Mae returned from work feeling exhausted. While she generally did not mind her job, she seemed to get all the annoying clients today. There was one rich gal who would randomly request things be done for her. A bottle of Fiji water, fresh peeled grapes (who peeled their grapes anyway?), a special brand of hand lotion, and the amount of money she spent meant Mae was forced to get ALL OF IT. When that part of the evening was over, Mae had to wait for the biggest germaphobe in the world to decide the facility met their impossibly high standards to get a mud wrap. A mud wrap. Because mud was clean.

So so clean.

Getting into the house, Mae blinked, wondering if she still had the same roommate. Things were clean, ish. The effort was there at least. Books were in strange locations, and furniture looked like it moved somehow. She didn't complain though, especially when she found the rather sad little gift in the kitchen. With a pained smile at the nick-name, she accepted the offering, and did her best to chew through the over cooked cheese.

Yeah, she definitely needed to teach Seven how to cook stuff. There couldn't be much nutritional value in cardboard.

After cleaning the dishes and setting them to dry, Mae called into the other room before retreating to her own. "Thanks for the food, and for helping clean!" She didn't want to discourage any positive efforts at this point. There was something about being a well-meaning'd disaster.

With her muscles aching and her brain exhausted, Mae changed into her pajamas and crashed into her own bed, out within minutes, slight snoring muffled by her pillows.

Seven wasn't sure what time Mae came in, but by that time they'd given up on TV, and were just lying in bed with headphones on trying to go to sleep. They drifted in and out; when they'd finally get to sleep, someone on the TV or phone or radio from a neighbor's apartment would yell or something and jar them again. Damn it. Finally, finally, Seven settled in, drifting off into a deep sleep.

"Thanks for the food, and for helping clean!" Oh. She was home. Cool. "Welcome..." they groaned, tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep. Seven didn't know how long they lay there, but...after awhile, a thought hit them, and they got up from the bed and put their headphones on the nightstand. Quietly, they made their way to Mae's room, and peeked at their roommate lying there.

Wearing nothing except a black, oversized Nirvana tee shirt, Seven crept into Mae's room, lying on the floor just inside the bubble. After awhile, that wasn't cutting it, so they crawled into bed with her, under the covers because warm, but careful to keep space between the two of them. After all, they were just there for silence, and nothing more.

Mae wasn't quite sure what woke up, but there was movement that her brain registered as being in the room. What was an initial sensation of concern melted when the movement stopped, and she was pretty certain the individual ended up somewhere on the floor just inside the dead zone. Like a tiny bit of pressure inside her powers, it was possible to identify the intruder.

She didn't have to think much to realize it was Seven. The last few nights she had noticed her roommate sought the silence to fall asleep, and frankly, she understood. If there was no way to block out the surrounding electronics, it must have been a pain up until this point to ever tune it all out.

Mae wondered what she should do about the situation, however. She knew as soon as she fell asleep again the dead zone would shrink. She didn't want to be a jerk and send the other away just because they wanted some quiet. Mae knew her powers did not go past a wall. Seven would never come close for other reasons.

They just like my powers, Mae reminded herself. Then she froze again as she felt the other slip into the bed.

Should she be concerned? Mae had never had to consider this sort of situation before. On the one hand, getting into anyone's bed without permission was majorly uncool. But, Seven sort of had an awkward way of living. It was that type of mentality to 'ask forgiveness rather than permission'. Heck, she wasn't sure Seven would ever ask forgiveness anyway? Her mind turned over the thoughts before cold started drifting under the covers. Ugh, she wouldn't be able to sleep like this.

With a sleepy groan she tugged on the blanket, catching her roommate's attention. "If you're going to sleep there, at least come closer. You're going to frickin' freeze me outta bed."

That...was not what she had planned on saying. Sleepy brain was improvising. Way to go, brain.

Once in bed, things were quiet again. It was nice, relaxing. And the bed was warm. Though it wasn't completely quiet, as the only sound was that of a faint snoring that actually made Seven grin a little. Not their usual smirk, but less than a full on toothy smile. It was kind of adorable, they had to admit. Much more relaxing than the sounds they normally had to deal with. This was....nice.

