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Post by Delilah A. Black on Aug 26, 2013 19:43:39 GMT -8
The smile dropped into a newly concerned look as she sat down again beside him. Now he seemed more tired than before, but in a different way. Mentally exhausted. Her own head throbbed and the last of the ache she had been surged with began to leave her body.
She sighed and scootched closer to him and let her head loll onto his shoulder. Her hand would slide across her down his arm and to his hand. She'd never seen him uncertain before. It was a day full of firsts. Not all the good kind either.
"...If you want to, I won't stop you," she turned her body more towards him, lifting her other hand to his cheek to guide his face towards hers. "But I don't want this to be goodbye. Sitting here in the dark, wishing and hoping and being all emo and shit..." she bit down hard on her lower lip and averted her gaze for a moment before she kissed him again. Then she would stand up, still holding his hand, smiling a little.
"C'mon. Let's go for a walk."
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Post by Vespyr on Aug 26, 2013 22:08:50 GMT -8
"Kay," came the somewhat terse agreement as Cain stood up with her. He gave her hand a light squeeze but kept his mellowed gaze downward until they moved toward the door, following with an unreadable expression as they stepped out of the privacy of her quarters. If the intruding man still lingered outside of her room, Cain would toss him a cold glance and nothing more. His hand remained fast to Delilah's without any intent of letting go this time. The man with the horns would walk with her wherever she decided to go tonight, to be seen by anyone because it didn't matter; by daybreak none of them would ever see him again.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Aug 26, 2013 22:37:22 GMT -8
She strode with him calmly down the hallway, and, for once, they weren't stared at. The scuffle Nigel had mentioned earlier was being moved across the hall, with men literally carrying the kicking and shouting couple, both of whom were undoubtedly Cain (a slender but toned man with a faded green fauxhawk and too many piercings) and Heather (a beautiful blonde screeching obscenities at the top of her voice). All attention was on them.
Only a handful of people noticed the First and the horned guest as they left the base and walked out into the night air. Delilah would lead him away from the compound and toward the docks, where the warehouses were stationed.
Most of these were stashed with a variety of non-parishable supplies and lifeboats, should the 'Nest be attacked again. There were two, however, the smaller ones, that were curiously empty. It was to one of these that she led him, pushing the creaky door and walking inside.
The warehouse was a curious one. It was built something like a music room, with thick wood lining the walls and a thicker layer of insulation underneath that. Cheap soundproofing. And it was no wonder, as a baby grand piano sat in the centre of the wooden floor.
She finally let go of his hand and walked towards it, able to see even in the near absolute darkness of the room. The only light was cast from the moon and in through the window. She sat down at the bench, lifting the board that covered the keys.
"Did I tell you I used to play?" she thought not, but couldn't remember if she had. "Not many people know. Some of the people I went to school with and consider family now probably don't, at least not from me."
Two people had stumbled upon her playing music once. Kyrie was the only one she could think of that she told. Not even Stu had known.
She shifted slightly to leave a little room on the bench for him to sit, should he want to. Lacing her fingers together and pushing outward, she popped her knuckles. Looking back to where he was with a slight smile halved by the moonlight.
"For you, then."
And she began to play play.
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Post by Vespyr on Aug 27, 2013 0:53:01 GMT -8
Cain sat beside her on the bench and watched--and listened--until all he could think about were all his dreams of her, her, and that he would have to put those dreams on hold for the rest of his life. She would be gone, like mom, like Gunner. The hardest part was knowing he had chosen this. His hands lay in his lap and a patient, but glazed look wore on his face while Delilah's fingers nimbly played over the heart that, until recently, he had been content to ignore. Perhaps it had never even been there at all, but it was now.
Something wet landed on the piano keys even before she had finished playing. Cain's only movement was his eyes as he stared at her hands, then momentarily back at the keys with traces of confusion visible in the glistening red depths of his eyes.
"I played the flute, in junior high... fuckin' sucked at it," he almost joked, but there was something lacking in his voice that made it all sound unintentionally tragic rather than funny. Cain seemed to realize this, and frowned, as another tear let loose from the corner of his eye. He swiped at it with the back of his hand as if he didn't know why it was there.
"Who knows, maybe I could visit... Nah, I shouldn't say that, that's what I said when-- I mean I don't want to promise anything or get your hopes up, you know, I can't.. It's just I wish I coulda met you before all this happened, you know? It's not fair--"
Stupid, fucking...
Cain stopped himself there and rose to his feet, still smearing his fingers across his eyes as they stung and burned. He took a step away from the piano with his back turned and took a wavering breath.
"Ha, it just makes me wanna die," he laughed, or sobbed, or a bit of both. "I wish I could give you something, but I got nothin'. I just... I gotta go, I have to-- I have to go."
Cain tipped his head back with his eyes shut as undeniable trails of tears dragged like scars down his gaunt cheekbones. He took a deep breath, feeling stupid, feeling hurt, feeling.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Aug 27, 2013 16:52:23 GMT -8
The last notes of the song died away, leaving Delilah to fold her hands gently in her lap, ignoring the tears as they left tracks similar to Cain's down her cheeks. This was exactly why she rarely --if ever-- played an instrument for people. The whole reason she had been signed up for piano was to gain better control of herself by means of a more constructive outlet than, say, beating people up. To help her work through a difficult or persistent feeling, she poured every ounce of her emotion into the song. And it wasn't just her emotions she was playing right now either; her empathy gave her a good understanding of how Cain was feeling as well. She was playing as much her emotion as she was his.
Delilah released a shaky breath, turning her head to look at Cain as he spoke. Watched his despair and self-loathing twist his features. She got up after him as he strode away with his back to the piano. Calmly, she would wrap her arms around him from behind. She would press her cheek between the shoulder blades of the taller man. She had already worked through this feeling. It still saddened her...but she would be alright now. Her music had grieved.
"It doesn't have to be 'fair' to be what it is," she turned her nose into his hoodie, inhaling deeply to take in the smell of him. Painfully aware that this was likely the last time. "Don't worry about me...I don't need anything. I'm...kind of an old hand at this sorta thing. Never wound up like this before, though." she added with a slightly darker tone, thinking of Stu.
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Post by Vespyr on Aug 27, 2013 17:47:01 GMT -8
"Right.. alright," Cain breathed. One of his hands reached up to cover hers that clasped around his waist. Then, he gave her hand a squeeze and pulled it away from him. He turned around and stooped to kiss her as if it were any other time and not the last; if he thought about it that way he would never stop.
"Bye, Del."
Grave-faced and determined, Cain took a step back. And another... then turned and walked briskly away with his hands in his pockets.
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Post by Delilah A. Black on Aug 27, 2013 18:48:57 GMT -8
This was familiar. It was like she was grasping for every second as time slipped away, only making the clock move faster. She wanted to hold on, because every moment she was with him she was learning more of what kind of man he would become...
He kissed her, brief, painful, not unlike ripping off a band-aid. She found herself scrabbling to find something else before he left. Sense, hard logic, and respect held her back.
"Bye, Del."
He took two steps back before he turned, walking towards the door of the warehouse with grim purpose.
"Bye, Cain."
The door opened with a shrill creak, and then it shut behind him. She let out another trembling breath, finally taking the time to swipe at her eyes with the back of her arm.
"Take care of yourself."
After several minutes of staring after him, Delilah gave her head a shake and walked back to the piano, sitting down at the bench. She would remain there until dawn, until she was needed again, doing nothing but staring vacantly at the ivory keys with painfully dry eyes.
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