Valentine's chapter! Ignore that I'm like two weeks late! Also we're almost at 100 chapters and my friend said she'd make me a cake for it…

Song: After Dark by Mr Kitty! One of my favourite songs EVERRR it's so so so good

Enjoy!

Chapter 98

After Dark

Ruby crunched on a handful of white-cheddar popcorn and wiped the powder off on her sleeve. She relaxed into her battalion of stuffed animals she'd propped up behind her. She'd had a quiet day of bingeing The Last Of Us and eating leftover Chinese takeout out of the carton. Her friends had gone on a hike and stopped at some restaurant for Greek food, which Ruby was…not particularly fond of, but she assured them she'd be fine at home. And now it was around ei

She felt the telltale pounding of footsteps before she heard her friends burst through the door, talking so loudly she could hear them over the screaming coming from her cat-ear headphones, the top duct-taped from repeated injuries to the headband.

The shower ran and Ruby continued on with her episode, sipping gingerly at a mug of apple-spice tea as her friends chatted outside. After about fifteen minutes, the floorboards creaked and she pulled off her headphones to pause the video.

Myah slowly opened the door and smiled. She wore a cotton robe cinched at the waist and her wavy hair was towelled dry. "There you are, lazybones!"

Ruby mock-glared at her. "I'll have you know I walked all the way to the kitchen and back four times. Four times!"

"Wow, don't strain yourself there," Myah teased, grabbing a Hello Kitty brush off the vanity. "Just a sec, lemme get dressed." She disappeared into the walk-in closet and after a few minutes of rustling, came out in a lilac sundress that went just above her knees, her hair in a white claw-clipped ponytail. She plopped on the bed and tucked her legs under her.

"Hey," said Ruby, turning to the side.

Myah gave her a small smile, then took her face in her hands and pulled her into a slow, languid kiss.

"Hey," said Ruby as they broke off, blinking rapidly. "Woah. What was that for?"

Myah shrugged lightly, her cheeks dusted rose. "Just something I wanted to do."

"Oh," Ruby stammered, flustered. "Cool."

They sat in silence for a beat, then Myah said, "I'm all sweaty from the walk."

"Um, okay. Then go have a shower…?"

"No, silly!" She rolled her eyes theatrically. "I had a different idea in mind."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

Myah gave her a sly grin. "What if we…went swimming?"

"Swimming?!" she yelped. "It's practically nighttime! Won't we freeze?"

"It's the middle of July in Utah, we'll be fine!" Myah got to her feet, tugging Ruby up. "Now get up, you sloth, and let's go!"

Ruby hung back dubiously. "In our clothes?"

"We can dry them and they'll be good as new."

"Ugh, fine. At least let me grab some towels."

Myah crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently as Ruby got two yellow towels from the linen closet and slung them over her shoulder, glancing quickly down at her outfit to make sure she wasn't wearing anything hydrophobic, but was wearing an oversized, white long sleeve button-up with beige knee-length cargo shorts—nothing that wouldn't dry in a couple hours in the sun.

The pair crept out of the room, sneaking down the hallway past the other bedrooms as if getting caught was equal to death. Luckily, Tulisa was showering and the other two were watching something in the other room with the door shut. They slid on flip-flops and quickly exited out the sliding glass door.

Wow. Myah was right, it was warm. The air felt alien on her skin, so used to the windy chill of the night she got whenever she'd ride her bike to work.

Their shoes slapped against the cobblestone path before meeting the soft grass stretch between the cabins and the beach. Ruby hopped onto a driftwood log, jumping on each branch parkour-style with Myah taking the normal route on the sand. Tiny shattered seashells scattered the gray beach, with tiny creatures scuttling out of thick mops of seaweed. She could hear owls hooting and crickets chirping in the thick forest behind them as the inky waves lulled to shore with no disturbances from boats to roughen them. Stars freckled the sky, and a dull glow illuminated behind the clouds.

A warm breeze buffeted her hair and Ruby turned to see Myah setting her sandals carefully on a log. She kicked hers off next to them and let Myah take her hand as they stared out at the deep navy ocean.