So nice in fact, that they soon found themselves in a deep sleep. And then something tugged on the blankets. Something about moving closer or freezing Mae out of bed?

They managed to groan out a quiet, solitary "...Ok..." before scooting closer, lying on their side, back now lightly pressed against Mae. She was warm....and comfy...in no time at all, Seven was asleep again. Sleeping next to Mae was the only time they were at peace.

Mae felt disoriented when she heard her alarm go off somewhere on the other side of the room. With a yawn, she let her powers reach out, zapping the device and silencing the beeping. Mastering the right distance that the device would work when she slept but could still be turned off quickly had been a long test run, but now it was second nature, and she probably took advantage of being able to snooze the alarm more than she should have. She had probably a good hour to get up, get showered and dressed, then get to work for a more normal day.

Thinking through her routine was normal. What wasn't was the warmth she felt next to her as she moved.

Oh, that's right. Seven.

It was actually kind of cozy having the extra heat beside her, but knew she needed to keep this situation as normal as possible. She rolled out of bed, returning the covers to their place, and tried to keep the dead zone stretched to include her roommate.

"Did you bring your headphones in?" she asked considerately. If she left the room, she was bound to send Seven straight into an early wake-up of electronic noise. Maybe the headphones would help with it...

This night's sleep was the most peaceful Seven could remember having, and at certain times during the night, they'd press their back against Mae a little, unconsciously. The warmth next to them began to stir, and this awoke Seven from their slumber, eyes opening groggily as they watched the woman put the covers back and go about the room, and they noticed that they never left Mae's bubble.

Seven felt that twinge in their stomach again, which they swore had to be gas or indigestion from their not-so-great attempt at cooking last night. But at the same time, they acknowledged that Mae was...was....Mae was like a kitten, a puppy, or a rabbit. There was just something about her that made Seven impulsively not want to hurt her, or see her hurt.

"Hm? Oh...I didn't...I kinda just...crawled in here," they admitted with a small, half-cocked smile. This expression was more profound than their normal smirk, yet it was still considerably smaller than a full on, toothy grin. To them, this was a 'thank you.'

They sat up, stretching a little before rolling out of bed and pulling the hem of the shirt down where it had ridden up a little. "You know you snore?" they asked, quirking an eyebrow but that half-grin didn't go away. Though it seemed backhanded and the smile was barely noticeable, they were making an odd attempt at a compliment. However words like 'Thanks' and 'It's cute,' seemed to be lost on them. Blunt was just Seven's way.

Mae paused near the door, and did the logical thing when she found out Seven had no headphones: lied her ass off. ”Actually, you put some of the dishes away yesterday, where did the mug end up going?” she waited for her roommate to get up and lead the way to the kitchen. This way, the wall never cut off her powers.

She sort of wish she was not sharing the bubble though when Seven commented on her snoring. Her face sort of processed a variety of horrified looks, not realizing her roommate had not meant it as an insult. Her thoughts caught the comment, and it dig in painfully to her thoughts.

You snore.

Oh sweet mother of—-

That was more mortifying than streaking to her bedroom had been.

”Uh, no. I was not...aware.” on autopilot she turned on the coffee pot and checked it was full before hurrying to get ready for the day. Seven had the headphones now, and she had to get the pink off her face. Snoring. For f**** sake!

"Oh, I put 'em in the cabinet; lemme show ya," they said, leading Mae to the kitchen and opening the cabinet where the normal drinking glasses went. The mugs stuck out like a sore thumb, and didn't fit in with the other cups, much like Seven themselves, honestly.

"It's fine," Seven replied in response to the stammered comment. "It's..." They could tell they'd sort of made Mae uncomfortable, but didn't quite know how to phrase it or make it better, so they were struggling for the right words. When those didn't come, Seven just commented, "It was pretty easy to fall asleep to. Better than my usual background noise." There. All better.

