—chapter seven.

  ❛ so, you decided to come back. ❜  

LIFE WAS ODD, AFTER THAT.

Elodie hadn't seen Diego since their infamous incident. It had only been a couple of days, sure, but she had become a little used to him popping up. However, in his absence, she did think about him - more than she would ever admit to anyone. Even herself.

She dreamt about him, more and more as the week came to a close - her own nightmares mingled with his own name, haunting every corridor her dream-self stepped down until she was suffocated by the sound. The information she had learnt before, the mystical illusion of an 'Umbrella Academy' and the children all lined up in uniforms and masks, blood dripping from juvenile fingertips and tears lost in black and white fabric - they sung her calls of help, but she couldn't do more than stare and watch them fall, one by one.

Sometimes they haunted her own memories, too. She'd call out the name of one, but they appeared, black and white and frozen, watching her writhe and shout on the floor. She asked for their help, but they never did more than stare. They'd endure her abuse with white eyes and calm smiles, and wait until she was helpless against their own abuse. Their pain mingled with her own and as the week died, she forced herself to stay awake. Normally, she could withstand him; she knew him, had followed the memories out so many times that she could even best him. But they, he...was an unknown variable she couldn't conquer.

She wasn't sure why it bothered her after all that time. She figured read that before and slept like a damn baby (sure, a baby with horrific familial values that left them in cold sweats and teary-eyed, but the sentiment stood). But somehow, after their last exchange...

...she drunk herself to sleep, after that. And while it didn't kill her normal programming, at least his face wasn't there, joining in.

In waking hours, Elodie wondered how he came to the name Diego, and what he had done to end up at her shitty bar wearing a harness for knives and beat up combat boots. How had she never met him before? Where had he come from, where had he gone?

"Where did you come from, Cotton-eyed Joe," Elodie muttered to herself, grinning like she had made the smartest joke in the world. Her nail traced a particularly deep scour in the wood. "Hm. Cotton-eyed Diego...ha."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" she called back to him. She didn't have to turn around to see the cowboy's lazy smile. "Get back to work!"

"Right back at'cha!"

Charlie had teased her mercilessly on it, still, but she had expected that. It wasn't every day that a random man turned up battered and bleeding - and as he had put it, 'Elodie normally wouldn't even bat an eye if they did'. He found great joy in poking and prodding the bear, asking about that night, but she didn't crack for a moment. It was bad enough he got that out of her; no matter how much he pushed, she wouldn't be the one to recount the horrifically awkward, weirdly emotional moments like a teenager. Nope.

He was at least gentle about it, respectful enough to keep the joke between the two of them. But Charlie always made a point of dramatically scanning the crowd, leaning his weight against the counter and asking just 'where'n the hell your man's at now'. And when he caught her eyes at the window, looking out at the snow and mist of people hurrying past, he chuckled and likened her to a heartsick puppy.

She always scowled at that, called him off, but the damage had been done the second Diego had stumbled in their doors. She wasn't going to win that dignity back.

A WEEK LATER, AND IT WAS JUST THE TWO OF THEM WORKING AGAIN.

And again, she was heading out earlier than usual - only that time, alone.

Elodie shrugged on her jacket and tucked back the loose pieces of hair coming out of her braid. Her hat followed, then the little gloves to match. She had finally remembered to buy herself a pair, one of the greatest investments of that winter by far. Sure, the near-frostbite always faded faster than most's would, but it was still a bitch to deal with and she hated to be cold. At the end of the day, she'd rather be warm then mildly inconvenienced.

Her work shoes went on the little back shelf, scuffed up and dirty. She traded them for her winter boots, making sure her slacks tucked in right. She felt a little like a snowman waddling out of the backroom to head out, and she was sure she looked it, too, but at least she was warm - such was necessary for the wicked November nights.

"You good here?" She called out to Charlie. He had been the one to tell her to just go home, that things were too quiet to need them both, but Elodie still felt guilty leaving him alone. Sure, his shift ended in an hour anyway, but he was still alone. 

But the man just grinned as he always did. "I am good. You go home, sleep. You look like you've not done so in weeks."

Despite herself, Elodie flushed. "Right. Thanks, bud. See you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure. You have fun - and hey, if you end up seeing your little friend..."

"You're hilarious, Charles."

"I'm just saying, he's gonna come back ev-"

"-g'night, Charlie!" Elodie called, already scooting around the counter and away from any more call-outs. She shot him a lazy salute before pulling the door open and escaping into the night. 

Immediately after stepping out, she was met with the scornful wind, bitter and vengeful. It swept through her hair and down her jacket as though she was wearing nothing at all. The warmth of the bar died in her gut and left her defenseless. Within seconds, she was freezing.

