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Warning! mature scenes ahead.
During the hours of nightfall, while she rested in his arms and he brushed his fingers through her hair, he gently filled in the blank lines to his story. She couldn't sleep and neither could he, so he answered more of her questions to calm her mind. He told her about how the process of building the sanctuary went and the other outposts, he talked about some of the cruel—horrible things he did that even he felt somewhat guilty over. It wasn't his soul that was bothered by it, but he worried what Ana would think. He told her how helpful Miriam and Jack were. Even Venable had been, but he didn't speak the woman's name. He was going to kill her in a matter of days anyway.
Ana kept quiet mostly, occasionally asking her own question with a hoarse and tired voice. He filled in the gaps of her mind, and she could slowly feel the disorganized library in her head become cleaner. She felt somewhat guilty though, because she knew her words the previous night had hurt him. But it wasn't as if she could help those thoughts, the circumstances had been extreme.
There had been a big hole in her heart before, and even though it was still cracked in half by the loneliness of abandonment and anxiety, she could feel it healing itself together. He was staying, and he loved her. That was all she needed. And it was the same for him. When he heard her talk about him leaving, saying that it was okay and that she'd understand, he could feel just how much she loved him. It was overwhelming, like a powerful freight train running at full speed. It was almost calming, though, knowing that it matched his own love for her.
There were no clocks, but Michael knew that it was in the early hours of the morning. Ana was finally asleep, but he knew she wouldn't stay like that for long. She was in between his legs, his back pressed up against the headboard while his arms held her waist. She had forgiven him, but in no way had be forgiven himself. Her thoughts were extremely dark, especially the ones she felt towards him. He wondered how she could ever doubt herself or his love, but it really wasn't all that difficult.
Whether he had wanted to or not, he had left her. And this was the product of that. However, they had the world together now, and he was going to do whatever he needed to fix it.
He was right about her not sleeping for long, and he looked down to her on his chest as she mumbled softly in her sleep. He smiled, brushing his fingers against her jaw as she turned to bury her face in his shirt. She had always been an active sleeper, and he found it comforting that the trait hadn't changed. "Michael." She muttered, her lips parting as her brows furrowed.
He chuckled lightly to himself, nodding as he squeezed her tighter. "Yeah, darling, I'm here."
Her body fell slack as she ventured back into deep sleep, and he sighed as he leaned his head back against the headboard. Despite having been at the outpost for almost five days, he had yet to really have an interaction with Miriam. He missed her dearly, and his time had been occupied with taking care of Ana. He had interviewed a few people here and there, though he viewed them with no value. He understood why she disliked Coco so much, and he held no care for the woman himself.
