Well, Shelby hadn't pegged herself for the type of person who would ever end up in this position... and yet here she was. Staring down at the phone in her lap, hands clenched in the sheets of bed on either side of her legs. Saph's number glared up at her, rubbing the fact that she hadn't spoken to him in a little more than two months since she ended things with him... Her thoughts shifted back to the last argument she had had with him, the picture evidence of his little affair with that other woman. His poor excuse for not remembering it, and the fact that he had more or less hid the majority of his interactions with that woman from her. 

She'd been cheated on before and had pretty much thickened her skin to it, or.. at least she thought she had. Saph had been different though. He'd been with her through literally the lowest point in her life. She had thought that he was the genuine deal, too. He even had his own relationship pains he had been healing from before she met him. 

... She really thought he may have been just the right match for her, and then he'd gone and  @#$%ed it all up and pushed her away.

Shelby had been content with ending things and never speaking to him again, but... well... she didn't really have a choice in the matter anymore. Steeling her nerves, she picked up her phone and dialed his number, waiting anxiously while it rang as she gnawed on her bottom lip. 

It rang once...

Twice...

... On the third ring, she chickened out and decided to text him instead. 

... Hey, we need to talk. If you can, meet me at the coffee place on 3rd. I'll be there until 4pm.

Having sent the message along, she checked the time, groaned, and forced herself up in order to get ready to leave.

-----

A half an hour later found Shelby sitting and waiting, bundled up against a chill in the air as clouds threatened to rain outside. A steaming cup of something far too hot and too sweet was clutched between her hands. She went over what she wanted to say for the billionth time in her head, repeating the same pre-prepared speech over and over again like a well-versed play... Saph would come in (hopefully), sit, probably stare at her awkwardly with some lame greeting, and she'd drive straight to the point. No need for idle chatter at this point.
 
Well, unless he was mad at her. Or frustrated. Would her speech still work? .., Probably. She'd just have to ignore him.  

The bell over the cafe' door chimed and she jumped in her seat, face whipping in the direction of the door so fast it made her dizzy. She watched a young woman shuffle in and off toward the counter and sighed. 

Shelby was just a big bundle of nerves and anxiety trying to play tough, and she knew it. It didn't help that she felt like hurling, either.

Saphirus sat staring down at his phone for a very different reason. He'd just woken up. Sleep filled eyes caught an image at their corners, and he looked up at it. A mirror. Shelby had brought the damned thing in, said the lack of one was why he always looked so scraggly. The damned thing wasn't helping. It just made it so he had to look at himself.

It wasn't pretty. Thick facial hair dominated his face, unkempt, just like his hair... Oily, unshowered for how many days? His eyes were tired not just from lingering sleep, but from emotional wear and tear, behind them lay a kind of sad blankness. It was a blankness that serves as a safe alternative to despairing loudly, or turning to alcohol like he used to. He hated this @#$^ing mirror. He hated himself like this. He let his eyes rest on his phone once more. He needed to do it. He needed something. The hero hadn't worked in weeks. It was a 'vacation', as far as paperwork was concerned. It had started as just a week long thing, but had stretched into months. Take some time to get over Shelby leaving. Elke running off. Having no one.

"Just me and my mistakes..."

Had he said that out loud?

He pressed the call button, shakily held the slightly beat up Mrokia to his ear. It rang twice, and then went straight to voicemail. She'd rejected the call. Yeah... Yeah, that made sense.

"Moose... I know it's been months... I just- I wanna say I'm sorry. I was wrong... I... I made a mistake. That place... It got to me, and it ain't a good excuse. You shoulda meant more than how I was feeling..." He sighed. "Look, I just want to know that you're safe... That... That you know that I'm here, and that I'm so... I'm sorry, Elke. I love you, I know I don't really say it, but you're my daughter sure as blood. I get it if you don't want to give me another ch-"-Message time exceeded, press 9 to record a new message, or hang up to- He cursed under his breath once, again louder, and in a moment of frustration sent a sent the brick of a phone flying across the room into that god damned piece of glass.

