Bedlam - Friday night

[xp_daytripper]

Safe. She's safe. She's been found, her people are here...

Amanda had no idea how long she'd been standing under the shower. Long enough for the near-scalding water to have gone tepid, at any rate. Blinking water out of her eyes, she flipped back her hair, part of her marvelling still at the lack of filth matting it - when she'd first gotten in, the water had turned brownish-grey from accumulated dirt. Then she noticed the figures, drawn in soap on the glass door of the shower cubicle, and she sighed. Sofia had been right about that healing process. She was in the midst of washing away the drawings - a house, a boy and a girl holding hands - when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Amanda?" Angelo called through the door, unwilling to just open it uninvited. Privacy was one of the things she wouldn't have had much of, lately. "You done, querida?"

"Um, yeah. Sorry. Zoned out a bit." She turned off the water and squeezed the excess from her hair before opening the stall and stepping out. Catching sight of herself in the enormous mirror, she winced - she was skin and bones, with old bruises still marking her ribs. And her back... Her mind skittered away from those particular memories, and she reached for a towel. "Come in, if you want?" she asked, wanting distraction - and company - pretty badly just then.

"Sure." He opened the door and stepped inside, not bothering to close it behind him. There was no one here but them, after all. "How're you feelin'?"

"Clean." It was said with a heartfelt emphasis that was almost comical. Tucking in the towel she'd wrapped around her, she reached out to touch his arm briefly, reassuring herself he was real. "I think I wiped out the freebie bathroom gunk, tho'."

"It's okay", he said with a shrug. "There'll be more tomorrow. Maybe even sooner, if you want it, I could probably just ask at the desk..." He hadn't taken his eyes off her since he stepped through the door.

"I think I'm good for now." Water dripped from her hair onto her nose, and she wiped the droplets away, grabbing another towel to start drying her hair with. "It all feels a bit... unreal," she confessed. "Which is funny, considering I've just spent two weeks living in fantasy la-la land."

"That's the way it goes", Angelo agreed quietly. "Like it's all gonna go away again. Felt the same after Asgard."

"Asgard?" She wrinkled her brow, confused, then her expression went a little vacant. Memories slotted into place - a softball game, a magical kingdom, the Broken Prince coming to claim her... No, he had a name, she knew that, she just kept sliding back into the fairy-tale reality. Manuel. That was it. "Sorry, right, Asgard. Weird time shift, yeah?" A worried look crossed her face. "I was really only gone for two weeks, right? Inside London... time didn't really feel the same."

"Yeah, it was... only two weeks", was the still-muted response, and he stepped forward to put his arms lightly around her. "Felt like longer, but it wasn't."

She rested her forehead against his shoulder, letting the towel she'd been using on her hair fall to the floor as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Felt longer to me, too," she murmured. "I'm so sorry for scaring you, love."

"You didn't do it on purpose", he said into her hair. "An' you're back now. Not lettin' you go anywhere for awhile, though."

"Most of me's back - some stuff's still a bit jumbled." She closed her eyes and breathed him in. This is real. "And I don't think I want to go anywhere for a bit. Well, except home." She really wanted to be in her own apartment again.

"We'll go home", Angelo promised. "Remy's sortin' out the flights. Just a night, two maybe, then you'll be home."

She made a soft assenting noise, not lifting her head or opening her eyes. After so long on edge, searching for something she couldn't quite envisage, knowing she didn't have to any more was a relief that was almost overwhelming. After a long while, however, she shifted a little within his arms, moving to look up at him. "Oops, I made your shirt wet," she said, with a hint of a smile on her thin face. "I should finish up, put some clothes on." Or at least the white fluffy bath robe that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. "You might have to help get the knots out of my hair, tho'."

"My shirt'll live", he said with the trace of a grin in return. "An'... you want me to brush your hair, I'll brush your hair." Nice and quiet and domestic... right then, it felt perfect.

She laughed a little at that, squeezing his waist in a hug before letting go again to scoop up the fallen towel. "Tea too?" she asked, hopefully, finishing off towelling her hair dry. She'd eaten - and would again in a bit - but she craved tea. The last one she'd had had been in the police station. Oh fuck, that poor police constable - she'd kicked the shite out of him, hadn't she? Everything was still jumbled.

"Tea too", he agreed easily. "I'll just go see what kind we've got."

She watched him go and left the door open while she finished drying off. Wrapped in the bathrobe - white and pristine, part of her still couldn't get over how clean everything was - she moved into the bedroom part of the suite and climbed up to sit on the huge bed, turning the comb she'd found over in her hands as she stared out of the window at the sprawl of London below. The sleeping beast, came the thought, and she shivered a little.

Somewhere behind her, the noises of clattering from the cabinet stopped, and a moment later the bed creaked and arms wrapped warmly around her from behind. "Hey. Tea's almost ready."

"Life saver," she replied, starting only a little before she leaned back against him, resting her damp head back on his shoulder. She could feel the warmth of his body against her back, the slight tickle of his breath against her cheek. Solid. Real. "'S a nice place. Almost a palace." It was trivial, but she couldn't seem to focus on anything serious, not without another cascade of memories she had to pause to sort out and assimilate.

"Only the best", he said, almost seriously. "Got some weird looks bringin' you in, but who cares? You deserve it."

"You're so good to me." In her mind's eye, she saw a flash of silver, a chain sliding out of her hands and into someone else's. "I've got a confession... I lost... no, I didn't lose him, I gave him away, for food and a place to sleep." She bit her lip, reining in the babble. "St. Jude. The medallion you gave me. I didn't remember and I needed..." The words trailled away. "I'm sorry."

Angelo leaned down to kiss her shoulder, squeezing her hand. "I can get you another medallion. Better you did that than you let the cold get you or you starved."

"Adrienne said to leave it off." She half-turned, wincing a little as her side protested but persisting until she was leaning sideways against him. "I lost Kurt's birthday present too. Got mugged by some junkie fucks." Another wince, this time in remembrance.

"I've got it", Angelo said quietly. "Found it in a pawn shop, I was gonna give it back after you slept. You want it now?" Silently, he was damning certain junkies to hell.

"You've got it?" She looked up at him in surprise. Pleased relief crossed her face. "Talk about coincidences." Then she snuggled closer. "Do you have to let go to get it? 'Cause I can wait if you do."

"Maybe it wanted to come back to you. You said Jimaine did her thing on it, right?" He pulled her closer still. "Kind of would. But it's not goin' anywhere an' neither am I."

"Later's fine." She closed her eyes again, listening to his heart beating under her ear, a soothingly regular sound. "Don't let me go, even if I drop off?" Her hand tightened around his fingers.

"Even if you drop off", he echoed sincerely. "You need to sleep, anyway." And to suit the words, he lay down carefully on the bed, taking her with him.

She curled against him with a soft noise, still holding onto his hand, breath already starting to deepen. The Grey Guardian. He reaches out, holds on, never lets go. That's his gift. The words echoed in her mind even as she slipped into exhausted sleep.