[Closed] @eidxiety🐎🌹

[winterbolt]

Angelina is a black horse with white markings on her face in this sorry I can't picture her as being any other color-

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[lupusxylem]

[What a small town. It really does seem more like a stop-off than anything...definitely the kind of place his gang would linger at, because it would be easy to slip through unnoticed. He wonders if there's anything else worth seeing here...other than the farm, he guesses.

He feels that last thread of finality break and force the reality to set in as he watches Ain unstrap Angelina, which prompts Wolfwood to walk over and rub a hand over her nose where the larger bridle had been sitting all day. Then, he takes her over to the Inn to stable her himself, despite knowing she won't be here for more than a couple hours, at most.

Does he tell him now? Later?]

How long you plan on stayin'?

[eidxiety]

I dunno. I wanted to sell some of this jewelry off at the pawn shop there before we left. Money for the road and all, haha.

[Elria will also be stabled for now. The pawn shop is literally a stone's throw down the road, and Ain already has all of the jewelry other than the peridot necklace he liked clutched in his hands. Which is... y'know, ten rings and like a dozen real metal bangle bracelets. He's normal.]

The pawn shop person will probably be weirded out by this much. I'm gonna say it was my grandma's stuff and we're just travelling to settle elsewhere since she's passed.

[lupusxylem]

["We" "Us"

....]

'Kay. Let's get your stuff pawned first. Then we can go to the farm and see if they got somethin' fresh for lunch.

[Then he'll tell him, he thinks.]

[eidxiety]

[Yeah Wolfwood this is what you get for leading him on! Use your big boy words next time.]

It looks so cute! [Ain says about the farm as they cross the street. He does not look overly feminine today, he's bare faced because they were travelling and he was not going to do makeup for a town they aren't even staying in, so they're going to have to stay the mandatory distance apart so that they aren't questioned. That's fine, though, this is just a little stop.] I bet they'll have something. I wonder if they can make a berry cobbler, though...

[He is so chipper and Wolfwood is about to crush him. He doesn't know, and instead heads into the pawn shop to talk to the old man at the counter. Ain goes on the whole grandma's dead spiel and the man looks sympathetic because like, why would someone lie about their dead grandma and selling her jewellery, that shit doesn't come easy, and after he spends half an hour checking it all out he determines that most of the stones are fake but the metal used is absolutely not. It's not as much money as Ain would've liked to make, but it's a pretty significant chunk of change that the average man simply wouldn't have these days.

Ain, who loves money and having it, pockets this easily and thanks the old pawn shop owner before they spin around and head to the farm. There's a little building in the front of it where who Ain supposes is the farmhand's son is running shop, selling things like bags of feed and bridles and all the things you would need to keep livestock or horses happy. To Ain's eyes, it looks like the homestead itself is waaaaaaaay in the back of the fields, which makes sense.

There's a short discussion, and Ain says "we're travellers and we just wanted something to eat, if you have any fresh produce" and the farmhand says oh yeah, my ma's got stuff she wants t' sell off if yer hankerin', and Ain says that would be great thanks. And then this boy says "there's also a young horse she's tryna sell, 'bout two years old and calm as a butterfly" and Ain says he'll think about it thanks.

That boy will be back with food (all fruits and vegetables, mind, and a lot of it in a crate for the wagon which Ain says "Oh I'd better run back and pull the horses around after this" and the boy says "oh sure I'll hold it all fer ya til yer back"), but Ain does indeed get his berry cobbler. This is not breakfast nor lunch, this is snack, but you take what you can get in these parts.

Ain eats, presumably Wolfwood also eats, and then there's the cursory "be right back" because they gotta go get the wagon. Ain is not carrying those crates back no sir.]

[lupusxylem]

[He waited for the worst possible time to do this.

Right as they'd need the wagon. The wagon pulled by two horses, not one. One of the two is not going to be here much longer.

So as they head back towards the Inn from the farm, the food they ate sits heavy like a rock in the pit of Wolfwood's stomach. He couldn't enjoy the little farm, or the scenery, or lunch with Ain at all. All he could do was stress over what was coming next.

He fidgets with his lighter in his pocket, just for something to keep his hands occupied. The Inn looms far faster than he'd like, and that's when he decides to finally just bite the bullet as they approach it, walking with Ain over to an awning on the side of the Inn so they can stand for a moment out of the sun.]

