So, Freedom? [closed]

[ccecilia]

It had been approximately forty-five days, six hours and twelve minutes since Cecilia had been taken into custody. Not that she was counting. No. It felt like a lifetime even when she knew that it was nothing compared to those who had been in here since the last War, or hell, even the first one. She couldn't help but think about Gabriel and the

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[daphne_x]

As Daphne Greengrass approached the stand the entire room went silent, nothing more than the echo of her trade mark sound - the tapping of four inch heels against the cold hardwood floor. Though, she was sure the intense pounding of her heart inside of her rib cage was painfully obvious to the crowd, no matter how straight and stoic her expression remained

[mclaggenator]

The wait was tenuous. It had been nearly three hours since Daphne had taken the stand, nearly four since all the witnesses has finished. Cormac stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trousers as he paced in the hallway. They were due to give their verdict any minute. Any minute, at least, was what the guard kept saying beside him as he pestered him. But that has been twenty minutes ago, at least.

He was evading Daphne for the moment.

He'd heard so much about her past when they were in hiding. He'd learned so much about her. But even still, there were secrets he didn't know. Now, as her testimony betrayed her hidden past, he was a bit shell-shocked, a bit shaken by all that Daphne (and Cecilia) had been through in their lives.

But when he caught that look in her eye, the impossible to ignore wreck of nerves she was trying so hard to hide, he couldn't help but sink down on the bench beside her, arm curving around her shoulders.

"You did good-" he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Really good, Daph-"

[daphne_x]

It had taken a lot out of Daphne to get up on the stand and make that confession, to bare so much of her soul and the secrets she had kept hidden away for all of her life.

She felt physically exhausted now and the wait was just wearing her down. She leaned against Cormac, used him as a literal support. Though, she was endlessly grateful he was there for support in every sense of the word.

"Do you think it was enough?" she asked, her voice dry and raspy as she looked up at him.

[mclaggenator]

"I think so-"

It didn't matter if it was or it wasn't. As of this precise moment, Cormac was more concerned with how this was going to make Daphne feel, how this was going to affect her. It was just such a huge step-

"I think they'd be fools to keep her locked up after everything-" he told her, though he kept his voice soft.

Though, he was having a hard time not thinking they were foolish period. It never surprised him to see how much the government could fail them all time and time again.

[daphne_x]

"They were fools to put her there in the first place," Daphne mumbled, her voice low and annoyed as she spared a glance over the crowd.

It a relief to hear so many testimonies, so many people who adored Cecilia as much as she did. Though. she knew that nobody could offer the information she had. Daphne only hoped that they'd value it as much as she did.

"Thank you for coming with me."

[mclaggenator]

"I wouldn't miss it-"

He couldn't think of anywhere else he could be. He'd realized a long time ago that Daphne was his life now. And he needed it that way.

"Everything is going to be fine," he told her. "It can't go any other way-"

He figured the more he said it, the more it was likely to come true, right?

[daphne_x]

Every day Daphne fell in love with Cormac a little bit more, found new ways to trust him with parts of herself that had been locked and hidden away. She had never felt so completely free with another person before.

She needed him. They had become partners and it was comforting and thrilling in many ways.

But right now it was just comforting, in the way that made her way to curl up in bed in one of his shirts and fall asleep to the rhythm of his breathing. Which, was exactly what she planned on doing when this was all over.

"Yes, it'll be fine. It had to be fine-"

[mclaggenator]

"It will be-"

He took in the sight of everyone around them. People he hardly knew, or even liked half of the time. But they were all here for the same reason and in that, he felt a little solace.

"Hey-" he said, turning to face her more fully. "You were incredible up there-"

[daphne_x]

Daphne pulled away, but only so that she could shift and look at Cormac a little bit better. There was a heaviness to her dark brown eyes that she usually kept hidden.

"I've only ever told you the story before-" she admitting, though she had a feeling that he knew that already. She wasn't exactly forthcoming with her past.

"I know I sounded weak-"

[mclaggenator]

He shook his head, an anger clouding his own eyes as he grabbed for her hands.

"Don't say that-" he said, voice quiet. "That's the last word I would ever use to describe you, Daph-"

It would never enter his vocabulary.

"The strength you showed up there- hell, Daph, no one else here could have done that-"

[daphne_x]

She had grown up believing that feelings made her weak and she had to remain quiet. There was an iciness that had worked its way into her soul from an early age, something that she believed would save her one day.

But it wasn't. It was Cecilia and Cormac, the two people she trusted most on this Earth.

"I couldn't have done it with out you here," she told him, lacing their fingers together. "You're everything to me Cormac. You've never doubted me."

[mclaggenator]

He squeezed her hand, pressing another kiss to her forehead. He wanted nothing more than to take her away from here and tuck her into his bed and hold her tight- maybe they could wait for the verdict there.

But he knew they had to stay. They had to stay and wait and cross their fingers and hope to Merlin that this was all going to come out alright.

"Daph- you um- you think maybe after this is all over- after Cecilia is settled-" talking in the positive would help, right? He cleared his throat. "Maybe you ought to come and stay with me- um, permanently."

[daphne_x]

His words left her momentarily speechless, not that she had been particularly chatty in the first place. For a moment she completely forgot where they were and why they were here.

All she could think about was Cormac and what his suggestion actually implied.

Her heart fluttered.

"You want me to move in?" she asked, as if there was any doubt in the way he phrased it himself.

It was a big step, though it wasn't as if they hadn't been doing that unofficially since they had made things official between the two of them.

And it wasn't any more serious than some of their more recent activities.

"Yes. Okay-" Daphne told him, the smallest hint of a smile pulling at her lips. "Yes. I want to move in with you."

[mclaggenator]

"Yeah?"

He felt shocked for a brief moment, as if her answer completely shook him (even if he had been playing out the conversation in his head for days now, playing all scenarios). But he couldn't help but smile brightly, no matter the circumstances, knowing that she wanted to be with him in the same way he wanted to be with her.

"Good-" he said, laughing softly. "Great. Yeah- we should- you know, do that immediately."

[daphne_x]

It felt strange going back to their daily lives, not spending every moment with each other hidden away in that rural cabin. They said they'd act as normally as possible, though it didn't feel normal not to be with him. It wasn't right any more to wake up alone, immediately reaching out to the empty side of the bed.

"I'll pack as soon as Cecilia's released," she promised him, feeling somehow more confident now that her best friend would be free by the end of the day.

"I don't want to be away from you anymore. Not after everything-"

[mclaggenator]

"Ditto-"

And while he might say that word a lot with her, whenever she said 'I love you' or anything of the sort, he never didn't mean it. It was just that somethings, it was impossible for him to find the right words to convey just how he felt about Daphne.