𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡

  and then, for the first time since he'd arrived, mike actually looks a little more pleasant. clearly, complimenting his dog had been a good move; fatima files that information away for later. " only if oona is shy, " she answers with a shrug. " we love dogs here. " if anything, oona will probably end up being spoiled by everyone at colony house. " we don't get snow around here, though. hopefully that's not too disappointing for her. "

' she can take a bit to warm up ... ' mike offers up , but stops petting oona and motions to fatima. ' hey , go say hi ... ' as though the husky had eagerly been awaiting permission , she gets to her feet and trods to the other side of the picnic table and cocks her head at fatima , her tail wagging leisurely as she waits to see if she's going to get more pets. ' she's used to it. we don't exactly get it in california either ... the only time she's really see it is ... ' mike trails off , and clears his throat before continuing ; ' when we'd go to a friend's lodge in the winter. '

  " maybe i will have to go take a look one of these days, see what i can scrounge up. " tabitha reaches for her cup, finishing off the remnants of her tea before setting it down again. a soft laugh leaves her lips as her brows rise up her forehead. " i'll admit, that does not surprise me. although it's probably a close race between the two of you. " she readjusts her sitting position once more, her leg now gently brushing against his. " oh, you're happy with yourself for that one, aren't you? " tabitha teases, rolling her eyes. but the amusement fades, replaced by a frown over his assessment of his own wellbeing. " has it gotten any better? "

' hey , I am perfectly pleasant ... ' he grumbles playfully , knowing fully well that he's a pain in the ass even when he's not injured in some way. ' I just don't think anyone here does great with being idle ... ' well , maybe there were some people ... but they were probably people jade didn't know , at least not by name. jade's answering grin is enough to answer her first question wordlessly , his free hand tucking beneath his thigh in an attempt to keep from reaching for her. their hands are touching , her leg brushing his ... and still he wants her closer ... ' a little. ' jade lets out a breath , then seems to clock the concern on her features. ' I'm fine , tabitha ... could have been way worse ... '

  at least one of their days hadn't been completely miserable. it's a low bar, to be sure, but tabitha finds herself feeling grateful that nothing dire seemed to have happened with jade. " it's crazy to think about all of the things that people have left here over the years, " she muses. idly, tabitha wonders how many of the bracelets she'd made had ended up in that collection; it's not a thought she decides to pursue. as if sensing jade's realization about the hand holding, tabitha runs her thumb lightly over his skin. " poor donna ... this is probably the longest she has ever gone without keeping herself busy. " empathy tugs one corner of tabitha's lips into a faint smile. " how did that go? and how are you feeling? "

' it's like the contents of a big ass garage sale down there ... ' he comments , free hand raising the cup to his lips again. jade takes another swallow of the tea , trying to ignore the jolt of electricity that the light brush of tabitha's thumb sends through him. ' she's definitely a worse patient than I am. ' jade leans slightly to place his own cup on the coffee table as well , then straightens carefully. ' she was pissy , and I was pithy. ' he smirks , evidentially quite proud of that word - play. ' I'm fine , it just hurts when I breathe ... and move ... no biggie ... '

  for a little while, fatima's content enough to sit in silence. she doesn't know if mike's going to answer her question, and frankly if he doesn't, she's fine with that. the last thing she wants to do is push him when he's already resisting enough as it is. however, when he does finally provide an answer, fatima replies with a smile. " i think there are a few other people here from california too, " she says at last, casting a quick, aimless glance around at the people milling about outside of colony house. however, choosing not to elaborate on that (there's no point in really focusing on where they'd all come from, since they're trapped here now), fatima instead focuses on the husky that had joined them. " you have a beautiful dog, " she compliments, watching the husky with a genuine smile. " we don't get many pets here, so when they do show up, they get plenty of attention. what's their name? "

' cool , ' he deadpans , the remark off - handed as if he's barely paying attention to the words coming out of her mouth. which is true ... but , he supposes , at least she has eyes ... for the first time , mike's features seem to soften at the edges. ' oona , ' he answers , reaching out to the husky once more to smooth back her fur. it's more for mike's own comfort than the dog's , oona doesn't yet know that anything is actually wrong ... ' she's a siberian husky ... ' mike's eyes flick back towards colony house , his expression going slightly cold once more. ' is that going to be a problem ?? '

