[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]he brings her to the apartment she just signed the lease for. it's mostly empty, used for work purposes when she can't be bothered to drag herself back to lilycove.

and yet... somehow, it feels right to be here.

he settles her body onto the couch and she curls into herself without much of a thought. familiar surroundings do little to ease anxiety and paranoia but it's a start, perhaps.

and when he asks a question, her eyes don't drift up to find him yet. they stay glued to the floor, out of focus and muted.

"i," she starts, stops, and swallows. "i don't know." it's truthful, mostly.

Felix Gallagher

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]the movement of his body crouching beside the couch snaps her eyes up like a rubber band. they're alert, flighty, as if searching for danger in cracks and shadows on the floor.

his hand stretches and then retracts. she follows the motion and there's a sense of waiting. for what, she doesn't know.

it's all jumbled and confused, littered with fear and paranoia.

"water," she mumbles. her throat still hurts. and she knows she's skin and bone, lackluster and frail but the thought of anything else in her system besides water makes her nauseous. her eyes soften enough to look like a ghost of herself as a soft "please" tumbles out.

Felix Gallagher

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]he leaves, heading for the kitchen. and without hesitation, her eyes follow. watching like a hawk, waiting for the other shoe to drop... it's not a way to exist, not in this capacity.

and when he returns, glass of water in hand, she releases a shaky breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. huh.

"thank you," she whispers.

felix settles between the coffee table and the couch with ease and for a moment, she simply... stares.

"you, uh," she tries and fumbles words too easily to make much sense. swallowing back the stumbles, she starts again. "you can come on the couch."

and as she reaches one shaky hand for the glass, she pauses. red eyes stay on him, lingering like a wine stain on white clothes.

"if you want to, i mean..."

Felix Gallagher

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]it's difficult to stop her face from crumpling slightly over denial. she accepts the answer with a small nod despite a soft plea desperately trying to claw its way out of her throat.

and when his hand settles against couch cushions, her eyes dart toward it. she traces his fingers, the outline of skin against dark fabric.

taking his hand with her own is, well, natural. it's a slow movement, nervous and almost afraid. and yet, when she feels the warmth of skin contact, she sighs softly.

of course, there's still a tenseness to her body. it's exacerbated by the question murmured between them. how did it happpen? she's still not quite sure where she went so goddamn wrong.

"i thought i could trust him. this, uh, rocket that i met... he told me he could get a soil sample from the tree of life for me." she shouldn't have trusted him. she knows that now, even if it weren't etched into her broken bones.

"it was a set up, i guess," she mumbles. the grip on his hand tightens, nails digging into his skin. "i tried fighting but it wasn't enough." the concept echoes until she's certain she couldn't possibly be enough to even save herself.

Felix Gallagher

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she watches him for a moment.

the way his eyes seemed to sharpen while his face remained neutral, the silence that falls... it instills a sense of concern in her. it's subtle at first, easing up with a softness until it becomes too much.

and when it does, her hand releases his.

she reaches with the good hand, the unbroken one, for his shoulder. her touch lingers and for the first time all night, there's life to her eyes.

"felix?"

it's soft, tentative, as if she isn't sure if prying is the right thing to do. she does it anyway. the quiet makes her anxious, fearful, worried he could leave.

"are you okay?"

Felix Gallagher

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]her grip lingers on his shoulder even after he answers.

and it's not necessarily a poor excuse but it leaves more questions than anything.

"about what?" it comes before she can stop it, a quiet tumble of syllables.

he suggests rest immediately and she feels the weight of exhaustion creeping in. it's a slow crawl into her system, subtle but growing. and yet, anxiety keeps her eyes open. her body is still on high alert and the soft concept of him leaving lingers in the spaces between.

her grip tightens slightly on him.

"will you stay?"

Felix Gallagher

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]confirmation breathes relief into her system. it's soft, soothing, a lullaby of security ready to bring her into slumber.

she holds on a little longer but her grip slackens.

and when his eyes inevitably return to meet hers, the first smile in weeks finally emerges. it peeks out from behind clouds, hazy and sleepy as if rising after a long night.

"don't stay on the floor," she whispers. by the final syllables, her voice is nothing more than a tired mumble. exhaustion wins with heavy hands dragging her eyelids down.

her hand falls away from his shoulder a moment later and her body shifts back into couch cushions. she curls into herself for comfort, broken wrist cradled against her chest. and there's enough room for him if he chooses to release his pact with the floor.

Felix Gallagher