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Log o15.
WHO: Johnny Domino, Kaname Chidori and Meiya Mitsurugi.
WHAT: Johnny Domino and Kaname Chidori meet up at Bar Code Cafe.
WHEN: June 17th.
MISSION: ??
WATCH OUT FOR: TENSION.
It took some explaining, but her sister and dad have been pacified, as has Kyoko. It didn't take much for her to deduce what was airing on television; their reactions had been virtually identical.
Kaname punches the buttons on her cell phone, retrieving Johnny's information from her contact list before punching Johnny's number into Meiya's cell phone.
The number that will pop up on Johnny's caller ID is an unfamiliar one.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Meiya just sits and waits patiently.
Leaving the authorities to handle the big mess that used to be Kaname's apartment, Johnny returned to Izu base a miserable knot of apprehension. Kaname had vanished off the face of the earth. The authorities did not find any trace of her after closing down every street in the vicinity, nor did Domino find any leads when he scoured the area with Chimera. The rain had made the bio-unit's synaptical sensors all but worthless.
Back at Izu base, Johnny found an even bigger mess. An attack led by Karaba left the place in disarray, and hardly no one was available to help the distressed young man. Running around the place and attempting to find someone -- anyone -- able to pull some strings and try to find details about Kaname Chidori proved nearly futile.
At some point a keen eyed observer noted that Domino had yet to get out of his piloting suit in this dreary weather, and forced Domino's jacket over the young man. It is inside this jacket's pocket that Domino's cellphone lies. It takes quite a few rings before the anxious pilot registers it. Coming to a halt in the middle of hallway AB2, the young man grabs the items, concludes that the number is of no interest to him, and... answers anyway. Hope springs eternal?
"Hello?"
Three rings. After four, it'll go to voice mail. The fourth ring ends, and Kaname moves to hang up before it hits his voice mail.
And then she hears it--a voice on the other side of the line.
"Johnny?" A beat. "It's Kaname."
".........................."
Johnny's heart skips a beat. If only Kaname was there in person, she would have seen the young man's expression changing from worried to surprised to relieved to intense. Yet despite the storm of emotions caused by Kaname's shenanigans with Meiya, when Domino finally finds his voice again, all he blurts out is:
"Oh. You're alive."
It wasn't the reaction she was expecting; after Kyouko's overjoyed tears, after her father's unexpected pledge to return to Japan as soon as possible, the last thing Kaname expected was Johnny's deadpan reaction.
But she's not angry.
A breath. "I wanted to thank you," she says. "If it weren't for you, I might have died."
Johnny's reaction was not the reaction she anticipated; after Kyoko's overjoyed tears and her father's unexpected pledge to return to Japan as soon as possible, the last thing Kaname expected was deadpan reaction.
But unexpectedly, she's not angry.
"I wanted to thank you," she says. "If you weren't there, I probably wouldn't have..."
She swallows.
"Thank you."
Johnny narrows his eyes, unfocused stare directed at the double doors up ahead. Once again there is a palpable pause between Kaname's final words and Johnny's response.
"..where are you?"
Meiya can hear some of the conversation, and at Johnny's question, starts shaking her head.
But Kaname's already on it.
"I'm staying with a friend right now," she says. "I'm probably going to miss class for the next few days."
Something finally snaps a little inside Johnny. "Goddmanit, don't play games with me! Where the hell are you, Kaname?"
"I..." She looks over at Meiya, who is still sitting on the bed next to her. Even if Johnny did want to meet with her, she couldn't tell him she was staying in such an embarrassing place.
"Where do you want to meet?"
Meiya sighs. Stupid Domino.
Domino blinks. The fire in his chest simmers, Kaname's reaction catching him off guard. There's a moment's contemplation, and then - "Barcode Cafe. Now. Right now."
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
She hangs up, then hands the phone back to Meiya. "I'm going to the Bar Code Cafe. I shouldn't be long. If I'm not back here in an hour, please come look for me."
She thrusts her hair back into a cap, and tugs on the jacket Meiya had given her earlier.
"And Meiya," she says, stopping in front of the door. "Thanks."
"I really don't think you should go alone." Meiya takes the phone back. "People -are- looking for you."
"At least let me make sure the police won't stop you on your way."
