It's around 3pm on the 23rd. There is heavy snowfall outside and moderate wind.
#SteveRenalaApartment – August 1, 2020
Renala enters the apartment and walks over to hang up her red winter jacket, shuddering a bit as some stray snow from the hood finds its way down her neck. "Fucking weather," she mutters to herself. She hasn't had much sleep today, but the time spent outside in the cold — and unhealthy amounts of coffee at work — is keeping her fatigue at bay for now.
Steve is stood at the kitchen counter pouring a cup of coffee when the the asari arrives, pulling his attention her way. Her muttering draws a snicker out of him. "It picked up out there, huh?" he asks, having noticed the gradual increase in snowfall over the past few hours through the window from the warm, comfy embrace of the living room couch. "Really started comin' down." he adds as he turns his attention back to his
Renala sighs. "Yeah," she says. "I wish I listened to Aeyna and went back to Thessia again now that everything's settled down." She walks over to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. "It's nice and warm there."
Steve is about as dressed up as usual. Well-worn jeans and a black t-shirt that's faded from years of use, whatever print was once on it long since lost due to battles with a wash cycle. Biotiball highlights are playing on the TV. Her yearning for Thessia and to see her daughter again causes the smile on his face to waver. Setting the coffee pot back down, he swivels around to better face the asari and leans back against
the counter as he folds his arms across his midsection, resting his coffee mug into the crook of his elbow. "What? And miss Christmas in Freedom Falls?" he asks with no small amount of sarcasm.
Renala nods. "That would be a worthy sacrifice," she says and looks around at the apartment. "Especially after we spent so much time decorating...." She takes a long sip of her glass of water and looks up at Steve. "Christmas is why Aeyna wants me home again, though," she said. "Her best friend is a human's daughter, and Aeyna was pretty easy to convince that a holiday where kids gets gifts is something
Steve snorts at Renala's dry assessment of their apartment as he joins her in giving it the once over. Once she finishes speaking he gives a small nod of his head. "Yeah, that adds up." he says with a hint of amusement, taking a tentative sip from his mug to make sure it's not too hot. "And what about her mother?" he asks, shifting slightly to get more comfortable against the counter, "Nalena tryin' to squash it?"
Renala shakes her head. "She was never very involved in it, and it took a couple years before I was allowed to drag a tree into her living room," she says with a chuckle, but her smile fades quickly as she continues. "I think she's trying to pick up the slack this year, but it's not easy. Aeyna is unhappy that I'm not with her this time and she blames Nallie for it."
Steve snickers along with Renala, but the smile slips from his face in turn as she continues. Even if it hadn't been pretty explicitely stated before, it's not hard to see that Renala's move to Aite has done a pretty good job of disturbing her family life. He lets out a long, sharp whistle. "...Sounds to me like you prolly need somethin' a bit stronger than that." he says with a small tilt of his head towards the glass of
water in the asari's hand. Without turning he unfolds his arms and reaches back with his free hand to reach for the pot of coffee back behind him and pulls it from the brewer. He gives the pot a small lift in a wordless offer.
Renala nods and puts the glass down to get a mug instead, then walks over to take the offered pot. "I've gone through a pot already today, but one more mug won't hurt," she pours a mug and puts it back on the brewer. She holds onto the mug for now, laying her hand on the side of it to warm her cold, stiff hands. "What about you?" she begins, letting the topic of her family life go for now. "Got any
plans for tomorrow?" She doesn't let him answer right away before continuing. "Uvena invited me to spend it with her and Va'ynna," she says. "I turned that down, of course."
Steve returns to his previous posture, taking a quick sip from his coffee before returning the mug against the crook of his arm. The question draws the smile back out of him and he lets out a huff of air. "Nah. I ain't exactly the 'holiday celebration' type." he admits, though that's probably no surprise to Renala. "Sounds like blondie has a few plans, though, since she put in to make sure she got the holidays off. Guess
whatever mess she stirred up wasn't enough to get her outta the Chief's good graces." he says, the last bit added in little more than a mutter. He doesn't know all of the details, but he gives a small shrug to imply he doesn't particularly care one way or another, to be quite honest. "Figured I should take the opportunity to pick up a couple extra shifts."
