Embedded Files
This story was a request from Dio herself; she asked me to take a stab at explaining how Hideki Uzuki, a character from one of the many story threads in her Threads of Yuugen project, wound up with the (vintage 80s!) red Converse he's so often seen wearing. And as I don't do things by halves, I took that as an opportunity to introduce a whole new character, set up names for characters to explore later, throw in some worldbuilding, and apparently leave her a little teary eyed at the end. A job well done, I'd say!
Titled after Vintage Nova by Shinji Hosoe. Art of Hideki Uzuki by Dio Maxwelle.
Whilst he was still relatively new to this whole “jumping across universes” thing, Hideki had become very familiar with the process and it's side effects; he'd learned to look straight ahead and all times no matter what he heard, that he should wear his warmest jacket to protect from the freezing temperature of not-space, and could manage the slight dizziness and nausea that would set in on his arrival at the other end.
Unfortunately, there's not much you can do to prepare for a slug to the jaw when you don't see it coming. At least the hand that dealt it wasn't too calloused.
The stars clearing from the vision but his focus not fully reset, Hideki could hear the vague sound of understandably confused, slightly distressed, and very angry voices. He tried to shake his head to bring his senses back round, but he was roughly dragged up by the hem of his tattered old jacket and slammed into a brick wall. Blinking a few times and groaning as the pain set in, a man with what could charitably be called a 'miffed' expression filled his view.
“What the fuck do you think you're doing?” He shouted, at a volume high enough to clear the last of the fog clouding Hideki's head. First contact may have gone a bit pear shaped.
“Uh... took a wrong left?” Hideki said, meaning it wholeheartedly but realising too late how it might come off.
“You think this is a fucking joke, man?” The guy pinning him shouted again, bringing his face closer. “Think you're some fuckin' comedian?”
“No...?” Hideki sheepishly responded; he noted that there were several other men gathered in a huddle behind the one pinning him, each of them wearing matching leather jackets.
“Save it, Drake; cops'll be here any moment and the Bulls ditched the scene. We ought'a do the same.” One of them said nonchalantly.
“Yeah,” another chimed in, “Ain't worth adding to the wrap sheet wasting some dude who popped up out of nowhere.”
“Are we just... not gonna question that any further?” a far quieter face from the back piped up.
“Fuck that.” The guy holding him- Drake- spat, fumbling with the hem of his jeans and producing a pistol, which he immediately pressed against Hideki's neck. “This asshole cost us the score of a lifetime and put us in deeper shit with the other gangs. He's fucking dead.”
Hideki gulped loudly, heart rate rising; his relatively-recently-acquired abilities allowed him to endure and survive a lot, but he wasn't sure a direct shot from a gun would be one of them. “C-c-can we, we please talk abo-”
He was cut off by the sound of a heavy thunk- the sound of metal colliding very hard with flesh. And another. And then another still. He, along with Drake and the rest of his gang, turned around;
A young woman, no older then her early 20s, was clonking members of the gang with a rather large and heavy looking bit of piping. She wasn't stopping to quip- very wise, Hideki thought- simply moving from one dude to the next.
Recognising his opening, Hideki pulled his head back in the little room he was afforded, and when Drake turned back to him upon noticing the movement he slammed his head forward, connecting with the man's nose; there was a significant crack signalling the breaking of cartilage as Drake stumbled backwards, but Hideki didn't let up and immediately planted a kick right in his midsection, sending him crumpling to the floor. He turned, noting that the woman had taken out the rest of the gang barring one member- whom was drawing his own pistol and training it on her whilst her back was turned.
Hideki wasn't having that. He dashed forward as quickly as he could, putting himself just between the woman and the gang member right as he fired- by some miracle, the bullet grazed his shoulder before ricocheting into the wall behind them. Hideki seethed; it was deeper then he'd have liked, but less lethal than it could have been. Producing his sword with his spare arm, he brought the blade down across the middle of the gun, effortlessly slicing through it like butter as the broken half clanked to the floor. The look on the gang member's face said all it needed to- he was bricking it, and knew he was stuffed.
“... Whoa.” The woman said, in a slightly deep and gruff voice. She cocked an eyebrow at Hideki, stunned but more curious then anything.
“Care to do the honours?” Hideki said, stepping aside and gesturing at the dumbstruck gang member. “It's only fair.”
