*There's a cluttered workroom with the door ajar and sounds coming out of it that can only mean one thing: Komui is hard at work building something terrifyingly horrible wonderfully helpful
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[There is something so distantly familiar about those sounds, that door left ajar. She hasn't seen anything like this in so long, it's almost too much to hope...
But she approaches the door anyway, feeling almost as if she's in a dream, pushes it open, and ducks inside.
She feels a cold weight drop in her stomach the instant she does, because for the first time in seven months, she's seeing-] B-Brother?
*He jumps at the sound of her voice and almost drops the welder. After a second of reorienting himself, he flips up the welding mask. He's totally not making a robot, nope nope.*
L-Lenalee? Uh, hi.
*He can tell this one isn't his sister. He wonders if it would be bad of him to read her mind...*
[Her mind right now is a jumble of surprise and crippling relief to finally see a Komui again after- what was that?- more than half a year. The sort of relief that she hadn't felt since she'd woken up that day in the Order to find him at her bedside, saying he'd be living there from then on, too.
So she doesn't pay that much mind to the robot (beyond an automatic flash of why would you ever) and instead BODILY FLINGS HERSELF AT HIM. Although she's very careful not to knock into the soldering iron he's holding.]
*He feels instantly guilty at seeing her in such distress. He's a little taken aback at first by the force of the hug, but quickly drops the welder in favor of letting it hover in the air so he can wrap both arms around her. Lenalee, you make his heart ache.*
I guess there aren't very many of us around, are there...
[She makes a thick, watery sort of sound, grabbing the back of his coat in her hands and hanging on for what feels like dear life. She's badly needed a hug from her brother.] No. There aren't. I haven't... I haven't even heard your voice since winter.
*More guilt hits him at the thought that he once left his own Lenalee by herself-- not for seven months, but for almost four years. He doesn't want to think about it. Not about how he'd missed her, and certainly not about how she'd missed him. He needs to do something to make up for it, he thinks, clinging even more tightly to this Lenalee.*
It's not selfish at all. ...I only wish we'd met sooner.
[That separation is a painful thing for any Lee sibling to think about. Which is why she's not going to keep talking about it, and focus on the fact that she's in his arms now, and that there is a Komui here. She, and any other Lenalee trapped in this place, doesn't have to be alone any longer.
In response to his tightening grip, she presses her face into his chest and sniffles loudly for a few minutes. Then she tries to recompose herself and lifts her head to give him a reassuring sort of smile.]
M-Me, too, but we've met now. So it's... so it's fine.
*He lets the welder float down to rest on a nearby table, staying quiet and feeling increasingly more like a bastard with each sniffle he hears. All he can do is hug her tightly for as long as she needs it. He wants to believe his own Lenalee didn't go through this, deep down knowing for sure that she did.
He glances down at her, finding her eyes almost too much to stare into, what with the guilt he's feeling.*
Yeah. *He attempts a small smile.* ...I've been here for the last two years so somehow I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon.
[She spares the welding equipment a curious glance as it floats down onto the tabletop, but honestly... she's far more concerned with Komui himself, and not what he's capable of. Perhaps that's not as cautious an attitude as she ought to have, but that's how it goes sometimes.] ...Two years? But- that's... that isn't fair!
*He shrugs almost nonchalantly, watching her watch the welding equipment and deciding he'll let her figure it out on her own.* I didn't think so either, but I found out some things here I never would have learned if I'd stayed back home.
...Which reminds me. *He leans a bit closer; gaze worried, tone slightly conspiratorial.* Watch out for Leverrier. I mean it.
[Telekinesis isn't anything she's familiar with, so the best she'll be able to come up with is perhaps he has some sort of connection with the equipment.
He may be able to tell by the way that her features twitch at the mere mention of Leverrier's name that watching out is exactly the sort of thing she's inclined to do around the man. She's met him once already here in the Dressing Room, and he'd successfully manipulated her as well as he always had at home, if not worse.] ...Why? What's he doing?
*If she asks, he'll tell her about it (though he might conveniently leave out the part about mind-reading). When he sees her flinch he can't decide whether to feel bad for her, or be glad at how little she trusts him.*
Well, I don't know if he's the same in my universe as in yours...but if he is, I'm not letting you get in trouble because you know stuff. So all I can tell you is never trust him. Try to do what he says, but only trust your own judgment.
*He opens his mouth to say "And mine," but then stops. What if her own brother ends up a flaky bastard like he was? He avoids her gaze, feeling ashamed.*
[It may be best to leave out the mind-reading aspect. Or at least put it off until after she's had time to adjust to the telekinetic aspect, too. Weakly:] I'd never trust Secretary Leverrier, Brother.
[And he should realize she will always trust his judgement, too- often before her own.]
*His own Lenalee is one of the few people who have known him long enough to recognize when he's reading their minds, and she gets really mad when he does it. So it's no surprise he finds himself wanting to take advantage of this situation to gain a little insight into her thinking. Sometimes he just misses her thoughts.*
Good. *He gives her a small, slightly weary smile, reaching up to brush back some of her hair.* You're such a good sister. You'll do okay.
But she approaches the door anyway, feeling almost as if she's in a dream, pushes it open, and ducks inside.
She feels a cold weight drop in her stomach the instant she does, because for the first time in seven months, she's seeing-] B-Brother?
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L-Lenalee? Uh, hi.
*He can tell this one isn't his sister. He wonders if it would be bad of him to read her mind...*
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So she doesn't pay that much mind to the robot (beyond an automatic flash of why would you ever) and instead BODILY FLINGS HERSELF AT HIM. Although she's very careful not to knock into the soldering iron he's holding.]
I was beginning to think you'd all left!
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I guess there aren't very many of us around, are there...
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I've been here the whole time...guess we just didn't run into each other, huh.
*He won't mention that there were a few months when he didn't leave his room much at all. He doesn't want to worry her.
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It's not selfish at all. ...I only wish we'd met sooner.
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In response to his tightening grip, she presses her face into his chest and sniffles loudly for a few minutes. Then she tries to recompose herself and lifts her head to give him a reassuring sort of smile.]
M-Me, too, but we've met now. So it's... so it's fine.
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He glances down at her, finding her eyes almost too much to stare into, what with the guilt he's feeling.*
Yeah. *He attempts a small smile.* ...I've been here for the last two years so somehow I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon.
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...Which reminds me. *He leans a bit closer; gaze worried, tone slightly conspiratorial.* Watch out for Leverrier. I mean it.
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He may be able to tell by the way that her features twitch at the mere mention of Leverrier's name that watching out is exactly the sort of thing she's inclined to do around the man. She's met him once already here in the Dressing Room, and he'd successfully manipulated her as well as he always had at home, if not worse.] ...Why? What's he doing?
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Well, I don't know if he's the same in my universe as in yours...but if he is, I'm not letting you get in trouble because you know stuff. So all I can tell you is never trust him. Try to do what he says, but only trust your own judgment.
*He opens his mouth to say "And mine," but then stops. What if her own brother ends up a flaky bastard like he was? He avoids her gaze, feeling ashamed.*
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[And he should realize she will always trust his judgement, too- often before her own.]
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Good. *He gives her a small, slightly weary smile, reaching up to brush back some of her hair.* You're such a good sister. You'll do okay.
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