The Helpers

The Next Step

No tears, nothing really at all after the door closed. Luka found her leaning against the bridge's balustrade. He brought a smile to her face that her head had no part of. But the look on his face meant she wasn't hiding how badly the flame was flickering. He was still blue, most of the world was remaining stubborn shades of grey right now.

He took her home; the boat. She slumped against him the whole way, but didn't have the energy to even get a proper squeeze in. When they got there he took both the pizza he had been meant to deliver and her case, running interference from a concerned looking Juleka and well-meaning Rose using the former. He hadn't spoken a word to her yet, was it possible to love someone for something so simple?

Sabrina almost protested when he untied the sweatshirt from around her waist and sat her on the couch. She reached out after the garment but her hand dropped. He left her field of view and *fmp* the hood landed on her head. Luka straightened the rest over her shoulders. Sabrina caught the front with her hands and pulled it around. She tucked her legs up under her too, vanishing inside.

He left and returned with his hands full. Sabrina blinked at him, her eyes hurt, but she didn't have tears to show for it, it felt wrong. He set two things in front of her, an open can of soda and a plain clay ocarina; then sat and laid a violin across his lap.

Sabrina choked on a laugh. When she met his eyes he smiled for the first time, but still didn't talk. Instead he raised the violin and bow and began to play a soft meandering tune. Sabrina's hands emerged from her shirt-shelter and picked up the soda, cradling it like a treasure.

She spent a long time sipping and staring. Luka's melodies came and went. The can emptied, one half, one third. Sabrina set it down. A deep breath and she picked up the strange ocarina, touching her fingers to the holes, feeling out the difference between simple rough clay and the polished blue ceramic of her own. Her fingers found the holes again, shifting through notes. Sabrina's eyes were hurting even worse now.

"Midna's Lament." she said as one of Luka's melodies drifted to a close.

Luka pulled out his phone just as she was about to start and set it on the table, keying up the piano accompaniment. Sabrina looked at him, but he just smiled and tapped play. The soft notes rose in digital mimicry and Sabrina rushed to wet her lips for the opening.

Hands, flute and face peeked from the shirt as she raised the ocarina and after one shaky breath began. The sound came softly and struggled under the weight of the notes. Sabrina knew you played from the diaphragm, but her stomach wasn't cooperating. Short hitches and starts threatened to kill notes completely. She struggled to the end of the first half, a brief pause. Sabrina's hands were trembling. She began again and Luka's violin joined. It played alongside her flute, lifting and carrying notes in entwined harmony. Sabrina's eyes closed and the shaking got worse, for entirely different reasons.

His violin lifted her notes and carried her through. She got a little of her wind back and the final note held even and clear through to the end. As soon as silence fell, so did the Ocarina into Sabrina's lap. She found him with her eyes again and her right hand curled into a timid beckoning paw.

As soon as he was beside her Sabrina leaned in, the hood falling away. She took off her glasses and laid her head against his chest. His arms encircled her and she turned her face into him. Tears came at last, hot against her burning eyes, they soaked into Luka's clothes. They weren't normal tears, not for her at least. They weren't dominating her body, they were fleeing. Warmth was pushing them out, demanding the sadness surrender its place. Sabrina scooted closer. Luka offered her his hand and she took it in both of hers, squeezing and clutching it to her chest.