you’re welcome’ for all of that excitement! I feel like I should do somethin’ for ya, you sure you don’t want a drink or sumthin’?”She sighed a bit shakily. “You already paid me, I don’t want a drink. It’s my job. Just try to forget about it.”Hank’s excited smile faded. He reasoned with himself as to why she was so content to slouch in a corner, he thought she’d practically saved his bad, but she probably thought she’d just scared off another punk.“Well, you let me know now, you hear?” he said, before leaving it at that, ready to go over to someone else and show off the knife he was almost assaulted with. She sighed a little heavier, now that he was gone. She really messed him up. Most people just sort of keeled over, or at least weren’t so easy to knock around. He was fragile, and she’d tackled him like he was twice her size. Threw him around like a ragdoll. Hurting him wasn’t even the part that unnerved her, it was the stance he took to it afterward. He just looked so defeated. It was almost like looking in a mirror, as much as she hated to admit it. The one thing he wanted was taken away, his wrist was shattered beyond feasible repair, and he was tossed out from the warm light of the tavern into a dark, dusty street. He’d given up, though realistically pressing further would’ve been a death sentence. He didn’t recuperate though, he didn’t eventually pick himself up and move on, try to do something about his wrist.. None of that. Just like her. She walked over to the bar. “Hey, uh, Hank?”“Uh-huh? Change yer mind about sumthin’?”“Uh, sure.. I’m kinda thirsty, can I get like, just.. A beer, or something?”“Sure ‘nuf! ‘Swhat I said, you certainly earned it!”He poured it so enthusiastically. It was big, but she was big too, and doing this for a reason. Just one. She took a sip, and a sip turned into quite a bit more. It poured down her throat, it was good, golden, perfect. It hadn’t changed a bit. She huffed, biting off a bit more than she could chew. “Hah, thanks.”“Don’t mention it.” Hank said before returning to another customer needing a refill. She took another, more controlled sip, wondering if she could stand over there and drink it. Nah. She could take ten minutes to finish this off before going back over there, and finishing out the night. So she did. She drained it pretty quickly, a lot quicker than she’d have thought. She left the empty mug on the counter before going back to her post, feeling a tad bit heavier than before. She took out the other meat wrap and started working on it to try to preserve her sobriety as she waited out the rest of the night.     By the time midnight came, there were only three people there. Hank, Bill, and Frank, and Bill was in the back. Hank had spent the last half hour cleaning up, and Frank polished off his drink before heading out, giving a wave and a goodbye to what she assumed was his friend. She pushed off the wall, her head a little clearer after some time had passed. She started walking to the door, and Hank stopped to watch her. “Did me a great thing today, you know.”She stopped. “Did my job.”“That you did. I hate to keep you from yer bed, but I hate not to pay you even more.”Oh, that’s right. He only gave her half up front. She turned around, and followed him to the bar. Ten more pieces found their way into her hands.. Wait, no, that looked like a little more than ten. She looked up to him, the pieces were still in her hands.“Don’t you say a d@mn thing. I don’t care if you don’t want ‘em, cuz I don’t want ‘em more.”“...”“Thanks.” Susie said before spilling the coins into their pouch. “See ya tomorrow then.”“Yup..” she grumbled before turning around, leaving the bar. The stuffy indoor air was replaced with the sharp but refreshing outdoor variety. She took a big breath, it was chilly, she was glad she’d made the trip in one day. She made her way down toward the inn, only to realize she didn’t have her ax. Her spine straightened in realization, before it slumped again. Whatever. She’d get it back tomorrow, probably. She made her way to the inn, while the bar had been dead, this place was still dying down. Tables with empty plates on them, people still finishing conversations, and drinks. She sat down at the bar, and was greeted by a tall, slender oriental looking man. His face was flat, but it was a disciplined flat, unlike her grouchy, avoiding expression. He waited. He was in a neat, black apron, black shirt, and probably black pants. “How much for a beer?”“No beer, Sake.” he said quickly. It was hard for her to decide if she liked the quick, almost harsh tone, or hated it as much as every other accent.“Sake.”“Is like rice wine.”“I- I know what sake is. How much.”“Two piece one bottle, hot or cold.”She fished two pieces out  and put them on the table. He took them, and just stood there staring at her.“Oh, uh, hot.” she said finally, prompting him to disappear into the kitchen. That guy was rigid. She might have been huge, but he seemed like the kind of person that would just get p@ss@d off and throw you out by your ear if you tried to intimidate him. Or whatever it was that Susie had instead of ears. In about a minute, he brought the Sake out. It had a cloth wrapped around it, and there was one tiny cup next to it. Silently, he went back to the kitchen. He’d read her well, sure some people might have shared this, more often than not really, but she didn’t have anyone to share with anymore. She poured a cup, it was steaming, it was like a shot glass. She could smell it. For some reason, Sake almost always made her sad. It just smelled and tasted that way, it went hand in hand with memories of things that brought her down. She blew uselessly on it before throwing it back, more because of the heat than the taste. It wasn’t really that hot, so as she poured another cup, she sipped it this time. Warm Sake. It’s like it did the thinking for her. It dulled her, letting her think about things without them being quite as painful. It was metaphorically bittersweet to her, sad memories, but also the ones she cherished most. Another cup soon was gone, she wanted to bring this to her room, but there was no way that guy was going to let this cup and bottle out of his sight, even if he was in the kitchen still. After methodically putting more and more into her system, a combination of sleepiness and alcohol had taken over her mind. She stumbled up to her room, slipping into it and locking the door behind her. She took off her jacket, and then her vest, dropping it by the side of the bed before flopping on it in just a white t-shirt, her jeans, and boots. She stared at the ceiling, feeling the sheets. They felt so soft, and she rolled over to press her cheek into them. It was the booze. Maybe because she was tired too? She rolled back over, pulling the pillow down to behind her head as she looked up at the ceiling again. Support beams, what looked like drywall to cover up the ugly bits, boring to anyone who wasn’t tipsy like her. She wanted to sleep so badly, but it wasn’t because she was tired, it was because she was drunk. She turned on top of the sheets, wanting to lull to sleep, but she couldn’t. So she didn’t. She just decided to think about stuff, something she only did when she was drunk.        Susie kicked her legs over the edge of the bridge. It was small, it was more of a reinforced pipe to let the tiny creek flow through it than it was a proper bridge. Kris was next to her, the two of them leaned on the metal railing as they looked down at the running water, as well as the trees, bushes, and flowers surrounding it. The air was refreshing, not cool, not hot, not humid- Perfect. Susie didn’t care though. It could’ve been hot, or cold, or humid, or dank for all she cared, perfect weather wasn’t what made this day great. Because she felt like she’d had a string of wonderful days, and not all of them were as blue-skyed as this one. It wasn’t silent, the sound of running water filled the air, birds chirped, various insects would occasionally cry out, the only things that stayed quiet were the two of them, their legs swinging back and forth over the edge. They were both smiling, almost giddily, even though nothing had been said. They were just there, with each other, and there was nowhere they’d rather be. All of the sudden, they heard a car pull up. It was going it’s normal speed, but slowed down to a stop right before them. They would have just ignored it if it didn’t, but Kris turned his head to see why it in particular had come to a halt. He stood up once he realized the color and make of Toriel’s sedan, Susie stayed put. She had a smile on her face too, it seemed to be contagious. “Hey mom.”“Hey Kris, you two having fun?”“Yeah.”“I was just on my way home from the grocery store. Do you two want a ride?”Kris looked over at Susie. They’d been sitting here for.. Well, a while, they hadn’t really checked. Whether he took the offer or not, the two of them were going to have to move on soon. It was late in the afternoon either way, there were other ways the two of them could have spent the rest of the day. He looked back to Toriel.“I think we’ll just walk. It’s nice out- Unless uh, you need help with the groceries?”“Oh not at all! You two have fun, don’t stay out too late!” Toriel said before the engine picked up, and the car started off again. Kris turned to Susie, jumping a bit when he was greeted with a view of her neck, instead of her sitting on the ledge. She chuckled, grinning before the two of them started down the same route Toriel had taken, albeit a bit slower. “Wadya wanna do? It’s probably gonna be dark in a few hours.”“Yeah.. I dunno.. We don’t have any homework or anything, right?”“Are you that bored?~” Kris said sarcastically, the two of them chuckling. A few months ago, Susie was on the fastest route possible to being a highschool dropout. Now, with the help and support she was more prone to receiving, things were getting handed in on time. “We knocked it out at lunch, remember?”“Yeah.. We probably should’ve hitched a ride with your mom.”“Why? I like walking with you.”Susie blushed. Kris looked up at her with a smile before grabbing her hand. Susie held it dearly, doing her best to do so gently, instead of the vice grip she’d use for pretty much anything else. Like she was holding a picture, or a stuffed animal, or more appropriately, a lover. She felt her face get redder, she was still new to this, Kris was too, but he was the more compassionate of the two. She rescinded on her earlier statement, this was a much better alternative than a quick ride to his place.“I uh, I like walking with you too.”It sounded awkward to her. It was awkward, but Kris thought it was sweet. Before, she never said anything she was thinking, or feeling, but slowly and surely he’d gotten her to open up. She had a blunt way of putting things, if she put them at all, and Kris loved it. All or nothing, whatever she did, she gave him her all. Susie felt happy. She noticed it too, every moment she spent that was like this almost dulled her mind, she felt like she was in a dream. She didn’t take a single second of it for granted, it was such a stark comparison to how she was months ago. Bitter, alone, spiteful.. Cracked like a nut to reveal a sensitive inside that needed this desperately. She lost track of time, as she tended to when it was time spent like this, and before long they were at Kris’ house. They were on the sidewalk, looking at it, the two of them wondered what would happen from here. They both felt the need to be together, Kris wanted to invite her in, really far in, and she wanted to go with him. But was it appropriate? They just wanted to hold each other, but Toriel might not have seen it that way.“I had a lot of fun today Susie.”“Yeah.. Me too. You’re- I uh..”“I love you~”“Y-Yeah, heh, I love you too~”“Do you wanna spend the night at my place?”Her face went flush, it was what she wanted, but.. When he put it like that, it sounded like.. She couldn’t even bring herself to think about it, her face was already so unimaginably red.“W-Wouldn’t your mom, uh.. I dunno if she’d like that.”“You can sleep on the couch.”That.. That was the opposite of what she had been expecting. The couch? That was such a 180 from what she was expecting, but.. As long as she got to spend more time with him, that was what mattered. Some of the blush disappeared.”“I uh, yeah, okay..”Kris got on his toes, pulling her down gently to whisper something in her ear.“I can sleep on the couch too~” he whispered. Susie’s face was red again as she laughed nervously. That would work, that would be awesome. Falling asleep with him while watching TV.. Toriel would be none the wiser. Kris was grinning, and pretty soon Susie was too as they walked over to the front door. The plan had gone on without a hitch, Kris said she’d sleep on the couch, they started watching TV, and by the time the sun went down the two of them were struggling to keep their eyes open. The TV was kept to what Toriel referred to as a “Dull roar”, Susie was starting to lean on Kris’ shoulder. The thick blanket that was supposed to be just for Susie was wrapped around both of them, over their shoulders. Eventually Kris turned the TV down even more, and wrapped his arms around Susie. They leaned over, getting the blanket over both of them. The lights were already out, the TV was the only thing illuminating the room. They didn’t talk, Susie held Kris close to stop any possibility of him falling off the couch. The TV was shut off, and with the quiet blackness surrounding them, the two quickly fell asleep.     A tray was plopped down in front of them, practically dropped. It startled them, they looked up from each other to see who had decided to join their table, collectively frowning at what they saw. “Did you guys see what happened in Melburg?!”It was Berdley. Why he had decided to violate their time together at lunch, they were very reluctant to find out.“A better question is, should we care?” Susie said. It was mocking, sure, but warranted, Berdley had a habit of pestering people with things only he cared about.“Uh, yeah? I’m gonna guess you didn’t see what happened in Melburg, on the news?”Kris sighed defeatedly. “What, Berdley?”“There was this huge.. Riot? Something like that, people were in the streets and everything, breaking stuff, there were a few pretty big buildings that got lit on fire, they had helicopters filming it, it was insane!”“Really? Why?”“Why did they light the buildings on fire or why was it insane?”Kris sighed again. He had to be getting off on this or something. “The buildings, Berdley.”“That’s the crazy part! Nobody knows..” he said, waving his hands around like he was telling some kind of ghost story.“No, actually, you know what the crazy part is?” Susie said, setting something up. “Nobody cares..” she said, lazily waving her hand in a similar mocking fashion. “Yeah, well you should! There’s some people- Me included- That think they’re gonna get the national guard involved. It’s not the only one it’s happening in either, there’s a bunch of smaller towns that have had stuff like this happen in them, I think it’s leading up to something big.”“Dude, you need to quit going on those weird message boards. Remember when you went around telling everybody that the school milk made you sick or something, some disease that turns you into a girl?”“Okay, that was WAY different. First of all, it’s not just the school milk, it’s all milk, and second-”“Berdley! Don’t start with this sh@t again, if you think the world’s ending, go tell the teacher or something.”“Or the counselor..” Susie added. Berdly frowned before picking up his lunch and huffing off to go harass someone else.     “Alright everyone, class is now over.”Everyone started to get up, before Ms. Alphys piped up again.“I said over, not dismissed. We’ve been sent a mandate, for the last twenty minutes we’ll be watching this instructional video sent to us by the national guard.”The class mumbled, talking to each other as Alphys struggled with the projector. Finally, it came on. It looked like a more modern version of those old war instructional tapes they’d seen in history class. “Duck and cover” was replaced by a very straightforward, actually informative tape.“Hello students. Due to the recent state of events in the world around you, it has been deemed necessary to inform the public of a few rudimentary methods of keeping you, your home, your things, and the people around you secure and safe. The following fifteen minutes will include instructions on things such as securing valuables, from small household objects to things such as vehicles or appliances. Protecting your home from possible invaders of several varieties. Staying safe while out of the house. And more.”For the next fifteen minutes, every kid in the room, as well as Alphys, watched. It wasn’t so much the information being provided to them, but why. With every technique, demonstration, or warning, it was made more and more clear that in other places, things weren’t so good. The only thing that was mandatory so far though, was the video, which was over before class was supposed to be let out anyways. Kris and Susie were walking together out of the school, their stuff in their backpacks. “That was freaky.”“Yeah, I know. Why would they make us watch something like that? I don’t think Hometown has had a break in, or hell, even like a mugging or something EVER. Officer Undyne is like, the only cop ever on patrol.”“Yeah, I mean, they said it was a national thing. It’s probably not here, it’s probably just in other crummy places.” “Yeah, but.. There’s gotta be enough of them for everyone to have to watch it.”The two of them were silent as they thought on it, before Berdley walked past them. They were going really slowly, so it was whatever, until Susie realized something.“Hey Kris?”“Yeah?”“Didn’t Berdley go on one of his rants about something like this?”“Huh.. Yeah, I think, like a week ago he tried to sit at our table and said something about the national guard and Melburg.. You don’t think he actually knew what he was talking about, do you?”“Well.. I mean, they basically just said all the sh@t he would have. And.. I dunno..”Berdley had gotten far away from them already at the speed he was walking, even if he was still visible.“Whaddya mean?”“When has Berdley ever been right about something without being a total jackass about it?”“...”“Sh@t.”     From then on out, the walk to and from school felt oddly tense. Nothing changed, but that video seemed to put a chill down everyone’s spine. Toriel found herself watching the news a lot more, it actually took up most of her hobbies, reading, sewing, it even ate into her baking. Kris saw her in her nightgown more than her robes or clothes, the only place she went was the store, and church. It worried Kris more than any instructional video ever could, it worried Susie too. She didn’t know her as well, but she knew enough about her to know it took a lot to make a woman like that freak out that much. One day, after school, out of the blue.“Class is over, but ah.. I’ve been ordered to inform you, class, there will be a mandatory curfew enforced in the hometown limits for a currently undetermined amount of time.”There was a pause to let everyone really grasp the situation, as well as leave them wondering the time it would be set. “The state requests no persons be out of their homes past the time of eight o’clock PM. Anyone caught out past curfew will be detained and.. And questioned, and treated accordingly. Please limit the time you spend out of your home to necessities, please move purposefully to anywhere you are traveling, anyone seen participating in suspicious activity can and will be questioned and detained if deemed necessary.”Alphys put down the paper she was required to read, looking nervous. “Now, I know that you might not want to hear that, but.. It’s important. Don’t think that just because you know officer Undyne that you’ll get a free pass, I assure you, she takes her job very seriously. The last thing she wants to do is have to take one of you to holding for the night, but I think you all know as well as I do that she will. So.. Have a good afternoon, and stay safe.”It was solemn. Solemn, and very worrying to all the students. It seemed like they all walked a lot quicker to get home, even if they technically had hours to do so. Susie and Kris still walked together, the homework they were getting seemed to dwindle as things seemingly got worse. It was hard to tell themselves that this was just other places, that it wasn’t going to be Hometown.. Because other people seemed to think otherwise. The sort of people that could set an 8pm curfew. The two of them got to Kris’ house without a word. Toriel was on the couch, her eyes glued to the screen, she didn’t even say hello.“Hey mom, I’m back from school.”“Uh huh.. Hey sweetie.” she said almost robotically. The two teens walked up behind the couch. Fire. Rioting. All from very, very distant views. Big towns, huge cities falling victim to it. Quarrels with military personnel. The two kept walking, unwilling to put up with more than a minute of the panic news stations thrived off of. They went up to Kris’ room. They sat on the bed, the two collectively bummed out. They sat there in silence, neither of them knew what to think, where things would go from here. Eventually, Kris put his hand on Susie’s. She flipped it around to properly hold his, appreciating the comfort.“Susie.. I don’t.. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”“I don’t either dude.”“But I promise.. No matter what happens, I’m gonna be there. Right next to you. Even if they burn down buildings, and riot, and.. I’ll stay next to you. I promise.”She gripped his hand tighter. It wasn’t the best circumstance, it was far from ideal really, but with that promise, that reassurance that she’d always have him, made it almost all better. She didn’t need to ask if he meant it, she knew he did, and she couldn’t help but smile.“That’s not gonna happen.. But uh, if it does.. I’m never gonna let go~”     More time passed. Curfew sucked, but it just gave Kris and Susie more time to themselves, their hands held, or arms wrapped around each other. Everything outside was quiet, desolate almost. Whenever they went anywhere, it seemed like a ghost town. Anyone they saw outside was walking quickly to wherever they were going, and that’s if people went anywhere. The news stopped covering towns that fell victim to what could only be called a disease. There weren’t pictures of skirmishes, fights, fires.. Just battles, plumes of smoke, entire areas that had been considered compromised. Toriel was almost always glued to the TV, she had stocked up on food so she didn’t need to leave the house as much, Kris ended up doing most of the cooking. Anxiety was building, and one day, Kris proposed something to Susie. Why not hang out by the bridge? They never said they weren’t supposed to. They hadn’t just walked, and strolled, or hung out like that for so long. So they did. They walked there, things seemed fine enough, until they got to the bridge. They sat down, but something about it.. Facing away from the road. It was hard. They were anxious. This wasn’t fun. “W-We should go.”“Yeah.”So they did. They got up, and started the walk back. The sun was already setting though, and as they walked around a corner, a tall, imposing figure approached them.“Oh sh@t. Oh f@ck, cr@p-”The two of them took off, getting about a block before hearing them yell “Stop!” really loudly. Officer Undyne. They were out past curfew, weren’t they. They froze. She caught up to them, before recognizing them. “Ohthankangel.. It’s just you two. You know you’re out past curfew, right?”“Yes Miss. Undyne..”She was silent. Even though she had a minute for her adrenaline to go down, it looked like it didn’t. Her hand was on her belt, the other on her hip, she looked ready to pounce on something. “Look, you know that law’s there for you, right? I’m not.. You weren’t up to anything, were you?”They were silent for a second, before Kris piped up. “We just wanted to go for a walk.. And just, you know, hang out. We forgot how late it was.”She listened, before letting out a tired sounding sigh. “I’m not going to detain you, if you promise this won’t happen again. It’s not safe out here.”“Then why are you out here?”Kris’ face shot over to Susie, Undyne looked at her too, but she wasn’t mad. She was tired. She didn’t know the answer, but she d@mn sure wanted to, she’d asked that question many times to her superiors, and herself alike.“Why indeed. Get home before something happens.” It was so dismissive. They didn’t feel like they were learning a lesson, or being let off easily, she sounded just like so many others had been; defeated. That worried them more than anything. If Undyne was worried.. What should they be? They walked home silently, their hands held out of fear more than their love for one another as they made it back to Kris’ house. For the first time in forever, he was assaulted by a big bear hug from Toriel.“Oh Angel, Kris! I thought I’d lost you..” She said as she squeezed him. Kris got an up-close idea of just how much Toriel had been neglecting herself, he hadn’t really been this close to her in a while. “What were you doing out past curfew? You came home half an hour late, do you know how worried I’ve been about you?”
She had tears forming in her eyes. He couldn’t give her the same story he’d given Undyne, he didn’t want to tear the last string holding this woman together. “Mom, I.. I’m sorry.. We were coming home, and- Ms Undyne stopped us. She asked us a bunch of questions, and.. And then she walked us home. She said she didn’t have time to stop in though, in case anyone else was out wandering around..”It sounded lame. But it kept the waterworks from pouring out of the goat woman’s face. “O-Oh. Well.. I’m glad you’re okay, Kris.” she said rather dismissively, before slowly making her way over to the couch again. It left a sour taste in both of their mouths.     One day, out of the blue, that tension was snapped like a taut rope being hit with a machete. They were walking home from school, when all of the sudden, a dull roar was heard. It wasn’t an earthquake.. The two of them picked up the pace. It got louder, and they could make out voices.. And broke out into a sprint. Susie was dragging Kris behind her, she was much faster than he was, and actually had to slow down for him to be able to keep up. Louder, and louder, and louder, until eventually it was upon them. Droves of what were difficult to call people. Monsters and humans alike awash over the streets. They were passing by some of the stores, and already the front panes of them were being shattered. More of them went through broken glass holes than they did the actual doors. It stopped being fleeing, and started being them trying to push their way through the crowd. A dull fog of panic drenched the two of them as Susie clenched Kris’ hand desperately, trying to push her way through what was becoming a thicker and thicker crowd. Out of the blue yet again, a massively powerful force connected with Kris, and Susie’s grip wasn’t enough to contain the sweaty human hand. She heard him yell, and immediately turned around. He was easy to see, the contrast between the filthy vagabonds that had disconnected the two, and the clean, neat Kris that was being dragged away by them. He kicked and screamed, but it only made it worse, Susie saw a hand grab his throat. A string in her heart snapped, he was meters away, and she pushed desperately towards him, before colliding with a broad, filthy, angry man. He roared, more used to this than she was. He had a knife, Susie’s heart was pounding. He swiped it at her, her reaction was too late. The blow landed across her snout, she felt it tear open. Instinct took over, and she screamed, rushing not the man, but his knife. She messed up his wrist and disoriented him enough to force him to drop it. She dove on it, picking it up before turning around to face him, angry and charging toward her. She thrust it out, the man hit her, the two fell to the ground. She felt the knife leave her hand, and as she scrambled away from him, she realized why it had been so easy to do so. It was lodged in his chest, where the hearts of humans lay, his chest oozing red into and past his thin tank top shirt. He clutched it, it was stuck, and even if it wasn’t it was over for him. Everything got quiet. For Susie, at least. Her head pounded with her heart, adrenaline had taken over, and was running her ragged. She tried to scream Kris’ name, but she couldn’t bring herself to scream loud enough. Over the yells of others. She pushed in the direction she thought she’d last seen him, witnessing several things like the one she’d just partook in, over matters far less serious than lives. Bottles, televisions and nothing at all.. No, wait.. She felt herself become nauseous at the thought, looking away as she pressed on. Tears formed in her eyes from the searing pain of her new cut as she desperately searched for him. She was turned around, constantly pushed around, and scared out of her mind. Again, she was surprised, before looking at the sky. She felt dirt on her hands and grass in her hair, she looked up at the almost gray sky. She pushed hard to get up, barely managing to stumble onto her feet. She’d been in a ditch, and behind her.. Was a forest. She turned back to the mob, the man that had pushed her had thankfully moved on, but she was presented with an option. The image of Kris with a hand around his throat flashed into her head. It was clenched around his neck. That person was massive compared to him, she almost lost the fight she had against someone she was barely matched with. She felt her lips tremble as she turned back to the woods. She pushed past the bushes, her legs carrying her as awkwardly far as they could. She half-ran for what seemed like hours, when it was really only about twenty five minutes. Her wobbly legs gave out, and she fell on her knees. She cried. Loudly. Sputtering, flowing tears, on her hands and knees, littering the ground with her tears as she bawled like a baby. Forget the town, her friends, her mom, everyone she knew, she sure as hell did, because that didn’t matter. Kris was dead.      Susie snorted, jostling herself. She was met with the view of the ceiling, illuminated now by the sun. F@ck, she hoped she hadn’t slept in too late. She was groggy, and a tad bit hungover, she certainly hoped as she fastened her armor and jacket that she wasn’t that, AND late. She stumbled down the stairs, to the main area. That tiny guy from before was there. “Enjoy your sleep, miss?”She grumbled, not in the mood to talk, she wanted to get over to her job before she lost it. She was pretty sure that with how empty it was, aside from a few people eating what could have been breakfast, that it was still morning.“So just the one night then?”She stopped dead in her tracks, before turning around. She walked over to him, counting more money out, only having enough for another night. “Don’t screw with my room. I didn’t leave anything up there, but I’d like it to be there when I come back.”“Certainly. How long did you plan on staying here exactly?”“I don’t plan stuff like that. But uh.. A while. I have a job here.”“Gotcha. One night at a time?”“Hopefully.”“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like a steady source of revenue. Anyways, I won’t keep you.”She went to turn, before stopping. “Oh uh.. Billy uh, Jack, right? Hank says hey.”He stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around with a smile. “Oh really now? What a coincidence, heh, you tell that old b@st@rd “Hey” right back.”She grinned very awkwardly, for him, not from instinct, before making her way there. No time to eat, she’d do that when she got back to the inn. It was a quick, brisk walk, the morning air helping to shake any of the cobwebs still present in her mind out. She walked into the bar like she was welcome there, heading straight for her new post. “Hey Hank.” she said idly, she’d caught a glimpse of him at the bar. “Oh, uh, hey. You’re here early.”“Better than late.”“Well, yeah, I suppose so, but.. Well, we don’t really need you until about noon.”“Don’t matter to me.”“...”“Me getting here early is my fault. Don’t think I’m asking you to dip any farther into your pockets for it.”“Oh, well.. I suppose it’s fine, if’n you ain’t got nowhere else to be.”“Mmhmm.”“...”“Oh, uh, Billy Jack says hey.”Hank grinned.     The daypassed with far less excitement than the one previous. It also passed without her drinking, which also meant thoughts of her past caught up to her in the dull roar of the bar merriment. Last night she had another dream. Another dream about him. It was almost annoying at this point, but a few years back she’d just stopped trying to rid herself of the recurring memories all together. Getting blackout drunk to forget about what had happened didn’t really work all that well, even getting a little drunk didn’t really seem to do the trick. She sort of came to like it though, the fact that she could remember exactly what his face looked like, what his hand felt like.. She shook her head, focusing on her immediate surroundings as if there was some sort of active threat. There wasn’t. So she looked harder. People talking, humans mostly, a few monsters mixed in with the bunch, Hank talking someone’s head off.. Nothing. It was dark outside, but that didn’t mean it was close to closing time, she figured she was a little past halfway through. She let out a sigh, and put her weight back into the wall. It was all she had to keep her company, next to painful memories. If she ever told anyone that they’d think she was crazy. Would they? She wasn’t exactly keen on finding out. She resented the fact that she didn’t have a single, solitary thing to remember him by, and no matter how many times she tried to get over that fact, she couldn’t. Even the grave she made for him was just this unmarked, sad thing with nobody in it. It was entirely for her, but even then, it was a pathetic attempt at putting those feelings to rest, especially since it didn’t work. In all her years, she’d never met anyone like him.. Anyone close. Anyone that gave her a second look, talked to her, prodded just a little bit deeper than they sho-“You okay? I said it’s pay-time! Thought that would’ve snapped you out of it the first time..”Susie snapped back to where she was, jolted by the unexpected shout she’d actually heard. She started making her way over to Hank, a little worried that this odd behavior was a red flag to him. She took the pieces off the counter, dropping them into the coin purse, before remembering to pick up her ax.“Did you get enough sleep last night? Looked like you’s was about to doze off there for a second.”“I uh, yeah, just got a little distracted.. Is all..”“Huh. Guess I can’t blame you. Standin’ up against a wall’s gotta be dull as the bricks what go into ‘em, guess that’s why people pay folks like you. Anywho, g’night.”“Yeah, night.”It just wasn’t the same. Nothing was. Not a single moment from that time in her life had ever been recreated after that fiasco. The only emotions she’d had that ever spiked was when she couldn’t take it anymore, and cried. When someone or something reminded her just enough of something, and she lost it. She walked into the inn and sat down at the bar, the same oriental man from before stood over her.“Wah you want?” he said quickly, and harshly. How someone could have so much energy so late at night was beyond her. “Wuddyou got for food?”He handed her a piece of paper with what they had on it. “You flip over. Night time menu on back.”She did as he asked.. Or commanded, it was hard to tell. Not a whole lot. Things you could realistically buy all the time, plus steamed meat and rice. Two pieces. She fished them out of her pocket, with another one for a drink.“Can I get the uh, Meat'n Rice, and some water or something.”“This not enough.”“Wuht?”“This not enough for meat and rice, AND spring water. See, you look right here, two pieces food, three pieces spring water.”“Wha- No, I just want regular water.”