recolle | [Closed] At the end of it all...

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[Closed] At the end of it all...

WHO: Penelopes and Freya
WHERE: Penelope's apartment
WHEN: Post Event
WHAT: A reunion, dinner, comparing notes from the last three weeks and other things
WARNINGS: Language, likely mention of violence, death, body horror, and other unpleasant topics.

The battle had left Penelope drained in a way that only a fight could, even more than three weeks of near constant anxiety and terror. When Retrospec's announcement had gone up and everything returned to normal, it'd all come crashing down at once and as loathe as she was to suggest splitting up...it had to happen for a time. Freya needed to get clothes and stuff from home, and probably needed to follow up with Minako, and Pen desperately needed not only a shower but also to calm the damn cat down.

And put in the order for food. Food was required. And not just any food. The best damn stuff she could get off Grubhub on short notice. So, she'd lent her girlfriend the car and set about these tasks, waiting for Freya's return. The delivery came quickly enough, and she'd stuck it in the oven to keep it warm. Steaks, potatoes, greens, a jug of water and a nice bottle of red wine Yuff had left before she'd frittered off for the weekend like nothing weird had happened. At least they'd not have to deal with that particular distraction.

Glancing up at the clock from her perch on the seat nearest the door, Pen rocks back and forth, an uncomfortable knot forming in her stomach. It'd only been a day. Plenty of time for reality to shift again. She hopes that's just anxiety talking, and she wants to hope that she'll hear the keys turning in the lock soon...but can she really expect it?

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"Mm. Seems kinda like it. Don't know her all that well." Freya lightly squeezes Pen's fingers.

"Wouldn't wish that hell app on her. Or anyone, really, but I guess they deserve to know."

"She's good people. I hope you'll get the chance to know her better. She's...important to me."

For being so understanding. About everything.

"Honestly, I think having her knowing will be better. She's tougher than she looks. Better her than some kid, if more crazy shit goes down. And Yuffie too. Who...you are definitely going to have to meet at some point."

"Oh, I'm sure I will. Bet I'll be seein' a lot of her, unless she stays out in the city as much as she does on the road."

Freya finally reaches for the wine, pouring herself a glass. She's quiet a moment, watching the red liquid. Speaking of crazy shit...

"You okay? You sounded pretty awful in those labs."

Penelope is quiet a moment, sipping more of her own wine as she thinks over that question. Is she okay? Really okay? In the end, are any of them?

It's not the answer she gives though.

"I'm...okay ish. A little freaked out, but I'm out of there now. That place wasn't real. Never was. So...yeah."

She takes another long pull on the water, to balance the wine.

"I remembered other me, going into a lab like that. She was there to find something. And put a stop to it. If she can be okay with it, I can too."

"Even if those places were fake, the experiences weren't." The bites and bruises over marring Freya's body was proof enough, among... other things. "But if you're ready to move past that, I won't drag you back to it."

Those messages, coupled with the portraits of the lab, concerned Freya. With the glimpses she saw, Pen's words, the fear in her voice, and Lucy's alarming text (it's not safe here, the ass), it's not difficult to imagine what the rest of the place was like. But... if Pen was processing it just fine, Freya wouldn't dig up those gruesome memories. Not as long as her partner actually seemed she was okay.

Freya lifts her glass, taking a sizable gulp of the wine.

"I'll be okay," Pen says again, kissing the back of Freya's hand one more time. "I've been through worse."

She would be. She had to be, now that she was home, more or less whole. There wasn't much of a reason to dwell on it, but she did feel like Freya was a little more uneasy than normal. Or at least was concerned, and admittedly she had plenty of reason. Pen hadn't exactly been in the best of mindsets during all of that.

"I was pretty freaked out. I still am, but it's in the past, y'know? Having you here with me helps, a lot."

Looking up at her, she puts on a less strained smile, full of quiet admiration and genuine gratitude. There was no trepidation in that.

