Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sherry had been doing a good job of putting things out of her mind, as long as she was busy. Some of it was easy enough to brush off anyway, but her dreams had been less than pleasant and losing Nevada had hurt. It hadn't even been failing the mission at saving her, though that had been a jarring experience. It was the overall fact that she was gone.

The pen in her hand was dropped unceremoniously on the table, and Sherry felt her eyes water. She blinked and wiped at her eyes, willing the sadness away. It was different when it was someone you knew, someone who left an empty space behind when they left.

She closed the notebook. Every time she sat down to write about mission to find the mask, she... found it difficult. It was getting done, one piece at a time, but it was hard. She knew how it ended, and she didn't like the ending.

Standing, Sherry reached for her phone.



She didn't want to sit in her room anymore today.

Sherry was slipping her boots on before she got a reply. Whether Jake was available or not didn't matter, she was heading out. For a walk, for a snack, to find someone to chat with or spar. Even with all of those possibilities, she let out a great big sigh of relief when Jake's text indicated that her first choice of something to do -hanging out with him- was an option.

The debate over whether or not to take her coat went on for far too long. She was basically only going across the hall. But if they decided to head out she'd want it. In the end, she opted for fully dressed, coat and scarf taking only a few moments to put on. Ready for anything, she stepped into the hall, only to step BACK into her room a moment later. She'd forgotten her phone.

Thus, it was several minutes before she actually opened Jake's door.

"Hell- Nap time?" She might have been a little caught of guard at the fact that he looked like he was napping. But a small smile grew as she slipped in, trying to be quiet about closing his door behind her.

"And what," she said, dropping her voice to a whisper as she moved toward the bed, "have I said about sleeping without me?"

Jake, whether he was really awake or not, was about to find himself with a snuggle buddy. Sherry wanted a hug.

Another smile, quiet and warm, was on her face while Sherry snuggled up next to Jake. "Were you, now? Mm." It was nice, how a hug could make the world a little better. As long as she didn't think about about all the other things that were outside of that room, it could stay that way. Just her and Jake and and peace and quiet. (And Armagnac, of course. The slight grump in her mind reminded her of that. It was oddly comforting.)

After a moment of cuddle time Sherry sat up, more or less, and started tugging her coat off. "Then I guess I don't need this."

She let the coat fall to the floor, a little bit happy he seemed more than content to stay inside. She would rather hugs and quiet conversation than spars at the moment.

"I've missed you," she agreed, leaning into him. No, it hadn't been long at all. Things had just been... well there had been a lot. Which was normal, it was just usually easier to emotionally sidestep it all.

"I..." Sherry sighed. "I did." She'd gotten the text, stared at it, hated it, and tried to forget it. She'd known it would come. She'd known the moment she woke up in the hospital to find a broken mask. She'd still tried to deny it would happen, just like she had since Nevada had told them it would happen with her own voice.

Most times things were easy to sidestep, emotionally. Not this time.

"I miss her." Sherry was a crier, and she didn't bother to hide the tears.

It was okay. Jake understood. Nevada had been his friend, too. So it was okay that she cried with him. Or by herself. She really didn't know if Jake was crying. Sherry was a little busy. But she was grateful. Grateful for his comfort, for the fact that he understood.

And she was listening. "No," she shook her head. "I mean, maybe. Sure," she sniffed, "no more suffering as a hunter...but... It's not that bad, cause we're alive. We have each other, we have friends." Sherry shifted a little, so she could cling a little better. "I can't go talk to her about you. I can't to find her and... there's a hole where she should be. It hurts cause it's empty.. I miss her, Jake." Empty, hurt, angry. Because Nevada should be there, just a text away, but she wasn't.

It was Sherry's turn to laugh. That was selfish of her, wasn't it? "Maybe," she repeated. No more suffering, restful sleep, if that was what happened. "Maybe you're right." And Nevada would be happy things had been going well between Sherry and Jake. Probably. But Sherry wouldn't be able to talk about it with her anymore.

"I just... it hurts. And I can't fix it."

"I know," she whispered. There was nothing anyone could do about it. It was done, and it wasn't the type of thing that could undone.

That didn't mean she had to like it. She hated it.

It didn't matter how much she'd cry, it wasn't going to change anything. There would always be a hole there, a piece of her that wanted to see Nevada again. She knew that's how it was when people died. But this time... The dearest people in her life meant so much more now, and losing them just hurt all that more.

Jake helped. He did, just being there. Knowing he missed her, too, helped. "I'm sorry," Sherry said.

That was all she said for a good long while. She didn't cry the whole time, she'd already cried a fair bit. But she sat there, sometimes thinking sometimes not, until well past what was certainly a polite amount of time to lean on someone.

Sherry shifted, finding one of Jake's hands and taking it in her own. "I'm sleeping here tonight."

Jake's patience was much appreciated, and even if it didn't seem that way, Sherry was glad he'd brought it, her, up. It could be so easy to spend her time trying to deny it, or forget it, but at the same time that hurt a lot more than having someone to cry with about it. And she was mourning. She'd continue to mourn. She'd miss Nevada's smile forever, and she prayed the memory of it never faded.

Missing people was hard- it hurt. With life, and friends, being so precious now... Sherry sighed. The current wave of grief was begging to ebb, and Sherry could sense Jake's relief at the change in subject. So she decided to stay on that path, for now. They'd speak of their friend again, and eventually there would me more smiles than tears.

For now, she would just take comfort in the fact that she had people close to her. And that she had Jake close to her.

"Good," she said, raising his hand so she could kiss the back of it. Then she was quiet, contemplating her next question.

"Jake, would you consider, and you don't have to answer now, I really want you to think about it and we should discuss it more, but- What would you think about moving in together? Or at least, kinda moving in together?" She was running her fingers over his hand, very nervous about all of this. "I mean, I've missed you the past few days. I don't want to do that- miss you if I don't have to."

She shifted so she could look at him, even though she was worried about what she might see in his eyes. It always hurt to be pushed away. "At the very least, I'd like to sleep in the same bed. I'd like to end my days by coming home and sleeping with you."