Dante "Inferno" Zaragoza - Death'll find you... (xolotl) wrote in repose, @ 2020-01-20 21:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | *log, dante zaragoza, leena bertolini |
[Log] Dante & Leena - Rumors & Secrets [COMPLETE - Part 2 of 2.]
Who: Dante & Leena
What: Rumors & Secrets
When: BACKDATED: Dec 29th
Where: Repose: Down by the creek
Ratings/Warnings: language. Always language. Mentions of: Abuse/trauma.
“After you see two people as in love as my parents were?” There would be a sideways glance at Leena before she shook her head with the next words. “You know there’s never a reason for that.” And that was the truth of where her feelings stemmed from on the matter. The permission to brush the hair out of the other woman’s face was gingerly, slowly, followed through with before Dante would slowly retract the hand to fall back into her own lap. “I know it’s not the honesty for you. You’ve for that in spades.” The smile given to Leena was one full of deep appreciation and the value she placed on that concept was even reflected in her eyes. “Part of why I like you.” You could figure things out if you had the facts and no one had the facts when people were lying. “I’m trying to tell you that whatever it is you got going on, whatever it is you’re fighting through, be honest with me. I’m only gonna be a bitch if you threaten my dad somehow at this point, or yourself, or Chris… I can totally take you so not worried there.” There was a wink given here, a squeeze of Leena’s hand, making the tail end of the statement a bit more playful than the rest of their talk. “Long as you’re honest, the rest can get figured out and hey.” She’d shift, giving a soft push of pressure against Leena’s shoulder with her own. “I’m pretty awesome at figuring shit out so we totally got a leg up there.” As Leena dropped the philosophical debate of the moment, so would Dante. Push where things are welcome, and don’t when they appear to be not. “Yeah.” There was a soft laugh in the word. “Have you not noticed the accent?” Dante couldn’t help the mild disbelief in the tone even if she was partly joking. Admittedly, she could see it not being immediately recognizable because of the Mexician aspects intermingling with it but.... How much time had they spent together? Maybe Leena just had a shit ear for accents… Oh fuck. It could be the memory thing. “Jersey?!” The word popped out of her mouth with a mix of emotions immediately present. “You mean like 9 miles across the 78 and pop a right at 18th from Brooklyn to Hoboken kind of Jersey?” There was doubt here, confusion, surprise and obvious disbelief. Dante had driven the streets of New York and some of Hoboken for literal years. She knew those streets, roads and highways like no other and Leena had… Leaned in. Oh. Dante’s brain had been flying off in a fit - mapping the directions, the routes, the locations, pulling up data, times, traffic, calculating - when the sudden closeness from the other woman pulled her brain, quite literally, out of the satellite's signals and back down to earth. “Hi.” Words, Leena was speaking, she’d… Need to pay attention to - Oh those eyes are pretty - words. Why was her heartbeat picking up? Teeth sunk into her own bottom lip as eyes dipped down before rising to meet Leena’s again. “Mm.” It was more affirmation that she’d heard Leena speak than anything else before Dante would shift to lean in a bit more and let her eyes slip closed. Leena had never gotten to see her parents in love, though she would have liked to. They didn't hate each other when she saw them together, but there was a bitter sweetness to them that made her ache now when she remembered. The smile finally happened when Dante said she could take her. She was faster, had the raw power, but Leena would never discount the skills she knew she had. "Maybe in a race," she teased, light hearted. "And you should know I wouldn't threaten them, not unless they were threatening you. Or someone that couldn't defend themselves." There was a little sigh in her words. "I don't even threaten myself, I just do it and --" she shook her head, because that was another behemoth in her skeleton closet that was perhaps better off inside for now. It was easier to focus on Dante's accent. "Yeah, but I'm not sure I could tell which is which, I can tell that it's obviously a New York accent though." She shrugged, only to startle a little bit at Dante's exclamation. "Yeah? That Jersey. Born and mostly raised, but you know about the school thing." She almost shrugged again, cause not even she had that exacting knowledge beyond the 78 and 18th street. And that was fine, really, cause Dante was leaning in all passionate and bright eyed and it was so damn easy to close her eyes at the last second before their lips touched. It was