Worn Me Down

[drownondryland]

Meredith was insistent, however cautiously, that Christmas be about now, not what came before, and the day's respite helped ease her mind somewhat, but it couldn't clear it completely. It was only a temporary reprieve, after all, and she knew that it was only a matter of time before she and Sean had to discuss things again. As much as she knew she

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[getemtiger]

The day after Christmas was quieter than the holiday that had preceded it. Mary Jane had never, even as a child, been the kind of person to be disappointed by its passing (if only because Christmases in the Watson household had never been especially pleasant), and that held true now, too. There was still plenty to be grateful for: the show in two days, the way things had generally been going as of late, the fact that they were a hell of a lot better off than they'd been at this time last year. That mattered more than any occasion itself.

She'd been running lines when she heard a knock at the door, feeling pretty good about them, but figuring some last-minute repetition couldn't hurt. It was a plan that was easy to change, though; she got to her feet quickly, and smiled instinctively when she saw who was standing there. "Meredith," she said, smiling warmly, and stepped to the side, holding the door open. "Hey, come on in."

[drownondryland]

Mary Jane's smile was both a run-of-the-mill thing and surprisingly comforting, and Meredith smiled back more readily than she'd been expecting herself to do. Somehow she often felt she should be more upset by things than she was, especially when yesterday really had worked out. "Thanks," she said, knocking the snow from her shoes before she stepped inside. "Just thought I'd drop by, say hi. How are you? How was your Christmas?" The warmth of coming inside from the cold bit at her skin, but she welcomed the change. As much as she liked the weather, part of what she enjoyed was getting out of it.

[getemtiger]

"It was good," Mary Jane replied easily, nodding once as she closed the door behind Meredith, not wanting to let in too much cold air. She was glad for the island's winter, she really was - it wouldn't have seemed much like Christmas otherwise - but that didn't mean she wanted the house getting chilly. Even pink and better insulated than usual, that wouldn't have done any good. Drawing the thin sweater she had on a little more tightly around herself anyway, she started in the direction of the couch and the fireplace, still smiling at Meredith as she walked. "Nice, quiet, which is always a good thing, with our lives. How about you?"

[drownondryland]

Meredith laughed a little, nodding. "Quiet's good," she said. She hadn't been especially quiet, but then, that was one of the benefits of not having roommates anymore, she supposed. "It was... nice." She followed along, unzipping her coat as she went and sinking down onto the couch. "You know, just me and Sean. Which isn't unusual or anything, but I think we needed it. A designated day off." So things hadn't been great for a while, not for the pair of them. She never troubled to hide it, even if she tried to be discreet about why. That just made this feel all the more deserved. "And it was nice to... get a second one."