Coming Home

The Return

The first step is the hardest. There's silence. No one dares to move forward. She takes a breath. Her hands are shaking as she clenches them into fists far too tight to be comfortable. The first shuddering step through the door and onto actual, real ground is almost more terrifying than anything else. The grass beneath her boots is dry and she has to blink as her eyes adjust to the light.

She hasn't seen daylight in years. The lack of the void of space looming around her is less comforting than she expected. She doesn't know what she thought their return should've been, but she's pretty sure it shouldn't feel like this. For all the time she spent missing the wind and the feel of grass beneath her feet, it's hard to think of Earth as home now.

The thought that the one place that still feels like home is out there, orbiting in the nothing makes her chest ache.

The goodbyes are hesitant, but not long. Despite the fact that even looking at him still makes the bile rise in her throat she almost wants to sob when Hilbert nods, just once, sharply, and walks away. Off to God knows where. They don't even know where they are. The thought makes her want to laugh. Or maybe cry. She can't bring herself to do either.

Lovelace is next. Her smirk is brittle and dark. Her work isn't done yet. There's still so much left to do. So many answers that need to be found. She doesn't know if Lovelace's work will ever be done. She hopes she finds peace, someday. Isabel Lovelace deserved a hell of a lot more than she'd ever been given.

A pause. She and Eiffel just.. Stand. She doesn't know for how long. Over the years her sense of time has been shattered, perhaps beyond repair. She thinks he's talking. God, when is he not talking? When she glances up at him, she can see his lips moving but the sound doesn't seem to reach her. He looks tired. More so than usual, which was saying something.

After a while he stops talking. They stand in silence until the sky starts to streak orange and pink.

"So I'll... see you around, Minkowski?"

His smile is exhausted, but genuine. She swallows past the lump in her throat. After all those months, after all that they've been through, he still can't pronounce her damn name right. She can't bring herself to care.

"Yeah... See you around, Eiffel."

Neither of them know what to do next. He opens his mouth, then closes it and shakes his head with a bitter chuckle.

"I was gonna say stay in touch, but we don't even have phones do we? I don't even have an address anymore."

A barely there laugh forces its way off her tongue and through her lips. A beat of silence. Then another.

"Fuck."

His eyes widen and suddenly they're both laughing, the sound echoing around them in the twilight until the laughter becomes wheezing becomes silence.

"All this time I never once heard you swear like that."

He's still breathless, and she rolls her eyes even though she's beaming.

"I just realized I don't know how to reach my husband. It's been so long, he could've moved or gotten a different number or..."

She trails off. She wouldn't have blamed him if he'd moved on. She'd been gone for so long after all... And he hadn't exactly been happy she was leaving in the first place.

"Hey, shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"If he moved on I will be the first to personally punch him in the jaw."

She huffs.

"I definitely punch harder than you. Just so you know."

He rubs his jaw sourly. A memory of a time that feels so long ago.

"Believe me, I know. C'mon. Up you go. We've got a husband to find."

He pushes himself off the ground, holding his hand out for her. She didn't even remember when they'd lied down.

"I say we head... West first."

She can't help but sigh as he heads off in the direction he's deemed "west."

"Eiffel."

"Hmm?"

"That's East."

"I knew that. I was just seeing if you knew."

After everything, he's still Eiffel. The thought brings her some form of comfort. They've been through hell and back, and he's still the same incompetent idiot she met on day one. No matter what happens next she knows she can count on that, if not anything else.

And that's it for part one... Feel free to leave constructive criticism and stuff! I've never written these characters before, so I'd love to hear what people think! I have a some ideas for where this is going, though I'm not sure how long it'll be. I'm happy to take requests for stuff you'd like to see in this!

I'm not planning on including any ships in this though. Only friendship here, but if you want it's pretty easy to read this is Eiffel/Minkowski. Thanks for reading! And I hope you enjoyed. :)