  " yeah. " tabitha forces a small smile, giving his hand another gentle squeeze. " yeah, i know. " even if that means that she never leaves this place, she'll do everything she can to ensure that her children and victor do. taking another small sip of her tea, she sets the cup on the coffee table. " please tell me your day was better than mine, " she implores, a breath of a laugh leaving her lips. " did you find the rubik's cube in the basement? "

  his question pulls an involuntary, quiet laugh from her lips. " sorry. i'm not laughing at you. i just hear that question a lot. " fatima clears her throat softly, trying to wipe away the faint flicker of amusement that has rested across her features. " i keep telling donna we need to come up with a different name for it, but ... " her shoulder lifts in a shrug, and she leans her elbows against the picnic table. " basically it's just a fancy way of saying that i'm here to keep you company and help you get situated. as situated as you can be in a place like this. " she offers a sympathetic smile, allowing him a moment to process. " so, where are you from? "

mike's hand outstretches to the dog , fingers lightly scratching behind her ears. oona sits , her tail lightly wagging over the grass. he's quiet for so long that it seems as though he'd opted out of answering her question , or , if one was giving him the benefit of the doubt , hadn't heard it ... but finally , on an exhale he states ; ' california ... ' then , looks back to fatima with his brows raised --- happy now ?? it seems to say.

  whether it's for jade's benefit or for hers, tabitha draws comfort in their hands finding each other once again. she returns the squeeze, slowly nodding her head. " he was alone for so long, " she murmurs, brows lightly furrowed. " he said that he made friends with random objects to feel less lonely. and then he found these toys and dressed them as his sister and his ... " tabitha trails off, biting her lip as her gaze falls to her cup. his mother. her. " i couldn't stand to hear any more of it. " her head lifts once more, gaze finding jade's. " i promised them both that i am going to get them out of here. i need to get them out of here, jade. " even if it's the last thing she ends up doing.

  unfortunately, all of the joking ebbs away fairly quickly as jade asks about her day. " it was ... " tabitha pauses, mouth shifting to the side as she contemplates the best way to describe the events of the day. " a lot, " she decides finally, the words leaving her on an exhale. adjusting her body a little, she settles with one leg tucked underneath her, her cup of tea cradled gently between her hands in her lap. " we ended up down at that truck victor goes to sometimes so that he could teach ethan how to survive when we're all gone. " tabitha pauses, her head shaking slowly. she'd hoped to rid ethan of that notion from the start, but it hadn't gone as well as planned. " the things victor had to do to survive alone for so long ... it's heartbreaking. "

naturally , the mood can always downshift rapidly ... his simple , well - meaning question about her day brings back the more somber atmosphere , and jade lowers his cup to lightly rest in his lap , one hand still grasping at the handle. drawing in a deep breath --- whilst trying not to wince as he does it --- jade squeezes his eyes shut as he tries to visualize all that ... his free hand moves to rub against the back of his neck , a sigh escaping. victor was , in a very tangible way , their his fault ... and it tears him up inside to think about it , and imagining something similar happening to ethan ... jade's hand drops away from his neck and reaches for one of tabitha's , unsure if the squeeze was more for her comfort or his own. ' fuck ... ' he practically whispers , giving his head a slow shake. ' that's ... pretty fucking awful ... '

  " i think that's okay, right? " tabitha replies, throwing a glance over ethan's head at jade. once ethan gets the go-ahead from jade as well, he heads up the stairs, skipping one every so often. tabitha listens to his footsteps as they grow fainter, a small smile on her face. she's quiet for a few moments more, taking another long drink from her cup. " thank you for doing that, " she says at last. " i think he really needed it. "

' pfft. don't mention it , I like showing off ... ' and whilst there is some truth to that statement , a lot of it is that showy bravado he often wields like a shield. ' how'd everything go with you today ?? '

  " now you know what time you have to beat, " tabitha jokes, leaning in to press a kiss to the top of ethan's head. " i'm sure you'll be faster than jade in no time. " her gaze is almost playful as she lifts it to find jade, taking up her cup of tea once more.

