the world comes crashing down [[Kaine]]

[adifferentlife]

Arriving back in Darrow had been a relief but jarring as well. Sybil had cuts on her arms, bruises around them, all hidden by the sleeves that she's pulled down to her wrists. She can't help but look over her shoulder, peer around every corner in suspicion.

She's promised Elizabeth she'll go to the hospital to have her injuries looked at, but the hospital is the last place she wants to go. They'll know her there and if they see her wounds they'll want to know how she came by them. That isn't something she's willing to share with the people she works with.

Sybil is at the only place she can imagine going. Standing outside Kaine's door, she knocks quickly, the taps urgent. "Kaine are you there?"

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[adifferentlife]

“When did it happen that Darrow was the safe place?” It’s a strange sort of question, likely, but her relief at being back in Darrow and now being here with Kaine isn’t something she can deny. Reluctantly she pulls back, knowing that she needs to clean the cuts on her arms and that she can’t cling to Kaineforever. “When did Downton stop being the place I thought of when I thought of being somewhere safe again?”

[badtotheclone]

"I don't know," I admit. For me it became home when it became the longest I'd stayed in one place other than prison. I still don't know if it's home though. I'm not entirely sure if I'll ever know what that feels like.

Sybil does though and this place shouldn't feel like home for her. It shouldn't feel bad, but it's not her home.

"Maybe it's just because this place is safe. You're hurt though, we need to get you cleaned up."

[adifferentlife]

Sybil nods, mute for a moment. What else is there to say? She’s scared and hurt, and as much as being near Kaine helps deep down she knows that even he is not a guarantee that will keep her truly safe.

Carefully she rolls up her tattered sleeves, better exposing the cuts that aren’t very deep. It’s something she’s grateful for, as anything worse would have needed stitches and that would have meant the hospital whether she wanted to or not. “Do you have bandages?”

[badtotheclone]

I feel my jaw clench tightly as she shows me her wounds. Getting a better look at them just makes me more angry, especially since I can't do anything about it other than patch her up. I can see why Peter and others all but kill themselves to help people, it's so things like this don't happen.

"Of course," I say, standing aside so she can come in. "Let me find you a new shirt too."

[adifferentlife]

"Thank you," she says softly, heading directly for where the kitchen should be. It's better for her to stay busy now lest she stop and think too much about what it is that she's been through. The tap goes on and she pulls out a bottle of soap, letting the sink fill and trying to ignore her tears.

[badtotheclone]

I head into the bedroom and return a moment later with the first aid kit and a new shirt for Sybil to wear. It's one of Cassandra's so it will probably not be something she's used to but it's clean and sleeveless.

"Here," I say, handing her the tank top. "I know it's all scandalous because it shows your shoulders and all but it won't irritate the cuts. Go change in the bathroom and then we'll take care of your wounds."

[adifferentlife]

'Thank you," she says gratefully, wiping her face with the palm of her hand. Sybil takes the shirt before he can say more, ducking into the bathroom to slip it on. She shoves her own into the trash, not wanting to see it ever again. It's not fixable, she sure, and even if it weren't she doesn't want it mended.

When she leaves the bathroom at least the tears have stopped though her eyes are still red. "Do you have any antiseptic?"

[badtotheclone]

I have to admit that it's a bit shocking to see Sybil in one of Cass's shirts. It is a bit snug compared to what Sybil wore and I don't think I'd ever seen her with her arms bare before. It takes me a moment to process it all before I nod in response to her question.

"Arms out," I tell her, opening up the first aid kit and pulling out the tube of antiseptic. "And I hope you don't think you're sleeping anywhere but here tonight."

[adifferentlife]

The shirt is more than snug, it's positively scandalous. It's shock, likely, that has her not insisting she be more covered. That and the knowledge that she shouldn't cover her arms until they're bandaged.

"I don't think that would be right," she says, even if every bit of her is fighting to say yes. Sybil doesn't want to go home to her empty apartment, she doesn't want to be alone when it's dark.

