[ Whatever happened to Cloud, it was incredibly horrible enough for the nurses to be urged with making attempts to make her less worried than she already is. Which doesn't work, because whether or not her Master doing better, she wants to see it for herself. Much as she likes hearing people's voices, strangers cannot comprehend the depth of her apprehension for him.
Pain etches across her chest when she sees his bandaged torso. If he was in Chaldea, those wounds would have disappeared in a heartbeat. One of her hands curls, the barrier of fabric from her glove preventing her nails from digging into her palm.
He shouldn't have been this hurt. She should have been there with him. It's the fault of his Command Spells for not working, but it's also her own for living on in blissfull ignorance while the person she was supposed to protect faced danger all by himself. A great Servant she is. While she doesn't exercise self-hatred, these moments present quite a rough challenge for her. ]
Bonjour, Cloud. [ She mutters, taking a few steps forward. Even though she wants to hug him so bad, she's scared that if she laid her arms around him, she'd hurt him even worse, so she stays still. ] I am here, as you requested.
[ It's an indescribable feeling that wracks his mind. Sure they share a powerful link, both physically and mentally, but her pain feels like it becomes his. Seeing Marie like this, he knows there's little he can do to help how she feels. But the fact that she's here now is enough. When Marie stops short of him, even calling him by his name and not as her 'Master', the frown on his lips loosens.
He's hurting. His chest and back throbs. There are craters of flesh beneath his bandages that used to be abhorrent holes, and even now they still feel so sensitive. But the nurses weren't wrong. He's made a remarkable recovery. Healing him excessively was off limits until his Chroma levels truly stabilized. They were in less of a constant flux up and down than before, which is a positive sign. ...not that it changes the pitiful appearance he takes on.
The last time she witnessed him so seriously injured, he'd cradled her and kissed her in the privacy of a shuttle aboard the violet moon. Foregone his condition to wrap his arms around her to comfort her. She weeps for him. And he'll be damned if he wasn't going to do his job as a Master and not be there for her this time.
No... Not as a Master. Or some Moonlaced lover. As her friend. Tired, he doesn't have to force a smile when it comes to her. He wants to. ]
Am I gonna bite? [ Maybe during Sanguis... ] I'm okay. C'mere.
[ She wants to snort at his remark. Say something back. Treat this as yet another post-battle situation where they're both alright now that the worst is over. But she can't do it now. Marie wasn't with him when he needed her. That fact is going to stick with her for quite a while, and keep the corners of her lips tugged downwards. For now, she really can't smile.
Instead she does as Master says, stepping closer so she's within hugging range, but still hesitant about touching him. Those wounds look horrible. Not even Chroma might soothe the pain she can sense through his body. She wishes she could summon her Noble Phantasm here and take some pain away with a healing spell. ]
I am sorry. [ She mutters, bumping her forehead against his chest. The guilt is way too great this time. ] I am so sorry...
[ He wishes that she would. But Cloud can't just ask her to do that like some command from a Master. It's not often that Marie wasn't in a smiling mood, even able to weather the most troublesome of storms as a beacon of love and light. Circumstances couldn't change what happened. But he couldn't help thinking that maybe he should have argued with the Moon Knights over the predicament. Or when the mission was leading back to the Eclipse's legacy, he should have called Marie and summoned her so she could bypass the Moon Knights and join him and Weiss... Chances were, if that happened, Sanson would have came too.
Things would have been completely different. But he listened to the politics of the Moon Knights... Now look where that got him. Into even better favour with the government and queen? No. There's only one queen he cares about. And she's the one in so much pain at her self-imposed failure. She bumps her forehead against his chest, and he steels himself as she avoids one of the wounded spots. ]
No.
[ "I am so sorry..."
That's what finally gets him. His breath trembles. His arms may be weak, but they're not the ones injured as he wastes no time in lifting them around her. He wants her at his bedside. Not just leaning down beside it. But on the bed with him. If it hurts? He wants it to. Anything was worth getting to hold her in his arms after fearing he might not see her again. That he may never see anybody again. Or...if he did come back from the dead, that he'd lose what made him cherish the guilty queen. ]
Please don't...
[ He sucks in a breath as he weakly pulls her in, hoping that she would join him. There's a sense of deja vu that runs through his head. The Iris moon blips into his mind, and the tears he attempted to quell there too. ]
Even as he's injured so terribly, he's still kind. Marie can't chide him for that without sounding like a hypocrite, because she would also comfort him if their positions were swapped. Another intrusive thought wishes that she was the one hurt and stranded in a hospital bed, with Cloud sitting by her side.
How horrible it would be of her, to give Cloud the same amount of emotional pain she's going through.
