#creatures apocalypse

Asher looked at Montanha, who’s shoulders tensed a bit in a sudden realization, before turning back to Rosie, “It’s… A celebration people have in the winter.”

“Like a birthday?” Rosie asked. Montanha meanwhile, continued to be tense, which Asher noticed, “What’s up, hon?”

“it’s just that I’ve realized, I’ve never celebrated Christmas with Rosie before…”

“Oh, well that explains it.”

“Shit, but yeah, it’s like Asher said. It was a winter celebration, where for one day a year, everyone gathered under a pine tree and opened gifts from each other, and from a guy named Santa Claus.” Montanha explained. Rosie made a face at that, “Wait, who’s Santa Claus?”

“Santa is a very jolly old man, who comes into your home and brings presents to people, leaving them under decorated trees.” Asher further explained. “What?? So this guy just broke into people’s houses?!” Rosie gasped, wide-eyed. “No, no, no! You see, he was magic and he’d usually come down through the chimney, that’s how he got into people’s houses without being seen by anyone.” Montanha rushed to explain, trying to reassure her.

This was only met with a horrified and confused stare as Rosie sat there, mouth agape. Seeing that his efforts to reassure her had backfired, Montanha started to sweat a little, “Erm, he isn’t real honey. He was just a story to tell kids, parents were actually the ones to leave gifts under the tree.” Montanha quickly said. Rosie no longer looked horrified, but no less confused by all the information being dumped on her as she looked at her father, “Ok? But if this whole Christmas thing is so nice, then why haven’t we celebrated it before?”

“Ah, well, I… I just kinda forgot about it.” Montanha awkwardly admitted as he looked down. Rosie could see the way her father’s face twisted with guilt and made herself smile as she placed a hand on his arm, “Oh, um, well… Could we try to do it this year?” This brings Montanha’s head back up as he looked to Asher, who gave him a small smile and a nod, before looking at his daughter, “I think we could, if that’s what you want.”

Rosie was quick to nod as her smile grew more genuine, “Yeah! I want to!” Seeing her enthusiasm, Montanha couldn’t help but smile, “Then I don’t see why not.”

And just like that, the family started making preparations for their new family tradition the next day. Asher decided to head out early in the morning, and go into the city to find anything that would be suitable as gifts for Montanha and Rosie. Meanwhile the father daughter duo set out into the woods to find a little pine tree, one that would be suitable for the living room. It took a bit of trekking, stomping through the deep snow. But soon the two of them were standing in front of a small pine that looked healthy, and green.

“This one looks just about perfect.” Montanha declared, smiling a bit as he grabbed his axe. “So, we’re just going to cut it down?” Rosie asked, watching her father step up to the tree. “Yep.” He said, as he started to swing at the trunk, it making a satisfying THUNK.

“And we’re going to put that in our house..?”

“That’s right.” He said between swings.

“Just for one night?”

“Well, you usually kept it up for at least a few weeks before and after, but yeah more or less.” Rosie wrinkled her nose at that, “Who even came up with such a weird idea?”

“I haven’t a clue, it was just something we did. It was tradition.” It only took a few more swings before there was a CRACK and Montanha had the two of them stand back, as the tree fell with a WHOOSH. “There we go!” Montanha cheered, before tying it up and putting the ropes over his shoulders with a small grunt. “Why don’t yah run ahead and get the door for me, Sprout?”

“Sure thing!” she said, running ahead of him. Montanha smiled as he watched her go, he then pulled the tree with another small grunt. He’d felt oddly tired these last couple of days, and while he knew he had pulled trees bigger than this pine, this one felt a lot heavier than he expected. “I must be getting old…” he muttered with a chuckle, before continuing on his trek.

Soon the two had the tree situated in the living room, in a little corner close to the fireplace. It was a grand sight, pine needles freshly green and branches full, it was so darling that Montanha couldn’t help but put his hands on his hips as he stepped back to admire it. “Looks fantastic! If only we had decorations, then it would really be somethin’.” 

“Maybe one of those old boxes you put in the spare room has some?”

“Hmm, maybe you’re right.” He agreed, as he and Rosie headed to the spare room to check. Despite having been Asher’s room only a month ago, it was already a bit dusty, though relatively empty as the bed sat against the wall with no covering or blankets. Looking inside the closet, the two of them pulled out several moth-eaten coats, blankets and pillows.

It wasn’t until Rosie pulled out a box marked ‘XMAS’, that she stopped and peeked inside. Gazing inside the box, she was amazed to find little glass pieces, shimmering tinsel and even a big star. “Hey dad, are these what we’re lookin’ for?” As soon as Montanha looked in, his face brightened, “Yes, that’s exactly it! Come on, let’s take this out to the living room.” he exclaimed, as he hauled the box out of the room.

Opening it up in the living room he started taking out the little bobbles and bells, making Rosie’s eyes go big with awe, “wow, their beautiful… And we put that on the tree?” he smiled warmly at her wonder, “Yep, you wanna help me decorate?” excitedly, she took a couple of the ornaments, and ran to start hanging them up on the branches.

The next two hours were spent taking decorations and tinsels and hanging them on the tree. There were lights in the box as well, but Montanha went without them, since there was no electricity to work off of. Finally, they sat back and looked up at the tree, “Wow.” Rosie whispered in awe.

“It’s pretty ain’t it?” Montanha murmured as he nuzzled her a little. As the two of them sat there, his face grew sad, “I’m sorry I never showed this holiday to you. I was trying so hard to survive with you, that I forgot to teach you how to enjoy life.” Rosie rested her head gently on his shoulder, “It’s ok dad.” A small smile graced his lips, even as he felt his shoulders grow heavy with remorse. “I know I can’t change the past. But, I’m going to make up for it now, and give yah the best experience that I possibly can.” He promised.

Rosie smiled as she buried her face into his chest and Montanha put an arm around her, sniffling a little as he kissed the top of her head. “Sorry, geeze, I’ve been nothin’ but emotional as of late.” He said with a small chuckle. Rosie giggled as well, “It’s fine dad.”

Montanha held his daughter for a while longer, before finally letting go and clapping his hands together, “Alright, that’s enough moping around! Asher probably won’t be back til tomorrow. So how about I tell you some Christmas stories? Give yah a rundown on all the classics?” Giggling, Rosie smiled and nodded, “Sure dad!”

They then moved onto the couch, Rosie sitting crisscross on the cushion as she looked at him expectantly. Montanha sat down beside her, also going crisscross on his cushion as he got comfortable, “Now, before I begin, I know you’ll have questions. But I promise, I’ll answer them after each story, ok?” Rosie nodded, “Alright, now where do I start…? Oh. I know.’ He then cleared his throat, ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”

*                             *                        * “And then when the bell on the tree started ringin’, Zuzu says ‘Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.’ And George-”

“Hello? I’m back!” Asher called, a sack over one shoulder and a backpack that seemed full. Rosie beamed as she jumped off the couch and ran to hug him, “Asher! Your back!” Montanha also got up, coming over to kiss his cheek. “Oh wow, you’re early. And you got quite the haul! You sure you got enough presents there?” he joked, making Asher chuckle.

“Well some of them are presents, but I got a special treat for us all too.” He then reached into his pack and pulled out a large, dead turkey. “I was coming back and found this guy wondering around. So I shot him and I figured we could pluck him, clean him, salt him up and cook him up on the fire tomorrow, rotisserie style.” Montanha’s eyes widen in surprise, “Well that’s a treat for sure.”

“Whoa! That’s the biggest turkey I’ve ever seen!” Rosie exclaimed. Smiling, Montanha took the turkey from him, “I’ll go get this bird all prepped and salted then.” As he walked away to go work on the turkey, Rosie approached Asher with a smile, “Sooo, what else you got in there?” Asher however, raised a brow, giving her a playful smirk, “Now, here’s the fun part about Christmas. You have to wait until morning to open the presents. And that wont be until tomorrow.” Rosie deflated at that, shoulder’s slumping, “whaaattt?”

“Hey, we all gotta stick to the traditions, Trapper. Even your dad’s gotta wait, too. But hey! The tree looks great! You guys found some ornaments, huh?” Asher asked as he admired the tree. Rosie shook off her disappointment as she smiled again, “Oh, yeah! We found a box of stuff in the spare room and hung it all up! Aren’t they pretty?”

“This is probably one of the  best trees I’ve seen in a long time.” Asher sincerely said, twinkly eyed as he gazed at it. Rosie nodded in agreement, “Oh! Hey, my dad was telling me some Christmas stories by the way! They were really crazy.” Asher smirked, amused, “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! Like what’s up with all this ‘Christmas magic’ stuff?? Like, he was telling me about this one guy called ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and…” As she goes on, recounting all the stories her father told her, Asher listened with a smile.

Soon evening came and Rosie was sent to bed, and both Asher and Montanha were left alone, sitting on the carpet with wrapping paper and tape. “Man, I can’t believe yah found tape and wrapping paper, though, it’s not very jolly.” He joked as he gestured to the paper, where the words ‘Happy Birthday’ was scrawled all over it. “Well, it’s technically Christmas’s birthday.” Asher pointed out, Montanha laughed at that, “I mean, you’re not wrong. Still, the Creature’s shoulda been more considerate, and invaded towards Christmas time. Instead of the middle of the summer.” he joked.

Applying more tape to the sides, the ends of his wrapped box looked a little lumpy as his folds were sloppy and uneven, still Montanha held it up for Asher to see, “This look good to you? I don’t do this much outside Rosie’s birthday and usually I just tie it up in a sack.”

“It looks great Montanha! I’m definitely not good at it either, I haven’t done this in a while.” Even as he said this, Asher held up his package and it looked almost professionally done, with perfectly neat and tight folds and corners. Montanha stared at it, and then back at him with a cocked brow, “seriously?”

“What? It’s not as good as how my grandma did it! You could measure corners with hers.”

“You can measure corners with yours as well…” Asher laughed softly at that, “Alright, alright. Ok, now you head on to bed, so I can wrap your gifts.” Standing up, Montanha gave Asher a quick kiss on the top of his head, “I can hardly wait. Don’t stay up too late now.” He murmured into his hair, before disappearing into their room and leaving Asher to complete his wrapping.

