Zari felt her mouth fall open as she stared at herself, a strange experience on its own even though it’s been happening for a while.
“Wait, what?” She said, gaining control of her expression again. Zari had heard it but it bared repeating. She watched herself, her other self, shift uncomfortably, the bracelets on her wrists jangling in time with the large earrings caught up in long straightened hair.
Lipglossed lips pursed together and then, nervously, Zari 2.0 repeated herself.
“I’ve been seeing Charlie.”
Zari let it hang in the air, minding herself not to let her jaw hit the floor again.
“Oh.”
In all fairness, Zari could see it. She wouldn’t say she hadn’t ever thought about it but everything about having an alternate version of yourself staring back at you all the time was really headache inducing.
She had been so caught up in her own thoughts she hadn’t even realized her other self was defensively rambling until she tuned back in mid sentence.
“I don’t say anything about you sleepwalking me into Nate’s room every other night! And besides, he seems to understand that—“
“Woah.” Zari cut in, “Calm down. I—wait, Nate knows?”
She watched herself blush from across the coffee table.
“He, kind of caught us. He and B were..”
“Oh great, Behrad too! Are you just parading around making out in the halls of the ship!?”
It suddenly had grown heated somehow.
“No!” Other Zari shouted back, getting to her feet. “Charlie has been having a rough time okay!”
It startled Zari to silence and after a beat she watched her other self awkwardly sit back down, then roll her eyes.
“He said he likes the time he gets to share with you when it happens and he gets that I have a life too…”
Zari leaned back in her chair, taking it all in.
“Ok.”
“Ok what?”
“Ok you told me, I know now. Thanks for, uh, keeping me included, I guess.”
“Well,” the other her began, distracting herself with straightening the hem of her frankly too short dress “You are occasionally occupying MY body.” She said, her point very… pointed. “We should be letting each other know things.”
Zari sighed, nodded, then reached for another donut.
“In fact,” She began, looking annoyed again “while we are on the subject, maybe you and Nate can lay off the late night visits to the food replicator.” She scrunched her face in disgust. “You are not the one dealing with the consequences of bbq refried bean and chicken nachos the next morning…”
“Christmas dinner in the tardis?” Graham asked skeptically. Although Yaz noted that his hands were indeed full with a giant foil covered pan she presumed to be a turkey.
“Is there even a dining room?” He continued, heading into the far right corridor skeptically.
“A swimming pool didn’t surprise you but a dining room would?” She asked, returning Ryan’s grateful smile when she nudged a steamy tupperware bowl back into the crook of his elbow as he followed behind Graham.
“Celebrations with the team!” The Doctor called out, flipping switches and pulling leavers at the console.
“Gang.” Yaz added in anticipation, then a second later...
“Fam!” Both Ryan and Graham yelled back toward them as they disappeared deeper into the tardis out of view.
The Doctor didn’t respond to their teasing but Yaz could tell she had probably laughed because she was trying to hide her smile when Yaz took the few steps up to join her in the control room.
“Ryan said Graham went a little overboard with the cooking. Tried all his Nan’s recipes.”
“S’alright.” The Doctor said looking rather proud. “Got a few extra mouths to feed today.”
Yaz’s brow furrowed. “What d’ya mean?” She asked just as the comm speaker above the external monitor cracked to life.
“Uh, Doctor?” Graham’s voice came through. “There’s a woman and a, uh,...giant head in glass back here.”
“Oh my days.” Ryan said from more of a distance away. “She’s a catlady.”
“Just a few guests for the party Graham, not to worry, more on the way.” The Doctor explained then tapped the console to disconnect and pulled the final leaver to bring the tardis to life.
“This mean we get to meet all your friends?”
“Not all of them, you don’t have the time.”
Yaz gave the doctor a quick sweep with her eyes. “That so?”
The Doctor sort of puffed out her chest and made to lean casually against the console but the tardis gave a jerk and caused her to stumble instead, shattering any hope of pulling off the cool exterior Yaz was sure she had been aiming for.
“Well, sort of.” She said more genuinely, and gave a shrug as she stabilized herself. “I thought maybe you’d like to meet some of the important ones.”
Yaz took a step closer. “Oh really?”
“Yeah.” The Doctor gave a nod, cheeks reddening. “Been a while since I’ve had uh, since I’ve got to...” vaguely, she gestured between them.
