The way he was talking...it gave her that little glimmer of hope. A chance to make up for her mistakes, maybe. And to let him make up for his. No, they'd never been the perfect couple, but when they were good, they were brilliant. If they'd just talked things over all along, maybe they'd never have gotten into this mess to begin with. Maybe they'd have laughed about Sergievsky's loss. They'd have gone out that night, a fancy dinner, drinks, the works. Things might have been completely different if only they'd been this honest with each other from the very beginning.
Sad, really, that it took being ripped from their own time, their own world, even, to be as honest with each as they should have been as a couple.
Florence got to her feet, taking his cup and the wrapping from his cookie, as well as her own to the trash. That much was obvious, at least. Still the large bin that read 'trash' on it. At least something hadn't changed. That and the feel of Freddie's hand in hers. And she knew, instinctively, that she wanted to feel that again. "I will," she promised, returning to his side and nodding towards the door. She knew, emotionally at least, that she was going to be drained for the rest of the day. Hell, maybe the whole week. And as soon as Freddie was behind her and he couldn't see her face, she was probably going to break down and cry for a while. But they had to get back to the complex, first, and she had to hold her head up until then.
"I promise. But you have to do the same for me," she pointed out, giving him a shy but earnest smile. "If we're going to be friends," and she used the word loosely, considering the warm rush she still felt standing close to him, "we need to heal. And to do that...we need to talk. When things are wrong, when we're upset..." God, if only she'd done that all along. But he had such a temper. She'd always been so afraid that if she did, she'd lose him. And where had it gotten her? He'd only fought back harder, pushing her to her breaking point, without either of them attempting to make it work.
Impulsively, she raised up on her toes and pressed her lips lightly to his cheek. "Thank you, Freddie. For...everything. The amulet. The coffee. For being honest with me about everything." It was a gesture that was somewhat unusual for her, especially given their circumstances. But their behavior that day wasn't exactly typical, either. Maybe that's what they needed, though. Being the pair they'd been all along hadn't gotten them anywhere good. But if Freddie could change, and he'd shown that he had, then so could she. Maybe between the two of them, a new start wouldn't be entirely impossible.