Renala snorts at the mention of the mess she stirred up, but doesn't mention anything about it. She has said what she thinks about that before. "If you end up at the Respite, I can keep you company there if you'd like," she says. "I wasn't planning on working that day anyway."
Steve's smile reinforces a bit. He was already in the process of batting the offer around in his head even before Renala spoke up. "Guessin' we won't be too busy anyway. I'm sure we can prolly find somethin' to throw on the TV to keep us busy." he offers, smile growing a bit. "And-... tell ya what." he continues, shifting a bit to better face the asari, elbow coming to rest on the counter, "You swing by? I'll keep the
Renala smirks. "While you stay sober?" she asks. "Just know that you brought that on-..." The ringtone interrupts her and she puts down her mug. "Are you expecting someone?" she asks with a briefly raised brow, heading over to the intercom terminal to answer the call.
Steve's smile peels back sharply as the front door is buzzed. "No... No I am not..." he offers in a mutter as he, too, sets aside his coffee, already on his way over to the window to see whatever he can. After their run-in with Henrik, he's remained on edge, only just starting to let his guard back down. But that's usually when it creeps up on you and he's still got plenty of enemies out there looking for their pound of
flesh, nevermind whoever this 'Julia' is. Though it's unlikely that someone coming after him would just... ring the buzzer.
Halisi 's voice soon sounds over the intercom. "Hello? It's Dr. Halisi. Could I come up for a moment, if you have the time? I assure you it won't be long."
Renala notices Steve's apprehension, and it starts to affect her too. Even if she hears Halisi's voice and recognizes it, she still looks over to Steve for confirmation on whether to let her in.
Steve lets out a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding as the doctor's voice sounds out over the intercom. It's not often that he's actually pleased to hear her voice. Already at the window, he hazards a glance out through the blinds anyway, watching the flurry of white fall to the ground for a moment before glancing back Renala's way. It takes him a moment before realizing she's waiting for his approval, causing
him to give a few nods of his head as he starts back towards the kitchen. "I swear, if she came all this way just to give me another lecture bout' takin' it easy, you might have to stop me from tossin' her out the window, Ren." he says, though obviously in jest. A small attempt at concealing that flash of panic that hit him when the buzzer sounded out.
Renala nods back at him before turning to the intercom. "Yeah, that's fine," she says and unlocks the front door while suppressing a laugh at his joke about throwing her out the window.
Steve has reclaimed his coffee mug and is stood at the counter, sipping away at it as he waits for the doctor's arrival.
Halisi is, as expected, waiting on the other side as the door opens. She's wearing a long red winter coat and a grey knit hat along with tall, fur-lined boots and leather gloves, both brown. There's still some unmolten flakes of snow stuck in in her long black hair. "Renala, good to see you." she says, offering a small smile. Upon noticing Steve she adds: "You too, Steven. Not to worry, I'm not here on official business." The
The apartment isn't the most homely of places. It's rather sparsely furnished and lacking any real personal touches. No pictures hung on the walls. No art. Just the essentials. Perhaps the pair of gunshots in the back of the living room couch could be considered 'personal touches'? Thankfully they're not noticeable unless one were to get close to it.
Steve offers a small nod of his head to Halisi as she steps inside. "Doc." he greets. Her assurance causes him to shoot a glance Renala's way, small smile tugging at his lips in a silent assurance that he won't need to be tossing her out the window. Today, anyway. "Nah. Just-..." he cranes his neck in an effort to glance in the general direction of the television which has gone forgotten since Renala's return, "...catchin'
the highlights." Despite her claim to not be here on work-related matters, he seems to feel the need to add: "Just... relaxin'. Tryin' to stay off my feet whenever I can." as an obvious attempt to pre-empt any concerns she may have over his recovery.