Kaname nods. Though she's never been in a love hotel at all before, she imagines that one person going into a love hotel by themselves /might/ be perceived as a little strange, even though leaving alone might be a common occurrence.
"Let's go."
Meiya nods and stands up dailing a phone number. "Yes...yes, I know. Can you come get us? Yes, I know. At the intersection. Thank you." She closes the phone. "There'll be a car for us down the street. Don't worry, it's Mana driving." she walks to the door.
Kaname looks over at Meiya as she makes her way to the elevator.
"Mana's not going to think that it's weird you're in a place like this, is she?" Kaname's face is etched with concern; the last thing she wants is her own problems interfering with her friend's personal life.
She presses the down button.
Meiya shakes her head. "Mana is discreet, always. I think she's dealt with weirder things then this, honestly." When the elevator arrives, she moves inside and presses the buton for the ground floor. "And she promised not to tell a soul."
Kaname steps inside. The elevator suddenly seems uncomfortably silent.
"Does she... know what's going on?"
"No." Meiya says "She knows I cooperate with Mithril, but Mana is..." Meiya thinks about this. "She actually knows the man from Mithril that came to talk to me... She's like one of those retainers you see in old samurai movies. Loyal to my family, and not just for money. She's as much a part of my family as my father is, maybe more so. She won't ask any questions."
The elevator chimes, and the doors open.
"Who from Mithril spoke to you?" she asks, making her way for the exit. "Why did they approach you? Don't they know that you're with the EFA?"
"A man with grey hair and a beard, dark skin. Russian, I think." she walks out of the hotel as gracefully as she can considering the circumstances. A car is waiting at the intersection nearby, and Meiya opens the door to usher Kaname in and sit down. The car is room and comfortable without being opulant, it's probably the car Mana uses for grocery shopping and other errands.
Mana sits in the drivers seat and looks over her shoulder. "Nihao." She says in Chinese. "I was going to say something about two young lover and a renevouse but Meiya-sama made me promise not to. Theres towels on the floor."
"Mana!" Meiya complains "You promised." she grouses and takes a towel. "The bar code cafe." she says as she towels her head.
"Yes Meiya-sama." the car pulls out and starts on it's way.
"They do, but..." Meiya starts "I don't agree with everyone in the EFA. Some people would rather see bloodshed, then they would peace. Don't tell Johnny, please."
Kaname's cheeks redden at Mana's words; she opens her mouth to protest, but before she can, Meiya's said her piece.
She pulls off her hat and towels her hair, still damp from the rain. Meiya speaks, and Kaname listens.
"I won't," she says. "I promise."
The car draws to a halt outside of the Bar Code Cafe, and Kaname steps out, and bows at the two still inside.
"Thank you for the ride."
Inside the Cafe, Johnny is still pacing, lost in his own little world of darkness. The waitress has ceased trying to convince Domino to get a table, instead bowing and apologizing over and over for something she didn't do.
Meiya doesn't know if she should go in with Kaname or not. Johnny can be...an ass.
"I'll park across the street." Mana says.
"I know Johnny can be a handfull, I can go in if you want..." Meiya offers to Kaname.
"I think I'll be okay," she says, in the most reassuring tone she can muster; she attempts a smile, but her lips don't quite make it all the way. "If he gives me any problems, I'll just come right back."
And with that said, Kaname makes her way back inside, still wearing the suit that Meiya had given her earlier.
Kaname leaves the car, and Mana pulls it around to park in the lot across the street. "Mou." Mana says "And I was hoping for a parifait."
Meiya stares at her maid "You...are kind of strange sometimes."
Johnny whips his head around as the front door opens. Blue eyes peer at the newcomer intently, almost aggressively. That person is not Kaname. The young man purses his lips in disappointment.
The waitress is really starting to aggravate him. Johnny has half a mind to turn to the young woman and tell her to shut the hell up-- then Domino doubletakes. The person who had just entered the Cafe IS Kaname!
Immediately the young man breaks from his back-and-forth route of pacing, not waiting for Kaname to reach him. They would most likely meet in the middle. Upon finally coming face to face with Chidori, Domino looks her up and down with a critical eye. Her clothes are different, but other than that, she seems fine.
Yet Kaname isn't the only one wearing weird clothing, as the girl never got the chance to see Domino in his unique piloting suit before. The adventures of the past hour are also clearly etched on his features, dirty and haggard.
He says nothing.
