The Heart and the Hero

Chapter Five - Breaking and Entering: A Healthy Outlet for Unwanted Feelings

Forest shifted in their bed, hearing the gentle noise of their door opening as they snuggled deeper into their pillows, trying to hide their face from the hall light. They were barely lucid, but they could hear Kate's voice wafting quietly through the opening in a soft mutter, apparently conversing with someone. They came quickly into consciousness, however, when the voice finally registered, and they couldn't resist slowly opening one eye, trying to figure out if this was just a figment of their imagination or if what they were hearing could possibly be true.

They had to resist the urge to bolt up in their bed when they caught a glimpse of who was standing there next to her.

What.

The.

Fuck???

Forest pressed their eyes shut again, unwilling to believe what they had just seen. Because if Wolfsbane was actually standing in the door of their bedroom right now, and Kate hadn't kicked them out, there was clearly something wrong, and they weren't willing to give up the fact that they were awake and subsequently any amount of control they had over the situation without first understanding what was going on. Carefully opening their eye once again, they regarded the scene in front of them as it continued to play out.

"You're seriously sure you want to do this?" Kate asked them in a hushed tone, tilting her head towards Forest's unmoving form.

Wolfsbane took a deep breath and fidgeted with something in their hands. They seemed.. Nervous? Well, that was a first. At least since.. yesterday. Had Forest done something so bad as to break Wolfsbane?

"Im sure. I just.. I have to make it right."

Make what right? It had been Forest's fault for not turning on their damn tracker, they should be the one apologizing for putting Wolfsbane in such an awkward position. But even if Wolfsbane just wanted to apologize, they could've asked Kate to pass something on?

Kate rested a hand on Wolfsbane's shoulder, as if to soothe them.

"You know they wouldn't hold it against you, right? If this is gonna stress you out too much, or hurt your self-image, you can just let me handle it and head home. I promise you, I'll make sure everything gets smoothed over."

Wolfsbane leaned back against the doorframe and ran a hand through their hair, letting out a tired sigh. "I know, I just wanna do this myself, you know? Its not like its some grand gesture, but I just wont be able to live with myself if things keep going on like this."

They paused for a moment, seemingly collecting their thoughts, before continuing. "Just.. do you mind telling them it was you instead? When they realize tomorrow morning, I mean."

Kate raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the other side of the door frame. "Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?"

"Well.. yes, but I'm not doing it for their benefit, so its not like it really matters. I just.."

Wolfsbane glanced over towards Forest's unmoving form, and Forest shut their eyes quickly, waiting until they heard them shift back before opening it again to witness the end of the conversation.

"I can't have them getting more attached than they already are."

There was a slight tremble in Wolfsbane's voice as they spoke, as though they were suppressing tears.

What on earth was going on? Forest had never seen Wolfsbane get this worked up over anything, so the fact that it was happening in the doorframe of their bedroom in the middle of the night was a nearly impossible idea. Yet, here they were, listening to their mortal enemy and their best friend talking about them about some damn secret plan and they had absolutely no idea what to do about it.