Disease

Hands and fingers interlaced, a feeling coming second to unknown in the past weeks was awakened again while they walked down the crowded city street. The chilly air of Steel City sent shivers down their spines, only to be comforted by the warmth between them. For the first time in a long time, Afton and Oliver had gone an entire morning without a harsh word being spoken, without a cold glare sent over the shoulder in the kitchen. Today, they were alright. Alright as they could be.

Tension managed to melt the previous night, after the small bump in the road that was Afton remembering Oliver’s mother had called. Seemingly after that, they were reconnected, synched and smooth like they had always been in the past two years. Seemingly, it could have been forgotten this morning that Afton had something wrong with her.

“Where are we even going, Oliver?” Afton asked in a light tone as she followed the tug of his hand. They had walked all the way down to the heart of the city, appearing as if they were going in circles.

“Af, it don’t matter,” he breathed, a small smile adorning his face while he pulled her across the street with a herd of other people. He knew where they were going though, even if it took more time than he had already planned on, his memory not serving as well as it should have. “I know where we’re goin’. It’s just… hidden.”

The two of them chuckled in synch, the sound so unfamiliar to both of their ears that they almost stopped laughing. Weeks had passed since they could laugh at the same thing, especially laughing at it together. Both of them silently prayed that this meant better things were in store for them as they made their way down the streets with matching smiles and matching laughter.

“If hidden means you just can’t find it, Oliver…” Afton trailed off, looking up at him with eyes that had never looked so bright.

He caught that extra sparkle inside of her eyes that had been lacking for so long, not wanting to rip his eyes from hers until he ran into someone’s shoulder and had to watch where he was going. “It were here last time, I swear. Right ‘ere.”

“What was ‘ere?” Afton questioned, wondering what mission Oliver was on.

“This, this place,” he started, trying to remember exactly where it was. “It were so cool, and I know you would love it. You did.”

Afton looked up at Oliver, a questioning look on her face. “Did?”

Afton was laughing, her hair spraying into her face while her cheeks tightened to reveal shining white teeth. Oliver was sitting across from her, his smile and laughter matching hers in the way it always did. Something funny had apparently happened, although only the two of them picked up on it while the rest of the customers in the restaurant were oblivious in their own worlds.

Minutes later they had calmed down, sipping their drinks. Oliver looked up at Afton while she gazed around, the restaurant she had never been to feeling more than welcome, so long as she was with Oliver. For some reason, nothing could ever feel wrong with him. She loved that.

“So what made you decide to take me here?” she asked, looking back at him with her rosy cheeks and pretty lips.

He smiled, running a hand through his hair while trying to decide what he should say. There were so many things he could have said, and they all would have been viable answers. Somehow though it was hard to bring himself to give her the correct one.

“I don’t know…” he started off slowly, his eyes trailing to meet hers. “I just wanted to.”

A short answer, but one that was more than good enough for Afton. Spending days with him lately after breaking her ankle brought a friendship between them that seemingly never would have happened had fate not intervened that night.

“Well, I’m glad you wanted to,” Afton said in a quiet voice, her lips stretching into yet another smile while the stain that never seemed to leave her cheeks brightened.

Oliver was beginning to see everything he loved about her. She was so full of life. No one else he had ever met seemed to be so happy, so in synch with himself. It was after he started realizing these things that the friendship that had blossomed between them seemingly wasn’t enough anymore.

“I really love it here,” Afton whispered.

I really love you, he wanted to say.

Afton’s stomach gave a tiny rumble, the most that had come from her stomach in days. They had been walking for two plus hours now, both of them getting hungry and tired of walking.

“Maybe they moved?” she said, an indifferent tone in her voice. “Restaurants move, Ol. Maybe they closed.”

Oliver sighed in defeat, his heart had been set on taking Afton to this place. In his mind, there were only so many ways to spend the good days with Afton, and this day was certainly one of the few good days. He wanted to take her out to his favorite restaurant for lunch, to show her how much he still loved her and that they could still be normal around each other, like they had been. All he wanted was a good day spent out on the town with his girl, because those days seemed to happen once in a blue moon as of late.