Ain. Look, I...

[He shifts his weight from one foot to the other before pulling his hat from his head.]

M'sorry I didn't say nothin' sooner. I didn't wanna ruin your time on the road or nothin', but I- ...I ain't comin' with you.

[eidxiety]

[Hey Wolfwood, have you ever seen a man go from bright and sunshiney and joyful to looking crestfallen within a single second? No? Well congratulations because that is Exactly how Ain looks, like his heart was just stepped on underneath Wolfwood's boot.]

Um... but I thought...

[No, logically he knew Wolfwood wanted to part here, and he's known it. But he thought that, after the nice time they had, Wolfwood would change his mind, or at least tell whoever he accepted a job from or his friend here or whatever that he had something else to take care of.

But of course not. Wolfwood wouldn't even return an "I like you" last night, so why would Ain expect things to change now?]

...why? I thought you... I thought we...

[lupusxylem]

[It's even worse than what he imagined it might be like. It makes him want to say "actually I lied I take it back", but that would be even more disingenuous than just going through with it and biting the bullet. If nothing else, he at least has the respect to keep Ain's gaze, and not try to look away from him.]

I know. I know, but...I got business here. I told you I was just headed in the same direction, remember?

[Yeah, he's got "business" alright...

He swallows thickly, regarding Ain with- at the very least- an expression that looks genuinely apologetic. Because it is.]

Don't get me wrong. I...really ended up enjoyin' my time with you. I enjoyed travelin' on the road with you. I enjoyed...everythin'. You pretty much turned my life around, yaknow?

[After a pause, Wolfwood attempts to reach up to brush a lock of Ain's long bangs out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ear. But if Ain ducks away from his touch, he'll understand and draw back. He doesn't particularly care if people see, for once.]

I'm real thankful I met you.

[eidxiety]

[Ain is absolutely ducking away, don't start getting cute on him when you just told him you're leaving!! What is wrong with you!!

He looks like he's going to cry, but he's keeping it together for both his own dignity (which he is rapidly losing ground holding onto) and so that Wolfwood doesn't get the satisfaction. Because that's what Ain is taking this as: satisfaction. He's happy to go, obviously, he never cared for Ain beyond a bedmate just like Ain said the other day at the inn.]

...sure. Sure I did, sure you did. [Oops now he's moved on to being Fucking Pissed.] Just— go get your things. I'll have a better response for you in a minute.

[Aka get your shit out of the wagon or Ain is taking it and he won't feel regret about it at all.]

[lupusxylem]

Ain-

[He doesn't know how else to explain himself, but there's really no good way to say that he isn't coming along with him. Ain is upset, and disappointed...rightfully so. Wolfwood could have said this any other time, or- ideally- just let Ain go the first time, but because his whole job revolved around catching Ain for his gang, he pressed forward. But now...

His priorities are confused. But it's too late, at this point. He's told him now, and Ain is upset.

He waffles where he stands for a long moment before he finally relents, putting his hat back on his head so it shields his eyes properly before stepping away to give Ain space, heading straight for the wagon as directed to collect his things. His saddlebags, canteen, the little bit of personal provisions he had...all of those will get placed on Angelina's back, since she'll be his sole mode of transport, now.]

[eidxiety]

[Ain is, uh, very not good with emotions. He just is not. He's never been good with them, it's why he's constantly the way he is with regards to saying things like "no I'm not in love" when he's in love and "I'm definitely going to be loveless because I don't love" when he is literally so loving. Like, he doesn't kill people unless they try to kill him first, that's not a moral sin. His greatest vice is that he likes money and wandering and being free, sue him. (His greatest vice is the theft but Ain chooses to believe he's actually Fine.)

The reason Ain needs to be alone, given that, is because he tends to have foot in mouth syndrome, and he's very aware of it. That, and he needs to sort out his feelings. The anger with himself for not thinking or asking sooner, the betrayal because he's pretty sure they had something there, the forlornness that comes from a broken heart, the need to run because he is, at the end of the day, a runner and he always will be. If it sucks, hit da bricks.