Kaname, who usually has a thousand things to say, suddenly finds herself with none. She apprpoaches Johnny silently, her trademark pink tennis shoes squeaking against the restaraunt's tile floor.
He looks tired, she notices, haggard even, and she realizes suddenly that she probably doesn't look very dissimilar. Wet, sloppy hair, dried with a towel and rain-soaked clothes. She's more likely to smell like a wet dog than she is her trademark shampoo.
And suddenly, she feels uncomfortable. Did she make the right decision coming here? Suddenly, Johnny seems so intimidating. Did she do something wrong? Why is he looking at her like that?
The waitress has finally fallen silent. Although her body is still bowed, she can't help but raise her head a bit, sneaking a look at Johnny and Kaname. Now what on earth is going on here? Is Kaname the person Johnny was waiting for? Why are they so silent? Is this like in one of those girly romantic movies the waitress used to watch on rainy evenings such as this one?
And more importantly... Are those two EVER going to get a table?!
Johnny exhales. Kaname looks like shit, but none of the shit seems out of place. No visible injuries, no bloodstains, no bruises, no limp... Kaname Chidori is as she sounded on the phone: alive and well.
The young man's expression changes then, becomes softer. An odd look invades his eyes. It isn't anger, nor is it happiness or relief or sadness, or any other easily catalogued emotion. His lips part, as if he wishes to speak, but the silence only lengthens.
His arm moves as if of its own accord, an attempt to reach out and touch Kaname. But Johnny stops himself short, the motion coming to a halt before it barely even begun. His hand closes into a fist.
With that, whatever inner struggle the young man has been having finally comes to an end. His shoulders slump, and he reaches into a pocket. The item he produces is handed to Kaname.
It's her ID. A little burnt around the edges.
Kaname doesn't say a thing. She watches the strange motion of his face, how his eyes and lips visibly soften. Looking over at him, she feels herself choked by sudden emotion; she tries to give name to it, but like Johnny, it can not easily be categorized.
But this emotion does not register on her face; curiosity, confusion, worry, they're what rise to the surface.
His lips purse; she swallows, and waits for him to speak, but he doesn't say anything.
Instead, his arm moves, and her head turns, her eyes following the movement, but he stops, balls his hand into a fist, reaches into his pocket, and holds out a small, plastic card.
Her student ID.
She doesn't take it. She closes her eyes tightly; her body trembles slightly. Her hands harden into balls at her side, but it's not enough.
For the second time that night, Kaname begins to cry.
By now, the waitress has developed quite a fascination with the little scene near the entrance. Her mind begins weaving extravagant tales about the nature of this encounter, building a lifetime of possibilities and alternate realities.
Johnny remains in place, ID extended in his grip. As Kaname begins crying, the young man finds himself ambushed by unease. He shifts his weight around, unsure of what to do. Why'd she have to start crying? Why is she doing this? Why /now/?
Johnny reaches over. He doesn't stop himself this time.
Making a grab at Kaname's arm, Domino tries to pull it up, tries to push the ID into her balled hand. Just take it... please...
Words Johnny doesn't say.
Johnny reaches for her arm, and her eyes open suddenly; he pushes the ID into her balled hand, and she opens it.
He slips it in. Her hand reflexively tightens over it.
Kaname looks up, her eyes still brimming with tears. "I'm sorry," she says, finally, her voice soft. "You went through a lot of trouble for my sake. You've already got so much to worry about and I." She swallows. "I probably just made it worse."
Johnny keeps his hold on Kaname's wrist. Her words cause his lips to press into a thin line.
Finally, "You... are an idiot." There is no malice in Domino's voice. He says it quietly, stating a fact. "And I'm an idiot. Isn't that funny."
It's not a question. Johnny isn't smiling. He wants to say something more, tries forumalting the words, but it doesn't succeed. In the end, all Johnny does is try to hug Kaname.
She feels like a burden.
She's felt like this before, with Sousuke, too. So incapable. Compared to all her friends, who all seemed so strong and capable, she felt cowardly and weak.
She wasn't able to do anything out there but run and hide. But Johnny and Meiya were both able to act, even despite the circumstances.
Johnny's voice pulls her away from her troubling thoughts; in any other circumstances, those words would have warranted violent recourse.
But these circumstances are different.
And when he pulls her into his arms, she does not pull away.
