The way her voice shook, the softness of it, only served to squeeze his heart more. Fabian hated hearing the desperation in her tone, hated feeling the pain and guilt and sadness that radiated through the door. The sound of tears in her voice made it feel like someone was taking a jagged razor and slicing his heart into ribbons, and he had to stop himself from crushing the door knob in his hand as he tried to sort through the barrage of Adelaide's emotions enough to identify his own. He could tell she was afraid, afraid that he wouldn't listen, worried that she'd already ruined what they had. That fear, that desperate hope, was what made him open the door finally.
Fabian just couldn't let her think for even a second that he was going to leave her.
Hearing her gasp as the door opened, he fixed his own sad eyes on her. Even in her grief, with tear tracks through her makeup, Adelaide was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He was so tired, though, he couldn't even muster a small smile or a glance of affection. He just looked defeated. Exhausted. Beyond any and every feeling. Fabian just looked at her for several long moments, letting his eyes flick over her face before he finally stepped back so she could enter. Whatever they had to say, he didn't want to say it out in the hall.
Once the door shut behind her, the two simply stared at each other. The space between them wasn't large by any standards, but it felt like there was an entire continent between them the tension was so heavy. He could feel that anxiety radiating from her, could feel the same overwhelming sadness that consumed him day in and day out. He wanted to comfort her, wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her that it would be alright, but he wasn't there yet.
When she finally spoke, the shaky whisper to her normally confident voice nearly broke him. The tears only furthered the pain he was feeling, and he closed his eyes against it as she apologized. Without giving himself time to really overthink, Fabian closed the distance between them and wrapped her in his arms. He didn't know what to say yet, so he just held Adelaide, letting her cry, relishing in her scent surrounding him and the feel of her in his arms again finally.