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For a first hug it was…unusual, concerning, and frankly it was sticky with half congealed blood. Enid, the personification of the physical touch love language, had held herself back for months, respecting the most reasonable of her roomie turned bestie’s boundaries. She’d taken every rejection to her proffered hugs without upset or concern, and trusted that it really was nothing personal. She’d done so well. Really it must be repeated if she were to be fair to herself. She’d made it almost an entire semester. And then shit hit the proverbial fan, or more accurately, blood hit the less than proverbial blood seal and all hell broke loose. It hadn’t been much of a conscious decision, wrapping herself around the tiny broken spitfire that wandered back from the brink of death. Not after all of that. She was functioning on autopilot and a healthy dose of panic after all. So Enid had hugged her. And as always, Wednesday pulled away, and she let her, because again, boundaries. Except all that chaos, and pain, and fear wrapped even tighter around them seemed to unravel that line in the sand and before Enid could make sense of what was happening, Wednesday had dragged her back in and held her tight. The relief she felt was monumental up until the moment she squeezed back with just a hair too much enthusiasm, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins causing her to forget herself and her own strength. Wednesday inhaled sharply, body stiffening until Enid released her, leaning back just enough to let her eyes trace her features, catching the flicker of pain her friend was trying mostly successfully to hide. But months together had trained Enid and while there was still so much she couldn’t glean from Wednesday’s minimal emotional expressions, she’d found more often than not she could guess close enough. It didn’t take any guesswork to realize the barely restrained grimace and tightly clamped fists still pressed into Enid’s back meant Wednesday was in pain.
Enid released her properly and stepped back to assess, for the first time noting just how much blood covered the tiny frame in front of her. The only time Enid had seen so much color on her roommate was the Rave’N. At least Wednesday would be pleased it was actually blood this time. Small miracles she supposed.
“Jesus, Wednesday, is this all yours?”
It came out almost accusatory but the recipient didn’t seem to care or notice. Wednesday glanced down, pulling at the hem of her untucked school shirt and surveyed the blood before nodding. Enid’s pulse skyrocketed. It was far too much blood. And Wednesday was positively TINY, like really, that was an excessive amount of blood and oh no she was going to pass out.
There was a very brief fifteen seconds or so when Enid came to where she could have convinced herself it had all been a very terrible and rather cruel dream. And then her own pain settled deep into her bones. A remnant of her first wolf-out. The pain was very much present, but worthwhile and well deserved. More alarming was the sting of fresh wounds, carved into her skin by a person she could have almost called a friend, but she didn’t really want to think very much about that while still coming into consciousness. Probably not the best idea to faint twice in rapid succession. She let herself remain as she’d been left, trying to make out exactly where she was before opening her eyes. There was blood drying in both her nostrils, confusing her scent, but still just under the iron she could make out the familiar fragrances she knew to be her room. Slowly, she opened her eyes to a semi-dark room, light floating in from the far corner - their bathroom. Closing her eyes once more she listened and sure enough there was the faint sound of water filling the tub.
She took another minute just to be sure of herself before rising slowly, shifting until she could lean back against her pillows. Wednesday had once made a passing comment about her needing to keep her chew toys close. At the time it had been just another of her rude but mostly harmless comments, but after everything had gone down Enid couldn’t wish for anything more than for Wednesday to stroll into the room, looking as put together as ever, and make a few more pointed jabs.
As if on cue, a shadow passed by the ray of light followed shortly by the very form it belonged to. But Wednesday didn’t come bearing any snarky quip and she certainly wasn’t her usual rigid perfection. Her posture was lacking, a slight slump to her shoulders. Once tight and crisp braids were frayed, errant hairs loose and tangled. She’d shed the outer layers leaving her upper half clad only in the blood mottled white shirt. Enid tried to force herself not to do the math on just how much red there was to what remained of the white. Her feet were bare, boots left by the door for later cleaning. It was unnerving, like looking into the eye of a hurricane. At first glance she may appear to be calmed, worn down, safe - but enid could see the path of destruction the front of the storm had left in its wake and she feared that the back end still had damage left to be done. Injuries were still left to be assessed, trauma settling deep into their beings that would surely come bounding out to the surface in due time. They may have made it this far, and while the knowledge of what awaited them threatened to haunt her, she decided that it was best to just deal with the immediate damage and leave the rest for later.
