[Not you're welcome. This isn't that kind of conversation. This is one of those rare moments when Lila Zacharov doesn't feel right in asserting that, yes, any attention from her deserves gratitude. It's something she believes, for the most part. But Mukuro's more than earned a permanent place beside her. There's nothing about Mukuro that's unworthy or burdensome.]
[No, there isn't. The opposite is true, isn't it? Mukuro is more worthy than almost everyone else. As much as Mukuro is loyal to Lila, it goes fiercely in the other direction, and that's much rarer. There are a fair number of people she likes here, but only two she'd count as hers. It's not a one-way relationship. Hers means hers. She protects her own. She protected Cassel, didn't she? Back before he betrayed her.]
[But Mukuro won't. She's not clouded by the gutter guards of story anymore. She knows, she can see, that Mukuro is broken, is unwell, is healing in good ways and wrong ones. She sees that, and she accepts it. She sees Mukuro's flaws, and she claims her all the same. Those aren't an excuse to treat her poorly. They're a reason to circle the wagons, to hold her close, to wrap arms around her tightly and show the world she's not alone anymore. She won't ever be again.]
[Lila guards her people jealously. Mukuro doesn't think she needs protecting, but, well. Mukuro doesn't think there's anything in herself worth protecting.]
You're okay. You don't have to thank me. We're both fucked up, right? You and me. We're the same.
[Her hand slips from Mukuro's face to her own clawed, padded one. Pulls her close by the wrist, guides her through the air to rest on the island at her side. Snug and close, hips pressed together. Hand sliding around to hook possessively around Mukuro's other side. Her head comes to rest on Mukuro's shoulder. For right now, she's solid.]
. . . You make me really happy, Mukuro. I'm never happy. The last time I was happy before I came here, I don't even know. I think I forgot how. I lost it. But there's something in you that makes it easier for me to breathe. Like magic.
no subject
[Not you're welcome. This isn't that kind of conversation. This is one of those rare moments when Lila Zacharov doesn't feel right in asserting that, yes, any attention from her deserves gratitude. It's something she believes, for the most part. But Mukuro's more than earned a permanent place beside her. There's nothing about Mukuro that's unworthy or burdensome.]
[No, there isn't. The opposite is true, isn't it? Mukuro is more worthy than almost everyone else. As much as Mukuro is loyal to Lila, it goes fiercely in the other direction, and that's much rarer. There are a fair number of people she likes here, but only two she'd count as hers. It's not a one-way relationship. Hers means hers. She protects her own. She protected Cassel, didn't she? Back before he betrayed her.]
[But Mukuro won't. She's not clouded by the gutter guards of story anymore. She knows, she can see, that Mukuro is broken, is unwell, is healing in good ways and wrong ones. She sees that, and she accepts it. She sees Mukuro's flaws, and she claims her all the same. Those aren't an excuse to treat her poorly. They're a reason to circle the wagons, to hold her close, to wrap arms around her tightly and show the world she's not alone anymore. She won't ever be again.]
[Lila guards her people jealously. Mukuro doesn't think she needs protecting, but, well. Mukuro doesn't think there's anything in herself worth protecting.]
You're okay. You don't have to thank me. We're both fucked up, right? You and me. We're the same.
[Her hand slips from Mukuro's face to her own clawed, padded one. Pulls her close by the wrist, guides her through the air to rest on the island at her side. Snug and close, hips pressed together. Hand sliding around to hook possessively around Mukuro's other side. Her head comes to rest on Mukuro's shoulder. For right now, she's solid.]
. . . You make me really happy, Mukuro. I'm never happy. The last time I was happy before I came here, I don't even know. I think I forgot how. I lost it. But there's something in you that makes it easier for me to breathe. Like magic.