Rich jumped as he heard the door slam open, dropping his paintbrush. "RICH GUESS WHAT!!!!" Jake said running into the room. He grabbed Rich's waist and spun the shorter boy around, laughing. "Jakey put me down!" Rich said but laughed a bit himself.

Jake set Rich gently on the floor and beamed at the boy before him. "I got an apartment!" He exclaimed happily
Rich's eyes widened and he opened his mouth like he was about to say something but shut it immediately, looking at his feet.

Jake's smile disappeared and he looked at Rich, concerned "What did you want to say sweetie, you don't have to be scared to tell me." He said softly. Rich mumbled something and Jake smiled warmly "Gotta speak up darling."

Rich giggled. Jake lifted his head to look at him and cocked his head to one side like a puppy. "I, uh, said.....canimoveinwithyoupleaseihatemyhomeandiloveyou." Rich said quickly then peeked at Jake's expression. Jake looked surprised but then smiled the biggest smile ever known to man.

"THAT IS THE MOST AMAZING IDEA I HAVE EVER HEARD." He yelled suddenly, startling Rich. Jake sprinted to Rich's room, grabbing Rich on the way. He scrambled to the closet and began packing a suitcase like a madman. Rich watched on, amazed, but smiled widely.

He would finally be leaving his house, filled with memories of multiple beatings courtesy of his drunk father and the screams of his mother. He was so happy to be leaving that he started to cry silently. He wiped his eyes and turned to help Jake pack.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Leaving wasn't hard for Rich because his father was out drinking, his brother was in college, and his mother had left years ago. They had packed up his clothes, easel, paints, and paint brushes. Other than that Rich didn't have much and honestly didn't care what happened to the rest.

When they reached the apartment door Jake put his arm in front of Rich, stopping him from opening the door. Rich looked at Jake quizically and the taller boy grinned. "Let's do one of those cheesy couple things were one walks in carrying the other bridal style." Rich opened his mouth to protest but Jake scooped him up, indeed holding him bridal style.

He slammed open the door and the couple looked around at the apartment. It was cozy with the door opening into a living room with two comfortable-looking recliners and an empty bookcase. The floor was carpeted with a fluffy brown material and the walls had weird paintings of cats. But the best thing of all was the fireplace directly in front of the recliners. It had a shelf above it and a fire poker below.

Jake put Rich down and they walked around the apartment. The kitchen was shiny and clean with empty drawers (A/N empty chairs at empty tables....Sorry not sorry.) The last room was the bedroom. It had a closet, plain walls, a bookshelf, armchair, and bed. That's right, bed, not plural.

Rich and Jake's faces reddened. "We'll figure that out later!" Jake yelled while steering Rich out of the room. They found themselves back at the living room, staring at the fireplace. Rich's eyes seemed to fill with flames "I wanna light it." He said, like a child.

Jake rolled his eyes and placed his hand on the shorter boy's head. "Okay firechild, as long as you don't burn down my house again." Rich nodded excitedly "Okay!!!" He threw down his suitcase, slapped the other out of Jake's hands and grabbed his boyfriend's arm "TO HOME DEPOT!" he shouted cheerily. Jake yanked his arm, causing Rich to fall against his chest, they both blushed. 

Jake grinned and shook his head "We can go get wood now but not from Home Depot, it's too expensive. Let's just drive around the farm part of town, many start selling firewood this time of year." Rich nodded and then happily followed Jake out the door to the car. 

They drove around for a while, occasionally seeing some people selling firewood. They were trying to find the cheapest though so they just kept looking for more. Then as they were driving down a long dark road down the center of a small wood they encountered a little cabin with huge bushels of firewood in front. But the thing that caught the boy's attention was the sign that said "FREE!" The boyfriends turned to look at each other at the same time and grinned. They rushed out of the car and  knocked on the door of the cabin.

The lady who opened it was nothing short of mysterious, she was beautiful and had white hair that fell to her waist. Her emerald green eyes held a knowing look and she wore a long black hooded cloak. But by far the strangest thing about her was the tree of life necklace around her neck with four shining stones in different colors on the branches.

The lady smiled warmly, with a hint of sadness and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Greetings! My name is-" she cut herself off, frowning " ...Blade. How may I help you two?"She asked nervously, trying to cover up her strange pause.

Jake shook her hand and replied "Hello, my name is Jake and this is my adorable boyfriend, Rich. We were interested in your firewood." Blade's smile did not falter, instead in grew. She nodded and then lifted the skirt of her dark green dress so that it wouldn't get wet.

