reconnaissance | ic contact.

I love you.

[The declaration comes as the plate of food is being put in front of her, and she doesn't even boher with a knife or fork at first, just picks up a piece of bacon and shoves it into her mouth.

Though she's also watching Ellie with a little amusement.]

To your left.

Shut up.

( But she does have a bit of a smile as she looks for the syrup. )

Oh, got it.

( Right, okay, and hopping off the counter. And making just a little sound as she jars her knee, but let's ignore that as she sets it down next to Steph. )

I made extra for Jim but I like you better, so you can more if you want.

Make me.

[With a lazy sort of grin, even as she's making a mental note to fuss over Ellie's knee later, and also pouring a ridiculous amount of syrup onto her pancakes and bacon and eggs.

Mm, syrup.]

Thank god for that. We'd have problems if you liked Jim better than you liked me.

( Arched. Eyebrow.

Finally, El flops into the seat next to Steph, She's got some bacon of her own, but she is leaving it un-syruped as she herds it around her plate. )

It's never too early to start counselling, right?

( But, that said, she's nudging Steph's leg with her knee. )

[She's got a mouthful of food so the reply has to wait, but she's making a face at Ellie in the meantime.]

Would you actually trust anyone in this city?

[just saying, and she's relieved to have that contact back, offering Ellie a grateful smile.]

( And for that, Steph is getting a knee squeeze. Whether it's just for the sake of more contact or meant as a reprimand for the face isn't really clear. Maybe it doesn't matter. )

In general, or like. For therapy?

( A little smile of her own, admittedly a touch bemused, before she sips her tea. )

For therapy, pretty sure I know how you feel about people in general.

[But she sounds fond at least, dropping her head to rest on Ellie's shoulder while she chews her current mouthful of food.]

I dunno.

( It's a good question. Ellie frowns at her eggs, rather thoughtful. )

I guess, maybe. I wouldn't tell a friend the things I told Andrea, but. ( Her therapist in New Zealand, who she's probably mentioned to Steph. A little furrow of her brow. ) There's shit you wouldn't be able to say to a friend when it's all mixed up with them and other stuff, hey. I mean, I tell you a lot of stuff, but it's like they kinda-- they start chasing things down that I wouldn't put on a mate, and that I don't reckon they'd wanna hear, either.

( Does that make sense? Whatever, she'll just loop her arm around Steph's shoulders. )

I get it.

[She's had therapy, too, and there's a lot that she told to hers that she wouldn't mention to a friend, partly for the reasons that Ellie specificed. No one needs to hear about what Sionis did to her, not really, but at least a therapist had less of a personal stake in it.]

I'm still not sure I'd trust anyone here, it's different with friends.

[It's a slow process, but she's not sure she'd trust anyone in Exsilium to be an actual therapist.]

Yeah. I know what you mean.

( They are a similar brand of cautious/suspicious/paranoid, if not the actual same. Ellie settles for squeezing Steph's shoulder in the hopes that she'll just... get it, as Ellie lapses into silence. )

[A hum in agreement, resting against Ellie for a little longer before going back to her meal. She was a little worried that she might've lost her appetite after the mess of this morning, but once she's started it seems like everything is fine.

So she makes it through all the pancakes and bacon and eggs relatively quickly, smiling at Ellie, albeit a little tiredly, once the last bit of bacon is popped in her mouth.]

Thank you.

[really]

Welcome.

( Anytime, honestly. As a reward for her breakfast diligence, she gets a kiss on the forehead, and another little squeeze, before Ellie collects their plates, dumping them in the sink to take care of later. Or maybe, in her wildest dreams, Jim will clean them up for her. )

You planning on staying up all day or crashing for a bit?

I think I need to crash for a bit. [As she starts removing bits and pieces of her suit; cape and cowl, gloves, belts] I've gotta write up a letter of complaint for Saul to give to the Initiative later, but I wanna sleep first.