He holds her close and her hands are curled into fists, unsure if she should touch - if even a small brush of fingertips will flare the pain from a wound she overlooked, she would regret it. She already hurt him by not being in battle with him. But... refusing the affection is also hurtful, isn't it? Physical pain can't stand a match against the scars of someone's heart that sting and tear them apart.
It's stupid to even stand there and wonder.
Marie raises her hands and touches his shoulders, watching out for the spots where the bandages are evident. She still can't look at him in the eye.
But she stops talking, and stops saying sorry, and now is there for him to hold onto, until he's satisfied. It still doesn't wash her guilt away - not even a bit. ]
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no subject
Pain etches across her chest when she sees his bandaged torso. If he was in Chaldea, those wounds would have disappeared in a heartbeat. One of her hands curls, the barrier of fabric from her glove preventing her nails from digging into her palm.
He shouldn't have been this hurt. She should have been there with him. It's the fault of his Command Spells for not working, but it's also her own for living on in blissfull ignorance while the person she was supposed to protect faced danger all by himself. A great Servant she is. While she doesn't exercise self-hatred, these moments present quite a rough challenge for her. ]
Bonjour, Cloud. [ She mutters, taking a few steps forward. Even though she wants to hug him so bad, she's scared that if she laid her arms around him, she'd hurt him even worse, so she stays still. ] I am here, as you requested.
no subject
He's hurting. His chest and back throbs. There are craters of flesh beneath his bandages that used to be abhorrent holes, and even now they still feel so sensitive. But the nurses weren't wrong. He's made a remarkable recovery. Healing him excessively was off limits until his Chroma levels truly stabilized. They were in less of a constant flux up and down than before, which is a positive sign. ...not that it changes the pitiful appearance he takes on.
The last time she witnessed him so seriously injured, he'd cradled her and kissed her in the privacy of a shuttle aboard the violet moon. Foregone his condition to wrap his arms around her to comfort her. She weeps for him. And he'll be damned if he wasn't going to do his job as a Master and not be there for her this time.
No... Not as a Master. Or some Moonlaced lover. As her friend. Tired, he doesn't have to force a smile when it comes to her. He wants to. ]
Am I gonna bite? [
Maybe during Sanguis...] I'm okay. C'mere.[ Hug him. Chroma's a nice painkiller. ]
no subject
Instead she does as Master says, stepping closer so she's within hugging range, but still hesitant about touching him. Those wounds look horrible. Not even Chroma might soothe the pain she can sense through his body. She wishes she could summon her Noble Phantasm here and take some pain away with a healing spell. ]
I am sorry. [ She mutters, bumping her forehead against his chest. The guilt is way too great this time. ] I am so sorry...
no subject
Things would have been completely different. But he listened to the politics of the Moon Knights... Now look where that got him. Into even better favour with the government and queen? No. There's only one queen he cares about. And she's the one in so much pain at her self-imposed failure. She bumps her forehead against his chest, and he steels himself as she avoids one of the wounded spots. ]
No.
[ "I am so sorry..."
That's what finally gets him. His breath trembles. His arms may be weak, but they're not the ones injured as he wastes no time in lifting them around her. He wants her at his bedside. Not just leaning down beside it. But on the bed with him. If it hurts? He wants it to. Anything was worth getting to hold her in his arms after fearing he might not see her again. That he may never see anybody again. Or...if he did come back from the dead, that he'd lose what made him cherish the guilty queen. ]
Please don't...
[ He sucks in a breath as he weakly pulls her in, hoping that she would join him. There's a sense of deja vu that runs through his head. The Iris moon blips into his mind, and the tears he attempted to quell there too. ]
no subject
Even as he's injured so terribly, he's still kind. Marie can't chide him for that without sounding like a hypocrite, because she would also comfort him if their positions were swapped. Another intrusive thought wishes that she was the one hurt and stranded in a hospital bed, with Cloud sitting by her side.
How horrible it would be of her, to give Cloud the same amount of emotional pain she's going through.
He holds her close and her hands are curled into fists, unsure if she should touch - if even a small brush of fingertips will flare the pain from a wound she overlooked, she would regret it. She already hurt him by not being in battle with him. But... refusing the affection is also hurtful, isn't it? Physical pain can't stand a match against the scars of someone's heart that sting and tear them apart.
It's stupid to even stand there and wonder.
Marie raises her hands and touches his shoulders, watching out for the spots where the bandages are evident. She still can't look at him in the eye.
But she stops talking, and stops saying sorry, and now is there for him to hold onto, until he's satisfied. It still doesn't wash her guilt away - not even a bit. ]