Time of Togetherness

It isn’t often that Reign asks Blythe to spend any time with him that isn’t for sex. It’s so rare that Blythe can count the number of times that he simply wanted her around on just one hand. So when Blythe picks up her phone one chilly winter day she’s surprised to hear Reign’s voice on the other end.

“I’ll be there in ten. We’re going on a walk.”

Of course, Reign doesn’t bother to ask if Blythe is available. He never asks. Reign simply expects, with little room for error, that you do just as he says. Though Blythe doesn’t mind, she’s perfectly willing to bend over backwards if it meant making him happy.

Outside the shop is frigid, uncomfortably so. If it wasn’t Reign there is no way you’d find the small sloth standing outside right now. Not to mention all of the layers she had to put on, something she hated doing. Tapping her foot on the frosty ground and wrapping her arms around herself she waits patiently for her companion to arrive. A few snowflakes fall around her, earning a frustrated huff from the sloth. All the time with Reign in the world wouldn’t make her forget just how much she detests snow.

“Just what could be so important to drag me out of my warm shop on a day like this?” She can’t help but mutter. “Can’t just be normal, can he?” She huffs, the constant thud, thud, thud of her boot on the sidewalk below her slowly increasing in tempo to match her growing annoyance with the demanding nature of Reign.

Despite her frustrated mutterings Blythe adores Reign. While she’s had many, many flings and encounters with others she has never connected to anyone like she has with him. Where others see a cold, cruel, manipulative man Blythe can’t help but think there’s something past that, past miles of emotional walls. If she can just stay by his side long enough he might one day see that she can be trusted. At the end of the day, Blythe is optimistic.

Reign is always cold. Despite the winter coat, despite the flickering flames that follow him as he walks along the frosted sidewalk. From his demeanor to his temperature you’d swear he has ice in his veins or maybe he spawned miraculously from a glacier as a child. The only thing warm about him is the orange of the large antlers that stick out of his head, a warm color to contrast the frigid man that is Reign, a man that hasn’t melted a drop of his icy exterior despite everything that’s happened since he came to burrowgatory.

So when he approaches the front of Blythe’s shop to be met with the warmest, sweetest smile from the sloth bun that clings to him so often it’s almost against the laws of nature that he smiles back at her. A stiff smile, certainly, more of a miserable attempt at a smile even, from a man that seems incapable. Yet a smile any way you slice it.

“It always makes my day to see your face.” 

Her voice is soft and sweet and somehow always a bit sleepy. “I hope you’re having a good day.” 

“Good to see you understand how to dress for cold weather. I didn’t think you owned a sweater. Or shoes.”

His one-eyed gaze is sharp and judgemental as he looks her up and down, picking out any possible thing to criticize. “It’ll do. Let’s go.”

“It’ll do? I don’t think I’ve ever heard such high praise from you.” She lets out a short laugh, looping her arm with his as they walk. His gaze falls to their arms and then up to her face as she leans her head against him. In the past he would immediately reject this closeness but in this exact moment he can’t deny it’s exactly what he called her for. 

“I tolerate you… more than others. You’re perfectly adequate company.”

“Well I think you’re perfectly adequate, too. What’s that on a normal scale?” She teases. “I bet if you were ever head over heels for someone all you’d say is that you had nothing to complain about.”

“I have certain little to complain about with you.” He replies simply, watching as Blythe slowly grins and tightens her grip on his arm. Maybe not his best choice seeing as he’s uncertain when he’ll get his arm back now.

“Very little.” He attempts to emphasize, a futile effort on his part, he’s already made her the happiest bun in Burrowgatory by acknowledging he likes her more than he’d ever previously let on.

The rest of the walk to the park is silent, mostly due to Blythe replaying Reign’s words in her head over and over again.

She only returns back to the present when she realizes Reign has managed to pry his arm away from her grip to take something from another bun.

When he turns to face her he offers a present box. Reign has gifted her a lot in their short time together though it was only ever items delivered to her door purchased by his assistant or checks for assorted amounts he deemed appropriate. This, however, was a wrapped gift. The box was green and the bow gold, done with a level of meticulousness befitting the perpetually hyper-critical Reign.

“I saw this and assumed you’d enjoy it.” He gestures for her to take it. “Or maybe you won’t. I don’t care what you do with it.” He adds, maybe a bit too quickly for Blythe to fully believe it.

It takes everything out of her to not violently rip the box open from her excitement as she takes it from him, grinning from ear to ear. It’s heavy and he quickly discourages her from rattling it around to discern what the contents are. Inside is… a candle. A candle? Something she has dozens of, maybe even hundreds. She didn’t really have a need for a new candle, of course, but he said he picked it himself which is the only thing that matters to her.

Maybe she really is getting past those walls of his.