Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hexiciah felt a strange sense of nostalgia, and wrongness, staring at Nora’s home, 100 years removed from the last time he’d been awake, and holding Robecca, who was still asleep, like an infant. Along with himself and Robecca, in their company was Nora, who had offered them a place to stay, her ward, a yeti who had been introduced to Hexiciah as Abbey, and Abbey’s boyfriend, Heath, who seemed to be some sort of fire elemental, and a boy made up of fabric by the name of Hoodude, he had lifted Robecca clear of the floor upon seeing her, calling her his sister. Hexiciah had been told that Nora had taken in Abbey, Robecca, and Hoodude. Though Abbey was only temporarily living with them. 

Nora plucked a gold key from her coat pocket while Nightmare took off into a sprint towards her barn. The key clicked and creaked as Nora twisted it and then pushed the door open, holding it to allow everyone to pass. 

Robecca’s eyes fluttered and Hexiciah had to adjust his grip as she stretched. 

“Dad?” Robecca whispered. 

Hexiciah lowered her onto a couch which he remembered from when he’d last been at Nora’s house, then he quickly kissed her on the forehead, “good morning, poppet.”

Abbey reached over and tapped Robecca on the shoulder as she began to move and wake even as Heath peered over Abbey’s shoulder to speak to her.

“Hey Robecca! Do you want to play d&d? Abbey said she’d play and it’s more fun with 4 players.”

“Do I have to know how to play?” Robecca asked, yawning.

“Nah, I’ll teach you and Abbey! You should be an artificer!” 

“Good, you can help me win dungeons and dragons, I would like another girl to play,” Abbey said, grabbing Robecca by the shoulder and pulling her back to her feet from which Hoodude helped her stand properly, “Bloodgood, we will go, Heath wants to play Dungeons and dragons.”

“Certainly,” Nora said, sprinkling something into a teapot. Heath held Abbey’s hand, pulling her up the stairs rapidly and Hoodude instantly tore off after them, practically carrying Robecca with the speed he ran.

“Dad?” Robecca asked, stopping on the first step, her head turning around, “will you be alright?”

“I’ll be just fine Robecca, you have a good time,” Hexiciah told her, waving her off. She hesitated a second longer, but allowed Hoodude to pull her up the stairs.

“Tea?”

“Sorry?” Hexiciah asked, turning around to face Nora properly.

“Would you like tea?” repeated Nora, her hand hovering over the kettle. 

“Yes please.”

“Nora, I have an inquiry, if you don’t mind it,” he asked her. Her back was turned, but her head, which was resting on the counter besides her body, was tilted enough that she could observe him. Her hands paused in their work. 

“Yes, Hexiciah?” she said, her voice even. Hexiciah nearly frowned. He was having a bit of trouble deciphering her tones. She had always been a guarded individual, even when they’d been young, but she’d always allowed him some levity. At the moment, her walls, which she protected herself with, were entirely back up. Hexiciah’s throat tightened, he coughed to clear it. He wished he’d never taken on that stupid expedition. He’d apologized to his daughter so much that she’d begun refuting his apology. In a way, he felt that he owed Nora an apology too, for she might be the second most important person in his life. He didn’t know how his absence had affected her, but he was getting the sense that she was hurt. He’d yet to catch Nora alone since he’d awoken until now. Even as they arrived at her house, her ward, Abbey, and her ward’s boyfriend Heath, had been present. As well as Robecca, but Hexiciah hardly counted her. He hadn’t particularly wanted her out of his sight, after hearing that she’d quite literally been murdered.

In any case, she had seemed… shocked, when she had first arrived in the catacombs. Hexiciah had been told that she, along with the others, had been responding to Robecca’s distress signal, and in any case, had been searching for her for the past two months she had been missing. 

“Are you in need of a mad science teacher?” he asked, examining a pen. Much different to a quill, and much more efficient. He spun it between his middle and pointer finger. 

Nora’s icy eyes widened if for only a second, then, her body grabbed her head by her hair, and placed her head back on her neck, turning her face solidly away from where Hexiciah could attempt to read it.

“I am,” she said, again, her voice plain, “are you looking for employment?”

