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blowout sale.[break][break]

he sighed, staring out the window at a gray sky. the sun was hiding behind it. it would come out, eventually. for the time being, the warmth he felt was from inside those walls — when willow wasn’t understandably stressed about the business, and roman wasn’t being an asshole. that was to say, rarely.[break][break]

and it was supposed to be the good season.[break][break]

his hand ran down his face, fingers pinching into the scruff on his chin. her question echoed in his head, and it almost slipped by without an answer in the daze he found himself in too often lately.[break][break]

i should go back to work, he thought. but who would have him, except the rangers? all it would take was showing his face in a war zone, and rocket would know they’d have their opportunity to strike. his family would be unguarded.[break][break]

there were bags beneath his eyes. ”yeah,” he croaked, and cleared his throat. ”yeah.”[break][break]

blowout sale. ”that’s a good idea.” he smiled, but the stress was in his eyes too, a gray haze across the sun, as his thumb brushed against hers.[break][break]

last year, things were getting better. sure, the region had its fair share of hiccups, but she fooled herself into thinking that they were in their own little world, removed from it. bo was here, not there, and so nothing could touch them. nothing could hurt them.

with no flowers to pollinate, the bees haven't been active. she's had to work with them to make sure they don't go dormant. the honey's just about the only thing keeping them afloat right now. 

she hooks her thumb in his and tugs his heavy hand up to her lips, kissing softly. d-e-a-t-h, spelled out on his knuckles. she tucks her fingers under his and swallows another mouthful of coffee.

"we can restructure the greenhouse. more folks have been bringing their grass-types over. we just...we'll need to start charging more." the words taste sour as she says it and she hates it. she hates it. 

hates seeing her community suffer more than anything in the world. but she has to look out for her family. she has to look out for roman first. 

boruta maher

☉

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”i’ll do whatever you need me to.”[break][break]

though he forced a reassuring smile, it was a flat note beneath a distant gaze.[break][break]

for all he’d tried to be their protector, he could not hope shield their home from the onslaught of ash, fate, and divine warfare. he could not save the crops. he could not save any of it.[break][break]

gods of hell, every one of them monsters, curses like the rocks and the crystals and so-called anomalies. simpler times were too far-off to have hope they'd ever return.[break][break]

taking a sip of his coffee, he realized it had gone cold. pulled his scarred hand from hers and raised wearily to top off his cup.[break][break]

”i’ll go back to work.” anxiety bit at his tired nerves, a sick feeling. ”we’ll put up a security system.”[break][break]

the rest of the plan went unsaid: he would talk to Cillian Quinn .[break][break]

she believes it because despite everything, despite how hard everything is right now, he's here. he's here and he's promised he's not going anywhere. there are doubts sometimes - of course there are - but she tried putting half her heart into loving him all over again and only ended up hurting them both. 

he draws his hand from hers and she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, finishes the last of her own coffee, and stands from her creaky chair. 

"the league still needs our honey. they won't let anything happen to us here," she says softly, firmly. Greyson Connors promised her they'd keep her family safe. he can't help the weather, or the gods wreaking havoc on their lands. 

shaking hands rinse out her mug, swipe the rim with a sponge, and are firm by the time she shakes it out and puts it on the drying rack. she sucks in a breath, puts on her bravest face, and reaches for her mask.

"alright. let's go get some shears and send some messengers to get the word out. i'm sure roman's looking for something to do. he can help the bugs." her butterfree and venomoth can dance around town; folks will know what it means.

boruta maher

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the honey.[break][break]

that moment, as he sipped his coffee and gazed out the window in the vague direction of the bee boxes, he became a fox in the henhouse.[break][break]

despite the sinking feeling in his heart from the realization, he chuckled and approached from behind her back. poured the rest of his mug out from around her, and with the other hand reached up to briefly knead at what tension in her shoulders he predicted he’d find there.[break][break]

“i'm sure roman’s probably looking for any way to get out of whatever you have lined up for him today.”[break][break]

when she reached for the mask and prepared for the many tasks at hand, he rinsed his mug out too and readied to follow.[break][break]

“okay, miss atkins.” one of these days, he’d change that, he told himself – but unfortunately, not before he lied to her again. he slipped on his work boots at the door. ”it’s all gonna be fine, y’know.”[break][break]

they're new to this part - stress on already too-burdened shoulders, a homestead to look after, a livelihood to keep up with. but he feels as part of the house as anything else. her head tilts, stretching a sore muscle she'd overworked by hauling too much manure at once. soft greens close and only for two breaths does she allow herself the feeling of being taken care of. 

"yeah, well, he's not going to get very far," she says. elisabet can track him down, if nothing else. 

will follows behind bo, ghosting a hand over his lower back before he can tromp down the stairs. 

"i know most of the veggies didn't make it this year, but i should still be able to make some zucchini bread for tomorrow. and i think we can do pasta for dinner; we'll have to get the rest of the tomatoes," she says, thinking through the process while she tucks on her own boots and follows him down.

"maybe we sell the cattle too. no point in bulls if i can't get my hands on a miltank."

boruta maher

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upkeep was a varied job, stressful enough to fully occupy his mind and hard enough to be cathartic at times. there was a special kind of peace in the earthy breeze at the end of a long day, and, of course, there was her.[break][break]

the nights were less that he spent by the phone, fading in the white noise of anxiety and competitions on tv. the farm had become as much a part of him as the shackles of his incessant worrying.[break][break]

he tromped down the stairs. ”pasta sounds amazing. zucchini bread, too.” he paused, then suggested, ”give it a little bit on the bulls, maybe. if i’m going back to work, i can ask around and see if i can find any good deals.”[break][break]

ideas began to get away from him, then.[break][break]

”let’s go out tonight.”[break][break]

he agrees, and it's not much - just a couple plans for dinner, a few meals at most - but it brings her some comfort. they'll have meals squared away for the next few days. she still has some flour left; she'll bake some fresh sourdough for the week and it'll go great with the pasta. 

maybe she'll bake two loaves. she'd had to readjust in little ways, since bo moved in with them. she hadn't forgotten that he basically has four stomachs, but it was a bit of a scramble when he first settled in. groceries doubled. pickings doubled.

but he's at the table, and roman is getting better, and for the first time in a very, very long time, things feel right. 

they pass through the flower shop and willow hooks a couple of masks from thumbtacks on the wall. she holds one out for bo and then tucks her own on, pulling her hair out from under the straps and into a pony to keep it off her face. 

it's too bad he can't see her wry smile, but her eyes do glitter with amusement. 

"out? where do you want to go?"

boruta maher

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“the slice.” where else? it was cheap, and besides the many sandwich shops he had familiarized himself with for lunch, he was a creature of habit. the slice was special, too. though funds dwindled, the money was there, put away for a special occasion. ”i’ll buy.”[break][break]

he slipped on the mask, and as they went to work, another plan began to lay out in his mind. gold eyes glanced over at her.[break][break]

“i hope you know i’m gonna stick with you through everything now. no matter how hard it gets, we’ll push through it together. things will get easier.” they had to. ”i promise.”[break][break]

and while they both knew there was no way for him to keep that promise with any certainty, it felt right to assure her that he wasn’t going to leave her high and dry if things got any worse.[break][break]