imeeji_frontstage | (it's gonna rain tonight)

A worthy endeavor. Would he mind if I came with you, or is this a private drinking session?

I don't know how private it is, but he and I tend to fight when we're stressed, and fight hard.

[ Half asleep here ]

I don't know if you'd like how I need to let off steam right now.

Likely not. Then I will escort you to Wild City in an hour or two.

[He may carry her again, if she's still tired.]

[ Stretching up to kiss him somewhat awkwardly ]

If you want to come for the initial part, I doubt he'd mind. If it gets fight-y you can sneak out the back.

I just -- don't want to hurt you more than I have, but there are things I need to get out.

[Gently returns the kiss while nudging open HSS' door with his foot.]

You do what helps you, and that is all I could ask for. But I would like to drink with you for at least a little while.

[ She manages a little smile ]

Transfusion first, or I'll really be a cheap date.

Oh, and here I was looking forward to carrying you to Wild City.

[As he brings her to his own bedroom and gently sets her down on the bed.]

You can still carry me even when I'm not half dead. Just ask. There are far worse ways to travel.

Oh ho, then I most certainly will.

[Turns off his henshin so he can climb into bed with her.]

Good. [ Staying snuggled against him as much as possible is a sound plan indeed ]

...Can I ask you something? Why haven't you ever done that emotion bond thing with me?

[ you know she's loopy if she's asking this ]

Ah, that is... I've only done it once, with Hurricane. My feelings are often complicated, and rarely fully positive.

[The idea of her feeling his guilt and self-loathing...]

You can't think I'm any different.

Just say what you're afraid of. Because wondering and guessing isn't doing me any favors. [ since she assumes all question marks are masking negativity ]

I don't want you to feel my guilt and self-loathing. I wouldn't want to inflict that on anyone, but you least of all.

And you'd feel mine. [ Their shitty self worths could duel it out or whatever ]

...But I'd also be able to feel that you love me, and maybe that would help me believe it. Right now that's -- hard.

[ After what she said to him days ago, she's struggling with it. Words can only do so much. ]

If that is what you need - then very well.

[His emotions begin to flow into her, as naturally as if they were her own.

There's guilt, as he warned. Guilt that she and others were harmed for his sake, guilt that he hasn't done enough to reassure her of his love for her. Guilt that she's in this state, when perhaps he should have come up with a less traumatic way to keep her from hurting anyone. Guilt that he didn't help her make decisions during this game because he felt he couldn't ask more of her when she was already protecting him.

But there's love, too, deep and unshakable. Concern for her being so hurt, and relief that she wasn't hurt worse than this by the game. A warm affection that naturally arises when he snuggles into her, and a willingness to do anything to bring her joy again.]

[ Wading into her feelings is -- odd. Her humanlike emotions are recognizable enough, but floating around them and sticking to them like a writhing, oily mass is her instinct: violence that pulls at every piece of her. There is no "positive" feeling without its opposite clinging to it, battling it. ]

[ She accepts his guilt readily enough, already intimately familiar. Hers is a gaping wound at the core of her, like a black hole drawing all else toward it. Every piece of her waiting to be stretched and swallowed by it. ]

[ But the human side of her fights it. Her love for him shines despite the darkness (possessiveness, jealousy) that try to bring it down. She wants to protect him and care for him and support him even though it means gritting her teeth against the part of her that wants to thrash and harm and kill. She accepts him as he is and shoves back the sneering contempt and fear her instinct has for everyone different. ]

[ Always, she is fighting. The good in her, what she tries to nurture and treasure, can't exist without its shadow, and so she fights. She fights every moment, and she will never be rid of it -- but amidst that hopeless certainty, she is determined. She will win. ]

[He has an answer to those feelings, that constant battle in her, and it is this: a firm, unwavering faith in her. She has her shadow, but the goodness in her is greater than her darker instincts. She will continue fighting, and she will win no matter what setbacks this place throws at her.

There is not a speck of doubt in him when it comes to this. Only pure faith and love.]

[ As they remain connected she is slowly, slowly soothed. The shadows in her will never be gone, but feeling his love for her helps her to keep them at bay. His guilt was as she expected, and she notes it almost in passing, as one might overlook what they see every day; his feelings for her, however, are enough to startle with their beauty. ]

[ She feels gratitude that he feels so deeply for her, and wonder -- wonder that would almost be childlike in its innocence if not for the ageless knowledge that it could be gone all too soon. ]

[ She snuggles up against him, curling close and yawning like a creature near hibernation. She is relaxed for the first time in a very long while. ]

Thank you. I feel better.

I'm glad. [He kisses her hair as his affection swells.]

Get some rest. You deserve it, my dear.

[ Since he promised to wake her for blood and booze, she doesn't bother making a thing of it. Instead she lets herself drift off, loosely clutching at his shirt. ]

[And in an hour he'll wake her to give her a blood transfusion and then escort her to Wild City. But in the meantime, time for naps.]

(it's gonna rain tonight)

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