Rain drizzles down, but she doesn't care. Being away from people is better than being near them. The vibe inside the house was suffocating. For good reason, because just a few hours ago they had buried a fucking baby. But still. She needs a breather.

She'd already left once, yesterday, only to have Seth make her go back inside and try to convince her to forgive Rogan. Fortunately, he got distracted talking to Doyle and she managed to sneak out the back door.

So now she sits cross-legged beneath a tree, not caring that she's getting herself soaked and is already covered in mud. Her katana rests on her lap, ready to aid her against any attackers. But she's well hidden. It's dark with the cloud cover, plus the shade of the trees. And she's covered in mud, so that's camouflage. She's been here for hours, anyway, and nothing has happened yet. But it's always better to be on guard.

"Izzy?" She hears his voice call from somewhere near the house and groans. Why couldn't he just leave her the fuck alone? He was always tagging along after her and trying to talk to her. He was practically a lost puppy dog. And sure, while he might be cute like one, his annoyingness outweighs his facial structure. Or any good personality traits he had hiding in there. Underneath the overwhelming obnoxiousness.

Rolling her eyes as he calls her name again, she shifts her weight slightly, keeping silent so maybe he'll just go back inside. But she hears his sloshing footsteps coming closer up behind her.

Ugh. Dammit Seth.

"Come on, Izzy," she hears him say, and he's much closer now. He sounds tired. Well, if he's tired of looking for her, he should just stop. She'll show up when she's damn good and ready.

The raindrops pitter-patter on the dead leaves around her, and she lets her head fall back against the trunk of the tree behind her. She can still hear him walking around, but he's such a dumbass he probably won't even notice if he lays eyes on her.

"Seriously!" He grumbles, and she can just see him throwing his arms up in frustration. She's not sure why, but it sure is fun to annoy him. Maybe to give him an idea of how annoying he is to the entire world.

But hell, he wasn't all bad. Well, he wasn't bad. Just dumb. And annoying. But sometimes, he was...nice.

She groans, giving in to the pitiful sound of his voice and calls, "over here, dumbass."

His footsteps speed up, and a moment later he's rounded the tree and is standing in front of her. "Why do you keep disappearing?" He asks, his tone laced with both concern and frustration.

She rolls her eyes, scoffing. "Maybe to get away from you?"

It's his turn to roll his eyes. "Why?"

"'Cause you're a dumbass," she replies.

Ignoring her statement, he demands, "And why are you in the mud?"

"What's it to you?" She snaps, rising to her feet and getting in his face. "Are you trying to control me or something?"

He pales at that, taking a step back. "No! I don't want to 'control' you! Why are you always assuming the worst?!"

"Well, somebody has to!" She shouts at him, stepping forward to get in his face again. She may be shorter than him, but she knows he doesn't like being yelled at in the face. By her, especially.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" He yells, not backing down this time, but instead glaring at her, his dark eyes flashing.

"It means somebody has to take responsibility!" She bellows, "Because you and Wynne and Mara - and even Doyle - go around all 'la-dee-da, we're gonna trust people', while i have to watch your backs and make sure you don't get your sorry asses killed!"

He only stares back at her, which just angers her more. If she's gonna argue, she wants to argue! Not scream at the equivalent of a brick wall.

"I might hate Rogan, but the one thing he's got going for him is common sense!" She finishes, knocking him in the shoulder as she stomps away.

But of course, he fucking follows after her.

"Izzy, wait!" He calls, hurrying to catch up.

"Hell no! If the only reason you came to find me was to yell at me, I'm leaving!" And with that, she starts running, deeper into the trees, leaving him there alone.

+++++

The rain has stopped by the time Izzy is ready to go back to the house. She hadn't ventured too far into the woods, but far enough that she knew Seth wouldn't dare follow her. If there was one thing she had learned about him during their scavenging, it was that he had the worst damn sense of direction anyone could possibly possess.

Sometimes she wondered how he was still alive at all. He was too...normal. And dumb.

She steps out of the tree line, the strap of her sword's sheath slung across her shoulder. She can see the trailer ahead, its walls covered in dead kudzu.

And then the back door slides open, and of course it's Seth. She can't tell is he's angry, or concerned, though she assumes it's the first. He's always pissed about something. Or she's always pissed about something, which in turn results in him getting pissed.

It was weird.

He closes the door softly behind him before hurrying down the steps of the back deck and rushing toward her. And the next thing she knows, she's wrapped in an oxygen-depriving bear hug.