"Knowing that when I got back I'd have you to support me helped me get through this. I'll be okay, I promise. But if...you don't mind, would you mind staying with me a few nights? Until Yuffie gets back, at least? Or let me stay with you?"

Edited 2017-08-27 20:44 (UTC)

That smile softens something Freya's tired features. The way that Pen sometimes looked at her, with that kind of sincerity, always did melt something in Freya, made her feel warm. It made her feel like everything she did was good enough, and at the same time, spurred her to be better.

"Always. Was gonna ask the same thing, really. Figured it'd be good for me to stay here a couple days."

Freya didn't know if she could handle being so close to Minako, listening to her crying, or worse, the abnormal, deathly silence that was for sure to reign for a while. Or laying there at night, imagining her grief.

And she missed Pen, and her warmth and her presence and her voice. It all seemed easier around her. She's spent too much time not being there for her partner, regardless of circumstance, and it wouldn't be right to leave her alone now.

"As long as you need," Pen answers with a bright nod.

That made it easier, not having to wheedle or make too much of a fuss about it. She really didn't handle being alone too well, and knew that having someone here would be all but required for her to sleep at all. Freya...well, that it was her? Made it all the easier. It was always lighter, around Freya. She knew she could trust her, knew she wouldn't just up and leave for no reason, and she knew implicitly that the taller woman wanted to be around her, didn't see her as a burden.

"Thanks, babe."

She pauses a moment, the warmth fading a little, shifting into concern. Just a little change, but leaving it unsaid wasn't right either.

"How about you, Freya? Are you going to be okay? With..." she trails off, not wanting to say it, feeling like Freya would know what she meant. "Because if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

There were little subtleties about that questions Freya appreciated. Asking her if she would be okay, since she obviously wasn't. Dimly, Freya remembered something from her classes, and wouldn't be surprised if she was suffering from a degree or two of psychological shock.

"Thanks, pretty girl." She starts stroking Penelope's hand again, and this time kept that little soothing motion going. "I'll pull through this, don't you worry. It might take some time to get my head on straight again, but I will."

Somehow. Freya didn't know what she was supposed to do to accomplish that. She had no personal experience with death of any sort. Time, she supposed, was probably the biggest factor. Maybe she'd ask Pen about it, later, after they've both had time to recover from their ordeals.

Pen returns the gesture, thumb making a slow rolling motion over the hand she held. She didn't like it, but grief? That was processed differently by everyone, and all she could do was be there.

"I know you will. Just...remember I'm with you, every step of the way. We're a team, you and I."

But for now, that was something to brush off, set aside. Rising a little from her chair, she kissed Freya's cheek, tongue licking off a little bit of sauce as she pulled back.

"You made a mess, you know. Eating so fast."

Freya smiles, or as much as she has this evening. It's somewhat duller than compared to normal, but for understandable reasons. "Didn't think you'd notice, bein' such a mess myself."

She tugs lightly on Pen's hand, urging her closer.

Chuckling, she edges closer, scooting the chair with the hook of her leg. She hardly needs urging, with that smile.

"As if I'd be looking at anything but you after the last few weeks. Even messy, you're still gorgeous."

She takes a moment to drain the rest of glass.

"So, what you're saying..." Freya rotates her chair to face Pen, the corner of her mouth quirking up slightly. "Is that I'm a hot mess."

Pen's glass is halfway to her mouth when Freya starts to turn, and it's at her lips when Freya speaks...and in true fashion, she snorts and very nearly spit-takes whine at the joke.

Coughing, she manages to splutter it into the cup and just starts laughing.

"Oh...my god!" Setting the cup down, she just keeps on shaking with laughter, leaning over to bump foreheads with Freya. "Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying!"

Freya leans down into that forehead bump, resting her head there with closed eyes, the small smile sitting on her lips spreading into a genuine grin. She doesn't laugh, but the warmth of humor spreads through her chest, along with no small amount of satisfaction.

