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With the year coming to an end and the next year arriving in less than an hour, Damsel eagerly awaits the chance for a metaphorical clean slate. Huddled up on the couch, tea in hand and watching TV to kill the hour before midnight she can’t help but think back on how the year has been.
Her career as a streamer, the road trip, all the new things she’s been able to try and of course the fact that she got to experience it all with Fury. A smile creeps up on her as she takes another sip of tea and switches the channel to watch a recap of the year on the news.
Meanwhile, a strange melancholy has come over Fury and she’s locked herself in her room after breakfast. With her knees tucked up to her chest as she lies in bed, her chest feels heavy and her limbs sluggish as the day drags on.
Not wanting to pull Damsel out of her reverie and thinking the peace and quiet will do her some good, she’s consigned herself to her room. Only, she doesn’t feel better alone, the feelings only growing stronger.
As her thoughts constrict themselves around each other she makes herself even smaller, tries to force herself asleep and not have to think about existence for a few short, blissful hours before she inevitably wakes up again.
With only five minutes to spare before midnight, Damsel cautiously opens the door of Fury’s room to find her on the bed, her back facing the door. She lays a hand on her shoulder and gently shakes Fury awake, only to be met with the bleary face of a suddenly awoken Fury, blood running down from her forehead to the side of her nose and into her mouth.
“Hey,” Damsel whispers. “Sorry for waking you up but… do you maybe want to watch the fireworks with me?”
A long, slow blink is all Damsel receives before Fury turns back around, the muffled sound of rejection following soon after.
“Oh. But you’ve been in here for so long.”
A shrug, followed by more silence.
“I’m sorry, I won’t bother you again.” And with that, Damsel leaves, closing the door just as gently as she opened it.
Damsel finds herself on the balcony as the new year rolls around. The apartment is decently high up and gives a good view of the rest of the city. As the TV in the living room counts down to zero and the entire horizon lights up with festive sparks, try as she might to enjoy the sights, she can’t help but think of Fury suffering all alone in her room as the world celebrates another year survived.
Looking back over the city again she feels a presence behind her and locks eyes with Fury hunched over in the doorway, the flashes of fireworks colouring her sullen face a different shade each second.
Wordlessly, she gets down on her knees and scoots over next to Damsel, her eyes fixed on the display outside.
Minutes pass and she scoots over a bit closer and, being mindful of her horns and the nails driven into her skull, gently places her head on Damsel’s shoulder as a small trail of blood leaks from her forehead onto Damsel’s shirt. Damsel returns the gesture in kind, resting against Fury’s coarse hair.
Time passes and Fury slowly holds up her hand. With a smile on her lips, Damsel slides their hands together, her fingers barely long enough to interlace but she tries nonetheless. As Fury closes her hand, completely enveloping Damsel’s, she lets out a sigh. For the first time in a long time, there may be a chance that it can get better.