DELIA HAD AWOKEN EARLY,
a rare occurrence for her. She had looked inside Chris' fridge, it was basically empty safe for beer and various condiments. So she set out to a nearby grocery store, gaining odd looks from the business-type people headed to work due to her borrowed coat and sweats that were practically falling down.
She bought the essentials for breakfast, plus impulsive purchases of whatever caught her eye. She stopped at a café on the way back, buying them both coffee.
Delia was never good at thank you's, they always came out more like apology's, so she did things instead. For Chris, as a thank you for picking her up and letting her stay at his place, she made breakfast.
It wasn't anything big, but he'd understand that it meant she was grateful for him.
She flipped through his stacks of records, deciding on Mother Love Bone. She no longer cried when she heard it, but instead sang along softly, not wanting to wake Chris.
She began making the breakfast, distracting herself from her Andy related thoughts and instead focused on trying to not burn the pancakes.
"Morning." Chris sat at the short breakfast bar, morning voice husky and his curly hair sticking up in random places.
"Morning." Delia replied, she turned to him, laughing slightly at his rumpled appearance. "Sleeping beauty." She added. "I'm making breakfast. And I got you coffee. Don't thank me." Despite her statement being good, she spoke slightly aggressively.
Chris nodded, not wanting to get into a debate with Delia that early in the morning. "Fair enough." He shrugged slightly and sipped his coffee, letting his eyes close as he was still half asleep.
Delia finished making breakfast and made herself and Chris a plate, joining him on the pull out. As she handed him the plate, stacked high with different breakfast foods, his eyes lingered on hers, fleeting thoughts of how close he came to losing her occupied his mind. But she was there now, healthy. So he focused on that, not the what-ifs.
The more time they spent together, the more it felt like she hadn't been away for two months. Like she'd never even left.
༺✧༻
Chris stared hard at the box of relationship memorabilia in his hands that Susan just handed him. Nearly five years of his life were in the box, though he didn't feel as sad as he thought he would. Things end for a reason, man. Kim's drunken advice echoed in his mind as looked over the few different articles of clothing, pictures of him and Susan together, random objects.
They hadn't ended on a bad note, so Chris couldn't be mad. She smiled as he shut the door, bidding a quiet goodbye.
"At least you guys are good?"
Chris looked up from the box, seeing Delia, freshly showered, wrapped in a towel.
"You're getting my floor wet." He said, instead of answering her previous statement.
She looked down at her trail of wet footsteps. "Oh. Sorry." She walked back into the bathroom to get changed, "you know what you need?" She yelled through the door.
"What do I need?"
"Rebound!"
He grimaced, knowing that Delia was wholeheartedly serious. She'd never been in a relationship as serious as him. "Yeah, I dunno about that."
She exited the bathroom, changed into baggy jeans and a tight long sleeve. "It would help."
"I'm not sure if anyone should take your relationship advice."
Delia painted a false look of shock on her face. "That's low. What about Ellis?"
"I don't think she likes men, Del."
She walked around the apartment, trying to find her boots. "Yeah, well, you kind of look like a woman." She found her boots, sitting down on the couch as she laced them up. "A very pretty woman, don't worry."
Chris shook his head in disbelief, though laughed. "Wow."
They made their way to the Off Ramp, where Delia bartended (and hoped to still have her job, despite her two month absence.)
The twenty minute walk went by quick with each others company, though heavy mist bore down on the city and both were slightly wet by the time they entered the low-lit bar and concert venue.
Chris watched an unfamiliar band finish their set from the back of the crowd, standing with beer in hand as he waited for Delia to return from talking with her boss.
"He didn't fire me!"
Chris looked up from the spot on the floor he was staring at. "That's great!" He yelled over the music, happy to see her happy.
"I'm gonna go work right now, okay?"
He nodded, focusing back on the band as she walked back towards the bar.
It was a slow night, so Chris stuck around to keep Delia company, sitting at the end of the bar, her talking to patrons becoming his entertainment, especially when she rejected a pass made at her.
She was beginning to close up the bar, having finally got everyone out. He helped her wipe down tables, wanting to go home after the long day.
It was raining on the walk back to his place, softly though he still stretched his jacket over both their heads, kneeling down slightly to cover Delia better.
They vowed to go over to her place the next day and collect her belongings, but for now she stayed once more on the pull out. Delia didn't mind, she slept better knowing she wasn't alone.
So did Chris, though they obviously slept in different beds, it was comforting to know she was only in the next room.
༺✧༻

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Fanfiction𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗚𝗢... *ੈ✩‧₊˚ ೃ⁀➷ A STORY IN WHICH a sworn-off relationship begins out of tragedy. 「© 2024 | 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲」