For a moment, Nate said nothing. He just watched Elena with a bit of silent reverence, drinking in the simple sight of her leafing through the book. The quiet wasn't entirely awkward or disconcerting, but neither was it totally comfortable. Whatever the feeling was, it sat at the bottom of his stomach like a rock, and his heart threatened to drop right down next to it. All things considered, he didn't really know how he still felt about his estranged wife, mostly due to the fact that he refused to let himself think about it for any extended period of time. He did know that he missed the sense of familiarity around her, that he missed her weight beside him in his bed, and that he still cared-- probably too much-- what she thought of him.
And now, here they were. Sitting at opposite ends of a table with a sea of books between them, just the same as they had so many times before. But, at the same time, it was different somehow. In the back of his mind, he knew that he didn't really need Elena's help to do what he was doing. He rarely ever did need her on the job. He just wanted her there, now more than ever, now that he knew that she was still willing to at least give him the time of day.
Damn it. He was getting distracted now. She probably noticed. Come on, Nate, he scolded himself. Focus. Beneath it all, there was still a very real and very severe issue concerning the fact that they'd been whisked away to Viking La La Land, and they both had their reasons to get the fuck out of it.
"The city itself doesn't look particularly Norse either, does it?" he said. It was the first thing he noticed when he stepped into Odin's district. Everything was so western European, and not particularly Scandinavian at all. "We might be barking up the wrong tree."
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And now, here they were. Sitting at opposite ends of a table with a sea of books between them, just the same as they had so many times before. But, at the same time, it was different somehow. In the back of his mind, he knew that he didn't really need Elena's help to do what he was doing. He rarely ever did need her on the job. He just wanted her there, now more than ever, now that he knew that she was still willing to at least give him the time of day.
Damn it. He was getting distracted now. She probably noticed. Come on, Nate, he scolded himself. Focus. Beneath it all, there was still a very real and very severe issue concerning the fact that they'd been whisked away to Viking La La Land, and they both had their reasons to get the fuck out of it.
"The city itself doesn't look particularly Norse either, does it?" he said. It was the first thing he noticed when he stepped into Odin's district. Everything was so western European, and not particularly Scandinavian at all. "We might be barking up the wrong tree."