Chapter Text
Day 1
The kiss happened last night at the cafe. She and Tyler did not talk as much as just feeling the silent moment and him smirking like a witty and silly barista he was and she trying to grasp what she had done. What does this now mean?
She had walked on to the town on her own in the evening, her mind at the barista boy and a plan to accept the offer of “more than friends”. And without a coherent plan she leaned on him to kiss him, implying and also wanting to be more than friends. Tyler responded to the kiss and caressed her neck, his demeanor being so sure.
She had so many feelings and zero thoughts as those left her mind and soul at the second their lips touched, making her flustered.
She had to leave soon after as she was so overhelmed from the embrace, and the leaving was abruptly sudden. Tyler tried to persuade her to stay but no, she left leaving many things unsaid and unanswered.
“What are you thinking?” Enid's voice chirped over Wednesday's shoulder, with more curiosity than worry.
“You are more offbeat than normally, I thought you would be more victoriously lively now that Hyde is caught.”
“Over my cold body I would act like “lively”” She responded, mind only brushing over Xavier behind the bars. Her thoughts are not on the case right now, as Wednesday tried to ponder whether to tell or not to tell Enid about the kiss. Yes, they got Xavier and now she had time to think new things along how the drawing about her and Crackstone is even related to anything or is it now canceled that Kinbott is dead, but mostly she had more free time to make her novel and maybe see Tyler.
“You came home so lost on your thoughts yesterday.” Enid started and it felt like the werewolf was reading her mind.
“After you hurried to see Tyler I mean.” Enid stopped talking in a meaningful way, waiting for a response that her friend will not yet give to her. Wednesday wants to make things sure and then very cautiously choose what to say to Enid about Tyler, as she will not find amusement to engage giggly girls gossiping and guessing about boys with Enid or with anyone.
Glittery girl smiles smugly, even knowingly as Wednesday's silence was a response on its own.
–
Cup of coffee meets a wooden table and she sees a smiley face drawn on the napkin under the cup. Tacky, but not too much.
“Here is your quad”, Tyler's voice is with warmth and Wednesday looks up at him, taking in all his radiant and so-sure-of-himself smile. She suddenly gets nervous, like she should address yesterday or say something… what?
“Thank you.” Their routine is the easy way she takes, as she feels unfamiliar anxiety about this new experience. Maybe even excitement, she is not completely sure herself.
The feelings do not shine from her face as bright as one would think, and untrained eyes would not catch Wednesday's expressions change at all.
But Tyler saw those little changes on her face, the smallest little curve by Wednesday's mouth's left side and attentive dark eyes which was fixated on him.
Before he had doubted himself, thought that maybe he had imagined it all. Maybe he only hoped that Wednesday's gaze would follow him, that she would see him, but last night proved it was true. This was not one sided or unreal, not exchange based meetings.
“When you are free?” She bluntly asks before Tyler has to go to the register, hands reaching for the coffee. No hello or sweet words, as those stuck at her throat even before imagining them.
“In an hour, can you wait?” Wednesday studied Tyler's facial expressions and saw the worried wrinkle between his eyebrows, saw his eyes watching her and she fixed her eyes to the side from his owns.
“Yes.”
Maybe for some it looks like any other day when this creepy goth outcast gloomed at the coffee shop and stalked the barista, but for Wednesday this is a very exceptional time. She had not brought her case notebooks or typewriter with her or even homework to work with. Nothing that would prove that she is here for coffee and study or work, nothing to hide the fact that she is here for the boy, enjoyed just to be and watch Tyler silently. For a moment she tried to find something on her backpack to make her look busy, but in the end the findings (a paper and pen) rested untouched at the table.
Her black eyes watched his hands, his smiles, met his eyes often, studied him now when she did not have a case to study with her. He did his work with natural ease, his posture was laid back but then and there he corrected his position more straight. Her posture was straight as a stick as always, one hand at her lap and the other holding the cup.
Then and there Tyler took initiative to talk and they would shortly discuss something casual and ordinary between his work, but mostly Wednesday did not have any interest in engaging in conversation that could be interrupted by any coffeehungry customer, when she knew they soon would have time only between them.
She enjoys the silence more than useless chitchat anyway, or so she thought before she found herself answering to his trivial comments or questions about her day.
