A/N: Day 20 - hurt. Relax, nothing too heart wrenching.

Chapter Summary: It's easy to hurt the ones you love. It's hard to express that hurt wasn't intentional. It's hard to grasp why you even hurt them in the first place. But none of that matters. All that matters, is how you piece it back together.

Word Count: 1,657

Hurt

He doesn't even remember what started it. Callum just knew that the whole thing was stupid. What he said, what she said, all of it. None of it made sense. Everything erupted into an avalanche of arrogance and emotions. She said things. He said things. They both shouted. The main similarities at the end, were how much it hurt. He had been looking for words to hurt her, looking for any semblance of something that could just sting. And it worked.

"I'm not a coward like you! Like your parents were…"

He closed his eyes as he felt the stinging pain of tears rising within them. He hadn't meant it. He just wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to feel bad for attacking him so offhandedly. He wanted to win… whatever it was they were slapped in the middle of. An argument, a conversation, a disagreement; a mere exchange of words that seemed to fall on deaf ears from both parties. Regardless of what either thought it was, it didn't matter.

It didn't matter because they were blinded by their emotions.

"What kind of girlfriend are you?"

It didn't matter because they were still slinging their scars.

"What? Nothing else to say? Sure… keep more secrets from me why don't you."

It didn't matter because they didn't exist in that moment.

"I thought we built this relationship on trust?"

They were two separate people, looking to hurt each other.

Callum's hands fisted the bed sheets. He was sat by himself, in a dimly lit room. He let go of his struggles, allowing his tears to stream down without hesitation. There was no point. He had no reason to act like nothing hurt. She left. He broke them. He ruined everything. All because of some dumb pride. All because he felt like he was weak. All because he was so damn stupid.

He palmed at his face, quietly sobbing into his hands. It overflowed with droplets of tears, soaking his gloves with his sadness. He could briefly hear Zym in the corner, whimpering too. The poor dragon probably had no idea what to do. Or what would happen to him now. Callum didn't either.

Callum didn't get why they fought. He didn't get why she said what she said. He didn't understand why he didn't just shut up and let things fly past. He just said something. Then somewhere along the way, trust was called into question.

"Why don't ya trust me?"

He sniffled, swallowing hard on his tired throat. The shouting hurt him. The crying hurt him. She hurt him. She knew it too. Because those words would mean nothing if it hadn't come from her mouth. And she used that against him.

But of course, he had his own cards dealt in this game. He tossed his own set of matches to the fire and let it spread, he let it engulf them. He was no better.

In fact, he was worse.

::::

She doesn't even remember how it started at first. Rayla just knew that the whole thing was dumb. What she said, what he said, all of it. Everything that happened made no sense at all. They just, combusted into a combination of anger and ignorance, completely revolving around their stupid feelings. He said things. She said things. And they both yelled. In the end, it all boiled down to one thing: it hurt. She was searching for ammunition to egg him on, to just kick him down some more pegs. And it worked.

"Why are ya actin' like this! Ya can't do anythin'!"

Rayla choked back on her tears, wiping away the ongoing stream strolling down her cheeks as she walked. She was barely down the block, but she left as soon as she could. She hadn't meant anything she said. She just wanted him to shut up. She just wanted him to listen for once, to stop… whatever it was they had suddenly sparked. Rayla just wanted it done with so they could move past it. And focus on the mission. But the mission wasn't as important.

It wasn't as important as their feelings.

"Forget about us for a bit. Our mission is what's important!"

It wasn't as important as their buried baggage.

"Of course, because ya still don't seem to trust elves!"

It wasn't as important as their insecurities.

"I can do this. I don't need ya."

With a shout, Rayla drew her fist into the nearest wall, creating a crater in the wooden support of the shop. She stepped back a few feet, attempting to regain her composure. She swallowed back on her tears, regretting the stinging sensation of her throat's pains. She massaged her knuckles, not even feeling the pain what with all the adrenaline pumping through her. She humorlessly laughed. She didn't need to act tough anymore. How could she after everything? After all that hurt her. He gave up. She broke him. All because of her own worries. All because she lacked faith. All because she was just being an idiot.

Rayla's back went up against the wall, she fruitlessly attempted to wipe away her tears, letting her sobs echo throughout the alleyway. She didn't care about being heard. She glanced at her wrists and scoffed. Perhaps it would have been better if she did lose her hands. Maybe then things would have been different, better for them. Better if she just left, so she didn't screw up another mission.