Time seemed to fly as morning came, and both men got up early. With a shared grin, they headed to Rosie’s room to wake her. She lay in her bed, drooling slightly as she lightly snored, making Montanha softly laugh as he knelt down and shook her gently, “ Rosie, wake up sweetheart…” Rosie stirred after a moment and sat up, “Dad? Asher? What time is it..?”

“Sun’s only just starting to rise… Merry Christmas.” Asher said softly, smiling big. A smile spread on Rosie’s face as she suddenly jumped out of bed, running past the two men to go see the tree. The two exchanged a knowing look, before following her into the living room.

When Rosie arrived, her eyes grew huge as she saw all the brightly wrapped gifts sitting under the tree. The Christmas ornaments seemed to sparkle under the lights of the fireplace as it crackled and popped gently, and Rosie breathed in awe as she took in the sight, “Whoa.”

“Let’s sit down, yeah?” Asher said as both men sat crisscross on the carpet, Rosie following suit. Asher then grabbed a present and placed it in Rosie’s lap, as she looked at it, a bit unsure, “Should I open it..?”

“Yeah Sprout, rip it open!” Montanha energetically said, and with his encouragement, Rosie ripped off the paper, gasping loudly when she saw a brand-new science journal. “A journal for my notes!!” She exclaimed excitedly, hugging it to her chest, “I love it!!”

“I made sure to find a thicker one, so you could write more notes in it.” Asher said, he then placed a gift in Montanha’s lap, “Here’s yours, hon.”

“Oh I wonder what it could be.” He said as he tore into the paper, revealing a ‘Bub’ figure from ‘Day of the Dead’, “Oh, it’s Bub!’ he said with a grin as he looked at Asher, ‘Thank you, Ash.” Asher just shrugged, “Yeah, I found him in some old comic book store. Guess no one picked him up until I came along.” Montanha grinned wider, “A damn shame.”

“Oh, this one also has my name on it!” Rosie exclaimed as she grabbed another present on her own, now getting into the spirit as she tore into the next one.

The family tore into the rest of the gifts, with Rosie receiving the bulk of it. Receiving pencils, new boots, puzzles, a couple of books both fiction and nonfiction, and even a science kit. Which got her the most excited, though Asher couldn’t guarantee it would still work. None the less she was ecstatic as she ran to go try it out right away. Montanha also received a few things as well, a new hunting knife, a fishing pole and even a ‘Walking Dead’ t-shirt, purposely overly large for sleeping.

Montanha gave Asher a kiss on the lips as he looked at him appreciatively, “These were wonderful, babe. Thank you.” Asher smiled as he nuzzled him, “You want help with that turkey?”

“Sure, lets clean up this paper and we can go get that started while Rosie is busy playing with her kit.” Montanha said as they both got up. Working together, both of them cleaned the mess and got the turkey seasoned and put on a spit so they could roast it over the fire. It took quite a bit of work, but together they got it done.

By the early evening, the family all sat down at the table as Montanha presented the turkey with a grin, “This one ought to be special as I got out some of the seasonings from my stash. I hope yah like it.”

“It smells absolutely incredible, love.”

“Let’s dig in then.” Montanha said as he started to carve into the turkey. Soon everyone was digging into the succulent bird, though as they ate, Rosie took a bite of some of the skin and couldn’t help but cough a bit at the abundance of flavor and spice. Not so subtly, she then proceeded to take the rest of the skin off her turkey and place it on Montanha’s plate, making him laugh.

Seeing this Asher cracked a smile and put on a fake old man voice, “Kids these days just can’t handle their spices.” Rosie puffed out her cheeks at that, “It’s just so spicy!” Asher snickered as he ruffled her hair, “I know, I was just kidding, kiddo.” He then looked to both Montanha and Rosie, “I just wanna say that this has been the best Christmas that I’ve had in a very long while. Thank you, you two.”

“We wouldn’t have even had a Christmas, if it weren’t for you. So, thank you, Asher.” Montanha earnestly said. Asher reached out and grabbed Montanha’s hand with a loving smile.

After dinner, the three settled for a while by the fire, Montanha in the middle, Asher on his left and his daughter on the right. As they watched the fire crackle and pop, and the tree sparkle and glow. But soon Rosie was off to bed, tired from the day and eager to play with her science kit again tomorrow.

Once she was gone and the two men knew she’d be sleeping soundly, both started to kiss each other passionately, as Montanha brought Asher in close. “Thank you again for everything. You’re amazing, though I feel a bit bad that I didn’t get you your own gifts.” Montanha said after pulling away, Asher just shook his head gently, “You two are my gift.”

As soon as Rosie saw the snow outside she was rushing to put on her boots and jacket, throwing everything on top of her pajamas as she grinned ear to ear, “Let’s go play in the snow, dad!!” Montanha chuckled, seeing her excitement, “Ok, ok, I’ll go find my boots. Asher you wanna join us?”

He needn’t have asked. Asher was already putting on his own boots, coat and hat as he smiled at him, “Ready when you are, big guy.” Montanha laughed at this, but felt just as eager as them as he rushed to grab his own snow gear.

Soon the three of them were outside, Rosie immediately throwing herself down into the snow as she started to make a snow angel. “That’s the spirit, Rosie!” Asher said before falling back into the snow himself, landing with a soft puff as he started making an angel of his own. Montanha seeing this, gave a small shrug as he casually leaned back, landing into the snow with a crash.

The three of them work on their snow angels for a few minutes, before sitting up to admire their work. Rosie’s was pretty much the golden standard of snow angels, with a head and two wings  as well as the typical dress shape made with the legs. Asher’s was more or less the same as Rosie’s, if not a bit too big on the wing side.

Montanha’s was a big oval shape. You couldn’t even see the impression of the head.

Asher, seeing this, snorted before falling back into the snow as he began to roll around, clutching his stomach with how hard he was laughing, “You, you made the first snow oval!” he choked out between the fits of laughter. Montanha looked over at Asher, his angel now ruined and wrinkled his nose in amusement, holding back his own laughter, “Well now yours is a square.” Montanha said, grin creeping up on his lips as he did. This sent Asher into a bigger fit of laughter as he continued to snort.

His laughter was cut short, as he was suddenly hit with a snowball, making him sit up to see who had attacked him and smiling when he saw Rosie standing there, holding back her laugh as she prepared a second snowball. “Oh, so it’s war then.” He said as he grabbed up some snow to make a snowball, throwing one at Rosie, who shrieked with laughter.

Asher felt another snowball hit him from the side, and turned his head to find Montanha smiling now, “Hey, you make war with my daughter. You make war with me.” Montanha said, Asher reflected his wide grin. “So be it!” he shouted as he threw a snowball, hitting Montanha in the chest. “oh it’s on!” Montanha said, as he grabbed up a ton of snow, making a huge snowball to throw at him.

Before he can throw it however, he got hit from behind and Montanha turned his head around to find Rosie standing there with a big grin. Montanha gasped in disbelief, “Daughter!? You betray me!”

“I work alone! It's every man for themselves!” she shouted, as she launched another snowball at both him and Asher. Soon it was a three-way battle, Rosie being quick to chuck sloppily made snowballs at the two older men. Asher was going for the tried-and-true method of faking them both out, before attacking whoever flinched. Montanha, meanwhile, just made big snowballs, that way they were more likely to hit.

After a few minutes, Rosie got bored and decided to go around where there was more snow, to try and build a snowman. Leaving the two grown men to continued their icy brawl. “Give up! You can't fight forever!” Montanha yelled playfully, as he began grabbing up a huge mound of snow to form a giant snowball, and holding it above his head to lob at the red headed man.

Asher, seeing this, charged at him while yelling a battle cry. Tackling Montanha and himself into the snowbank, the mound of snow falling on both of them. “There, now no one wins!” he said with a laugh. Montanha grinned, his cheeks red from the cold, and wrinkled in the corner of his eyes as he looked up at Asher, “heh, well, I guess we'll call it a draw this time.” he joked.

Still laughing a little, they gazed at each other fondly. From where Asher sat, Montanha looked absolutely fetching. His long, dark brown hair fanned out beneath him in the snow and his dark eyes shining, as small white clouds of breath escape from his parted lips.

Expression soft, he stared at Montanha for a moment, before he leaned in a bit to kiss him gently on the lips. Montanha melted into the kiss, the touch of Asher’s lips instantly banishing the cold as his heart raced in his chest.

They kiss for a long moment, before Asher pulled away and the two of them look at each other lovingly, “Man, that still blows my mind every time we do that.” Montanha breathed, looking at Asher with half lidded eyes. “I've got more than that, I promise.” Asher assured.

“Then, would you kiss me again?” Asher smiled warmly as he kissed Montanha a little deeper this time. Montanha slowly bringing his arms up to wrap them around his neck as they kiss, Asher relaxed fully on top of Montanha as he brought his hands on each side of his face.

Montanha and Asher remained kissing in the snow, both feeling hot despite the cold, as they exchanged breaths with each other. Montanha could feel the heat on his cheeks starting to travel lower down in his body, his hands following suit, as they start to travel down Asher's back.

However, before his hands could reach anywhere particularly risqué, their suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps and Rosie's voice, “Dad! Asher! Come check out this snowman I made!” Asher was the first to rise up from where he was sitting, “Be there in a sec, Trapper!”

He looked back at Montanha and smiled a bit apologetically, “To be continued?” Montanha looked slightly disappointed, but then he nodded with a smile, “Absolutely.” The two of them then stand up and then head over in Rosie's direction to go see the snowman.

*                             *                        *

In hindsight, Montanha was pretty grateful for his daughter Rosie calling out the elephant in the room, when it came to Asher and their relationship. If it wasn’t for her, he had no doubt in his mind, that he would’ve continued to pine for the redheaded man and do nothing about it.

Now Montanha’s days felt a lot rosier and bright as the two of them hit this puppy love sort of phase, both often gazing at each other fondly or holding hands or even cuddling with each other. They also shared a lot of small quick pecks on the lips throughout the day. Though ever since that kiss out in the snow, their kissing started getting a lot more involved.