The bad side about enjoying the time without any distracting work is how slowly her mind tries to snicker some unwanted advice or anxieties to her. Over time some of those anxities slithers in her mind, making her doubtful.
Tyler said once she is distant, but surely she is not distant now that she is here, she literally is here to meet him is she not? Is it enough thought? It must be enough to prove her when she uses her time for him. Surely Tyler would not want her to act as her parents act, all handsy and sickening sweet talk, even if they started dating? Or are they already dating?
She glimpsed again at Tyler, trying to imagine some sweet nickname to call him and run her fingers through those brown curls–
She felt an unusual feeling on her cheeks as her cold whole self felt some mild warmth, and feeling disbelief she moved her head and tried to look at her reflection from window glass, to see if warmth on her pale cheeks would be noticeable. It seemed not, but then again it was reflection on glass and not a mirror. This can not be from thinking soft feelings towards the boy, it most likely must be her allergies acting up to even thinking about Tyler's colorful curls, as she tries to convince herself.
Then again, self lies are the most pitiful lies, her prideful nature chips in. She tries to swallow the hard pill of truth: she felt blushing flutter thinking about cutesy intimacy with Tyler.
“Okay I'm off, what do you want to do?” Tyler's fingertips are touching the corner of the table and Wednesday sees him from reflection before turning her head back to him. She had no plan about what to do, and now she tries to come up with something.
“Let's go to walk.”
“Ookay.” He sounds happy enough with the idea, so she nods her head and without a word stands up.
Tyler had a hard time concentrating on working while catching glimpses with Wednesday, oh how much he enjoyed her watchful presence. He feels seen and flustered, his focus fixating on her as if she was the only light in the room with her gloomy presence. He feels lightheaded, like he can suppress his anxieties for now, be him and only him.
This part of what Wednesday is allowed to see or to know is only one part of him, but it is his only time to breathe, feel again somewhat real and content.
He reaches for her hand and as his fingers touch her she pulls her hand away, making his anxiety to bubble again.
Her mind is still frustrated by thinking about the possibility of blushing cheeks and tacky sweet talk when Tyler's hand hovers over to hers. Her hand moves away from him with a hurried and annoyed flinch before she fully understands doing so, and with mixed feelings she just keeps her hand with herself while walking past Tyler.
“Let's go”, she says and assumes that Tyler follows, and he does, silently.
Silence goes between them outside, and she leads them through the graveyard in hopes to lighten her own mood, but it is not working.
Instead her mood feels a little bit soothing as she walks one step ahead of him, hearing his footsteps a little bit behind of her. She enjoys that, hearing him there even though not seeing him. Knowing that he is there.
“So… when we- when, it was…” Wednesday is the one to break the silence, and her mind and tongue betrays her to ramble. She stops herself from embrassing herself any more with a tight jaws and starts over.
“I said I have time to be more than friends.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
“No. I meant it.”
“I love to hear that.”
“Are you? You may still make a mistake.”
“Yeah I’m sure, Wednesday.”
She nods her head down and as she had made her mind she eyes under her bangs to see his arm but his hands are shoved deep in his pockets of the jacket. This rumbles her casual plan to just take his arm and now she tries to think of something else, as the silence starts to flow over them like the autumn evening mist.
“Wednesday?”
Her head moves with indication she is listening and hearing him, but she does not turn her head to match his eyes.
“I like you.”
She slows her walking space which makes him slow too, keeping their short distance the same.
“You don't need to say it back, I just wanted to say it out loud.”
“Would you be okay with that?”
“With what?”
“That I would not say it back? Not now or later?”
Tyler does not respond right away, and she hears how his steps stop behind her and she stops too.
“I don't know. I would like to hear that but, if you don't feel it-”
“No.”
“You don't feel it?” Careful disappointment sifts to the confusion and surprise from his voice. “If you don't like me why-”
“No, I mean it is not that.” She turns around to face this boy who seems so thick minded right now and her black eyes fix to his warm brown eyes.
“No what? Wednesday you lost me”, now his voice is frustrated, but he looks mostly confused.
Why would he not understand? Was the kiss yesterday not enough to confess how she feels? She abruptly jolts her hand out like for a handshake, keeps her palm open and looks at him almost expressionless, somewhat irritated.
His confusion and hurt feelings tries to understand, but for her it is painfully slow to wait for his brain to try to comprehend. She burrows her hand in his jacket pocket and catches his palm, leaves her hand over his like she could not tell this any clearer.