gentle, a hello instead of an apology, warmth instead of burning. And it was good until she let their lips break apart, but she didn't go far, just tilted their foreheads together. Dante would let the race comment go. There was no need to fight that one and reveal more than she’d been steadily doing. The longer she knew Leena the higher the risk ratio continued to climb. Yet, instead, she’d laugh softly and smile. The next sentence though? The one that cut off caused a furrowing of brows briefly but even that would be let go… At least for now and at least the attention of the conversation was off of her. It was only when Leena rested their foreheads together that the brain fog that Leena’s eyes seemed to fucking cause her would fade. “You weren’t in Hoboken were you? That was like 40mins from my house growing up. Twenty with how I drive.” Why the question or information was important she didn’t know but it… it felt important. It was asked low, curious and open but not pushing or demanding. Dante would let her thumb carefully stroke at the back of Leena’s hand as her eyes remained closed simply letting them both be close. "Hoboken? No." She gave the name of the city that was definitely close enough for her to make frequent trips into NYC whenever she was home. There was something in the question though, that quiet intensity that made her wonder what she was missing between the syllables. She'd figure it out. The line between her brows eased and she gave a slight nod, mostly to herself. Later she'd figure out this bit about the -- about how close they'd been. "Can you imagine if we knew each other then?" She said with a little smile. Back before -- before she'd been broken. Maybe before whatever had happened to Dante that hurt her had happened, back when they could have been silly teenagers, instead of silly twenty year-olds trying to figure out what was happening on any given day. The name of the city given caused her brows to furrow as Dante tried to plot the name on a map and it was like a fucking loading symbol circling in her head. It was a familiar name, a place she knew she knew, one she was pretty sure she was fucking up the exact location in her head but… Dante knew the general location of it. It was…… No. Not now. Really, all of the considerations would only take seconds as they flew through her head making her eyes distant for a moment before Dante would let her eyes ease open to roam over Leena’s face. The next question from Leena hit her insides like a ton of bricks but a decade of experience hiding her teen years held more power here. “We weren’t that far apart, we could have.” Because what the fuck else was there for her to say here? Thankfully, emotionally, she’d navigated this a million times before - talking about her teen years and knew the pitfalls, knew the problems, knew where she’d have issues - and it wasn’t hard to do again. “I was pretty busy in high school. Making meals for my dad and myself, school, track, trying to help take care of the house and the truck.” Her insides hurt so much but not even a hint of it would reflect anywhere in her posture, behaviors and words. It was just another conversation her and Leena were having on a cold winter night down by the creek in Repose. The question was fanciful, and there was nothing in Dante to suggest -- from what Leena could see -- that it was problematic. She did listen though, about Dante and her dad. Track. The truck. She didn't press though, didn't move further into a fanciful imagining of what could have happened, because those days were so far behind her that some days she couldn't believe she even had memory of them anymore. "Yeah, and I was in boarding school." Leena let out a little breath and offered her a small smile. "Was I making this all dramatic?" She asked, nose scrunching up a little at herself, and her tendency to drama. At least she came by it honestly from her parents, but God. Maybe one day she wouldn't be a complete wreck every time she and Dante met. “Mm.” There was a nod given to Leena’s comment about boarding school. They were of different worlds once more… It hurt a little to think of them both like that but… It was true. Leena belonged to a different world than she did. Leena didn’t want to kill, belonged to money and… More. More that made them different, more that separated them. There was still a low lingering tension any time she was around Leena but it was kept out of her posture, out of her tone and expressions. Leena was a threat to her life in at least four different ways, even if the other woman hadn’t a clue about any of them. “Yup.” Dante answer honestly in response to Leena’s question about making this overly dramatic. “I knew about your rumors….” She’d consider for a moment. “A little while ago. Long enough ago