(Lol)
Kyle's smile faded in an instant, blinking a couple times. The last time him and Electrica had conversed was when she'd tried to take him in to the government, an experience he'd rather no relive. His hands tightened around the drink in his hands, close to making it explode but not quite.
Luckily, she honestly didn’t seem like that much of a threat right now, her eyes struggling to stay open and a drink in her hand.
Even though she didn’t look like a threat or was acting like one, Kyle couldn’t help but shift nervously in his seat. He averted his gaze, keeping it down at his drink.
Caleb shot him a quick ‘you okay?’ look from across the table, kicking him gently to get his attention.
He looked up and blinked, retuning his look with an ‘I’m not sure’ one. He’d rather be anyway but within two feet of the woman right now.
Caleb frowned a bit and nodded slightly.
Meanwhile Veronica gently elbowed her girlfriend behind her. “Babe isn’t there something you wanted to say??” She gave her an expectant look while Electrica’s tired mind tried to remember.
“Oh yeah! That thing!” She exclaimed after a few seconds. She straightened up, removing her head from Veronica’s shoulder and focusing on Kyle. “I owe you an apology…”
Kyle blinked, dragging his gaze from Caleb to her with a frown, “I’m sorry?” He tilted his head. There was no way in hell he was going to trust or accept this apology, no matter how sincere it may seem. He didn’t trust her and because of her, he was on edge a lot of the time they were in public.
“I’m sorry. What I did to you was wrong, and I had no idea what was going to happen to you otherwise I would’ve tried to find some way to get you out of that situation. I’m so sorry you had to go through that because of my ignorance. I’m trying to get myself out of doing stuff like that for them but..it’s hard. They know who I am, where I live, where my family lives.” She sighed. “But I shouldn’t be making excuses. I am truly deeply sorry for what I’ve done.”
She did sound sincere and sorry for what she did. However that didn't change that fact that she'd done it and hadn't thought of the consequences. About the impact it made on Kyle's life, "No, you shouldn't be making excuses. Thanks, but I don't accept it. Not right now."
She nodded, “thanks for listening.” She went back over to Veronica, nuzzling into her shoulder again. Veronica smiled her hand going back to mess with her tired partner’s hair.
“Well we should be going then.” Veronica said. “I have no idea when this one’s gonna just pass out.” She chuckled softly, waving at the two of them before they made their way out of the cafe.
Kyle didn't take his eyes off the couple as they left, still tense but his shoulders slumped a little. He didn't want to see her again, but knew he might have to.
“You okay dear?” Caleb asked, reaching over and gently taking Kyle’s hand. “Who am I kidding, of course you aren’t.” He rubbed his thumb over Kyle’s knuckle reassuringly.
Kyle bit his lip, looking from the door to Caleb then down at his drink, "I don't ever want to see her again. I know she apologised but-" He took a deep breath, not able to finish his sentence.
“I know. Trauma is still trauma. And I don’t think she expects you to forgive her for it either to be honest.” He squeezed Kyle’s hand. “But from what Veronica’s told me, she didn’t know what was really going on in those horrible places. Not that we can use that to excuse her actions but..”
"She should have asked. Should have done something rather then just- just hunting down people like me so blindly. She didn't even think about what would happen, what might happen I just… I can't… I don't.." He sighed.
“I know…” he fell silent for a moment before smiling. “Let’s not think about that anymore today, mkay?” He was trying his best to be positive for Kyle’s sake.
Kyle nodded a little, putting on a small smile that was obviously fake, "Yeah, probably the best idea." But it was hard to not think about things like this.
Caleb could see it was fake but he didn’t want to pester Kyle over it. He just responded with a quick smile of his own.
He was grateful it wasn’t mentioned. He went back to sipping at his drink, trying to distract himself from his thoughts.
Caleb sighed softly, going back to his own drink. He was honestly worried about Kyle now, and he hated seeing him sad.
It wasn't just Electrica getting him down. It was the stress of all the work Caleb was doing, the fact that the attacks had been getting worse recently and just in general feeling down and worried. He wished they could just go on a holiday.
Caleb had finished up his coffee a few minutes later and looked over at Kyle. “You about ready to go?” He asked softly.
((Hey sorry I won’t be able to respond as much as I normally can because I’m starting marching camp but I’ll still be here for at least thirty minutes around the normal time))
(All good, as you've probably realised I'm not active much during the week anymore so I understand :) don't worry about it)
Kyle blinked, clearly having been lost in his own head as they had silently drunk. He nodded, finishing his own drink, "Yeah, I am."
He nodded, not really making eye contact. “Well let’s get going then.” He stood up, throwing away his cup and then waiting for Kyle by the door. He just wanted to get back home honestly.
Kyle followed not longer after, staying quiet. He, too, wanted to get home, if only to maybe cry for a bit and then sleep.
As they began to walk, Caleb grabbed Kyle’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He knew he’d probably never be able to fully understand what Kyle was going through. But he could tell that he was suffering. And Caleb wished he could fix it with the push of a button, but he knew that wasn’t possible.
Kyle gave his hand a squeeze back, leaning against his side a little more. He was glad that he had Caleb, knowing that if he didn't have the other.. he didn't know what he would do.
Caleb stayed relatively silent for most of their walk, caught up in his own thoughts. But he never let go of Kyle’s hand. He held it all the way until they got back to the apartment, which they got to quicker than Caleb expected.
But it was almost as soon as they got to the door, so, so close to safety, did Kyle sway on his feet. The world started spinning, his body hurt and ached all over. He couldn't even open his mouth to let Caleb know something was wrong.
He turned around to say something to Kyle but the words died in his throat. Something just seemed so….wrong. “Kyle? Are you alright?” He asked, quickly beginning to worry.