Tyler is surprised yet again but shifts his arm instantly to lock his fingers with hers like a drowning man. He watches their palms together like he would not believe it if not seeing and feeling it himself and a smile appears on his face, truly happy and wide one. Even now there is some confusion left in him, but looking at Wednesday and meeting her eyes soothe the anguish he felt, leaving only a racing heart.
He slowly thinks he understands what Wednesday tried to say to him. There are things that Wednesday is not ready to say, not now or maybe ever. It still does not mean that the feelings aren't true.
It is the same to him. There are many things, many parts of him, that he is not allowed to share with her or with anyone. Even if he wanted to, even if he truly tried to, he is forbidden to tell her his true nature.
After walking around Jericho some time, evening started to sift cold and rainy. She did not want to end their… meeting. She catches herself again trying to play words around the truth, as this was by all means a date. She suggested they could go somewhere inside.
“Any particular place?” Tyler asked.
“No. Nowhere noisy.”
“Would you like to go to my home? We can go get drinks and snacks and be at my place.”
Wednesday had not even thought about the possibility of going to his home, so for a moment she was silently pondering. She was curious and even more than that, his home could supposedly be the least noisy option in town.
“Okay.”
And so they went to buy snacks, which mostly were unfamiliar to Wednesday.
“If you were candy, you would be this.” He holds up a small licorice candy bag. She looked his teasing smile not so amused, but nodded silent approval of the candy choice.
“Salty licorice would be more correct.” Wednesday corrected, and shifted to look at the shelves in hopes of finding something which reminded her about Tyler. It was harder than she thought as all were too sweet and too colorful. She crouched down and ignored Pilgrim world fudges instantly, still looking.
“Are you looking for something specific?” Tyler asked, crouching beside her.
“No.”
“Okay. What about this?” He pointed to some jelly things, knowing well enough Wednesday would not look for those sticky tongue-coloring things even on her death bed. She did not get as amused as he hoped.
“No. This is stupid. We have our candy now.” She bolted up and he followed with lifted frowns.
“You are not any kind of candy.”
“Ouch, not even eye candy?” He chuckled as Wednesday shot a glare at him. She felt embrassed again, but concealed it pretty well.
“Your kind cannot be found here.” She declared more composed, eyes sweeping the small grocery store, annoyed at herself for ever thinking such trivial things. Then soon after she felt disappointed of her own idiotic behaviour even entertaining such a stupid candy finding game.
“Oh? I would love to hear where to find my kind?" Tyler waited intrigued.
Wednesday went silent as her thoughts strangled her throat like before. This all is foolish.
“Nevermind. I'm waiting outside.” She dodged and started to walk out of the shop.
“Now I’m even more interested to hear!” He shouted after her but went to pay for their shopping first.
Tyler came soon after, packaging of licorice and iced black tea carton stuffed in his jacket's endless pockets.
Even thought Wednesday's hands were crossed around her, Tyler reached to her hand with certainly manner and Wednesday complied without huff. He swung their crossed arms and whirl himself around her.
“Please tell me where you find my kind, whatever I am if not candy”, he pleaded.
She opened her mouth, closed it and looked around like in any moment the whole town would hear her and witness her going out of her mind. Her eyes go back to Tyler.
“You are a coffee bean.”
“A coffee bean? Why?”
“You just are.”
“Is it because of my beautiful brown eyes?” He teased her again. It worked too well.
“No.” She frowned. “Because you don't look much but are surprisingly variant and pleasing.” She whipped back.
“Wow maybe I did earn that”, Tyler's smile wavered as he was not completely sure how to take all her words. Pleasing and variant sounded good enough, but no one would like to hear not being much to look at from their crush.
“Little harsh though”, he admitted. Wednesday wanted to backtrack her words immediately after that but right words did not find her. Instead she squeezed his hand a little bit more as silent affirmation of a sorry instead of words. What could she even say? ‘No, you are actually very pleasing to look at?’ It does not sound like her.
They end up at his empty home. His father was at work as usual and the house was theirs. Tyler went to get them glasses and assured iced tea from black tea would be a nice freshment. He offered to make a cup of coffee on their kitchen's coffee maker, but recalled it to be ‘only for people who hated themselves’, as she had put it when they first met.
She confirmed that was still true and ice tea sounded good enough, even thought she was not so interested about freshments as her surroundings.