It cracked, leaving him staring at a shattered image of his haggard self. Deep breaths. He calmed, and paused when he heard his phone, still working, chime aloud.

He scrambled for it. She was texting him back?! He lifted the phone, flipped it open, and eyed the message, staring at it for a long moment before sitting down on his bed.

Shelby. He looked over to a small box in the corner of his disheveled room. She'd left some things behind. She was probably going to ask for them back. The last reminders of the last good thing he'd lost in his life.

Well, that and a seriously @#$^ed up mirror.

The haggard X-man on hiatus scrounged for some less dirty clothes on the floor, and got ready to go.

---

It was 3:59. He walked into the coffee shop, box under arm, looking about a bit vacantly A flash of pink hair made his heart jump a bit, but he settled it down like an excited puppy that didn't understand it's owner was taking it to the pound.

Better get this over with. He walked up quickly and set the box down, trying not to make eye contact.

"Eh... Everything's there. Hair brush. Paints... Egg pet thingy" The tamagatchi was dead, but the rest of the stuff was in good condition. Right where he'd left it, hoping she would come right back. "I-eh.. I gotta get to work, so if that's everything I should..." He looked at her a moment, and placed a strong wall to block his eyes from welling up just a bit. He was fairly successful.

"Go, I guess."

By the time 4pm was nearing she'd all but given up hope. Honestly, she didn't expect him to come. Maybe she'd type up and email or something and just communicate via computer. Yeah... yeah, it was probably easier that way to break the ice.

Her cup of coffee still sat in her hands, cold and probably well past safe to drink. She'd been sitting for a few hours now with no sign of the X-man. The door chimed again behind her, but she'd ceased turning about 45 minutes ago. A figure blocked some of her light, and thinking that it was an employee stopping by to kindly ask her to leave or buy something else, she turned.

Instead, there was Saph. Her stomach dropped and her heart jumped up into her throat.

#%$&... he looked awful. All scruffy and dour. He didn't bother to look her in the eyes.

"Eh... Everything's there. Hairbrush. Paints... Egg pet thingy... I-eh... I gotta get to work, so if that's everything I should... Go, I guess."

Oh... well, that was awkward. He'd brought a box of her stuff. Did he think that was why she had called? Silently cursing for being so damn vague in her text, she stood quickly to stop him from leaving. In her haste, her chair shrieked across the stone floor, and then promptly fell over behind her. A few dozen eyes turned their way, and she fought the strong urge to curse loudly.

"Wait!... I need to talk to you it's important. I didn't text you about my stuff." Turning, she righted her chair and sat, motioning for him to take the seat across from her, then resumed fiddling with her cold coffee. "I'll keep it brief if you are in a hurry, but... well... it involves the both of us so you have a right to know."

Her speech, so determinedly prepped beforehand, flew right out of her head when she settled down and looked at him. Really looked at him. He was a mess. Had that been what she looked like when he had first met her? Groaning inwardly, she battled away the raging hormones screaming at her to forgive and forget and tried to focus on why she'd asked him to meet her.

With a quick glance around to make sure that everyone had gone back to their own business first, she decided to just rip the band-aid off and get it over with.

"... I'm pregnant, Saph."

He was on his way out. He already knew what he wanted to do. Go get some ice cream. Go home and eat that Ice cream. Find Sam and see if maybe they could both fall off the wagon together at some sh#$%y dive bar, and go back to blank mode for the foreseeable future. This crap was just way too much for him to handle.

He'd never done nothing before. This was a first. It was easy, and hard to break out of. He could see how people did this all the time. It was like an addiction of it's own. Not wanting to get out of bed once you'd stopped getting out of bed became instinct so fast it was scary. Anyway, back to bed.

