Olivia Jensen is on her way to ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ғᴀsᴛ (sprinted) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-02-18 08:37:00 |
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Everything happened so fast towards the end. Bombs and firearms had her ears ringing hours later, but it was a price she would pay a thousand times over to ensure the safety of everyone at the library. She would have done anything to make sure she saw Maizie again. Now that the zombies were cleared and everyone had supplies and were safely locked into the library, Savannah felt a wave of exhaustion overcome her body. She’d barely slept or ate these past few days, too stressed to do anything but worry and work on a solution to get everyone out of this mess. Exhausted as she was, she’d checked on as many as she could to make sure they were okay, and ensured that their guests had places to stay for the night, which included inviting Cal to crash in the Oval Office. Once that was all said and done, she spent the rest of the evening with Maizie and Olivia. Eventually though, she’d reached her limit of being awake. While the library continued to buzz with excitement and collectively breathe a sigh of relief, Savannah, Cal, Maizie and Olivia made their way up to the Oval Office. Cal followed the girls a bit sheepishly, first having made his objections about putting them out at all, then claiming he could crash in the exhibition rooms like anyone else, only to be waved off by the shelter leader. It was dark out now and there was no way Savannah was letting anyone travel in the night, which meant that their visitors/saviors needed a place to sleep for the night. Just like the night of the Frost Ball, she’d insisted her bed was big enough for her and Cal so she’d invited him to crash with her. Maizie slanted her eyes over to the side until her gaze met Liv’s. Having Cal sleep over wasn’t really her first choice of how to spend tonight. She would have much rather it be just the three of them, to curl up, secure at last, and let the fact that they were back together sink in until the last couple of days faded from her memory. But Cal had pretty much saved her life, after all, for which Maizie was more-than-words-could-say grateful. Shifting half a step closer to Liv, she bumped their shoulders lightly together, settling for a brief, physical reminder of their close proximity. She was rewarded by the way Liv's hand found hers, holding on tight as the four of them rode up in the elevator. Letting out a yawn once they reached the Oval Office, Savannah stepped over to her side of the room and began looking for pajamas. “Cal, do you want somethin’ to sleep in?” “Yeah, I, uh… I’m gonna need something a bit more decent, else I’ll just be crashing in my boxers.” Ordinarily he’d have been more at ease, more casual and prone to joking around like he tended to with Savannah. But the presence of two young girls made Cal assess and reassess his own behaviour, self-conscious in a way he usually wasn’t as he shot a startled look back at them, certain that he’d just heard a strangled noise come from either Olivia or Maizie. Coughing in hopes of covering the sound she’d just made, Maizie shook her head in Liv’s direction. It was unclear what, exactly, she thought she was saying no to. No to Savannah sharing a bed with any boxer-clad dude, no matter who he was. No to having to overhear even part of this conversation. Just, no. Olivia's eyes felt permanently narrowed as she, too, sought to make heads or tails or both or whatever of the entire situation. Like, it was cool and stuff that he'd been so helpful, but he still lived in the Capitol and it was super weird that he was just apparently sleeping over when there were plenty of other spaces to sleep in the Library. There was at least one vacancy in the Social Justice Wing, after all. If Savannah had decided he would be sleeping up here with them, he had to be someone special. Or like, someone she wanted to be special. She made no attempt to hide the half-appraising, half-confused look she shot Cal before she tugged on Maizie's hand, stepping backwards to direct them back to their side of the room with as much coordination as she could manage. Cal followed suit, slinking back over to Savannah’s side behind the pallets. Savannah had had enough drama the past few days, so it didn’t even really cross her mind that Maizie and Olivia might find it strange that she invited a friend to stay with them. After all, Lita stayed over every time she visited. Cal may be a man, but to Savannah, this really wasn’t all that different. “Good night, love you girls. Make sure you keep your voices down, okay?” And with that she turned to face Cal. |
