After she gets out of Zero, tells Credence to go home, and does what she needs to do to get her item back, Rey spends that night and a good portion of the next morning with Tommy. It's not until nearly noon that Rey comes by Credence's room, her leather cuff securely around her wrist, her lightsaber clipped to her hip where it will never not be again, and she brings a very simple lunch of sandwiches and tea.
"Are you in, Credence?" She calls through the door, unable to knock with her hands full.
He is - predictably enough - and he scrambles to answer the door, leaving
his reading material on the bed.
"Miss Rey." He steps back to let her in, not even noticing the food, too
busy looking her over for bruises or a limp or any sign that she might be
death tolling. "Are you alright?"
He faintly recalls trying something that he thinks was tea. At the time
he'd just liked that it was hot on a cold day, but that means he'll like it
again now, he's sure.
"Here."
He pushes a couple of books and his communicator to one side of his desk so
she can put things down.
"Rey," she reminds him gently. "You spent days with me down there, Credence, we're well past the miss by now."
But she sets everything out all the same, takes two cups from her satchel so she can pour them both the tea. It comes from the canister with nothing in it, but she's brought containers or milk and sugar as well.
"My Inmate was from England, from the same world as Tommy and almost from the same time. He introduced me to tea."
She actually smiles at him then, softly, when he says he likes it. She just hopes that means that he'll keep on trying it out just like that.
And then there's the subject of Tommy and her smile doesn't fade, exactly, but it twists a little at the corners. Being asked if she knows Tommy well is just a little funny, that's all.
"I was going to go home with him, when we were done here," she says, because to her that's the fastest way to get that across. She's a young woman who was ready to go home to be with him. "Things changed a little when he came back an Inmate himself, but we're still- close."
"Oh," he says, surprised for a moment, but then his face softens. "He...told me that you - had planned to go home to another world. But he didn't say whose."
"Not in any detail at all," he says, hurriedly, afraid this was meant to be a secret and he's got the man into trouble. "We just - we were talking about things that people do after they leave the Barge, he said that some people go back with someone else. He didn't suggest that you were planning to go back with him, or..."
He seems to be running out of momentum; unsurprising, since for him it's a very lengthy speech.
"It's alright," she says at once, noticing how he's rushing to explain everything away. "It wasn't any secret that we were together then, he as good as told the whole ship I'd be going to his world with him when he left. It's alright that you know."
Just to be sure, she pats the back of his hand, affectionate and friendly still. He's okay, he didn't do anything wrong.
"It's just a surprise to hear he's been talking about that. You might have noticed he isn't always the most open person."
He visibly softens at that touch, some of his tension draining.
"No, he isn't," Credence says. He'd been surprised by how forthcoming
Tommy had been, as well, even in light of their relatively short
acquaintance. "I think - um. He had a flask with him."
It feels slightly more diplomatic than simply saying he'd been drinking,
which Credence can't prove either way.
"What else has he told you about himself?" She asks him, rather than spilling all of Tommy's secrets, putting some context to the problematic fact that Tommy is drinking far, far too much these days.
At least it puts Credence's mind at ease, knowing that he won't be
revealing any more about Tommy to someone who's already so...so close to
him,
"He...he showed me a picture of his son," he says, and picks up his cup,
letting the warmth of it seep into his hands. "He told me his wife has
passed."
Those are the basics, then, and the rest that she knows are things she'll never repeat. No one needs to know the truth about the priest.
But it's good to know Tommy has been talking to people, letting them in, giving information about his life instead of revealing the bits and pieces of what happened like they're a weapon he can use to shock people into leaving him alone.
And she thinks of how open he'd been in zero with her, with Eggsy right there, and there's a little flutter in her chest that's something like hope, tentative as it is. Maybe this is a sign of a change starting in him.
"When I first met you, when you told me when you were from, I thought it might be a good idea to introduce you to Tommy. I thought you might find some common ground, it can be comforting to have that in a place like this."
From the sound of things, she might have been right.
A small nod, and he sips his tea. It's bitter but very good, and he
relishes the warmth.
