Video-backdated a few hours to early afternoon

[inthejunk]

[The kid on the video doesn't look so hot. Not in an ate too much candy sort of way, either. He's pale and clammy and his lips aren't a healthy color. His eyes are dilated. He should probably be in bed. In fact, he probably is. But he's got something important to say first, judging by the serious expression on his face.]

Ah. I hope it doesn't ruin the holiday atmosphere, but I guess I should warn everyone. If someone gives you chocolates and you don't know them very well-

[He stops, curls up a bit. Ow, his freakin' insides...but before he can properly complain about those, he bumps something behind him. It turns out to be a plastic IV line, and when the cart falls over it tugs him hard enough to make him knock his head against a vacuum chamber, hanging around conveniently in case any patients in the area need their stomach pumped. Yosuke makes a frustrated, whiny sound.]

Ow! Ugh...anyway, please don't take candy from strangers. It might make you sick.

Comments

[inthejunk]

[Groan. But okay, maybe she's right. With one incredibly embarrassing caveat.]

Okay. If I have to do anything gross I'll tell you so you can leave.

text -> ACTION

[reassures]

That's fine. I'll be there soon.

[No seriously. Time stopping skills are awesome. She'll wait around for a few minutes to tell Dave not to eat anything from school and then be there in like... five minutes. Yeah.]

ACTION

[inthejunk]

[He hasn't done much of anything since they last spoke. He's just been moaning and squirming uncomfortably, because his guts are on fire. He does his best to stop thrashing and groaning when Nill walks in, curling around a pillow instead and panting quietly.]

Hey.

[reassures]

Hey.

[There isn't much else to say. Her wings fold in as she steps across the room, although that's because of a conscious effort on her part - she's trying not to let it show just how angry she is about this, which is extremely angry.]

Do you want any help?

[Ya know, with the pain. She's pretty good about that.]

[inthejunk]

[The look that suggestion is met with is eager. Would he like to feel better? Hell yes he would. But he also know how Jiraiya works, and still doesn't totally understand Nill's power. He wouldn't want it to cause her any pain in the process, because this is really miserable. So he thinks about it first, still squirming and trying to find a comfortable position.]

You wouldn't feel it, would you?

[reassures]

A little.

[It's a rare moment of honesty from her, all things considered.But she tries to sound as reassuring as possible as she takes a seat on the edge of the bed - being careful not to take up any more room than is necessarily so Yosuke can keep squirming as needed.]

It wouldn't be nearly enough to hurt me though, and it wouldn't last long.

[Truth be told, she can already sort of feel it, but it's in a way that she's used to feeling the pain of others. She mostly doesn't tell him that because she's worried he might not tell her the next time he gets hurt.]

[inthejunk]

[He does keep squirming. Folding and then unfolding himself, and still none of it helps. Against his better judgement, Yosuke nods. Yeah, alright. As long as it won't hurt her more than a pinch, that's okay. It really burns. Television has lied to him again, there's nothing peaceful and quick about dying from candied strychnine, or whatever this is.]

Stop if it's too much.

[reassures]

[Nill smiles at him, just the slightest bit - and a moment later, something like relief should wash over him, a feeling similar to morphine but a little less extreme. More like being hit with a wave of sleepiness without necessarily being tired. But the fading of the pain is gradual, even if the process only takes about forty seconds, give or take, and by the time a full minute goes by, it should only be a dull aching sort of feeling, one that's easy to ignore by staying still. It's more difficult to pull her tricks when he's been like this for awhile now, but another fifteen minutes or so and he probably won't feel it at all.]

Better?

[inthejunk]

[Theyd had him a bit sedated already-though with Yosuke it can be difficult to tell-but it was nothing against the fire rampaging through his innards. This, however, is pure bliss. Some cramping like a normal bad stomachache is tolerable. It's no worse than food poisoning with an extra kick now, and he's so relieved that his eyes roll up in his head for a moment.

He positions the pillow in the spot with the worst cramps, then opens his arms for Nill. The nurses won't like it if they see, but frankly after the bowel irrigation and the activated charcoal -twice, because that stuff isn't easy to stach damn it- he's not very find of them either.]

Oh, gods. You're an angel. C'mere, and never leave my side again.

[It's possible the combination of drugs and medicine in his system are making him a bit goofy. There's definitely still an aura around everything. Nill's is a nice blue-violet. Mystical and pretty, and soothing. Just like everything else about her.]

