It's well after 1AM when the Redrock shuttle sets down outside. Given the time, Jasper is a bit more considerate than Francois' ride, little more giving away Leah's arrival than the soft hum of the shuttle as it sets down. It's another minute or so before the front door slides open and Leah steps inside. Aside from having opted for boots for the trip home and her hair being a bit out of order, little else has changed about her. She adjusts
#Leah'sHouse – January 17, 2020
the strap of the canvas bag over her shoulder, head low with a big, dumb grin plastered across her face.
After dinner Francois remained in the living room, watching colorful, old Christmas specials with Tara for a few hours. Rudimentary explanations of Christmas traditions helped to fill the silence. Given the constant checking of the time and looking through his omni-tool, it seemed his intention was to try and stay up until Leah's return. But, eventually, the hour got the best of him and he had to tap out and retire to his room.
Tara was happy for the company and the cultural lessons. Filling in some of the gaps in her understanding little by little. After Francois went to bed she remained in the living room, her own intention much the same. More TV, the volume turned down a bit to ensure she doesn't disturb, has kept her entertained as she kept waiting. It's well past her usual bedtime when Leah finally does come home, but the faint rumble of the shuttle
thrusters immediately causes her to perk up from her blanket-cocoon in the couch, sitting up, craning her neck and leaning to the side to try and catch a glimpse of the shuttle through the window. Her gaze goes right to Leah when the door opens, studying her from across the room with a cautious mixture of curiosity and concern.
Leah goes wide-eyed as she finds herself a deer caught in Tara's headlights, having hoped she'd be able to tiptoe to her room under the cover of night. She's quick to offer a suspiciously wide smile, bringing her hand up in a timid wave. Play it cool. Play it cool. "H-..." she begins before making a conscious effort to lower her voice given the time, "...Hey~" She gives a cursory glance about, craning her head to get a
look at the kitchen to make sure nobody else is still up. Lights off. That's a good sign. She draws in a breath as she begins to lazily kick off her boots.
Tara blinks at the odd look on Leah's face, but returns the wave, offering a quiet "Hello." as she shifts in the couch, crossing her legs to sit more comfortably and scrunching the blanket up to a ball in her lap that she rests her arms against, still watching Leah as she waits for her to get rid of her jacket and boots.
Leah juggles her canvas bag as she slips out of her jacket and hangs it up by the door. "I-... uhh-... figured you would be asleep." she continues, giving her shirt a quick once-over to make sure everything is in order, using a flat hand to try and wipe any wrinkles out as non-chalantly as she can.
Tara 's eyebrows furrow slightly at Leah's comment, her gaze falling away briefly, as if worried she's done something wrong. "I... wanted to stay up." she says, without offering further explanation, before her attention returns to Leah.
Leah starts towards the couch, unslinging the bag from her shoulder and setting it down beside the coffee table. A small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth as she studies Tara with her own curiosity. "...Were you waiting up for me?" she asks, her words colored with playful suspicion but the smirk remains.
Tara 's eyes shift away again, but it's not long before a small nod of admission follows and she's right back to studying Leah.
Leah gives a little snicker, smile fully emerging. "Sorry, sweetheart. Guess I-... kinda lost track of time."
Tara 's gaze flickers across Leah's face, observing her expression. The return of the persistent smile that she wore upon entering the door seems to relax her a little, shifting again to face Leah better. "How-... how did it go?" she asks, curiosity returning.
Leah nearly immediately sucks in her lips, gaze briefly tilting downward upon hearing the question. Despite the fact that it's obviously a sincere question- especially considering the source- she's unable to keep from reading into it too much. "Good." she stammers as her gaze turns back to Tara. Smooth. "Good! Great!" she repeats more enthusiastically, adding a number of nods as if to sell it. Too good! Too good!
"Movies!" she blurts out, shrugging her shoulders as she shifts her weight to one foot. "We-... uhh-... we watched movies!"
Tara blinks, puzzled by the stammered response. She hesitates, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Are you... okay?" she asks, looking a little concerned.
Leah's furrows her brows as if confused by the question. "Hmmm?" she hums to buy herself a moment. "Me? Of course! I'm just-... I-..." she sucks in her lips once more, big smile nearly exploding out of her as she looks towards the floor for a moment before turning her focus back to the young girl on the couch. "I just-... had a really good time, sweetheart." she admits sheepishly. Honestly. For the first time in far too long
Tara 's concern fades, a small smile of her own taking shape as the sincerity of Leah's words comes through. She nods, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "You didn't... mess it up?" she asks, recalling Leah's earlier choice of words. There's the tiniest hint of careful playfulness to her tone, and in the way her smile shifts a little as she relaxes after accepting that everything is fine.