“Only if you would have me, Nora.”

“I would very much enjoy working with you again, Hexiciah,” she said, her voice just a touch lighter, “are you sure?”

“Yes, quite.” 

At that, Hexiciah stood. Nora’s home hadn’t changed much in the last hundred years, but in some regards, even from a glance, he could tell it had.

“What’s this then?” Hexiciah asked, gesturing at a box on the table. Nora seized her head, whirling it around as she poured the tea.

“Ah, it’s a television. It picks up radio wave broadcasts as to show images on the screen.”

Hexiciah walked away.

The picture on the left gave Hexiciah pause. It was a picture of himself, Robecca, and Nora at the conclusion of one of Robecca’s SKRM games, approximately a month before he and Robecca had gone. This particular game had been at Monster High. 

He had never known what Nora had done with the photograph, she had told him that she would show him the next time they met. 

Nora poured the tea into a white tea cup, then grabbed her head, placing it back onto her shoulders, then walking around to the potrate where Hexiciah was waiting. 

“You’ve… kept…?” Hexiciah asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“I’ve kept many of your possessions intact,” she said, staring at the photo, then inclining her head slightly, “your lab was untouched.”

“Was?”

“You may blame your daughter and her friends.”

“Ah, the time teleporter?”

“You knew?”

“Yes, I time traveled to 2014 at one point, I hardly remember it now.”

“Of course you did,” she sighed as her eyes fluttered shut, “I am sorry that I missed you.”

“I feel the same. I worried about causing paradoxes. Meeting myself,” Hexiciah remembered with a sigh, “suppose that I needn’t have worried.”

Nora shook her head, as if clearing it. Then she walked away, towards the couch in front of the television, setting her tea on the table in front of her. She pulled her legs under her body. Then, once settled, she looked up to where Hexiciah stood, frozen. She smiled, but with a look in her eyes which though Hexiciah could not read, seem that she had 

“Come, sit,” Nora told him gently, “we’ve not spoken in a time. Sit with me.”

Hexiciah sat to her side, setting his own tea cup down. 

They were silent. Hexiciah had seen her less than a month ago, in his memory, but that was in 1914. She had seen him last a century prior. 

He had visited with Robecca, allowing her to play SKRM while he and Nora caught up. He vividly remembered the feeling of her hand over his as she spoke. The school had been one hundred years old that year, and she had been so pleased. Monster High was her life’s work and she had succeeded. 

He had a horrible headache. His body hurt, his bones ached, and the guilt he felt was tugging at his mind. 

Hexiciah knew Nora, he knew her well. She was a woman who didn’t make exceptions for anyone. As such, he knew, her response to losing those she cared about was to guard herself even further, to shut herself away. 

His headache worsened. 

“Nora?”

“Yes, Hexiciah?”

“You’ve… not been alone, this entire time?” he asked, near awkwardly. He didn’t want his question to be misinterpreted.

“I’ve never been completely without friends,” she said, her eyes shifting away from Hexiciah before she spoke again, “though, I’ve not courted in a century,” Nora admitted quietly, and Hexiciah knew what she meant. She meant that she hadn’t courted since they had courted. Hexiciah, despite himself, was glad. He was glad that she had not been alone. He was glad, that in a sense, he hadn’t lost Nora to the century he’d been lost himself. She guarded herself fiercely. It had taken him a while to befriend her, and even longer to allow her to trust him enough to open herself up to him even a bit.

At the time, Nora could have easily been fired for romantic entanglements, so he and Nora had kept their relationship private. Even Robecca had no idea, though she did know that Nora was a close family friend. They had stayed with her frequently.

“Could I touch you?” Hexiciah muttered, before winching, with their past, that might have been the wrong thing to say. Nora froze, but she nodded. 

Hexiciah reached out a hand to place on her shoulder. She sighed, leaning slowly closer. 

She leaned further so that she was nearly hovering above him. He was taller than she, but she was sitting on her knees, so as to make herself eye level. 

“I’ve missed you,” she said, finally, reaching forward, closing the gap and wrapping her arms around Hexiciah’s neck.