that Alison only has one more day to try to approach you if she’s going to.” She’d give a shrug here. “I’m just glad there hasn’t been any about my dad.” There was some relief and some tension in the words. Dante was well aware that just because she hadn’t heard them didn’t mean they weren’t there. “When my mom died.” She started, pausing for a moment with a sad smile to help set the tone of what was to come, before continuing. “There were a lot of rumors.” And it was true, her mother’s death had been… Such a mess. The shady question dodging of what had happened by the company certainly hadn’t helped. “Some people thought the real story was just a cover up and my dad did something.” Those accusations still stung to this day. “I got in so many fights.” Another sad smile was offered here with eyes having gone distant a bit as she spoke. “Never had a stomach for them since.” High school and her incident had only made that about a million times worse. Leena was from a different world, and she wasn't. They both shared this planet, and her family was in the socio-economic stratosphere, but she lived in a cave and then a treehouse, and it still felt surreal when she had to call the accountants to ask for a deposit. And she had no clue about threatening Dante's life on any one way, nevermind the myriad ways that Dante perceived. She let out a little sigh at Dante's agreement. "I didn't have those memories for a long time, it's hard -- sometimes, to admit to being her," she confessed and looked back up at the sky. "To being Hels -- Helena." But the rest? She shrugged, uncaring if Alison approached her with an apology or not. "I'm glad there haven't been any about him either. He's too nice for that kinda shit." It was rare enough for her to say that about a man, but it was true. Glancing back at Dante, she listened as the other woman spoke about her mother. The details there were sparse, and Leena hadn't pried especially since Dante's mom was dead. Gone. Whatever. "I can imagine you did," she said quietly, offering her a small, thin smile. "I can see that. People shouldn't have said shit about your mom. I never got to meet her, but I did get to meet you, and Hector, and Hector might not have been raised by her but they did get married." She went quiet then, squeezing Dante's hand, unsure if she should wait or prompt for more information on her mom. Wait. Definitely wait. Their sore spots all needed time for them to be ready to talk about. There was a nod as Leena spoke about not having memories. Dante couldn’t relate. Some days? She wished she could. So instead of trying to say something that might sound nice or wise or whatever the fuck might be needed here Dante would give Leena’s hand a squeeze. “To me? You’re the person who told me she doesn’t have sex with dudes in our first conversation than met me for coffee like a doof after I sent you a selfie so that you could prepare me for what could have been a fucking terrifying experience two weeks after I got here.” There she’d fall quiet for a moment. “I can make a bigger picture of you in my mind. None of us are just what we are here and now and if anyone ever thinks what you show is all there is to you, they shouldn’t be given another second of your time. People always have more to them.” Her voice would fall off as eyes slipped a bit distant. “I hope you’ll feel comfortable enough some day to show your full painting and not just snapshots.” Because she knew that was what Leena had been doing. Hell, she’d honestly done much of the same. “They mostly said shit about my dad.” Was the very sad sounding correction to Leena’s assumption. “People aren’t so quick to mock the dead.” The memories were there and they still hurt. That hurt threatened to show but it wasn’t like this was anything new. This was a pain she knew and also knew how to navigate. “Not to say they didn’t talk shit on my mom, but people prefer to gossip about the living. The ones they can watch react and hurt.” Dante went silent for a moment before sighing and seeming to come back to ground control once more. There was no point in continuing this train of conversation though. Nothing useful would come of it from Dante’s perspective. “We okay?” A beat as she turned an unsure smile on the other woman. “I get this is big to you, I do. I don’t want you to think that I don’t get that. Just… You haven’t been some snobby snooty bitch to me, you haven’t lied, you haven’t tried to hurt me, and it’s not like you’re flaunting something or causing fucking reporters to show up at my house or some shit.” The words would fall off as she thought. “It’s fucking weird.” The words were honest but held a nonjudgmental consideration. “But it’s not a type of fucking weird that I can’t handle or is gonna cause me to stop being your friend. Just