Renala returns the smile. "Good to see too, Halisi," she says. "Can I get you something?" She starts walking back to the kitchen, assuming the answer would be something warm to drink after braving the weather.
Halisi makes a negatory gesture with her free hand. "I'm fine, thank you. I don't have time to stay, but, well..." she sets down the shopping back that occupies her other hand and takes out a package from it. It's box shaped and relatively flat. It's been neatly wrapped with red paper and a golden string that's been nicely . A sticker on top of it reads 'Merry Christmas, To: Steven & Renala, From: Dr. Halisi'. "...I wanted to
give the both of you this. I suppose I could have dropped it off, but you never know if things get to who they're meant for in this town, and... I wanted to do this face to face anyhow."
Halisi makes a negatory gesture with her free hand. "I'm fine, thank you. I don't have time to stay, but, well..." she sets down the shopping back that occupies her other hand and takes out a package from it. It's box shaped and relatively flat. It's been neatly wrapped with red paper and a golden string that's been nicely curled at the ends. A sticker on top of it reads 'Merry Christmas, To: Steven & Renala, From: Dr. Halisi'.
"...I wanted to give the both of you this. I suppose I could have dropped it off, but you never know if things get to who they're meant for in this town, and... I wanted to do this face to face anyhow."
Steve holds back the sigh of relief when the doctor informs that she won't be sticking around. His brows furrow as she begins to rustle through the bag at her side, taking the moment to get in another sip of his coffee. His shoots a curious glance Renala's way when the doctor produces a gift from her bag. He stays where he is, shifting his weight off of the counter and standing up a bit straighter as discomfort washes over
him. "You-... uhh-..." he stammers, once again looking to Renala. He hasn't exactly had the best history with the doctor, so the unsolicited gift is a bit of a surprise and he doesn't seem quite sure of what to say, "...you didn't have to go and do that."
Renala looks no less surprised than Steve at seeing the gift, but she steps over to accept it. "I didn't think there was a strong Christmas tradition out here," she says, trying to deflect some of the shame she feels at receiving a gift without having anything planned for her.
Halisi 's smile turns a little embarrassed and she offers a small shrug. "Neither am I, to be frank. I'm not even sure if either of you celebrate." she says, looking between the two of them. "And it's nothing fancy." she's quick to add. The box feels light in Renala's hands. Too light to be a book - if it were it'd have been a large one. "I suppose I just, well..." she trails off a little, gaze falling away towards the floor for
a moment and eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly. "What happened back on-... on Ogofau... has been on my mind a lot lately, and... I wanted to thank both of you. For your role in getting us out of there." she explains, attention returning to Renala and Steve, gaze shifting from one to the other. "I understand it was a job for you, of course." she adds, looking slightly sheepish. "But the fact remains that I wouldn't be
here today if it wasn't for you two, and the rest of Redrock. So... thank you. And Merry Christmas." she finishes, forcing the smile that had been slipping with the weight of the subject back into place.
Steve remains silent as the doctor comments on not knowing whether or not they celebrate. It's been a long time since holidays really meant much to him. The celebrations that always accompanied them are memories from a different life. A life from a long time ago. Too long to dwell on. He's quick to stop those thoughts in their tracks. To will them away. His gaze turns low for a moment when she mentions Ogofau and, when he
raises his head, he seeks out Renala's eyes. That's a memory that sticks with you... It's on a list of seemingly unending strokes of bad luck, a cycle that they just can't break out of. But he swallows those concerns and the frustrations they carry down. He bats around a response in his head, offering a small dip of his head to the doctor as he mulls it over. Despite his personal feelings towards the doctor and his
lack of much sentimentality, it only seems right to say something in turn. "That-... uhh-... that prolly goes both ways, doc." he offers simply, shifting uncomfortably in place, his hand slipping over his ribcage and giving it a gentle pat for a bit of emphasis on her role over his recovery after Rakhana. He gives another dip of his head in silent thanks, expression having grown a bit somber. "...Merry Christmas."