“Nora, I am so sorry,” he whispered, near tears, from the stress and horror of the day. He wrapped his own arm around her back, leaving the metal one at his side, as he knew that it wasn’t the most comfortable, (Robecca didn’t mind, but being metal herself, he was sure, that should she have been born and not created, she wouldn’t have enjoyed the feeling of copper digging into her skin). She was cold, but she’d always been cold so Hexiciah didn’t mind it. Didn’t mind her weight on leaning on his chest, didn’t mind holding her and being held back. He buried his face in her shoulder and sighed, just a bit of tension leaving his mind. 

Shock and terror and every emotion which accompanied those, 

Yesterday, he’d been on a expedition to pass the time while waiting for his daughter, and potentially learn more about the builders. Now? Today, it had been a hundred years, and his daughter had spent a good portion of those years dead. 

He was glad, however, that his daughter was safe and asleep, and the woman that he loved was still here. 

He used his arm around Nora to readjust her, pulling her even closer. Her knees dug into the skin on his legs, but he hardly paid that any mind. Nora clearly did. She pulled back, just a bit. Readjusting her legs so she was cross legged. And to Hexiciah’s surprise, sitting on his lap. She smiled, leaving one hand on Hexiciah’s shoulder, she used the other to wipe the back of her eyes. 

Hexiciah, who steadied her with his hand on her waist, used his metallic arm to reach into his front pocket. The metal scraped at his chest as he blindly searched. He tugged a handkerchief free, knocking his reading glasses free as well. They fell onto the seat beside them but Hexiciah, who didn’t immediately need the glasses, let them be. 

“Here you are, dear,” he managed, his voice rough from emotion. He cleared his throat. 

“Thank you, Hexiciah,” she choked out, dabbing at her eyes. She swiped the handkerchief over her face.

She set the handkerchief down, beside the glasses. 

He removed his remaining hand from her waist, carefully replacing it with his mechanical one. 

Hexiciah closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers. He knew, from experience, that if he pressed too hard, he might knock her head off, so he made certain to be careful. He could feel her warm breath against his lips, she was so very close to him. He opened his eyes to see hers flutter open as well. Her serious, tired, beautiful face broke into a smile. Hexiciah used his hand to tilt her head, just a bit. She allowed the motion, still smiling, though her eyes still sparkled with unshed tears. Hexiciah leaned closer, careful to mind his prosthetic which was still on her waist, not wanting to cause Nora injury. Their noses were  nearly touching at this point. He wanted to kiss her. Despite the fact that he hadn’t felt the years of separation, he still felt that he’d missed her dearly. But given that it had been over a hundred years, he hesitated.

“Could I kiss you?” he whispered to her softly, brushing his thumb under her eye. 

“Please,” she said, her chest shaking with quiet laughter.

Hexiciah pressed a gentle kiss on her cool lips, before pulling away. Nora’s expression remained unchanged, slightly upturned lips.  Hexiciah tried to keep the worry from his eyes. He felt, suddenly, that this might have been too soon. 

Nora reached behind her head, grabbing her hair with one hand and pulling a band away. Her midnight black hair fell loose slowly, uncoiling around her back and falling into her face. She released her hair, tugging a few hair clips free then, raking her fingers through and pulling her hair from her face. 

Nora reached a hand towards Hexiciah’s face, slowly, her hand hovering before brushing her fingers on the skin on Hexiciah’s cheek, then reaching around the back of his head. Dancing, theater, music, and kissing tend to have things in common, as passions do. But in regards to partners, there tends to be motifs, motions and movements that are so well practiced that they could be done in one's sleep. In regards to himself and Nora, he would allow her to make the next move. 

“Might I kiss you?” she murmured back. 

“Please,” Hexiciah sighed. 

She kissed him, slowly, sighing softly as she did. She deepened the kiss, leaning further into Hexiciah, grasping his jaw with one hand and his hair with her other. Not wanting to break the kiss, he used his mechanical hand to steady her, while using his remaining flesh hand to run his fingers through her hair. Until he felt himself beginning to lose consciousness from the lack of oxygen. Hexiciah pulled back, just a bit, just so that he could breathe. He gasped for air, less than an inch from Nora still. Nora didn’t need to breathe, and her mouth twitched while she schooled her expression into something more neutral, before, very quickly, pressing a kiss to Hexiciah’s cheek, trailing kisses along his jaw to his neck. 

