Gaia

Eli wasn't sure what to make of his relationship with Mari, but there had definitely been a shift between them. He was still reluctant to believe she could take his past mistakes in stride, but she'd been nothing but sweet and supportive since he told her the truth. He had believed he'd never care about anyone ever again, that his ability to feel anything but tortured and angry and empty was gone forever. But a glimmer of hope unfurled in his heart with Mari around. He felt a little less despairing every day, though he still worried what could happen with Desoto on the loose.

But Eli would never let him hurt Mari. He vowed to himself every morning that Lord Desoto would never touch her. And he would never let him hurt Gracie again either. He would be smarter this time. Braver. He would keep them both safe no matter what it took.

He didn't just throw himself mindlessly into his work anymore; spending more and more time over the next couple of days with both Mari and Gracie, who had become fast friends. He rarely saw Andy, who still despised him and who was busy; half assedly; looking for work. Eli was considering offering him something, but held back because he was sure that Andy would refuse. Eli would find a way to make it happen, for Mari's sake if not for Andy's. He knew she worried about her brother, and grew easily frustrated with him, too. Frustrating brothers was probably something she and Gracie could bond over, he thought with a grin.

They were out spending the afternoon together, probably trying on about five million outfits even though they both already had about five million outfits in their closets. Eli decided he wanted to do something special for Mari, to surprise her when she got back. He ordered her favorite Chinese takeout and a pizza, plus the same wine as the one she'd stolen from the conference and ice cream. He put the food into an insulated sack that would keep it hot and fresh, and the wine bottle and ice cream into a cooler. Then he left a note for Mari telling her to meet him at the Sky Deck.

Eli felt oddly nervous as he opened the dome and waited for Mari; he couldn't stop fidgeting. The moon was mostly full and cast a silvery light across the Sky Deck, which was good since of course Eli had forgotten candles or any other kind of light. He jumped slightly when the door across the room opened.

"Eli?" Mari called.

"Wait! Don't come in yet." Eli set out the plates and silverware he'd brought with him, dishing out the food and pouring two small glasses of wine.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it."

Mari huffed and he smiled to himself. "All right, you can come in now."

She practically ran up the tiny staircase and into the room, stoping short with a small gasp as she spotted him. He waved his arm over his little picnic.

"I, uh, wanted to surprise you," he said sheepishly. She smiled and leaned down to kiss him before sitting down.

"This is probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me," she said, swallowing a huge mouthful of fried rice.

"It's just food," Eli said, a little flustered. She smiled again and nudged his shoulder.

"It's sweet," she insisted. She flopped backward, tugging him with her. They laid next to each other and stared up at the sky, their fingers entwined.

"I never would have guessed the day I met you that we would have ended up here," Mari said. "You were always scowling and you seemed to hate me."

"I'm like that with everyone," Eli pointed out and she laughed.

"I've noticed. But I understand why, now. I guess I'd be pretty angry all the time too." She squeezed his hand and rolled onto her side, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not as angry lately," he admitted quietly. "I feel more like the person I might have been if...if all of it hadn't happened."

"Good," she said firmly. "That's the person you should be. And Eli, if you ever want to, you know, talk about them, it's okay. I'd like to know more about your family. Gracie doesn't mention them much either. I don't know if it's too painful or if it's out of respect to you, but I wouldn't mind knowing more about them."

Eli considered for several moments. He had shared nothing of his family with anyone but Gracie in the past eight years. Maybe it was time to change that. He tugged Mari to his feet and cleaned up the remnants of their picnic, leading her back to his suite and into the study. He pulled the key out from under his shirt and unlocked the drawer with the photos of his family.

"So that's what that's for," Mari said. "I had been wondering why you had a key with you all the time."

"My dad loved tech, but he also loved old fashioned things. Things from the time before Gaia. He passed the passion on to me and Gracie." He pulled out the photographs and handed them slowly to Mari. She took them carefully, studying each one before moving on to the next.

"You all look so happy," she murmured. "And your mom was so pretty; Gracie looks just like her." She came to the pictures of Jessica and paused. Eli watched her, feeling apprehensive.

"This is Jess," she said softly. There were a few candid shots of Jess by herself, and others of her with Eli or other members of his family. She was always smiling or laughing, her pink curls falling across her face.

"She was beautiful, too," Mari said after a while. "I'm sorry, for what happened to her. I can tell she really loved you."

"We grew up together," Eli said. "We were neighbors and best friends all our lives. She was a lot like you, actually."

Mari blinked a few times, seemingly trying not to cry. Eli moved to stand beside her, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head.

"I want to know all about them," she said. So they sat in his living room until the early hours of the morning, and he told her stories about his family, and about Jess, and most of them were happy memories so they both laughed until their sides hurt. Eli realized Mari had fallen asleep at some point while he'd been rambling on, and he scooped her up gently in his arms, carrying her to the bedroom. He returned the photos to their drawer in the study and then crawled into bed next to her, pulling her close. She made a small sound as she snuggled closer to him in her sleep.

Eli kept his arm tightly around her, and for once he didn't feel plagued by guilt when he fell asleep with her beside him.