l i b e r u m || s p i r i t u s ☯

dakota aylward everything will be okay in the end. if it's not okay, it's not the end.

[thatindicagirl]

Cash gave her a confused look and shook his head. “You know you could’ve called me, I would’ve came and got you, taken you to a real hospital.” He sighed, and scratched at the back of his head. “I’m just glad you’re okay now though, I don’t know what i’d do if you had died from that.” He said, a shiver running up his spine at just the thought of something happening to her without him being able to protect her. He could feel her fingers tense up, but smiled when she finally relaxed. “You’ve got your medicine with you though, right?” He asked, making sure she hadn’t forgotten it. Cash let out a small laugh as she managed to cross her eyes as he picked at the hair on her tongue. “M’sorry, it was cute though.” He laughed once more and rested his hand on her cheek. “No, it definitely counts.” He protested. Cash reached over and held her hand with his free one, and reassured her with his words. “It’ll be okay, four hours isn’t so bad, and then we can rest, and then get back on the road.”

[shhdakota-blog]

Dakota shrugged slightly as her gaze dropped from the boy in front of her. "I was a scared thirteen year old though, I still felt like I couldn't do anything without my brother's say." She closed her eyes momentarily but couldn't keep looking away at Cash's words. "Hey," she whispered, pressing her lips against his softly, "Don't think about that, okay? I'm fine, I'm safe, I'm never leaving you." It was obvious to the girl what he was thinking about, and it wasn't anything that needed to be on his mind. "Mhm, I have three months of it and then I can go to normal iron supplements." She nodded, patting the bag which sat on her back. Frowning slightly at him for a few moments, Dakota uncrossed her eyes. "You think everything's cute." She corrected and instantly relaxed at his touch. "Okay, let me reword it, I'm no infant so you're not allowed to use a stern face." Without even meaning to, Dakota fiddled gently with his fingers as she nodded slowly. "Mhm, I know.. As long as you don't crash from driving one-handed, mister."

[thatindicagirl]

"But surely you had to go the hospital right? I would’ve came to visit and brought you flowers and good food and cuddled you till you felt better." He pouted and noticed her playing with her fingers. He took her fingers apart from each other and locked them with his own to keep her from fidgeting with  them again. "Why do you have to take them in the first place?" He asked, curious as to what the reason was behind that. "Are you anemic or something?" He sighed and smoothed her hair back, kissing her forehead. "Alright, if you say so." Cash laughed as she tried to get his bright red hair off of her tongue. "Hold on let me get it." He said taking his finger and picking it off her tongue. "You’re my baby though, so if I need to use the stern face, then I have to." He teased and hugged her tight when she finally agreed with him. He returned the gesture and locked pinkies with her as they bit their thumbs at the same time like always. Cash finally let go of her when she fell to the ground. He gently picked her back up to her feet and kissed her cheek saying. "I’m done now." Cash pulled out of the street, his heart racing at the fact that they were actually leaving. "About six hours, we’ll stop at a hotel in about four and finish the drive to Maryland."

[shhdakota-blog]

"Mm, I should've done, but I didn't. Jackson was worried they'd ask too many questions at the hospital and that I'd let something slip that I shouldn't do. But Vinny's done part of his medical degree so they just took me over and he somehow sorted me out on this weird hospital bed thing in his basement." Dakota explained in short, not wanting to recall the entire story at this point. It wasn't just her fingers which tensed when Cash separated them, but her entire body, until she realised they were simply replaced with his. "Mhm, anemia is a great bundle of fun." She matched his sigh, closing her eyes as he kissed her forehead.. Going cross-eyed when Cash touched her tongue, she shivered. "I nearly went all cat and tried to cough up a hairball." She remarked. Dakota shook her head as she let out a laugh, even though it was muffled by the taller boy's chest. "Still a different kind of baby, babe. It doesn't count." A grin automatically found its way onto her face when they traditionally locked their fingers together and stayed there until she was stood back on her feet. Looking over her shoulder through the back window, Dakota curled up tighter. "I don't know how you can drive for so long without getting tired."