“Oh. Yeah, sure.” the woman said nonchalantly, before raising the pipe, bringing it down on the gang member's head with enough force for the wind generated to ruffle Hideki's hair and startle him slightly.
Surveying the scene and deducing that everyone there was either concussed or... mortally challenged, Hideki breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his guard, turning to face the woman with a soft smile. “Thank you. That could have been quite messy.”
“Dunno, dude; reckon it would'a been less messy if anythin'.” she said with a smirk, resting the pipe on her shoulder. “But ay; wasn't 'bout to watch those morons ice a total stranger.”
“It's appreciated.” Hideki replied, taking in the woman's appearance; dark skinned with deep brown eyes, wearing in a sleeveless denim jacket adorned with what he presumed were band patches, denim shorts that went down to her knees, a white shirt with a faded design he couldn't place, and immaculate looking red sneakers with white toe caps- Converse, he believed they were called- that matched the colour of a headband tied around her forehead and weaved through curly black hair. “Let me guess; Earth, 1980s?”
The woman cocked her eyebrow, but answered anyway. “1986 to be specific. Why'd you ask?”
“You're... taking that question on the chin.” Hideki said, a little stunned.
The woman shrugged. “Well, y'definitely ain't from around here. That's obvious.”
“I could simply be from out of town.” Hideki countered.
“Sure. Way outta town, seems like.” the woman remarked, smirking again.
Hideki chuckled. “I'm used to being doubted at first.”
“I'm an open minded sort of girl.” she remarks, her face settling into a more neutral expression. “You, uh. Might want to do something about that shoulder, by the way. Looks grizzly.”
Hideki blinked, before a burning soreness made itself apparent on his left shoulder. Of course, the bullet graze! Damnit, he hoped he hadn't lost too much blo- yeah his jacket sleeve was a little wet and warm, damnit. “I'd better be off, then.”
“Sure you don't want some help?” the woman offered, leaning on the pipe as she places its base on the ground. “I'm a dab hand with gauze.”
“It's alright; I am as well.” Hideki smiled, placing his now free right hand over the wound to halt the bleeding somewhat. “Thank you, again.”
The woman shrugged, exhaling but smiling. “Suit yourself, dude. Watch yourself; this ain't the nicest neighbourhood.”
“I'll be careful.” Hideki said, nodding as he began walking away, before turning back around. “... Nice shoes, by the way.”
“Heh. Thanks.”
---
The smell was the first thing Hideki noticed as he emerged from the space between worlds; a wretched combination of smoke and rotten meat. Taking in his surroundings, he noticed he was again on Earth- meaning that the shade of deep umber in the sky probably wasn't wholly natural.
Cautiously emerging from the parking structure he poofed in via, he took note of the state of the buildings in the streets; windows smashed, stores ransacked, cars abandoned; no bodies, thankfully, but nobody walking around either. Just the sound of wind in the air.
Not a good scene by any stretch. Best get that sword ready, Hideki thought.
Good thing he did, too- not mere seconds after stepping out onto the street an unsheathing the blade, he heard a noise somewhere between watery gurgling and radio static sounding from underneath one of the abandoned cars; not long after, an elongated creature with a long, worm-like body, three rows of elongated and human-like hands (but no legs) and a maw full of rows of sharpened teeth scrambled it's way out, beelining for him. Not having the time to be shocked or afraid, Hideki simply brought the blade down on the creature, splitting it's face and a good chunk of his upper body in half vertically; the horrid noise was silenced almost immediately, and the beast ceased moving.
“Huh...” Hideki murmured. “I expected that to be harder.”
Unaware that one should never open their bloody mouth and say such stupid things, his ears picked up the sound again- fainter, but growing louder. Looking down the street, he saw three similar shapes getting larger- closer. He gulped, readying himself. Hell of a welcome to this new world.
“You might wanna move!”
Caught off guard by the voice, Hideki looked to his side only to see two bottles with burning rags being thrown in high arcs; his brain put two and two together and he turned around, the presumed source of the voice putting their arm around him and pulling him down a narrow side-street He felt the heat of the molotovs more then he heard the sound of their impact, but he did note that the gurgle-static had once again gone quiet as he was rushed down the street and practically dragged into one of its doors.
“That was dumb as fuck, takin' 'em on yourself; how in the hell'd you survive thi- wait... I know you.”
