𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎

(.ｕｏｙ ｔｐｅｃｘｅ) ｅｖｏｌ ｄｎｉｆ ｎａｃ ｙｄｏｂｙｎＡ

> ᴀ ʙᴏx ᴏғ ᴄʜᴏᴄᴏʟᴀᴛᴇs

"𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘯."

Tiny droplets tittered on the roof like a xylophone, played under the sheet of cloudy skies. The serene weather washed away the worries to encase anyone in a bubble of complete and utter peace. No matter how many times he heard it, every note the sky played was an entirely new piece of music.

That's what Stretch loved about the rain. At times like this, he managed to stir away from the crowd to bask in the natural elements. The Underground had rain near Waterfall. Nothing special like the gemstones embedded in the ceiling, it was just all the same to him.

Predictable.

However, the view above ground was able to draw him even closer than before. Every day a new experience awaited him on the Surface. The seasons changed so did himself, switching back and forth from timeline to timeline. The world stopped at one point and continued on the next like a game of red light green light.

A sanctuary tucked away from the noise, away from the monsters, away from himself.

"Stretch?" A voice beside him calls his name. The skeleton lazily shifted his gaze to land on you. There you were, snuggled up in his orange hoodie. It hung just below your hip, shuffling against your body. You asked him if he was alright, but a simple hum was heard from him. He lit a cigarette between his teeth, must have been his fourth one in a row but he stopped counting.

Your eyes dipped in tranquillity as you inched yourself closer to him. The faint smell of cigarette ash wafted under his nonexistent nostrils mixed with your strawberry scent intoxicated him. He begged his body to not dive his head into the crook of your neck.

Stretch was always known as a monster of few words, it was easier in the long run. Shielding himself away from his brother and everyone else of his burdens. Yet, despite his insouciant behaviour, you knew what bothered him. To share one sparing glance your way as you danced between his line of jumbled thoughts.

How did it come to this?

It must have been his punishment for being so secluded. The universe thought it was the perfect plan to send someone like you to cross paths with him. It could be the cliche, stumbling upon a stranger with the event of love at first sight. You took his SOUL home with you maybe one or two forevers ago. Made of glass you held it so cautiously, so tender, to embrace that warmth as you held him dear.

There would be days he wandered into the corner store for a brief chat as you shooed him away when it would get busy. On other days his routine would eventually be consumed by seeing you once a week. Which then turned into often random encounters, then daily occurrences to which your side glued him. That itch in the back of his mind called your name like it was an endless symphony. From the start of summer to the end of spring, to have that effect on him. Since then, he didn't know how to deal with his emotions leading to the present.