Apologies are just words that have a lot of meaning

Outfit

In the four days since her fight with Derald, Annie had discovered that she actually had a ton of free time. She kept trying to distract herself with chores around the farm, and had even done her siblings' work, but there always seemed to be too much time left over to think. In different circumstances, she would have appreciated all the extra time. Thinking wasn't so nice when you didn't have anything good to think about, though. The day was finally over and all Annie wanted to do was sleep. At least doing farm work all day meant she was tired enough to sleep at night, despite her racing thoughts and stressful worries. She braided her hair in a loose plait to keep it from tangling overnight, changed into a tank top and shorts, and sat on her bed for a second. She was about to lie down when she heard a knock on the window. Startled, Annie spun around. Maybe it was just a tree branch on a windy night? No, there was a slip of paper on the window sill. Annie lugged herself off of her bed and walked over to the window to read it. She scanned the words quickly and crossed her arms. There was no doubt in her mind who'd left it. Annie sighed. Can't I just ignore it and go back to bed? No, no, no. She reluctantly slipped on her fuzzy boots, took out her braid in lieu of putting on a sweater, and climbed outside her window, up the tree, and up to the roof. The second she saw Derald's face in the darkness and the stars, she wanted to break down and cry and apologize and do whatever it took to end this stupid fight, but she held her ground. After she cleared her mind of the initial emotional baggage, the first thought that popped into her head was thank whatever god is out there that I decided to sleep with a bra on tonight. She would have laughed if she wasn't staring straight at the guy who'd made her so upset. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hug him or punch him in the face. "Some people would call this stalking," she said after a few moments of silence. Annie refused to show emotion on her face, though she wasn't having much success. The lack of light at nighttime helped a bit. "How is she?"

Outfit

Annie was about to grant Derald permission to enter her room when he climbed in anyway. She sighed and followed close after. She closed the window behind her, only then noticing the guitar on his back. She'd never heard him play it before, though she'd seen it around his house once or twice. Annie had to stop herself from jokingly asking what it was for. It was hard not to fall back into the comfortable rhythm of friendly flirting and teasing. She wasn't used to being mad at Derald. "Good, I'm glad." She was relieved to hear that Dusk was doing better. She didn't want to think about what might have happened if she hadn't, and besides, an innocent dog's life spared was always a good thing. Annie leaned against the wall while Derald spoke, keeping her head lowered so her hair fell over her face and helped mask her expression. She half expected him to yell at her again, but he started apologizing. Annie didn't want to stay mad. She hated fighting. Still, she didn't think she should give in just yet, so she initially resisted it when her heart started to melt. That resistance didn't last long, and by the time Derald had finished speaking, it was completely gone. Annie stayed silent for a while after he spoke. She wasn't sure what she supposed to say. "Um, I-" Annie swallowed. "It's not your fault." She felt a sense of familiarity with those words. I should get new material. She didn't want to try and console Derald right now though. That wasn't what they needed. "I'm sorry, too, I mean, honestly, what I said was just not okay. I just felt so angry and emotional, and I- uh, actually, speaking of, I think there's something else I need to tell you, but I'm not totally sure, and it's not really the best time, so nevermind. I want to be able to forget this ever happened. The problem is, I don't know if I can. That stuff really hurt, Derald, and I know I hurt you too, and I don't know how to fix it, so can't we just... get back to the being okay and deal with the residue later?"

Annie instinctively hugged Derald back. She couldn't help it. It was just her natural reaction after so many times before. She held back a laugh at the thought of Derald shaving his head, but was unable to contain her smile. "Hey," she teased, poking Derald lightly in the side. "Stop making me laugh; I'm not sure if I'm done being mad at you yet." Annie wondered why she'd imagined it would be difficult to forgive Derald. She wasn't even sure what they'd been fighting about. Hell, she hadn't even been sure of that during the actual fight. So what reason was there to stay angry if all it had been was crazy emotions? Annie took a deep breath. "I'll forgive you if you'll forgive me," she agreed, reaching up on tiptoe to kiss him on the nose. "I just want this stupid fight to be over. But seriously, be quiet, because if any of my family hear you, it won't matter whether I forgive you or not- they'll murder you or quarantine me or something and we will never see eachother again." Now that she and Derald were on their way to being okay again, Annie felt all the stress of the past few days disappear, replaced with pent-up happiness that had been bursting to show itself. She tucked her head under Derald's and leaned against him with her eyes close for a second before stepping away. "While you're here, though, can we talk? About the future? I know it's super boring and all, but yeah. Kind of... important." She kept her voice low, hoping he would do the same. Her aunt boarded downstairs, but she had ears like an owl.

