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"are ya cold?"
bennie had her arms wrapped around herself as she stared out a nearby window, the snow falling gently in the darkness of the night when she felt a presence of someone beside her.
she glanced over to see the familiar orange sweater, worn and stained with zombie guts, and kind eyes that were burned into her memory.
she met luke's gaze, moving her arms up and down in an attempt to create enough friction to warm herself up. she shrugs, looking out towards the scenery that lied outside.
"yeah, a little. but it's fine."
she replies hastily, maybe it a little too quickly, her fingers twitching from the cold that surrounded their group in the safe house.
everyone had long since gone to bed.
nick's was family resting in the living room a few feet away, carlos and his daughter, sarah, sharing a room, and alvin and rebecca in the other spare room.
that left bennie and luke awake, their rooms empty.
"well, it's february... hopefully spring will come a little sooner."
"valentines day, to be precise." bennie confirms.
at least, it had to be near the date, according to the calendar she'd been following.
"really? damn..." luke curses, shaking his head with a downtrodden sigh and rubbing his scruffy chin.
"valentines felt like it was so long ago, i guess some people in the group will be able to celebrate."
he comments, making bennie snort as she thought of alvin and rebecca, the only couple in their group that he was hinting at.
rebecca was likely too stressed about being pregnant with flesh eating monsters around them to even care about valentines day now, alongside the fear from going into hiding from carver.
there was no time for frivolous things like that, not when they were prey in a world where zombies now dominated the most species.
"unlikely." she retorts playfully, a lopsided smile having formed. maybe that was his intention, to make bennie laugh at the absurdity of still enjoying a long forgotten holiday.
"you can't sleep either?" she finally inquires in a quiet tone, trying to fill the quiet air between them.
she met luke's brown eyes, puppyish and still holding a semblance of humanity that many others had lost in the two years since their society fell apart...
she was certain she'd lost it too, with the number of walkers she'd had to kill, and people she'd seen die... it was more than the average human being should witness. she was shocked that she was even alive.
yet, he still admired her as if there was still goodness in her soul, despite the blood on her hands from survival.
"somethin' like that," he replies, glancing down at the floor with a hint of a frown. she hated that look, the helpless feeling that lingered, and he shouldered in belief he wasn't doing enough...
it haunted him, what he couldn't do to protect others, to save everyone he cared about.
"look, i, uhh..." luke began, catching bennie's attention as he stuttered to speak, interrupting her thoughts about everyone else.
"shit, i don't wanna make this awkward or weird, given we were just talking about valentines and all, but..." he trails off, scratching the back of his neck.
"... but?" bennie prodded gently.
"who knows how much colder it's gonna get tonight, it's dark out, and we have no heating. i don't want you to freeze, so maybe we, uhh... compromise."
luke tried to explain as calmly as possible, and bennie couldn't help smiling at how cute he looked—stumbling over his words and his hands constantly moving as he spoke. he could never sit still.
"compromise?" she questions, a teasing lilt to her voice as she raises an eyebrow. (edited)Sunday, February 15, 2026 12:40 AM
"well, yeah, since it's so cold, maybe we should... i don't know, stay in each other's room? just... tryin' to preserve heat, ya know? everyone else is doin' that but us."
bennie's smug expression instantly dropped, her cheeks flushing at the idea and head whipping around to stare at luke. there was an awkward curl of his lips, a nervous, toothy grin he couldn't quite hide.
"you don't hafta say yes, i just... figured i'd offer it to ya." he adds, his voice barely above a murmur, lacking any malice or deception.
the idea seemed a lot more intimate given their circumstances, and what they'd been talking about previously, with valentines and everything.
but what they were was different from the others. they were friends, only friends. it was different.
however, deep down she couldn't deny that the idea was nice, she was lonely...
...and she'd always wanted to be close to luke after years of not seeing each other, the apocalypse having prolonged their reunion, of what had been blooming between them in college.
she'd harbored feelings for luke for so long, and even now it had never gone away.
"y'know what? you're right, it's fuckin' freezing, i really don't wanna freeze to death." she whispers, gazing up at luke and offering a smile to ease his nerves.
he visibly relaxed, physically incapable of hiding his emotions. he sighs, his palm resting atop his chest as he nods, but both of their hearts were beating out of control.
"w-what about right now?"
"you're trying to get me into bed pretty quickly, man."
"'i-it's not like that! i-i just..."
luke stammered out at bennie's teasing jab, the words tumbling from his lips with little time to excuse himself for wanting to be close to her so soon.
"luke, i'm kidding." bennie interrupts the man, patting the arm of his closest to her comfortingly. "it's fine."
she felt him relax under her touch, letting out a heavy breath he didn't realize he was holding until that moment.
"shit... ya can't be doing that to me! ya know i'm used to being shot down."
she blushed lightly at his mention of him being rejected a lot. she knew it was true, and she'd watched him talk to plenty of other girls in college, the envy she'd felt over not being the target of his flirting...
and sure, they'd never talked about dating each other, but the way he phrased it almost made it sound like she was someone luke wanted to pursue?
"i don't think i could shoot you down-"
bennie blurts out, her breath hitching
immediately at her own words. she tenses up, her hands covering her mouth at her admittance.
they stared at each other, both of their cheeks growing red at her offhanded, slightly flirtatious comment. they remained silent, breaking eye contact frantically with a newfound energy charging around them.
that was way too forward, she should've thought before she was speaking. luke was her friend, and they were in an apocalypse-either one of them could die on any given day, any hour, any minute they had left by the grace of fate!
the world was full of uncertainty now, there was no time to indulge in selfish wants like romance.
why was she yearning so deeply for him?
but after a few minutes of silence, that heavy feeling weighing between the duo growing thicker, luke's chest grazed her shoulder as he spoke in a whisper.
"wanna head to my room now?"
he questioned, testing the waters by letting his fingers graze against the inner palm of her hand. she blinks in surprise, turning to look up at him, thanking the forces of whomever that no one else was awake right now to witness this...
she didn't stop herself from nodding wordlessly, their fingers intertwining when luke was given her answer. he smiles, warm and welcoming like he always was, the same way back when they met in college.
she didn't hesitate when luke tugged her to follow behind him either, leading her away from the window and through the dark halls of their safe house, and into his bedroom shortly after.
tonight, they'd stay together, filling the loneliness that followed them both like a shadow. everyone in their group had someone else to call family, but bennie and luke were the only ones on their own without loved ones to lean on.
as luke gently guided her onto his bed, tucking her into the covers next to his body, she felt his touch gliding over her ignite that feeling of being home again, a sensation she had believed she'd lost long ago.
he was her hope, family that she thought was forever missing from her life. when blood was on her hands from protecting their group, he'd still be there to clean them and shoulder the aftermath.
bennie wasted no time curling up in his arms, her head resting beneath his as she borrows herself closer into him. there was nothing else that could haunt her with his arms cocooning around her body, not tonight.
the death, cold, and loss that surrounded them was nothing but a concern for tomorrow. they stared into the other's weary eyes, even with the fear of losing each other looming, loneliness wouldn't plague them anymore...
not while they still had time to share the air that floated around them.