Dust and Ducks

17

"When did you stop loving me?"

That question made everything feel cold, heavy, the air itself was tense. The bugs had stopped buzzing, birds stopped their singing and chirping, the fox's snoring had subsided though it was still resting, even the wind itself had stopped ruffling the bushes and trees. Silence, total silence. Silence that weighed down on Y/N like a crushing weight that could not be removed. It was unbearable. The answer came to their mind easily but saying it... not so much.

Adam seemed to catch on to Y/N's unease, and his desperation for an answer only grew tenfold.

"Well? When- when did it happen? What did I do?" Silence fell over the two for a moment, only for it to be broken the next moment by Adam's voice, which had grown smaller and almost shaky.

"Did you ever love me?"

This question only hurt more than the last, and a wave of pain washed over Y/N. This was more difficult than they thought. But, at the very least, Adam deserved an answer.

All the happy memories they shared, all their joyful playing and even the peaceful moments flashed before Y/N's eyes as they spoke. It hurt to say, but the truth hurts.

"I... I did love you, but I don't... I don't think it was the same way as you loved me." They responded hesitantly; the words difficult to grasp from the hurricane that was their mind. This answer, though it was an answer, clearly didn't bring much peace to Adam. It was closure, sure, but it still left a permanent stain on his heart.

He didn't seem to care that his initial question went unanswered, instead his mind lingered on Y/N's response to his second one. Not the same way he loved them. It hurt to think about, so he just pushed it out of his mind.

"Um... okay, uh-" he started, trying to come up with something else, to hopefully change the topic. "Well, since that's out of the way, um, did you meet any new animals or something?" A stupid question, but he wanted to forget and move on. Lingering on it even more would only cause more pain.

The question had stunned even Y/N, but the distraction was greatly appreciated. They shook their head, looking down at the reddish orange fluffball that lay beside them. "None except this little guy. Really soft." They made a gesture that invited Adam to pet the fox, and after a hesitant glance, Adam's hand slowly reached out to the fox, who had awoken now and was cautiously sniffing his hand, and Adam stopped. He would be wrong to say he wasn't afraid. Though his confidence was regained when the fox pushed its head into Adams hand.

A small smile spread across Y/N's face, proud of the fox's acceptance of Adam. They looked over at Adam to see him, even if anxiously, petting the fox slowly, his expression softening slightly.

"It's... so soft." He spoke softly, almost in awe. It was nice to see the wonder returning to his eyes, even if just for a brief moment. It was almost as unbearable as the silence to see him so broken.

Even if they had a lot to work through still, maybe they could still find some way to find a compromise and be happy, even if not together. This could be the start of that.

Word count: 593 words