Chapter Text
The deep December nipped at his fingers as he gripped his steering wheel, the cold leather deepening the frost-like feel to his skin. His hands slightly shaking as he tried his best to remain calm; he seemed to be struggling with that recently.
His uneven breaths formed a cloud of smoke in the air that seemed to cloud his mind and his windshield further, his eyes unfocussed as he turned the AC up further to clear it, hoping that his metal junkbox had enough in it to at least warm his shaking body. He could hear the sounds of cars flying past him on this old country road, the hills seemingly like hills and climbs on a rollercoaster than one of a normal road; his stomach doing flips whenever a downward turn would approach.
Every minute that passed he would recognise less and less as the city transformed into a small town and then to nothing but the burnt umber trees and cobblestone fences, a quiet, almost desolate place. He indicated left before turning onto a dirt path more than a road, the trees only seeming to grow taller than the lump in his throat, his anxiety rising as he pulled up at his destination.
His home.
At least, he hoped it would be his home soon as he watched another car pull up next to him, as well as a rusty moving van backing up onto the dirt driveway. Of course, when Madeleine bought this cottage he thought it was a great idea; a heat of the moment decision but a good decision nonetheless. After crashing on his best friends’ couch for a few weeks, he was looking forward to finally having a place of his own he could call home. Or, his house he guessed. It didn’t feel like a home just yet, but it would… He hoped it would become more familiar as the months went by.
As he turned off his engine he heard something throw itself against his window, making his heart leap to his throat; there stood his best friend, Toffee, putting his hands against his car window like he was a zombie in some kind of horror movie. After taking a moment to compose himself he stepped out of the vehicle, looking at his friend in slight annoyance as he almost swatted him away with his car door. As his feet met the ground he was met with the sound of crunching snow, reminding him of how cold it was. Why on Earth did he decide to move in the winter, he would never know…
“Did I scare you? You should have seen your face!” The smaller man chuckled, his signature smirk coming out as he poked fun at his best friend.
“Oh yes, positively horrified. Never do that again.” Madeleine chuckled, smiling slightly.
Toffee, where was one to begin with a man like him?
Toffee was of a slender build, a little shorter than Madeleine himself, his bright caramel eyes looking up at Madeleine almost like an excited puppy, a certain mischievous look sparkling in his eyes. His hair short and puffy, coloured a blond bordering on ginger, though he would never admit it; his bangs falling each side of his face and ending just in front of his eyes, nearly blinding him as it wisped into them.
His pale complexion almost challenged the snow in colour if not for the scattered freckles across his face and gathering at his nose, sending you on a starlit trail down his neck and body, each cluster like a new constellation. The only thing that helped him stand out against the white landscape was his colourful clothes, a large hand-knitted sweater, accented with beanie and gloves of the same nature, all a gift from his mother in the lead up to Christmas.
“Toff, don’t be mean. Madds is just a little nervous. Moving out from parents is one thing, moving away from everything you know to live in the woods is another. Imagine if I left you all alone in the apartment to move into the mountains with the bears. You’d be beside yourself.” Another voice called out as the second car’s ignition switched off, a woman much taller than Madeleine and Toffee respectively stepping out.
“But Rammy! It was funny!” Toffee seemed to retaliate, looking at his girlfriend with puppy dog eyes.
Ramune, Toffee’s girlfriend and Madeleine’s sister from another mother; while they weren’t related it certainly felt like it, knowing each other since they were wee children. While Madeleine hadn’t changed much, Ramune certainly had, including the growth spurt that sent her towering over both the boys and having to duck through most doorways.
She was quite large, mostly built with muscle underneath her dark skin; a few freckles scattered over her shoulders and face on sunny days. A scar ran across her nose and cheeks from an accident when she was younger but it was hardly noticeable against her lapis eyes and curly cyan hair, framing her face as it fell to her mid back.
Even though it was cold, she still wore a slightly revealing outfit, her mesh top contrasting her bralette under her patch-adorned bomber jacket. If you had asked her why she would simply reply with: “A hoe never gets cold.” But it was easy to tell that she just didn’t feel the cold as much as other people, Her sneakers leaving small star-like trails in the snow as she made her way over to the others.