Renala averts her eyes when the Ogofau mission is brought up, and is at a loss for words. It still haunts her even if she has gotten good at pushing it far back in her mind. After that mission, she up and left without telling Jason or Vasquez, and went back to Thessia to push it out of her mind both by being with her daughter and with professional help. That helped a bit, but their continuing bad luck
hasn't really given her the time to heal from it. "That wasn't just a job," she mutters, her voice betraying the feelings mentioning it had dug up. "Thank you," she says as she looks down at the gift.
Halisi offers a firm nod, meeting Steve's gaze and attempting the same with Renala, a faint, understanding look crossing her face when she fails to do so. "We look out for each other, yes? That's why I'm still here. Now... as I said, I have no intention of taking up any more of your time. I just... wanted to hand this over and say my piece." she says with a nod towards the present. "I hope you enjoy the holidays. Whether you
celebrate or not." she says, the last bit added with a small smile, her body language signalling that she's about to leave.
Steve tries a bit unsuccessfully to prop a smile back up as Halisi speaks. He doesn't respond to her mention of looking out for one another, but it does cause him to once again look to Renala. Most of Redrock certainly hasn't done all that much to get his back. Mostly just dragged him into more trouble. But not Renala. She's been there when he needed her. Walked headlong into danger by his side when he needed her. If
anything, he's dragged her down. There's a certain irony to the fact that the only person here he can really trust is an asari. An asari! The thought helps to cement his wavering smile and he turns his focus back to Halisi. "You, too, doc." he says. "And how 'bout the next time you're in the area while I'm on the clock you drop by the Respite? I can buy ya a drink and we'll call it even." he offers only
Renala nods absently along with Steve returning her merry Christmas. "You too," she says in turn. She refused to go with them when they ran after Li's kidnappers, she suggested they leave without knowing Vaden's state on Ogofau, and she opposed the mission that led to them rescuing Li in the first place. It would be lying to say she was looking out for the others.
Halisi smirks faintly at Steve's offer. "Perhaps I'll take you up on that." she warns. "I have been told I need to relax a little more." She gives each of them a polite nod before adjusting her handbag and heading out to leave with a final wave of her gloved hand.
Steve gives a little snicker and a small shake of his head, opting not to comment on the stick he's always thought to be stuck up her ass. "See ya later, doc." he says, coffee mug held in close to his body.
Renala lets out a small chuckle at the remark, having heard similar things herself when her work calls for long hours. "It's good advice," she says. "See you later."
Steve remains where he is, watching until the door shuts. A look of amusement colors his face but he remains silent for a few moments, almost as if waiting to make sure she's not coming back. "Well, can't say I expected that." he eventually offers with a shake of his head and another long sip from his mug. "So... Whaddya s'pose it is?" he asks, shooting another glance towards the box in Renala's hands.
Renala gives the box a gentle shake before putting it down on the ktichen counter. "I don't know," she says, her voice still affected by the heavy turn of the conversation. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow," she adds with a shrug. She reaches for her coffee mug and picks it up, drinking the lukewarm remainder.
Steve's gaze follows the package down to the counter. He retakes his previous position, elbow against the kitchen counter, body towards Renala. He cocks an eyebrow at her, studying her silence for a moment. "Seriously, Ren?" he asks, "We're not gonna open it?" Her desire to follow human traditions seem to provide a good bit of amusement.
Renala raises her brows. It does a little to push Ogofau out of focus. "Who am I tell Aeyna not to open her presents early if I can't even wait one day?" she says with a chuckle.
Steve snickers to himself, offering another small shake of his head. "You're unbelievable, Ren." he mutters in amusement. He takes one last look at the package before stepping away from the counter without pushing the issue. If they're gonna have their own little holiday get together at the Respite, might as well have a gift to open. "So you need to be back at the office today or you got time to waste watchin' TV with me?"