He froze as he felt the force of a chair slamming to the ground, and blinked a bewildered look as she kept talking to him. She... Wanted to talk to him? He'd been so lost in his own thoughts that he had trouble deciphering what exactly was going on. Would she give him a chance to tell her? Megan had told him that he'd just passed out that night. Nothing had happened. He felt like a bastard for being in a place where something could have happened, but nothing did. He tried to formulate the words as she righted her chair and started to talk to him.

He couldn't sit. His legs felt kinda shaky. Tough as he was, he'd been dreading this moment. He wasn't good at talking about these kinda things. Once he had something half-way decent to say he opened his mouth, but her words came out first.

"... I'm pregnant, Saph."

"I- what."

His knee buckled just a little bit, prompting him to catch himself on the chair in front of him, and shakily take a seat.

"You're... eh... Uh... You're." His mouth was the @#$^in Sahara desert mid summer. His eyes rocketed about as calculations were made in his head. "How... How far?" He looked at her in ernest now. She was. She wasn't exactly wearing anything that showed anything off. He didn't want to jump to conclusions... What else could it be? She wasn't the type to move on fast enough for anyone else... Right?

"Am... I am... Is it." Sentences were hard. What did all of this mean?

Should... she be concerned? She wasn't about to try and catch him if he fell. Nope. He had a good solid 50 pounds on her at least, if not more. Instead, she just watched him with trepidation written all over her face. "I think I'm about three months along or so." She started, shifting her eyes elsewhere as he finally sat down. Was there an easier way of discussing the whole 'oh, hey, you're gonna be a dad!' thing?

"Am... I am... Is it."

Okay, even if he was dazed that was no excuse for asking such a thing. She zeroed a biting deadpan expression on him and frowned. "Oh yes, because I'm totally the type of girl who goes out and gets herself knocked up a week before breaking up with her boyfriend." Her expression was venomous for a moment, before relaxing slightly. "... Sorry. Hormones and stupid questions don't get along." Inhaling slowly, she looked away again. "Yes, it's you. Yes, you are... if you want."

".. I found out for certain a week ago... give or take a day... didn't know how to bring it up, but... well, it's kinda your decision too what we should do here on out."

He was the father, and therefore his opinion counted as to what they would do next. If they weren't going to keep it or if they were. If they did, would it be together or apart? SHe needed his help figuring all this @#$% out.

"You are the father, and that means I need to know what you want to do. You've got the same rights I do." She shifted awkwardly in her seat, "I... um.. I also want to apologize for storming off like I did. It was immature. I let my temper get in the way of acting like an adult." Bitterness bloomed in her heart and she frowned again.

"... I don't have the best reputation for dealing with cheating well."

THREE MONTHS?! When had... Oh... That one time. Uh... Had they remembered to... Nope.

"Oh @#%^... The time after the water park. Well... Partly during the water park. With the floaties." And just like that, there was some light in his eyes. Just like that it was like for a split second the were back to old times. He folded back for a second when she replied harshly. Okay, he deserved that. He smiled a bit, looking at her with an adoring sort of longing for a moment. "Nah, I knew better then to ask... I'm just... I mean, Wow.

She went on. At first he didn't know what she was talking about when she hinted about making decisions. His expression darkened a little bit. Oh. She... Didn't want to keep it? No, that didn't seem to be the case, she just didn't know. He had a pretty good idea.

"Keep it. Can we? I mean... I want to do this." He nodded firmly. She started to apologize to him, and he kept nodding through it. "I mean, it ain't obvious or nuthin, but I didn't exactly take it very well..." He scratched his scraggly beard for a second. Yup. Not so well at all. "I, eh... I dunno if it counts for anything, but... Nothing happened. I felt terrible for letting myself get into a place where I wasn't sure, you know? But yeah... I wasn't in a great place, Shelby. I haven't done... Anything in over two months. Not a damn thing. Barely got outa bed." His eyes went blank for a second.

"Eh... Can let it hit me any longer... @#$^, I'm gonna be a dad."

Woah. That sounded strange to him.

"I'm gonna be a dad..." He had to say it again. It felt good.