Leah gives a snort, Tara's question helping to alleviate her own discomfort. She makes a show of considering the question, squinting one eye and scrunching up her nose before giving a nod. "I'm-... pretty sure I did alright." she snickers, a bit of quiet amusement hidden behind her smile as she takes another step towards Tara and drops into the seat beside her, bringing both legs onto the cushion.
Tara 's smile widens a little, internally both relieved and emboldened by the positive reaction.. When Leah joins her on the couch she turns to face her, pulling her legs up to rest her head on her knees as her arms wrap around them. "He liked the clothes?" she asks, the pandemonium that was the afternoon fresh in her mind.
Leah shifts as well, facing Tara as she sits crosslegged. "Uh huh. Yep!" she says with a nod, though it's not the panicked pre-date jitters fresh in her thoughts. Her mind turns to her frantic hunt through Nathan's apartment looking for her shirt when she realized what time it was. It causes the dimples in her cheeks to grow more prominent as she restrains the smile struggling to sneak out. She shifts her weight to the side,
Tara echoes Leah's snicker a little more quietly, looking a bit embarrassed by the comment. She falls silent, her expression turning thoughtful as she studies Leah, whatever is on her mind going unspoken for the time being.
Leah remains as she is, head lazily lulled against the backrest of the couch, soft smile etched into her features. She reaches up to fuss with her bangs, tucking a lock of blonde hair back behind her ear. "What is it, sweetheart?" she asks, the contemplative look on Tara's face not going unnoticed.
Tara 's eyebrows furrow slightly at the question. "You like him a lot." It sounds more like an observation than a question.
Leah's cheeks turn a shade darker at the observation. "Is it that obvious?" she asks. Nathan certainly seemed oblivious for long enough. What does that say about him when the girl with nearly no social experience seems to have no trouble spotting it?
Tara blinks, the question answered with an entirely serious nod. "You're smiling a lot." she explains in the same observational tone. Not that she doesn't normally. But it's not hard for Tara to see the difference between the smiles that have to fight against heavy weights to manifest and the one she's carrying right now that just can't seem to stay away.
Leah snickers but tries to keep quiet for her father's sake, causing her to roll her face against the backrest of the couch for a moment. "Yeah, I-... I guess that I am..." she agrees with a nod, doing her best to match Tara's tone but failing to sound quite as serious. Her shoulders rise when she draws in a deep breath, tempering the smile on her face as she studies Tara. "He's... a good guy." she explains, feeling the need to
explain given the focus Tara has placed on it. "I mean a really good guy." she qualifies, as if there's some weight to that statement. "He just-..." she shrugs her shoulders lazily against the couch that she has sunk against, "...cares."
Tara listens silently as Leah speaks, clearly taking her words very seriously. She lets her legs fold next to her on the cusion, leaning a bit more heavily against the backrest. She hasn't exactly hidden her own hesitance regarding Nathan, but Leah's assessment of him seems to genuinely matter to her, and she takes a moment to consider Leah's words after she speaks, sucking in her lips a little. Eventually she nods. "Good." she says, a
surprising amount of weight put behind the word. A small, soft smile follows, and it seems like there's another question on the tip of her tongue.
Leah's smile seems to be reinforced by Tara's simple, but weighty, response. It's undoubtedly important to her that she has Tara's support. "Yeah..." she agrees softly. Without moving, she reaches out to tug at a corner of Tara's blanket to pull them over her cold feet. "Hmmm?" she hums tiredly as she waits for Tara to elaborate on whatever else she's got on her mind.
Tara shifts a little to free the bits of blanket pinned beneath her legs, letting Leah tug it closer. The questioning sound causes her to look back to her, eyebrows furrowing again. "There will be more dates?" she asks, a bit of curiosity in her voice.
Leah snickers, a few gentle nods following. "I-... umm-... I invited him and Sofia over to have Christmas dinner with us." she says, a sudden wince creeping into her features as she realizes she probably should've made sure it was okay with Tara and her father first. "Shit-... you don't mind, do you...?" she asks through an apologetic frown.
Tara 's eyebrows rise, clearly a little surprised by this. "Oh..." The question that follows surprises her as well, but rather trying to avoid offering an opinion she considers it for a moment and then shakes her head. "That's... okay." she says, although there's a hint of hesitation in her voice, gaze falling to the blanket.
Leah's frown deepens, Tara's hesitation not going unnoticed. "Crap, I should've asked first." she apologizes, "If you're not okay with it-..." she trails off as she tries to read Tara's reaction, wincing at both the thought of rescinding her invite to Nathan and of potentially making Tara uncomfortable.
Tara looks surprised, but it quickly turns to a worried frown as she shakes her head again. "It's-... it's fine." she assures, looking up at Leah again, although she can't quite seem to vanquish that hesitance.
