When Violence Ensues: Slenderverse Short Stories.

Story Sixty-Six: Tell me again, my love.

It was currently a day off for both Winona and Ruth, as there were other nurses taking over for the day in order to train the two newer additions to the nursing staff. Of course, assigning them to HABIT was always a bad idea- but recently, he'd been more docile than some of the other children. It was worth a shot, or so the managers of Fairmount assumed.

Even so, it wasn't the two females' problem for the time being.

Lazily stretching out as she wriggled under the blankets, the blonde gave a light and happy sigh. A lie-in was well overdue, and it felt great to finally have that luxury. Speaking of which- she was lying in Ruth's bed, curled up next to the dark haired other as she slept. Ruth was peacefully slumbering, a relaxed expression dawned on her features as the sunlight gently filtered through the glass of the window and kissed the bed that was in the centre of the room. The light also graced the edges of the shelves and reflected off Ruth's guitar that sat delicately on its stand. The wooden floor gave the blue walled room a rustic atmosphere- but it was serene. Just like Ruth.

A small, groggy smile gently formed on the blonde's lips, as she pulled herself up and carefully slid out of the covers and off of the bed; pulling on her discarded long shirt from the night before. Winona didn't want to wake Ruth from her sleep- she was so at peace and comfortable. It would be a crime to wake her when she was so content.

Besides, Winona was going to make pancakes.

Making her way downstairs, the female padded into the kitchen and set about making pancakes. Of course, getting the pan out from the cupboard was irritatingly noisy, so Winona did her best to be as quiet as possible. Setting the pan on the stove, she then set about gathering the necessary ingredients. Winona was skilled with baking and could make a pancake in her sleep, especially considering she'd been making them since she was a child. Homemade pancake batter was always a million times better than the store-bought equivalent. Alongside making the pancake batter, the female grabbed some bacon from the fridge to fry off to go with the pancakes.

Pancakes and crispy bacon? Legendary combination.

Winona gathered her eggs, flour and milk and began putting them together into a bowl and mixing it into a batter, humming lightly to herself as she did so. Usually, the blonde would have music playing in the background of the process, but the whole point was so that Ruth could wake up to a good breakfast. Where would the fun be if she woke Ruth up before she was finished? It would completely defeat the purpose.

This was Winona's tiny way of thanking her girlfriend, for treating her so perfectly and caring about her, no matter what. Ruth always seemed to care, it didn't matter if it was a meaningless issue. The two had been together for a short period of time, yet Winona felt like she'd known Ruth forever. The blonde was falling in love with the dark haired other; slowly but surely. From the way she managed to slip her arm around her waist and pull her close, to the fact her nose crinkled when she smiled. Ruth was a beautiful soul, which made it all the stranger.

Ruth had been HABIT's main nurse since he'd arrived at Fairmount- how had she lasted so long?

Winona knew there were secrets that the taller other refused to share, even now. She would one day, but not for a long time. It unsettled the blonde, knowing that something had happened that had managed to cause Ruth to keep it unspoken for so long. It must have been terrible.

It must have involved HABIT.

Perhaps that was why Ruth was always the first to jump in if HABIT needed to be taken aside or held back from launching a vicious attack. Whatever danger, no matter the time- Ruth was the one, dealing with all of the hurled abuse and screaming and lashing out. The threats. The promises. All of it.

Very rarely did Ruth actually let Winona get close enough to be in harm's way.

A soft smile found its way to the female's lips as she poured the batter into the pan and began to make the pancakes- she appreciated Ruth and her ways. Of course, she was curious, but she'd never push too hard to find out what it was that Ruth would not tell. She respected her too much.

Winona was making quite a few pancakes- enough for the both of them! The blonde herself had quite the sweet tooth, so she'd most likely have icing sugar and maple syrup on her pancakes. Ruth was much more savoury than sweet, and enjoyed bacon with her pancakes, as well as a little bit of maple syrup. The common theme between them, however, was the pancakes.

Everyone could agree with pancakes.

Now singing gently to herself as she plated the pancakes, Winona gave a little dance as she picked the icing sugar from the cupboard and began to dust it over her own pancakes- only to be spooked by a sudden chuckle, "Good morning, bomboncita. I knew I smelt pancakes."

Winona gave a gasp and jerked her arm, meaning that icing sugar had ended up on her shirt and dusted her nose. Great, "You spooked me!" The blonde complained, before giving a light giggle and shaking her head. Ruth grinned in response, and moved forward before wrapping her arms around the smaller woman's waist and pulled her into a hug,

"I'm sorry! Aw, you have icing sugar on your nose."

"Ah!" Winona sighed, exasperated as she brought up a hand and wiped the icing sugar from her nose. Ruth couldn't help but give a light laugh in response to her angel's light irritation,

"I saw you dance."

"I-what?! How long were you standing there?!" The blonde squeaked, giving Ruth a light tap on the shoulder, "I don't want to know- time for food!"

"Long enough to see you dance. You're so cute. Also, thank you for the pancakes!" Ruth mused in return, a warm and cheeky grin pulling at her lips as Winona pushed the plate over to her and also handed her the maple syrup. Two perfectly crispy rashers of bacon were set on top of the fluffy pancakes, and Ruth's stomach rumbled at the scent.

Best morning ever.

Pouring a small amount of maple syrup onto her pancakes in comparison to Winona- who had poured a generous amount of the maple syrup onto her plate, Ruth hummed happily and took up a fork before beginning to eat the breakfast. Delicious!

Winona really was an angel. For baking, however, not for cooking. From experience, Winona cooking would end up in the fire alarms blaring and all of the windows in the apartment having to be open for at least an hour. It was amusing more than anything, "I hope you like them!" Winona spoke happily, "I think they turned out good!"

Ruth looked to her girlfriend and gave a satisfied grin, "Better than good, angel! We're on a day off, which is amazing, and I also wake up to breakfast? Life is perfect!" The female exclaimed, in obviously high spirits as Winona gave her signature soft smile and a shrug,

"It's no biggie! It's the least I can do, to say thank you."

Thank you for the love you give me. For the smiles you share. The songs you write and play. The protection you give from harm and for getting me, in idiot, through life. Thank you for you. Thank you for everything.

Yes, pancakes were the least that the blonde woman could do, to thank her girlfriend for being wonderful. A sweet and savoury thought.

Just like Winona and Ruth.

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Hello all!!

I hope that you have been feeling okay and that life has been okay!!

I also hope you enjoy this happier, fluffier chapter- because it's an apology for the emotion of the next chapter AAH--

Thank you all ever so much for your neverending support, and as always,

until next time! :D