He laughed; it was an instinctual thing. "I'm gonna be a dad!"

He paused for a moment and looked over to her, another thought coming to him. "Uh... So... What now? What about... Y'know. Us?"

Two older women previously sitting at the table next to them quickly left with may a huff and a few flustered glares. Shelby palmed her face in embarrassment. "... Yeah... it was probably then, and now half the town knows too." Muttering about him being a loud mouth under her breath, she let the conversation move on.

"Keep it. Can we? I mean... I want to do this."

Well, there was her answer. Saph wanted to keep the baby, and she wasn't exactly opposed to keeping it... so that was that. She visibly relaxed a little, part of her worry put to rest. "If you are on board, then sure." Now they just needed to hammer out details on how exactly everything would work out.

"I, eh... I dunno if it counts for anything, but... Nothing happened. I felt terrible for letting myself get into a place where I wasn't sure, you know? But yeah... I wasn't in a great place, Shelby. I haven't done... Anything in over two months. Not a damn thing. Barely got outa bed."

Really she didn't believe him for a second. She'd head similar stories to that in the past and believe them, it only made everything hurt more in the end. But... she didn't know if she could necessarily be mad at him for it either. It hurt, she was still bitter, but she'd forgiven him a while ago.

"Look, you don't have to explain yourself to me. Whatever happened happened, it's in the past now." She eyed him quietly for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I told you once that if things got rocky I wouldn't just abandon ship.... that I'd fight for us. I'm sorry that ended up being a lie. It... just hurts, ya know? When you aren't enough for someone, but they're enough for you." She waved a hand absently, not letting her feelings creep into her face. Instead, she sighed, smiled a little, and folded her hands together on the table.

"I'm happy with everything you were dealing with, that this is good news for you."

"I'm gonna be a dad! .... Uh... So... What now? What about... Y'know. Us?"

She shrugged slightly. "I dunno." She had thought a few scenarios through but wasn't sure if she liked any of them. Fiddling with her thumbs, she continued on. "I'm up for whatever we feel will work.... but, I have a condition before any of that. No more secrets between us. If we are going to try and jointly raise a tiny constantly squealing and pooping creature together, we need to be completely honest with one another."

Whelp.... Here goes phase two of her pre-prepped speech.

"I'll start. I'm a mutant." SHe blurted it out quickly, deadpan expression in place while she waited for him to respond.

He was technically the first person she had ever told.

He snorted a bit. "Chyeah, and so did half the water park at the time. You're loud."

She looked relieved when he said he wanted to keep the baby. He looked relieved when she looked relieved. Good. He nodded to show that we was indeed on board. The suspicion in her eyes hurt him a bit. How could he ever convince her? She needed to know She was more than enough for him. She talk more about the incident, and he wanted to protest more. It hurt him to see her hurting like that. It reminded him just how bad he'd @#$^ed up. Even if nothing had happened.

"Shelby... You're more than enough for me. Hell, I can't count how many times I wondered what a guy like me did to deserve you... I um. I wanna give it another try, if you will too."

He blinked as he realized part of this was just a transition into the next part of the conversation... No secrets? His eyes narrowed a bit. She didn't know about the Judge...

"I'll start. I'm a mutant."

da fek?

He silently thanked himself for not getting a drink. He would be spitting it all over her.

"You are? Like... this whole time? What kinda mutant? Hot lady shifter? You better not be a 14 year old boy catfishing me. That would be... Oh god... #@$^in Horrible."

He gave her a moment to explain, and then sighed a bit.

"Fine, then... That girl. Megan. She isn't just some girl. She's a former associate of... Of Roach. She was helping me hunt him. I have been. Hunting him, that is. Or I had been." If she was gonna drop bombs he might as well get started as well. "You want a boy or a girl?" Random? Yeah, but now was the time to ask these things. They were in a sort of strange less than awkward grey zone that he could sense getting way more awkward after this encounter was over.