Leah studies Tara for a moment in silence. The last thing she wanted to do when she invited Nathan over was make Christmas uncomfortable for her. "What's wrong?" she asks as she tilts her head a little heavier against the backrest that's currently serving as her pillow.
Tara shifts in her seat, looking more than a little uncomfortable when she realizes Leah has noticed her unease. She looks down at her hands, frowning as she fiddles with them, seeming reluctant to voice what's on her mind.
Leah continues to watch Tara, her frown lingering for a moment before she hides it away, doing her best to prop up an encouraging, if tired, smile. "It's fine, sweetheart." she assures gently, "You can talk to me."
Tara remains hesitant, but after a couple of moments she nods, her eyes shifting back and forth between Leah's and her hands. She takes a deep breath to collect herself and figure out how to explain her feelings in a way that makes sense. She looks nervous. "You... understand. You are... patient. I feel..." Her eyebrows furrow as she searches for the right word. "...safe." she settles on. "I can... be me." she says, voice quieter as she
draws on words used by Leah to express herself. There's a tiny, uncertain, embarrassed smile on her lips, but it fades fast. "They-... they don't." She looks more terrified than nervous now, obviously struggling with expressing this, and worrying that she's going to cause upset. "It's... different. I... don't know what to do, and... they think I'm strange."
Leah remains silent, listening as the young girl speaks. There's a glassiness to her eyes that goes beyond the night of drinks that preceded. Her own eyes tilt downward to Tara's hands as well, half of a faded smile lingering on her lips. She draws on the inside of her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue as she considers her words. "Sweetheart..." she begins, green eyes meeting Tara's, "...You can always be you." She extends a
hand out, placing it over top Tara's and giving it a squeeze. "Nate and Sofia? They-... they understand." she offers softly, giving a small nod. "Do you think I'd want someone in my life if they didn't realize how awesome you are?" she asks, scrunching up her nose in mock offense for a moment before a smile tugs at the corner of her mouth once more. "Psh. If that was the case he wouldn't be worth my time."
Tara 's fear seems to lift when Leah squeezes her hand and it becomes clear that she hasn't stepped out of line, but embarrassment takes hold in its wake, the words that follow causing her to pull one leg up, hiding half her face behind her knee and staring down at at the blanket. A quiet, muffled giggle slips out with the final comment, looking overwhelmed as she meets Leah's gaze again. It's obvious that the words mean a whole lot to
Leah's smile is reinforced by Tara's giggle and she continues to study her from her lazy position on the couch. "He cares about you, too, you know?" she asks. "He just wants you to be safe. Be happy. Have a life of your own." She draws in a breath, shoulders lifting as the air enters her lungs. "He was asking about you tonight." she continues, smile growing as she musters up enough energy to tug a bit more of the blanket over
Tara blinks, surprise entering her expression. "He did...?" The mention of Christmas presents causes part of her mind to wander a bit - ever since learning about that specific tradition she'd been trying to figure out how to deal with it. She had a plan now, but it still needed to be executed.
Leah gives a lazy nod of her head. "Mmhmm." she hums. "I was telling him how you strung up alllll these lights." she continues, rolling her head against the couch to scan across the colorful display that has been left on ever since they were hung up. "I think he's as excited for you to experience Christmas as I am." she snickers.
Tara can't help but smile a little at that, leaning her head against the couch as well and letting her gaze wander to the lights. It's pretty clear that she likes them a lot judging by the way her smile widens. "I'm... looking forward to it." she admits with a bit of embarrassment. "It... seems nice."
Leah continues to focus on the lights that illuminate the room in dim alternating colors, casting red and blue and green and white and yellow and orange shadows across the room. "It is." she says softly. Seconds tick by in silence, her thought inevitably turning towards her mother. How could they not when she's looking over a room full of decorations that carry so much family history with them? Her smile turns a bit somber and she
licks at her drying lips before tilting her head back towards Tara. "Hey..." she begins, picking at a specific thing Tara had said that's lingered in her mind, "...Are you really worried that people might think you're strange...?"
Tara shifts a little, gaze leaving the lights, darting briefly to Leah before falling to the blanket again. She sits in uncomfortable silence for several moments, picking at a loose thread in the edge of the blanket. "I know they do." she admits quietly. "I-... I don't act like they expect." she says, practically in a whisper as she frowns at the thread.
Leah draws in a breath. She's certainly no stranger to feeling like the odd one out. Feeling like you don't belong and people are staring at you for all the wrong reasons. "Ya know, a lot of people think I'm strange, too."
Tara looks puzzled, her frown deepening a little as she looks up at Leah. A cautious "Why...?" soon slips out.