Somehow, he felt even more breathless than he had when he’d not been breathing. 

Nora’s eyes brightened, while she laughed quietly, pulling herself away, seemingly deciding that she didn’t, in fact, want to suffocate Hexiciah.

Hexiciah, took a deep, chest raising breath, much to Nora’s continued amusement. 

“Oh hush, you haven’t the need to breathe,” he muttered, before responding in turn, slowly, as to allow her the ability to prevent him if she so wished. Kissing her neck along where she was able to remove it, which made her gasp. Her neck was sensitive, or at least it had been a century prior, Hexiciah could see from her reaction that hadn’t changed. He wondered…

Nora’s chest shook, she laughed, placing her hand on her neck. 

“You’re mustache,” she said with a suppressed giggle as she leaned into Hexiciah’s chest, pressing herself against his neck, “Hexiciah, please, I’m still ticklish.”

“I apologize,” Hexiciah said, kissing her cheek instead. Then backed away, to give Nora a moment to regain her footing, so to speak. Her giggles faded into a contented sigh as she stared up at Hexiciah from where she had planted herself on his shoulder. 

“I love you,” she whispered, in a voice so quiet that had Hexiciah’s ear been so close to her, he wouldn’t have heard it. 

“I love you too,” he told her earnestly. He wrapped his arm around her back in a quick motion. 

“I should…” Nora paused, her hand tightening on the fabric of Hexiciah’s vest, her eyes closing, her head turned, so that her next sentence was muffled by Hexiciah’s shirt, “I should have told you that, all those years ago,” Nora took a breath she didn’t need, shaking, and to Hexiciah’s despair, her chest shook with what wasn’t laughter. He could feel her tears through his shirt, “I regretted it, every day, every night, I regretted it. I felt that I could have made you stay. I wish now, that I could have made you stay.”

“Oh Nora, I knew. I knew that you loved me, I knew that you weren’t ready, that you’d be putting yourself in danger on my account, that’s why I didn’t stay. It was never your fault but mine,” Hexiciah whispered, running his fingers through her hair, slowly, “I wish you hadn’t blamed yourself, there was nothing you could have done to prevent it.”

“I should have told you the truth.”

“And put your school in danger? Never.”

She sighed, her body relaxing. Hexiciah continued running his fingers through her hair until she pushed back, sitting up again. 

She undid the button nearest his neck, then, her eyes flickered back to Hexiciah’s face “do you want to continue?”

“Only if you want to.”

Nora nodded, then she smiled, playing with a button on his vest, “you still have your vest on.”

“So I do,” Hexiciah said, fighting a smile, “would you prefer it off?”

“Would you?” she asked, her hands stilling on the button.

“It would be more comfortable,” Hexiciah acknowledged. 

Nora laughed as she undid the button she was playing with, and Hexiciah leaned back a bit allowing her to undo the buttons until she had undone the last, and Hexiciah tugged the vest off, placing it with his glasses and handkerchief.

Once she was able, kissed the exposed skin around his collar bone, then back up his neck once more until her face was level with his own again. 

“Are you quite certain that you are a dullahan, my dear,” Hexiciah asked quietly. Nora smiled as Hexiciah, still grasping her wrist, leaned up, as she was tilted over him now, to kiss her jaw.

“Quite certain, why do you ask?” she replied, in turn, though allowing Hexiciah to still hold her wrist, pressed her hand to his neck, as if feeling his pulse in turn. 

“Would I not have known any better, I should have mistaken you for a siren, as enchanting as you are,” Hexiciah murmured, whilst she shook her head and laughed at Hexiciah’s flirtation. Hexiciah smiled back, happy to see her laugh. Hexiciah grasped her hand by her wrist which was still near his face, kissing her wrist softly where her pulse point would have been. On her wrist she had scarring, like angry claws had dug into her skin and torn the flesh away. Hexiciah paused, lifting her wrist closer to his eyes. Nora squinted, eyes flickering between Hexiciah and her wrist, before she seemed to realize what he was staring at, and sighed, tiredly.  

