May N Dax's Room: May: re-entering the Mall

[tribal_may]

May shook her head as she slipped out the door to HQ. Man, Macon had really gotten a number done on him. Whoever was in charge of this little game had some real power behind him. Her thoughts shifted to Jordan. She was supposed to find him, but how could she do that without going back to the mall? Of course, she was going to have to go back.

Comments

[tribal_may]

May made her way up the stairs and down the hallway towards the office complex before she even noticed Dax. It took his casual speaking to bring her attention to him and she turned to look at him. “Hey…” She slowed her walk for him to catch up. In that instant, she became aware of how she must have looked to him, and she felt horrible for not cleaning up earlier. Her hands drifted up to her face, before running it through her hair.

She followed his eyes to Lex and she glared in Lex’s direction. Of course, she should have expected Lex to cause trouble while she was gone, it was his job. Not to forget that he had been slacking on his job, so she was sure he was trying to catch up on all the trouble he could have caused had he not been so involved with himself. She looked back at Dax before answering him. “Umm, I was going to hit the showers, clean up a bit, then change out of those clothes.” Pausing outside their door, she smiled at his question and shook her head. “ Sometimes, I wish.. but then I would have to relive it all again, and today is one of those days I would just like to end, or get better.”

[_dax]

Dax's eyes shifted down to the floor, the space between them, nowhere in particular. She was right, you couldn't undo the past, you couldn't just forget it, that was what had made him who he was now. Every day, no matter how hard the test, no matter how strong the urge was to give up, you just had to keep going on. At least he was lucky to have someone like May in his life, to help him get through each day. What a sap, he thought to himself.

Shifting his gaze back up, Dax pressed his lips together, still unable to form a smile, the corners of his mouth pointing downward, though less severely. "Ah well, I finished my chores for after lunch, you said something about an outfit, but you should get cleaned up, the wedding is soon, the girls are all running around like headless chickens," he shrugged his right shoulder. Licking his lips he caved and moved closer, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm really glad you're back safe," he got out, trying not to be all emotional about it all. "I hope everything went as planned?"

Why did he feel like a stranger? Why did hugging her feel cardboard, what he said felt so, disconnected, why did he feel like he couldn't tell her what he really felt? What he was really thinking? Like, God I'm so glad to hold you in my arms again, I'm so glad you aren't dead, or beat up more, I was really starting to worry about you. Is there anything I can get for you? Do you need me to do anything? Instead he just stood there, hugging her, gently, as if she was his porcelain doll and fragile, liable to break. He just wanted to carry her to the bed, tuck her in, crawl in with her and sleep the rest of the day away. But, he couldn't they had to go to this wedding, and he had to keep a stiff upper lip. No one liked the way this world was, and if he made May feel bad emotionally or mentally about her mission, he knew she'd fail, or get killed, or worse. Dax understood more than anyone about the need to keep yourself stable, your head clear and focused when you were on a mission, and he wouldn't compromise that for her.

"I'll ah, I'll head to the closet, you have a nice shower and I'll wait for you, in our room, once I find clothes for the wedding," he wasn't so sure he could do it on his own, but he was a grown man, he had dressed himself before May, this time was no different. He didn't want to take away shopping together, but that had been before, he didn't know what she'd been through and he wasn't sure she even wanted to do something so monotonous anymore. Might as well make it easy on her, that was the least he could do.