They go up in his room and he put the ice tea and the licorice at his table. She looked around the room silently. It was very normie looking with some memories, school books and not so planned color theme. Nothing too interesting, but she still made some mental notes of his interests.
She also noted how Tyler kept looking her with nervous restlesness, looking like not knowing what to do with himself. She kept looking around her own time before swifting her interest back there where it belong, to him. Actually she felt nervous too, but played it cool better than him.
“There aren't many places to sit.” She noted.
“Oh yeah sorry, small room.”
“Can I sit here?” She motions the bed.
“Of course, be like at home.” He smiled and made a motion to his chair and Wednesday was not sure if it was for courtesy or what, but she had enough of this thick headed barista for one day.
“You can also sit here.” She said as moving her back against a wall beside the bed.
Tyler did not respond but turned around and complied, sitting right next to her. He bend his other leg and the other crouched under, and she sat precisely 90 degrees angle, straight back and straight legs straight forward. His shoulder touched hers, and without looking she took his hand back to hers. Their hands rested locked between them, neither of them acknowledging it occuring.
“I like how silent it is. This was a good choice.” She put her thoughts to words, still looking around.
“It's nothing like your dorm, which was nice to see at Rave’N Dance, as briefly it was.” He chitchatted back.
She enjoyed this effordless new closeness they share, processing it bit by bit.
Wednesday does not mind, and even more about that, she thinks she likes it. His hand is a little sweaty and warm, something that she does not normally like to touch but from him it is okay.
And even okay is somewhat not the right term, as she feels fluttered again, making her a little weirded out and fascinated about the touch.
She would not mind sitting here and holding hands for hours in silence, as time consuming and pointless activity it is, somehow it pleases her.
Tyler does not bother her, even this close. Maybe even closer he would not bother her.
She is again lost in her note taking thoughts when Tyler snaps her out of it.
“Hows Enid?” He asks.
“Good. Why?” Sudden change of subject gets her almost disoriented.
“She is a werewolf, right? Is she waiting for the full moon?”
“Yes… and yes, maybe. She has not wolfed out yet so she is not waiting for it like the others of the pack.”
“Oh, okay.” Tyler goes on. “You must have been relieved that you got Xavier, have you been looking at the case since?”
“Yes I have been still reading about Hydes, I’m still not understanding how he was able to kill his Master, as the book explicitly said that the Hyde would not harm its Master with their bond. It is not usual.”
“Really? What else did you learn about Hydes?”
“It is a fascinating species for sure. It seems uncontrollable with rage, but its Master is keeping the leash and the beast is kept in control. How far the control goes I do not know, but I think I will ask for it from Xavier.”
“You think that he will talk?”
“I hope so now that Laurel is dead, he is caught already and will be questioned anyway.”
“Are you fascinated by him?”
“About him, no. About his hyde side, yes. It is interesting.”
“Why?”
“Why are we talking about Enid and Xavier?” Wednesday stops to ask as Tyler's interest to circle around her friend and captivated classmate, as all this somehow does feel irrelevant for now, for this moment.
“Oh? I thought you would love to talk about the Hyde case.”
“Yes, but,”
“Is there something else you would like to talk?”
“I don't know”, her voice gets a little stiff and sullen.
“Or something you would like to do?” He teases and his smirk is charming, as his eyes try to catch some change from her face.
Her glooming gaze is only the front shell, because there it is again, the attentiveness in her locked gaze to him. He wants Wednesday to look at him. Look him well and long and see him.
Her to guess, sense, see - anything really, so he could drop his shell and be free of lies and schemes, be all of him to her to see.
At the same time he treads that, wanting to live this fantasy side of him, feeling normal again. Where this part of him is the only real one.
She sees things others don’t, she can stop it all. And if she can't… Tyler does not want to think about that, so he will not. He is good at shutting some parts of him out, like right now all darkened feelings. He determines to give all his own attentiveness to her.
“Maybe.” She says with a little emotion on her expressions, and Tyler huffs a little snicker with amusement as he twists his body to face Wednesday and bends his neck to get his face a little bit closer.
“Something particular in mind?” He asks as he hunches over her, and Wednesday feels nervous, a little sickening feeling, which gets her even more enjoying the moment. She does not move or answer, as she eagerly waits to see what Tyler will do.