"We really are both idiots," she says, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.
WHAT: Johnny Domino and Kaname Chidori meet up at Bar Code Cafe.
WHEN: June 17th.
MISSION: ??
WATCH OUT FOR: TENSION.
It took some explaining, but her sister and dad have been pacified, as has Kyoko. It didn't take much for her to deduce what was airing on television; their reactions had been virtually identical.
Kaname punches the buttons on her cell phone, retrieving Johnny's information from her contact list before punching Johnny's number into Meiya's cell phone.
The number that will pop up on Johnny's caller ID is an unfamiliar one.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Meiya just sits and waits patiently.
Leaving the authorities to handle the big mess that used to be Kaname's apartment, Johnny returned to Izu base a miserable knot of apprehension. Kaname had vanished off the face of the earth. The authorities did not find any trace of her after closing down every street in the vicinity, nor did Domino find any leads when he scoured the area with Chimera. The rain had made the bio-unit's synaptical sensors all but worthless.
Back at Izu base, Johnny found an even bigger mess. An attack led by Karaba left the place in disarray, and hardly no one was available to help the distressed young man. Running around the place and attempting to find someone -- anyone -- able to pull some strings and try to find details about Kaname Chidori proved nearly futile.
At some point a keen eyed observer noted that Domino had yet to get out of his piloting suit in this dreary weather, and forced Domino's jacket over the young man. It is inside this jacket's pocket that Domino's cellphone lies. It takes quite a few rings before the anxious pilot registers it. Coming to a halt in the middle of hallway AB2, the young man grabs the items, concludes that the number is of no interest to him, and... answers anyway. Hope springs eternal?
"Hello?"
Three rings. After four, it'll go to voice mail. The fourth ring ends, and Kaname moves to hang up before it hits his voice mail.
And then she hears it--a voice on the other side of the line.
"Johnny?" A beat. "It's Kaname."
".........................."
Johnny's heart skips a beat. If only Kaname was there in person, she would have seen the young man's expression changing from worried to surprised to relieved to intense. Yet despite the storm of emotions caused by Kaname's shenanigans with Meiya, when Domino finally finds his voice again, all he blurts out is:
"Oh. You're alive."
It wasn't the reaction she was expecting; after Kyouko's overjoyed tears, after her father's unexpected pledge to return to Japan as soon as possible, the last thing Kaname expected was Johnny's deadpan reaction.
But she's not angry.
A breath. "I wanted to thank you," she says. "If it weren't for you, I might have died."
Johnny's reaction was not the reaction she anticipated; after Kyoko's overjoyed tears and her father's unexpected pledge to return to Japan as soon as possible, the last thing Kaname expected was deadpan reaction.
But unexpectedly, she's not angry.
"I wanted to thank you," she says. "If you weren't there, I probably wouldn't have..."
She swallows.
"Thank you."
Johnny narrows his eyes, unfocused stare directed at the double doors up ahead. Once again there is a palpable pause between Kaname's final words and Johnny's response.
"..where are you?"
Meiya can hear some of the conversation, and at Johnny's question, starts shaking her head.
But Kaname's already on it.
"I'm staying with a friend right now," she says. "I'm probably going to miss class for the next few days."
Something finally snaps a little inside Johnny. "Goddmanit, don't play games with me! Where the hell are you, Kaname?"
"I..." She looks over at Meiya, who is still sitting on the bed next to her. Even if Johnny did want to meet with her, she couldn't tell him she was staying in such an embarrassing place.
"Where do you want to meet?"
Meiya sighs. Stupid Domino.
Domino blinks. The fire in his chest simmers, Kaname's reaction catching him off guard. There's a moment's contemplation, and then - "Barcode Cafe. Now. Right now."
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
She hangs up, then hands the phone back to Meiya. "I'm going to the Bar Code Cafe. I shouldn't be long. If I'm not back here in an hour, please come look for me."
She thrusts her hair back into a cap, and tugs on the jacket Meiya had given her earlier.
"And Meiya," she says, stopping in front of the door. "Thanks."
"I really don't think you should go alone." Meiya takes the phone back. "People -are- looking for you."
"At least let me make sure the police won't stop you on your way."
Kaname nods. Though she's never been in a love hotel at all before, she imagines that one person going into a love hotel by themselves /might/ be perceived as a little strange, even though leaving alone might be a common occurrence.