"Shelby... You're more than enough for me. Hell, I can't count how many times I wondered what a guy like me did to deserve you... I um. I wanna give it another try, if you will too."

Normally she may have been taken aback slightly by the honest confession, but she was still having a little trouble with it right now. Maybe later, after she had time to reflect on it a bit more. "Sure, we can give it another go." She eyed him, noting the change in his demeanor from what she had first seemed when he had walked in the door. It was... refreshing, and a load off of her mind. The artist offered a smile to him, hesitating only slightly before reaching out for one of his hands.

"You are? Like... this whole time? What kinda mutant? Hot lady shifter? You better not be a 14 year old boy catfishing me. That would be... Oh god... #@$^in Horrible."

"... that... what? A 14 year old pregnant boy who turns into a hot lady, catfishing a well known X-man."

She couldn't even get mad at that. It was too freaking funny! "Haha!" She cackled for a moment, snorting once on accident, before collecting herself. "No, nothing like that. I wasn't always... thought I was human. It kicked in a while after moving into the school with you. Maybe you all rubbed off on me."

As for what kinda mutant, well.... it was easier to show him than try and explain whatever it was that she could do. Shelby fished out a pendant on a silver chain that had been tucked inside her hoodie. It was a smaller, painted replica of Van Goh's Starry night. Once it was in her hand, she showed it to him, before making sure she had a firm grip on him and... POP!

---

Suddenly they were somewhere else. It was dark, with bright splotches of bright lights dotting the sky above them. The landscape was noticeably similar to the famous oil painting, down to the textures and colors. SHe gave him a moment to adjust to the move before continuing on.

"I can travel into my paintings." She said simply.

In regards to Megan, she shrugged again. "I've met her a few times already. She tracked me down while you were in the hospital recovering from getting shot. We chatted for a while.... I hadn't known that she was who you were spending time with, though."

She turned and eyed him, " How were you two doing it? Hunting Roach, that is. I take it that you were doing it all off the books? No one else on the case ever mentioned that you were putting in extra hours on it, and I asked.... a lot... And she isn't even affiliated with law enforcement of any kind."

He froze for a second as she reached out to grab his hand. Damn. He really hadn't had a whole lot of human contact the last few months. He shied away a bit, but later her make contact.

He relaxed a little when she laughed at his, honestly hilarious, joke. "You'd call it... Cat fishifting, I guess." That was dumb. He shut up for a second so she could explain her power, and how it came to be. He snickered a bit when she said they'd rubbed off on her.

"You know... Cause... Rubbing... sorry. Nervous laught-." They suddenly disappeared, leaving a coffee shop that had been silently staring at them for the last couple of minutes perplexed at their sudden absence.

"er-WHAT THE- Get behind me!" He hopped around, Hawk, his mini portable crowbar in hand. She had to know him well enough by now to know that he ALWAYS had one on him. He looked around at the... honestly sort of disorienting.

"I can travel into my paintings." He slowly lowered his weapon, looking around suspiciously. "Well S$^T... That's pretty cool." He'd seen a lot of mutation in his time, but this one took the cake. She mentioned knowing Megan already, which earned her a strange look. Megan hadn't told him she knew her. That was... So very much Megan, now that he thought about it. He stepped forward, observing the strange landscape before him as she spoke.

" How were you two doing it? Hunting Roach, that is. I take it that you were doing it all off the books? No one else on the case ever mentioned that you were putting in extra hours on it, and I asked.... a lot... And she isn't even affiliated with law enforcement of any kind."

"She knows a lot about his operations... So we did it all under the table. Like we did when I was the Judge." He looked over to her... No secrets, right? "We did a lot to hurt him. To try and lure him out. He never came, but by the end we'd destroyed everything he'd spent so long building. Megan wanted to kill him just as much as you and I. It made sense to partner with her." Still, They never got him, though, and he'd gone practically silent since then. Even Megan didn't know where the giant bug was.

"I didn't want to get you involved. Didn't think it was safe. That matters even more, now." He looked over to her, nodding a bit. She had two lives to look after, now.