[reassures]

[Nill's cheeks go red as she glances at his open arms - and her first, gut reaction, is to reject the idea. She looks around the room though, trying to reassure herself, rationalize the discomfort away. If she did it and faced him, her back would be to the door, not the wall. Even if she wasn't facing him, she wouldn't be cornered. If she really, really felt the need, there were a dozen ways she could get away if she needed to. And honestly... Nill was sick of things like this bothering her. So, so tired of it. While she wasn't necessarily interested in physical things a great deal, she wished it was an option, something to consider and not something that automatically instilled a sense of dread and made her heart rate spike. She hated her inability to get past it.

Very carefully, Nill twists around so that she's facing Yosuke rather than turning to look at him, and somewhat awkwardly lays down beside him, her wings folding in to settle against her back. She can manage this much. She definitely can.]

[inthejunk]

[Usually Yosuke is pretty good at figuring out when he's asking too much of Nill. This time, however, he doesn't notice the hesitation. It never even crosses his mind at all. He's too blissed out a out finally feeling better, and unfortunately he's only thinking about himself at the moment.

When Nill does give in, he smiles at her broadly. The nicest feeling in the world is to have her in his arms. Somehow it's even better than any of the racy things he's tried. She fits perfectly, and radiates a soft, reassuring warmth.

He still has enough presence of mind not to squeeze her or anything lousy like that, but he does wrap her up in a gentle embrace.]

I'll still eat your chocolates when I feel better. But then I'm never eating any ever again. Deal?

[reassures]

[It isn't too bad. Not brilliant, but it's better than she was expecting. She spends the first few moments staying perfectly still, trying to calm herself, but - even though it isn't entirely - the moment passes, and Nill relaxes a little in his arms.

It helps a lot that it's him, that she knows him well enough, that it actually makes him so happy just to hold on to her like this. It reminds her a little of hugging him as he'd disappeared, and then again when he came back. Nill never relaxes entirely, but like this, she thinks she's okay.]

Deal.

[She smiles in return, and after a moment, carefully moves to wrap one arm around him, though she keeps it higher up, resting against his ribs. She doesn't want to touch his stomach if she can help it.]

[inthejunk]

[His skin is twitching, jolted in odd places by neurons misfiring in their confused state. It doesn't bother him anymore, though. He's thinking of the first time he was here, hurt and terrified and confused. Remembering that Nill was there for him then, just like she is now.

There's no way to make it up to her, but it means the world. He's alright with spending the rest of his life trying, anyway. They're like magnets now. He may have lost his team for good, his partner, his first love, and too many friends to count. But he's never lost Nill, and she'll never lose him. They'll grow old and fat together, here in hell with all of the ghosts and demons.

Somehow, it's still a dream come true.]

You better not be listening to that.

[reassures]

[She is listening, though. Of course she's listening. The odd thing of it is, Nill is pretty sure that no one has ever cared about her as much as Yosuke does. It reminds her a lot of how Shika and Uryuu had been together, the way they felt about each other, and Nill is pretty sure that she feels the same way. Their lives were a lot different from those of other people, and there would almost always be something miserable and awful lurking around the edges, but if it meant staying with Yosuke... how could she ever complain?]

I love you.

[Her wings shift against her back, briefly uncomfortable. She doesn't know how exactly to say this, but she hopes it comes across right.]

I know-- I'm not normal at all, and that maybe the way I love people is different from how others love people. I know things bother me that don't bother other people at all. I don't know if I'll ever be like other girls, or be able to give you everything that would make you happy... but I don't love you any less because of that.

[So what if this is hell, or naraka, or whatever? Nill can put up with that if Yosuke is still there. She'd been so stupid when Shika died, thinking that it wouldn't matter if she weren't around anymore. She doesn't know how she could be so dumb when so many people still cared about her.]

[inthejunk]

[Yosuke's heartbeat was too quick anyway, but it does something odd at that confession. The number jumps a few times, and the monitor beeps. But it's not even the first time she's nearly given him a heart attack. He hardly notices. Who cares about that when she just said-!

His eyes widen, his jaw goes slack for a moment, and he wonders absurdly if maybe he didn't die after all? That would explain why he doesn't remember getting to the hospital at all, just waking up here to torturous medical procedures. None of which seem important anymore, either. His breath catches, and the exhale wavers unsteadily. He's literally breathless. It's probably a good thing he's hooked up to that oxygen tube.

Wow. Oh, wow. He has to say something to that, but what to say? It's everything he never even knew he's been waiting to hear.]