“Then you go town and fill up bottle at well.”She sighed. She wasn’t making that walk. Should’ve gotten something to drink at Hank’s.. She didn’t want to spend three pieces on what, spring water? What a sham. He was staring right at her, she finally caved in and decided on it, putting two more pieces on the table. That was almost a room, and she was spending it on one meal. This better have been good. After about five minutes, the man returned from the kitchen, a bowl of rice with meat on top of it placed in front of her, and a bottle with a weird corking mechanism was put next to her. He stood there for another minute, waiting to hear any protests, or additional demands. Susie picked up the bottle, before pulling on the top of it. The man made an annoyed noise, it sounded like something in another language. He snatched the bottle out of her hands before flicking the latch, the plastic cork popped out. He set it down, crossing his arms. “Uh, thanks.. I’m gonna take this up to my room.”“Which room?“Uh, one-oh-five.”“You bring bottle back. Bring bowl back too.”“Sure.”She put the cork back in the bottle, the man returned to the kitchen just so he didn’t have to watch. She carried the wooden bowl up to her room, her ax in her free hand, the bottle in her jacket pocket. It sagged, but it worked, and eventually she got there and put her things down. Ax next to the head of the bed, bowl and bottle down on the flat lid of the chest. She got up to lock the door, the one window in the room let in enough moonlight for her to see, but just barely. She sighed. She picked up the bowl, setting it on her lap as she plucked the sticks out of it. She hated chopsticks almost as much as she used to hate forks and knives, even if she’d give anything in the world to use them now. She grabbed a hunk of rice and put it in her mouth, before realizing just how dry it was. She begrudgingly swallowed before uncorking the bottle again, amazed at the simple device she’d never seen before, Kris would’ve loved it. No.. Kris would’ve loved to see her messing with it like a baby with rattle, just absolutely fascinated with something so mundane. Her hands gripped around the bottle a lot tighter than she’d wanted them to. Not again, not tonight. This luxury item reminded her of before, far too much. The bottle itself looked fancy, it was in the design of a fish, no wonder the man wanted this bottle back. The water inside was clear. She held it up to the moonlight, not a single impurity. Just like.. Someone else, she used to know, a long time ago. She drank from it, and felt herself choke. Purity was such a bad analogy for her to have made with this, because that’s exactly what it was, and that’s exactly what he was. It was different. It wasn’t just water, it was spring water. Pure, clean, what seemed like flavor, no dysentery to be found. She took more than a sip, and found herself almost sputtering as she set it down on the floor. She grabbed her chopsticks, struggling to get them into place inside her shaky hands. She hated having to do this, but she did it anyway. Because what if this was her forks and knives? The spring water, the soda she used to drink way too much of before staying up with a special someone? The bowl of rice and meat, the sub sandwiches they’d both get together to eat at the park.. What if she was taking this for granted like all of those things she used to, and when she did, they’d be taken away, to remind her she should’ve clung to them?No. It never would be. They would never be the same, they would never match up. She started to cry, the sticks fell onto the bed, then the floor. Take it away, she didn’t care. The soda, the sandwiches, the stupid dainty metal impliments people made her eat with instead of her hands.. None of those things were anything without the person that got her to enjoy them. That she enjoyed them with. And she didn’t have anything in this life that would ever compare to that, not a thing, noone. And she never would. Because he was gone, forever, and that’s all that mattered.      She remembered crawling through the woods. Jacket, jeans, shirt, shoes, and not a single other thing to her name. That crying fit had taken a lot out of her, as if what she’d just bore witness to hadn’t taken everything else. Eventually she stopped crawling, and got up on shaky legs. And she forced them, and herself, to walk. It was a lot faster than crawling, more efficient, even if she had to lean on trees every now and then. Her jacket arms were wet with tears, and a little mucus, she’d needed to wipe her face quite a bit through this whole ordeal. Oh, and blood. The gash on her snout was pretty bad, but it was a hell of a lot less than what had happened to Kris. She could still walk, and cry.. How terrible it must have been to want to scream, only to have your windpipe crushed by some vagrant. She was deep into the woods, deeper than she’d ever gone before for any reason, because she had been walking for miles. Hours. For so long, that even the sun started to go down. Daylight became evening, and again, she was terribly scared. She wasn’t ready, not for night time, the black, inevitable abyss.. Until she saw something weird. Something that stuck out in a forest. A stump. A nice, flattened, sawed down stump. Someone had to have been here at some point to do that, and this was further implied by the woodcutting ax sticking out of it. She walked up to it, she’d seen nothing but nature up until now, it was strange. The stump was old, almost rotted, and the ax was dull, wooden handle, dull metal head. She pried it out with some effort, before holding it in her hands. It was heavy, but that was because her body and mind had both taken incredible tolls. She looked at it, and felt her teeth grit. If only she’d had something like this back there.. She would have- No, still would, drive this thing right into every last one of them. Where the neck and shoulder met, to the heart. She swung it angrily in the air, before struggling to control where it went. She almost stumbled before realizing that that wasn’t happening if she wanted to live. Keep going. When she stopped, she saw another godsend. That was a house. A tiny one, but a house indeed. She ran over to it, it looked like a log cabin. She pushed on the door, it flew open to reveal.. Nothing. Well, not nothing, but just about as much. It looked like a cot, something that she felt people were meant to sleep on. A metal heater, something she knew the use of, she had one in her house for heat. And a chair. It was old, practically rotted, more of a stool at this point. She almost cried again. She expected.. Well, she didn’t know what she expected. Maybe for someone to be here? A big, strong woodcutter that would tell her not to worry, he’ll get her back where she belongs, and find her little boyfriend too. Or.. Maybe she wanted to see Kris here. Yeah, that one, definitely that one. She would’ve been fine if she’d opened the door to see Kris sitting on that dilapidated stool, or the cot, or f@ck@ng anywhere. Anywhere but on the streets, with hands around his neck.. She set the ax down against the wall, tears had started streaming down her cheeks again as she turned out of the cabin. The ground dented down in front of her, there was a stream. Oh. That was good. She walked over to it, almost tripping as the ground dipped down. She put her hand in the stream, the water was cold. But it was water, and she’d spent quite a bit crying and running and crawling.. And fighting. She drank. She couldn’t bring the water up to her face with her hands, not in this state. She drank a little too much, wondering how good of an idea it was to just drink straight from a stream, but not very much. She went back to the cabin. She shut the door, there was no lock on it. Great. She went over to the cot, testing it before laying down in it. At least it wasn’t the ground. The world started to get dark, and Susie wanted to cry again, but she couldn’t. She was scared, but she was something else. Something that made that fear go straight through her. She leaned on her side, facing the wall as she tried to sleep. She knew she should be afraid, but she just wasn’t. It was like she was desensitized. “That was probably it” she told herself, not wanting to think anymore, which is what ultimately led her to sleep, and into the next ten years of her life. Daylight came. Birds chirping usually meant that. Her head hurt, and she was hungry. She got up, still groggy, as she looked around. She felt shattered to pieces, especially now that her strength had somewhat returned. The ax was still there, and she picked it up. It felt more like the proper tool it was than the awkward, hefty thing it did yesterday. Her stomach growled. That was her next affair to tend to, and it would likely present the greatest challenge so far. Water was right there, shelter had thankfully been plopped right on her head, but now, food. She checked in the heater. Ashes, charcoal, it was empty. She didn’t expect anything to come of it, but felt like it was maybe worth a shot. She stepped outside. Everything was still there, she didn’t really expect it not to be, but it was the first somewhat refreshing thing to happen to her. She walked over to the stream, before splashing water in her face. She debated whether she should wash her jacket, before deciding against it. She didn’t want it to be wet, and she couldn’t just wait here for it to dry. She took the chance to look in the stream for fish, just in case she could have actually caught, cleaned, cooked and eaten like ten of them. None. It was too shallow, or something like that. She scrunched her face as she thought about something other than the tragedy that had just taken place. Streams.. This could’ve been the stream that went through their town. That.. No, it was best not to think about why she remembered it so easily. But if she followed it one way, eventually, it would lead her back. She stopped, her face un-scrunched as the possible consequences of that ran through her head. Back to Hometown.. Was that really the best option? It had only been a day, and some of those riots went on for weeks, even months, and even then they weren’t considered remotely liveable areas. She looked to the right. That would’ve led there, she assumed, and then to the left. She had no idea, but.. Maybe it was better. She looked back one more time to think about it. Fire, destruction, devastation, Kris was.. Had been.. How many others? What if she found him.. No, she was going left. She carried the ax in both hands, before realizing how annoying that was. Over the shoulder? Nope. Eventually she decided to carry it just under the head, and that seemed to work for her.      She walked on the side of the creek for miles. She kept her eye out for anything remotely interesting, especially anything that could’ve been food, but she found nothing. No berries, no more shelters, not even any auspiciously placed home-cooked meals placed haphazardly inside of a snare ring. Her feet were starting to hurt as morning turned into noon, and noon turned into afternoon. She felt empty, it was concerning, but she wasn’t starving, just a bit weak. That was, until that creek came to a hill. She could see metal guard rails on the top of it, which meant a road. She climbed it quickly, it was a backroad, something that tied towns together, but a road nonetheless. It didn’t have any distinguishable markings, looking left or right didn’t exactly do much to change that. She decided to go right, across the bridge, for the sole reason that the last time she had to pick left or right, she picked left. She kept walking, she debated whether she should stick to the side because of cars, but after about an hour with no cars she decided it couldn’t hurt to walk on the street. Maybe if she was lucky, one of those walking dead jeeps with huge spikes on the front would sail over a hill at a hundred miles an hour and completely maul her. It didn’t though, and she walked along the asphalt, happy to be on level ground instead of hiking through the woods. Well, not happy. She had a feeling that wasn’t something she was going to be for a long, long time. She was right. But she didn’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about her feelings, because right now, she didn’t really feel like she had any. She felt like a zombie, she was certainly walking around like one. It helped get her from point A, to point B, wherever that happened to be. That question was quickly answered, as she saw the road up ahead turn off sharply to the left. As she got closer to wherever it was it led, she saw what it was. The tall sign where gas prices used to be was what she saw first, there was a tiny building with a glass front on it, well, that used to at least. She changed course, walking over to it. Something clicked in her head, she realized that this place was probably torn through, the broken glass on the front of it signaling that someone other than her had been here, likely a while ago. Her grip on the ax tightened, and shifted to allow her to actually use it should she have to. She pushed on the front door, it opened, and glass shards fell out, despite the fact she opened it gently. She stepped inside, a rancid smell hitting her nose. Rotten, terrible.. Food. Whatever the hell it was she was smelling would do more harm for her than good, even if she didn’t eat it, but it meant other things might be here too. She moved toward the back, toward the shattered glass doors that contained things best left refrigerated. It was so powerfully awful, she had to put her shirt up over her snout. As ridiculous as it made her look, it helped enough. She saw racks, places where bottles or cans would’ve been, and to her luck, some still were. She grabbed a big bottle of water, before turning back to walk through an aisle. She caught a glimpse of what looked like a pile of mold, in-between some discarded egg and milk cartons, that had to be it. As hungry as she was, she didn’t even want to eat now, though knew enough that she should get something before leaving. She walked down an aisle, it looked like a lot of the chips, snacks, and stuff like that were gone. However, there was a surprising amount of canned goods still present. For a second she grit her teeth, cursing the fact that the world was ending and she didn’t think to grab something other than.. That she didn’t grab a can opener. This fear was quickly abated when she saw the tab on top, you could easily open them with your bare hands. She set down her ax, and the water, so that she could open her backpack. She looked through it, a science book.. Great. She tossed it, she wouldn’t miss it a bit, and she needed room for water and food. She stocked up on enough canned beans for her to get sick of them quickly, before diving back to the back to get some more water. She went to the front, her bag fastened back where it was, a lot heavier now with all the cans. She looked at where the register was, all of the candy in the front was gone, every last piece. Figures. She peered over the counter, seriously regretting that decision. She recoiled in disgust, and quickly turned around. She pushed through the door and started running, something that she couldn’t keep up for more than a minute. It had been a body. A portly human man wearing a store uniform; formerly blue, it was filled with holes, and stained red. Ten years later, she never figured out why the hell he was left there without pants, the bits they were there to cover up were nowhere to be seen.      Daylight. Birds. Though muffled, and through curtains, the sound and sight of the two ushered in the new day. Susie rose to them, feeling particularly groggy. She couldn’t tell if she’d overslept because she was so tired, or had woken up early and was suffering for it. Either way, she’d had a late night, whenever she cried she always felt it in the morning. She debated taking up drinking again as she stood up and stretched. There was enough room for her arms to extend over her head, which was a rare luxury when it came to rented rooms. Time to start the cycle again. She got her vest, her jacket, and her ax, and shoved off- Just before remembering the bowl and bottle she was supposed to bring down. There was still some water left, she threw it back like she used to with moonshine. She almost expected it to burn, but it didn’t, it was just spring water. She huffed as she brought it down, empty. She managed to get it, and the bowl in one hand as she walked back down. It was really early, at the very least she wouldn’t be late to work. She went over to the counter and set them down, the tiny man that she was getting used to seeing in the mornings was there. He made an odd gesture, pinching his fingers above his forehead before nodding. Whatever. People used to be weird, and they still were. She trudged the path to work, looking to see if the same people that were usually on the side of the road still were. Some were, some weren’t, it was something to keep her remotely entertained until she pushed on the door to the bar. It didn’t open.  She was confused to say the least, she grabbed the handle to pull, in case for some reason it was that.. But it didn’t budge. She took a step back, not wanting to knock down a door after just a few seconds of confusion, until she saw something on the front. A rectangular, thin sign, something she didn’t expect to see, but honestly should have. “Closed for remembrance” it read, a small insignia of the angel under the words. Great. No work today, why hadn’t Hank told her? Probably one of those “I guess I’m just old fashioned” sort of things, everyone should just know. She slumped, a day off.. She had money she wouldn’t feel too bad about spending, but it had been quite some time since she’d actually just.. Done stuff. Hung out. There weren’t exactly a whole lot of pleasantries in this day and age, people usually entertained themselves with other people, and she didn’t have any friends. Her eyes went wide in realization, she stopped in her tracks as she tried to get her bearings from within the town. She’d put it together, the possibility, few things survived the test of the past decade: Drinking, Gambling, and paid company. Sure there were things like food, and things that fell outside of pleasantries like war and violence, but that wasn’t exactly her idea of a relaxing day. She could go get drunk, but she had work tomorrow, it would’ve been a lot easier to just have gotten drunk yesterday, but she didn’t think to ask, she didn’t make this town to be one of those towns. It brought her back to the original idea, something she’d tried to put off, but she wasn’t seeing a whole lot of other options. She knew there was another place you could stay, but it was more tailored toward the rich, important, and sleazy. People had described it to her as more of a casino and a wh@r@house, somewhere where people would blow their money or stay if they had money to burn. And she was walking in the direction of it. She knew where it was, or at least, she thought she’d know it when she saw it. She put her hands in her pockets. She was incredibly nervous, no amount of lying to herself about the drinks or games would put her at ease. She stopped. It was across the street, it looked like something that had been built after things went to sh@t, it was one of few buildings she’d ever seen that looked new, and not strung together. “Geishas, Drinks, Games, Food”, advertisements strung on the side of the building in glowing letters pieced together from other signs. Electricity, a true luxury in this day and age. It was the sort of the place they’d have down feather beds, and meals that would cost her spare wages to sit through. It was brought to mind though that none of those things were the reason for her being there, standing in awe and anxiety at the massive, multi-story building. Geishas. Everyone gave the same spiel about them if for some reason you’d been hiding under a rock the past ten years. They had historical significance, samurai, merchants, and other well off folk would stop at inns, and Geishas would stay by their side. Rarely did the samurai travel alone, Geishas made sure they never rested as such. They provided services such as playing music, massages, in higher end places even acupuncture. Ironically, at least as of now, it was very strictly forbidden to engage in the sorts of relations that were all too popular at places like this. In fact, nowadays they were almost exclusively wh@r@s, even in a place like this they no doubt would be. In fact, that was why she was nervous, that’s why she was standing outside of here. They’d do anything she wanted. And she had a LOT of time to think of what it was she wanted out of something like this. The last time she’d faced these options, something to do with her off-days, she turned to drinking. Turns out she wasn’t a good enough mercenary to be an alcoholic. She took a long sigh, desperately hoping this wouldn’t be as addicting and life destroying as her last hobby. She made her now wobbly legs walk her to the place, the two people posted outside of it didn’t ease that feeling at all. They were massive, brutal, and had various metal plates dotting their bodies, they didn’t exactly seem to match up with each other. She stepped through the door, and was immediately greeted by a similarly built, less armored man in a chair. His legs were kicked up, and he was balding. “Hey there, weapons at the door.”“Huh?”“Said weapons at the door. The ax, it stays with me, or you don’t stay here long.”There was a small pile of weapons behind him. Sticks, clubs, another ax that looked more suitable for chopping people than wood, and a cl@ster of knives. She gripped it, she didn’t want to part with it, but she didn’t want to be a baby about parting with it either. She held it out to him, and he grabbed it quickly, almost tossing it behind him with the other ones. He went back to lounging, no longer looking at her now that she didn’t pose any threat to them. There were a lot of guards here, but aside from that, the place was extravagant. Lights, some of which were colored and in signs, like the ones you used to see in stores. Some people were eating, some were playing cards, or other games of supposed skill, regardless, most of them were drinking. She went over to the bar, she knew that at this point people would notice how flustered she was. The thought of it.. Someone all to herself, that she could do anything she wanted with. Things she’d put off doing for ten years.. Hell, probably more than that at this point. The bartender came over to her after topping off someone’s drink. “What’ll it be?”“I uh, I didn’t come here to drink, really..”“You came to a bar to not drink?”“Yeah, but.. Maybe a beer or somethin’.”“You got it.”Very quickly a mug was filled and set in front of her, she fished out a couple of pieces, three hit the table, and the man took them all. “I know that look, was about to recommend downing a pint myself.”“W-What? Whaddya mean?”“I’d remember someone like you piling in here. Had a talk with Ted, means you don’t know the drill. Nobody comes here to drink, you got that right, so what’s your poison tuts?”She blushed. She’d been made, why it was so embarrassing to be caught pursuing one of the three things this place was known for, she had no idea. She took a sip of her beer, her hands were shaky. It was really strong, not like the lighter stuff Hank had. She wanted to continue the conversation, but she was having a hard time admitting it.”“I uh, just like.. You know, some company.”“No shame in it. Folks like us would be outta work without folks like you. Everyone needs a little spice in their life every now and then. Got a type?”“A type? Like.. I like guys.”“Well, glad to see we’ve narrowed it down. No, I mean like, what type of guy? Got a whole bunch here. Big, small, short, tall, you name it, I’ll check in the back, see if we’ve got any left~”She chuckled at that, before the solemness of the situation caught up to her again. She took a big swig, feeling that dulled, light feeling that alcohol brought. Her type.. What WAS her type? She’d fantasized about this happening, but she never really pictured what kind of guy with. She felt a frog in her throat as she realized why. Her lips pursed, she took another very shaky sip as she realized who’d been filling that role in her daydreams. A scrawny human boy with hair in his eyes that she knew a lifetime ago, and couldn’t manage to forget. She couldn’t just ask him for that.. Could she?“Uhh.. Do you have any uh, humans? I mean- Like, sorta short, scrawny, brown hair kinda like mine..?”The man just stared for a second, it looked like he was bouncing around something in his mind, if he had a mustache he’d be chewing on it. It took a long time, at least in Susie’s mind, for him to respond.“I know I said I haven’t seen you in here before, but.. I think I know just who you’re looking for. Sort of hard to believe you don’t..”He walked over to the other side of the bar, fishing out a key before walking back over to Susie. “Thirty pieces gets you this here key to one of the first floor rooms for the night. Got a certain someone hiding behind the door I think you’re gonna like~”She stared at it. This would be the point of no return, if she bought it, she’d have to go and see him. She tried to tell herself it was a lot of money, because it was, but she wasn’t swayed. She brought out her purse to count out thirty pieces, each one put on the counter another decision she was making to do this. He gave her the key to play with once he had her thirty pieces counted up, pouring them into his apron to transport them to somewhere safer. She looked at the key she’d paid more than a day’s wages for. Third room on the first floor. She looked back at her half-full mug. She decided to take the man’s advice, and finished it off before heading to the stairs. She wasn’t drunk, she was tipsy, which was probably for the best. She’d be a complete bundle of nerves if she wasn’t, and she probably wouldn’t be able to perform if she wasn’t at least a little loaded. She went to a room with a big “3” on it. Even this hallway was lit by the fluorescent lighting hospitals used to be. She tried the handle, but the door didn’t budge. Duh, it was locked. She fished the skeleton key out of her pocket, it felt awkward to use, keys used to be a lot smaller and more compact. Car keys were the same size as house keys, how the times had changed. She opened the door, stepping in. She wriggled the key out, putting it back in her pocket as she closed the door. She just assumed he’d be in here, and was nervous even to look at him. When the door was closed, she bit the bullet and did so. She was at a loss of words. Her heart almost stopped at the sight before her. She understood why that man had been so surprised at her request, even if he wasn’t half as surprised as Susie was. He looked just like him. He sat on the bed, the room wasn’t terribly big, it had a lamp, a bed with a mattress instead of a frame, a chest, and a small table with a vase on it, a nice flower dotting it off. Just one, a white lily with a yellow center. She forced her eyes off of the temporary distraction, and back to him. His legs hung off the bed, he was in a bold, black robe with white designs inlaid. As worn as it was, it still looked nice on him. His legs kicked back and forth over the edge of the bed, just like they used to when the two of them sat over the river. She felt the strength sapped out of her, she didn’t know if she had it in her to go through with this.“Hey.”She froze. He sounded exactly like him.. Well, maybe not exactly. Like an older version of him. Something about that.. The fact that it wasn't wasn’t her memory of him, but something closer to what he’d actually sound like.. It was painful. She choked, coughing into her hand before returning the greeting.“H-Hey..”“You look nervous.”“Yeah..” Her face was beet red. A mixture of excitement and anxiety washed over her, the dread inside of her over what it would be like when this was over was at war with reliving the moments she never got to, and never would again. The boy stood up, he barely came up to Susie’s neck, which she got a sharp perspective of when he walked right up to her. She was downright afraid at this point, she had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. He took her large hand in his smaller, much softer one. When he pulled her over to the bed, she felt herself follow, and soon the two of them were sitting together.“First time?”“It’s been a while..”“It’s okay. We don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna.”She let out a shaky sigh. “Thanks.”He put a hand on her thigh, finally getting a feel for just how shaky she was. His smile turned to a neutral look.“We can take it slow. You have me for the night.”“O-Okay..”“Do you wanna take your vest off?”Oh yeah, her leather vest. Wouldn’t be very fun to do anything wearing that.. And she’d have to take her jacket off to take that off, leaving her in just a t-shirt and jeans. She stood up slowly, walking over to the chest. She unfastened her coin purse, most of her saved up money was in her room, she didn’t think after paying thirty pieces he’d steal from her. She put her jacket in there as well, before undoing her vest and putting it in the same box. She closed it before turning back to the boy, feeling very exposed. This was the least amount of clothing she’d ever worn around anyone, ever. She didn’t have underwear, or a bra, these were the clothes she slept in, and now she was going to take them off for a complete stranger. It felt weird, even if he did look like Kris.. She sat back down next to him, and an awkward silence filled the air. “Hey, can I uh..”“Yeah?”“Can I ask you to do something for me? It’s kind of uh.. It’s not weird, but.. I mean, I guess it’s kind of weird.. Can I call you something?”“Whaddya wanna call me?”It was hard to say. This had to be wrong, in some way, even if it felt right. It felt like him, maybe with the name, she could actually go through with it. He was the only person she’d ever wanted to sleep with, ever felt safe around, that she could actually open herself up and expose herself to. There was another brief pause before she worked up the courage to actually say it.“Just.. Can I call you Kris? It’s.. It’s someone I used to..”“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I don’t mind. Not the weirdest thing I’ve been asked to do~”What was supposed to put her at ease, only did somewhat. This was just another day to him. And here she was, getting emotional over a stranger that looked like her dead friend.“Thanks.”She wasn’t very talkative. She wasn’t one much for talking, that’s what she told everyone.. But this was supposed to be the one person she actually wanted to talk to. To spill her heart out to. She had so many things she wanted to say to him.. No, Kris, not him. Even if he looked exactly like him..“It’s been a while..”“Yeah.”“Ten years..”“You haven’t changed a bit.”“You’ve gotten a lot taller.”She was already choking. Just pretending to have this conversation was killing her.. But she needed to keep going. She didn’t just pay thirty pieces to have a chat about pleasantries. She was at least going to touch him, she decided. It was going to make this worse, but she didn’t think she was going to make it through this without any tiers. Hell, she couldn’t even think about him at night without resorting to crying, and here he was right here next to him.. For the night, at least. “I was always taller than you.. Freak.”She put an arm awkwardly around his shoulder. She didn’t need to squeeze him into her for his head to be pressed against her side. Her face was flushed red. She pulled him into her, even if he was already resting against her. It was like putting a hot coal on a block of ice, she just melted where he laid. Even though she was much larger, and wasn’t bearing the additional weight of her jacket and vest, she felt him leaning lightly on her, he felt heavy on her side. Her feet reached the ground, but his still dangled off the side of the bed. “Kris?”“Yeah?”“I.. I’ve wanted to do this for so long..”“Me too.”The frog in her throat got even bigger, she took a quick, shaky breath of air as she put her all into not breaking down. She’d called him Kris, and he responded like he was, it was driving her wild, though not in the way she’d set out for it to. “I’m s-sorry..”“It’s okay.”She sniffed hard, her throat quivering. “No it’s not..”“Well.. I think it is.”“C-Can I hold you?”“Of course~” the boy said softly.It was a combined effort, she pulled him into her chest, and he got up and put his face in her neck. She gripped him a lot tighter than she probably should have, locking him into her. Her chin rested on his head.“I’m.. I miss you..”She choked one last time before it finally happened. She started crying. Bawling, really. Her mouth was open as she sobbed, tears streamed down her face as she held him. She felt his smaller arms wrap around her back, his hands managed to meet, if she was any bigger it would be less of a hug, and more of a squeeze. Through her tears, she tried to apologize again, but the “I’m sorry” that stumbled out of her alongside her whimpers and sobs was hardly comprehensible. He just let it happen, and so did she. She knew he was just enduring it, so she decided to get her money’s worth. That was a lie, she didn’t decide, she just did it. She couldn’t not do it, this had been building up for ten years, and it was all pouring out right now. “R-Remember.. Remember when we.. A-A-At the science fair?”“Yeah. That was awesome.”There was no way he could have known. Well, he as in, him.. Not Kris. He didn’t know, he had just guessed, or went along with it, whichever it was, and it was working. Emotions were coursing through her like veins in lieu of the adrenaline that typically did.“And uhm.. A-And that time, when we used to uh, B-Berdley’s bike?” She had to sniffle before continuing. “We’d push it over after school, a-a-and he’d..”“He’d come chasing after us?” “Y-Yeah..”“And he’d never catch up to us because he’d have to pick up his bike?”She just held him. The illusion was as perfect as she imagined it could get, so she squeezed him tight as another round of tears poured out of her. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she did ten years ago. Vulnerable. Like a teenage girl pouring her heart out to the one person that actually got her. It went on for ten, twenty minutes, before her crying turned to whimpering, and eventually she was just holding him. It took a while for her grip to loosen, and she let him back up. He looked at her through both of their hair, the gentle smile that was on his face was enough for her not to regret those thirty pieces. He reached up slowly to her face, pushing the hair out of her eyes before wiping the tears from her face. His arms were bare, the Geisha robe covered his chest, and legs, but left his arms completely exposed. She put her hand just below his wrist, tenderly grasping it as he cleaned her face. Her thick, brutish hand did it’s best to embrace his lower arm.“I’m sorry..”“It’s okay.”She let go as slowly as she had taken hold of him. She smiled awkwardly, her yellow teeth forming a grin. Her eyes were red from crying, the tears that had caused that recently wiped away by the faux Kris’ hand. He kept smiling, before eventually returning to her side.“Do you want to lay down?”She remembered what he was. Why she was here. It wasn’t for this, it wasn’t for what had just happened, it was for something else. Something that people usually did laying down in bed. She was anxious yet again.“Just like.. Just laying down?”“Of course, just laying down next to me.”“O-Okay..”He slid behind her, laying down between where she would be, and the wall. It wasn’t a very romantic position for a bed to be in, but she didn’t care. She laid down, the mattress was a lot softer than the suspended straw pillow she was used to sleeping on. They were eye level now, there was under a foot of space between the two as they gazed at each other’s faces. Susie smiled again, a lot less worried. She was like this the first time she got in bed with Kris.. Or, was it a couch? When Kris had actually asked her to get close and stay there, her heart had been racing. She didn’t know how fast things would go, and she wasn’t ready for anything past just being next to him. But he knew that, and he told her back then, just like he had now, that it was okay. Nothing was going to happen that she didn’t want to. “We can cuddle, if you want..”“Of course I want to dude..”She wrapped her arms around him again, this time she wasn’t holding him into her neck, but embracing him. He was still eye level with her, they were just really close now. It felt like it used to, warm, comforting, safe.. Things she’d lose the second she walked away from here. Something that would be sullied every time she gave up thirty pieces to spend this time with someone that looked like him. “You really loved him, didn’t you?”Or, right now. He was no longer Kris, he was someone that had just pretended to be him for her. Which was sweet, if you could ignore the fact money was involved.