Hadrian's Colony: Interlude: Carlisle Pt. Two

 Notes: Time to finish up this riveting conversation and get this show on the road! Gravity wave...space lane...whatever.

PS, it's raining in Colorado today--like, a LOT of rain--and now I really want hot chocolate. Gonna have to go get me some of that as soon as I get this posted. 

Title: Hadrian's Colony: Interlude: Carlisle Pt. Two

***

Interlude: Carlisle Pt. 2

 

 

Photo by Giancarlo Duarte

 

 She wanted to lash out at him. What do you know about his pain, or mine? But that would be another misstep, she was sure of it. Carlisle stared coldly for a moment before saying, “I need fresh clothes.”

“In the drawer behind you.” A seam appeared in the wall that Carlisle was certain hadn’t been there before, and she found sleep clothes with built-in undergarments and socks inside. They were long-sleeved, and the cloth adjusted to fit her as she slid into it, then—a wave of warmth rippled over her body, and she stared down at the clothes with incomprehension. How—

“It warms or cools based on species assessment and ambient temperatures if you’re more than a few percentage points off normal,” Desfontaines told her. “You can turn that functionality off if you don’t care for it.”

“No,” Carlisle said hoarsely. “No, I…it’s fine.” It was more than fine, it was the first time she’d felt warm in days, maybe weeks. Maybe longer. She wasn’t going to thank this arrogant son of a bitch for it, though.

“Good. Want anything else? Water? Food?”

Both sounded good, now that she felt more assured that he wasn’t going to throw her into a storage compartment or something. “Yes.”

Desfontaines got up and moved over to the small mess area, sliding a door back to reveal a plethora of boxes and cans. He dispensed hot water from a tap in the wall into a mug, then added two scoopfuls of powder to it. Every move he made was economical, and unnaturally quiet too. Carlisle didn’t quite know why, until she realized he was standing right beside Kieron.

He’s trying not to wake him. Well. Say what you would about this asshole—and she could say a lot—but at least he was dedicated to her—to Kieron.

He grabbed something else out of the cabinet, then came back and handed both items to her. One was a meal bar, which was fine but not as fancy as she’d expect for a man who was supposed to be responsible for most of an entire planet’s net worth. The other… “Oh,” she whispered after she tasted it. Chocolate. How long had it been since she’d tasted chocolate? She drank more deeply, then again, finally tipping the mug back so that the last few drops rolled into her mouth and across her tongue.

“Kieron’s a die-hard coffee fan, but he likes hot chocolate every now and then,” Desfontaines said from where he’d sat himself down again. “More?”

Carlisle evaluated the state of her stomach and shook her head. “Not yet.” She hadn’t had much to eat or drink over the past few days, and the last thing she wanted was to make herself sick in front of this man.

“All right.” He nodded, then stretched his lengthy legs out in front of himself and crossed his joined hands over his middle. It was a languorous pose, but the intensity in his eyes showed it for a lie. “Now that you’re all fixed up, I want to talk to you about what’s going to happen next.”

Carlisle’s lips twisted into a sneer. “Already thinking about where you’ll get the best bounty for me?”

“On the contrary. No one wants you,” he replied, and damn but if that didn’t hurt a little. “No one out there remembers Hadrian’s Colony,” he went on, perfectly matter-of-fact. “No one cares about your little power games and the price you paid for them. No one gives a shit about the General and how hard he tried to be a god. The only person left who gave a shit about finding out what happened back here in the first place is lying on the floor over there.”

“Why did you let him come?” It wasn’t the question she’d intended to ask, but slipped out despite herself. “If you love him so much, why let him do this to himself?”

Was that pity in his eyes? “You don’t understand how love works very well, do you?”

“Fuck you,” she spat. “You don’t—”

“Keep your fucking voice down.”

Carlisle’s mouth snapped shut. They both sat in silence for a moment as Kieron shifted on the cot, finally settling again after a few seconds.

“I want to make something very clear to you,” Desfontaines said once he was content that Kieron was asleep again. “Kieron Carr is a good person in a way you’re not capable of being. I don’t say that to offend you,” and it didn’t offend her at all, actually, “but because it’s the truth. He looked at you and saw someone worth saving, someone worth risking his life for. I enabled that because he needed me to, but that’s as far as it goes. I’m not here to help facilitate a better relationship between the two of you. I prefer there to be no future relationship between the two of you, but I’m not naïve enough to think I can put him off now.

“So. My proposition to you is this. Once we’re done with this planet, I equip you with a ship and a stipend. You go do whatever it is you want to do—explore new places, look up your old flame, hire yourself out as a mercenary, I don’t care. Go learn how to live like a human again, but do it somewhere far away from Kieron, because you’ve hurt him enough.” His words cut like knives, shredding her but also freeing her from the weight of expectations she knew she couldn’t live up to.

“You’re not a mother, even though he’d like you to be,” he went on, looking her straight in the eyes. “And that’s fine, you shouldn’t take on a role that you’re not prepared for. It wouldn’t be healthy for either of you to try and fail right now. I’ve got him, all right? I’m not perfect, but I love Kieron. I’m going to marry him. I’m going to live the rest of my undoubtedly amazing life with him, and I’m going to make sure he has everything he needs to be healthy and happy, and that doesn’t include you right now. It can’t.” Then he smiled, just a little. “It’s okay. I’ll make sure you don’t hurt him.”

Carlisle slumped back against the wall, a matching smile coming to her lips. “Thank you,” she murmured, then looked down at her empty mug. “Can I have another hot chocolate now?”

“Absolutely.”