I'm not in love

Protection

When Gwen and Wolfie were back home, Gwen had already fallen asleep. Wolfie looked down at her sleeping face in the dim light of their living room and smiled to themself before turning off the TV and making their way up the stairs to their bedroom. As they entered their bedroom they stopped short, looking around the space for a second before spotting something on top of the closet door. A letter that was clearly sent by Gwen's ex's, and was signed off with the names Mark and Ethan. A little curious as to what this was all about, they sat down on the bed, opened it and read it aloud to themself.
"Dear Gwen, I don't care if you're living in an alleyway, or in the middle of the streets. We will find you, and we may as well get rid of our pesky feelings while we're with eachother. From Mark & Ethan". Wolfie stared blankly at the paper, knowing that they were going to try and hurt Gwen. Wolfie looked over at the stairs, as if to look for movement that would put Gwen in danger. When a shadow moved, Wolfie ran downstairs, thinking someone had snuck  into the house and wanted to do harm to Gwen, but instead found themselves face to face with her ex.
Mark smirked, crossing his arms, "I didn't think you'd still be interested in her after everything. What happened to your girlfriend? It seems like she was a good one."
"What have you done?" Wolfie growled out, anger rising from inside their chest. They weren't afraid to fight because they were used to fighting for Gwen's honor and safety, but they also knew that Mark wasn't worth it. They grabbed his shoulders, pulling him close until he was eye level with Wolfie. "Tell me. Now."
Before they could continue the conversation, a whimper echoed from the kitchen. Wolfie pushed Mark away and ran to the source of the  sound, only to see Gwen crouched down against the wall. Her eyes were bloodshot red from crying and she had obviously been hit, which made it even worse. She tried to say something when Wolfie knelt down next to her, grabbing her hand gently. Their other hand came up to brush tears off her cheek, "Don't talk, Gwen. Come upstairs with me."
She followed Wolfie quietly up the stairs and they both sat her down on the bed before sitting down beside her and holding her hands. "Why does he hate me so much? Why can't anyone just love me? I mean sure you're my best friend and everything, but why couldn't he just accept me for who I am? I never asked for any of this!" Gwen sniffed hard as more tears streamed down her face and she curled up into a ball, her head falling onto Wolfie's lap.
"Hush, baby. You're fine. Everything's okay." Wolfie rubbed slow circles into the small of Gwen's back and whispered soft reassurances until she was calm enough to pull herself away. She wiped her face before pushing herself back upright, "So, I'm not allowed to leave anymore."
Wolfie nodded, "No, you won't be able to go outside until you' re healed, at least not without supervision, which means you'll stay here. And once you are healed, you are staying right here, under my protection, forever."
Gwen blinked, her brain struggling to process that information, before she started sobbing again, throwing her arms around Wolfie in another hug. "Thank you," she mumbled.
Wolfie sighed and pulled the blonde closer, rubbing gentle circles into her back and trying to comfort her as best they could, "Anytime, baby. Just promise me you'll come to me if anything happens."
Gwen nodded weakly against Wolfie's shoulder and hugged them tightly for a few moments. When they heard to door slam shut, they knew Mark had left. Looking up, Gwen gave a small smile to Wolfie, "Thanks."
They gave her a thumbs up, "Anytime, babe."
The two went downstairs and sat together in silence for several minutes, watching the movie and occasionally whispering comments about the plotline to one another. Eventually, though, Wolfie stood up, stretched, and offered Gwen their hand, which she took eagerly. "You ready to go to bed? I bet you could use some sleep after all that crying."
They helped Gwen up from the floor, "Yeah. I should probably get cleaned up anyway."
With that said, Wolfie turned and headed towards the bathroom to grab a towel for Gwen. They returned seconds later with an extra one for themselves and led Gwen into the hallway where she proceeded to change into her pjs and lay in bed with Wolfie for the rest of the night.
When they were both asleep, Gwen woke up to see the clock read 12:32am and frowned to herself. She glanced towards Wolfie, hoping that they were awake. After a moment of silence, she realized that they were, and rolled over slowly so that they would hear her. "Um...hey, Wolfie?"
It took a while, but eventually Wolfie lifted their head, squinting against the light streaming in through their curtains. Gwen held up a finger, "Can I ask you something?"
Once again, Wolfie raised their eyebrow questioningly. "Sure?"
Gwen took a deep breath before asking, "Are...are you gay?"
For what seemed like a long time Wolfie just stared down at Gwen, but then suddenly began laughing lightly. At first, Gwen was confused, wondering if they had heard her correctly, but then they explained. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Yeah, I’m gay. Why the hell wouldn't I be? That's just weird and unnecessary."
Gwen relaxed slightly at that, but still felt awkward and nervous as she said softly, "Do…you think you're bi or pan or anything?"
Wolfie paused for a moment, and Gwen waited patiently for an answer.
"Probably, I don't know. but it won't keep me away from protecting youuuuu" Wolfie teased, tickling  the spot behind Gwen's ear before moving away. Gwen giggled and turned to face them.
Wolfie looked down shyly, their ears turning pink, "But seriously, if you ever need help in whatever way, I'll always be there for you."
This made Gwen smile widely. "That sounds amazing! Thank you so much!" The two fell silent once again.
Wolfie let out a yawn before stretching. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower and get cleaned up. Do you want me to bring anything back to bed with me?"
After Gwen assured them that yes, she did indeed want something to eat, Wolfie went up the stairs to prepare a meal for Gwen. When Wolfie came back down a little while later and handed Gwen her food, she happily thanked them, saying "You're such a sweetheart" before digging into her food. Once Wolfie finished eating, they picked up both plates and began walking to the sink. Before taking the dishes to the sink, they paused for a moment, looking over at Gwen and smiling softly.
"Goodnight, princess", they whispered before disappearing into their room, presumably to wash the plates.
Gwen ate her breakfast in peace, her mind drifting back to thoughts of Mark and Ethan while she thought of all the people who had betrayed her in the past couple years. There wasn't anyone that Gwen really counted on at this point, since they were probably too scared to talk to her ever again. Then she thought of all the friends and family that she had lost. Her parents, brothers and cousins, they were gone; her brother and sister, and then her grandparents. She hadn't even had her father to support her. It had taken her so long to realise how lonely she was. The loneliness, though, faded away now. Because of her, people got to live happy lives. People loved. She didn't deserve happiness.
After her last bite, Gwen placed her tray down gently on the table before standing up. She headed over to the window and opened it up, leaning forward and letting the breeze brush against her cheeks. With a sigh, she pulled herself up onto the windowsill, staring up at the moon. This place, the safe haven, reminded her of home, and it made Gwen feel better about everything that was happening. Sure, things weren't perfect right now, but hopefully they would be soon.
And maybe someday, Gwen hoped, she'd get to have a life full of happy memories and laughter like everyone else in the world deserved, free of pain, violence and hatred. But for now, she couldn't wait to start getting over what happened to her. She would be fine. She hoped Wolfie would protect her, like they said they would.  For her own sake, Gwen prayed every night that Wolfie would always be there to hold her hand and keep her from being alone. That night, she was sure that Wolfie had heard her prayer. But she wasn't exactly sure that Wolfie understood.
Wolfie didn't understand a lot. But they'd try to listen and do their best to make it clear that Gwen's wishes would be fulfilled.