crimson (pippalin/lippa)
Pippa was warm, huddled down in her cave of blankets. She was at peace, drifting in the land between sleeping and waking. As she shifted sleepily and let out a murmur of contentment, she saw a whisper of motion through her half closed eyes, and her palm tickled as Lin withdrew his hand from hers. The bedsprings creaked as he exited the room. Pippa didn't think anything of it for the first ten minutes. But something disallowed her from falling asleep. Eventually she slipped out of bed too, her feet hitting the soft carpet with a gentle thump. She pulled on some sweatpants, and looked out the door to the hallway. The house was as dark as pitch, except for one light shining from the bathroom that they shared. The door was open. Pippa peeked in. Suddenly she covered her mouth as scream ripped out of her throat. It was muffled by the skin of her hand. She fell to her knees. "Oh, Lin." she whispered. He stared up at her with pleading brown eyes, wrists covered and dripping with crimson blood. A razor was clutched in his left hand so firmly that his knuckles were white. "Why?" Pippa exhaled. That one word seemed to echo through the entire house. She traced his cheek with her thumb, her eyebrows narrowing as he lowered his eyes shamefully. "I hate myself." Pippa's heart shattered inside her chest. She sat back on her heels, clenching her fists and closing her eyes hard. A tear slipped down her cheek. She shook her head as she cleaned the blood off of Lin's arms with gauze from the medicine cabinet. He winced as the cloth touched his cuts. Once she had finished, she drew Lin's hand into hers, helping him up. Tears glistened on his cheeks. He picked up his razor and turned away. "Leave me alone, Phillipa. Go back to sleep." She grabbed his shoulder. "No." Pippa help out her arms, wrists up. Lin stared at her, confused. Pippa said, "Cut me." "What?" "Cut me as many times as you would cut yourself." "No, Pippa!" He reeled back in shock. "I would never!" "Then why would you do it to yourself?" She turned around and left the bathroom. An hour later, Lin walked into their room and crawled into bed. Pippa felt warm arms wrap around her middle. His nose nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "Hey." He whispered. "Thanks." She took his hand and kissed his cuts, one by one. Then, she turned and kissed his lips. "You're welcome, Lin."
