Packages - GT

18

"Sorry, Mariana," he said gently as he slipped her back into his pocket, his eyes soft and his voice warm, if a little tired. "At least you have something else to wear, for now."

She clutched at the clothing she'd been practically assaulted with, trying to wrap her head around what just happened. As she felt him move again she burrowed in against his chest for now, a little chilled from being out of his pocket and confused from the recent events. It wasn't until she heard him unlocking a door that she felt it safe to speak up.

"What was that language before?"

Christian tensed a bit, something she felt well enough against him, and he quietly closed the door behind him. "That was... The language from my homeland." He answered carefully.

"Where's that?"

"Somewhere far away."

Mariana pouted, not feeling any more informed. "How far?" she pressed. There was a lot of weirdness about Christian, she wasn't sure how to pin it down. "What's it called?"

"It's really far, too far for you to know about it." He didn't like this sudden prying, worried where it may lead. "Are you doing alright in there? We're home, so I can take you out, if you wan--"

"Why won't you tell me?" She interrupted. "Why do you keep dodging my questions?"

The blond stopped with a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping as he reached up to scoop her out of his pocket. "Because there are things I'm not ready to talk about with you, Mariana. Everyone has secrets and I'm no exception to that--please don't pry. I'll talk about it when I'm ready, okay?"

Little brown eyes looked over his face, seeing the weariness in his features that hadn't been there before. Or maybe she just hadn't noticed it. She took a moment to consider his words, taking them as a quiet promise he would explain later on, and she gave a small nod.

"Thank you..." He sighed, sliding her off his hand onto the kitchen table as he passed. Christian moved into the bedroom to get the plate of pancakes and eggs from earlier, tucking them into the microwave for reheating. "Are you hungry, now?"

"A bit," she answered, looking around from her vantage point. "What time is it?"

"Almost three. If you're tired, we can settle back into the room and take a nap?" He watched her shake her head, carrying over the plate of reheated breakfast. Mariana scooted a little away from it at first, waiting until he had separated some pieces of egg and pancake for her. The little glances to his fork did not go unnoticed, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Thank you," she said politely, awkwardly reaching for an egg chunk. As she managed to get it into her mouth she kept glancing at his face, looking away when he arched a brow at her. "Mmf."

Christian snorted lightly, taking her noise as approval of the food. With her attention off him a moment he flipped opened his phone and started into a text as he stole a bite of his pancakes.

"Who're you talking to?" His eyes moved to her a moment, then back to his screen. A tiny smirk slipped across his lips.

"A person." He smirked a bit wider at her little huff. "Asking a... friend... if they've heard anything weird, lately."

"A friend like Zig?"

"Someone nicer than Zig," he replied with a smile. He took another bite of his pancakes, ignoring the uncomfortable look she suddenly had at the volume he shoveled into his mouth. "Not hungry anymore?" She shook her head and he chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not going eat to your food unless you're done with it."

"Hey, Cameron--"

"Christian," he gently corrected. Her face flushed.

"Christian," she repeated quietly, committing it to memory. "Christian, how old are you?"

"Twenty-two. And you?"

"E-eighteen..." She mumbled, looking away. She felt his eyes on her, but she didn't meet them.

"Mariana, you said you had been drinking...?" He spoke softly, no judgement in his voice. Instead there was worry and kindness. When she nodded his brows furrowed. "You were using a fake I.D....?"

"M-my friends were going to drink, a-and I didn't want to get left out--"

"Mariana, that's not a good reason, Hon... And this situation--if you hadn't been drinking, this wouldn't have happened. You could have been home right now, not a few inches tall on my counter."

"I-I'm sorry, Christian..."

"I know, Hon, I know." He gently set down his phone and his fork, collecting the little female into his hands. Little hiccups and sniffs sounded from her as he held her close, rubbing her back with his thumb. It had finally all settled in, it seemed. "Just let it out, Mariana." He murmured, "it's alright. I'll get you home again, I promise."