“Or maybe not”, he pulls his face away with the same playful note and his back is again against the wall next to her, but not for long as Wednesday jerks their locked arms to her side, making him bend back near her.
He bends gladly for her demand and a soft huff escapes from his mouth, air from it tingling on her lips just before she kisses him.
Tyler supports his body over to hers by landing his arm on bed on the other side of Wednesday, as she is her back and head against the wall as still as before.
He notes her kisses feel fumbling but determined, without hurry and exploring. He responds to her kisses softly, letting her determine the slow pace as he wants this moment to go on an eternity. His mind feels a happy mess and he lets his walls crumble as much as it is physically and mentally possible from his state.
Wednesday's mind is a mess and her heart bounds loudly, messing with her. She initiated the kiss simply because she wanted to, as she would not be played at his whims and teases, but her body felt stiff and clumsy from nervousness.
His eager response was noted, and to her owm surprise she had to admit how she liked feeling him against her.
Now if only she could control her turmoiling mind, which fluttered all over.
Slow kisses pause as she moves a little to study his face, and he does the same. She uses this brief moment to try to remain in control of her thoughts.
His cheeks are blushed which does not surprise her as he is much more hotblooded than her. Unknown to her, her cheeks also have darker color than before from flushing blood. But only a half tone more than normally.
“What do you see?” His eyes are looking at her with warmth and playfulness as he addresses the pause initiated by Wednesday.
Hard question and Wednesday takes a moment to adjust an answer. Meanwhile Tyler tilts his head just a little bit, lips a little bit parted and stays there like asking a second question or maybe permission without words this time, giving her a way to not answer the former question. Wednesday answers anyway.
“My undoing.” She is only half joking as she corresponds to his latter question by lifting her chin, meeting his lips with her own again.
Little by little her tension lifts and leaves overthinking anxieties behind as the outpouring sensory stimuluses around her takes all her attention. And by that she means Tyler, many ways more than his kisses.
She has placed her hand around his wrist and feels his fastened pulse, and she likes to feel that. Monitor it, ground her bouncing mind. She also feels more sure of herself holding him, even though there is no pressure on her touch.
She is additionally intrigued by the soft noises Tyler keeps, his soft exhales between kisses which are the loudest noise between them. Then and there he chuckles under his breath without a sound but the tiniest change on the breeze of his breath against her exposes those little laughs. His nonchalant happiness makes her smile a little bit too, feel comfortable to adjust to new feelings towards him.
She wants to be familiar with his quiet gasps of air and how his skin smells earthy and fresh coffee, to take those notes to herself to keep.
He is still hovering over her with his radiant warmth, his one hand at the bed keeping his posture leaned over her. The other hand lifts to her neck, his thumb resting for a moment under her chin, soon lifting to caress her cheek. Wednesday feels an electric cold shiver go by her back. Whereas his kisses are a soft response to her, his touch feels more determined.
She still holds his supporting hand’s wrist, and now her other hand goes up and takes his hand out of her face. It is too much of sensory, too much to feel with all what is happening. One step too much to her comfort to handle right now, so it is better off for now.
She firmly moves his supporting hand to more far away with her hand, making Tyler's position to crumble down. He is hooked to her already and folds like she wants, his back twisting and him needing his knees to support him now that his hands are not. He is lower to her, almost at her lap with an arched back, and he needs his neck to adjust back to meet Wednesday over him.
He is mesmerised, grin going wide between kisses which she has continued on the whole time when adjusting him as she pleases.
They both initiate small breaks to take deeper breaths, studying each other's faces and expressions up close, giving smiles and even huff little laughs as their new found closeness makes them feel giggly and at ease.
Wednesday's expressions were more mild looking than his, but she went her way to let herself feel as much airheaded as him.
And when she lets out first little chuckle against him, it feels the most great feeling that he has ever felt, as he had not heard her laughter before.
What happened next happened one instant, but describing it is lengthy and twisted with these two's own means.
Wednesday holds both of his wrist out of the way, holding him where she wants him to be.
By his choice he submits to her lead, as giving away his autonomity has not been his choice in other parts of his life. He enjoys the choice to fold under her control as much as she enjoys keeping the control, something that they both learn about themselves spontaneously at the same time.
For the jest of it he tries to free himself with a little pull. His idea is to correct his position, touch her neck again teasingly, and in doing so oppose her demand with a playful note.
