And We're All Falling

Almost An Apology

        Sitting in a chair at the crowded cafe, Della felt sick. Not the whole I'm-going-to-throw-up sick but the whole I-feel-like-I'm-going-to-pass-out-if-someone-says-the-wrong-thing sick. Make sense? She didn't think so either.

        Wash sat across from her, eyes shifting around, never lingering in one place for too long. He was feeling relieved that she agreed to let him try and apologize. Or at least, that's kind of what she agreed to. He planned on slipping the apology in at some point.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing the way she dug her nails into her palms.

"No," she admitted, laying her palms on the table. "I actually would rather be at home or with North."

"Is...this not okay? I can call North to come get you or something," he asked, frowning.'

"N-no I can do this," she insisted, shaking her head.

"Della," he said softly, reaching a hand out across the table.

"I can do this," she repeated, almost to herself.

"Delilah."

She let out a shaky breath, eyes closing briefly.

"I can't do this," she whispered, covering her face with her hands.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, hand tugging lightly at her arm.

The buzz of the cafe suddenly felt all too familiar and too much for her.

"Get me out of here. I need to leave," she answered, panicked as she grabbed his arm, nails digging into his flesh.

"Breathe. Alright, here, let's go, okay?" he soothed, getting up and pulling her up with him.

        As he steered her out of the cafe, he couldn't help but notice the way her shoulders shook and the way her nails seemed to get deeper and deeper with each passing second. But the second they burst into the cool evening air, she let her hand go slack. He directed her for a while until they came to a quiet bench in a empty park. She practically fell into the bench and he slowly sat beside her.

"Do you want me to call North?" he asked, watching as she gripped the rail of the bench.

"Y-y-yes. Please. I'm sorry, Wash," she choked out.

"Hey, can you look at me?" he asked, moving closer to her.

Biting her lip, she obeyed.

"Don't be sorry. You're having a rough time right now and I know it's not all from me. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk, okay?" he said, pulling out his phone.

She nodded.

"Hey, North? Yeah, we were. She's really upset and needs you right now so can you come to get her? We're at the park beside the cafe strip. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Okay. Later."

        Della hugged herself to try and stay warm in the cool spring breeze. Wash tried to edge closer to see if he could keep her warm, but stopped when she flinched away. It seemed like hours before North jogged up.

        North didn't even have to say a word before Della launched into his arms. Staggering back a step, he glared at Wash. She felt his arms around her as he regained his balance. 

"Della, you okay?" he asked, head beside her ear so that she could hear him.

"I wanna go home," she mumbled, muffled by his t-shirt.

"Okay. Can we stop at my place first?" he asked, playing with the few strands of hair that were free from her bun.

        Nodding, she didn't lift her head. Personally, North thought she was acting childish, but then again, it could've been a touch of homesickness or maybe she'd been having family problems. Whatever it was, he knew Wash hadn't made it any better and he was not exactly thrilled about that.

        Ten minutes later, they were entering North's apartment. She collapsed onto the couch instantly, curling up while he immediately went over to Theta's cage. Lifting the gray bunny out, he offered him to Della. Accepting it, she watched as the bunny practically burrowed into her arms.

"He's cuddly and I need to get a few things together so he's my substitue for right now, okay?" he explained, scratching Theta's ears lightly.

"Okay."

"What happened to you?"

"So much, North...too much."  

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(Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Red VS Blue, they are owned by the lovely people at RoosterTeeth :))