[thatindicagirl]

"You most certainly did not tell me about that, you know I would’ve been upset if I did know." He said narrowing his eyes at her. "Why the hell and how the hell did you overdose on iron supplements? Were you supposed to take them?" He asked, just trying to figure out if everything was okay. He always worried about her, even if a situation had already passed. Cash laughed though when she picked at her tongue to get his red hair out of her mouth. "See? Not so fun when it’s you on the other side now is it?" He teased and went to kiss her dimple that he loved so much. Her cooing was enough to make him smile and nuzzle his head into her shoulder. "I use my stern face when necessary. " He protested and shook his head. "Nuh uh, we get to take care of each other, that’s the deal, okay?" He said giving her the stern look again,waiting for her to agree on his terms. "It’s so funny." He said tickling her a little harder .Cash smiled when she put on his sweatshirt, he loved when she wore his clothes, he thought she looked beautiful in them. "Buckle up baby." He reminded her and took his own advice before starting up the car.

[shhdakota-blog]

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just not something that comes up in everyday conversation." Dakota mumbled, fiddling with her fingers and averting her gaze from his. "I'm meant to take them, just not as many as I did. You don't need to worry about it, promise. I've got my dose down to a tee now." She reassured him despite the fact that there was still doubt in her own mind about whether it would happen again. The stubborn hair wouldn't shift as she scraped her teeth over her tongue and frowned at his laughter. "I don't like your hair, it won't go away." She groaned and tipped her head back only to snap it forwards again when she felt Cash's head on her shoulder. "I'm not your kid, mister. I don't need your stern face." She pointed out and let out a sigh of defeat, nodding slowly. "Fine. The deal will do." Searching out for his pinky, she wrapped her small one around it and bit her thumb gently. The girl only squirmed more, sinking slowly but surely to the floor to get away from his tickling. "Nuh uh, no way, not funny." She laughed and held on tightly to one of his hands. "Mmm, I got it." Dakota nodded as she buckled her seatbelt, turning so she was sat facing him. "How long is this first bit?"

[thatindicagirl]

"Again?!" He asked stepping back and giving her a confused look. "What do you mean again?" He asked once more, hoping that she was just messing around and hadn’t actually had metal poisoning before. Cash settled though when she pressed her forehead to hers and he let out a small sigh of relief as she spoke. Laughing a little he shook his head. "You did not do me a favor silly, I never needed to know what bleached hair tasted like." He teased and nuzzled his own hair into her face trying to make her eat his. "Uh yes you do, you do it when you want something outta me." He frowned and turned back towards her not being able to keep his head turned away as she jumped into his view again. "Um no, that wasn’t part of the deal." He said sternly, looking at her with his serious face. Cash laughed when he heard the childish giggle escape from her lips. "Oh you think this is funny huh?" He asked bringing his hands up to her sides and tickling at them gently. "It was plenty nice." He smiled slyly and slide into the driver’s seat.

[shhdakota-blog]

"I thought I told you about that before." Dakota frowned, shrugging it off as though it was nothing. "Too many iron supplements don't exactly sit well in a thirteen year old's body, no big deal." She continued and stopped herself before she rambled on any more. Sticking her tongue out when she felt the hair in her mouth, she wrinkled up her own face just as Cash had earlier. "Okay, yeah. Hair doesn't taste as good as it smells. I don't like it." She whined and picked at her tongue to get a piece of hair off of it. "I'm sorryyyyyy, stop frowning." She cooed, poking at his cheeks. Noticing his stern face, Dakota raised her eyebrows to oppose his. "Wait, I take that apology back because you use your stern face when you don't agree with me. It's totally part of the deal." She sassed and instead prodded his chest. The girl couldn't help but wriggle as he tickled her sides, using both of her hands to pry one of his away. "Nuh uh, not funny. Stop it, mister." She narrowed her eyes at him as he got in the car and untied his sweatshirt from around her waist, sliding it over her head as she curled her legs up to her chest. "You're not nice."

[thatindicagirl]

Cash settled with a smile on his face as she admitted finally that he was better than the car. “I knew it, i’m a much better kisser than a pile of metal.” He teased and kissed the side of her face as she turned to talk to the car again. It was a habit of his, every time and anytime she turned away from him he had the urge to kiss her and bring her back to his attention. “Well when I said that I didn’t actually mean I wanted to have a taste.” He said scrunching up his face in fake disgust. “Yes..yes you can! You’re doing that- that pouty face thing that you do when you want me to give in to something.” He protested and tried turning away so he wouldn’t have to look at it anymore. “Alright fine you’re right, we’ll look after each other then. Is that fair enough for you?” He asked raising an eyebrow up at her, waiting for her to either agree or add in some more demands she might have. Just as Cash was about to connect their lips fully she turned away with a bounce, a motion that he took as a tease so he ran after her, grabbing her by the waist again and saying “Hey, don’t be a tease you shit.” Laughing he placed his lips onto hers until he was satisfied and finally pulled away to go back to the driver’s side of the car.

