FLUFF BREAK

[acautionarytale]

Astrid hadn't been kidding when she said this house had plenty of room. It's a big, sprawling, two-storey... thing on a corner in a residential district that's slowly putting itself back together. Sure the place looks a little worn on the outside....

...But on the inside she's managed to make it an actual home. The place used to belong to a Loyalist couple who, sadly, no longer need it. Astrid has, interestingly, made a habit of appropriating abandoned Loyalist property, mainly because the current provisional governmant considers them forfeit. First come first served, and it seems the Fringe team won't ever have to pay for anything again in this area. So she moved out all the Loyalist propaganda and managed to get in some real furniture and decor. It's a warm and inviting and roomy place that needs explored.

Comments

Or Maybe Just Donald.

[acautionarytale]

"I know," she murmurs against his chest. "But I'll probably do it, anyway. I worry about people. It's what I do."

She then lets go of him with an only slightly awkward throat-clearing sound and a smile. "Do you need anything?"

Why does everyone think he hates Donald??

[emotionisweakness]

That's quite the loaded question, Astrid. Still, he doesn't think it would help much to ask her for his life back. Or a way to get it back. He'll just keep that to himself.

"I'm good," he assures her, setting down the messenger bag on the bed and taking out the box. And then he just holds it, as if unsure what to do or where to put it.

No, We Just Know Donald Ought To Keep An Eye On His Shoes.

[acautionarytale]

She did kind of mean something more like does he need towels or bedding or maybe a couple lamps... mini-fridge....

Astrid nods. "Okay," she answers. "Okay. Help yourself to anything you want. And... you know I'm here if you want to talk, though... you probably won't want to." Wry smile.

true nuff

[emotionisweakness]

He considers for a moment, then finally deflates with a sigh, joining the box at the edge of the bed and studying Astrid grimly.

"What did she tell you?"

[acautionarytale]

Astrid knows who he's talking about.

"Not a lot," she says, finding her arms wrapped around herself, her gaze on the floor. "She said... you were like you were when you had the tech in your head, but... angry. She was angry, too. At... everything, really. She said she wanted to come back, but only when she'd gotten rid of her anger."

Astrid looks at Peter again. "I haven't heard from her much...."

[emotionisweakness]

He nods, though he knows it isn't the whole truth. But it's enough. Olivia has a knack for that, boiling things down to what's important. It even saved him once, or so he thought.

"There really isn't anything to come back for, is there?"

[acautionarytale]

A small stab of sadness pulls Astrid's lips into a slight frown. It sure doesn't seem like there's anything for Olivia to come back for unless one really looks. They'd all become a family. She doesn't want any more of them to leave, either physically or mentally. But she'd gotten too used to having them about. Spoilt, really.

"There's us," she answers simply.

Ever the optimist.

[emotionisweakness]

Us. Peter's fairly sure that Olivia would no longer consider him to be part of that. Or maybe he just wishes it, because there's no way he deserves otherwise.

"Maybe," he concedes, but he's not really feeling it. There's a soft rattle from inside the box as he fidgets with it.

ack, this disappeared into my inbox...

[acautionarytale]

Astrid's eyes are drawn instinctively to the sound. She gives a slew of physical tells that she really wants to know what Peter has in that box, but that she knows it would bother or even insult him if she pursued it. She's pried too much already... but she worries about him.

So many conflicting cues from someone so small!

"I want to believe that she'll come back," she says, looking up at him with huge eyes in that way she would look at Walter when she wanted him to focus on what she was saying. "I don't want Olivia to be alone any more than I want you to be alone. But I want to know if you want her back. It wouldn't be fair to you to ignore what you want."

[emotionisweakness]

Peter lets out a startled chuckle. She might as well ask if he wants a pony or world peace for all the likelihood that he'll get it. Why even admit what he wants? It doesn't follow logic.

"It didn't matter what I wanted when she left, did it?"