Annie was relieved that the fight seemed to be over, and this surprise apology had turned into a surprise visit instead. She slid down to the floor next to Derald, leaning against the side of her bed. "Right, yeah, I guess now's a good a time as any." Annie took a deep breath. How were you supposed to tell someone this? At least it had resolved itself, but she wondered whether it would have been good or bad news. "So, and don't freak out, because it didn't- well, um... basically, I was a week and a half late. Inexplicably. As in, uh, pregnancy scare." She bit her lip and waited a second for the words to sink in. "But I'm not! Pregnant, I mean. I got it two days ago. Just a random late cycle. Still, it seemed appropriate to tell you, if not as my boyfriend, then as my best friend. It, ah, got me thinking, though." Annie tilted her head back, resting it on the bedframe. She kept her gaze on Derald's face, though, nervously trying to gauge his reaction. She didn't bother telling him it would have been his, had it been anything. There was obviously no one else. "Nothing concrete, you know, just some 'what if's'. Like, it hasn't been that long, but what if it wasn't a scare, what if I actually was, um, pregnant." The word felt strange to say; foreign. Annie had seen lots of pregnancies in her day, though most of them were from animals. 18 seemed a little young for kids, despite the fairly low life expectancy. It was something she wanted to keep in mind for the future, though. Annie cleared her throat, feeling a bit awkward. "So, what's the guitar for, anyway?"

Annie quietly let out a deep breath when Derald didn't freak out. She hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath in the first place. She smiled as he mussed her hair. "You're very sweet. Yeah, uh, it was kind of scary. I guess it never really hit me, though. It was sort of surreal. I didn't have confirmation that it was true, so I just kept thinking, you know, 'what if.'" She shrugged. That was all it was now. A 'what if.' Scary, but a little exciting, too. She did want to hae kids one day, and she loved Derald and could see them raising children together, it was just so unexpected. Her ovaries usually kept a pretty good schedule. Maybe stress had set them off or something. Annie laughed when Derald poked her belly and clasped his hand in hers. "Thanks. Honestly, that means so much to me. Not right now, but maybe one day, right? If we hold up that long." Annie leaned lightly against his shoulder. "What would we name it, anyway?" She shook her head and turned her attention to the guitar. "Nevermind. True, I did say that, and I meant it. You named your guitar... that does not surprise me. That is adorable." She stared at the guitar, her eyes slightly narrowed, then back at Derald's face. "I bet you're a fabulous guitar player. Uh, we might have to go back on the roof or something though, unless you can play reeeally quietly."

Annie wrinkled her nose when he pinched the tip of it that was a really weird sentence to write js. "Well, I'm in it for the long haul if you are." She smiled. "Yes, definitely something fancy. Our child shall be the envy of all those who look upon him. Or her. Or something else. Who knows?" She looked up at him as he spoke about the guitar. It was weird to think about things being passed down through generations. Would she and Derald have a legacy to pass stuff down to? How many more generations would this guitar last? Who else had held this guitar, and what had they used it for? How many times had these notes been played on these old strings,  and if you changed the strings when they broke, was it still the same? Yes, Annie decided, thought it didn't even really matter. Of course it is. She looked up at Derald and laughed.   "A risk-taker, I like it. But I have no idea how to play guitar." She poked at one of the strings with her fingers. It made a low twanging sound. "There, I did it, I'm the best guitar player ever. Teach me something or it's your turn," Annie chuckled, fiddling with the strings while she spoke. She was almost worried they'd snap. Her fingers had light callouses from farm work, but she'd never noticed before. "Or if you do the fancy pressing-down-at-certain-spots thing, I think I can manage strumming." Annie ran her hand over all the strings at once.

