milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Well, that really wasn't fun. Rae supposes she couldn't truly expect the weather to hold off for a little thing like her fighting for her life, but it would've been nice if it had been a little more considerate, you know? Con had been impervious to the icy rain - of course he had - but Rae's experience had been a little more... well, human. Her fingers, slicked with blood and exposed to the elements, had soon gone numb and clumsy. It hadn't been an easy night. When they had returned to her apartment, her only thoughts were of the hot shower she was about to have. The three hot showers she wanted to take in succession, and the long, soaking bath she wanted directly after, and the twelve hours or more of sleep she wanted after that. So what if that would put her waking up around sunset tomorrow.

But the door to her bathroom, of course, has other ideas.

Rae shuffles into the bar today, exhausted, soaking wet, and shivering. Her black sweater and sweatpants cling to her, sodden and still dripping as the ice melts. There is ice in her hair from the sleet that had gotten caught in it, and she smells of cold sweat and blood. The melting ice and rain may have washed much of the blood from her, but some of it remains, and the scrapes and minor injuries that show where her sweater has been torn still bleed sluggishly.

"Unnnnnngh," Rae makes an exhausted noise of complaint in her throat as she sees where she is. She hadn't been expecting Milliways. Now she has an entire set of stairs to climb before she can reach her shower. Why so cruel, universe?

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Jay holds her hand gently, giving her time to find her balance and calm down.

Rae doesn't allow herself to break down often, and almost never in public. Most certainly not in the coffeehouse. She has a responsibility to her customers, her people, to stay upbeat, to give hope and stability (and delicious, heartwarming food) to people who have none.

When her balance and composure reassert themselves, she wipes at her eyes, feeling embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just break apart like that."

Jay chuckles softly, giving her a little shrug. "Rae, if we're going to talk about breakdowns - when you woke me up the other day, I was crying out for my dead lover. You've seen me pretty low. You've got nothing to worry about."

Rae clutches his hand, squeezing it hard. "I'm... I'm sorry for that. That it happened. I can't even imagi.... no, yes, I can."

All too clearly.

"I'm sorry that it's something you've experienced, something that still hurts you."

"I'm sure you can." He answers sympathetic. "I guess that why I'm glad it was you and not someone else."

He helps her start tackling the stairs again. "I only knew him a week and yet... it's amazing how fast you can fall for someone. I just wish I'd been able to save him. He was..." He smiles at the memory. "I'm glad at least for the time we had."

Rae is nearing the limits of her exhaustion, physically and emotionally. She leans on Jay as they go up the last stretch of stairs.

"Tell me about him?" she asks, faintly. "What was he like?"

"He had the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen on a human being. So dark with these tiny flecks of colour. Looking into them was like staring up at a starry sky. He was a prostitute. His village sent him to me as a thank you for... well for some shit that I did to help them out. Twice he turned up on my doorstep and twice I sent him away. It's not who I am, if you get me. I don't trade people for favours. The third time he tracked me down to a hotel half a country away. He'd run away to find me. I got it then - I was his ticket out of the poverty of Africa and he knew I was lonely. We spent a week just..." He shrugs. "It was good, just to have that company. Someone who didn't judge. For someone who fucked for a living, he was so damn starved for attention and kindness. Fuck, I spent hours just holding him and drowning in those eyes." He takes a deep breath and carried on helping her up the stairs.

"I'm glad he found you," Rae murmurs, not all there at the moment. The fuzzy grey cobwebs at the corners of her vision were slowly taking over, making it very hard for her to focus. "Someone who saw his worth as a human being, not as a piece of property. As a person to be loved, not a thing to be used."

He chuckles darkly. "As a former rent boy myself, I wish there was more people in the world like you. 'Course if it wasn't for the perverts I would have starved but what can you do."

He notices her start to fade and carefully adjusts his grip. "Rae, I'm gunna pick you up and carry you the rest of the way. You need to be awake enough to open your door, okay?"

