"Davian."
She called his name softly. He was standing right in front of her, but his back was facing her. Not being able to see his face and expression made her feel at a loss. She had no idea what he was thinking while standing there like a statue.
For am entire minute, he gave her no response and just continued to stand there with his back to her. The more time passed in silence, the more anxious Grace started feeling.
"Davian, are you alright?" She asked, her voice slightly stronger this time. She was about to step forward when he suddenly turned around and pulled her into his arms. The next thing she knew, she was in his embrace, being hugged by him as if she was his lifeline.
At this point, she had learned that physical touch was Davian’s way of comforting, especially hugs. Letting out the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding, she wrapped her arms around his waist and returned the hug. Very slowly, she started rubbing her hand over his back, trying to help him calm down.
It was like her touch performed some sort of magic because he relaxed immediately. She felt the tension leaving his body and he tightened his hold around her even further, snuggling his face in her neck and inhaling deeply as if her scent was helping him calm down.
They stood like that for a while, just holding each other and enjoying the warmth of the hug. Both of them were the kind of people who refrained from making physical contacts unless it was necessary. Thus, such hugs felt extremely good, especially when the person hugging was someone special.
After what felt like forever, Davian finally pulled back from the hug and locked his gaze with hers. "Can I stay here with you tonight?" He suddenly put forward a request she didn’t saw coming at all.
But thankfully, she didn’t waste time overthinking about the matter and just nodded her head in a positive response almost immediately.
Finally, a smile made its way to Davian’s lips, it was barely noticeable but it was there. He took hold of her hand and pulled it toward his face, eventually placing a kiss on the back of her fingers. It felt like a sweet and warm gesture of his gratitude, and it made her smile as well.
"Let’s eat together." She offered as she entangled her fingers with his and started walking in the direction of the kitchen. He followed after her without any resistance and even helped as she set up the dining table for dinner.
The two of them ate the entire dinner in silence and while she wanted to talk to him about Marcus and Julian, she held herself back. She could tell that what he wanted, or needed, the most at that moment was to relax and not think about that matter.
Once the dinner was over, they washed the dishes together and cleaned up the kitchen and dining table.
"You can take a shower or a bath, whatever you feel like having at the moment. Here are the clothes for you to change into." She told him as she led him to her bedroom and headed him the clothes she had taken out from the warehouse in her space. Though she didn’t know his exact size, she was sure that the clothes she had picked for him would suit him perfectly.
Davian didn’t sat anything and just took the clothes and headed into the bathroom. Grace personally hadn’t used the apartment’s bathroom ever since the water level started rising in the Sunspire City. She blocked all the drains in her apartment just to keep the place safe from the flooding and rising water level. But as all the flood water was gone now, she had opened all the drains and set up the bathrooms again with all the necessities.
While Davian was taking a shower, she contemplated on what to do next. Since it was merely seven in the evening, she decided to set up the living room for movie time. She selected a comedy animation movie, prepared fresh popcorn which filled the entire apartment with its aroma, prepared chocolates and more snacks, and set up aromatic candles on the coffee table in the living room before switching off the lights.
Davian emerged from the bathroom shortly after. His presence waa quiet but steady. He was wearing the clothes Grace had given him - a set of black pajamas, and just as she had predicted, they fit him perfectly. The dark fabric brought out the sharpness of his features, but it was the relaxed expression on his face that caught her attention.
He paused at the entrance to the living room, taking in the warm and cozy atmosphere she had prepared. It took her to put in some effort to keep herself from feeling too curious about whether he was happy with her set up or if he just wanted to be left alone.
The scent of popcorn was still lingering in the air, but now it was mingled with the faint vanilla fragrance of the candles. The dim lighting made the room feel safe, almost like an escape from the chaos that had taken over their lives from that very morning.
"You did all this?" he asked, breaking the silence, and his voice was softer than usual.
Grace shrugged in response with a small smile playing on her lips. "I figured we could use a little distraction."
She watched as his lips twitched in what might have been a smile. Without saying anything, he walked over and settled onto the big couch. She walked over to the couch snd handed him a bowl of popcorn before joining him. She left just enough space between them to be comfortable.
"I picked a comedy animation," she said as she grabbed the remote. "Something light. You don’t have to think too much while watching it."
Davian leaned back and nodded slightly. "Sounds perfect."