“You excited to move in, Madds?” she asked softly, noticing how tense the other man was.
“Define excited. I’m nervous, sweaty, terrified of what’s going to come and the movers haven’t even opened the back to get my furniture out yet.” he chuckled, clamping his pale and cold hands together to try and get some sense of warmth.
“I understand, I was exactly the same when I moved away from my dad. Poor man was begging me not to go. But it’s for the best. Independence and you live by your own rules.” she tried to reassure him before the other butted in.
“Until you get a girlfriend! Then you follow her rules and no one else's.” Toffee piped up before getting hit in the back gently by Ramune.
“That attitude will make you sleep on the couch tonight. Now go on and unlock the door, Toff and I will help the movers with your stuff.”
The man nodded as he watched the others run off, swallowing nervously as he looked up at his new house, fumbling to get the keys out of his back pocket. While the cottage wasn’t much it was surprisingly, a bit suspiciously, cheap and affordable. While it needed a little TLC, he was happy to try and work on it, it was old after all.
The ivory bricks contrasting the thatched roof, ivy climbing up the colourless walls and overgrowing to cling to the front of the house, nothing being able to get rid of it. The shuttered windows adorned with a diamond patterned glass pane, letting natural light into the small building as the day went by. As he walked up to the arched oak door, he fumbled around with the lock, his frostbitten hands clumsily unlocking the door to grant access to the inside.
The inside was desolate, a bit dusty, with no remaining furniture inside, a blank slate to work on, and work on he would. As he stepped through the door he was met with the quaint living room, a red brick fireplace to his left, mounted on the papered walls that adorned wildflowers on a cream background. His feet shuffling against the oak wood floor it creaked slightly, every step a gamble on the squeaky noise.
As he turned right he was met with an archway, walking through he stumbled upon the kitchen. The island dividing the hall and tiled floor of the kitchen, the island sat made up of moss green cabinets, their contents hidden by a small cream curtain fixed to a pole under the drawers. On the end sat a small sink, not enough to do all the washing at once but enough to make good progress while cooking.
The actual countertop made of the same cabinets, these fitted with doors instead of the small curtain; in the middle sat an ivory stove, an old design but still fully functional and capable of cooking him the most delicious of meals. That was, if he could cook. He would probably just order takeaway if they delivered this far out. He was nearly twenty minutes away from the closest town, Ballalery, but he was still within the town limits. He would have to check later. A lone spot at the end of the counter sat for his fridge, and more cabinets sat mounted to the wall. Storage wouldn’t be a problem at least.
A window sat above the stove, peering through he could see his friends helping with the movers; well, it was more like Ramune doing the heavy work and Toffee helping out with the lighter items, yelling words of encouragement at his girlfriend that just seemed to annoy her even more. He knew that no matter what, they loved each other, though these small fights weren’t uncommon they were always in good spirits. He couldn’t count a serious fight between them, and although he didn’t see every moment of their lives he knew that they were meant for each other. He just prayed to any God he could that they knew what they were doing, putting such a ball of energy and chaos with such a calm and immovable force.
As he stood back from the window he caught a reflection of himself in the glass, the white of the snow almost making it a mirror of himself. He looked tired… His wavy blond hair pulled tightly into a ponytail, his almost wolf cut-like bangs framing his face, his icy blue eyes practically boring into his soul. His pale face only contrasted with his dark freckles and slight stubble, a reminder to shave soon. His plump lips pulled into a small, pensive look as his brows furrowed, he looked stressed, Ram was right…
He stepped away from the window and ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath as he tried to relax. He was finally gaining independence from his father, he should be happy, shouldn’t he? Then what was this anxious feeling swirling in his stomach? He wasn’t sick was he? Catching some kind of bug on the way here wasn’t impossible but he hoped that wasn’t the case; he’d rather not spend his first few days in his new house hunched over a toilet.
However, he was pretty sure that wasn’t the case. He knew what nerves were and he had a lot of them, he was worried, that was all. The air in the house was stale, he just needed to open a few windows to air it out a bit, then the weight on his chest would hopefully be lifted.
