Charlotte ran her fingers through his hair, savoring the small window of intimacy that wasn't sexual. In some ways, she preferred these moments since they were rare with the hot and cold man wrapped tightly around her. Where the comfortable silence was satisfying to the point of not wanting to do anything else.
It was in times like these that she felt sane and grounded. It was rare considering that the situations that she found herself in were hard to wrap one head around. Such things that she had encountered shouldn't exist. But there appeared before her in the flesh, surprising her every single time.
Her best friend seemed to be a weapon that took in many forms whether that be a bullet or a blade or the man that was beside her which she had only just gotten well acquainted with. Her fear wasn't yet visceral, but Vincent was able to pick up on the worry that had only become more concrete over time.
She hummed to dodge the question pertaining to her fears only to yelp when Vincent licked the shell of her ear. A jolt went through her body, and she immediately ducked to cover her ear from his next attack.
Charlotte slid him a look before admitting the silent admission she was carrying with her. "I'm scared."
"What do you have to be scared of?" he muttered.
She wasn't looking at his face while he said it, and the bite came in a bit strong. She didn't want him to think of her as weak or rather useless since she tried her best to learn new ways to protect herself.
Charlotte was about to raise her hackles when Vincent smirked at her. "Why would you be scared? I'm right here."
Charlotte blinked slowly. "I'm seeing a lot of scary things."
Vincent played with the hem of her shirt. "I know. I don't hold that against you."
"You need to understand that seeing that much blood leak from a person isn't something one sees on a daily basis."
"It's a matter of necessity. I tell you often that the world you stepped in is mine. It would make sense it would have its own rules and norms, no?"
Charlotte lifted a shoulder. "That's fair. But in the end, what's scary is still scary."
"Death can be scary."
"Death is scary. And I feel like it's hunting us."
Vincent met her eyes since he could tell how serious she was being only to mimic the words that she pressed earlier. "Don't push yourself too much."
Charlotte snorted. "Not a problem on my end."
She treated him as well as she could since she knew that his recovery rate once he went into deep sleep would be incomparable to the tiny disinfectant that she placed on him. It never hurt to be safe than sorry, and it was good to take a little extra care rather than coming just a bit shy of what was truly needed.
"I slept well, thanks for asking," Charlotte said randomly, wanting to hear his voice.
Vincent snickered. "Take your time, angel. We have a lot of it here."
"That's true," Charlotte murmured. "But we have to be on the offensive rather than defensive right?"
"We'll pick up our plans right after Hendrey brings our things. We have to wait a little bit until this blows over, but you're correct. We have to be the one who moves first."
"If that's so, doesn't two weeks seem like a long time?"
"It's an estimate for the earliest budgeted time. Earlier would be better for us, but we needed to overestimate it. It was good that everything was put together in a blink of an eye."
Charlotte nodded. "We better make use of the time allotted then. We need to rest well."
"Easier said than done," Vincent said as he cracked his knuckles. "Get up."
"Has Hendrey arrived?" Charlotte asked, standing up with her hands linked behind her back.
"Yes," Vincent said. "I'm keeping up my part of the bargain as I said before."
"Glad to hear it," she quipped. "Lucia?"
"She's already downstairs."
"Ah, we were taking our time," Charlotte said.
"They can wait longer."
Charlotte laughed at his sudden response. Vincent was like a robot around Stone, following his every move and carrying out his words that she forgot that he was like a lost puppy most of the time. He did better alone, but Charlotte was going to be selfish and say that she liked him better when he was around her.
"I'm excited to meet Hendrey."
The look that Vincent gave her was so confused as if he couldn't fathom why which made her laugh. Charlotte held back the grin because Vincent was so lost. "What? I feel like you guys talked him up so much."