Setting it aside... is not so easy. [ Chariot sighed, nuzzling into Fang, feeling herself start to sort of just figuratively melt into her, supported by her strength, but trying to be supportive herself all the same. ]
Healin' isn't, ether. [Fang shifted her embrace to more comfortably support her Bonded's weight. That glimpse of grasping darkness would haunt her, add to her worries, but... being strong for Chariot was easier than being strong for herself.]
Guilt's like rot. It poisons you and festers in those wounds if you don't do anything about it. [Fang's jaw clenched, her throat suddenly feeling tight again. A fierce, but somber, feeling rose in the Bond, something that blurred the line between desperate and determined.] I've seen what it does. I'm sure as hell not gonna watch you slip away, too.
[ It was impossible to miss the weight of those words, even without the Bond between them, as Fang's grip tightened around her, and Chariot felt her heart start to beat in earnest once more, though not having forgotten at all what was clawing at it in the first place. ]
Fang... [ Chariot lifted her head to press a kiss along Fang's jaw, reaching to comb through her hair and cradle her there, to assure her that she was indeed in her arms, heart still beating... ] I won't slip away... I promise... I'll come to terms with this, some day.
[ Akko and Diana had already forgiven her. She'd not quite forgiven herself. But between Fang and Ramesses... she was coming along. And she couldn't begin to express her gratitude. ]
[Fang breathed deep, exhaling slowly, her own heart thrumming a little harder. A promise. Those weren't ironclad, but with the Bond, feeling Chariot's intent behind it... Fang was still a wreck of worry and uncertainly, but a little of it drained from her body.]
I'm gonna hold you to that, [Fang murmured, her tone firm. She lifted her head in turn, giving her a worn smile and pressing her lips against the Witch's forehead.] Don't you ever forget that I feel the same, got it?
[The Lightning of her time believed Fang could do away with Vanille's darkness. For all she was determined to try, Fang wasn't convinced. But maybe, if she could help fight Chariot's, even just a little... she could come to believe that, herself.]
...Tell me about it, someday. [Whatever it was that hurt her so badly, that sin Chariot spoke of that first night.]
Someday... [ But not that day. Not that moment. But she resolved to herself that she would, that she'd speak her transgressions, lay them bare before the woman that held her heart so closely, nurtured it so warmly. For Fang... Chariot could do that.
But another thought strayed back into her mind at that moment, and there was something else she needed to tell Fang, too. ]
Um... Lightning... knows, by the way. That we're bonded. I'd met her within the dream and it just sort of came up.
She sure does. Imagine my surprise when she straight-up asked about my "soulmate." [Gods, if Fang was in a better mood, she would get so much mileage out of this. As it was, a lightly teasing tone was the best she could manage. How did Chariot even give that misconception?] How'd she go and get that idea, huh?
I really wish she'd stop using that word... She kind of leapt to that conclusion by herself and I failed to talk her down from it. [ Chariot chuckled, voice tired and soft. But aside from the embarrassment it caused she... couldn't really say she actually minded that label too much. In a very literal sense, it was true... but she and Fang both knew they didn't really match the traditional definition of the term. ]
[No matter how many times Chariot's reassured her of that, it still makes Fang's heart beat harder with a warm rush. She was incredibly independent, and often slipped away on her own for short periods, but Fang still had difficulty admitting she hated being alone for extended periods. As much as she'd come to spurn Oerba, community was still at her roots.]
I'm alright. [She chuckled.] Would've handled this a lot worse without you, Chariot. Thanks. [If that chair was any indication, at least.]
[Fang tilted her head to kiss her Bonded properly, a small gesture carrying that grateful, adoring warm rush in Fang's heart.]
[ Chariot returned that kiss, feeling that surge of amorous energy from Fang, letting it linger for as long as she could, simply breathing into the kiss and holding the other close...
They had each other. As far as Chariot was concerned, so long as they were both within this strange world, they always would.
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Guilt's like rot. It poisons you and festers in those wounds if you don't do anything about it. [Fang's jaw clenched, her throat suddenly feeling tight again. A fierce, but somber, feeling rose in the Bond, something that blurred the line between desperate and determined.] I've seen what it does. I'm sure as hell not gonna watch you slip away, too.
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Fang... [ Chariot lifted her head to press a kiss along Fang's jaw, reaching to comb through her hair and cradle her there, to assure her that she was indeed in her arms, heart still beating... ] I won't slip away... I promise... I'll come to terms with this, some day.
[ Akko and Diana had already forgiven her. She'd not quite forgiven herself. But between Fang and Ramesses... she was coming along. And she couldn't begin to express her gratitude. ]
I love you...
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I'm gonna hold you to that, [Fang murmured, her tone firm. She lifted her head in turn, giving her a worn smile and pressing her lips against the Witch's forehead.] Don't you ever forget that I feel the same, got it?
[The Lightning of her time believed Fang could do away with Vanille's darkness. For all she was determined to try, Fang wasn't convinced. But maybe, if she could help fight Chariot's, even just a little... she could come to believe that, herself.]
...Tell me about it, someday. [Whatever it was that hurt her so badly, that sin Chariot spoke of that first night.]
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But another thought strayed back into her mind at that moment, and there was something else she needed to tell Fang, too. ]
Um... Lightning... knows, by the way. That we're bonded. I'd met her within the dream and it just sort of came up.
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She sure does. Imagine my surprise when she straight-up asked about my "soulmate." [Gods, if Fang was in a better mood, she would get so much mileage out of this. As it was, a lightly teasing tone was the best she could manage. How did Chariot even give that misconception?] How'd she go and get that idea, huh?
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You can't be subtle with Light. That one's more stubborn than I am.
[She kissed Chariot's forehead again, then sighed. ]
Sorry. I know I'm the last one to get all caught up in what-ifs, but seein' her here... Can't get my mind off it.
[Her Brand, her future, if Fang could really return to her time or not... Everything. ]
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But you don't have to face any of this alone, either. I'll be here, come what may...
... Did you want something to eat or drink?
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I'm alright. [She chuckled.] Would've handled this a lot worse without you, Chariot. Thanks. [If that chair was any indication, at least.]
[Fang tilted her head to kiss her Bonded properly, a small gesture carrying that grateful, adoring warm rush in Fang's heart.]
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They had each other. As far as Chariot was concerned, so long as they were both within this strange world, they always would.
This was Home. ]