Seven grabbed their headphones from their room and while they were there, shed the shirt and put on some clothes for the day before brushing their hair and grabbing a cup of coffee from the pot--just one. They'd never admit it, but Seven had sort of slept in today; they were normally long gone by the time Mae got up but something about this wasn't terrible. Besides, they'd been comfy in the bed.

Tugging on a sweatshirt, they put on a black beanie and slipped the headphones on over it to drone out the sound of the random devices in the immediate area. "Later, Maebird," they called as they made their way out of the door, not only locking it behind them, but making sure it clicked before they went on their way.

Mae's brain was struggling with the morning, and she was incredibly glad to have coffee today. Something about the comment sort of tangled in her thoughts like cotton in barbed wire. easy to fall asleep to they had said. Well, that wasn't horrible, earth rumbling snoring then, at least? Mae was very nervous about her own behavior inside the dead zone. Because she blocked out the rest of the world about 90% of the time, she didn't always know how load she herself could be. Having a roommate was literally inviting someone to share her space, and hoping she wasn't massively making a fool of herself.

Finishing her drink, she took off to work, wishing she could figure out how this situation was making her feel.

--- Day Seven

It was the Seventh day since Seven's arrival. There were still a number of small social oppsies, but honestly, Mae felt her roommate was adapting. Things were left out, Mae still did most of the dishes, but she wasn't left without a towel at least. And she did the cooking, but that was for everyone's safety.

Getting home after a rather boring day, Mae was actually in a decent mood. She stepped into the living room, and noticed Seven had left different clothing items out again. Instead of feeling annoyed, she called into the other room where she could hear her roommate shuffling. "Hey, I'm still not a Mae-d," she called, making sure to enunciate the Mae. Scooping the items, she glanced, swearing there was blood on them again.

Going back to the kitchen, she picked up a stain remover and brought it back, setting it next to the shirt. There were the old school methods like soda or hydrogen peroxide, but this would probably damage the clothing less. "Please tell me you didn't bust your face up again," she sighed.

Seven was growing used to a roommate, and learning to coexist with another person was proving challenging but they were learning the ins and outs. Today, they'd beaten Mae home by a good bit. It'd been a rough day. Jobs went sideways, and on the way home some mutant decided it'd be fun to try to mug them. Nobody mugs Seven.

The resulting fight, however, could have gone either way. Turned out the enemy was part badger, and his nails were sharp, rigid claws. Seven got the knockout, but only because they were able to teleport from their phone to behind the guy via his phone and punched him in the back of the head with brass knuckles. As a result, the bloody shirt that now lay outside their room was riddled with little holes and slash marks.

"I know. No need to be disMaed about it," they quipped back before emerging, their face as spotless as it was when they left that morning, a sly grin on their face. "No, I did not bust my face up again," they said, leaning casually against their doorframe. their arms were covered in scratches, as was their chest and stomach, but that was covered by a navy blue tee shirt with a white silouhette of a wolf on it. "And all the medical trash made it to the trash can. And I picked up some more first aid supplies."

Mae was pleased that Seven at least took something to heart. She nodded as she surveyed her roommate's face, then glanced down at the clothing. She poked at one of the holes, trying not to frown. "Not sure if you want to save these, but there's the stain remover if you want to try. You make me wonder if we need a bio-hazard bag eventually."

Blood seemed to happen to Seven's clothing, a lot.

"Anyway, dinner. Preference?" she put her jacket away and walked to the fridge. It was better stocked lately than it had been, and Seven was at least learning not to run them out of important things. And also seemed to have learned that an empty milk carton shouldn't go back in the fridge.

Seven glanced at the shirt, biting their lip as they realized how bad it was. The injuries were fine, that just happened, but they hated when they had to trash a perfectly good shirt. "The stains I'm not worried about, but I didn't realize it looks like it'd been through a cheese grater," they grumbled as they stepped forward and gently took the shirt, tossing it into the trash can they kept in their room. "You think we'll need a bio-hazard bag? I mean...I don't come home bloody that often, do I?" they asked with a small shrug.

