Late nights.
Raph smiled in triumph as he finished the latest Sudoku puzzle. He dropped the book of puzzles on the table next to his chair and pulled off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.
"You really shouldn't stay up so late, you know."
He smiled, this time in amusement, as he heard Glory's voice chide him. It had become a bit of a ritual of late. If she came in at night, she'd tell him to go to bed. While she couldn't always visit at night, "Miss Glory" always made sure to say good night to Cassandra, which delighted her to no end and something which Gloriana was more than happy to do.
"I know. I just finished a puzzle, starting to think about sleep."
She just raised an amused eyebrow.
"What? I was!"
"Of course you were, dear." Strangely, it didn't feel strange to not have her ask how his day was. As his and Cassie's "gaurdian" she knew full well how his day went. Though he was still a bit unclear about what that meant, he decided shortly after she first appeared to go with it. Just as well, as she seemed reluctant to talk much more about it.
Glory smoothed her skirts and sat in the chair across from Raph. They chatted for a while, about nothing really. Every time he tried to steer the conversation to her, she deftly changed the subject. There wasn’t much point talking about his past, as she knew it already. This didn’t stop them from enjoying each other’s company however. Oddly, because she knew so much about him, it didn’t matter that he didn’t know anything about her. That in itself struck him as odd, but he paid it no mind, as it was just nice to have company. Like he told her in that first encounter, he loved Cassie more than anything, but sometimes its nice to have another adult to talk with.
Once it was obvious that he was having trouble staying awake, she bid him good night, checked on Cassandra once more, then was gone. At first, it freaked him out a little, but as time went on he just got used to the sudden comings and goings. It was an odd friendship, he knew. But despite all of the oddity and, frankly, the sheer otherworldliness of the situation, it was strangely fulfilling for him. He had friends when he was younger, sure, but as was the way of things, people moved away and moved on.
He still exchanged emails and cards with many of them, but it’s been awhile since he’d had plain human companionship, so to speak. Especially since his wife died in the car accident. He was shy before he met her, and after she died he retreated into himself.
Except for Cassie. With her, he was as open and doting as he could be. Other people, not so much. Still, he thought as he peeked in on his daughter, all snug in her bed, before retreating to his. She was his joy, and he would do anything for her. To protect her.
Anything.
"You really shouldn't stay up so late, you know."
He smiled, this time in amusement, as he heard Glory's voice chide him. It had become a bit of a ritual of late. If she came in at night, she'd tell him to go to bed. While she couldn't always visit at night, "Miss Glory" always made sure to say good night to Cassandra, which delighted her to no end and something which Gloriana was more than happy to do.
"I know. I just finished a puzzle, starting to think about sleep."
She just raised an amused eyebrow.
"What? I was!"
"Of course you were, dear." Strangely, it didn't feel strange to not have her ask how his day was. As his and Cassie's "gaurdian" she knew full well how his day went. Though he was still a bit unclear about what that meant, he decided shortly after she first appeared to go with it. Just as well, as she seemed reluctant to talk much more about it.
Glory smoothed her skirts and sat in the chair across from Raph. They chatted for a while, about nothing really. Every time he tried to steer the conversation to her, she deftly changed the subject. There wasn’t much point talking about his past, as she knew it already. This didn’t stop them from enjoying each other’s company however. Oddly, because she knew so much about him, it didn’t matter that he didn’t know anything about her. That in itself struck him as odd, but he paid it no mind, as it was just nice to have company. Like he told her in that first encounter, he loved Cassie more than anything, but sometimes its nice to have another adult to talk with.
Once it was obvious that he was having trouble staying awake, she bid him good night, checked on Cassandra once more, then was gone. At first, it freaked him out a little, but as time went on he just got used to the sudden comings and goings. It was an odd friendship, he knew. But despite all of the oddity and, frankly, the sheer otherworldliness of the situation, it was strangely fulfilling for him. He had friends when he was younger, sure, but as was the way of things, people moved away and moved on.
He still exchanged emails and cards with many of them, but it’s been awhile since he’d had plain human companionship, so to speak. Especially since his wife died in the car accident. He was shy before he met her, and after she died he retreated into himself.
Except for Cassie. With her, he was as open and doting as he could be. Other people, not so much. Still, he thought as he peeked in on his daughter, all snug in her bed, before retreating to his. She was his joy, and he would do anything for her. To protect her.
Anything.
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