Delphine's apartment was quiet, save for the soft rustling and snapping of rubber gloves and the whisper of Cosima's shirt pooling around her waist. Neither woman spoke, neither knew what to say to stave off the unease that had surrounded them since that awful day in Cosima's apartment only a few months ago.
They were curled up on Delphine's bed, the injection lying next to them. Innocuous but deadly with the uncertainty of what its contents would do. They had just arrived back from the lab where they had spent the day, test after test being run so they could try to get a handle on the sickness ravaging Cosima's lungs. The young scientist had tried to immerse herself in the science of it, but before too long she felt more like a lab rat then a lab tech.
"Cosima, you are going to have to relax," Delphine whispered, brushing her thumb over the younger woman's arm.
"I know I know I just…shots have never been my favorite thing, ya know? Which is crazy considering the tattoos and the piercings and whatever. And I know this shot should help. We were able to cross the antimicrobial with the…the," Cosima stopped and bent over as coughs raked her body. Her hands slapped over her mouth as she felt saliva and blood splatter her tongue and palm. Delphine dropped the other glove onto the bed and held Cosima, cradling her as the coughing fit came and went.
The younger woman slumped into Delphine's arms, spent after the bone jarring fit. "Oh this sucks."
"Cosima," Delphine breathed, her heart breaking at the shuddering breaths she could feel. "Please you need this. You can trust me with this."
Trust.
The word hung as heavy in the air between them as the blood did on Cosima's lips. It was something that had been broken severely with the revelation of Delphine's connection with Leekie. It had been ever so slightly repaired when Cosima had told Delphine about the sickness, something she hadn't yet told the others about. But trust was still somewhat of a shaky concept for the young genius.
"Can I?" She breathed, eyes never straying from Delphine's, unwavering even when she saw Delphine flinch at the implication. "You're still working with Leekie."
But Delphine rallied, lifting her chin slightly and holding Cosima's gaze. She knew she had a lot to make up for. She just thanked God she had gone with the instinct to not tell Leekie about Kira or whatever was happening between her and Cosima would have been irreparably shattered before it had even begun. "On your behalf," She said, pleading for her to understand and believe.
"You're my monitor. I'm the test subject. How can I trust you?" Cosima shot back, her voice hot, but eyes pleading for an answer she didn't have.
Delphine let out a breath as she considered the answer, considered the implications of following duty and the wonder science always brought her, or exploring the wonder and joy that she felt since she first spoke with Cosima that day in the hall. "Our relationship," She breathed. "Can be whatever 'we' want."
The emphasis was not lost on Cosima who dropped her head, hiding the burning of her eyes beneath a wall of dreadlocks. She felt arms wrap around her and didn't resist when she was pulled into Delphine's body. She only burrowed into the embrace, drawing in the familiar comfort and warmth. Her chest and throat ached, both from emotion and the coughing that seemed to be coming more frequently and she cleared her throat to rid herself of the lump and the taste of blood.
"I don't know what that is yet," She admitted. "I know what I want, but…"
"But we are not yet there," Delphine finished, elated at the possibilities, but knowing they still had a ways to go.
