Nursed back to health

[pippilongsockings]

Nursed Back to Health Comment with your character, preferences, preferred role, and any information you'd like to include. Your character has either been injured/sick and had to be taken in (possibly against their will) or has been the one to help somebody like the former. Through the mending process, the two characters in a thread have fallen in love - or at least grown closer and more affectionate. Reply to others. Thread.

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[trebuchim]

[ Lune breathes out a quiet laugh at last, tilting her head and allowing her own smile to grow into a smirk as she indulges his observation with a suitably impressed nod. ] Yes, yes; your accomplishments are many. It's hardly polite to brag, Gustave.

[ Well, sort of indulges. She couldn't just let that humble brag go by. Neither can she ignore the fact that he looks just a little bit peaked now in spite of the ready banter, and she can also guess why. ]

Hey-- [ Her tattooed hand comes up to lightly brace against the slope of his shoulder as if that would keep him from tipping over, the other motioning toward the site of the healed injury. ] That isn't done healing yet. Don't undo my work or you'll really give me something to be mad about.

[demainvient]

[ His hand — the left one, artificial fingers limned with firelight that reflects off the gold of the pictos patterns that work through the material — lifts, reflexive, to cover hers where her fingers curve against his shoulder for a moment. He chuckles softly and shakes his head, rueful and amused in equal measure. ]

I wouldn't dare.

[ An obvious lie, considering the way they've both pushed and challenged and exasperated the other in the time they've been here. And yet it's truth, too. The respect he's always held for Lune has deepened, broadened; he knows her so much better, now, and she knows him. They're a team; they're on the same side, always.

His glance is still lowered; a wry press flickers around his lips a long moment before he finally looks over at her. ]

Sorry. I'm sorry. I just—

[ His shoulder lifts under her hand. ]

Maelle.

[ His sister, his baby sister, only sixteen years old. He knew he'd worry about her on this expedition, but losing her on the beach, thinking her gone, then living through the frantic need to find her and at last seeing her there in that room in the manor—

The fear is always there, lurking in his stomach. Reminding him that he'd already failed her once. ]

I know— I know. I'm not trying to make an excuse. It's not logical. But—

[ His mouth works a moment, his words gone again, and he gives her a helpless look. She understands, he knows. They all do. ]

You know?

[trebuchim]

[ Lune's fingers press gently into his shoulder when he starts with the apologies, squeezing softly in wordless absolution. While she may think Gustave does deserve to apologize for giving into another one of his silly spirals, this is something he never should be sorry for. ]

There's nothing logical about family.

[ It's murmured wryly, a little smile curving at the corner of her mouth. They both have ample examples of that fact, in good and bad. Her expression shifts, solemn understanding tinged with empathy. ]

Yeah, I know. I have a little sister, too.

[ Though it's not exactly the same, she knows. Stella isn't a teenager and even when they were closer as kids, Lune didn't have the kind of deep bond with her that Maelle and Gustave share. Back in Lumière, for the longest time she'd only known peripherally that they were a tight-knit group: Gustave, Emma and Maelle. When Emma was dating her brother Sol, Lune saw them all more often. And more often than not, Maelle always with Gustave. But it's not until now that she's realizing how deeply they really do love and care for one another. If she were to examine the realization closer, she'd feel a twinge of wistful envy at such healthy family dynamics somewhere in her heart, but she doesn't do that. Not now. Lune would still give her life for Stella, so she does understand Gustave's distress and worry. ]

You don't have to apologize for caring. It's a strength, not a weakness. Don't make it into one.

[ She makes a small moue, torn between disgust and amusement. ]

And don't tell anyone I said something that cheesy.

[demainvient]

[ His chuckle is more a gentle shake of his shoulders than actual sound; his fingers squeeze hers for a moment before he lets go. ]

No one would believe me even if I tried.

[ But maybe they should. He's seen for himself how deeply Lune feels things, though she might push it all down, back behind the wall that is her duty and her parents' legacy. She's not so distanced as even she might like to believe.

Maybe that's why she's the only one he feels he can fall apart around, even if she scolds him for it. With Maelle, with the rest of the team as they go through the day and set up their camps at night, he's cheerful and optimistic, tucking away his own fears to help quell those of all the others. But sometimes, in the middle of the night, after a day when he came a little too close to his own mortality for comfort...

But he finds a smile for her now, the way he has so many times before for Maelle and Sciel and even for Lune herself, when she's needed one. ]

But I'll always know. You might have to kill me yourself to keep your secret.