"Uh, what—" she stammers before stopping as he squeezes her even tighter.

"I thought you left for good - like, really left," he says, not loosening his grip. And she realizes his voice is shaking.

Concern floods her, but she doesn't want to let him know that. So she snorts. "Seriously? I wouldn't leave without taking food. Dumbass." But she lets herself return the embrace. She's not much for hugs, but she has to admit, Seth's don't suck as much as everyone else's.

Yeah, she's got a soft spot for him. And she hates it, but it's true. So what can she do? Hug him, for one thing.

"I'm glad you didn't leave," Seth murmurs, letting his chin rest on her shoulder.

A smile creeps across her face before she erases it, clearing her throat when she realizes she's getting too close to this. "Yeah, it's great. Can you let me go now?"

Even though she kind of doesn't want to be let go. Well, she kind of does...but at the same time, she kind of doesn't. Ugh. Being confused sucks.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Seth stutters awkwardly, letting her go and stepping back a little.

"You hug too much, Seth," she mutters, brushing past him and heading for the house.

"Actually, I like to think that the end of the world calls for more hugs than ever," he replies, trailing after her.

She shakes her head, rolling her eyes as she climbs the stairs. "You're an idiot."

"Well, I um..." the sudden nervousness in his voice makes her turn around. He's red like a tanning-oil happy tourist as he says, "I could be your idiot."

Her mouth drops open. And the redness travels down his neck and up his ears. Even his damn scalp is red.

He turns his face away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe. I don't know. This was a dumb idea...."

He kind of already was her idiot. She'd thought that a long time ago. But she never said anything. Her walls were too thick to truly let him in. And of course, she was excellent at hiding her emotions or whatever, so Seth was completely in the dark about already being hers.

"Dammit you idiot, don't you know anything?" She says, and he glances at her sheepishly. Her heart is pounding, but in a good way. Still, she doesn't like the seriousness of the situation. But the only joke she can think of is probably offensive or some shit.

But fuck it, it's the end of the world.

"I'm into girls."

Not that there was anything wrong with liking girls. It was lying about liking girls the sake of a joke that might be offensive. 

But the end of the world, man.

His eyes widen slightly, and he says, "oh." He looks so disappointed. It's funny. Sort of.

She snickers. "I'm kidding, dumbass."

"Oh!" He says, turning even redder, if that's even possible.

"So you can officially be my idiot," she says, her voice going uncharacteristically soft. "You already are."

He gazes at her, his dark eyes filled with emotion, his redness fading a little. She reaches out and grabs his hand. It's freezing, but she doesn't care. Her eyes meet his, and a smile tugs at her lips as his own part in a grin.

"But just so you know," she says, her voice going loud again, "we're not gonna be all creepy-touchy-feely like Doyle and Wynne."

"Okay," Seth nods slowly, his grin fading as he asks, "But...can I at least kiss you?"

"Right now you can," she replies, "but not all the time."

"Okay," he says, sounding breathless as his eyes flicker down to her lips.

But he just stands there.

Rolling her eyes, Izzy takes a step forward, dropping Seth's hand to cup his face. His eyes flutter closed, and her eyes roam over his face before they, too, close, and she places her lips on his.

Right at that moment, a torrent of rain falls over them, but she's too distracted to moan and groan about how they've suddenly become a cliche. And right off the bat, too, dammit!

She kisses him softly, but he seems frozen beneath her caress. She doesn't mind though. She likes the control. The rain falls over them, cold as ice but unnoticed in their moment. He doesn't seem to be breathing, either, so she releases him all too soon, and steps back slightly.

He sighs, the tension in his shoulders falling away, before he almost seems to fall into her, enveloping her in his arms and holding on for dear life. She wraps her arms around his waist, enjoying the warmth of another body.

"Hey!" A shout from behind causes them to break apart, only to see Doyle and Wynne standing in the doorway, grinning as Doyle continues, "Cut it out, that's gross!"

"Fuck you, Doyle."

+++++

OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

IT HAS FINALLY HAPPENED!!!!!! *fireworks and cheering people and party music echo in the distance*

AND two updates in the same month??!! Wow! That hasn't happened in a while!

Also, "pitter" auto-corrected to "Potter" so my inner Potterhead was very happy. 

Also, for some reason, it's really hard for me to write in the present tense in 3rd POV. I don't know why.

I hope this chapter was okay, it was hard for me to get into Izzy's head, she's very complicated. 

Also I hope the kiss was okay 'cause I don't know how that works so anyway bye.