"Let's go."
Meiya nods and stands up dailing a phone number. "Yes...yes, I know. Can you come get us? Yes, I know. At the intersection. Thank you." She closes the phone. "There'll be a car for us down the street. Don't worry, it's Mana driving." she walks to the door.
Kaname looks over at Meiya as she makes her way to the elevator.
"Mana's not going to think that it's weird you're in a place like this, is she?" Kaname's face is etched with concern; the last thing she wants is her own problems interfering with her friend's personal life.
She presses the down button.
Meiya shakes her head. "Mana is discreet, always. I think she's dealt with weirder things then this, honestly." When the elevator arrives, she moves inside and presses the buton for the ground floor. "And she promised not to tell a soul."
Kaname steps inside. The elevator suddenly seems uncomfortably silent.
"Does she... know what's going on?"
"No." Meiya says "She knows I cooperate with Mithril, but Mana is..." Meiya thinks about this. "She actually knows the man from Mithril that came to talk to me... She's like one of those retainers you see in old samurai movies. Loyal to my family, and not just for money. She's as much a part of my family as my father is, maybe more so. She won't ask any questions."
The elevator chimes, and the doors open.
"Who from Mithril spoke to you?" she asks, making her way for the exit. "Why did they approach you? Don't they know that you're with the EFA?"
"A man with grey hair and a beard, dark skin. Russian, I think." she walks out of the hotel as gracefully as she can considering the circumstances. A car is waiting at the intersection nearby, and Meiya opens the door to usher Kaname in and sit down. The car is room and comfortable without being opulant, it's probably the car Mana uses for grocery shopping and other errands.
Mana sits in the drivers seat and looks over her shoulder. "Nihao." She says in Chinese. "I was going to say something about two young lover and a renevouse but Meiya-sama made me promise not to. Theres towels on the floor."
"Mana!" Meiya complains "You promised." she grouses and takes a towel. "The bar code cafe." she says as she towels her head.
"Yes Meiya-sama." the car pulls out and starts on it's way.
"They do, but..." Meiya starts "I don't agree with everyone in the EFA. Some people would rather see bloodshed, then they would peace. Don't tell Johnny, please."
Kaname's cheeks redden at Mana's words; she opens her mouth to protest, but before she can, Meiya's said her piece.
She pulls off her hat and towels her hair, still damp from the rain. Meiya speaks, and Kaname listens.
"I won't," she says. "I promise."
The car draws to a halt outside of the Bar Code Cafe, and Kaname steps out, and bows at the two still inside.
"Thank you for the ride."
Inside the Cafe, Johnny is still pacing, lost in his own little world of darkness. The waitress has ceased trying to convince Domino to get a table, instead bowing and apologizing over and over for something she didn't do.
Meiya doesn't know if she should go in with Kaname or not. Johnny can be...an ass.
"I'll park across the street." Mana says.
"I know Johnny can be a handfull, I can go in if you want..." Meiya offers to Kaname.
"I think I'll be okay," she says, in the most reassuring tone she can muster; she attempts a smile, but her lips don't quite make it all the way. "If he gives me any problems, I'll just come right back."
And with that said, Kaname makes her way back inside, still wearing the suit that Meiya had given her earlier.
Kaname leaves the car, and Mana pulls it around to park in the lot across the street. "Mou." Mana says "And I was hoping for a parifait."
Meiya stares at her maid "You...are kind of strange sometimes."
Johnny whips his head around as the front door opens. Blue eyes peer at the newcomer intently, almost aggressively. That person is not Kaname. The young man purses his lips in disappointment.
The waitress is really starting to aggravate him. Johnny has half a mind to turn to the young woman and tell her to shut the hell up-- then Domino doubletakes. The person who had just entered the Cafe IS Kaname!
Immediately the young man breaks from his back-and-forth route of pacing, not waiting for Kaname to reach him. They would most likely meet in the middle. Upon finally coming face to face with Chidori, Domino looks her up and down with a critical eye. Her clothes are different, but other than that, she seems fine.
Yet Kaname isn't the only one wearing weird clothing, as the girl never got the chance to see Domino in his unique piloting suit before. The adventures of the past hour are also clearly etched on his features, dirty and haggard.
He says nothing.