Yaz could only chuckle at her and moved in closer again to put her out of her misery. “It’s sweet.” She said, nudging the doctor’s side and watching her let out a breath of relief at not having to define them. Yaz had found it was easier not to as well. For now.
“But you do know it’s not Christmas yet, right?”
The Doctor’s face morphed quickly to offense and she threw out her arms dramatically.
“Time machine, love.” She said, and then spun around to turn a few controls. “Few quick stops and it will be.”
Of course. How dare Yaz assume the woman had any patience to speak of.
“Just wait til you see my dance moves.” The Doctor announced suddenly, then took off with her arms waving wildly above her head. Leaving Yaz to wonder, once again, what in the world she was getting herself into.
Sanvers working on a case, they make a bet to see who can solve it first. Maggie figures it out but seeing Alex so bend on solving it doesn't have the heart to tell her so and let her win instead.
SEND ME HALLOWEEN PROMTS.
Its the same thing every time, the doorbell rings, the kids on the other side erupt into laughter as soon as Maggie opens the door and she passes out candy while they make digs at her costume.
“Kids are cruel.” Maggie says after about the fifth time.
Alex is too busy on the couch with a glass of scotch, eating every second of it up.
“You’re at least the life of the party.” She offers, knowing smile painting her lips.
Maggie narrows her eyes.
“Look,” Alex began, pausing for a moment to take a sip. “this was the terms of your deal.”
Maggie flopped down on the couch, costume hilariously bunching at her hips, and Alex lovingly poked her shoulder; punctuating her words.
“Loser wears the costume you picked.”
Maggie pouted, her hair flooding over her cheeks and covering most of her face. On instinct Alex leaned closer and nudged the masses of stray strands out of the way.
“All that matters is we caught the perp.” Maggie says, in true detective fashion.
The doorbell sounds again. Maggie groans, Alex laughs.
The terms were loser wore the worst costume Maggie could think of, outside of being anything offensive of course. It was their last case before the well deserved weekend they decided to spend together and of course, Halloween. Alex’s competitive streak may have thrown it all a little out of hand but when Maggie realized her girlfriend had been falling behind she kept it to herself. The warrant was in for the guy before Alex had come to the right conclusion and after a rough couple of months, Maggie didn’t have the heart to tell Alex she had lost.
Landing her there, opening the door to a group of ten year olds laughing in her face.
But also, there was Alex, beaming from the couch.
Maybe a little humility was worth it.
The door closed and before Maggie could turn around Alex was there behind her, putting her arms around Maggie’s middle best she could around the ridiculous outfit and humming warmly in Maggie’s ear.
There are lights flashing in the house. Macy can see them on her walk up, a low and alarming thud-thud has her walking faster; then at a near sprint when a faint shriek followed by a crash makes its way through the thick heavy wood of their front door.
“What is it?!” She calls, pushing into the house already out of breath but ready for a fight with a demon.
What she sees is far from what she is expecting.
“It doesn’t go there!” Maggie is scolding, yelling over an incredibly loud cover of The Little Drummer Boy, completely oblivious to Macy’s presence or panicked question.
Macy stares, still standing in the entrance way, frozen, trying to take it all in. There is garland and tinsel everywhere and a giant, barely decorated, tree smack in the middle of the living room where the couch used to be.
“Look what you’ve done.” Mel is saying from the top of a ladder, telling Maggie off for the shards of glass vase at their feet. That must have been the crash.
“You’re too far to the left.” Maggie tells her, disregarding the vase entirely and pointing up at the wreath in Mel’s hands at the center of the archway into the dining room.
“It’s supposed to be in the center.”
“This is center.”
“Mom put it this way more.”
“The nail is still here from last year.”
“Well it must be from something else. Go back the other way.”
Macy cleared her throat, then realized that wouldn’t be loud enough.
“I didn’t know the two of you were so into Christmas.”
Maggie jumped, startled, and then fixed Macy with a glare.
“We’re not.” Mel grumbled and began climbing down from the ladder, bringing the wreath with her.
Maggie tugged at the bottom of her itchy looking holiday sweater, fussing with the lowest button.
“Its moms thing.”
Macy nodded, understanding.
It looked horrendous in there. A mishmash of holiday decorations and what seemed like dozens of overflowing boxes strewn about.