Sitting on the couch, both were alone in the living room as Asher was kissing Montanha deeply, holding the back of his head with one hand, while the other rested on the small of his back. Montanha’s arms were once again around Asher’s neck as he gently ran his fingers threw his dark copper hair, though soon he found his hands drifting downwards, until they finally grabbed at Asher’s hips, giving them a light squeeze. Asher pulled back as he let out a small laugh, “Getting a little handsy there aren’t we?”

“Is it too much?” Montanha asked, Asher shook his head, “I’m fine with it if you are. Though I’ll have to warn you, if you start getting too handsy, I might have to start getting handsy too.” he playfully warned. Montanha considered that.

He knew he had told Asher that he wanted to take things slowly, but honestly he’d wanted Asher for so long, craved his touch so much. That now that they were in this position, his desire was starting to eat at him from the inside out, which is why he gave Asher an equally playful look as he spoke, “Well maybe I’d like that.”

Grinning, Asher pulled him in for another kiss, the hand that had been resting on his back starting to go down lower, till he gave his ass a light squeeze. A laugh rumbled in Montanha’s chest, as he sank himself down to start laying on the couch, taking Asher with him.

Asher, now laying on his chest, started moving his kisses off Montanha’s lips, slowly moving along Montanha’s jaw and down his neck. Montanha let out a small groan as he helped Asher maneuver his legs, so that he could properly straddle him, as he then moved his arms to wrap around his waist.

His hands were about to snake their way under the hem of Montanha’s jeans, when suddenly the front door is thrown open by Rosie, who came in with a big smile. “Hey guys you won’t-!” she stopped for a moment though when she saw both men sitting up quickly from the couch. “oh, were you guy’s napping? Sorry.”

“It, it’s alright sweetheart, we were just taking a little rest that’s all.” Montanha assured quickly, his face flushed with embarrassment. “What, uh, did you discover, Trapper?” Asher added looking a little flustered as well. Rosie noticed their embarrassment and gave them both a suspicious look, before shrugging it off with a grin, far too excited to tell her news, “The pond has frozen up!”

“Oh? The pond? I didn’t think it would’ve frozen over yet.” Montanha said as he and Asher try to subtly untangle themselves from each other. “Well I was just walking down to the pond cause I wanted to see if there were any frozen parts yet. And I saw that it’s already completely frozen over!”

“That’s pretty cool kiddo, you want us come check it out with you?” Asher asked. “Yeah! That way you can tell me if it’s safe to walk on or not.” She chirped with a smile. So both men suit up and follow the preteen girl as she happily led them down the river.

Reaching the pond, it seemed to be covered in a sheet of ice, and when Montanha stomped on it with his boot, he found it was pretty sturdy. Still, he decided to test it further by taking a few careful steps on the ice. If anyone were going to crack the ice, it would be him. Still, even after a couple steps in there was no cracking, which was a good sign.

Montanha walked a couple more feet out and when he found himself still standing he looked over to Asher, “Seems pretty sturdy, but can you come check it out?”

“Sure.” Asher said coming over, once he reached Montanha he crouched down, brushing some snow aside to look at the ice itself. Finding the color to be dark and clear, Asher nodded as he stood back up, “Yeah it looks pretty good. In fact, I think if we came back out here with some shovels and an icepick we could definitely make a hole and build a little ice fishing hut.”

“Ice fishing?” Montanha said with a raised brow. “Yeah, you know. When you cut a hole in some ice and fish?”

“I don’t think I’ve tried that before.” 

“Well then we definitely should try it. Come on it’ll be fun.”

“Well I can’t think of a better way to kill time’ Montanha joked before shrugging, ‘sure, let’s go grab some stuff then.”

After a short trip back to the cabin to grab some tools, the three of them get back on the pond and get to work cutting out a square hole in the thick ice. After that is done they made themselves a little shelter with some leftover planks of wood Montanha had laying around. When they were done the shelter looked fairly simple, but it functioned as intended and kept the cold wind out. So whoever wanted to come and fish wouldn’t be too cold, and could sit here for a few hours to catch as many fish as they wanted.

“This looks awesome guys! I can’t wait to test this out!” Rosie yelled, looking excited. “Well it’ll have to be another day though, it looks like it’s starting to get dark out already, so we best head in.” Montanha said, as he noted the falling sun. With that, the three of them packed up their tools and headed back home to warm up.

*                             *                        *

During the late hours, Asher and Montanha once again kissed each other heatedly, as they laid on Montanha’s bed. Montanha’s habit of not wearing a shirt to bed made it easy for Asher to feel him up, running his thumbs lightly down the old scars on Montanha’s chest, “I always thought these looked pretty” he cooed softly. “There not all that special.” Montanha mumbled, a bit bashful.

“Well they’re a lot prettier than the ones I got.” Asher joked a little. “Do you have a lot of scars now?” Montanha asked, curious. “it’s mostly on my back, a Creature may have gotten the jump on me once or twice.”

“Can I see them?” Asher flushed a little at the request, looking away, “I mean if you want. It’s not a pretty sight though.” Needless, Asher sat up, throwing off his shirt before turning to show Montanha the many long cuts along his back.

Montanha gazed upon the myriad of scars, frowning a little at just how many long scratches graced his pale skin. Raising a hand to touch Asher’s back, he ran his fingers down along some of the longer scars, “I’m so sorry…” he breathed. “Don’t be, it’s a small price to pay to be able to wipe those fuckin things off the face of the earth.” Asher muttered darkly. “Does your back ever hurt?”

“It gets stiff sometimes, that’s all.”

“Would you like me to massage them?”

“Sure if you don’t mind it.”

“Not at all, now lay on your stomach.” Montanha said. Asher laid himself down, so his back was exposed, as Montanha moved himself over. Sitting behind him, he reached down and started gently rubbing Asher’s scars in long, smooth strokes, his large hands gliding easily over the surface of his back. Asher let out a deep sigh, “Oh that feels nice.”

Montanha smiled as he continued working his muscles, softly squeezing and rolling the muscle between his hands, loosening up the built-up tension. “Oohh that’s heavenly.” Asher groaned, feeling his tension melt away. “Yah like that, baby?” Montanha drawled, voice low, as he now used his knuckles to add a steady pressure, using deep movements.

“Mmm yes~”

“I’m glad, I just wanna make yah feel good, baby.” Montanha said slowly, Asher moaned out gently as Montanha worked him a little longer. But soon Asher turned himself to look at Montanha, “Not fair that I’m having all the fun here. What can I do to make you feel good, big guy?” he asked.

“I can think of a few things.”

“Well then come here, let me see what I can do.”

The two then switched positions, Montanha laying on his back as Asher now sat, straddling him a little. Leaning down as he started to kiss Montanha’s neck, his hands massaging Montanha’s torso as he steadily made his way down his dark tan skin, kissing his way down his hairy chest, and giving his attention to his chest scars and nipples.

Montanha moaned a little louder now, as Asher kissed and licked them, playing with his chest. He didn’t even notice as Asher slid his hand underneath the hem of his boxers, and he ended up letting out a surprised little gasp when he felt Asher’s fingers start to play with his folds. Asher paused a moment, “Sorry, that too much?”

“No, it just took me by surprise a little, please keep going.” Asher gave Montanha a smile as he got back to kissing his chest, now switching to his other nipple as his fingers go back to massaging Montanha’s folds. “God damn that feels nice.” Montanha breathed, already feeling himself start to get a bit wet.

The moment is shattered however, when suddenly the two men hear Rosie scream from across the cabin. Both men shoot up fast, Montanha almost headbutting Asher in the process. Quickly, both men scrambled out of the bed and go running to Rosie’s room, Montanha getting there first as he flung open the door, “Rosie?!” he exclaimed, heart racing out of his chest in panic.

Rosie was breathing heavily, her eyes wide in panic. When Montanha busted in, she turned to look at him, looking extremely pale with tears in her eyes, “D-Dad!”

“What’s wrong Rosie? What happened??” Montanha asked, coming over to her while Asher hung out by the door frame, looking around for potential threats. Rosie, meanwhile, was trembling, “I’m bleeding.” She said shakily. “Where? Where are you bleeding? Did you cut yourself?” Asher asked, keeping his voice even, as he could see she was afraid.

Rosie shook her head though, “I didn’t, I, I was sleeping and I-my stomach started to hurt! And, and now there’s so much blood! Am I dying??” Rosie babbled, tears running down her face. Montanha and Asher both furrow their brows for a moment as they think about what she’s saying. After a moment, Montanha got a hunch as he reached out to lift her blankets, peeking in to see what was going on.

As soon as he lifted it up he could see the blood staining both her bed sheets and her pajama pants, and instantly he understood. Turning to Asher he gave him a small smile, “Hey can you go into my bathroom and grab this small bag I keep under the sink? The blue one.” Montanha asked, Asher’s brows were still furrowed, but he nodded before heading back to the room.

Letting go of the blanket he calmly reached out, wiping away Rosie’s tears, “Hey it’s alright, shhh, it’s ok honey. You’re not dying. You just got your period is all.”  Rosie was sniffling and still breathing fast but she looked at him, “My period?”

“Yeah, remember what I told you about puberty? And that talk about all the changes that would happen? That’s all this is, hon.” He reassured giving her a soft smile. “Is it supposed to be that much?” Rosie asked, she was still scared but already her panic was starting to settle. “Depends on the lady or the fella, but I promise it’s safe, ok? You’ll be ok.” Montanha assured again. Rosie nodded as her tears finally started to dry.

Once she was calm, Montanha helped her out of bed and made quick work of stripping off her sheets, while she went and changed clothing. When Asher came back he took the bag from him and pulled out a small menstrual cup he had scavenged some time ago in anticipation for this day. He then quickly went over how to put it on and how to take it out before giving it to her for her to try.

Soon as everything was cleaned up and taken care of, Rosie looked at her Dad embarrassed, “sorry for freaking out…”

“That’s alright Sprout, it ain’t easy waking up to see blood when you aren’t expecting it. Scares everyone the first time. Did you wanna come sleep with us tonight sweetheart? You’re bed sheets are gonna have to soak in the tub tonight to get the stain out.” He offered, Rosie just quietly nodded as Montanha gave her a hug, telling her to go on ahead and get comfortable.

