Drabbles:
"Mael, d'you think I'm getting fatter ... ?" The words are quietly spoken, barely heard, and Mael lifts his head up from looking through the racks of various clothing and other assorted items to look at April who is holding her hands around her stomach, hugging it.
"You look absolutely gorgeous," he replies easily enough, slipping forward to grasp her hands in his and smile charmingly. "You've got this glow about you, I'm sure I'll have to beat the gents off of you," Mael continues on, letting go of one of April's hands and raising his own to tuck some of her hair behind an ear.
April doesn't say anything, she knows he's avoided really answering her question, but she lets it drop for now. Right now, she'd rather spend time with a friend anyway. Her fingers squeeze his lightly and she feels them squeezing back.
What April doesn't realize is that Mael was speaking the truth, she really does look gorgeous. And somehow, he can't see how a man can be such a moron to let her go -- let alone leave her in this situation all by herself. Still, at least she here with him right now and while they're together he can look out for her.
Dare's twisted up in the blankets and he can feel that they're not giving him any way to move, but he tries anyway. Otherwise, April will slip away from him and he's not quite sure that's a good thing. Not after what they've done ...
And there's a flash in his mind. Their bodies twined together, pressed together, and he can hear the soft noises April makes as they move together. His breath is hot against her skin and somehow, once again, she's clinging to him as if he's the only thing keeping her connected to this world.
He pushes the fresh memories away and reaches for her hand to stop her. He was stupid. So, so stupid. Dare didn't regret this, though. Not what they had done, even if he truly belonged to another, part of his heart belonged to April all the same. His fingers caught April's wrist and he felt her turn to look at him with those eyes. Those eyes of hers that were bottomless and expressionless and it was a pain to see them closed off to him like they hadn't been before.
"Sorry," Dare mutters and he can see April's lips twitch. He doesn't know what he's sorry for. Whether he's sorry for letting this happen or sorry for the fact that even after this had happen, there can't be anything for them ... He's just sorry and Dare watches as April let's out a sigh. She lets Dare pull her back to him and she can feel his fingers running through her hair.
Eventually he presses forward to softly kiss her lips and she doesn't feel like returning it. She can feel him mouthing words against her lips. The words she'd rather him speak out loud and be true -- but she knows that he can't, he won't. All because he's all ready someone else's and she can't help but want what she can't really have in the end. It was foolish of her to keep up hopes of eventually having him, but she couldn't help it.
Finally, though, April twists her head and presses her lips back against his, returning the kiss. It's a bitter kiss once they share it and as it ends, she can taste her own tears, mixed with Dare's.
She knows that they can never truly be.
... and that hurts.
The back of a warm finger slides along April's cheek as she sleeps and Mael's lips quirk up into a rare and true smile. One that is an actual smile and not a smirk for a change. It fades away quickly into a frown at the sight of a glistening tear falling from April's eyes, even as she sleeps. He uses his fingers to brush away the tears, willing them to stop, but knowing that it's not likely to make them stop anyway.
After all, she had just given up on what she wanted the most today, in a way. Leaning in close for a moment, Mael's face hovers uncertainly above hers. For a moment, he considers it. Pressing a chaste kiss to her lips, if only once, but immediately he places one her forehead instead and makes sure she's covered up and warm in the room. His fingers once again brush against her cheek and he finally pulls back.
Walking around the bed, he toes off his shoes and climbs onto the other side, on top of the covers April is under, and takes up residence as watch guard. Suffocation is a coiled mass of serpent at the foot of the bed and the sleep that bleeds off her in waves eventually gets to him and he succumbs to it.
He's fallen asleep by the time that April's dark eyes crack open and her fingers slide along the crook of his elbow. Slowly, without sound, she slips forward until she can put her arm across his waist and hide her face against his side. Without words, she mumbles a single phrase that he'll never remember upon waking.
Thank you.
"Do you think ... " Mael starts to ask once he's really awake and curled under the blankets with Suffocation coiled around him. Even then, it doesn't seem to fight off the chill he seems to permanently have at the moment and April's tempted to get in bed with him and curl up with her friend to help warm him up.
Do you think ... ? She asks, without saying a word at all as she turns her warm eyed gaze at him.
"Nothing," he murmurs quietly, moving Suffocation from around his body so he can lay back down and rest more. April does eventually join him in the bed and she can't help but wonder at the way he clings to her, but she doesn't say anything. Mael's weak at the moment and some things can't be helped.
More than she even realizes.
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