2019-09-29 - Walk Before The Rain

It's early evening. The rain hasn't quite started yet, but it does occasionally drizzle. Declan wears a light coat to keep the cold from soaking right into his bones, and he carries an umbrella in his free hand. He doesn't look quite as tired as he has in days past. Next to him is Dahlia. They're about two blocks from his house, and they're closing in on the beach.

Walking in silence for awhile, he reaches for her hand and quietly twines his fingers in hers. His gaze moves over the street, then turns skyward to watch the rainclouds off in the distance. "Pretty sure that's headed our way."

Dahlia is feeling a little better today than she has. The withdrawal was kicking her ass something awful but she was powering through it with the help Declan and Justin. Even with the drizzling weather, she was happy to be outside - happy to have some fresh air and not just be laying in bed. She looked down a bit when Declan to her hand and gave a light squeeze before looking up where he was. "Looks like it. Did you ever do that as a kid? Go out and just play in the rain when it was heavy rain?" Those green eyes travel back over to him. She's wearing a thin, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Oh yeah," Declan says with a few nods. He glances down at her, smiles, and adds, "Way of life out there. Mom would kick us out when I was just a little kid. We'd run around outside, get wet, come back in and dad would wrap us up in a towel. Growled like a bear the whole time." Declan turns back, grinning at the memory. "What about you guys? I'm picturing your brothers getting soaked with mud, and you chasing after them."

Dahlia chuckled at that mental image. "Yeah, all the time. They'd be running around the trailer park with me hot on their heels. Or playing out in the little kiddie pool we had while mom kept an eye on us between watching her Soaps." She shook her head a bit. "Sometimes those memories feel like they happened to someone else. But, they were good times. Happy ones. My dad ditched us when I was pretty young so I honestly don't remember anything about him. But mom always tried to make sure we were taken care of."

Declan continues to smile, trying to picture it in his mind. He's not a very visual person, but he does close his eyes, at least for a moment. "Maybe you'll meet him one day." He takes a deep breath, tries not to let old memories drag him down, and adds, "I bet your brothers were a handful. Probably rubbed off on you." After bumping her shoulder, Declan smirks and adds, "I'd say they probably taught you most of what you know, but. I think someone else earns that credit."

"Maybe." Dahlia grinned a touch when he said her brothers were a handful. "Of course they were. Wild childs, all of them. I definitely fell in suit. Always wanted to hang out with them but of course, as they got older they didn't want me hanging around as much." She mused and gave him a little nudge back. "Yeah and who's that?" She quirked a brow. "They did teach me a lot. Between them and mom I think I turned out okay." Current situation not included.

"I bet. And yeah, seems that way with most siblings." He and his sister were the same. Probably for the best. "Hopefully they still looked out for you, though. Kept the worst of the boys off." He tries not to laugh after the quirk of her eyebrow. "I was thinking Justin's mom. Chasing after a dream, plus she sounds..." Declan searches for the right words, "kind of wild? Maybe I have that dead wrong." He shakes his head, still smiling. "Don't cut yourself short. You turned out better than okay." Declan looks down at her. "Way, way better than okay."

"Oh yeah. Thinking back, I think they mighta been caught up with....well, the same people I am. Or similar. And they wanted to keep me from that." Dahlia mused. "Justin's mom? I mean, she's nice and all I guess but I can't say I know her very well. I've gotten some acting tips and stuff from her over the years but-"Dahlia shrugged and laughed. "I dunno if wild is a good word for her. But maybe that's just cause she's always been 'Justin's mom' and the words wild and mom don't really go together in my head." She grinned, then leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you Declan. That means a lot."

Declan listens, taking in the bit about her brothers, and quietly shakes his head. Maybe they can talk about all that... later. "Hey, moms get wild too. But hmmmmm." He continues to watch her. "I'm not sure, then." Taking a deep breath, considering, Declan finally looks off. "Well, it's true. I really mean it. I've met... a lot of people, Dahlia." He squeezes her hand. "Pretty soon you'll be back on your feet and taking names again."

"If she happens to come up this way to visit Justin, maybe you can meet her." Dahlia offered, looking back towards the cloudy sky. "I'm starting to feel a little more normal. I think I might start resuming work on the pillows." Her head rested on his shoulder. "Thank you. For everything. For putting up with me and helping me through this."

Declan squeezes her hand again. "Sure." He walks on, quiet for awhile. "I hope you do. I'm pretty excited to see them." Declan tries to contain his love for interior decorating, but isn't able to hide a smile. "And yeah. I can tell. The other day, you could barely take ten steps without shaking or needing a hand." He shakes his head. "Don't thank me. We're going to get you through this and onto the other side. It's what anyone would do." Declan takes a deep breath. "I told you Ruiz and I talked, didn't I?"