Once she was gone he looked at Asher and gave him an apologetic smile, “Sorry, guess we’ll have to continue another time.”

“Hey that’s fine, things happen, and she needs a bit of comfort right now.”

“Just feels like every time we get close to doing it, something comes up. Maybe it’s a sign, maybe we’re rushing into this…” He sighed.

 Placing a hand on his cheek, he gave Montanha a gentle smile, “Hey it’s ok. I told you that I’d wait for you. So if you don’t feel ready, then I’ll wait for you no matter how long, Mountain Man.” Asher reassured, Montanha leaned his face into Asher’s touch and smiled a bit in relief, he then gave him a quick kiss before the two of them headed to bed.

*                             *                        *

It only took two days of Rosie laying around, complaining about the pain in her stomach and feeling lethargic, before she seemed to bounce back completely. Such was the benefit of being young. Soon she was back to running around like nothing happened.

Montanha meanwhile, was having a tougher time and having second thoughts.

Really, Montanha knew he should stop, the more they played their games, the more likely something would happen. And was he ready for that? He knew there would be consequences if they did it, there always was. Not to mention, he didn’t have any protection and with all the snow it would be incredibly stupid to try to go down the mountain now, not without putting one of them in unnecessary danger.

He knew all of this, but that did not stop him from thinking about his desire to touch Asher, and be touched by him. He wanted so badly for their bodies to meld and be one, to see him above him, looking at him with that intense wanting that he’d gotten glimpses of before. He craved it so badly, and when he looked into Asher’s eyes, he knew he wanted it too.

So, one afternoon Montanha made his way to find Rosie, “Rosie I need you out of the house for a few hours.” Rosie looked at Montanha with furrowed brows, “What? Why?”

“I wanted to cure a bunch of fish for the rest of winter, but we need to do some work around the house to get that ready. Do you think you could help by catching enough fish to fill this bucket?” Montanha suggested, holding one of their big metal buckets up. Rosie thought about it for a moment, but then nodded with a smile, “sure that could be fun, and I can use that new ice fishing hole we made!”

“Great.”

Once she got suited up, Montanha handed her the bucket and fishing gear, and Rosie gave him a smile and a thumbs up, before she started making her way down the path. The moment Rosie fully shut the door Montanha was making his way back to Asher who was finishing up some laundry, “I got Rosie out of the house.” Asher turned to look at him, confused, “um ok? Is Rosie-?”

“Told her to go fishin’, and to not come back until she filled one of our big buckets with fish… She won’t be back for a while”. Montanha stated. “Oh, ok. Was there any particular reason you sent her away? Or..?”

“I want to have sex with yah.” He said bluntly, making Asher’s face turn a bit red, “Yeah? I mean, are you sure? I don’t want you to force yourself.”

“I know, but I want it. I really do. Is that something you want as well..?” Montanha asked, Asher stepped closer and took his hands “I do…”

“Then lets not waist anymore time.” He said as the two then made their way to their bedroom, trying not to run in their excitement. As soon as they got in Montanha quickly locked the door, just in case, and was already shrugging off his deer hide jacket and tossing it down on the floor. He started to quickly undo the buttons on his shirt, but was stopped by Asher, “Slow down big guy… We got time. Lay down.” Asher requested. Montanha was happy to oblige as he laid himself down in the middle of the bed.

Asher joined him, straddling the bigger man, “You sure do like to straddle me don’tcha?” Montanha joked with a small chuckle. Asher laughed a little as well, “What can I say? I like feeling you between my legs.” He stated matter-of-factly, all the while a smirk played on his lips, making Montanha flush a little. “Plus I just really like the view, I love looking at you. So beautiful…” Asher cooed.

Montanha, while still smiling, looked away for a moment with his eyes, which Asher picked up on. “Do you not like the word beautiful?” he asked, Montanha’s lips press together, as he still avoided his eyes, but he shrugged, “Sometimes, I’d prefer being called handsome, or I’ll even take lovely, but beautiful just feels…” he trailed off as he struggled to explain his feelings in a way that would make sense.

“That’s alright, you don’t gotta explain. I’ll avoid it then. Besides there’s no end to the ways I could describe just how strong, resourceful and wonderful you are.” Asher said, as he leaned down to kiss Montanha on the lips, who’s dark eyes finally move back to meet Asher’s light brown ones as he looked at him softly. “Not to mention breath-takingly handsome.” Asher cooed again, as he started kissing his jaw. Montanha chuckled deep in his throat as he wrapped his arms around Asher’s shoulders, “could say the same about you.”

Asher smiled as his hands started to unbutton Montanha’s flannel shirt, his trail of kisses going down as Asher continued to unbutton. When he reached Montanha’s belt, he didn’t pause as he quickly undid it; pulling down the fly so he could take his kisses all the way down to his pubic mound, making Montanha hum happily. He then pulled away as he pushed off Montanha’s jeans and boxers, Montanha helping to kick them off all the way.

“Can I undress you, too?” at the question Asher nodded, and Montanha gently pulled his shirt off, before admiring his toned chest, “Did I ever tell you that I love how much more muscular you got? Cause I love these.” He said, as he touched Asher’s pecs, making him laugh a little, “Oh yeah?”

“Oh yeah, also your shoulders, you’re toned stomach. Pretty much a fan of all of this.” Montanha playfully said as he dragged a finger down, Asher chuckled as he leaned down to kiss him, “Well I’m glad you’re a fan. Speaking of which, are you a fan of oral?”

“Oral? Yeah I like it, you give head before?”

“Yeah I have, I had a couple of girlfriends in the past. What about you?” As Asher asked this, he stuck two fingers in his mouth to get them wet, before placing them in Montanha’s folds, one finger on either side of his clit, slowly rubbing them up and down. Montanha hummed, enjoying the feeling, “Hmm, well I never had a serious relationship, but I did havea lot of casual hook-ups in the past.”

“Didn’t take you for a hook-up type, you never had a boyfriend?” Asher asked as he continued to slowly stroke his fingers up and down, traveling down to stroke his lips.

“Nope, not really, I- oh that feels nice- I, uh, it was just hard to find someone who wanted me as I was. Lot of men at the bars always assumed that because I was big and tall that I wanted to be in charge and I would ‘want it rough,’ but I always wanted somethin’ more gentle, to know I’m loved. That and lot of guys were disappointed when I didn’t have a big throbbing cock.” Montanha joked at the end.

“Well I am more than happy to go gentle, and to show you how much I love yah. That’s all I really want too.”

“Heh I’m glad, I just never really got how people could want it so harsh, not to yuck their yum or what have you. Just, never appealed to me. Didn’t stop people from callin’ me vanilla thou…”

“My poor man”

Montanha laughed at that, “I don’t need your pity. Your fingers however, ohh those I’m needin’, mmm that feels good hon.”

“Enjoyin’ yourself?” he asked, he switched up his tactics a little, massaging his thumbs up and down Montanha’s lips, making him groan a bit. “Yeah, I am, but didn’t yah say you were going to do some oral? Certainly prepping me up for it.”

“Would you like it if I moved on to that?”

“Yeah if you would, I do like the fingers though, do use those again in the future.”

“Haha, I’ll keep that in mind.” Asher then moved his face down. Using his tongue, he started off with slow, wide, licks, keeping his tongue wide and weaving between his folds a little. Montanha leaned back a little, “Ohhh yeesss.” he sighed as Asher kept up a consistent rhythm. After minute he changed it up, sucking on his lips, gliding his mouth up all while sucking, “H-Holy shit, ok, ok, wow! That’s different. Ohh, don’t stop though.” Montanha moaned as he grinds his hips a little against his mouth.

Asher worked with that motion as he brought his mouth up to suck on Montanha’s enlarged clit, sucking in tandem to Montanha’s small thrusts. They continued this rhythm as Asher kept switching between sucking and licking, giving attention too not just Montanha’s clit, but his folds as well; even massaging the top of Montanha’s mound with his thumbs, working all of him as Montanha enjoyed the ride thoroughly.

Montanha was actually caught a bit off guard when he felt a familiar tightening, and before he could even warn Asher he let out a sharp yell as he orgasmed a little, before collapsing back down on the bed. Asher, feeling him go a bit limp, finally pulled his mouth away to look up at him, “too much?”

“Hold on, let me catch my breath, hollyyy shitt.” Montanha breathed as he recovered. Asher smiled a little as he pulled himself up to lay next to Montanha, looking at him lovingly as he brought his hand up to play with his shaggy dark brown hair. Once Montanha got his breath back he smiled and rolled to his side a little to look at Asher, as he tangles his own fingers in the smaller man’s dark copper hair. “You enjoy yourself big guy?”

“Mmm yes, greatly. Haven’t climaxed like that in a good long while. Who taught you how to do that? I need to give them a trophy.” Montanha joked lightly, making Asher laugh, “Well you know, lot of experimenting with my past girlfriends.”

“You only ever had girlfriends? Sorry, just curious.” Asher shrugged, “Yeah, I did have a few guy crushes when I was younger, but all the men I used to crush on ended up being straight. So you’re my first.”

“Sorry if I’m not a hundred percent the boyfriend experience, since I’m lacking a few key parts…”

Asher put a hand on Montanha’s face, thumbing his warm, soft brown skin, “Hey, you are the full experience. For me anyways. You’re a wonderful, strong, and caring man. I wouldn’t have you any other way, Mountain Man.” He stated, voice soft and full of love, which melted Montanha’s heart as he brought his face in to kiss him.

After sharing a short, loving kiss, Montanha pulled back before smirking playfully, “well there is one or two things from the boyfriend experience I can give yah. Ever get you’re dick sucked by a gay man? I promise you it’s a lot different from a straight girl.” Asher exhales sharply threw his nose, amused, “Is there really a difference?”

“Would you like to find out?”

“I think I would.”

“Then sit yourself on the edge of the bed here, Wild Man.” Montanha drawled. Asher was more than happy to oblige as he positioned himself to sit at the edge of the bed as Montanha got down on his knees in front of him. Undoing his jeans, he pulled his underwear down to free his partial erection, making Asher groan a bit in relief, no longer having it pressed tightly against his jeans.