"So…are we just going in?" Ruby asked hesitantly. Seafoam clung to the kelp as the water washed over it.

"No, Ruby, we're just going to stand here until our toes freeze off."

"Woah, sarcasm." She laughed. "Okay, I'm going in. No promises on actually swimming, though."

She waded in a few inches, the waves lapping at her legs like kitten tongues. While the shallow water was lukewarm, as they got deeper the water got even colder.

"Brrr." Myah hugged herself. "Okay, it actually is kinda cold."

"Told you," Ruby sing-songed.

"Well, even if it's cold, we've still gotta go in," she said bravely. "And I'm shorter than you, so I'm gonna end up swimming first." It was true. While Ruby was only up just above her knees, the water was skimming Myah's hips, collecting her sundress in a sodden heap. Ruby suddenly had a flash of apprehension as she remembered how her white shirt would become very much transparent when meeting water, then relaxed as she remembered the tight gray camisole stolen from Raven she'd worn under.

"Well, if you're so confident, why don't you jump in?" Ruby goaded.

Myah shrugged, "Fine." And with that, she dipped under with a tiny splash and emerged, teeth chattering, with her hair slicked back sleek as a seal and her dress clinging to her skinny body.

"Ha! I'm all warm and dry." Ruby laughed, but soon became very cold and wet as a madly grinning Myah barrelled into her and they plunged under the surface.

She popped back up, spluttering seawater as Myah cackled with laughter. "Augh! My-ah!"

"Ru-by!" She mocked, still giggling. "Your face! Ahaha!"

"Not funny, you monster." Ruby rubbed her eyes and blinked the droplets from her lashes. The breeze chilled her, and suddenly under the water seemed like a much better place to be. She sank to her knees and then let go to float on her back, dark hair spreading around her head like a halo. Myah waded over, watching her moonlit body with a look she couldn't quite name.

Ruby rose back up with an uncertain smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like…I'm not sure. It's gentle and fierce and strange all at the same time."

"That's called love," Myah said with such simplicity. With the stars in her eyes and midnight in her hair and mascara smudged above her cheek and a little freckle just above her cupid's-bow lips. She wanted to kiss that freckle so badly.

So she did.

Normally when Myah kissed her, she could not get her thoughts to shut up. But this time, Ruby kissed her. Her lips were soft plush and a little chapped as they parted, and she tasted like saltwater and minty toothpaste so natural and so genuine it could make her cry. She let her hands wander to the small of her back and then to her slim waist, running over her hip bones before coming back up. Myah's hands remained mostly on her shoulders, one gripping her bicep, before unbuttoning her shirt and sliding it carefully into the waves. Ruby didn't care, the magma in her blood made her warm, warm, warm.

But then the itching in her throat started up, like fire ants crawling up her lungs. Ruby whipped her head away and coughed into her elbow, hacking air as her brain went smoky. Am I gonna pass out? Here? Now?

But the fog cleared, and Ruby turned back to Myah, standing there so gorgeous and ethereal with silver in her hair and the moon in her skin. Myah waded over slowly through the thick tar. Her fingers traced the thick pink scars that ran rivers across her arms.

Ruby pulled back self-consciously. "Don't do that."

"Why?"

"Because." she muttered.

"Does it hurt?"

"No." Not anymore. Weeks in the hospital and in physio had made sure of that, but the scars had hardly faded, rubbery and peeling. Ruby was glad, at least, that Myah had never seen the knotted, ugly slash on her stomach that had been left untreated and never fully healed. She covered the damage up with sleeves and foundation, but now it was washed off by the sea and exposed to the skies.

"Then why not?" She touched the darkest one gently. She looked amazed by the dappled burns, by her insecurities. "I think they're pretty."

Ruby scoffed, "No you don't."

"Yes," Myah stared at her with surprising clarity. "I do." Her voice softened. "It hurt, didn't it? Did you cry?"

Ruby shook her head. Tears had flowed from her eyes, sure, but smoke irritation wasn't crying.

