Tangled In Strings

Chapter 34: Afterburn

The next morning, the sun rose red.

Snatcher didn’t like that.

He was used to cursed weather — fog that whispered, trees that screamed — but this was new. The kind of new that meant trouble.

He cracked open the bedroom door and peeked inside.

Moonjumper was awake.

But not quite there.

---

✦ The Afterburn

He sat on the floor in the corner of their room, knees drawn up, back hunched. His mask lay beside him, untouched. His claws — not fully retracted. His shadow magic twitched at random intervals, snaking along the floor like spilled ink. His breathing was controlled, but shallow.

“Morning, sunshine,” Snatcher said gently.

No answer.

Snatcher padded across the room and sat beside him. “How are we doing on a scale of 1 to ‘I might throw a tree again’?”

“I almost ripped a squirrel in half.”

Snatcher blinked. “…Gonna call that a soft seven.”

“I didn’t mean to. It startled me.”

“To be fair, squirrels are shady.”

Moonjumper didn’t laugh.

His voice was too calm.

“It’s like the moon’s still inside me. Still screaming. I can feel it in my teeth. My bones. My hands.”

He flexed his fingers. They sparked with residual blood-red magic.

“Everything feels… wrong.”

---

✦ Don’t Touch Me — Wait, No, Do

Snatcher reached out.
Moonjumper flinched.

“Don’t—!”

Snatcher froze, then slowly pulled his hand back.

“Okay. No touching. Got it.”

But Moonjumper stared at his hand. His eyes flickered between red and silver.

Then he grabbed it.

Hard.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

“I could.”

Snatcher raised a brow. “You already did once, remember? And I’m still here. No shade, but your ‘lethal monster’ thing is kind of a work in progress.”

Moonjumper let out a broken chuckle. “That was… a very strange compliment.”

“Thank you. I’m a very strange fiancé.”

They sat together in silence for a moment longer.

Moonjumper’s head dropped to Snatcher’s shoulder, reluctant but needy.

“Don’t leave me alone with this.”

“Never.”

---

✦ Trouble in the Garden

Later that day, Moonjumper tried to go about their normal routine — but his magic was unstable. Vines refused to obey. The garden gates shattered when he touched them. He startled a ghost-deer so badly it phased through a wall and never returned.

He threw a trowel into the woods.

Snatcher ducked.

“Okay! That’s enough gardening for today.”

“Everything I touch breaks.”

“Well… except me.”

Moonjumper turned, frustration sparking behind his eyes.

“You say that like it’s a good thing.”

“Because it is.”

Snatcher walked right up to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Moonjumper froze.

Then trembled.

But didn’t pull away.

---

✦ The Rage Cracks

Later, in the kitchen, Moonjumper accidentally shattered a mug just by gripping it too hard.

“Dammit!”

He slammed his hands on the counter. The lights flickered. The shadows rippled.

Snatcher appeared beside him instantly.

“Hey. Hey. Look at me.”

Moonjumper panted. “I’m losing control.”

“No, you’re burning off what’s left. Big difference.”

“It doesn’t feel different.”

Snatcher wrapped his arms around him from behind. Moonjumper went stiff — then melted against him, still trembling.

“Just breathe,” Snatcher whispered. “Let it pass. You don’t have to carry this alone.”

---

✦ Small Moments, Big Change

That night, Moonjumper curled up beside Snatcher in the overgrown lounge, limbs twitching in his sleep. His breath still hitched every now and then. His magic still flickered red.

But Snatcher didn’t let go.

Even when the shadows crept up the walls. Even when the air turned heavy.

He held on.

And eventually, Moonjumper whispered,

“I don’t deserve you.”

“You’ve got that backwards.”

A pause.

“...I’m scared you’ll see me like Vanessa does.”

Snatcher rested his forehead against his.

“She saw a pawn. I see a partner. Big difference, Moonface.”

Moonjumper smiled. Small. Raw. Real.

“You’re insane.”

“Takes one to love one.”

---

✦ End Scene

The blood moon had passed.
But its scars would linger.

And so would Snatcher.

Even when Moonjumper snarled.

Even when the magic fought him.

He stayed.

Because love, like curses, sometimes bites.

But it doesn’t break.