Some Comfort here (Continued from Vader Complex)

[Damien Lachance]

(Two days after the battle on Bleak Street)

Damien had not been in good shape when he'd arrived. A lot of the skin... and some of the muscle tissue on his back had died, leaving graying, zombie-like flesh on his back. Several bones were broken, he had a slight concussion... He had been healed, but he had a nasty scar on his back, shapeless and gray.

Tonight he was waiting in the small hospital room, wearing his own clothes, but still being watched. The effects of the Avada Kedavra had to be healed a few times a day, until it finally faded completely.

He stared at the door, Martine's owl had said she was going to visit him today. He missed her, he hadn't seen her since the end of that night... He closed his eyes and sighed, hoping she'd be here soon.

 

[Martine Laurent]

There had been a bit of paperwork to complete after that incident, but Martine had done it without complaint. Now she had two new targets to hunt and bring to justice, and she wasn't going to let them go after what they'd done to Damien. Luckily, the latter was alive, and maybe not well, but at least he was alive. And getting better, so she'd heard. She'd given him some time to recover - after all, she'd been ridiculously busy sorting out the aftermath of the event at the office - but she missed him too much to go longer without seeing him. And it had been because of saving her that she was injured. She had a duty to see that he was well, and to apologise. If he hadn't jumped in the way, he would have been fine. She might have been dead, but that was besides the point.

Knocking twice on the door, Martine entered the room, the heels of her shoes clicking on the floor as she made her way to Damien's bedside. She gave him a gentle smile, taking his hand in a comforting manner. "Hello," she said, quietly. "How are you feeling?"

 

[Damien Lachance]

He looked up and smiled.

"I'm still sore as hell." He said. "But I'm glad to see you..." He leaned up. "I'm sorry about that night... If I hadn't chased him, neither of us would've been involved." His head fell. "It's my fault you were almost killed."

 

[Martine Laurent]

Martine shook her head with a smile, giving his hand a squeeze. "Do not strain yourself for me, please," she said, giving him a look that said 'lie down and relax, or else'. "On the contrary, my friend. It is your fault I am still alive. It is my fault you are in here, and for that, I have come to apologise. Forgive me?"

 

[Damien Lachance]

He smiled.

"I was hoping you could forgive me." he said with a smile. "But if you insist... Yes, I forgive you." He said, squeezing her hand back. His smile dropped. "There's something you need to know." he said. "When I blacked out, I dreamed of you..." He looked into her eyes. "And it wasn't a happy dream." He squeezed her hand a little tighter. "You were dying."

 

[Martine Laurent]

Martine rolled her eyes, but not in a malicious manner. "There is nothing I need to forgive you for. You saved my life, after all. I am eternally in your debt." With this, she gave a small mock-bow, however she was being entirely serious with her words - as evident in her eyes. She may have been smiling, but her eyes were full of concern for the man lying in this hospital bed, the man she owed her life to right now.

"You dreamed of me?" she repeated, slowly, looking confused, before looking momentarily shocked at his next words. "I do rather hope you're not a Seer. You're not, are you?" she asked, before relaxing a little. "I'm only twenty-seven. Far too young to die. I've got too much to do with my life. Neither of us are going to die any time soon, you hear?"

 

[Damien Lachance]

Damien chuckled. "Luckily I'm not a seer. And I don't intend on dying any time soon, got too much damn work to do, too." he said. "But that's not why I brought it up." His smile grew sadder. "I don't usually get this emotional... But when I had that dream, I realized just how much you mean to me." He wasn't used to baring his soul to anyone like this, and he wasn't very good at it clearly.

"I dunno how else to put it really." he admitted.

 

[Martine Laurent]

Martine blushed, fairly obviously, as she realised what Damien was trying to say to her. Was he seriously... Martine was terrible at love and relationships. But she hoped she wouldn't screw things up here. It was one time where she really wanted things to go well. Squeezing his hand a little tighter, Martine smiled. "I think I understand," she said, softly, as she leant over and kissed him, gently and tenderly, on the cheek.

"Already you mean so much to me. I...must confess that I like you, Damien. An awful lot."

 

[Damien Lachance]

Damien blushed at the kiss. Relief flooded through him... He hadn't screwed it up irrepairably, he hadn't screwed it up at all.

He took her face in his hand and gently leaned closer...

 

[Martine Laurent]

Martine closed her eyes as she drew herself closer to him, gently touching her own lips to his...

...when they were interrupted by the clearing of a throat. Martine looked up, embarassed, to see a healer standing over the bed, looking as though he wanted to check up on the patient. Martine sat back, biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing...but once the healer was gone, she burst out in to peals of laughter, at the absurdity and awkwardness of the situation. "Shall we try again?" she suggested, innocently, once she'd calmed down, as she leant in closer once again.

 

[Damien Lachance]

Damien didn't bother to explain, just stared at the healer.

"I'm feeling FINE." he said flatly, his face daring the doctor to go on.

Once the doctor left he sighed, his face turning beet red. He looked at the laughing Martine. "Glad you approve." he said. This time he didn't hesistate. He leaned in and locked lips, an arm pulling her closer.

 

[Martine Laurent]

It felt good to have occaision to laugh again. She had barely cracked a smile since the fight in Bleak Street. Frowning did not suit her sunny and optimistic disposition. Sure, she could be sarcastic and cynical at times, but mostly she kept smiling, kept marching on ahead with the promise of a brighter tomorrow. But with all the time she'd spent sorting out the incident, and worrying whether Damien was okay, she hadn't been herself.

She pressed her lips to his, before toppling over and ending up pushed against the bed. Well, this is awkward, she though, enjoying the contact of the kiss before breaking apart with a smirk. "You shouldn't be straining yourself, you know, you should be resting."

 

[Damien Lachance]

Damien grinned. He held her hand still. "I feel better," he said, "Especially now..." He chuckled. "I swore I'd never talk like this, it's so damn... cheesy, you know?" He said.

He hadn't expected to fall in love like this, and he had especially never expected to say romantic crap like this. He wasn't very romantic, clearly.