「 silent night 」 — open, breakfast

[HAYLEY]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 8pt; color: #484848; line-height: 22px;"]anyone who'd paid attention, for whatever reason, to the ins and outs of hayley's room would have seen it. they would have seen how the pair had gone into the room that night, and neither one had emerged until that morning. disheveled and sleepless, jackson left first, head down and heading straight for his room; a few minutes later, hayley would slip out the doors, carrying hope, looking as sleepless as he was, but somehow better than she had in some time. a little brighter, a little happier, and far, far more guilty than usual.

she made her way to the dining hall, got herself a plate of food and sat at her usual seat. eyes cast downward, she transferred eggs into her mouth with a fork, and every now and then her lips turned upwards in a slight sort of smile. hope's carrier was on the ground beside her, and the tip of her boot rested on it, applying and removing pressure to absentmindedly rock the infant.

a few minutes later, jackson made his way into the room, his own plate of food in hand, and there was an obvious decision making process behind his eyes. after a moment, he moved to sit across from hayley, clearing his throat.

❝sleep well?❞ he inquired awkwardly, nervous eyes on her face.

❝mmhm,❞ she said, just as awkward, not looking up from her plate, ❝you?❞

❝not really.❞ he said, and the pair sat there in an awkward silence, what had occurred relatively obvious to anyone old enough to realize exactly how hope had come to be in the first place.

[tomorrow]

JUST STANDING WAITING FOR THE PUNCHES

Tomorrow did not keep track of the ins and outs of Hayley's room; he wasn't even sure if he'd ever been inside there, and the idea made him somewhat nervous. Even moreso nervous now that Jackson was lurking around, attempting to be a father and a partner.

He didn't really want to dwell on those... Interesting and terrifying feelings, so he pushed them to the back of his mind and kept busy as much as possible. He'd already been awake for a fair amount of time, taking advantage of a break in the snowfall to go out hunting. He came back with a snowhare and otherwise a lump of disappointment, but at least it was something.

Waddling into the mess hall, still half frozen from his time outside, he headed towards where Hayley and Jackson were seated mostly on autopilot. He enjoyed sharing breakfast with Hayley, and if given the chance he wanted to ask how Hope was doing; he knew she'd gotten sick recently, and hoped she wasn't keeping Hayley up too much.

"Morning." Tomorrow said, sitting down. Claire and Jeremiah slunk under the table, nosing at Hope's carrier before settling down. Tomorrow blinked, starting to notice the rather... Awkward atmosphere, and nervously picked at his food.

"Did Hope keep you up again? You look tired." Tomorrow commented, glancing at Hayley. He also glanced at Jackson, who also looked equally tired. It didn't take long to piece two and two together, and Tomorrow swallowed the growing lump in his throat and tried to eat a bit faster after realizing what he'd gotten himself into.