the type of weird you don’t really expect to hear in your real life, you know?” Finally her gaze would rise to rest on Leena. Before an awkward half smile would be offered. “But I also think me being able to jump over a fucking tree is pretty fucking weird too.” It was a joke, an attempt to lighten the mood and make things feel a bit more fair between them. "I barely even talk to guys. I have like one guy friend that I am not related to by blood, or law, and that's really all I need," she said, like that was a perfectly sensible thing to do. In her world, it was. "Besides your selfie made it apparent you were not a dude, and it was a public spot. If you were a dude I would have let you figure out this shit on your own. Speaking of -- have you told your dad? You should prepare him." It was easier to talk about that than showing a full picture of herself. Especially when she felt like there were a few pieces still missing of that mural. And easier still to listen to Dante, that muscle in her jaw leaping as she described getting bullied. And Hector being bullied. Yeah, neither one of them deserved it, and if it happened here -- Leena wasn't sure she wouldn't get a new rumor started about her stopping those ones. Eh, so be it. "Yeah," she said quietly after a moment. "I can't promise the reporters won't show up one day. It's not -- I don't advertise it, obviously." She ran both hands through her hair, cause reporters were not the ones she was worried about showing up. But that was another whole shit show that she didn't want to go into right now. Eventually, if this kept on, she'd have to, but she couldn't right now. "Yeah, I know," she tacked on quietly, voice distant before she refocused on Dante. "My whole life is bizarre. You being able to jump over a tree is--" she shrugged and shook her head. "It means that you probably have a certain level of weird in your life too. It's a good thing." “I know a lot of guys.” Dante offered in response. It was intended to follow along with the theme of general sharing that they’d seemed to have tonight and also as a sort of warning to Leena for one more reason why their worlds were so very far apart. “Comes with the profession.” Her whole life had been spent in male dominated spaces and while it was enough to make her want to punch people through metal walls on the regular - mostly white cishet men - it was what it was. “We’ll talk. He’s been so busy with dealing with the house back in Brooklyn and running around here that I… We haven’t had a good time to talk.” The fact that her own life had also gotten particularly busy didn’t fucking help. The idea of reporters on her doorstep though? That earned an obvious face of discomfort but not one that seemed inherently deterred by that notion at the same time. “Mm.” Would be the only response given though. Hopefully, she could get things worked out and handled before that would become a problem she’d need to worry about. Besides, if someone was gonna come for Helena Wainright…… They should come when Helena Wainright was fucking someone worth writing about. A long, slow inhale was taken before she’d release the breath in a similar manner. “Certain level of weird sure as hell is one way to put it, yeah.” There was a huff of a laugh and she nodded along with her words. It was clear the assessment hit very close to home in its own way. As things seemed to finally began to be settling she’d pause, letting her gaze fall down to look over part of the area they were in. “Hey, Leena?” She’d shift a bit uncomfortably, face twisting up a cross between uncertainty and frustration. “You… You didn’t mention to anyone about that night we went out to the bar in the Capital, yeah?” Dante didn’t think Leena was the cause for the rumors that had come up about her but… No one else around here knew about her bar fighting. Not really. Not like Leena did and rumors often were sparked off of just one tiny little innocent comment that some other asshole took and ran with in a negative light. “The rumors about me…” Her voice was thoughtful, distant. “I don’t care if people think I’m a fighty bitch because I am.” It was a firm statement with a slightly forced smile after it. “But I just….” She’d frown. “I don’t know where they came from and you’re kinda the only one who…. Who knows I do that? I don’t think you started the rumors or anything but you didn’t… say anything in passing to anyone, did you?” The discomfort in the ask, the obvious complete lack of desire to even have this conversation was written in her muscles, across her face, and obvious in her tone. She didn’t want to believe Leena had done anything like that but… Something in this just wasn’t adding up. "Mmm," was Leena's only response to Dante knowing a lot of guys. Dante knew a lot of people and