forum Pheasant Brook (O/O with Icarus!)

Started December 12, 2019 by @GoblinKing

tune

(I gtg soon)

Connor grinned again. "Ah know." He replied, smiling.

(alright, gn in advance!)

Wilhelm jumped slightly at another sharp roar of thunder, ducking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. He moved to sit cross-legged, drawing himself in more. “Fuck-!”

Connor bit his lip again, then scooted closer. "Hey, it's gonna be okay." He said softly.

Wilhelm leaned against Connor very slightly, his entire frame trembling. “God, it’s just.. right in your ears, isn’t it? Just-“ Wilhelm ground his teeth. “Just gets right on into your brain.”

He nodded a little. "It's bass." He replied softly. He wrapped an arm around Wilhelm's shoulders.

“Whatever it is, I hate it.” Wilhelm leaned slightly further into Connor without really realizing it. “It’s like a bombshell.”

"Yeah. Ah know." Connor replied softly, holding Wilhelm gently. "M' da, after he came back on leave from th' war…he could nae handle th' thunderstorms." his voice was quiet. "Ah was so little, bu' ah liked 'em, an' ah remember askin' m' ma why m' daddy was so scared o' thunder." his mouth twitched in a faint, bittersweet smile. "She told me tha' it was nae the storm itself, bu' his memories o' the trenches tha' made him so scared. She said tha' we needed ta be strong fer him, ta help him recover." he shrugged a little bit.

Wilhelm pressed his lips together in a tiny, pained smile, remembering the shells falling on his own city. “I understand.” He laughed partially, rubbing his eyes. “It’s painful, more than it should be. I’m almost a grown man, for fuck’s sake, I should be able to handle some damn thunderstorm.” Wilhelm slipped his fingers through his curls.

Connor shrugged. "Shell shock." He replied softly, realizing something. "Yeh heard some o' the combat, ah'd guess."

“Heard it? A shell dropped on my neighbor’s house.” Wilhelm bit off his words, feeling a little lightheaded when he remembered the scene.

Connor inhaled through his teeth. "…oh. Ah'm sorry. Ah…did nae know." he breathed out, looking at Wilhelm carefully. He didn't remove his arm from around the taller boy.

“You wouldn’t’ve, don’t be sorry.” Wilhelm leaned his head on Connor, trying to reassure him. “These things happen in war, I guess. I shouldn’t be the one upset by it.”

"'s alright ta be upset, Wil." Connor replied simply. "Ah still get all kinds o' messed up when ah remember how m' ma died. Yeh've go' every right ta be upset about bad memories."

“But she’s your mom. I never even spoke to these fucking people, Connor, that’s what makes me so mad. I don’t have a right to be upset.” Wilhelm blurted, squeezing his eyes shut at another snap of lightning. “I just- fuck.”

"Wilhelm." Connor said firmly, holding the German boy gently. "Having a right or no does nae matter." his voice was firm. "Yer still upset, an' that matters."

Wilhelm clenched his jaw, flinching away from the proceeding thunder. He ducked his head, his breaths shallow and quickening.

Connor studied Wilhelm for a moment. He turned his head away to sneeze again, then faced Wilhelm again.

Wilhelm took a second to register Connor’s sneeze, but when he did he let out a little sigh. “Are you sure you aren’t sick?” Wilhelm took a few moments between his words, stumbling over them when he didn’t.

"Ah better no' be." Connor replied, shaking his head slightly. "Ah think ah just irritated m' sinuses 'r somethin'."

“I hope so.” Wilhelm wrung his hands, not sure where to look. Normally he’d look out the window, but the dark storm clouds weren’t something he wanted to see. He and Connor were a little close for Wilhelm to comfortably look at him, so he elected to simply look down at his lap instead.

Connor realized after a moment that he still had one arm around Wilhelm's shoulders, and slowly pulled his arm away. He didn't want to, but if it stayed there for too much longer…things would get awkward.

Wilhelm glanced at Connor’s arm as it withdrew, but said nothing. He didn’t want Connor to move his arm away, but it made sense why he might’ve.

Connor shifted a little bit, unsure what to say now. "Yeh gonna be okay if this continues overnight?" he asked after a moment, gesturing to the window.

“I don’t know, in all honestly. I should be, but I don’t know.” Wilhelm said, although his voice had dropped to a mumble by the end of his sentence. “I’m sorry, ha-“

"Hey, 't's alright. Nothin' ta be sorry for, Wil." Connor replied softly. "Ah'll be here all night if ya need someone t' talk to, 'r just…whatever yeh need." he said quietly. "Ah mean…no' like there's anywhere else fer me ta sleep anyways."

“Thanks, Connor.” Wilhelm gave him a small smile, though he couldn’t resist digging his nails into his hand. “I’ll try not to bug you, though.”

"Wilhelm, ah literally have nothing better ta do, so if yeh need something, yeh can say it." he replied, deadpan. "An' stop diggin' yer nails into yer hand, yer gonna hurt yerself."

God, why do you care so much? Wilhelm nodded, biting his tongue. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking about it- but it doesn’t hurt either way.”

Connor sighed softly, and nodded. Why am I constantly doing that? If he wants to hurt himself, that's his business. Get a straight head on, Connor! "Yeah, alrigh'."

Wilhelm checked his watch, sighing. “It’s getting late. I should probably at least try to sleep soon.”