"Ruby," she said. "I don't care if you have scars on your lungs or on your arms or—" she suddenly touched her ribcage covered by her shirt "—on your stomach. I think they're beautiful because they're reflections of your past."

"And if I find them ugly for that reason?"

"The past is the past," Myah said with a shrug. "The only thing you've got to worry about is the future. That's the only thing you have control over."

"That's a lot of philosophy for such a tiny person," Ruby teased, and Myah swatted her.

"We were having a moment!"

"So-rry." Ruby was not sorry. "However can I make it up to you?"

"Sleep with me."

Ruby choked on her words. "Um, what?"

"Ugh, not like that! Like, literally sleep with me! In one bed!" Myah groaned.

"Whatever you say," said Ruby, wiggling her eyebrows seductively.

She sighed dramatically. "I'm never going to talk to you again."

"Aww, are you breaking up with me?"

"Yep. I'm in my Ruby-anti era."

"Dang, and I was going to literally sleep with you, too."

Myah perked up. "Really?"

Ruby laughed. "Yes, really! You say that like you were suggesting we slather ourselves in honey and lie on a bed of nails in the desert surrounded by wasps."

"That's…creative."

"What can I say, I'm a creative gal. I'm in my creative era!"

"Well, we can do your desert-ant idea too, right after we literally sleep together."

She grinned. "Deal." And with that, she reached under the icy liquid and scooped Myah up, bridal-style into her arms, heading for the shore through water thick as honey.

"Ack!" Myah shrieked, squirming around. "Ru-byyy!"

"My-ahhhh!"

"This isn't funny! Put me down!" She clung to her with a white-knuckle death grip. Her breath came out in shallow exhales against her neck, and Ruby inhale sharply.

"On the contrary, baby, it's very funny."

"You with the pet names," Myah harrumphed.

"Ah, I know you love it."

"There's this new thing I learned about the other day, it's called Delusional Disorder? You might want to check it out."

Her response was to tickle the smaller girl, and Myah screamed. "Oh my God! You're going—" she giggled involuntarily "—to drop meeee!"

"Fine, I'll stop," Ruby grumbled, "but only 'cause we're on the shore."

Myah blinked, and noticed the wet sand beneath Ruby's feet. "Oh, we are? That was fast."

"I'm fast."

"De-lu-sio-nal." Myah sounded out as Ruby dropped her to the ground, putting her hands on her narrow hips. "Look it up."

"I won't." Ruby said, grabbing her flip-flops and tugging them on, gazing out at the moonlit ocean. Then, "Oh, crap! I forgot my shirt in the water!"

"Just leave it," Myah said as she tugged on her sandals.

"But littering!" She whined. "Don't you wanna be an eco-warrior?"

"We can get it in the morning once the tide goes out!" Myah called as she ran up the log-banks. "But I'm tired now, so c'mon!"

They headed up the hill, past the grass strip and onto their scratchy doormat. The lights were off except for the yellow light of Josh's window, but he was a night owl who typically stayed up till the witching hours, so they paid it no mind. They snuck through the sliding door and slipped off their shoes, tip-toeing down the hallway and into their rooms.

Ruby went into the closet and peeled off her wet clothes, changing into her usual black Fazbear Entertainment Staff hoodie and light gray athletic shorts. When she left, Myah was in her rose-pink silk pajama set, yanking her brush through her hair.

"Time to sleep together," Ruby said loftily as she flicked out the lights, their frog-shaped night light illuminating the room in dim white light.

"In the literal sense."

"Right. The literal sense. Of course." Ruby winked at her as she settled into bed, and Myah stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

"You're actually the worst." She crawled under the plain white bed covers, shifting around to get comfortable.

"Yeah, but you love me." Ruby stretched her arm across her body, holding her close.

Myah's voice went soft. "I do."

A pause, then, "I love you too, My. Goodnight."

Ruby could hear the smile in her voice, even in the dark. "Goodnight, Ruby."

A/N

Yay wholesome Valentine's stuff because I figured we needed a bit more romance!

Question/Challenge: what is your comfort series? Mine are h2o, Bob's burgers, and any Markiplier series LMAO

Have an amazing day/night!

~Ghost