Lost to her own thoughts she hadn’t noticed Wednesday approach her, hadn’t heard the tired voice stating her name. Firm hands at her shoulders is what finally cracked her back into the present, locking eyes with the dark ones staring concernedly down at her.
“Enid, can you hear me?”
“Yes, yeah I can, stop shaking me.” Wednesday released her grip as if on fire and stepped back. There was a moment of silence that only the gentle lap of water from the faucet broke. “Sorry.”
She didn’t know why she’d said that. Maybe for telling Wednesday to stop. Maybe for what had happened with Tyler, maybe just because. Regardless, it went ignored and for a second Enid thought that awful silence would return until Wednesday blurted out “The tub is going to overflow. We should…” before losing her voice and looking down at her feet. Enid, unsure of what to say just stared back at her, listening as Wednesday sighed in that wretched way she tended to do when flustered. Sensing the rest of the response was lost to the void, Enid stood slowly from her bed and shuffled towards the bath, stopping just before the door to check that Wednesday was following.
The steam curling up above the tub hit her square in the face and Enid let herself nearly weep with it. The woods had been cold and the night had been a mess and she’d lost a bit more blood than she cared for herself, all to say that the heat of the small space was doing wonders to take the sharp prickle of the night from her bones. She turned in time to see Wednesday close the door to a crack, enough to keep the heat in without cutting them off from the rest of the space entirely.
Enid wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Was this her bath? Wednesday’s? Did she need help getting out of the rest of her clothes? Did she assume Enid did?
Wednesday had busied herself pulling various supplies out of the bathroom cupboard, some bathing, others first-aid. That queasy feeling threatened to return again and Enid forced herself to breathe through it.
“Aren’t you going to get in?” At the unexpected comment, Enid peered over to Wednesday, bandages in one hand and a bottle of shampoo in the other. It was just another stark reminder that it had been a bizarre night. The only thing that could make it any weirder was something else more out of place like if she started to juggle them or sing a rock opera or… “Why are you laughing? Enid, stop laughing. Did you hit your head at any point?”
Wednesday practically threw the supplies into the sink before grabbing her firmly in one hand and brushing hair this way and that with the other, clearly looking for some previously unforeseen head trauma.
“No, no. At least I don’t think so. Sorry, just. I don’t know. Just a weird thought.”
Wednesday seemed to take her at her word, but her patience had obviously worn out as she gestured aggressively at the tub. Sensing her rope was running out of slack, Enid did as she was told and shed the coat. The first few inches of skin to touch the water nearly melted right off her bones but the shock of the temperature faded fast as she slipped further in. It felt positively luxurious. Her aching muscles cried out in relief and she could almost feel the tension evaporating in real time. She scooted down the tub until she had enough room to dunk herself below the surface, taking care to gently smooth the majority of the dried and flaking blood from her hair and face. Breaking the surface, she wiped the water from her eyes to find Wednesday still in the room but facing away.
“I need to check your wounds.” Right. Of course. Enid considered telling Wednesday it was okay, she would heal quickly, but honestly she knew this applied to wolves that had wolfed-out but maybe it took some time to work. “There is what I presume to be bubblebath in your toiletries but I don’t know what sort of disgusting chemical compounds that company has laced it with. You are of course welcome to make use of it for modesty if you feel it necessary.”
Sure enough, the bottle sat just off to the side but within reach. Yesterday’s Enid would have snatched it up and poured the whole bottle in but truthfully she wasn’t yesterday’s Enid and she found she didn’t have the energy to care. Besides, Wednesday had a point. The label was not in any language she could understand and she’d mostly bought it as an impulse buy because of the cute little pink puppies on the front. Now that she thought about it there was a non-zero chance it was pet shampoo.