"It's good to have people here who...understand," he says, cautiously. He
doesn't just mean Tommy; he means Quentin, and Rey, and Ruby. After a
lifetime of being alone and isolated, he feels surrounded now, by people
who have at least some idea of where he's coming from.
"I wanted to thank you, and to apologize," she says, because that's part of why she's here, with food and tea. "I was too focused on getting my things back, on proving to myself that I-"
She trails off, because this is difficult to admit to herself, let alone say to anyone else.
"That I'm not weak, and that the only reason I was captured was because I wasn't being careful enough. I should have been kinder to you when I was telling you it was okay to go back to your room."
She didn't think he would hold it against her, she was sure he wasn't hurt or angry about it, but still. It was something she needed to say, something to try to draw a line between the dark, angry feelings and thoughts she's been swamped with in the last few days.
She's supposed to be a Jedi, or at the least on her way to becoming one, and she's supposed to be a warden. Revenge, desires to cause pain, relishing in how good it felt to have the power to beat Kylo Ren back, those aren't supposed to be things she clings so tightly to.
"Then I'll just say thank you," she says, giving him another quick smile. "It was good to have you there that whole time."
It hadn't been comfortable, certainly, even compared to his own narrow little cot, but he didn't mind it - and, selfishly, he liked that he didn't have to worry about anyone's powers while he was down there. If he could have thought of an excuse, he might have stayed.
He murmurs a few words of grace, then picks up a sandwich.
It's good he doesn't say it, honestly, because that would start them down a path where she spent the rest of the visit insisting that wasn't true, trying to show him why.
"Would you tell me about him?"
Would you, not can you, not will you. She's not demanding it, not even framing it in a way that makes it seem like he has to right now if he doesn't want to. It hasn't been a hard lesson to learn that Credence will submit to anyone who happens to ask him to and the last thing Rey wants to do is take advantage of that, even on accident, without thinking.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2017-01-23 04:34 am (UTC)"Are you in, Credence?" She calls through the door, unable to knock with her hands full.
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:01 am (UTC)He is - predictably enough - and he scrambles to answer the door, leaving his reading material on the bed.
"Miss Rey." He steps back to let her in, not even noticing the food, too busy looking her over for bruises or a limp or any sign that she might be death tolling. "Are you alright?"
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:06 am (UTC)"I'm alright, don't worry. I even slept in a real bed last night."
It wasn't her bed, but hey.
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:12 am (UTC)Honestly, he's so relieved to see her safe that he'd probably forget to be horrified if he knew. He pulls out his chair for her.
"Please, miss, sit. Erm - If you'd like to."
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:16 am (UTC)She's realizing now it might just be a British thing, but Alfie'd gotten her into the habit of drinking it and it's oddly soothing now.
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:21 am (UTC)"Oh - yes, miss."
He faintly recalls trying something that he thinks was tea. At the time he'd just liked that it was hot on a cold day, but that means he'll like it again now, he's sure.
"Here."
He pushes a couple of books and his communicator to one side of his desk so she can put things down.
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:28 am (UTC)But she sets everything out all the same, takes two cups from her satchel so she can pour them both the tea. It comes from the canister with nothing in it, but she's brought containers or milk and sugar as well.
"My Inmate was from England, from the same world as Tommy and almost from the same time. He introduced me to tea."
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:57 am (UTC)"...Rey," he repeats, just testing the name, still nervous of it. "I've tried it...once or twice before, I think. I liked it."
He watches her prepare.
"Do you know Mr Shelby well, then?"
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Date: 2017-01-23 08:05 am (UTC)And then there's the subject of Tommy and her smile doesn't fade, exactly, but it twists a little at the corners. Being asked if she knows Tommy well is just a little funny, that's all.
"I was going to go home with him, when we were done here," she says, because to her that's the fastest way to get that across. She's a young woman who was ready to go home to be with him. "Things changed a little when he came back an Inmate himself, but we're still- close."
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Date: 2017-01-23 08:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-01-23 08:08 am (UTC)"He told you that?" She asks, and after her moment of shock she remembers to hand over his tea, push a sandwich towards him.
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Date: 2017-01-23 08:18 am (UTC)He seems to be running out of momentum; unsurprising, since for him it's a very lengthy speech.
"He only really said your name."