He scrubs at his eyes with his hand as he pulls Elria from the stable. It's clear that he's setting out now, actually. Wolfwood will probably catch the tail end of Ain trying to hold back the tears, and when he's done at the wagon, Ain trails over to it to hook Elria up solo. He... is gonna pick up that other horse on the way out, he thinks. If that lady wants to sell it, Ain just pawned off enough gold to get it. Elria can handle five minutes of a wagon by herself.]

You know, I... I was hoping you'd want to stick around, [he mutters, shrugging Wolfwood's jacket higher onto his shoulders because Wolfwood is not ever getting this back, thanks.] I really thought we had something. I know you said you were leaving, but after last night...

[Ain breathes out a sigh. Elria briefly looks confused as Ain leads her out from behind the inn with the wagon only hooked up to her, whinnying and nibbling on Ain's hair for a second as he leads her past.]

...I don't know. I thought I could convince you to stay. I guess not.

[There's a sigh, and Ain brushes past, leading Elria and the wagon through the alleyway. Whether Wolfwood chooses to say anything or not here, Ain stops at the end of it and looks back at him.]

I love you, Nick. Stay safe.

[And up the road he goes.]

[lupusxylem]

[Well. Not only are Ain and Wolfwood parting, they're also taking Angelina and Elria apart, the former of which has already been making her distress known. She sees Elria being hitched up without her and lets out a confused whinny, rearing briefly onto her hind legs before Wolfwood is able to placate her and get her to calm down, because if there's one thing his nerves can't handle right now it's a runaway horse. He just makes sure he has all of his things (except for his old hat and coat, naturally), leaving Angelina in her stable for now as he steps away from it so he can watch as Ain very quickly gets Elria ready to leave.

He's leaving...now? As in right now?

I thought we had something.

He feels his heart somersault in his chest again as he takes a tentative step closer, but the wagon is already moving past. Not fast enough that he couldn't catch up, but you know.

I want to stay. I want to but I can't.

He wishes he were a smarter man, so that maybe he could find the words he so desperately wants to say to him here to fix everything, but he can't. They don't come, and he's left standing there tongue tied as Ain leads Elria with the wagon past him. He says nothing.

Even as Ain turns to look back, says he loves him, and then disappears from his life.

It's true what they say. You don't know what you've lost until you actually lose it for real. And Wolfwood is left in the dust kicked up by that wagon, feeling like a hollow, empty shell of his former self long after Ain is gone. Because that man, that man he let walk away? He said he loved him. And that's something he's never heard out of anyone's mouth, ever.

It works its way around and around Wolfwood's head as he wanders back to the Inn on autopilot, loitering in the lobby instead of booking a room because he doesn't know what he's even doing right now. The gang...they're here, somewhere. He's supposed to meet up with them to tell them to go after Ain, but there's no way in Hell he's doing that now. Let them come for him for defecting, he doesn't care anymore. At least he can say that he let Ain go safely, and that this was ultimately the best decision he could have made for them both, even as he sits in one of the chairs and stares blankly out the window, fighting back this heavy, burning ache behind his eyes all the while.

Wolfwood ends up staying in that town all day. He stays in the Inn until the owners say to him to either buy a room or get out, which prompts him to go to the saloon to sit instead. Though tempting to completely drown his sorrows in whiskey, he settles with just a single shot, but not enough to get him drunk. It's late into the night now, he has no idea what the exact time is, but Ain is likely many hours down the road by this point. They'd be almost a full day apart soon. And really...the gravity of how terrible he feels only finally hits him raw when a woman steps up to the stage at the saloon and begins to sing. The song she sings is deeply sad and crooning, yet to Wolfwood it's nails on a chalkboard compared to how Ain used to sing, and he finds himself wishing he were up there instead.

It isn't until that song ended that he realizes he'd been crying into an empty glass.

At this point, it has to be the middle of the night. Maybe close to morning, because he'd sat there until nearly everybody had left the building. He almost gets kicked out, until Wolfwood finally drags himself to his feet and shuffles outside, his head falling back to look up at the stars above that he and Ain were looking at just a day ago. What must he be thinking now? Does he regret meeting him?

Does he still feel it? Love?

...

Angelina whinnies as Wolfwood takes her out of the Inn stable so fast it actually startles her, prompting him to stroke her nose in apology before throwing himself onto her back straight from the ground.]

