2nd formulation [commentlog//closed]

[intimacyphobic]

[Recovering from a swoon was always a singular experience for Lucrecia, and not one she enjoyed experiencing often. Unconsciousness response to a physiological reaction against internal or external stimuli was a peaceful, silent, sense-free void of darkness. Breathing was regular. Pulse, heartbeat were regular. Blood pressure tended to remain at an

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SIGH. DRAMA-QUEENS, ALL OF YOU.

[suited_spectre]

[Tseng was feeling the eerie calm after the storm, his mind numb and actions automatic.

He pulled a pillow off Lucrecia's bed as he approached her, lifted her head and gently slid it under. She had come to already; there was no need to worry from a physical point of view.

Her mental state, however...]

Doctor Crescent. [He placed her into a more comfortable position, but was reluctant to touch her more than necessary.] Take it easy; don't try to move too quickly.

Oh, fffff, just because the gods allow you the mercy of breaking IN PRIVATE... u_u

[intimacyphobic]

Vince--[For a moment, Lucrecia closed her eyes and was back in her own time. She had fainted in the lab: something must have gone wrong, things go wrong sometimes. A suited figure was tending to her--Vincent? Vincent, yes. It had all been a dream. The whole nasty experience had just been a--

she felt her body turn just slightly, and craned her neck to catch a glimpse of... Tseng. Bewilderment and anxiety filled her eyes as the momentary illusion gave way to reality once more.]

... Awake...

Eyes.

[She reached up to snag his coat sleeve.] It's all... all my fault.

Emotions. Feelings. What are these words. :|

[suited_spectre]

[She latches onto his sleeve, and he stays still while she regains her bearings.

There is no right response to her words, nor the tragedy in her eyes. Just like there is no peace to offer for Vincent Valentine.

It's all my fault, she says, an echo of Vincent's defeated it's my punishment. Tseng looks down at Lucrecia's face and feels nothing at all.]

Do you think you can stand, Doctor? You'll be more comfortable on the bed.

[He sure as hell didn't want to carry her over.]

Ohhhh, Tseng, you are such a good Turk. Don't ever stop.

[intimacyphobic]

[She holds onto him as, with some effort, she sits up, focusing wearily on the pile of books across her bed.]

I don't... know.

[She knows she's probably all right physically, as usual, and this means Tseng is anxious to leave. Tseng... is not Vincent. But he is a man, in a suit, assigned to watch her, and it's a very short leap to him being a temporary replacement for Vincent, just as Vincent was a longer-term replacement for Grimoire, just as Grimoire should have been the permanent replacement for her father--it's an insidious chain of behavior. She's crying again, and clinging to him. She wants nothing to do with him, really, but she doesn't want him to go.]