"I'm... sorry," she says, with effort.

Sorry for his past, for the things he traded so the needs of food and shelter could be met. Sorry for his lover's desperation, for his lover's death, for the circumstances beyond his control, for... for... Rae's own inability to stay upright and ambulatory without help. She has no energy to say it all, so she just says:

"I'm sorry. I'm just... so tired."

"Nothing to be sorry for." He scoops her up with care and ease, carrying her the rest of the way in his arms. "Show me which door." When she lets them in, he carries her to the bed, sitting her down. "You just hold in there a sec and I'll grab you some more towels."

Rae takes being carried with subdued gratitude, slightly annoyed at herself for not having the strength even to make it to her door. The door she leads them to is in the second corridor, the one with a stylized sunburst done in wrought iron hanging on the door in place of a number. It's pure luck that she has the presence of mind to invite him in as she unlocks the door, as the various wards hanging above the door inside the room would have otherwise led Jay to running into what would feel like an invisible brick wall when he tried to enter.

The room itself is smallish and simple - a room to stay in, not to live in. The walls are pale yellow, the door and window frames white, and the large window looks out towards the lake and forest edge, letting in a wide shaft of sunlight. There's a door into the bathroom, a bed, a small dresser and nightstand, a low bookshelf full of paperback novels, and a wide chair strewn with colorful pillows. The bathroom is about half the size of the room, and still smells of Rae's jasmine soap.

Rae struggles to sit up, pulling on the bed covers to help her keep her balance.

"Cou... could you bring a wet washcloth? I don't th-think I'm going to be able to take that shower, but I'd... like to at least wash my face," she requests, faintly.

Jay's a little surprised. He kinda assumed all the rooms were alike - a basic hotel room like set-up. But then he never spent more than a night in any one of them. He nods and fetches her a face-washer and bowl of warm water, hunting around for a robe or something in case she wants to get out of her wet things. "Here you go. Mind if I stick around a while? Just to make sure you get to sleep okay. Just like you did for me."

A bathrobe hangs from the back of the bathroom door, fluffy and bright blue.

While Jay gets the cloth and water, Rae tugs at the covers until she'll be able to get beneath them, and lays down some of the towels so she won't absolutely ruin her bedsheets. They'll still need washing in the morning, but perhaps she won't wake up feeling like she's never going to get the bed clean ever again. When Jay brings the cloth and water, Rae accepts them with a tired ghost of a smile. She the bowl on her nightstand as she doesn't really trust her grip at the moment.

"I don't mind if you stay," she answers, shaking her head slightly as she wets the cloth in the warm water and presses it to her face. It feels heavenly. Slowly, she begins washing her face and neck. Rae doesn't mind at all the water dripping from the wash cloth - her dark clothes are already soaked. Soon her face and hands, at least, look more like herself, and less a mess. "Just... once I'm asleep... well, you know how it was when you were startled awake the other night."

It would be just as dangerous, for though she is mostly unarmed (the pocketknife wedged in her pocket doesn't really count), she would use her magic.

He waits till she's settled and comfortable before cleaning away the bowl and flannel. "I'll leave as quietly as I can. I promise." He settles in the chair for a while, just to keep an eye out for her.

Most would want the curtains closed if trying to sleep during the day - but not Sunshine. The winter sun is weak and intermittent, but she'll take what she can get. She settles beneath the covers, gently loosening the grip she'd been holding on consciousness. It doesn't take much. The room had already been spinning as she lay down.

"Thank you, Jay," she murmurs, eyelids fluttering shut as she drifts towards sleep. "Y'r.. a good guy."

"Nar, I'm not." Jay replies softly. "I'm a bad man."

He stays perhaps longer than he should, feeling bad about leaving her alone but he doesn't want to outstay his welcome. He lets himself out after a while, glancing back at her. "Sleep well. You deserve it."

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