Let's Not Stay Away Anymore (Kaimelia)

30: Fools

(moved countries and started grad school oooopsies. but like even more than any kind of stability in life rn, i just need these two to talk. so this is that. also this might have to end, are we over it besties?)

Sat on a bench on the pier, Amelia gripped her cup of tea tighter. Currently the lone source of warmth in the vastness of the Seattle evening, she felt the tips of her fingers soon grow uncomfortably hot, the bundled up woman eventually deciding to place the cup down on the bench next to her.

Tucking herself deeper into the comfort of her jacket, Amelia waited.

Windy, but not too cold, the pier was characteristically loud, water crashing against concrete, yet by the time she'd finished work and walked all the way over, it was barely visible. It wasn't terribly busy either, she noted, the few conversations in the distance blending together, adding little if anything to the general atmosphere.

When Kai eventually appeared in the distance, their steps seemed to follow the beat of the water raging just off the boardwalk. Assertive, near impossible to miss, yet controlled, somewhat illuminated by streetlights. Their black, long wool coat blew around them as they walked, the rare strand of hair not at the mercy of the wind, calmly wedged between the threads of their scarf.

"Evening," Kai greeted, rounding the bench.

"Hi."

Gathering their coat up around their thighs, Kai tried to settle in, adjusting and readjusting every once in a while. They looked straight ahead for a while, as if getting accustomed with their surroundings, which were by now mostly hidden in darkness.

As a matter of fact, Kai wasn't sure where the day had gone. They'd struggled to sleep the night before, tossing and turning until the first distinguishable cloud appeared outside the window that morning. Laying there for hours, and not one to back out of a seemingly impossible task, Kai liked to think they'd gotten to know the Seattle clouds pretty well. They were soothing, barely giving away as much as an idea of where one of them ended and the next one began, as much as they wanted to think they could. Soon after they'd finally decided sleep wasn't happening, the grayish mass outside appeared to carry... purpose.

Gentle and determined, the clouds floated into each other, blurring those edges further, crashing into each other, as if it was nothing but welcomed. Then, missing a particular reason to leave the hotel until it was time to meet Amelia, the gray tones eventually started to bother them, having finished work in record time, ending up with a whole lot of anticipation, and no outlet good enough.

Amelia's voice, though, turned their head right back to stare into blue eyes, having forgotten their prior troubles.

"It's nice out."

They carefully examined her face, suddenly starving for her presence, as if trying to relearn her all over again in a span of a few seconds. A soft chuckle followed.

"I'm serious. It isn't so loud up here on days like this," Amelia gestured to her head briefly.

With a slight purse of their lips, Kai nodded, as if having immediately reconsidered their whole outlook on boundlessly overcast skies and cool, dreary evenings.

They sat in silence for a while, as a tiny mist of rain increasingly surrounded them, going unnoticed by the two seated figures.

"I really did a number on you, didn't I," Amelia finally spoke, earning a swift stare from the neuroscientist next to her.

"Nah, I'm perfectly capable of doing my own bidding, thank you very much," Kai shook their head with a sour, fleeting smile.

Ready meant ready, they weren't about to walk it back now.