“You guys know you don’t have to put up everything all at once.” Macy said, finally shrugging away her coat.
Mel scowled and shoved the wreath in question into the nearest box, only for it to immediately topple out.
Maggie was at least already tackling the broken glass on the floor.
“We’re horrible at this.”
It had to of been hard, their first Christmas without their mother, Macy thought. She could see Mel’s frustration already swelling into tears and on some sort of instinct, was already stepping forward. Being a big sister was new to her but, she’d found, it came quite naturally.
“Here.” She offered and retrieved the wreath. It was easy for her to hang it, just a good swoop up on her toes and she had it back up on the nail in question. “There.”
“Show off.” Mel said under her breath in regards to Macy’s height.
Macy took a few steps back, finding her way to Mel’s side. “I think it looks perfect.”
Mel pressed her lips together, no doubt fighting whatever expression of emotion that was trying to cross her face and just nodded. Macy swayed into her and she cracked a smile, sighing with some sort of relief.
“YES!” Maggie shouted, dustpan full of glass in hand. “That’s the right spot.”
The calm and sort of soft demeanor Mel had been melting into quickly disappeared and she threw out her arm to point at it.
“That’s the exact same nail!”
Macy grinned at them, allowing herself to be swept up in the disorderly scene. She was never really a holiday’s person but, she had a feeling, it wasn’t really going to be too much of an option in this house.
Sam lands with heavy feet on the balcony which groans and crackles, threatening to buckle beneath her. She pays no mind and swipes at the sliding door, pulling the lock from the hing with no effort. Her body is different now, stronger, lighter, less in control.
“Don’t come any closer!” She hears Alex yell, pajama clad, hair amiss, and gun pointed in her direction.
Sam nearly recoils.
But Alex can’t be blamed, not after everything that’s happened and certainly not when Sam was crashing into her apartment in the middle of the night.
She takes a step forward, fighting the overwhelming urge to rush Alex and disarm her. They both know the bullets in that gun are useless, that Alex is helpless against Sam should she choose to attack but Alex isn’t running. Alex never runs.
Sam breathes deeply and gains another step, her throat tightening on the word that presents itself involuntarily.
“R-Reign.”
She’s fighting it but it slips free, crackled and strained.
Sam falls to her knees. Her hands going to cover her face.
“Alex.” She says next, sounding more like herself. Sounding more like the desperation that she feels. “I can’t stop this.”
Alex dismisses her caution and moves to kneel beside Sam, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“You can.” Alex insists. “You have to.”
Sam just shakes her head.
“I have to go for a while. Somewhere safer.”
Alex knows Sam doesn’t mean safer for herself, she means somewhere everyone is safe from her and her new powers and the thing that’s been buried deep inside her trying to make its way out.
She looks up at Alex, eyes wet and sorrow filled but set hard with question.
“Ruby.”
Alex just nods. Of course she will. Of course she’ll look after her.
“Whatever you need.” Alex soothes and Sam looks so near to breaking.
She leans in and presses a kiss to a wet cheek and Alex can hear tearing from where Sam’s fingers have dug into the carpet.
“You can fight this.” She whispers, reminding her again. “And we’ll both be here when you get back.” Alex can’t imagine how hard it must be, having to leave Ruby behind for her own safety. How hard any of it has to be. “We’re all here. The DEO can help. Whatever you ne—“
Alex is cut off by the smash of lips to hers. It’s too rough at first and kind of jarring but she squeezes Sam’s shoulder and the woman calms, melting into something slower and gentler.
AgentReign: whoops, my emotions slipped. This is unfinished and hastily written because i need to be in bed.
---
Kara is still giggling when Alex’s phone buzzes from her back pocket. She has to shift awkwardly to get at it because she’s holding red wine and in a cast. A cast that she’s already cursed a dozen times over for being clunky and difficult to drag around.
Her brow creases when she sees the contact name on her screen and even more when she finally manages to answer.
“Whoa, Ruby, slow down.”
Alex sits up, sets her wine glass down clumsily, and waves a shushing gesture at Kara when she’s right behind her in her worry.
“She hasn’t come home?” She asks, trying to make heads or tails of the frantic teenager’s words. “Could she be at the...right, of course, I know you would have thought of that alr-- Ruby, hey, listen. I’ll go look for her okay?” Alex pauses, allows Ruby to cycle through a bit more of her panic and then tries to reassure her. “You sit tight kiddo, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”
“One crisis to the next?” Kara asks and she has that ready to spring into action face.
