@lovedlamb sent a message from here
“ it's nothing, i'm just tired. ”
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐑 and Bella had been comfortable since day one, a mutual understanding of their uniqueness that would constantly just be left unspoken. While neither of them had directly asked about the other ones … predicament, each of them understood how the other wasn’t entirely human. That there was something just a little bit off, and for them that worked out in their favor. It had all started by a simple interaction between Dex and Carlisle, a kindness shared between medical professionals and a desire to learn.
That had grown to him being intertwined into the Cullen family somehow, not becoming friends with all of them but he had grown to have a fondness for each member. His heart in particular had grown warm towards Bella, who was the newest edition to the family. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that she was turning down his offerings of tea and snacks not just out of politeness, and had decided to just leave it at that for now. It wasn’t really important to their friendship anyways. Even now, as he carefully sat down beside her in the home he was renting out in Forks for the time being, he didn’t bother to bring her tea ⸻ only having some for himself.
The strong smell of ginger filled the living area as Dexter clutched both sides of the mug carefully in both hands, thumb absently tracing along the patterns of the rather poorly formed ceramic. A tender smile split along thin lips, eyes a bit downcast out of habit. To anyone else it might seem like he was watching the tea in his mug swirl and ripple, or perhaps seeing through it and off somewhere else ⸻ but he hadn’t had working eyesight in over a decade. They both knew that well.
He was a little shocked by Bella’s admittance to being tired, especially since he was well aware she wasn’t physically capable of such a thing ⸻ but mental exhaustion was different, and it was a sensation he was all too familiar with himself. ‘ It’s nothing, I’m just tired ’ were the words spoken by her, and he found himself moving a hand away from the mug to give a tender squeeze to her knee. A familial touch, meant to be nothing more than an attempt at comfort. “ There must be a lot on your mind to feel so tired, ” he responded just as gently, taking a sip of the ginger tea he had made for himself.
Dexter’s nose wrinkled a little bit at the taste. It was a bit strong for his liking, but it was supposed to have good healing properties ⸻ and while he wasn’t a full believer in the the so called science behind teas and their healing properties, he would always be searching for something to lessen the pain behind his eyes a bit. That pressure would always be there. “ What’s on your mind, kiddo? How can I help? ”