Kaname, who usually has a thousand things to say, suddenly finds herself with none. She apprpoaches Johnny silently, her trademark pink tennis shoes squeaking against the restaraunt's tile floor.
He looks tired, she notices, haggard even, and she realizes suddenly that she probably doesn't look very dissimilar. Wet, sloppy hair, dried with a towel and rain-soaked clothes. She's more likely to smell like a wet dog than she is her trademark shampoo.
And suddenly, she feels uncomfortable. Did she make the right decision coming here? Suddenly, Johnny seems so intimidating. Did she do something wrong? Why is he looking at her like that?
The waitress has finally fallen silent. Although her body is still bowed, she can't help but raise her head a bit, sneaking a look at Johnny and Kaname. Now what on earth is going on here? Is Kaname the person Johnny was waiting for? Why are they so silent? Is this like in one of those girly romantic movies the waitress used to watch on rainy evenings such as this one?
And more importantly... Are those two EVER going to get a table?!
Johnny exhales. Kaname looks like shit, but none of the shit seems out of place. No visible injuries, no bloodstains, no bruises, no limp... Kaname Chidori is as she sounded on the phone: alive and well.
The young man's expression changes then, becomes softer. An odd look invades his eyes. It isn't anger, nor is it happiness or relief or sadness, or any other easily catalogued emotion. His lips part, as if he wishes to speak, but the silence only lengthens.
His arm moves as if of its own accord, an attempt to reach out and touch Kaname. But Johnny stops himself short, the motion coming to a halt before it barely even begun. His hand closes into a fist.
With that, whatever inner struggle the young man has been having finally comes to an end. His shoulders slump, and he reaches into a pocket. The item he produces is handed to Kaname.
It's her ID. A little burnt around the edges.
Kaname doesn't say a thing. She watches the strange motion of his face, how his eyes and lips visibly soften. Looking over at him, she feels herself choked by sudden emotion; she tries to give name to it, but like Johnny, it can not easily be categorized.
But this emotion does not register on her face; curiosity, confusion, worry, they're what rise to the surface.
His lips purse; she swallows, and waits for him to speak, but he doesn't say anything.
Instead, his arm moves, and her head turns, her eyes following the movement, but he stops, balls his hand into a fist, reaches into his pocket, and holds out a small, plastic card.
Her student ID.
She doesn't take it. She closes her eyes tightly; her body trembles slightly. Her hands harden into balls at her side, but it's not enough.
For the second time that night, Kaname begins to cry.
By now, the waitress has developed quite a fascination with the little scene near the entrance. Her mind begins weaving extravagant tales about the nature of this encounter, building a lifetime of possibilities and alternate realities.
Johnny remains in place, ID extended in his grip. As Kaname begins crying, the young man finds himself ambushed by unease. He shifts his weight around, unsure of what to do. Why'd she have to start crying? Why is she doing this? Why /now/?
Johnny reaches over. He doesn't stop himself this time.
Making a grab at Kaname's arm, Domino tries to pull it up, tries to push the ID into her balled hand. Just take it... please...
Words Johnny doesn't say.
Johnny reaches for her arm, and her eyes open suddenly; he pushes the ID into her balled hand, and she opens it.
He slips it in. Her hand reflexively tightens over it.
Kaname looks up, her eyes still brimming with tears. "I'm sorry," she says, finally, her voice soft. "You went through a lot of trouble for my sake. You've already got so much to worry about and I." She swallows. "I probably just made it worse."
Johnny keeps his hold on Kaname's wrist. Her words cause his lips to press into a thin line.
Finally, "You... are an idiot." There is no malice in Domino's voice. He says it quietly, stating a fact. "And I'm an idiot. Isn't that funny."
It's not a question. Johnny isn't smiling. He wants to say something more, tries forumalting the words, but it doesn't succeed. In the end, all Johnny does is try to hug Kaname.
She feels like a burden.
She's felt like this before, with Sousuke, too. So incapable. Compared to all her friends, who all seemed so strong and capable, she felt cowardly and weak.
She wasn't able to do anything out there but run and hide. But Johnny and Meiya were both able to act, even despite the circumstances.
Johnny's voice pulls her away from her troubling thoughts; in any other circumstances, those words would have warranted violent recourse.
But these circumstances are different.
And when he pulls her into his arms, she does not pull away.
"We really are both idiots," she says, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.