Sorry, I Love You.

2.11

It was fucking freezing today. Two days before Christmas and the weather seemed to be gearing up to celebrate with everyone in Cincinnati. Howl hadn't really prepared himself for this cold either. Besides his leather jacket and heavy sweatshirt underneath, all he had was a beanie hanging off his head. His trip to Fisher's front door and back to his car would be short, though. He didn't plan on standing outside, in the freezing December cold, for very long.

Unfortunately, Wyatt was just passing the front door when he noticed a human figure approaching the house through the window in the door. Wyatt froze in his steps and stared through the window, his eyes narrowing as he studied the familiar figure trudging through the snow to get to his front door. The guy had a small, unwrapped, brown box in his hands but, his head was ducked and shoulders high as he shivered in the cold so, Wyatt couldn't properly see his face.

Howl didn't notice Wyatt as he kept his head down and approached the front door. He bent over to set the box right in front of the door and, as he straightened out again, the door swung open with a quiet squeak. As Howl looked up, his eyes slightly widened when he spotted Wyatt standing in the doorway with a suspicious scowl on his face. Howl didn't expect to be caught. He was just going to leave the gift and shoot Fisher a quick text that he had a present waiting for him in front of his house.

"Oh! Uh.. Hey." Howl stammered, still a bit caught off guard by Wyatt's sudden presence.

"Hey.." Wyatt looked Howl up and down. A moment passed before Wyatt added, "Don't I know you?"

"Yeah! Howl." Howl reminded as he pointed up, towards the upstairs window he remembered seeing Fisher in before. "Fisher's friend."

"Oh, right.." Wyatt seemed less confused now but, even more suspicious than he was a moment ago.

Wyatt's eyes suddenly fell to the brown box sat in front of his bare feet and he decided to grab it. Howl wanted to protest but, bit his tongue. Wyatt was already suspicious of him the first time Howl came here so, telling Wyatt not to touch something Howl left at his door would probably only make him more suspicious. Howl simply hoped Wyatt wouldn't open it because, based off their last interaction, Wyatt was very protective of his little brother and probably wouldn't appreciate what was inside that box.

"Babe?" Tamara called from further inside the house. "Where'd you go?"

Wyatt didn't answer that question, nor did he have to as Tamara appeared behind him and started heading towards the door when she realized Wyatt was talking to someone.

"What's this?" Wyatt asked Howl as he held the small box in his hand.

Tamara rested her arms over Wyatt's shoulders and peaked over his tall frame to look at the box. When her eyes lifted from the box and met Howl's, she offered a friendly smile. Howl was a little too nervous to reciprocate her friendliness, though. Tamara wasn't so much offended by his lack of response as she was intrigued. It seemed there was some palpable tension between her boyfriend and this stranger at the door. She wondered if it had anything to do with the box in his hand.

"That's just a little Christmas present. For Fisher. Nothing special." Howl nervously rubbed his cold hands together and shoved them in the pockets of his jacket.

Wyatt glanced down at the box and gave it a shake, feeling something small rattle a bit inside. "Do I need to be concerned about what's in this?" Wyatt asked like a stern, protective father.

Howl couldn't help but smirk as he shrugged. "No, I don't think so. It is for Fisher, after all, not for you."

Tamara spit out a laugh that she quickly silenced with a hand over her mouth. Wyatt shot Howl a dirty look and turned the box towards himself to begin opening it. Howl awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, and looked around the neighborhood. When the box was open and Wyatt moved the beanie aside, Tamara gasped behind her hand and drew Howl's attention back towards her and Wyatt. She was smiling, obviously shocked and entertained but, Wyatt looked a lot less amused by what was inside.