Por amor al arte (Julieta x F!Reader)

Part 10

"At least you have another daughter"

"No! They didn't!." Julieta gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Yup" you nodded "if it wasn't for Karim, I would have broken a lot of bones that day"

"God"

"But it doesn't beat 'You can have your own life now'" you said, shuddering "We've always had a life of our own, only now we have to live it without them"

The brunette could only sigh and nod.

After a couple more tears (and many, many blushes after that kiss), you two had gotten up off the ground. You offered her food, but she had no appetite, so you just stayed in the workshop. You had noticed how her hands were trembling and couldn't seem to stay still and when she started to dig her nails into her palms, you decided to take action.

You had taken her by the hand and led her further into the room, seating her in front of your painting table. You had a few porcelain plates and vases that just needed to be painted to be finished. She told you that painting wasn't her thing, but she still accepted the brush you offered her and followed your advice to only paint patterns that came naturally.

You've been here almost two hours already.

You lost track of time as you chatted, laughed, and cried some more. When your chest stopped hurting, you had dared to joke about the things people had said when you lost Aharhel. It sounded masochistic, but there was something liberating about making fun of all those who seemed unaware of the meaning of the word "empathy".

"Sometimes I wish I could just take their voices away" you said

"It would help with certain people" Julieta agreed.

"Anyway...what are you doing?" you asked, walking towards her to look over her shoulder.

Julieta tried to stay still so you wouldn't notice the way her breath caught in her throat at your closeness and she simply showed you the plate she was working on. The piece itself was dyed a soft pink, almost white color and she had painted a couple of caterpillars on the bottom, and a couple of yellow butterflies on top. There were also two white lilies.

"It's beautiful" you whispered "And you said you had no talent. If you ever get tired of cooking, I will gladly hire you here"

The older woman chuckled and tried not to shiver too much when your breath tickled her neck. Her stomach twisted with guilt because how was it possible that just a few hours ago she was crying for her deceased husband and now she was feeling the same warmth with you that she felt when she met him?

"I'll keep it in mind" she told you

You smiled and wished the damn clock would stop. But it was 8:40 at night and you knew she had to leave for dinner. Julieta also felt disappointed when her eyes caught the numbers on your wall. She didn't want to leave you, she wanted to stay in this safe place, laughing with you, holding your hand...maybe kissing your cheek again.

"I have to go" she said, blushing at that last thought.

"I know" you sighed "I'll bring you the plate when the paint dries"

"But-"

"You worked a lot on it, it's a gift" you smiled

She just smiled back at you. At least it was a promise to see you again tomorrow.

She insisted that she could walk home alone, so you settled for walking her to the door. Your right hand was hidden in your pocket, closed in a fist. You had thought about this during these hours that she was here. You never wanted to touch this again, it hurt too much, but something in you told you that she was the only one who could help you with this burden and when she returned the favor by talking about how she felt when she tried to save your son, you knew this was the best. When you went to get the brush for her, you took the opportunity to put this in your pocket.