from the partiest she knew that probably half those people were guys. It made sense, but it didn't mean Leena was going to befriend them. But that didn't seem to be the point either, not given the look on Dante's face, and she frowned, filing the comment away to explore it later when she had time. "Yep," she said quietly. Dante's discomfort about the press was very much mimicked by Leena, who repeated the 'Mmm' though hers seemed to have more of a growl to it. If they showed up -- and it was 'if' currently, then yeah she was probably going to end up arrested for what she did but that was a nebulous maybe if they even would. No, they would if she surfaced in the press and she knew it. Better that she stay Leena for as long as she could. She swallowed, the line between her brows smoothing out with Dante's laugh, only to come back with the question. Had she even mentioned Dante to anyone? Not Claire, not Damian, not Jack, and not in public. It wasn't shame, it was a lack of talking to people and -- fuck, how did she bring up Dante when it seemed like yesterday Sadie was here? And whatever was going on with Damian, which was second to Dante asking her if she had mentioned anything in passing -- "No," she said, quiet, meeting Dante's eyes. "I haven't said anything to anyone, not even flippantly. I talk to like, four people on the regular. Or at all." There was little to respond to as Leena seemed to become less and less talkative and Dante had less of a clue how to follow up. Maybe the other woman was finally getting the clue that they lived in different spaces, occupied different circles and likely always would. Hell, even if Leena hadn’t been Helena there were still the operational differences of Artemis and Inferno and that sure as fuck would drive a wedge between them eventually. Dante would need to start being careful of Leena in a much different way than she’d been before. Hearing Leena’s answer though? That nothing had been said to anyone? That was good, better. If no one knew about any of this the easier slipping away would be later. The less she was cemented in others lives, the easier it would be for them to move on when she was no longer part of their equations. She just had to help enough to get Leena’s healing going, enough to… “Okay, cool.” A nod accented the confirmation of words but the tone was soft, not entirely present. “Guess that’s just bleed over from The Capital then.” There was another bob of her head before her gaze slipped over to dinner for a moment. Was she even hungry anymore? Not really. “Let me know if you hear anything about my dad, yeah? On the off chance that is.” The words were a little too quick, a little too tense and she hated herself for them instantly. “Wanna make sure to stomp that out fast.” Cause what else was there to say? She felt it, that switch in distance that hadn't been there a few seconds ago, but figuring out how to navigate it was a nuance in social skills she didn't know. She tried not to let her frown deepen, but she was sure it did as she glanced away. "It's probably the fact that this is a small town, and the only thing they do with more frequency than they mow their lawns is gossip about everyone. You're new, and that automatically makes you fodder for that machine," Leena said quietly. It was the one major downfall of such a small town, but it was also not something either one of them could change. "And yeah, of course I will. For the most part, I think he's too quiet to garner much attention which means they won't talk about him as much." Or so Leena hoped. Her gaze moved back to the bag of food that Dante had brought, but she still wasn't hungry. Not really. "Are you-- are you heading out then?" Because it seemed like their conversation was winding down, and there was that distance that she didn't know how the fuck to bridge. There was another sigh here, one that was annoyed. Leena was likely right in her assessment of the situation but it still didn’t make it any less frustrating on some level. People were just fucking miserable everywhere. “Yeah.” The single word was agreement as much as it was affirmation to the other woman’s point. Really Dante should have expected as much, it wasn’t like her life could ever be easy anyway. “Okay. Cool. Thanks.” Her head nodded along with the words thoughtfully. Hopefully, her dad would stay under the radar, away from any potential danger that might be lurking around here. The last thing Dante needed was to go nuclear on some fuck nut and show just how human she wasn’t by taking down the corresponding electrical grid or some shit. That question? That caught her attention, brought her head back to the here and now more than it had been before. “Oh, uh, sure? I mean, did you want me to?” Finally her head felt engaged in what was