summary: two teenagers meet almost everyday at the empty park swings and today is no different, except this time, things get revealed.
word count: 2454 words
warnings: mentions of domestic violence
a/n: alright, whew, i was extremely LOCKED IN while writing this fic. i just really liked their dynamic and the idea from the prompt my friend gave me kept flowing on and on and on until i eventually ended up with the longest trade fic i've ever made in my trading career, enjoy the milkbread, i baked it thoroughly for two hours. almost forgot to mention that this is also a continuation of this fic so read that first if you haven't yet!
credits: @hellosweetart for the awesome milkbread thumbnail art & @/strangergraphics for the ao3 dividers
The park was empty after three o'clock in the afternoon, as always. Besides Francis, only an elderly couple would consistently come at an hour like this with the snow raining over the greenery and the cold almost unbearable. Still, even a negative degree celsius never stopped Francis from coming back here after his morning shift at his part-time job, and it was as plain as the snow gathered atop one of the swings part of the playground set to see why.
His thoughts filled itself with a girl's freckled complexion and mismatched eyes as he swept the snow off with his gloved hands and sat down on the swing. Francis still couldn't believe how fast time had passed with Nacha---before she came to his life, time moved torturously slow, especially on the days when he'd face the wrath of his father, Richard. Now? The hours spent at work barely registered to him anymore. Other than the tiredness that seeped into his bones from a job (hopefully) well done, everything else seemed to pass by so quickly as long as he had the routine of Nacha coming to their usual spot and talking to him like a normal human being.
Francis sighed and smiled to himself while imagining Nacha's smile, Yeah… As long as I have her, this life is still worth living… His eyes felt heavy and his vision blurred at the edges as time passed by. How long ago was it that he had eaten something? He had skipped on lunch break because the prospect of spending a single dime on food felt unnecessary, especially when the reason for him taking up work was… Francis's smile fell at the flashback of his mother completely bedridden and her medicine running short on stock.
A sigh was just about to escape his lips when a loud, sweet voice called out from afar, "Francis!" His breath hitched in his throat and he snapped his chin up to watch as Nacha ran towards him, her blue pencil skirt flew in the direction of the wind along with her scarf while she looked to be carrying a metal tumbler in one hand and a plastic of goodies being cradled on her other arm.
"Hah…" Nacha panted as she got ready to sit on the empty swing besides him. Francis hurriedly swept the snow away before she could get her skirt wet by sitting on it and immediately placed his hands on his lap and twiddled his fingers. "Whew…" Even though she was breathing hard, she still managed a huge smile and a hearty laugh, which Francis returned---albeit, a little crooked. She looks… extremely happy today, Francis thought as he stared at the side of her face. "Wow, that was a long run from here to there. But I didn't want the bread to go cold and stale, so I had to actually make a run for it this time."
Francis perked up on his swing and his grip on the chains tightened as his stomach let out a horribly loud growling sound. Nacha blinked, which made Francis flush and avert his gaze. "U-Um…" He stammered, completely at a loss for a words. This wasn't the first time Nacha had prepared snacks for their meeting, and given that she had shown such an unrivaled passion for cooking through her ramblings, it wasn't the last. Still, the embarrassment ate at him; after all, the reason for why he skipped out on lunch break was also partly due to Nacha always making sure he was fed when they would meet in the park.
"Teehee, I didn't know you wanted my cooking that much, Francis." Nacha teased, narrowing her eyes at him with a mischievous smile.
Francis's lower lip quivered and he bit it down while mumbling, "Mmm, of course I do…"
Nacha smiled wider, "Well, a chef is not complete without her taste tester. I actually made something new today and I'm a little bit prouder of myself because of it! Would you like to try it, Francis?"
Oh, so that's why she looked so happy today, Francis acknowledged in his mind and nodded fervently.
Pleased, Nacha didn't hesitate to grab something from her paper bag, and presented it to him with the same flourish that she did when she showed him the contents of the first aid kid all those months ago. Francis looked at it curiously, it looked like some sort of bread bulging with whatever filling it had. "Ta-da! It's called empanada! I read about it from one of my mom's old food magazines. These ones are very popular back in my home country, and they're really savory!"
