[reverse darkest timeline AU: cellthread #3]

[stilljustandrew]

It's been about two days.

Nobody's come for him.



Andrew's lying down, staring at the far wall.

Comments

[stilljustandrew]

"Oh," he says, blinking; it honestly didn't occur to him that she might wait. "Oh -- sorry, no, you can --"

To cover his confusion, he reaches for the nearest sandwich triangle.

[gothamsheiress]

Shaking her head, she follows his lead, and takes a bite.

. . . She wouldn't class it as a religious experience, but it's really good.

[stilljustandrew]

He's chewing on his own first bite, but also watching to see her reaction -- with more overt interest than she may have seen in him so far.

[gothamsheiress]

She swallows and laughs.

"That -- is decadent."

[stilljustandrew]

And that startles a brief hiccup of laughter out of him, almost silent, quickly swallowed.

"It's not even hard to make, seriously."

[gothamsheiress]

"I'd make myself sick if I had them at home."

Also mostly she has servants make food for her so the difficulty of cooking it is not really an issue.

[stilljustandrew]

This time his smile is actually the shadow of a grin, as he ducks his head over his own grilled cheese.

"What sort of thing do you have at home?" he asks after a moment.

[gothamsheiress]

Brix chuckles, and launches into a passable description of D'Angeline cuisine -- the roasts of the feasts, the delicate pastries they make in the City and the heartier fare you find in the country or the pubs of Night's Doorstep.

[stilljustandrew]

Andrew listens, drinking tea and munching on another grilled cheese; he asks a few questions, and volunteers a very few comments, but mostly he listens.

Talk about nothing important, he said before, and it feels weirdly peaceful to be able to do just that.

[gothamsheiress]

She does, after a time, start to run out of steam; Andrew would not be the first patron she's had who wanted to listen to her ramble, but this isn't a topic she's well-versed in.

(And given that earlier not-quite-flinch -- and the general context -- she's disinclined to switch to the Eluine Cycle, or the gossip of the Night Court.)

[stilljustandrew]

By this time he's eaten most of two sandwiches, and just about finished his tea. He's also starting to run out of steam, and can't think of anything else to talk about, but somehow he doesn't mind.



"Thanks," is what he finally says, softly. "For staying."

[gothamsheiress]

"I'm glad to help."

This is the easiest she's seen him since they met -- less hectic, less despairing.

[stilljustandrew]

He's aware, distantly, that this is the first time since being arrested that he's let himself be anything but miserable.

And it's not that he isn't, at some level, still miserable. It's just that he can put that aside and let it not matter for a little while.

He's always been good at that.

[stilljustandrew]

[Shortly after ...]