#dawnbloomed

                     TAKING A quick glance at the other he soon shrugs his shoulders, letting a light smile come to his lips. A very good way of hiding his internal dialogue, & not something someone could easily see through. “ It doesn't bother me, really! ”  

“How about you?”

     “this is happiness, to be everything at once.” soft tongue and stumbled words, as though the witch did not intend to speak at all, as though words were tugged by the petals whispering secrets against skin. and he did not, as it has finally clicked within mind why he was along this path dotted with flowers, why something within him compelled to walk, walk, walk, even as shoulders seized in discomfort rather than comfort at being surrounded by nature. but now that he is here, stood before a woman whose presence sends skin tingling unkindly, unpleasantly, feet have rooted to the spot and chest aches with magic unfurling under skin.

charlie knows he owes it to gabriel to not run the other way and hear him out in entirety. but...when gabriel cries out those three words to him, charlie buries his head in his hands. because he’s right. he had been mostly silent up until that point, but now he can’t hold it in anymore. “ I’M SORRY. i know saying that won’t fix anything, but -- ” palms reach up to wipe on his cheekbones as hot tears spill over. his voice is SHAKY. as a young boy, he was quickly wary about making promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. but sticking by gabriel? he really meant that. he really did.  “ i’m so sorry. i--i just couldn’t see your face if i told you, when you realize i let you down and i couldn’t stand to go on anymore. ” a sniffle. his voice begins to falter to almost a whimper. “ i was supposed to protect you and i couldn’t even make myself feel okay. i don’t expect you to forgive me. but -- i miss you. ”

   Peter snorts with laughter, shaking his head a bit as he nudges his arm against Ned’s. “C’mon, Ned, where’d all the fun from before go?! Midnight isn’t even that late. Am I the only one who’s really hungry right now, ‘cause a few pizza places have GOTTA be open, that’s a good start to the year right?!”

   Peter smiles as he turns his head, peeking out the nearby window. “Oh-- you’re right! Huh, I didn’t even notice. You think it’s gonna snow a lot?” A White Christmas would have been much more festive, she’s right, but this is still great! He feels bad for all the people huddled around Times Square now, though, they’ve gotta be freezing cold. “That’s cool, though! At least we got some snow during winter break.”

It was a bit chilly for Jae-sug’s taste, but he could deal with a little bit of the cold night air for just the stars in the sky alone. “If I had thought to bring my jacket, it’d be nicer. But the sky is beautiful, yeah.” His eyes travel across the night sky, looking at all the stars and the constellations that were visible before he looked back over at them. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“Dude, you gotta name that turtle after the one from Kung Fu Panda,” Peter said instantly. “Then we gotta teach him karate,” He joked and chuckled. “I’m kidding of course. It’s gonna be your turtle so you do what you want with them. I wanna meet them though so I can be Uncle Peter,” He explained.