blue_ajah | (no subject)

"I am glad you find it so," she murmurs, but she is studying him carefully as she does. Even if she had not been half expecting it, it would have been impossible for one such as the Aes Sedai to miss all the nuances of his reaction.

Moiraine leaves the chair without hesitation and crosses the small room swiftly to stand before him. She looks up into his face, her dark-eyed glance seeking his, and reaches for his free hand.

"I am sorry. I did not know how else to say it."

"Well," Cooper says, tone quite mild, "there really wasn't any other way, Moiraine."

"I suppose not."

She takes a soft breath.

"I do not expect that it is likely to happen again, however."

Cooper wants details. He wants a lot of details.

(He wants to get to work and go in Harry's office, with Hawk, and close the door.)

The problem is that, among all the other things, Morpheus is Moiraine's ex-husband.

Morpheus is Moiraine's business.

And Cooper has no right to ask for any kind of information.

No right at all.

Still, his hand squeezes hers briefly, and lets go. "But it didn't go badly?"

"No, but--"

"I thought you should know, because -- "

It is a rare thing to see the Aes Sedai even this flustered.

It is, and that's why Cooper waits, patiently.

If it's bad enough that she called him at 5:15, and asked him to come over immediately, and she can't find the words on her first try, then prompting her for an answer won't do anything but heighten anxiety for both of them.

She presses her lips together for a moment, visibly forcing herself to stillness, then opens her mouth and draws a soft breath before she speaks again.

"May I tell you from the beginning? I suspect it might be easier, if you are willing to listen."

"Of course, Moiraine." Calm. "Please."

She nods, then takes a small step back. Moiraine rests one hand on the nearby counter as she gathers her thoughts.

"I do not recall when the dream I was having changed, but I recognized it almost immediately. It was the Garden, although not quite as I knew it before."

A tiny hint of a smile, soft and rueful.

"For one thing, there were Douglas firs."

This is not an interrogation, he tells himself.

"So that's a change." Quiet.

"It is," she confirms. "There were others, subtle in distinction but clear all the same, but that was the first I noticed."

"He was waiting for me by the fountain, and asked if we might speak."

At least he asked permission.

Cooper takes a sip of coffee.

"He said..."

She looks up at him.

"I had not noticed, not truly. I knew that I had not seen him at Milliways in some time, but -- I do not know how, but I had not realized the extent of his withdrawal. Had you?"

He shakes his head. "I haven't been in Milliways in... quite some time. And we had something like a gentleman's agreement. I wouldn't have noticed, and I certainly wouldn't have gone looking deliberately."

A gentleman's agreement?

She does not ask, but the look she gives him is briefly very searching before she nods.

"It appears that he has been occupied elsewhere with his work within the Dreaming," she tells him. "So much so that he did not notice, precisely, when the connection between Milliways and the Dreaming ... dissolved."

A beat of silence.

"He wishes to reestablish it, and sought to determine if that would be an issue of concern."

Cooper blinks.

"And he asked you." A question.

Moiraine nods again.

"He did."

Why?

Cooper can't ask that. He knows he can't.

"It was kind of him to offer," she murmurs, after a moment of silence that threatens to grow. "He has been gone for long enough to have missed... certain things."

There is something complex in her tone as she says that.

"I told him, in essence, that he was welcome to return there."

Cooper can't ask.

"Okay."

Steadily.

"I wanted you to know," she says. "Because I thought you would wish to."

The faintest hint of color rises in her face.

"And because I need to ask you a question, as well."

Cooper raises his eyebrows in silent inquiry.

"Do you believe that I am a woman out of my world and time?"

His brow furrows -- and he doesn't answer right away.

Slowly: "Moiraine, I'm not sure what question you're really asking me. Or what the importance of it is. Because technically speaking -- you are. You weren't born to this particular United States of America, or even this planet. And you know that better than anyone." Beat. "Does that bother you?"

And what does Morpheus have to do with that?

She stays where she is, a small woman, poised in demeanor, watching him carefully.

"Perhaps it would be better to ask, does that bother you?"