After choosing to break the cycle, Jinx [now Powder] tries to find her place in the countryside away from everything she once knew, drawn to someone who seems to embody everything she's wanted but never deserved.
F/GN, fluff, mutual pinin...
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The cottage was quiet, almost too quiet. She had chosen this place for that very reason after all. It was far from everything she used to know. Far from people who might recognize her, far from her past, and most importantly, far from the chaos she had attracted her whole life.
And yet, the quiet unsettled her.
Her days were simple now. Fixing up the cottage, teaching herself how to cook, tending to the purple and orange flowers she had no idea how to take care of. Simple things.
She only went into town when absolutely necessary, and even then, she kept her head down and her interactions short. People didn't pry, but she saw the curiosity in their eyes. They looked at her like she was out of place, as if she wasn't where she was supposed to be.
Except for you. You were different. Powder had noticed that right away.
The first time she saw you, she thought she was just seeing things.
You were at the edge of the farmer's market, the sun shining down on you, your head tilted back, shoulders shaking as you laughed, your body so... unguarded. As if you weren't constantly looking over your shoulder waiting for something bad to happen. And for a moment, Powder forgot how to breathe. It wasn't just the sound of your laughter or the warmth in your eyes when you spoke to someone who passed by. You had this way of moving like you belonged there, like you were part of the town in a way she couldn't imagine ever being.
She'd only meant to grab a few supplies, slip in and out before anyone could try to talk to her. But then there you were, and she couldn't look away.
She didn't approach you. Told herself it was because she didn't want to stand out, didn't want to risk anyone noticing her more than they already had. But deep down, she knew the truth. You made her feel small. The type of small you feel when you're around someone you look up to. A person who represents everything you want to be, someone you want to keep in your life forever. She couldn't just walk up to you so casually, not when you reminded her of everything she wasn't.
And yet she couldn't keep her distance. Because even though you left her feeling small, you also made her want to be something more. You made her hopeful. A feeling that had been so rare to come by nowadays. That maybe, just maybe one day she'd be as content as you were in this small warm town.
She wanted to know what it was like to feel so at ease, to be... satisfied. Not perfect, not terrible, but enough. And when she saw you, she saw how.
She started seeing you more often after that. Helping at the market, skipping down the dirt paths, stopping to pet the stray cats that wandered by, you took your time with everything you did, like there was no rush, like you had all the time in the world. It wasn't long before she found herself looking for you whenever she came into town.
You were always smiling, always patient with everyone you spoke to. She couldn't help but wonder if this is what being at peace looked like.
She couldn't stop thinking about it. About you. About the way you seemed to fit so perfectly. It made her heart ache, this longing for something she wasn't even sure she could have.