“Nora, what happened?” Hexiciah asked, frowning. Generally, scarring didn’t occur on monsters like Nora, should she be injured, her injury would heal quickly and without further damage. 

“Van Hellscream, dreadful man, you wouldn’t know him. The scarring is from where he grabbed me. He turned me to stone, briefly which is what caused the scarring, Frankie and Abbey saved my life.”

“Ah, he was trying to kill you?” Hexiciah asked, brushing his thumb over her scar. 

“And start a war between werewolves and vampires, I wasn’t a target, merely an obstacle,” Nora explained, “I never would have allowed it.”

“He turned you to stone?” Hexiciah asked, concerned. 

“For a day,” she shuddered, “the situation resolved itself amicably. Van Hellscream isn’t around any longer.”

“I would say that I’m glad to not have met him,” Hexiciah said, kissing the scar on her wrist once more. After he had let go, her fingers brushed his own wrist as she grasped his hand. In so far, she had been sitting on Hexiciah while he sat on the couch, but she repositioned herself, though still sitting on his lap. She kissed him, then gently pushed him back, so that he laid back on the couch, while she leaned over him. Nora kissed him again, the back of Hexiciah’s head hit the couch as she leaned into him. It was her who pulled away this time. Her head turned rapidly, as she removed one of her hands to swipe at her eyes. Hexiciah watched as she cried. He used his metallic hand to reposition her so that she was essentially laying on his chest, and used his flesh hand to hold her back, cradling her to his chest as gently as he could. 

“Nora?” he asked quietly, running his arm over her back.

“Yes, dear?” she asked. Hexiciah could tell that she was making an effort to calm down

“Why are you crying?”

“I thought you were dead, Hexiciah, I was so sure of it. I would find… bits and pieces of you around. An old shirt you’d left, some copper you’d put in a drawer, a photograph, just… memories. I was certain you were dead, I was certain Robecca was dead.”

“I’m so sorry, Nora,” Hexiciah whispered, pulling her closer to him, if that were possible. Hexiciah felt tears start in his own eyes. He felt his heart beating loudly in his ear, which gave him an idea. He took Nora’s hand, softly squeezing it as he did. Her eyes followed her own hand as Hexiciah gently pulled it to his chest, where his heart beat. He held her hand flat there.

“I’m still alive, however,” he said, his voice breaking a bit, as Nora started to laugh. 

“I’m being a child, I’m sorry for crying,” she said, her voice choked but with a slight humor to it now.

“Don’t be. You’re certainly not the only one of us to shed tears tonight,” Hexiciah said, swiping his hand at his own eye once again.

Nora cupped one hand on his cheek, brushing her thumb under his eye. Then kissing his other cheek. Water dripped slowly from where her finger brushed.

“Hexiciah?” Nora whispered, her voice still hoarse, “are you alright?”

“Yes,” Hexiciah replied, suddenly feeling quite tired, leaning into her touch, “it’s… been a long day. I apologize.”

“No need for that,” Nora said, leaning to press her head against Hexiciah’s, “please, tell me.”

Hexiciah sighed, closing his eyes as tears fell from them, while Nora gently brushed them away. Hexiciah had been trying to keep from thinking too much about what had occurred in his absence, but the thought of Robecca… “In my absence, my daughter was hurt, my little girl…” Hexiciah felt the tears welling up once more as he thought of Robecca, injured and broken, left on a racetrack for a century. It was too much to bear thinking about, “And my absence didn’t just hurt her, my absence hurt you.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Nora said firmly, though still somehow kindly, “you didn’t choose to leave.”

“But Robecca-”

“Robecca is safe,” Nora said, her voice breaking just a bit at Robecca’s name, Hexiciah opened his eyes, to see her face. She was crying as well, Hexiciah reached to touch her cheek, to brush away her tears as she brushed away his, “she was hurt. But she is safe now. I won’t let anyone hurt her in that way again. She’s scolded me on the amount of safety measures I had implemented on the SKRM track after we found her.”

