Emma hums thoughtfully, quietly under her breath. Neutral tones. She can't say she's even really familiar with the term or what those colours really meant - not in the sense of wall paint choices. This was so mundane, so normal, it makes her agitated.

He shows her his phone, and she briefly glances up at him with a note of exasperation at the fact he wields a smartphone. Regardless, she squints, brows coming together to look at the picture on the screen. The bright light is agitating and it takes her a second to focus, to find the title beneath the colour he's indicating.

"Hmm. Okay."

Familiarity settles in her chest. It's warm, and she glances up from the phone to try and picture it on the walls. Slowly, the woman begins to nod, drawing in a long breath.

"That's the one."

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]with a nod, he slides his phone back into his blazer, then glances over his shoulder to the door.

smoothing his thumb over her skin, he gives a gentle squeeze before stepping away.

"i won't be long."

[attr="class","noodles"]Emma Wolfe

Emma's attention is drawn to her hand, to the feeling of his thumb against her skin. It is intimate, affectionate, so simple and mundane and easy. But she pulls away as he does, putting her hands into her pockets.

"Sure."

She turns away from him, brows furrowed in thought.

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]the door to her home closes behind him and it only takes a few steps before he loses himself in the narrow streetways of sootopolis.

it takes him twenty, maybe thirty minutes before returning with buckets of paint along with rollers, a few brushes, and rolls of rosin paper. he doesn't knock on the door before entering.

"where would you like to start?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Emma Wolfe

Only after he leaves does her proud, strong exterior crumble. The moment the front door closes she deteriorates, shedding the confident skin she wore to bear her broken heart.

Tears fall, staining her cheeks as she spends the time alone wandering her empty home. The walls are lifeless, the floor doesn't creak. She finds the door leading to the basement, but she doesn't open it. Instead, she waits outside on the back porch steps for when Theo returns.

When the front door opens, she lifts her jacket collar to her cheek to wipe away the evidence. It is inefficient and sloppy, and she doesn't rise to meet him.

"The bedroom with the bathroom attached."

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]perceptive, theo notices. for moments, he hovers, unsure what to do.

but he slowly approaches, placing the equipment off to the side against the wall before stepping out to the back porch.

shifting down, he settles next to her, joining her on the steps.

[attr="class","noodles"]Emma Wolfe

What is there to do?

Part of her reasons, as he opens the door to sit next to her, that she should be angry with him. He is, in some way, the reason Gavin had slipped through her fingers.

But he had been slipping long before Theo had stepped back into their lives. She had lost him before he had ever said yes to marrying her.

"I should hate you."

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]theo's never been very good at comforting. he's never had to deal with the consequences of his actions, at least not in this capacity. so he struggles to find the right thing to do or the right thing to say.

how does one comfort when they've spent most of their lives doing the opposite?

"i wouldn't blame you."

[attr="class","noodles"]Emma Wolfe

"Do you regret it?"

Emma's hands are held out in front of her, palms facing up. She rubs at imaginary engagement ring, thoughts immersed in what could have been.

Sometimes it still felt like she was wearing it.

"You didn't even stay with him. He chose you."

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]the pause he takes is brief but he soon shakes his head.

"no."

he doesn't live with regrets — they're buried too deep to ever surface.

"i could never be what he needed me to be."

[attr="class","noodles"]Emma Wolfe

Emma looks at him now, her one uncovered eye swimming with pain.

No?

"You took him from me."

She knows that isn't quite true. There is a hitch in her voice as she says it, and she looks away to break eye contact.

He hadn't done anything.

It was just easier to blame someone than to blame themselves.

THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","beck"]theo could say exactly the same thing to her.

but he doesn't.

because it isn't her fault; nor his.

his gaze holds even when she breaks away.

"it's in the past."

[attr="class","noodles"]Emma Wolfe

"Is that why you're here? Because its in the past?"

She clasps her hands together, gaze dropping to hang between her knees.

"He couldn't make you feel, but I can? What are you doing, Theo?"

THEO BECKETT