You...? I mean. Yes. Yes. Me too. I-

[A slightly clumsy, hurried stroke down her back, brushing her from shoulder blade to wing to spine in some confused attempt to, what, pet her? He just wants to show her that she's not alone in this. There's love there, on his side too. So much he can't get the words out around it.]

I don't...it's okay. You're not-um. You're not broken. You're-

[Strong. It took him too long to realize it, but she is. She's been through everything he has and worse, but she's still reachable. She's still in there.]

I don't mind. I'll just-no, never mind. But. It makes sense, doesn't it? We make sense. The two of us. Nill...I don't know why I didn't see it, but it's you. It's always been you.

[reassures]

[It's almost a little embarrassing how easily it seems she can make Yosuke's heart almost literally bounce right out of his chest. The whole thing is, really, but it's nothing in comparison to the weird, swelling feeling in his chest, coming off of him in waves. She's pretty sure she could feel it even if she weren't a telepath. It feels so nice. Nice enough to make her eyes water a little, nice enough to make her not terribly mind his hand against her back. It's nothing compared to this, whatever this is. Love, she supposes. All thoughts of finding out the names of the girls responsible for this leave her mind for a moment, because this is probably the nicest thing Nill has ever felt in her entire life.

It's okay, though. Nill is pretty sure that she is broken in at least a few ways. Ways that most people probably shouldn't be broken, but that's okay. It didn't make her less of a person somehow - and Yosuke, somehow, still loved her.]

I think we make sense too.

[It's one of the only things in her life that does make sense, in a weird sort of way. The two of them against whatever else is out there, pulling the strings, making their lives hell. What better way to spit in their faces than by being happy?

She giggles though, because he's rambling, and it's strangely funny.]

You didn't see it? I knew about you for a long time. [He was the most transparent person on the face of the earth about it, really. Or she figures he was, anyway, once it got past the general awkward teenager lust sort of thing. She'd just never known what to think of it or how to act.]

[inthejunk]

[She knew before he did? Jeez, that's embarrassing. Except, he doesn't care. He's still high and seeing things-a feeling that he really hates, after everything that happened with Shika- but he's also feeling something so much more important than that. It's that big, warm feeling he gets in his chest around Nill, but it's even bigger and warmer now. He might as well have swallowed the sun.

The room wavers a little, and the auras around things start to bleed and blend and shimmy. He blinks, confused at first, until something hot tickles his cheek. A snail, maybe? He reaches up to touch it, mystified, and his fingers come back wet. Oh! But wait, why is that happening? He's a bit flustered, and tries to wipe it away before Nill sees.]

I'm not crying! It's...I'm not sad. I don't know. I don't know. But this is good, okay? It's-

[Double oh.

This is the best thing that's ever happened to him.]

[reassures]

It's okay, Yosuke. I know you aren't sad.

[It's gentle and soft, and Nill moves her arm from where it lays around him so that she can lift a hand and wipe at his cheek, even if he already did that anyway. She understands better than she probably should though, because her own eyes have been watering this whole time, especially with the way Yosuke feels, and it's been mostly luck that tears haven't been shed on her part yet.]

I cry when I'm happy sometimes, too.

[inthejunk]

But I don't.

[Except that he kind of is. Happy. He's definitely that, and well. He's sort of crying a bit too, maybe. It's nice, when Nill touches his face. So he doesn't struggle over it, not even when another set of tears follow the first one.

Instead, he puts his arm back around her, ruffles her feathers gently with his fingertips, and stares into her eyes for as long as he can without catching on fire. It's only a moment, but it sends a thrill up his spine anyway.]

I love you too. You're my most important person.

[reassures]

[She figures there are exceptions to every rule. Yosuke on his own is sort of an emotional person, and even if maybe this isn't normal for him, it doesn't entirely come as a surprise to Nill. She wipes at the tears with her thumb once, but otherwise leaves her hand where it is against his cheek. She just smiles at him when he looks her in the eyes, and tries to ignore the thrill, because she still feels badly that she probably won't be able to do anything for him that, say, someone like Lisbeth could.]

And you're mine. I won't let you forget that.

[It's true, too. As much as Nill loved Shika, still loved him... she thinks she loves Yosuke more. she isn't sure she understands how that can be, but it doesn't change that it is.]

[inthejunk]

I remembered.