[badtotheclone]

"Tell you what. We'll arm wrestle for it. You win, you don't have to stay here tonight," I tell her.

Carefully, I begin to apply the antiseptic to her arms, covering the worst of the cuts with bandages. Fortunately none of them look all that serious and she likely won't even have any scars.

"Otherwise, you're sleeping here tonight."

[adifferentlife]

Sybil does her best to not wince when it stings, knowing that she's done the same to others. "Your friend, is she staying here tonight?"

It's a strange question to ask, especially considering how she's felt and still in some part of her feels for him. "Not that we need a chaperone, of course."

[badtotheclone]

"Cass and I live together now," I tell her. Scandelous in her time but I'm sure that she's gotten used to the idea of things like that happening.

"I don't know if she'll be around though."

[adifferentlife]

It's a surprise to hear that, but she doesn't start. Sybil exalts all of her control as she doesn't say a word, as she holds still for Kaine to bandage her arms. Once they're done she pulls them back into herself. "I think I should go home."

[badtotheclone]

I clench my jaw in frustration. I don't know if she wants to go home because it's really what she would prefer or if she feels awkward being here knowing that Cass and I live together.

"If you think so," I say with a nod. "I'd rather you stay here but it's your choice, obviously. Can I walk you home? Please?"

[adifferentlife]

Both, likely, not that she would admit it to Kaine or even to herself. Sybil nods, helping him to tape the gauze down over her wounds in order to avoid meeting his eyes. "I would appreciate that."

[badtotheclone]

"Good, because I'd just follow you anyways," I tell her. I know she wouldn't appreciate it if I followed her if she had said no, but I figure at least telling her made it not quite as creepy. I may be a jerk, but I'm trying to be honest about it.

[adifferentlife]

"I know, and that makes me glad in ways you might not believe." She reaches out to squeeze his hand, her wounds covered and hidden. "Thank you. For that and for helping tonight."

[badtotheclone]

I smile and give her hand a squeeze back. I'm glad that she's comfortable enough to come see me when she needs help.

"Let me get you something with long sleeves, okay? To cover those up."

I duck into my room and grab one of my flannel shirts out of the closet before heading back to her.

"It's clean, I promise."

[adifferentlife]

"Thank you," she says softly, shrugging it on as she stands. Immediately she feels more covered, her shoulders no longer bare. "We should likely go. It's been a long few days."

[badtotheclone]

"Right," I say with a nod, opening the door for her. I'm not sure if I'm hurt that she doesn't want to say or proud of her for not being too afraid to stay by herself. Not that anyone would blame her for wanting to say, least of all me.

"Get you home so you can rest."

[adifferentlife]

"Yes, please." She buttons the shirt before heading into the hall, wishing in part that she didn't feel so strange about staying. It would be safer, she knows, but she also knows that she will have to face the dark alone at some point and that putting it off will only make it worse.

"Are you well?" So wrapped up in her own worries, she hasn't asked after him, an oversight she realises. Besides which, talking about his life is better than dwelling on her own.

[badtotheclone]

"Yeah. Was in Atlantis for a few days," I say with a shrug. As unexpected as that was, it wasn't too weird. At least not compared to some things in my life it wasn't. No one else that was there seemed all that bothered by it either and I don't know if that was weird or comforting.

"It was... interesting."

[adifferentlife]

"As in the lost city of?" That somehow seems stranger than the world that she was in. Atlantis is a place that she knows through stories and the like, her world had been utterly unfamiliar. "Were you underwater?"

[badtotheclone]

"No, this was before it sank," I explain. I'm not a huge Atlantian historian or whatever but the city was definitely above water. It wasn't all that different from most early Greek cities from what I've been told of what we saw there.

"It was like being in ancient Greece."

[adifferentlife]

"Did it smell?" She doesn't mean to poke fun, but being in Ancient Greece has always seemed a rather stinking place to her. "I imagine that it would, rather."