Salene and Bray:Washing Mr. Stinky Pants(Baby Bray):Shower Room

[_salene_]

Salene left the Extra Cafe area by going through the secondary cafe, their usual meeting area, as the baby smelled pretty stinky and she didn't want to inadvertently ruin anyone's breakfast by parading his stinky pants by those trying to eat. She had just exited, missing Amber but running into Bray carrying a bag, "Hey," she greeted quietly. "You

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[_bray_]

Bray couldn't get a word in as Salene talked to him, frowning and demanding he come help her with his son, his mouth hanging open as she talked over every chance he took to tell her he wasn't leaving, he was just in search of his son. Bray glanced down at the bag, it wasn't exactly his style of bag, he wouldn't have used it as a first choice to carry his things through town, it was quite clearly a diaper bag, and this made Bray kind of give her a funny look before she walked away

[_salene_]

Salene moved away as Bray took over, standing there watching quietly. He wasn't leaving? The bag was for the baby, of course it was, it was his diaper bag. She felt suddenly uncomfortable, unsure of what to do or say, now she'd brought Bray in here, what if he brought up things she didn't want to talk about with him? She was feeling guilty for how she'd snapped, in the pit, in the cage, how she'd taken things out on him, how he'd had to deal with her, she didn't want to talk about it. She kind of smiled when he gagged at the nappy, holding her own breath, he was right, it was pretty horrible. She blushed, profoundly, when he called her Auntie Salene, Amber had done that too, but it made her smile, "Yes, a bath," she agreed, intent on going back to the cafe and talking to Dax, she had seen him sneak in to eat breakfast with May, and Salene had every intention of chewing him out for not being around earlier this morning

[_bray_]

Bray held his son, kissing his head softly as he held him on his hip, he was still unsure about some things with his son, and the way he fussed at Bray made him frown, the boy seemed to be happier to be held by Amber, or Salene, or even Trudy, Bray felt bad about that. "Yes you should get to work Salene, you're right, after we talk and wash the baby," he said with a firm nod. "I could really use the help and we need to clear up some things," he told her quietly as they entered the office complex, pushing the door open to the showers and entering the smaller shower room. There was a bathtub in here, it was very convenient, he couldn't believe the changes the Chosen had made to the Mall when they'd taken a look around after their downfall, and now with the Techno's power and water they could have warm water in the tub to clean the children, and themselves. How long would it all last? It was anyone's guess, but best to take advantage of it while they could. Bray looked to Salene, "I don't," he glanced at the tub then back to her, "What

[_salene_]

Salene groaned inwardly at his admission that he wanted to 'clear things up', this was not what she wanted to do this morning, why was he so adamant about clearing the air? She sighed, heavily, but continued following him, why was she letting him boss her around like this? Maybe somewhere deep down inside she too knew they needed to talk, and her stomach twisted at this thought, she felt physically ill at the prospect of fighting with Bray while helping him wash his child

[_bray_]

Bray watched Salene take care of everything, a twisted look on his face, he'd never be able to remember all of that. He handed her the baby as she obliged and left the room in search of the things she'd asked for. When he returned with them she already had the baby in the tub, and he sat down on the dressing bench near the tub, leaving the duck towel near him and handing her the washcloth and toys. He pulled the baby shampoo from the bag and the change of clothes, handing the shampoo to Salene

[_salene_]

Salene didn't look up at him as he apologized, listening quietly, why was he apologizing to her? She's the one that had slapped him, that had gone mad in the dark so he'd had to slap her, she'd been the one to blame for him turning into his brother, it was all her fault, along with the help of the Chosen. Yeah, she'd been somewhat convinced by Ryan over the week that it wasn't her fault, it was all the Chosen, but she too took responsibility for it, even though she didn't tell Ryan that. She was to blame, that was just a fact, as much as the Chosen were, she was as well, she'd come to terms with that and would always believe it. But she heard his words, sticking her chin out as she washed the baby, soaping him up and washing his hair, using an empty cup to wash his hair clean, making sure to get behind his ears and his neck. She glanced over at his 'Ow', frowning. "We have aspirin in the hospital if you need it," she told him quietly. "Your son is so big now, and he really is starting to look like you," she changed the subject, fine,

[_bray_]

Bray sighed, "Don't change the subject," he half snapped, frowning, "Why won't you talk about it Salene?" he slid closer to her down the bench so that he was right next to her, watching his son, but also looking to her. "Salene, we have to talk about this, we can't go around forever ignoring what happened," he was talking softly, he knew it was hard, it was hard for him to talk about too, but he had to have closure, and he could really only get that from this conversation

[_salene_]

Salene frowned, her chin wobbled as he went on, she just didn't want to talk about this, why was he pressuring her to talk? She was on the verge of tears as he went on, telling her that the one good thing about being down there was having her with him. Salene knew he was just being nice, he surely would have liked to have had Amber instead, as she would have, at the time, rather have had Pride, but she knew what he meant, and he was right. If he had been anyone else, some stranger, or an enemy, down in that pit with her, she would have gone crazy, and she wasn't so sure she'd be alive either, or sane

[_bray_]

Bray moved off of the bench and knelt next to her, leaning over the tub to look at his son playing with her, laughing so happily about the duck and the water on his head, he was always in such a good mood, it made Bray smile. That someone in this world could just be so carefree and happy, it was a good sign, it gave hope. Right now, however, his focus was on Salene and the talk he was adamant about having. "I know you don't want to talk about it, I don't either quite frankly, but we have to, don't you see that?" Bray frowned, they couldn't avoid it, "It's only going to tear us up inside, we, I don't know, we went through something, you're more than just a member of my Tribe, my family, Salene, we're," he shrugged, searching for the right word, not wanting to make a big deal out of it, unsure of what to call it exactly. "You're the only person in this world that can understand, and I'm the same for you. We're in this together for the long haul. I'm glad you have Ryan to help you through, and I have Amber, but we can't disregard that we

[_salene_]

Salene listened, she could hardly breathe, it was bringing back all kinds of memories she didn't want to have, to revisit, she couldn't do this, and Bray was making her do it. But he was right, too, because she did need to talk about it, to get it out of her system and get over it, she just really didn't want to do it, not now, not ever. Salene's chin wobbled again and she shifted on her knees against the hard floor, unenthusiastically squeaking the duck at the baby. She glanced at Bray as he asked for her to be there for him as he had offered to be there for her and she nodded, "Yes, I can do that. You're right Bray," Salene shook her head and looked away as the tears rolled down her cheeks silently, she wasn't able to stop them

[_bray_]

Bray looked away as Salene asked about the death of The Guardian, he didn't want to tell her, he'd seen it all, even when he'd been locked in the manic place of his memories of his brother, he still saw everything, he still remembered everything. That sharp pain was back, and Bray just squinted against it, "Yeah, I was there. Ryan wasted The Guardian, that much is true, but he had to Salene, he just had to," Bray shook his head. He didn't want to tell her the whole truth, "We had TGuns that day, you knew that didn't you?" Bray hoped that was good enough for her, that she'd assume it was with TGuns and let that be the end of this discussion. If she couldn't bring herself to ask Ryan about what happened, which was probably for the best, Bray didn't want to tell her the truth either, it was just too much