[trebuchim]

[ She can take his spirals and his doubts and fears when they get the better of him. She'll scold him, yes, but she'll always help him get over them. He doesn't have to worry about burdening her, either. Strangely, it doesn't annoy her like it might with someone else; she's glad he can trust her enough to level with her like that. Maybe one of these days, she might need him to return the favor.

Huffing at the comeback, Lune pushes him lightly in retaliation with the hand still on his shoulder; just a little shove, not enough to jolt his healing muscles-- much, at least. She pulls said hand away to point a finger at him. ]

Oh, don't tempt me. You know I could find a way to do it without anybody knowing it was me.

[ It's a good look on him, smiling. Especially out here. She likes seeing it; each time a little bit more than the last. It draws out her own smile, and she glances off to the side for a moment, shrugging one shoulder before looking back again-- a little procession that could almost be described as coy if that was something she ever did. ]

But maybe I like having you around, so. I guess I'll just have to trust you.

[demainvient]

[ He lets that little push sway him, though not far enough to tug and pull on his still-healing side.

Everything's a little easier, when he and Lune are easy with each other. They'd been through a pressure cooker, just the two of them against everything the continent could throw at them, for so long. He can hardly remember that there was a time when they didn't know each other as well as they do now, when his teases and jokes were for other expeditioners and only rarely for her. ]

Oh, I see. That's why you keep patching me back up, is it? Because you like having me around?

[ He remembers her coming around more often with Sol when he and Emma had been together, but even then, even with their time at the expedition academy, their relationship had been cordial but not deep; it was a function of proximity more than any real preference on either of their parts.

Sophie had known her better. But then, sometimes it seemed as though Sophie knew and loved everyone, and they her. ]

[trebuchim]

No, [ she draws the word out just a little, to convey with it an unspoken don't be foolish. ]

I do that because you're... somewhat useful in a fight. [ Somewhat. ] And otherwise.

[ Obviously! Another shrug, her lips curving into a grin around a chuckle at their back and forth. It isn't often that she's quite this playful, but she can have her moments when no immediate crisis is encroaching. It feels like she hasn't had a proper laugh in ages, but maybe she hasn't. There always seems to be something more important, something more urgent. Who has time to laugh when the world is slowly ending? ]

Besides, Maelle would make that sad puppy dog face if I didn't. There's no living with that. [ Unless one has a heart of stone, which Lune certainly doesn't. ]

[demainvient]

What?

[ He's laughing now, his earlier strain fading away. Talking with Lune is always a little like swimming along an unknown river: one moment he's fighting against foamy, choppy rapids and the next there's nothing but calm water. ]

Only somewhat?

[ He braces himself on his left hand and gestures with his right, fingers spreading wide and lifting into the air in short, round movements as he motions between himself and her. ]

Well, I'm glad you're here to pick up the slack. Not everyone can rain fire and ice down from the sky, you know. Some of us have to do what we can with sword and pistol.

[ It's an absolute oversimplification of what they both do, but he's happy to keep teasing her, now that she's started it. The truth is he's grateful every day that if he had to find only one other expeditioner, it was someone whose fighting style is so complementary to his own. It means they can watch out for one another's weak spots. ]

Oh, you wouldn't be able to withstand her sad puppy eyes. No one can. It's her superpower.

[trebuchim]

[ She can't help but breathe a small laugh herself, gratified by his elevated spirits. Strange, perhaps, that they can find things to joke about after everything they've been through, but that's probably a good thing. They'd lose their minds, otherwise. ]

That's what I'm here for. Me and my... [ She tilts her head as if she has to think about it, the grin spreading to her lips heralding the fact that she's going in for the kill. ] Sparks, was it?

[ Maybe it's not entirely fair to fling back his words spoken in the heat of the moment when he wasn't feeling his best, but she's going to do it anyway and he'll just have to deal with it.

But all joking aside, she's grateful. So grateful he's here, with her, and it's reflected in her expression just then. There's never been a moment where she hasn't respected his ingenuity and integrity, even when she didn't yet know him as well as she does now. Now, she realizes just how well his strengths complement her weaknesses, and not just out there on the battlefield. There's no teasing when she goes on, simply quiet earnestness. ]

I wouldn't have made it very far on my own. I would have forgotten caution in the face of the first puzzle I'd come across.

[ Which she sort of did, already, with the odd pale Nevrons. She absolutely needed Gustave and his healthy suspicion there to rein her in. ]

Safe to say we make a good team, hm?

