Facilitating (Multi POV)

Emma POV

Emma took two plates of food that Ivy had prepared for breakfast, and walked to where she would find Paige, in one of the spare rooms.

The poor girl hadn’t shown up to eat, and while Emma understood why, she wasn’t about to let Paige start skipping meals again.

She knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

“Come in.” Came the soft reply from inside after a few seconds.

Emma took that as a hopeful sign and pushed open the door gently, finding Paige in bed, staring at the ceiling.

The younger girl sat up, upon Emma entering the room. She made no move to get out of bed though.

Emma put the plate of food down in front of her, and sat opposite from her in bed.

“Here, I brought you some food. Please try to eat some of it.” Emma said.

Paige looked at it skeptically.

Emma knew that look. Some people, especially those who were experiencing shocks to their system, had a lot of trouble eating when they were upset. It seemed Paige was one of those people.

“Please try? For me?” Emma asked, smiling sympathetically at Paige.

The girl thought for a few seconds, then finally relented and picked up the cutlery. Emma’s smile widened. “Thank you. I’m proud of you.” She said.

Paige perked up ever so slightly at the words. Her overall demeanour however, remained as it was before.

“How are you feeling?” Emma tried. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to get Paige talking.

“I don’t know. A little better.” Paige said, finally speaking to her directly.

“Good, that’s progress.” Emma said encouragingly, giving Paige a smile.

The earth mage made a half hearted attempt at a smile, although she still clearly wasn’t feeling it.

The conversation fell silent again. Emma knew she needed to say it, and there wasn’t much way to just ease into the topic.

“Paige, I want you to know: it’s okay to make mistakes. That’s all this was, a mistake. I know it might feel like the end of your world, but it’s not. They’ll forgive you.” Emma promised her.

Paige looked at her, tears springing to her eyes. “How do you know that? I ruined everything! I betrayed the people I love!” She cried, a tear slowly running down her cheek.

“Did you tell him anything about us?” Emma asked. Not in an accusatory manner, but guiding her thoughts.

“Of course not! I just-” Paige replied, but Emma cut her off.

“If you didn’t tell him anything, then you didn’t betray them.” The older woman said reassuringly.

“But I should have told the others! I didn’t, I hid it from them, I was too scared a-and I’ve ruined….everything…” She trailed off, her head dropping and her shoulders sagging as she sobbed.

Emma moved around to sit next to her, and put a comforting arm around Paige. “You should have told them. But you didn’t. And that’s okay.” Emma told her.

Paige looked at her in confusion.

Emma smiled kindly at her. “I know it’s hard to imagine. They’re upset. But once they have time to think it over, they’ll forgive you. I know it.” Emma reassured her.

Paige looked down again, shaking her head slowly. “I don’t know about that.” She said.

Emma put her hand under Paige’s chin and gently lifted her head up to meet her gaze. “I do. Trust me. They care about you, they love you. When they’re ready to listen, they’ll let you explain, and they’ll forgive you.” She says.

Paige still looked skeptical, but there was a knock on the still open bedroom door at that moment.

The two of them turned to see Gemma standing in the doorway, a concerned look on her face.

“Hey.” The pink haired girl greeted them as she walked in. Gemma gave Emma a nod, before sitting down on the bed next to Paige.

“How are you feeling love?” She asked.

Paige looked at Gemma, her lower lip trembling. “Scared.” She answered with one word, her tone shakey.

“Why are you scared?” Gemma asked.

“I don’t think Mia and the others will forgive me.” Paige said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Gemma pulled her into a cuddle, massaging her back softly. She shot Emma a thankful look as she did so. Emma smiled back at her.

The older woman was always glad to help people work things out, especially people she cared about.

Paige melted into Gemma’s embrace, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.

“We’re gonna work this out.” Gemma affirmed. “I’ll make sure they listen to you. We’ll come out of this okay, I promise.”

“I don’t know…” Paige sighed softly, her voice filled with a hopelessness that damn near broke Emma’s heart.

“I’ll make sure of it.” Gemma said again. “Besides, I suspect this might have been Mathias’ plan.”

Paige pulled back and looked at their guild leader. “What?” She asked.

Gemma nodded. “I’m not sure he really wanted information about us. I think he has most of what he could want. I think he meant to try to tear us apart.” She said.

Emma nodded slowly. That would make sense, if he saw them as a threat with their combined strength.

Paige clenched her fists. Gemma noticed the gesture and took her lover’s hands in her own. “I’m not going to let that happen. Like I said, we’re all going to be okay. I promise.” She said.

