There’s many who’ll tell you they’ll give you their love, but when they say "give" they mean "take."
Who: hogsphonelines, momnapplepie
What: A conversation after Elicia falls asleep
When: BACKDATED to the night of Maes' return, November 10th
Where: Their living room
Summary: Sometimes, love isn't simple.
Rating: PG
And some of them won’t even try,
But I won’t leave you high and dry.'>
The entire day had been - was there a word for the return of your lost love that didn't linger on the tongue like some kind of dessert? Her daughter was thrilled, and had accepted her father's return with childlike faith, enthusiasm, and forgiveness. Gracia was no longer a child, and getting used to Maes had always been like getting used to a constant sunbeam, an unending explosion... she'd grown accustomed to his absence once again, to the pain of knowing he was gone. The layers that she'd constructed around her heart in order to survive were hard to tear down, but his presence was insistent. She'd faded to the background for most of the day, more than content to allow Elicia the time with her father, to be there for both of them but keep herself the slightest bit apart so that she could see if she could get her feet under her again.
And now that Elicia had settled down between them once again, her little hands clutching onto her father's pajama shirt, Gracia stared sleeplessly up at the ceiling. The familiar weight on the other side of the bed was something that she had missed these past months. Elicia had just started to go back to her own bed a few weeks before he'd been... returned, and soon after that Gracia had wanted her daughter with her as much as Elicia couldn't stand to go to sleep alone. She'd have to be careful, it wasn't healthy to continue this indulgence, but... for now... she didn't want Elicia to be robbed of any more time with her father.
...and she didn't mind the small living barrier between them, either. It had been hard enough to adjust to him being alive again after all that time without him. She'd changed. And he... he hadn't changed at all. He'd been patient, though, and just as she was getting ready to trust him enough to let him all the way into that place in her heart which no one else could ever occupy... he'd gone. Again.
And now he was back, and she could hear him breathing. Breathing. Amazing, this gift of life so casually bestowed by this place, and equally casually rescinded. She listens to them, the quiet breaths of her most precious ones until the pressure, the weight of it all grows too much and she's afraid that if she lays there one moment longer she will crack under it. She doesn't want to ruin this day with tears. Elicia should sleep, secure and happy. Maes should...
Gracia squeezes her eyes shut tightly for a moment and then slides from the bed as carefully and quietly as she can. She only pauses long enough to pick up her robe to wrap it around her modest nightgown. She softly opens the door and leaves them behind, not daring to look back.
What: A conversation after Elicia falls asleep
When: BACKDATED to the night of Maes' return, November 10th
Where: Their living room
Summary: Sometimes, love isn't simple.
Rating: PG
And some of them won’t even try,
But I won’t leave you high and dry.'>
The entire day had been - was there a word for the return of your lost love that didn't linger on the tongue like some kind of dessert? Her daughter was thrilled, and had accepted her father's return with childlike faith, enthusiasm, and forgiveness. Gracia was no longer a child, and getting used to Maes had always been like getting used to a constant sunbeam, an unending explosion... she'd grown accustomed to his absence once again, to the pain of knowing he was gone. The layers that she'd constructed around her heart in order to survive were hard to tear down, but his presence was insistent. She'd faded to the background for most of the day, more than content to allow Elicia the time with her father, to be there for both of them but keep herself the slightest bit apart so that she could see if she could get her feet under her again.
And now that Elicia had settled down between them once again, her little hands clutching onto her father's pajama shirt, Gracia stared sleeplessly up at the ceiling. The familiar weight on the other side of the bed was something that she had missed these past months. Elicia had just started to go back to her own bed a few weeks before he'd been... returned, and soon after that Gracia had wanted her daughter with her as much as Elicia couldn't stand to go to sleep alone. She'd have to be careful, it wasn't healthy to continue this indulgence, but... for now... she didn't want Elicia to be robbed of any more time with her father.
...and she didn't mind the small living barrier between them, either. It had been hard enough to adjust to him being alive again after all that time without him. She'd changed. And he... he hadn't changed at all. He'd been patient, though, and just as she was getting ready to trust him enough to let him all the way into that place in her heart which no one else could ever occupy... he'd gone. Again.
And now he was back, and she could hear him breathing. Breathing. Amazing, this gift of life so casually bestowed by this place, and equally casually rescinded. She listens to them, the quiet breaths of her most precious ones until the pressure, the weight of it all grows too much and she's afraid that if she lays there one moment longer she will crack under it. She doesn't want to ruin this day with tears. Elicia should sleep, secure and happy. Maes should...
Gracia squeezes her eyes shut tightly for a moment and then slides from the bed as carefully and quietly as she can. She only pauses long enough to pick up her robe to wrap it around her modest nightgown. She softly opens the door and leaves them behind, not daring to look back.