“It’s fine. I’m too tired to care right now. I’m pretty sure a few people already got an eyeful anyways today.” She almost added ‘it’s only you’ but Enid found that it being Wednesday only increased any nerves about being seen in the nude. There was something to analyze there but she really had meant it when she said she didn’t have the energy to care tonight.
Wednesday nodded, seemingly to herself, before turning around.
It took almost ten minutes for Wednesday to carefully examine every bruise and laceration. Most she assured Enid would heal without intervention on their own, only finding real concern with a particularly deep abrasion on her right shoulder blade and the claw marks across her face. It took another five minutes for Wednesday to wash her hair and scrape every last remnant of the forest floor and the dark stain of blood from her blonde locks. She’d even washed her face for her, very diligently and with utmost care. The steaming washcloth had stung at first but the heat soothed much of the pain and the atypical affection leaking through Wednesday’s gaze muted the rest. Finally she’d been left to clean the rest of her body before Wednesday returned to rinse the conditioner from her hair and help her from the bath.
She’d only seen Wednesday once in her towel - a mistake actually. She’d come back to their room to find the bathroom door open and a singular angry voice drifting out from its confines. She’d stepped into the doorway to find her roommate buried in what looked to be the largest black towel she’d ever seen. Despite her penchant for color she’d found herself a tad jealous of its size and fluffiness. The slamming of a door in her face had ripped that thought out of her head lightning quick. All it took was surviving a Hyde for her to get to try it herself. She carefully lifted one foot from the tub, using Wednesday’s arm as balance, and finally the second. She was quickly wrapped in the towel - indeed heavenly soft - and before she could pull away, Wednesday herself. It was completely unexpected, the second hug of the night, perhaps mores than the first. She fell into it easily, letting herself be swaddled by the still bloodied and battered form before her, and like a dam breaking, she sobbed.
Wednesday had laid out Enid’s favorite pajamas, set at the foot of her bed - Wednesday’s bed that is, seeing as her own bed things had been stripped and left in a pile by mud-caked boots. She could see nestled into the pinks and oranges and blues blotches of deep red. Well, she guess that is what she got for passing out covered in blood. That tended to dirty up whatever surface you were placed on.
Freshly clothed and hair wrapped up to dry, she returned to the bathroom door, left just cracked. With a gentle knock she called Wednesday’s name, only entering when she was asked to. The tub had been drained and refilled with fresh water. There was still a slight pink stain to the upper rim of the tub from where her blood had settled into the enamel. They’d have to clean that tomorrow.
“I’m afraid I’ll need your help as well.” Wednesday had managed to disrobe nearly entirely on her own but the frightening revelation of just how much blood she’d been hiding under her clothes and the extent of the wounds she could already make out was alarming. Enid nodded quickly before turning around to give her some privacy to finish undressing. And also because for the third time tonight she thought she might pass out. She really was going to have to get past that at some point.
Enid waited until Wednesday had climbed into the tub before turning back around. It was instantaneous and nearly irrevocable, the ache that settled so deep into her heart. Enid was familiar with pain, specifically emotional pain, hard enough to face on any given day but fuck was it hard to face when it kicked you so squarely in the chest in the way seeing such a strong and fierce person like Wednesday Addams curled in on herself, knees to her chest, chin resting just atop, exhaustion and anguish in her eyes did. Wednesday who put up more than walls but entire blockades. Wednesday who swore to have not a heart but bitter shriveled stone that served only to keep her alive long enough to best her enemies. Wednesday who could not be fucked to care or love or show vulnerability. That Wednesday sat in a ball soaking in a stew of her own viscera and pain looking every bit as broken as Enid’s heart felt.
She sat beside the tub, arms resting on the rim, staring until dark brown met her blue. “Weems is dead.”
Oh.
Oh.
