Old Friends (Wirt x Reader)

Chapter 19

You woke up gently that morning. No sun in your eyes, no alarm clock in your ear, and no annoying brother stampeding down the halls. You sat up slowly, stifling a yawn. For once, your night's rest left you feeling rested. You looked over and saw Wirt standing at the window.

"Hey," you greeted softly. "You could have woken me."

"I've only been up a minute or two." He hardly stirred from his position, his hands propped on the windowsill.

You stood up and stepped over to the window. You looked over Wirt's shoulder, and you could see the sunlight beginning to peek over the trees. It must have been early, because the sun was still hidden behind the forest. Wirt broke his gaze, shaking you out of your stare, as well.

"We should make use of the daylight," Wirt said. "I don't want to spend another night in this place because of lost daytime."

"Alright," you agreed.

You slipped on the shoes you had taken off before bed, grabbed your notepad, and followed Wirt out the door. You concluded in your head once more that it must have been early, seeing as it was so quiet in the formerly rowdy tavern. The only sound was creaking floorboards beneath your feet. You smiled a little about the thought of making your way out of the tavern without encountering anyone. Maybe the worst was behind you.

Unless your mental argument couldn't be settled, that is. After much deliberation, you decided to bring up your uncertainties to Wirt. After all, who else could you talk to? But before anything could be said, the long dreaded thing happened.

The tavern wasn't empty as the silence led you to believe. Of course, you expected to see the Tavern Keeper, but what surprised you was the amount of patrons that remained. It didn't seem anyone had left from the night before. Some slept, others were slowly waking. Nothing wrong with groggy or sleeping people, right? Wrong. All it took was one to get excited.

You couldn't even tell which one started the commotion, but you will forever resent their presence. Before you could even look at Wirt, the whole tavern came to life. You cringed inwardly as they began exclaiming things about you and Wirt. One of their statements stuck with you.

"We'll help things along." It came from the ever familiar voice of the Tavern Keeper.

You unknowingly glared. She probably set this in motion. She saw you and Wirt the night before and decided to take things into her own hands. With every new person joining the growing crowd, you felt your emotions rising. Your anger with the woman, your frustration with these crazy people, and your confusions about home made their way in the mix, as well.

Wirt tried desperately to calm the people, but his declarations of protest were lost in the excitement of the people. You tried to help him, but your voice was no stronger.

The people stood between you two and the door, so even getting out wouldn't be easy. They were all speaking at once, so you couldn't even understand what they wanted. You suddenly felt Wirt's hand in yours.

He raised your hand along with his into the air. This quieted the people to some extent.

"There," Wirt exclaimed. "I've gotten over myself. Are you all satisfied now?"

The people smiled and cheered. In their celebration, they didn't notice Wirt pulling you to the door. You had exited the building before they had stopped.

"A hand hold?" you asked Wirt as you two began walking. "That's all they wanted?"

"They wanted something, and I didn't really feel like going much further," he explained. "We were just friends to them anyway, so holding hands is a big step, right?"

"They sure thought so," you smiled. "I'm just glad we left before they tried to force a wedding." You chuckled at your statement, remembering his story.

"Very funny," he smiled.

Your smile faded as you remembered what you were about to bring up to Wirt when the excitement began. You had all the courage to say something, but how do you even broach a subject like this? Yeah, I don't want to go home. I'd rather defy all logic and stay dead in this land, but thanks anyway.

You needed to say something, though, or you would implode. Besides, it would come up eventually, right?

"Hey, Wirt?'' you began. "Do you ever have doubts? Like, unreasonable ones?"

"I- I guess so," he shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm having some," you tried to lighten the subject with a laugh. "It's really ridiculous, but the uncertainty remains."

"Anything specifically?"

"Sort of, but-" your gumption was fleeting; you needed to act quickly. "I don't know. Home has just been looking more and more unappealing."

Wirt slowed his pace. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," you took a deep breath. "I know we have to go back home, but part of me wants to stay here."

Wirt didn't have the reaction you had expected. You'd expected him to snap that that was silly and that you needed to get rid of those thoughts. You thought he would have been taken aback, worried, something. But he didn't have any immediate reaction.

"Did you know," he began after a long silence. "That during the winter months, every house but two light up their houses for Christmas? That in those short summer nights, you can still see sunlight until 8:00 at night? That if you sit quietly in the park in autumn, you can hear the leaves falling? It's not the big things about home that get to you. It's the small things you never think about."

You thought on this. There were certainly good aspects of home, but they always seemed drowned out by the negatives.

"School might be stressful," Wirt continued. "The kids might be judgmental. Parents might be overwhelming. Siblings might be pests. Life might seem too much to take on, but could you imagine never seeing any of it again?"

With every word he spoke, images came to your mind. Your brother. Your mom. Your dad. Teachers. Classmates. Greg. The park. Every Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Independence Day you'd celebrated in your house. Your house alone held endless memories. All the birthdays, yours and others'. From your first loose tooth to those two years of braces. From you first day for preschool to your first day of high school. You tried to imagine never seeing any of it again. The realities of staying began sinking in on a new level. Your parents, your brother, your entire life, could you really deal with never seeing it all again?

You fought tears from your eyes. The memories had a firm grip on your heart. The expression "home is where the heart is" gained a new level of meaning. Life in the Unknown may have been appealing, tempting, but the hold home had on you was too strong to forget.

"Thank you, Wirt," you put a hand on his shoulder.

He didn't say anything, but he took your hand in his, and you two continued east, Woodsman bound.