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[scholiast]

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Hi, Lucretia speaking. I'm busy at the moment, but if you'd like to leave a message, I'll get back to you ASAP.
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*sad fanfare*

[scholiast]

(It's funny that he's been avoiding home and by extension her: Lucretia has been doing much the same thing by way of pulling long nights in her office at Gramayre, coming back to the apartment only to shower and sleep. It's strange, being in a prolonged fight with Taako. She's never been in one before. She doesn't know the rules. When she receives his text, she almost knocks her phone off the edge of her desk in her scramble to look at it.

It's a lot more conciliatory than she thought it would be. Than it has any right to be, really. She thinks very intensely about her reply, even though she has absolutely no agenda hidden behind it. She's fairly sure his doesn't either.)

Another hour tops. Want me to get anything on the way back?

https://campaignofshockandawe.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/tumblr_nsut1aemqs1r3zbhoo2_400.gif

[spellslots]

[It's a relief when the reply comes, and maybe it's strange to talk so casually about dinner as though nothing is wrong, but that's the point. He's trying to tell her that things haven't changed, that even if it's tense, it can be fine. They'll figure it out.]

Not unless you've got a craving for dessert, I wasn't planning to make anything.

play me the song of your people

[scholiast]

I'm alright. I'll let you know when I'm leaving?

(She wishes she didn't feel so nervous about this, but it's hard not to imagine a situation in which she gets back to the apartment and Taako is ready and waiting with information about more horrible things she will do in the future.)

skeleton dooting from another room

[spellslots]

That works. I'll see you soon.

[He's nervous as hell and trying to ignore it, which is why cooking helps, giving him something to think about other than what the fuck he's going to say to Lucretia when he sees her.

At this point, how awkward it is has gotten worse than how angry he was, which means it's time to fix things.]

breaks it down

[scholiast]

(She tries to go back to her books but it's impossible now: she's fidgety, can't keep her concentration. So she packs everything up early and gathers her things, easing her phone out from between a stack of books as she switches off the lights and locks her office door.)

omw

(Lucretia attemps to make the walk home last longer than it should, but she's a fast walker, always has been. She's there in twenty minutes, shuffling awkwardly in front of the door- almost knocks, even. That's how strange the whole situation is.

It's nice and warm inside. She toes her shoes off, clearing her throat. Taako's probably in the kitchen huh. She calls out to him as she sets her bag down beside the front door, wriggling her arms one at a time out of her red jacket.)

Hey.

breaks down tbh

[spellslots]

[The wait feels longer than it does, and the bottle of wine that was meant for dinner is half drained by the time Lucretia walks through the front door, a useless attempt to take the edge of his nerves.

The food hasn't suffered for it, but that isn't unusual.]

Hey, bubbale. [It's gentle, the apology in his voice even if the words aren't spoken out loud.] How was work?

hard same

[scholiast]

(Oh, he's nicknaming her again. She has a soft, relieved smile on her face as she makes her way into the kitchen.)

Good. (Her eyes dart to the bottle of wine: ah, so it's gonna be that way, huh. She's more than fine with this. They're both people who don't mind a little helping hand when it comes to talking about their feelings. She pulls a stool up to the island in the middle of the kitchen.)

Kinda busy though. How... how are you? (He looks fine enough: maybe a little tired, a little frazzled around the edges.)

[spellslots]

[Taako doesn't bother asking whether she wants a drink, he simply takes a wine glass from the cabinet and brings it and the bottle over for her. There's still enough left in his own glass that he doesn't mind sharing, and worse case scenario they can crack open another bottle.]

It's uh, it's been a week, for sure. [There are things he doesn't really want to get into, so he picks something that's easier to talk about.] Turns out it's Eddie's birthday next week, so I've got a party to help plan.

[scholiast]

(Bless him. She takes the glass gratefully, and has to resist the urge to pour herself a glass right to the brim. It's probably sad that she's more comfortable with a glass of wine in her hands, but she's examine that later.)

Oh, that's sweet. (She smiles briefly, and raises her glass to her lips.) When do I get to meet him anyway?

[spellslots]

We'll have dinner sometime? If you think you can handle me being all gross and sappy.

[It feels too easy, the same as it did when Lucretia first arrived, as if nothing bad has ever happened between them.]

[scholiast]

(She makes a face.)

Hmm. I'll have to get back to you, the jury's still out on that one.

(It does feel too easy. But she doesn't want this to get away from her before she can real talk; her smile fades slowly as she props an elbow up on the counter. Despite having had nothing other than this to dwell on for the past couple days, she struggles to find the appropriate words for a moment. Eventually, she just sighs.)

