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[ Her touch feels good; leads him to relax a tiny bit, by increments. He's still feeling like she is a much better person than he is, a lot less self-involved, but he is here to make up for it. To keep other people safe. ]

Yes. Yeah, that's why we're here.

[ They're steadily climbing, now, the road curving up along the mountain. They'll be at the overlook soon enough, able to stop, enjoy the sunset. Maybe allow him to think of something else than all the wrongs he's done, all the people he's hurt, all the money he's taken. ]

Don't you want to know what my wish is?

( it isn't difficult for her to assess that his own wish may not be as easily told, and while she hadn't intended on opening up about exactly why she'd come to the city, not at least to anyone other than clary or jace, he'd nestled himself an exception. she's still trying to decipher it, what it is about him that makes him so different, holds him out above the rest, enables him that ability to let her relax; but for right now, she doesn't want to question it. she just wants to feel it. )

Of course.

( it's quieter, up here. nothing but the music on his dash and the hum of the road, engine doubling over the sound anytime he switches gears. her features have softened once more, lying her head back against the rest, temple just as it's edge as she takes him in. ) When you're comfortable telling me.

I'm all ears.

[ He takes a deep breath, amazed by her response - by the lack of urgency, the willingness to wait for him. He's not used to that, and, right now, that's what he feels like sharing. He chuckles, bringing a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it for a second. ]

I've not had that kind of kindness shown to me much. The willingness to wait until I'm ready.

[ He taps his fingers on the wheel, taking a right towards the overlook. ]

I was working for someone that was pretty bad. He didn't take no for an answer.

( she has a feeling that whatever he's done, whatever he may have been a part of, it's not something he pays for lightly; there was no worse prison than the mind, take it from her. she wouldn't be upset if he preferred to wait it out, tell her after they've spent a bit more time with one another, but she's by no means disappointed when he begins, however small of steps he may need to take in order to get there.

every bit of her demeanor is patient, from the tiny tilt at the corner of her lips at his admittance to the way her body language itself doesn't prod nor rush him. it troubles her, even as little as she knows of him, to see him so trapped within himself. it's evident, then, that perhaps she wasn't the only one who needed this little evening retreat.

a moments pause, after his words, drawing plusher lip of the two in beneath her teeth. she doesn't want to interrupt or offer much from the sidelines, though part of her aches again to reach for him. she refrains. )

[ When she doesn't say anything, Baby find himself at a loss for words, for a moment. So he lets it pass - drives them to the overlook and parks when they reach it, the engine ticking as it cools once he's turned it off. They sit in silence for a short while, and then he turns towards Isabelle, biting the inside of his lip before talking again. ]

I could tell you it was all circumstances, and they didn't help. But I made some choices. They weren't good ones. I'm no hero, and I understand if you'd prefer just turning back.

[ He wouldn't blame her, or anyone. He believes himself to not be a terrible person, to have been pushed to his limits, but. He's also let a lot happen to him without flinching. ]

( she hopes she's hasn't unsettled him, by remaining quiet. it wasn't in any sort of fear for what might tumble past his lips; izzy's cared for others who might've done worse, there's no telling. what mattered to her was another's intentions, whether their hearts were good, and she doesn't doubt the purity that radiates, even aside his guilt.

he's struggling, and she wishes there was something she could do to make it easier for him, to assure him that she'd be there regardless of what was said. no man who deserved her to turn a cold shoulder would find their tongue this tangled, be anywhere near this worried that it might, in fact, push her away. she's entertained an addiction, she's been weak, she knows how it feels to be threatened. )

We've made it this far, haven't we? ( she won't make him continue, not unless he's ready for it, unless he's truly okay to let it out. ) Look, Baby... if you want to wait, it's okay. Really. What you've been through seems a lot bigger than what you've done.

Whether it's now, or later, I'm here.

[ He takes a deep breath, looking out the windshield to see the setting sun, everything cold and orange and glittering ahead of them, gorgeous. Like Izzy herself; another thing Baby maybe doesn't deserve, but will take anyway.

He nods, biting his lip again. ]

I'll get there. I want to tell - [ you, he thinks. ] - someone. It's just. There's a lot.

[ He undoes his seatbelt and opens his door, unfolding himself from behind the wheel and stretching out in front of the sun, before turning back to the car, looking at Izzy from behind his sunglasses. ]

Sunset's not waiting, though.

( —and it certainly wasn't. beaming, citrus hues begin to paint themselves about the building tops amongst the city, from way up here petite and clustered together, far quieter than it was tangled within. she takes a moment, drawing the site of him standing there lean against the gleaming hood of his car to her memory, before a moment later she's slipping out the passenger side.

the breeze instantly takes to flirting with her hair, tossing it about her temples while she crosses arms to her chest. comfortably, she finds herself at his side, and gentle she takes rest to his shoulder, looking out at the view cast before them. a slow breath inward. )

It seems just like anywhere else from up here, doesn't it? ( like cadelle were anything normal, anything they were used to. perhaps thats where the peace deviated from. )

Yeah.

[ He breathes, taking in the view and the fresher air, higher up as they are right now. He should be spending more time looking out than he is doing, his eyes drawn back to Isabelle constantly; the hair whipping around her face, the serene look settled on her features - did he just see her shiver? ]

Are you cold?

( she's well aware of baby's gaze often straying to her side profile, but she's struck by the miniature city cast before them, like figurines of a place far too good to be true. a city who's energy thrived upon intimacy? a means of credits to earn a second chance, something the two of them both wanted, even if for entirely separate reasons. it's then it hits her, softly through quite noticeably at the center of her chest that, at the moment, there's no one she'd rather be atop that mountain with than him.

a tiny shrug of a single shoulder. ) Only a little. It feels good, actually. ( but yes, baby, she's not any bit disinterested in the idea of taking your jacket. a slow breath inward, as if she could exhale everything she's kept pent up, everything that's forbidden her from just this— quiet, and peace. )

I think this is the first time I've felt comfortable here, in Cadelle.

[ He's got music in his ears, but he doesn't need it. It strikes him, suddenly, the quiet. There's no ringing, or it's so faint he can barely make it out; just like when he met Debbie. Someone that enraptured him enough to make him entirely forget about his disability. Made him forget he needed music, because her voice was just that. ]

Well, if it gets uncomfortable, let me know.

[ He does have an extra jumper, and a blanket in the backseat of the Challenger. Not that he imagined getting to cuddle under a soft throw with Isabelle, but. You never know.

He smiles when she speaks next, pride and contentment blooming in his chest. ]

Yeah? Good. [ With the toe of his sneaker, he digs a little in the gravel underfoot. ] I thought I wouldn't fit in, here. Wouldn't find friends. I'm not very good at the whole - making friends thing.

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