Bound- Red Threads of Fate Jaya AU

I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice

Note: Hi! Another chapter for you tonight (or whatever time of day it is for you). I almost forgot, but not quite! Maybe I was trying to pretend it wasn't Sunday cause tomorrow starts finals week. That should be fun . . .

Nya got back from Ignacia on Wednesday, which gave her a few days to contemplate how to approach the subject of the rumors with Jay.

The logical side of her argued that she needed to be harsh with him, cut all ties and never see him again. But she knew she could never go through with it. It was maybe just a little too late, and she was maybe just a little too in love with him. Her heart would only betray her.

But then, what to do? She couldn't tell him the truth–that would only create more problems, more rumors, more things she couldn't deal with. But she knew she couldn't simply stop seeing him without reason. It would break her heart. She was in way over her head, and she didn't know what to do.

By the time Monday came, Nya still didn't know what to do. She hoped that maybe Jay wouldn't come. Maybe he had heard the rumors and decided to stop seeing her. And at first, she let herself hope that maybe he had. He didn't come at the usual time, and by noon he still hadn't come, and Nya ate a small lunch. He didn't come during lunch, or during the two readings Nya did after lunch, both of which luckily went smoothly, since the clients had traveled such a long way and she really didn't need more problems on her plate.

Sometime after noon, the rain, which had been coming down all day, became harder and harder. Nya closed up her shutters against the cold winds and made tea, deciding that surely Jay wouldn't come in this weather. She hadn't seen such a storm in years. It was probably shaping up to be a hurricane near the coastline, but she knew that she was safe here. She had experienced these storms before, and she knew that her house was built to withstand anything the weather could throw at it, so that it remained intact for generations of thread-mages.

Nya curled up with a book, and nearly forgot about Jay. In fact, she almost thought that the pounding sound she heard was just the storm. But then she realized someone was knocking, and jumped up to open the door. He was standing there, soaked to the bone, smiling sheepishly at her. And although she was rather horrified to see him, especially in this condition, she couldn't help but smile back.

"Come in!" Nya said quickly, after only a few seconds of staring. "What possessed you to go out in this weather?" She asked as she led him to the fireplace.

"I don't know. My mother kept me so long this morning–she was baking for a party, and needed help–and afterward she gave me some cookies and told me to run along while she packed up the rest. And I didn't want you to worry about where I was, so I came here. I brought you these, but they may be a little wet." He handed her two cookies, which were indeed a little wet, and also crumbling from being jostled around in his pocket.

"Thank you. But you shouldn't have come, you know. I'm more worried for you now than I was before. You're freezing, you know." She took his hand for example. It was very cold and wet. She felt awkward holding it, so she dropped it quickly. "And the rain's coming down so hard, I'm surprised you even made it here!" She added.

"Well, I did." He said sheepishly. "And now that I've seen you, I'd better go back before my mother starts to worry."

"But it's so cold outside!" Nya protested. "And you're all wet. At least take off your coat so I can dry it for you."

Knowing she was more stubborn than he was, he gave her his coat, which she hung before the fire. She also made him take off his shoes and stockings, which were also soaked. The bottoms of his pants, where the coat had not covered, and the ends of his sleeves were wet as well, but she couldn't do anything about that but make him stay by the fireplace.