"I hope you love them." Dahlia murmured, lifting her head. "It was awful, and I know it isn't over yet but..." She sighed and gave a wry smile. Not just anyone would do this. She knew that. He would, however, feel her get a little tense when he mentioned Ruiz. A slow inhale, and then exhale as she tried to relax again. "...No, I don't think you did." A brief glance in his direction. "What did you talk about?"

Declan wraps an arm around her, abandoning the hand, and continues on. "You're close," to it being over. "Really close, I think. Then we can figure out where to go from there." The hand on her shoulder rubs when he feels her tense. "The truth, for the most part. He knew about the drugs. Not sure how, but he wanted to know what was going on. I told him you were stressed, maybe in over your head. He told me," Declan lifts his gaze to the sky and smirks, "that he didn't want conjectures. He asked why you were with me. That was kind of a hard one." Declan looks down. "I told him I think it's because you know Justin and I can help pull you out of this. I'm not sure how well that sat with him. I think he wants to help, but I asked him not to try until you were over the worst of it."

"I hope so." To being over it. Dahlia was quiet as she listened to the rest of what Declan had to say. Drawing in another breath, "I texted him. That night I came clean to you. I told him I wan't going to be around at the Cabaret if he was planning to bring Sutton for those body shots." She ran a hand through his hair lightly. "He wanted to know what was going on and...so I told him I was kicking an addiction problem but I had support. He wanted to help. I know he did...but I told him. That I didn't want to see him, because it hurt to see him. And I didn't think him being involved would help me get better." She finally properly looked up at Declan. "Javier and I are a lot of things...but healthy for each other is not one of them." Dahlia sighed and settled in against him again, letting her arm wrap around his waist. "Can we have macaroni and cheese tonight?"

"Yeah, I figured most of that out." Declan shrugs. "It's okay, Dahlia. I've told you before, a lot of people have issues with an ex. Once you're back on your feet, once you're up to seeing him, you should." He nods a few times. "But yeah, I don't think he's good to have around right now, either." Declan begins to say more but stops. Instead, she smiles. "I told him I'd let you know he asked, though. He still cares about you." Walking on, he nods. "Yeah, of course. Like the Kraft kind or one with real cheese?"

"I might. It never ends well when I do, so yeah." Dahlia shrugged and gave a touch of a smile. "I know he does." Even if the man had an odd way of showing it. "I'm...glad you talked to him. I think maybe that was a good thing." Then it was back to thinking about dinner. "Real cheese. If it's not too much. If simpler is better then you can't go wrong with Kraft."

"One of these days, it's going to end well," Declan replies with a shrug. "You'll settle into whatever life wants you two to be. It'll happen." He gives her arm another squeeze. "Yeah, me too. I think he needed it - to see that you were going to be okay. That I'm not a controlling dick. I don't know. But I think he realized something, and that he was mostly okay with it. Otherwise, I'd have a couple of bruises, I'm sure." He smiles. "Real cheese is good. I have cheddar and provolone, I think. And whole milk." Talk about calories.

"I'm sure it will. Just, hard to picture." Dahlia admitted and then smiled a little again. "More than a couple probably." She agreed. "But I'm glad he realized or saw whatever it is that he did." She agreed, gaze drifting over as they came up to the beach now, so she could look out over the ocean. "Sounds perfect." As far as the cheese and milk went. Calories were good! She stopped walking, just taking in the bit of scenery. "It's so easy to get all caught up in this town you know? But - I like things like this." Motioning towards the ocean. "Reminds me that there's a whole world out there even if I'll never see it."

"I know it is," Declan replies with a sigh. He thinks back to one of his - some man or woman who broke his heart in half. Half a dozen texts later, he probably still wasn't over it. Those things take, "Time. You just need time, and you'll see. It'll work out." Declan looks out over the waves. "Yeah, it's easy to get drug down." He smiles. "Who knows? Maybe you will." Declan shrugs. "Maybe... I'll go into that debt with you. We'll bail each other out." Declan keeps looking at the waves. "Then flip this place the finger, take out a loan, and buy cheap tickets to Somewhere Else." He continues to smile at the thought.

"Time heals all wounds. That's how the saying goes, right?" Her head tilted so she could look back to Declan, considering him for a longer moment. Whatever might be running through her mind, instead she settled on - "The idea of hitching a place to Somewhere Else with you sounds pretty great." Smiling at him and giving him another kiss on the cheek. She lingered beside him, watching the waves and the horizon for a few more moments and then gave him a gentle nudge. "C'mon...let's head back before the rain really gets us. And you can teach me how to make the real mac and cheese."

"Yep." Declan continues to smile, especially after the peck on his cheek. "It does. And," he kisses her back, "it can happen." After, he turns and begins to walk back towards his place. "Sure. Secret ingredient? Milk. Maybe that's not secret. Also, butter." About halfway to the house, the rain hits. He pops the umbrella open for them, covering both, as they walk on.

When they eventually make it back, mac and cheese is made.