The Hermit's Retreat

Chapter 12

False sighed as she stepped out onto the porch. This far away from everything, the stars were bright. She sat down in one of the rocking chairs and wrapped her jacket tighter around her. It had been nice during the day at about 10 degrees, and it had dropped to somewhere around four. They'd come back from the hike, eaten dinner, and got a bit of recording done. False was fully intending on going to bed, but after a few hours of not being able to sleep, she'd checked to see if Xisuma was awake. He wasn't, much to her disappointment, so she'd pulled on a hoodie and gone outside.

She couldn't stop thinking about him holding her hand earlier, and she'd been waiting for the rest of the day to see if he would do it again, but he hadn't.

She started and whirled around as she heard the door behind her open, but to her surprise and relief, it was Xisuma.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked.

"I heard someone out here, but I didn't know who it was."

"It's only me," she said, "so you can go back to bed if you want."

"No, I think I'll stay out here with you a little longer."

He walked over to where False was sitting and leaned against the wall.

"Today was really nice." False said. "I wish we'd had time to do a couple more trails though."

"Well that just gives us an excuse to go back again."

"I suppose so."

The conversation fell into contented quietness, and they both sat looking up at the stars. False didn't know how much time had passed before Xisuma broke the silence.

"You know, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now. I've psyched myself out a few times, but after today..." He trailed off. "After today I feel like it's best to just do it."

False's mind started racing, looking for any hint or clue about whatever horrible thing he was about to tell her. "O-okay..." She stammered.

"I've thought this for a while now, and I never said anything because it wouldn't have mattered since we only talked over Discord, but... What I'm trying and struggling to say is that... I care for you, genuinely. As more than just a friend. And you don't have to- False?" He stopped when he saw her hide her face in her hands.

As soon as she'd realized what he was saying, False had started blushing and smiling like a dippy. She was shocked into looking up when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her wrists. Xisuma gently pulled her hands away from her face. He was looking at her with concern written all over his features, but it quickly vanished when he saw her huge smile and pink cheeks.

"So... I take it you're not mad?" He asked.

She didn't say anything, just stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck. They stood like that for a few moments before she started to shiver, and then they moved inside to the couch. They sat facing each other.

"I'm gonna be awkward," she started, "are we... doing this? Us?"

"Do you want to?"

"I... I think that would be nice. But only if you really want to."

"Well I don't think we'd be here if I didn't."

"Fair enough. But I want to take things slow."

"Then that's what we'll do."

The conversation shifted away from the two of them, and they sat and talked until the moon rose. Once again, False fell asleep when Xisuma went to lock the back door, but she didn't pretend to stay asleep when he carried her up the stairs again. When he set her down on the bed and turned to leave, she grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to his cheek. The face he made when he left told her he probably wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon.

A/N: Yaaay, something other than pining! Also, it's surprisingly difficult to write about someone when you don't know what their face looks like, but  I digress. I've received a lot of support for this story, especially since the last chapter, so I guess I just wanted to say thanks for that. Y'all are great. Peace.