“Yeah.. I know it sounds dumb, but more than anything in the world. It took a while for me to realize that.. There’s so much I just.. I didn’t tell him. Didn’t ask him to do, before that happened.”“Like what?”She felt sadness building up again, it wasn’t nearly enough to spark another spree of crying though. Her eyes widened, cutting it off as she realized what he was offering. “Well.. I guess, stuff like that. I used to draw, and.. And write poetry and stuff.. It wasn’t very good, but it was stuff about how I felt about him. I never showed him any of that, or said any of the stuff I wanted to, because I thought he’d think it was lame. Like, really lame.. But, if I knew that was going to happen.. I would’ve said all of it. I wouldn’t have cared what he thought, how dumb it was, I wanted him to know.”“I don’t think that’s dumb. Or lame. Even if it’s corny, I think it would be sweet.”“Yeah.. You would. But it’s stuff like that, like ‘I love you more than’ blah blah blah.. The kind of stuff you’d hear in those stupid songs on the radio they’d never stop playing. I never wanted to open myself up to him, I wanted to be ready, but..”She was choking again. She didn’t have a whole lot left in her, but really thinking about the situation had brought that to the surface.“I know. I’m so sorry..”He ran his hand down her back. It felt smaller than Kris’, but she had gotten pretty big.. Maybe this is what it would feel like if he’d made it this far.“Wherever he is.. I’m sure he’d love to hear all of it. He wouldn’t think it’s dumb, even if it’s been a long time I’m su-”“He’s dead.”That sparked silence. She didn’t cry again, though she expected herself to, it weighed on her heavily, but not enough to push her over the edge. She knew that. There was a tiny grave in the woods somewhere that she’d made to commemorate it even. The last ten years of her life had been lived under that principle.“Are.. A-Are you sure?”That one pushed her over the edge. Not to cry, but something else. A string snapped in her, and she let go of him. This had turned from cutesy and pathetic, to rage-inducing in a matter of seconds. She felt it build up where the pit in her stomach was, she let go and got up very quickly.“What?! Am I sure? What the F@CK is wrong with you!?”He got up, but stayed on the bed, propping himself up with his arm.“I-I just.. I.. Sometime-”“You stupid, f@ck@ng.. Rrraagh!”She clenched her fists, before swinging in the air. Anything that would’ve made the mistake of being in the path of that swing would’ve been done for.“I. Saw. Him. A huge f@ck@ng mob came and burned down my f@ck@ng town, they took him away by the f@ck@ng neck, and-”And that was it. They dragged him away. They didn’t kill him and drag him away. The last she saw, he was still struggling for air, flailing about, things people didn’t do when they were dead. She’d just lost track of him, and had been through so much, she just assumed all these years he’d given in. All of that rage faded just as quickly as it had built up, she felt her raised arms slump, eventually down to her sides. The boy on the bed was a bit frightened, but remained in place.“A-And I never saw him again.”He knew that suggesting he was still alive would be a death sentence, so he remained silent. Susie sat back on the edge of the bed, boldly assuming she’d still be welcomed there after that outburst.“I-It’s not.. It wasn’t your fault.”She sighed. Ten years and the first person to hear about this was a wh@r@. “Thanks.”“I’m.. I’m sure if he’s still out there, he misses you as much as you do him..” “I hope he isn’t. This place sucks now.”“Well.. Yeah. Ten years does a lot to a person.. Y-You probably wouldn’t even recognize him, he could be anyone now. He could be a drunk, or a merc, or a whore.. You can’t say it hasn’t been hard, we’ve all had to resort to things that we would never do, unless.. Would you really wanna see him like that?”She resented those first two things, as true as they were. Even if he was defaming her dea- Probably dead love’s image, it was true. It was something worth considering. “Isn’t it Geisha?”“Whatever..”“...”“I mean, I paid thirty pieces just to pretend to with someone that looks like him.”“...”“He wouldn’t be any different. He’d still be Kris, and that's what matters. I’ve done a lot of things I didn’t wanna have to do.. Or see.. Sh@t, every day I wake up is another one. I.. Oh. ”“What?”“I wouldn’t want him to see what I’ve become. Someone like him shouldn’t be with someone like me.”“That’s not what I mea- Well.. I guess it sort of was, but I kinda meant it the other way around..”She glared at him. “He wouldn’t change. He’d still be Kris, and that’s what matters.”He sat there silently, pondering something. It was incredibly strange to Susie that this random Geisha would take such an interest in this sob story of hers. Maybe he was just trying to stall, she wasn’t exactly a prize.“Susie, I.. I love you. I still do. I just want you to know that, even with everything that happened, and that I did, I still love you. A lot..”“...”“I don’t wanna pretend anymore.. That was weird. I get what you’re trying to do, but I-”“I’m not pretending.”She paused, before coming back to reality. “Shut up, that’s not gonna work. I’m only paying for tonight, period. I don’t have the money to do this sh@t.”He paused for a minute, his lips were trembling for a second, but Susie didn’t notice. She stopped looking at him, wondering if she could still stomach s@x with this weasel.“Remember.. Remember the cake me and my mom made for your birthday? It was like.. Matte green, like a chalkboard, and all of the candles were thick and white, like chalk?”She slowly looked over to him, thoughts of s@x were starting to fade away as he was the one to bring up the specifics of a memory she certainly had of him.“Okay, cut it out, that’s seriously f@ck@ng freaky.”It hurt, but he had to keep going. He wasn’t finished yet.“Because of that one time.. You got dared to eat chalk, and you ate like, a whole box of it?”“I said knock it off..”“A-And afterwards, you said something like 'Oh at least it’s better than the school food’?”She sat there dumbfounded, looking at him. No way. This was some gypsy, jedi mind trick b@llsh@t to get her to do.. Something.“No. There’s no way. You’re not actually..”
Another pause. She thought, he hoped.“Remember the dance?”He nodded.“Then tell me about it.”He smiled. “You looked so pretty in that dress.. I didn’t wanna tell you back then because I thought you’d tear my face off, I think you might have actually said something like that. My mom heard we were going to the dance together, back when she thought you were just some delinquent, so she volunteered to chaperone at the dance. B-But we wanted to spend the night together, alone, so you got a dress, and I put on a suit, and we told her we were gonna walk to the dance.. But we didn’t. We stayed home. You were out of that dress so fast, ha.. I stayed in the suit. I thought you liked how I looked..”She had made up her mind that he was a sham on the first line and a half, but then she started getting into it. She was more and more convinced as tears started to return to her eyes.“We watched.. It was one of the Paul Blart: Mall Cop movies.. Actually, it might have been both, they were both sort of the same thing.. I remember, near the end of the night, it was the first time I told you.. I love you.”It was. He’d gotten it down to a tee, even the movies. She pounced on him like an animal, pinning him to the bed, holding him just under her chin again. It was really, actually, truly him. This massive, gaping hole in her heart and life had just been filled out of the blue, she squeezed him tight. A lot tighter than she probably should have, but he didn’t care. It wasn’t a dream, she’d finally gotten her arms around him again, and this time, she didn’t plan on letting go.      She couldn’t believe it. She did, or else she wouldn’t be here, doing this, but she couldn’t believe that she believed it. She was more than just happy to find that she could however. She’d been holding him for a long time. Kris was more than prepared for it to last a while, but now it was at the point where he was just sort of enduring it, than participating in it. Turns out ‘Never letting go’ probably wasn’t the best philosophy to go about this with. Eventually, he had to say something.“Susie?”She knew what she was doing. She knew what was happening, and she finally, reluctantly pulled back, looking down at his face.“Yeah?”“It’s uh.. It’s great to see you again, but..”“Yeah, okay, I know.”She finally let go of him. Letting him sit beside her felt like too big a step, but it would be pretty weird for her to just pounce on him like that again. “Heh, sorry about that..”“It’s okay. I’m glad you still wanna see me, and talk to me..”“Of course I do dude, why wouldn’t I?”“Well.. You know.. Well, maybe you don’t know.”“...”“I mean.. I dunno. Yeah, you’re right. But, I wanna know. Why don’t you come back to my place? We could swap stories, and uh.. Other stuff~ Maybe, if you uh, you know.. If you wanna..”Kris perked up. It was a cautious excitement, any time he got this way it was always tempered with what he told himself was reason.“Your place? You have a place?”She laughed softly. She did have a place, didn’t she? She never imagined that she’d be able to say something like that.. Well, maybe, but she never thought she’d be giddy at that. Of course she was grateful for a roof to sleep under, but she never thought it was an accomplishment until now.“Heh, yeah, I guess I do. I mean, it’s not like, a house or anything. I just rent a room at the inn on the other side of town. Wait, don’t you have a place?”He was silent, his excited expression faltered.“Uh, no.. I don’t.”“What about this room?”“I uh.. It’s not my room. A-And I’m not allowed to let people in here if they haven’t paid. Also, I uh.. I can’t.”“Whaddya mean you can’t? It’s not your room? You sit in here and sleep in here and-”“I don’t.. Do.. I don’t sleep here. Unless I have a client. A-And the client wants to sleep with me.”She was going to respond, or continue, but couldn’t bring herself to right away. She’d completely blown over what he’d said earlier, and now she was starting to realize what exactly he was. What he’d been doing for the past ten years. She looked away from him, thinking a bit before opening her mouth and scr@w@ng this up. It was a long enough pause, that Kris managed to swallow the frog in his throat and speak up yet again.“They lock me in here..”He could have continued that. “Like an animal” would have been something impactful to tack onto that, but it was implied enough that he could leave it there. He was, she remembered explicitly paying for the key to unlock the room. Her eyes widened at the painfully obvious realization.“But what if the room was unlocked?”“They never forget to lock it.”“Yeah, but like.. I mean, how do you think I got in here?”He was silent. Whether he was just left unaware of the fact clients carried the key with them, or told the opposite, or the barkeeper had just made a mistake, he didn’t know.“Don’t they like.. Didn’t someone open the door for you?”“What? No, the dude at the bar just gave me a key. We could totally just walk out of here.”Kris was about to protest, before stopping himself. He had to think about that one. Could they really? Just waltz out the front door, hand in hand? Would the guards really stop him and Susie from leaving with all of the people that were likely on the ground floor as onlookers? He looked up at Susie, she gave an awkward grin back in an attempt to convince him of the plan. He thought back to a while ago, thoughts of leaving. The only reason he never did was because he had nowhere to go. Nothing he could do to make money, and be more comfortable than this. But now, apparently, Susie had a room, enough expendable income to spend time with someone like him, and for some reason, the desire to share both with him. Probably. He stood up, his legs a bit shakier than he would have liked them to be.“You uhm.. You have a place I can stay?”“Of course dude. I mean.. Yeah, totally.”He was silent. She’d realize a possible, tiny hitch, but had convinced herself otherwise. Now, she needed to do the same with him.“It’s not like, the penthouse floor or anything though.. It’s uh, you know.. Like, a little small.”His straight, worried face slowly lightened up. “I’m sure if you can manage to fit in it, I’ll be fine~”She let out a huffy laugh, caught off guard by it. Her nerves were a little wracked, she wanted to believe she could just walk him out of here, and into her room and life, but the last time she’d gotten her hopes up like that they were dashed horrifically. She stood up too, driving the difference in height into both of their minds. Kris stood up to about Susie’s neck, he wasn’t exactly eye level with her chest, but he may as well have been. He got down, way down, Susie was confused for a bit before she saw him pull something out from under the bed, a pair of sandals. They were really going for the Japanese theme here, they were those uncomfortable wooden block things that people wore for whatever reason, likely because they weren’t very expensive. He got back up, Susie sort of stared at him dumbly before realizing that he was getting ready to leave. She went over to the pile of her clothes and started donning them as quickly as she could, needing to catch up. Her vest, her coin purse, her jacket. It wasn’t a lot, and didn’t take very long, but she couldn’t help but feel like Kris was putting up with it. She felt antsy to get out of here, she could only imagine what it must have been like for him. She fished the key out of her jacket pocket, before returning it, she didn’t really need it. He just stood there, waiting for something. She swore internally, way back when, she wasn’t the best at navigating social situations, especially ones involving Kris. Usually he stepped in for her shortcomings, but he wasn’t doing that now. It hit her, and she held her hand out for him. He reached up to grab it, and Susie became quickly thankful that they were leaving, instead of doing things here. The feeling that shot through her arm and down her spine, especially as he moved over to her side, was almost overwhelming. She wanted to just squeeze him again, but figured it would be better to wait until more preferable circumstances. She tried the door, and it opened, just as it had when she had walked up here. They stepped into the hallway, it had been quiet in the room, and it still was. The hum of commerce underneath was both felt and heard however, that was what they had to make it past. Susie felt like she was diving into the belly of the beast, she was completely uncertain what would happen upon the two of them walking down the stairs. She was grabbing his hand pretty tightly, but he was returning the gesture. The two of them made their way down the stairs, Susie’s free hand went to her jacket pocket, grabbing the key. She had to return it if she was going to get out of here without someone following her. They entered the ground floor, and nothing stopped. She expected everyone to just turn their heads to the two of them, like someone in a western movie walking into an outlaw bar that shouldn’t have been there. That didn’t happen though, and when it didn’t, she let out a sigh. The worst of her fears had been abated, now it was time to make her way down the staircase of smaller roadblocks. She walked over to the bar, and she felt Kris’ grip tighten. The man that had given her the key was talking to someone else, but when he saw the two of them together, he cut off the conversation pretty rapidly. He made his way over to the side she was on quickly, leaning over the counter.“Is there some sorta problem here?”“Uh.. No. Just came to give you your key back.”She put it on the table, she didn’t have it in her to physically hand it to the man. Not after literally locking Kris in a room for god knows how long. He didn’t expect to see the two of them together, he had no idea why they were holding hands, and for some reason that none of them could explain, the key being set on the table didn’t clear up any of it.“I uh.. Aheh, I don’t really understand. You know there’s a no refund policy when it comes to the geishas, right?”“Yup.”He was silent. He had guards, sure, but they were standing pretty far away. He became nervous when none of them walked over to intervene, she might not have stood up against them, but he wasn’t a guard. He was a bartender, with a face made of stuff that could easily be clawed off were Susie so inclined. “Uh-huh.. So..”“So nothing. Go find someone else to fill that room. Or don’t, I don’t care. We’re leaving.”As harrowing a statement as it was, he was glad that it was so direct. As annoying as a geisha trying to leave, or being stolen, or whatever was happening here was, at least he knew what was going on.“Woah, alright, okay, hold on, the thirty pieces gets you the room for the night, not the geisha, I’m sure he told you tha-”“I’m leaving.” Kris said meekly. The man was almost dumbfounded. He was clearly searching for words for this preposterous situation, when some finally came up and out.“You know that’s not.. Are you crazy? You of all people I thought wouldn’t fling yourself on some stupid promise of romance or whatever, I mean really, running away with what, a merc? She’s not threatening you or anything, is she?”“No, I’m not.”He looked up at her, with a slanted face that told her that that question wasn’t really one that she could answer.“I said I’m leaving.”“If you’re leaving, you’re not coming back.” the man said flatly. It wasn’t a threat, but to someone in Kris’ position, it was certainly something to think about. He was offered a choice. Stability, a predictable life, however degrading it may be, or Susie. She felt her world teetering at the silence that came from him, she was starting to realize just how shoddy of an option she was seeming like. She didn’t exactly hype up the bedroom he’d be moving into.“I know. Happy remembrance day.”She felt relief wash over her. That was his goodbye, his send off, and probably the rudest thing she could imagine him saying. She started over towards the door after the man at the bar had pushed off defeatedly, meandering back over to talk with whoever that was. She led him to the door, so close to the outside. She put her hand on the handle, before something sent a spasm-like chill down her spine.“Hey! Where do you think yer goin’?”F@ck. No, please, why did they let her get this close if they were just going to do this to her.. She turned around. Time to face the music. It was the man that had taken her ax at the door. Stripped her of any defense she could’ve had against him, and now, it was time for him to do her in. She looked to his hand, another wave went through her as she saw what he was going to be using. Her ax. It was unbelievably cruel, unfair, and all-around terrible. He was really going to do it with the thing she’d walked in here with. He thrust it forward, and she flinched, her eyes shut as she almost crushed Kris’ hand in hers.“Are you uh.. What’s that yer’ doin’ there.. Is she usually like this?”She opened her eyes. The man, her ax, the bar.. No blood. She was still in one piece, and the man was holding her ax out for her. Oh.OhShe reached a still trembling hand out to take it. Sure she was glad not to be dead, but she couldn’t exactly appreciate that with how embarrassed she was. It wasn’t her first impression on Kris, but being a bar guard that did stuff like that couldn’t have been a good image. “Aheh, y-yeah, thanks..”“You have a good’n now..” he said before slowly taking his seat again, still not entirely withdrawn from the weird encounter. She turned back to the door, trying this again, though opening it was a bit awkward with an ax in her hand. Finally, she managed, and the two of them stepped outside. Into the sunlight, into the perfectly warm (But not hot) air. With Kris, right by her side, still holding her hand. They had done it, it was mentally taxing, sure, but they’d managed to walk a good thirty yards or so without meeting untimely ends. It would be the first of many victories for the two. Susie started walking, with Kris still firmly attached to her hand. They walked in silence, until eventually Susie stopped. She couldn’t wait any more to do this. She let go of his hand, and hugged him again, now that she was out of that stuffy room. The vest sort of got in the way, but she lowered herself enough to press his face into her neck again. She felt him wrap his arms around her back again, not quite reaching with the extra bulk. Now that he was not only reunited with his childhood love, but possibly on his way to being something other than stuck in that whorehouse, he was just as ecstatic as she was. This hug didn’t last nearly as long as the others, they didn’t want to freak anyone out, or waste too much time, it was just to hold Susie over until she could really get at him. She let go, and stood up straight for the first time in quite some time. Kris stood up straight too, but he was used to it. With the robe, and his posture, he looked incredibly proper. Like some kind of weird Japanese schoolboy or something. He smiled, and not like he was earlier, really smiling. Because of her. She didn’t even second guess that fact, the thought that it could’ve been anything else didn’t even cross her mind. She just sort of looked at him for a little bit, and she assumed he was looking right back from the way his neck was craned just a tiny bit. “Susie? You know, we don’t have to go back to your place just yet.”That thought hadn’t occurred to her either. Yeah, they really didn’t, they could just.. Walk around? She found herself a bit dumbfounded at the fact. This was a contingency that she’d only planned for in very weird, unhealthy fantasies. For a second, she thought to remember those to give her some kind of motivation, until she slipped even farther back. To things they actually did together.“Yeah.. It is pretty nice out..” Something else clicked. Something weird. If she was going to walk around with him.. Would it really be a good idea to do it with her vest and ax? She’d just hugged him with the thing in her hand.. “Maybe we should stop by it first.. You know, just so you can see it’s not like an alleyway or something. Plus, it would probably be weird for me to walk around the town with an ax.”Just as she said that, a man brushed by them. He was incredibly skinny, and had on what looked like a long skirt, and a bunch of rags that covered his face above the nose. The two looked back at each other, comparatively normal to some of the people that found their way to this day’s civilization. They didn’t even need to say it. They couldn’t have been worse than him.“Okay.. I’d like that.” Kris said softly. He didn’t want to ask, it would’ve been incredibly rude to ask for proof of the things she’d said, as well as pointless. They wouldn’t take him back, regardless of whether Susie was a liar or not. She couldn’t keep herself from grinning, it was the first time in years that she’d been this uncontrollably happy. Sure, she’d laughed, enjoyed things, and been “Okay”, but this was the first time she’d felt genuinely content, and then some. She started walking, and Kris kept pace with her. She could hear his sandals hitting the ground beneath his weird sleeveless robe. She felt him there, she didn’t need to hold his hand just yet, even if she wanted to. She didn’t want to seem too desperately clingy, there would be a point eventually where it stopped being cute. They were just inches away, it was a miracle they didn’t brush up against each other at some point. The air just tickled at their faces, half of the wind they felt was just from them moving, it was a lovely reminder of the quality of day. Susie never would have really appreciated something like this before, in the ten years Kris was absent from her life, there had been days like this time and time again, they just hadn’t been enough of a comfort or distraction for her to truly enjoy them. That was all different now. She almost walked right by the place she’d been staying, she had been actually looking at things, at people, regardless of whether they were interesting or eye-catching. She hadn’t done that before either, she just sort of walked past things instead of taking them in. People really tried to make things look somewhat decent, even themselves. People still had on clothes that were more pretty than practical, there were flowers outside of houses, as well as occasionally dotting busy streets. Houses had color, even if it was faded, decorations, tiling, design, purposeful beauty, they were all finally present in her world. When she stopped, so did Kris, the two of them looked up to the building that was very familiar to Susie, and only vaguely remembered by Kris. “Well, this is it.” Susie said flatly. She didn’t really know where she was going with that introduction, there was a bit of an awkward pause before she opened the door, letting Kris inside. There were noticeably less people than there were at the other place, this wasn’t nearly as popular as that one was, but it was more respectable. Some of the same activities were going on, cards, eating, drinking, but it wasn’t late enough in the day for music to join the scene. She made her way over to the stairs, the bar had two people at it, a man with a mug, and the stern looking asian man that was usually there at night. He was looking at her, at them. Before, she wouldn’t have really cared, but now that Kris was there, he seemed to be staring right into them. She looked over at Kris. “Hey, why don’t you go check out the room, I’ll meet you up there. It’s uh, pfff… Third room on the right..” she said, realizing as she did the coincidence. Kris didn’t seem to mind nearly as much as she thought she would. “Okay. Thanks Susie~” he said endearingly. She had been in a dream like lull walking over here, she was a little more than happy, but Kris seemed different than that. He was happy, sure, but it was certainly for a different reason than she was. It wasn’t that something had been brought into his life, more like something was finally lifted off of him. She was pretty confident she knew what it was. She walked over to the bar, she’d enjoyed everything else so far, the way this guy always talked was fun, even when she was a massive downer.“What you doing bringing him in here?”“Whaddyou me- Oh, uh.. No, it’s not like that, he’s just like.. A friend.”“Oh yeah, yeah, he friend. Wearing friend robe, I’m sure you gonna go up there play mahjong with him, talk about good ol’ days.” he said in a more mocking than serious tone. She was about to say nothing was going to happen, but.. She had been thinking about doing things with him. “So he’s more than a friend.. But he’s not like that. Is it really that big of a problem?”“You break bed you pay for it.” he said in a joking, but entirely serious should the occurrence arise manner. She couldn’t help but chuckle at that.“Heh, you got it.” She paused. Normally she would just cut off the conversation here, but she was curious, and actually in the mood to talk for once, even if he couldn’t exactly reciprocate her language skills.“I usually see you here at night.. It’s only like, noon, where’s the other guy?”“I no do remembrance day. You no like it, you find somewhere else to sleep.”“Woah, uh.. Don’t worry about that, I was never really into the whole ‘Angel worship’ thing either. I’m sorta p@ss@d the people I work for do it, they’re closed today.”“I no close for remembrance day, remembrance day very busy. Lots of people come for food and drink later.”“So what about the other guy?”“He no wanna work, so he no work. He no get paid either. He do good job other days though, so I no fire him. What, something wrong with me?”“What? No, no, nothing like that, just uh, curious is all.”The man leered. She didn’t think his face could get any more narrow, but she was dead wrong. He was silent too, it dragged on until she wondered if she should just leave, before that thought was cut off.“You know why?”“Huh? Why what?”“Why some people no do remembrance day.”“Oh, uh.. No, not really. I never did it because I uh.. My parents never did. Just never really got into it, I guess.”“Some people wait until remembrance day to say thank you. Remember what they did. They do all their praying and worship one day, leave week free for work.”“Yeah.. So what?”“I no wait. Every day I say thank you. I still work. It’s what they would have wanted. I no take break, I stay here all day and all night so we stay open, people still eat and drink.”She stayed quiet. Was he preaching to her? Sharing advice maybe? It was certainly relatable to her, especially today. She had taken a lot of things for granted, waiting for something that would never happen before she’d enjoy them. It was sort of the same, but why would he have brought that up now? “Uh.. Cool..”“You go now. Go play mahjong with friend.”She felt weirdly jarred. It was like if that weird blindfolded man had stopped and talked to the two of them, she’d had expected him to say something like that. She couldn’t bring herself to continue the conversation, and started over to her room. God, Kris must be bored out of his mind, how long had she been talking to him? She went inside her room to find Kris sitting on the bed. He leaned back, kicking his legs. He snapped his head over to see her, and smiled when he realized it was her. She walked over to the box, setting her ax down by the head of the bed before sliding her jacket off, picking up the pace.“This place is nice. I don’t know why it took you so long to let me in~”She was undoing her vest when he said it. She laughed, though more out of instinct and response than because it was funny. It was, but it was also true, and messed up. She didn’t let him in her room. It was shoddy, and probably smelled or something, she felt like it was such a horrible vulnerability, and so she never let him in there. She’d been in his room plenty of times, but it was always clean, and technically it had been Asriel’s room too, so he was used to it, or something. It was always one of those things she regretted, something she said she would’ve done in a heartbeat if she’d gotten the chance. “Yeah.. Took me a while to get it cleaned up, heh.”She slid her vest off finally. She opened the trunk, and dropped it in there. It had been the first time she’d actually used it, even to sleep she just sort of tossed her vest and jacket wherever. She slid the latter back on before turning around. She felt lighter, a literal weight had been lifted off her chest after all. This had been a good idea, walking around would feel a lot more natural like this.“That was about me, wasn’t it?”“Huh? What was?”“That guy at the bar didn’t seem too happy about me being here.”“Oh, uh.. Naw.. He’s not happy about anyone being anywhere, he always looks like that, you’ll see.” she said in a much more convincing manner than everything else she’d said, partly because she was convincing herself too. She’d thrown in that last part to really further her point, he’d be coming in and out of this place enough that he’d be able to confirm what she’d said himself. He smiled again, things were going so swimmingly for the both of them.  “Well, I guess we should probably go, unless you want a tour of the place.”He chuckled, she felt a part of her melt on the inside. Something about seeing him happy, she was remembering what love felt like. A tiny part of her had thought he was just doing this to get out of there, to mooch off of her maybe. She didn’t care if he was, but she was fairly certain now that he wasn’t. That he’d picked up the same feelings for her she had, as quickly as she had. He stood up, and was at her side again. She sort of expected him to go to the door and lead the way, but when he didn’t, she decided that she would. She held both doors for him, the one to the hallway, and the one that led outside. The man at the bar had disappeared into the kitchen as the two of them started off. There was more of a breeze now, and it could be properly felt by Susie now that she didn’t have a thick leather carapace strapped to her chest and back. She both felt and looked like she used to, it was the first time in a while she’d walked around unarmored, and unarmed, and the first time in ten years she’d done so with Kris. They walked close together, for a second, Susie drifted into thinking they were going to the bridge. Even when she realized they weren’t, she realized they were going somewhere else. It wasn’t THAT bridge, but it would be like it, it would be their new bridge. She felt Kris stop, and didn’t get more than a step ahead before turning around. “I uh.. I wanna tell you something, but I don’t really know how.”“Huh? What is it, why?”“It’s uh.. Hnnm..”He seemed nervous. She had absolutely no idea what he was concealing from her, but it was making him act weird. He’d never just clammed up like this about anything before. But this wasn’t before, it was now..”“Look, you can tell me dude, it’s okay.”“I don’t.. It’s one of those things that starts out with “Promise you won’t be mad”.. There’s just no way I can say it that’ll make you not mad at me..”“Huh.. Well uh.. If you don’t tell me, I’m gonna be mad, how about that?”She saw him freeze. It looked like he wanted to apologize, but not as much as he wanted not to speak anymore. She’d meant it in a bashful, joking way, but he hadn’t taken it like that.“Woah dude, alright, chill, hey.. Don’t worry about it, I uh.. I promise I won’t be mad. I mean, I left the ax at home, how bad could it really be, right?~”He loosened up. She’d have to tread a little more carefully around stuff like this, that, or she’d have to read these things better. She didn’t know it was that serious until that had happened.“Well.. You know what people usually do for remembrance day?”“Uh.. They like, don’t go to work? Something about Angel, I was never really into all that..”“Do you know what they do instead of going to work?”She silently thought for a minute. She didn’t, not even a little bit. “I dunno, nobody’s ever really told me. Never thought to ask either..”“Haven’t you ever heard it been called “Bath day”?”It hit her. She felt stupid, she had heard that before once or twice. She’d discounted it as something weird that weird people called it, until someone actually had explained to her that people usually took the time off to bathe. She was about to apologize, before she realized why he would bring up something like that. She was about to call him out for it, before having yet another set of realizations. The first one would be that yelling at Kris about this was the exact opposite of what she’d promised him. The second one was that she actually could really use a bath, her hair was matted, and she couldn’t really remember the last time she’d bathed. She slumped, but Kris still seemed worried that she was mad.“I uh, yeah, I have..”“I didn’t mean it like.. Like that.”“I know dude. I mean, even if you did, I probably reek anyway..”The two were silent. It was an awkward topic, but that’s only because she was thinking about it as “Bath day”, and not “Bath with Kris day”.“I wanted to uhm.. I wanna take you somewhere. It’s really special to me, and I.. I think you’ll like it too.” It was sort of weird, but with that comment about it being special to him, her curiosity was piqued. If he could keep her attention, keep her occupied, and manage to get her to enjoy bathing, it would be a slew of accomplishments. “Oh, sure dude. I mean, it’s not like we have anything else to do~ So where is it?”“I can take us there. It’s a spot in the.. Actually, can we just sorta go there? I think it would be cool for it to be sort of a surprise.”She thought for a second, if this had been anyone else she would’ve said no, but there was no way there was so much as a shred of malice held in this boy’s heart.“Sure. I’m already enjoying it~”“Heh, thanks Susie.. Oh, also uhm, do you have a towel?”“A towel?” she said, like that wouldn’t have been an incredibly obvious thing to bring if they were going somewhere with enough water to bathe in. “...No, I don’t. We can go get one though, they can’t be that expensive.”