[It sounded silly, but it was true. Even worlds and years apart from her, he'd dreamed of her almost every night. That sort of thing meant something. And now that they're talking about it-thinking about it, whatever-he can't imagine how he didn't realize. Maybe part if him had known, but hasn't been able to admit it. Until today, he would have expected it to send her running for the hills.

She's not running, though. She doesn't even shy away from him these days. The thrill runs up and down his spine again, and fresh tears prick his eyes. Ugh, what the hell is wrong with him? Whatever. He doesn't care. Absurd as it is, this is somehow exactly where he wants to be.]

Can I...? Not on the lips, or anything, just...

[reassures]

You did. You remembered me when no one else ever has.

[Dave was another strange exception to the rule, but even he hadn't actually remembered Nill back in his own world. Somehow though, by some strange miracle, Yosuke had. He remembered enough to think about her even when he had no idea who she was. Lifetimes away, and somehow he still loved her.]

I don't mind.

[She doesn't. Not on the lips is something she can definitely handle - she's sure that shouldn't be a problem. And if it is, she's sure she'll be able to tell him as much, because he would probably stop if it made her that uncomfortable.]

[inthejunk]

[He's proud of that. Maybe it was coincidence, but he prefers to think of it as intentional. Like he'd never let go of her even after he'd faded away. And he likes to assume she never gave up on him either. That's how all the great love stories in the world go, after all. Even impossible things can be done by the strength of heart when two people want the same thing, right?

Yosuke smiles at her permission, and his heart swells again. A kiss. Just like in a fairy tale. It makes him feel giddy, even with the medication and the toxins still in his system. He starts just by runnin the tip of his nose down her cheek by her hairline, lightly, to tickle her. Then he inhales her scent, and it causes his stomach to stir uncomfortably. Even more than a year later, she still gives him butterflies.

He goes for the spot where the underside of her jaw connects with her neck. There's a sweet little curve there, and it's not too close to anything that might make her panic, but it's still an area with soft skin. It might give her a little tingle maybe, so he's not the only one enjoying himself. He knows that spot drives him crazy, anyway.

And he does enjoy it. It's a chaste kiss, sure, but it still sends an electrical signal racing up his spine. What drugs can do for the mind is nothing compared to what the soft, sweet embrace of a girl can do. He's buzzed instantly, flying high. Soaring!

He has enough presence of mind to loosen his grip on Nill just in case she gets uncomfortable and needs to sit back, but not quite enough to notice the nurse coming in until she clears her throat loudly. Whoops...]

"I see you have a visitor, Mr. Hanamura."

[reassures]

[It isn't quite what she was expecting. She thought it would be more like her cheek, and she has to resist the urge to freeze up when he does kiss her. But... even so, it isn't all that bad. It's a lot easier if she's prepared for it, and it's easier still that it's Yosuke. So much easier when she knows she's fully in control of this situation.

She can't tell if the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach is meant to be good or bad. It's a lot like the butterflies he gets, and she feels secondhand from time to time, but it's not something she's ever had experience with.

Nill has seen drugs and alcohol enough though that the idea she might do more for him than that is a little embarrassing. In a good way, perhaps? No one has ever thought so highly of her. Let alone someone she really cared about.

In the end, Nill comes up with no answers to the questions that spring to mind during it, and just ends up with very pink cheeks. It's obvious she was distracted though, because when the nurse clears her throat, Nill starts the slightest bit, and quickly turns her head to stare at the nurse. She hadn't even heard her.

Help Yosuke, Nill looks slightly mortified. Oh, god, the nurse saw that, didn't she? gkdjhakgjdh

Though she's a little hesitance to do so, Nill sits up, because maybe that's what you're supposed to do when caught in a situation like this? It probably doesn't look as innocent as it is.]

[inthejunk]

[Yosuke sits up too, albeit more reluctantly. The motion doesn't sit well with him, and he finds himself holding extremely still, praying he's not about to ruin Nill's pretty dress. The nurse -Mercy, her name tag reads- gives them both a dirty look and walks around to the other side, checking monitors. They'd thought a cable slipped when they got that strange readout from Yosuke's heart monitors, but now she's pretty sure she knows who the culprit is. She opens her mouth and begins her lecture, glaring at Nill.]

"Visiting hours are-"

[Except, Yosuke stops her. No one talks to Nill like that in front of him. Anyway, this isn't the pediatric ward anymore. This time around, he's an adult. He has rights, and so do his loved ones. Especially since he got a glance at Nill's chart the last time she was in here.]

She's my wife. Check her ID if you want to. She can be here anytime she likes. And I'm allowed to kiss her.