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Cimmerian leaned against an old, rotted wooden fence - something that was probably not the safest activity, but it’s not like it mattered anymore. He brought up a cigarette to his lips, taking a long inhale as he listened to the sounds of wildlife and the distant voices of the other campers, he exhaled softly, feeling his body relax. The cold morning air was a nice change of pace compared to yesterday, Jeremy wouldn’t actually mind spending a few more hours there if he didn’t need to interact with other people. Who knows, maybe he could convince Clef to a get-away like this, just the two of them…
The soft crunch of leaves grabbed his focus as he was snapped back to reality from his thoughts, looking to the right of him towards the trail.
“Alright, I told them. They’re not too happy, but they’ve got to deal with it.” He recognised his husband’s voice even before he made his way around the corner. The blonde’s expression and tone softened as he looked at Cimmerian, a hint of concern still in his voice as he spoke. “How are you feeling?”
“Better…” He pursed his lips. “At least a little bit.”
“That’s good.” Alto approached him, leaning against a nearby tree. “I never took you for a smoker.”
“I never really was.” He took another deep inhale of his cigarette. “I tried to limit myself for the sake of my health and only smoked when under a lot of stress.” He looked at the small stick of tobacco burning between his fingers, his brows furrowing at the thought. “But I suppose it doesn’t really matter anymore, right?”
“You know, you can still get cancer.”
“Phew…” Jeremy let out a puff of smoke, staring into the background, his expression changing to a frown. “That guy- what was his name?”
“Maveth?”
“Maveth. He has to heal all of your body before he revives you, right? In that case, I’ll just shoot myself before I die of cancer. Simple.”
The brunette’s head snapped to the right, taken aback by hearing his husband laugh out loud at that. “You know, that’s what I told him once!” Clef grinned at him. “He gave me the nastiest of glares for that one, but really didn’t say anything, so I guess that’s a legitimate option to take.”
They fell into silence as Cimmerian finished his cigarette and flicked it into the nearby old trash can, just as rotten as the fence he was leaning against, but he figured with all that humidity in the air after last night’s storm it wouldn’t catch fire.
“So, uh, feeling better?” Alto smiled sheepishly. “I know I asked already, but, uhm...you know…”
He was worried. Of course. Jeremiah tried to ignore the small ping of guilt in his chest. “I’m somewhat better. Just...tired, I guess?”
“Yeah, that’s understandable.” Clef got this sad, pitiful expression that made his stomach turn. “You could sleep in the car on the way back?”
Cimmerian just looked at him like he had seven heads, it took his husband a second or two to realise.
“Oh. Oh, right, amaxophobia. I forgot.” The blonde pursed his lips. “You sure do have a lot of phobias, don’t you?”
“What can I say? My brain is just swimming in fear juice. It’s just my talent.”
Thankfully it did manage to get a laugh out of his husband. “I could open the window and put on some relaxing music then?”
“That’d help…”
“Great. I’ll go get us packed then so we can leave right after breakfast. You can stay here until then if it makes you feel better.”
There was a sense of relief in him as he realised he wouldn’t have to force himself to interact with people, still, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for making Clef do all these things for him. “Sorry…”
“Hey now.” Alto walked up closer to him, reaching out to grab his hand. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, alright? It’s all on me. I knew you have social anxiety and I still made you come when you were already dealing with a lot.”
“Yeah, well...it did sound like a good idea at the time. You only wanted to help.”
“I know, but I still put you through stress. I just don’t want you blaming yourself for this, alright? You’re dealing with a lot. I’d never blame you for what happened last night.”
Cimmerian’s stomach tightened at the reminder of his panic attack. He knew Clef was right, he couldn’t control such a thing and it was Clef’s idea to leave early, so why did he feel so guilty?
“Maybe we could try it again when I feel better?”
Alto grinned. “Sounds good to me.” He leaned in on his tip-toes and gently kissed him on the lips. “Alright, I’ll get everything ready and call you over when it’s breakfast time, okay?”
“Yeah.” Jeremy smiled softly. “Sounds good.”
“Call me if you need anything.” He pulled away and started heading back to the camp. “Love you~”
“Love you too.”