"er-WHAT THE- Get behind me!"

".. I already am behind you." She hummed, hands stuffed into the pocket of her hoody as she watched him hop around. Her first reaction had been similar if she recalled it correctly. Lots of panic and shuffling around.

"well S$^T... That's pretty cool." Shelby smiled a little, shrugging one shoulder without an immediate comment. "I guess it suits me. Don't know what I would have done if my power was to randomly explode into flames or something."

She turned away from him, looking down the painted hill towards the painted city below. The little chapel in the distance stood out among the rest of the dark colors.

"She knows a lot about his operations... So we did it all under the table. Like we did when I was the Judge."

Turning slightly to glance back at him, she listened quietly as he spoke. He'd mentioned the Judge before... and she'd run across him in various searches while looking for information on Roach. Hadn't he brought him up a few times too? Awkwardly, if her memory served her correctly.

"We did a lot to hurt him. To try and lure him out. He never came, but by the end, we'd destroyed everything he'd spent so long building. Megan wanted to kill him just as much as you and I. It made sense to partner with her. I didn't want to get you involved. Didn't think it was safe. That matters even more, now."

She turned back away from him, watching the town again. She wasn't really sure how to react. Did it bother her? ... Not really. Maybe it should have, but... she was kinda desensitized to most things these days. She probably should have been angry or something, but couldn't muster that up either. The Judge, from how people talked about him, had been a very dangerous, merciless person. Heck, he'd all but vanished, and criminals still had night sweats because of him.

So, if she wasn't upset... what did that leave?

"Okay." She stated simply, before sighing lightly and turning back around. A smile was on her lips. Content and happy. 'Thank you for trusting me with that... I'm sure it was hard to tell me." She thought about closing the distance between them but quickly abandoned the idea. What was she gonna do after how he'd hesitated at taking her hand? Playfully punch him in the arm?

"And.... thank you for doing it." She continued on instead. "Thank you for going after him... and others like him. For people like me."

She pressed a hand over her stomach where the smallest bump could be felt, expression softening slightly. ".. I want us to make sure he, or she, grows up better than we both did."

She hesitated slightly there, before pointing at her tummy. "Do you... uh... do you wanna feel? It's too early for kicking and stuff, but I'm definitely showing now."

"I guess it suits me. Don't know what I would have done if my power was to randomly explode into flames or something." He shrugged. "It could happen, I knew a guy."

With baited breath he awaited her reaction to him being the Judge.

He'd told her. Instantly, there was that terror of knowing that someone else knew. How would she react, knowing he'd killed... 86 people. He remembered every one. Who knew how many he'd maimed? A thousand? He didn't count that. Didn't remember those faces. Just the ones he'd killed.

She seemed to soak it in for a moment, and then... She thanked him. It was strange. He'd thought so much about all of the bad he'd done when he was the Judge. How many lives that could have changed, and instead were snugged out... How many had he saved, though? His eyes watered a bit as he looked away for a moment.

He turned back as she mentioned wanting their child to have a better life. "Yeah... You know, I think we'd be pretty cool parents. Don't you?" The beast of a man froze as she invited him to touch the baby bump.

Was his hand shaking? Hell yes. Just in case, he was sure to spend all of the energy he'd gathered throughout the day on a poke to the ground with his foot. "Eh... Sorry... You know. Gotta be safe." The X-Man took a hesitant step closer and slowly reached out, stopping once to take a breath.

His hand gently touched her little baby bump, and he let out a content sigh. In there was something greater than he could ever be... And he'd helped make it. It could be anything. The next great ruler of the world, the one who would destroy it all. Anything. "I want a boy... Is that okay to say?"

He didn't comment on her thoughts of his admission, and that was Okay. Instead, he skipped ahead. "I dunno, I think that depends entirely on if you follow the trend and start dropping dad jokes every five seconds." The artist smiled slightly. With his sense of humor, it was entirely possible.