With that, Montanha started to massage around his groin and inner thighs, not yet touching his dick as he leaned forward to kiss and nip at his chest. It was slightly hairy, though not as hairy as Montanha’s, as he drifted his lips down his smooth skin, kissing and lightly sucking on his abs.

Kissing down further, he made his way back down to Asher’s dick, which was now a bit harder, gently planting kisses from the base of the shaft upwards, before gently kissing and sucking on the tip, “Ohh Montanha, that feels nice.” Asher moaned softly.

He repeated the process for a moment more, before quickly moving on to using his tongue, dragging it up his cock as his hands started to gently fondle Asher’s balls in the process, making Asher lean his head back a little.

Asher enjoyed this for a few minutes more, before he signaled for Montanha to stop, “Are you good?” Montanha asked, “Yes, very. But I don’t want to go too far. Considering there are, other things, I would like to do.” Montanha smirked a little, “eager to get to the main event?”

“I am.”

Montanha. coming up to meet his face, pressed his forehead too his, “Well, I’m all yours, baby.” Asher smirked as he leaned in and kissed Montanha gently on the lips. They pull away as Montanha moved to lay himself back on the bed. Asher, meanwhile, stripped himself of the rest of his clothes, moving himself on top of Montanha.

Asher's warm, pale skin pressed against Montanha’s own tanned one, which was equally heated, his muscles defined as he supported his weight on his arms. His dark copper hair fell in short, tousled waves around his face, and his light brown eyes darken a bit with desire. Montanha could feel the heat radiating off his body, and his heart skipped a beat as Asher's lips found his again. This time the kiss was more urgent, more passionate.

Asher’s tongue probed at his mouth, seeking entrance, which Montanha gladly obliged, opening his mouth and tasting the sweetness. Feeling the roughness of his stubble against his skin, Montanha’s hands roamed his back, feeling his rough scars and the firmness of his muscles beneath his fingertips. Asher's hips begin to move, grinding himself against him, and Montanha feeling his full arousal pressing onto him from the outside. Montanha let out a small groan as the need built inside him.

Looking up at Asher with half lidded eyes, Montanha spoke softly, "Asher, I need you." Asher sat up, his eyes burning with desire as he looked down at the taller man. "I've wanted this for so long." he said, his voice husky with need. Reaching down, his fingers found Montanha’s warmth again as he began teasing him gently, making Montanha gasp at the sensation, his hips bucking up to meet Asher’s touch. He continued to play with his folds, warming him up, until Asher's fingers came away wet and slick. He then leaned down to give Montanha one more kiss, "You ready, Montanha?"

“Yes." He breathed, body aching for him. Asher nodded, as he moved himself back down to position himself. As Asher aligned himself, Montanha could feel the heat of his body and the press of his arousal against his entrance.

Pausing a moment, he looked into Montanha’s eyes, seeking his consent one last time. When the bigger man nodded, giving him the go ahead, Asher pushed into him.

"Oohh shit." Montanha gasped, it had been so long since he last had sex, and it almost felt like it was too much. But as Asher waited for him to adjust, kissing and touching him gently, he quickly started to melt from the sensation. After a few moments, Montanha signaled for him to continue.

Asher began to move slowly at first, allowing the both of them to adjust to the feeling of each other, his thrusts deliberate and measured. Each one sent waves of pleasure coursing through Montanha’s body, "Oh yes, just like that baby. Nice and easy." Montanha murmured.

Asher smiled at his words, "You like that, Montanha?" he asked, his voice husky with desire. "God this feels good. Ohhh Asher." Montanha sighed, hands roaming his back; feeling the firmness of his muscles as they ripple beneath his fingertips.

The air felt warm as he wrapped his legs around Asher's waist, pulling him deeper inside. Asher groaned at the feeling, his hands gripping his hips as he began to thrust faster. Though maybe a little too fast for Montanha’s liking, as he let out a small hiss, “Easy there, easy! Slow it down won’t you, baby?'

A momentary pause, and then Asher slowed down his pace, taking deep breaths to regain control and looking into Montanha’s eyes, searching for any signs of discomfort, "Too much?" he asked with a bit of worry. Montanha nodded a bit, "Yeah, but it’s fine, I just need a minute to adjust." Asher nodded, understanding as he resumed his movements, this time slower and more gentle.

"Ohhh yesss. That's it Asher. God, just like that." Asher smiled at those words, his thrusts becoming more confident again as he found a rhythm that worked for both of them, kissing Montanha’s neck, sucking and licking.

"Tell me how much you love me, baby." Montanha sighed. Asher pulled back from his neck, eyes searching his. "I love you more than anything in this world." he said, his voice intense and sincere. "You are my everything, you give me so much joy. I can't imagine continuing my life without you like I did before."

Asher’s words made his heart swell, "I feel the same, Asher. You don't know how long I've been wanting this. I often daydreamed about you taking me, when we were younger." Asher's thrusts faltered for a moment at his words, and he looked up at him with a mixture of surprise and lust in his eyes. "Really?" he questioned, his voice subdued.

Montanha nodded, breath hitching as Asher resumed his movements. "I've wanted you for so long, Montanha. I used to dream about this too." Asher said, his voice becoming thick with his wanting.

"What did you used to dream about?" Montanha asked, legs bringing him closer. Asher's thrusts become more urgent as he answered his question, his hips moving with a steady rhythm. "I used to dream about this. About us. Being together like this. I used to imagine what it would be like to touch you, to taste you, to feel you beneath me." he said, his voice filled with longing.

His words ignited a fire within Montanha, as he felt the pleasure building to a fever pitch. Montanha clung to him tighter, moaning, as Asher's hands found their way back down to his enlarged clit, stroking it and adding to the building sensations.

 As Asher’s fingers worked their magic, he felt himself getting close as his breaths came in short, sharp gasps, and his body tensed as the pleasure became almost unbearable. "Ash, I'm so close." he moaned, voice filled with need.

Asher responded by increasing his pace, making Montanha yell out sharply as he felt Asher thrust against him. He was so close. Asher must've been close too, as his grunting intensified. Still, he had enough self-control to look up at him and ask, "Should I pull out?" Montanha, however, shook his head quickly, "No! No. Ah, God I just need you right now! Please don't stop!" he moaned, too wrapped up in his pleasure to think of much else.

Asher's eyes became hazy at his words, and he nodded, giving Montanha what he wanted, what they both wanted, as he continued to thrust into him. Asher’s movements became wilder and more desperate as the pleasure built between them, Montanha feeling himself getting closer and closer to the edge; his body tensing with each passing moment.

Chest heaving, Montanha clung to him, "Oh Ash! Ash! Asher!" As he called out his name, Asher could feel Montanha clenching around him, body trembling with the force of his release, as Montanha orgasmed. Groaning, Asher gave one final thrust into him, and Montanha felt him pulsing inside him, his warmth filling him as Asher orgasmed as well.

Collapsing on top of Montanha, they both laid there, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, bodies still entwined. Asher's head rested on Montanha’s shoulder, his breath warm against his skin. Asher could feel Montanha’s heart pounding in his chest, matching the rhythm of his own, as Montanha’s fingers trace idle patterns on his scarred back.

After a he caught his breath, Asher lifted his head to look at him, "Well, that was certainly something."

"A good something I hope." Montanha joked a little, still trying to catch his breath. Asher chuckled, "Beyond good I'd say. Amazing even." Montanha smiled at his words. Asher rolled off of him, but kept Montanha in his arms, their bodies still entwined as they wrapped their legs around each other. He kissed Montanha’s forehead softly, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." He said, his voice still a bit husky. Montanha nodded, head resting on his chest. He could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, which lulled him into a sense of peace and contentment.

Montanha ran his fingers gently through Asher's chest hair, feeling the soft prickle of the hairs against his fingertips. "I love you Asher." He said softly. Asher looked at him with a soft smile, his eyes filled with warmth. "I love you too." He said as he brushed a stray lock of hair from Montanha’s face, tucking it behind his ear. His touch was gentle, and Montanha could feel the love and affection behind it.

“Glad we could finally do this.” He said, which Asher agreed with, as he nodded. “Gonna have to find more chores to give Rosie.” Asher commented. Montanha chuckled at that, “You still feeling a bit needy there?”

“I am actually.” Asher admitted, which made Montanha smirk a little, “Well I’m always up for another round.” Asher smirked in return at his words, as he started to kiss him again. Hands already roaming his skin once more as their kissing became more heated.

Later, when Rosie came home with that bucket full of fish, she found Asher and Montanha in the kitchen with the supplies they needed to cure said fish, as she would’ve expected. She did also notice that they seemed giddier than usual, both sharing extra glances at each other and giggling to each other, which she found a bit odd, but being young, she didn’t fully connect the dots as she just shrugged it off.

*                             *                        *

It had been a blissful month for the two of them. But as it often does, life threw a wrench in their plans, in the form of a missed period.

If this had been the first time this phenomenon happened, Montanha may have waved it off. But remembering the last time this happened when he had his daughter, Montanha felt a pit beginning to form in his stomach. Still, he wasn’t a hundred percent sure, so decided to go talk to Asher.

He found Asher chopping wood in the yard and after taking a deep breath, approached him, "Asher, I need to tell you something." Asher stopped his chopping and looked up at him, "What's up? You look nervous."

"Yeah... Well, before I tell you this, I need you not to jump to any conclusions, cause this could end up being nothing. But... My time of the month never, well, came this month." Montanha admitted. Asher seemed a bit shocked as he processed the information, "..... Oh. What, um, should I maybe go get a test just so we know for sure?"

"I, I don’t know, it still could be nothing, I could just be late. Plus I don’t want you risking yourself just to get a test…"

Asher put down the axe as he rested his hands on Montanha’s arms, squeezing them a little in reassurance, "It wouldn’t be too much trouble, honestly. But ok. How about this? Why don't we wait another week and see if it is late? And if not I can go sneak into town and find a test for you? Would that be ok?" Montanha looked uncomfortable but nodded in agreement, "yeah, let’s do that then."

"Hey. It's ok. Whatever happens we're all gonna get by together." Asher assured him. He tried to relax a bit, as he gave him a weak smile, "I know, thank you."

