Warnings: Blood, death, guns firing. [Game spoilers for Uncharted 2 if you haven't played it yet.] Effects: Hopelessness, anger/hate and despair. (Optional)
[ She hadn't even heard him attempt to open the door. Ever since she had come in contact with Lazarevic, brief as though it might have been, she had started locking it at night to try and make herself feel safer about him being there. She hadn't really thought about the door being broken down to get into her room, though, so when the wood gave a beaten creak and splinters decorated her floor, she jerked her shoulders in a shocked jump and threw her arm toward her nightstand to try and locate her gun until Nate's voice rang through.
Jesus Christ, he scared the fuck out of her.
But she didn't speak to him. Letting her arm fall helplessly to the bed, her gaze followed him to the dreamberry that was recording and watched him shut it off. She'd not even realized it was on. Cringing slightly, hating the thought that people probably saw that dream now, she simply welcomed his arms around her. After a moment of just remaining pressed against him, she lifted her arms to awkwardly wrap them around his shoulders and squeezed, burying her face into his chest. He was right; it was just a dream, but it wasn't just one of those nightmares that made no sense to have. The kind with hack and slash killers, or zombies running about...
It was a memory.
Still, she nodded against him. Maybe if she told herself it was simply a dream she could forget about it more easily. Him being there for her to lean on was certainly helping more than she thought it would, she was thankful and maybe when she could find her voice she would let him know that. After all in this moment the thing she needed the most was somebody to lean on and he was the only person she could even imagine being okay with.
Here's to hoping you don't mind being covered in tears for the moment Nate. She'll clean that up for you, um... Later. ]
[He doesn't mind at all- except for the fact that she's, well, upset. He doesn't like to see her this way and it nearly broke his heart. Drake tries his best to console her, but he's not that great with fluffy words at all. Perhaps his holding her and stroking her back is enough?
It doesn't seem like it. Sometimes he felt helpless when there wasn't a damn thing he could do, it was something he just couldn't accept; that sometimes there is no quick fix or solution.
Still quiet, still gentle, he continues rubbing her back.]
You're a strong girl, Elena. Probably one of the toughest I know. Which... is why I know you'll be okay.
[ Getting over things like someone's death wasn't really something that came to her easily; or 'soon' as he put it. How was she supposed to just let go of something like that? Maybe if she'd be forced into a situation where she didn't have time to deal with it or mourn properly, she could have managed to forget about it sooner.
[Drake wasn't catching on that there was a difference with how the events following Jeff's death had differing impacts. He wasn't dense, he knew death was a tough thing to deal with, but some of it was over his head.
And some of the situation wasn't exactly made known to him, but he was about to question that.]
[ She would have cringed if she hadn't just dealt with rewatching someone close to her be murdered in cold blood. Besides, not just being her cameraman didn't mean anything further than just a good friend and Elena would have lied to him and said that Jeff was just that, if she didn't care so much about Nate. ]
[Except Drake knew what he was asking and had originally assumed the same thing a while back out of jealousy. That jealousy still existed, but it wasn't going to arise or start anything. At least not for him.]
[ Her mouth went dry. Talking about this with him of all people just felt strange and almost wrong, really. Shrugging her shoulders gently, she pulled back from him to lift her hands and rub the tears from her face before they could dry on her skin and stain her cheeks all the more. ]
[His voice had become a harsh whisper as he accepted this bit of truth from her. Well... what could he do now about it? Nothing. Perhaps if the guy were alive and they were still dating Drake would have flipped his shit.
Never mind that Drake had other women at some point. Ah, double standards, you are a strange and ugly thing.]
Lazarevic is gonna get what he has coming to him, Elena. I swear.
[It felt like an odd thing to promise for killing the boyfriend of a woman he had feelings for, but the end result was what mattered-- she was upset. Traumatized. And that shit does not sit well with him.]
[ What did 'long enough' even really mean, anyway? She reflected what she said and then just shook her head, mostly to herself. The whisper was more than enough for her to know that the thought of herself dating Jeff bothered him, which had been the reason why she kept it to herself. ]
If not by you then by me.
[ That's what she continued to tell herself, but she could never do it. Unfortunately for revenge's sake, Elena knew how to show mercy, unlike Zoran Lazarevic. ]
[Thankfully he knew that to be just talk from her; it wasn't something he would have to worry about her running off and doing. She may be stubborn, but she wasn't a killer.
He rubbed her back again- his hand had never left.]
Maybe you need a distraction... or to talk about it?
[He may not be great at the latter, but he would try for her sake.]
I wouldn't know where to look for a distraction. I've been trying, but I just end up thinking more and it always leads back to...
[ She trails off. It needs not be said what it falls back to, the dreamberry had provided the information should he really need to be reminded. She shifted and lifting her gaze to meet his, forcing herself to do so, she shrugged gently to him and smiled rather weakly. ]
[FOR WHY with the complicated questions, Elena? Shit. This is what he gets for offering to chat when he sucked at consoling.
So he tried a more personal approach. What would he do if that had been Elena...? And that was it- she wasn't coming back. What would he do? His face contorted into a pained expression when he imagined that.
No. He would sit around and feel sorry for himself. He would be lost and things he once enjoyed would seem pointless. Maybe he'd eventually move on over time, but likely not for a while.
And that just wouldn't help her to admit that.]
Ah... well. Uh. I would move forward. And just keep moving till you find something that will make you happy.
