Isobel Hughes ➤ Rapunzel (sanslumieres) wrote in musingslogs, @ 2011-01-25 18:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | flynn rider, rapunzel |
Who: Ray and Isobel
What: Checking up on Isobel
Where: Isobel’s Apartment
When: Monday afternoon, around 4:30pm
Warnings: None.
The day had been a long one, though thankfully a busy one. Ray hadn’t had time to check his phone for messages or missed calls very often, and the last time he had checked was around lunch time. He had almost called Isobel then, but he also didn’t want it to seem like he was fishing for compliments or exclamations of how awesome he was being. When he finally clocked out of work, around 4 o’clock, Ray checked his phone again. Still nothing.
Ray was worried now, because for the most part they had been in communication with each other in some form every day, even if it was something as simple as a ‘Have a great day’. So Ray made his way home, taking the stairs and getting off at the second floor. He hardly needed to know that she lived in 203 because the multi-colored flowers he had sent her were there on her door step. Confused, he picked them up and knocked twice on the door.
She was no longer curled up in the hallway where she had been left during the wee hours of the morning, but that hardly meant she was in any better shape. The pain had lessened, but the bruising that had developed was a shameful reminder that what had happened had certainly not been a dream. So she had curled up on the couch right near the broken window that the man had used, staring out at the city beyond, the curtains wafting in the cool air that drifted through.
The sound of the knock drew her from her thoughts, and for a long while, she considered just ignoring it. Stay quiet long enough and whomever it was would simply go away. Phone calls were the same; ignore them and get back to them later. Whenever later would be. But something told Isobel she shouldn’t ignore this one, not right now, at least, and that’s what drew her from the couch, the blanket she had curled up with still held around her shoulders as she padded towards the front door.
The locks were flicked open, the deadbolt unfastened, hand resting on the doorknob for a moment as she got her breath, got her nerves where they belonged. And then she opened it, just a crack, wary of whomever was knocking.
Ray wasn’t sure what to expect, but the soft padding of feet and the hard sounds of the door being unlocked seemed so loud as the door was opened just a crack. He could hardly see Isobel, wrapped as she was in the blanket. She looked tired and worn out, and Ray immediately was worried. “Isobel?” he asked softly, unsure if his presence was even welcome. “Are you okay?”
Ray. Ray was safe. Ray was sweet. Ray never hurt her. The moment she caught sight of him, she opened the door wide, immediately moving in towards him, arms circling around his chest as she just clung to him as though afraid he would disappear on her. There was nothing said, but she was breathing hard, the beginnings of hysterical sobs starting deep in her throat.
He barely had time to move the flowers out of the way as she swung the door open and threw herself at him. His arms wrapped around her tightly, immediately whispering soft, soothing words against her hair and ear. Ray could tell she was on the verge of tears, if not already there, and he doubted she wanted to have a breakdown in the hallway. Carefully, he moved her back into the apartment, shutting the door behind them with the tap of his foot. “Shh,” Ray whispered, his free hand rubbing her back soothingly. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, hoping she would calm down slightly so that she could tell him.
Her breath hitched in her chest, letting Ray lead her back into the apartment, her fingers having wound into his shirt at this point, bringing in deep, heavy breaths as often as she could. She wasn’t quite ready for words yet, but if Ray looked around, he could possibly put together some of the pieces of the story. Her bedroom door was ajar, easily seen down the hallway. In the living room, shards of glass littered the floor from the broken window, the temperature in the apartment near that of the outdoors. Physically, she looked merely tired at first, but one arm had a bruise blossoming over fair skin, the other bruise not as easily seen hidden as it was beneath her nightgown.
When she didn’t talk, Ray looked around the apartment, hoping for some clue as to what happened to put her on edge. The first thing he noticed was the temperature in the apartment once the door was closed, which drew his attention to the broken window and the glass on the floor. His arms tightened their hold on Isobel, immediately worried about her. His cursory gaze landed on the bruise on her arm and Ray’s entire demeanor shifted. He pulled back, holding her at arm’s length to look her over for any more signs of damage. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked quietly, though his tone made it clear he wanted an answer.
As Ray pulled back, it was clear that Isobel wanted nothing more than to clutch at him, to be held and comforted, but she didn’t fight him. Her arms went to her sides, the sleeves of her robe falling down to cover her arms and hands back up. For a long while, she said nothing, her eyes fixed on the floor, studying her bare feet, focusing instead on breathing evenly and as normally as she could. And then she nodded shortly, one hand straying up towards her stomach, fingers touching there gingerly, her breath quickening slightly.
Ray waited for her to reply, and when she did, his eyes hardened. He’d find whoever did this and beat the crap out of them, but for now he needed to focus on Isobel. He dropped the flowers on the counter and drew her back into his arms, resting his chin on her head, hands rubbing her back soothingly. “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” he whispered encouragingly. “I promise,” he added softly, hoping there was something he could do to help her through this.
