Who: Teddy and Natasha What: Dinner Where: The Hawke-land residence When: Thursday, January 12 - 7pm
Teddy had arrived home with the small bag of fresh groceries in hand at six-twenty. Physically, mentally, and emotionally drained, he stood in the doorway of the dark house and realized just how wrong normalcy felt after so many hours of destruction and loss. Limiting the military to twelve hour shifts made sense. It was hard work for the body, mind, and spirit. He'd seen enough action in the field to know what to expect, to desensitize, but it was different seeing Haven's civilians suffer. This was home, these were their people, and all of that had been violated.
So, yes. The break was sensible, but frustrating. He, along with many he worked with would gladly give all of the time they had to keep working the attack site, even at their own expense. There was so much work to do, so many families without answers, people to find even if actual rescue became less and less likely as time went on. It wasn't unknown to anyone that the chances of finding more survivors now was slim to none. There was no real lack of manpower. If anything, too many people at the site could do more damage than good. Rotations to keep everyone working, preventing them from tripping over one another, to make sure people were getting rest was the logical thing to do, but part of him still hated it.
Alex had been scheduled on a shift opposite of his, showing up on the scene just as he was leaving. That would be the limit of their interactions for the next few days, he was certain. It wasn't as if he'd never spent any time in the house on his own. He was capable enough, and Drake had been helping out at the site so much in the past twenty-four hours that there was little to no chance of him making an unscheduled appearance. Still, being alone for any extended period of time always unnerved him slightly, even aside from the potential trouble his alter ego could cause. As a child he'd had his parents. After his manifestation he had the doctors and scientists. Then his handlers, his unit, his friends, his family, and soon a wife.
Whether they liked it or not. Teddy still wasn't quite sure he'd settled on which way he was leaning, or whether or not the night would be enough to sway him one way or the other.
In the end, no matter what the benefit the dinner might have had without the tragedy in the center of town, Teddy had entirely meant it when he'd said he'd like the company. Even as drained as he was, he knew he wouldn't be sleeping at any point in the near future, so he was glad to have goals to set for the evening. Text Jane. Shower. Dress. Clean. Cook. Host. All simple, all things he could do, all things that would help him keep his mind off of everything else. If nothing else, maybe a glass of the mid-level pinot noir that would pair well with the herb-grilled salmon would help. It occurred to him that maybe Natasha didn't drink, but she'd been alright with him partaking in the red meat at the restaurant, perhaps one glass of wine would garner a similar result.
After showering, he contemplated dressing in something nice again, but opted for casual comfort. Having spent the entire day in uniform, or scales, what he really wanted was just to relax, and he imagined that Natasha might forgive him considering the circumstances. The pale blue shirt and dark jeans might not have been impressive by any means, but they were still appropriate for company and fit well. His hair was tied back loosely, a few blonde strands swinging down past his ears as he stepped barefoot around the living room and kitchen, tidying up what little there was to worry about. Despite the fact that he didn't plan on cooking until she arrived, wanting to make sure it was as fresh as possible, Teddy made his way into the kitchen and turned on the small music player attached to the underside of the cabinet by the sink. Julie London crooned in company as he began pulling out pans and utensils necessary for cooking, humming low in time to the lyrics of "Cry me a River".
Maybe a little normality wouldn't be so bad after all.