ROUTE: Vanderwood...

Chapter Twelve.

  The moon was cold tonight. Lonely and harsh and very very cold. Although it is glistening from the light that the sun is still shining onto it, the moon seems dull and lifeless. Usually, he can feel it; the unclouded pureness and illuminating love.  And the fact that it's supposed to be warming and full of energy made it even more dreary to Vanderwood.

As Ryuk sat on the bay window of his apartment, he stares at the moon and the stars surrounding. Most nights he feels connected to it; He can feel the everlasting energy being thrown towards him. But tonight is a different story. 

He sits, staring, sorting through the millions of thoughts that all revolve around Kara. Why do his feelings for her make the dear moon feel dead? Is it because Kara is the sun? Is it because her bright aura is making the darkness in him fade? No, that can't be right. Ryuk barely knows this girl and yet he is falling for her. It just doesn't make sense.

The moon; connected to the pure darkness of his past. The only thing attaching him to feelings of something real and something he can remember. He can't let the moon fade. He can't let go. If the energy and light leaves then that means getting rid of everything left of the real him; His mother. His brother. His whole life before the Agency. He can't...He won't. Not for her and not for anyone. 

~

Kara laid in bed, kitten in her lap. She can see the light of the moon shining through her curtains. She goes over the events of her day; Meeting the one and only Jumin Han, running into Seven at her doorstep, and somehow gaining a cuddly friend. Kara again looked towards the curtain, noticing the moon is perfectly in her line of view. She sets the kitten down onto the other side of the bed and stands up, walking towards the curtain and opening it to get a better view. 

Kara stares at the moon, smiling and enjoying the beautiful picture-perfect view in front of her. The craters are visible even if they aren't so clear. The deep indents in the moon that represent so much to Kara.

It sets the familiar feeling of the emptiness she's holding inside herself. The first crater was created when her parents died; it's the biggest one. The one that's the most damaging. The one that can never be full again. The second appeared the night that man hurt her in more ways than one. And the many more craters all from her past.  And day by day she fills them with temporary things that can only make her feel less empty for a while. But after meeting the RFA, not the characters from the game, she can feel some of the smaller craters being filled. Not temporarily; they are staying filled for the first time in her life. And although they are small, the empty feeling that she couldn't be rid of just disappears when she is with them.

Kara stands there, eyes lost in the features of the moon when all too suddenly, Vanderwood's face pops into her head. Why? She can't understand that herself. But Kara wants to talk to him. To see him. She needs to and can't understand why. They don't know each other that well. Hell, she knows Vanderwood doesn't know much about her at all; Not as much as Seven at least. So why? Why him? 

Kara looks away from the moon and grabs her phone off her bed. And without thinking, she goes to the RFA app and hits the button to call Vanderwood. With determination, Kara put the phone up to her ear and listens to the quiet ringing while waiting for an answer.

As she listens and waits for him to pick up, she starts to rethink her decision when suddenly...

"Um...Hello?" Breathed a faint and confused voice on the other end. Kara goes silent with wide eyes, half of her not expecting him to answer and the other half happy that he did.

"Hello??" He says again. 

"Oh um..Vanderwood? Hi, this is Kara." Kara responded frantically. It had just dawned on her that this is the first time they've spoken on the phone. 

"Yes, why did you call?" He mumbles, sounding a little annoyed. Kara can't help but notice the deep yet alluring tone of his voice. 

"How could the voice of an asshole sounds so smooth and angelic?" Kara giggled, thinking that she said it soft enough for Vanderwood not to hear. 

Vanderwood blushes on the other end of the line as he goes quiet for a moment and then says," Um..Is that an insult or a compliment?"

Kara freezes realizing that she must have muttered that a little too loud. She also goes beet red and then starts mentally freaking out.

She replies, "Oh umm...A compliment." 

"Well, your voice isn't too bad to listen to I guess," Vanderwood said, making Kara blush an even deeper shade of red if possible.

"I-I have to go.." Kara instantaneously hangs up the phone and puts her hand over her face. She gets so flustered when talking to him lately. 

Plopping back down onto her bed, Kara thinks about the sound of his voice. The smoothness of his words and the deep yet graceful tone his voice carries. How can it make her feel calm and flustered at the same time?  Kara has only had feelings for a couple of people in her life and it feels like this but different. And the possibility of having feelings for Vanderwood is scary, but the other feeling Kara can't place is terrifying.