I think we need a little time to heal...

TW: Mentions of abuse. It's not much, but stay safe please!

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Numbly, Hat Kid stared at Elliot for a long moment. Then she stumbled over and sank heavily into the pillows next to him, exhaustion winning over her.

Reaching into her pocket, her fingers brushed the chilled metal of her watch. Did she dare check it? Hattie wasn't sure if she would like what she saw. And, frankly, she was too tired to worry about her missing soul at the moment.

Hat Kid glanced over at Elliot. Most of his body was still shadowy, though the darkness was finally receding from his face.

The pillows shifted and tilted as Elliot sat up, pushing himself to rest on his elbows, eyes wide. Hat Kid noticed they still had a tinge of red in them. "I-I should go back," he murmured. "Oh, no, Vanessa's going to be so angry with me..." He tried lifting himself further but faltered. His breath hitched, catching on a sob somewhere in his chest.

Hat Kid glared at him. Really? All that, and he was still somewhat mind controlled? "Forget about her," she grumbled, looking away again. "Why would you want to go back?"

"I-if I don't, she'll..." Elliot didn't finish his sentence, but his fingers lingered on the place where he'd been hit.

"You're safe here," Hattie assured him. "She'll just hurt you if you go back again. Vanessa can't get you in space."

Shadows chipped off from his body, fading away. His face crumpled, despairing. "I..." He wiped at his face. "I'm sorry," he mumbled again. Elliot fell back on the cushions, the last shadows fading away. His voice shook as he pressed his hands to his eyes. "I'm sorry for hurting you, and I-I'm sorry I asked you to save me. I shouldn't have put that much pressure on you! I..." Elliot trailed off, body trembling, breath shaking with it.

"You were literally mind-controlled," Hat Kid argued, sitting up. "It wasn't your fault at all. You couldn't control yourself, but that doesn't mean it was your fault!"

Elliot looked like he wanted to argue, but she remained firm. "It's wrong to blame yourself for things when Vanessa forced you to do them."

Looking miserable, Elliot made a sound like a whimper. He sank deep into the cushions, weakly hiding his face.

Poor guy, she couldn't help but think. Despite her various frustrations with him, she felt pretty bad for him. He'd been through a lot, and she was left to deal with his sorrow. Maybe it won't hurt to show him a little sympathy.

Hat Kid sighed and scooted closer to him. Their sides pressed together. Elliot flinched and looked up, eyes wide and puffy with tears. "Am I too close?" she mumbled.

"No," he said, giving her a gentle smile. "Thank you." Elliot sniffled and repressed more sobs. His eyes were back to gold.

Hat Kid could feel him shake hard enough to rock her own body. "It's okay to cry, y'know," she told him. "Better than bottling it all in and letting it explode." She spread her fingers wide, ignoring that she'd been bottling things in too. That was something she could unpack later when she had her soul.

He shook his head. "It's okay," he mumbled, pressing his thumbs together and playing with his fingers. "I'll be okay. You shouldn't have to deal with me crying."

"I can handle a little tears!" Hat Kid protested, nudging him. "I just don't want you going ka-blooey!"

Elliot snorted, finally cracking a genuine grin. "But can you handle a lot of tears?" he asked.

Hat Kid was struggling to determine if he was joking or not. "Try me," she said sternly.

She was half-expecting him to take the bet and start sobbing harder than before, but he laughed. He wiped his face again, getting rid of the new tears, but his smile lingered.

That was a good feeling she hadn't experienced in a while... making someone smile. Hat Kid never thought she could feel that kind of warm thrill without a soul, but Elliot was proving her wrong.

It was too bad that one way or another, she'd have to fix the rift, and that would get rid of him.

Both of them, lost in their own thoughts, were growing solemn. Hat Kid could sense that Elliot was thinking about darker, deeper things like she was.

The question slipped out without her fully wanting it to. "Did... Vanessa usually..." Hat Kid hesitated and gestured to Elliot's cheek. There wasn't a mark, but she caught how Elliot occasionally touched it from time to time. "You know? When she was mad at you?"

