The roof, Wednesday night

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia was, unsurprisingly, on the roof. She was also unsurprisingly playing the guitar.

She had eaten some brownies. She'd had them left over, and they hadn't had time yet to really go bad. Just a little stale.

She was singing.

There was a time when I had nothing to explain
oh, this mess I have made
but then things got complicated
my innocence has all but faded
oh, this mess I have made

and I don't believe in god
so I can't be saved
all alone as I've learned to be
in this mess I have made

all the untested virtue
the things I said I'd never do
least of all to you
I know he's kind and true
I know that he is good to you
he'll never care for you more than I do

but I don't believe in love
and I can't be changed
all alone as I've learned to be
in this mess
I have made the same mistakes
over and over again

there are rooms in this house that I don't open anymore
dusty books of pictures on the floor
that she will never see
she'll never see that part of me
I want to be for her
what I could never be for you

but I don't believe in god
so I can't be saved
all alone as I've learned to be
in this mess I have made

She was very interruptable.

Comments

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter had his cigarettes and his thermos and a strong need to be on his own.

The sound of the guitar stopped him, and the words of the song left him standing in the roof door with the light from the hall behind silhouetting him while he tried to find the wherewithal to turn around and go back downstairs.

[nadiathesaint]

There was no mistaking the silohuette in the doorway, but Nadia didn't notice it until she finished the song.

Then she just folded her arms across her guitar and rested her chin on top, the neutral expression reforming on her face.

"You going to come out, or just stand there all night?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Run?

Death first.

Walter closed the door and came out onto the roof. "Your playing has gotten even better."

God, I'm an idiot.

[nadiathesaint]

"I had all year to practice." Nadia plucked a few strings on the guitar. "Helped with the . . . missing people."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Enough hiding. Walter went to sit at the edge of the roof several feet away from her.

"I don't know what to say to you, but I don't want to just leave you alone here."

[nadiathesaint]

"Just don't lie to me again, and we should be okay." Assuming she didn't randomly haul off and kill her. Nadia started playing a soft Spanish lullaby to keep her fingers busy. "I talked to Alfred."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I know. He spoke to me afterward."

He lit a cigarette and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Are you lying to me when you say we should be okay?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia sighed, watching his profile. "I'd rather not have you as not a friend, at the very least. But I'm still rather annoyed. Your timing really sucks. And I can't say I really understand."

She focused on the positioning of her fingers on the frets for a moment. "Why did you give the necklace back?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter barked a laugh entirely devoid of humor. "There isn't any good timing, is there though?"

He took a drag off his cigarette and sighed. "I gave it back because it's yours, and I care whether you're safe or not."

[nadiathesaint]

Safe from Alucard?

Nadia just barely didn't ask that outloud. She plucked at the strings for a bit longer.

"I don't care, you know. That you're in love with him. It's not like he's here, or you'll be seeing him all the time."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

That was- so too good to be true it felt like a trap.

"What do you mean?" He glanced over at her and held his breath. "Friends? Trying something else?"

[nadiathesaint]

"I don't want to lose you." Nadia didn't look up from her guitar. "But I don't know how much I can trust you. You should know by now you can be honest with me."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter nodded slowly. "You can trust me with your life and your secrets." Her heart? Another question entirely, as he'd demonstrated. "I don't want to lose you, either. It sucks to know you're here and I've made coming back so much harder for you."

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Sometime after Walter has left Marty creeps quietly on to the roof.

"I heard you were back in town."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia looked up and offered Marty a sad smile. "Kind of wishing I wasn't sometimes. But, yeah. I'm back."

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

"What happened? Last time we talked you said you were leaving and weren't coming back?" Marty asked softly looking at Nadia a little strangely.

[nadiathesaint]

"The program . . . wasn't what I thought it would be." Nadia shrugged. "You were right. Feel free to gloat."

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Marty gave Nadia a look of sympathy. "I'm just glad you made it back here. Is everything okay?"

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia shook her head. "Not really. Can I . . . ask you something?"

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Marty took a seat on the ledge. "Sure. Ask away."

[nadiathesaint]

"How old were you, when you first became an assassin?"

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Marty shivered a bit. "Fifteen. They put me through a specialized training course and... yeah. Fifteen."

[nadiathesaint]

Nadia nodded. "Did it get easier?"

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

A cold expression crossed Marty's face. "Yeah. After a while I even grew to like it."

He paused for a second before asking. "How long were you gone Santos?"

[nadiathesaint]

"Five days." He hadn't asked how long she was in Argentina. And she had been gone for five days. "You said good-bye, remember?"