Arisia

[lanternslight]

I'm not sure what to say about it.

She's alive again.

I'm alive again.

She has a ring again. The last time she had a ring, we were living together. And I was very much in love with her.

What changed? Certainly, Parallax's influence can't be discounted, but nor can it be the scapegoat I lay everything on. Parallax twisted my view; he didn't control me like a puppet on a string, not until later.

Carol is married now. She's not even part of the equation. Why am I even thinking of Carol? The rope showed me it's not fair to compare Arisia to Carol; they have been my two greatest loves, but both have been very different. And the man I was around each one was different, too.

I know I need to talk to her. At least to check on her.

She's getting set up at Warriors... I wish I could help her out.

I wish I could talk to her. Like we used to talk.

I need to talk to her, though. She deserves more than what I've given her so far.

To Warriors it is, then.

Comments

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

It's fitting, living here. Guy on the top floor and herself on the bottom. Arisia isn't entirely sure why but there is a sense of symmetry to the arrangement that appeals to her.

She and Guy went out shopping to buy all of these things for her apartment. She's not sure how she's going to repay him. How ever it will be she knows it won't be money. Guy would never hear of it. She'll probably bake him cookies or something. For months. If she can remember how to make cookies.

It's been a long time.

Everything in her bedroom is set up, managing to make it airy and light, even in the basement apartment. The kitchen is something she'll deal with later. With Warriors right above her, she's not too concerned about that.

Currently, she's sitting in her living room wrinkling her nose at the bookshelf she's putting together. It's not quite working out how she thinks it should. Yes, she could just put it together with her ring but... that's not the point, now, is it?

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

Hal knocks on her door.

"Arisia?" he calls.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

There is muttering audible through the door as she calls out in Interlac, "S'not locked, come in." It's a safe bet who ever is visiting knows the language. Not too many people know she's here. Let alone are likely to come visiting.

In one hand she has a hammer and in the other are what must be directions. She's giving the bookcase a glare as she's kneeling on the floor next to the some what assembled object. Her hair has fallen into her face and she's wearing an Warriors shirt she must have found somewhere and a pair of jeans, she's shortened to something closer to Daisy Dukes. And as ususal there are a pair of tall cunky heeled boots covering her legs.

It's probably quite a sight - reactions to which depending on the mood of the viewer, likely.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

Hal steps in. He's wearing his ever-present flight jacket, of course.

"Hey," he greets simply. He opens his mouth as though he's going to say more... then he stops short, and says nothing else.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Blinking for a few moments, Arisia looks up toward Hal, putting the hammer down. "Hey." She smiles up at him and then looks at the bookcase, "I'm not much of a carpenter." She switches to English with ease.

"And these directions make no sense at all." She pauses for a moment, "How are you?"

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"Fine," he answers automatically. Then he thinks a moment. "I'm.. damned glad you're back with us, Arisia."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia nods and puts the directions down as well, standing up, and gesturing to the places to sit in the apartment, "You want to sit down? Something to drink maybe?" She's being polite, maybe a bit more than normal.

"Thanks. I'm glad to be here." She smiles a bit, unconciously fidgeting with the ring on her finger, back where she normally wore it. It may or may not be intentional that it's her wedding ring finger.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine," Hal tells her, sitting down. He opens his mouth to say something, and again, he falls silent.

"Apologies won't make it right," he finally tells her. "But it's a start. And I owe an apology. Well... many apologies."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia frowns a bit and looks toward Hal curiously. "Hal..." She starts but she stops for a few moments, thinking, "We appologized already. With the lasso. I understand now." Smiling at him, she seems willing to just let things be the way they were, to move on from it.

Maybe it's just that she'd rather not remember what he might feel he has to appologize for.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"We apologized with the lasso," he tells her. "I wanted you to know that I apologize even without the lasso's influence."

He shifts in his seat unfomfortably. "God knows, my list of regrets is longer than most people's. And what happened to you... and to us... is one of those things on that list." He shakes his head. "But I'm not going to wallow in my regrets. I am moving forward... I've been given a second chance, and I intend to use the extra time I've been given to start setting things right again."

He glances at her ring. "You getting a ring again shows me I'm on the right track."

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

"Hal, I don't want to be one of your regrets. Even if there are things that you regret, I don't want to be something you think of that way." Arisia walks over to Hal and bends over a bit and kisses him on the cheek lightly, patting his hand.

"Please. I'd much rather move forward." As she pulls away from him there is a slightly pained look in her eyes, no matter how well she's doing at covering it up.

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"You? Never. What happened... well, I won't think that way." He looks her in the eye and smiles.

"So... is there anything I can do to help you settle in?"

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

Arisia squeezes Hal's hand in thanks and looks toward the bookshelf. Maybe a little too quickly before she pulls her hand back and steps away from him.

Pulling a breath in and letting it out, "Well. I seem to be a very poor carpenter. Or bad at understanding directions that are entirely in pictures." The last seems unlikely....

[lanternslight.livejournal.com]

"I'll give you a hand," Hal grins at her.

He stays for hours, if she lets him, helping her settle into her new home.

[elfinlantern.livejournal.com]

She lets him, though she is at turns wistful and a little sad but she's always trying to be polite and kind and cheerful. Like she was before. Like she always had been.

When she looks at him, though, it's hard not to remember - one way or the other. Together or not....