Besides, his Great-Grandfather had told him moving to the country would be beneficial for his health; to see the snowy landscape and large trees, to be surrounded by the sounds of nature and the creatures within it. Being somewhere he didn’t have to worry, that he would be happy and comfortable. While the cottage was a massive degrade from his family home of House Madeleine he had to remind himself that he was doing this for him, he would be able to make-do with the space. Besides, he didn’t have that many personal belongings except for the things he dearly cared about. Everything else was left at the mansion as he wouldn’t be able to bring it with him or it simply wasn’t as important.
As he reached the back of the living room, ready to open the last window he got his first peak of the back garden, the small cobblestone fences keeping out any unwelcome visitors. And while all of the land around him wasn’t exactly owned by anyone else, he still had his own gated piece of grass, well- snow as of now. There were no flowers or furniture out that would be there in the summer, the lush green grass now slippery ice and cold, wet, snow-covered dirt.
But, while peering out he noticed his eyes wandering to the lake of which he lived next to; while Madeleine wasn’t exactly a massive fan of water, he had seen the lake as a massive selling point, while it was just a lovely view it also came as a perfect spot to socialise and maybe even fish. He… had never fished before but hey, what stopped him from starting to learn the hobby? He had enough money from his job to do so.
As he admired the lake, the sparkling emerald shimmered water, he noticed a small island in the middle, hidden by trees and overgrown shrubbery. The old pier, long since dilapidated and water damaged, seemed to break away easily with the waters, the small ice forming close to its banks breaking off and floating away into the desperately cold void across. The small island had piqued his interest once before when he saw pictures of the cottage online, the nature that resided there seeming to withstand any cold that the winter may throw at it, and while the snow fell the weeping willow on its outskirts stayed strong, it’s curtain-like leaves blowing in the cold winter winds.
Through that, however, he thought he caught a glimpse of something within the mysteriously overgrown haze; a small lake house unlike his own came into view, however, as soon as it appeared it once again vanished without a trace. The shrubbery of the forbidden island curling close, almost like it was protecting a treasure that was more valuable than anything else. Like it was trying to keep a secret…
At least that’s what the man’s brain seemed to think, although he was prone to over exaggerating and dramatising stuff, it was in his nature. In all honesty the island probably just had an old dilapidated shed that hadn’t been used in years, however, he still couldn’t help his nosy side, the one that wanted answers and craved to know more.
However, he forced himself away from the windowsill as he heard his friends struggling to walk in the door, Ramune doing most of the heavy lifting as she helped the movers in with most of his belongings, a bright smile on her face despite her cold and paler complexion.
“Hey! Mads! Where do you want your shit? I can’t hold it forever.” she teased, smirking slightly as she looked at the younger male beside the window.
“Ah! That box goes in the bedroom, it runs right off the kitchen. Toffee I… Are you alright?” Madeleine asked, almost with a smirk as he watched the man walk in, his arms shaking, barely able to hold one box compared to Ramune’s three.
“Just put those in the kitchen, I’ll sort them out later.” Madeleine chuckled, earning a strained nod from his best friend as he turned a sharp left towards the kitchen.
While he had been worried about moving away, the fact he had such amazing friends to do it with was actually quite soothing, besides, what was the worst that could happen? A ghost jump out and kill him in his sleep? Fat chance, as if ghosts even existed… His mother would tell him ghost stories as a child to make him scared but he had long since outgrown that phase. Hell, he could even watch Ghostbusters now! Though that giant monster still scared him a little, he couldn’t look at big brand marshmallows without visibly cringing.
He was lucky, he’d admit that. To be a homeowner at the ripe age of 23? Well that was something to be happy about. He didn’t even have to ask for help, saving up since 16 to move out was a good decision, though he was a little surprised at how small his new house was; only one bedroom, one bathroom, not even an office! But it would do… If he wanted, he could make renovations into the garden; there was more than enough space to add a conservatory or a small office built into his room, the possibilities were endless. Hell, he could even add a second floor if the supports were up to date.
Owning a new house and moving so far away from home was going to be a challenge…
Good thing he was up for it.