So, they waited, and when a week passed and his period still hadn't arrived, Asher kept his word. Making the trek into the city to grab a pregnancy test, and returning with a small paper bag, which he handed to Montanha with a gentle smile, "It's going to be okay."

All Montanha could manage was a thin-lipped smile in response, as he took the bag from Asher and headed to the bathroom. After opening the box and reading the instructions he took the test and waited. And of course, the test ended up saying positive.

As Montanha looked at the test in his hands, he began to freak out a little, hyperventilating as tears pricked the corner of his eyes. As he stood there freaking out, he heard a soft knock at the bathroom door. "Montanha? Are you okay in there?" Asher's voice was gentle, full of concern. Montanha took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before responding, "I'm pregnant." He managed to say, voice shaky.

There's a moment of silence on the other side of the door, before he heard Asher's voice again, "Can I come in?" Montanha hesitated, but soon unlocked the door, opening it to let Asher in.

As soon as he came inside and saw Montanha’s fearful expression his arms wrapped around him, holding Montanha close as he lets out a shaky breath. The warmth of his body against him was a comforting presence, and soon Montanha started to cry. Asher didn't say anything at first, just holding Montanha as he let him cry, silently assuring him that he's there.

Once he got it out of his system, Montanha managed to calm down, pulling away from the embrace to look down at Asher, "God what are we going to do? Aren’t I too old to be having another baby?? I'm in my late thirties Ash! I, I don't know if I can-" Asher puts a hand gently on his face to calm him, which helped a bit as Montanha took a deep shuttering breath.

 Pulling him into another hug, Asher held him tightly as Montanha leaned into his embrace. Asher’s hand stroked his back soothingly, trying to calm the older man’s racing thoughts. "It's okay," he whispered into Montanha’s chest. "We'll figure this out together. You're not alone in this."

Montanha took a few more deep breaths, trying to steady his emotions. After a minute he got himself under control as he pulled away from Asher's embrace, wiping some of his tears away. "Yeah. At least I got you and Rosie this time... I, I guess we're havin’ a baby, Ash." he said as he broke into a small wobbly smile.

Montanha and Asher were both fairly competent with fishing, and while Rosie had fished a few times before, she still needed a bit of help getting her line threaded, which Montanha was happy to help her with. Pulling the line through the poll and helping her tie on the hook while Rosie put on the bait. Soon, the three of them had their lines casted and were sitting on the water’s edge as they waited for something to bite. 

“This is nice.” Montanha said with a smile, as they sat there. “Yeah, maybe we’ll get a big one and fry it up. Little salt, little lemon.” Asher added with a smile of his own as he daydreamed. Rosie furrowed her brows, “What’s a lemon?” 

“It’s one of those fruits I told you about. The one that tastes sour.” Montanha explained. “Ooohhh. Right.” 

“But yeah, I agree with Asher, I definitely want to dig into a few fish for sure. Plus, they store pretty easily for winter.” Asher nodded in agreement, “Wouldn’t hurt at all. It’s getting colder every day. It’s chilly even today. I think we got one last cold rain before it starts snowing.” 

“You’re probably right.” Montanha agreed, however, even as he said that, his brows furrowed with thought, as he fidgeted with his fishing pole. “What were you planning to do for winter, by the way? Asher flinched a bit at that question, “Well, I’m not sure. I figured I’d just go back to the base and go back to killing Creatures like I was.” 

“Oh... Right.” Montanha said, shoulders sinking a bit. Rosie looked at her father for a moment, before she elbowed him. Montanha looked at her with a raised brow, as Rosie narrowed her eyes while also using them to point at Asher. She then tilted her head towards him for emphases, as she gave her father a very pointed look, as she raised her brows.  

Montanha seemed to get the message his daughter was trying to convey, as his heart started to race a little. His nerves making his stomach flip as he looked over at his redheaded companion. Swallowing dryly, he cleared his throat, “Ahem, well, if you wanted. You could stay with us.” he finally managed to say after a few false starts. Asher’s eyes widened a bit, “What, here? I, I figured you guys would’ve been sick of me by now.” he joked awkwardly, letting out a small laugh. 

“Are you kidding? You’ve done so much for us. Ever since you got here, you’ve done so much to help me and my daughter and, well, I’d miss you, if you left.” Montanha said honestly, face becoming a bit warm. Asher smiled softly at his words, “You know, I’d miss you guys too. I, I’m glad you asked me to stay, because it’s been killing me, thinkin’ I’d have to leave you again.”  

The tips of Montanha’s ears go red as he suddenly stood up, “Great! Then it’s settled! You’re staying with us!” he shouted. Rosie cheered as she leaned over to hug him, “I’m so glad you're staying!” Asher accepted the hug as he patted her back, he then looked up at Montanha, “Thanks, for letting me stay.” 

Montanha looked down at him and for a moment, it felt like he was going to say more. However, the quick jerk of his fishing line pulled his attention away from Asher as he grabbed the poll quickly. Reeling in his line, he fought whatever was on it, before pulling in a huge walleye. Rosie let out a gasp of awe as Asher grinned, “Nice catch, big guy!” Holding up the fish, Montanha beamed with pride as he looked at them, “Alright, let's get us some dinner!” 

. . . . . . . .

Montanha found himself in the woods, a hazy fog clinging to the air like a bad omen. As he looked around the fog, confused as to where he was and how he’d got there, Asher appeared from the mist. “Asher? What are you doing here?” 

“You have feelings for me, don’t you?” he asked rather bluntly. Montanha’s face paled at that, “How, how did you-?” 

“I’ve always known, it was rather obvious really. Is that why you invited me to stay? In hopes I’d fall in love with you?” Montanha’s face turned red, as he covered his mouth, “N-no! That’s not-!”  

“That’s pathetic, Montanha. Don’t you know that love is dead? No one is gonna love you. You killed the last person that loved you.” Montanha turned away from Asher’s unsympathetic eyes as he trembled a little, “You, you said that it wasn’t my fault...” 

“You and I both know that’s a lie. You don’t deserve forgiveness, and you definitely don’t deserve me. Everything you’ve ever done was for your own selfish gain. You lost your best friend; you made a replacement. I leave the group, and you start playing hero, hoping to pick up another man to replace me. Hell, you took in the first Rosie at the beginning of the apocalypse because deep down you hate the idea of being alone. If that was the case, you should’ve just stayed at home with your family.” 

“No. No. No! No!” Montanha shouted as he clutched his head, tears stinging his eyes as he shook his head vigorously. “You are selfish.” Asher said plainly. Montanha kept shaking his head, “No I’m not!” 

“You are selfish!” Asher sneered, his voice warping into something deeper and more chillingly familiar, his form shifting as he started to look more like a reflection of Montanha, though older and shorter in stature to him. “No, I’m not.” Montanha whimpered, his voice quivering as hot tears rolled down his cheeks, he hunched over, so that the mustached man before him could loom over him despite the difference in stature. 

“Such a selfish child. You bring shame on this family! Why couldn’t you just think of how your actions affected others?! This is why nobody will ever love a freak like you!” His father growled, the shadowed features of his face sneering with a look of utter contempt.  

“SHUT UP!!” Montanha roared, lunging at his father and bringing his hands around his neck. He just needed him to. Stop. Talking. Squeezing his hand down on his windpipe with the power earned from years of resentment that had been boiling under his skin.  

But too his immediate horror, he was not met with the strangled gasps of his father. But his daughter. His large hands now wrapped firmly around the neck of his own little girl, crushing her windpipe as she looked up at him with tear-streaked eyes, a look of utter betrayal and fear in them. Montanha’s own eyes widen in shock as he quickly let go of her, and she fell to the forest floor, on her hands in knees as she struggled to catch her breath. Montanha’s hands shook as he tried and failed to approach her, apologies tumbling out of his mouth in a broken mesh, “I didn’t- I’m so sorry- Sprout I would never- Oh baby girl-” 

As Montanha failed to comfort her, Asher appeared from the fog once more. He then goes to Rosie’s side, helping her to her feet as he gave Montanha an icy look. “Look at you. Everything you touch, you ruin. You don’t deserve love. You deserve to be alone.” Asher said coldly, his words cutting like a knife, as he stood there too stunned to move. He was all but helpless as he watched Asher wrap a protective arm around his daughter and ushered her away into the surrounding fog.  

Leaving him completely and utterly alone.  

Sitting up with a strangled gasp, Montanha’s skin felt damp with sweat as he panted. His heart pounded in his chest, as the remaining adrenaline of his dream left him shaking. He forced himself to take in slow gulps of breath as he tried to settle down. 

The same dream again. How many times would he have to be tormented like this? 

Pulling his knees to his chest, he buried his face into his folded arms as the tears came unwilling to his eyes. Softly sobbing into the night. 

It was midafternoon when Rosie stood above him, as Montanha sat slumped on the couch, looking up at her with tired eyes. “Come on, dad! You’ve been laying around for days now! Let’s go fishing again or somethin’, please?”  

“Sorry hun, I’m just not feeling up for it right now. Maybe you and Asher can go? Yah don’t gotta wait on me.” Rosie’s brows knit together as her mouth becomes a hard line, “Are you ok? Are you getting sick?” 

“Yeah... Somethin’ like that. I’m just under the weather, is all.” he said as he offered her a half-baked smile. Rosie looked unconvinced as she looked down at him, but still, she nodded, “Well, ok. I’ll go ask Asher then.”  

“Go have fun, honey.” 

Rosie then left Montanha on the couch and went looking for Asher. Eventually finding him in the front yard. He was in the garden, picking some of the vegetables. “Hey, Asher! Do you wanna go fishing with me?” 

“Sure, we didn’t really catch a lot, did we?” 

“Yeah! I wanna catch a lot of fish this time!” she said with a grin. Asher chuckled, “Alright, let me just wash these veggies here, and we’ll go”  

“I’ll go grab the fishing poles!” Rosie said eagerly as she ran to go get the poles and gear they’d need. Asher took the veggies inside, and when he didn’t see Montanha around, he assumed he was already waiting outside with Rosie. Which made it confusing when he goes back outside and see’s just Rosie standing there with only two fishing poles. “Where’s your dad, Trapper?” he asked, Rosie merely shrugged, “He said he didn’t feel well.” 