“That sounds like Robecca,” Hexiciah said with a fond, but shaky laugh.

“Just like her father,” Nora said smiling. She leaned back, settling onto Hexiciahs chest while he held onto her. 

They stayed like that for a moment, as they calmed down. As Hexiciah’s breathing slowed, and Nora’s movements stilled. 

“Nora,” Hexiciah whispered, brushing the hair away from Nora’s face. 

“Yes?”

“I love you. I’m sorry for leaving.”

“I love you,” repeated Nora softly, “I regretted not telling you, but I never regretted loving you.” Nora brushed her hand under Hexiciah’s eye once more, “please don’t be sorry. Exploring, traveling are your callings. I had as much right to keep you from them, as you had to keep me from Monster High.”

Hexiciah sighed, leaning up just a bit to kiss her cheek. 

“Oh, man!” 

“Bloodgood. You have room for reason.” 

It was then that Hexiciah became aware of the three teenagers, standing on the bottom landing of the stairs.

Chapter Text

And had Hexiciah not been holding on to her, he was half certain she would have jumped out of her skin. And had he not had better control of himself, he was half certain he would have dropped her. Fortunately, Nora was balanced well enough that the jolt only required her to grab Hexiciah’s shoulder for support. Nora scrambled to sit up, though she was still sitting on Hexiciah.

They stared back at Abbey, who seemed entirely unamused. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, clutching an empty glass of water, which she set down with a loud click. Heath laughed, throwing his head back then pressing his face into Abbey’s shoulder as he continued to laugh. Hoodude made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a gasp. Then, the sound of footsteps stumbling down the stairs after Abbey, alerted Hexiciah before he could see Robecca. Sure enough, she clutched the banister as she sleepily navigated downward. 

“Dad?” Robecca said, her copper hand covering her mouth while she yawned. She froze mid step once she rounded the corner enough to see Nora sitting on Hexiciah’s lap. Her eyes went wide as a giant squid’s. 

“Robecca!” Hexiciah said a bit too loudly, desperately attempting to think up an explanation, but found nothing as Robecca’s ears began to steam and she froze as if a gorgon had turned her to stone. 

Nora, who had first gone ghostly pale, now covered her face with her hand, though Hexiciah could see, by virtue of their closeness, that she had turned a shade of scarlet. Hexiciah, whose skin was considerably darker, though he was sure his face had taken on some colour, managed to avoid the worst of blushing. 

Abbey rolled her eyes and reached over, grasping Robecca by her hand, and subsequently pulling her closer, lifting her into a one armed carry, so that she could cover Robecca’s eyes with her other hand.

  “What are you four doing awake?” Nora asked, her voice strained.

“I have no water,” Abbey said, removing her hand momentarily from Robecca’s eyes and flicking her glass with a sharpened nail, “I have decided I am no longer thirsty.”

“Looks like they are though,” snickered Heath, which Hexiciah didn’t understand in the slightest, but caused Abbey’s eyes to roll into the back of her skull, “right Robecca?” he said, leaning around Abbey to tap her shoulder. 

“Heath! Don’t be mean! They missed each other!” Hoodude said, clasping his hands together.

Though Hexiciah couldn’t see Robecca’s face properly, accounting for Abbey’s hand, steam poured from her ears at a more frequent pace than it had a moment prior. 

“Robecca?” Heath asked, tapping her more insistently, even using his fist to knock against her head, nothing elicited a response. 

“Robecca! Wake up!” cried Hoodude, shaking her shoulder frantically, while she still didn’t respond.

“Good work, you’ve broken her,” Abbey said, first swatting Heath and Hoodude away from Robecca, “don’t touch,” then staring at Hexiciah and Nora, “look, I knew. But in living room?”

“I’m never sitting on the couch again, Abbey, eww,” Heath said with another gleeful laugh. Abbey stared down at him, her eyebrows raised. 

“Do not be child,” Abbey told him, before leaning and kissing him on the cheek, which stopped his laughter instantly, as he blushed a furious red. 

“Awwwww!” Hoodude cooed.

