Hellboy watched as she walked away from him to the bathroom. When she had asked for a moment, he figured she needed some time alone to process everything. It had been a lot for her. He palmed his face with a sigh. It had been a lot for him too. While he didn't feel any of the pain she had, he witnessed it.
He sat down on his bed. To see her in intense pain had been hard, even harder to hear her scream. He knew how much pain she had been in when she was silently suffering until she couldn't anymore. Hopefully he would never have to hear her scream like that again. It grated at his heart. He set his elbow on his knee and chin in his hand as he waited for her.
He wondered how she was faring in there. Was she just taking a moment? Did she need the bathroom? He had only known her for a short time, so he didn't know how she coped with big things like this. He closed his eyes and listened.
The faint sound of sobbing reached his enhanced hearing and his eyes snapped open. He didn't want her to suffer alone. To cry alone. He stood up and walked to the bathroom door. Now that he was closer, he could hear her more. He grabbed the doorknob and knocked lightly. He twisted it open, and it stopped only a few inches away. He felt the resistance when the door hit her. He couldn't see around it.
"Hey…can I come in?" He asked.
He could hear her sniffling and shuffling around. When he heard her response, he pushed the door open more and stepped through. He spotted her on the floor, her back leaning against the glass shower door. He could see she had been crying hard. He shut the door and sat next to her. He wrapped his stoned hand around her shoulder, and she sniffled as he pulled her to him. He lifted her with his other hand, and she sat in his lap. Her back against his chest.
Both arms wrapped around her, and the tears flowed again. After a moment, the tears finally slowed down. Her voice was thick as she spoke.
"I'm sorry," She whispered.
"For what?" He asked. He tipped his head forward, chin on her shoulder. "Crying?"
"Yeah."
"Naw, you don't have to apologize for that," He said as he squeezed his arm around her stomach. "You've been through a lot lately. Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, "I don't…I don't feel like I'm free. I mean, I do, and I don't. I don't know how to feel."
His stoned hand grabbed her hand and caressed it with a thumb. He could touch her there now without any pain. "You've had it on your whole life. It's going to feel weird not having it. I'd feel weird if I suddenly lost my tail or something. It'll take a while before it feels better. And I'm here if you want to talk about it."
She sniffled, "Yeah."
"Give yourself the time to feel it all. It's okay to mourn it if that's what you feel," He said. He shifted his head and kissed her cheek. She gave a little smile and twisted her head towards him. They sat face to face.
"Thank you," she whispered.
He nodded and gave her a kiss, pressing his lips against hers. He could feel the salty tears on there. He wiped the tears from her face.
"What do you want to do right now? You can cry some more if you want. Or grab something to eat. Or just sit here," He asked her.
"I'd rather go to bed if that's okay? I'm really tired," She replied.
"Sure," He said with a nod. He knew it was too early for bed yet, but they did miss dinner since they had a late lunch earlier. He pushed her gently and helped her stand up. He stood up and grabbed a washcloth from the closet. "Here," he said as he handed it to her. "Wash your face and I can get the bed set up."
She nodded and took it from him. He opened the door as she turned the water on and left the bathroom. Before he headed to the bed, he stopped at the dressers and rummaged through some of the drawers to find her something comfortable to wear. He pulled out a large black shirt and one of his shorts he rarely wore. Then he turned to the bed. The blankets were still in a disarray from their activities earlier.
Lightening shot through his core as he remembered what they had done. He ignored it as he pulled the blankets back. He heard her footsteps and turned around. She approached him, her face scrubbed clean of tears. He handed her the clothes he pulled from the dressers.
"Figured you'd want to be comfortable," He said as she took it from him.
She nodded a thanks and went to the end of the bed. She dropped the clothes on there.
"You don't want to change?" He asked curiously.
"I don't want to go back into the bathroom. I'm tired of walking back and forth," She replied with a tired smile.
"So…you're gonna change here?"
She looked at him and nodded, "Is that a problem?"
"No!" He quickly said, his voice high.
She cocked an eyebrow at his quick reply.
He cleared his throat. "I mean, no it's not a problem. I'll just…uhm…turn around," He said.
He turned around. He could feel his cheek heating up in embarrassment. He replied so quickly and loudly. Occasionally, she surprised him. He hadn't expected her to want to change with him in the room. She had always done so in the privacy of the bathroom. He closed his eyes tightly as his imagination began to waver. Just the knowledge of her undressing behind him aroused him. He could almost see her pulling her shirt off.
Damn.