#sad²

[iamliteraltrash1]

How to make CHASE sadder

[the-nerd-writer]

Winter Embrace- A Sad² Story!

Hello, everyone! I just wrote this piece for my good friend @cyndercrys, and since it features both of our OC’s, and it’s the most wonderful time of the year, I thought that you all would enjoy it!

Renee Jones belongs to @cyndercrys-- thank you so much for letting me write her, Gwen! <3

Edit: This was inspired by a prompt by @charomiami! Thank you, Charo!

Word Count: 766

The house was filled with the warm smell of fresh coffee, a couple of cinnamon candles scattered around the room on top of tables and shelves. The air was warm, a sense of peace in the air. Elwood sat at his newly acquired desk, scratching out onto a yellowed notepad the current inventory.

“One… hundred and fifty… 7.63MM ammo boxes… how many is in a box?” Elwood muttered to himself, frowning as he tapped a dirtied pencil to his lips. His desk was filled with various nuts and bolts, an empty Nuka-Cola Quantum bottle perched precariously near the edge and dozens of pieces of paper, both pre-war and current, cluttering the space. “It’s… it’s thirty, right?”

Elwood rolled his head around, trying to crack the crick in his neck that had been nagging him. As he reached the finish of the second roll, he felt a snappy POP, and the ache went away. With a sigh, Elwood stretched his arms upwards and lifted himself out of his chair. With sleepy eyes and hunched shoulders, Elwood shuffled out of his study and turned the corner to the living room, only to stop on his heel.

Renee sat at the base of their Christmas tree, dozens of small knick knacks surrounding her. It was as if she was in the center of a mob of figurines, antique items and do-hickeys. As she looked around the pile, she came upon a small golden bulb. The paint was barely chipped, her reflection warped as it gleamed back at her. With a small smile, she placed it in the middle center of the tree. She repeated the process with a couple of knick-knacks; a broken Vault-Boy bobblehead’s caricature, a Bottle and Cappy ornament from Nuka-World’s gift shop, and near the very bottom of the tree, a Vault-Tec lunchbox.

She paused for a moment, gazing at a small paper package to her left. The brown paper was pristine, a twine ribbon festooning the top with a simple bow-knot. She lifted up the piece of paper, pulling one of the strings and peeling the tape off of the back of the wrapping. As it fell away, Elwood saw a small glass statue pressed in her hands. It looked freshly made, shining brighter than any glass he’d seen in a while.

Two figures stood, fused together at their arms and hips. They had wrapped arms around one another, almost as if they were slow-dancing. One of the figures had a blue body, the other black. One figure had shorter brown glass for hair, the other with longer auburn chips. One had a black piece of glass at its hip, the other with a black strip on their back. In the middle of the ornament, where their chests touched, a ruby-red heart sat. It twinkled in the candlelight.

“Holy shit…” Elwood whispered, slapping a hand over his mouth as Renee spun around with wide eyes.

“El! You’re ruining the surprise!” Renee gasped, pulling the statue away for a moment. Her shoulders relaxed a moment as her face morphed from frighten and frustrated to a bit disappointed. “I was gonna save this until tonight, but…”

“Ren, are you serious?” Elwood slid down to her, his wool socks slipping on the freshly polished floor boards. “This is fucking… amazing!” He glanced up from the statue, eyes twinkling. “How in Atom’s name did you get this?”

“There’s… there’s a guy in Diamond City.” She glanced out the window towards the massive stadium. “Usually only does glass repairs for housing and glasses, but I asked him to make an exception.” She looked back down at the glass ornament, a smile softening her face. “I… I wanted to make sure that this Christmas was really something special, you know?” Her eyes connected with Elwood, two pairs of diamonds glistening in the fiame’s glow.

“Ren… this is incredible.” Elwood lifted his hands to cusp her cheeks. “This… this is more than I could ever ask for. Being with you, it’s… it’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”

Renee gently chuckled. “Laying it on thick, now, aren’t we?”

Elwood returned the soft laugh. “No… no, I mean it. I’m so very lucky to have you in my life, Renee… to be able to love you is one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Renee smiled, setting down the ornament and wrapping her hands around Elwood’s face. She pressed a passionate kiss to his lips, cheeks warm and fingertips cold. As the two pulled away, Renee ran her hand up and down Elwood’s cheek.

“I love you, Elwood Rogers. Merry Christmas.”