It's beyond tacky to say the laugh sounded like music to her ears, but in all honesty... it did. It feels like ages have passed since Freya heard anyone sound like that, so bright and happy and clear. The fact that it was Penelope's voice, so familiar and wonderful, and knowing Freya herself caused that just added to the sweetness of it.

The taller woman waits for the laughter to run its course, relishing in the contact of their twined fingers in the meantime.

"I missed you," she murmurs. "You and that wonderful laugh of yours."

Penelope wouldn't have been bothered by her saying that in the slightest. She beams as her laughter peters off, standing up and moving around the table. If she's not stopped, and she doubts she will be, she'll take a seat in Freya's lap.

"And I've missed you," she answers, "And that wonderful smile. Thinking of it got me through a few bad nights, you know."

"Yeah?"

As if she'd stop Pen. As their twined hands came to rest in Pen's lap, Freya's free hand reaches up to comb those thorough those long golden strands. She meets her partner's grey eyes, her own filled with raw adoration.

"I'm glad I could do something for you in that hellhole." Once her fingers had run their course, Freya brings her hand back up in a caress this time, fingers lightly running along the back of Pen's jaw.

Edited 2017-08-28 04:15 (UTC)

Pen settles in, one hand slipping around her partner's waist, the other reaching up to touch her cheek, the thumb resting against the strong lines of her chin. Leaning up, she presses a tender kiss to her lips, but doesn't let it linger.

"You did. I knew we'd be reunited, somehow. A lot of crazy stuff happened, and has and will happen, but you've been a constant. You...probably have an idea of what that means to me, now."

After the flowers. After the messages she'd left, could there be any real doubt?

That kiss was no less delightful for its brevity. Her words make a flash of affection and regret in Freya's heart. It was illogical, she knew, to let being separated eat at her this much. Events had been out of her control, no matter how much Freya didn't want to admit it.

I don't know if I could take coming home and finding it without you.

Pen had given her an important role in her life. She should live up to it.

"Not as constant as I ought to be. I shouldn't've left you, back at the convention." Freya's thumb brushes along her partner's cheek before she leans in for another similarly short and tender kiss of her own. "Look, I know I didn't leave any messages or anything, but I thought about you. Wondered what happened—if you were still in the city, thinkin' something had got me, if you were somewhere else down in that mine..."

Freya's arms both encircle Pen's hips, and she leans in to press her lips against her partner's temple, lingering this time. She didn't want to let go. "Shouldn't've left." Maybe then, she would've been there for Pen, in that awful lab together.

"You couldn't know how it'd turn out," Pen says with a little shake of her head. "There were a lot of things that could've happened, but that wasn't one of them either of us expected. There's no way we could have seen that coming."

Leaning a little, she presses her forehead to her partner's, hovering close and breathing a touch more heavily. Her thumb rolled to one side, sliding up Freya's cheek, brushing along the line of her jaw. There was so much she had wanted to say, so much she felt she needed to say, but those thoughts fled away, unimportant now that the two of them were back together.

There was no reason for many words, when actions could do just as well. Still, a stabbing pain flared up in her heart, hearing Freya talking about the worries. And actions couldn't soothe those away entirely.

"I know you were thinking of me. I don't need messages on my phone to tell me that. I knew, the minute that you called...that I'd been in your thoughts. I've never heard someone so glad to see me, Freya, and I will never forget it."

Turning her head, she kisses the taller woman one more time, this time deeper, a little more forceful...yet still brief. There are words left to say. A little more mischievous words, but still...

"If that dragon knows what's good for it, it'll keep you safe and bring you back to me."

Freya had closed her eyes again when their foreheads met, relishing in the gentle touches of her partner's fingers, how it ghosted just under the bruise ringing her eye.

How could that have been the most glad anyone's ever been to see her, to hear Pen's voice? This kind of danger and far-flung, fantastical adventuring was an anomaly, sure, but right now... no one seemed more incredible than the girl in her lap. She deserved that kind of relief and enthusiasm on the faces of others.

