Chapter 3: Living Arrangements

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Amelia tossed in the bed, sheets becoming undone beneath her; the quilt covering her body restricting her limbs but shifted leaving her shoulder exposed. She shivered from a particularly chilly drift of cold air. Her movements were lethargic as she tried to pull them back over herself; before struggling when the task proved difficult in her half sleeping state. A gentle chuckle tinkled into her ear before the cover was back around her small frame.

Amelia burrowed deeper into the confines of the thick woollen quilt wrapped around her. She released a sigh as the warmth it gave her surrounded her. What little consciousness she had was lulled back to sleep a short few moments later. As they slowly closed, her bleary eyes focused on an apron covered torso in front of her.

"Mama." She whispered as sleep fully took her once again.

The scent of eggs was what woke her from her slumber. She sniffed at the aroma twice then opened her eyes. She slowly shifted to sit upon her knees letting the covers slide down her back. A shiver ran through her spine and she reconsidered, wrapping the quilt about her before looking around.

The house did not look familiar as she took in the large tree trunk-esque decor that proved itself the wall of the home. She remembered her own home's walls were covered in a faded orange paint and reminded her of the warm morning sun.

A sweet odour drifted her way next and Amelia forgot about the differences in looks of the wall. She placed her bare feet on the wood floors and flinched. The cold had stuck to them and travelled through her body. Her mind briefly wondered to the state of outside. She made her way to the source of the smell by following her nose, ignoring the cold flowing into her body. She was led to a small room that held a table and chair set that seated two people; one either side. A logged wall built a little off to the side in order to separate the seating area from the kitchen on the other side. It gave the view of Tyki plating the eggs which had led her to where she was now.

Tyki turned to face her, a simple white plate in each of his hands; a light blue apron secured around his torso – the same one Amelia recalled seeing earlier in her still sleep dazed mind. Tyki smiled sheepishly when their eyes met, but Amelia could only look downcast. A part of her honestly wished she had awoken in her mother's house, to the smell of her mother preparing breakfast. She wanted to hear her mother's voice greeting her in the morning but the only voice she heard in the wintery chill was Tyki's.

"Good Morning. You could have slept a little later." Tyki spoke as he walked over to set the plates on the table before going back for the drinks.

Amelia shook her head, "I couldn't do that. I should have been up sooner. I'm sorry."

Tyki gave her a look which she returned showing that she felt she meant her apology. Tyki could only shake his head.

"I did this because I wanted to. As a welcome."

Amelia averted her gaze but that didn't stop her from missing the sound of Tyki's exhale. It was not hard to guess that the older man had been exasperated. She could not blame him either; here he was letting her sleep in late, then awake to breakfast being put on the table. Tyki was all sweet words and warm smiles – he had been nothing but nice to her from the moment they had met, yet she could not seem to accept all the gestures without remark.

"How about this-" Amelia's attention was drawn to the table as she heard the chair scrap against the floor as Tyki pulled it back; though he remained standing as he continued to speak, "Think of this as my friendship to you." He hummed, "Let's get to know each other."

Seconds passed before Amelia chanced a glance at Tyki. Their eyes met for the second time that morning and she was taken aback by his disarming smile. She frowned as both her gaze and conviction wavered.

"Thank you."

Tyki gasped in mock surprise. "Was that an agreement I just heard? Such a beautiful sound!"

Amelia bit the inside of her lip trying to fight the smile that wanted to make its presence known. The two continued to stare at each other as innumerable seconds ticked by. Tyki raised his eyebrows and cast a not so inconspicuous glance at the table. A small "oh" escaped Amelia as realization hit her and she made to pull out her chair to sit. Tyki beat her to it however as he quickly halted her and pulled out the chair himself. She cast Tyki a bashful smile, her face warming despite the weather; she would have liked to remark on the display but words tangled and died on her tongue before they could make way through her lips.

She simply thanked him again when she sat and watched as he returned to sit across from her in his own chair. Tyki's smile turned into one of amusement as Amelia gazed down at her food.

"Accept my humble food. With this it's almost like living on the streets itself."

Amelia quickly held up her hands, palms forward, waving them in dismissal as her head shook from side to side. "No it's not!" she rebuked vehemently, "Your house is lovely and the food looks good as well."

Tyki chuckled. "I eat out a lot, so there's not much here."

Amelia took a bite of her eggs and smiled, "It's delicious."

"With that response maybe I should cook more…Maybe you can pick up some things at the market."

Tyki thought out loud but Amelia was quick to agree with a, "Yes!" She was happy to receive her first task in order to repay Tyki for giving her a warm place to stay.

"I'll leave the money for you then. Get whatever you want."

"What do you want?" Amelia ventured.

Tyki looked thoughtful for a while before he eventually responded by saying there was nothing he could think of; that he would be happy with whatever Amelia decided to get.

"You don't like eating at home?"

The girl inquired but Tyki shook his head, "There was never a reason. It's only me here. I could eat out at the shop near the mines and keep company."

Amelia listened to him speak and she could feel the sadness of the words. She grew up with family, and though there were arguments and disagreements there was always the company of someone to make her feel comforted. Her heart became heavy – she didn't know what true loneliness had been until she decided to go off on her own for nearly two years. She was selfish: there were people who liked being in the company of people they could call family, and she grew up surrounded with a real one and cast it aside for a quick adventure. Her nose burned but she thought it was only from the cold.

She felt Tyki's hand; large and warm – brush at the spot just beneath her eye. She gasped and withdrew brushing her own hands against her eyes and feeling the moisture there.

Tyki spoke, "Ah – the steam from the hot chocolate made your eyes water."

Amelia laughed; abashed and nervous, "Yes I suppose so. I didn't even know." She looked at the table as the more she wiped, the harder the tears flowed.

Tyki placed his hand atop her head and smiled ruefully, "It's alright. Just let it out until all the hot chocolate it gone."

She didn't speak, she didn't nod, she didn't express her thanks. Amelia kept her head bowed, eyes shut, willing her tears to stop but Tyki's words made it okay for her to let her feeling out which is what she did.

Tyki kept his hand upon Amelia's head as she sat and quietly wept. Neither of them said a word.

A/N: Almost another year… No words… no words.