You can't really think about how long it'd take, you just gotta do it even if you don't want to move.
[ It made sense for him to say that, he was hardened to things like death and the like, she frowned to herself though. He wouldn't take a moment to feel sad? Or yell in pain at the loss? Or think of brutal ways to ki-- no wait, he would definitely do that last one there. ]
Oh...
[ It was the most she could managed to reply while she collected her thoughts to try and make sense of them. ]
Look, I'm not saying to just forget. If it takes punching a wall a few times then do that. But you just can't stay in the same spot and wait for something good to happen.
[He sighed helplessly and gently squeezed her shoulder. Goddamnit.]
[ Hello logic, thy name is Elena. God forbid she note he's trying to make sense on how to vent frustration. Although is that really how to vent pain...? ]
[Oh Elena... you're too cute even when you're sad. This still makes him frown, but instead of attempting to blunder through encouraging words he wasn't good at, he tried to lighten up the situation.]
Y'know... if you didn't punch so hard I might have let you use me as a punching bag. I've been told I'm great for stress relief.
Jesus Christ, he scared the fuck out of her.
But she didn't speak to him. Letting her arm fall helplessly to the bed, her gaze followed him to the dreamberry that was recording and watched him shut it off. She'd not even realized it was on. Cringing slightly, hating the thought that people probably saw that dream now, she simply welcomed his arms around her. After a moment of just remaining pressed against him, she lifted her arms to awkwardly wrap them around his shoulders and squeezed, burying her face into his chest. He was right; it was just a dream, but it wasn't just one of those nightmares that made no sense to have. The kind with hack and slash killers, or zombies running about...
It was a memory.
Still, she nodded against him. Maybe if she told herself it was simply a dream she could forget about it more easily. Him being there for her to lean on was certainly helping more than she thought it would, she was thankful and maybe when she could find her voice she would let him know that. After all in this moment the thing she needed the most was somebody to lean on and he was the only person she could even imagine being okay with.
Here's to hoping you don't mind being covered in tears for the moment Nate. She'll clean that up for you, um... Later. ]
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It doesn't seem like it. Sometimes he felt helpless when there wasn't a damn thing he could do, it was something he just couldn't accept; that sometimes there is no quick fix or solution.
Still quiet, still gentle, he continues rubbing her back.]
You're a strong girl, Elena. Probably one of the toughest I know. Which... is why I know you'll be okay.
Maybe not right now, but soon.
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[ Getting over things like someone's death wasn't really something that came to her easily; or 'soon' as he put it. How was she supposed to just let go of something like that? Maybe if she'd be forced into a situation where she didn't have time to deal with it or mourn properly, she could have managed to forget about it sooner.
But being here gave her too much time to think. ]
I don't feel very strong...
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And some of the situation wasn't exactly made known to him, but he was about to question that.]
...Wasn't just a cameraman, was he?
[His voice was calm and non-accusatory.]
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Not just, no...
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How long had you been dating?
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Not a whole long time, but long enough.
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[His voice had become a harsh whisper as he accepted this bit of truth from her. Well... what could he do now about it? Nothing. Perhaps if the guy were alive and they were still dating Drake would have flipped his shit.
Never mind that Drake had other women at some point. Ah, double standards, you are a strange and ugly thing.]
Lazarevic is gonna get what he has coming to him, Elena. I swear.
[It felt like an odd thing to promise for killing the boyfriend of a woman he had feelings for, but the end result was what mattered-- she was upset. Traumatized. And that shit does not sit well with him.]
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If not by you then by me.
[ That's what she continued to tell herself, but she could never do it. Unfortunately for revenge's sake, Elena knew how to show mercy, unlike Zoran Lazarevic. ]
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He rubbed her back again- his hand had never left.]
Maybe you need a distraction... or to talk about it?
[He may not be great at the latter, but he would try for her sake.]
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I wouldn't know where to look for a distraction. I've been trying, but I just end up thinking more and it always leads back to...
[ She trails off. It needs not be said what it falls back to, the dreamberry had provided the information should he really need to be reminded. She shifted and lifting her gaze to meet his, forcing herself to do so, she shrugged gently to him and smiled rather weakly. ]
What would you do?
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So he tried a more personal approach. What would he do if that had been Elena...? And that was it- she wasn't coming back. What would he do? His face contorted into a pained expression when he imagined that.
No. He would sit around and feel sorry for himself. He would be lost and things he once enjoyed would seem pointless. Maybe he'd eventually move on over time, but likely not for a while.
And that just wouldn't help her to admit that.]
Ah... well. Uh. I would move forward. And just keep moving till you find something that will make you happy.
You can't really think about how long it'd take, you just gotta do it even if you don't want to move.
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Oh...
[ It was the most she could managed to reply while she collected her thoughts to try and make sense of them. ]
I guess that makes sense.
[ Sort of. ]
I'll... Figure something out.
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[He sighed helplessly and gently squeezed her shoulder. Goddamnit.]
...It doesn't work like that.
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[ Hello logic, thy name is Elena. God forbid she note he's trying to make sense on how to vent frustration. Although is that really how to vent pain...? ]
It doesn't work like what?
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[Oh Elena... you're too cute even when you're sad. This still makes him frown, but instead of attempting to blunder through encouraging words he wasn't good at, he tried to lighten up the situation.]
Y'know... if you didn't punch so hard I might have let you use me as a punching bag. I've been told I'm great for stress relief.
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