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 Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 6:26 pm
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Talia had changed her mind about just telling Zac that she was an Eternal Senshi again, and was waiting for him to come home from work one night, eagerly perching on the edge of the couch so that she could ambush him the moment he got inside, and when he did, she pounced, leaping at him and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“Hey stranger. How about you and me go patrolling tonight, or…better yet, how about you and me go up to my homeworld for a little bit? I baked a really nice batch of cookies and we could just relax up there for a while. Bring a blanket and chill?”
The blanket and cookies and a nice bottle of wine was packed already in a small backpack that waited on the couch and she grinned at Zac, hoping that he would agree, but honestly…preparing for disappointment.
“I have some crackers and cheese and other things packed too, since I know you haven’t eaten dinner and might be hungry.”
Ah…she was nervous. But…regardless of his answer, she would tell him the good news, even if it didn’t happen how she wanted it to and it just happened in bed that night.
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 7:18 pm
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Zac raised a brow, mostly because he was pretty sure she’d been waiting by the door, not unlike Maxim. Who pranced happily around the living room, eager to participate in this reunion. He only jumped in and danced around the two of them briefly before he ran back to the bone he’d been working on.
“I am hungry, yeah,” he said, shrugging off his bag and dropping it off on the couch. “Haven’t eaten since a bit before noon. Crackers work.” It wasn’t a gourmet dinner, but it’s not like anything was on the stove, and if he was still hungry, they could always order pizza or something.
He rolled his shoulders, trying to ignore the burning down his back and arms. He’d had a long day and worked hard, but she seemed so excited.
The kiss to his cheek had been enthusiastic enough that he suspected she had good news. Or maybe she was going to ask for a favor. It didn’t look like she was hiding any more foreign Senshi anywhere obvious, so he assumed she had something to put her in such a good mood.
“We can head up there. Now, if you want.” He wouldn’t even worry about changing clothes or anything, not if she was already prepared to head out. “Sounds like you worked hard to do something special for tonight. What’s the occasion?”
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 7:30 pm
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For the most part, Zac had done an excellent job of hiding most of his feelings. Not about Talia, Talia was fine. They’d gotten off on the wrong foot, but that’s because she was still enchanted by her brother, Faustite.
He’d settled into this new life easily enough. He’d shared his room with her when she was a stranger to him, and he to her. He’d made sure she had everything she needed. Let Fang live here even though he didn’t know him. Gave his room away and moved to the basement with her.
He thought he was doing a good job with all of that. Although, he couldn’t imagine saying no to her. Not after what she’d been through.
She wasn’t Cambria anymore, he knew that. For a while, he was pretty sure she wanted next to nothing to do with him. And, he’d tried to give her space without being out of arm’s reach. He’d had a lot going on and a lot to take care of.
So, he’d made sure everyone else was taken care of.
He hadn’t really taken care of himself.
He hadn’t really grieved losing Cambria. Who was he supposed to talk to? Her? Evan? His brother? He didn’t have friends. He didn’t have anyone outside of this house. He put all of his energy towards the people here, he didn’t need to go out of his way to talk to anyone else.
“It sounds complicated. I’m worried you might have had all this time to yourself to overthink things. I dislike a lot of people, but you’re not one of them. If I seem like I’m in a mood now, it’s just that work sucks. I had a long day, it sucks the life out of you. I just need a little time to unwind, but we can do that on Lysithea. I'm happy for you, really. Getting a promotion is something worth celebrating. And I like Lysithea, it’s pretty up there. Much nicer than Mont Saint Michel.”
She didn’t have ghosts up there. She didn’t have monsters.
“I know you’re not her. If that’s what you’re worried about.”
He knew she wasn’t Cambria. Cambria was dead. So far as he knew, Talia hadn’t had any memories. No traces of her old life. She was building a new one. And, he understood. He didn’t blame her.
He’d known she wasn’t going to come back into his life the same. Or, even similar. He’d hoped, sure. But he knew the reality of it.
She was Talia. Sometimes, she looked like Cambria.
But, he knew better.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 7:52 pm
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Talia watched him for a long moment and then nodded, giving a smile that wasn’t quite believing but, she allowed the subject to end, at least for now.
“I’ll be outside, if you want to change into something more comfortable, please do, there’s no rush! And if you want to grab something more substantial, that’s fine too, we can still eat the snacks no problem.”
Leaning up, she kissed his cheek again and flashed another smile, though her eyes were sad and hurried outside to wait for him.
Maybe whatever ghosts did reside on Lysithea could be overcome tonight. It was a nice thought, and one that she hoped could be followed through.
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