That was… that was maybe just a bit more than she was able to deal with. But clearly the same applied to Wednesday and it was her turn to be there so she stuffed her own heartache down. She reached out until her hand skirted the water’s surface, fingertips brushing against Wednesday’s tight fist. Wordlessly, the clenched digits relaxed and fingers threaded through hers. Enid’s thumb circled the knuckle beneath it, hoping to soothe some of that pain. Silently, tears slipped free of Wednesday’s control, sliding down her cheeks and dripping into the bathwater.
“Weems is dead, Kinbott’s dead, I framed Xavier despite his innocence, my blood unlocked Crackstone, Eugene almost died, you almost died, the school was almost destroyed, Tyler…” she took a shuddering breath before wiping at her face with her free hand. “This is why I don’t let people in. Because someone always gets hurt. And now everyone I care about is hurt or dead.”
Enid shook her head, even harder when Wednesday scoffed. “This isn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself for this. And frankly Wednesday, you better fucking not forget that I’m here. Eugene is here. Xavier and Bianca and Yoko and Divinia and Kent and Ajax and Thing are all here. You aren’t alone in this. You didn’t bring this about. You aren’t responsible. And yes, people died but it wasn’t on you to save them. You are the only reason this place is still standing. You are the one that convinced people to take this seriously and got them to listen. We’d probably all be dead if you hadn’t done what you did, if you hadn’t been open and let people in.”
“Who is Kent?”
“Really, that is what you are taking from all that?”
Wednesday stared at her and Enid saw it for what it was. A bit of levity is all, in this mess of a night. “You know that isn’t true,” she added for good measure. And deep down she did.
She helped Wednesday attend to her wounds, taking extra care to keep pressure on the washcloth pressed to the hole in her shoulder thanks to the reverse uno Crackstone had pulled with Xavier’s arrow. Most of her other injuries were superficial or at least not frightening. There were new scars on her hand and one on her stomach that looked suspicious but Wednesday had waved it off with a very confusing explanation. It had taken very little convincing to let her take down Wednesday’s braids and wash her hair for her. To be completely honest, not that Enid would let herself do to Wednesday’s face right this moment, she’d been wanting to play with her hair for ages. It had always looked so soft and silky, and despite the various bits of debris, it had been. Enid had finally helped her from the chilling water and into the same towel Wednesday had lent her - the spare sadly in her laundry hamper already - and shooed her out to the pajamas she’d laid out just as Wednesday had done for her. The pitiful bandage she’d haphazardly shoved at Wednesday had already bled through by the time she had dressed though, a task Enid realized a bit too late would be difficult to do singlehandedly.
“Here, let me help you.” Enid interjected as Wednesday stomped back from the bathroom carrying fresh supplies. With a grunt, a small hand jutted out toward her practically throwing the bandages and ointment at her. “Come on, take this off and lay down on your bed,” Enid stated, flicking at the hem of the overlarge t-shirt Wednesday was draped in.
Thankfully, she had complied and Enid busied herself preparing the new dressing and looking anywhere but the wash of pale skin screaming at her from atop dark bedding. God, she really was going to have to address whatever these feelings were very soon because this was becoming a capital P problem.
Wednesday sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth as Enid dabbed some sort of cream onto her wound. The jar was unlabeled, Enid suspected some sort of home remedy carefully prepared using her mother’s array of plants. She’d have to ask about it later. The bandage seemed to cause less pain, but Enid figured it was worth putting Wednesday through a bit more pain to take her time and do the dressing right. Rather that then her bleeding through another so soon or getting an infection.
“All done.” She smiled down at her handiwork before stupidly leaning down and placing a soft kiss to the top of the bandage. She froze halfway back up, eyes darting apologetically to Wednesday’s. “Shit, sorry.”
Expecting discomfort or anger, she instead found nothing. Like well and truly nothing. Most of Wednesday’s expressions read as blank (if not malice and fury) but 99% of the time there was some subtlety there. This time though? Nothing. Enid couldn’t read a damn thing.
A calloused finger brushed a strand of hair from in front of her eyes. It took her a second to realize it was Wednesday’s. “These will be quite beautiful, you know? The scars. Promise you will wear them with pride?”
