hear the monster breathe.

leo seong | 27 years old | werewolf he knows it’s impossible to tell a wolf from a man if he keeps his chin up —––—––—––and his teeth clean.

[freya-lowood-blog]

“Well you’ll have more experience than I will next time around, won’t you? That’s a start.” 

“Oh, of course. If we catch anything.” She laughs along, head angled onto his shoulder as exhaustion comes ever-closer. “We definitely would. They’d put you in the newspaper.”   

[leo-seong]

“That’s hard to say. Really debatable.” His tone is also staring to fall softer and groggy, but with some laughter mixed in.

Leo wraps an arm around her as she leans into him. “The newspaper, huh? Y’know, maybe you’re right. Because it would be a huge deal if I caught something.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“Really? Did you not know or just not try?” It’s not meant to poke fun or anything–she’s just curious. 

“Well, there’s plenty of water to try it out in nearby. I guess we’ll have to get around to it sometime.” Her voice is substantially softer now, drawn out in a tired way. “Another excuse to come out here again. Maybe that time, we can even try cooking any catch.”

[leo-seong]

“Oh, we tried. But it was the blind leading the blind.” His mother wanted to go. Thought it would be a nice family outing, but it didn’t exactly go as planned.

“Yeah, we will. I’m not going anywhere.” They have so much time to do anything and everything. It would be overwhelming if he couldn’t wait for it all. He smiles when he can hear the sleep in her voice. “If we ever manage to catch anything, we definitely have to cook it.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“You have? Did you like it?” 

It’s such an interesting concept, to go out on a boat to the middle of absolutely nothing, that she can barely comprehend it. “They seem fun, but I’ve never set foot on one. My father used to have suspicions about Jonah and the Whale. Which is… silly, now that I think about it.” Maybe not so much for him, though. “But I’d like to. I think it’d be fun to learn to fish–little things like that I know nothing about yet.”

[leo-seong]

“It wasn’t so bad. We ended up going less and less when we found out there wasn’t much we could do. None of us could fish, or wanted to swim in open ocean.” His father only owned a boat for illegal transfer, anyway.

“Yeah? You never know. Maybe one day we’ll be able to get you out on the ocean. I definitely couldn’t help you fish, though.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“Surefire.” She promises, not that there’s anything she could ever find herself taking back in regards to him. Especially not when they come together for another kiss, where she lifts a helpless hand to the back of his neck to reciprocate. 

Strangely enough, she’s already drifting. “I can wait.” She insists, sitting up on her elbows so that she doesn’t fade completely before he’s laying next to her. “I don’t want to let the end of today go to waste.” Not even a minute. “The tide shouldn’t come in much further than it is now, I don’t think. But I can’t say I’d mind floating out to sea like this.” She laughs under her breath, rolling back to her side and trying to blink herself awake. “Have you ever been out on a boat?”

[leo-seong]

“Me either,” he smiles, hovering over her for a moment before he gets to his feet. He smothers away some of the fire with sand, sending some smoke pluming up into the cool air. He leaves just more than embers burning, enough to keep them warm.

“Yeah, I think we’ll be safe from the tide.” He turns toward it, just in case. It’s a ways out, so he feels confident enough. Her question sweeps up his attention anyway, and he returns to lay by her side. “A few times, yeah. What about you? Do you like boats?”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“With or without the hobby, that’s a surefire yes.” 

“Same here.” It’s a good sign–it just means they get to relax into the next morning and enjoy themselves until then. “Today couldn’t have gone better. I can’t thank you enough.” But she does so again, running her thumb over his knuckles. “Thank you. Honestly, I don’t know how I got so tired so early. S’mores must’ve worn me out.” 

[leo-seong]

“I’ll take that. I’ll take that surefire yes. No take-backs, huh?”

It’s not how he expected the day to come to a close, but he’d never complain. Waking up next to Freya - he can’t think of much better than that. “Thank you, too. There’s no one else I would rather be with.” He proves that by leaning up to press a soft kiss against her mouth.

When he settles back down, he also realizes just how tired he feels. “Must of been the s’mores, yeah. Go ahead and get some sleep, if you want. I’ll put the fire down some and probably be out like a light.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“Oh, I don’t know! I think you’re getting pretty good at it. Maybe even consider looking into it as a hobby?”

They’re so close now, wind blowing loosely at their hair and pressing them closer together. “You and me both. No early morning plans or anything to do tomorrow, then?” 