Sorry girl. I'm gonna push you, and you're gonna hate it, but we gotta go. Right now.

[He digs his heels into her sides and takes off into the darkness, following a now barely-visible trail left behind by the wagon wheels.]

[eidxiety]

[Turns out, when Ain needs to get the hell out of dodge, he is very fast. It's helped him survive all this time, after all. He's pissed off a lot of people and will probably continue to do it, and this is part of the reason why he's so slippery: If he has to go, he's going.

That horse is purchased in under ten minutes while he's loading up the wagon. He's a large steed, though still not larger than Elria, and while Ain was told that said horse is calm as hell... he is actually very excitable. And a bit stupid.

Good god this horse is stupid. He's white with brown blotches and he has nothing behind his eyes. The farmhand's son looks a little apologetic like "he was literally calm for the last 2 years idk"... Ain decides to name this horse Dachie on the fly as he hooks him up to the wagon. Elria seems a little miffed that there's just Another Horse suddenly, but she gets over it pretty quickly.

Ain, meanwhile, gets all the crates loaded up and says thanks and fucking books it out of town, and it's only when he's actually past the town gates on the opposite side that he finally lets himself break down. And break down he does, so hard that he can't see a foot in front of him and he has to let the horses follow the road for a while. They can't run with the wagon, but they set a brisk trot for a bit while Ain holds his eyes against the jacket's sleeve and fucking bawls until his voice cracks and he can't even breathe correctly. It's pathetic. He feels disgusting. This is why he kept saying he wouldn't love, because the heartbreak hurts so bad every time. He likes the sex and the money and the freedom, he doesn't want love, why does everyone he love have to leave?

A full mental breakdown happens by the time he stops for the night. He's well ahead of Wolfwood, and there's still another three days to the mountains, and at this point Ain doesn't even know if he wants to go or if he wants to go lay in a river and drown. What he really wants to do is rip his heart out and crush it with a rock so that he stops feeling things, but that won't work.

He pushes on a little later than he needs to into the night before stopping officially, letting the horses take a break by a stream while he lays in the wagon and cries into Wolfwood's old coat. Maybe he'll be functional in the morning, he tells himself, like he didn't just have a man full-stop crush him like a handful of grapes. Maybe...

(It won't happen, he will continue to not function and just go on autopilot until he gets to the mountains. He... is not fine.)]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood can’t force Angelina to run the entire way nonstop, even if it wasn’t four days out. He can run for a while before they’re forced to slow to a canter or a trot, then to a walk to give her a proper cooldown. Yet the entire way, he doesn’t rest. The cold wind beating against his face keeps him awake, knowing that traveling at night is smarter when you’re not on a wagon because otherwise the sun would cook him out in this desert.

He does have to stop to sleep eventually, and each night he sleeps on a bedroll directly under the stars. He’s too stressed to set up camp properly, too worried he’ll be too late and miss Ain somehow. As soon as dawn hits he’s off again each day, alternating between riding and sleeping, day and night, stop and go.

He can’t catch up. He hasn’t seen the wagon since Ain left the town, and he can feel the anxiety mount as he wonders if it’s possible that Ain decided to go somewhere else….

But then he reminds himself that, no. It was the mountains they wanted to see, together. So when the mountain range looms high in the distance at the peak of sunset, he knows he’s almost there.

He just hopes he isn’t too late.]

[eidxiety]

[Ain is hoofing it, honestly. Not enough to be super taxing on the horses, but with two very large horses in charge of the wagon? Yeah, they were gonna go fast. And Ain is purposely hauling ass just because he wants to be anywhere but here. There's a lot he passes by on the way as he heads up the mountainside — a beautiful waterfall in the distance, a cave that he probably shouldn't go into but ordinarily would anyway, were he not depressed... a field of wild mountain flowers growing out of the grasses and stones. Things that would make him happy, things that he would've shared with Wolfwood.

...

Wolfwood, of course, isn't here. Ain glances over them all, telling himself he'll poke around later after he settles in town and has a break to just cry and scream into a pillow. Night has fallen by the time he gets to the inn, where he goes to stable both horses in the back and feed them apples as a treat. He's gone through the entire crate of apples just because he's been too depressed to think straight, but there's another crate in there that hasn't gone bad yet. Between him and the horses, it'll be gone quick, and then he can worry about buying real food.

