I'm Still Here (Cobalt)

[Leila Gold]

"There. Good as new." Leila stepped away from the door and admired her handiwork. It had taken another fifty dollars and two hours to get the glass and paint it. She'd even come in early to work to tear down the wooden boards and put up the glass plate. This time she'd even brought a nice little curtain to hang on the other side, as a gesture of peace to Cobalt. She knew how much he didn't like the light.

Once that was all set up, Leila went inside to pour herself some coffee. She got another cup ready for Cobalt and set it on his desk. She situated herself at her own desk, pulling up her computer and getting out some textbooks for reference on a particular case. She kept her eye on the clock, and precisely two minutes after she sat down at her desk she looked up at the door.

"And three...two...one..." And the door opened, letting in a flush of cold air and a cranky old man.

"Coffee's on the desk," she said, taking a sip from her own mug. "Pre-sugared, pre-creamed, pre-cooled. It should be at just the right temperature."

With that she went back to the case she was working on. She was putting together a particular argument, and she wanted to make sure she had all the best background information. After another hour of working she sat back in her chair and stretched.

"Hey, Blue," she said, trying to start up a conversation. "Did you notice the window? This time I added some fleur-de-lis in the corners. It's even got the address on there, nice and big."

She stood and stretched again, walking around the office. There wasn't that much on the walls, just a few certificates. Leila had some family photos on her desk, but Blue had nothing. She sometimes felt bad about that, and if she'd thought it would've helped she would have given him a picture of her or something. But he saw enough of her face every day, so there was no point having the picture.

"Blue," she said, looking out the window into the snow. "How long have we been working together?" She turned to face him.

"And after all that time, I feel like you still treat me like a little girl. There's some stuff that you're just not telling me. It's so hard for me to get any information from you."

She went over and sat in the chair in front of his desk. "I know that you have a lot of new friends now, and I know that there's some stuff that you don't necessarily want to tell me all of. I get it. But there are some things...I just, don't you think there are some things I should know? We're both growing a little bit, being in this new place, but, Blue..." She looked at him carefully, eyes wide and sincere. "I'm still here. I'm still me. And I want you to be able to trust me."

She smiled gently. "Please."

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt grinned a little when he saw the new windows up in the office. Yes, they were painted and not stickered like Cobalt had suggested and really, he didn’t expect Leila to listen to him anyways. And truth be told, even though he would never admit it to Leila himself, he thought she always did a rather good job on those windows. He still thought it was an unnecessary trouble, but he was always glad she did it. Leila was talented.

When he stepped through the door, Leila had already made him coffee. His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh, hey. Thanks, Leila.” He limped over to the desk and took the cup. “That was nice of you.” He looked at her a little suspiciously, but said nothing, not wanting to sound ungrateful.

He chuckled, “Yeah, I saw the windows. They look cool. You’re very good at that.” He sipped his coffee. Tasty. “The address was a good idea, we shoulda thought of that the first t—huh?” He blinked at her question that came apropos of very little as far as Cobalt could see. “Uh. Like a year or so? Why…?” He stared at her as she talked, expressing feelings that Cobalt didn’t even know she had. He blinked, taken aback at her speech. He had… no idea that she was feeling this way; he’d always supposed that Leila liked him well enough, but he generally just supposed that she didn’t really care all that much about his life. Whatever he would tell her, she would want to hear, but he never thought he would hurt her feelings by what he didn’t tell her. After she was done, Cobalt put the coffee mug on the desk and looked at her, little tendrils of guilt coiling in his chest.

“Leila.” He started helplessly, scrambling for words. “I trust you more than—than most of the people I’ve met here now. I don’t mean to treat you like a little girl. I mean… yes. You are considerably younger than me and sometimes I think of you like a little girl, but I’ve always known you were a very intelligent, competent young lady.” He shrugged helplessly, “I should tell you that more often, I think. I’m sorry.”

Cobalt considered the conversation. There had to be something more to this conversation than just Leila wanting him to quit unintentionally patronizing her. If it were just that, she would have just told him, complete with a whap on the head with some newspaper or other rolled up document. There wouldn’t be a serious talk about trust and keeping things from—

Wait. Keeping things from her. And trusting her.

Ohhh.