The look in his eyes, that hard, steely gaze, had her whimpering for just a moment, but it ceased as quickly as it started as he drew her back towards him, and Isobel all but melted into his arms, face pressed into his chest, taking in great, deep breaths every few seconds.
“I brought it on myself,” she said with a hiccup, fingers worrying at his sleeves. “With what I said on the forums. It was someone there. He said he’d come.” She let out a breath, shaking her head before pulling back, wiping at her eyes, turning away from Ray.
Ray held her close and immediately pressed his lips to her forehead. “It’s not your fault, Izzy,” he replied firmly. “You voiced an opinion and didn’t hide behind an anonymous account, babe. That makes you better than them. They’re the ones who felt threatened and wanted to teach you a lesson. You didn’t do anything to deserve this, Isobel, I swear,” he replied vehemently. It was important to him that she understood that, because she was strong and could handle this. He believed in her.
“And even if I tell myself that, it doesn’t help what happened.” Her face screwed up slightly and she shook her head, feeling that hysterical need to cry welling up inside of her, working hard to squash it down where it couldn’t hurt anything. Instead, she turned, moving towards the kitchen, a glass pulled out of the cupboards and filled with juice. She stood, braced against the counter, just staring at it.
Ray understood where she was coming from, but he wasn’t sure where to go from here. Quite honestly, he wanted to find this person and beat the shit out of them for going anywhere near her. He let her go when she moved away from him, and stayed rooted in his spot as she poured herself a glass of juice. He sighed and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. Ray didn’t want to let her go. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and sighed, not saying anything.
Feeling Ray behind her rooted her to the here and now, a much more comfortable place than the memories of the night. She leaned back against him, tipping her head back so she rested against his shoulder, breathing slowly, some of the tension falling from her as the quiet moments went by. “There’s not going to be any reason to wear a bikini on this cruise, is there?” she whispered, turning her head slightly to the side to look at him, a faint smile pulling at her lips.
His grasp of her tensed for half a second around her midsection, before relaxing again so as not to hurt her. “Well, it is Alaska,” he replied, trying his best to keep his tone as warm and lighthearted as possible. “Plus, I’m pretty sure bathing suits also come in one pieces,” he added, probably sounding more teasing than he meant to. Ray was silent for a few moments before speaking again. “Do I want to know?” he asked quietly.
“Probably not.” She laughed just a bit, reaching out for her glass of juice, drinking it down before she let herself answer. “You... should probably see. I promise you, though, it looks worse than it feels. At least now.” Placing the glass back on the counter, she turned around in his arms, rising up slightly to press a kiss to his cheek, giving him a nuzzle. She was feeling better, still shaky, but having Ray there helped her more than she could probably put into words.
Pulling back, she took one of his hands in her own, leading her to the bedroom, a nudge of one bare foot pushing the door further open. It was warmer in here, the bed still mussed from when she had awoken earlier. “Sit down, you,” she instructed him, trying to smile, to bring some levity to the situation.
Ray agreed that he probably wouldn’t want to know why she asked about bikinis, but he also agreed he should probably see, so he nodded and followed her into the bedroom. As he sat down on the bed, he smiled and thought of a much more pleasant set of circumstances that could lead them to a similar positions. He reached out to take her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Next time, promise this will have a happier ending?” he asked softly.
She closed her eyes as his lips touched her hand, managing a small smile in response. “Promise. Life can’t always be this hard, can it?” Withdrawing her hand, she took a step back, letting the robe slide from her shoulders to the floor, a puddle of terry cloth fabric around her feet. Once that was done, she looked towards the floor, unable to meet his gaze as she lifted the hem of her nightgown, up over the thin shorts she wore beneath, lifting it just above her ribs.
The bruise that covered her midsection was livid, moreso than the one on her arm. If one had to describe it, it looked as though she had been hit across the middle with a 2x4.
“I hope not,” Ray muttered in reply as she stepped back and dropped the robe. He noted, absently, that she had an amazing figure. He would have let his mind wander a little bit more, but he was distracted by the gigantic bruise along her midsection. His hands curled around the sheets, anger filling him to the very core. How dare anyone do this to Isobel? Ray wouldn’t stand for it. After a few moments, he realized how angry he must have looked and immediately softened, bringing his gaze from her midsection to her face. He reached out to grab her hand and gently pulled her toward him and down onto his lap. His arms went loosely around her and he sighed, resting his head against her chest.
She was unraveling bit by bit as the moments ticked by and Ray had said nothing. But then he was pulling her close, and she couldn’t help but sit on his lap, a whimper escaping her. The nightgown had fallen back into place and she leaned in against Ray, her breathing ragged and heavy. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, though she had no idea what she was sorry for.
Ray shook his head, unable to articulate anything remotely comforting. Anger clouded his judgement, wanting nothing more than to beat the crap out of whoever did this. No one should be able to treat Isobel like that. After a few silent minutes, Ray quietly asked, “Do you want me to stay tonight?” He didn’t want to leave her alone, and he wasn’t sure how she would feel about the company tonight.