“Guess we’ll go somewhere else,” he muttered, tightening his grip on Afton’s hand. She side-stepped closer to him, their sides touching as they walked off to find somewhere else to eat.

It was quiet between them, the only noises flooding their ears were the numerous sounds associated with a city. Cars and pedestrians strewn about every street, crowing the pavement and the road. The only thoughts between them were relatively the same, the wishes and hopes that this day would never end. Because both of them knew, that soon, things would be just like they had been every other day. They had to come off of the rollercoaster high sometime, and sometime always meant soon.

“I’m really glad we’re out today,” Afton said quietly, her words barely audible amongst the city sounds. At least they could be grateful for the few days of happiness they were blessed with every few weeks.

As long as this day was here, they tried to focus only on that they were happy, that they could still be happy the next day, and the next day.

“Me too,” Oliver breathed back, his thumb rubbing Afton’s hand as they walked, spotting a small café that was less than empty.

A bell rung when they opened the door and walked through, only two other couples sitting at tables in the small café. One worker behind the counter looked up from what he was writing on the blackboard of specials, greeting them with a smile and a “good afternoon.”

They each got a coffee as well as something to eat. It was one of the first times since Afton had been diagnosed that they had eaten together. Apparently that day was just destined to be one of firsts since Afton had been diagnosed.

They were happy at the same time. Laughing at the same time. Smiling at the same time. For the first time in a long time they were just as they had always been, perfectly happy together.

“I was thinking maybe we could go out to the cinema afterwards,” Oliver said around a mouth full of crisps. A hopeful eyebrow was raised as Afton took a sip of her coffee, appearing to entertain the thought in her head while she swallowed.

“I’d love to.”

They smiled again at the same time, a blush creeping across Oliver’s neck, to match the red stain appearing on Afton’s normally pale face. His inked hand traced across the table, snaking around Afton’s coffee. Her hand appeared from under the table where it had been resting in her lap, covering his as she felt his hands. She missed the way they felt, rough and dry, but hands that were meant to hold hers nonetheless.

“What d’you wanna see?” he asked, his voice calm and steady. It was so nice not to argue anymore over anything that could turn volatile. It was nice not to have to control his anger when Afton made it seem like she wasn’t important to him. It was nice to have a day off from constant drama that went along with a life-threatening disease.

“I don’t care,” she said listlessly, her eyes staring into Oliver’s, trying not to get lost in the few moment’s silence. “You pick.”

“Now you know that only makes it harder on me,” he said, joking, “because then if I don’t pick the right movie you won’t be happy.”

She smiled, looking down at their intertwined hands sitting on the table. “How about something funny?”

That suggestion was eagerly accepted by the both of them, eager for a break in reality that wouldn’t drag them down like so many other movies could. Something comedic to provide relief, to make them laugh and cure the tensions between them that had grown over the weeks now.

The same worker who had taken their orders at the counter came over to swoop their empty plates away. Afton finished the last sips of her coffee before standing up, Oliver quick on her heels as they made their way out of the small café. It hadn’t quite been where Oliver wanted to go, but it was just as well that he got to spend time with Afton. Time not spent fighting.

In another half hour of walking they had made it to the cinema, standing in front of the film listings. Trying to decide which film they wanted to spend the next two hours watching proved to be a tough choice. Eventually they decided on the happiest sounding title, purchasing tickets and heading into the nearly-empty theatre.

The seats were perfect, the lighting just low enough still. Oliver slung his arm around Afton, pulling her into him. Her head automatically rested on his shoulder, getting comfortable there. It was an unfamiliar place almost, having not been this close to him in so many days. And it felt better than ever after missing it for so long.

Oliver leaned down close to Afton’s ear, pushing a lock of her hair out of the way. “I don’t tell you how much I love you enough,” he whispered, planting a tiny kiss on her cheek before sitting back in his seat.

His arm around her, nothing could have been better.