Cobalt winced, “…You’re thinking about the books. And why I didn’t tell you about that.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, “Lee, I didn’t tell you about that because I haven’t told anybody about that. It’s…it’s not something that I’m all that comfortable with.” He looked up at her, hoping she would understand his awkward, stumbling speech, “I—I don’t have an inherent problem with it, and I don’t care about other people, obviously. But…” He flailed his arms helplessly, “…I’m still—there’s about a decade of teaching and forty-five years of self-condemnation I would have to work through before I would bring up the subject to anyone.” He stared out the window, “But believe me, it was never about trust. I trust you.”

[Leila Gold]

Leila was a little worried she'd gone overboard with the guilt-tripping.

Okay, yes, she was worried. Sincerely. She wanted to make sure Blue was okay, and there wasn't anything he needed to get off his chest. She also highly suspected that she was one of the few people he might feel like he could trust enough to tell something really important to.

More importantly, however, she really wanted to find out more about him. She was just kind of curious, more than anything else. Finding those books under his couch had actually been something akin to a miracle. In fact, upon making the discovery she'd said a quick thank-you prayer. It was something more she knew about him, and thus another look into who he was.

Should Cobalt ever have asked, Leila would have been willing to tell him more about herself. He'd never asked, though, and she'd been left wondering how in the world he'd become a lawyer. He didn't seem to have nearly the same inquisitive nature that she did. A part of her had wanted to become a lawyer to argue the cases. The other part of her just wanted to know everything about everyone and everything.

The thing with Blue was that she knew exactly how to get information out of him, so long as she had the right material and knew the right questions to ask. But it looked like this line of questioning might peter out soon if she didn't get some more hard evidence.

"If there was something this big in your life, Blue," she said quietly, "it's hard to see why you would never tell anyone. Don't you think people want to know? There are people out there who care about you. We want to be able to help you. If you couldn't tell me, wasn't there someone else you could talk to about it? Maybe one of your older friends?"

Inwardly, she thought, Please tell me about some of your old high school buddies, please please please. Outwardly, she kept her expression kind and concerned, completely looking out for Cobalt's well-being.

"Is there something you want me to do, now that I know? I mean, I know you're not really going to want me to go buy a gay pride shirt or anything like that, but just...I don't know. Anything you want me to do differently?" Like go tell Josh or Riley or Ben? "Please, I really just want to be able to help you. You have to learn to let people in, you know. You don't want to be alone forever." She let a wet mist come over her eyes. "I don't want you to be alone forever." I really want to see you set up on a date living happily ever after with a bunch of little kids, because I think it would be really cute.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt felt a little shitty.

Certainly, he felt he was definitely within his rights to withhold that kind of information from whomever he chose, because that information was private, and nobody’s business but his own. But the fact remained that Leila felt a little betrayed by this, and there was an aspect of trust that Cobalt hadn’t been ready to give her, and that was hardly fair. This came with the realization that he’d never really told Leila anything and had never asked for any information in return. Their relationship was far more friendly and chaotic to be simply business partners, and he’d thought of her as a part of his frayed surrogate family. But what kind of family didn’t trust each other?

And yet he still balked at telling her much. She was clearly searching, too. Oh, he was certain she cared about him, and that was nice, but the reason why he’d hired her in the first place, the thing he saw in her (aside from her smartassed nerve) was her inquisitiveness. She, like him, wanted to know. Everything. He was her boss, her business partner, and her friend, but Cobalt knew he was also a mystery to her. And mysteries drove Leila crazy. Which was funny, because sometimes, Leila drove Cobalt up the wall.

He didn’t think she realized how much she was asking of him.

Cobalt huffed a wry chuckle at her question. “I didn’t tell people because for a rather… long time, I really wished it wasn’t true. You remember what I told Josh? I was raised in a Catholic orphanage. In the ‘70’s. I grew up thinking that what I felt was a curse from the devil. Now,” Cobalt hastened to clarify, “Obviously, I don’t believe that anymore. And I’m not sure, but I don’t even know if that’s the official Christian viewpoint anymore. And I don’t much care either way, I’m not religious anymore. Basically.” He was still fuzzy about how he felt about his faith and he was in no mood to talk about his orientation and his religious issues all at once. It was too much for him. “Anyways, that’s not the—The short answer to your question is I didn’t tell anyone because it was no one’s business but my own and since nobody ever asked, I didn’t seem all that inclined to share.” He concluded a little gruffly. He wasn’t going to snap at her, not yet, anyways, but he was getting uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. “And I don’t talk about older friends because I don’t have any. I have one friend from my stay at Hammel. One. And god only knows why she puts up with me anyways.”