The madness subsiding, Hideki took another look at his saviour; it took a few moments for recognition to set in, what with most of the outfit being swapped out for dark black jeans and a ticker leather coat, but the red headband, matching red Converse, and those deep eyes were unmistakable.
Hideki smiled. “Yes; you helped me out of a jam in an alleyway with your impressive pipe-bludgeoning skills.”
The woman had that same burst of recognition, returning the smile- though hers was definitely more cocky. “Good memory; that was like, five years ago.”
1992, Earth, got it. But something was very clearly off compared to last time. “Things have changed since I was last in town.”
The woman tutted “Try most of the west coast; these things began sprouting out of the damn ground all over the place from Bellingham all the way down to Imperial Beach. They've ain't really managed to crack the Midwest-”
“Why's that?”
“Not very good in snow and cold, I hear.”
“Ah.”
“- but we've been kinda just left high 'n dry whilst the powers that be hold the fort up in the Rockies. Have been for about a year. Not sure how many folks're left.” The woman finished.
Hideki felt a pang of sorrow in his stomach. “Nobody's coming to help?”
To his surprise, the woman laughed. “Don't seem like it, nah. Nothing I'm not used to; police never came 'round here for anythin' other'n bothering folks who weren't botherin' nobody before things got all weird.”
“There's a world of difference between pushers and gang-bangers and these... uh...”
“We just call 'em Slithers.”
“Right, yes.”
The woman shrugged again. “Yeah? I guess. Hard to say; been around violence of some sort for as long as I can remember. Why'd y'think I was around to see you almost get wasted?”
Hideki didn't know how to react to the that, so he just looked down. “I'm sorry to hear that.”
“Ah don't do that, man; I don't need your pity.” The woman waved her hand, smiling again. “It ain't been easy, no, but hey; I got real good at looking out for people. No points for guessing that's been real handy lately.”
Hideki couldn't help but laugh. “I admit; you do look to be in your element. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you're handling this situation as well as one can.”
“Would you believe this isn't even the weirdest thing to happen to me?”
“Not for a minute.”
“Nah, you right; this is fucked up.”
The two of them broke out into laughter for several minutes; Hideki finding his way to a spare chair opposite the woman. He didn't intend to stay long- she had people to get back to- but a quick spot of tea in the quiet of the madness wouldn't hurt.
---
“Yo, Crimson; we brought the anomaly Says he knows you.”
“Bring 'im in.”
Hideki squinted his eyes slightly as the door opened up to a brightly lit room; he noticed quickly that the light was mostly coming from racks of computers lined all along the walls, a simple halogen light placed on the ceiling of an otherwise plain room. It matched the rest of the building, he supposed- a nondescript red-brick, one-storey but wide building with only a bare white coat applied to the interior walls, the only things of note being the various machines and stocks of armament his captors had walked him past. Upon laying his eyes on the figure seated at the central desk- that instantly familiar woman, her apparently trademark red Converse crossed at the heels and resting atop said desk, and paired with what could loosely be described as a “suit” (in so far as she sported a blazer loosely worn over a dress shirt and slacks) he realised the attire for whoever said captors were was very lax; the only unifying thing between the two men holding him were their sleeveless jackets, adorned with a single, single patch showing a red C. (which the breast pocket of the woman's blazer also shared).
Her eyes softened the second she recognised him. “Alright, alright, take the poor bastard's cuffs off already and give us some space, yeah?”
“You, uh, sure?” One of the two escorts said, nodding at Hideki. “He did just... kinda appear in the mess hall suddenly. Packing a sword.”
“Nah; he's fine. He came willingly anyway, right?”
Both the escorts exchanged looks before shrugging, removing the slightly-too-tight handcuffs from Hideki's wrists, for which he gave a sigh of relief and brought his arms forward, rubbing his wrists. The escorts briefly nodded at the woman, before taking their leave.
“I will get that sword back, right?”
“S'already waiting for you at the front desk.” The woman snarked, pulling her feet off the desk and sitting back. “Wondered if I'd ever see you again, after last time.”
Hideki smiled sheepishly. “I could say the same, eh heh... I uh, presume from the nicer atmosphere out there that the 'Slithers' problem solved itself...?”