For a while, she said nothing, shifting her position in his lap to curl up against his chest, arms wound around him as she simply rested there. “I’m not sure. Yes? I don’t want to be alone.” There was a sigh and she squirmed slightly where she sat, crawling off of him and settling on the mattress only a foot away. “Please stay?” she murmured quietly. “Or at least... let me come stay with you? The window’s still broken and I...”
Isobel trailed off, looking away as her eyes closed, winding her arms back around herself once more, the sleeveless gown she wore showing off gooseflesh that touched her arms.
Ray didn’t want to let her go, but did anyway, his eyes never leaving her as she shifted onto the bed next to him. He held her hand gently, wanting to at least be touching her in some way. She was clearly cold, as seen from the gooseflesh on her arms. He felt horribly about it, and knew immediately that they would be spending the night in his apartment. Ray nodded, bringing her hand up to his lips to press a soft kiss against her flesh. “Would you like to come now?” he asked softly.
A bob of her head was her response, eyes lingering on his face as she turned back towards him, offering him a small smile in thanks. She scooted back towards him, inch by inch, and leaned against his side, head finding a comfortable home on his shoulder. “I should have called you last night,” she said softly, giving his hand a tight squeeze, tracing the back of his hand with the fingers of her other one. “Told you what happened. Told someone. I just...” A small shrug. “I think work called, but I just ignored it. I’m supposed to go in tomorrow, too.”
Ray draped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple. “It’s okay. I’m here now, and we’ll be okay. Work will understand, you can call them tomorrow,” he replied softly, holding her for a few moments. “Come on, how about you get dressed and pack up your things for the cruise, and for tomorrow, and you can come stay with me tonight,” he went on to say, offering her an encouraging smile. “You can take a nice hot shower and I’ll cook you dinner,” Ray added with a pleased smile.
The promise of a hot shower and dinner to go with it did it’s job in brightening her mood, even if it was only to go to cloudy from completely overcast. So she found the strength to get back up, giving Ray a view of her nightgown clad form as she moved around the room to gather the things she would need for the cruise. “We could just... order out, or something,” she said as she pawed through her drawers, a pile of silky things forming at her feet.
Ray grinned, leaning back on the bed, enjoying the view appreciatively, though attempted to not appreciate it too much. Isobel would be needing the shower, and he was under the impression she wouldn’t really want him joining her, considering everything that happened. He considered himself lucky that she still wanted to go on the cruise. His grin turned into a smirk as the pile of silky clothes grew. “Are you planning on leaving the room in any of those things?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. “Because, I don’t think I’d like it if you were ogled by everyone and their father on this cruise, babe.”
Isobel had to laugh at that, casting a glance over her shoulder towards Ray, that smirk making things feel like they were nearly just fine. “I’ll dress before we leave. Don’t need anyone thinking you’re the reason for these bruises, right?” A filmy, silky pair of underthings was tossed towards him, just a wisp of fabric flung his way. “Do... you think I should make a police report? About what happened?” She tilted her head to the side at that, thinking more logically as the moments went by. Really, it hadn’t been pleasant, but she was lucky she had walked away with nothing but bruises.
Ray grinned again, and caught the flimsy bit of fabric with one hand. He paused for a moment, contemplating the question. Should the police get involved? What did Isobel even know about the intruder? He sighed. “It’s up to you,” he replied, giving her a little shrug. “It’s probably better if you did, but I wont make you,” Ray added carefully.
“I’ll... I’ll call Eli later. Back at your place and let him know, see what he thinks.” Her shoulders shrugged up again and she shut the drawer firmly, pulling open the next and pulling out several pairs of pants and other things, letting them join the growing pile. For a while, there was nothing else said as she went about the room, gathering things here and there and shoving them into a suitcase, not bothering with packing well since she’d go through and fold and make it neat later on. Once that was done, she sat back down on the edge of the bed beside him, leaning back against him with a sigh.
“Why can’t the cruise start tomorrow? I just need to get away.”
Ray watched her in silence, allowing himself the opportunity to watch her. He grinned as she methodically went through her drawers, pulling out the clothes she wanted or needed. His smile widened as she stuffed things haphazardly into her suitcase; his kind of girl. When she finally took a seat next to him, Ray wrapped his arms around her again. He pressed another kiss to her temple. “I completely agree, but it’ll come soon enough,” he replied softly. They were silent for a few moments before he stood and held his hand out for her. “Ready to go?”
“It’s now or never, isn’t it?” She reached up to take his hand, pulling herself up and leaning in to give him a quick kiss before releasing his fingers. There was an extra moment taken as she pulled on something more respectable than her nightgown, hardly shy as she shimmied into a pair of jeans and swapped the nightie for a long-sleeved sweater. Then, taking his hand back into her own, she led the way from the apartment and to Ray’s own, not noticing the calling card the Sadist had left behind.