Been Exploring

DELPHINE

Delphine made herself smaller, in the corner of the couch, staring at the slowly dying fire. She didn't know what to do or say, so instead, she sat in silence.

Did she leave him, because he wouldn't control her?

Did she stay because she thought she loved him?

She wiped at her face, and slowly stood up. As soon as she stood up, she looked like she regretted the decision to stand. After a moment of looking at him, she disappeared into their shared room.

He'd hear her moving things, hear footsteps, and the door to the second bedroom open. Minutes passed, as she carefully moved her things from his room, into her old room.

And after taking a second to rest against the wall of his bedroom and cry, she exited the bedrooms. "I..." She moved to settle next to his chair, seated on the floor by his legs. "...want a redo. I want to start over." Her voice was quiet, hoarse. She didn't touch him, even though she was close enough to rest her head in his lap.

"I think, uhm, we need to start over. I... I came here because I had nowhere else to go after my kids..." She spoke quietly, the time spent moving her things had doubled as a time to form her thoughts. "And we got together while you were grieving, and I was grieving and..."

Probably the most reasonable thing she'd ever said: "I think that I should stay in Zeke's room, again, until I find somewhere else to stay. If... If we're going to try, I don't think we should live together anymore."

She sniffled, turning red-rimmed hazel eyes upwards as she held out a hand. "Maybe... you'll let me take you on a date sometime this week?"

Then my fragile flower turned into a ball of grey,

So I took a break and made a wish and blew them all away.

NOAH

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

Noah sat in silence as Delphine spoke to him. He did not know what else to say. He did not disagree with her, but, he also wanted her to stay. He knew, though, that just him being the selfish one. Sighing, Noah nodded, and lifted his eyes to her. "I think that's wise."

The hunter stood and made his way towards the front door. The fire behind him was too close to going out at this point that if he did not get something started now, they would freeze in the night. He moved outside quickly and gathered the wood Delphine had dropped when he had charged her. He felt exhausted as he did so, the cold air hitting him hard. When he came back in, he kicked the snow off his boots but set right to work.

He felt so tired. He worked on the fire almost mindlessly, his fingers working through the muscle memory. He did not know what else to say to Delphine at all, but the weight of all of his emotion sat heavy on his shoulders.

DELPHINE

Delphine sighed as she watched him head out to get the firewood. She stayed where she was, seated on the floor. Eventually he was tending the fire, and she watched him in silence for a few moments.

She was trying to decide where she'd move too; if she wasn't living with Noah, there was little reason to stay in Halo (except for the fact it put her closer to him, and she wasn't sure that was a good idea... they weren't known for having impulse control).

She sniffed softly, "I might... go back to the Grounds, or... maybe Torchline. Poe would appreciate the climate." It almost hurt to admit that she was thinking of leaving the icy wasteland, like... leaving meant they were over, but she masked it well. "If we're going to work, I have to learn to live alone..." The unspoken: 'And if I stay in Halo, you know I'll come over' was implied, heavily so. She drifted into silence, mulling her thoughts.

"Noah, are you hungry? I got some supplies for baking," she murmured, feeling as if she needed to fill the silence. "I thought maybe... something sweet."

Then my fragile flower turned into a ball of grey,

So I took a break and made a wish and blew them all away.

NOAH

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

As Noah worked on the fire and Delphine went over her options Noah flinched and winced. This was more painful than he could express. "Okay." He said, flatly. He wanted her to stay in Halo, for his own selfishness. If she went to Torchline or the Hollowed Grounds, it would mean that Noah would have to leave Halo more than he wanted to.

Finally, he turned to her as the fire began to rage behind him. "Fine." He said, nodding. He might not have wanted her to go, but she had a point. She needed to learn some things, more than just how to live on her own. He knew that was a huge component of it, though. She had lived under the controlling hand of her brother, then the controlling hand of her husband, then the needy hand of her children, then with him. Did Delphine even know who Delphine was? Noah doubted it.

If she didn't know who she was, then he didn't know either.

"No, I don't need anything." He said, sighing.

DELPHINE

Delphine frowned, moving toward him. She'd wring her hands, before she stopped short, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I... Are you sure?" She couldn't help but feel like she needed to bake, or make supper, do something with her hands.

Instead of waiting for his answer, the woman disappeared into the kitchen with her bags, most of which held cooking supplies. She placed down a few bowls for mixing, and set to work mixing. It was something to focus on, other than this relationship.

She felt like it was crumbling into pieces, and it was her fault.

Then my fragile flower turned into a ball of grey,

So I took a break and made a wish and blew them all away.

NOAH

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

The hunter was exhausted. He was a generally stoic man, and tonight he felt more emotions than he had in months. He had also been under a generous amount of stress in her absence, stress that finally broke through the dam he had welded shut. It poured over his body and made his muscles feel weak. He wanted to be alone.

"Del...I think we need to go to bed." He said, his voice carrying all of what he felt indescribably. He rubbed his forehead and stood up, turning towards her in the kitchen area to see if she heard him. Even if she did, he thought, she might still ignore him. She clamored about the kitchen, trying to do what she knew to do. Noah had no idea what to do, but all he knew was he needed to think about this. He needed to take more time, alone, to mull over what truly needed to happen.

He loved this woman, but was not sure what the best thing for them was.

Was he the best thing for her?

DELPHINE

Delphine stilled, as she heard him enter the kitchen, and sighed quietly. His voice sounded broken, tired, a bit shattered. She turned to face him, biting her lip hard. She wanted to hug him, to apologize, to take back the idea of moving out...

But they'd get nowhere that way.

So, instead she spoke, her voice trembling, "I didn't sleep well on my trip." The nightmares, the fear of being left alone, "I'm... okay. I'll take a nap in the morning." Because it was easier to sleep in the daytime.

The dreams didn't stop in the daytime, but they did get debunked as just nightmares quicker. "You sound tired though." She pushed away from the counter, and curled her arms around his midsection in a hug, before she could talk herself out of it.

"I'm sorry, Noah." Her words were muffled, as she buried her face against his chest, taking a moment to inhale his scent, to melt into him. Once she was there, she didn't want to let go.

"I'm... going to be who you deserve." She murmured, dragging her hands from his back to his sides, preparing to force herself to let him go. She sniffled quietly, and leaned away from him, though not far enough away that she had to pull her hands back.

"See... I don't want to let you go, now." She murmured, sighing softly. "All I want to do is crawl into your bed and never leave again." It didn't bother her to admit that; it was the norm for them. But it did further cement her idea that she needed to move a bit further away than just 'out of the house'.

Then my fragile flower turned into a ball of grey,

So I took a break and made a wish and blew them all away.