sweet nothing

Her phone had been blowing up all morning. A constant barrage of messages from her sister's in their group chat. Question after question after question. When will you be here? You never told us he was so hot! Delia! Why didn't you tell us? Is he going to propose? Why haven't we heard about him until now? This was why. Her family was a bit... much. Close knit, protective, overbearing, and nosy. She loved them to bits, but the eldest Limore was incredibly private. Especially after the last time she attempted to date someone. They hadn't even stuck around past the first Zoom call with her mother. Cordelia is pretty sure that was her father's fault. He'd made a point of cleaning one of his guns in the background and Delia knew it was entirely in purpose. Marcus had made it fairly clear he wasn't a fan of the guy when she'd initially told her parents about him, but it was different this time. They liked Noah. At least, she was sure that they would like him. There was very little not to like. Biting at the cuticles of her right hand, she shifts in her seat, carefully balancing the pie on her lap as they turn down the familiar road towards her childhood home. "Just remember to be respectful and don't listen to a thing Emma and Jane say." It was probably the tenth time she's said it on the hour and a half long drive from the city, but she can't help it. She's nervous, okay? Cut her some slack. the shrike

I feel a lavender haze creeping up on me

NOAH

He slowed and downshifted as they turned the corner, her directions clear as the sprawling country road brought them closer and closer to her parents house. ”Don't worry. I’ve stopped stuffing my napkin in my collar and I’ve even cleaned under my fingernails.” Noah flashed her a bright, quirky smile in an attempt to calm her nerves.

To say he didn’t have his own set of anxieties would be a lie. For a long time, Noah had been alone. No mother, no father. Brother off to college on the other side of the country. Aunts and uncles too busy and too far away with blurred faces and nearly forgotten names. For him to step into Cordelia’s home, sit at the table and share a meal, and (probably) listen to stories of her from her childhood — it would be so foreign to him.

But he pushed through all of it. Between geared he placed his hand on her knee, thumb rubbing gently and comfortingly across her leg. ”Is this it?” Noah asked, leaning forward slightly and preparing to downshift again.

I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm

Her smile is shaky at best, but no less beautiful. A quiet huff of a laugh bubbling up in her chest as he spoke, "So reassuring." She murmured, glancing over at him as he downshifted, bringing them closer to her childhood home. Cordelia knew that he was nervous. They both were. She hadn't brought anyone home before and Noah hadn't had family in so long that this whole concept was almost foreign to him now. She didn't doubt that things would be fine. Noah was impossible not to like. He was kind, loyal, a hard worker, and her biggest supporter. She couldn't ask for a better partner. It was a bit of a whirlwind romance to be sure. Their meeting and what came from it. She'd been stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire and a ruined spare. Rain pouring down, soaking her to the bone, and making it impossible to see. Now, Cordelia wasn't typically described as a damsel in distress, but that night she had been. And Noah? Well, he'd been her knight in shining armor. He pulled her from her reveries, attention snapping to him and then the white farmhouse that sat up on the hill ahead of them, a shaky breath pushing past her lips. "This is it." She confirmed as they turned up the gravel drive, passing a sign that read Limore Creek Farm in scrolling font, "You can park in the front." Cordelia murmured as they drove past the pastures, a few horses grazing lazily in the crisp fall air, heads lifting as his truck went by. She waited until he shifted into park to unbuckle her seatbelt, pushing open the slightly creaky door before her heeled feet found their way onto the gravel below, "Last chance to turn back.." Cordelia said as he came to her side, lifting a dark brow, amber eyes searching his features for any sign that he was ready to bolt. the shrike

I feel a lavender haze creeping up on me

NOAH

Noah didn’t shift back in his seat when she affirmed their approach. Rather, he leaned even closer to the windshield over the steering wheel to take it all in. He couldn’t help but smile at the horses in the drive-side pastures. Barns and silos and tractors studded the property and as they moved closer and closer to the house, he turned his eyes to the White House and it’s sprawling porch. The audible awe couldn’t be stopped from dropping out of half-parted lips.

He parked, and she joked — well, half joked — and Noah lifted his arms over his head in response. Dramatically he stretched and yawned, ”Nope, sorry. Too tired to drive.” and though he trusted this woman, was growing love for this woman, he held his truck close to the cuff and hadn’t yet handed her his keys. Maybe he just liked the way she looked on the passenger side of the bench. He would never forget their first night in his truck, the rain having drenched her completely. At that time, the blowers for his heat didn’t work.

Walking around the car to her, Noah paused before her and brushed a lock of auburn hair aside. ”Itll be fine.” he reassured her, pushing down the butterflies that threatened his own stability.

I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm

Before she even had a chance to reply, the front door swung open, an excited squeal sounding from the porch. Cordelia barely had a chance to shift the pie to Noah before she was enveloped in the arms of her sisters, laughing as they spun, barely keeping her feet under her. "Delia!" Jane, the youngest and arguably most excited, squeezed her tighter and she wrapped her arms around both of them in turn. They released her and turned their sights on Noah then, Emma reaching forward and grabbing his arm as she bounced on her toes, "The picture didn't do him justice, Delia! Oh my God.. Mom is going to lose it." She giggled, already starting to tug him towards the front steps. "Hey! Hey, hands off, Emma." The eldest daughter gave her sister a little push, prying her fingers off of her boyfriend's bicep and instead replacing them with her own. "Where's dad?" Cordelia asked, already glancing back and forth, waiting for her father to appear from thin air. "He's in the barn finishing up. Momma is in the kitchen." Jane chirped, skipping along beside them, looking up at Noah with bright eyes. She was a mini copy of Cordelia. Except for the eyes. She had their mother's eyes. Strikingly blue and framed by thick lashes, curls bouncing and boots crunching loudly across the gravel as she went. "Small blessings then." The eldest breathed and Emma gave her a knowing look, long legs carrying her up the steps before she pulled open the door for the group of them. There was soft music playing, filling the bright interior of the house and Delia took a moment, breathing in deeply the smell of home. The knots in her stomach slowly beginning to unravel, "Come on... Let's go see momma." She said softly, giving her sisters a look before both of them scampered off before she looked back up to Noah, giving his arm a squeeze. the shrike

I feel a lavender haze creeping up on me

NOAH

Noah hadn't really expected the girls to be so enthusiastic as they burst from the house and towards them. Though he had been warned, he didn't have much experience around teenage girls and therefor, was a little shell shocked in the moment. He couldn't do anything else but smile and follow as he was tugged and prodded and fawned over. It was an awkward smile, though he was sure Cordelia would be the only one to notice that. He chuckled some as the sisters squawked and finally settled as Cordelia took his arm again.

He watched wordlessly as the sisters exchanged a look while talking of their father, and it made the butterflies in Noah's stomach react. As if they were disturbed from their flowery haven and all took to the sky at once, Noah felt them rise up towards his throat. Stepping in to the house Noah paused with Cordelia, swallowing the butterflies back down to their valley of rest before asking, "Shoes?" He looked down and lifted one of his feet, tilting his ankle to show the worn and well-loved boots, the leather supple and clean, but the soles less so.

The scents and sounds of the house hit him all at once. Turning his attention from Cordelia, though briefly, Noah let it sink in. The warmth and carefully curated light were more effective at reducing the action of the butterflies than his own efforts, and he felt the muscles between his shoulder blades relax.

I'll follow you down through the eye of the storm

Don't worry I'll keep you warm