Morrigan turned off her phone, leaned her head back against the cool wall. Eventually, she forced herself to her feet, setting her phone on the table and opening one of her kitchen drawers. Pulling out a knife, she sat down in a chair, braced it against her skin.
But a loud ding interrupted her. She glanced towards her phone, setting the knife down and reading the message. It was both what she'd hoped for, and what she'd feared.
No, it wasn't your fault, it was well-meant. If you'd still like to, after my mistake, then I'd be up for meeting again as well.
Sent. There was no going back now.
Lucian heard the ding and picked up his phone again. I’d love to try again. We can go somewhere more casual. Get coffee one day, maybe?, he sent to Morrigan.
He shifted to get more comfortable on his bed. He tugged down his tshirt that had been riding up a bit. This was fine. It was getting better with Morrigan.
Sounds good. Which it didn't, but at least it was better than a formal dinner. Morrigan bit her lip, contemplating what to say next. See you tomorrow, then?
Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. After sending that, Lucian put His phone aside. He got uup out of bed and went into his bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed.
Sensing that the conversation was over, Morrigan set her phone down on the table and lay her head in her hands. She stayed there for a long time, misery etched into her features, until she finally stirred and took the knife back into her hands.
After brushing Lucian’s teeth and such, he went back into his bedroom. He sat down, checking his phone briefly before setting it aside. What was there to do now?
(We should skip to when they meet for coffee)
(Sure, around late afternoon? Do you want to start or should I?)
(That works for me. And could you? I’m trying to do something atm so my replies will be slow)
(Yeah sure)
Morrigan pushed the door of the coffee shop open, the tinkle of the small bell drawing her sharply back to the present. Just breathe, she told herself firmly, No repeats of yesterday. Pretend you’re okay. Don’t push him away. It’s not that hard.
Lucian was standing in line at the moment. He had his wallet in his hand as he waited, looking up at the menu of drinks.
Morrigan's stomach twisted as she approached him carefully, stopping behind him to tap on his shoulder. "Hey, there."
Lucian looked over his shoulder at the tap, a smile coming to his lips. “Hey. How did you sleep last night?” He asked. Are you still upset?
She'd made sure to cover the heavy dark circles under her eyes with concealer before she left, but that was the only makeup she had on, save for a touch of lip balm. Her face was unusually exposed, the majority of her scars there for the world to see– After last night, she needed a touch of honesty in her life. "To be honest, not that great," she admitted, shame flickering in her eyes at the memory of how awful she'd acted last night. "But that's not unusual. How about you?"
Lucan’s smile had wavered at her answer, but when he glanced down and noticed some of her scars, a sadness in his eyes for a brief moment. Should he say something? No, they were in public. It wouldn’t be best. “I’m sorry to here. I didn’t sleep too well either,” he said, forcing his eyes away from the scars and back to her face.
Morrigan's palms had begun to sweat, but in truth, the honesty of it all was refreshing. Or at least, it would be if she wasn't currently suppressing a monstrous amount of anxiety. "I'm sorry if I was the cause of that," she said quietly, eyes flickering away.
Lucian shook his head at that. “Don’t be, it wasn’t your fault. I’ve had sleeping problems for a while. It’s because of something that happened a while. No worry,” he explained, glancing away as he caught his lower lip between his teeth. When should he tell Morrigan about Summer?
Morrigan pushed a hand into her unruly head of hair, scratching at the nape of her neck. "And.. I know I sent a text- But I figured it would be impolite of me not to apologize to you in person for what happened last night." She was surprised at how smooth her sentence ended up, with almost no stammering or awkward pausing between words. That's a first..
Lucian gave a nod in response. “I understand. But really, I understand. As a doctor, I really do. It was a natural reaction to something that triggers you without your meds,” he said.
I.. shit. I should probably explain that part to him too. Try as she might, Morrigan could not scrub her conscience free of yet another lie she'd told him, and in an attempt to get rid of it, she opened up the tiniest bit more. "That you for- for your understanding– but I never had meds in the first place. I sort of… panicked, didn't know what to say– and that came out. I'm sorry."
Lucian’s brows raised at that. “Oh, I see,” he said with a slow nod. Why would Morrigan lie? And if that wasn’t something caused by basic anxiety, then what? “That’s alright.”
"I– I'm not proud of it." She bit her tongue, inhaling. "I just.. panicked. Anxiety meds would be nice, though."
Lucian nodded his head. “If you need it, I can always write a perscription,” he said with a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.
An instinctual distrust rose to the forefront of her mind, but she was careful not to let it show as she mirrored his tiny chuckle. "It's fine. How was- How was your day?"
“It’s been fine so far. I had a class so I haven’t done much besides that. And you?” Lucian asked. He shifted his tshirt a bit as he stood there.
Morrigan was suddenly very glad she hadn’t dressed up— it was sort of nice, to just.. dress down. Relax. “It’s been uneventful until now. Pretty good.”
“Good to hear,” Lucian hummed. After a minute it was their turn to order. He paid for both of their drinks and went to sit down with her afterwards.
Morrigan pulled out her wallet, pulling out a few bills and handing them to him. “Here— I should probably pay you.”
Lucian shook his head at that. “No, it’s alright. It’s just coffee, you don’t need to pay me,” he hummed.