“Sam’s missing is all.” Alex tries to say as casually as possible. It’s probably nothing, just like she’d told Ruby, but there was a gnawing in her stomach that unsettled her.
She stood, wobbled slightly while reaching for her cane but, managed.
“I’m just going to go swing by L Corp, Ruby said she’s called but, it wont hurt to check.”
“Want me to come with?” Kara asks, looking at Alex like she wants to reach out and stabilize her but, she doesn’t.
Alex immediately shakes her head. “No, it’s alright. Not ready to sound the alarms just yet... the kids just really worried.”
Kara nods like she gets it. Maybe she does.
“Right. For Ruby.”
She definitely gets it.
“I’ll be back later. Don’t you dare eat all the popcorn without me.”
Kara looks offended but the bowl is in her lap and her mouth is already full so she just rolls her eyes and makes to throw a pillow across the room.
Fortunately, even with her hobbling, Alex manages to make it out the door in time to dodge it.
----
Everything burns.
Aches and burns and sears at her insides. Like acid.
Sam can barely see straight let alone fly. Does she even know how to fly? Since when can she fly?!
It all comes in weird waves. The memories she only recognizes fragments of from what she thought were nightmares. The walls so skillfully placed to lock her away in her own mind tumbling and crashing and burning.
She lands on her office balcony in a heap. Rolls and slams her head into concrete siding causing it to crack. Her elbow hits the glass of the sliding door and it shatters in seconds. Just like that. It frightens her. Everything is frightening her.
It all makes sense now. The missing time, the exhaustion she’s been feeling every day for a week straight. Of course she’s been exhausted, her alter ego has been out murdering people while she thought she was asleep.
Bile rises up in her throat at the thought, at the memories. But there is no space for that, not in this hell. Not while her veins are throbbing with flames.
Sam stumbles in. Knocking her chair over and splitting her desk in the same motion.
It’s almost impossible to think straight but her will power was strong enough to tell her to run. And furthermore, to not go home.
Ruby can’t see her like this. No one can, but especially not Ruby.
She rips off her mask and falls to the floor along with it; it’s not her. It’s not who she is. Everything that had happened, that she can only barely remember now, it’s not her. Sam knows who she is. She’d carved out her identity from nothing, no history, no family and when she needed it most, no support. She was strong and a mother and good.
The office door doesn’t make a sound when it opens. Its something she had admired about the design on her first tour. It’s elegant and glides, even with as massive as it looks.
Sam doesn’t hear the door but she hears the gasp. She hears the unmistakable click-clack of a gun being cocked and more importantly, she hears the sound of a heartbeat elevating as if it were her own in her ears.
Except that it isn’t.
“Al--Alex.” Her throat is dry. The name gets caught up with the acid and sticks for a moment. “Alex, please.” She doesn’t know what she’s asking for. She’s afraid to reach out toward Alex. She doesn’t even really know how she’d known it was Alex.
She opens her eyes and tries to focus them through her tears.
“Do it again,” Sam manages to rasp, her writhing slowing as the agony begins to subside “the...the syringe---the green---” She chokes on it, lungs battling for enough air.
Sam’s eyes lock on Alex’s, terrified and pleading. It’s her last moment of clarity, the last second she has to give warning.
Sanvarias. It’s also HERE because I guess this is a thing I’m doing now.
--
“How many of these bars are there?” Alex finds herself distracted with saying. It’s the very last question she came to ask, and most of all least important question for that matter. But there she was, standing in another alien bar, this one awash with rainbow flags. This one was different from the last, although she loves it now, especially on karaoke night. The atmosphere was different, it didn’t make her want to immediately draw her weapon. Then again, she had changed a lot in the past year. It could've just been that.
Maggie looked smug. She gestured, a quick hand movement only just shy of an exaggerated throw of her arm in reveal. Punctuating it with one word.
“Several.”
Alex’s eyes grew wider, first at the response, then at the sight of two women in the corner, table littered with empty glasses, passionately locked in what looked like a very intimate embrace. What Alex would estimate as intimate anyway. One seemed to be stroking the other’s neck gills. She made herself look away, cheeks reddening with the guilt of maybe looking too long at something private.
