How Light Carries On

themysteriouslou:

A/N: Set between the “Wingman”
and “Air Raid” missions. Also, Lou is not made to be a translator so apologies
if this ficlet damages your eyesight while you’re reading it.  

Characters: Deputy Leslie
Grünewald, Kim Rye. (Honorable mentions) Nick Rye, Baby Rye, Seed family,
unnamed peggies.

Warnings: shameless use of the alias
“Rook” aside, mentions of fighting and warfare.

“Rook?”

She straightened up in her seat suddenly, acclimated as she was to the
silence surrounding the hangar of the Rye residence. Averting her attention
from her object of interest, she had little difficulty looking over her
shoulder and noticing Kim’s round figure approaching her by the path leading to
the family home.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Kim asked, concern seeping in her words, stopping
only a few steps from the place she had chosen to sit in front of the hangar’s
entrance, “Nick told me you haven’t entered the house since you helped to push
Carmina into the hangar.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Kim.”

“On the contrary,“ she slid into the empty space beside her and
tilted her head back, following Leslie’s focused gaze with equal concentration.

The cosmos came into view imposingly before them, constellations
extending along and wide like bright paints in a bare canvas, cerulean giving
way to a tone similar to that of the depths of the ocean — to a tone, Leslie
imagined, similar to that of the waters at the time of the day when the lights
died and there was only the natural veil of the moon to watch over those who
were in its care.

The only sound that was heard was the whisper of the wind and the rustle
of the leaves of the trees, the universe itself speaking to them in a language
that only it knew and they had forgotten since the beginning of their
existence. It would have been a comforting sight, if not for the white vans
neatly aligned out of the Rye family property: the only clue that would have warned
a third party that a clash had occurred in that same place a few hours ago.

“After everything you’ve done for us,” Kim extended her hand,
closing it in a comfortable grip on Rook’s wrist, “being hospitable is the
least we can be.”

Leslie blinked, not knowing what to say, then nodded quietly and
returned her contemplation to the stars. She did not move her hand away from
Kim’s, which she considered a good sign — her face was hard to read, constantly
set in a neutral expression, but considering her loose muscles under her hands it
was a favorable reaction coming from her.

“How’s the baby?”

“Restless, although not as much as before,” Kim rubbed her swollen bump
fondly, grimacing a little as she remembered those grueling minutes of warfare
that took place in and out of her house, “it was as if she had decided on the
fly she couldn’t wait anymore to say hello to the whole world. She has calmed
down since then, but hasn’t stopped moving ever since.”

There was a twitch in her companion’s face and Kim realized, with
surprise, that Rook was smiling (well, half-smiling, as if something was funny
to her in particular) and had tilted her head to take a look over her shoulder,
to where her house was.

"So she wanted to go out and fight a squad of peggies, huh?” her voice took on an amused tone, her gray eyes
fixed entirely on Kim’s, “just like her father.”

Kim rolled her eyes, tilting her head back in supplication. “God forbid,
I asked for one child, not two.”

The two shared a secretive grin, enjoying that moment of distraction —one
of the few they could afford in times like these. Soon Leslie would have to get
back on the move, she would have to keep setting the county free little by
little from the control of the Seed family, she would have to bring into play
all her beliefs and what she considered right…

She inhaled, mentally counting up to ten. If her plan went as planned, she
would be out of Holland Valley in less than three days, in one of the vans that
had drifted away from his unconscious owner. She only had to meet her contact
and give her full control of the van and what it was carrying inside.

There would be no more guilty weight in her chest.

Wouldn’t it?

“Rook,” she heard Kim calling her, so she pulled herself
together to help her stand up, “Nick is making dinner, do you want to join
us?”

Leslie looked at her, with a hint of doubt in her countenance. “Are you
sure?”

“Absolutely. Nick would love for you to share a moment with us, you are
his partner after all,” Kim narrowed her eyes, an attempt of solemnity appearing
in the middle of her smiling mien, “and I will not accept a no for an answer. Understood?”

Rook brought the tips of her fingers to her temples, voicing a “yes, ma’am!” so formal that it
caused Kim’s laughter. Her posture ended up relaxing completely as she followed
the steps of her newly-made friend towards her home, where Nick was waiting for
them.

Maybe, just maybe… she could complete her mission without sacrificing
her oath in the attempt.

Maybe.