[demainvient]

[ He groans and ducks his head, rubbing his right hand over his face as it scrunches up, embarrassed. ]

You'll never let me forget that, will you?

[ With a memory like hers? Absolutely not.

Carefully, he draws his left leg up and loops his artificial arm around it, testing the way it feels to move and bend this way. ]

Does it help that I think you're very scary now? We haven't even been here that long, and you've grown so much stronger. We all have.

[ In this, at least, he can be satisfied, take some amount of pride: it's the Lumina Converter that allows them to grow stronger, after all. He feels a bump of warmth and pleasure at his own success every time they win through another fight and the little light of it glows with chroma, dispersing it out to the expedition members.

If the others had lived, they'd have been unstoppable. He knows that now, when he'd only believed it before. ]

Yes. A very good team.

[trebuchim]

I'll accept that, [ she agrees so very magnanimously, chuckling at his dismay. All's been forgiven a long time ago, but she reserves the right to still tease him about it. ]

It's true, though, we have. And a bit more still, every day. A good thing too, so I can keep up with repairing you all at the end of the day.

[ An indicative, wry glance toward his side follows. Since not only can she now field her elements further away, more strongly and consistently, her healing ability too has been significantly elevated. ]

At this rate, just imagine where we'll be a bit further into the journey. [ She shouldn't jinx it, to have too high hopes, but she really does think they have a real shot thanks to the Lumina tech. ] It's... a real chance, Gustave.

[ Her voice goes a little hushed, awed by the thought that they could actually be winning a future for themselves and all of Lumière. A humbling concept that makes her stomach sink and swoop, scary and exciting all at once. ]

[demainvient]

Yeah.

[ She's right, and he'd felt it the moment he reached out to that fallen Nevron to try out the Lumina Converter for the first time, the disbelieving thought slipping into his mind: this could work. They could do it. They can be the first expedition to get stronger as they go, instead of weaker, more tired. They can win. ]

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, [ he cautions, though the same rill of excitement runs through him at the thought. He can only barely allow himself to touch it: succeeding. Taking out the Paintress and going back home to live full lives in peace. Giving Lune the chance to build out a legacy of her own, watching Maelle grow up without fear of her Gommage. ]

We're only at the edge of the continent still, and we're bound to come up against Nevrons a lot stronger and more dangerous than the ones we've seen so far.

[ But if they beat those Nevrons, that's even more chroma to absorb and utilize. They just have to live through each fight, and the next one will be a little more possible. ]

Unfortunately, I doubt this will be the last time you have to patch me up.

[trebuchim]

No, I know. You're right. We don't yet know what's out there, the closer we get to the Monolith. Stands to reason the resistance will be stronger there. We can't afford to get overconfident.

[ She's usually the one championing thinking every step through, no variation. It's telling that she's letting herself get swept up with these daydreams. She's always believed in their expedition, but they all prepare to simply clear the way for the next one. It's dizzying to picture they might be able to reach higher than that. In a rare moment of openness, Lune confesses; ]

It's just... hard not to start getting hopeful. Actually hopeful, not just telling ourselves the things we need to in order to keep going.

[ It's been a long time since she's had any of that. Since Lumiere's had any of that. ]

You're probably right about that, too. [ She smiles wryly. Injuries were likely in store for all of them, but if she keeps getting stronger... she'll be able to fix all that. Rather than cracking another joke, she picks candid truth instead. ] Don't worry. I've got your back.

[demainvient]

I know. I have to stop myself with it, too. It's... it's what I've always hoped for.

[ Hope. He's never been able to wring it completely from himself, even in his most despairing moments. It was why he and Sophie disagreed so fundamentally about the future: he'd always, always believed their fate didn't have to be set in stone. He'd believed in the expeditions, what they learned, what they could do. ]

Like you said, a real chance. A real future.

[ Not just for those who come after, but maybe for them, too. A lifetime unrolling before Maelle, a chance for Lune to study what she wishes to her heart's content. And he...

He has his apprentices, his work. Maelle and Emma. Maybe, one day, he might even be able to look at a woman without seeing Sophie just behind her. He's still a young man, despite everything. There's so much more he'd like to do.

He meets her eyes, dark in the glimmering firelight, and nods. It almost seems like they don't even need words anymore, not for this. ]

I've got yours, too. We're a team, now.... and someone's got to watch your back all the way to the Monolith.

[ A beat, and then, more lightly: ] Keep you from getting distracted by the gestrals.