She was trying to pull herself together but Maggie was making it impossible. She was doing this on purpose. Alex wouldn’t back down.
Straightening her back she laid in on her first order of business, a sternly pointed finger aimed in the direction of Maggie’s chest.
“You came to my apartment.”
It was an accusation. Alex hadn’t meant it to be but in the adjustment of her posture and focus, her tone defaulted to something more like argumentative than the guarded stone exterior she’d pep talked herself into on the way in.
It wasn’t all that surprising that Maggie’s smug smile disappeared. It was replaced with a regretful expression Alex didn’t think she liked all that much either.
“I only meant to check on you.”
“A phone call would have been fine.”
They were staring at each other, the energy between them as charged as it had been the first day they met.
“I called you ten times Alex.”
Something about the way Maggie said her first name, it always reeled her in. It wasn’t fair that it still did. It softened her. Made her regret countering with that. She’d known her phone had been forgotten in those string of days Kara was laid up at the DEO. Those nerve wrecking days she only remembered as a fog of conflicted emotions over Sam and a belly full of worry for her sister. It felt wrong to then tie that thought cloud to Maggie. To shutting Maggie out.
“I would have called you back.”
Maggie narrowed her eyes, her head tilting almost unnoticeable had it not been so familiar to Alex. She expected Maggie to challenge it. She could see it in unfairly warm brown eyes as plainly as she tasted the lie on her tongue. Then again, they didn’t really owe each other anything did they?
Maggie must have come to the same conclusion. Maybe with the addition of circling around the fact that Alex didn’t call her back. Instead Alex tracked her down. Instead Alex was right there in front of her demanding an explanation for why she would care enough to essentially break into her apartment.
It was starting to dawn on her that this was probably a bad idea.
“I met your new friend.”
It was most certainly a bad idea.
Alex stiffened. Mid motion to begin her retreat, her heart unexplainably flickered around in her chest, panging something like guilt in her ribcage.
“And her daughter.”
Alex puffed out an angry breath, ready to rail against any sore comment about Ruby. She opened her mouth, that accusing finger on its way back up between them but Maggie changed. Her face, her eyes, even her voice grew a little distant as she spoke again before Alex could.
“Cute kid.”
And it stuck there, hanging in the silence between them. It was the worst sort of silence. Worse than the break up silence. Of course tracking-down-your-ex-for-SOME-reason silence was going to be worse.
“Look,” Maggie said before they could get anymore awkward with each other. It was painful to sit through. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. And that’s the only way I had left.”
Alex only nodded. Her lips pressed together tight, eyes darting around Maggie’s face looking for something. Maybe even hopeful for something she could read between the lines.
“I know.” She finally said and Maggie’s brow twitched for just a moment. A spare glimpse behind the woman’s carefully crafted impenetrable surface.
“You do?” Maggie asked, her fingers circling around her half empty beer for a sip. “Then… what are you doing here?”
“What?” Alex asked distractedly, caught up in the straying of her own thoughts and the entire situation. “Oh. OH!” Alex seemed to remind herself.
“I need your help. We! We need your help. The DEO.” Alex amended, growing flustered. She gestured between them. “The DEO needs NCPD assistance."
Violet/Arkady. I wrote this on my phone sometime last week in the middle of the night. So it’s trash. But I figured I’d throw it on tumblr instead of drafting it into oblivion. The plan has been to do a bunch of one shots for them and the original idea for this was Violet waking up with a nightmare and Arkady comforting her (as a hopelessly gay undercover soft would do) but I decided to switch it and write it the other way. Hopefully I’ll get some better stuff on Ao3 soon.
--
Violet registered the sound of soft snoring first, light and breathy and barely catching but undeniably recognizable. Its confirmed by the bundle of a familiar blanket hanging off the edge of a curved lounge bench fixed to the wall that bends behind the mess cupboards. Brian can and will fall asleep anywhere, Violet didn't need long to figure that out. Even if she hadn't wrapped herself in that very blanket following coming out of cryo her first day aboard the Rumor she would have been able to recognize it as his, she’d seen it enough here and there since then. The bottom line was, it wasn't shocking and she paid no real attention to him as she began digging around for a tea bag.
The kettle Sana had promised her was already warming over the coiled burner. She’d only just gotten her hands on a tin of elusive earl grey tucked up on the highest shelf when she heard shuffling, the sound of the blanket moving against the worn leather of the bench, accompanied by a stifled gasp only just audible through the room.