Rayla didn't know why they fought. She didn't understand why he said what he said. She couldn't grasp why she just didn't stop herself from making things worse. But she just had to fight back. Then after that, their trust was shattered.

"Do you really think I'm useless?"

A frustrated sigh escaped from Rayla as she grabbed at her hair furiously. The yelling hurt her. The sobbing hurt her. He hurt her. And he knew it too. Because none of what he said would've meant anything if hadn't come from him. And he was using it against her.

Obviously, she had a hand in all of this too. She also pitched her own batch of fuel into the hate furnace, she let it scorch their hearts. She was not any better.

In fact, she was worse.

::::

Just as Callum stepped outside the room, he was met with Rayla's face. She had her fist up, looking as if she was about to knock on the door. Startled, the two stepped back from each other, launching into a fit of apologies.

"I'm, I'm sorry—"

"I'm sorry about that—"

They both stopped, eyes wide as they met. Raylu spoke first.

"About almost bumpin' into me… or…"

"Both," Callum answered. "I'm…" he took a deep breath, "so, so sorry Rayla."

The tears that dance across his eyes hit her heart with a pang of guilt. Immediately, she pushed him into the room, closing the door shut behind them before embracing him with her tired arms. "Why…" she whispered, "why are ya sorry? I'm the one—"

"We both said things," he whispered into her hair.

She sniffed, just realizing the rising pressure of tears building within her eyes. She held him tighter. "But I… we…" she had no idea what to say.

Callum just nodded against her shoulder. "I know. I know," he softly said. He really didn't know much about what they could say. Just what they both regretted. "I… I'm sorry," he repeated, "I'm so sorry for being so… stupid."

Rayla nodded back, still holding onto him. She was just too scared to let go. "I'm sorry too. I'm so sorry I… I never meant to…" she choked back on her tears. "I'm sorry…"

They shared in a sniffle as pulled their heads away, leaning their foreheads into a soft touch. Their sweat entangled within one another, and their eyes just an inch away. The clarity of how many tears they had shed, the pain of their tired lips from all the shouting, the agony of their faces told everything.

"I will always trust you," he told her, "You've always had my trust."

She never doubted him for a second.

"I never thought ya were weak," she told him, "I know ya're strong."

He knew she believed in him.

"I know you… you didn't mean it," he told her, "I know you didn't mean any of it."

He had to remind her.

"I know ya didn't either," she told him, "I… I know ya didn't mean any of those words."

"I'm so sorry I hurt you," he whispered. His hands trailed up to her cheeks, keeping her close, steady. He wasn't letting go this time.

"I'm sorry I hurt ya," she whispered. Her hands embraced his face, soaking in his warmth, his presence. She was going to stay.

"I…"

"I—"

They stopped. Biting back on their words, the rising revelation of apologies, and stared at each other. His emerald eyes shined into her eyes. Her violet gaze burrowed into his sight. They stared. They knew. Leave this for tomorrow. Leave it for later. Leave it for when they weren't drenched in stressful sweat and painful tears. For now, they just wanted to together. With another embrace, the two burrowed their bodies into each other, soaking in their warmth. Arms firmly wrapped around, they held each other with a passion. No one was daring to ever let go. Not for a second.

Neither really knew where to begin. Of course they wouldn't. Everything beforehand was a series of unleashed emotions, no pulled punches through blind eyes. They hurt each other. It was obvious. And that type of hurt wasn't something they could mend with words in one night. But it didn't mean it was all ruined. It didn't mean they were broken. It didn't mean they hated each other. It just was a step forward.

Despite all the hurt, only together, could they heal.

A/N: I didn't want to make an argument. Because I felt like those types of fics have been done to death and to be honest, that wasn't what was important here. I just felt like, creating a soft hurt where nothing mattered. It doesn't matter if one of them said something painful, or said something that dealt a low blow, because if they still made the effort to apologize, then that's what counts. Hurt is good. Hurt means you heal. I never liked the idea of hurt breaking something apart. I just wanted to make it change something is all. No muss, no fuss. A good relationship always gets better in spite of the hurt. Of course, feel free to disagree with the way I handled this story. Just my take.

ANYWAYS, so uh, awkward note, for day 12, "What Embrace Means to Me" there was a second segment missing from the post! Only here on FFN, so... that was awkward when I just learned about it. It doesn't exactly make the whole better or like, I dunno, do much? But it completes the oneshot, so I just wanted to let y'all know that it's been updated.

Next prompt is Aged Up. Funnily enough, not a future AU. ;)

Until next post,

- Bleh