This is my job

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley locked the door behind them once Em came out of the room. "You didn't rush me. I'm more comfortable in my apartment anyway." He smiled. He started walking towards the end of the hall smiling as he felt Em by his side. He was happy to see that she was more relaxed with her gun. He didn't want her to feel like she had to be, for lack of a better word, on guard even when she was around him. He honestly was not a violent guy. He would protect anyone at all costs, but violence just for violence? That wasn't him. 

He got to the elevator and pressed the down button. Getting inside when the cart finally arrived, he hit his floor and held the door open for her. "I don't live too far down." He smiled and leaned against the wall of the elevator observing her again. She was so interesting. Her hair was a vibrant blonde, her eyes wide and innocent, yet pained. Everything about her was beautiful. He was shaken out of his observations when the elevator stopped on his floor. 


Laughing awkwardly to avoid the fact that he was staring at her, he walked out of the elevator hoping to hide his blush. He walked down the hall past all of his neighbors and reached his apartment at the very end of the hall. "This is...this is mine.." He said gently. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door. He turned to face her, his breath in his throat not believing the next words that were to come out of his mouth. 


"Would you want to come in? For tea...or-or a glass of wine?" He said laughing awkwardly again. His face flushing. "I know you probably have to get back to work..but a little break never hurt anyone right?" He rested against the door frame timidly awaiting her response. 

[Emilia Tucker]

Em smiled as Hadley assured her that he hadn't decided to leave on her account, which made her feel relieved. There was still that dread inside her gut of ending up sitting on her bed by herself with too many thoughts crowding her mind. She had no other task for the night than guarding the teacher and she'd been reprimanded before for burying herself in paperwork and not getting enough rest.

She almost reached out her hand to hold on to the young man when she felt the jolt of the elevator. It wasn't like this was her first time riding the lift, but it was still an unnerving feeling for her to be transported this deep underneath the ground. She felt a little relief when they were able to step out of that metal cage and had firm ground underneath their feet again.
Emilia couldn't help but glance at him every once in a while as they were walking down the hall, blushing when she caught him looking back at her. He had a nice smile and warm eyes that somehow reminded her of Lukas even though she didn't want to admit that to herself.

Walking down the residential corridor felt a little strange, imagining the day-to-day life of these strangers happening right behind the doors she was passing. She smiled again when Hadley stopped, declaring that they'd arrived at his apartment, surprising herself as she felt a small pang of regret inside her chest. She blinked in surprise when he offered her to follow him inside and have a drink with him.
„I really shouldn't...“, shestarted, doubting it would be a good idea to visit the apartment of the subject of her mission. Then again, those empty small rooms that had been given to her to stay in really didn't tempt her and accepting his proposal would give her some more time away from those walls and from being alone with her thoughts. She bit her lip again as she gazed up and down the corridor, checking if anyone could see them. Once she was sure the hallway was empty, she quickly nodded at him with a smile. „Okay, go on.“, she said, her smile audible in her words as she rushed him a little as long as they couldn't be observed by anyone.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

Tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley felt his smile falter when she said she shouldn't come in. But his smile soon returned at her words and he stepped back allowing her into his apartment. He knew that it was risky for her to be seen with him, never mind in his quarters, but he was glad she agreed to join him. Walking in behind her, he turned on the light and locked the door behind him, just for safety, not to keep her confined. "Well...this is home. It isn't much, but it's enough for me." He shrugged and walked towards the kitchen, dropping his bag off at the counter. He shrugged off his jacket, revealing his dress shirt and tie. Loosening the tie and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, he smiled over at her. "Feel free to make yourself at home."


He made his way to his room for a moment and took a deep breath looking at himself in the mirror. He just invited not only a stranger into his quarters, but an Arker...and none the less, a woman. What was happening to him. This was not like Hadley at all. Realizing he had been gone for over a minute, he walked back out to the living room area where he had left Emilia. He caught her eye and blushed gently. "So um...tea or wine? I have both." He laughed softly and sat on the edge of his couch. 


He hoped she would answer soon because he needed to do something with his hands to distract himself. He wasn't sure if what he was doing was flirting, but it sure felt like it. And it was something he hadn't done in a while. He could feel his pulse quickening at even being around her. Hadley wished he wasn't so awkward, but that was an unfortunate trait he had been gifted since birth. 

[Emilia Tucker]

When she heard the click of a key in the door behind her, Emilia's head snapped back wondering why he might feel the need to lock them in. She felt a little disconcerted, but reminded herself that she was probably only feeling on edge because she'd learned that she should always take note of each and every action of another person when she was in her training.