"Son of a bitch," she cursed.

Elodie sighed and began to march home, face tucked into the collar of her jacket and hands stuffed into the pockets. She had been trying to use actual transport lately, but she was running low on spare change, and had been trying to be frugal about her choices. It wasn't that late anyways, only half past ten - she'd have to deal with the walk and cross her fingers no one spared her a second glance.

At least she wasn't totally defenseless.

Something clinked around in her bag but she dared not check it, instead focusing on the road ahead of her - and actually focusing, for once, not just lost in her thoughts. Not after the last time.

Except somehow even when focusing so hard, Elodie still did not hear the footsteps behind her. She would be left to think the man just did not walk at all. That he hovered an inch about ground like a freaking ghoul, or something spooky like that. Because there was no way someone was so good at being so silent in everything he did.

Too good.

"I thought I told you, walking these streets alone at night was dangerous."

She did not react so much that time when she heard him, but her body did shake and start at the sound of his voice. Elodie whirled around to stare at Diego, leant up against a lightpost with his arms crossed and that mask from before covering his face. He looked extremely out of place, and yet, it worked.

(How someone could look so dumb and yet so attractive at the same time --)

"I've got protection," she grumbled, "and I'm fine. I've done this loads of times before you showed up."

"This shit's dangerous. You're gonna get yourself killed."

"Well, I guess I'm safe considering you're following me around, stalker," she teased. She didn't smile, but her tone spoke for her enough. "You just happened to be in the neighbourhood, again?"

He slipped away from the post and headed her way, stopping just about a foot away. He at least wore a coat that time, but it was thin and she wondered how he was so chill about the weather. Even if he was running around like a maniac, it was still cold. How much did this man really care about his vigilante image?

"Nah, actually, I was on my way to your bar before the guy there said you had just left."

"You should've stayed there, gotten a drink with him. Made a new friend."

Diego shook his head. "See, I was tempted, but he then told me you were walking, and I realised you were about to head straight into trouble again."

"Well then, run back along and snag a beer with Charlie. Because as I just told you, I've got it all under control."

"Do you?"

He stepped closer and Elodie sucked in her breath. She crossed her arms across her chest and leant back into the wind. "Yeah. Yeah I do, Robin Hood. Thanks for the thought, but I'm not a damsel in distress waiting for you to come along so I can faint into your arms."

"Nah, you're too stubborn to play that card."

"Oh, I'm the stubborn one? I'm the stubborn one. Really?"

He smirked. "At least you admit it."

"Screw off."

"No."

"No?"

He stepped closer. "Much as I'd like to, I'm not going to let you walk headfirst into a gun again. Just let me walk you home and we can call it a day."

"You're impossible."

"And you're such a charmer, now let's go. It's cold out here."

Elodie watched, gape-mouthed, as he began to march forward. The snow stained his boots and the bottoms of his pants and he looked small, stomping through the mountains towards her apartment. She would have to admit, it was an adorable sight, like a little kid determined to walk the way without a hand to hold.

"You look like you're struggling a little."

"I'm good, thanks! You coming or not?"

"I don't need your help, Diego."

He did not turn or stop, or even glance back her way; no, he kept on walking with the stubbornness of a lion backing him up. Even when he very nearly stumbled on his face, he continued. "You're coming this way anyway. Just come on."

"I'll go the long way."

"Is there a long way?"

"Diego!"

He finally stopped, at that point several metres away, the smallest figure as he looked her way. "What?"

At that point, Elodie had been standing there long enough to feel like a fool, freezing her ass off and collecting snow all over her stoic self. She really hated to give in, but at the same time it was not like he would just give up - the man seemed determined to play knight in shining armour. 

And unfortunately he was right, she was going that way. If he was determined to wear his legs out walking her home for no reason except for his hero complex, well...

Elodie began to walk forward, slowly plodding through the path he had carved until she was standing beside him once more. Avoiding the pleased look on his face, she continued along. "Thanks."

"What was that?"

"Do not play games with me right now," she threw back, but she was smiling underneath her coat. Not that she'd tell him that.

No, instead, they just walked in silence, shoulders brushing and her every so often trying not to stumble into him in the thick snow. He seemed content, and Elodie was at first fine to feel a bit safer, even if it was a little awkward.

After a while, though, the silence grew too thick and suffocating and she had to speak. Elodie dared a glance towards him, taking in his blank expression before raising her voice. "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, you know."

"Oh?"

"Uh-huh. Thought you were just going to use me for my medicinal powers and then scoot out of my life."

He snorted at that, a loud sound that lit up the night. "You make it sound like you're a miracle worker. Which you aren't, by the way."

