PSL; Post-Asgard, Connor & Sophie

[ana]

The announcement was made on the network three days after the war ended. It was 7pm, Connor had just closed the store, and on the streets of Asgard every Traveler had paused where they were so they could watch the message. Odin was no friendlier than he'd ever been but seemed less irritated... And what he said was surprising. At least to Connor, who had been specifically told otherwise. The travelers were being sent home, no surprise there. But the dead were being given a choice: go home, remain in Asgard, or follow another traveler to their world. They'd be contacted soon to give their answer. No explanation was given... It didn't apply to him anyway. They weren't dead, after all. He listened to the rest of the message numbly as the full weight of it settled over him like a blanket. Time to go home. Time to leave this home. Time to leave Sophie.

Connor turned off his bracelet and resumed walking, though he made a few detours on his way. He picked up flowers, some of their favorite things from the grocery store (he got the feeling that the apocalypse would make it hard to find a good steak when he got home), new cat toys for Innie, and then swung by the jeweler. He'd walked past it so many times, looking in the window at the shiny tokens of bracelets and necklaces, dismissing them with practicality. They were beautiful, but when would she ever wear jewelry? Presents should suit the person. Still, he had a lot of money saved that wouldn't be needed now, and no matter that he'd kept walking he'd still considered going in every time. So today he did.

Comments

[hollowchild]

"No, I want to cook. And I'll talk to people in the morning. I doubt anyone will be going anywhere without saying goodbye. Going out just..." She shrugged. "It doesn't appeal at the moment. What do you want to eat?"

How exactly was she supposed to bring up being dead? Better to talk about obvious things and figure that out.

[daddyissues]

Connor managed to free a mouse from the package with one hand, then set Innie down and tossed the toy for her. The rest went in a kitchen drawer and he moved to help Sophie. One bag discreetly wound up in the cupboard unpacked while he searched for their vase and scissors for the flower stems.

"Whatever's easiest," he shrugged, honestly not all that hungry. He was actually starting to feel a little bit sick, standing there in the kitchen like it was all normal. He started snipping the flowers. "You pick?"

[hollowchild]

"Hm. All right."

But what happened instead was that she ended up standing in front of the closed refrigerator, staring blankly at the door, fingers resting on the handle. She chewed on her lip until it went bitter with her tainted blood just below the skin. Connor's anxiety was almost a palpable thing. Telling him couldn't possibly be worse than not telling him. Well, it could, but she refused to entertain the thought. Taking a deep, steeling breath, she turned back around.

"Connor."