“Okay~”And with that, they started walking again, though this time it was to the market district. There wasn’t really a proper market district, people were selling things outside of it, but this is where it really seemed to focus. There were stalls, peddlers, and actual stores. There were tons of things for sale, things Susie couldn’t even imagine anyone actually buying, but no towels. “I swear there’s literally everything here except for a fuh.. Freaking towel.”“Whaddya mean? We’ve passed a ton of them, I just uh, didn’t think you liked them.”“What? Where, come on, point to it.” she said, more frustrated that she didn’t have one than the fact she’d missed them. “Look, right over there, that woman’s selling a bunch of them.” He pointed over to a stall. Susie squinted at it, it looked like she was just selling blankets. Kris walked up to her, and Susie followed, seeing where this was heading.“See?” Kris said, like she was about to realize she’d brushed by a bunch of them. These were just blankets though, and she was more confused than anything else.“See what dude? These aren’t towels, they’re blankets.”He just looked at her. The kind of look that said “Are you really that stupid?”. She felt it. It wasn't the first time. “Susie, you uh.. I guess you don’t really do this, huh? Actual towels aren’t uh.. Efficient, or something like that? What you’re supposed to do is lay one of these out, and when you’re done, you just lay on it until you’re dry. It’s like a weird mix of ritual and uh, something else. I think towels were sort of like toilet paper, where they just disappeared eventually.”He held one in his hand. She thought it was weird that with all she’d been through, she didn’t even have a blanket. This couldn’t have been a ruse, that woman had just sat there listening to the whole thing, and it looked like she sympathized with Kris more than her. She looked over to Susie, the blanket was really big, it looked hand made, but it wasn’t ugly or anything. It looked like it was rugged enough to be a picnic blanket, but soft and thick enough to be comfortable to sleep with. This age had birthed more versatility in it’s craft than the one before it. “Five pieces for it.”She entertained it. She put her faith in Kris, and fished out five pieces to the woman before they were on their way. Susie followed Kris, he was leading her to where they were going to go. He led her through town, and eventually out of it, to the surrounding woods. She’d been through plenty of forests, but for some reason, now that someone else was there with her, she felt weird. She was searching her mind for something other than what he’d said they were going to do that he could possibly be planning. A blanket, in the woods.. Now that the hustle and bustle of the town was behind them, and birds and insects filled the air, she could really think, though it bore no fruit. She decided to just trust him, what was the worst he could do? He seemed pretty eager to get there, they were walking dutifully, instead of how they used to, where the walk itself was what they were there for. Eventually, she heard running water, and was starting to get an idea of what this was going to be. It was something more than running water.. It sounded a lot heavier, more forceful. Eventually what was a very limited trail just came to brush, with the sound of running water on the other side of it. Kris stopped, and turned to her, he held out the blanket to her. She picked it up, holding it as she waited for.. Whatever this was, to happen. He slid under and through the brush, it took a few seconds before he pulled it aside, making a hole for Susie to either feed the blanket through. She didn’t read it like that however, and instead got low down, and slid through herself. She saw it, it was a small clearing next to a river. But it wasn’t just a river, there was a sharp incline in it from where water was flowing and falling, making the heavy sound she’d been hearing. The trees parted at the top, and rays of light shone through, a view of the sky was revealed by it as well. It looked like what came to mind if someone said “Enchanted grove”, she was actually surprised that she didn’t see fairies flying around. “Sh@t.. This place is amazing..”Kris gently took the blanket from her, when she felt him do so, she looked down at him. His hair was neat, and his skin looked soft. She realized that this place was the reason why. He grabbed the corners, letting it unfurl.“Yeah.. This place is my favorite. Part of getting business was staying clean, it was one of the only reasons they’d let us out..” he said before casting the blanket out. It floated down, before he tugged at the corners, making sure it laid out on the large patch of grass.“It’s so beautiful, and calm, and peaceful.. It helped me get through a lot. It’s always been here, it’s always been like this.. I guess..”He made his way over to Susie again, getting close. He was pressed against her as he held her, she looked down into his gaze.“I guess this is sort of what replaced you.. You know, I thought.. I thought you were gone, for a while. I just needed something to cling to..”She was silent. It was such a beautiful concept. This was her replacement? This is what he had to bank on just to have a facsimile of the comfort she provided to him? She felt something in her throat again.“I love you.” she said softly. It sounded like a reminder, and it worked. He smiled. She was here, she was back, she wasn’t going anywhere.“I love you too.. I never stopped..”“Neither did I.”She didn’t know where it was going until she said that. Her hand almost instinctively went to the back of his head before she leaned down into him. Their lips met in a natural kiss. The two of them moaned softly into it, their heads turned as they pulled themselves into each other. It went on for a while before they both decided to pull away at more or less the same time. It left them both huffing and staring at each other, there was a serious tension between the two that was bound to snap at any time, it took a lot of self control for it to end with them letting go of each other. That was, until Kris grabbed his skirt. He slowly brought it up, and Susie’s eyes went wide. She saw his shins, and his knees, and then- Briefs. She became excited again when his stomach was revealed, and eventually, he’d taken off the outfit completely. His briefs were tight, and.. Really packed. She felt her face go red. She didn’t really know what was a lot for a boy to have, but that looked like it. She was gonna have a LOT of fun with that. Kris folded his robe in his hands before walking over to the river. He set it on a rock that was nearby, but not too close to the waterfall. He was noticeably skinny.. It looked almost unhealthy. He was always scrawny, but he looked even skinnier than he was when they were kids. It was unfortunate, and a bit sad, but it was also something she vowed to fix. Not too much, but enough for him to maybe stop stammering and whimpering so much. Kris turned around, and stood next to the rock. Susie walked over very slowly, realizing she’d have to do the same thing. She was incredibly nervous, she wasn’t at all used to being naked around people. But this was Kris.. And only Kris. With no chance of it being anyone else, since they were alone in the woods. That thought comforted her a lot as she took her jacket off. Now she was just nervous about Kris seeing her nude. She never felt very pretty, or attractive, or “Sexy”. Kris used to assure her she was beautiful, but she always thought it was in a sort of personality way. It was hard for her to see herself as anything but a big brute, especially now. She’d just stopped at her shirt, she was unable to even grab the lip of it. “Is something wrong Susie?”“N-No..”He knew it wasn’t. The only issue was her nerves. Kris walked over to her, and put his smaller, soft hands on her tense ones. He very gently guided them to the bottom of her shirt, she grabbed it.“I d-don’t have a bra on..”“It’s okay.” he said softly. She let out a shaky sigh as she slowly pulled it over her head, exposing herself. She had a nice chest, she never really let it see the light of day, she always had at least a t-shirt covering it. She held said shirt nervously in both hands, before tossing it on top of Kris’ folded robe. She was blushing like crazy as Kris stared at it, before returning his gaze to her face. He was blushing now too. “You should probably uh, take your boots off.”“Y-Yeah, alright..”She turned around and went over to the blanket, trying her best not to be a wuss by covering up her chest with her arms. He couldn’t see them from this angle anyways. She sat down, and started working off her boots. The socks she wore used to be thick and woolen, but were now worn, despite filling their purpose. Yech, maybe she’d wash these too while she was here.. Yeah, that was probably a good idea. After her though, definitely. She stood up, and started to walk over to Kris, before she froze in her tracks. Kris slid his briefs down, she’d watched from behind, but the fact that he was doing it was what was the issue. He put them on the pile of clothes before turning around. Susie stared right at his nudity, she was embarrassed, she didn’t do it shamelessly, but she couldn’t pull her view away from it. Sure, it was pretty impressive, but she didn’t really know that. It was because it was his. She didn’t even think about it, but he was smooth down there too. Shaved down to the skin, it looked maintained.“Your turn~” He’d broken the silence, and given her something to be even more flustered about. She was going to, until she realized something. Hers.. Wasn’t so trimmed. Actually, it was the complete opposite, and for some reason, she was embarrassed about it. It was another thing she thought he’d just put up with, but it still bugged her that she wasn’t ready for this.“Uh..  I uhm.. Hah..”Kris walked over to her, getting close to her again. This time, his hand went under her chin as he looked up at her. “Is something wrong?”“K-Kinda..”“Susie, you know no matter what’s down there, I still love you, right?”She did, but hearing it did wonders for her nerves. “Y-You’re smooth..”“Oh.. Yeah, it was sort of a thing for uhm.. You know.. I’m sorry..”“Wha? No! I mean- You’re smooth, and I’m.. Y-You know..”“Not smooth?”“Yeah..”“Susie, that’s called ‘Natural’. That’s what you’re supposed to look like down there.”“R-Really?”“Mmhmm.”She let out another shaky sigh. He just looked so.. Perfect. With no hair down there, compared to the mess she was.. It was almost hard to believe. But she had to believe something if she was going to get her pants off without passing out, so she did. And she slid them down. She felt exposed, but it wasn’t because her parts were showing. They really weren’t. Her bush was though. Kris took a step back, he didn’t entirely care about the appearance, but he wanted to show Susie it was okay. He wanted her to feel comfortable around him with her clothes off. Eventually he stepped forward, and took one of Susie’s tense, shaky hands. He slowly moved toward the water, and Susie forced herself to walk with him. Her thing was warm, it felt strange. She physically wanted something, for it to be touched.. And a lot more. When her foot hit the water, she felt it more, there was a stark contrast between the heat she felt in her loins, and the cool, refreshing water. Kris led her deeper into it, until it was around her navel. It was almost like putting a hot piece of iron in water, she was surprised steam didn’t spring out of the flowing water when she slipped in. Kris lowered himself into the water to about his neck, his hair just starting to graze it. She followed suit, happy now for her chest to be under the surface of the water. Her hair was a lot longer, she only really cut it when it started to get annoying, if gravity wasn’t a factor, it would’ve reached her nostrils. Kris suddenly ducked completely into the water, before popping back up after a couple of seconds. His hair darkened from the water, he moved his hands past his face, and it went with them. His eyes stayed exposed, the water held his light hair in place as he looked over at Susie. He looked so different with his hair out of his eyes, it felt weird, but it wasn’t a bad weird. She’d seen what his face had looked like a few times, and what she was looking at now looked just like it had years ago.. Though his eyes did look a good bit more tired. She should probably do the same thing, her hair wasn’t like Kris’, even if she showered and everything it never was as soft or flowing as his, she could only imagine what it looked like now. She bobbed under the water, running her fingers through it just to make sure water got through there. She popped up, making sure not to expose herself past her shoulders, before mimicking another one of his motions by running her hands past her face. Her hair flopped behind her and stuck there, she was definitely going to make a point to wring it out, or whatever it was you were supposed to do to clean hair. Kris got closer to her again, he lifted one of his hands out of the water to touch her face. He was looking right into her eyes, even though they weren’t pressed together, she felt very close to him, the two of them were looking into each others’ exposed eyes. Kris gently caressed her snout, before Susie felt him hit a divot in it. Her scar.“What happened?”“Huh? Oh, uh, that.. S-Sorry..”“For what?” he said, his hand moved to between her jaw and neck.“I don’t know..”She felt bad about it, but she didn’t exactly know why. She’d gotten it so long ago, when she’d lost him. It had been more or less a burning reminder of the fact he was gone, it was almost her replacement for him, even if she never found comfort in it.“I got hit when uh.. The town got overrun. Some dude with a knife caught me..”“It’s not your fault.. And it’s not that bad. For an unattended knife wound, it certainly could’ve been worse..”“Yeah.. It’s not that bad?”“I didn’t expect you to look exactly the same after all these years. I’m just happy you’re- We’re here.”“Heh. You look just like you did ten years ago.”“Really?”“I mean, pretty much. You got a lot shorter.”He laughed. He got closer to her, her smile was cut off by anxiety as his hand went up her back.“Yeah, I remember being more tooth-height to you, now it’s more your sternum.”Right now, because of how deep into the water she was, he was eye level with her. It was strange how she could feel so intimidated by someone who was so much smaller, and scrawnier than her. All he really had to do was reach his tiny hands down between her legs, and it was over. She didn’t know if she wanted that, but she knew she wanted something. He was rubbing her back, but not in a way she expected. He was hitting every inch of it, even if there was really no reason for his hand to stray there.“Uh, what are you doing?”“This is called bathing. It’s sort of what we came here to do~”“Oooh. Yeah, heh..”His hands pulled back to her sides. She felt spasms go down her spine, and oddly enough to her loins as his hands brushed the area between her pits, and her hips. She made an incredibly embarrassing noise, which made Kris pull his hands back. Susie’s face was red, her jaw was clenched shut. She didn’t know what to do or say, and Kris giggled. She hated being tickled. Well, she hated the fact that she was ticklish, as well as the fact that Kris now knew exactly where those spots were.“You uh, know where you’re supposed to like.. You know..”“Yeah.”“Okay..~”He moved away, grinning. It was endearing to him that someone so big was so sensitive, it was one of the reasons he’d become attached to her in the first place. She was a big softie at heart. She moved her hand to her side, where Kris had touched her. Nothing. She’d been ready for it, or something like that. She moved her hand up to her pit, imagining that to be the problem area. She rubbed at it, it would have been a lot better if she had a rag of some sorts, or god forbid, soap, but neither of them had planned that far. Kris sort of smelled clean, she’d noticed when she was holding him, but it wasn’t quite what she was expecting. Before, he used to use this apple-scented shampoo, some weird chemical that was really strong, his hair always had a strong smell to it the day he washed it, and a lighter one she had to get really close to him to enjoy. The company that made it probably wasn’t around anymore, that, or he’d just switched product to something more.. Minty? The other shampoo had been just a chemical concoction, the chance of there being actual apples in there was slim to none, whatever he was using now was probably some herbal b@llsh@t. Probably better than what she smelled like though. She’d gone through the motions, and admittedly felt cleaner, as well as needier. She was struggling to pull her hands away from her loins. Kris was right over there, half focused on himself, and on hew. She could get away with it, but it still felt weird. Touching herself when he was right there.“Are you done?”“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Pretty much.”He walked over to her, she felt his hand on her elbow. Thank god he hadn’t looked for where her hand actually was resting. She had time to move it to her side as he slid his palm down, and took hers. He led her out of the water, she was drenched, as was expected. She felt the breeze more now, not only was she nude, but with the water dripping from her body, her skin was more sensitive to it. It felt less warm, but it was still far from biting at her. They made their way over to the blanket that had been laid out, and Kris finally let go. He slowly descended to the ground, sitting down on it. Susie joined him, lowering herself to sit next to him, her knees brought up to her chest in a poor attempt at concealing herself. He scooted over to her side, hoping to coax her out of that ball.“You know, you dry off faster if you lay down.”“R-Really..”“Like this~” He moved more toward the middle of it, and laid back. All the way, his head was resting against the blanket-covered grass. He moved his arms behind his head, really sprawled out. Her face turned red, and her lower half was really starting to burn again. She couldn’t say no to him, and slowly made her way back. She laid back, she felt shaky, but as she got into the position, she realized how comfortable it was. Especially since she was looking at the sky, instead of Kris’ lewd bits. She breathed a silent sigh of relief, her body twitched when she felt something against her hand. It was Kris.. His hand. She relaxed a lot more, she was going to have to get used to that. The two were silent as they stared up at the sky. It was a deep blue, a little more so than Kris’ eyes, it was really the only thing she could compare it to. The sky wasn’t clear, but that made it all the better to look at, tiny puffy clouds dotted the small patch of sky they could see through the canopy. She didn’t know why this was Angel’s day, but this would probably be her guess if she had to make one. She just laid there next to him for a while, all that was heard was their breathing, the sounds of the forest, and the flow of the river. It would be worth it to let her guard down, just for a little bit, so she could truly enjoy this. Even if this was just a dream, this was probably the most wonderful, vivid experience she could have asked for.She felt Kris shift, and let go of her hand. She tried her best not to worry as he sat up.“You know.. You seemed a little tense. You jump a lot when I touch you.”“O-Oh, yeah.. Sorry. I’m not really uh, heh, used to it.”“You know, geishas are more than just.. You know.”“Yeah.”“Well, at least they used to be. But.. I still remember some of that stuff.”“Wuh? Some of what stuff? Like, fighting?”“Wha- No. Not like.. Just, roll over-”She was about to protest, or say something else, before deciding not to. That sounded really stupid now that she’d said it. She rolled over slowly, her hand in her arms, her back and rear exposed to the air and sky.“So what am I supposed to-Oookay-” she felt herself jolt as his hands went onto her back, right under her shoulder blades. She very quickly got used to it, at least, the fact that he was touching her. His kneading and rubbing felt weird, his scrawny little fingers were a lot more impactful here than she thought they’d be. “Alright, just relax.. It’s uh, not supposed to hurt, too.. So if it hurts-”“Yehaup, I’ll let you know-”After a little bit, it stopped being weird, and started being.. Relaxing? Something like that. It wasn’t exactly the “Melt away my stress” she thought it would be, but admittedly, as he moved lower, she got more into it. Her shoulders did feel more loose as he worked on her lower back, but when he got lower, right above her rear, she felt something. Something stirring inside of her. It was the same thing that had been since they’d been nude.. Maybe even since they’d laid eyes on each other. But for some reason, she wasn’t embarrassed about it anymore. Well, not entirely. She couldn’t ask for it, but now, she definitely wanted him to go lower. She grit her teeth in anticipation of it, trying to keep the rest of her body loose so that he wouldn’t notice. Then, he picked his hands up.“Kris, uh.. Is that it?”“Well, I could do your feet, or hands, or-”“Y-You can uh, go lower, if you want..”“What, here?”His hands returned to her lower back, or well, his hand. It slid down, farther, reaching her cheek. Yes, there, right there, now.“S-Sure, I mean.. Yeah..”He giggled, he rubbed it. She was so flustered over what was pretty much second base. “People don’t usually give massages here. That’s called something else~”“O-Oh..”He squeezed it, and it drove her crazy. She felt herself bite her lip, and push into the ground with her waist. Kris noticed the latter, blushing as he realized that he was likely going to be on the receiving end of that soon.“But.. I was going to suggest maybe rolling over again, so I can uh, do the other half~”Oh god, was she going to be able to handle that? She started rolling over, obviously she needed to find out if she could. Her chest was exposed, but after having her ass grabbed, she was more than fine with that. She honestly hoped that’s where he’d start, before she looked up at him. He was just as excited as she was, although she didn’t need to read him to figure that out. He was hard. Hard for her. He looked flustered too as she stared right at it. She couldn’t help but imagine what it would have been like.. No, what it was going to be like inside of her. She was happy he was the one doing the seducing, or whatever this was, she didn’t have the strength to continue to be intricate and gentle. He put his hands under her chest. The way he kneaded her was almost teasing, whether this was a legitimate massage or not, she didn’t care. His hands moved south, to her midriff. He was so gentle, she was ticklish, but she was also something else. Something that completely drowned out that other fact. She wanted him to go lower, much lower. She wanted him to push his experienced fingers inside of her, again, and again.. His hand started to go south. When it passed her waistline, she moaned. It wasn’t terribly loud, but it certainly wasn’t soft. She grabbed his wrist like she was going to force it down there, and make him figure it out, but she didn’t. She didn’t know why she grabbed him, and was holding him there so tightly. She started to sit up.“Are you okay? T-Too much?” “No. I mean, not too much.”She felt hazy. Her grip on his hand was firm, but it wasn’t tight. He wasn’t going anywhere, sure, but it didn’t hurt. It just confused him. She looked over to him, he was blushing just as much as she was. He looked right back into her face, he wasn’t returning the look she was giving him, even though he looked endearing. She looked hungry. She WAS hungry. She felt whatever words she was going to muster up sink down into her stomach before she reached forward. Far forward, Kris was thrown off balance as his hand was pinned to near the corner of the blanket. He fell on his back, and Susie leaned over him, her mouth interlocking with his. She moaned again, one hand holding Kris’ wrist far to his left, the other keeping her elevated above him as she kissed him against the ground. She was on her side, for now, when her mouth opened. She pushed her tongue in, and Kris took it, his own joining the fray as he made out with her. His hand had been tight, but when her tongue started to wrap around his, he melted. The spit they swapped didn’t stay contained in their mouths, she was voracious, and far from a pro at this. Her hair had finally fallen back in front of her eyes, and she let it. It wasn’t even close to enough to stop what was about to happen. She finally broke the kiss, leaving the both of them panting with open mouths. Her maw hung open, her tongue was still in the air as she got up, and over him. Instinct was starting to overwhelm her, as well as Kris. His legs spread, exposing himself for her. She’d let go of his hand, more concerned with keeping his legs spread open for her. She positioned herself over him, and took hold of his rock hard c@ck, pulling it back as she moved forward. Kris just laid back, ecstatically watching the scene before him. He was ready, he wanted this just as badly as she did. She put it to her lips, past the hair she’d been ashamed about, before lowering herself just a tiny bit. The very second she felt it going in, she impaled herself on it. She had felt so hot down there, and when she’d forced his thing inside of her, she felt that insatiable burning desire take a hit. She had coaxed a moan out of Kris, something that was dignified, and she matched it with something that was the exact opposite. An open mouth, almost primal groan erupted from the back of her throat as she leaned over him. She grabbed his forearms, taking control as she prepared to f@ck him into the ground. As she lowered herself, she pressed her loins against the ground, getting him really deep. It was so perfect and hot, it was just enough for her to be a bit thrown off, but not so much that she could pick herself up, and slam down. She was testing him out. She had him right where she wanted, and he couldn’t move, not that he wanted to. Up and down a little more, deep in her, before she started to get into the motion. More whimpers came from Kris before his mouth opened again. Susie wasn’t looking at him, his face was pressed into her neck. She sort of just looked forward as she rode him, a long, low moan coming out of her as she tried to find a rhythm. It took her a few awkward seconds before she really got into it, that last little bit of consciousness slipping away as she started to properly f@ck. Sure, this was something that could have been refined with time, and experience, and technique, but that was just s@x. This was love. As she melded more into him, his face was met with the top of her rack, his arms were still pinned over the sides of his head as she figured out how to properly ride him. She was surprised she wasn’t screaming with how absolutely amazing this felt, every single time she slammed down she was filled with the vigor to do it again, harder, faster, more. She needed his moans. For a second she thought it may have been too fast, or too rough, but every moan she coaxed out of him made her keep going. She felt his hands wrapping around her own wrists, his grip slowly loosened as he was f@ck@d into the ground passionately. She could hear schlicking, slapping sounds from behind. She was so wet, it was so slimy, and sloppy, and unbelievably satisfying. It just kept getting better, and better, the foggy cloud consuming her conscious mind just got thicker and thicker, until suddenly she felt like she lost it. Her methodical movements spasmed and shook, like a wrench had been thrown into the sprockets. She fell on him, whimpering like a b@tch as she felt herself clenching on him. She wanted to keep going, to keep moving, but something just didn’t allow her to lift herself up while she did this. She tried to force herself up, but could only manage to wriggle up a few centimeters, her legs had just given out. That was, until she stopped whimpering. Those few centimeters became inches again, and like a motor just barely avoiding stalling, she was back in motion. She didn’t care what had just happened, she still wanted to do this, in fact, now that she could move again, she wanted it harder. Now she was really trying to f@ck him, she wasn’t just letting her lust carry her, and make her decisions. She was trying to give him something, deeper, harder thrusts. It didn’t last long though, pretty soon she was back to the slower, deliberate movements from before. She was starting to get tired, the second she realized that, another thought entered her s@x-addled mind that kept her going. Kris needed to finish. He was going to finish. Inside of her. Period. It became a thing of endurance for her. Finally, something happened that signified a final stretch. Kris’ occasional moans turned into those almost submissive whimpers that she had uncontrollably let out earlier, that had to be it. She picked up the pace, and he felt it. He certainly reacted to it. They got louder and louder, and she went harder and deeper, until it happened. His mouth opened in an adorable, embarrassing, umbral cry as Susie slumped over him. She didn’t need to keep going, she used all her strength left to push down into him as he came. He had let go of her wrists, only to wrap his hands around them for this. His grip was so soft and loose, he had even less strength left in him than she did. She felt an almost cathartic warmth spread over her as he let loose inside of her. Deep inside of her. She didn’t regret it for a single second, this was the most “Right” thing she’d felt in her entire life.Finally, she felt the last of her tensile strength disappear. She slumped into him, smothering him. He had ridden out his @rg@sm, leaving the two of them panting, pressed into each other. Eventually, she heard him gulp, and she decided that it would probably have been a good time to get off of him. When she tried to lift herself off of him, she was almost dumbfounded at how much of her strength had been sapped from that. She made sure to raise her rump in the air, when she felt him flop out of her, she rolled over to the side, on her back. Her arm sprawled out to her side, her chest was rising rapidly up and down. She hoped Kris had taken this better, or at least as well as she had, her question was answered when she felt him wrap his arms around hers. He cuddled up to her side, trying to rest his head on her shoulder. He didn’t speak, he just laid there silently next to her, catching his breath, and waiting for her to catch hers. “I love you so much Kris..” was the first thing out of her mouth the second she could manage to speak. She still sounded exasperated, she wasn’t exactly in the best of shape. Even if she was, that was more than a workout.“I love you too Susie.. That was.. Nnnm..”She felt like it was good. It was more than just good for her, but he sort of did this professionally. “Is that uh.. A good thing?”“I wanna say you were amazing.. Wonderful.. All that stuff. But I’ve.. I’ve said that before. And I didn’t mean it..”“...”“You were.. You were the best. My best. I.. I’m not really good with words. I feel like even if I was, it would be hard to uhm.. Describe..”“Okay, alright, wow.. Well, I can just say that was amazing.. That just felt so right. I needed that, so bad..” She leaned over to wrap her arms around him. She put his face right into her neck, where it belonged. She squeezed him into her. She really felt satisfied, and with him in her arms? She could have just fallen asleep here and never gotten up. She didn’t want this to end, but if it did.. Sure. That would’ve been fine. “I’m sorry about.. The whole.. I’m sorry it hasn’t been like this.”“It’s like this now.”“Yeah~”“It wasn’t your fault either. I.. I always thought it was mine, but I dunno. Maybe it wasn’t.”“No, it wasn’t.”They were quiet again. She had tuned out the sound of nature, the water, all that. It was back now. Filling that big, silent gap.“It’ll never happen again. Ever.”He didn’t respond. He just hugged into her tighter. He was always a little more forward with his emotions than Susie, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit how grateful he was for that. He just squeezed into her. She was bigger, and stronger. And this time, he was going to stick a lot closer to her. A lot of time passed. They eventually shifted to resting beside each other. Eventually, the breeze began to bother them, and Susie folded the blanket over the two of them.“We should probably get back to town before it gets dark..”“Sh@t, has it been that long?”“I dunno.. I’m a little sleepy though.”She knew what he meant. She was probably a lot more tuckered out than he was.“I’m gonna rinse off again before we go.”“Yeah, I think I’ll join you~”It was nothing special. A quick dip in the water, the fluids of amore were washed from their loins. Even after all of that sweating, Susie felt clean. Clean, and sleepy. Compared to her, her clothes were filthy, but she didn’t care. The rough jean fabric felt comfy, not to mention the shirt and jacket, it was like wrapping a blanket around herself. She looked over at Kris, who had put his underwear back on, and was now working on his robe.. She could only imagine how he felt. Susie wrapped up the blanket, and Kris held the brush out of the way. After going through, Susie had one arm around the blanket, and one arm around her lover. Her steps were heavy. Her eyelids were heavy too. This was the first time she’d ever felt sleepy outside of being drunk. Genuinely groggy. She was leaning a bit on Kris for support, even if she didn’t know it. It was a long walk, and it didn’t do anything to rouse her from this state. The sky started to turn pink as they got back to the town, the sun was making its way down almost painstakingly slowly. It was still bright outside as they got to the inn, which was a lot louder and more crowded than it had been before. The man at the bar had seen them come in, but didn’t have enough time to do anything but. Kris led Susie up to their new room. She was silent as he helped her jacket off, she plopped down on the bed, the frame was thankfully strong enough to handle the weight of it this one time. She got her boots off, though it was a bit of a struggle. She stood up just a bit to pick up the thin blanket, sliding under it as Kris unfurled the new one. It was big enough for him to fold it in half, and cast it over her. There was just enough room left for him as he slid under the covers. They were finally thick enough to be comfortable, and substantial. She wrapped an arm around him, laying there like a log otherwise. She felt his tiny, soft hands on her face. She chuckled very softly, struggling profusely to stay awake as his fingers slid along the side of her face.“Quit it~”“Okay.. Goodnight Susie~”“Gunnight Kris..” Chapter 2    It had been a long time since Susie slept like that. No dreams, no tossing and turning, just lulling straight into sleep and staying there all night. Eventually, her eyes opened again. They just cracked open, just like they had slowly pressed together. It was almost like she’d blinked, though when her eyes opened, her body was a lot more relaxed than it had been before she’d fallen asleep. She’d had such a wonderful dream, she went off on the assumption that it was still morning, and went to roll over to attempt to preserve what had gone on in her mind last night. That was, until she was stopped by something weighing her arm down. It was.. A person. A person that looked very similar to.. Oh. She felt the corners of her mouth stretch as she realized all of those things that happened “In her dream”, actually happened. With the person clutching into her neck. She was pretty sure it was Kris, and if not? They’d managed to convince her that her old friend was alright, even if it was just for a day. The particulars of how had escaped her, all she remembered is how much she’d enjoyed herself, how much fun she had, and the fact that she’d woken up next to someone for the first time in just about forever.