Weapon Assessment and Health... Alba shook his head. Those were words you didn't usually see together, and given the situation, he felt more than a little ill reading them that way. It was not long ago that he was reminding Jinx she was human, and not just some living weapon. And here she was, in a ward that brought to mind that very chilling concept. He was glad for a moment that he didn't work for the AMC. He might start getting offended
( ... )
The knock on the door came and she looked away from it, clenching her fists and taking as deep of a breath she could in her condition. Hearing his footsteps coming toward her, getting a whiff of leather, the first smile in what seemed like weeks tugged at her lips. When he set down whatever he was carrying, she finally brought her eyes up to him and was immediately caught in how much she had missed him. Jinx had to fight with herself to keep that feeling of choking sobs in her throat down. And at his greeting, she laughed, softly because of the pain it caused, giving him a Mona Lisa smile. "Hey, at least I have color in my face." Even if it was from bruises, it was true. Alba was not looking well, just as pale as Jushirou had been
( ... )
"I know, I know..." Alba looked back to her, gaining his composure enough to give her another smile. "You're Jinx the Invincible, just like you always have been." He said nothing to the idea of himself being in her spot; he knew, not being the strong stuff that she was, he would likely be dead by now. "Doesn't mean I'm not happy to see you alive, all the same." When he began to rise again, only to feel her bury herself against him, he stopped, letting out a deep breath as he began to stroke her hair.
"...I'm not ready to let you go, either." This time, the smile was sad, but honest. He knew she was going to die; likely sooner than he would. He'd come to terms with that. But he also knew that it was still some time off that she would die, or be killed; she still had years ahead...they still had years ahead. His other hand wiped at his eyes, at the burning tears he refused to let loose, before dropping to her back, gently brushing the visible skin. She was pretty neatly stitched-and-wrapped, and Alba hoped it would stay that way until
( ... )
She shivered at his touch, every sensation reminding her that she was still alive. Since Freeman took the first slash at her, the way she perceived the world had changed. Somehow, she felt as if she should not be alive right now, that she was really dead somewhere. Even the pain could not remind her she had lived through this. Only the touch of the people she was close to... everything about Alba, him being there made her know for certain she was not yet dead. There was too much she had left to do on this earth, and she had plenty of time to think about that while staring at the surrounding walls. There was too much she owed Alba to leave just yet
( ... )
His fingers wrapped around the plastic, and he tore it open, handing the sweets back to her. "I guess it means you're rubbing off on me. It was bound to happen eventually." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting out another long breath. "And I wasn't angry, for the record. I was... frustrated. I felt helpless, Jinx. I mean... I know you don't need protection at all. I know you can take care of yourself, better than I can... I just..." He trailed off, his eyes leaving her for a moment. It's how he had always felt with Soiree, how he figured he felt with both of them; they were family. They stuck together. They watched out for one another and protected each other. But with Soiree's heart attack and everything that had happened with Jinx, Alba was clinging tenaciously to that concept, by his fingernails.
He turned back to her when she began talking. The files they'd gone over... some killer dubbed 'The Free Man' by reports, he remembered. But, if the case meant that much to her... She was right. Alba's brains were one of his best
( ... )
And there she became an open book for Alba. Like he was always able to do, he flipped through all her pages, scanned the text, and got the main idea. It made her stomach churn, so much that she no longer wanted the licorice. But what he took from her, what he analyzed from what he just said, it was not complete and she would deny part of it. "He's not me!" she snapped, grabbing onto her arms, digging her fingers in, actually trembling. "He's not..." The tears dripped off her pointed chin, creating puddles that seeped slowly into the bandages. "We're different..." but that look in his eyes was just the same as hers when she wanted it to be. That look was something only two men had seen and lived: Gin and Jushirou. The eyes of the mentally disturbed, someone who felt that murder was another sort of orgasm.
"You're wrong. I... I got to him first..." she whispered. "I drew the first blood. And I could have killed him... the first time, I was so close, but I... I..." Disgusted with herself, she blushed. When she was talking about this to
( ... )
"I didn't say..." Alba started, but was cut short as Jinx withdrew into herself. He immediately knew he'd touched something very painful for her, something that rang with truth. He watched the tears stream down her cheeks, spotting her bandages as they landed. As he reached out for her, the next words stayed his hand. First time? So, she'd encountered him before... Then the dam broke. And Alba was faced with the torrent of truth as she turned the flow outward. When she revealed it all, what they had done together, what she had done with him, what he had done to her...
