Lily Of The Valley (Aris x Reader)

2) Leaving

Waking up, I stretched my limbs as I climbed down the ladder to see Aris still fast asleep. It was decided the second we found this place that the bottom bunk was his. The alternative was him having to struggle just a little more for essentially no reason, and I'd prefer it if life could be just a little easier on him after all he had gone through, all that we all had gone through.

Still, we were alive to go through it. I just need to remind myself that sometimes.

Watching him for a moment, I listened as his breathing remained even while he was still in a deep rest. Glancing at the clock I saw that it was around eleven. While that's later than usual we had been up for a few extra hours last night. Besides, we weren't exactly in a hurry to get somewhere.

Heading to the food boxes, I pulled out the one labeled snacks and dug through it until I settled on canned pears and peaches. Grabbing a red sharpie, I crossed out the eighty for the new number.

Grabbing a pocket knife, I got my peaches open the old fashioned way so that I wouldn't wake him. Scratching at the metal, I dug my tool into the lid and fought with my meal. Refusing to bend to its will, I kept slicing at the edges, only to get measly dents. Scowling at the can like it wasn't saving my life, I stabbed the middle of it.

Apparently, my frustration was exactly what I needed as it went right through. Getting up, I grabbed a fork from the drawer before placing my knife back under the hole. Opening it, I resisted the urge to bash it against the counter as I tried again.

Eventually, after plenty of struggle and muscle aches, it was good enough. Now that I knew how to do it I started the process over with the pears, nearly slicing myself open. Still, after debating quitting I settled for the bare minimum again as I put a fork inside the hole and tip toed back to the bunks. Taking a seat at the end of his bed, I set the pears on the ground as I ate my snack.

Barely a second later I heard loud cursing as the sheets rustled. Looking at him, I saw Aris giving me a halfhearted look of irritation.

"There are easier ways of giving someone a heart attack, but that would probably work well,"He said, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"It's not my fault you wake up like I'm throwing you in a river. Besides, I got you food to make up for it,"I shrugged, grabbing his snack with one hand and giving it to him. Now sitting criss-cross applesauce like I was, he thanked me before looking at me funny.

"Why does the can look like it was mauled by a bear?"

"I didn't want to wake you up from the can opener,"I explained.

"No. You'd rather watch me sleep."

"Don't flatter yourself. I like watching you dramatically wake up,"I corrected.

"It is not dramatic. You are literally just sitting there, staring me down."

"Actually, I was focused on the peaches,"I corrected yet again.

"Sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself,"He drew out, giving me a teasing grin before eating his meal. Sitting there in silence, I looked at my food, glancing up at him everyday now and then, occasionally meeting his gaze before he looked away.

"Hey Y/N,"He whispered, his tone completely different in a way that I couldn't quite explain.

"Yeah? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's just that,"He trailed off, swirling his fork around the can as he bit the inside of his cheek.

"It's just what?"

"It's just, do you ever think about the world?"

"About seeing it?"I asked quickly. He just gave me a hesitant nod as he kept fidgeting with his food.

"I think about it, but I have no real interest in leaving this place. It's just a wasteland out there,"I pointed out, looking at the way his face dropped. "Are you thinking of leaving this place?"

"Kind of. It's just that I re-read this book, and it was about two people exploring places nobody was brave enough to go. I just remember thinking that that could be you and I. So what if it was? What if we left?"

"Where would we go?"I asked, putting my empty can down before moving closer.

"I don't know, but I think that it would be worth it."

"We'd at least need a goal,"I responded, entertaining the idea.

"I have one."

"Of course you do,"I sighed.

"I want to find a Lily Of The Valley."

"A what?"

"A Lily Of The Valley. It's this beautiful flower that represents hope and good luck while also containing toxins. Can you imagine seeing something good yet dangerous? Can you imagine getting to be near something like that?"

"The world is dead. Plants aren't growing anywhere,"I reminded him.

"But what if they are? We've been stuck her for years. Maybe things have gotten better. Maybe it's changed, but we'll never know unless we look for it."

"And if the Double T's don't want to go?"

"They might,"He shrugged. "But as long as I have you everything will be okay,"He added, reaching for my hand. Taking it, I looked at him as I thought about it. Truly thought about it.

Everything was against us in this plan. How little we know, how little we'll be able to bring, Cranks, weather, the fact that we hadn't left this place in years, and his-

"Stop,"He said firmly, giving my hand a squeeze. Bringing my eyes back up to his face, he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Don't worry about that. Just think about everything else. We could finally leave this place. We could see what's up there."

"Aris."

"Y/N, we don't have to be our own prisoners. We've done that our entire lives."

"It's also why we're alive,"I reminded him.

"But we aren't. We're surviving, but I want to do more. Don't you?"He pleaded.

"If living means dying, is it worth it?"I pointed out.

"You really don't want to go, do you?"

"No. I don't."

"Oh,"He muttered, letting go of my hand and putting them in his lap. Looking away, he fiddled with his fingers as we sat in heavy silence.

"I'm going to go check on the inventory,"I said, doing anything to break it. He just gave me a nod as I got up. Not looking back, I walked behind the metal shelves and leaned down. Pulling a box out, I just stared at it for a while as I thought about what he said. Then, I remembered just what happened last time we didn't have a plan and pushed it out of my head. It was silly to leave the place full of safety and food and water. Everything we'll ever need is right here. Why risk it?

× ~ × ~ × ~ ×

Laying on my bed for a long time, I blankly stared at the ceiling as his words refused to leave my head. Realizing they wouldn't stop haunting me, I climbed down so that I could actually hear him and gently shook him away.

Whatever sleep stage he was in must have been light because he opened his eyes basically the second my fingertips made contact with his skin. Turning over, he rubbed his eyes as he sat up and looked at me, probably wondering why I woke him up at three in the morning.

"So, when do we leave?"