drapetomonia - the overwhelming urge to run away.
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When Junia Beaumont, her brother and their classmates get a last assignment before the end of the school year, she doesn't know just how quickly things will change for her.
Who would have thought t...
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56. Happy birthday, Treech
( this time for real: spice warning. no explicit smut but full of implications and all that )
By the time Treech’s birthday comes around, it’s unbearably hot.
The previous days were leading up to a fever pitch in terms of heat. It started off with a few warm showers in the late afternoons, but those gradually lessened until, for once, the very thing that wakes her up isn’t Treech’s mother or his sister, but the heat in the room. As much as she loves Seven, the wood makes everything feel so much hotter, and the only place that she can truly escape to is the bathroom.
Nobody wakes them up. After his incident, Treech has made it clear that he can’t go back to the lumber yard. Not with the way his body reacts whenever he’s around too many people that aren’t family, and especially not with the way he responds to splitting logs in half. Something that once came so naturally to him now reminds him of the darkest times in his life.
Ever since then, he has been staying at home. He helped his mother complete the sign for the apothecary shop, and June has to admit that she enjoys watching the way he loses himself in the act. Not only is he in a comfortable environment, but he can also do something that he likes. It’s a start, and he seems content.
June blinks eventually once she wakes up from her slumber, pushing the little part of the quilt off her that had been covering her away, and turns her head to the other side. Treech is still asleep, and she almost envies him for it. He’s sprawled out in a starfish position with one arm wrapped around her waist. No matter how warm it is, he can’t help his need to hold her or at least touch her at night. He told her it’s what keeps him grounded whenever the nightmares come back, so she sucks it up and happily deals with his excessive body heat.
His chest rises and falls slowly as he breathes with his mouth slightly ajar, a gentle snore leaving his lips. But in comparison to his father’s wall-piercing snore, this is light work. Treech looks peaceful, and she can’t help but feel content just seeing him like this. She smiles and brushes his hair out of his face, an action that makes him scrunch his nose for a moment.
The last night wasn’t bad. He woke up once from a nightmare, but his mind allowed him to rest afterwards and the feeling of June’s fingers in his hair pulled him back to sleep.
Although it’s warm, she still can’t resist the need to be close to him, so she moves until she can rest her head against his chest. The steady thumping of his heart almost lulls her to sleep, but when his snoring quietens down and she hears what she assumes is him scratching his cheek, she forces her eyes open. His hand moves to her hair next, slightly messed up from sleep, and it takes everything in her willpower to stay awake when he strokes her hair.
