Then Came You { a pedro pascal fanfiction }

Chapter Ten

"Okay," I whispered, my voice breaking, "I'm right here. It's okay."

It was quiet for a moment, besides Lucy's labored breathing and my pathetic sniffling as I tried to keep myself from fully breaking down.

"You-- if-- if someone asked me to draw a picture of safe, what safe looks like to me... it-- it would look like you." She whispered, so sweetly, so softly against my chest.

And that was all it took, for the seal to break and for tears to start rapidly tracking their way down my cheeks.

"I'm really scared all the time," her breathing shook as she clutched my shirt tighter in her hand, "I'm so scared, but I'm never scared with you."

I moved one of my arms from around her just to roughly wipe my cheeks with the heel of my hand.

We had gone too far, surely this had gone too far. But how, how could I be expected to pull away now...?

Lucy breathed in deeply, trembling as she did. I didn't know what to say, how was I expected to respond to that? Tell her that she had rapidly become the one thing I cared about most? Tell her that I hadn't had a home in twenty-one years, but she felt like home the first time I laid eyes on her? Tell her that I was entirely, all-consumingly, ridiculously in love with her, but I couldn't get myself to do anything about it?

She pushed herself off of my chest, scooting a bit further down the couch and wrapping her arms around herself.

I hated myself in that moment, truly, vehemently, for not immediately pulling her back to me and assuring her that I felt the exact same way she did, tenfold.

"Could-- um, could you come with me to my apartment, and just-- just check? And also-- I need-- I need to throw away my bedding." She said, staring blankly across the room.

You're a piece of shit, Pedro. Tell her she doesn't need to go back there. Tell her she can stay with you. Tell her you fucking love her.

"Yeah."

"Thanks." She whispered, biting down hard on her bottom lip.

I just stared at her, trembling slightly as she wiped her eyes with her fists.

"Do-- do you want some coffee?" I asked, the inquiry felt banal and futile considering the circumstance, only more so when she lightly shook her head.

So, I just continued to sit there and stare at her, my sweet girl, while she rubbed her arm, attempting to comfort herself while I fought the instinctive urge to pull her to my chest and never let go.

She stood up suddenly, and I rose to my feet simultaneously, like we were tied together with string.

"Should just-- just get it over with." She muttered, swallowing hard.

"Okay." I breathed out, letting her walk past me, my hands in shaky fists at my sides so I wouldn't touch her and further complicate the war waging away in my head.

She walked next to me down the hall, at my side, seeming smaller, even, than her pocket-sized frame normally appeared.

When we reached her door, I stepped in front of her, gesturing with my hand that she stay back for a moment while I opened it.

It was quiet in her apartment, nothing seemed out of place, but it felt cold, dark... so unlike the light, airy feeling it normally held.

I motioned for her to follow me, and she did, reluctantly shuffling her way back to my side as we cleared the hallway and entered her bedroom.