[shhdakota-blog]

Dakota scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "That, and I don't really feel like getting metal poisoning again." She grimaced but quickly turned to look back at Cash once he kissed the side of her face, being aware of his intention, and rested her forehead against him again. "Oh, well, now you've tried it so you don't have to wonder anymore. I did you a favour, really." She grinned, tapping his nose when he scrunched up his face. "I do no such thing!" The girl grinned, breaking her pout for just a moment before jumping to try and get back in his view. "Uh-huh, that's fine by me.. I suppose. But I still get to look after myself too." She winked, knowing he was probably expecting some kind of extra comment from her. Before she could stop it, a childish giggle escaped her lips as Cash grabbed her waist, getting the reaction she was anticipating. When she felt his lips back against her's, she let her fingers graze over his cheek lightly. "That's not very nice you know." She commented with a grin once Cash had pulled away and slid into the passenger's seat.

[thatindicagirl]

Cash laughed a little when she kissed his temple. It tickled and made him shiver a little when she pulled away. “I look way better than old Rusty.” He said making a stern face that just turned into a silly one when he couldn’t hold it any longer. He spat out her hair that was flying in his mouth as she returned his gesture. “Gross, I just ate some of your hair.” He said pretending to gag. As Dakota started to make her famous innocent look that he’d seen and fell weak to so many times he frowned. “Don’t use the baby face on me.” He whispered as if he as begging her. “It’s very fair according to me.” He smiled wide and pressed his forehead to hers gently. “We should probably get on the road before I sit here and kiss you all night long. It’s a long drive to our first stop.” He said hovering right over her lips as if he didn’t know if he wanted to continue on with his action or not.

[shhdakota-blog]

The sound of Cash's laugh was, as cheesy as it sounded, one of the best sounds Dakota could hear. "M'kay, maybe you're right. I don't think I'd want to kiss Rusty." She giggled and turned her head to look at the car before saying with a shrug, "Sorry, bud." Pulling her coloured hair around to one side, the girl bit down on her lip to stop her laughter. "Well, you said it smelt good enough to eat once, so.." She cringed as he fake-gagged. "I can't help my face." She said, her voice coming out just as quiet as Cash's had, sticking her tongue out at him. With a sigh of satisfaction at how close they were, Dakota kept up her pout as much as possible. "We're meant to look after eachother." She complained and fiddled with the hair at the nape of his neck. She let the silence extend as she brushed her lips over his before pulling away completely and walking backwards with a bounce, a tiny smirk set upon her face. "Mhm, we can't have that; let's go." She called back, walking to the passenger side of the car.

[thatindicagirl]

Cash knew the feeling of her running her fingers up his arms all too well. It was the best feeling in the world, such a simple action. He closed his eyes in satisfaction for a moment and shook his head. “Nuh uh, my car isn’t allowed to be your new baby, only i’m allowed to be your baby.” He pouted and nuzzled his hair into her face on purpose. Cash tightened his grip on her waist when she tried wriggle out of it. “Hey stop that.” He frowned and twisted her around so she was facing him now. “It’s totally fair.” He smiled and kissed behind her ear next. “Do I even wanna knnow what it was?” He asked giving her a look. “Right, good point.”

[shhdakota-blog]

Dakota grinned softly as she watched his eyes close, pecking his temple when they opened again. "I don't know; it's a close call. You and the car are on level playing fields of baby status." She teased and wrinkled her nose up when his hair went in her face, making an effort to turn her head in a way that her own hair would flick at him. Feeling his hold get tighter only made Dakota's smile grow as she looked up at him with as innocent of a look as she could muster as she asked, "Stop what?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and cocked her head to the side with her lip jutted out. "It's not fair, not fair at all." As she went up onto her tip toes, she pulled herself closer to the taller boy. "Nope. Don't worry about it, babe."

[thatindicagirl]

Cash walked up behind the smaller girl and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, resting his chin on her shoulder lightly. “I don’t like that you’re giving your smooth loving away to my car, I want some smooth loving.” He teased and rocked her back and forth a little. Cash felt a smile spread on his face as she gave in to his requests. “You only get to take care of me if I need it.” He teased and stole a kiss on the cheek. “Why don’t I wanna know? Was it bad? Like bad enough to where i’d want to beat his ass?” He asked raising his eyebrows but them settling quick as she kissed his skin, him letting out a large sigh of relief.