"Sure, but I am like, an amateur doctor in the making."

"No one would ever agree that. Ever."

"Oh shut up," she laughed. Her chin had untucked from her jacket collar and slowly but surely she felt herself warming up a little, even in the brazen winds hitting her head-on. "Whatever the case of talent, you decided to come back."

"Guess so."

"Why?"

"Why?"

Elodie nodded and twisted so she was walking a little bit ahead of him, backwards so she could see his face. "It's been nearly a week and no sign, and now you're here walking me home like a lovesick teenager. I mean, if I didn't know any better, I'd say little Robin Hood has a little crush."

He was looking away, just a little past her so as not to meet her gaze. "Please. I'm just being a good person, helping those who need it."

"Drop the attitude and admit it; you think I'm adorable."

"Can't, I was taught to not tell lies."

Elodie felt like she was buzzing. Maybe the winter was infecting her and making her blood bubble so, or it was just pure adrenaline fueling every flirtatious remark that she'd normally bite back. Whatever it was, she continued to poke and tease the man even as he threw it right back, hoping to get some sort of reaction despite her own claims of having no attraction to him whatsoever. She felt almost tipsy, chasing that feeling of giddiness as she laughed loudly into the night and bumped shoulders with him the whole way home.

And as they walked, and he rolled out his glorious laugh - the genuine one, not the sarcastic chortle he would do when trying to evade - she grew more comfortable. And a little part of her began to push through her subconscious and remind her that her heart was beating faster than normal, and her hands were growing hotter than ever in her pockets, and that her face actually hurt from smiling. Elodie was a stubborn woman and determined to poison any good feeling as soon as it came up, but even she found herself giving in a little bit to the giddiness of a friendly presence.

She tilted her face down, sighing as the last peal of loud laughter died in her throat. As their joking conversation ebbed away, she decided to shift topics. "You know, you're an interesting guy."

"Is that a compliment?"

"S'a statement."

"Good, or bad?"

Elodie shrugged. "Just a statement. Her voice died for a moment, pausing as they trekked through the snow before it picked up again. "I looked you up."

All he said to that, was a solemn, soft, almost sad, 'oh'.

"I'm sorry, but just - really, I just - I was curious! You appear out of nowhere a couple times, save the day, swing around this city with knives strapped to your chest - a girl's gotta wonder just who the hell you think you are."

"So you found out."

"Yeah."

"Mm."

Maybe bringing it up was not a good idea, but she could not help it, it was on her mind and she did not want to just play pretend with him anymore. If it were only for her own sake, for the hopes of a better night's rest, she had to say something.

(She really didn't. But to hell with it - everyone loves a good motivational speech from time to time.)

"Look, Diego, I don't - we've all got fucked up lives. And um, I mean, you know - it's whatever. Doesn't matter where you come from, just matters you're here and have decided to bother me by walking me home time and again." Yep, saying anything was a mistake, she cursed to herself; should have let the conversation die right then and there. 

But to her surprise, his reaction was not immediately to anger - just more confusion.

"What is this? Did someone hire you to psycho-analyse me again?"

"If they did, I'm a horrible interventionist considering it's you who's had to set this meeting up every single time. But whatever, I just - past is the past, and you know, families suck. But it's whatever. Right? Who gives a shit? I - holy crap, I am messing up this apology."

He sent her a sharp glance. "What're you trying to say?"

But Elodie just shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Just thought you should know I looked you up." 

She had said a bit too much, or maybe said it too genuinely, because someone who did not connect on a personal level would not go off on a tangent like that and not mean something else. She dared not share that with him, only continuing the steady pace and dropping the topic to another one.

Eventually, they reached her building, and they stood in the apartment lobby, both shivering as the heat melted away the cold. Elodie watched as he tried to contain how miserable he was and the tremours shaking his body, how the thin coat and lack of winter clothes worn really did him no good. 

"You wanna come, um, warm up?"

He paused for a moment, seemingly considering it, but eventually shook his head. "Thanks, but, um...I should head out. I said I'd be done after walking you home, might as well keep to that promise."

"Are you sure? You're shakin' like a leaf."

"Nah, I'll be alright." Diego's eyes met hers for a moment, then shied away to something behind her. "Don't worry about me."

But she did worry. Even if she tried not to, the thoughts still struck and Elodie hesitated, unsure what to do. She wanted to say or do more, even as a thank you, but she had lost the determination and simply hung waiting for something or someone to happen. 

Eventually, she realised she had to be the one to speak, though. She turned to the pile of newspapers that no one ever picked up and ripped a page off, ignoring his sharp gaze on her own. She pulled a pen from her little bag, shivering at how cold it had gotten, and passed both to him.

