Okay so...this is my best attempt at fluff. Whenever Tosya's not ripping something to bits with his teeth, he's doing...this. YEP. There's background I'm too lazy to explain here, so if you have any questions, just comment ^^
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The next morning, Abbey did not wish to leave. It was one of my days off and I obviously didn't mind her company, but I still asked her why she did not want to leave. She cuddled into my side, her head on my clavicle, and said, "Salem will kill me if he thinks I did anything…I mean kill me."
I nodded and slipped an arm around her. "I know you do. But don't you have a family to start with him or something?" Sarcasm and at an inopportune time.
She elbowed my side and glowered in distaste. "You're so mean," she said, a tiny smile on her lips.
I grinned and said, "Is this not expected?"
Shaking her head, she curled back into my side. "It is…I just don't get used to it." I shrugged and gave her a little squeeze.
"You don't have to leave, you know…" I said a bit too hopefully.
Sighing, she said, "I have to go…I work at the orphanage and if I don't show up for my shift, Salem's going to hunt the earth for me…" Noting my confused look, she said, "If I go there, I can tell those in charge over me that I was 'there all night' and that, if Salem asks, that was where I was. But if I'm not there…that throws a wrench in it."
I frowned. I'd just gotten my little redhead back and suddenly she was fading once more. "But…what if you just vanished? Just…gone," I said, rubbing her back.
Abbey shook her head. "He'd find me, Tosya. Mark my words he would."
With a wider frown, I nodded understandingly and kissed her brow. "You'll come back though. Right? You will come back…"
She hugged my waist and said, "Of course I will. Vitali needs somebody to look after that arm of his." I think I smiled at this. Frankly, I don't remember. For reality ceased to faze me after that. It was just me and her, holding the other in our arms and accompanied only by the music of one another's hearts. For a long moment, I closed my eyes and let everything flee my mind. No more pills, no more responsibilities, no more headaches, no more Wendigo psychosis. Nothing. Just two lovers locked together by their arms and the gentle sound of their breathing.
But even moments as these had to end at some point.
She put her hands on my chest and pushed me gently away. "I…I have to go," she said, guilt in her voice.
I kissed her neck. "Please don't go," I said between the pecks I placed on her throat. Her skin tasted like salt and smelled like green apple soap. I took one more lingering moment to mentally ingest the essence of her. Her skin was soft, so soft. Not like any of the women here with their crassly dry scales, marred with tattoos and smelling of crude soap. She was like a porcelain doll. Her pale skin was as pale and delicate as one. It saddened me that those bruises marked her trim little belly and her arms. Her throat, though it was covered the day before by a turtle neck, was even dappled with purple.
I put a hand down on the other side of her and mumbled pleading little nothings into her ear. She pulled away from me and looked into my face from her pile of pillows. She beamed at me and gave my nose a kiss before skittering out from under me and collecting her belongings. And then she was gone.