Francis never once doubted the description Nacha gave him. Knowing her skills, it probably tasted just as good---no, better---than how she described it as. He eagerly took the empanada she handed to him in both hands like it was some kind of treasure before bring it to his mouth with just one hand and taking a bite out of it. Was that…? His eyes blew wide open as he tasted the cacophony of ingredients that were beans, cheese, chicken, and minced potato, as well as ground beef.
Nacha watched amusingly as Francis scarfed down his meal, wolfing it down entirely in just three bites. When he made a look even after devouring one empanada, Nacha placed two more in his hands and watched as he devoured them too. All the while, she was content while nomming on her own piece.
"That was…" Francis trailed off as he wiped the corner of his mouth, leaving no crumbs in Nacha's cooking's wake. "Good. Really good, Nacha."
"I'm glad you think so, Francis." Nacha giggled as she wiped the corner of her lips after finishing her empanada and handing the metal tumbler to Francis after taking a quick sip.
Francis gladly swallowed down a good amount of its content, only pausing to check for himself what drink the sweet and chocolatey taste was from and concluding in his mind that it was hot chocolate, before taking another long sip and letting the hot beverage warm his insides.
Nacha took the tumbler from him as she heaved a content sigh---coincidentally, Francis burped at the same time and made her laugh in surprise. Francis stared at her as she laughed heartily, watching as her features contorted so beautifully on her freckled face---it made her look like a radiant goddess in his mind. "Haha… You really do like my cooking, don't you, Francis?"
"Of course, it's the best I've ever had."
"Really?" Francis nodded. "Ah, I'm so embarrassed. I'm still just a novice in cooking, after all." He tilted his head in response, not quite believing it. "Hmmm… Oh! I know!" Nacha clapped her hands together in epiphany. "My next goal is to make more servings of my cooking next time so you can bring some home to your family! If you're this sweet about my cooking, I can only imagine your parents' reactions!"
This time, however, Francis's eyes constricted and looked smaller than it had been previously. My family… His forehead wrinkled as he scrunched up his nose. There was only one person in his home life that would genuinely be kind enough to actually judge Nacha's cooking fairly, and she was stuck in bed without her sense of taste. His face darkened and his gaze naturally drew towards the ground---like it always did when he was contemplating something.
Nacha narrowed his eyes and her face fell slightly as she put a hand above his shoulder, hovering over it just in case he didn't want to be touched. "Hey… If it's a sensitive topic, I understand." Francis looked up at her, his lips slightly parted. Nonetheless, Nacha gave him a reassuring smile in turn. "I'm always here for you, Francis. Whenever you feel like telling me, I'd be willing to listen."
"I…" Francis racked his brain for any good response, but his head kept filling up with these negative thoughts. Why now? Why in the presence of someone he looked up to and felt the most happiest around? It made him look even more pathetic than he already was. Still… As he turned to look back at Nacha and catching a glimpse of those mismatched eyes staring back at him with a sympathetic gaze, he couldn't just freeze up and keep the truth about his family hidden anymore. "My mom… is sick…"
Nacha's eyes widened and she placed a hand on her chest while gripping one of the chains with her other hand tightly. "Oh no, is she okay?"
Francis smiled up at her sadly, "She'll be fine… At least, that's what I want to believe, and what I've been working so hard for."
"Francis…"
"My dad has been complaining about the medical bills for her so she's stuck at home while she recuperates and I've… been working part-time as a cashier at this small grocery store north of town so I can pay for her meds." Francis sighed. "It's not ideal, but it's like you've always said to me before, that at least, I'm taking steps to try and make it work."
"What about your dad?" Francis stared at her wordlessly for a moment. "Sorry, it's just… Aren't fathers supposed to be the ones supporting their family at a time like this? I mean, it's not like I can say for certain, after all, my mom and dad only got recently in touch with each other after getting divorced and well-" Nacha captured her mouth with her own hands and shook her head rapidly to get further thoughts out of her head. "Sorry, sorry, this isn't about me. I get way too ahead of myself sometimes, it's a bad habit."
"Mmm… It's fine…" Francis smiled reassuringly. "…Your parents were divorced?"