„It looks lovely.“, she complemented the rooms and she really meant it. None of the Arkers were used to much comfort, their homes being overall mostly practical. They didn't have any decorations they could use to make their quarter more homely or personal and the Mountain Men's dwellings had seemed quite luxurious to her from day one. Even his earlier mention of having a wine had impressed her. The only thing she'd ever been offered was a glass of strong moonshine, which was never about the taste since it was pretty awful, but about the effects of the high alcohol percentage. She smiled at Hadley when he suggested she should feel at home. While he was gone, she hesitated for a moment to let go of her weapon, but she finally set it on the ground leaning against the couch right next to where she set down. She still had a smaller gun in the waistband of her trousers but felt pretty certain that she wouldn't need it, although she still felt safer feeling the weight of it.

Emilia took off the jacket of her uniform, exposing the simple black shirt she was wearing, which clung close to her skin and was a little more revealing. She also untied her long blond hair which had been in a tight bun on the back of her head and always left her scalp feeling a little sore at the end of the day, letting the longs strays flow over her shoulders.
The Arker looked up when she heard Hadley's voice directed at her and hesitated for a moment. Her first instinct was to opt for the non alcoholic drink since she still felt like she was on duty, but realizing that her working day was over and feeling tempted by the mention of wine, a beverage she'd never tasted before, she changed her mind.
„A glass of wine would be lovely, thank you.“, she answered with another smile as she leaned back against the couch and folded her hand on top of her lap, still a little rigid and awkward but more relaxed than she'd been before.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley smiled at her response. "Wine it is!" He made a move to the kitchen to grab the wine. Pulling down two glasses, he reached in the back of one of his cabinets and found the red wine bottle. Pouring a generous but not overbearing amount into each glass, he capped the bottle and put it away. Grabbing each glass he made his way back towards the couch. He stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed that she had taken off her jacket revealing a tight black top, and she had taken down her hair and it now cascaded down her body. He swallowed a lump in his throat and kept walking to the couch. 


He handed a glass to her. "There you are." He smiled and sat down next to her but put enough room between them as to not seem like he was trying to assume anything. Taking a sip of his wine, he sighed and relaxed against the back of the couch. "Well...I mean if you're going to have to pretend to be on duty while you're with me we could at least do something entertaining." He laughed gently. "I have a bunch of old films that my parents saved. We could watch one of those?" He offered, taking another sip of his wine. "I don't really have much fun things to do around here other than grade homework which I'm sure is at the bottom of your list especially after a long day of sitting in my classroom." He smiled sweetly.


Hadley had to admit that having her in his class all day wasn't the worst thing he could have imagined. Sure, the reasoning behind her presence was a little disheartening. But there are far worse people he could have been stuck with. Taking another sip of wine, he caught himself staring at her again and tried his best to stop. But his eyes kept wandering to the beautiful girl before him. 

[Emilia Tucker]

Em watched Hadley perform the motions of getting both of them a glass of wine and was impressed with how much ease he seemed to pour the glasses. She had never even seen a bottle of wine, so it was strange for her to see someone open a flask as if they did it every other day, which may well have been the case for the young teacher. She believed she'd heard talk about some old bottles being stored away somewhere on the Ark when she was in training. A few bottles had apparently been saved before the Apocalypse and lay forgotten or reserved in one of the storage rooms, unaffordable for a common Arker and probably kept hidden for some special occasion like the end of all of their lives. For a brief moment, Em wondered if the Chancellor and his staff had actually opened one of those bottles once they'd known that they would have prepare for their fall to Earth, knowing of the small chances of survival.

The guard took the glass offered to her with a soft smile for the young man. "Thank you.", she said and smelled the liquid inside curiously. There was no comparison between the smells of this drink and the moonshine the Arkers would brew themselves. The latter just smelled of pure alcohol, strong and almost like some kind of disinfectant. This wine she was holding under her nose filled her nostrils with a complex mixture of scents, it was sweet and strong at the same time. Emilia took a tentative, tiny sip letting the thick fluids roll around in her mouth before swallowing and rubbing her lips together, licking them. „I've never tasted something like this before.“, she admitted and took another sip, this one a little braver than the last and she really did enjoy the taste of it.
She carefully set the glass down on the table in front of her and looked back up at Hadley. „You actually have films?“, she asked in surprise and couldn't really believe it. She'd seen a few old recordings during her training, but they'd just been short films meant for educational purposes. She'd never actually seen a movie purely for entertainment and she didn't know anyone who had. It seemed like the Mountain Men had gathered even more luxuries and old relics than she'd initially thought and she was quite intigued to find out what kind of other treasures they were keeping inside the mountain.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley watched as Emilia took the glass to her lips and took a sip. Seeing her lick her lips, he had to look away before he thought things he shouldn't. He took another sip of wine and then put his glass down with a soft chuckle. He was surprised to hear that she had never had anything like wine before. "My dad has friends up at the medical wing who always give him wine for holidays, birthdays. Special occasions mostly. But he doesn't really drink alcohol. After work I usually need a glass of wine to relax, especially after a tough day...so he almost always gives the bottles to me." He smiled. "Not that I mind." He laughed again.

