Chapter 29.

Moth's mouth tightened into a thin line, his eyes turned to the ground as he thought about it. Lane would not let him take Dorian's offer if he knew what was going on. He gave Dorian a brief nod before he darted away, disappearing into the short shrubs and trees. Dorian stared at the area where Moth had just been standing, letting out a long sigh with a small smile on his face. The smell of peppermint lingered in the air. 

Lane glanced up as he saw Moth approaching with a bag full of food. He chuckled slightly as he saw the big grin on his face and the . A warmth flooded into his chest as he saw Moth grin at him, his hair was unkempt and had grown out to about his shoulders and it swayed as he walked, framing his delicate features. 'How perfect can one person be?'  "What did you bring me Moth?" Lane asked, reaching out a hand to gesture for him to climb up on the bed. 

Moth laughed as he climbed up into the with him, setting the bag in between them. "A bunch of different fruits and vegetables. I've never seen these ones before. I only grew fruit like blueberries, strawberries and grapes before because of the cold environment." He grabbed out a mango from the bag and peeled back some of the skin before he offered it to Lane. "Dorian said they come from tropical plants." Lane takes a bite of the mango as Moth watched him, waiting for his reaction. "Have you ever had one before?" It was a lot stringy then the ones he had in stores before the apocalypse and it was sour compared to their usual sweetness. 

"I have. They tasted a lot sweeter before the apocalypse but these are still good." He ruffles Moth's hair as a thank you.

"Really? You've had these before? Did you live somewhere warm?" 

Lane shakes his head, "No, I lived close to here but before the apocalypse people used to transport plants and fruits for people to buy."

"Like what Sol does?" 

"Similar but the food travels a longer distance." Moth seemed absolutely fascinated by the concept, his eyes were wide with interest and surprise. Lane admired his surprised face with a content smile. "Any more questions?"

Moth shakes his head. "No, you should eat for now." 

Lane hummed in agreement, watching as Moth leaned down and started shuffling through his bag, seemingly looking for something. He eventually finds what he is looking for and pulls out a small plastic box. "What is that?" Lane asks.

Moth pried the container open, presenting the cookies to Lane with a grin. "They are called cookies." He states matter of factly. 

Lane chuckled at his tone, taking one out of the box and inspecting it. 'He probably got these from that human.' His jaw tightens slightly. 'I told him not to go talk to him.' He glanced over to Moth, intending to say something but when he saw the bright look in his eyes and how intently he was waiting for his reaction, he just sighed. He took a small bite of the cookie and watched as Moth's face brightened. "It's good." 'There is no way I'm going to ruin this nice moment by being annoyed.' 

"I know right. Who knew baked things could be so sweet."

Lane hummed in agreement, amused by how unaware he was. "I'll get you some human cookbooks soon so that you can learn to make these things." 

"Really?!" Lane nods, placing the rest of the cookie back into the container, thinking that he'd let Moth have them all as he seems to like them. 

"I'll give you everything, just as soon as I get us out of here." Moth smiles bitterly, feeling conflicted. "Oh right." He shuffles through the bag again, bringing out the purple vial. Lane instantly grimaces. "Here, it's your medicine. You should only need two more after this." Lane stared at the vial with discontent observing the bubbly purple liquid.

"Moth, I don't want help from that human." Lane said with a sigh, adverting his gaze. 

Moth frowned at Lane's response turning his head to look up at him. "Why? He's been looking after us, he doesn't want to hurt us." Lane's frown tightened, "If he didn't want to hurt us he wouldn't keep us trapped in here."

Moth let out a short sigh, trying to speak calmly. "It's safe in here Lane, we should take the chance to heal up and gather supplies-"

Lane cuts him off, raising his tone. "Did you forget that he put a bounty on you and burned down your home?!" 

"Of course not!" Moth snapped as he glared at Lane, tears in his eyes. "I never wanted this. My life was good before this… before I met you." Lane's eyes widened, his chest started to throb. "I regret it sometimes but I'm just trying to make the best of every situation, so that we survive because there is no going back." His shoulders shake slightly as tears drip down his face. "I miss my home, I miss the forest, I miss Sally…" He wiped his tears away as Lane reached out to comfort him but Moth pushed his hand away before climbing out of the hammock and darting away.

"Wait, Moth! I'm sorry!" Lane tried to get up to follow him but he couldn't keep up with his injuries and sickness. He grunted in pain, coughing up some more of that black sludge before he turned back and slumped into the hammock. "Fuck." He mumbled to himself, covering his face with his hands. "What the hell was I thinking?" He let out a long sigh. "He didn't even say that he wanted to stay, he just wanted me to wait until I got better to leave. What is wrong with me?" His attention turned to the vial that Moth left behind. He sighed before grabbing it and downing it in one go. The medicine seemed to work well immediately and he felt the strength return to his body. 'I'll get better, just like how he wants and then I'll get us out of here. I should go find him and apologise properly.'