forthsofar: (74)
Rosie Wilson ([personal profile] forthsofar) wrote2019-09-02 04:07 pm
Entry tags:

and we can weather the great unknown

With Sabrina still recovering from all she'd had to do to save everybody, they set up a bit of a rotation in her stead, the two of them; quiet and watchful and dedicated, making sure that Nick's not left alone until she can be at his side. Rosie gets to the apartment as soon as she can, letting Charlie go to see Sabrina or head home to Newt and Kavinsky, and he does the same for her, letting her check back in with Neil. It works, because it has to.

When she arrives, Nick's sleeping--or maybe drifting, dosed up with the pills they'd given him at the hospital. Rosie checks on him, just to make sure, then busies herself with things she knows are just helpful distractions: washing the dishes they'd dirtied already; separating out the few real pieces of mail from the junk and advertisements that had piled up in what she carefully thought of as Nick's absence; staring at the book she'd brought with her and managing only to read the same two sentences, over and over again. She's putting on water for tea when she hears him start to stir. Carefully, she goes down the hallway and stops in the doorway to his room, looking in on him lying on the bed.

Something about the juxtaposition feels familiar, if distantly, a connection her mind tries to grasp and can't. She'd done this a few times already since Nick had come home, after all; that might be all it is.

"I'm here," she says, smiling faintly. "The kettle's on, if...there'll be tea, soon."
awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-03 09:31 am (UTC)(link)
He doesn't open his eyes - everything hurts, even the light - but he does smile, a little, when he hears her voice.

"Tea would be good," he says, his voice still raw and ill-used. "I thought I dreamed that you were here."
awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-04 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)

"Couldn't be," he says, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Not when it's you." He shifts his weight in the bed, wincing a little. "Still kind of burns."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-05 11:24 am (UTC)(link)

"I think it's possibly a combination," says Nick, his voice still rough, though he's smiling when he says it. "Of being stabbed, and the fact that what I was stabbed with was a holy relic." He huffs a rough laugh. "Why do you look like I'm making you nervous, Rosie?"

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-05 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)

"I know, right?" he says, smiling wanly. "It's like no kind of magic I've ever seen. I am totally going to need to talk to him about it once I'm up again." He shakes his head. "Not much? Flashes. I remember Sabrina crying."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-05 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)

She sits on the edge of the bed and he shifts to accomodate her, just a little, reaching out his hand to brush against hers. He nods.

"I remember that I was supposed to meet you," he says. "I'm...guessing he showed up instead."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-06 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)

She takes his hand and he squeezes her fingers.

"He can do that," he says. "With everyone, but I suppose...mortals like you might be particularly susceptible to it. His influence." He worries his lip with his teeth for a moment, stroking his thumb against her skin. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Rosie."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-07 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)

"You really thought I'd treat her like that?" he asks, tilting his head on one side for a moment, looking at her, trying to ignore the way that his heart aches in his chest. He frowns.

"I don't remember of that. He...did he..." He swallows. "Rosie, did he hurt you?" Did he make me do it?

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-07 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)

More than anything, he hates that he can't get up and follow her right then. It's all he wants. He wants her go though, and then he can't do anything but wait until she comes back with the tea, worrying what she's just said over in his head.

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)

"I haven't had time to go to the store," he says, and he's smiling when he says it. "I..." He studies her face as she fusses over the mugs, putting the tea together. "Rosie, please," he says. "Stop...I...we clearly need to talk about this, okay?"

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)

"You're one of the most important people in the world to me, Rosie," he says, quietly. "I don't have a family other than the one I've found here. I...can't bear to have you looking at me like that."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)

The faint flush of colour in her cheeks distracts him, for a moment, but then her hand is in his and he threads their fingers together, squeezing her hand gently.

"I'm always going to come for you, Rosie," he says, gently. "If you need me, I'm always going to find a way to be there."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)

Whatever happens in that look is enough to make Nick's cheeks flush too, and he looks away, grazing his thumb along the length of hers.

"Good," he says. "I hope I deserve that."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 06:47 pm (UTC)(link)

It feels like something is happen here, something beyond what's been between them before and Nick clears his throat, taking his hand away reluctantly, but only so that he can reach for a mug of tea.

"Can you stay for a while?"

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)

"Come get comfortable with me," he says, shifting against his pillows as he sips his tea. "I've been indulging in some really, really bad TV."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)

Wincing slightly, Nick lifts his arm, giving her room to settle in against him if she wants, aware as he is that he's shirtless except for the bandages swathing his middle. "It's a show about a coven of teen witches."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-08 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)

"They do wear a lot of black," says Nick, more than aware of what his closet looks like. "But there's a lot more sacrificing small animals than I've ever seen at the academy."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-09 12:30 pm (UTC)(link)

She settles in against him and Nick lets out a soft sigh, getting more comfortable with her against his side, his mug resting in the puddled blankets in the hollow of his hip.

"Where do you want me to start?" he says. He already knows he'd tell Rosie anything she wants to know. He can't imagine holding things back from her.

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-09 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)

He thinks about that for a moment, lifting his mug to hand a sip of his tea.

"I love knowing how to astrally project," he says. "Knowing that you can go anywhere, as long as your body is safe and you stay ahead of the psychopomps."

awickedtime: (Default)

[personal profile] awickedtime 2019-09-09 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)

"It's not, actually," he says. "That was translocation, with a bathtub full of water as a gateway. I was physically there for that. With astral projection, it's just that...a projection." He takes another swallow of his tea. "Psychopomps are like...guardians. On that realm. They come after you if your soul is out of your body for too long."