She nodded in reply before pulling herself upright and making an excuse about brushing her teeth. Three minutes later she returned to find Wednesday’s giant t-shirt returned to her torso and her small frame stuffed comfortably into one side of her bed. Enid looked over at her own bare mattress and sighed. She didn’t have any clean sheets right now, let alone a second comforter. There was a sleeping bag she’d stuffed somewhere in her things but the thought of dragging all her crap out from under her bed or out of her closet was not enjoyable right now.
“Enid.” She turned to look at Wednesday, staring at her expectantly. “Aren’t you coming to bed?”
“Huh?”
Wednesday gave her a quizzical look and Enid just kept staring at her dumbly. With a roll of her eyes Wednesday gestured at the space to her side, the very clear and obvious half of her already small bed left open. Oh. Well that certainly would have been easy to deduce. But Enid’s brain was mush, and Wednesday didn’t do contact so she had just slid right past obvious.
She made her way over and slipped into her side of the bed. Well, not her side, but whatever it wasn’t important right now. Wednesday leaned out of the bed, hissing under her breath at the pain in her shoulder, and flipped off the light encasing them in darkness.
It was impossible not to touch. The bed was truly so freakin small. At least for two people. Especially for two people who had only hugged twice and bathed each other once. Okay, well the last part sounded like a lot, but this was Wednesday, and Enid respected boundaries, and… And then the body next to hers twisted and and arm draped over her middle and Enid couldn’t help but turn and mirror the other. She pulled Wednesday in close, until her breath was scorching the skin of her throat, until their legs had bound together and her fingers dug carefully into the center of her back in much the same way Wednesday’s did hers.
“Thank you, Enid.” She felt the words against her skin as much as she heard them.
“For what?”
Wednesday took a deep breath and shuffled in impossibly closer, lips now grazing her. “For everything. For being a good friend, even when I didn’t want one. For seeing past my flaws and my peculiarities. For doing what you did tonight. For not dying.”
Her eyes pressed together harshly, willing herself not to cry yet again. She swallowed it down only to be assaulted by a rush of emotions she was still trying not to address and failing. It was foolish, honestly, to try to deny what she knew was happening, what she had known for some time and just refused to confront. And if tonight had been about anything it had been about being brave. About openness and vulnerability. Fuck it.
“You don’t have to thank me Wednesday.”
“Yes. I do.”
“Either way.” She willed her nerves to settle but they just refused to listen. “Anything you need, I’m yours ,okay?”
Wednesday took a shaky breath in, seeming to hold it for far too long before exhaling slowly. Soft, almost imperceptible, lips pressed into the skin of her throat before pulling back just barely. A kiss. “Enid, I may be stubborn about emotions, but I’m not immune, as much as I may have wished I was. I’ll impale you myself if you tell anyone I ever said this but I care a lot more than you realize. Specifically, I care about you. Saying that you’re mine… that, you have to be careful. I’m not sure I can withstand that sort of pain.”
Enid pulled back, searching for Wednesday’s eyes in what little moonlight still drifted through their window at this time of night. It was hard to make out but she could see enough to tell that there was nothing but sincerity and genuine trust looking back at her. She could fool herself that Wednesday had meant pain in some other way but why? She knew what she meant and there was no reason to dance around this any longer.
“Give me until morning, I need to end things with Ajax. But I mean it Wednesday. I don’t want to pretend any more that what I feel isn’t real or it’s some kind of misdiagnosed platonic bullshit. Give me until morning and I’ll really be yours. If you want that, that is, because I think that maybe you want that just as much as me, but sometimes you are so hard to read, and I don’t want to lose you. You’re really my best friend and…”
“Enid shut up before I kiss you.”
She shut up and Wednesday buried her head in her chest and Enid spent the next four hours trying to sleep without feeling like she might explode.