( Ellie will help with that. At least, the stuff she knows she can help with and not get zapped. )

That's a good idea. Sleep, have a shower later. I'll get some mashed potatoes and gravy with something else ready for lunch to bribe you back into the land of the living, and then you can think about letters and stuff. How's that for a plan?

[It's really silly, but all of that combined with the stress and anger of the day just makes her feel kind of overwhelmed for a moment.

She's totally looking at Ellie like she's magic.]

I love you.

[She's already said it once, but just... she sounds a lot more serious, this time.]

( Oh. That sure is a sentence. She said it before but it was kind of flippant, and this is definitely more serious.

Oh, boy. )

Um. ( Wow, Steph. There's jokes on the tip of her tongue to kind of buffer herself from this: wait until after you have those potatoes, or I bet you say that to all the girls, but they kind of stick at the back of her throat. ) Yeah. I love you, too.

( A little stilted, just because she's surprised, but she does. She really does, it's just. Saying big serious things. )

[She doesn't quite regret it, but she does feel a little guilty for springing it on Ellie without warning, and she's almost considering dismissing it, before Ellie manages a response.

Except Steph isn't sure what to say, now, so she just smiles as she gets out of her seat so she can give Ellie a kiss on the cheek, nothing too demanding after that.]

( The kiss is nice. She probably looks a little too pleased, but whatever. She's just sliding an arm around Steph and steering her in the direction of their bedroom. Technically speaking, she's really just leading her in that direction. ) Feel like company?

( Which will probably just be Ellie reading while Steph sleeps, really. )

[Steering is fine, she's more than happy to be lead to the bedroom.]

I'd appreciate it, but it's okay if you've got stuff to do.

[As she moves away from Ellie a bit, just so that she can work off her boots and both layers of the suit, grabbing a t-shirt to pull on.

Idly, she remembers it's the first of the month, and adjusts her planned nap time to just an hour, so that she can go poke around the courtyard later.]

I'll tag along.

( A little shrug, grabbing her book up from the shelf and settling down on the bed. ) You're a good bed warmer.

( Because that's the only reason, for sure. ) Hey, Jesse'll have free bikkies down at the Hold if we swing by later.

( free food, she whispered to the wind )

[Bed.

Excuse her while she happily wriggles under the covers and gets comfortable. She's definitely gone longer without sleep, but it's been a while so she's finding herself crashing harder than she usually would.]

Good to know why you keep me around.

[As if Ellie isn't the one who basically insinutated herself into Steph's life.]

Free bikkies sound good. I'm sure there'll still be some left by the time we get down there.

[She's calling them bikkies because she loves Ellie.]

( Ellie is certainly not grinning. Except she is. Excuse her while she plays with Steph's hair between reading. )

Comfie?

( A quiet uhuh, as if she is just placating Steph by pretending to pay attention. ) God knows how we'll cope without 'em.

( The horror. Such deadpan horror. And, a kiss to Steph's temple: ) Go to sleep.

[She is more than okay with that, tucking herself a little closer against Ellie's side and closing her eyes.]

Mm. [the comfiest, and despite the remaining anger and worry, she's tired enough that sleep isn't going to be difficult. It helps that Ellie was here to give her hugs and food and to be a physical comfort amongst it all.] I'll make you some if they're all gone.

[already sounding a little slurred with sleep, and there's another agreeable hum. She will definitely go to sleep.]

You can worry about that later.

( Another kiss to Steph's temple, lingering as she smiles. Another little squeeze for Steph, and Ellie's going to leave her be and stop talking, hoping she nods off soon, Ellie keeping as still as she can as she settles in to enjoy her reading. She's totally happy to be there for Steph - it's just what they do. And besides, Steph goes above and beyond for so many people. Least Ellie can do is have her back. Probably a little over-protectively, but whatever. )

ic contact.

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WELL DONE FOR FORGETTING TO HIT POST COMMENT SELF

you're a champion

aren't I just

the most champion

should i be offended

maybe

weeping

sad trombone

womp womp

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