She led them to the wood, crunching through the foot of snow in her combat boots. "How many?" Blade asked, looking at them with a raised eyebrow. Jake opened his mouth to speak but Rich cut in "ALL OF THEM!"

Jake and Blade laughed at Rich's enthusiasm. "All right." She said giggling a bit as Rich smiled sheepishly. Blade pulled out an elastic band, bunched up her dress so it was just above her boots, and tied it up. She began to load the wood onto Rich and Jake's car. The couple helped, Rich suddenly regretting asking for all the wood as he saw how much there was.

○●○●○●○●○Time Skip○●○●○●○●○

When they finished it was suddenly not as cold out, maybe it had something to do with the beads of sweat on the boy's foreheads. Blade smirked at how the two leaned against each other, she was miraculously just fine.

"You guys want some water?" She asked. Jake nodded, to concerned for Rich who kept erupting into coughing fits to care about entering a stranger's house. Inside there was a comfy couch, a fireplace, multiple bookcases, and a small kitchenette. Rich flopped onto the couch and Jake sat down next to him, groaning at his sore body.

Blade returned with a tray of two cups of water and a mug of tea for Rich. She set it on the coffee table and then knelt in front of the boys. She helped Rich sit up and checked his temperature. "No fever. Can you two please hold out your arms?" She said.

Rich and Jake shared a look of confusion. This lady was being overall motherly towards them and it was new to both of them concidering the fact Jake's mom was on the run and Rich's had left when he was young. Nevertheless they both held out their arms cautiously.

Blade looked them over carefully and exhaled when she was done, relieved. "No splinters either." Blade handed them their drinks.

Now this may sound weird but it was the best water Jake had ever tasted. You might be saying "But water doesn't taste like anything."

Well shut up, it does now. It it had a tinge of hibiscus flower and lemon and was just the right temperature. Rich seemed to be enjoying his tea as well and drank it with relish.

Blade watched them drink, taking small sips of her slightly amber colored water. When they finished the couple stood. "We should get going." Rich said, his cough gone, though his lisp was still prominent. Blade nodded and stood as well.

She led them to the door and her expression became serious. "Be careful, sometimes in this world fire and water must work together to achieve a higher goal." She smiled "Come visit again sometime!" Blade shut the door and the boyfriends stood there gaping for a second.

"What was that all about?" Rich asked. Jake shook his head "I have no fricken idea." They stared a minute longer but then walked towards the firewood-filled car and drove away.

○●○●○●○●○Time Skip○●○●○●○●○●○

When they arrived at their apartment they unloaded some of the wood and hauled it into the living room. They placed them next to to the fireplace and Jake collapsed onto a recliner, exhausted.

Rich giggled and kissed him on the cheek then curled up on his lap, snuggling into his chest. Jake wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and kissed the top of his head. They lay there for a while, enjoying each others touch.

"This is nice." Jake mumbled and Rich nodded, lifting his head to look at his boyfriend. "I don't think the one bed will be a problem." He said. Jake looked shocked for a second but then burst out laughing. "Yeah I don't think it will either."

Rich got up and started to place wood in the fireplace, adding a few pieces of scrap paper and pine branch. He turned to Jake "Do we have a lighter?" He asked. Jake shook his head "No but we might have matches let me check." He got up and started rummaging through his suitcase.

Rich stared at the wood, imagining a raging fire like the ones he always painted. He always thought fire was beautiful and loved to draw and paint it when he could. Suddenly something sparked at the edge of his line of vision. Fire.

He heard Jake gasp. Rich turned around "What's wrong?" Jake was staring at him in horror "R-rich sweetie, I-i belive your hair is made of f-fire." He stuttered.

"WHAT?!" Rich yelled. A sheet of water appeared in front of him and he saw it was true. Wait, where did that water come from exactly? He looked up and saw his boyfriend wearing what looked like a coat made of water.

"J-jakey your coat..." Jake looked down and yelled in surprise again. The sheet of water fell and drenched Rich, but surprisingly didn't put out his fire hair. The two looked at each other and thought the same thing, something they would be thinking a lot from then on:

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

A/N That is the longest chapter I've ever written. Also....CLIFFHANGER 2.0. This is the second one I've written, yaaaaaay! Anyways, this will have a part two so do not worry yourself children.

DON'T DIE!

~Prongs❤