The taller woman returns the kiss less forcefully, but no less warmly. It's over too quickly.

Pen's trying to line the serious sentiment with humor, she knows, but Freya can't help but respond candidly. "I'll bring myself back. You can't get rid of me that easy, princess."

She tilts her head a fraction, stopping just short of pressing her lips to her partner's again. "I won't let you forget it, either." It's been something that's been on her mind, while they were gone. How fragile their lives were: their fragile pulses, their situations, their minds, their very awareness of the this world based on some stupid app. There was no telling when something would go wrong, or how. "I'm gonna keep bein' glad to see you. Alive, well, and aware."

They could be torn apart at any time, by another 'storm' or otherwise. Freya wouldn't take her partner for granted, and she would make sure Penelope knew that beyond any shred of doubt.

Penelope couldn't say why she felt that way, not really. Her status as a minor celebrity was one thing, but none of those people really cared, her friends were another, but as relieved as they were to see her (clearly) they weren't Freya. There was something special in how this woman looked at her, acted around her, and treated her. It was different, and somehow more genuine in her head. Their relationship wasn't based on something Pen had done for her, or some prank, or any of the other things her more shallow relationships were built on but rather on something mutual. It wasn't merely attraction, it wasn't even Pen latching on a little after she'd blabbed all her hidden feelings about being alone one rainy night, it was something built and grown between the two of them. A tree planted and nurtured with understanding, camaraderie, respect, and more.

Her heart swells a little at the comment, the candid response and the pet name. She should probably correct it at some point, since she's fairly certain her other self serves a princess, but it seems an unimportant detail give the mood. It's these little reassurances and the calm confidence of her partner that really reassure her that she will come back. It pushes aside some of the feelings of vulnerability, shores up resolve that'd been cracked by weeks of doubt, and instills her with newfound vigor.

"And I'll come back to you too. Don't you worry, if this happens again. Me and my monsters. We'll power through, fight and do whatever it takes. If it means hearing your voice, I won't lose. No monster, no mine, no lab. Nothing'll hold me back."

She knew when she said it she couldn't always be in control, and that wasn't a shock for her, as buffeted by life as she often was. She was small, she was easy to miss in a crowd, but like her father had always said, she was tenacious. And if she wanted something...she got it. She hums the first bar of an old song, something her mother used to sing. Eyes closing, still humming as she brings their lips together for another, longer kiss. The melody plays out in her head, the refrain repeating over and over as she holds her girlfriend.

Ain't no grave...gonna hold my body down.

The humming's a cute touch. Freya'll have to ask what that was, later, when there weren't more important things at hand. Maybe Pen would sing it for her.

Her lips press and move against Pen's, rough and utterly chapped. Like Freya and her smiles tonight, it's more subdued than usual, but there's not a shred of hesitation or reluctance. The arm around Pen's back moves, stroking a hand idly up and down her spine, while the other curls further around her hips and pulls her closer.

She just has to ask, and she'll hear as many songs as Pen can manage.

The rough kisses only make Pen's mouth move with more insistence and vigor, her tongue lashing back and forth in an effort to sooth her partner's aches. The hands holding her up grow more insistent, the lean muscles tense and clutching like the woman there is a life raft and the kitchen is a sinking ship. She shifts her legs, moving with startling agility until she's straddling Freya, feet dangling near the floor.

Letting up anytime soon doesn't seem likely, but it's fine. She'll breathe when her heart stops soaring.

Freya always enjoyed it when Pen straddled her lap, with the added benefit that it eased the strain on her neck. The taller woman hums a contented sound in the back of throat, content to let her partner overwhelm her and push her back against the chair.

The hand on Pen's back slides up to cup the back of her neck, fingers tangling in golden hair as Freya nips ever-so-gently at her partner's tongue in invitation and tilt's her head. Drowning in her girlfriend's ardor sounded wonderful; Freya could be content to sit here and kiss her all night, though she doubted that would be the case.

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