( Red doesn't know why there's that burst of fire in her chest, of that anger-stage still wanting to rail against it. He was always very good at showing it so she knows that's true, and she loves Clara finds it's important to point that out even in the middle of all her own pain and grief.
She lifts her hand, cradling the side of Clara's hair, slipping fingers through the dark strands of her hair. )
He really loved you. ( It's whispered against the top of her head in some cracked, pained voice. ) And I'm so sorry you have to lose him again. ( She's already lost so much. It's not fair, resounding through her - her fingertips dig into Clara's side with a protectiveness like she can possibly stop any further loss from occurring. She can't. )
[ Clara's holding on just as tightly in return, like maybe she'll blink and this time she'll be alone. Except for good this time, and she doesn't know if she can do that in a place like this. ]
You can't go, too.
[ It's selfish to say, she knows it. Neither of them controls that, and here she is, desperate for a lie because she doesn't want the truth. ]
Please just stay with me. Okay?
[ Her tears might be soaking through to Red's shoulder, but her voice is still calm. ]
( They both know this is not a promise that Red can actually make. She has no power - ever since she escaped Hades, escaped the Underworld, she's experienced making choices for the first time over her own existence. She sure as hell cannot change this world, prevent it from opening up and swallowing either of them away.
Something lodges in her throat as she lifts her hand up to gently cup the side of Clara's face, urging her to look up at her, to look her in the eyes.
And she says it, she lies, she gives a promise she cannot guarantee, and hopes like hell that nothing makes her have to break it. )
Okay. ( Her fingers brush the wetness from Clara's face. She brushes a kiss to each cheek then the corners of her mouth then at her lips as if her physicality might seal this all. )
I won't go anywhere. I'm right here. I'm with you.
[ Clara's eyes are deep, brown pools as she focuses on Red's touch, on her kisses and her words. And then she promises, and she has to kiss her again, still clinging. It isn't the same as their kisses from before, this one is desperate and urgent, probably too sad to push things.
Right now, she doesn't care. Right now, she wants comfort, and to feel safe, and she wants to give comfort, even if she's not sure how in hell she could ever make Red feel safe. Her hands move so that she can bury them in those red curls she loves so much; she plans to stay right here as long as she can and shut out the rest. ]
( Red keeps a tight hold of her through all of that pain, all of the desperation and sadness. She'll keep whispering quiet things about how she's right here, how she won't go anywhere at all, how she's making a promsie and she'll damn well keep it.
They won't go anywhere - hell, maybe not for days. They've earned the break, and they can carry this grief together. )
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She lifts her hand, cradling the side of Clara's hair, slipping fingers through the dark strands of her hair. )
He really loved you. ( It's whispered against the top of her head in some cracked, pained voice. ) And I'm so sorry you have to lose him again. ( She's already lost so much. It's not fair, resounding through her - her fingertips dig into Clara's side with a protectiveness like she can possibly stop any further loss from occurring. She can't. )
no subject
You can't go, too.
[ It's selfish to say, she knows it. Neither of them controls that, and here she is, desperate for a lie because she doesn't want the truth. ]
Please just stay with me. Okay?
[ Her tears might be soaking through to Red's shoulder, but her voice is still calm. ]
no subject
Something lodges in her throat as she lifts her hand up to gently cup the side of Clara's face, urging her to look up at her, to look her in the eyes.
And she says it, she lies, she gives a promise she cannot guarantee, and hopes like hell that nothing makes her have to break it. )
Okay. ( Her fingers brush the wetness from Clara's face. She brushes a kiss to each cheek then the corners of her mouth then at her lips as if her physicality might seal this all. )
I won't go anywhere. I'm right here. I'm with you.
no subject
Right now, she doesn't care. Right now, she wants comfort, and to feel safe, and she wants to give comfort, even if she's not sure how in hell she could ever make Red feel safe. Her hands move so that she can bury them in those red curls she loves so much; she plans to stay right here as long as she can and shut out the rest. ]
no subject
They won't go anywhere - hell, maybe not for days. They've earned the break, and they can carry this grief together. )