He scrubs his eyes. He's spent the last four days on the road crying, and his face hurts and he's always sure that his tears have dried up until he drinks more water and they flow again. This is unfair. He's miserable. Why do men have to be like that? Why are men always trying to make him miserable?? Fuck men, honestly.

Ain breathes out a sigh, sniffling, as he finishes stabling both horses. Dachie looks happy to be here and is doing tippytaps in the stable, and Elria has the concerned look of a horse that knows her master is going through it. She tries to nibble Ain's hair when he passes by to start heading to the wagon, walking with his eyes closed for a brief moment again because he is going to start bawling if he doesn't.]

[lupusxylem]

[In that case, even with Wolfwood rushing at top speed to get to the mountain town, he’s still a good few legs behind Ain by the time he makes it there. He’s been pushing Angelina a lot longer than he’d like, and he can tell she’s exhausted and barely wants to go much further, but presses on anyway because she too can sense something is wrong with her owner. Wolfwood has been singularly focused on his task, only stopping to camp and rest when he starts to fall asleep on Angelina’s back.

He has to get there. He can’t lose him, not like this.

By the time he makes it to the town gates, the sun has fully set. It’s dark, most of the town is in their houses, the Inn, or other buildings, and a chill has once again started to settle over the sand warmed by the sun. Angelina gives her body a brisk shake the moment Wolfwood drops off of her, looking around frantically to see if he spies anything- anyone- familiar.

The Inn is within eyeshot, and that’s when he happens to look towards the adjacent stables and sees it. The stolen wagon pulled up to the side with Elria and an unfamiliar horse already in the stables, with their owner heading back over to the wagon. Wolfwood barely catches a glimpse of the back of his head before he disappears, which prompts him to break into a sprint. Angelina, bewildered, runs after him of course because what-

He’ll make it there, somehow without alerting Ain to his presence. Ain is likely too overwhelmed right now to notice that another horse has just Appeared at the stables; it’s Angelina, who is ignoring Wolfwood now in favor of rushing straight over to Elria so she can whinny at her happily, leaning her head over the stall so she can nibble her hair and coat. Friend friend friend hi hi hi hi hi-

And Wolfwood? Well, he doesn’t…know what to do, initially. He stands there dumbly just a few feet from where Ain is halfway leaning into the back of the wagon, in disbelief that he was able to find him at all, yet still afraid to announce his presence because of how poorly it could be received.

But now, he’s never been more sure of anything. More convicted.

With a thick swallow, he steps forward and places a tentative, heavy hand on Ain’s shoulder.]

[eidxiety]

[Ain does not really acknowledge the sudden whinnying of other horses. He hears it as he's backtracking through the (very dark, very ominous) stables, but he thinks it's one of the many other horses just vibing and not specifically Angelina and Elria nibbling on each other. (Meanwhile, Dachie has completely turned himself around in his stall somehow, and he will likely flip himself back around later.)

Anyway, he's going to grab his stuff. He wants to take everything except the crate of food in, obviously, so that means his guitar, his usual bag which has his clothing... maybe he'll grab a few apples and stuff them into his bag and eat them for breakfast while he's too depressed to eat anything else and—

The hand claps his shoulder and Ain spins around with a shrill scream, giving Wolfwood the hardest right hook he can possibly manage. That's going to leave a big bruise on both Ain's knuckles and Wolfwood's cheek. The former recoils, rubbing his sore hand with a whine and an offended—]

Nick?! It's dark in here, why are you grabbing me?! Why are you even here?!

[lupusxylem]

[The punch, full force, all of Ain's weight into a slug to the face, is deserved. One hundred percent deserved. The pain radiates from his jaw through the rest of his face and skull, and Wolfwood doesn't even feel offended. Ain very nearly manages to knock him sprawling flat on his ass, and the only reason he doesn't fall is because he ends up stumbling sideways into the Inn wall. He reaches up to hold his mouth, but again: deserved. Even if Ain ended up splitting his lip (possible), he isn't going to grouse about it because he simply doesn't have the room to.

But also, Christ did that hurt. He's tearing up from the pain as he struggles back upright, still working his jaw to make sure nothing's broken.]