A shadow passed behind his eyes. He tucked his legs in, curling into a smaller position and resting his chin on his hands. "Not always," he admitted quietly. "Only when she was really mad, or when I screwed up terribly. Only when I truly deserved it." He risked a glance toward her. "B-but she didn't do it often! Promise."

That's not right. Hat Kid frowned. "You never deserved that," she told him. "No one deserves something like that. Especially not someone as nice as you."

He shrugged and looked away.

"And you still loved her?"

"Yeah." Elliot squeezed his eyes shut. "Yeah, I do."

"Why?"

"Why does anyone love anyone?" he replied. His voice was starting to clog with tears again. "She was pretty and smart, and kind, and wonderful, and talented, and..." He buried his head in his hands. "Oh, that just makes everything hurt so much more..." Elliot sank back into the pillows, crying harder than ever.

Hat Kid sat through his shuddering and turbulent sobs, biting her lip. Great, she just made everything worse. Curiosity killed the cat... or made the prince cry. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"I-it's not your fault," he answered, lifting his head. His eyes were red and puffy and heartbroken. "No, no, i-it's all my fault..." Elliot curled up on himself again. "You're just a kid! Y-you shouldn't have to deal with all this... drama, terrible things, and all that! I never should've asked you to save me... that was too much... you're just a kid!" Elliot covered his face again, repeatedly hitting his head against the pillows.

Firmly, Hat Kid grabbed him by the shoulders and stilled him, trying to calm him down. "Hey," she snapped. "I can handle a lot more than you think. And again, it's not your fault! Sometimes people need to ask for help, and good for you for realizing you might need help!"

Elliot's fingers parted, and Hat Kid caught a glimpse of his teary, anguished eyes. "It's not your fault," she repeated. "Stop ignoring your own pain in favor of mine. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but I'll say it every time you need it. You're a good person, and none of this is your fault. It's okay to ask for help- that doesn't make you a burden. Heck, if you never asked me to help in the manor, you'd still be mind-controlled!"

Elliot's fingers curled into fists that he pressed against his eyes. He made a pathetic noise, lowering his gaze and dropping his hands listlessly into his lap. "Y-you're right," he choked out, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping onto his wrists. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," she muttered again.

Before Elliot could curl up on himself, before he could crumple into a ball of self-loathing and sadness again, Hat Kid shifted on the pillows. She leaned in and hugged him. It would've felt right if he hadn't tensed under her arms with an involuntary gasp.

"Too close?" she asked again.

"No," he said quickly. But he sounded decisive. "No. Th-thank you."

Gently, he wrapped around her. He was stiff, shaky, and somewhat wet from his tears, but Hat Kid didn't mind. He was also warm and comfy. Elliot's head rested somewhere on her hat, in the nook where the brim met the hat's crown.

"Thank you," he repeated. "Thank you, Hat Kid."

"No problem." She could feel him relaxing in her arms.

"I don't-" Elliot cut himself off, falling silent.

"You don't what?" she asked, pulling away slightly to give him a suspicious look.

He forced a laugh. "I-I was just about to say that I don't think I deserve your kindness," he answered. "But you probably would've gotten upset."

Is he afraid of making me mad? Hat Kid wondered with a pang. "Hey, you're learning," she said instead. One step at a time.

"Yeah." He smiled, tearful shimmers in his eyes. "Yeah, I suppose I am." He hugged her again.

Hat Kid settled in. From the way Elliot was clinging to her like a lifeline, it didn't seem like he was going to let go anytime soon. And... somehow, she was okay with that. She needed some comfort too, though she was a lot better at hiding it than Elliot was.

Hattie had a lot of looming problems facing her. Her soul was still missing, her one half-baked idea had failed, and there was Snatcher to answer to. To top it all off, there was practically a ticking time bomb urging her on. She would need to come up with something instead of wasting her time.

But... she still had a day or two left, right? And she was so tired. Failure like that in the manor didn't just weigh easily on her mind. And just staying here in Elliot's arms was so nice and warm. She could always fix things later.

Her eyes slipped shut, and she fell asleep, her head lolling back to rest on Elliot's soft cloak.