"You got a number?"

"S-sure."

"Put it down. That way, I won't have to wait around to wonder if you're alive or not, or like...you could just call me instead of scaring me in the middle of the night when you wanna play the hero."

Diego smiled and complied. His expression had softened as he wrote, and there was the man she had only seen maybe once before. Younger and a little sadder, but still with a heart burning bright in there. Not the outwardly hard-assed, cocky individual that swung by her bar to offer flirt after flirt. But the guy she wanted a little bit more from.

Whatever 'more' was.

"Thanks," she grinned, clicking it off once it was handed back. "I'll be sure to call you every day, all day."

"Do that and I won't save you again."

"Oh please, you love to swoop in and play the knight in shining leather, flaunting about with your knives and cool catchphrases, Mr I'm-too-badass-to-wear-a-proper-coat-in-sub-zero-weather."

"Just for that, I'm out of here, never coming back."

"Like you don't love going out of your way to bother me."

His smile grew. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Alright. Bye, hope you freeze to death, loser!"

"You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"If I don't see you in twenty-four hours, I'm throwing a celebratory funeral party!"

"Ha. Maybe I just would'a finally got tired of you."

"Considering you're following me everywhere I go, I don't think it's me who would'a gotten tired."

Diego's smirk grew a little stronger. "Someone's gotta keep you alive."

They stood nearly toe to toe. So close, Elodie could see all the marks and grooves of his face, the light reflected in his eyes and how it glinted off his lashes. She wasn't sure how long it had been, since she'd been that close to another person. Close enough without tears or grimaces - shy, warm smiles and eyes locked, lips itching to taste the other's before it became too late. No screaming matches, really no noise at all - the silence swum around them, and she feared she might drown in it, if she didn't move.

"You good?" he asked, softer than she had ever heard from him, hardly a breath extended to reach only her ears. He had moved closer - how had he moved so close? Why? She could feel invisible hands on her body, touches light as snow but harder than bricks crumbling around her boiling body, building up to fear and worry and the hopeless desire to be fucking closer--

-she had to decide her move.

And Elodie baulked. She stepped away clearing her throat, shooting him a wave of all things before taking another large step back. Instead of doing what her entire body screamed at her to do, she was pushing back, pushing him away like every other shmuck.

It's for the best, she reminded herself.

"See you, Robin Hood."

Her back had just turned away and her face was just in the midst of contorting into frustration, heating up as she cursed herself out for doing that, when a hand met her arm and twisted her right back around. And before she could react he was just there, holding her against him, nose to nose and waiting for her reaction, which was nothing but closing the mere breaths of space they had left between the two of them. 

She moved forward, or maybe he did.

Did it even matter?

All Elodie could do was stand there and take in the fact that he was kissing her and she him and that was happening, wondering what in the hell she was supposed to do with that information. It took a long pause of processing it all before she could even more; hands gripping tighter to his biceps, holding the jacket in hot hands, leaving snowflakes to melt and drip down into her own coat. But she didn't feel the water, or the cold, or even the overwhelming heat; all she felt was the wonderful giddy elixir of lust, and that weird tickling feeling in the back of her head that made her want to do this forever (and then some).

And then just like that, he was pulling away and she was left staring at his crooked half-smile, bashful and curious and absolutely adorable. He stood there for a moment, taking in her expression before stepping back and waving right back to her.

"See you 'round, Elodie."

Diego then stumbled on the carpet walking backwards - because please, the man was the epitome of grace but he was not perfect - and the moment ended. He slipped out and Elodie stood there staring at the snow pouring outside and the door and where he had just stood.

It was safe to say, she had not expected that plot twist.

It was also safe to say, neither had Diego.

Okay so first when I rewriting this, I was hesitant to put this scene in - only because, a part of me felt like it was too quick. And sure, it sort of is. We build with these characters only knowing each other a little bit, over a handful of strange events, and into a kiss - not to mention, Elodie's not known for liking people.

But I actually like how this built. It's sudden and almost random, but honestly? It still makes sense. There's that starved desire in her and really both of them that despite having so many shields up, is pushing the two of them together like this was a legit rom-com movie. It'll be touched on in the next chapter, too, how they both feel, but! Putting myself into the mind of Elodie - she's terrified of people not because of them per se, but of herself. But she's still young and horribly lonely and when you push back so many impulsive, truly emotion-based actions for so long, they build until you have to act once you've found someone with even the slightest bit trust. It's eager and raw and weird from an outside perspective and makes the person who did the action step back and wonder why they did it - but they still want it, and would do it again, because they're still longing for someone to actually understand you and want you too.

Sorry for that rant - it's really only for myself.

Thank you for reading; let me know what you thought.