And he'd been drunk.
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Date: 2017-01-23 08:25 am (UTC)Just to be sure, she pats the back of his hand, affectionate and friendly still. He's okay, he didn't do anything wrong.
"It's just a surprise to hear he's been talking about that. You might have noticed he isn't always the most open person."
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Date: 2017-01-23 08:41 am (UTC)He visibly softens at that touch, some of his tension draining.
"No, he isn't," Credence says. He'd been surprised by how forthcoming Tommy had been, as well, even in light of their relatively short acquaintance. "I think - um. He had a flask with him."
It feels slightly more diplomatic than simply saying he'd been drinking, which Credence can't prove either way.
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Date: 2017-01-23 08:49 am (UTC)"What else has he told you about himself?" She asks him, rather than spilling all of Tommy's secrets, putting some context to the problematic fact that Tommy is drinking far, far too much these days.
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Date: 2017-01-23 09:05 am (UTC)At least it puts Credence's mind at ease, knowing that he won't be revealing any more about Tommy to someone who's already so...so close to him,
"He...he showed me a picture of his son," he says, and picks up his cup, letting the warmth of it seep into his hands. "He told me his wife has passed."
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Date: 2017-01-23 09:14 am (UTC)But it's good to know Tommy has been talking to people, letting them in, giving information about his life instead of revealing the bits and pieces of what happened like they're a weapon he can use to shock people into leaving him alone.
And she thinks of how open he'd been in zero with her, with Eggsy right there, and there's a little flutter in her chest that's something like hope, tentative as it is. Maybe this is a sign of a change starting in him.
"When I first met you, when you told me when you were from, I thought it might be a good idea to introduce you to Tommy. I thought you might find some common ground, it can be comforting to have that in a place like this."
From the sound of things, she might have been right.
no subject
Date: 2017-01-23 09:33 am (UTC)A small nod, and he sips his tea. It's bitter but very good, and he relishes the warmth.
"It's good to have people here who...understand," he says, cautiously. He doesn't just mean Tommy; he means Quentin, and Rey, and Ruby. After a lifetime of being alone and isolated, he feels surrounded now, by people who have at least some idea of where he's coming from.
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:38 pm (UTC)She trails off, because this is difficult to admit to herself, let alone say to anyone else.
"That I'm not weak, and that the only reason I was captured was because I wasn't being careful enough. I should have been kinder to you when I was telling you it was okay to go back to your room."
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Date: 2017-01-23 07:58 pm (UTC)"You don't have to worry about that, Miss Rey. You were locked away, you'd been hurt - you don't need to apologise for anything you said to me."
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Date: 2017-01-23 08:02 pm (UTC)She's supposed to be a Jedi, or at the least on her way to becoming one, and she's supposed to be a warden. Revenge, desires to cause pain, relishing in how good it felt to have the power to beat Kylo Ren back, those aren't supposed to be things she clings so tightly to.
"Then I'll just say thank you," she says, giving him another quick smile. "It was good to have you there that whole time."
no subject
Date: 2017-01-23 08:10 pm (UTC)It hadn't been comfortable, certainly, even compared to his own narrow little cot, but he didn't mind it - and, selfishly, he liked that he didn't have to worry about anyone's powers while he was down there. If he could have thought of an excuse, he might have stayed.
He murmurs a few words of grace, then picks up a sandwich.
OMG GMAIL HID THIS TAG I'M SO MAD
Date: 2017-01-30 07:10 pm (UTC)"Do you have someone like that in your world?" She asks him. "Someone dangerous you wouldn't want here?"
She wants to be able to protect him from them if they do ever show up.
GMAIL >:(
Date: 2017-01-30 07:41 pm (UTC)"...yes," he says, eventually. "There's...there's someone. But he's not - he hasn't - died."
stop hatin on touchfriends
Date: 2017-01-30 07:48 pm (UTC)"Would you tell me about him?"
Would you, not can you, not will you. She's not demanding it, not even framing it in a way that makes it seem like he has to right now if he doesn't want to. It hasn't been a hard lesson to learn that Credence will submit to anyone who happens to ask him to and the last thing Rey wants to do is take advantage of that, even on accident, without thinking.
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