Her surprise at his having films shocked him. Had she never seen a movie? I guess it made sense considering where she came from. He nodded his head and pushed himself up off of the couch. "I mean I have mostly educational ones to show the students from time to time, but I tend to sneak out a few recreational ones for myself that don't always revolve around science and math." He chuckled and knelt on the ground digging through a box of old films. "I only really have scary films though...there aren't exactly many to choose from in the storage that we have here." He turned to face her. "I hope that would be okay?" He asked referring to the idea of a horror movie. Not that he would mind having a beautiful woman next to him during a scary film. 

Hadley walked back to the couch, sitting once more, a reasonable distance away and grabbed a portable like screen from his coffee table. An original portable that had been passed down through his family from the first Mountain residents. "I only have a bigger screen in my classroom so I just use this one...since it's usually just me watching. It runs on a charge so I only ever plug it in like once a week...Kinda nice." He smiled and then let out an awkward laugh. He was blabbering. "But um...if you were interested in it, we could watch?" He asked again. He didn't mean to be so awkward but he couldn't help it. 

[Emilia Tucker]

The guard couldn't help but think of her job again when Hadley mentioned that his father had been presented with most of the wine he drank by his colleagues from the medical wing. She was pretty certain that a lot of those co-workers must have been involved in the procedure known as the harvest. Many of them had probably been executed by her people and Mr. Edwards could probably feel lucky that his involvement had been judged as a minor one. Still, if his son had already been estimated as a big enough risk to be guarded like this, Em felt pretty certain that the teacher's father was probably being watched as well.
Even the notion of having something to gift to someone else seemed like a luxury to Emilia though. On the Ark, they had only been able to make each other presents that were handmade or try to save up as many spare points as they could to get something at the exchange. She'd been shocked when Lukas had given her a real ring for their engagement. Even if it was a rather plain one, just a silver band, it must have costed him a frotune but he wouldn't even tell her how he'd managed to get his hands on it. She still cherished this symbol of his love for her and played around with it as she now dwelled on the memory of it for a moment.

When Hadley explained how he only had scary movies for them to watch and just this small screen that looked like some of the rare electronical devices they'd had on the Ark, which had mostly been used by the tech staff or the Chancellor and his entourage, she just regarded him with an expression that showed her ignorance of the experience of watching a movie.
„I've never really watched a movie, so I'm sure anything will be fine.“, she assured him and looked at the screen in his hands. „It looks like some of the devices we sometimes used for training or some of our missions. We didn't really get the chance to use them much more because there were only a few around that still worked and they were mostly needed elsewhere.“, she explained and remembered how nervous she'd been as a trainee guard when she'd been given one of the pads, afraid she might break the precious tech.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley chuckled at her words. "Well then I am happy to show you one of your firsts!" He smiled. The screen was about the size of a laptop, so not too big but also not too small. It worked for whenever he wanted to watch something so hopefully it wouldn't be terribly small for two people. But he couldn't imagine that Emilia would have a problem considering she hadn't really watched movies before, especially if she was used to this size with training. This would be just right. 


Hadley stood up, after placing the screen between them, and turned on the tableside lamp farthest from them. Then he went to the door where they came in and placed a finger on the light switch. "I-uh...I hope you don't mind if I turn this big light off...it kind of makes a glare on the screen..." He said softly as he turned off the overhead light. The side table added a nice glow to the room so that it wasn't completely dark. He didn't want her to think he was trying anything....as much as he wanted to, he just wanted the environment to be perfect for the movie. 


Going back to the couch, he sat down and then moved a bit closer to her so that they'd be able to share the screen easily. He swallowed the lump in his throat now that they were immediately side by side. Grabbing a pillow, he placed it on their knees and then put the screen on the pillow so it sort of propped itself up between them. Pulling open the case of movies he had taken from the box on the ground, he dug around past all the educational ones until he found the first scary one he saw. The Blair Witch Project. It was scary, but she wouldn't know the difference if it was her first film. Besides, he would be with her the whole movie. It was much scarier if you watched alone. 