At Leila’s second question, Cobalt jerked upright, spilling his coffee a little bit over his hand. Fear rushed over him. This was what he’d been afraid of all along. This was why he never told anyone anything and kept his past and his secrets close to him because this is what happens when you try to trust someone and then—

“No, there isn’t.” Cobalt snapped, “Why would you want to do anything different? What makes me any different than I was yesterday, Leila? See, this—this is why I don’t tell people things, Leila.” He set the coffee down abruptly and glared at her, “This is why I don’t tell people I’m an orphan, or that I didn’t have any friends in school or that I’m—I’m gay. Because people look at you differentl, and they treat you differently. What on earth would I want to change about how we work anyways? What would change?” He slumped his shoulders, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why would you ask that?” He didn’t like how helpless he sounded, but really. What did Leila want to change? Nothing should be different. Nothing was different. He might be overreacting, but he felt a little betrayed.

[Leila Gold]

After calmly listening to her partner's entire tirade, Leila looked carefully at Cobalt. "I didn't realize it was that big a deal, Blue. If you don't want anything to change, then I promise, it doesn't have to." Then she took another drink of her coffee and stared down at her mug. "But you know, change doesn't always have to be bad. It's just that I thought you might want to talk about things. Like, if you knew about my cousin and his heart surgery last year, we might change our normal behavior and you might eventually ask about him and how he's doing. Fine, by the way. And if you knew about how my mother's birthday is coming up next month, you might help me come up with a good present for her. And if I knew that you had a really good friend in town, we could invite her over to have lunch with us in the office sometimes and have a nice chat. But, if you insist, we don't have to change anything."

She looked back up at him, this time with her eyes gone steely as she tried to drive her point home.

"And, for the record, the reason why your friends put up with you is because sometimes, when you're not being completely self-deprecating and blowing crap out of both ends, you're a really great person to be around. I know you don't see it all the time, but if you'd ever just man up and get some self-confidence, you might find out that you're a really great person, and that's why you have all these friends. That's your only real problem, you know." By this point Leila was struggling to hold back tears, because she didn't understand why it was so hard for someone who was as good as Cobalt to realize what everyone else could already see. "Your problem is that you don't realize how great you are, and until you manage to accept that, you're never going to be truly happy."

Leila stared at Cobalt, not smiling, just trying to keep herself from crying in front of him, because he didn't deserve that. "And that's not fair to us now, is it? To all your friends, who just want you to be happy? There's a reason I came to work for you. Admittedly, I came to work for you because I figured you wouldn't turn me away. But I stayed because I knew you were the kind of person I wanted to be around. You were the kind of person...you...you..." She sighed, at a loss for words. "The way you treat others, and the way that you help everyone around you. That's the way I want to be. And that's why I stay, and why I keep working here. Because you know it's impossible to save the world. But you never stop trying, and that makes you remarkable."

She stood and turned. "I just wish you'd see it, too, Blue." Then she went to the door and grabbed her coat off the hook. "I'm going on a short walk. I'll be back in a few minutes." Then she smirked. "Don't kill yourself while I'm gone." And she left.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt stared, wide-eyed at Leila’s speech, not really knowing what the hell he was supposed to do. He had completely miscalculated the situation, overreacted and worse: he’d made Leila cry. Well. Almost cry. Either way, he felt like the worst person in the world and he didn’t know what to do about it. He sat at his desk and stared at his hands. At this point, he had two choices: he could sit here, go about his business, and wait until Leila came back. By then, she’ll have cooled off and either she’ll ask him to talk about things again or, more likely, she’ll shake her head disappointedly, say something smartassed, and continue on her day. This whole thing could pass on with an unspoken agreement to let it remain unspoken. And that would certainly be the easiest choice, less disruptive of their status quo. And that was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Nothing changes, they go on with their lives, everything stays the same.

But.

While he didn’t believe everything she said to him before she left (he was fine in the self-confidence level and he wasn’t a great person; he was a petty, cranky, irritating old man. He’d created a comfortable self-image, and he wasn’t prepared to change it now), he certainly got the message: he was hurting people by not trusting them. More specifically, he was hurting Leila. He’d never intended to do that. And what the hell was the point of having a friendship if you weren’t going to keep up your end of the deal? Sighing, Cobalt pushed himself out of the chair, grabbed his coat from the back, and left the office.

