Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2022 0:36:11 GMT -5
[ For @thom ]
The implications of his healing were not lost on her, however. The two had begun courting shortly after meeting one another and her family already adored Thomas. It might have taken some silly threatening from her parents, but in the end they had realized pretty quickly that she and Thomas were simply made for one another. Melody, while still fruitlessly putting up the front of indifference, had taken to him rather quickly. Mrs. Carmine adored him. And somehow along the lines, they had taken in a puppy and a teenage soldier. All of which brought them nothing but happiness. They'd even begun living together, rather quickly, though they wouldn't admit that to any of her family just yet. They'd even managed to keep it from Constance so far, who had been so busy working that she hadn't needed to sleep over as much.
In other words, they were married in all ways but the strictest sense of the word, the one that most people generally accepted before all of the other milestones they'd already achieved in their relationship. Her parents would likely be expecting Thomas's request to propose soon, having been patient while he was healing, and that made Temperance a little nervous. Her love and adoration for Thomas was unending, and while she was very much ready to get married, they had agreed to move at their own pace. The last thing she wanted was for her family to pressure him into a proposal before he was ready.
And after marriage would come, obviously, children. Biology wouldn't wait forever. The older Temperance got, the less likely she would be to get pregnant and carry out the pregnancy successfully. This though had been weighing on her ever since she'd met Gunne, who was her same age and yet struggling to conceive. Yet another thought she wasn't entirely forthcoming with to Thomas, because again she didn't want him to feel pressured. She knew he would only ever be understanding and sympathetic and wonderful regarding all of her worries, but it felt too manipulative to push it on him now, when he had just begun to recover.
So the thoughts sat in the back of her mind, occasionally distracting her while she worked as it was today. "Temperance? Temperance? Helloo?" She didn't even hear the words until after she'd felt the fingers grip her shoulder. She jumped, startled by the sudden presence of another, and stumbled backward, nearly falling over her own desk chair. A hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm, just barely keeping her from falling, but not enough to keep the arm of the chair from jabbing her in the back. "You alright?"
Still a little out of breath from the whole thing, she used the man's arm to steady herself, standing up straight and rubbing the sore spot on her hip where she'd hit the chair. "Yeah...thank you, Gael. Sorry about that," she said, shaking her head. "I guess I was somewhere else." It was only then that he let go of her arm, but his grip had been so tight when he caught her that she was sure she'd have little bruises from his fingers.
"Naw, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to sneak up on you," he removed his hat from his head, wringing it in his hands. "Look, I came to apologize 'bout that day at the bar. And not comin' back like I was 'spose to. I really have been doin' better, swear it, but the last few days've been rough and I was hopin' you could help."
Because she hadn't quite come back to her senses, it took her a moment to remember the day he spoke of. She'd forgotten all about seeing him in the bar because Berengar had ended up coming into her life that same day. "Oh, right," she shook her head. "Look, if you're doing better, that's all I care about. You know I'll help you, but you have to be honest with me right now. Are you on anything else? Because if you are, it could react badly to the stuff I give you."
Gael shook his head, a kind of determination in his eyes that she hadn't seen in years. For a moment she said nothing, only tried to read his face, but he seemed sincere. "Alright, then," she walked over to her cabinet, unlocked it, and removed the potion she'd been holding for him since the end of the last season. "I kept it just in case. Are you sure you can handle it? It might be better for you to come here, to let me administer it."
"No, I'll be okay," he said, taking the vial from her and pressing it into his pocket. Out of the other pocket he pulled a few coins, grabbed her wrist and pressed the coins into the palm of her hand. "See? I even got enough to pay you today." He used his hand to curl hers around the coins, and she gently pulled it away, looking down at the coins briefly and then pocketing them.
"I'm really happy for you, Gael. Happy and proud. I hope you can keep this up, and really make a good life for yourself." She smiled, but gasped when he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into an embrace.
"It's cause of you," he said, squeezing her way too tight. She patted him on the back hesitantly, then moved her hands between her chest and his, pushing him away slightly. He broke the embrace easily, still smiling. "I'll show you how much I appreciate you soon, you'll see. I've got somethin' planned."
"Gael, you really don't have to do anything like that. Just get better and --"
"It's already planned," he said, interrupting her as he moved toward the exit. "You'll see!" Before she could further protest, he was gone and she was left standing there, a dumbfounded look on her face.
"O...kay," she blinked, rubbed her face, and with that strange interaction and more on her mind, went back to working.