Pulling it out, he placed it into the device and let it load. "Well...here we go then." He smiled and pressed play as the pre-movie music began. He was excited for her to experience this but also excited at the idea of her being so much closer to him now...she was breaking down her walls slowly but surely and for that he was grateful. Taking a sip of wine, he placed his glass back on the table before resting his hand on the pillow between them. 

[Emilia Tucker]

When Hadley got up and switched off the overhead light, the atmosphere of the room literally changed like turning a switch. Em was reminded of all the moments she'd shared with Lukas, sitting in a way very similiar to what she was now experiencing with the young teacher. The realization of this unsettled the young guard. Although Hadley seemed very nice and was quite attractive, getting herself into a situation like this started to slowly overwhelm her. She was still holding on to the memory of her late fiancé and having a moment like this, that started to look very much like a date, gave herself the impression that she was starting to let go of him, which she wasn't ready to do. Em was not only afraid of what people might start to think and whisper about her, she also had a creeping sensation of betraying Lukas.

Bearing all this in mind, her skin tingled when Hadley's arm touched her's as they were sitting so close together to share the small screen. Her breathing started to become heavier as she was getting ever more overwhelmed by the conflicted feelings and thoughts fighting for the upper hand inside her. She watched the practiced moves of the young man's hands as he was preparing eerything to get the movie started and had the feeling she might jump up any second to rush out of the apartment, making up some excuse along the way about why she had to leave. But she didn't, something seemed to keep her glued to the sofa.
Her complicated musings were interrupted by the images on the screen before her. Yes, she had seen moving pictures before, but those old educational recordings were nothing compared to what she was watching now. The lighting and mood of this movie were completely different and it was telling a story rather than just relaying information.
„So, this is just meant for entertainment? There's nothing practical about it?“, she asked, only daring to talk in a whisper, her voice full of disbelief. Every Arker was used to only seeing and hearing things that had a task, fulfilled a purpose, Emilia even more so since she was part of the guard. Most movements of their daily lives were planned out and scheduled and her people had never had a lot of time to spare for simple pleasures, things that had no significant reason like helping them fight for survival.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley heard her breathing quicken and equated it to the fact that the movie was a different experience for her. The scares were around every corner in this film and it was perfectly reasonable for her to be acting that way. He did the first time he watched it. The opening scene was enough to set the mood that this was not going to be a funny movie. But suddenly he felt her demeanor change. She was engaged in the film. He could see it. 


At her question, he chuckled softly. It was a whispered question of awe. "No practical use whatsoever..." he whispered back. "The only thing scary movies are useful for is to teach you not to lock yourself inside a closet when there is a killer in the house." He smiled down at her. "If it gets too scary, we can turn it off...I'm sorry I don't have anything....well not scary." He chuckled again and then looked down at his hands before back at the film. He was trying his best to make this seem normal. 


For petes sake he just met this woman. She was the guard to his classroom. What was he even thinking? It wasn't a normal thing to invite your personal guard to your apartment never mind for a glass of wine and a movie. But for some reason he couldn't bring himself to end the night. He wanted to get to know her, to make her feel normal here. Even though her people overtook his, it was still a new environment for her. He wanted her to make this her home too...so if it meant opening up his home to her, then he would do it..no matter how beautiful he thought she was...

[Emilia Tucker]

Em was still confused by the idea that what they were watching had actually been recorded just for the sake of people's entertainment. She just couldn't fathom the idea that anyone would have the time to just sit around for an extended period of time with their eyes glued to a screen, watching people just perform a random story. While growing up, she'd always been reminded how essential hard work was for their community and being idle was harmful to their cause. Now that she was just sitting here, doing nothing useful really, she felt a little guilty but tried to enjoy this new experience nonetheless. She would probably have to get used to this unknown feeling of having some spare time and actually being able to spend it doing something fun.

The guard couldn't help but scoff at first when he suggested turning the movie off if it got too scary. With everything she'd been through, especially recently, she didn't think anything could frighten her anymore. Apparently that had been a poor judgement on her part though, because the next minute, something jumped to the front of the screen and so did her heart along with it. She let out a high pitched scream and grabbed Hadley's forearm with the hand closest to him. When the moment had passed, the realization that she was holding on to the young man next to her hit her. Her cheek's flushed as she gazed up at him apologetically, losening her grip with a soft „Sorry!“ on her lips and looking back down at the screen to avoid his eyes as her heart beat rapidly with embarrassement.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley watched as she practically brushed off the idea of being scared when he mentioned turning it off. But when she shrieked and grabbed onto him, he chuckled softly and smirked down at her. "I told you it'd be scary." He placed his hand over hers even after she loosened her grip. "Don't apologize...I was scared watching it for the first time too." He smiled and looked down at where his hand was over hers. He liked the idea of his hand on hers, her hand on his arm. He didn't anticipate anything happening, he was happy with just whatever this was, but he liked where things were. 

