collegestories | — SAY WHAT YOU MEAN OUT LOUD

— SAY WHAT YOU MEAN OUT LOUD

leanne and giovanni -- yikes!

[ There were a few things Leanne was aware of when she decided to return to Olympia. That she would need to turn herself in, apologize for her assistance, and begin her reinstatement -- nothing terrible, but obviously something that she was trying to avoid. If only because her stance on the city was already soured before they had even officially arrived on the planet and only progressed as more history was revealed to them.

And it only takes the silent plea of someone close for her to fall back.

It's not surprising to her when the strings connecting to her heart tug in his direction. The look of his face, the sound of his voice, it all contributes as to why she was able to easily fold to his wants despite it needing additional coaxing for truth on her end. But in the end she returns, and without a proper roof over her head that also meant the unsurprising outcome of her living with Giovanni.

Days turn into weeks, and that's enough for her to adjust considering she's familiar having to live with another man. Though some days it is a little... awkward. Different. If asked she wouldn't know how to properly describe what she felt, as in her hours of contentment with Giovanni it manages to wash away entirely -- it's when she's alone that she realizes something is off. That living with him was different from being with either Zephyr or Vashyron.

It's within the later hours of the evening that he usually returns home from his job, and Leanne ensures that he's greeted warmly when he does. Even if it means missing an hour or two of beauty sleep. It's part of her (domestic) routine by now.

The door clicks open softly, earning a perk of her head as she remains seated on the couch before her lips curl up into a grin: ] Welcome home! Did you have a good day?

[Surprising, really, that she'd agreed to come back to Olympia with him. Even if, from his perspective, it seems the rational thing to do, to hold true to the place that first offered them sanctuary on their arrival, somewhere less encroached upon by a natural world that instills him with bonedeep unease. The surprise comes in that she listens to him, decides to give up on the alternative plans she'd begun to make because of him. It's not the outcome he's accustomed to.

But she does listen, does come back with him, moves into his home no less and yes he still struggles in some ways to be around her, to keep the thoughts and impulses at bay when they pulse copperhot behind his eyes and all along the length of his Spine, the thing that pants and scrabbles and whispers inside his head. But he keeps it at bay for the most part, and somehow they fall into a routine that feels almost (almost) normal, things that had been alien and strange and unknown to him just a short while ago gradually becoming commonplace. It helps ground him.

He doesn't know, now, what he would do if she was no longer there.

Which is why there's a spreading sense of relief in him when he opens the door to his (their) apartment after a night's work, when he finds her there waiting for him and she looks up and smiles and it opens something inside his chest, a quick rush that's there and then gone again. Even now, there's still the small traitorous part of him that always expects her to be gone upon his return.

But she isn't, she's still here, and his own lips twist into a crooked smile as he begins to remove his cufflinks, closes the distance to the sofa in three smooth strides.]

Uneventful. A pity.

[Because some things change...but others don't.]

[ She releases a small breath, akin to a chuckle, tilting her head slightly to the side as she pats the empty space beside her on the sofa. Obviously meant for him. ]

So you didn't have to do anything too dangerous today, right? That's good! [ At least she's grateful for it. His suit looks clean and there's not a scar on his body -- at least none that she can see or be aware of thanks to his accelerated healing. Still, she's happy to see that he's both home and without any injuries, but that doesn't mean she's done with worrying. ]

Are you hungry? I could whip up something real quick if you haven't ate yet.

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— SAY WHAT YOU MEAN OUT LOUD

au where she's not stubborn and goes back to olympia with him

\o/

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