She hadn’t gone very far, and after a few moments, he caught up with her. They walked down the sidewalk in silence for a little while before Cobalt, all nerves and hands in his pockets, finally spoke. “I…lived in a children’s home in New Jersey until I was eleven. St. Ives. I was happy there, as far as I can remember.” He smiled briefly before continuing. “I… my power, as you can imagine, didn’t exactly manifest itself. People just thought I was weird. It was a blood test that got me. Sometimes, I think it would be better if I’d had a power that manifested itself dramatically, you know?” He kicked a pebble out of his way, staring at the ground, “That way I would have realized that I needed this training.” But, you know me, I’ve never done well with change and suddenly at eleven years old, I was being asked to pick up everything and leave? I was scared shitless, I was angry at the fact that my choices were being taken away from me and I was upset because…” He finally looked over at Leila with a sad, wry smile and a shrug, “Who would wanna adopt a kid who was going to be at a boarding school all year?”

Cobalt looked back down at his feet. “So twice a year, every year, I would try to break out. Usually at night, since my power works better then. Got pretty far a couple of times too, so there you go.” He paused, sighing. “I was probably an angrier, more petty, more cruel person then. But as you can imagine, I didn’t have a single friend or person who could stand to be around me ‘til I was almost seventeen years old.” He looked up at her again, “The woman you saw me with at the party, her name’s Elaine Tonaya. She runs the flower shop down the way,” He gestured vaguely down the road, “She is the one person who saw me at my very worst, and still trusted me.” He shrugged, “That was a lifesaver then. She’s like my sister. I’m telling you this—and I’m gonna admit, it was kinda hard getting it all out there—because I trust you, Leila. And you’re right. Change isn’t all bad. And I could do with being more open about things. It’s not such a big deal.”

[Leila Gold]

Leila was shuffling down the sidewalk with her head down when she heard quick footsteps behind her. She turned to see Cobalt run up beside her. She nodded at him, then continued walking. It was up to him to continue the conversation, if he wanted to.

When he did start speaking, Leila listened in silent astonishment as he finally began to open up to her. Though she didn't exactly believe that he could have been happy in a children's home, and in Jersey of all places, she chalked it up to his dislike of a change of pace. Hadn't she just listened to how little he liked to have things change, and wouldn't that mean that having to move out of a new place would bother him? Especially if he didn't have a choice in the matter.

And then he proceeded to rant about his dislike of change. Again. But she figured it was fair. She did have one interjection to make, though.

"Trust me, Blue. A dramatic manifest of power is not all it's cracked up to be," she murmured. "And the big powers aren't necessarily any better than the smaller ones, just like no meta is better than someone without powers."

Then the comment about him running away. Leila smirked a little as she imagined her boss as a cranky teenager, always doing his best to get out of school. What drove the smile off her face was the comment about his lack of friends. She almost hugged him at that moment, but she decided it probably wouldn't make him feel any better, so she didn't. She did make a mental note of the name "Elaine Tonaya," planning on saving that information for a special occasion. The name "Tonaya" was interesting, as Leila remembered a kid with that last name in school. Morgan Tonaya--she'd even dated him for a short while. Maybe Cobalt knew about him. She'd have to ask later.

"She saw you at your worst, huh? I'll have to talk to her then, pull up some juicy stories about you." She chuckled. "Just kidding, Blue. If she's your friend, she'll probably have nothing but good things to say about you. Aside from the occasional bout of immaturity."

As they turned the corner again, rounding the second half of the block, Leila smiled at her partner. "I really appreciate you being able to trust me like this. I know it was hard for you, but I think it may have been a good thing. And I promise, if you don't want me to talk about it a lot, I won't. With the new plan to be more open, though, I will expect many more stories about the good old days with your friend Elaine. And pictures. Lots of pictures."

She shivered as the wind blew back in her face, then continued walking at a slightly faster pace. "You've been really good about sharing with me, so I suppose it's high time I let you know a little about me, as well. Not like you'll care as much, but still. Fair is fair." She took a deep breath.

"I'm the only child of my two parents, who both worked. I grew up in Texas, and while my parents were very busy, they still loved me very much, and we were all very close. They sent me letters every week my first year at Hammel, just to make me feel more at home. When my power first manifested, I hardly even noticed that much was happening, aside from the fact that I kept having things blow off my desk and suddenly I had a headache every day." Here she winced, as she realized there was something she should have mentioned a while ago.