happening here again. How the question seemed to snap her back around Dante hadn’t a fucking clue but it had and… Her gaze rose to look over Leena. Was something wrong? “I don’t know what the right answer is here?” And it was true, she sure as fuck didn’t. Life was never about being easy, she learned that the hard way over and over and over again but it never hurt any less. "You're welcome," she replied, still quiet. But her questions? Leena frowned again, nails picking at the cuff of her hoodie. "You don't have to, it -- it seemed like you might want to. And I expected this conversation to go much worse, but apparently I was being dramatic," she offered with a little smile. "There is no right answer. Well. I guess if you lied that would be a wrong answer, but --" she shook her head. Maybe she was wrong and only imagining that distance between them. “O-oh.” Dante wasn’t really sure what else to do or respond initially. Where was her fucking head even anymore? Fuck. She had to get her fucking shit worked out. “I haven’t lied.” At least not about anything she could think of. Even in interactions with Artemis she’d always spoken to what Inferno believed and meant. Even if it was them crossing their wires about knowing who was who. Fuck. That ought to have been its own clue. “No?” A beat as her brows furrowed. “I mean, I don’t have to? Don’t feel like I have to?” The distance fell away from the searching gaze that had swept across nothing concrete. “Sorry, I guess…. I guess my brain is just sort of going a million places right now, it’s… It’s just how my head works?” Why was she saying this. “I have a lot of thoughts at once, all the time. Just normally organize them better.” Here her words would trail off into silence for a moment as Dante’s gaze fell away again. Eyes would squeeze shut as she’d taken in a long, deep inhale, trying to slow her head down just a bit. “It’s okay, you know? The drama thing? We all have things we freak about. I can see how revealing that you’re some, I don’t even fucking know what is that? An heiress or some shit? That changes how people can look at you. How much attention you get. When you don’t want attention that can be scary.” There was a sort of understanding that she wouldn’t speak to here. “And when people learn shit when you’re not ready for it that’s hard too. People are unpredictable. I get it.” Maybe that would help? With how her head kept ping-ponging back and fucking forth right now? Dante was feeling like her metaphorical footing was less and less sure. "You don't strike me as a liar," Leena said. Liars showed themselves quickly, like cruel people did. And she had beyond little use for them. Exhaling heavily, she listened, because maybe it was all in her head. That wouldn't be a surprise. "Alright," she said, the little furrow back between her brows. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you do, I'm here." She didn't have a million thoughts at once, and when she did it usually led straight into a panic attack. On the other hand, she tended to have a million feelings at once with them moving and sometimes a million feelings about one thing that was happening amidst a hundred other things. So, yeah, she got it. "I--"she breathed out and ran a hand through her hair. "It's more than that. There's a lot about -- about it. About why. Surrounding it." Almost like she was beating around the bush of it without saying anything directly, but it still wasn't something she wanted to talk about. "There's like a whole moat of shit surrounding it and I'm trying to not let my canoe tip over with me in it," Leena finally said with a huff, and tucked her hair behind her ear. "But no, if you want to stay, that's cool too. It's a good night for looking at the stars." “I’ll talk about it once I know what the it is that needs to be talked about.” And that was really the sticking point of all of this. What did she want to talk about in all of this? The fact that she knew her time with Leena was temporary and that Leena shouldn’t get too attached? The fact that she had a lot more info than Leena seemed to have on her? The fact that even if maybe, just maybe, she had some weird low-lying lingering distaste for the concept of not… not being…. Not being what? Here? In Repose? By a fucking creek? Christ what was with her fucking head? This talk about moats and tipping canoes though? “Then let me know how I can steady, got two hands to help.” The words were out before she could give them much thought and… Dante was surprised by them. But perhaps the surprise wasn’t entirely at the words themselves - she had always been taught to help - and more at the feelings - the sincerity, the want - behind them and how it felt. Not calm or factual, even if they in fact were, but more… Warm. That was dangerous