[shhdakota-blog]

Settling herself back into his body slightly, Dakota ran her fingers up and down the arms around her waist. "Sorry, baby. Your car is my new baby now. It's taken your place." The girl smirked as she rested her head against Cash's for a moment, letting her eyes close. Even the tiny movements he was making were relaxing in a time that was anything but. She poked his cheek with a pout, going to wriggle out of his hold. "Nuh-uh, that's not fair." She whined and frowned when he kissed her cheek. "I guess it was kind of bad, but there's been worse things, so you're not allowed to want to beat his ass." Dakota shrugged yet again, noticing his change of expressions. "I don't have to do it, anyway. We're not going to be here."

[thatindicagirl]

Cash raised his eyebrows up at the lavender haired girl, a look that read ‘did you really just talk to my car’. Laughing he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and spoke quietly, since they were outside of his foster home and he didn’t want to get caught. “Were you just talking to my care babe?” He asked, still trying to hold back his laughter. The feeling of her tracing patterns over his shirt relaxed him, her touch relaxed him and even though he was the one reassuring her, he felt reassured by her gesture. Shaking his head full of color he protested. “I know you can, but so can I, you should just let me take care of you and then everything will be fine.” He smiled and tilted his head when she mention Jackson. “What’d he tell you to do?” His mouth clenching as her touch made shivers run up his neck.

[shhdakota-blog]

When a light blush surfaced in her cheeks, Dakota turned so she was no longer facing the taller boy and was instead leaning against the car. With a tiny shrug, she gave it another tap. "Cars have feelings. They need a bit of smooth loving every now and then too, duh." She pointed out like it was an obvious thing and stuck her tongue out at him. It may have sounded incredibly stupid, but around Cash, she didn't care. There was no chance of him judging her dorky comments. Letting out an exaggerated sigh and huffing her shoulders, the girl conceded. "Okay, fine. Purely because I know you won't give up, and because that means I get to take care of you." She said, not managing to suppress a smile. "You don't want to know." Dakota shrugged as she noticed his reaction to her tracing. She moved her nails away so she could press a few gentle kisses to the skin before pulling away completely.

[thatindicagirl]

Giving her hand a tight squeeze, Cash noticed her smile. It only made his smile widen as he lead her to his old beat up car that’d he saved up for months to get just for this special occasion. It wasn’t fancy, but it would take them where they need to go. Grabbing her bags he popped the trunk open and placed them inside, his already snug in a line towards the back leaving room for hers. He didn’t own much to his name, but the things that he did were all in those bags. “Yeah, it’s the right thing for us, it’ll make everything better, it’ll be for the best.” He nodded and brought her close to him, knowing she was doubting the decision. “Hey, we’re gunna be okay. I won’t let a thing happen to you.” He swore, and with that he planted a sweet kiss on her lips.

[shhdakota-blog]

Dakota ran her free hand over the machine before giving it a little tap. "Hey, buddy." She giggled, shaking her head at the fact she was talking to an inanimate object. Admittedly, one which was giving her and Cash a huge opportunity. Keeping the whole plan a secret from her older brother wasn't easy, especially considering he controlled almost every aspect of her life, but it would be worth it in the end. They would both be safe. She held onto his shirt lightly with one hand and traced patterns onto it with the other when he gave her the reassurance she needed. Saying nothing but simply smiling into the kiss, she pulled away so their lips were just touching. "I can look after myself y'know, mister." Dakota mumbled before pecking him once more on the lips. "I didn't even do what Jackson told me to do before he left this morning. He's actually going to murder me." She pouted as she ran her nails over his jaw line.

[thatindicagirl]

Cash took Dakota’s soft hand and carefully laced their fingers together. This was it. They were finally going to get out of that horrid town that’d been trapping them for years, the only thing that had kept them going was each other. Tying one of his sweatshirts around her waist he smiled down at her. He was a little taller than her but he liked it that way. “You ready?” He asked, not knowing if he was. He knew he wanted to leave the town, but he was unsure of what would happen if they got caught. Leaning down to kiss her nose he closed his eyes for a few moments and let go. 

[shhdakota-blog]

Dakota couldn't help but smile as she felt Cash's hand in her's, as though it instantly made things better, even if only a little. The day she'd been hoping for since she was little was actually here. They were actually doing this. As she nodded her head slowly, she glanced up at him before looking back down to the floor. "This is the right thing to do, isn't it? We're doing what we're supposed to be doing." She questioned, barely above a whisper. Of course it was the right thing and she knew it, but she couldn't help that ounce of doubt in the back of her mind.