Natural Disaster

Chapter 35

The rest of the ride to Kingman was relatively smooth, passing in silence that was only broken by the crinkle of the jerky bag and Avi's disappointed groan when it was emptied. Launa dozed off at one point, lulled to sleep by the movement and engine of the truck and, after awhile, her partner's deep humming.

She was awoken by a scratchy kiss on her cheek, making her smile before she was even fully awake. "Hey," Avi greetd quietly, brushing a stray hair from her face, "We're here." She nodded, stretching, and started to move her bags from the backseat wordlessly.

He had parked the vehicle alongside what appeared to be the main store of that side of the city. Shopping trip. Launa thought sleepily as they gingerly made their way inside. It was in relatively good shape, and had been picked over, but they still managed to pick up cans and bottled water where they could find them.

Avi kept close to her, instead of their usual plan of splitting up to cover more ground, making her unsure of whether he was uneasy and that she should should be, too, or to simply feel safe. A warmth spread through her as she chose the latter. He unconsciously pulled her away from a pile of debris where a ceiling beam had fallen, and, if only for a moment, she let him guide her to a safer spot.

"I can see where I'm going, Avriel," she scolded, trying to fight the fuzzy warmth his concerned gesture stirred up.

He just laughed lowly, his hands going to her shoulders as he apologized. Before she could ask what he was apologizing for, he turned her around to face him, cradling her face in his hands and kissed her softly. There was something different about this one, something she couldn't quite grasp through the fog he created with the slow, smooth contact of their lips. She let herself give in, closing her eyes and sliding her arms around his neck as he angled his face against hers, his warm hands going to her back to press her completely against him.

They remained that way for a long, foggy moment, until Avi pulled away, their lips lingering for just a second longer. "I'm sorry," he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers, "I just really wanted that."

Launa opened her eyes to find his closed ones, and took in a deep, silent breath, inhaling the warmth he radiated. It was so still, so quiet, and, for only a moment, she never wanted to move, again. She wanted nothing more than to just stand there with him, wrapped up in his arms.

"You don't need to apologize," she breathed, unwilling to break the silence that had fallen around them. She tilted her head to press her lips gently to his, briefly, one hand sinking into the curls at the base of his neck.

Avi gave a small sigh, and reluctantly removed himself from her. "We should get what we need and grab a house, for the night," he said, voice hushed, "We're losing light."
______

Their choice in house was made quickly, almost silently. Launa almost felt sad, and, as a result, stupid. Why are you sad? You should be happy that you two had that moment. What's wrong with you?

She laid on the master bedroom's mattress, her head at the foot of the bed, wincing at the ghost pain in her right knee. I don't know. Maybe because those moments always end? She vaguely recalled a time when she'd done that, before, and had actually cried. And even though she had tried to hide it, her boyfriend, at the time, had gotten immensely annoyed at her.

Maybe because when those moments happen, the end is always close behind.

Her heart clenched. Her stomach filled with ice. The very thought of him leaving made her go cold, and she suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Her pulse picked up and she felt like puking, and oh no, please stop-

Launa curled onto her side, burying her hands deep into her hair, trying to slow her breathing, trying to be calm, trying trying trying- Stop stop stop. Gods, she hadn't had a panic attack in years, and nope- it hadn't gotten any easier. She gulped in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut and thinking of good things.