I-I... [He swallows a few times thickly, trying to get his bearings.] M'sorry, I...I had to...had t'find you.

[He staggers a step forward, a trembling hand reaching for one of Ain's. Before he actually grabs it though, a combination of exhaustion from so many days on the road on horseback, plus his own emotions, cause him to fall down onto one knee in front of him before he makes it that far, his head bowed.]

I'm sorry. I fucked up...I shouldn't've left. I shouldn't...I didn't wanna-

[eidxiety]

[Wolfwood looks like he's going to fucking collapse over here. Ain quickly reaches into the wagon and grabs more apples, thinking maybe Wolfwood will want food, considering how haggard he looks. He chased Ain here...? Did he even eat the entire time? That's a long trip...

All the fight has left Ain at this point. He doesn't crouch to pick Wolfwood up, merely standing there instead. He's... so tired. He's so, so exhausted of everything. Of crying, of the back and forth, of travelling.]

Nick. [Sigh.] Can we go inside first? You look like you're going to die, and I don't want to have this conversation in the stable.

[He holds his hand out to pull Wolfwood to his feet, briefly apologetic for punching him... but also kind of not because yeah man fuck you, you dumped him first (they were not dating).]

And then after we get a room, you can tell me why... why you're back, and why you're saying you didn't want to leave when you did.

[lupusxylem]

[He ate, but just barely enough to keep himself going. Jerky mostly, things he didn't need to worry about spoiling on the road to save him the trouble of having to set up a campfire and actually cooking. Anything to get him going sooner, faster, so that Ain wouldn't be able to outpace him for too long.

He half expects Ain to just leave him there on the stable floor, which he wouldn't have blamed him for at all. And when he doesn't...

...

Wolfwood shifts to look up after a moment, the rings under his eyes dark as he reaches up to tentatively take Ain's hand, dragging himself stiffly to his feet. Right, this really isn't the best place to have this conversation, even though he wants to just pour out his guts for him right now.

He nods, tersely.]

Y-...yeah. Jus' gotta get Ange in...

[Angelina is still outside of Elria's stall, her entire head leaning into it so she can chew on her hair.]

[eidxiety]

[Ain will at least help get Angelina parked in there and make sure everyone is good to go for the night before he grabs all his stuff and hauls ass inside. It's fucking cold. Like, yeah, the desert is cold, but the mountains? They're gorgeous and also not any better in terms of the temperature drop. The stables are uncomfortable for humans... not for horses, the horses will be fine with their horse blankets, but god.

The lady running the front desk this late just nods at them. Ain keeps his head down so she can't get a good glance at him and ask about the one room thing, lifting his voice an octave to sound more girlish for now while he checks in and drags them off.

Unlike with the last inn, this one is a lot nicer. It's not a presidential suite or anything, but it has a little couch on one wall and a small place to cook via a wood-burning oven. This mountain town seems to be more touristy than anything, at least until they get further up where the houses are, so it makes sense they'd want people to stay. Ain tucks his stuff into a corner by the couch and then thrusts two apples into Wolfwood's hands.

Is he still wearing that collar Ain gave him?]

Okay. Talk whenever. [Ain sits down on the bed, cradling his bruised knuckles.] Tell me why you're back, tell me why you left in the first place and are suddenly taking it back... and whatever else you feel is pertinent, I guess. Then I'll decide if I'm still heartbroken or not.

[lupusxylem]

[He sure is! It hasn't once left his neck. It's still there even now, metal charm jingling softly as they walk, though he feels like he's pretty much switched on autopilot for the time being with how out of sorts he is. His face throbs where Ain punched him, and he feels no better now than when he first arrived, not knowing yet...how he's going to be received.

But he's here now. He managed to catch up with Ain before he got too far away from him. So, theoretically...the only way he can go from here is up.

He doesn't even really have much of a chance to admire the nicer room before Ain is handing him a couple apples, cluing him in to remembering that he hasn't eaten anything fresh in four solid days. He may not feel like eating, but his body ends up kindof making the decision for him nonetheless as he takes a huge bite out of one of them, taking a seat across from Ain on the other side of the bed.

He won't presume that he's allowed to sit right next to him. Not yet. Instead, he'll eat that apple (carefully, because ow) as he mulls over what to say.]