Her grip is stronger than he supposed. Not forceful in any means, if he truly intended to free himself he could have, and she is not using all her power, it is just a firm grip. He would not even mind not accomplishing his playful plan, but his mind does not have time to even grasp that for now as his mind surges him elsewhere.
For this instant moment this is what his subconscious mind interprets as what is happening:
There is a grip he tries to free himself without enough power behind the movement to do so. And that moment of tug where he is held against his own intention, he feels indescribable panic.
In this instant he pulls back away from their kiss, away from her with his body and mind like when one would get an electric shock. The flinch is slight, and still it is enough to him to surprise himself and to Wednesday to notice something is wrong.
She stops to look at him.
“What's the matter?” She asks, still keeping him near with her grasp, his face being only inches away from hers. Her eyes wander all over Tyler's face, but she has trouble concluding the feeling from the expression he is making.
Tyler's breathing is the only sound they hear for a moment, as Wednesday even now when a bit out of breath is almost silent as ever.
“It's nothing, really”, he clears his throat, eyes switching away from her eyes, then returning back to her. She still feels his pulse, fastened under her fingers.
“I'm sorry”, he adds.
“Why, you don't have any reason to be sorry.” Wednesday loosens her grip from Tyler's wrists and gives Tyler a way out, but he takes her arm and tightens his fingers around hers.
“I don't know.”
Even though he is still so close to her, his body twisted over her she can feel the distance. She feels a little bit hurt and spiked up, but she is not completely sure why.
“Did I do something wrong?” She asks quietly but not with self-pity, because she really doesn't see any problem with her actions. Still his reaction is noticeable enough that there is something wrong.
“No, no no, Wednesday, you did not. Sorry.” He pulls even further away, shuts down, now also physically and Wednesday feels how Tyler is letting go of her hand. She does not want to let him go and she wants to hold more, keep him there to show her what is the matter.
Require explanation.
But she sees something on Tyler's face which puts her to an uneasy mindset. She is seeing some glimpse of hurt in him, and she does not find enjoyment seeing that look on him or be the cause behind that kind of reaction.
Wednesday let the hold drop, placing her hands on top of each other on her lap. His warmth stays to linger at her fingertips.
He pulls away from her touch and gaze and accusations, or are those his own torments he is not truly sure of. His body and mind lingers on other time.
Time where he had no way out. To sickly sweet touch with dictating undertone, time when he first truly felt vulnerable and powerless.
He does not want to think about that woman or his twisted relations with her, not when being with Wednesday nor never.
Wednesday is nothing like her, he does not understand why his mind betrayed him and shoved his body and mind back there, to the cave and the old mansion.
Shiver goes on his back and he feels sick, he moves away from Wednesday and turns his back to her.
What he knows is that these thoughts and shame are something he does not want to share with Wednesday. And even if he would want to do just that, he could not. He has no permission to talk about that woman and their relation to anybody.
His mind is a mess and he tries to push away lingering suffocating moments of his secret life, at the same time as trying to find a way to explain himself. He does not find a way.
“As I said you have no reason to be sorry.” She says again while trying to study Tyler's hunched shoulders now that he is turned away. She is certain she did nothing wrong by her own (or if it matters any other normal) standards, but Tyler's reaction gets her nervous, unsure and trying to reflect the moments before.
“It is okay.” Her voice softens, as she now feels more worried than her pride hurt, even though she still does not understand. Her voice gets him to look at her again, and again Wednesday has difficulty reading him.
"Would it be okay if we just, be, again?” He asks and now Wednesday thinks she sees glimpses of something new at him, something that she had not yet seen. Something hidden, tormented and seething.
She responds by opening her other palm up, offering her hand to him to hold again.
His self disgust bubbles to gut frenching feeling, an early sign to the feeling of rage that keeps his monster side fueled. But her voice here and now takes him back to the present.
He almost awaits her to reject his plea, but she offers her hand silently. He lets out a breath that he did not know he was holding, eyes locked on her open palm not yet ready to look at her dark eyes as he was still too torn. Instead he moved back next to her, locking his fingers around her own. She wraps her other hand around their locked hands, cocooning his hand between her hands.
He continues to look at their hands on her lap, feeling her touch being lighter than before but still comforting. His haunts are there but wavering away second by second as Wednesdays chilly hands grounds him, helping him feel again something real.