"Yeah, but, I mean, it's confusing, really," Nacha smiled nervously as she fidgeted with her skirt. "They were in a loving marriage. Totally no reason for them to get divorced, but they still did. And now, we're here in the States, to reconnect with my dad."
"…That sounds nice…"
"That's one way to put it… What about you? Your parents are married, right?"
"Yeah…" Francis narrowed his eyes. "But they really should have gotten divorced earlier…"
"Francis, you can't just say that-"
"My dad beats my mom." Francis interrupted, sending Nacha speechless. "She's kind, and sweet, and so patient with him, meanwhile he does terrible things to her without her even doing anything to him at all."
"I, I'm sorry…" Nacha hung her head low. "I didn't know… Does he…" She chewed on her lip and didn't dare look Francis in the eyes for this one. "Did he beat you too…?"
"…Yeah…" Francis said and raised his sleeve farther up his arm, to reveal cuts and bruises that was definitely not just from the bullies this time (given that it was already their Winter break after all, and they hadn't seen them in a week now).
"That's- that's horrible! We should-"
"Call a police…? They won't believe us, Nacha. Besides… I really don't want to make it more complicated for my mom…"
"But still… He can't keep getting away with this, Francis." She reached her hand out and placed it on top of his, making him flinch. Nacha also felt an electric sensation suddenly course through her veins, but she pushed it to the back of her mind while thinking of something to say. "Is this… also why they bully you?" Francis nodded slowly. She sighed, "I figured…"
"It felt really lonely before you… well…"
"Yeah, same here." That surprised Francis, who looked up at her with tears being shed slowly in the corner of his eyes. "I… always felt lonely, especially when I was a kid. It was around at the time when my mom and dad got divorced. I didn't understand any of it all. Why my mom chose to divorce my dad, why my dad didn't even fight it. I was confused about a lot of things, and because I was the only kid who only had a mom in a brand new country with kids I didn't know, I felt… isolated."
"But you have so many people around you."
Nacha shook her head. "That may be so, but… they're more like background noise! You know, when you turn on the TV in the early morning despite there being no programs available and it's just white noise…" Francis didn't quite get it, really. Maybe because he didn't have a TV anymore after Richard had broken their new one not too long after, but also because he didn't share the same situation as Nacha. He never had friends before, and the people around him were still loud. There was never a day of quiet in his life, that is until Nacha came to him like a guardian angel in his time of need. Nacha noticed his confused expression and sighed, "I guess what I wanted to say is that… They don't really matter to me. They're mean, and they say thing I don't agree with, but I'm more scared of being alone than actually standing up for myself and becoming isolated like I was again."
…
"That's why…" Nacha took one of his hands in both her hands and looked into his eyes intensely. "I really admire you, Francis."
"M-me? You're mistaken, I… sigh There's nothing good about me…"
"But there is! You just fail to see it because everyone around you keeps on pointing out your flaws. You're stronger than you think you are, for never bending your back just to please someone, for aways staying true to yourself despite the people who try to break you down for it."
"Nach…"
"I… I could never be like that."
Their eyes finally met and the budding heat that creeped up to Nacha's cheeks made her finally aware of how intimate it was to be holding Francis's hand like this and she kindly put it back down on her lap before putting her hands back on hers.
The two turned dead silent as the conversation was completely forgotten.
After a few more minutes of deliberation, one of them finally decided to speak up.
"…Thank you." Francis quietly muttered, loud enough for Nacha to hear and be swiftly carried away by the cold, winter breeze.
Nacha smiled, "…No need…"
For the rest of the day, the two felt just a little bit lighter and a little bit suspicious of the butterflies that invaded their stomach, fluttering around with a hidden message they have yet to decipher.
Maybe one day, they will find out what it is.
For now, their feelings slowly become solidified by the cold Winter atmosphere.
Someone claimed that they reported me because they thought I was the one sending the fake gift card links. Turns out there is a new modus going on
If you guys just received any of the messages stating they reported your account because they thought you are fraud, and then they will share you the name of the discord (which is a fake support btw) ignore, block and report them. And immediately change your password. Stay safe everyone!
