I wrote this a while back for a prompt on tumblr, but forgot to post it here!
Things You Said At The Kitchen Table
Rapunzel had started to doze off, but she woke up to the sound of the front door opening. She sat up in bed, listening intently as she bit her lower lip. Jack wasn't supposed to be home for a few more days.
The footsteps downstairs sounded like his, though. And she heard his backpack hit the floor before he went deeper into the house, towards the kitchen.
Getting out of bed, she grabbed her robe from the chair by the door, shrugging into it as she stepped imto the hallway. She heard the clatter of dishes in the strainer. The fridge opening. The gas stove clicking as he turned on one of the burners.
By the time she reached the doorway of the kitchen, Jack was just sinking down into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. His shoulders were hunched as he slumped down.
"Jack?"
His head jerked up. "Rapunzel? Did I wake you up?"
"It's okay," she assured. "What are you doing home?"
He looked away, running a hand through his hair as he braced his elbows on the table. He looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, on the verge of being crushed by it.
"Oh, Jack," she breathed. Wanting to wrap her arms around him. But knowing he probablu couldn't handle touch at that moment.
"Our assignment went wrong. And a nine year old girl is dead because I missed a motion sensor." He ran both hands through his hair. Probably playing the whole thing over and over in his head, trying to find where it had gone wrong. What he could have diffetent.
"Are… are you suspended?" She asked. Hating that a part of her wouldn't mind if he was, sincr it meant he would be home with her.
He shook his head. "North said there was nothing we could have done. They gave us a few extra days off. To recover, I guess."
Rapunzel bit her lip, wishing there was something she could do. But experience had taught her the hard way that there was nothing she could do to help him at moments like this.
She went over to the stove. One of the mugs sat on the counter, while the milk in the pot was just starting to boil. She looked around for the hot chocolate, but didn't see any sign of it. He was so tired, he must have forgotten. Her heart clenched with the thought of how much strain he must be under for that to happen.
At least it gave her something to do with her hands, which felt so useless. She mixed the cocoa powder into the milk, then poured it into the mug. Returning to the table, she set it in front of him.
"Thanks."
"Of course."
She watched him wrap his hands around the mug, frost spreading from where his fingers touched. The steam curling off the liquid disippated as he cooled it with his powers.
He took a sip, then opened his mouth to say something… but took another sip.
"What's wrong?"
Fingers through his hair again. Blue eyes fixed on the table, as if he could find answers in the brushstrokes left over from when she had painted it.
"I wish I didn't have to burden you with this." He sighed. "I wish I could protect you from… from my life."
"This is how marriage works, Jack," she said. Reaching out, she brushed her fingers against the back of his hand. An invitation. "You're not burdening me."
He let go of the mug with the hand she had touched. His fingers wrapped around hers. Cool to her touch, though she didn't mind.
"Thanks, Rapunzel."