Seven was getting better at groceries, and being a not-totally-lousy roommate, though still not a great one. "Not really, as long as you're the one cooking. I don't think I could stomach another night on my gourmet cuisine," they said dryly. "Pretty sure I've still got indigestion from the last time," they added, following Mae to the kitchen and going to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of beer before making their way back to the living area and plopping down on the couch.

Mae gave Seven a look: one that clearly said yes, you do come home covered in blood, a LOT. But she didn't say it out loud. The look was enough. She was pretty certain Seven would get what it meant without it being explained.

Heading to the kitchen Mae fished out ingredients for sloppy Joes. She didn't object as Seven went to drink and relax, falling into their usual role with ease.

While the meat browned, Mae felt her thoughts drifting. It had been a week since meeting, and already she felt weird emotions around her new companion. While she had brushed a lot of it off, the concern she felt when Seven was hurt was harder to dismiss. It didn't help that Seven stayed close at night for the security of the dead zone. Mae felt like she was trying to keep a grip on her emotions, claws digging in in to keep the feelings in check.

It wasn't even that Seven was doing things that should make her feel....feelings. They were honestly rather terrible on roommate standards, from forgetting to refill things, leaving messes, and being generally inconsiderate for almost their first week there. But, the dry sense of humor, the sort of off-handed comments, and the general enjoyment with each other was harder to push away. Mae liked coming home now, and seeing their roommate. And that was bad.

Mae continued to chew on it while she cooked, adding the sauce, a few extra veggies and getting the buns ready. She almost didn't hear Seven coming up, but that may have been because her nervous emotions were making the dead zone constrict, pulling back from where it normally settled in the living room.

The look made Seven shrug. Did they come home covered in blood a lot? It wasn't every day, but apparently to some people three times in one week was "a lot." They had to admit, Mae was good company, and they much preferred being with her than alone with their headphones. The headphones couldn't cancel everything and...they couldn't talk, or cook. And they weren't as warm and cozy...

Seven stayed on the couch, noticing a slight buzz starting to come from the things around them, like their phone, their laptop, the neighbors' TV--damn those people kept it on the Soap Opera channel all damn day, it seemed. Must have been an old lady or someone with no life whatsoever. They slid over to Mae's usual spot on the couch, but there was silence for only a few moments before it crept in again. So, Seven made their way to the kitchen, sitting at the table. And then, they moved again, sitting on the counter almost right next to Mae, one leg crossed over the other one.

"Want some company?" they asked, watching Mae work. It was weird, part of them might have...liked...being this close. Though they didn't know what it was. Maybe it was just nice to have someone around that wasn't always wanting money or some sort of job done. Seven and Mae could just....talk. And that was...okay.

Headphones were hanging around their neck, and their arms folded across their chest as they took a breath, thinking. "You know...what I said about your snoring...it's not bad. Sort of like those flat-faced dogs. The little ones, not the big ones that sound like a strangling bear." For some reason, they could manage that analogy, but words like 'cute' and 'adorable' were lost on them.

Mae blinked, realizing how close Seven had gotten, while simultaneously realizing they had let the dead zone shrink so it was only a few feet away. Whoops. Trying not to make a big deal of the flub, she instead processed what was being said.

"I'm almost done, actually, if you want to grab yourself a fork," Mae handed the plate over and got her own, waiting until Seven had stepped back toward the living room before following.

It took her a little longer to actually take in what she assumed had been a compliment? "Uh, thanks. I guess. I just, I guess I'm a little embarrassed? I'm not used to really sharing space with anyone when I'm sleeping. I mean, I had a girlfriend for a bit, but she never really said anything to me about it."

Mae felt a sudden rush of emotions mentioning it. The whole incident with Cora had been ages ago it seemed. The other girl had definitely been the alpha of the relationship, and her departure had caused enough damage in her wake Mae had been single pretty exclusively since then. There was the occasional drink or date, but nothing that she felt was worth chasing.

Now, mentioning that to Seven created another twist in her thinking. It was a bad idea, being in a relationship. And a worse one getting her hopes up for nothing when she had to live with this particular person.