“Kris?”She wasn’t ready to hear her own voice. It was like being hungover, but instead of a physical annoyance, it just startled her. It was like she’d woken up before actually having done so. Kris didn’t budge, he was either ignoring her, not responding to the name, or still asleep. He’d fallen asleep with his face in her neck, and his arms wrapped around her torso, and by some miracle, that’s where they remained. He wasn’t as pressed into her as he was before he’d fallen asleep, but his arms were still laid around her, he was still close. Susie paused to enjoy watching him sleep, it was weird, but it’s not like he was going to find out. She backed up enough to look at his still face, she felt like there was an opportunity to do something here, but she couldn’t think of what that could’ve been. Touching his face would have been weird, but it was certainly tempting. She decided against it, deciding just to put him back in her chest again. After a few seconds, she felt him squeeze himself into her. She was flustered at the fact she’d woken him up, at least she hadn’t startled him.“Kris..?” She said again, trying her best to keep her voice low and soft. For her, that didn’t exactly do much. He grumbled back, he was in the same position she had been just minutes ago, except he could bury his face in her chest to bar the light from reaching his eyes before they were ready. It was as close to a “Yeah” as he could muster, that’s at least how Susie interpreted that. Their first morning together.. She felt so relaxed, with him in her arms, she just couldn’t tense up. She didn’t have a worry in the world, nothing could soil this moment, it would be a shame they’d have to get up and eat, or work..Oh yeah, work. Her job that paid her, so they could do stuff like procrastinate before breakfast.. That was happening today, wasn’t it? She grabbed him, and rolled over, starting to wake up more now that she realized she had to. There was no way she didn’t sleep in, she’d never felt this rested, it must have been at least noon. She sat on the edge before promptly standing up, Kris felt her heat leave the bed, and groggily propped himself up on his side. “Susie..? What’s wrong?”“I’m late.. I uh, I have a job, you know, and I’m supposed to be there by noon, and-”“Hey, relax..”He scooched over to the side, still covered in blankets as he sat up, on the edge of the bed. Susie looked over at him, she’d sounded pretty panicked, and looked at him similarly. Calm down? She was never late for work. How could he say something like that, something so presumptuous! He stood up, and put a hand on her arm, right on her bicep. She realized how tense she’d gotten so quickly when he touched her, and she tried to calm down. She didn’t wanna be late, but she didn’t want to worry Kris a lot more than that.“It’s not noon yet Susie, it’s okay..”She paused. He rubbed at her arm, she lowered it into a more natural position.“But.. I mean, we slept in..”“No we didn’t, it’s fine.. It’s still- Well, it’s not early morning, but it’s not noon yet.” he cooed. He sounded so sure, she was going to refute it, but with how confident he was, she just slumped. If it was noon, or more, and she was late for work.. Worrying wouldn’t do anything to change that.“You’re.. You’re sure?”“I’m sure they’re still serving breakfast downstairs~”She could really eat.. He probably could too. He was so skinny.. Even if she was late, she was going to eat breakfast with him. She really needed to see him eat, she wouldn’t have been surprised if it was the first time he had since they’d split up. This time it would be something other than meat and rice too, something good, not just something that would keep her alive. “Okay.. Fine.” She said, finally calming down and finding something to look forward to, instead of just dreading a blunder she may, or may not have made. She reached for her vest, before her hand recoiled. She went with just her jacket, at least for breakfast with him, if she was having it here she could always go get it after she was done. Kris was ready far before she was, she had to put on her boots, but was still ready in about a minute. When she left the room, she stopped to stretch, pulling her arms way above her head. She still felt limber from yesterday. She looked over at Kris, who had stopped walking with her, and was just standing by her side. It was because of him. It wasn’t the physical intimacy they’d shared, but the actual massage. It wasn’t just a way of buttering her up, it was an actual art form. One that she assumed he probably didn’t get to practice much, and certainly didn’t get much appreciation from afterwards. He seemed really pleased, she assumed his mind was wandering the same area her’s was. She put an arm around his back, around his waist, and continued down to the main floor. Things seemed really slow, like they usually did early on, which was a good sign. “I guess uh, go pick out a table.. I’ll order us something. Oh, uh, how do you like your eggs?”He paused, he had to think really hard on that. She was starting to wonder if he even knew what eggs were. “How about just, sunny-side up?”She wanted to say something in response, like “You got it”, or even just “Alright”, but for whatever reason, she choked. The second for her to say it passed, and then it felt awkward, so she just turned away awkwardly and went to the bar. Billy-Jack was standing there, like he was every morning. Well, except for Remembrance day. “Hey uh, Billy-Jack.”“Well good morning to you, the usual?”“Uh, no.. Are you guys still doing breakfast?”“Mmhmm.” he quipped back cheerfully.“Whaddya got?”“Pretty much what everybody else has. Eggs. I’d say ham, but ah, you probably don’t want that.”“What? Why not?”“Shoddy cuts. Pork’s pretty rare, we only really buy the real uh.. Well, you can eat it, but you can eat tree bark and hardtack too.”“Huh.. Just uh, eggs then.”“How you want ‘em cooked?”“Uh.. I’d like mine scrambled, and his sunny-side up.”“His?”That hit her hard. Maybe not hard, but it felt strange for someone to ask about him. He was just as new a part in her life as anyone else’s, she wasn’t used to being with someone at all.“Yeah, uh.. Kris..” her voice got low and her confidence faded. He didn’t need to know his name, she was being weird about this.“Sorry, I just didn’t think you were the type to keep company. No offense, but you uh.. I think you said something about being alone at some point, ‘Lone wolf’ sorta thing.”“Yeah, well.. I guess not.”“Four pieces for the two of ya, I’ll bring ‘em out shortly. I know you’ve got places to be and all that..”She started getting them out. Before she put them on the table, she responded. “I uh, not for like, an hour or two.” It was such a basic response to what he’d said, but he looked surprised that she’d gone through the effort to deliver it. She just didn’t talk, she shut down conversations all the time before they even started, so why was she like this now?“Uh huh.. Hope you’re not expecting two hours worth ‘a eggs~” he said jokingly, a wide grin on his face as he took the pieces, and doubled back into the kitchen. Susie smiled genuinely, it was funny, and she wanted to laugh, but she wasn’t that open to the idea just yet. She turned around, finding Kris easily, there was only one other occupied table, some drifter eating what Susie would have been had Kris not shown up. She walked over to him, sitting on one of two free stools next to him. He just sat there smiling at her. She couldn’t help but imagine him as more engaging.. Though, she wasn’t exactly making strides to start a conversation herself. “I uh, got the eggs. Should be here soon..”“Thanks~”“Heh, don’t mention it..~”She grinned awkwardly, before looking away. What to talk about idly with him.. There were so many things the two of them could talk about, but she felt like they were intimate things that she should wait for privacy, and time, and circumstance to talk about. “What exactly do you do for work?”She was thankful for that, she really didn’t want to have to start this off.“I work security at a bar here, it’s sort of on the other side of town from where you uh.. Used to uh..”“That’s cool~ What’s that like?”“It’s uh.. Honestly? It’s really boring. Not a whole lot of stuff really happens at bars, I mean, enough for me to get paid to be there, but.. You know, mainly just standing around, looking tough, breaking up fights and all that..”He looked so interested. Or, at the very least, patient. Something she hadn’t been with people, ever. She was thankful he didn’t dwell on his job, but she felt the conversation moving in that direction. She was starting to realize why she hadn’t really talked to people the last ten years.“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing. Looks like you get paid pretty well, and you don’t have to be there until noon.”Before Susie could respond, someone came up to the table. Billy-Jack. He’d approached at an awkward angle, at least for him, he had to cross his arms to put each person’s food in front of them. He could have done it one at a time, sure, but that would’ve made it easy.“For you, aaand.. There you go. Let me know if you need anything else.”Kris thanked him promptly, and Susie grumbled out a similar gesture, something she wasn’t used to doing, and something the man didn’t even get to hear. There were a lot of eggs in front of her, it looked like she got a little more than Kris, but that’s because hers were just whisked in a bowl and thrown into the pan. Quality over quantity, even if they were probably just the same thing. The image of what he looked like without a shirt.. As well as, other articles of clothing, was still emblazoned in her mind. It was covered by the loose-fitting robe now, but she imagined he would ruthlessly attack the food set before him. She had her fork at the ready, but was waiting for him to start first. He picked it up like it was something he didn’t frequently get to use, and started cutting almost dainty pieces out of them. It was almost like he was reluctant to eat, but Susie didn’t feel comfortable commenting on it. She did feel hungry though, so she started eating. She felt herself watching her demeanor, she probably would’ve just scoffed these down and had been on her way, but with him watching, she didn’t want to seem like a pig. Especially since he looked so particular about it, and she might not have even used the fork were he not here.“I told you you still have time.”She swallowed the hunk of egg in her mouth, not really sure how to respond to that. She didn’t think he was trying to say “I told you so”, but that was literally what he had said.“Yeah..”He looked back down, he wasn’t sure where that was going to lead either.“Well, we can like.. Talk, and stuff. Before you have to go to work.”“Whaddya wanna talk about?”Silence. Her gaze strayed from his face, it was hard for her to decide whether that was to better focus, or because of the lack of conversation topics at hand. She poked at her eggs, she was about halfway done when all of the sudden this became an “I need to eat” instead of an “I want to eat” meal. Sure, there was a lot of stuff they could talk about, and this was a pretty decent circumstance to talk about it, but most of it she didn’t know if she wanted to. Obviously they’d have to get the nostalgia out of the way, she wasn’t looking forward to the “Seen anyone else” conversation, but it seemed inevitable. What did she want to talk about? It was one of those things that she’d told herself she’d capitalize on, she’d cherish if ever she was blessed with the opportunity to talk to him again, but here she was, at a loss of words.“I’m not really good at talking..” she said after a very long pause.“It’s okay.”“Well.. I don’t know. There’s so many things I wanted to say to you, when I thought you were.. You know. But I can’t think of anything I haven’t already said..”“You don’t have to say anything to me Susie, it’s okay. We can just.. If you wanna talk about something, go for it, but you don’t have to.”She was starting to remember why she’d fallen for him. He was always so compassionate and understanding, even things she couldn’t fully grasp he seemed to have a handle on. No wonder he was making a living as a companion-for-hire. “I just don’t.. Wanna have regrets again. You know?”He stayed quiet, before scooting his stool closer to her. She really appreciated it, and put an arm around him to show it.“I know.. But you need to know something too. We have time. And not just the hour before you go to work, but.. You’re gonna come back from it, and I’ll still be here, waiting for you.”That was a lot more impactful than she thought it would be. She had no idea how much she needed to hear that. Something quaint and small that when pointed out, was a major victory on her end. She smiled again. She wanted to thank him, but still couldn’t manage to get stuff that gushy out of her mouth. Until another thought crossed her mind.“Uh, speaking of work.. What are you gonna uh.. You know, when I’m there?”“Oh..” he said, before falling quiet. There was a long break, it was hard to tell if he was waiting for suggestions, or just thinking.“Well.. I uhm..”It was such a twist from how in control of the situation he was just seconds ago. He was all of the sudden at a complete loss of words, that, or he just couldn’t bring himself to suggest whatever he was thinking of. Susie started to think too, she needed to suggest something to get his face to not look so concerned.“You could uh..” she stopped herself, wondering how practical of an idea this would be. “I mean, you could come with me, and see if Hank needs any help. Or just, like, stay there..”His eyes lit up at that. “I could. If there’s nothing for me to do though, I wouldn’t want to get in the way, or distract you or anything..”He had a point. If there wasn’t a place for him for money, there probably wouldn’t be for free either. It’s not that he’d be a distraction, in a bar, what wasn’t? No, it was that her brutal image would be ruined by the fact she was gushing over some scrawny human boy.“Why don’t you go with me, and we can ask?”“Okay.” he said politely and concisely. She was at another loss. That was that, onto the next topic. Which was..She let out a sigh, upset with herself. Plucking him from his life just to treat him to this. He seemed content, even happy, sitting over there and slowly eating his eggs, staring up at her past his hair. “I used to work at a restaurant.”“Huh?”“I was a busboy. And I’d do the dishes sometimes.”“Oh. Cool..”“So I guess working at a bar wouldn’t be that much different..”“Yeah.”“...”“I’m uh, I’m sorry.. I guess I’m still waking up.”“It’s okay.”“...”“I don’t.. I mean, I know you mean that, and you’re just trying to make me feel better, but I dunno if it is..”“I know you wanna talk about everything, and.. You know, it’s like, backed up. You’re trying to get too much out at the same time.”“Huh.. Yeah. I guess..”She was painfully bad at this, especially in comparison to Kris. She scooched her seat closer to his, before her side touched his. She put her arm around him, and gently pressed him into her side. He leaned into her, knowing that the harder he tried to ease her into this, the harder that would end up being. This was fine though, he’d take his own advice and not try to force things. There was one egg left in front of him, the only thing left on Susie’s plate were the tiny scr@ps that weren’t worth picking at with her fork. She looked over at his egg, she didn’t want it, but memories returned to her head of instances where she would have. She always had crappy lunches, his mom always packed his. The worst thing he’d ever get was a sandwich on actual bread, the best thing she’d get is a soda with her government cheese sandwich. The only thing that was different about this was the side Kris was sitting on. And the food. And the fact they were going to a bar after this instead of math class..“Are you gonna eat that?”“Oh, no, go ahead.”She didn’t really want it. She had been asking because she wanted to make sure he was eating, he really needed too.“It’s not cuz I want it. You should eat. You uh..”There was another pause. “I know.” he said, before picking the fork up again. He finished it as begrudgingly as she’d finished the second half of her food. Now that that was out of the way, there was another awkward pause. Another half an hour or so that she’d have to fill with conversation somehow. What did people talk about nowadays? All she could think of is what he’d been doing for the last ten years, and she doubted he’d want to talk about that now. She hadn’t been doing anything that she hadn’t already told him about, nothing that wouldn’t have been incredibly boring. Ugh.. Why did all of this have to happen? Why couldn’t they have just been having lunch together, why did it have to be this apocalyptic hellhole instead of algebra. She never thought she’d actually be fantasizing about math class..“Are you okay? You seem worried..”“Huh? Oh, uh.. Pfff..”“What’s wrong Susie?”“I.. I don’t know. I don’t wanna be a downer or anything like that..”“Oh, come on.. It can’t be that bad.”She looked over to him. He had a point, she could think of quite a few things that would trump this train of thought in terms of being depressing.“Well..” she sighed, preparing herself yet again to spill her heart out to him. “I really missed you dude.. But, I guess I thought I didn’t miss anything but you. Like.. Remember the bridge? We used to sit there and hang on the metal rails for hours, just talking about.. Whatever.”“Yeah, I remember. Well, not really what we talked about, but.. You know, the fact we were there.”“Uh-huh.. Stuff like that, it’s stupid, but it’s all I ever wanted. I wanted you back so badly, even though I knew it wasn’t.. Well, I thought it wasn’t.. But.. I mean, I have you, but the bridge is gone. Even if we go back there, and it’s still there, it’s not gonna be the same. Ever.”Kris took a while to respond. “Well.. I mean, we might not have the bridge anymore, but there’s other stuff..”“It’s not just the bridge. It’s a lot of stuff.. A lot of stuff I’m never gonna see again, or do again.. Or..”She felt something in her throat again. Seconds ago she’d told herself she didn’t wanna talk about anything heavy, and here she was choking on the words she’d ushered up. She felt a hand on her thigh, prompting her to look back at the boy it was attached to. She let out a shaky sigh, she had a day of work ahead of her that may or may not have Kris present in it. Probably best to leave these sappy feelings at the door, or even better, this table. “I know what you mean.. I used to think about stuff like that a lot.”“So.. What did you do?”“I guess I just sort of.. Survived. I distracted myself. I never forgot about it though..”“Yeah.. I used to do that, but uh.. Pffff..”“I think I know what you mean. People like me exist for a reason..”“No, no! Not like that..” she said quickly, she never thought she’d ever have jumped on the chance to say she used to be an alcoholic.“It’s okay if you used to, a lot of people-”“I used to drink, okay? Like, a LOT. Like.. Really..”“You used to?”“Whaddya mean? Yeah, I used to.”“You stopped?”“Oh, uh, yeah. I didn’t like it, I always drank too much, couldn’t afford anything other than that rye wheat sh@t that tasted like gasoline. I mean, I still drink sometimes, but.. Not like that.”“I only really drank if clients wanted me to. I didn’t like it, but.. That wasn’t up to me.”“That guy was right, you’re never going back there.”Kris smiled. Even with everything they’d been through, and had happened to them, that was always a comforting thought to the both of them. It had already happened, and now they had each other to look forward to.“Maybe we should just go right now, Hank’s usually there.”“Really? It’s like.. It’s not even noon.”“Yup. Something about being old-fashioned.”She stood up, leaving the plates on the table. She just assumed they’d be cleared out, Billy-Jack was walking over to do just that. Kris got up and followed her to the door, staying right behind her by just a few feet. Once they were out on the street, he was at her side. It was a bit of effort for him to keep up with her, she was taller, her legs were longer, and she was used to standing all day. She noticed him being a bit exasperated, and decided to slow down. She had no idea why, but that was because her idea of “In shape” was “Not fat”, and Kris was certainly that. She didn’t know you could go too far with that as a human. “So.. What kind of place is it?”“It’s uh.. Hmm. I guess a country bar? A country dive bar.. Mostly just people that come in off of work or something like that, that wanna relax or whatever. It’s just over here.”“What’s it called?”Huh. She didn’t have an answer to that question.. That was weird. She’d worked there for a week almost and didn’t even know the name of the place. When she came over to it, she looked at the sign hanging over it. “Bill and Son’s..”“I thought you said a guy named Hank owned the place?”“I guess he doesn’t own it.. Bill is kinda old. Like, really old, Hand sort of takes care of most of the drinks and all that.”She pushed in. She was a little early, but Hank was still there, over one of the tables.“Oh, howdy. I swear, you come in earlier and earlier every day.. Hold on, who’s this with ya now?”“Hank, this is Kris.. We’re uh.. Huh..”“Yer what?”She couldn’t think of anything. What were they? She didn’t wanna say they were friends, with what happened yesterday, they were well past friends. Could she say lovers? Would that be appropriate? Did people still use the term “Boyfriend”?“We’re together.” Kris said plainly, remaining by her side. The only thing off about it was how long it took either of them to produce an answer. “Is that so..”“Heh, yeah. Look, I uh.. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. This has been one of the best jobs I’ve had in a while, but, I was wondering if you have uh.. If you’ve got like, any other openings?”“Hmm? You mean like, fer yer friend here?”“Yeah..”“Hmm. Well.. I can’t say I don’t need the help. You’ve seen how busy it gets after sundown, and Bill ain’t much for passin’ out drinks anymore. You know, I’d love to offer your little boyfriend a job, but.. I mean, you can’t expect me to pay him as much as I do you-”“That’s fine.” Susie said incredibly quickly, cutting him off. She knew d@mn well what she was getting paid was a lot, hell, if he’d take Kris on to keep that wage she’d be ecstatic. He looked a little caught off guard by just how willing to compromise she was.. Well, how willing she was for him. Kris wasn’t objecting though.“Uh-huh.. Look, I could tack on another five pieces a day for him, but that’s it. I mean, if he can help with the cleaning, and pouring, and all that stuff.” Hank said, looking over to the person he’d be hiring, instead of the negotiator.“Now no offense to you mister..”“My name’s Kris, sir.”“Kris.. Being a bartender’s a social position. Gotta be able to carry on conversation, listen to people’s problems, that sorta thing. Plenty of wiping sh@t down, but that right there’s the make-or-break.”Susie put a hand to the back of her neck. She’d made a negative enough impression that Hank really had to screen Kris to make sure he wasn’t going to pull the same thing she did. “I used to help out at a bar a few years back, it was pretty similar to this. My last job was a pretty ah, social position too..”“Mmm, mmhmm.. ‘Social’. Well, can’t see the harm in giving you a day or two to learn the ropes, get situated, angel knows I need the help ever since Bill’s hip started nagging him. You don’t have a bum hip now, do ya?”“Ahah, no sir, and after my last job.. If it was gonna give out, that’s what would’ve done it~”Hand let out a loud laugh. Susie’s hand returned to her side, why she’d doubted Kris’ ability to personally connect with people better than she could, she didn’t know. He had as much charisma as she had whatever quality it was that made her an appealing bar guard. Maybe just a little bit more. “Well.. I guess that settles it. Why don’t you get to doing whatever it is you do, and I’ll get to showing him the ropes.”“So.. He’s hired?”“He’s got as much a shot at it as anyone else would, sure.”She grinned, before looking down at Kris. He seemed less excited about the opportunity, but it wasn’t because he wasn’t happy about it. He just wasn’t as verbally forward with his emotions, but she could see a small smile. She felt Hank looking at her, a bit of panic struck her as she tried to think of why he’d be staring at her like that. Kris was looking at her too.. His words finally repeated themselves in her mind, she realized she’d just zoned out, and that she should probably go over to her corner, and do what Hank asked. It felt weird walking over to it with something to actually think about, something new and exciting. Kris went behind the bar with Hank, she was too absorbed in thought to really listen to what they were talking about. It felt odd to stand all the way over here and occasionally watch Kris doing something with someone other than her, even if it was just talking. The farthest she’d been from him was when he went up to her room while she was talking to the bartender, at least up until now. It just felt like it was too soon. She felt too light, like she’d had a weight lifted off her chest that she desperately wanted back..She’d forgotten her vest. Great.. Was that what Hank had been staring at? No.. That couldn’t have been THAT noticeable. She didn’t have her ax either, but it had been a week of not being able to fiddle with the weight of it in her hands. She’d been able to do pretty much whatever she wanted with Kris, the majority of that being putting her arms around him, holding his hand, and other things she probably shouldn’t think about at work. But she might, maybe..Could it have been because she was smiling? It could’ve been the fact that she zoned out, but she felt that he was staring for quite some time. Kris had definitely been staring because of the latter part, but that might have actually been the first time Hank had seen her smile. Or express emotions at all. It might have come as a shock in general that she talked to other people outside of having to for food or money for said food. If Kris hadn’t been, well, Kris, the fact that he was previously, and is still dressed as, a geisha, probably would’ve done a lot more harm than good for her. She wasn’t a very appealing conglomeration of personality traits, unkempt, crude, brutish looking, and asocial. Tacking whoremongerer onto that list might have been the thing to actually get her fired, or at least a talking to, which would’ve been the same thing. She looked over to the bar, it looked like the two of them were getting along pretty well. Figured. Well, that was good. This whole thing wasn’t really about Kris pulling in another five pieces a day, it was about giving him something to do other than sit at home all day, or.. Pursuing the work he was used to. She shuddered at the thought, though felt it unlikely that Kris would just immediately turn around and go back to that lifestyle. It still lingered in her mind though, no matter how deep she pushed it down. She was glad it was heavily outweighed by the other thoughts she was having about him. “Susie?”She jumped. Well, it was more of a full body spasm, a crude, involuntary attempt at snapping back to attention. Kris snapped back just a bit at the sudden movement, which was about the time she realized who’d just said her name.“Are you okay?”“Yeah, heh, just uh, sorry.. Kinda zoned out. Sort of my job, to stand here for a while, so..”“Well, uh.. About that. That ‘while’ is getting cut in half.”“What? Whaddya mean ‘Cut in half’?”“It’s uh.. So,  Hank showed me the ropes and all, and he said that he didn’t really need me over here until later tonight.”“Oh. I guess that makes sense, this place is sort of a ghost town until people start getting off work. Is he gonna like, uh.. Give you less money?”“No. He just didn’t wanna make us wait around here for another five hours doing practically.. Nothing..” Kris said, trailing off awkwardly as he realized she probably volunteered to do that for however long it was she was working here.“You figured all that out in ten minutes?”Kris just looked up at her. It was another instance of her not knowing what was wrong in the slightest.“Susie, it’s been like, almost an hour.. Are you okay? You seem sort of out of it..” “Nah, dude, I’m fine, really. I promise.”That promise was enough for Kris to stop worrying as much, at least for now. It was part of her job, but he didn’t really believe that. Even if it was, that couldn’t be a good thing.“So, whaddya wanna do?”“Whaddya mean? I’ve gotta work.”He paused again, that promise meaning less after she missed yet another mark. “I’m sorry, I meant both of us. Hank says we can both go until later. Around sunset, since that’s when everybody comes in.”“Oh.. Really? Is it just for today, or..?”“I don’t think so, but I’ll ask him later tonight.” Kris said, before looking at his feet. This was something for him to worry about, any fault in Susie was a fault in his new life plan, he’d sort of just thrust himself into her grasp completely, and she wasn’t really someone that anyone of sound mind would do that with. As dissociative as she was, she wasn’t that blind. She was going to have to use the next few hours to try to scrub this scene from his mind. She pushed off the wall, she was going to start with trying to seem like she didn’t wanna stay here, instead of spending the time they had off together.“Hey, uh.. Come on, why don’t we go.. I dunno.. Like, do something?” She wasn’t too confident in even that broad suggestion, because she didn’t have anything specific in mind to back that up.“I’d like that.” he said back softly. He knew she didn’t have anything to suggest, but that wasn’t important. The fact that she wanted to go do something, and was willing to dedicate the energy (And hopefully focus) to it, was what he was looking for. There was another brief pause before she realized that she was going to have to be the one to start moving, to lead him out. She took a step, before turning back to Kris. She reached over for his hand, figuring that would probably be a good way to ease whatever tension was going on. She didn’t even notice the stupefied look Hank was giving the two of them on the way out as she led him to wherever the afternoon would take them. So far, that was just outside the bar. Even though the sky hung over them, and the air was more open and lighter, it still felt like there was a thick wall in front of her. It hit her, and she realized that she didn’t have anywhere to take him. That tiny, depressing room wasn’t going to cut it. She might have had time to take him to that clearing in the woods he showed her, but that felt too special to take up an afternoon. Plus, if they were really going to relax there, it would probably be better to do it without a schedule hanging over their heads, even if it was a few hours. She looked down at him, as if that was going to encourage her to think of something to do, or at the very least, say. He was looking up at her, crap..“So uh..”Still staring. She didn’t really think that would do anything, but she had to do something. That might not have been the best “something” to do. Alright, screw it, this wasn’t happening.“Okay, I’ll be honest dude.. Heh.. This is like the first time I've had time. To just do stuff.”“It’s okay, it’s cool.. I never really had time for hobbies or stuff like that, I sort of had to cram all of that stuff into my routine.”“Your routine? Like, working out?”“Heh, no. Does it look like I work out?”They’d started walking, and she hadn’t even noticed it. She chuckled at that, she had no idea where they were going, she just knew this was going a lot better than it had been before. “Well then whaddya mean? What other kind of routine is there?”“You know, like, washing and brushing my hair, shaving, doing my nails, put-”“Wait, your nails? Did you turn into a girl or something?”He was quiet for a minute at that comment. “They’re gross if they get too long. I guess it was just something to do..”She felt dumb. She clipped her nails whenever they got long enough to annoy her. That was the rule all of her grooming habits followed, come to think of it.“I’m sorry. I uh.. It’s been a while since I’ve paid attention to any of that. Didn’t uh.. Didn’t you used to do that?”He smiled again, their walking had slowed significantly. They were meandering about at this point, moving just enough to seem like they were actually going somewhere.“Yeah. It took you so long to actually let me, I think I only got to do it once or twice.”Something clicked. She would’ve had to have been completely oblivious not to take what was at that point a hint. She was smiling giddily at what she’d branded as her own idea started to solidify in her mind. “Well.. I mean, we have like, all day. We could do that.”“That? Like..”“You know.. Like, you could maybe.. Brush my hair, or something, I dunno..”Her confidence had faded. She didn’t expect asking for it to feel so embarrassing. It was as hard as it had been years ago, she just wanted it enough for that not to stop her.“Well, I uh.. Sort of.. The stuff I used to do all that wasn’t really mine. The people at the uh, inn, let me use it. Kinda like the room..”That was a bit of a damper to the mood, though she hadn’t really planned far enough to anticipate where they’d get a hairbrush, or whatever people used to file down nails. That was pretty easily rectified though, she had money to burn, to an extent. This definitely fell under that extent.“Can’t we just go like, buy one? How expensive are hairbrushes?”It was such an odd question. She never imagined herself in any scenario where she’d actually need to ask something like that. It was warranted, sure, but it almost felt silly. It was a somewhat rhetorical question as well, Kris had managed to get his hands on one earlier, so it was pretty likely that she’d be able to find one with a little bit of effort. Kris’ mood looked like it did a complete 180, he went from bummed out to as beaming as he could be from under his hair. Susie felt a smile creep across her face against her will. She didn’t think the notion of buying him something would rile him that much.“Really? You’d do that?”“Yeah dude, it’s just a hairbrush.”That line quieted him down, but it didn’t take away the thrill of the fact she was willing to do something like that for him. It was such an unbelievably small gesture, but after ten years of almost never being shown a kindness like that, for any reason, he was ecstatic. Susie hadn’t either, she hadn’t needed it though. She was fine with everyone showing her a cold shoulder, since that was pretty much how she treated them in return, even before all of this she wasn’t a very emotionally dependent person, unlike Kris. Maybe not dependent, but at the very least appreciative. “Hey, calm down dude, you’re gonna.. What is it, burst a blood vessel? Are you okay?”“Yeah, yeah.. I just got excited, sorry.”She laughed, she didn’t quite see it the way he did, but it was endearing nonetheless. “I guess it’s just been a while since I’ve actually just.. Gone out and bought something. Well, I mean, it’s not gonna be me, but-”“I get it. I think the last thing I bought was that vest I have, and uh. Kinda got ripped off.”“Heh.. Sorry for talking so much.”“What?”“I do that sometimes, it’s.. I don’t mean to.”“You’re not.. Look, lets just go find the.. Hairbrush store?” That didn’t sound right. She started to search the recesses of her mind for where they sold things like hairbrushes. She hadn’t been lying when she said that vest was the last thing she bought, though Kris had probably figured that out the last time they went to the market. Would people there have one? It seemed likely, though the market probably wasn’t as lively as it had been on remembrance day. Kris was still smiling, the whole “Hairbrush store” comment was helping his mood. “I think they sell stuff like that at the general store. I’ve been there a few times, it’s just up ahead, on the left.”“Did Hometown have one of those?”“Yeah, but I think it was more of like.. An everything store. They had a section for just about anything, there was even a construction part in the back.”They’d gotten pretty much everything they’d ever needed while they were out at the gas station. It had a bunch of stuff, and Susie very, very rarely actually ever went shopping. Her mom did that, though it was as infrequent as her legitimate trips there were. Sh@tty, sugar enriched cereals, dried ramen that she never took the time to boil, things like that. She wondered what she was going to see, if it was going to be like it used to be, or something completely different. It didn’t take long to get there, the place really was just up ahead on the left. It looked like the sort of place that used to be a general store before everything happened, it had the same dusty, country feel that most of the buildings had. The door was flimsy, it was a good thing it didn’t get that cold around here. It reacted a lot more to her pushing into it than she’d expected, bar and inn doors seemed a lot heavier, and sturdier. Inside, the place wasn’t too big, it was about the size of their old corner store. There were metal shelves that looked like they’d been here as long as the store, with quite a bit of stuff piled on them. To the left, there was a counter, a scraggly, almost ragged tabby slouched over the counter. Someone that looked absolutely filthy, even at their cleanest. They looked tired, and barely reacted to the two of them coming in. The street wasn’t particularly busy, but this place was so much quieter. It was like stepping into a library, Susie found herself watching her step on the creaky wooden floorboards. It was almost offputting how still it was in here, she could certainly see why the clerk seemed ready to pass out.