Sebastian gave a sheepish shrug. "I have to have a good memory, what with this one," he nudged Ella, making her giggle, "Running around everywhere." What he really meant that he needed a good memory in order to remember the woman he'd lost, but he didn't say that out loud. "See you there, I guess?"
“Ah… Yeah, I’ll see you there,” Devon said, nodding slowly. “Stay warm… And safe.”
"Thanks…" he murmured, offering the smallest of smiles.
A little over thirty minutes later, he was standing outside Devon's apartment for the second time in twenty-four hours, raising his hand to knock. Ella, who had recognized their surroundings, was busy squealing excitedly, babbling and repeating her friend's name again and again.
Devon has pulled out a bunch of medical supplies and set them on the island in the kitchen while she waited for Sebastian to arrive. She glanced up from organizing them at the sound of knocking coming from the front door, checked that Layla was still playing with her toys in the living room, and then made her way over.
“Hey, Sebastian… Come on in,” she greeted the man as she opened the door. She smiled down at Ella and said a ‘hi’ to her, too.
Sebastian offered a weak smile and set Ella down, crossing the threshold and entering Devon's house. "Hey, Devon. Thanks." His daughter toddled into the house, babbling Layla's name over and over again. "How're you?"
Devon shrugged, a small smile on her face as she watched the little girl waddle away. She remembered when Layla was that old… The girl has been so cute as a baby, and now she was just plain adorable as a toddler.
“I’m pretty good. Been better, but I’ve also been a lot worse,” she answered honestly as she turned back to Sebastian. “What about you? How are you doing?”
"Like I said, I'm fine," he answered gently, wanting to say something more but cutting himself off at the last moment. "I just need to hurry home after this to cancel some cards."
Devon nodded and gestured toward the kitchen. “Sure. Sorry, I don’t mean to hold you, but I couldn’t let you go without taking a look at those cuts. I’ve got a bunch of stuff on the island to help you,” she explained as she made her way over.
Sebastian nodded and trailed after, keeping on eye on his daughter. "Thank you for doing this…" he murmured quietly, wrapping his arms around his stomach.
“Of course. I don’t just let someone walk away when they’re hurt,” Devon said softly, avoiding meeting his eyes as she spoke. There was a reason for that, which she didn’t think she would ever tell him.
He glanced up at Devon, and was unsurprised to see that she wasn't meeting his eyes.
"Thank you," he sighed, pausing to lean back against her kitchen counter.
Devon nodded and started getting things ready for him. “Anyway, I’ll just wipe some antiseptic on your wounds before bandaging then up,” she explained as she glanced back up at him. “It’s going to sting a little.”
Sebastian only nodded, his muscles instinctively tensing at the prospect of someone else touching his face. he sighed, trying to loosen up and busy his mind by thinking of Ella…. but of course, that only ended up with him thinking of her mother.
Devon quickly and quietly moved on to wipe the blood from his face where cuts had reopened. She chewed on her lip as she poured antiseptic onto a cotton ball, then whispered a soft, “Sorry…” as she dapped at the first cut.
Sebastian let hit eyes fall shut, curtaining himself off from whatever awkward scenario was happening beyond his closed eyelids. "Why are you apologizing for trying to help?" he asked, his voice a quiet murmur, a telltale sign of how far away his mind was at that moment.
“Because I know it stings,” Devon murmured her explanation. She finished the one she’d been working on and moved onto the next.
"Ah." And it did sting, but if he was being honest, the faint pain was welcome, having a similar effect to white noise. "It's not that bad."
Devon hummed, now concentrating on what she was doing. "I'm glad it doesn't hurt too badly…"
I'm used to pain.
Instead of saying so, Sebastian merely shrugged, lost in a daydream that had once been reality. Unbeknownst to him, his features were softening, taking on an expression of sorrow.
Devon finished the last cut and glanced over his face, checking for more. As she did so, she noticed the look on his face, how devastated and almost pained he looked. If she ever had the urge to hug someone lately, it would be him, right now.
"Hey… I'm done, now. You're free to go," she said, backing up a little.
Sebastian blinked his eyes open, jolted out of the vivid memory of the first time he'd met Elle. He swallowed, taking a moment to process her words, and straightened. "Oh, thank you. For, uh, everything, I really appreciate it."
"Sure. It was no problem. Just take care of those, okay?" Devon said, nodding a bit.
"Yeah, will do." He cracked a small, if a bit forlorn, smile, and slipped into the living room to collect Ella, who took a lot of persuading to get away from Layla.
(Skip? Maybe they run into each other at the cafe?
Also, not it.)
(Oof
Yeah sure, should we skip a week or so?)