“Well, I like to think I played a big part in solving it,” she chuckled, crossing her fingers.”But yeah; we got that under control a bit back. 'Course, weird shit kept happening after that.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah; fucked up monsters, trippy dimensional stuff, straight up supernatural events... those things from back then were like, harbingers or whatever, I guess. It's been mostly smaller scale stuff, though; things that're a lot easier for institutions to turn a blind eye to.”
Hideki glanced around the room. “That's not what this is?”
The woman grimaced, groaning. “Well, the tech is government issue, but it's all, ah... 'liberated', let's say. I don't care much for power structures or paperwork.”
Hideki began to catch on. “Vigilantism is a risky business. Speaking from experience.”
“It's like I said to you before; I'm good at helping people in a jam. Got even better at it after all that Slither stuff. After it was over, I figured if folks were gonna keep getting failed by the systems meant to protect 'em, even after the world changed, I'd better step up. Probably doing a better job'n they would, anyway.”
Hideki smiled. “You've a good heart, miss... Crimson, was it?”
“Not my real name, 'course. We keep that shit confidential here; new hires don't tell us or each other nothin' 'bout their personal lives, outside of this. Don't even see each other outside of the job. Harder to get a beat on us that way.”
“Huh...” Hideki mused. “That so? Well... I did always like the ring of Rufous.”
The woman looked genuinely confused- the first time she'd done so to Hideki's eyes. “Eh?”
“Oh come now; it'd be rude to cut and run for a third time, right? Besides; if I can do some good here, I'm inclined to hang around for a little while.”
“... Heh. Ok. Welcome aboard, 'Rufous'.”
---
“Three cheers for the newly-weds!”
“Fuck that; shots for the newly-weds!”
“Hell yeah!”
Hideki would have been smiling at the merriment he could hear from the ceremony, but he was a touch preoccupied with the blasted bow-tie he was affixing to his collar- he never was any good at this sort of thing. Still, it was a special occasion; it'd be rude not to make an effort.
Finally done with the tie, he gave himself a quick pat down to ensure his suit was all in order, before finally rounding the corner of the nunnery and out into the open of the wedding party, held in what look to be a very lavish church courtyard. It was quite a large gathering, and whilst he didn't recognise many of the faces there, he noted a few that he did- Russet and Mansell were chatting among a small group, Coquelicot had taken full charge of the karaoke setup, and that was definitely Vermillion pouring scotch into his punch. Guess she must've eased up on the work/life separation by now, however far along this was; the signs of ageing were there, but it was still subtle.
Hideki did his best to blend into the crowd; it's not that he didn't want to say hello to old comrades, it's just... Difficult. He'd rather do this only the once, if he could.
He was shaken from his thoughts when he saw her; Crimson, cradled in the arms of a tall, very muscular woman who's smile somehow dwarfed both in size, sporting the most elegant, deep red wedding dress he'd ever seen. Crimson herself looked overjoyed, once more donned in a suit and- of course- her trademark red Converse.
This was going to suck.
Hideki strode closer to the duo, walking as slow as he could- but it didn't take long for Crimson to notice him in the crowd, her smile wavering for a moment but her eyes betraying everything. He tried not to look too awkward as he approached.
“Hey,” he said, crossing his wrists behind his back.
“... Hey.”
“Sorry I'm late.”
“Yeah, it's cool.”
“You look stunning.”
“Thanks.”
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat. Awesome. Excellent.
Crimson's wife looked more nervous then Hideki felt, and took it upon herself to deflate the tension. “I don't think we've been introduced; are you and o-”
“Yep, he's a friend of mine.” Crimson interjected, before turning around. “Give us ten minutes, babe?”
“Oh, uh, sure thing!”
Crimson nodded, grasping onto Hideki's wrist and practically dragging him away. He offered a sheepish smile to the wife. “Uh, nice to meet you!”
If she replied, Hideki didn't hear it as he was pulled around the corner. Turning to face Crimson, her expression had soured as she tapped her foot on the ground.
“... She seems nice.”
“'Sorry I'm late'? Really?”
Ok. That's about what Hideki expected. “... I mean it.” Was all he said.
Crimson tutted. “I don't doubt that. And I 'preciate the apology. Doesn't automatically make you just up and vanishing A-OK”
“Crimson, you know what my deal is,” Hideki said, in a calmer tone then the exasperated choice of works would betray. “You knew I wasn't going to stay.”