...m'back cause...I regretted leavin' you the moment you were gone.

[He murmurs around the apple, rubbing it with his thumb.]

I left 'cause...I dunno. I guess I got...spooked. Everythin' was happenin' real fast, yaknow? [It's not the truth. But it's not a lie, either.] And I'm...worried, about you bein' safe around me.

[...]

I thought really hard about it all. An' I realized I didn't...wanna keep bein' without you.

That's why m'here. And I get it if you don't believe me, or ain't gonna forgive me, cause...it was a shitty thing to pull on you outta the blue, only to not even commit in the end.

[eidxiety]

[Ain looks like he's going to cry again, oh no. Look what you do to him Wolfwood. You make him cry.

Ain has his hands folded in his lap, fidgeting with his sleeves in an anxious, nervous tic of his that he's never quite gotten rid of. Wolfwood probably hasn't seen it before, considering Ain was normally quite put together. Alas, there's a first time for everything.]

Yeah... that's my fault. For things moving fast, I mean. I don't know what got me so attached to you so quickly. I honenstly was going to sleep with you maybe... once or twice, and then steal your stuff and bail while you were sleeping. That didn't wind up happening, and I really enjoyed your company, and then...

Oops.

["Oops" because he fell in love, but Wolfwood knows that. Presumably he heard it, Ain's assuming he did, or else he might not be here in the first place.]

I don't want to take anything I said back. I do have feelings for you, and I spent four days crying about it. And I get if you don't reciprocate, that's fine, you don't even have to say anything. But... if you want to stay with me, and you're serious about it, you need to know it. And you need to not be weird about it, either. If you're going to leave, leave. If you're going to stay... then stay.

[lupusxylem]

[...well, there it is. Ain just admitting with his whole chest that his plan was to seduce him and rob him blind, exactly how Wolfwood suspected from the start. But honestly, at this point? He feels like Ain would have gotten better off if he had done that from the beginning, instead of letting his feelings get so wrapped up in him. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten hurt like this, were that the case.

He actually scoffs, even though he doesn't really mean to and quickly covers it by coughing into his fist, taking another bite of that apple quickly after. Because yeah, it was fast. Too fast for a man who only just realized he was gay.

But at the same time...would Wolfwood have realized he feels anywhere near the same way for Ain, if he hadn't said it first?]

...well. I can tell ya one thing for free.

[He turns the apple, offering Ain a bite of it from where he hadn't bitten yet.]

I ain't goin' anywhere. We still got mountains to see.

M'just. Sorry you had to go through what you did for me to get that.

[eidxiety]

[Yeah, unlike Someone Here, Ain has decided to be fully honest. So yes, he was planning to steal your stuff and leave, Wolfwood, but then you kept sticking around and he wanted companionship instead. Sue him. Sue him and his quick-to-fall-in-love ass, this is why he just robs people instead of trying to make something of his life and his relationships. "Relationships".

Ain doesn't take the offer of a bite, shaking his head instead and motioning for Wolfwood to continue eating because he looks like shit and two apples may just fix him. Please get some fruit into you, lord.]

...I'm not gonna say "it's okay", because it's not, and you're still a dick. [Wow.] But... I still love you, and I'll forgive you only because you chased me all the way here. I don't know how you kept up with me, and I don't know how we're gonna get the wagon equipped with three horses now, but...

[He scoots across the bed, closer to Wolfwood, and plants his chin on the man's shoulder.]

...we can think about that later. I need a long break after all of that.

[lupusxylem]

[Tell him you love him. Say it back, you fucking coward.

Wolfwood continues eating, the first apple having been bitten all the way down to the core. If he were outside, he would have fed this to the horses. Instead, he lightly tosses it onto the floor to be collected later, weighing the other fruit in his hand for a moment as Ain finally crosses the tenuous gap between them and lays a head on his shoulder.]

It don't hafta be okay. I know I was in the wrong. There's nothin' I can really say to get around that.

[Miracle upon miracles. He's actually admitting to his own faults.

...he lays his head against Ain's.]

I pushed Angelina day and night. Only slept when I was about to pass out on her back. [If Ain was wondering why he looks like shit so much] I...honestly didn't even know if I'd find you or not.