Hidden behind the wooden pallets that divided the room Savannah rolled her eyes, whispering, “Just ignore them,” before digging a bit more through her clothes to pull out a large white t-shirt for Cal to wear. She’d stolen it from Gray forever ago to sleep in so it was a little on the worn side, but it would get the job done so far as his modesty was concerned. “It’s not—I mean, they won’t think…?” Cal said, his hand knotting in the fabric of the t-shirt, then untangling it to find the neck. It was a consideration he’d somehow missed: Savannah crashing with him at the Capitol had been casual enough, but now having other parties in the room set him on edge. “I dunno, maybe,” Savannah shrugged. Of course she was concerned what Maizie might think about all this. She’d loved Gray and didn’t want Maizie feeling upset or hurt by any future romantic relationships she might be in, but seeing as Cal was just a friend, she wasn’t too concerned at the moment. She was honestly too relieved that the horror of the past few days was over and too tired to get worked up about anything that wasn’t currently life-threatening. With a concerted effort though, Cal let that tension bleed out of him. He turned his back, skimming off his outer layers and piling them on the makeshift endtable, removing his slightly stale, sweaty clothes and changing into the shirt. “Again, sorry to impose. We probably could’ve headed back earlier, but we wanted to double-check the perimeter and all, you know? Considering how fucked the fences are.” And much to his own mild consternation, Cal found that he still liked being around the library. No one had ever forbidden him from coming here, but it still felt slightly illicit, as if foraying into off-limits territory. Savannah faced away from Cal, changing to an oversized shirt and leggings to sleep in, before moving back towards the bed and sitting. “Stop apologizin’ Cal. You’re not imposin’ and I’m glad you stayed. There’s so much work to be done and I hope you know I appreciate how much you and Karen did. It would be a poor way to repay you if I let you slip off into the night. Even with that herd cleared out, it can’t be the only one that explosion attracted. Not to mention all the noise from today--” Savannah stopped herself short, tucking her hair behind her ears and pursing her lips. There was a lot to be worried about still but if she didn’t stop those thoughts, she’d never be able to sleep. Cal seemed to catch onto it, turning to face her with a rueful grin; Savannah’s train of thought was barreling down the tracks, ready to rattle off the entire list of problems resting on her shoulders. “That’s for Future Savannah to worry about,” he proclaimed. He checked on his gun one last time, like a nervous tic—ensuring it was unloaded, the ammunition neatly stacked beside it. “Take it one day at a time, Sav. Y’all came out of this really good. It could’ve been way worse than it was, and I’m glad of it.” Finn, Savannah’s every faithful snuggle companion, hopped onto the bed beside her and laid down on the side intended for Cal, and she couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “C’mon baby, over here,” she coaxed quietly, and after a few moments finally got Finn to move to the other side of her, lying down beside her on the floor. “He’s not used to sharin’ the bed,” Savannah said, the smile fading and her tone implying that it was her who wasn’t quite sure how to navigate this. She knew it was just Cal and sharing the bed--this bed she’d shared with Gray--didn’t mean anything, but it still brought on more feelings than she’d been prepared for. Cal went still for a moment, letting that sink in as well. He tried not to think too much about the long shadow cast by the other soldier, tried not to categorise his friend too neatly into the role of war widow—but it kept lurching up occasionally, this void that he was so careful not to trespass on. With a deep breath exhaled, she suppressed those thoughts as well, and nodded. “Right. Future Savannah’s gonna have quite a full plate tomorrow. But things are as good as can be for tonight.” “One thing I’ve learned is to take advantage of any hours of sleep where you can get it,” Cal said. As if to punctuate his point, he yawned. The man leaned over to scratch Finn behind the ears—an apology for stealing his spot, maybe—before moving over to the other side of the bed and climbing in. He rolled to face away from Savannah, sprawled on his side. Seemed safest that way. “Yeah,” Savannah agreed softly, hanging a hand over the side of the bed to tangle her fingers into Finn’s fur. Glancing sideways at Cal, taking in the outline of his back, she said, “We better get some sleep then. G’night, Cal.” “Night, Sav.” He tried not to think too much about the girls on the other side of the pallet, the dangers they’d all faced today, and the woman on the other side of this bed. Just sleep. REWIND, REWIND, REWIND |