Ajax took the breakup well. Almost knowingly well. She supposed maybe she shouldn’t be surprised. Her feelings for Wednesday had nearly steamrolled her this morning as she pulled herself from her dark bed. She’d gone for a walk, to clear her head, to make sure she knew what she was doing. But the dam had burst and the flood of feelings Enid had been carefully stuffing behind that wall had come hurling out threatening to drown her. Feelings may just be an understatement. With her head clear, she’d gone in search of the boy and done her best to be honest but not cruel. Feeling a weight lift, she’d let herself finally bask in what the future could hold.
Wednesday had been up and dressed by the time she got back to the dorm. She sat at her desk, writing in a journal Enid had never seen. Whatever it was must be personal and not for her novel. That work she only did by typewriter. At the sound of their door closing, Wednesday set her pen aside and stood from her desk chair.
“How did it go?” She slowly stepped towards Enid, looking disinterested in all but the singular blink Enid caught.
“Honestly, better than I could have hoped for.” Enid met her half way, reaching out instinctually for Wednesday’s hand. Fingers slid in between hers without pause.
“Good.” Wednesday’s free hand came up to brush at a stray lock of hair before carefully tracing out one of the claw marks on her face. Thankfully they had begun to heal by morning. “You look beautiful, Enid. Radiant even.” She wasn’t sure if she was talking specifically about her wounds but it sent a shiver down her spine nevertheless.
Enid let her gaze drift over Wednesday’s face, her shoulders, the way she held herself with such distinction, the rise and fall of her chest, the delicate hand in hers. “You look amazing yourself. You always do.”
Wednesday stepped in closer, pressing her forehead to Enid’s. “I’d like to kiss you. Do I have your consent?”
Enid’s heart rate doubled as butterflies took flight in her gut. God did she want that too. “Yes, please.”
The fingers tracing her cuts slipped back until they were threaded in her hair. She felt them pull her in, slow but with confidence. Her eyes closed as lips pressed in to hers. Wednesday was always nearly as cold as the dead but her lips were surprisingly warm. They welcomed Enid in, sliding against hers and slotting together. Everything about it felt right. From the way she melted into the body against hers, to the way Wednesday held her so firmly, but mostly it was the way Wednesday kissed her she was her favorite form or torture. Clawing, desperate, life-threatening.
She pushed forward until Wednesday’s back hit the pillar by her bed and without giving it a second thought she bend just a hair at the knees, just enough to lift her up and hold her in place. Wednesday broke the kiss, tilting her head back against the stone.
“Sorry, should I put you down” she asked, suddenly nervous but Wednesday just shook her head, using the fingers still wrapped into her hair and the base of her skull to bring her back into a fiery kiss.
Eventually they had pulled themselves apart. After all, they had packing to consider. The semester was ending early and Enid was dreading going home nearly as much as she was dreading leaving Wednesday so soon after this new development. But if yesterday had taught her anything it was that life could be cruel and untimely and sometimes shit just sucked. But if she used that to justify several breaks in packing to makeout with Wednesday on her bed then who fucking cared.
“Come home with me.” Wednesday had sat up, straddling Enid’s hips. “I mean it, Enid. Your mom treats you abysmally You don’t deserve her mistreatment and they don’t deserve your company. Please. My parents would enjoy your company and it would save me from their incessant meddling into my own life.”
“You really mean it?” She sat up slightly, leaning back on her elbows.
“Of course.”
As much as her mom was eternally disappointed in her and seemed not to really give a shit about any sort of quality time, she didn’t think she would really love this idea either. But Wednesday had a point and the prospect of being away from her mother and in the company of her friend, roommate, maybe sorta girlfriend, sounded like time well spent. “Okay.”
Wednesday climbed off her, hissing slightly at the pressure she’d placed on the wrong arm when dismounting. “It’s settled. I’ll raise my parents on the crystal ball to tell them about the change of plans. Perhaps it is not too late for them to alert Lurch that there will be a second passenger on the journey.”
Enid broke into a radiant smile and laughed. Only Wednesday could go from the makeout session they’d just been in to planning mode so fast. They’d have plenty of time to pick up where they left during the break though. Maybe sometimes the fates do work in her favor. Maybe she was also just a little bit in love. Maybe it was more than a little.