The sun has set hours ago when the Redrock shuttle sets down on the road outside their apartment. The cloudy weather also serve to make it really dark between the sparse streetlights. The snow hasn't been showeled recently, but there is a trampled down path towards their door as it's close to the stairs up to one of the other apartments. They did stop by Halisi's apartment on the way to pick up two travel bags that
#IlynaApartment – June 2, 2019
Ilyna and Li return to their apartment after the window repair, moving out of Halisi's place where they were staying in the meantime.
Ilyna steps off the shuttle and begins pulling the two bags she had off the shuttle onto the roadside.
Li steps off the shuttle, casting an undeniably uneasy look around the dark street. She's been quiet on the way over, although that's been common lately. She's clad in her usual winterwear.
Ilyna taps the button to close the door after Li is outside, and goes to pick up the bags. She picks up on Li's unease, which isn't far from how she's feeling. This was where the nightmare began, after all. Ilyna brings up her omni-tool, which glow does illuminate the snow enough to see where she's going. "It's good to be home," she says regardless as she begins walking towards the door. "I'm going to miss
Li frowns slightly as she follows after Ilyna, sticking close to the asari. She'd likely be holding her hand if it wasn't for the bags. "Why...?" she asks quietly as her gaze darts out towards the darkness beyond the omni-tool's glow.
Ilyna frowns. "She's busy and I'm sure she could use some time alone after the long days at Redrock," she says. "She'll come an visit when she has time, though." Ilyna stops at the front door and holds the omni-tool up to it, and taps on it to unlock and open the door. It looks a bit awkward as she's still carrying the bags. "And you can have your own bed too if you'd like," she offers before stepping inside
The lights turn on the moment the door opens to show the familiar hallway. The broken glass and spent flashbang has been removed, but the apartment does need to be cleaned.
Li 's frown lingers, but she nods faintly as they reach the door. "Ok..." she says, although it's not hard to pick up on an underlying disappointment over leaving. As the door opens and Ilyna heads inside Li remains on the treshold, looking down the hallway with an uneasy expression, hand on the doorframe as if she might fall in.
Ilyna turns around after leaving the bags on the floor, looking down the hallway. "Is something wrong, Li?" she says, returning to by the door and crouching to her level. Despite Ilyna suspecting it's the fresh memories this place might evoke, she'd rather hear it from Li.
Li 's gaze shifts to meet Ilyna's as she crouches down, before looking past her down the hall into the apartment again. Her eyes lower as she goes silent, expression uncomfortable.
Ilyna reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder. "This is our home, Li," she says. The concern is still all that's seen in her face as she cannot muster a reassuring smile. "You're safe here with me, I promise."
Li looks up, searching Ilyna's face for assurance that she doesn't find. She offers a tiny nod, but doesn't say anything.
Ilyna offers her free hand for her to hold. "Are you coming, then?" she asks. "We need to close the door so the heater can start warming this place up."
Li nods again, albeit a little reluctantly, taking Ilyna's hand and accompanying her into the apartment. Her gaze is low as they move through the hall.
Ilyna closes the door behind them and walks over to the rack, helping Li take off her jacket before removing her own. The heating system is working hard to get the apartment up to a comfortable temperature, but it's still not all the way there. "We really are safe here now," she says. "The monsters are dead, and... the only people that's been here in the meantime are T'Iavay and Atana."
Ilyna makes her way over to the bags and opens one of them, reaching for their toiletries. "Li, please talk to me," Ilyna says. "Even if I may not have all the answers, or even if I don't understand anything, it still helps to talk." She pulls the bag of toiletries out along with their nightwear.
Li hovers near the end of the hallway where it opens up into the rest of the apartment, her gaze having fixed on the replaced window, and the darkness outside it, as if expecting it to shatter again at any moment. It doesn't seem like she heard Ilyna.
Ilyna places the items on the table before turning to Li, following her gaze to the window. She suppresses a sigh. "They replaced it today, it's much stronger now," she says. It's in part true; it's far from bullet proof, but it might put up a fight against a thrown object. "Would you like something to eat before bed, Li?" They've had dinner just a few hours ago, but it's at least an attempt at pulling her mind
Ilyna nods. "I'm just making sure," she says. "So, would you like to watch some TV, or should we go straight to bed?" Ilyna remains where she is at the moment, leaning slightly against the side of the table.
Ilyna steps over and crouches down in front of her, trying to maintain eye contact. "No matter what happens," Ilyna begins. "I'll be at your side or just one step behind. Always." There is confidence in her voice; that is a promise she has kept so far. She tilts her head, swallowing to keep back the lump in her throat. "But you need to talk to me more, Li," she says. "There's no wrong words, nothing that will
Li lets out a quiet, unhappy sigh, but nods slightly, looking at Ilyna after a little while of avoiding her gaze. "Is it really safe...?"
Ilyna gives a nod without thinking too much on the question, "Yes." How could she really know? There's many things that could go wrong. They still had enemies even if none – to Ilyna's knowledge – has motivations related to Li, but they might still end up in the crossfire of someone else's trouble. Not to mention that Ilyna could be forced to break her promise again like with the survey mission. "Let's get
ready for bed, okay?" she says before the silence can make itself too apparent. "I know I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to spend with you lately, but tomorrow I'll try my best to."
Li nods again, a faint hint of a smile crossing her lips. "Ok." she agrees, before her eyebrows furrow a little. "Can I sleep in your bed...?" she asks, her gaze traveling to the dark window again.