While Olivia had always known that to a certain extent, Savannah could hear them when she and Maizie talked at night, it'd never really stopped her from doing just that. Tonight was different, though, and it wasn't just the leftover stress from the last couple of days. She felt very aware of the company on the other side of the room. In a weird way, though, Cal's presence made it easier for her to feel comfortable sitting down on Maizie's bed, on her side, instead of on the makeshift mattress she'd built for herself. Surely Savannah would be too preoccupied to make sure they were keeping their distance, if she even cared about that stuff anymore? Whatever. It didn't matter, not when Maizie was back and alive and like, totally not a veteran of a cannibal fight or whatever. "I'm glad you're back," she said quietly, offering Maizie a smile. She gestured for her to sit down. From where she hesitated next to the partition, Maizie was totally eavesdropping on what she could make out of the conversation on the other side. At the sound of Liv’s voice, she glanced over, the motion making her sway slightly with exhaustion. Sleeping was a really good idea, she knew that, but part of her couldn’t quite let go of being awake. There was so much to make up for. But even as she looked over at where her girlfriend waited, Maizie had to stifle a yawn. Ok, then. Sleep. “I’m glad too.” She climbed over to the bed and dropped down next to Liv, leaning heavily against her. Turning her head, she nuzzled her face into the curve of Liv’s neck and added, the words slightly muffled, “Missed you the whole time.” "Missed you more." Olivia draped one arm over Maizie's waist and sighed, trying to breathe out all the tension that was still lingering despite the welcome presence of the girl next to her. Part of her had wondered if this -- their separation, Maizie's apparent impending doom -- was some sort of bad karma, the universe's way of paying her back for daring to be so happy with her. How else could she explain it all going down just two days after the night they'd gone up to the roof together? She tilted her head up to press a kiss against Maizie's temple, then forced another sigh out. Maizie seemed tired as hell, but comfortable as she was, even without actually getting out of her clothes, Olivia's mind was still racing. "I was so worried about you, you know? I'm never letting you go again." “Fine by me,” Maizie murmured in reply. There had been a lot of bad days since the start of this whole zombie nightmare, but the ones she’d spent at the lending library -- both trapped by the undead and separated from everyone she loved -- had been up there with the very worst one of all. She gave a small shiver and tucked in closer next to Liv. Thank goodness they were being allowed to sleep together tonight. Maizie was pretty sure that she would’ve woken up, otherwise, frightened and searching for Liv in the dark. Something stirred in the back of her tired brain -- hadn’t she just climbed over Liv’s bed to get to her own? Lifting her head just enough to check her memory, Maizie frowned at the second sleeping space, which had been in the middle of the Oval Office just a few days ago. “Wait, when did that move back here?” she asked. “While I was gone?” "Oh." Olivia lay back down on the bed and pushed gently on Maizie's shoulder to try and get her to follow suit. She did, with only that little encouragement. "Yeah, two nights ago me and Savannah talked about it. I guess we kind of misunderstood when she told us we couldn't sleep in the same bed anymore. Like, I could have the bed on your side still, we just couldn't do this." She couldn't help the amused, triumphant smile that settled on her face as she continued to assert her presence in her girlfriend's bed, pulling one leg up and over Maizie's. "Pretty cool, right?" She and Savannah had talked about more than just the bed's location that night, of course. But right now didn't exactly seem like the best time for them to talk about that. It also didn't feel like a great time to ask Maizie for more details about what had happened, or to poke at how she was feeling besides 'relieved' and 'tired.' So Olivia settled for kissing Maizie's temple and closing her eyes, trying to catch some of her exhaustion. “I'm really glad. You belong with me anyway.” Maizie stifled a yawn in the crook of her arm, then shifted so that her hand rested on Liv’s hip. Probably should have changed before lying down, she reflected, because now that she was in bed, there was no way she was getting up again. The ordeal of the past few days, already on her heels, had caught up entirely. Allowing her eyes to drift closed, Maizie concentrated on the sound of Liv’s breathing, letting the steady in-and-out drown everything else out. She'd missed hearing it over the past two nights. After a moment, knowing she’d be out before long, Maizie turned her head to press her lips against a spot on the curve of Liv’s jaw and mumbled a sleepy, “Love you.” "Love you, too." And while Maizie drifted off to sleep against her, Olivia did her best to stay as still as she could -- even as her ears strained to catch bits and pieces of whatever was happening in the other side of the Oval Office. |