[leo-seong]

“Would it mean spending more time with you? I could look into it if it does.”

It would be smart to kick the fire down to something more manageable when they get tired, but he won’t put it out entirely. The beach wind is cold, but the fire and an extra blanket will do the trick. “Nope, I’m free. Off tomorrow. You too?”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“There you go again, outdoing me.” She leans back, outstretching her hands to take his and twine their fingers together before laying back down. 

"I’d like that, yeah.” It’s great to hear that he feels the same, especially as a wave of exhaustion falls over her. She can’t help it–the full stomach and accompanying butterflies take a lot out of her. “I think worse things have happened. Plus, your hands are warm. That’s enough.”

[leo-seong]

“I could never.” He squeezes her hand gently when she intertwines their fingers. When he lays back with her, he’s just reminded of how easily they’ve always fit. Even since the beginning.

Leo looks over to smile at her before he shifts closer another inch or two. “Then we’ll stay the night.” The beach will likely remain empty, even well into the bright morning hours. “It’s nice, anyway. Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“This once, I’ll take disagree.” Her confusion is comical, and she dissolves into laughter before long. “Because I think forgetting you would be out of the question. Not to mention ridiculous!”

Oh, that’s right–the climb. “It’s so dark now, wouldn’t it be hard to…?” She can’t think of any reasons as to why it wouldn’t be completely safe to stay here overnight, but if he’s busy early tomorrow, she’s happy to accommodate him. “Do you think it might be easier when the sun is up again? I mean, if you don’t mind waiting.”

[leo-seong]

“You too. Could never forget you.” It’s a meaningful moment, he’d swear by every word, so he lightens the sentiment by tapping her nose.

His instinct is to get her home safe and sound. To make sure that he could hear the lock click on her door after giving her a goodnight kiss. He hesitates at Freya’s idea, worried about leaving the two of them out in the open when a threat just made itself clear, but he decides against that. “You wanna stay the night down here?” It might get cold, but he like the idea of more time with her. “Nah, that sounds... I like the sound of that. Are you sure? Could get cold.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“In this life? I don’t think so.” 

“You’re impossible,” she argues, breaking a piece of the s’more she’s just crafted together off to pop it into her mouth. This one’s a little more on the burnt side, but it’s warm and just as good as the first. “I was going to say I like all s’mores equally, but it might just be the fact that we’re making them. So whatever world you’re living in where that might happen, it’s not this one.” She laughs comfortably toward the end, finishing off the crumbling graham cracker and licking some chocolate her thumb. “But it’s still a nice idea.”

[leo-seong]

“Maybe we’ll just have to agree to disagree,” he smiles her way, leaning to gently bump her shoulder. “Anyone I know, well, they’d just be too charmed by you to remember who the hell I am.”

There’s no forgetting Freya, and no one he thinks higher of. “You know what else is a nice idea?” He looks back at the path, one he can barely see since the sun fully set a long time ago. “Making it back up that hill without risking our lives a few times.” He doesn’t want the night to come to an end, but it’s getting late. With hunters on the mind, Leo refuses to let Freya get caught in any crossfire he might be a part of.

[freya-lowood-blog]

“We will! And then I’ll have it to hold against you when you say things like this.” 

“We’ll make a great dessert or two, and you’ll never get to put you and useless in the same sentence again.” Even joking, she smacks him lightly on the hand. “Besides, less people know me than they do you. I’m not the one making a name for myself in the forest, after all! You’re gonna be bringing in all of the bread, whether you like it or not.”

[leo-seong]

“Or you’ll realize that I should never be allowed near an oven.” His smile is a giveaway that he’s just teasing her.

And the smack to his hand nearly makes him laugh. “Alright, alright. But if they did know you?” He pulls his marshmallow out of the flames to inspect it. “They would definitely like you more. No contest.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“Trust me, I already know. It’ll be even better with any ideas you have.”

Finding this normalcy alongside him seemed impossible so long ago–to appreciate so many moments in bulk is to appreciate her place in them, and the fact that she’s herself at all. That was something she’s never known how to approach, but it’s all fallen in her lap too quickly o ignore. “Oh, it’ll be a hit. Probably because they’ll know your name! It’ll be my paid tribute to all the work you did to get me this job.”

[leo-seong]

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.” Someone having this kind of faith in him, one so genuine and having to do with who he is rather than what he is, well, it’s new.