“Anything I can help you find?” the tabby said, breaking the silence. She looked back over at.. Him? Yeah, him. He was really leaning over, he had a slouch that put her bad posture to shame. She wanted to just say no, to be dismissive and look around on her own, before remembering the answer to that question. “Uh, yeah. Do you have hairbrushes?”His hands went up to the counter, he lifted himself up, leaning heavily on the counter to pick his scraggly body up. He wore a t-shirt, and some pants, nothing special. He walked out from behind the counter, over to the back. She followed him, and Kris followed her. He went straight to the back, there was a bin at the foot of one of the shelves. He pulled it back, peeking in on the contents just briefly before taking the box out entirely. Inside were a bunch of different hair care products. It looked like he shouldn’t be able to hold a box that big, chock full of things, but he did. He did one more than that, he started walking it over back to the counter. Susie followed him again, a bit confused as to why she needed to walk back over there to look at the selection. Before she made it back over, he was already sitting down, picking some of the brushes onto the table, his scrawny hands digging past the useless remains of a hair curling iron, and some other cheap plastic combs.“Any of these strike your fancy?” he asked the staring couple. Even though he was scrawnier looking than Kris, Susie was still caught off guard by just how raspy his voice was. He sounded like someone that used to be a heavy smoker, and just couldn’t afford it anymore. Like the part of his throat that was supposed to add any depth or baritone to his voice, just couldn’t anymore. There were four brushes laid out before them, they didn’t exactly have a lot of options. Two of them looked like the sort of thing you’d see at a dollar store, one of them seemed like it was of a better quality, though it didn’t look like something that would stand up to the frizzy mess on Susie’s head. One last option, and fortunately for them, it was a lot more solid looking. It was the sort of thing that you wouldn’t use unless you’d completely run out of options, it looked like it was made mostly out of metal. It was the sort of thing you could brush a wooly mammoth with.“What about this one?”He looked down at it, pondering over a price in his head before looking back over at Susie. “Twenty five pieces.”“You’re joking.”“Then why aren’t you laughing?”She huffed, really? Now she knew why people were scavengers. Twenty five pieces for a hairbrush, a day’s worth of work, and that’s assuming she went without a bed for that day.“Twenty?”“Yeah. Twenty.. Five. This is a store, not a market, and I’m sure there’s another one- Oh, wait, there isn’t.”He sounded annoyed and snobby. How dare these people come into his store and hassle him by trying to spend money there? Kris remained silent, Susie assumed he would’ve piped up by now if this guy was trying to pull a fast one on her. The most “Frivolous” thing she’d spent money on in the past decade had been booze, even before then she was never really much for shopping. She shook her head around, bobbing it side to side before begrudgingly accepting the price. She pulled at the purse by her side.“Fine. Gah, I remember when these things used to be like two dollars..”“I remember when they used to be fifty, then twenty, then two dollars.” he said back quickly, less upset now that he was counting out the pieces. It spoke to his age, he wasn’t just scraggly, he was old and crotchety. “Never thought I’d see the day these things made a comeback.” he said to himself, commenting on the now-common currency. Susie picked up the brush, something that would’ve come with a bag a while ago. It felt weird, she’d paid for it, and it was hers now. Huh. It wasn’t food, drink, or clothes, which meant she’d have it for what she hoped was a while. The two of them made it past the door, into the street, and Susie stared down at the dainty implement in her hand. She glanced down at Kris, who was looking up at her with a tiny smile. It seemed to be his neutral look, though it was a lot more positive than her’s. She grinned, remembering why she even had this thing in the first place. She handed it to him, and he accepted it graciously, yet silently, though his smile did get bigger.“Wanna go back to the room? Or find a log or something?”The two times she’d let him brush her hair, she sat either on, or at the foot of his couch. The first time was due to a suggestion made by Toriel, something that could sound incredibly rude coming from, and being directed to, anyone else. It was true though, so they brought out a hairbrush, and she reluctantly let Kris brush her hair. The other time, it just happened. They were watching TV, Kris left, and came back with a hairbrush. She remembered it being somewhat relaxing, even if she always told herself it was more something for him to do. That’s what she was telling herself now at the very least. “How about the room? I have to pick up my vest anyways, maybe they’ll be making something other than eggs for lunch.”He didn’t respond. He just looked straight ahead, though his eyes were level with her chest, that wasn’t what he was looking at. He was holding the brush with both of his tiny hands, for a second, she thought he was going to dissolve. Turn to dust, float away, and she’d wake up, it just seemed like an odd time to pause.“Thank you.” he said, with a crackling voice, still unable to meet her eyes.“Heh, you’re welcome. It’s just a hairbrush dude, are you okay?” she shifted from a somewhat flustered tone, to a somewhat concerned one. She bent down a bit to get eye level with him. He met her gaze for a few seconds, before looking away again.“I- I should be fine. It’s been a while since..” he trailed off as he looked at her again, she saw his lips purse up a bit.“Your hair is.. Really frizzy.” he commented, smiling. That probably wasn’t what he was going to say, but she wasn’t going to force him to repeat himself.“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve uh.. Well, I didn’t need to brush my hair since I never really washed it.. I guess that’s kind of the reason why.”“Yeah, well, you need to. I mean, I need to.”“Heh, let's go dude.”They started back to the room they shared, the mood swooped up by Susie’s gravity-defying hair. It was uneventful, though the fact that they were holding hands the whole way was still an event to Susie. It still put a frog in her throat, that she could just do this after so long. It still felt surreal. Billy-Jack didn’t take much notice of them walking in, though he never saw her back before nightfall typically, it wasn’t a routine he took enough interest in to comment on. They walked in silence up the stairs and down the hall to the room. It might have been small and almost dismal, but Susie didn’t care. Kris what in it, that’s what counted, and Kris was used to much more squalid conditions, though unbeknownst to Susie. She finally let go of his hand, before sitting down on the floor. She’d grown to like the comfort of “Downstairs noise”, the sounds people made through two or three walls that used to keep her up, but she quickly adjusted to. It was quiet, but not silent, even though nobody was talking there was still life to the room. He just sort of started, by pulling some back before running the brush through it. It got stuck, he had to pinch at it so that he could really pull it through. She didn’t feel anything, but it definitely didn’t sound gentle. It was a good bit of that, ten years of not brushing wasn’t going to be undone quickly. Eventually it turned into straightening, instead of working through. It was weird, having someone touch her like this. It wasn’t really casual, after what they’d done by the river, their relationship was anything but. But it was still just her head, something that you could do platonically, or even professionally. The contact was what she was after, but she was starting to feel a lot less.. Disorganized? Something like that. Now that her hair was starting to straighten, she felt a part of herself follow suit.“What I was saying earlier was that people don’t really.. I haven’t really had someone buy me something in a while. It’s not.. Well, it’s not the whole ‘buying’ part, but.. You know, the sentiment.”“Yeah, like, the thought that counts?”“Uh-huh. I like doing this, I always found it relaxing, even if it wasn’t me on the receiving end.”“I can see that. You better be doing this every day, for twenty five pieces.” she said with a laugh.He paused, both physically and verbally. He stopped mid-brush for just a moment, before continuing.“Yes ma’am.”“What?”“I- I’m sorry.”“No, I mean like.. Don’t- You don’t have to call me that.”“Okay.”The personality was gone from his voice. It was like he’d slipped up, and he was desperately afraid of doing it again.“Hey, I didn’t mean that. It was just a joke, dude.”“Yes ma’am.”She wanted to slap her face. Maybe his, just a little bit. “Not that, the other thing. You sound like a butler or something.”He didn’t respond to that. He’d stopped brushing a few moments ago, now he just sat behind her. She pushed forward, and turned around. Her hair was still in her face, even if it was a lot straighter now. He looked afraid, and it finally struck her that he may have been. She extended a hand to his shoulder, she felt him twitch as she touched him. She was about eye-level with him, standing up straight from her knees. “You.. You know I’m not just a client, right?”“Huh..?” he said as he looked at her, that word in particular peaking his interest.“I’m not a client. I’m not.. Renting you. I’m not paying you to do stuff with me. You don’t..” she bit her tongue halfway through that. She wanted to say he didn’t have to do anything with her, but.. The thought of him choosing to leave was far too much for her to think about right now. The look on his face didn’t make it seem like that’s what he was considering however. The solid, reaffirming line, “I’m not a client”, was enough to bring a half-smile to his face.“Y-You’re not a client..”“No.”“O-Okay..”He was in shambles. It was hard to tell if he was really smiling, if he was sensitive, or what. Susie was never good at reading people, even if that person was Kris. Was that what he wanted her to be? She took another look at him, he seemed.. He was fragile, and something that happened had shattered him. “Why don’t we lay down for a little?”The noise he made was far from words. It was in affirmation, he held the brush with both hands. Susie reached for it, and grasped it, only to find his grip on it tight. She took a deep breath, preparing to do a bit of emotional labor for Kris.“I’m not taking it. We’re just going to put it on the side-table for now, okay? I promise.”“Okay..”His grip loosened. She put it gently on the side table, very clearly in view. She started to get up, and slid off her jacket before getting into bed. She crawled in on his left, putting a hand on his shoulder to help coax him to his side. He was staring ahead, right at the nightstand with the brush on it. She put her arms around his torso and hugged him into her from behind. He was small and frail, she’d gotten big, but she still felt like he was at an unhealthy weight.“What’s wrong dude?” she asked as softly as her gravely voice would allow. He was silent, until he started breathing through his mouth. He sounded like he was about to cry. She was desperately hoping it was some kind of catharsis, she was starting to get scared herself. It was like he wanted to speak, and say something, but he just couldn’t manage to get the words out. She felt him shift finally, almost desperately. He was trying to turn, and she let him. He turned right into her, pushing his face into her sternum before the waterworks started. She moved a hand up his back to cup his head, keeping him there as she felt his scrawny arms start to wrap around her. It took a while, about ten minutes before his crying died down. It wasn’t the sad bawling that she’d been driven to, something that she’d probably have described as pathetic if it was anyone else. Just tears and whimpering cries in her chest. He pulled back, still struggling to breathe properly. Susie looked down at him, still in her arms. He looked distraught, she could tell the face hidden behind his hair was red, his half-open mouth was curved downward. “Do you wanna.. You know, talk about..”“I’m scared.”That came as a surprise. She didn’t know what he was, but scared wasn’t really something she expected him to be.“Of.. Of me?”He took more shaky breaths, which she assumed that statement made even shakier.“No..”It sounded like something that wasn’t going to be followed up with a correction. Either he didn’t want to tell her, or he didn’t know, which was starting to seem like the likelier option.“I.. I don’t want to..”“Don’t wanna what?”“I don’t wanna!” he said loudly before pressing his face into her again. This was starting to freak her out too, which wasn’t a feeling she was really used to.“You.. You don’t have to. Okay?” she awkwardly cooed. It actually worked, he seemed to calm down, even if he was still pretty shaky.“O-O-Okay..”She had a hunch as to what it was that he didn’t want to do. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, okay? I’m.. I’ll always ask. And if you say no, we won’t do anything.”She hit the nail on the head. His breathing picked up, though it was more methodical. He was at least trying to calm down. He couldn’t have brought himself to ask that, but hearing it was a massive relief.“You’re not at that place anymore. You don’t have to do those things, you’re not a geisha anymore, you’re..”Mine. Hers. Nobody else's. Things she wanted to say, but realized quickly weren’t exactly appropriate for the mess in her arms right now.“Kris.”He eventually calmed down. Whether he wore himself out, or was genuinely calmed down by her attempts, he was still. He still had her head in her chest, though he wasn’t as pressed into her as before. She just let him sit there, figuring that he probably needed this. She certainly wasn’t protesting the time they had together.“I’m sorry.” he eventually said softly, into her chest.“It’s okay.”“I don’t know what came over me.. I didn’t..”“Dude, it’s fine, really. I get it.”“Did you mean that?”“Of course. You’re a person..” she said, trailing off instead of tacking on “My person” to the end of that.“I.. Earlier, when I said thank you..”“I know. You’re welcome..”With that, he fell into her again. No tears this time, he did it for comfort. Because he wanted to be close to her, because he was starting to feel safe for the first time in a while.“Your hair looks nice.” he said after another dozen minutes passed.“Thanks to you~” she said, prompting him to chuckle lightly.“I’m still kind of scared.. Not like, ‘horror movie’ scared. Maybe just anxious? Worried..”She didn’t want to ask why. It would’ve been redundant, what didn’t he have to be anxious about? Come to think of it, she was sort of subconsciously worried too. She hadn’t cared about anything other than him, and for a decade she didn’t have that, so she didn’t have a care. She could only imagine what he had to put up with. It was just like what she had, before he had nothing, perhaps even a bit less, and now that he had something he had something to worry about losing.“I know what you mean dude.. But.. I mean, it’s still better than before, right?”“Yeah~ It’s a lot better. It feels sort of weird though..”“Uh-huh, never really thought I’d see you again. I uh, didn’t really.. You know..”She’d shifted to laying on her back, her right arm still supported Kris as he continued leaning into her.“Mmhmm.”“Are you sure you can uh, you know, go to work tonight?”“I’ll be fine. I think once I actually go there, and get paid for a night’s work I’ll feel a lot better. You know, it’ll feel more real or something like that.”“Mmm. That sounds about right.”Another bout of silence. There may have been something to talk about, but now wasn’t the time for it. This is something that Susie told herself she’d avoid if she ever got her hands on Kris, but now that she was here she was indulging in silence yet again. Just being with him, it was enough to instill hope for a future she wasn’t entirely sure she’d have with him. It was just like before, she just assumed nothing would come between the two of them, though this time she was paying more attention to anything that could. There wasn’t exactly a society about to collapse anymore either, all she had to do was make sure she stuck close to him. She adjusted her hold on him, pulling him into her side with a grin. A few seconds later, she felt his hand over her jean-covered thigh. Even through the rough fabric, his gentle touch sent a shiver up her spine, making her eyes widen as her confident demeanor slipped. She stayed quiet, she wondered what he was planning, but she wasn’t about to stop him by opening her mouth. He chuckled softly, his hand very slowly creeping toward the inside of her leg. She didn’t expect something like this, she didn’t really know if she could handle it either. What they did in the woods was loud, and the walls here weren’t very thick. She couldn’t look Billy Jack in the eyes if she pulled something like that.“What are you doing dude?~”“We have time before we’ve gotta go back to the bar, I was thinking maybe we could.. You know, fool around.”She chuckled at the thought, being able to just ‘Do it’ whenever, and wherever. The only thing putting a damper on it was the fact that they might have to do that here, and now.“I dunno if we could do that on this bed. I think it’s struggling as it is with the two of us~”“Who said we were gonna do that?”That stopped her. That’s right, there were other things people did other than just s@x.. But that was pretty much the extent of her knowledge on that subject. There was stuff like kissing, handholding.. And then her mind sort of blanked. She was doing her best to fill in the blank, but when his hand finally slid upwards and pushed against her sensitive loins, she realized pretty quickly what he was getting at. She felt another shot of lightning up her spine, her demeanor shattered with something that could hardly be considered touching. She wasn’t used to feeling like this, the notion that someone like him could make her feel like this so easily was almost concerning. His hand moved up, just grazing it before it settled on her abs, resting on her thin white t-shirt.“You weren’t lying when you said that was your first time, were you?”“No..”“You’re really sensitive~”“S-Sorry.”“It’s okay. It means it’ll be more fun.”She could feel her abs twitching almost receptively at his touch. Sensitive was an understatement, she felt a noise she’d be horribly embarrassed to make right on the tip of her tongue.“Relax. Have you touched yourself before? Or anything like that?”She didn’t know why she was reluctant to admit that, technically it wasn’t something to be ashamed of, but she couldn’t help but feel like a prude in comparison to him. Even before, she wasn’t exactly the best at opening up and doing stuff.“Maybe..”“It’s okay if you haven’t.”Why was it so flustering that he just assumed she hadn’t? “Fine, no. Never.. It just never really uh, you know..”“Yeah. A lot of people are too busy to get in the mood with themselves, you seem pretty attached to your work.”“Heh, yeah, my work..”He started sliding his fingers down again. This time, he pressed down enough for them to slip under the waistline on her jeans. She watched his hand slowly disappear under the fabric, down to the carpet of hair covering her crotch. It was less of the actual feeling, and more the idea he was so close to her. She breathed in suddenly, trying to keep calm as he did his thing. Finally she felt the flesh of his fingers against her womanhood, and she gasped. They just sort of sat there, her breathing was heavy as Kris waited for a sign to keep going. He didn’t get it, Susie didn’t really know where this was going, and if she was on to anything this certainly wasn’t helping.“Wow, you really haven’t-”“Shut up.. Is that all you’re gonna do?”“Heh, I haven’t even done it yet~”She bit her lip as Kris decided to keep going. He slipped them to her slit, teasingly sliding them down before slowly sliding them into her. She let out a short, pleasured groan, loud enough to fluster the two of them, but go mostly unnoticed by others. She managed to close her maw as his fingers dug into her, the louder noises muffled by her clenched lips and pressed teeth. The arm Kris was laying on top of squeezed him tightly in brace, she wasn’t used to being toyed with like this, even from her own hand. It didn’t feel like actual love making, that felt so close and intimate, but right now she couldn’t bring him close enough to recreate that feeling. It was all of the weightlessness in her chest, with nowhere near as much fire in her loins. Her breathing had already picked up, she was fighting almost desperately not to let out a much louder groan. He kept going, in and out. Kneading his fingers inside of her, making a wet schlicking sound. After a few minutes of very taxing foreplay, she thrust her chest up uncontrollably. If she wasn’t almost screaming, she would’ve made a much louder noise than the raspy, quick breath she let out as she climaxed. There was a small creak that erupted from the back of her throat at the end, people probably heard, but that noise could’ve been her stubbing a toe, or accidentally falling off the side of the bed. She flopped back down as Kris pulled his hand from her, keeping it in her pants. Her chest heaved, her breathing incredibly heavy as she came down from this high. She’d stopped squeezing Kris, and stared at the ceiling as she tried to get her breathing under control. Kris pulled his hand up, wiping it on the bed before returning it to her. Not only was she breathless, she was speechless. She knew exactly what he’d done, and what it had done to her, and it left her without comment. It took a few minutes for her to get back to where she’d been when she’d first laid down, she finally turned her head to look at Kris. He had a tiny, almost smug smile on his face as he laid against her. It had been his job to do stuff like that for a while, but doing that with someone he cared about felt a lot better. Especially when she was so big and brutish outside of the bedroom, for one of his tiny hands to have done that..“You gotta warn me before you do that..” “I thought I did..”“No, like.. If you do it again.”If she’d known that was going to happen, she would’ve wussed out of it. That wasn’t something she wanted to think about happening whenever the two of them were together, she wanted the same chance she was giving him.“Whaddya mean ‘If’?”She let out a laugh, though it was more of a quick huff, reminding her of how winded she was just minutes ago.“You don’t think anyone heard that, right?”“Nah. If they did, they’ll probably just think it was me.”She chuckled again at that, the fact that it was funny only made it more comforting.“Do you want me to uh.. You know..”“Do me?”“Yeah..”“Could we uh.. Maybe do that after work?” “Uh, yeah. Sure dude..” she said, somewhat relieved that she wouldn’t have to perform right after that. She was terrible at foreplay of any kind, and this seemed like so much more to her. Her hand, on his thing.. The thought alone was enough to send red to her cheeks. Kris was relieved too, being played with was a part of his old job, and not one he was particularly fond of, even if that flew over Susie’s head entirely. Some time passed, until eventually they were just laying there next to each other again.“So, how long have you known Hank?”“Oh, like.. A week. I haven’t really been here that long.”“He seems nice. Have you ever been here before?”“Nah. I’m only a drifter if you look at it over the course of ten years, I don’t really move unless I have to.”“Heh, you really haven’t changed..” It sounded like an insult, but she couldn’t take it as one. She really hadn’t, and she still couldn’t wrap her head around whether that was a good thing or not.“You got a lot shorter.” she finally responded, prompting him to laugh.“Can you believe they call this place Timberfield? That has to be the laziest name I could think of.”“I used to work at a worker’s bar up north, this place called ‘Brick’. Bet you can’t guess what they were known for.”“Heh.. Why’d you leave?”“Oh, uh.. I don’t wanna talk about it.”“...”“Raiders?”“Pretty much. Long time ago though, I’m sure that place is as built up as this one is by now.”“Raider” was the unofficial term given to the groups of people that would overrun, and inevitably destroy towns. People called them plenty of things when they first showed up; rioters, bandits, mercenaries, “Mercs”, protesters, vandals was a popular one, but it all boiled down into the same sh@t. They don’t grow, they don’t make or create, they just infest and destroy. There wasn’t just one wave of them either, certain towns tried rising out of the rubble caused by them with imposed martial law and/or military aid, only to be swept off their feet again a few years later. After a decade though, towns like this managed to stay on their feet. People needed somewhere to drink after all.     They had a meal. They talked some more over lunch, which turned out to be an early dinner before they went to work. They got there before the sun came down, which Hank was grateful for, he was a lot busier than he expected. Kris was put to work, and for the first time in a few years that work was honest work. Cleaning, serving, and filling were terms that wouldn’t make him queasy after the night was through. They returned home less worn out than they would’ve been from a twelve hour shift, though it didn’t stop them from being sleepy. They both went straight to sleep, neither of them dead-set on picking up where they’d left off from before. They woke up, had breakfast, and stared another day together in the eyes. It was a weird and exhilarating feeling for the both of them, they were still testing the waters to make sure it would last. It took them about a week to get those butterflies out of their stomachs, and by the time remembrance day came around the only awkward part of their relationship was how much Susie was looking forward to bath time. She really took the chance to enjoy herself without any unwanted company, or prying eyes or ears. She felt that it was real and genuine, even after a week, the staying power of that feeling really put her mind at ease. That was, until she laid next to him, just like she had before, still not entirely dry as she lounged her head on her arms. Something just clicked in her head, something that turned that wide grin into a flat line. He didn’t see, it didn’t bother her that much, but it was there. Eating at her. It consumed her, she was distant on the walk home as she mulled it over. “Susie? Are you okay?” he said, tugging at her hand. She looked around at the buildings surrounding her, they were trees a few seconds ago..“Huh? Yeah, just uh.. I’m fine.”“You seem sort of distracted..”“I said I’m fine.”He was silent. She wasn’t, and it was starting to show. He looked a little hurt from that, she wanted to slap herself. Don’t f@ck this up, not like this..“I’m.. Just thinking about something.”“What’s that?”This hurt her too much. She didn’t have the grace to navigate around this like he probably could..“I- I can’t tell you. Just, it’s important, and.. It’s kinda distracting.”“Oh. Well.. Okay.” he said softly, he didn’t sound satisfied, but he wasn’t really used to the alternative. He wasn’t counting on it, though it seemed like subconsciously he may have.“Look, I.. I can’t tell you yet. But I promise I will, eventually. Hopefully soon..”“Alright..”Things became a little awkward. Now she had a secret, something that she was keeping from him. Something incredibly important to her, that she couldn’t let him in on in the slightest. It was painful, but necessary, at least she managed to convince herself. She thought about it more at night, and the next day at work, she tried to push it out of her head when they were together, but him being there didn’t help. One night, Kris went up to the room, and she stayed. Needed to ask someone something, which was the truth, though still vague. She sat at the empty bar, midnight on the first day, it wouldn’t have been any other way. The slanty-eyed man stared at her sternly, he knew she was there for a reason.“You break bed?”“Wha- No.”“You want drink?”“No.”“Why you at bar then?”“I uh, wanted to uh.. I wanted to know where I could get directions.”“Directions? Like, you want know where go?”“Yeah. There’s uh.. Somewhere I have to go, but I’ve been sorta wandering around for so long, I dunno how to get there.”“Mmm. Big problem there. Hmm..”His face managed to get even more furrowed and contorted as he put himself deep into thought.“You know.. I think a while back, a man came in here selling a map. Really big, said it look nice on my wall. Too expensive. Said mapmaking expensive, not easy to do, fah. I no pay five hundred pieces for picture.”“So.. You think he’s still around?”“Probably, if someone no kill him over five hundred piece maps. Angel knows I think about it.”“Does he have a store in this town?”“I not know. I no think so, he have big backpack, he look like traveler to me.”“Huh. Well.. Anyone else that would know there way around?”“Maybe ask hunter. He goes all around the woods, maybe he know.”“Uh, yeah. Alright, thanks du- I uh, mean.. You know, I never caught your name.”“Long.”“Well, thanks Long.”That was almost awkward. She felt she was starting to get better at talking to people, even people like him that seemed like they wanted to throw you through the nearest piece of furniture every time they talked. So.. A mapmaker? That sounded both incredibly simple, and annoying at the same time. Finding him would be the latter, but after that? She just needed to hope he wasn’t charging the same price for a map.The next day, while Kris was brushing Susie’s hair like he did every morning, she had an idea.“Hey, wanna do something?”“What’s ‘Something’?”“Me and Long were talking about this uh, this dude that came in a while ago. He sold maps or something, apparently maps are really expensive now.”“Huh. So?”“He said he had this really big one, he was trying to sell it to him to put on the wall. He didn’t get it because it was too expensive, but uh.. You know, what if like, some other place bought it?”“What if some other place bought it?”“You know, we could go over, and uh.. Like, look at it. I mean, we’d go to a bunch of different places trying to find it, even if we didn’t it would still be fun.”He was silent for a minute. It was actually a pretty decent pitch for something to do, certainly something more enthusiastic than what he was expecting from her. But he didn’t just take it at face value, he went off the assumption she hadn’t changed in ten years.“Why do you wanna look at a map? I thought you hated museums, that sounds like.. Well, a museum exhibit.”A museum, that was a good idea. If those still existed, that’s where someone who knew their way around would be.“I dunno.. It just seems cool now, I guess.”“What’s it a map of?”“I uh.. I think it’s like, the entire area. Like, the whole west coast.”“Wow. And it’s like.. Handmade?”“That’s probably why it’s expensive. I mean, that dude must have gone everywhere in order to make a map like that.”“Huh. That does sound pretty cool, I guess we didn’t really have anything else to do today..”And so it was decided. Deciding it didn’t exactly help in their efforts. No maps, anywhere. They just walked into places, stores and the like, to try to see if someone had something like that sprawled on their wall. No luck. It ate up the day pretty easily though, and they did run into a few places that they’d never stepped into before. The next day, Susie took some personal time to waltz through the market. She’d just told Kris she was doing it, he didn’t ask to tag along. She started to realize the caliber of things that were sold in markets, nothing delicate like a map. It was starting to become annoying, that she’d have to wait for remembrance day for even a chance at either that man showing up, or some other trader blowing into town that happened to sell one. Those days went by excruciatingly slowly, maps weren’t brought up for the rest of them, Kris figured it to be a one-off. Remembrance day finally came, and yet again Susie asked for time to peruse the market. This time Kris asked to come with, and she knew she couldn’t just blow him off. What would be a good reason he couldn’t come.. A gift! She gracelessly hinted at it, and Kris caught on quickly. She hurried off with a very full coinpurse, not wanting to have to make two trips for this. Plenty of traders, with shiny trinkets and baubles, as well as more practical things that were attention-grabbing. Swords, armor, helmets, tools of war and self preservation, not to mention the very large baked goods section, made for this oh-so-special occasion. She couldn’t believe Long didn’t want to take time off to celebrate this. She’d looped around about two times, not finding a stand selling maps, or a person that.. Hold on. She spotted someone in front of a stand selling some kind of pastry, at least from what she could make out. Someone with a big backpack, some fancy looking clothes, and a weird, floppy hat. The backpack had large tubes tied to the back, like the one posters used to come in. She hadn’t run in a very long time, but that sight prompted her to. She’d gotten there a bit winded, just as the transaction was completed. She bumbled to a stop, attracting the man’s attention, a piece of sweetened bread in his left hand. She caught her breath as he waited for her to inevitably speak up. She was a little bit taller than him, compared to most he was of fair stature. A racoon, the pointed fur on the side of his head drooped down, just as the floppy hat on top of him did as well. He looked so.. Aristocratic. Like someone out of a medieval painting, feathered hat and all. He had large, shiny eyes, and a very thin sword with an engraved scabbard at his side. She finally stood up properly, looking him in the eyes.“Are you.. Hah, do you make maps?”“Why yes, I’m a cartographer. Are you.. Looking to purchase one?” he said quizzically, examining her outfit. It didn’t exactly scream prosperity.“I just.. I need to know how to get somewhere. If I have to buy a map to do it, then.. Yeah.”“Well, where is it you want to go? There’s quite a few places that fall under the description of ‘Somewhere’.” he said cheerily, though it felt like the sort of tone a salesperson would take with you to sell you something.“There’s a place called.. Used to be called Hometown. I wanna go there, but I don’t really know where it is anymore..”“Hometown? Angel, why would you want to go to a place like that?”“Whaddya mean?” “It’s.. Well, to put it politely, they never rebuilt.”“Deserted?”“For the most part, yes. Picked clean too, if that’s your prerogative.”“So you’ve been there?”“I’ve been close enough to it to establish routes through there, in which there are few that lead anywhere naught but away from that place. It’s fairly close to the coast, there’s a river running through it that feeds into the sea from a lake.”She felt herself choke a bit. She knew that exact place, both of them. The lake and the river. To have met someone else that actually knew they were there, that stood before them, other than Kris.. It was certainly strange.“Yeah, I know, I used to uh.. Live there.”“Oh my. Well.. I doubt you’d want to go back. Some of those houses were ah.. If I had lived there, that would be what I imagine the opposite of closure is.”She sighed. “Can you tell me how to get there, or not?”