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[it's easier to pick up on her approach than it used to be. so when she knocks on the door, there's no delay before it slides open. there's a smile on his face; one that's far more relaxed than she may have seen in a while. one that shows just how happy he really is that she came.

(she could've said no. she could have told him to leave her alone indefinitely, and he'd have had no choice but to do just that.)

stepping back, he ignores his urge to try and make any kind of move toward her (yet), and instead clears the way inside.]

...hey.

Hey. [She definitely is relieved to see him smiling. It's been so stilted between them these past few times. All the questions and answers she's not sure she wants to tell him. It's not easy, but she knows that some things are best just left unsaid. The room isn't one she remembers being in before - but she has had a good amount of time away from the ship. She's gotten lost a few times as she re-remembers things.]

For the record, I'm not going to say something that'll make you want to kick me out of here. [She knows that he probably doesn't want to be reminded of how he left last time, but she just wants to make sure he knows she's not planning on confessing anything.]

Pretty sure there isn't anything you can say that would.

[because things have a changed a lot over the past few weeks (years). he isn't the same kid he was before. isn't going to blame her for her actions back home because home is different for them all. they're different. and he'd been an idiot for trying to blame her for her life back there.

he heads over to take a seat on one of the beds, sitting cross-legged to make it clear that he isn't expecting anything from her. she can sit wherever she wants (even though he does miss things as simple as sitting close enough to touch. being able to rest against each other. to relax. to--).]

Are you mad with me?

[Her fingers close into a fist - index finger pressing over her thumb until she feels that crack of space between her joints. Exhaling, Hayley shakes her head.]

No, it's not -- [Looking up at him, she still stands in place.] I'm not upset or mad. I was frustrated at the time, because I thought I was doing the right thing by being honest. And now... now, because of that baby I'm closer to that family than I've ever been to any family. They're my family and I've spent so long looking for my family that I'm okay with whatever their history has in it.

I just don't expect anyone else to understand that... [Her one shoulder lifts in half a shrug.] Especially you.

So it's hard for me to stand here and talk as if Klaus, or any of his family, was on this ship that I wouldn't go to any of them. I told you before that I wouldn't want anything to do with him, but that's not true anymore.

I would protect him as fiercely as I'd protect you. So if you don't think you'll be able to handle that - even on a 'might never happen' level then I shouldn't be here.

Edited (idk too many words or something is going on, but it's early and I can't figure it out) 2015-02-10 16:06 (UTC)

You think I don't get that?

[she may not know all the details about his life back home (as far as he's aware), but it's not as though he's keep his father a secret. not when it'd been her he'd turned to when he'd ended up tracking the man's scent into the hallways all those jumps ago.]

If my dad turned up here in the next jump? I'd do whatever it took to keep him safe, even though I know my pack wouldn't get it.

[it's different, of course. his father had only ever taken it out on him. klaus' case was different. if the hybrid turned up here, he knows it wouldn't go well for the rest of them. but still--]

For people like us, sometimes family's more important than who they are.

[Hayley nods, the relief she feels in hearing what he says becoming something that settles her a lot more than she had thought it would. The thought of Isaac's father being here... that's not something she wants to ever see, mostly because of the few memories she had seen from Isaac - his father wasn't exactly a shining example of parenting.

She steps closer to Isaac, looking up at him as she does so. Her posture more relaxed.]

You know if your father shows up here, you're not the same kid you were back then.

[after all that he's been through, both back in beacon hills and on the tranquility, he knows he's changed. and even during his worst moments, he knows it's for the better. he's changed because of the people he's surrounded himself with. changed, because he's done being the victim. changed, because he knows he doesn't get anything unless he takes it for himself.

it's why there's less hesitation now when he reaches out for hayley, fingers tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, his thumb brushing gently across her cheek. his hand hovers there for a moment as a smile slowly makes it back on to his face again.]

I've not been that kid for a long time.

[which, considering how this entire conversation started, could be seen as a line. but it's sincere. honest. he hasn't been that kid for a long time, thanks to his change. thanks to this ship. even if his father turned up tomorrow, he wouldn't go back to being who he used to be. not now.]

I'm just me now. Is that enough?

[If she didn't know him so well, know the way his words tend to slide when he's being honest, it would've been the clique romance movie pick-up line. The ones where the younger person seduces the older one and it's all okay because they seem to both want it. Granted, she's only four years older than him, but it still would have fit right into a script somewhere.

It's not a line, though. It's not something he's saying to get her to agree to something she's unsure about. It's an admittance of him being stronger, better, and more capable when it comes to the things that she could be worried about.

She's not the same anymore, either. She's stronger - more dedicated to her family, more capable of control and yet she also knows just how quickly her temper and frustration can result in violence. How she lashed out at the pack that betrayed her, betrayed her family and tried to offer up her daughter as part of an agreement for their own benefit.

She's definitely not the same, but like Isaac - she's just herself and even if that comes with secrets and things she won't tell him, he seems to have accepted that and now all that she has to do is accept him.

The brush of contact, the softness of the gesture isn't something she's felt from anyone since she became a hybrid. She's cut them off, closed those doors and she knows how Elijah looks at her - how he sees her as something far different than the one that he felt he needed to protect. The one that he seemed to be falling for. Now that's gone and she's here - without any of them at her side.

Yet, here's Isaac. Standing before her. On her side... and she wants to return to something that fits with her. Maybe she's taking the easy way out of everything, but she doesn't think he'd judge her for that.]

[She exhales and looks up at him, catching the smile that falls to his features.]

You're enough. [Her reply is quiet, not because she feels like she has to hide her reply, but because she's so close to him and growing closer as she leans up, rising onto the balls of her feet, to close that distance and kiss him.]

[it's enough to release the tight feeling in his chest. something that'd settled there from the moment things first started falling apart between them. his reaction to her kiss is slow, surprise at the fact she's even giving him another chance being enough to delay it. he'd been hopeful, of course. they wouldn't be where they are if he hadn't tried to fix things. but for her to accept that, after all he's done--

the kiss is returned easily, gentle at first as his hand slides back to cup her face instead. it only stays that way for a moment though before he's deepening it, his free arm moving to her waist to pull her close. something that stays in place even once he does eventually break away. now that he has this again he isn't ready to let go.]

So, does that mean we're good?

[his smile is more of a grin now. with things less tense between them, it's easier to joke around. to let things slide back to how they once were. (how comfortable she makes him feel). things may not be exactly the same anymore, but he's happy to take whatever she's willing to give.]

[It's so easy to just slide back into what they had before, how good it felt to just have someone want her, to feel that slight edge of someone needing her. There's no agenda, no part of something that she needs to fulfill - she's not given an amount of lead to go out only to be pulled back. She's just herself.]

We're good. [She almost teased him, almost said that they weren't good that it would never work, but she's not going to joke about something that might end up true at some point.]

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