Taako, I'm... I'm sorry.

[spellslots]

[He feels it coming and decides to hold off on the jokes until she can say what she wants to say, no matter how much he wants to pretend that this is fine.]

I know. [He sounds tired, and he can't quite look at her.] So am I. This shit is, uh, I'm not good at this, but I didn't mean what I said, about not caring.

[Those weren't his exact words, but it's what he implied by saying he only give a shit about Lup and himself.]

[scholiast]

(It's cool, she can't look at him either. She's sorry right down to the very center of her being, but the whole point of apologising is that you learn from your mistake and adjust your actions to reflect that, right? And they both know that what is going to happen is practically set into stone.)

I know. (It may have hurt at the time, but she'd never be able to take something like that personally. Not from anybody on the ship.) It's okay.

(She deserves it, really.)

[spellslots]

It's not. I don't- I dunno if we can bullshit ourselves that any of this is gonna be okay.

[Everything that the future holds for Lucretia can't be changed, and whatever is coming for Taako is up to him to fix, not for them to solve now. Maybe they need to acknowledge that fact, instead of trying to dance around it.]

But I saw... [He stops, exhaling slowly and leaning back against the countertop, needing the support.] There's someone here who can see shit from people's futures. They saw me and heard Lup's voice. I dunno what it means except that she's not gone.

[And that's everything.]

[scholiast]

(She blinks, finally looking at him instead of down into her wine glass.)

They... heard Lup? (That flicker of hope in her chest feels cruel: she resolutely ignores it. If it ends up being true she'll be pleasantly surprised, but there's no way she could handle losing Lup twice over. The look on Taako's face tells a similar story, and Lucretia finds herself gently covering his hand with her palm, giving it a soft squeeze.)

[spellslots]

[For a second, the only thing he can do is nod, trying to find the words. Explaining the lich thing is... a lot, and he's not sure he's ready.]

I have this stupid bracelet that lets me cast telepathy without, you know, casting it. I put it on and I heard Lup. Something bad happened to her, but I don't think she's gone.

[It's hope, warm and bright and terrifying, but it's his.]

[scholiast]

(Lucretia doesn't know if she can bear to hope, feels like she's intruding on a feeling that shouldn't belong to her. She just nods slowly, and smooths her thumb reassuringly over the backs of his knuckles in lieu of having to agree with anything out right.)

That's... that's great, Taako. (She does at least, mean this. She gives him a tiny smile, and takes her hand back.)

[spellslots]

[He wonders if she believes him, and isn't sure what to do if she doesn't. The fact she gives him that moment of comfort is enough to reassure him for now.]

There's a lot coming at you in the future and it's not... it's not shit I'm okay with, but I don't want that to mess up the fact we're both here and safe, now. And you're family, Lux, that matters more.

[That's enough for him.]

[scholiast]

(It should be enough for her too, and maybe in due time it will be. But for now she's still struggling with reconciling with her future actions and how that comes to affect the people closest to her heart. At least he isn't going to stay angry with her. Lucretia is sure she wouldn't be able to take that.

She exhales in a rush, and picks up her wine glass, taking a very, very large sip from it.)

Me too, Taako. I... (She rubs the back of her neck.) You matter very much to me, and I'd... I loathe to think that something might change that.

[spellslots]

This is gonna sound cheesy as shit, but even when we couldn't remember, you gave us a home.

[Taako has a lot of complicated feelings about the Bureau, now, but it's hard to ignore the fact that after years of loneliness and guilty, after Glamorsprings, the Bureau became home.]

[scholiast]

I did?

(Her voice is small.

That's... very good to know; she seems visibly less tense already. So much of her anxiety over all of this has been hinging on beating herself up over whether or not she ends up doing this because she wanted to cause them all harm.)

[spellslots]

Yeah, totally. You have a cool secret moon base and everything, we're all a little intimidated by you, which I bet you fucking love.

[He can separate them a little, Lucretia who betrayed them and the Director who tried to build them back up.]

[scholiast]

A... a secret moon base.

(Lucretia stares at him this time, lifting her wine glass resolutely to her lips.) Uh. Intimidating? Me? Are you sure?

(... She kind of does love the idea of that, actually.)

[spellslots]

Yeah, I guess the Millers helped with it? Big shock that you befriended a bunch of nerds.

[He says it fondly, and the more he talks the better he feels, reassured that they can make this work no matter how awkward it might be.]

And you've got a fucking dias, I love it.

[His sweet little awkward nerd all grown up.]

[scholiast]

A dias...

(He sure is painting a pretty great mental picture. Lucretia snorts, amused.)

That- well, that does sound like me, huh.