' he'll be kicking my ass in no time , ' jade agrees , carefully leaning forward enough that he can grab the cup of tea off the coffee table. slowly , he raises it to his lips and takes a small sip.

  " really? " ethan turns his head to look at his mother, who nods her confirmation. then he's looking back at jade again, curiosity and intrigue in his features. " how fast can you do it? "

once ethan agrees and is ready to hit the button , jade signals him to start the stop watch. then he sets to work , following his same method of working on the green cross first , fingers rapidly twisting pieces of the rubik's cube. his brow furrows in concentration , eyes solely fixed on the puzzle cube until ; ' time !! ' and glances over at ethan to make sure he's hit the correct button to stop the timer. ' alright , how'd I do ?? '

  " jade's showing me how to start solving it, " ethan explains, leaning back a little so he's more settled against his mother now that she's there. she leans down to press a kiss to the crown of his head, smiling over at jade.

' so , you wanna make sure your first priority is making a cross. some people say you have to start with the white side , but it's bullshit. pick whatever you want ... ' as deftly as his hands had been on the violin strings , jade starts with the green. once he's twisted the pieces around to show ethan what he means , green pieces aligned to where just the outer four corners of the green side are different colors , he holds it out to show him. ' you wanna start from this point , or should I turn it back to how it started ?? '

  " how am i supposed to get this one square off of here? " ethan asks, turning it for jade to see where he's gotten stuck; one side of the cube is all the same color except for one errant square.

jade senses more than sees that tabitha has wandered back into the threshold between the rooms. it takes an enormous amount of willpower not to look at her , to keep his focus focus on ethan and his little furrowed brow. but he said nothing , gives no tips. not until ethan actually asks. ' good question , ' jade murmurs , holding his hand out in offering. ' want me to show you how I normally start , or do you wanna keep trying on your own ?? '

@soulsburned

instead of smoking pot like a stoner kid behind the bleachers , jade is fiddling with the rubix cube when tabitha and ethan re - enter the house. jade barely glances up , fingers deftly twisting the colorful cube. ' hey , ' he greets ethan , but his gaze falls onto tabitha and lingers there , knocking several seconds off his run ... then , he snaps back to ethan , brows drawn together. ' you don't know what a rubik's cube is ?? fuck , are we old ?? ' this second part is directly more at tabitha , who he watches as she ruffles the boy's hair and heads for the kitchen. as if answering his own question , jade lets out an exaggerated sigh and holds it up for ethan to see. ' this is a 3D combination puzzle. it's good exercise for your brain ... the goal is to get all of the colors matched up on all the sides ... wanna try ?? '

  " probably at the bar, you mean, " tabitha shoots back, once more aiming for something that feels like a joke, something to break up this tension that has nothing whatsoever to do with the stress she'd been holding in her limbs. fortunately, it isn't long before jade pulls his hand away; unfortunately, she can't ignore the disappointment that wars with relief in her chest. " that's okay, " tabitha reassures him quickly, carefully shifting until she's on her back again. " you did more than enough. " of course, she hadn't taken into account the space she'd eliminated when jade had first begun his ministrations, and it makes her brain malfunction briefly as she realizes how close they still are. " thank you, " she murmurs softly, her gaze roaming over his features.

  briefly, tabitha wonders how exactly she'd gotten into this situation. it's not a displeasing situation, by any means (and that, inevitably, is the problem). but the truth of the matter is that it is helping; tabitha can feel some of the tension uncoiling itself. " yeah, " she replies quietly, her voice breaking slightly. she clears her throat, brows pulling together as she repeats herself more strongly. " yeah. i think it's helping. " her eyes close as she focuses on that feeling, reminded once more that it's jade's fingers at the nape of her neck, and that earlier chill makes itself known again. " where were you the last time i needed this? " tabitha jokes, trying to take attention away from it.