ic contact 2 mask or menace

[infomodder]

"Gone fishing."

[ so don't leave messages to ruin the after fishing glow !!!

your one stop shop for not leaving him alone, previous contact post can be found here ]

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[flowerette]

[ It is what she wants to hear and it appeases her as such. With a sad smile, she says: ]

He is a man of great fortune, isn't he? I always tell him Fate favors him.

[ It's a brief glance into the intimate conversations the two of them share. And she imagines, Will knowing Chilton as he does, he would know that Chilton is totally skeptical about that. But what more proof does she need? Russians invade this world and Chilton gets sent home? If that isn't Lachesis protecting him, she doesn't know what is. ]

Thank you for your hospitality, Will. I appreciate it. You'll hardly know I'm here.

[ She steps in and gives a look around the accommodations. Not as lush as she would like, but it works. It's clean. There are no traces of the last guest, whoever that may have been. And at least she doesn't have to be alone in her far too big apartment. ]

Can I request a vase? Or something that can be used as a vase.

[ Raina does want to add a little bit of her own touch to the room, though. Flowers help her cope. ]

[infomodder]

[A brief glance he certainly appreciates, smiling. He can imagine how Chilton takes to such talk, but he can also imagine just as easily where Raina gets the idea from. More easily, even—Chilton's pulled through quite a lot back home, and even if he comes out with new scars or a body of them, he still comes out alive. Abused, hardened, but surviving. Not everyone can say the same. Unfortunately. Raina is right on the mark with that assessment.]

Sure thing. [He intends to bring more than that, additional clothing, drinks and snacks to fill up the little fridge so Raina doesn't have to leave for anything. Or call someone in the house to bring her something. Will knows the needs of isolation very very well, she'll be set for a few days.] Anything else you think you'll need? I'll bring it all up at once and then be out of your hair.

[flowerette]

Nothing at the moment, but if I think of something, I'll be sure to let you know.

[ Raina begins to unlace her shoes, removing them so she can sink down on one of the beds and tuck her legs beneath herself -- looking out the window at the moonlit garden below. Ah. It is a nice view. ]

Say, Will? Would you have done this for any of Frederick's other girlfriends?

[ Another situation where a lie is an appropriate answer. But then again, Raina kind of doubts Chilton's other girlfriends would have been so torn up over his absence. She is special in that she's the most pathetic of them all. ]

[infomodder]

Unlikely.

[Delivered with ease as Will moved back to the door. He followed her look out the window before dropping his gaze to her bare feet, giving him a decidedly demure, humble sort of appearance. Necessary when...]

The others didn't care for him. Not like you do. [A confession, perhaps, but mixing potential insult to the dearly departed with potential flattery to Raina seemed the best path to take. Quiet comforts instead of overt, obvious. A balance to keep anything from being too overwhelming when that seemed the last thing needed for either of them right now.] Be back in a few minutes.

[A few minutes more like fifteen, wherein he gives a knock on the door before he carefully enters...with a duffel bag, a plastic bag, and an elegantly carved vase that likely came from an anniversary or birthday flower surprise. Not that Will is giving those details but it looks far too nice for just wildflowers from the outside. If she wants to be handed one, he'll do so, but otherwise the duffel bag gets set on the edge of her chosen bed as he goes to stock up the little fridge with bottled water, bags of fruit (grapes, strawberries, kiwis), and fancy good-for-your-digestion yogurts. The duffel bag has a plethora of pajamas that look like something a young woman would pick up, a medley of fashionable, cute, and nature patterns, as well as a few slightly big t-shirts and baggy pants the likes Raina came over in. It's just a stuffed bag of comfortable wear.]

This should tide you over for a few days.

[He isn't an animal, though. Raina will find, if she isn't watching, that there have been a handful of chocolate bars stuffed in the fridge too. Because literally anyone coping with the Porter messing with their love life deserves chocolate.]

[flowerette]

[ Raina watches Will and hangs on his words. Whether they're a lie or the truth, they fill her with pride -- that she could surpass those other women in their affection. And while that should have been obvious (Raina is, after all, the only woman who moved in with Chilton), it's still really nice to hear. She doesn't say anything in response, but there's a tinge of a smile on her face as she nods when he dismisses himself.

While Will is gone, Raina takes to making up a few of Chilton's favorite flowers -- simple, white, and ones he used most in decoration. He couldn't be with her in person, but he can be with her in spirit. And Will might even recognize some of those flowers as ones that belonged to a bouquet Chilton delivered him back home.

Glancing up when Will returns, Raina gets up to take the vase. And when he is done stocking the fridge -- when he's standing there after having gone to all these lengths to ensure she's comfortable, Raina reaches out and pulls him into a hug. It's long, lingering and emotional. She doesn't say anything, not even as she steps back. But the gratitude in her eyes speaks the words for her -- far better than she can articulate.

No one has ever done this sort of thing for her before, and Raina is so glad. So glad that the other half of Baltimore would be there for her in her time of need. ]

[infomodder]

[He does indeed recognize those particular flowers, though hell if he'll say anything about it or spare them a too-long look. There had been a while, in that hospital room, the only thing he had from the outside was Frederick Chilton's bouquet. His offer of "friendship." Every time he looked next to his bed, there they were. A beautiful, scented reminder how badly he'd fucked up because now everyone was desperate more than ever for a piece of the Graham empathy pie.

The Graham empathy pie who takes that hug without surprise or hesitation, lifting his hands to her upper back to provide support, balance, a reminder someone else is with her in the midst of the several catastrophes crashing down at once. No rejection, only acceptance, saying nothing and only moving away once Raina has done so first. He hopes that Chilton returns in one piece. He hopes that Raina never has a reason to look back at this evening and tear apart every single thing Will's done as some terrible manipulation, stemming from guilt. Or worse: maliciousness. Because it's certainly not that.]

You need anything and don't wanna leave...you know my number. April's. Jeff's. [A quick, blink-and-she'll-miss it smile. She could always just holler but shooting off a text seems far more dignified, and despite her lack of impeccable dress at the moment, he's always seen Raina as more inclined to the "dignified."] I'll let you get settled, then.

[Will moves to the door slowly, though. Just in case there's something else.]