Hot Memory, Cold Time - Aarmau AU
Word Count: 1482

PhoenixForces
SkyStormer_
AdriannaDominique 

A L T E R N A T E     U N I V E R S E
A P H M A U    P O V

I was sitting on the bean bag chair of the shabby lobby, a crunchy thing I was excited to get out of.

"Aphmau?"

I turned and saw him.

Aaron Lycan, the man who was teaching me how to control my power. Maybe even avenge my father's murder.

I got up without a word.

He smiled kindly. It was a cute smirk, one side of his lips lifted more than the other.

I've known him for a long time, we were good friends before. . . Some things happened.

His parents divorced and fought over him, before his mother passed away (for reasons he hasn't told me), and his father left without a word, leaving him and his sister.

My parents fought a lot, my anxiety was getting the better of me most of the time. Still does.

We were both grieving at one point. . . And we may have slept together.

We didn't talk much after that. We especially haven't talked about that night.

He led me to a familiar bunker, a steel enforced room a mile long, and about a quarter of that in width.

I have elemental powers, rare at the same time that they're common.

There's been an apocalyptic epidemic, where the world's leaders have been executing elementals like me, trying to force magic out of the gene pool in my era.

They've been succeeding - or so they think.

Aaron is a fire elemental, meaning he has main control over fire.

I have sappy control over all of them, and it ranges between one element or few with everyone else as well.

But Aaron has been training himself as well as others to harness the power, so that eventually we don't have to stay in hiding with our gifts - our curses.

There's a lot more of us than they know, and they've already killed the ones they did know of. My father included.

Since my father's death, my mother hasn't been the same. Sure, they fought a whole lot. But they would get over it, kiss and make up. She loved him.

I did too.

Most of the time, she stares at a wall, or doesn't talk. I have to make meals, clean our sad excuse for a house, sometimes force her to shower or change clothes. Which I wash.

"Hey? You hear me, Aph?"

I shook myself out of my thoughts. "I'm here, I'm here. Sorry, I totally zoned out. What did you say?" I asked, trying to cut my mini-ramble and brush off the old nickname. He still uses it, though I don't think he realizes he does.

"Ok, today we can start with fire?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Not like I have a preference."

Not for myself at least.

He set a wooden log on a table in front of me, about 10 feet away.

ADD, of course, made my mind wander. I wonder if he cut that wood himself. It would make sense, how built he was back then. . . And now. . .

I nearly had to slap myself across the face to stop.

With my hand extended, I concentrated on memories and feelings.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

It didn't work and I exhaled in frustration.

Aaron came closer from his position leaning on the steel wall.

He came close - very close - to the point that I couldn't see his face from my hair. His hands splayed on my hips.

"Turn your body away, facing the wall. You want your hand in sync with your shoulder, making a straight line." He said quietly, his breath heating my ear. His hands and skin were burning to the touch, and I had to stop from leaning into him.

I hesitated, tensing up at his familiar touch.

I did as instructed, and with his guidance, I found my posture.

Next, one hand stayed on my hip, and the other moved to my arm. We were pressed shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm.

"You know what to think of?" I breathed out, giving a shaky nod.

I doubt he even knew what he was doing.

But it gave me the incentive I needed.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

I dulled my senses to my fingertips only, and listened to my heartbeat, almost in harmonizing sync with his.

His heat gave me the memory and feelings I used.

My fingers grew hot, and they went red and orange - kind of like when you put it your fingers over a lightbulb and they light up.

The log burst into flames, making us both jump. It was hotter than I had done before, and definitely bigger.

"Sorry!"

He quickly went to the wall, producing a fire extinguisher.

The fire was out quickly.

"This is why I need training," I exclaimed, throwing up my hands and letting them clap against my sides.

"No, you're getting better-"

"Yeah, that's why I'm still here, still having to replace fire extinguishers."

"I had to have way more than you when I was learning, trust me."

I pulled the hair at my scalp, facing the wall and away from him.

It was quiet for a second, the tension in the room somehow leaving and doubling tenfold at the same time.

"H-Hey. . . You okay?"

I let out a breathy and shaky laugh, finally shaking my head. My hands moved to rest in the crook of my neck, attempting to calm my breathing.

I heard footsteps come closer, and his hands touched mine through my hair.

I breathed out, letting my head drop. My brow furrowed, trying not to have an anxiety attack - again.

His hands moved and pressured my neck, massaging a few knots. He still knew me, still knew I sleep on the floor rather than let my mom do it, which gives me neck problems.

It was quiet for a long time, before he spoke.

"Aphmau. . . We may not be close like we were. . . But you know I'm still here for you, right?"

I let out another soft choking laugh. "You have to stop doing that."

His hands stopped for a moment. "What?"

I turned to him, his hands dropping and my eyes slightly beginning to water. "Saying things that make me want to kiss you."

His gaze softened. "Aph. . ."

"Don't. Please don't. I know you probably ignore what happened, or ignore how close we were -"

He looked shocked and almost upset. "What? Why would I do that?"

"I don't know!" I exclaimed, making him shut up instantly. I'm not one to have an outburst like that.

"I can't ignore it anymore. I miss you, okay." A tear slipped down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away, only for more to follow. "My mom. She's refusing to eat lately, and I don't know how much longer I'll have her. I don't have you, Katelyn is way too busy taking care of her brothers while her dad works, and everyone else is struggling through their lives too. I'm 17! I should have a boyfriend and go to high school, like all the stories and old shows! I-"

Sobs began to escape, and I dropped my head for a moment.

I tried to raise my head, and continue but it just dropped again.

Aaron's strong arms encircled me into a hug and I sobbed into his shoulder.

And I lost track of time and space in his arms.

I finally calmed and pulled back a bit. His arms stayed, and our faces continued to be a few inches apart. Maybe a foot.

"I never knew you missed me," he let out a small sob and I realized that his eyes were tearing up, though only one or two had fallen.

"Always," I cried.

We came closer, a soft and gentle kiss between us. Afterwards, we pulled apart and just looked at eachother, not knowing what to do from there.

"I should get back to my mom." We both knew she didn't notice or care, just that it was an excuse for me to leave.

"Yeah," he mumbled softly with a nod, releasing me.

And without another word, I scurried up the stairs, leaving him there.

"Hey."

I turned to him one last time, my head low from the door at the top of the stairs.

"I don't regret it."

My mouth opened in shock, before I smiled and quickly left to go home.

A/N
Not as much character expression as I wanted, but I'm not used to one-shots yet; I'm more used to a full book that can develop the character as it goes on. Oh well, hope you enjoyed the off-schedule update (and a possible new book 😏) as well as my entry for the one-shot contest held by the Phoenix Forces!