Her mention of how much he helped her get the job at the bakery makes him laugh and shake his head. “I didn’t do a thing! I’m essentially useless!” If he gave her a boost of confidence before she went in for the job, then he’s glad. Other than that, he knows it was all her. “Now a special with your name, that one would be a real winner.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

Before long, she’s finished the first s’more and moved onto the burning of a second marshmallow. Whether or not she’ll finish it or simply wants to see how it might go a different way, she couldn’t say for sure. “I just have experience, that’s all. You’re a natural, you know!”

“It would be fun to make it a sort of special to sell down at the bakery. S’mores brownies or cookies would be good too–maybe I’ll tell them to call it the Leo Special.”

[leo-seong]

“We’ll see how you feel after you let me help!” It’s just a joke, but there is no telling how it will go. Cooking is much different than baking, and s’mores definitely don’t count.

It still gets to him: how easy it is for them to make plans with each other. One always leads into another, and it’s a pattern he’s come to enjoy. “You’re beyond cute, I hope you know.” That much comes with a smile, and a duck of his head while he roasts another marshmallow. “Anything of yours is bound to be a great hit.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“Great! Me neither. There’s so much time.” 

And she’s full already, barely halfway through, but that doesn’t stop her. “We should try something with more fruit next time, or cinnamon!” 

[leo-seong]

“Yeah? That sounds good. We can do whatever you’re feeling. I know you know a whole lot more about desserts than I do.”

“Just let me know, we’ll set something up. I’d love to see how you put it all together.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

She pulls it back once time’s up, touching the tip of it as a test and pulling it back between two graham crackers and the chocolate piece. 

“That seems just as nice, though. The fire’s all the same.” It’s fitting that he has a sister, but it does leave her with a few questions that go unasked. He’ll tell her when he’s ready, and that’s just fine. “But we can make it a bonfire tradition, too.” She’s careful when she takes her first bite, facing the sand so any crumbling bits of cracker don’t make a mess on the blankets. 

“Oh, it’s good! It all melts together so fast. The chocolate’s already soft… It’s weird, but it’s good like this. We should melt other dessert things sometime and see how they go out here.” Any promise of more time together is good for her.

[leo-seong]

He pulls his marshmallow away from the flames as well, getting it fixed between graham crackers and chocolate. Everything melts and grows warmer on the inside, and it tastes just like it did before.

“I don’t mind making a few new traditions with you.” It feels fitting, and it feels important. Memories like this is what he’ll always want to hold onto. And he’ll always want to make more. “I’m glad you like it. That sounds good for next time. We can come down here or make a mess in my kitchen trying to figure out some new things.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“Alright,” she nods, turning it over slowly as she sees the color change. It’s pretty in its own mundane way, how it melts from the inside and shifts. 

“Really? It’s been that long?” It’s flattering that he thought to bring something from before and share it with her, and her cheeks spell that out for him rather clearly. “What made you decide to bring these, then? Just a classic bonfire sort of thing?”

[leo-seong]

The marshmallow starts to melt down, nearly ready. “Yeah, it crossed my mind last minute. I knew we’d do a bonfire, and I figured it was fitting.”

Telling anyone anything about his past seems like foreign and dangerous territory, but this is Freya. He trusts her with tidbits like this. In fact, he wants her to know them. “Better here than in a fireplace. That’s where me and my sister first made them.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

“We can experiment–I might have enough room for two. I’ll hold it over for a minute this time, and see if more or less is better for the next.” 

She starts counting in her head, folding both arms over her knees and sits as close to him as she can. “What about you? Any preferences?”

[leo-seong]

“Just gotta remember to rotate it,” he reminds her. The fire is already lapping at both of their marshmallows, turning them a light brown.

“I don’t remember. Last time I did this I was a kid. Somewhere in the middle, I think.”

[freya-lowood-blog]

She agrees with a nod, all too aware of just how lucky she is for all that they’ve found in this little town. “That’s for sure.” 

Once she’s got a marshmallow at the end of her stick, she holds it a little over the flames and tries not to let the two overlap for too long. “How long do you usually hold them over for?” 

[leo-seong]

Sometimes Leo can’t tell if it’s luck or something else, but maybe it doesn’t matter. He’s here now, and there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

In the meantime he grabs a marshmallow to set on the top, and moves it toward the flame. He burnt a lot as a kid by putting them right in the fire, so he keeps a safe distance for it to brown. “About a minute, I’d say. How toasted do you like things?”