Her apartment greets her as it always has, cold and dark. Not that she minds much, Adella liked the dark, but the cold had to go. Turning on the heat, and flipping on a few lights so she can see, she hurriedly makes her way to the bathroom, in need of a change of clothes.
The black outfit she'd been wearing for too long is thrown into the laundry, warmer pajamas grabbed for later. Adella sets the water on hot, trying to drive the chill out of her bones.
She makes sure to wash thoroughly, finding each wound that had been inflicted during the exam. Bumps, bruises, scrapes, and a few claw marks liter the skin from shoulder to knee. Ryn was probably just as bad, if not worse.
Speaking of, Adella lets her mind drift to the message she had gotten from her friend. She had assumed after the exam Ryn and Hisoka would find their way back to their third partner. But it seemed they had other plans.
'See you soon. Hisoka is headed back to Heaven's Arena, and I finally convinced him to take me too. The Troupe will be in Yorknew by September 1st. Don't miss me too much.'
Of course Ryn would want to test out her new status as a Hunter. Part of the reason she had taken the exam was so Chrollo would allow her to tag along on more dangerous missions.
Adella, on the other hand, had taken the exam to prove herself to the Association. She already worked for them; shouldn't she be a Hunter to validate that?
Of course, that was only half of it. A deeper, more hidden part of her had wanted to prove herself to Illumi. She wasn't an assassin, wasn't trained to kill, but she could survive the Hunter Exam. That had to mean something.
But that had failed rather spectacularly, Illumi having broken the one promise he'd made to her, and thus breaking her trust.
She should have left him. She should still leave him.
Adella turns, punching the tiled shower wall. Her knuckles ache upon impact, having held back to not break her apartment. Again.
She couldn't. She wasn't sure why, but she just couldn't. It wasn't like Illumi had a needle in her head, she very much still could leave him for dead, but it was like he'd crawled inside her skin to stay. She could leave, but she'd never be the same.
And it seemed he was the same. That at least was a relief. The Illumi she knew would have never begged or asked for forgiveness. It wasn't his style. The mere fact he had done both, and had allowed her the choice to leave him, especially after she had asked his opinion, proved he wasn't the same assassin that had started this relationship.
Still, it wouldn't be easy trying to fix this mess.
Sighing, Adella turns the water off, stepping out of the shower, satisfied most of her over-thinking has been done. She dries herself, redressing, before heading for her kitchen.
Thankfully she still had plenty of at home ramen to make. After weeks without it, what Illumi had fixed for her the other night made her crave it.
Peeling off the plastic lid, she reaches for her kettle, filling it with water. Setting it on the stove to boil, she heads to the fridge for some egg and chicken, as well as onion.
The familiar rhythm of cooking calms her, forcing her intrusive thoughts away. It was a problem for another time.
Her phone buzzes next to her, and she looks down to find three texts. One is from her work, asking if she will be in tomorrow. She rolls her eyes, but answers that she will, chuckling at the relief she can practically feel from the answering 'Thank you' text.
The second is from Hisoka, surprisingly. It's a video of Ryn, clearly kicking ass as she usually does, with the text 'They grow up so fast ◇' underneath. Adella doesn't respond to him, but texts Ryn congratulations on her rapid success.
The third gives her pause. It's from Illumi, and considering he's working on a job, she shouldn't be hearing from him. The text is a picture of a street, a little ramen shop situated in the middle. 'It reminded me of you. I miss you.'
Adella melts, all thoughts of being mad at him gone. Well, mostly. Another text quickly follows. 'Don't forgive me.'
'You're making that hard. I miss you too, pinhead.'
Normally, Illumi would be rather quick to correct her, asking not to be called foolish nicknames that made no sense. But he doesn't, clearly taking even minor annoyances as part of his punishment.
'You're really serious about this aren't you?'
'I can't say I regret why I did it, but I do regret breaking our promise.' She stares at the text, trying to decide if that's a good or bad thing. He only partially regretted it? Or he regretted it, but not trying to protect her?
'If you could do it again, and the only options were what you did or me helping, what would you pick?'
He doesn't respond as quickly this time. Adella assumes he is done for now, he always was spotty with communication on jobs, and returns to her food. The next text doesn't come in until she is sitting down to eat.
'I wouldn't break your trust. But I would insist on you staying by my side the entire time.'
'How very bold of you, considering we weren't supposed to know one another.' She teases. Part of her is elated to know he does regret his course of action. It certainly does not excuse him, but it's a very good start.
Her phone lights up again, this time with a text from Ryn, thanking her for the congratulations. As she is responding, Illumi texts back.
'I love you.'
She freezes, thumbs paused midair on her text back to Ryn. Of course, he had said it multiple times the last time she'd seen him, but seeing physical proof of it, even just a text, was extraordinary.
She stares at it unblinking, as if it will disappear if she does. 'That will take some time to get used to.'
'Then I suppose I'll have to just keep telling you.'
Awe, look at Illumi being sweet. It won't last, he has too many issues for that. But next week we get a bit more insight on how these two met, and how it wasn't exactly an accident they ended up together (well, it was, kinda, you'll just have to wait and see).