But when he looked down again, he saw a shimmer against her finger from the screen. A ring? And on her left hand no less. Was she married? She didn't mention a husband, just her son. But then again it would make sense that she was married if she had a kid. But then why did she come in with him?  Why did she accept his request for wine and a movie? Where was her husband? So many thoughts were running through his head. 

"Oh..um..sorry" He didn't know what to say. His entire demeanor changed from excited and content to disappointed and sad. He slowly let his hand drop from hers and back into his lap, keeping his eyes on the movie again. He didn't want her to not enjoy herself. Maybe she just needed a night away from her husband and he was just here to be a friend. That'd be fine too, but why didn't she tell him about her husband? He was confused more than anything....

[Emilia Tucker]

The movie really did have some really scary parts, but it was a different kind of scary from the trauma she'd been through. This kind of fear was exciting and she felt the adrenaline rush through her after every little jump her heart made faced with each dark shadow or figure that passed over the screen. It was a thrilling kind of anxiety opposed to the deeply scarring sensation of losing a loved one and she didn't mind this sort of fear. Emilia was surprised when she felt Hadley withdraw from her and she thought she noticed a sudden change in his mood. She just barely caught his eyes graze over her hands and felt confused as to what about them could have caused him to distance himself from her. She snuck a look at her own hands to see if anything was wrong with them and noticed how her engagement ring glistened under the light thrown at them from the small screen.

His reaction to it made her wonder if he had other intentions in mind than just watching a movie, but she realized that it would probably seem very strange for a woman who was actually married to follow a stranger into his apartment and have a drink while watching a movie with him. She bit her lip nervously, hesitating whether she should speak up or just continue to stare at the screen in awkward silence. Leaning forward, Em grabbed her glass and took another big sip of wine to steal herself for what she was about to say. After putting her drink back down on the small table, she lifted her left hand, showing off the ring by moving it a little with the help of her thumb.

„I still don't know how he managed to collect enough points to get this for me.“, she started with a soft chuckle as the memory of their bickering came back to her, her always teasing Lukas and pressing him to tell her how he'd managed to get his hands on the jewel. „My fiancé Lukas gave this ring to me when he proposed, it must have cost him a fortune! We were next to each other when our station launched to Earth, he was holding my hand and kissed my pregnant belly before we started our fall. After hitting the ground, I couldn't find him at first until someone brought me to him...to his body! He looked so...broken, nothing like the optimistic and funny man that I'd grown to love“, she explained with a sad smile and tears were pooling in her eyes by now as she kept staring at the ring she was turning this way and that around her finger. It wasn't like she was fishing for sympathy or pity, she just didn't want Hadley to think that she was the sort of woman who would agree to a late night drink with another man when she was married to another.

Tag: Hadley Edwards

[Hadley Edwards]

tag: Emilia Tucker

Hadley didn't try to look into her eyes when she started to speak. She seemed pretty light hearted about the idea of her fiance having gotten her the ring and being in his living room. He didn't want to feel like he was causing her to be unfaithful to her fiance by being here. That was never his intention. He just wished he had known that she was involved with someone else. He would have never been as bold, if you could call it that, with her had knew known. 


But her next words brought him straight out of his thoughts. He was...he was dead? Her fiance. He died with their child? Hadley's demeanor changed in an instant getting up quickly to find a tissue. Coming back to sit next to her, he brushed the tissue over her cheeks catching any tears that fell. "Oh Em...I'm sorry." He said softly. "I-I didn't mean to offend you or-or make you talk about something so awful." He said as he continued to wipe her tears. "I-I didn't know...I'm sorry." He whispered and brought his hand away from her face. 


"I didn't mean to upset you." He felt so stupid. He shouldn't have said anything. He shouldn't have even invited her in. He should have just let her escort him to her apartment and nothing else. But instead he made the mistake of thinking something when clearly it was another. He couldn't even imagine losing the one he loved, especially so tragically. He placed his hand on hers once more. "Honestly...I'm sorry...I don't even know what to say...except I'm sorry." He said softly.