Violet went about her business, her concern piqued but not enough to warrant interrupting Brian's rest. From what she understood it wasn't something he submit to easily, always working on decoding or translating one thing or another just for the thrill of it. It didn't seem quiet thrilling to her but she assumed linguistics for him bared the same satisfaction molecular biology did for her.
She was barely through pouring her tea when the soft muttering turned to harsher, fuller formed words, and all at once Violet realized it wasn't Brian after all.
It was Arkady’s voice that drifted her way, her tone tight and forced and panicked. Violet put the kettle down to peer around the corner and confirm what she already knew. Arkady, asleep beneath Brian’s blanket, was dreaming.
Caught in a moment of indecision at first Violet just watched her. The way her brow furrowed, how dark hair spilling over her face and stuck in places to her sleep warmed cheek, and the fistful of blanket she had tucked tightly beneath her chin. Arkady’s slumber looked far from peaceful and internally Violet weighed whether or not she should wake her.
A moment later making a decision was no longer a problem as Arkady yelled out and sprang up at the same time. Her eyes were wild and her arm swung into the air, catching the unfortunately sharp edge of a bolted metal table. The sight of blood finally kick started Violet into motion and she stepped forward, rushing out a shushing sound as she made to capture Arkady’s wrist.
“You're dreaming. You're dreaming.” She soothed, repeating herself to be heard.
Arkady’s eyes found hers and focused, red rimmed and glossing over with obvious tears before the woman had a chance to stop them. Violet felt the urge to look away but she didn't. Instead she settled on the edge of the cushion right beside Arkady and moved her opposite hand to rub comforting circles along Arkady’s back.
“It’s alright.” She offered. Violet could only imagine what Arkady was dreaming about that had her waking so violently but she wasn't sure it was her place to ask either. So she didn't.
It took a few short moments for Arkady to make sense of her surroundings and Violet’s words but as soon as she did the recoil was automatic.
Arkady was quick to slip her wrist from Violets grip and if the space where she’d been lying were any bigger she would have twisted free from her touch entirely.
Her cheeks burned and a flash of anger ripped through her, making her wish she had some scathing retort she could send Violets way to cover up a vulnerable moment but the words only just tipped at her tongue and Arkady found herself simply looking away and drawing in a few much needed breaths.
“You're bleeding.” Violet pointed out gently, respecting Arkady’s decision to pull away from her and resisting the urge to take her wrist again and examine the small wound.
“This damn ship.” Arkady huffed angrily, words that came like a mantra in times of frustration.
She brought her palm to her lips, sucking away the beading blood in what looked like a practiced habit. It made Violet cringe, a noticeable reaction that tugged at the corner of Arkady’s lips in return.
“That is disgusting…and unsanitary.”
“It’s just a little blood Liu, I thought you were some sort of doctor.”
Violet rolled her eyes, unsure if she was glad to see Arkady had quickly come back to herself or annoyed that meant the never ending personality of a stubborn teenager.
“I AM. Or...was.” She shook her head and reached for Arkady’s wrist again, ignoring her earlier sentiment to give her space.
To her surprise Arkady allowed it and a quick look at the small slice to the side of her palm told her it barely even needed a bandage or a single butterfly stitch.
“Am I gonna make it?” Arkady asked when Violet held on for just a few moments too long, her tone deliberately dry.
Violet only lifted her eyes too her without releasing the gentle hold on her wrist and when their eyes met, she softened.
“Are you okay?”
The genuine concern threw Arkady off and she swallowed and blinked twice, faltering in her hardened resolve to never show emotion.
“I’m fine, Liu.” She said, meaning to make it sound sharper or at least carry some offense but it didn’t and even when she pulled her hand away it was slow and careful. Not anything like the first time. “You don’t fight in a war and walk away dreamless.” Arkady added, though she immediately grimaced at her own admission.
Violet nodded and without thinking the hand on Arkady’s back began its slow circling again. Arkady didn’t protest, she wasn’t even really looking at Violet, but she did let out a long sigh and Violet felt the tension drain from her shoulders.
She wouldn’t ask if Arkady wanted to talk about it, she knew better than that but she stayed for as long as she could. Tea forgotten and going cold on the counter behind them, Violet rubbed Arkady’s back and began humming for as long as Arkady let her.
