atlas.

the mug in her hand remains warm as she cradles it. watches atlas move to get the bird seed with a fond smile that grows when he speaks. it settles under her skin, the easy way he agrees, the way darling falls from his lips like she's something to be treasured. it strikes her then that without her really realising it, she's found what she thought she'd never have again. it feels like home in a way she's been searching for for so long. "nope." she shakes her head, tilts her head up to smile at him. it's full and warm and bright. "just spend the day with you."

one of her favourite things is that atlas doesn't push. he listens, he sees her - bonnie's smile grows a little bit deeper, a little bit softer. "that sounds pretty fun actually." it is the little things she's enjoyed so much since she's moved out there. things she might have once taken for granted but never will again. "there are still a couple of food trucks i haven't tried yet. could we stop at one on the way home?"

atlas wears a warm smile, removing himself from bonnie's proximity so that he can stand up and make his way over to the kitchen. a few minutes and a lot of rustling later, atlas returns with a large bag of birdseed. it's roughly half full because he likes to feed the birds whenever he has time to. "of course. anything you want, darlin'." because bonnie is his entire world and he'd do anything to make her happy, to make her feel safe. "is there anything else you wanna do today?"

she leans into his side, eyes briefly closing at the feel of his lips on her skin. bonnie hums in thought, actually taking her time to access her feelings instead of dismissing atlas outright. she's getting better at that the longer she's away from mystic falls, not immediately going for the i'm fine when she's very clearly not. she doesn't need to fit in a box and be convenient and always battle-ready. "a walk would be nice." she tilts her head, offers him a wan smile that is true. "i don't think i'm ready to talk about it yet."

"alright then, a walk it is." a gentle squeeze to her side and another soft kiss to her temple. then he's pulls back enough to meet her eyes with a little smile and a head tilt. "i've got some bird seeds in the cupboard. d'you wanna go walk around the park and feed some ducks? that might make you feel better." it's a small thing, a little walk and some animal time. maybe that would help her feel a little more settled, a little less shaken from bad memories.

"It's common knowledge, is it?" Dmytro muses as he steps closer to the spread on the table, eyes wandering over the donuts first. He grabs one, then a coffee and sits himself down at one of the chairs in the room, not even realising how much he's needed to sit down until he feels the heated throbbing in the soles of his feet. Biting into the donut, there's almost a sigh of relief that leaves him, just getting something to eat when his stomach feels like it's forgotten it even had breakfast. Though that feels like a lifetime ago by now, and he may have skipped lunch. "This was definitely needed." The Ukrainian announces once he'd swallowed the first bite, quickly digging in for a second now that he's woken up his hunger. "You're going to be pretty popular after this."

"I'd imagine so. But that's not why I'm doing it." Atlas doesn't care about popularity, he doesn't do it to make himself look like the good guy. He does it because he wants to, because he knows how much they need a break and how little they get them. Atlas also knows that they don't get to take breaks to eat often, so smaller food are easier to digest quicker. Plus most people are a big fan of coffee, especially hospital workers. "I just wanna make sure you're all taken care of. Can't have the doctors passing out on the job, can we?" Low blood sugar was always a danger and sometimes it would sneak up on you before you even realised it. "That'd make for a bad reputation."

he settles in to listen, and bonnie meets his eyes with an honesty she's been finding easier and easier to answer with. the longer she's been gone from mystic falls, the more she's remembering who she used to be and who she wants to be. neither of those people were dishonest. she's had to lie and manipulate more than she's liked to survive. she doesn't want to be that person anymore. "nightmare." she glances down at her mug and shakes her head. "memory, i suppose would be more accurate." she fiddles with her cup, feeling atlas' presence and finding comfort in that.

atlas is of course going to pay attention, he wouldn't have asked if he didn't want to know what was bothering her. something was obviously on her mind, causing her sleep to be disrupted. he shifts across to sit closer to her, wrapping an arm casually around her waist. grip settles on her side and he presses a gentle kiss to her temple. "d'you wanna talk about it? or would you rather we do somethin' distracting? go for a walk?"

[TXT] : Hello ? Sir, ma'am, or mx ? How can I help you ?

[TXT] : Can I help you find whoever you're looking for?

pspspsps

⚰️ What do they want written on their gravestone / what do they want people to remember them for?

there's a soft giggle in response. bonnie's eyes close for a second at the kiss, smile still on her lips. it wavers, just a little, and she tries to hide that behind a sip of her tea. she doesn't stall for long though. "'round 5." shrugs one shoulder and offers him a faint smile. "couldn't sleep."

"mmf. anythin' in particular woke you up?" because atlas cares. more than she might realize. he wants to keep her safe, keep her protected. the world is brutal enough and she's been through hell. she deserves safety and normalcy. he takes a seat close-by, hands clasped together between his knees. "talk to me."

"Appreciation? In this place? Did I cross into a parallel universe or something?" Dmytro teases as he moves to the main table, helping him unpack things. He doesn't want to just fire into them like some starved animal, even though it's certainly tempting. Just the sight of those donuts is making his stomach rumble, he hadn't even realised he was hungry. "We'll have to make it up to you. Maybe move up the next staff night out. Free drinks on us."

Brows furrow but he laughs. It's clear that they don't get nearly enough appreciation for what they do and Atlas understands that it's a very tough going job, it's thankless and it can be traumatizing sometimes. He's seen it all unfold, multiple times before, hence the pastries of appreciation. "Not needed, darlin'. This is a gift, not a quid pro quo. There's no strings attached. Just wanted to be nice and help y'all out at least. I know you don't get to take breaks often. So... dig in." Once the food is out and spread across the tables, Atlas places both hands on hips, smiling at the table. It looks good. It's a good spread. Maybe next time he'd bring sandwiches, although that proved to be more of an issue with needing to be careful of allergies and the like. Ah, he'd work something out.