all itself. “I want to help.” And there Dante rammed through her own confusion, her own emotions, her own distrust because this? This was… This was… Something else. Something that felt dangerous and white and scary and there was green while it edged along the warning sirens in her mind without setting them off quite yet. Even if whatever was creeping through her mind threatened to sound the alarms at any second with each minute that passed them by because this was.. This was.... Something she’d have to reassess… But that could come later, not right now. “What makes tonight better for you?” There’d be a soft smile here. “What makes this less red?” Was this something that Dante could help with? It didn't feel that way. It never felt like something that other people could help with, and maybe that was fear, maybe it was the daunting knowledge that only time would help her heal. Well, time and a Wish. "This isn't really something you can help with. But I appreciate the sentiment," Leena said, quietly. And as for being Helena Wainright? That wasn't something she could change either, neither of them could. "I don't know that there's anything more you could do at this point. Like, I appreciate the offer, I do, and I'm really glad that you're -- that you're still here." It was the best that she could probably hope for at this point, and she exhaled quietly. She still felt too tense, to wound up from the stress of having to tell Dante a truth she wasn't really expecting to have to tell. But Dante already knew because she'd heard it from someone else. She should go punch Alison in the face. "I actually think I want to go for a run now." It was better, and less illegal than demolishing a whole block of town just to get back at Alison with her fake tan. "But I can meet you back at your place if you want, after. I know this isn't really your scene." “Mm.” Was the sound given from behind closed lips. If Leena thought she couldn’t help, who was she to argue right now? Even if…. No. Danger. “If that’s what you want, sure.” There was a nod given here. Some piece down deep inside of her peeked its head up, some little part she’d stomped down long ago almost opened her mouth, almost made her speak to runs in Central Park and how she’d loved watching the foliage and squirrels and things pass her by, almost reminded her of the hope and innocence of her youth… Almost. Shifting Dante would start to move to stand, fingers dusting against pants and her gaze tossed around where they were checking for anything that might need to be done. Was this not her scene? It was hard sometimes, sure. Her brain and body were so trained into being connected to the world, the internet, the signals all around us, all the time that when she came out in places like this it was…. It didn’t matter if she could be comfortable out here. It didn’t matter that she was willing to give it a try. It didn’t matter that some part of her needed to not have those signals in her head all the time and coming out to places like this was proving that perhaps, just maybe, a place like this was just precisely what she’d been needing all al- Danger. “Eat the food.” A nod of her head would be given towards the bag. “I think I’m more in the mood to make tacos at home.” Dante would offer a smile to Leena before glancing back the way she’d come. “See you later? And if you’re not up for it after your run, that’s cool too. Just let me know.” Another soft smile, one gentle, one understanding that sometimes our heads were warzones and doing anything other than just staying alive was hell. Dante had to remember that in this? For what she had to do? She was nothing more than Leena’s rehab until the other woman found someone new. Was it what she wanted? Leena sighed. Some part of her wished that all the well wishes, all the desires to help her could actually work, but that wasn't the way the world was. "You can't undo my past," she said quietly. No more than she could undo Dante's, or Damian's, or Claire's. Dante was quiet for long enough that she wondered about what the other woman was thinking, where her thoughts went, if they went dark like Leena's did, but the next comment was random enough that she glanced over at the bag. "Take them and put them in the fridge for me? I'll pick them up from your place. Makes more sense than running with them." After a second, she added, "I will eat tacos then. Yours are so good," she said, voice going a little derpy. Mmm Dante's tacos. She nodded. "I'll text you if not." But right now she needed the earth under her feet, her heart pounding in her chest, and the burn in her legs that came from a good run. The understanding smile meant a lot to her, and she grinned at her for the first time all evening. "See you soon, LZ." [Miss part one? It's back here...] |