“That ain't the point.” Crimson said, sadness filling her eyes in a way Hideki hadn't seen it do before. “It's not that you left. It's that you didn't say goodbye. I- we- thought you just... died, y'know?”
Guilt bubbled in Hideki's stomach. “I'm made of hardier stuff then you'd think.”
“Are you?” An honest, and vulnerable statement more then a question.
“... I don't know.”
“That's what I thought.”
Silence passed for what felt like minutes as the two looked into each others eyes, neither of them flinching, but there was no animosity there. Hurt, yes, but no ill will.
Hideki relented, sighing. “There's a lot of holes in my memory. Sometimes, more then others. What is and isn't there... changes.”
“Like, amnesia?”
“Sort of, but not medical. It's more like... something plucking and shuffling stuff around in my head. Or someone, I suspect.”
“Huh... is that right...” Crimson took the information in for a moment, before cracking a slight smile. “Fuckin' A, your life is mad complicated eh?”
Hideki chuckled. “Like you wouldn't believe.”
Crimson laughed herself. “No, I think I have a good idea by now.”
Silence hung in their air briefly as they regained their composure, each unsure of what to say. This time, it was Crimson that broke the silence.
“... You were a great member of the team, y'know. An even better friend. Prolly weren't that long in the grand scheme of things, but... still missed ya when you went.”
Hideki frowned. “How long...?”
“'bout a decade.”
Damnit. Factor in the four year gap between the Slithers and the year with the crew... “I'm really sorry, Crimson. Truly.”
“Nah, it's alright; honest. I weren't angry; just a little bummed.” Crimson smiled, genuinely. “I'm glad you came. Would'a been nice if you'd seen the actual ceremony-”
“Ok look, I don't have complete control over where and when I pop out, and ties are hard-”
“-but, that you're here at all means a lot. Really.”
Hideki grinned. “I'm glad to have been here. I meant it when I said she seems nice.”
Crimson's usual smug smirk set back in. “She's fuckin' adorable. Caught myself a keeper there.”
A third and a final bout of silence fell over them. This one felt heavier. Hideki had to be the one to break it.
“... I need to go, I'm afraid.”
“Yeah... yeah. I understand.”
The sadness in Crimson's voice stabbed at his heart. “I'm really, really so-”
“Don't... keep apologising. Y'don't need to. I get it. Really, it's fine.” Crimson crossed past him, heading back to the party. “Just... promise you won't be a stranger?”
“... You know I can't.”
“Heh. Worth a shot.”
---
Hideki blinked and squinted his eyes as he opened the door, not expecting such a beautiful sunset on the other side of the frame; reds, oranges, yellows and purples exploded across the sky, bathing the surrounding woods in a delightfully warm hue. Fresh pine filled his lungs as he inhaled; one of the more pleasant welcomes he'd received from a world.
“Aight, now I know you're some sort of alien, but it ain't fair you get to keep your good looks.”
Hideki smiled, turning and facing the direction of the hoarser, but familiar voice; Crimson was sat on a cosy looking seat, facing outwards from the buildings porch and towards the wilderness. There was no missing the passage of time this go around; her hair had greyed significantly, but kept it's body, and her skin likewise showed her age with the wrinkles creased into her cheeks and around her eyes. Those eyes, though, were still as deep and ablaze as they always were.
“Nonsense,” he said, taking a seat next to her, “you're still as lovely as you were the last time I saw you.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Rufous. But thank you.”
Hideki followed her gaze out into the open. “Didn't take you for the easy life out in the sticks, you know.”
“Neither did I; it was Mercy's idea. Grew on me pretty quick, though,” Crimson mused, producing a packet of cigarettes from the wool jacket she was wearing; she offered the packet to Hideki, whom declined, before taking one and striking it alight.
“It all worked out then, huh?” Hideki replied, smiling.
“Darn right it did; best 32 years of my life, I tell ya.” Crimson said
Hideki grimaced. “I'm s-”
“If the word 'sorry' comes out of that mouth again, I'll shut it for you,” Crimson said, with a jovial laugh. “We tore that band aid off a long time ago. Besides, weren't that long ago that I last saw you.”
Hideki looked puzzled by that. “Pardon?”
“Don't remember, huh? Guess someone's been rearranging your grey matter again. Or maybe it just hasn't happened for you yet.”
