xp_logs | Terry/Bobby, Sunday Night (Reply)

Terry runs into Bobby in the kitchen late Sunday night. They manage to sort some things out. Mostly by leaving a lot of other things unsaid.
(Backdated because I'm a nerd.)

Bobby was sitting in his t-shirt and boxers at the kitchen counter, in the dark. A pint of (store bought, even!) rocky road ice cream was in his hands, and he slowly spooned it into his mouth. Well, really, he was mostly playing with it, letting it melt and refreezing it, and it wasn't going to be fit for human consumption if he did that too many more times.

It was another depressing days in a long string of them. There was a time when the good had outweighed the bad. When the silver lining didn't take hours or days to find. She had always been an optimistic person. She used to find the best in circumstances without effort and she knew there was hope in all things. She knew there was--she could almost even remember it. It just hadn't been recent that she'd encountered it.

There wasn't really any reason for her to be downstairs now. It was late and she had to be up early to keep up with this schedule that never seemed to stop yet always seemed to leave her too much time to think. She'd have some toast, she told herself. Then she'd go to bed. She'd even try to sleep.

Bobby was too busy moping into his ice cream to notice anyone approaching until the overhead flourescents flickered on. He looked up--and closed his eyes with a soft sigh. Fuck. The universe really does have a bitch of a sense of humor, doesn't it? "...Hey," he said softly, at last.

Terry paused in the doorway, hand still on the lightswitch, breath caught in her throat. It wasn't that she hadn't known he was back. Of course, she did. That was part of living here. She just hadn't expected to run into him like this. She swallowed hard and pulled her robe around her. "Hi," she replied just as quietly. She scuffed a bare foot on the wooden floor and thought about leaving.

Just seeing her hurt, reminded him of what he'd done and what he stood to lose, because of it, and because of his own stupidity. Unless he took the initiative, and didn't back down. "Terry..." He had to bite his tongue to keep 'I miss you' from coming out--that wasn't the place to start. "...We should talk."

She'd said the same thing last week. She didn't want to talk anymore unless he was giving her another chance. And even then, she had nothing to say. Nothing that she could say. "Why?"

This time it came out before Bobby could stop it. "Cuz I miss you," he almost whimpered, the pint of ice cream freezing solid as he clenched his hand around it, trapping the spoon.

...so that's what it felt like to have your heart stop in your chest. It hurt. She ought to have been relieved but it just hurt. "I..." she choked. "me too. You said you'd be back Thursday."

Bobby swallowed, guilt flashing across his face. "Some...stuff came up. I came back as soon as I could." He sighed and stared down at the ice-cream sicle in his hand, trying to dislodge the spoon unsuccessfully. "I've been thinking about you nonstop since Wednesday," he added quietly. It was true, although thoughts of Jean had been there right alongside her.

"Oh." Her chest still hurt. She wanted to cry but her eyes stayed dry, burning. "What did you think about?" She licked her lips unconsciously. "I, uh, did you decide anything or..." change your mind? Please?

Bobby gave her a look with far more anguish than the situation warranted. "I'm so sorry, Terry. Can we just forget the last month ever happened?" He set the ice cream down and stood up. "...I want my girlfriend back."

No. Yes. "Oh God," she whispered and closed her eyes.

Bobby came around the counter, holding his arms out to her, lip caught in his teeth. "Please...sweetie...I need you," he begged, heart in his throat.

Terry's hand came down on the lightswitch again, plunging the kitchen back into the dark. She opened her eyes though there was almost nothing to see. "We can't just forget. I can't." Where was he? The sound of her own heart seemed to block out everything else. "I...do you forgive me?"

Bobby froze, his arms falling to his sides as the light disappeared. "For everything," he answered without hesitation, barely able to breathe. He just wanted her back, please god, he'd do anything...

She moved forward in the dark, following the sound of his voice. Her hand touched soft cloth then the other, cool skin. She skimmed her hands down his arms to his hands, eyes starting to adjust. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

Bobby shivered at her touch, holding completely still as if to move would frighten her off--and for all he knew, it would. "I didn't want to hurt you, either," he said huskily, breathing quickening.

"I overreacted." It was easier to confess when she couldn't see him. She caught his hands and brought them to her waist as she stepped closer. "I thought you had finally given up on me. That I pushed too far."

Bobby slipped his arms around her with a grateful little moan, pulling her against him. "Never. I'll never give up on you," he murmured, burying his face in her hair like he'd dreamed of doing almost every night for the past month.

Tears that had refused to come earlier slipped down her cheeks now. Terry pressed her face into his shoulder, letting the soft cotton t-shirt soak up the moisture. "I'm sorry. I'll never do this again. I promise." She pulled back, looking up at him urgently, barely able to make him out in the dim moonlight filtering through the window. "You know that nothing happened with Marius and Tommy, aye? I'll swear it on whatever you like. There was nothing. Only you."

Jean's taunt about Marius came back to Bobby in that instant and he shivered. But he could hardly hold that against her when he'd done...when he'd--"I love you so much," he whispered, cupping her chin and giving her a light kiss. Tell her. But he didn't want to, not now, not here. Tomorrow. He didn't want to break this just yet, ruin it all again. He'd tell her what happened, soon. Just not yet.

Terry's arms tightened around him. She wasn't forgetting everything that had happened. As much as she'd hurt him, he'd hurt her too and while she could forgive him now in order to not lose him, she couldn't forget. The important part was that he was back and they could fix things. "I love you too." She still wasn't sleepy but she was suddenly exhausted. She eased away with a sigh, "I should go back to bed. I have class in the morning and after two days of cancelled class the teachers won't be forgiving."

Bobby chewed on his lip for a few seconds and then asked in a rush, "Do you want to sleep in my room?" Before she could answer, he added, "Just sleep, I swear. I just...I'm not ready to let you go yet." His arms, still lightly draped around her, tightened slightly again, pulling her closer, as if to reinforce the truth in his words.

She tensed and didn't answer at first, not trusting her first impulse, or her second. She missed him. Missed him so much it had been the only thing she could think about for weeks. But she was scared too. They'd messed up already. Terry shivered then leaned against him. "I don't want to let you go either." Maybe it was wrong but she wanted her boyfriend. It had been too long without him.

A lot of the tension of the last month eased from him as she answered. "Then let's go to bed, sweetie," he murmured into her hair, hugging her tight once more before releasing her and turning to clean up his ice cream quickly.

Terry wrapped her arms around herself when he left her side, closing her eyes and tracking his movement through the kitchen by sound. Everything wasn't all right again. But this at least was a start.