When the apologies began, he finally reached out, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her gently against his body. "Please... stop, Jinx. Stop apologizing... you don't need to..." He kissed the top of her head as he held her, running his fingertips along her skin, both exposed and bandaged. "You're alive... you're alive and awake... and Gott, that's all that matters." He smiled against her, now able to let his own tears free. "You're not dead, you're not paralyzed
( ... )
The arms wrapping around her body cut her sobs short. Blind from the tears, she was immediately cohesive to him, nuzzling her cheek against his body. When she went to grab for his shirt, her hands were so unsteady they could not keep a firm hold on the material and her fingertips slid down his abdomen. After all this, he was touching her. After what she had done, he held her to him, kissed her head and stroked her tender flesh. He was supposed to hate her, but he... he loved her. After all she had done, betraying him, pushing him away, lying and doing the things she promised she would not... he loved her
( ... )
Alba was quiet the whole time she cried. He knew he couldn't say anything more than he had, and at this point, words were meaningless anyhow. He let his hands, his breathing, his heartbeat do the talking. He let Jinx have the floor, clearing her pain bit by bit with every sob that wracked her small body. At her failed attempts to grab at his shirt, he simply pressed himself closer to her. He felt her breathing begin to regulate itself again, heard her speak against his torso, and listened quietly to her lament, her echo of his own feelings. His hand moved to her cheek, cupping it gently, thumbing away the tears from her unblemished eye.
"I do, too." He nodded, finally replying when she looked up at him. "I want to be with you more than anything. Life is short, no matter how you slice it... and here, the slices get pretty thin. You and I have seen people cut down too early. We've cut people down too early. We both know the reality of living the lives we've been given, that you're just as likely to get a bullet through the head as you
( ... )
For years, more than she wanted to remember, they had been together. The first day they were ever introduced to the Monacello family, Jinx was on the Meira brothers and she never stopped bothering them. She and Soiree constantly argued like siblings, wrestled with each other, beat each other up and had those roles set... but there was something different about Alba. There had always been something different. All those nights she had held him in her arms as he cried, as he shook with nightmares, and now the roles had switched. With her life, she would protect Alba, but all along she had needed him there more than he ever had. If she had died the other night, he would have eventually had to move on, and even on the verge of death she was afraid of losing him
( ... )
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"...I'm not ready to let you go, either." This time, the smile was sad, but honest. He knew she was going to die; likely sooner than he would. He'd come to terms with that. But he also knew that it was still some time off that she would die, or be killed; she still had years ahead...they still had years ahead. His other hand wiped at his eyes, at the burning tears he refused to let loose, before dropping to her back, gently brushing the visible skin. She was pretty neatly stitched-and-wrapped, and Alba hoped it would stay that way until ( ... )
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He turned back to her when she began talking. The files they'd gone over... some killer dubbed 'The Free Man' by reports, he remembered. But, if the case meant that much to her... She was right. Alba's brains were one of his best ( ... )
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"You're wrong. I... I got to him first..." she whispered. "I drew the first blood. And I could have killed him... the first time, I was so close, but I... I..." Disgusted with herself, she blushed. When she was talking about this to ( ... )
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When the apologies began, he finally reached out, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her gently against his body. "Please... stop, Jinx. Stop apologizing... you don't need to..." He kissed the top of her head as he held her, running his fingertips along her skin, both exposed and bandaged. "You're alive... you're alive and awake... and Gott, that's all that matters." He smiled against her, now able to let his own tears free. "You're not dead, you're not paralyzed ( ... )
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"I do, too." He nodded, finally replying when she looked up at him. "I want to be with you more than anything. Life is short, no matter how you slice it... and here, the slices get pretty thin. You and I have seen people cut down too early. We've cut people down too early. We both know the reality of living the lives we've been given, that you're just as likely to get a bullet through the head as you ( ... )
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