“What are you getting at?”
“You're the interdimensional being jumping through time and space, you tell me.”
The two of them broke out in raucous laughter; the longest and hardest bout of laughter the two had ever shared, from what Hideki recalls.
Conversation died out for a while after that, but this was different; this was peaceful. Contentment within each other's company. A warm, comfortable silence of familiarity. In moments like these, no words needed to be exchanged; they couldn't do justice to the thoughts and feelings communicated in the absence of sound.
It was nice.
But nothing can last forever.
“I reckon you've gotta be on your way, right?” Crimson asked, turning to face him directly.
“Yeah.” Hideki said, smiling sadly. “Something tells me there's people out there that need me.”
“No hard feelings, son; at least I got to say goodbye this time.”
Hideki started. “You don't mean-”
“Oh relax; I ain't goin' anywhere yet,” Crimson chided, thumping him in the arm- hard enough to it to hurt a little. “But somethin' tells me this is the last time I'll see you.”
Hideki didn't know what to say to that. He didn't really want to think about that eventuality. He never liked having to.
“Didn't I just tell ya not to look so glum?” Crimson sad, offering her own sad, but sincere smile. Suddenly, she got to her feet, groaning a little as she stretched. “Hold on; got something that might cheer ya up.”
Hideki watched her with a puzzled expression as she wandered into the house; she was only gone for a few second before she returned, holding...
Those old red Converse.
Hideki hadn't noticed she wasn't wearing them.
“What...?”
“Ain't worn 'em in years; somehow... didn't feel right after the crew went their separate ways, y'know? Couldn't part with 'em, though; too much history behind 'em.”
Hideki was stunned, double-taking as he looked over them and saw that they were mostly pristine- the barest of scuffs on the rubber and maybe a loose bit of canvas thread, but no holes, no cracks, nothing indicating heavy wear. “Those cannot possibly be the same ones from that day in the alleyway,” he said, tone flat in disbelief.
“Oh, they are.”
“I thought you replaced them often!”
“Nope.”
“How-”
“Not a clue, Rufous,” Crimson chuckled. “It's funny, though; you know I bought these the day I met you...? Barely an hour before we met.”
Hideki's face could only maintain so much incredulity before it collapsed in on itself, so he defaulted to just laughing. “Guess they must be lucky.”
“Careful you don't jinx it; you'll be putting that theory to the test.”
Hideki looked directly into Crimson's eyes. “I ca-”
“Rufous, they ain't bars a'gold or family heirlooms; they're sneakers. Sneakers that've seen me through some shit. I figure someone who jumps about and gets into as many scrapes as you do could do with that kinda luck.”
Hideki could tell he was going to get nowhere by arguing, but he gave it one last try; “What are the odds we're even the same size?”
“Well, either I got big feet or you got small feet, cos I reckon they will.” Crimson said, tossing them over. Hideki barely caught them in time; they felt heavier then canvas and rubber ought to. Regardless, he kicked off the old boots he was wearing and began to slip his feet into the Converse; sure as can be, they fit just fine. Hideki hadn't worn Converse before today, so he was struck by how light they felt on the foot; how easy they were to walk in, as he stood and tried them out. When he turned back to look at Crimson, that ever familiar smug smirk was on her face.
“... Thank you.”
“Don't mention it. Just remember who it was that gave 'em to ya, y'hear?”
“Well, I'd like to, but...” Hideki said, as he retrieved his older boots, “I can't properly remember someone who's name I don't know.”
“You know my name.”
“Not your real one. You never told me.”
“No shit...? Huh.”
Crimson looked out into the forest again; the sound of the breeze itself seemed to fade away into nothing as one final beat of silence fell between the two.
“... Nina. Nina Chesang.”
“... I like it. It's a lot nicer then Crimson.”
Crimson turned back, rolling her eyes. “Aight, your turn. You didn't tell me yours, neither.”
“Heh, you're right...” he responded, turning and beginning his walk away. “... Hideki. My name is Hideki.”
“Huh. I preferred Rufous, frankly.”
Hideki laughed as he strode away, barely able to hear Nina laughing along with him; he laughed and laughed and laughed, doing his best to ignore how damp and hot his eyes were becoming.
He wondered if she was, too.
~ Decon Theed (11/12/2021)
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