"I started taking painkillers when I was about fifteen, and they helped so much that I never really stopped wanting to use them. The only time I can stand to go without painkillers for a long period of time is when I'm working on my paintings. But it was at Hammel when I realized how much I enjoyed history, namely the legal aspect. So in college I started on my pre-law degree and then went on to get my master's. My parents have been a great help to me during all of this, and they are glad that I have found a good job that's helping me to become more independent."

There was one last thing she should probably mention. "I know you just recently had your birthday, so I got you something." They had rounded the block, and now they were back in front of the office. Leila opened the door and stepped inside. Then she turned and raised her eyebrow at Cobalt. "Really, Blue? You couldn't lock the door when neither of us are in? One of these days we're going to be robbed, and I'm going to blame you. Anyway. Your present is back at your house. I hope you like it."

[Cobalt Weaver]

Leila was quiet as he said his piece, and for that, Cobalt was intensely grateful. It was surprisingly hard, this exercise of trust, and while he knew that Leila was one of the most trustworthy people in the world, it was still strange, talking freely about these things. And if he stopped, he wouldn’t start up again. He was still leaving things out, of course, but he decided that there were things that could remain unsaid. Mostly because they were still kind of painful, and if Cobalt was going to be perfectly honest with himself, he wasn’t sure what saying those things out loud would do to him. Hopefully nothing, but he couldn’t be sure, and didn’t want to test it.

Cobalt huffed out a laugh at her comment about powers. “Oh, I’m sure. And, you know, on a usual basis, I actually like my power.” He smirked a little, “But I have to say, four-odd years of power training and I didn’t really learn all that much. Finer detail control, but nothing I couldn’t already do.” He shrugged, “But that’s mostly a reflection of the nature of my ability rather than the instructors, I think.”

Cobalt genuinely laughed at Leila’s curiosity about Elaine. “Oh god. You two are never allowed to talk. Ever. You both will get along far too well and it will just be terrible. I’ll get picked on.” He grinned, “But I am certain she has stories that you would find hilarious.” And it was true. Cobalt had been an awkward teenager, and Elaine had been part of it. “Heh. If you want pictures, you’re out of luck on my end. I have pictures of them, if you want, but I don’t have any of the three of us.” Which also wasn’t entirely true; he had one picture of the three of them taken by one of Elaine’s friends, but it was silly looking and involved him and Morgan passed out on a couch with Elaine making a ridiculous face. That and it was at home, so it would be useless to his nosy intern anyways. “But I’ll work on being more open. It’s shouldn’t be that big a deal. But you’re gonna have to ask. I’m not just gonna throw stuff about me out there without prompting, you know.” He reached over and ruffled her hair, minor revenge for his previous disconcertion.

And then Leila began to tell him about herself. Some of it he already knew: like how she was from Texas and how her paintings helped her with headaches. He didn’t know that she was an only child and the manner in which her powers manifested. Cobalt nudged her shoulder gently with his own, “Thanks, Leila. It means a lot that you’re willing to share this stuff with me. And don’t be stupid, of course I care. You’re a friend.” He frowned a little then, looking concerned, “And don’t think that this is the only thing I picked up from that, but I didn’t realize you’ve been taking those painkillers regularly since you were fifteen. I don’t know if that’s healthy.” He tried not to sound reprimanding, since Leila was a grown woman and could take care of herself, but Cobalt knew how regularly she took those. It couldn’t be safe.

At her mention of his birthday, Cobalt stopped short. “Wh—You… how did you find out when my birthday was?” His birthday was January 3rd, but he’d never told anyone, and since Leila hadn’t actually said anything on the actual day, he figured her was safe. At the mention of a present, Cobalt groaned, “Leila… I don’t want presents. If I wanted presents, I would have told people it was my birthday. Brat.” He added, giving her an amusedly exasperated look. He ignored her question about the door (frankly, he’d just forgotten, which was weird for him) to focus on a more surprising piece of information. “You…got into my house. Of course you did. I should just give you a spare key. You didn’t kick the door down, did you? At least tell me you stole one of my keys or picked the lock or something.” He has a clear and sudden image of his door in pieces and felt a headache coming on.

