Ramshackle's Angel

13

A few months had passed since Stone and Lorelai finally became a couple and spring had officially begun. But with spring officially starting, so does the huge storms. On one of these nights, Stone was with Lorelai because she had to kick one of Ditch's gang members out of the Scrap house because he started a drunken fight with one of her vendors and she was a little fearful that Ditch might do something. So Stone decided to stay the night with her just in case he tried something. Lighting crashed outside as Stone sat on his side of Lorelai's bed, flinching each time he heard the thunder. Though he thought it was stupid, he tried to calm himself down. He went to grab a cigarette, only to find that he didn't have a pack with him.

"No, no, no. I must've forgotten it back with Skipp and Vinnie" he quietly said, trying not to wake up his sleeping girlfriend.

His heart sank in his stomach as he hid himself underneath the thin blanket. He tried to hold back his tears as the rumbling of thunder continued to cause his stress and anxiety to rise. But a loud clash of lightning and thunder was his breaking point. Not knowing what happened, he shot up, frozen a moment or two before his heart started pounding. His breath quickened as his hands shook. Salty tears ran down his face as he grabbed his sweater right where his heart was to try to calm down his breathing. The world spun around him as the memories of what happened to him in the past came back to him in tidal waves. He started to cry, wanting all of it to stop. With all this happening, he forgot that he wasn't alone. Waking up to the sound of crying, Lorelai groggily looked over to Stone. Once she saw the state he was in, instantly woke up and crawled over to him.

"Stone?...Stormcloud? Are you okay?" Lorelai asked as she tried to place a hand on his shoulder, only for it to be panicky slapped away.

This caused her to tilt her head a little before she gently cupped his face.

"It's okay....it's okay....it's just me...What's wrong?" She asked him in a soft tone.

Stone tried to speak but tears and choked sobs came out. He covered his ears, trying to block the sound of the rain and thunder out. Lorelai noticed this.

"It is the rain?" She asked.

With what little control he had, he nodded to her once. She sighed before she made her cat ears to come out. Gently grabbing his cold hands, she put them on her ears. This was a little comforting tactic she learned as a kid. She allowed him to pet them as she hugged him, humming a few songs. Eventually, the storm finally passed and Stone calmed down. Though he stopped crying and hyperventilating, he was still shaken up from his sudden panic attack.

"Hey. Do you feel better now?" Lorelai asked him.

"Y-yeah" Stone replied, nodding.

"That's good to hear, Stormcloud" she told him, purring into his chest.

He sighed as he stopped petting her ears. Oddly, he found her purring like a cat absolutely adorable and endearing. And her ears were so soft and fluffy, it would be almost impossible for him to stop petting them. But he felt ashamed of waking this beautiful wonder.

"Sorry, I just-" he sighed, unsure on how he could possibly explain this to her.

But she didn't ask questions, only continued to comfort him with her warm hugs.

"Hey, do you mind if I go back to sleep? You did kinda wake me up in the middle of the night" she said with a small giggle.

Stone left out a stiff laugh before he pulled the blanket over them. Lorelai laid her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close.

"I love you. Please don't leave me" he mumbled.

"Never" she told him before he fell asleep.

Lorelai sighed before she brushed his hair back a little and kissed the boy's forehead, leaving a black lipstick mark behind. Slowly, the mark faded away and dissipated into a red, glittering energy that cascaded across Stone's body.  Stone smiled in his sleep as his girlfriend made her cat-like ears disappear. Lorelai has just done something that many in the demon community considered unethical. Bonding her soul to Stone. That way, she would keep her promise to him. She smiled before she cuddled up against him, falling asleep soon after.

Meanwhile, a man walked down the streets and put up a poster. He walked away to continue his work. The nearby lamppost illuminated the poster, revealing that a famous singer was coming to Ramshackle soon. A singer named Victoria Valentine.