“Come. Leave them. You do not want to see,” Abbey instructed, shoving Hoodude in front of her as she began to march back up the stairs, followed by Heath, while she still held Robecca like a badly behaved cat, then her steely eyes flickered to Nora and Hexiciah, “do kissy face in private room. You scar Robecca this way.”

Abbey and the rest went back upstairs, closing the bedroom door behind them. Hexiciah looked back at Nora, who removed her hands from her face.

Nora climbed off of Hexiciah, sitting on the cushion beside him while Hexiciah sat up. 

He felt very much like a child who’d been caught going after sweets. He rubbed the back of his neck.

Nora cleared her throat, wiping at her face. She looked up at Hexiciah, her face still beat red. Then her expression became more vaguely horrified than it was as she touched her lip with her hand. 

“Come with me, please.”

“Er, sorry?” Hexiciah asked as she pulled him to his feet. 

Hexiciah allowed her to drag him into the bathroom. As soon as she switched the lights on, he saw what she meant. 

Nora, prior, had been wearing purple lipstick. Had was the key word. Most of the lipstick was on Hexiciah’s face and shirt. 

“Can’t say I object to the shade,” Hexiciah joked lightly as Nora put her head in her hands again.

“Hush,” she said, ducking while she opened a cabinet filled with various products, “I have some makeup remover, give me a moment.”

She stood up, holding a bottle of strong smelling liquid and grabbed a cloth, dabbing it. 

“That… was not how I wanted Robecca to find out,” Nora said, her face going red once more as she swiped the cloth across Hexiciah’s neck. Rubbing away the purple. 

“Nor I. I do hope she isn’t upset,” Hexiciah replied as Nora moved to rub the lipstick away from his cheek. Her hair, which was general orderly, had fallen into her face. Hexiciah pushed it behind her ear. 

“I’m sorry, Hexiciah,” Nora said with a sigh, running the cloth along his other cheek. But Hexiciah caught her hand with a quick smile. 

“Darling, I believe that I initiated, so to speak. This isn’t your fault.”

Nora didn’t respond to that, “Your shirt is going to stain if you don’t clean it,” she noted instead.

“I’m afraid that this is my only shirt for the moment.”

Nora paused, her hand stilling on his face as she brushed the cloth over his lips, “I have some of your old shirts.”

Hexiciah nodded, following Nora as she walked towards her room. Nora opened the door, allowing Hexiciah inside.

It hadn’t changed much. It was mostly varying shades of purple. Her walls were a deep purple, like the sky just as the sunset, the carpet felt the same as it had, her bedframe was exactly the same. 

It was comforting, like if Hexiciah blinked it would still be 1914. 

But Nora went right to her closet. It didn’t take her long to dig out a shirt that was far too big for her. Hexiciah, not wanting to impose, took the shirt, turning so that his back, and quickly changing shirts.

He caught Nora’s blush as he turned back around once he’d straightened his shirt. Hexiciah felt himself starting to blush at her blushing. She really was such a beautiful woman. The way she looked. While Hexiciah stared at her in stunned silence, she reached over, snatching his lipstick stained shirt, still held limply in his fingers, from him.

“Stay here, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Hexiciah found himself sitting on her bed. Still surprised by how similar everything felt. But knowing that it wasn’t. Despite Nora’s distance from the nearest town, the sky, which should, by all rights, have been dark, was as bright as sunset. The stars, which, again, should have been visible, weren’t. The light drowning them out. 

The door opened once more, and Nora closed it behind her. 

She looked exhausted. Which, based on the fact that Robecca had apparently been missing for nearly three months, it didn’t surprise Hexiciah. 

“You seem tired, darling,” Hexiciah noted, as she walked over, sitting next to him on her bed. Nora leaned her head on his shoulder, her eyes closing. 

“I am,” she said, already pulling herself away.

“You should sleep, darling.”

Nora nodded. Too worn out to argue. She switched the light off, leaving it dark.

“Could you stay with me?” she asked quietly. 

“Of course.”

With that, she lay down fully. Asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Hexiciah wasn’t tired in the least, but he climbed to the other side. Half sitting up as he watched Nora drift off. 

They’d deal with the fallout from the children tomorrow. Hexiciah only hoped Robecca wasn’t upset.