Salvation

23

Adelaide rolled her eyes at his thoughtful expression. "You shouldn't think so hard, you may damage something." He raised an eyebrow at her. Adelaide laughed quietly at his confused expression and leaned her head against his shoulder. Sniffling, Adelaide smiled lightly to Harvey when he draped his jacket over her shoulder. This little building was cold. It didn't really have heating. "Who used to live here?" Adelaide looked up when Harvey dragged a chair over to sit next to her. She'd managed to make a little fire in the small fire place.

"Me." He answered, she shot him a confused look. Harvey smiled lightly. "We used to live here when we were younger."

"This is your old house?"

"Yes."

"It doesn't feel much like a home." Adelaide pouted at the fire and watched the flames.

"It never felt like one much either."

"What do we do now?"

"We?" Harvey looked at her with slight bemusement. "We?" He repeated. "Since when was there a 'we' when regarding us?" Adelaide looked at him, she opened her mouth to answer but then shrugged. "If there's a 'we' with us, we need to keep a better eye on you." He grumbled and crossed his arms. "Which we don't honestly want to do."

"Harvey, I can look after myself!"

"Even against gangbangers who want me dead, and would get to me through you?" He looked at her with a blank sidewards look.

Huffing she huddled more into the chair and wrapped herself up in the blankets she had found as well as his jacket. "I know, why don't you just...ya know...go do what it is you have to do. I'll stay here, or somewhere out of sight and out of mind. That way, you'll know I'm safe, and they won't know where I am."

"Because if I leave you alone, Batman will get you. Or get to you...he will."

"Yeah, he does have the skills at finding people doesn't he?"

"Annoyingly yes he does."

"But we're safe here, right?"

"We're rather sure."

"Rather?"

"Yes." Adelaide stood up and gave Harvey his jacket back. "Where are you going?" He turned in the chair and looked at her.

Adelaide shrugged. "I don't know." Opening a door she stepped through into what seemed to be an old study. She was exploring again. She was bored and needed something to do.

"A gun," Harvey said from behind her, Adelaide frowned and looked at him while lowering a book back onto the desk.

"I'm not having a gun."

"We think you should be armed. Guns are efficient."

"Yes, I saw how efficient they were when you blew that poor policeman's head half to hell."

"You're forgetting about Matthew and Toby too. We didn't want to kill them but we had to."

"Did you?"

"Matthew tried to hurt you-"

"Harvey, he wasn't trying to hurt me. He was insinuating something else." Adelaide mumbled blankly. Harvey let out a low growl at this out of annoyance and even punched the wall for good measure too. Adelaide let out a yelp and jumped from the sudden action. He turned and left her, Adelaide looked around with wide eyes. "Will me having a gun give you peace of mind?"

"You being able to defend yourself, gives me peace of mind."

"So...I don't have to have a weapon." Adelaide skipped forward and walked beside him when they walked down the corridor.

"I guess not."

"You know how to fight, right?"

Harvey frowned and looked down at her while pulling on his jacket. "What?"

"Fight. Punching, you're a hitter right? I mean...well..."

"Adelaide, what are you hinting at here?"

Adelaide smiled sheepishly. "Well, Harvey...you're well...hm," put a hand to her chin she rubbed it thoughtfully.

"Yes, Addy?" He smirked. "You seem to be stumbling over your words."

"Harvey," she looked up at him, he nodded at her to continue. "You just look like you could hit...hard."

"How come it feels like those aren't the words you wanted to say?" He mused while crossing his arms.

"Because they weren't. I couldn't say the words which were in my head or else..."

"Or else?"

"Or else it'd just sound weird."

"Weird as in...?"

"As in; I'm paying a compliment to you yet sort of...well...sound like I'm trying to flirt with you...or something...I'm being idiotic aren't I? I'm like, being really embarrassing, aren't I?" Harvey looked at her and smiled slowly. This didn't make her feel any better, in fact it made her feel worse. Rolling his eyes, he put an arm around her shoulders and led her towards the exit. "W-where are we going?"

"To pay Vernon a visit." Harvey nodded. "Don't tell me you forgot? We didn't."

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(Edited: 22/Jan/2020)