“Really? Huh, I guess I didn’t notice...” 

“Yeah, well, come on. Let’s go fishing!” she said taking Asher by the arm, making Asher smile in turn “Ok! I’m coming.” 

They walk together down the stream and back to the pond, setting up their gear and sitting on the water's edge together as Asher helped Rosie thread her poll as she baited her hook. As they cast their lines Rosie sat next to Asher and seemed content as she looked out on the water. 

“It’s been cool lately, but it’s kinda warm out today, isn’t it?” Asher commented as they sat there. “Yeah, dad says it smelled like it might rain tonight or tomorrow though. Whatever that means... Can people really smell rain?” 

“They can! You’ve never smelt it?” 

“No? I thought water didn’t have a smell.” 

“It doesn’t, but what the smell basically is, is earth being kicked up from the rain.” 

“Oh. So, rain smells like dirt?” Rosie asked, nose crinkled. “More like, fresh dirt? It’s a bit hard to explain, but once you smell it, you don’t forget it.” 

Rosie seemed to consider his words, “Huh, ok. Has my dad always been able to smell the rain?” 

“He said he never used too, but once he started living outside for so long, he couldn’t miss it.” Asher explained. Rosie seemed to sit on that for a long moment, as she looked out on the water. “You know... I don’t think my dad is sick.” 

“What makes you say that, sweetie?” 

“It’s his eyes, his eyes looked sad.” she said simply, Asher seemed concerned by that. Maybe he was thinking of their friend Rosie again, something he knew he was still struggling with in terms of his grief. “He probably just needs some time to himself hun, but I’m sure he’ll be ok.” 

Rosie let out a heavy sigh as she brought her knees up to rest her head on, “I think he tries to hide the fact he’s sad and hurting from me. I wish he wouldn’t hide it from me...” she mumbled. Asher understood her frustration, nodding sympathetically, “I know, it’s complicated Rosie, but he just doesn't want you to worry. And sometimes the reason why someone isn't havin’ a good day, isn’t for you to know. Just for you to understand. Once he’s feelin’ better, maybe he’ll share his reasons with you.” 

Rosie’s face still looked thoughtful as he said that, “I guess. He has been happier though; I can tell that too. Ever since you came along, he laughs more often.” Asher smiled, “I help as much as I can. But I’m glad I'm making things livelier for you two.” 

“Yeah. I think, I think he might like you.” Rosie said carefully, looking at him. Asher furrowed his brows but continued to smile, “I should hope he likes me! We’ve only known each other for nearly twenty years.” 

“No. I mean, I think he likes you, you know, romantically?” she said as she continued to look at him, more pointedly now. “I-’ he seemed to process her words, ‘he does?” 

“Yeah, I think so. He blushes a lot when you say certain things. And he seems really happy that you like it here and that you like spending time with him. You do the same thing too, I've noticed.” Rosie added, a little bit hopeful. Asher is silent for a moment as he chewed on this information, “I don’t... I don’t know what to say to that, Trapper.” 

“Oh. Is it because you don’t like him like that?” 

“No! No. It's because I’ve liked your father for a long time.”  Rosie’s eyes go wide, “Really?” Asher sighed as he blushed, “Yeah.”  

She smiled a little as she seemed to fidget with her fishing poll for a moment, “Um, so does that mean you, uh, what’s the word? Not marry... Um, what’s the thing that you do before marriage? Dad said it once... Oh. Date! Do you wanna date my dad?” 

“That... Will have to be a conversation for me and your father to have, alright Trapper?” 

She suddenly looked away from him, “If, uh, if you guys don’t end up dating... Are you gonna leave?” she asked quietly. Asher put a hand on her shoulder, “No, kiddo. Is that something you’ve been worried about?” 

“I just don’t want you to leave. I, I like having you around, and I feel less lonely when your here. So, I would miss you if you were gone.” she admitted as she fought back a few tears. 

“Oh, Rosie. Come here, kiddo.” he said putting an arm around her as Rosie leaned on him. He holds her for a long moment as she started to sniffle and cry, letting her get it all out before speaking again, “Tell you what? Why don’t we catch a few big ones, get home, and I’ll talk to your father later, ok?’ Rosie pulled away a little to wipe her face as she nodded, “Ok.” 

“It’ll be ok, Trapper. I promise.” Rosie nodded again, leaning on him once more, just resting her head there, as she looked out on the water. 

By the time Asher and Rosie returned from the pond, the sky had become grey, as dark clouds rolled in from the west. Still, both were in good spirits as, like Asher promised, they returned with a sizable haul of fish. Making their way inside, Montanha was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables. He gave the two of them a small, but friendly smile, “Hey, how was fishing?” 

“It was great! We caught a lot of fish, so can we have them for dinner?” Rosie asked, excited. “Yeah, hun, I got some stuff ready.” Montanha said. Asher smiled a bit nervously, “Sounds good, I’ll help you get dinner ready.” 

“Alright, do you wanna help too, Rosie?” 

“Um, can I go read in my room for a bit actually?” Rosie asked, Montanha was a bit surprised by this, “Oh, uh, ok sweetheart. You go have fun.” 

“Ok!” Rosie chirped, before turning to leave. Though not before giving Asher a smile and a thumbs up. Asher gave Rosie a small smile in turn as she left. He then joined Montanha in the kitchen, as he started deboning and salting the fish, “You feeling any better? Rosie mentioned you didn’t feel good.” Asher asked casually. 

Montanha smiled sheepishly at that, “Oh, did she tell you that? Uh, yeah, I was just tired today, is all. I haven't been sleeping well lately.” he carefully admitted, though not elaborating too much. Asher merely nodded, “I feel that. It was warm today, so I felt a bit sleepy for a bit. But yah know, we sat and talked about a few things while we were out.” 

Montanha raised a brow for a moment, “I mean, I suppose it’s warmer than normal...” He grabbed one of the fish Asher finished deboning, as he started cutting it into strips. They stood there in silence for a few moments, as Asher struggled to find his next words. Still, he had made a promise, so he swallowed the lump in his throat, which suddenly felt dry. “So, Rosie admitted something to me. Something that I need to talk to you about.” 

Montanha stopped cutting and placed the knife down. He swallowed thickly, before pushing a smile onto his face, “Nothing bad I hope.” he joked, forcing a small chuckle from his throat.  

“No! I mean, I don’t think it’s bad. Um, Rosie, well, she told me that you might have feelings for me?’ 

All the color left Montanha’s face as he stared at Asher, wide eyed, as the echo of his dreams suddenly started playing in his head. “How, how did you-?’ he stopped, before taking a step back from the copper haired man, ‘I, I’m dreaming again.” he mumbled to himself. 

“You’re not, I swear. Look, I know this is a lot for you to take in. But I think the biggest thing I need to admit is that, that I have feelings for you too.” Asher confessed, his face flushed. 

Montanha’s own face turned scarlet as he covered his mouth, “I, I don’t know-” his mouth felt dry as he felt himself start to panic. “You don’t have to love me. I didn’t invite you to stay ‘cause I wanted- I'm not-” he suddenly turned and headed for the door. He needed air. 

 “Montanha?! Hey, wait! I didn’t mean to make you upset!” 

Montanha didn’t stop as he ran outside, down the stairs of the porch, and into his garden. There he finally stopped as he bent over slightly, as he gasped out of breath, “I’m not- I'm not- I'm not-!” he gasped out. 

Asher came out behind him, concern etched out on his face, “Montanha, breathe, ok? Just take some deep breaths. What’s going on?” Montanha flinched as soon as Asher got close, but he managed to pull himself together enough to stop hyperventilating. Still his eyes were wide as he looked at Asher, “I can’t. I can’t love you.” 

Asher felt his heart drop like a stone. His eyes starting to water as he forced out his next question, “I um, I understand... But can I know why?”   

“Look around us Asher, we’re living in an apocalypse! Feelings are not the most important thing here. I don’t des- I just can’t give you what you want.” Montanha mumbled as he looked away. 

Asher choked up, “Ok. I understand Montanha... We can forget this ever happened. I, I’m sorry, I need to be alone for a second.” he said before turning away.  

Montanha, seeing his heart broken expression, almost open his mouth to speak. But instead, he set his jaw and looked to the ground, saying nothing as Asher walked away. When he was far enough away, Asher let out a brief sob as he walked and the sky grew darker  

It had only been a few days since Asher joined them up in their little cabin. Yet he already slotted into the group as if he’d always belonged. Still, it was a bit of an adjustment for Montanha, as long buried feelings started to rise from the grave, much like the undead.

Even now as they sat, side by side, Montanha was aware of his heat beside him and had to fight the urge to not just stare at him and admire all the ways he’s changed since he last saw him. Asher’s more well-defined jawline and those broad shoulders that hid under his loose shirt or even his hair which had grown longer in the last fourteen years. Montanha wanted to run his fingers through them in an intimate setting, gently feeling that soft copper hair between his fingers as he stared into those honey brown eyes.    

Sitting back, Montanha yet again wrestled his rabid thoughts back down as he looked at him, “Ok, now that we got it connected on this side, I can get it hooked up outside. Could you stay inside to check the connection for leaks and test the burners once I get it hooked up?” Asher nodded and gave him a thumbs up as Montanha made his way outside. 

He made quick work of hooking the tank up to the hose before testing out the hose for leaks with a bit of solution in a packet. When he found there to be no leaks, he looked up at the window above and shouted, “It’s good to go!” 

“Gotcha!” came Asher’s voice distantly, silence followed before he responded again a few minutes later, “All good in here, mountain man!” Montanha smiled at that as he headed back inside, “Hey thanks for that. You definitely saved me a bit of time with this.” 

“Hey, it’s no problem. If I'm going to be spending some time up here, then I need to contribute. Besides, I’m always happy to spend time with you.” Montanha felt himself flush at that, still he grinned at him. 

“Man, it’s a shame you can’t get a bigger tank out here. If you could get one of them hundred- and twenty-gallon tanks up here, you could heat the whole house for a long time.” 

