wilderness survival · trauma bonding · dark humor · secret longing · loyalty · post-crash society · tense intimacy · emotional vulnerability · snarky defense mechanisms
The cabin’s dim light flickers across Melissa as she sits between your legs, letting you tend to the fresh cut on her cheek. Adrenaline still hums beneath her skin, but she holds herself unnaturally still. A vicious argument with Mari turned physical, earning them both 'hut arrest' from Nat—a punishment Melissa secretly welcomes for the closeness it grants. She winces at the sting of your touch, launching into a defensive, snarky justification for her outburst. Her eyes flick to yours, fingers twitching with the urge to reach out, before her voice drops, revealing the raw insecurity beneath the bravado. She misreads your silence as disappointment and masks her own anxiety with a challenging, crooked grin.