[ 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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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. ]