Damn, when had that girl become so reliable? The thought made its way through Emma’s mind unbidden.

Paige nodded gratefully. “Thank you Gem.” She said.

“Always.” Gemma replied, kissing Paige on the forehead.

“I’ll make sure she’s alright. Keep doing what you’re doing.” Emma said.

“Thank you. I love you Paige.” Gemma said.

“I love you too.” The girl said, her voice slightly more stable than it was.

Emma rubbed her back gently, and Paige leaned into the touch, still upset, but better than she was.

Lena POV

“Sooo do ya wanna talk about what happened?” Lena asked, to try to start the conversation.

Mia groaned. “Yeah I guess we should.” She said, her reluctance as clear as day.

Mia had taken to helping Lena feed her parrots in the morning, a task which she was usually very happy to help with.

On this particular morning however, Mia looked almost bashful. Lena could understand that. Conflict was uncomfortable, and conflict resolution even more so.

“Ya know that was really unfair to talk to Paige like that, don’t you?” Lena prompted.

Mia nodded unhappily. “Yeah it probably was.” She admitted.

“So why’d you do it?” Lena asked, trying to prompt her to express her feelings.

Mia sighed. “I don’t know. I was angry.” She replied.

“I know, but why?” Lena continued to prod her.

Mia sighed again, the sound filled with annoyance. “Why do you care?” She asked.

Lena gave her a small smile. “Cause I care about you. I wanna help you fix this, loser.” She said affectionately.

Mia started to smile too. She couldn’t seem to help herself. “Buttface.” She threw back with a soft chuckle.

Her expression returned to its unhappy state as Mia thought over the problem at hand again.

“Lena I…it’s my family…” She confessed.

Lena nodded in understanding. She knew all too well what that felt like, after yesterday.

“He’s got my family.” Mia said, shaking her head helplessly. “I can’t…I don’t know what to do…” Her tone wavered, betraying her vulnerability.

Lena swept her into a hug, and Mia hugged her back.

Mia didn’t outright start to cry, but Lena could sense there was a part of her that wanted to.

And she understood. Family was everything, especially for a girl from a small town in the midwest like her.

“Family is everything.” Lena relayed her inner thoughts. She wanted Mia to know that she understood.

When they separated, Mia continued to speak. “My parents disowned me so they could be okay, because we fought Mathias’ guild.” She revealed.

Lena’s eyes widened softly. “That sounds awful.” She sympathised.

Mia nodded. “Yeah. But what’s the point if they’re just gonna die anyway?” She asked.

Lena’s heart sank on hearing that. It made more sense now, why Mia was so upset at Paige.

“They’re not gonna die.” Lena reassured her.

“But if Paige betrayed us-” Mia started, but Lena cut her off.

“Paige didn’t betray us. She’s with us.” Lena said.

“But if she did-” Mia tried again.

“Stop it. She’s terrified and upset, same as you. She cares too.” Lena said. “Ya gotta let the poor girl talk about it. You ain’t the only one with people in trouble. Mathias kidnapped her friends, remember?” Lena said.

Mia nodded slowly, her shoulders sagging. “…yeah. You’re right…” She said unenthusiastically.

It was at that moment that Gemma walked by. She waved hi to the birds, and Lena had to stifle a chuckle.

“How are you doing Mia?” She asked.

“...better…I think.” Mia replied, after some hesitation.

Gemma nodded, waiting to see if she said more.

“I screwed up, didn’t I?” Mia asked her girlfriend.

Gemma grimaced. “Yeah.” She said.

“I should apologise to Paige, shouldn’t I?” Mia asked.

“Yeah you should.” Gemma agreed.

Mia sighed. “Shit.” She said, her gaze dropping to the floor.

Gemma pulled her into a hug. “It’s alright, mistakes happen. I’m sure if you apologise to Paige and hear her out, she’ll forgive you.” She reassured.

“Maybe. I hope so.” Mia said, the vulnerability leaking through her voice.

“She will.” Gemma said with certainty.

After a few seconds, they pulled back from one another. Gemma kissed Mia on the forehead.

“Whenever you’re ready to talk to her and sort all this out, I’ll get everybody together. Is that okay?” Gemma asked.

Mia nodded. “Yeah, I guess we all need to talk about stuff.” She agreed.

“Yeah we do. Let me know when you’re ready.” Gemma said. “Take care, okay? And please tell Ivy or me if there’s anything we can do.”

Mia nodded. The two of them shared a kiss, before Gemma departed, probably to find one of the other people involved in the conflict.

Damn she’s doing good handling this, Lena thought.