Leah gives a humorless snicker, shrugging her shoulders as she looks back towards the Christmas lights. "...Because I'm different." she says. After a moment she sits up a little straighter and a glow that has probably become familiar to Tara by now, soft and blue, joins the collage of colorful lights that paint the room. She lifts her hand, palm upward and extends it lazily out in front of her as the TV remote that, mere moments
ago, lay resting on the coffee table journeys onto her hand in an effortless display of her 'strangeness'. Not that it should come as any surprise to Tara, she's seen her use her biotics plenty of times before. She passes a small, somber smile Tara's way. "And some people are just-..." she sighs, the TV remote lifting off to return to its previous place as she settles back against the couch once more, "...scared of
Tara watches as the remote is enveloped in biotic energy, sailing slowly over to Leah. It had surprised her the first few times she had seen her use her powers, but it was just one more new thing among so many others since she'd met Leah. It had never registered to her as something to fear. "Oh..." she says quietly, her frown changing in nature, growing heavier as she studies Leah.
Leah allows the glow to dissipate around her, head leaning a bit heavier against the backrest of the couch. "And sometimes-... umm-..." she furrows her brow, offering a distant nod to girl at her side, "...sometimes I worry about people thinking I'm strange, too. But-... then I remember something my mom told me." she says, and the mere thought of the memory is enough to brighten up her smile despite the circumstances surrounding
it. "You wanna know what she said?" she asks Tara playfully, as if it's some important, hidden knowledge.
Tara listens closely as Leah speaks, the question quickly prompting a nod and causing her to almost instinctively lean in a little as she waits for her to continue.
Leah snickers to herself. "She said~" she begins in a sing-songy tone, her voice still little more than a whisper to avoid waking her father, "...that there's nothing wrong with being different." Okay, so it's nothing grandiose. Simple, but it's obviously important to her. "As a matter of fact, she said it was a gift. Because, sure-..." she nods a few times to herself, "...some people are going to be mean. Some might even be
afraid of me. They might say and do hurtful things..." She draws in a breath, doing her best to maintain her composure. To keep from allowing a lifetime of pain and hurt and discrimination and isolation to slip into her expression. To color her words. "...But the ones that don't? The ones that stick around. The ones who accept me for-... for me?" The Nathans of the galaxy. Mendez. Halisis and Vasquez. The Jasons. The
Damiens... She swallows at the lump in her throat, propping her smile up even wider and brighter than before. Proud to have met so many wonderful, loving people. "They're the good ones. And I don't have to waste my time weeding out all of the other ones." she explains, scrunching her nose up playfully in distaste for all of the people she didn't need in her life. For all the cold shoulders she's gotten. The side-eyes
and whispered insults. "And-... she said that I shouldn't be angry at them." she continues, her tone soft. "That I should feel sorry for them. Because they don't get to have someone in their life that is as incredible~ as me!" she continues, extending her arm in a little flourish, though the roll of her eyes and embarrassed snicker undercuts the bragadocious statement. But as her snicker dies down her smile pulls back a
little and she holds Tara's gaze and fixes a bit of hair that went wild during her theatrics. "And I am lucky to have someone as incredible and different in my life as you." she settles on, punctuating her statement by poking Tara on the nose. "Okay?"
Tara continues to pay close attention, hanging on to every word as if it's the most important wisdom she's ever heard. There's hints of sadness as she picks up on the pain beneath the surface, but a smile manifests with Leah's sentiment, and her theatrics, a small snicker of her own joining Leah's. The final statement causes her cheeks to flush a little, looking down as an embarrassed smile crosses her lips, although the poke is enough to
bring her attention back up, a quiet giggle slipping out as she nods in confirmation. She doesn't seem quite sure how to deal with that kind of praise, but after a brief moment of hesitation she scoots closer and wraps Leah up in a hug.
Leah is quick to return the hug, another snicker slipping out. Bathed in a swathe of colorful, cozy lights, she gives Tara a healthy squeeze, rocking in place playfully for a few moments. "Buuuut~" she eventually says, pressing a quick peck against the side of Tara's head with an exaggerated MWAH before pulling back slightly so she can look her in the face, raising an eyebrow in mock seriousness, "We should probably be getting
to bed. After all, we have a busy day tomorrow." she reminds, allowing that statement to linger before the smile slowly returns to her face. "Christmas shopping!"
Leah gives a single nod as she releases the hug and settles back against the backrest. "Tomorrow!" she confirms with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a big, toothy smile, clearly excited.
Tara mirrors Leah's grin, nodding in response as she sits back. "We should sleep." she agrees, excited expression turning serious as she nods again. She's not sure what time it is, but it's definitely considerably later than when she usually goes to bed. She makes a habit of getting up early.