WHen you wake up, everyting is gonna be fine.

[saysweetprayers]

Now that she knows he exists, he doesn't just come in the night anymore. He comes in the middle of the day, in the afternoon, in the morning. He comes whenever it suits him, sometimes bringing little things to cheer her up or make hr smile, sometimes not.

This morning, he's laid out a breakfast in her sitting room floor, tea and cakes and eggs and other tasty things that he knows humans enjoy.

He won't be partaking in any of the food himself but he can have something else if he so chooses.

He smiles hen she walks in, waiting patiently to see her reaction

Comments

[strangletheheart]

Justine's gotten used to his comings and goings, his increasing presence in her life. Sometimes she's still startled to come home to find him there, or to look up and find he's slipped into her apartment without a sound - but she's eased by his silence, she likes the quiet.

It's not been a good night and it's a relief when morning comes. She wishes she could sleep late, but her body simply won't allow it. She's been throwing up most of the night and she's still feverish, but her stomach aches and the hunger pangs hurt too much to stay in bed. With a sigh, she wipes at her clammy brow and weakly clambers out of bed.

She's sure that she's that hungry she imagines the smell of food. But as she walks into her living room, gripping onto the wall to keep herself steady, she sees him there, like he always is, she knows that she's not at all.

Justine stares for a few moments at him before finally speaking. "H-hello..." she swallows thickly. "This.. this is... for me?"

[saysweetprayers]

He smiles, spreading his hands out and nodding his head. All for her, it's all for her, for he won't touch a bite of it.

He's almost certain he's brought too much food, that she won't be able to consume all of it at once but that doesn't matter. If there's leftover, she can have it later or feed it to the pigeons.

He gets to his feet and walks over to her, moving to rest his hands against her shoulders lightly, almost as if he weren't there at all, and brushes a kiss against her cheek before attempting to lead her towards the food.

[strangletheheart]

Justine watches him nod and looks around once more. She can feel tears in her eyes and she's going to try so hard not to cry. But it's so nice. No one's ever done this for her before and she's struggling to process such a kindness.

"It's.. it's lovely." she breathes.

Letting him guide her forwards, she feels a smile across her face. She still can't believe it. And even once she's sat down, curled up on the floor, she's still very much speechless.

"I don't.. where do I even start.." she says, "There's.. so much."

Tea. That's usually her best bet. It's the easiest thing to keep down before she dares venture for food. She sets about pouring herself some.

"It's a shame you don't.." she gestures to the food. "Would you like me... I could pour you some tea... it seems... polite."

She knows he won't drink it and she's fine with that. But it's the manners that're ingrained into her mind. She can't shake those off, no matter how long she stays away from her family.

[saysweetprayers]

He chuckles softly and nods. She's right, he doesn't drink, just as he doesn't eat, but he can see inside her mind, knows that the manners are there, eager to be given a chance to show themselves.

There's another kiss, this time dropped into her har as he moves to wind his arms around her,, holding her for a moment. He also saw those tears, that need to cry because people aren't doing this for her.

He's not people, he's something different, something darker than people but now there will be someone to show her kindness.

[strangletheheart]

Justine smiles, happy she's given the chance to make him tea even if he doesn't drink it. It's rare that she has anyone round to make them tea. Gabe, Abby and Del are probably the only other exceptions, but they're not always around.

She sighs and leans into the hold. Even if her friendship circle is growing, she's stick sickly and disease-ridden. The others she knows can get sick, he can't. He can touch her, be around her for long periods of time without being affected by her Calling and to be honest... it's a Godsend. She doesn't particularly believe in God... but he is one. And she's glad of it.

Drawing circles on his hand with one finger, she smiles. "Thank you. Thank you so much. For finding me. For everything."

[saysweetprayers]

He nods, leaving ore kisses against her hair and soon eough her neck ad cheek. He's happy to do it, happy to show her the kindness and caring that others can't or won't.

Moving his hands away from her, he takes her hands in his own, ad then carefully moves them so that they are signing the word love. He doesn't speak in sign language often but he's making an exception for her.

He seems to be doing that a lot though.

[strangletheheart]

Justine's still smiling, her eyes closing at the kisses. She opens her eyes again watches his hands carefully, silently understanding the motions. She understands what it means, how much is means and she takes in a shaky breath.

"Love." she says gently.

Love's always been foreign territory to her. She can read about it, but feeling it is another thing. But maybe she's feeling it right now. Maybe she does love him. It's frightening and wonderful all at the same time.

She lifts her head to kiss him gently and smiles again. "I think... I.. do love you." she says finally. "Love's.. complicated, but I think I.. I do feel it for you."

[saysweetprayers]

He lets her hands go, his own tracing the lines of her arms and shoulders until they reach her neck again. He touches her face with a gentle finger and touches her throat with his other hand.

There are kisses and warmth and he keeps his hands on her as much as he can. He touches her and lets her know he's there and every so often, he moves, signing the word again.

Who knows what kind of love it is, Who knows if they can put a term to it beyond 'love'? It doesn't matter. Words, they aren't for him, not in the way that they are for other people.