#batnun

Dear @freakmocha, I was your Secret Santa for @bravelysanta!

How the actual hell can you not love that name???

————

It was raining. Again, Agnes almost found herself saying.

It felt like the dreary days just weren’t ending, one flowing into the next like a bad cold that clung to your chest. It wasn’t a kind thing, and Agnes found herself liking it less and less. Rain could be lovely, yes, but too much just felt down.

Her fingers tightened on each other. Would it continue like this much longer? She hoped not. Too much rain would be bad for them all. And people could get sick! She didn’t want there to be in influx of people calling in and out because they were ill.

Her fingers tightened together.

And what of the people who didn’t live in the city? She was certain too much rain would cause them a loss. Or even those in the city, what if the rain piled so high, too high, much too high? What of the animals outside? Those unfortunate to have no shelter to run to?

Her fingers squeezed again.

And what of her own? What of her friends? Was it this horrible thunderous weather everywhere? Were they okay? Was it worse there? Was she overreacting?

Was it-?

Agnes’ eyes found their way upward, looking at the cover provided to her.

“You’ll get sick, standing out here…” Oh. “Alternis?” “I, er….wouldn’t like to see you get ill from it.”

Her eyes softened and her fingers relaxed their grip on each other. It was just like Alternis, wasn’t it? To think of an umbrella and of another persons possible sickness. She gave him a smile, unable to help the amusement behind it. Alternis could have a surprisingly soft voice, especially when coupled with that horribly brilliant blush on his face.

He blushed much too easily. Agnes thought it was cute.

She didn’t dare say it. She knew Alternis found embarrassment and nerves in showing his face.

She relaxed. She felt trusted when he was so willing to show her. It wasn’t everyday someone could see him in the flesh.

“Thank you, Alternis.” “Of course…Agnes.”

Ah, he always skipped around speaking her name, as if worried, as if scared, as if unsure. She could see it, after everything they went through. After all of it he still held some anger about him, towards himself. Some horrible thoughts she wished she could sooth from him.

She didn’t think him deserving of that. He’d more than made up for anything he may have done before.

“It’s raining a lot,” she hummed, watching him from the corner of her eye. “Yes, hopefully it lightens up soon, it can’t be good for the people to have every day be like this.” He sounded sad. She could guess on which particular people he was thinking on.

Agnes didn’t want to know if it was because he could sympathize.

She looked back to the rain. The sky, and its blotchy sadness, held an odd sense of appeal, she found. Maybe if it hadn’t been raining day in and day out she’d find some beauty in it. She looked back to him, his eyes a world away.

And his shoulder wet.

It wasn’t a very big umbrella.

Agnes lifted her hand to take the handle from him, earning something that was, most certainly not, a squeak. No, never a squeak, not from Alternis. Never a cute squeak. Agnes fought that down.

She gripped the handle where his hand had involuntarily let go.

“Agnes?” “Come here.” “Excuse me?” he looked almost frightened. “I said, come here, Alternis, you’re going to get sick.” He seemed to fluster, unsure on what to exactly do. “It’s much too small.”

She could already see the blotches of a bright red blush working around his face and down his neck. She couldn’t help but smile. He did look cute, all flustered and red eared.

“That’s fine,” she nodded.

Sometimes, she’d found, you just needed to push firmly with Alternis. He was a bit hopeless sometimes. “But-!” Alternis didn’t squeak, she had to remind herself, so that must have been something else.

She could feel him shaking from the point of their shoulders pressed together. He was warm, warmer than she’d expected. But, he did tend to wear quite warm clothing. She was a bit jealous. Maybe she could borrow something of his. For days like this, cold, rainiy.

Choosing to save him some pride she made it a point not to look at him too directly. Though she already knew his face would be in a state of red fluster and complete confusion. He was never much good at hiding how he felt when out of armour.

“It’d be pretty,” she murmured, relaxed against him, “if it wasn’t…so much.” Very eloquent. Alternis was quiet and she worried she’d made him too uncomfortable. She was still learning the boundaries on how much she could push.

“It would be,” he agreed softly, taking the handle back from her. She looked at him, puzzled. “I mean… It is, er, if we just pretend it hasn’t been happening for days.”

It was cold.

She found herself leaning into him. Agnes was almost surprised to find him relaxed. “Are you cold?” she asked, already guessing the answer. “No. Are you?” “A bit,” she confessed.

“Ah,” he didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. “Alternis?” “Y-Yes?” “Can we just…stay here for a bit?”

He seemed surprised. Agnes thought it was cute. She thought Alternis was very cute. From his flusters to his nerves. He was very cute.

“Of course.” “You’ll stay?” Had they fallen closer than before? She felt very warm, very comfortable, and very safe. Things she’d easily begun to associate with being with Alternis. She had to calm the skip of her heart.

“Of course, Agnes, I don’t plan on leaving you alone.” “Me too,” she found herself saying without thought. “Hmm?” “I’ll stay with you too.”

She watched his hand tighten on the handle, finding herself slumping against him. Alternis, she decided, was very warm, very cute, and very much someone she wanted to stay around.