Capt. Babs Greenling (is a ray of f'ing sunshine) (bite_sized) wrote in remains_rpg,
Re: Liv x Babs
“Habits are hard to break,” Babs said, nodding. She didn’t notice that Kaleo’s leash was worn around the middle, or that he was straining to get closer to the food truck. After all, he was a good boy and she’d told him to stay. “When I was in Phoenix I was used to sleeping on the left side of the bed only, the right side belonged to… well, someone else. That was years ago. I still don’t feel right on the right side,” Babs said, shrugging. She didn’t mention that in the few occasions she’d had in a bed bigger than a cot, she found herself reaching out to the right, her hand trying to find Teddy’s shoulder. His arm. His soft hair.
Olivia's eyes narrowed at the mention of some person who used to share Babs' bed, the first of any kind. Babs had always been a private person, something they'd shared until Olivia had started to feel more comfortable opening up to her. And now it turned out she'd been with some guy -- or girl, whatever -- in Phoenix?
She took a sip of pop, swallowing it along with her sudden irritation, and glanced over at her. "I sleep on the left, too," she said, a hedging sort of statement until she felt comfortable pressing Babs for more.
Another bite. God damn, meat was amazing.
“So you’re moving in with Maizie and Savannah then.”
Olivia nodded. "Yeah. Nathan, too, because apparently it's impossible to get rid of him." The latter bit was infused with a bit more affection than similar statements had been a few months ago, when Nathan had first arrived in Austin. She was excited, if a bit nervous, and she wasn't exactly sure what it would mean for everyone else she cared about.
“Southern boys are hard to shake, they like to be big and tough but the moment a woman offers to care for them, they’re helpless,” Babs said, snorting. She knew that Olivia had caught the mention, but Babs didn’t know how to go into the man who had been her own southern man once upon a time. Mostly because she and Teddy hadn’t been traditional- sure, Babs had cared for Teddy’s hurts… but he’d cared for her emotionally so much more.
"Yeah," Olivia agreed, nodding in commiseration. Savannah and Nathan seemed to be fighting a lot more, at least, even if Olivia didn't necessarily know all the reasons why every single time it happened. Most of the time, though, it seemed like there was one thing going on: "They seem to be weird and overprotective. At least, that one does. But whatever's going on, I guess we're making it work well enough to move out together." Her gaze drifted sideways to Babs. "What about you?" Up “I’m going to move my clinic, and probably live in a room there until there’s a full staff to handle nights,” Babs offered, putting her food down for a moment to wipe her hands off and get some spots of sauce off of her face. At her feet, Kaleo began to move, scooting closer to the smells, not knowing the truck was about to leave. Babs didn’t notice, she was too busy looking at Olivia.
“Ask what you want to ask, Liv.”
It was an invitation to pry, a rare one at that, and the look of excitement on Olivia's face was plainly obvious. She always, always took advantage of these moments. "Okay, well, I'm gonna wait on that weird part about you sleeping in your clinic, because that's weird and we can actually live in real houses, since I wanna go back to that part about the person sleeping on the right side of the bed. Because who was that?"
Options: shrug, be vague, or full truth. She thought about her conversation with Savannah, the fear she’d felt when she thought about losing Olivia. Full truth then.
“I was married. His name was Teddy, I met him while he was in the army and I was in the nursing corps,” Babs said, putting her food down on top of a napkin and using some extra to get rid of grease. “He and I moved to Phoenix after we got out, and we stayed in a shelter until it became clear that it was time for me to leave. Sometimes relationships just end. Sometimes your husband sleeps with another woman so you punch her in the mouth and leave.”