She watched in silence as he prepped himself, doing that energy release thing she'd seen him do a million times before. She lifted the bottom of her sweater a little when he was ready, and let herself relax when the warmth of his hand settled just below her navel. "I think it's some kinda taboo. Prolly gonna get a girl now." She grinned, though. "... but, if I have to throw my chips at one or the other I wouldn't mind a boy either."

She watched him then, blue eyes shaded behind he glasses. She'd missed him.... a lot. It had been strange going from being independent, to basically unable to survive without him... and then suddenly back on her own again. She had stayed with a few of the cops she knew well, sure... but it wasn't the same. Her bed was always too cold, and no one looked at her the same way.

She wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but then again things couldn't get any worse, right? While he was close to her she reached out for him. She wanted to touch his cheeks... let her fingers curve around his jaw. SHe wanted to make sure that he looked at her for what she was about to say next.

"Saph... I believe you." Honesty was plain on her face; eyes determined and mouth set in a little line. "I believe you that nothing happened. I'm sorry that it took me so long."

To Err was human... forgiveness and all that jazz. He has messed up, however that may be, and she could either let it eat at her forever, or she could forgive him for it and move on.

"Will you forgive me? For abandoning you when you needed me most? For being a total piece of #%$& girlfriend?"

"I dunno, I think that depends entirely on if you follow the trend and start dropping dad jokes every five seconds."

"Ain't that part of the job? I hear if you don't say hi Hungry, I'm Dad every time they revoke your licence." He chuckled, and looked out around at the strike-shaded sky, a mixture of vibrant colors and curled lines. It was beautiful, but he wasn't sure if he liked being in it. Something about this night made it feel like it wanted to be alone. Maybe he was just thinking too much. He wasn't ever one of those artsy types.


"I'll be happy either way. With me as a dad their sure to be a bad #@$ anyway. Ask Moose." His expression saddened for a second. Oh right, just because one aspect of your life was suddenly and miraculously reversed in fortune didn't mean everything was fixed. He hadn't spoken to his daughter in almost a year. An eternity. He was suddenly surprised by a hand on his cheek, and he turned to look down at her. His heart skipped a beat, and then she started talking. He frowned as she told him she believed him. and asked for forgiveness. He reached up to the hand on his face and pressed it deeper for a moment, before gently pulling it away.

"Shelby... I need some time. I want to make sure that when we get started again, I'm ready. I'm a mess right now. I can't ask you to bring me back from that. I owe you more than that." He didn't want to look her in the eyes saying that, but he did anyway. He tried to look reassuring.

"Can you give me a few days? To figure this out?" He motioned to himself, scraggly, overslept but mentally exhausted. Honestly, a bit stinky. He'd seen better days, but behind it all was a ray of hope. There was light behind his eyes again.

"I'll give you a call... Maybe... You could move back in? You won't be short on paint, hair brushes, or dead egg thingies to start."

"Shelby... I need some time. I want to make sure that when we get started again, I'm ready. I'm a mess right now. I can't ask you to bring me back from that. I owe you more than that."

Owed her? She didn't feel like she'd ever done anything worthy of him owing her something in return. Unless he was talking about what she had pretty much just forgiven him for.

"Can you give me a few days? To figure this out? I'll give you a call... Maybe... You could move back in? You won't be short on paint, hair brushes, or dead egg thingies to start."

Withdrawing from him, since he had gotten her message, she nodded. "Of course, Saph. I'm not gonna try and rush anything. You do you, and I'll take care of me. You can call me when your ready and we'll go from there." She glanced over at the painting hanging in the darkness behind them. The exit from her pocket dimension back to their world. Briefly, she grabbed for his hand again so that she could pop them back out.

--

They appeared back in the cafe, right in front of a startled barista who had started to try and clean up the mess they though She'd left behind. After a quick apology, she gathered her box of things Saph had brought toward her and looked to him again. "Guess it's back to work for you, then?" She asked, "... I hope I didn't make you late for anything."