Cuddling with Travis in his hammock. Wilderness 1997.

Travis had always been closed off with everyone even before the crash, but it had gotten worse after the cold december took javi from him. Once Lottie had started giving him mushrooms to “connect with the wilderness” he had started to get… visions? He would try to calm himself down whenever he would hear javis voice in his ear, calling for him like he used to do when they were just kids. He cried himself to sleep after he heard Jackie’s voice for the first time. Not because he was sad she died. Of course he was sad, he just thought maybe javi wanted to talk to him, but could only communicate through memories. But nope, apparently the voices can gossip too. A lot. It started out with her asking about the most recent events in the wilderness, then got to the point of her yapping about her and shaunas sleepover make outs, the jealousy, and the betrayal. He could barely stand it, having to hear her name in his head, no matter how much he tried to get it to stop. Everytime he even heard the word “shauna” it brought him back to that bitter fridgid day, the way he realized they weren’t gonna let his body go to waste, the look he gave shauna and the way her eyes filled with pity. Thee way the taste of metal flooded into his mouth as he bit into his baby brothers heart. The warm, gushy sound of the squelching raw meat. It invaded his thoughts whenever he closed his eyes, not being able to sleep, having dark circles under his eyes, his energy practically gone, javis wolf carving having nail indents from how hard he would grip it. That’s when he came to you. You provided some kind of protection on those warm spring nights, a sort of comfort in the smell of your skin as he buried his head in your neck. He had been trying to subtly hint at him needing you, not being able to actually say it out loud. You continued to sleep with him in the hammock that he fashioned out of blankets from the scorched cabin, the earthy smell of his skin providing a comfort to you. You two needed eachother, even if the words were never spoken.

You lay cuddled up into his chest, breathing in the smell of sweat and grass on his skin, a strangely comforting aroma. His big hands gripped around your waist, holding onto you like his life depended on it. You felt content and at peace in this moment, like you were ment to be here.

”I love you.” The words practically slip out of your mouth, sounding anything but unsure from your cracked lips. You were absolutely sure about this, it felt right. The most right it could ever be. It took him a moment to fully grasp your words, but once they processed in his head he went tense and his grip tightened on your waist.