Week 66, Very Early In The Week: Bunking Up

For a moment, there was no response, just the sound of Silvia undressing. Then, finally, she spoke, slowly and cautiously.

"I...I knew Oracle would come. Or at least, I thought they would - I told myself they would. So many times. And I...I hoped you would be there. That you'd...want to come, to help me. But I..." she trailed off for a moment, audibly struggling for words. "Part of me...it knew you would. But...it's so hard. To...to see an end. So hard."

Hugo hadn't moved once Silvia started talking, holding a pair of sweatpants in his cybernetically roughened hands. His shoulders slumped a little as she spoke. It.. it sounded like a 'no', though, to answer his question. "After everything."

The massive but very young agent stripped in silence. He added the rest of his plasma burned armor to the pile on the floor. He pulled back the blankets, and only then spoke again, in a tiny voice. "It is over, now, picara. It ended. It's done. It will never happen again. I.. I won't let it."

"I...I know." There was another moment of the sounds of shifting clothing. "Okay, I'm done." She had finished changing, which now meant that she was wearing nothing but Hugo's T-shirt - it wasn't as though the others had had the time to hand out much by way of clothing. "I...I'm going to sleep now," she said, carefully, edging towards her bed.

Hugo looked up at Silvia and tried to smile a little, but he looked a great deal more weary than he had a few minutes ago. "..And I'll be here, just here, not.. not even an arm's length away if you.. if you need anything." As if to encourage her, Hugo shut off the light and got beneath the blankets, turned a little ways away so she could not see all of his face. "O-okay, picarita?"

"Okay. That's...that's good. It really does...does help. Though...just having a bed should...should help. Really." Silvia stopped and took a deep breath. "I...goodnight. Goodnight. I'm...I'm glad you're here."

With that, she pulled back the blankets and clambered into the bed, trying not to show anything beneath the T-shirt. Then she laid her head down and tried to sleep, her head turned away from Hugo.

Despite how raw and tumultuous he felt inside, things were.. better. She was here now. She was safe. He listened to her breathing slow. She.. didn't trust him, she didn't think he would have come for her, she didn't think that everything he had said that night was important, she didn't think him pouring his heart out was more than just sex talk... But all of that just seemed like the appropriate if bitter reaction from being so injured by him. By the things he said, not being able to protect her, how badly he had tried to 'break up' with her...

He couldn't blame her. It made him feel terrible. But... terrible in a way that was infinitely preferable to the panic and stress of the past week. So while she slept, he stared upward at the darkness in front of him. It was so difficult after thinking so hard for a days not to think about anything at all. So hard not to replay the events over and over until they hurt. He listened for danger, dull ache in his chest, and wondered when the others would come in.