For rootaccess; SPOILERS

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[Maybe like a small aside before they go back to Cisco's?]


It wasn't until Elliot had stepped out of the prison that he'd really realized how hard it had been to breathe. No matter what he had done to try and cope with it, he'd known what was really happening in the back of his mind. The routine that he had been glad to have had also been somewhat of a detriment to him. Something that he found hard to put into words.

There was work to do. So much had happened while he away and there was much more that needed to be done. Elliot could tell that there were some things that Darlene wasn't telling him, he could tell from the moment he saw her that she was holding back. But she'd bought him food and he was starving for real food. So he'd ate.

And then they'd hugged.

The dark army was something he needed to figure out and he would. But he hadn't realized till now how much he'd missed Darlene. "Let's do something, before we meet your contact."

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Darlene had remained strong throughout the entire time Elliot had been locked away -- she'd kept the panic attacks at bay without anyone catching on, she'd moved the plans of Fsociety forward while relaying as much as she could in the short visits that she had with Elliot, she probably made a lot more mistakes without her brother there next to her, but for all it was worth, she felt she'd done a good job. She'd done something that should have made him proud, she stepped up when there was a space that needed to be filled.

But, for the first time in what felt like ages, she felt... Empty. Darlene hadn't realized how much of a part of her life Elliot was until he was gone. Until she didn't have him to lean on anymore. She spent nights crying in silence, praying to a God that she didn't even believe existed that somehow her brother would be returned to her in a shorter time than 18 months.

How could she have gone 18 months without him?

When she saw him again, hugged him tightly -- Elliot surprisingly returning the gesture just as tightly it was really all the words that they needed with one another. None of the typical blubbering and messy 'I missed you' or 'I love you'. There was just the tightness of their arms around one another, and then right back to work.

No time to waste.

Except, Elliot wanted there to be time to waste and deep down, so did Darlene. She just wanted to be brother and sister, rather than two leaders of the revolution.

And she didn't really want to see Cisco yet either, last time she'd beaten him senseless with a baseball bat.

"Yeah. That sounds good. What do you want to do?"

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Elliot felt a sense of relief when Darlene agreed. There were plenty of reasons that they shouldn't take even a moment off mission but he needed it. He couldn't explain it to her so it was good that she'd simply agreed with him.

He didn't know what to do though. He lifted his shoulders as he slid his hand into the pocket of his hoodie. "Something normal."

"What comes to mind?"