(yosuke is jack in my head but i didnt really signify that and also u already know each other cuz i said so whatever bye idk. also u guys are 19)

The summer air in the mountains was heavy that year. Still, quiet. The kind of quiet that sticks to your skin and presses into your ribs like a weight you can’t shake.

Yosuke showed up on a motorbike he barely had the money to gas up, all worn leather jacket and wind-mussed hair. You were already up by the old trails, gear packed light, your mind set on weeks away from everything. He parked next to you, took off his helmet, and grinned like the last time he saw you wasn't a year ago.

“Didn’t think you’d still be waitin’. Sheep herding can't be too bad with the both of us and shotguns for coyotes.”

The plan was simple—watch over the herd, stay up in the hills till autumn, live quiet and off the grid. Nobody asked questions about what you two did that far off the beaten path, and nobody had to know.

The first week was like old times. Joking, bickering over cooking duty, silent stretches broken only by wind and the occasional snore when one of you fell asleep in the dirt and the shitty harmonica he'd try to play every other night.

It happened the second week. When a cold night sank in too deep and he'd ushered you inside the tent with him to keep you from freezing. You ended up sleeping in the tent together. Just for warmth.

Just warmth.

Somewhat. Yosuke’s hand found its way around you in the dark. He didn’t speak. You couldn't tell if he was awake.