Sunny x sbd: Is he always like this?
"Is he..." The young woman hesitates, tugging at a strand of her long blonde hair, eyes wide. "Is he always like this?" Guilt laces her words, as if she's not quite sure she's allowed to ask, and Eleanore sighs.
What does she saw to that, really? Because he wasn't always like this, certainly. Once upon a time he was cheerful and warm, more optimistic than even her. Back when they were partners on the force together, before-
Before. Before the case that changed everything, that turned the man she once knew into the man he now is.
Now... He has every reason to be cynical and closed off. She knows that. But it doesn't do him a bit of good. Sometimes, rarely, he lets that slip around her, and as grateful as she is for it, she knows it's not enough. He needs more than just her, no matter what she'd like to believe. It's part of why she hired these two, why she put her foot down when he met them with skepticism.
An academy dropout and an idealist; not his dream team, but she has no doubt they're exactly what he needs.
"Usually," she admits at last. "He's not much for small talk. But what he wants more than anything in the world is justice for those who need it most; you and he are much alike in that way." She pauses, lets the girl consider this, and then continues, "I hope you'll stay long enough to see that."
A determined look settles on her face, young and full of more optimism than even Eleanore can muster these days (she has chosen hope, has chosen to push away the cynicism, but it has been a battle every step of the way, digging in her nails and gritting her teeth; this girl has not yet had to choose the sunshine inside her, and Eleanore only hopes that when the day comes, she'll be able to make that choice). "I will," she promises. "And I'll do whatever I can to help you guys."
And she knows to her bones that she has made the right choice.