“It’s quite a ways away. The roads that lead there have had most of their signs uprooted, it’s about a three day walk, two I suppose if you travel light.”“So.. You want me to buy a map?”“I do, but they’re a bit pricey I’m afraid.”“Look, I don’t have five hundred pieces, but-”“Hah! No, oh my.. I wouldn’t dream of charging five hundred pieces for a traveler's map. Who on earth told you they were that expensive?”“Some bartender said you tried to sell him one for his inn, thing covers the entire wall or something.”“Oh. Well, those are more conversation pieces than actual.. Look, let me just..” he walked away from the booth, setting his pack on the ground, only to root through it. He got a tiny tube out, and popped the top off of it. He slid out the paper inside, it looked thick and durable. He rolled it out, and to no-ones surprise, it had a map scrawled on it. The whole western coast, rolled up into major highways, and minor branching paths, with rivers and lakes on it as well. Her eyes lit up when they grazed over the word “Hometown” in tiny, curly letters.“So, how much is it for that?”“Sixty-five pieces.”It was like a punch in the stomach. Sixty five.. That was pretty much her entire nest-egg. She undid her pouch, holding it up. Sure, she had that many in there, but how many would be left? After an excruciating counting, she left with an annoyingly empty pouch, and a map. This tiny little thing.. This better have been worth it.With what meager pieces she had left, she set out to buy something for Kris. Something that she could show to him, to draw his attention away from what he couldn’t possibly notice folded up in her purse. It helped to distract her from her most recent purchase as she racked her mind for something he’d actually liked. She was never any good at this, and not exclusively in a romantic sense. Her birthday was always just her getting takeout, and the two parties she attended in her lifetime she didn’t have the money to even start to think about buying something other than junk. Not this time though, this time she had at least a little bit of money, and she had to make it something. Considerate was probably the word she was looking for. It was remembrance day, wasn’t it? It had jumped back into her head at the sight of all the blankets and soaps being sold. She was about to brush off the notion of buying pretty much the first thing she saw for him, before remembering that they didn’t really use soap. Well, she didn’t care if she did, but she remembered him saying something about washing his hair with something to get it to smell weird. Like mint, or something like that.. It had more than faded recently. She looked for something that looked like shampoo, it wasn’t the sharp, overpowering chemical stench it used to be, but it was pretty close, and likely what Kris used to use, except this one was lavender, which allegedly is why it cost so much. She was more or less sold on it when she smelled it, even with the hefty price tag. The shopkeeper went on and on about how hard it was to find, and grow, and how lucky she was to even have it, in one ear and out the other. She carried the bottle with her, back to the room. Some random plastic container that looked beaten to all hell, something that might have actually contained shampoo or lotion before it was filled with whatever someone else had gone and put in it. She pushed into the inn, the stern looking man was still at the counter. Kris was sitting at one of the tables, alone. It was a little disheartening, he must be bored out of his mind, though it was a much better scene than him sitting on the bed in that dismal little room. She walked over to the table, he noticed her from the second she walked in through the door. She gave a weak smile as she sat down next to him, the bottle in her hand dangling by her side. Kris looked a little concerned, though he was obviously trying to cover it up with a smile.“How was the uh.. Market, right?”“Yeah. Pretty busy, a lotta weird people walking around.”“So.. Is that some sort of drink?”Oh, that’s right. She used to be an alcoholic, and she was pretty adamant about him not coming with her. She felt good putting it up on the table.“I really hope not. It’s supposed to be shampoo, I mean, it smells like it, but.. I’m not really an expert.”“Oh. Oh, for uh, bath time?”“Heh, yeah.” she said, before scooting her stool right up to his. “I got it for you, dummy.”“I didn’t wanna assume.. Thank you.” he said as he went to pick it up. He seemed so happy, and for the first time all week Susie finally relaxed a bit. This felt really good, and this was just a bottle of shampoo. She felt a lot more confident about what she’d been planning the past couple of days. Kris certainly eased up with her actually smiling, and not spending all her money on bathtub moonshine.     “Hey Hank.”“Howdy ho stranger. What’s up with you two?”“Uh, nothing much really. I gotta ask for a favor.”His eyebrow raised. He hardly expected her to ask for money at the end of the day, let alone a favor. She didn’t seem like the type to actually go and ask people for help, he certainly wanted to hear her out.“A favor, huh? I suppose I owe you one by now.”“Can you find someone to cover for me in a bit? For like, ten days or so.”“Ten days? You two going on vacation or something?”“No. It’s just me, he’s staying here. I just need to do something soon, and it’s gonna take around a week..”He looked at her. “Something” wasn’t very descriptive. Something that took ten days, and left her newfound boyfriend alone for that ten days seemed plain shifty. She started to get nervous the longer it took him to respond, not that she wouldn’t get time off, but that he’d try to pry in deeper to what she was doing. He leaned on the table, and lowered his voice.“Look. I don’t care what you do in your spare time, but if you’re leaving for more than ten days..”“I’m coming back. Or, I plan to, at least..”She didn’t need to elaborate. Travelers didn’t always reach their destination. He paused again, thinking it over.“I think we’ll be fine. If I think we’re not, I’ll find some scab. In a week, right?”“Yeah. Thanks, Hank”“I’m gonna assume you don’t want me asking what exactly is gonna take you a week to do?”“I have to.. Go somewhere. It’s important.”“So important that loverboy isn’t going with you?”“It’s.. Weird. He can’t come. I want him to, but he can’t. I hate to leave him alone like this, but.. I hate not to go more.”“Hmm.”“Look- I’ll tell you what I’m gonna have to tell him eventually, you’ll understand when I’m back.”“I’d tell him tonight. He ain’t gonna take it too well, you know that, right?”“How do you know?”“He’s a bit more social than you are.”“Huh.. Well. I guess I’ll tell him tonight.”“You know he really cares about you. I know I said I didn’t put no mind to it earlier, but.. Don’t do anything stupid. If you’re not back from your little trip in a week, I’m gonna have to hire another bar-hand to sweep up the pieces.”“I- Okay. I’ll tell him tonight.”Work was dull, but they had last afternoon to mull over in their heads while they did it. Kris finally smelled like something again, something other than mint. It wasn’t as sweet and alluring as apples, but it was still a vast improvement over the basic, almost dirty smell of cheap soap. They didn’t actually get to proper lovemaking, just a lot more intimate touching. She was fine with it, and so was he, so they went with it. She was sort of in the mood, but with one thing on her mind, she couldn’t bring herself to get on top of him like that, and after that little freak out, she tried to watch what she did with him. This however, she had to do, and for two reasons. She had really internalized that she had to, and she’d promised Hank it would be tonight, so.. Here goes nothing. She walked him up to the room, his hand in hers.“I have to talk to you about something. It’s important, we can eat after.”“Oh. Okay.” he said plainly. He’d been wondering why they’d skipped a table, but he wasn’t really in a position to ask or complain. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d skipped a meal.The two of them walked into the room. She shut the door, and joined him in sitting on the bed.“I.. I have to go somewhere. Soon, for a little bit..”It took him a while to respond. “Oh”She didn’t think she could make this sound good. There was no way it wasn’t going to seem like she wasn’t just abandoning him. Like she’d gotten bored of him already..“This- There’s something very important I have to do. I have to go somewhere, and it’s gonna take me about.. Three days to get there, and three days to get back. Hank might get someone to fill in for me while I’m gone..”He was silent. He just stared forward, right at the spot the wall met the floor. She waited for him to talk, to have an opinion on this.“Why?” was all he managed to croak out. This was destroying her..“I can’t tell you. N-Not until I’m back, at least. You’ll understand when I’m back.”More silence. He couldn’t make himself believe that. “W-Was it.. Did I do something?”“No. It’s not- I’m not leaving you. Well.. I mean, I am, for a week, but.. Look, it’s really important, and I promise I’ll be back. If I’m not, then.. You know.”“No, I don’t.” She sat there quietly. He really didn’t. Why would she stay, after everyone else he’d been with had just given him a little bit of money or attention before abandoning him. She slipped her hand around his, it was limp. He was just staring dead ahead still.“I promise.. I’m not leaving forever. Okay?”“I really meant it, you know. When I said I loved you.” His voice was starting to crack. She squeezed his hand, and slid closer to him. She had no idea if this was helping, if he didn’t trust her right now, this might just be rubbing it in.“I meant it too..”“Then why are you leaving?”“I already said, I can’t say why, it’s really important.”“You said you’d never leave me.” he said quietly. He immediately regretted it the second it came out of his mouth. She sat there in silence, starting to draw in that she wasn’t going to convince him. Maybe not tonight. She opened her mouth to talk, before closing it again. A rock and a hard place.. It seemed like he was starting to come to terms with the idea, and he wasn’t exactly happy about it.“I.. I don’t know what I could do.”“Just don’t go. Or take me with you, or tell me why you’re..”“I can’t. And when I get back, you’ll understand why.”He just choked on the frog in his throat for a little bit before coming to a decision. “Fine.”“I know it’s not fine, but.. Thanks for pretending.”“If you leave, I’ll still have a bartending job. Probably..”It was really the only thing keeping him from breaking down completely. He wasn’t a whore anymore, at the very least she’d picked him up from the bottom of the stairs to a place he could actually look himself in the mirror. It sort of hurt that he couldn’t just take her word on it, but it made sense. The last time she’d promised something like that, “Never leaving” turned into a decade long break.“Do you wanna go get something to eat?”“I should.”“I’m sorry..”“Mmm.”She didn’t really know how to handle this. If she tried to make him less mad at her, it was only going to accomplish the opposite.“Please come eat with me.. Just something, so I know you’re not hungry.”“What do you care?”“Ugh. I’m not pretending, I’m pretty sure humans need to eat. So come on, let's go get something. Please?”“Fine.”She tried to brush off that one line. She did care, did he really think she was just leaving him? Just pretending to care about him to.. What, use him? F@ck him? Maybe he didn’t know either, and he was just so used to it that he couldn’t picture any other outcome from this situation. She hadn’t really left that good of an impression on Hank, he’d probably talk to him about this, which might not be good. They walked down the stairs, no longer holding hands. Just rice this time, Susie wasn’t really hungry either, and Kris only ate half of his bowl. She’d pretty much forced herself to clean up after him, after all, she’d need the energy for the trip. For the first time, Kris spent the night sleeping next to Susie, instead of wrapped around her. Or pressed against her, as a little spoon. She didn’t try to hold him. She could only imagine what kind of bastardized image he was cooking up of her inside her head. Just some random drifter looking for a quick fling with someone she used to know. He was probably beating himself up about something he did to deserve this, assuming he hadn’t done that with the countless other people that had been through his life like a revolving door. She’d just have to steel herself into not becoming one of them. The next morning, while Kris was eating breakfast, she decided to go outside. Morning air was where the term “Breath of fresh air” came from, it helped to get her at least a little excited for the day. It also helped her think over something that very recently had come to mind. What if she didn’t go? If she left, would she have Kris to come back to? Of course she would, when he saw why it was she needed to go so far, he’d forgive her in an instant, and then some. No, he definitely would. She remembered what it was like to give him that shampoo, how happy he was with that, this would be a thousand times what that was. The kicker finally hit her, everything would be great if she made it back. He might not have faith that she was even going to try, but her concern was that even if she did, she might not. All sorts of people live in the woods between towns, as well as wild animals, things she wouldn’t exactly come out on top of with only a vest and lumber ax. She didn’t have the money to hire help, she’d hardly have the money to get enough stale bread and jerky to hold her over the whole week. She looked out over the low roofs of the buildings on the other side of the street. She really didn’t want to have to do either, but she did. She was being forced through whether she liked it or not, there was no way of worming her way out. It was really the first time she’d felt she’d had to do something in years. The one person that she’d feel even remotely comfortable talking to about this couldn’t know almost any of the details, and the things he did know he resented her for. She looked down and kicked dust up from the ground. It didn’t fix anything, so she decided to go back inside. Keep going with the original plan until something convinces you otherwise, she told herself. She walked over to the table Kris was at, and sat down across from him. He hadn’t touched his food again, it had been here for a little bit. “Should eat your eggs before they get cold.” she said as she picked up her fork.“I’m.. not hungry.”She sighed. One more thing to worry about when she was gone.“That has nothing to do with it. I’m not really in the mood either.” She stabbed a piece of her own before shoveling it into her mouth. He was obviously doing a bit of thinking too, he didn’t seem any better off than he did yesterday. He picked up his fork to see if it would help with his appetite, though to no avail.“You can’t do this while I’m away.”“What?”“You need to eat. I don’t wanna have to worry about you starving yourself.”“Then don’t.”She grumbled. He was so dismissive and agitating.. She didn’t want to eat, but she wasn’t complaining, because she had things to get done. She had work later, so that she could pay for the food he was refusing to eat.“What if I do go? What if I don’t come back, are you just going to starve yourself to death?”“I..” “What about the first time, did you just give up after a few days of not seeing me?” It was a rhetorical question made to at least get him through the week, with the unforeseen consequence of breaking him down further. He put the fork down and lowered his hands below the table. Now that she’d actually said it, he was thinking about the possibility. He didn’t want to believe it, but any new evidence he got towards that fact drove him toward that assumption. She realized quickly she’d made things worse, and frowned. “Look, dude.. I didn’t mean it like that, I-”“I don’t wanna.. Not again.”She thought a bit before she spoke, thinking maybe that would help a little bit. What would he want to hear from her right now aside from her choosing to stay?“I’m sorry.”No response. He still wasn’t eating, but she decided not to take that battle. If he got hungry later, or changed his mind, he’d eat. That advice should’ve been more for herself, instead of something she said out loud. She ate slowly, she had to force herself to, something that never got any easier no matter how many times she needed to do it.“When are you going?”He broke the silence randomly. She looked over at him, sitting politely on the shoddy wooden stool like he was being interviewed.“I uh.. Like, in a week. I wanna have food for the trip, and uh, you know, some money for you just in case.”“How long are you going away for?”“Just a week. If that, I wanna be back as soon as possible, so.. Maybe sooner.” she said as gently as she could, hoping this was him attempting to come to terms with it.“Okay..” he said simply and softly. She leaned on the table, done with her food.“I know it’s not.. But thanks for saying that. You’re gonna be okay on your own, right?”“Just a week?”“Just a week, I promise.”     It was about five days worth of prep. She wanted to leave a little earlier than she’d said, her plan was to be back by remembrance day, and she wanted a little leeway with that. Rations were always pricey, anything made to last more than a day or so was, or else it was dismally dry and chewy. She didn’t have the money for the sorts of jerky mercenary companies did, the meat her beaten duffle was loaded with was as stiff as leather. She didn’t care, she’d dealt with worse, and with her set of teeth, she’d come out on top every time. She’d forgotten that the bread was called hardtack, it somehow managed to be even tougher than the meat. She’d gotten a slightly larger bottle for traveling that she planned on filling up at rivers and creeks that were thankfully included in the map. No tent, no bedroll, no firemaking implements. She’d never used any of those, and saw no reason to do so now. She didn’t see herself returning to sleeping on the ground anytime soon, but didn’t have the money to complain. Kris was worried when he saw the entirety of her kit. Food and what seemed like nowhere near enough water, no shelter or anything. Her assurance that ten years of doing this was enough preparation for this small trip comforted him enough for him to just let it happen. She found a replacement for herself, some drifter at another bar that talked even less than she used to, the bad kind of ex-military. Or, perhaps ``unfortunate was a better term than “Bad”. Regardless, the day came. She’d told Kris last night that she’d leave in the morning, after breakfast. He seemed almost ready to cry throughout the meal, with her vest on and ax by her side. She was done far before he was, and gave it a minute before she stood up. He did too, and she walked over to him. She slowly wrapped her hand around his, and held it. He looked up at her, past his hair and into her eyes.“Goodbye..”“Huh-uh. Not goodbye, I’m coming back in a week, remember?” she said as upbeat as she could while giving his hand a squeeze. He let out a weak chuckle.“Okay. Then.. I’ll see you. Be safe..” He said before looking away, his smile fading yet again. It didn’t sound like he was entirely convinced, but so long as he stayed here and kept eating, she didn’t need to worry about that. She knew she was coming back, and that’s what mattered. She finally let go of his hand, and went to go pick up her bag and ax. She heard him sit back down as she walked to the door. She couldn’t help but turn back around to look at him. It looked like he was trying to focus on his food instead of looking at her, though it didn’t last long. He looked back, and gave a tiny wave. She grinned and waved back, before pushing out through the door. She stood out front of the inn, cool air hitting her face and filling her lungs. She straightened her back, taking it in before she started walking.She had fiddled with the map in private, planning a route. An old road ran slightly into the town, though she’d come in through the back after quite a bit of wandering. The bleached, broken asphalt was comforting to her, even if the map wasn’t authentic, or she managed to mess up, she’d have a road to follow back at the very least. It very quickly turned to trees, and the sounds of nature. According to the map, she was going to have to walk for a few miles before switching to another road. She put it away, and braced herself for the incredibly boring part of adventuring: Walking. Just like her job, it offered her an almost annoying amount of time to think. Her legs carried her, she was used to standing and walking to the point that if her legs started to hurt from either, she was used to not caring. She had a light load too, she had no idea how mercenaries in their heavy armor managed to rove around like this. Money, probably. After a bit, a thought occurred to her. This was the first time she found herself walking a road for a good reason. Every time she’d done this, it was running away, surviving, desperately trying to find another town or moneymaker. Just like the first time.. Or, probably the second. Once when she was very young, she’d tried to run away. Nobody liked her at school, her house sucked, her life wasn’t far behind, how much worse could the road be? She didn’t get very far though, what had taken her a half an hour took officer Undyne about four minutes. She couldn’t really remember what she’d said to get her to return, but she did. What an awkward car ride that was.. She’d told Kris about it at one point. He was one of her reasons for not regretting that. Did she ever tell him? Maybe she’d work it into her return speech. The second time was much, much worse, and far from voluntary. She shuddered to even think about it, it put such a damper on this trip. The road was just a tad darker than it was now, but it was still a road. A middle-of-nowhere road, two lanes that went on forever, occasionally broken up by a bridge or a gas station. She could still remember what that shattered counter looked like, and that.. Other thing, she didn’t want to. There were so many trees here, that’s probably why they called that town woodbridge. She’d heard of it before, a long time ago. Supposedly a lumber town, though it was hardly anything other than a pit stop these days. A fire for people to gather around.. This time was different. Going somewhere, turning around, going back, and to Kris no less! For the first time, an actual purpose other than whatever drive forced her to do this before. Thinking about it, it was probably Kris, even if she didn’t think he was still around. That memory was enough, the fact that it happened once meant.. Something. Something she would’ve put in a poem in a composition notebook a decade ago, something nobody but her would ever see. Maybe she should write Kris one, and actually show it to him? Would he like it? Or would it be something wince-worthy that he’d just pretend to like, since he couldn’t really speak his mind if he hated it.. Humph. She shifted her back and fished out the bottle of water in it. She had to put down her ax to do so, which meant she needed to pause for a bit. She’d been walking for hours, she’d really zoned out. She’d debated on whether she’d take a route through a town to sleep for two of the days she’d be out, but decided against it. Not enough money.. Besides, if she was robbed, that wasn’t exactly a solid plan. Did people really sit on these roads and rob people? It must have been like robin hood, did they just sit on the side and pop out when people came by? With one of those thin, curved swords, like the one the map salesman had? If someone like him tried to pull one over on her, she probably wouldn’t survive, she’d be too busy laughing to hand over the money or fight. More hours passed, and eventually the sun went from beating down on her, to peeking over the trees, forcing the sky into a beautiful shade of orange. She kept walking, so long as she could see, but it started to get dark quickly. She was fine with it, she could still see her feet, and that’s what mattered. That was, until she saw something up ahead. That wasn’t a black abyss with a road sticking out of it, it was a ball of flickering orange light coming from the side of it. There was a small outcropping, a place cars could pull over in case of an emergency, or in case a cop pulled you over. That wasn’t at all what it was being used for now though, it looked like it could’ve been a campsite. No, of course it was, who would just start a fire on the side of the road without camping there? F@ck.. People. Sure, some of them might have been friendly, but if that wasn’t the case, then what was? She stopped to think. There was no way she could sneak around without alerting them or getting lost.. Could she just pass by? If they were robbers, why would they have a fire going? She went with that assumption. She walked on the far side of the road, until she could get a proper view of that clearing. She saw a tent set up before she saw a figure hunched over, sitting on a log. A massive one, a reflective one.. But just one. She was doing her best to stay as far on the right side of the road as she could, maybe he wouldn’t notice, or care. She crept closer, she could hear the fire crackling. Just as she did, that figure looked up, right at her.“Hey! Who goes there?”She froze. He was wearing armor, and looked a lot bigger than she’d initially thought. Though, there was only one person there, and one tent. Why would a mercenary travel alone?“I mean you as much harm as you mean me. Show yourself lest you tempt me to drag you to the light on my own!” Oh Angel, why was he talking like that? He stood up, she hadn’t seen it until now, but he had a long sword resting on his shoulder, that was now being held off the ground just by the hilt. She was made, and decided to walk more toward the middle of the road, where the fire light reached. She didn’t want to look as terrified as she was, though, maybe that would have been a good thing? When he laid eyes on her, the man calmed down. His sword tip nestled into the dirt again as he put his hand on the grip, in his armor he looked like the sort of knight you’d see in a haunted house.“You don’t look like a bandit. Why rescind yourself to the shadows?”“I.. I just wanna pass through.”“Traveling in the dark is a fool’s errand, even on roads like these. Come sit by the fire, you’ll find no better spot to camp before the sun sets entirely.” he said as he started back to the overturned log. There were a few, as well as stones set in a circular fire pit. He wasn’t the first person to stay here, that was for sure. She thought it over, before sheepishly walking over, and standing by the fire. She got a proper look at him, a tall, broad lion. He wore armor, a thick plate jacket with wrapped up arms, and strangely puffy, plated pants. A massive sword laid against his shoulder, and a visored helmet laid on the ground next to his boot. He was handsome for a warrior, the mane certainly added to the image. He had a cloak draped around his shoulders, falling onto the ground behind the log, and a red hand-print pressed onto the front of his chest plate. She’d never seen anyone like him before, someone so dangerous looking, yet calm. What he said earlier resonated with her, “I mean you as much harm as you mean me”. That wasn’t any at all, so in theory, she’d be okay. “You should sit, relax. Nothing ahead of us tomorrow but miles of road.” He was right. Even if she’d turned around, it would be the same commute back. She sat down, resting her ax against the log, though she kept her bag around her arm. He just sort of looked at her, was he waiting for her to say something?“What brings you out here, traveler?”“Uh.. Just, visiting.. Somewhere.”“No need to be so specific.” he teased.“Why do you care?”“It is customary for travelers meeting on the road to swap stories, we hardly have to though.”She felt flustered. That was rude, this person was being so welcoming, and she was being.. The old Susie.“I’m sorry, I uh.. Maybe you’ve heard of it, it’s called uh, Hometown?”His eyes widened, and his ears perked up at the mention of it. “I have, but not in a very long time. Why on earth would you want to go to a place like that?”“Whaddya mean, ‘Place like that’?”“Don’t you know? It’s completely trashed. To call it a state of disrepair would be egregiously generous. Beyond salvaging, I believe was what my report on it included.”“Oh.. Really?”“Yes. That little place got hit quite hard I’m afraid, oh-so-long ago. Quite unlucky for the residents there..”“Preaching to the quire buddy.”“Really? What a coincidence. My condolences, really, I saw some of the things that happened there.. Albeit that was about five years after the first time, though I can’t imagine it took someone that long to set fire to the grocery store.”“Sh@t.. Well.. Whatever. Did you just come from there?”“Oh, no. I haven’t been there in a while, not a whole lot of reasons to go there, though that’s about the only reason not to. Nowhere near as many squatters as there were in some of the other cities, scavs cleared it out years ago.”“Huh. Well.. I guess, where are you going?”“This place called woodbridge. I’ll finally arrive there tomorrow, it’s been an incredibly long journey.”Something shriveled inside of her when she realized he was going there, she immediately had to know why.“Why uh, why Woodbridge? It’s uh.. Not really the nicest place.”“Believe me, I’ve heard. What is it, the Green dragon? I’ve yet to determine if that’s supposed to be some sort of euphemism, from what I’ve heard about it it’s bound to be.”“Oh, the uh.. Casino.”“From what I’ve heard it’s a whorehouse with a casino tacked onto the side.”“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Are you..”“Of course not. I shan’t step foot in a place like that.”“Why are you uh.. Going there, then?”He was silent for a minute. He’d been staring off, but for some reason shifted his eyes towards Susie’s.“Do you know who the Angel is?”“I’ve heard of ‘em, yeah. Who hasn’t?”“What do you think of them?”“I uh.. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to church. My mom was never really religious..” She was starting to get a grasp on just what kind of person this guy was, and she didn’t like it.“I think a great deal of them. The stories, their reach. What they did. There are so many people like you, the Angel has no spot in their mind. I simply spread the word, there are better things to do than wallow in squalor and filth. You seem to be old enough to remember the collapse. So many people lost sight, lost touch of what was important. The world was an ugly place to them.. But it wasn’t the world. A story, if you would.”“Uh, sure. I’ve got nowhere to go.” she said, more out of fear that denying him would end with her being split in half.“I used to be in the military. It was such a divisive time.. There were orders to do things officers couldn’t pass down, and then there were people who didn’t want to follow what orders they did get. We hid in the bases, like that would do anything but prolong the inevitable. Things got so fiery, every day the only things we heard were bad news. Staring at the metal bunkhouse ceilings day after day, patrolling the inside of cement walls.. Eventually people got tired of it. I was one of them. So, you know what we did?”“W-What?”“We quit. We left. Me and other like-minded people, we unlocked the gate, and walked off into the woods. And it was beautiful. The trees, the sky, flowers, birds, it was all still there. It never left. We just stopped noticing it. So distracted by bad news that we couldn’t make the best of what we had, and to think we were doing that when we had everything!”He finished, and fell silent. The moral was clear, and it actually made sense to her. Not only that, but it resonated with her. She had done the same thing, though not in the exact same way. It had always been there, but she still drank, and fought, and slumped around..“So.. Are you gonna go tell them that? To quit?”“No. There are more stories worth spreading than that one. Woodbridge has yet to feel the touch of the Angel’s hand. There are always those that work, that produce, even in the midst of destruction. For them, I have jobs, opportunities, and hope. For the rest? The same, if they’re willing to catch on.”It was hard to believe. She’d expect someone like him to be a scraggly old man wearing a tattered robe, spouting the end is nigh, or something like that. Instead, he was far better off than she was, armored to the brim, sleeping in a tent, the works.“Why the uh, sword?”“Why the ax?”“You know, just in case.”He nodded his head and grinned, as if that was an adequate explanation. It wasn’t, the thing he carried with him wasn’t an ax, or a rock, or a sharp stick. It was a weapon. Something made for the express purpose of taking lives, and one that must have been made recently. She didn’t have the energy to argue with him though, so she let it slide. This man couldn’t take on the entire town of woodbridge anyhow, he wouldn’t even make it past the door guards at the casino. “I know what you’re thinking. Tell me, are you prepared to use it?”“What, the ax?”“Yes.”“Uh, yeah?”“To do what? You don’t strike me as a lumberjack.”“You know, like.. Defend myself.”“To kill?”“If I have to.”“What difference is there between your weapon, and mine?”“...”“It is the intent. And I intend to harm no-one. I dread the men who would disagree with me on that.”It was an incredibly aggressive way of saying he was a pacifist. She’d never been intimidated by the notion of non-violence until she’d met.. “Oh, by the way, I’m Susie. Sorry for uh.. Kinda skipping over that.”“It’s nice to meet you, Susie.”He was a different breed of strange. Alone, with different goals and motivations from the rest. Like her, though seemingly much more successful. They sat there in silence for a bit longer, staring into the fire.“I’m going to Hometown for.. For my boyfriend.”It surprised him, with it being so out of the blue, but he replied.“Really?”“Yeah. I uh, sorry for being so secretive.”“You know, you really ought to be thinking about marriage. You never know how long you’re going to have a hold of someone these days.”“Who says we’re not getting married?”He grinned. Almost like it was funny, even though it was pretty much a genuine response to the question. He sat there silently for a few minutes as his face returned to neutral.“I do applaud you. So few people willing to commit to one another, and you know why I think that is? Have you ever seen a cathedral?”“That’s like, a really big church, right?”“A magnificent one. A testament to the Angel, and even then, still one not nearly worthy. They are beautiful though, one of the things man himself has made to compare to that of nature. I’ve seen the sort of makeshift churches people put up with, if that was the extent of the Angel’s hand, I wouldn’t have joined myself. But once you really see one of these things.. They’re massive. Hundreds of feet tall, pillars, massive stones. The one in Brick has a good bit of art and sculpture in it too.”“Wait, hold on, Brick? Like, the town, Brick?”“Oh yes. Somewhat recently constructed, it took about four or five years for them to complete it. A modern marvel.. Oh, they do ceremonies there! Proper, extravagant ones, for absolutely free! That’s why I was bringing it up.”She didn’t respond, but she thought about that. She had something in mind, but that? That would be perfect. She was worried that what she had in store wouldn’t be enough, her plan was to just sort of wait until they met a priest to properly marry them. She was taken aback by the description alone, but to be there in person, at the foot of something like that.. With Kris? She was giddy at the thought.“That sounds awesome.. Did they really build that in Brick?”“Oh yes. You know, the Angel’s hand really cleaned that place up. Started using the quarry again, that’s where the stones came from, you know.”“I’m definitely going to have to go there.. Thanks for telling me. Really, I..” her voice cracked, and she forced herself to swallow. He was going to be so happy.