Annie wasn't sure she was cut out to be a world-class guitarist, but this was a cute moment and she wasn't going to ruin it by taking it seriously. She took the pick carefully between her fingers and strummed it down the strings. "That's a bit easier," she murmured, dipping her head to keep her eyes on the guitar. "C major, hm? What does that even mean? Who decided all this stuff?" She looked up at Derald and narrowed her eyes. "Are you making this up off the top of your head?" she accused with a little laugh. She turned her attention back to the guitar and practiced playing the C major chord a few times. Then she changed the position of her fingers and pressed down on three random strings. "What's this? Is this a thing?" She played the note and winced. "Don't think so." Annie experimented for a short while with more random combinations but didn't have much luck. "I am officially terrible at this." She plucked the strings again and brightened up at the pleasant sound it made. "Hey, that one sort of worked! Is that one of them? The chords?"

Annie played the chord and grinned. "I see why you like it, but I think it's safe to say guitar is not my forte," she said with a sigh, then winked at Derald. "Get it? Isn't forte, like, a music thing?" Annie laughed and lifted her hands from the guitar to brush her hair out of her eyes. "Okay, I think I've absorbed as many chords as I can for one night. Don't judge me, it's late and I'm half-asleep. And I also think," Annie picked up the guitar and put it back on his lap, "that you should play me a song, or sing me a lullaby or something. Because I love you, you love me, and I'm pretty great." She flashed him a teasing smile with slightly narrowed eyes and shifted her position so she was sitting in front of him. Annie propped herself up on her knees and rested on the back of her heels. "Orrr we could have a fashion show, though I don't know if any of my clothes would fit you. Other than that, it's a bit late for pancakes, and the dogs are asleep. I can attempt to play more guitar, but I may fall asleep in the process." She yawned. "Sweet as your apology was, you caught me right before bed."

"You will never lose your job of making bad jokes," Annie teased. "Yeah, I know, but it's been a tough four days, right?" She shrugged and tucked her knees up. She wasn't sure if she was loopy from being half-asleep or giddy from not being in a fight with Derald anymore. Annie didn't really care which it was, to be perfectly honest. She was just happy to be happy again, and to not want to cry every time she thought of him. Annie sighed, closed her eyes, and snuggled up to Derald's shoulder while he played the song. "Psh, I bet you're a great singer," she muttered, curling her legs in. She hummed along quietly after he'd played a similar part of the song a few times, gently bobbing her foot to the beat. When he finished, she smiled. "That's beautiful," she said quietly. "You should definitely do that professionally. Or, you know, play it on the street, singing songs of a terrifying tomorrow and dark times to come. Freak some people out." She smirked, looking up and giving him a little peck on the lips before putting her head back on his shoulder. "Seriously, though. You didn't tell me you were that good. Hey, you look tired. Should I break out the pillows and blankets and sneak down to the living room to get some couch cushions?" She laughed. She couldn't even imagine what her aunt would do if she woke up to a boy crashing on the couch. Annie thought for a moment, wondering if there was a way out. She didn't want to kick him out this late, especially carrying a guitar. "You will have to hide in the morning, though. Or I can walk you home. Stars can be just as nice as sunsets." Annie poked him softly in the stomach.

Annie laughed lightly. "I meant I would sleep on the floor. You're the guest." She shook her head and pulled her blanket off of her bed. Annie put the blanket on the floor in a little pile. "Or we can wrap you up like a burrito." She giggled, imagining Derald confined to a tube of blanketness, with his feet and head sticking out of either end, rolling around.  "I wasn't kidding about the hiding, though. If anyone sees you in here they will kill us both, slowly and painfully," Annie warned. She let him lift her up and sat on the bed, crossing one leg over the other. "I was working on that, before you interrupted me. But thanks. For interrupting me, I mean." She gave him a little smile, temporarily returning to a somewhat serious tone of voice instead of their usual joking manner. She craned her neck a bit and kissed him back, resting her hand on the back of his neck. Annie pulled back after a few seconds to speak. "Good, because I love you, and otherwise this would just be awkward."