[Leila Gold]

"If she has hilarious stories, please believe I will do my utmost to find her and discover your past escapades. I also want any pictures you can find, and I am sure we can dig up some picture of you as well. It just might take some doing." Or some digging, she said inwardly. It's probably at his apartment.

"Fine, I hereby promise to dig into your life and ask personal questions about you. I am sure it will be a great challenge for me." She tried to go light on the sarcasm, but really? Really? Did he think it was going to be hard for her to try to get him to open up more? And if she could get him some good friends, too, that would surely help as well.

"If you ever want more information, just ask," she said cheerfully, trying to brush off the comment about the painkillers. "I'm also doing quite well, thank you, the doctor just ran some tests for me and I'm still alive and kicking." Just a little weaker than normal, thank you very much. "Just like Red back home." Last she'd heard, her little pony was not very pleased with some of the groomers. She'd need to swing by again and pay him a visit. Maybe now she was up here in the country she could have him shipped up so she could ride again.

"Don't be stupid, Blue. Your birthdate is listed on your personal record that you keep in that locked filing cabinet behind your desk." She grinned. "I would've gotten you some cake or something for your birthday, but then the surprise would have been ruined, and your present was a little slow in arriving." She went to her desk, since they were back at the office, and pulled out a card with a dog sitting in a giant armchair and a stupid saying on the inside. "Here you go. The only card with an armchair on it. Though I had to go to the Get Well section to find it..."

She laughed at his worried expression. "Don't worry, Blue. I would never be so silly or unconcerned about burglary to leave a large, gaping hole where you would normally find a door." She gave him a serious glare for a moment, then laughed again. "I stole one of your keys ages ago and had a copy made for myself. Just for emergencies, you know." This was actually a lie, but she'd rather he didn't know that she was so skilled at lock-picking. She'd just have to get herself a key to his house as soon as possible to make her story more legitimate.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt laughed and made a face; he had absolutely no doubt in his mind that if the two women got it into their heads, nothing of his would be safe from their well-meaning inspection. And Elaine most definitely had pictures. “Well, good luck with that. For all the good it’ll do, I absolutely refuse to tell you where she lives or works.” Like that would stop her. “Actually, though, she has some pictures that she’s kept for me that I’ve been meaning to pick up. I’ll put up the good ones.”

At her sarcastic rebuttal, Cobalt laughed, “You have clearly been working here for far too long. You’ve got way too much sass.” Like she ever wasn’t completely sassy to him. She had the same amount of sarcasm she’d always had. “But remember that I reserve the right to not answer any questions as too personal. But I’ll be sure to explain why. Or something.” He shrugged a little helplessly. Just because he’d agreed to make these changes didn’t necessarily mean that he was going to completely sacrifice his comfort levels. Leila would understand.

“I’m glad.” Cobalt responded to Leila’s explanation, even if he didn’t quite believe it. She was getting sick far more often than she had in the past and always looked a little pale lately. But if it were really a problem, she’d take care of it. She was a grown woman; Cobalt just needed to keep reminding himself that.

Cobalt elbowed Leila at the revelation that she’d broken into his filing cabinets. “You are a brat,” He informed her, “You didn’t have to get me anything, dummy. Again: if I wanted something, I would have been more forthcoming about my birthday. You never listen.” He took the card, frowning slightly, “…Why did it need to have an armchair on it…?” He opened it and raised an eyebrow, “Get well soon, you lazy bum. There’s lots of work for me to do, and I’d rather it was all for you? Really?” He laughed, pocketing the card, “You’re insane. But thanks.”

-

That evening, he opened his door to find an armchair sitting in the middle of his living room with a sticky note pressed to the back. All the sticky note had was a smiley face and an “L”. Blinking in shock, he pulled out his phone and dialed.

“No, I will not take it.” Cobalt announced once Leila picked up on the other line “…I don’t care if you got it cheap, it’s too—I don’t need—Leila, I’m not… I know, you wouldn’t do something like this unless you could afford it, but still. Wait… how the hell can you—Musta been one hell of a deal, Leila. …Well, I don’t know how much to believe you.” Finally, he sighed, “Okay, okay. Thanks. Yeah. See you tomorrow. Thank you. Bye.” He eyed the armchair suspiciously before walking over, tugging a book down from one of the shelves, sitting down and pulling his knees up against the arm of the chair and opening the book. Leila clearly knew him too well.

[ooc: closed for Cobalt <3]