“You’re more than welcome.” They talked for a bit more, though Susie hardly remembered what about. She was so unfathomably tired by the time the fire started to die down, that she mistook the rising sun for the previously dying flames. She shook herself awake, looking around. That tent was still there, so was her ax, her food, and her dignity.. Huh. It was pretty early, no wonder that guy wasn’t up yet. She pushed herself to her feet and stretched. She hadn’t slept like that since remembrance day, although the ground wasn’t exactly preferable to the cot she had waiting for her back in Woodbridge. She looked over to the tent again. She didn’t have to say goodbye, did she? They were travelers, going to different places was in their job description. She gave a sheepish wave to the tent that nobody saw, before picking up her bag, and starting on her way. She wanted to be there as soon as possible, because then she could be back just the same. She fished some of the hardtack out of her duffle, she liked to have at these parts of her rations before she could wake up and be genuinely disgusted by them. She broke a piece off and put it in her mouth, before realizing just how dry it was. She almost washed it down with water, before realizing she was almost out. The bottle went back in, and her map came out. Oh, that’s right, she’d actually planned for this, another first. Eventually there would be a bridge with a creek under it, and she’d have her refill. As she started to wake up, she realized this wasn’t going as terribly as she thought it would. She wasn’t dead, she had all of her limbs, she’d forgotten about the fact it rained, only to find the sky was clear. That just left about a day’s worth of walking until she reached her destination.Her destination.. Which, according to that seemingly well-traveled stranger, was completely trashed. It was a little concerning, but she was still sure of herself. It had to be there, and if it wasn’t.. Then at least she checked. She saw the bridge, a little sooner than she’d expected. She looked at the map again, this was it, she was just here a lot earlier than she expected. Kris was going to be ecstatic if this only took four days. “Traveling usually took her a lot longer” she thought as she filled up her bottle. She took a few swigs before topping it off again, and going on her way. She usually just meandered about until she found a town, it was never an exact science. She wasn’t always prepared for traveling either, she remembered what it was like to walk a few miles hungover and hungry. Probably why she used to be such a c@nt.. Traveling felt like it was supposed to be boring, but somehow, it never was. It was an inevitability, you were on the road, and you had to walk to get anywhere else. No use in complaining or arguing, nobody would listen. There were no cars, and little to do but talk, hum, or think to yourself. Susie wasn’t really the type of person to hum, or sing, and up until recently talk. She thought about things, and right now the words of the man she’d met earlier weighed on her. She was insatiably grateful for the pointer about the cathedral, she couldn’t remember the last time she was that excited about something. It sounded genuinely amazing, how did he describe it? One of the few things man has made to rival the beauty of nature.. She wanted to think that something was off about that guy, but she couldn’t place something. He didn’t seem egomaniacal, or even dangerous. He made a few comments about some pretty weird things, but it seemed like the sort of thing a preacher would talk about. They all seemed like lessons, and the crazy thing was that she felt like she actually needed to hear some of them. She really didn’t want to think about it pertaining to her, because it did. It was like he was calling her out with how she used to act, brooding over something that happened years ago because she couldn’t have the one thing she banked her existence on. She didn’t want to think about it because that one thing coincidentally was why she was even out here, as well as why she even met that guy. Maybe it wasn’t so deep. She used to look at her feet, the asphalt, whenever she walked. How hard would it have been to look straight ahead, or around? The sky, the trees, flowers.. There weren’t a whole lot of those, but still. This was better than the inside of a bar, the sky was a deep blue, the trees were.. There. No, they were the sort of thing that if she really put her mind to it, they’d have a line or two in one of the wince-worthy poems she used to write. Something about how they were there before she was, and would be after she wasn’t maybe. The sunrise was nice, so was the sunset, even if she couldn’t see it properly. That shade of orange had to be something to someone.. It was to her, now that she remembered. She used to watch it with Kris. That was the sort of thing that would’ve made her point her eyes right back at the ground, if he wasn’t still around.The day wasn’t exactly eventful. It was spent mulling over things like that, gnawing at rations, and walking. The road she’d been walking on had merged again, to a much smaller one. One without any marks in the middle, something people used to call a back-road. It was still simple though, two directions, forward and backward. She’d certainly find her way back at this rate. She slowly fell asleep on a hill on the side of the road, the forest not as thick as it was outside of Woodbridge. It took her a lot longer to finally get there though, without having to talk to someone for the last half hour of her consciousness. Now that she actually wanted to, it was difficult.She was close. Today was the day. She woke up a little later than yesterday, but it was still early. She still had a lot of time on her hands to do what she needed to. She was hardly a few miles from the town, and a mix of nervousness and excitement washed over her. She had her bag strapped to her back for maneuverability over access, just in case. This must have been how scavs felt, walking into a demolished city with some sh@tty backpack and a gardening tool, it was almost like a video game. But it wasn’t, she reminded herself. This shouldn’t be so fun that it gets her into trouble. She finally started to see buildings, and she recognized where she was instantly. Houses, or things that used to be houses at the very least. That guy had really hit the nail on the head, anything that hadn’t collapsed in on itself had been lit on fire. Electrical problems, gas, or malice, who could say? She didn’t know a lot of people, she didn’t know anyone that lived in them. But the closer she got to her destination, she knew she would. She passed a dollar store, how something made of metal and concrete could turn into a pile of rubble and glass, she had no idea. It was almost harrowing, if she had been coming here for nostalgia she might have been heartbroken. That changed when she came up to the corner store. It wasn’t caved in, but the glass was broken, it was stripped. The asphalt in the parking lot was crumbling, and the store itself was less than a shell. She stood on the sidewalk she used to sit on next to Kris, drinking a soda she bummed off of him, laughing about.. Whatever. She scraped her foot against it, staring at it like if she did so hard enough, when she looked up, everything would be back to the way it was. No such luck. She sighed, and pressed on. More collapsed houses, though some still stood. She’d hoped she’d have that sort of luck with the one she was aiming at. It didn’t take long, not compared to the two days it took to get to the edge of this place. She stood in front of her old house, looking it over. She knew which part was which, where all the things were. She was relieved to see that only about a quarter of it had caved in, and it looked like it was her room. She didn’t need to go in there. She walked up to the front, there was no door. The windows were broken, the sides were peeling, and the wood inside was rotting. The roof had holes in it that weren’t there when she lived under it, and quite literally everything that wasn’t nailed down was gone. Even the couch, which they’d actually tried to give away on a few different occasions. She walked past the living room and kitchen, down the hallway that led to the rooms. The door to her room was gone, but all the others remained. The one to her mother’s room was shut, the one at the end. She walked up to it, before her hand froze. A harrowing thought, that she might see something she didn’t want to in here. It was buried by the fact she’d spent two days walking just to do this, so she pushed it out of her mind and squeezed the knob. It didn’t turn. She wiggled it, and pushed on the door, nothing. F@ck, of course.. She really pushed into it, and it didn’t budge. Was it locked? Or just stuck? She backed up a bit, before throwing herself at the door with her shoulder. There was a loud thump, a crack, and some creaking following it. Her shoulder didn’t hurt, so it had to be the door. She kicked at it, right by the knob. That did something, but not enough. She thought for a second, before leaning against the wall behind her. She put her foot against the spot she’d just kicked, before extending her leg as hard as she could. It took a good bit of effort, but eventually, something snapped, and the door popped open. The knob was twisted, if they hadn’t been so poor, that would’ve gone a lot worse. For once, she was grateful the walls and doors in her house were so thin. She stepped into the room and looked around. The window was broken, and the room was more or less cleared out. The dresser had no drawers, nor did the nightstand. The mattress was disgusting, rotted and deteriorating. The wood of the bed frame however stood strong, which filled her with a sense of relief. She put a hand on it, she kicked at one of the pegs. Nothing, on firm. She backed up, and took her ax in two hands. She swung the blunt end at it, and it budged a little bit.  One of the legs wasn’t a properly affixed leg, but a secret compartment. Whittled out from the inside so that her mom could hide unmentionables in it. She swung at it again, and it moved more, before she realized something. She went over, and lifted the bed, the faux-leg just fell over. She picked it up, it was pretty heavy, but that wasn’t the thing she’d come here for. She walked out of the room, back over to the kitchen. She went to the counter, and poured the contents of it onto the table. A baggy fell out first, a tiny one with some little rocks in it. Nope. She sweeped it off, not even considering it. She kept shaking it, and the rest of the contents fell out. A roll of old dollar bills, tied together with a rubber band, as well as a folded over silken cloth. She knew what was in it. What she’d come here for. She fiddled with it, there was a small, dense object in the middle. She picked up the cloth, and the object fell out into her hand. A ring, not a small one. A heavy banded, rose gold one with large red gems embedded in the middle. One big one, two small ones, and a bunch of tiny green ones dotted in-between. She smiled. She had been positive it was here, but now that it was in her hands, now that she knew for a fact, she couldn’t help but feel giddy. The hard part was over, and that wasn’t entirely difficult. She turned it over in her fingers, admiring it before wrapping it up in the crimson red cloth. She put it in one of the tiny duffle bag pockets, a little upset she didn’t have anywhere better to put it.     She turned out of the house just like that. She’d debated whether or not to go to Kris’ house, and see if there was anything there he’d like to have back, but she decided against that. This was a bit painful for her, seeing the town like this, and he was a bit fragile, so she decided against it. “Oh yeah, here’s some rubble from your old house, remember that? I went there!”, not a good line. So she left. She walked past those other decrepit buildings without a second thought. She got past the hill she’d camped on, and just barely made it back to the main road before she decided to set up camp. She had no fire, so she couldn’t continue to look at the ring. She fell asleep playing with it through the duffle bag pocket. She felt a little crazy checking to make sure it was there after she woke up. It was, why would it have been gone? She felt like that little gremlin that lived in a hole in the ground from that one movie.. Something about a ring, at least. She started ahead. She might not make it back today, but she’d get d@mn close. Her head was held high for most of this trip, she really took the time to look around and take in the sights. The sounds. Birds, squirrels, and there was someone standing in the middle of the road..What?She squinted. Yup, that was a dude, standing in the middle of the road. Tall, broad, and holding something long in his right hand. She kept walking toward the figure, they had their back turned to her. When she got closer, she saw a cloak, and a bag that was discarded to the side, as well as a firm looking helmet covering their head. As soon as she realized who it was, their right hand went up. A balled fist, held at head height. Stop. She did, she wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but she didn’t like it. After about a minute, the man quickly looked over his shoulder, before doing a double take. He turned around completely, walking over to her. She felt a bit threatened, before he stopped a good few meters in front of her.“This is not the reunion I expected. Remember me? Leonidas.”“Yeah, uh, Susie. What’s going on here?”“This is unfortunate. There is an ambush set up ahead of us. I was planning on waiting it out, but.. I believe these people may be hunkered down, I think they aim to mug passers-bys.”She looked up ahead, squinting. It just looked like a road to her.“I don’t see anything.”“Tis the point of an ambush.” he said through his helmet. She could hardly see his eyes through the tiny slit, but she felt like he was furrowing his brow in thought.“Hmm..”“So, what do we do?”“We aren’t going to do anything. This is my issue to deal with. I don’t like it, not one bit.. I may not have another option.”“Are you gonna go around?”“No. I intend to go straight through, just as any traveler would. As they should.”“But, the ambush?”“Wish me luck.”He turned around and started walking. He carried his sword like she carried her ax, just below the part that hurt people. That was, until he shifted his hands to the handle. It was a long blade, with a wide, thin guard. It had two things that looked like spikes a little before halfway on the blade, it was incredibly intimidating. Though, why would he be worried before, and not now? Was he doing this for her? He kept walking, and she followed far behind him. He’d left his bag behind, how far ahead were these people? He stopped, the blade of his sword resting on his shoulder. He spread his arms, the sword went with him, despite it’s bulk. He looked like he was welcoming someone for a hug..“I know you’re here! Present yourselves with what little honor you draw to your name!”F@ck, this wasn’t going to be good. At first nothing happened. Then, all of the sudden, from both sides of the road, people stepped out. Two on the left, three on the right. They were of all sizes, some scraggly, some broad, all of them covered in figure concealing outfits. They surrounded him, grinning.“Alright, we’ve got a real warrior here..” one of the scraggly looking ones said, walking up in front of him.“A real knight in shining armor boys, would you look at that~ Must have cost those Angel-humping pissants a pretty penny to doll you up and send you out here.”“Let me and my friend pass unscathed and you’ll meet no harm.”“Oh? Oh, that’s right! We won’t hurt you, not even a little bit, not if you turn over anything we f@ck@ng want. I’m sure you know the deal, merc.”“I’m no mercenary.”“Whatever. Get out of that armor, we’re gonna scare the sh@t out of people with it!”“I refuse your terms lest you consider mine. Fight me. You’re willing to kill me, risk your men's lives? As am I. So, you and me, why don’t we settle this like men?”“Aheh, wow, you know, I admire the whole gentleman thing, but that ain’t the way this goes down. Take a swing and you’ll have five hungry m@th@rf@ck@rs trying to push knives through your side. Oh, and an arrow or two to the head. Your call big boy.” he said, doing a much more mocking version of the man’s welcoming gesture. Susie was nearly mortified, she’d never been held up like this, and it couldn’t have been a worse time. Everything was in danger, her, the ring, the two most important things in the world to her. She gripped her ax. Was this guy really about to fight five people surrounding him?Yup.He stepped forward, and swung the wide, blunt part of his sword at the rodent’s chest in front of him. It hit him, and he doubled over, the wind knocked out of him. An arrow flew far past his head, into the woods to her right, just as his sword swung in a circle over his head, and down onto the neck of the man that had been trying to intimidate him. Her grip tightened, but not in readiness, but fear. It was really happening. The four men surrounding him readied what weapons they had. One had a rusted machete he pulled from a sling in his belt. One had what looked like a knife at the end of a stick, another had just a large army knife, and the last one had something that looked like a proper sword. They readied themselves, thinking about how to engage him. He swiped the sword at the air, before readying himself. Two hands on the massive weapon as the rat before him started turning to dust. The one holding a spear was to his back, and he just charged. He screamed, his burly frame charging that knife toward him. He spun around, and knocked the spear to the side, it thrust next to him, instead of into him. He continued to turn, and used the momentum of that slap to fling it around and hit him between his neck and shoulder. He slumped forward as the other three moved to him. He pulled his sword from his neck, no longer surrounded, but face to face with three people. Her feet were glued to the floor, even if she wanted to run, she couldn’t. Paralyzed by fear. The one with the sword faced him head on, the other two off to his sides. He swirled the sword in a faux attempt at intimidating him, only for him to point his own at his head. He then brought it to his left shoulder, before swiping down to the right. With that showboating mood, Susie actually felt he might win this. They tried to move toward him, pretending to jump forward only to hop back, not sure what to do. Leonidas didn’t move at all.“Do something c@cks@ck@r!”The second he said that, he stepped off to the left. He thrust his sword at him, he’d underestimated it’s reach, and the tip caught him in the chest. He swiped and missed the sword, before the strength was drained from him. His knife fell to the floor before he fell to his knees. The one with the machete decided to take the chance to push him. Leonidas turned while pulling out his sword, the tip covered now in red. A human. He swiped his sword up, hitting the machete, before kicking him hard in the chest. She saw his feet leave the ground as he fell back with a thud, he stepped forward and drove the tip into his neck quickly, before turning back to the one with the sword. The odds for him were terrible, and he knew it. He didn’t quite know what to do, before an arrow flew out of the woods again. It whizzed past his head, prompting him to lean back. When he leaned forward, he lunged forward with a strong overhead strike. The man moved out of the way, but she heard the clashing of metal. Leonidas fell onto his back, before by some miracle, he kept going. He rolled over his shoulder, swinging his sword up as he returned to his knees. It didn’t connect, but it wasn’t meant to. He slowly crept back, before squatting down quickly. He picked up the spear. In his left hand he picked it up like he was going to throw it. He turned to the woods, and chucked it, and it flew. Even from how far away she was, she heard it whirr in like it was an arrow. She heard a twang of a bow’s dry fire, before the two faced each other again. Why didn’t he run? He had no chance, what could he do with that sword now that he couldn’t have before, with four friends? “F@ck you..”“You’ll get nowhere with that attitude.”“You’re a f@ck@ng psychopath!”“I take no quarter I’m not given.”“You f@ck@rs are all the same, slavers and murderers..”“I have you surrounded. There’s no point in continuing this.”That’s right, Susie was uselessly standing far behind him. He turned around to look at her, just now realizing this, before the massive sword hit him on the side of the head. He fell over instantly, a large gash in his skull. He turned to the treeline before leaning forward. Was he squinting? He walked forward, and swiped at a bush, the one someone was hiding in before. Oh, that one must have run. He looked over at her, his sword swung up over his shoulder again. The asphalt was left dustier, and with a pool of blood trailing off the side. He walked slowly over to her, stopping a meter away. She felt like a little girl, almost terrified, even though she was technically safe.“Are you alright?”“I uh.. Uh.. Thanks..”“There is no need to thank me. But, you’re welcome. You’re unscathed?”Her breathing was really heavy. She didn’t even know if she was, she was so panicked. She did a mental inventory. Any wounds? No missing limbs? Technically, she was alright.“Yeah, hah.. I think so.”“The way should be safe to Woodbridge, at least for you, for now. We’re quite close, I believe.”“Yeah..”“Feel free to press on whenever. I think I’m going to collect myself, as well as my things. Oh! Feel free to take whatever bits they left behind, I haven’t the space to carry them.”“Wait, like.. Their stuff?”“Tis up to you. Someone will make use of it eventually.”“Uh, thanks..”“I hope we meet again on more favorable terms. Perhaps in Brick?”“Yeah, sure..”“Safe travels.” he said before turning around, and walking over to his pack, a good distance away. She turned, not sure what to think. He hardly seemed phased, yet he’d just.. She started walking. She did her best to step around the piles of clothes and dust left behind, and she really tried not to look at the corpse he’d left. The sword was neat, but to her, it was tainted. There was no way in good conscience she could take anything from these piles of people without the terrible feeling in her stomach sticking around. She pressed on. She didn’t look back, which helped her calm down a bit. Once her breathing slowed down, she started trying to process that. She almost died.. If he wasn’t there, they would’ve robbed her, or killed her. The entire trip would’ve been for nothing, and Kris might have been left a widower.. Or, not even. After walking for an hour or two, she’d gotten more or less to normal. She felt a little weird about how fast she’d moved on, she didn’t really thank him that intently for saving her life. Though, he did say.. Whatever. Maybe in Brick she’d see him again, because she was certainly taking a trip there. Though, if people like that littered the roads.. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. One of them did get away, maybe he’d tell other people not to do that. She hoped so.She didn’t want to sleep on the side of the road. It got dark, and she kept going foolishly. Every time she closed her eyes, she just saw Leonidas slicing that rodent’s head off. The darkness didn’t make her feel any better. The moonlight was enough for her to see, and press on. She was tired, but the tiny amount of adrenaline coursing through her from fear of the dark kept her going. Kris wouldn’t mind if she showed up in the middle of the night, right? They got off work at midnight, so probably not. She felt it wearing on her, it almost felt pointless to press on like she was, walking quickly for such a long stretch of road.. That was, until she saw the warm fire of civilization. The bridge, with torches on it to show travelers where it was. She didn’t run, her legs were so tired from power walking. She just kept that quick pace, striding over the crummy bridge through the almost deserted streets. She did it, though her celebration wasn’t nearly as adamant as it should’ve been. She stumbled almost as if she was drunk, but she wasn’t, she was just deathly tired. She wanted to be awake, when she met up with Kris. Whatever she did when he saw her, she wanted to be awake for, but.. Nope. She made her way to the inn, he was probably asleep by now. It took a while, she had a surprisingly large amount of town to push through before she got there, but she finally did. She slipped through the door and looked over to the man behind the bar. She had a smile on her face with how giddy she was to be back, that she looked hammered. She went straight for her room, no time to talk. Up the stairs, and to the door. She stood in front of it, he had to be behind here. She tried the handle, and it opened.“Hey, Kri-”Nothing. Well, not nothing, the bed was there, but there was nobody in it. What? She walked in, and checked the dresser. No brush, no soap.. No. She stumbled over to the tiny box, and opened it. No blanket, no money, no nothing. F@ck, no, there’s no way.. She grit her teeth as she went back down the stairs. She fell onto the bar, looking at the man, angry now.“Did that little- Did you see Kris walk out of here with a bunch of sh@t?”“I no know who that is.”“My- The guy, with the geisha robe.”“No, what wrong?”“We got f@ck@ng, robbed, or something! Everything in my room’s gone, and so is he!”He raised an eyebrow. This was a problem for him now, too, though for different reasons. He walked up the stairs with her to see the cleaned out room. She was stomping, but he didn’t complain. He walked up to the still open door, the drawers opened and turned out. She was as furious as she could be with how tired she was, how could he-“This not your room.”“What?”“This room one-oh-two. You in one-oh-three, right? This one.” he said, going one door down. He wiggled the knob, and it didn’t open. The scowl on her face melted as she realized what happened.“Uh.. Uheh.. Uhm..”He wrapped on the door with the back of his hand and waited patiently, next to a very humiliated Susie. After a few seconds, the lock clicked, and the door opened. “What.. What’s going on?”“Are you Kris?”“Yeah?”He silently walked away. Kris opened the door a little bit more, his eyes going wide at the sight of Susie.“Susie! You’re.. You’re back! Already!” he said, rushing over to her. He almost knocked the wind out of her, wrapping his arms around her chest. He wiggled them under her duffle back, to really squeeze her.“Hey dude.. Yup. Record time..”He pulled back, and looked up at her. “Are.. Are you drunk?”“Nah.. I’m.. A little tired.”“How long have you been-” he was cut off when Susie leaned on him. His yelp jolted her awake, before he could be crushed beneath her. He didn’t ask anymore, he just took her hand, and led her to the room. She flopped down onto the bed, duffle bag and all. Kris had to undo it, and put it on the ground before getting into bed with her. She passed out before he managed to get her in a comfortable position, he had to put his back into moving her leg onto her side of the bed. He looked down at her for a second, smiling as he went to lock the door again before joining her side.     She woke up a bit later than she usually did. Past noon. She stretched, when she realized she was in a bed, her arm searched for Kris. She came up empty handed, and looked next to her. Hmm. She sat on the edge of it, rubbing her eyes before stretching again, oddly strung. Oh, that’s why, her vest was still on.. Did she really just get back and pass out? Probably. She stood up, and took it off. She sat back down to check and make sure the ring was still there, and to her delight, it was. Now, where was Kris? She left the room to look for him, finding him at the bar. His back was to the staircase, he only noticed her once she sat down next to him.“Morning~”“Good afternoon, sleepyhead~”“Hrff. Is it really?”“Yeah. You got back at like, three in the morning, something like that at least.”“Heh.. Yeah. I wanted to get back as soon as I could, I know you didn’t uh, really wanna..”“Hey, it’s okay. You’re back now, that’s all I was worried about.” he said, extending a hand to her elbow to comfort her.“Get over here-” she said, before sliding off the stool. She wrapped her arms around him, now that she had her strength, she lifted him off the ground in a hug. He chuckled a little, as much as he could with the air being squeezed out of him before he was dropped down onto the floor again.“So, where’d you go?”“Oh, uh.. When’s Remembrance day?”“Not for a few days, why?”“Do you mind if I uh, tell you then? I sort of thought it might have taken longer..”“Uhhh.. Sure.” he thought it over, she had to be planning something. It would be a problem if she postponed it again, but for now, he was just so ecstatic that she’d returned.“Did you have a nice trip? Besides walking until three in the morning?”“Uh.. Yeah, kinda.”“Anything interesting happen?”Her smile dimmed down. Interesting was one way to describe it..“Uh.. How about we get breakfast first?” Breakfast this time was meat and rice, as well as some dumplings, with it being a special occasion and all. Kris was eating, and so was she, she hadn’t had hot food in nearly a week, and she was starving.“So.. Did something happen?”“Hmm? Oh, yeah.. These are really good, nnf~” He chuckled, he could only imagine what eating hardtack for four days must have been like.“I bet, I tried to eat some of that stuff you packed a while ago. I uh, tried.” She chuckled at that, before swallowing the second half of the wrapped up meat. “I met this du- Actually.. Yeah, I met this dude.”“That’s uh.. Really something.”“No, he was like, this warrior. Like, a knight, out of a book or a movie or something. Big cape, a ton of armor, huge sword, the whole thing. He even talked like it.” Susie didn’t notice, but the stern-faced man that had been waiting tables, stopped. He walked over, and stood behind her.“Really? Like, ‘Oh, prithee, milord’.. Uh, what else do knights say?”“He said ‘Tis’ like, at least ten times.”“Heh, that’s dumb.”“Nah, this guy was cool. He was like.. Some kind of preacher. Talked about the angel a lot, told some stories, and-”“What was his name?” the man said from behind her. She jumped a little bit, before awkwardly turning around to look at him.“His name?”“Yes.”“Wh- It’s uh, Leonidas.”“Mmm.” he said almost dismissively, before turning around. He took a collection of plates, and walked back to the kitchen like nothing happened. She looked over at Kris, a confused look on her face. He shrugged.“That guys something else. You know, he doesn’t celebrate Remembrance day either. He’s here all the time..”“Yeah.. Whatever.”“He sounded kind of like uh.. Those dumb poems I used to write. He talked about nature and stuff, how beautiful everything was.”“Huh.”“Yeah.. Almost thought he was crazy, but with armor like that, the dude’s gotta be loaded. No merc or anything either, at least from what he told me.”“Sounds like fun.”“Heh, that’s not even the fun part.. I uh, ran into him on the way back too. Some people tried to mug him, and..”“And what?”“I dunno, you’d just have to be there. He was like-” she stood up, and tried to mimic the motions he did, adding in cheesy sound effects with her mouth as necessary, earning a chuckle out of Kris.“Are you sure you’re not just making this up?” “No, and uh.. The best part, I’ll tell you later.”“Alright..”They talked a bit more. Kris seemed so much perkier than he did before she left, her being back had a serious effect on his mood. She was feeling really good too, but for reasons unknown to him. Hank was glad to see her back, though unfortunately the person replacing her wanted to do so for the full week he was promised. It gave Susie some time to recuperate, as well as plan out some things she was going to do and say. Remembrance day couldn’t come quickly enough. Kris wasn’t pushy, he wasn’t prodding her to tell him where she went, he just went with it. They walked around the market, this time buying some stuff that would hold up until they went to that small clearing. They went there a little past noon, hand in hand. They set up the blanket like it was for a picnic. Susie was a bundle of nerves, and Kris was starting to worry about why. “Are you okay?”“I’m fine, I uh.. I should probably get cleaned up.”She started taking off her clothes slowly. She really should, but what she wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him with her clothes on, for whatever reason. She was quick about it, she didn’t waste any time messing around with Kris, or ogling him, nothing. She got out once she thought she was clean, and went over to the blanket. Kris followed suit, his hair smelled strongly of the shampoo she’d bought him. He sat next to her, she didn’t look as relaxed as she used to.“You seem tense..”“I- I am. I wanna get something off my chest.. I mean, I wanna tell you something. A story, kinda..”She was tumbling over her words, which only made her more prone to doing so. She wanted this to be perfect, and already mucked it up.“Okay.”She decided against getting dressed. Who cared? Hopefully he wouldn’t. She reached for her jacket, clutching it in her hands. She looked down, then at him. She was on her knees, a light blush in her cheeks.“A uh.. A long time ago, my mom told me something. It was after we’d gotten into an argument, the next day. It was over something stupid, and I said something like.. I dunno, she didn’t care about me, or love me, or something like that. The next day she said she was sorry. And.. She showed me something. My dad uh.. You know. Wasn’t around.. I always thought it was because he left, but apparently he died when I was really young. There’s this.. In our family, it’s an heirloom. It’s been around for generations. We didn’t have a lot of money, so.. I dunno.”She fished her hand into the jacket pocket, and pulled out that silken, crimson cloth. Kris’ eyes darted to it, it was certainly an eye-grabbing color. She slowly started to unfurl it, before the ring inside was revealed. It was far more attractive than even the cloth it was contained in, his eyes couldn’t leave it.“This used to be my dad’s. My mom gave it to him a really long time ago. She told me that.. When I found someone she loved as much as him, she’d give it to me. That I was her.. Daughter. That part isn’t important. What’s important is that.. You never know how much time you’re going to have left with people you love. I love you, Kris, and I want to spend the rest of my time with you as your wife. Will you.. Marry me?”She croaked that last part out, before holding out the ring in the cloth. She had no idea, but his heart was beating just as hard as hers was.“I.. I- Of course, yes!” he said, the same frog in his throat that Susie had. She grinned stupidly as he took the ring, and put it on his dainty finger. It looked like something that Susie would’ve worn over him, but that wasn’t how this worked. She took his hand in hers, the ring was a little loose.. She pinched it between her fingers, and gently squeezed until the malleable gold wrapped around his finger snugly. She looked into his eyes again, tempted to wrap her arms around him, before realizing what she had to do. She leaned forward, holding his chin softly as she planted a kiss on his lips. It was quick and dignified, even if it did leave a little bit of saliva drooling from his lips. He looked so giddy, they were both smiling wide, that was, before she remembered the best part.“Oh, and.. You know that guy I was telling you about? He’s part of a church group, and.. There’s this place in Brick, this massive cathedral. He said it was beautiful, and that.. They do services there. So.. One day, we’ll go there, and really get married.”He looked ecstatic. She was worried for a second that he might pass out, because she could feel herself getting to that point too.“W-Wow.. I.. I don’t know what to..”“Yeah, I uh, same..”He did what she had wanted to initially, and pounced into her chest, his arms wrapped around her back. So many things were flooding through his head, she couldn’t even begin to imagine. There were only a few things going through hers. She did it. It finally happened. She could wake up right now, and she wouldn’t even be mad. It’s all she ever wanted, and now it was hers. In her arms.“I love you, dude~”'
User: Summarize the chapter based on the content provided, ensuring to follow the set format and emphasize key aspects within the specified length.
User: Summarize the chapter based on the content provided, ensuring to follow the set format and emphasize key aspects within the specified length.
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