Autumna wasn't only Temperance's favorite season because it held her day of birth. Especially now, that she was growing older and could feel the age, she cared less and less for such a celebration. What she did care about was Thomas. She'd met him at the beginning of Aestas, when the heat of the hidden sun had really just begun to bare down upon them. He'd broken a rib and bruised a collarbone, the latter of which heals much faster than the former. While the bruises had faded, the injury remained. For the entirety of the season she had been reminding him to be mindful, be careful, not to injure himself further or do anything that might agitate the wound. He'd been pretty good about following her rules as far as she could tell, and with the help of her potions and the compression wraps she'd been consistently keeping him in, it wouldn't be much longer that he had to worry about it at all. With the changing of the colors of the trees and the cooling weather, Autumna was also the season that would allow her to finally see Thomas's injuries healed.
The implications of his healing were not lost on her, however. The two had begun courting shortly after meeting one another and her family already adored Thomas. It might have taken some silly threatening from her parents, but in the end they had realized pretty quickly that she and Thomas were simply made for one another. Melody, while still fruitlessly putting up the front of indifference, had taken to him rather quickly. Mrs. Carmine adored him. And somehow along the lines, they had taken in a puppy and a teenage soldier. All of which brought them nothing but happiness. They'd even begun living together, rather quickly, though they wouldn't admit that to any of her family just yet. They'd even managed to keep it from Constance so far, who had been so busy working that she hadn't needed to sleep over as much.
In other words, they were married in all ways but the strictest sense of the word, the one that most people generally accepted before all of the other milestones they'd already achieved in their relationship. Her parents would likely be expecting Thomas's request to propose soon, having been patient while he was healing, and that made Temperance a little nervous. Her love and adoration for Thomas was unending, and while she was very much ready to get married, they had agreed to move at their own pace. The last thing she wanted was for her family to pressure him into a proposal before he was ready.
And after marriage would come, obviously, children. Biology wouldn't wait forever. The older Temperance got, the less likely she would be to get pregnant and carry out the pregnancy successfully. This though had been weighing on her ever since she'd met Gunne, who was her same age and yet struggling to conceive. Yet another thought she wasn't entirely forthcoming with to Thomas, because again she didn't want him to feel pressured. She knew he would only ever be understanding and sympathetic and wonderful regarding all of her worries, but it felt too manipulative to push it on him now, when he had just begun to recover.
So the thoughts sat in the back of her mind, occasionally distracting her while she worked as it was today. "Temperance? Temperance? Helloo?" She didn't even hear the words until after she'd felt the fingers grip her shoulder. She jumped, startled by the sudden presence of another, and stumbled backward, nearly falling over her own desk chair. A hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm, just barely keeping her from falling, but not enough to keep the arm of the chair from jabbing her in the back. "You alright?"
Still a little out of breath from the whole thing, she used the man's arm to steady herself, standing up straight and rubbing the sore spot on her hip where she'd hit the chair. "Yeah...thank you, Gael. Sorry about that," she said, shaking her head. "I guess I was somewhere else." It was only then that he let go of her arm, but his grip had been so tight when he caught her that she was sure she'd have little bruises from his fingers.
"Naw, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to sneak up on you," he removed his hat from his head, wringing it in his hands. "Look, I came to apologize 'bout that day at the bar. And not comin' back like I was 'spose to. I really have been doin' better, swear it, but the last few days've been rough and I was hopin' you could help."
Because she hadn't quite come back to her senses, it took her a moment to remember the day he spoke of. She'd forgotten all about seeing him in the bar because Berengar had ended up coming into her life that same day. "Oh, right," she shook her head. "Look, if you're doing better, that's all I care about. You know I'll help you, but you have to be honest with me right now. Are you on anything else? Because if you are, it could react badly to the stuff I give you."
Gael shook his head, a kind of determination in his eyes that she hadn't seen in years. For a moment she said nothing, only tried to read his face, but he seemed sincere. "Alright, then," she walked over to her cabinet, unlocked it, and removed the potion she'd been holding for him since the end of the last season. "I kept it just in case. Are you sure you can handle it? It might be better for you to come here, to let me administer it."
"No, I'll be okay," he said, taking the vial from her and pressing it into his pocket. Out of the other pocket he pulled a few coins, grabbed her wrist and pressed the coins into the palm of her hand. "See? I even got enough to pay you today." He used his hand to curl hers around the coins, and she gently pulled it away, looking down at the coins briefly and then pocketing them.
"I'm really happy for you, Gael. Happy and proud. I hope you can keep this up, and really make a good life for yourself." She smiled, but gasped when he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into an embrace.
"It's cause of you," he said, squeezing her way too tight. She patted him on the back hesitantly, then moved her hands between her chest and his, pushing him away slightly. He broke the embrace easily, still smiling. "I'll show you how much I appreciate you soon, you'll see. I've got somethin' planned."
"Gael, you really don't have to do anything like that. Just get better and --"
"It's already planned," he said, interrupting her as he moved toward the exit. "You'll see!" Before she could further protest, he was gone and she was left standing there, a dumbfounded look on her face.
"O...kay," she blinked, rubbed her face, and with that strange interaction and more on her mind, went back to working.