“Damn you read my mind, Ash. I thought about doin’ that a couple of times. But I’d have to find a working truck big enough to haul that back up here. Plus, I may be strong, but I ain’t a hundred and somethin’ pounds of steel strong.” he joked. “Well, maybe we can try to do it together? I’m sure if you, me, and Rosie can put our heads together on this-” 

Montanha’s face dropped as his eyes suddenly became hard, “That ain’t something a child needs to worry herself about.” Asher furrowed his brows in frustration as he stared back at him, “So then, do you just do everything on your own then?” 

“It’s not that Rosie doesn’t help. She’s always been keen on pulling her weight. But there are certain tasks that I can’t ask her to do. And if you don’t like the way I’m raising my child-” 

“I get it.” Asher said, cutting him off as the two of them stand there in tense silence.  

“Who wants lunch? I’m starvin’...” Montanha said after a moment, turning away to start cooking, making it clear that the conversation was over. Asher just studied him in silence for a long moment before joining him in the kitchen. 

Outside, Rosie crouched in the grass, journal in hand as her eyes studied something in the dirt, and she took small notes, “Hey there, Trapper.” Asher said as he crouched down beside her. Rosie raised her head to look at him, brow raised, “Trapper?” 

“Yeah kid, you never been given a nickname before?” 

“My dad calls me ‘Sprout’ sometimes, cause I’m his little sprouting flower, he said.” 

“Heh, that sounds like him. Well, if it’s all the same to you, being caught in your trap left quite an impression on me. So, I think ‘Trapper’ is very fitting for you.” Rosie blushed in embarrassment as he joked, “I’m sorry for trapping you like that...” 

“Don’t be! That was a pretty clever trap you made. Did you make that by yourself?” Rosie nodded, “Yeah, I saw a bear trap in a book, and I thought it’s design would make a good Creature trap.” 

“Impressive. You’re quite smart for your age.” Rosie blushed again, this time feeling flattered rather than embarrassed. Her father had called her smart plenty of times before, but it felt different coming from Asher rather than from the usual source. “What are you studying out here, by the way? I’ve noticed you’ve been crouched here for a while.”  

“Oh, um, I’m studying the ants.” 

“The ants?” 

Rosie hummed in the affirmative as she pointed out the small line of ants that passed in front of their shoes, as well as the nearby anthill that sat not too far from the line. “I’ve been studying their behavior and reading a couple of books. I got a theory about Creatures.” 

“What’s your theory?” 

“I believe that, based on what little I've learned from my dad and my few observations on them, that they might behave similar to ants or wasps.” She then pointed to the hill in front of them. “See, ants usually live in colonies with between a few dozen to a million individuals. The biggest part of the population being made up of the workers.”  

She traced a line in the air of the ants as they headed to the hill. “You got all different kinds of worker ants, like the kinds that care for young or tend to the queen, but mostly you got scouts and foragers. They’re the ones who go out and find food for the colony, collecting it and bringing it back. I think Creatures might work similarly, and we’ve only just been seeing the scouts and the foragers. I mean, why else would they kill so often? If not to take it back home to their colony?” 

Asher scratched his chin in thought about that, “That’s a pretty solid theory, Trapper. Course that means that if they work like ants, they probably have a queen of some sort and a home base where they all report back too.” Rosie pursed her lips, “Yeah, I just don’t have any evidence for it. That’s why it’s just a theory.” Asher smiled at that, “I bet your dad is proud to be raising such a capable young lady.” 

Rosie blew air out softly through pursed lips, “What good does that make if I'm never leaving the mountain again?” Asher sighed as well, sitting down more comfortably in the grass, careful not to disturb the ants as he did so. “I think the best you can do right now is to try and meet him in the middle. Just try to help him in little ways. I know he’s upset, but it’s just because he cares. And hey, I promise I’ll try and talk to him about it, alright?” 

Rosie nodded as she also sat alongside him, “Thanks.” Asher smiled as he started ruffling her hair, “No problem, Rosie.” she giggled as she pushed his hand away, “Hey you wanna see my wasps? I’ve been watching a small nest of them in those trees over there.” She said with a smile, pointing to the tree line. Asher looked a bit baffled by this but smiled warmly, “Sure.” he said as Rosie got to her feet and started leading him there. 

Later that afternoon, Asher sat with Montanha at the dining room table as he placed a warm mug down in front of him, “Here. This is, uh, the only kind of hot beverage I got. It’s just wild mint. It’s not very good.” Montanha joked, making Asher chuckle, “I’ll take hot mint over nothin’.”  

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Montanha asked as he sipped his tea. “I want to talk about what happened earlier today.” Putting down his mug, Montanha sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah. I’m sorry for how I’ve been actin’, I don’t mean to come off so cold. But when it comes to the subject of my daughter...” 

“No, that’s alright. But I think in the time we’re living in, this kind of thinkin’ is more detrimental than you realize.” Montanha shrunk a bit at that, “Well, it’s like I said before. She’s just a little too young to be taking risks and learning that sorta stuff, yah know?” 

“Sure, but she should at least know some of the basics, in case of an emergency, shouldn’t she?” he pressed. Montanha’s frown deepened as he gave him that stony look that Asher was starting to get accustomed to, “She’s got pepper spray, and more importantly, she’s got me to protect her.” 

“You might not always be there, and while pepper spray will help against people, it’s just going to piss off a Creature.” Asher pointed out. Montanha’s grip tightened around his mug as he looked down, bangs shadowing his face a little, “I won’t ever leave her alone to fend for herself. I’ll never leave her alone, never.” he muttered, voice tense.  

Asher’s face became soft and sympathetic, “Ain’t she alone when she’s locked up in this cabin while you go scavenging?” Montanha said nothing as his shoulders tensed, finger tapping on his mug as his face twisted into a look of anxiety, brows knitting together in thought. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in these last fourteen years, it’s that there’s three responses to danger. Fight, flight, and freeze. We can’t let her be the kind to freeze, Montanha.” 

“Then I'll teach her to run! I just- I can’t teach her how to fight, Ash!’ he said, looking up at him with terror filled eyes, ‘I don’t- I don’t think I have the strength to do it.” he confessed, looking small in that moment, despite his frame. 

“... What if I did?” 

His eyes drifted away from him again as he looked down and to the side, “I-I don’t know...” Asher reached for his hand, “I know you’re scared. But you can’t keep letting your fear get in her way.”  

Montanha seemed to warm at his touch, his shoulders relaxing as he brought his eyes back up to him, managing to give him a small token of a smile, “Alright, but it’s for self-defense only. I don’t want her scavenging for a while yet.” Asher gave him a firm nod, “Self-defense, and then we’ll see after that, ok?” his lips pressed into a thin line, but he nodded in agreement. Asher gently squeezed his hands in turn, “I promise you; I’ll do my damnedest to train her.” 

“Alright, I trust you.” 

Asher smiled as he put a hand on Montanha's shoulder, "Thanks, mountain man." Montanha nodded as he did his best to swallow back to lump in his throat.

When evening came around the three sat together on the living room sofa, while Asher shared some stories, mostly about the misadventures he and Montanha got into. As he recounted all the funny things they used to do, the three of them would laugh, and Montanha would even share a story or two himself. As the evening went on, however, Rosie found herself starting to nod off, her eyes becoming heavy as she struggled to stay awake. Montanha noticed this and gave her a gentle look, “You gettin’ tired their kiddo?”  

“No, I’m fine. I wanna hear more stories.” She mumbled despite her struggle. Montanha was unconvinced as he raised a brow, “No? Well, I guess you can stay up.” 

“But you’re probably gonna be too tired for your first day of training then.” Asher added. This made Rosie perk up a little as she looked at him confused, “Training? What training?” 

“Combat training. I’m gonna teach you some of the stuff I know, Trapper.” Rosie’s eyes go wide as she looked at him, before turning her head to look at her father, “It took some convincin’... But maybe now would be a good time for you to learn.” Montanha said, his smile small and nervous as he looked at her. Excited, Rosie tackled her father into a hug, “Thank you, dad! Thank you!” she said with barely contained excitement.  

Montanha hugged her back, squeezing her gently, “This is for self-defense. Nothing more, alright?” He clarified, voice firm. “That’s fine! I’m going to do my best for you, dad!’ she cheered, still hugging him tight. A moment later, she let go and hopped off the couch, ‘I’m going to bed then! Night, dad! Night, Asher!”  

“Alright, goodnight, Rosie.” With that, she bounded away, and Montanha watched her go with a small sigh and a smile before turning to Asher, “Can you do that more often? She hardly ever goes to bed early.” Asher laughed, “I’ll see what I can do.”  

The room then settled into a comfortable silence as the two of them sat together. Montanha sinking comfortably into the sofa as Asher scooted up beside him, closing the gap between them. It made Montanha blush a bit as he resisted the urge to cuddle up to him, not wanting to ruin the comfortable moment.  

Which is why he was a bit surprised when Asher rested his head on his shoulder and was the one to initiate as he seemed to cuddle up beside him. His cheeks still felt hot, but he smiled none the less as he let Asher lean against him and closed his eyes with a small, content sigh. 

Eyes closed, he enjoyed the moment a while longer, before he started to think on his daughter, and her upcoming training, which made him start to deflate. Asher was able to pick up on this as he looked up at him, “You alright?” 

“Y-Yeah, sorry. I’m just thinking about the training. I guess I’m still just, anxious, about it.” Montanha confessed, looking a little to the side. “... Are you worried about her ending up like our friend Rosie?” Montanha clenched his jaw a little as he began to pick at the seams of his jeans. He remained silent. Asher’s eyes softened a little as he put a hand on his knee, “Montanha… I know you said you’d tell me later, but it’s been almost a week. And I need to know. What happened with Rosie?” 

A deep frown etched its way into his features as he turned his head down and a bit further away from Asher. He was almost hoping that if he remained silent, Asher would drop the subject. Asher didn’t relent as he placed his hand on Montanha’s shoulder, “Please, Montanha… She was my friend too.”  

Montanha suddenly stood, pulling away from Asher, who looked at him with concern. “You wanna know what happened? I left her alone with a Creature, and it got her. It’s my fault she’s dead, Asher. She had trusted me, and I killed her.” he said, voice trembling as he fought back tears. He was met with stunned silence as Asher stared at him in shock, “Montanha...”