Bad Day

The silence of the station was starting to make Orianna anxious.

Normally, it wouldn’t have, at least for the past decade. The silence usually indicated the calm before the storm, where either she was unaware of the impending storm or she was prepared for it by the incoming storm clouds. It always left destruction in its wake.

A sudden noise made her flinch and for a moment she stopped breathing, but when nothing came she only relaxed marginally. This had been happening all day. It was usually the quieter noises that put her on guard and after awhile she was hyper-fixed on even the smallest of noises. Then louder noises, like the sound of Douglas dropping his phone, made her yelp in alarm.

Why was it happening today, of all days?

The sound of her office door creaking open made her look up in alarm, eyes wide with panic.

Nate ducked in, a warm smile on his face, but it dropped when he caught sight of Orianna’s face. The pure terror on her face made Nate rush inside, coming to a stop beside her behind her desk. Orianna didn’t seem to notice, her eyes glued to the now-closed door.

“Oria? What’s wrong?” Nate asked, panicked himself. He touched her hand lightly, not sure how she would react to the touch. “Orianna?”

Orianna gave a tiny gasp at the warm touch on her hand, jerking her head to look at what was causing it. Her brow furrowed in confusion when she saw a hand, her eyes moving away from the hand and up the length of the arm to meet Nate’s worried gaze. She blinked up at him before launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle, not caring who saw it despite them being the only people in her office.

Nate instantly wrapped his arms around Orianna’s shoulders, leaning down enough to press his cheek against the top of her head. He was a little surprised at the action because Orianna never initiated any contact between them, but she never pulled away from Nate if he did.

After a moment, Orianna pulled away, adjusting her glasses that had been skewed at the force of impact against Nate. She cleared her throat, moving to smooth down her shirt, and tugged her skirt on the sides to pull it down.

“I apologize,” Orianna looked up, meeting Nate’s eye, her stoic mask back in place. Nate almost smiled, but the look Orianna had lingered in his mind.

“Oria,” Nate started but was cut off before he could ask.

“I know,” Orianna sat back down, going back to what she was working on before. She gestured to the chair across her desk with her hand that held a piece of paper. “I’ll try to explain it, but…”

Orianna trailed off, her eyes looking distant, and Nate didn’t want to push her if it would hurt her to talk about. Nate sat across from her, taking in her as she continued working. Nate would have voiced it if he didn’t know how Orianna was. If she said she was going to explain something she would do so in great detail, but this was different.

“I was in a relationship about a decade ago,” Orianna started, looking up at Nate as she set aside what she was working on. She clasped her hands together, occasionally squeezing them. Nate leaned closer to her, setting his own hands on the desk and Orianna’s eyes flickered down at them, and when she met Nate’s eye, she gave him a tiny smile.

“Anyway, I was in a relationship about a decade ago. I wasn’t looking for a relationship then, but they caught my eye,” Orianna squeezed her hands again. “We talked for a while, became friends, and before I knew it we were dating. Everything was good for the first few months, but after that, well…”

Orianna trailed off again, her body shuddering like she was remembering what had been done, and Nate felt a flash of anger go through him. She certainly didn’t need to say anymore, it was implied enough. His own hands clenched until he felt his hands encased by smaller ones. Orianna smiled gently when their eyes met.

“I’ve grown stronger because of it,” Nate frowned and turned his hands around to encase her hands in his.

“It should not have happened in the first place,” He said firmly, his brow furrowing.

“No, it shouldn’t have but it did,” Orianna faltered, biting her lower lip and looking away from Nate like she was debating on what she wanted to say next. Nate rubbed her hand with his thumb in a comforting manner. Orianna turned back to him, releasing her lip from her teeth. “I was going to talk with you about it anyway because of, you know,” she gestured between them with her head, ”and why I didn’t want to be together then, and not that you’re anything like them, but it’s something I don’t like to talk about or remember. I felt that I had to before we started anything, but I wasn’t ready then and I don’t know why it was today. Perhaps because—“

“Orianna, it’s alright,” Nate interrupted, smiling gently at her. Orianna chuckled, her head ducking down in embarrassment at her rambling.

“Sorry for rambling, and thank you. Everything seems easier when I'm with you. Perhaps it's because you make me feel safe,” Orianna didn't seem perturbed at her confession and instead looked reluctant to remove her hands from Nate’s own, but did so with the littlest of pouts. Nate chuckled (a little in disbelief at Orianna’s confession and amusement at the sight of her pout) which had Orianna school her face back to her stoic mask. She looked at him with her eyes narrowed a little. “You saw nothing.”

“Saw what?” Nate asked, amused. Orianna stared him down with a deadpan stare while putting things away. Nate was impressed, but shouldn’t have been surprised considering how work-oriented she was. Well, except for that one time at the bar, but she hadn’t drunk then.

When Orianna finished putting away her work she gathered her jacket and draped it over her arm. Nate stood up and they both made their way outside the station after locking up Orianna’s office, saying their goodbyes to the night volunteer. They stood outside of the station facing each other, not yet ready to part ways.

“May I accompany you home?” Nate asked, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Of course.”

It didn’t take long to arrive at Orianna’s place and up to her apartment door. Orianna unlocked the door, pushing it open and seemingly hesitating from entering. She turned abruptly, leaning on the tips of her toes to plant a kiss on Nate’s cheek.

“Tomorrow,” Orianna said as she pulled back. Nate blinked down at her in shock. “I want to talk to you tomorrow about us.”

Nate smiled at her, taking in how she seemed better after confiding in him.

“Certainly.”