Chapter 37

Why

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's and Ideas

.:+:.

"I'm still here." Hora whispered, "I'm still alive, and I am not going anywhere, I swear... What happened with him is not going to happen with you, because I am never gonna leave. I will never leave you alone, and I will never let you fall that far Rogue, not as long as I am still here." She breathed, her hands atop his trembling slightly, but her voice... Everything she said, it was said with nothing other than complete and utter sincerity.

Rogue's eyes flashed, his heart skipping a beat and picking up, quickly.

No, it wasn't just sincerity- it was more than that.

A Promise... A Vow

It was the answer he'd asked for- the thing he had pleaded for, sitting at the bedside and holding her hand, begging for her to come back and not lea-

"I promised you I'd come back, Rogue... And I swear, I am never going to leave you." Hora told him steadily, gently, and so genuinely- his breath caught in his throat.

His hand against her chest shook, the rest of him quickly following suit and taking over with a fervor, destroying any amount of posture he had or strength to keep himself up- and he didn't even try. He fell forward into her, hands fumbling as he hugged to her desperately, sinking into her lap and Hora quickly moving to catch him in her arms as he did. His head fell into her lap, hugging around her stomach and crying harder than any time previous, Hora's hands coming down gently on his back and the top of his head, quiet.

".. t...tch... I thought... I thought I was gonna lose you forever, Hora..." Rogue stammered breathlessly, holding to her a little tighter, "... I... I c-can't lose you... thank you... f-for coming back..."

Hora stiffened against the words, her hands around him trembling faintly despite herself, shutting her eyes tightly against the way her heart felt like it broke in half. She bent over a bit, her ribs hating her the posture, but she didn't really care about it. Her nose bumped against the top of his head lightly, her hand falling to hold the back of it, fingers twining around the jet black strands of hair. She forced herself to take in a breath and settle a bit, his scent washing over her senses... so familiar, so achingly his, and so right.

The breath escaped her, stirring his hair faintly and warm as it traveled down the back of his neck and his spine. And when her voice came next it just as quiet as his, quivering faintly even when she did her best to keep it steady, and so achingly hers.

"Always... I always will, Rogue... I promise."

...

It had gotten very quiet some time ago, Rogue's hitching breaths and sobs dying into raspy breathing that mellowed out to small, slow, and still only slightly wheezy intakes and outtakes of air. His weight in her lap got a touch heavier as the tension and rigidness in his muscles melted away along with his consciousness, the desperate clinging and hugging of his arms about her middle loosening, while her own arms remained still on his back, a small breath escaping her and eyes dropping closed.

She sat there without even thinking of moving or rousing him. She didn't consider it at all, not for about an hour or two... Well, she wasn't really altogether sure how long she'd sat in that silence, only that her legs had started to ache quite a bit before now. In fact they'd actually seemed to have fallen asleep- just like Rogue.

Hora shifted slightly, leaning a little to the right only to cringe when doing so pulled rather painfully at the wound across her ribs. She grumbled under her breath, leaning the other way and a bit more warily than the first time, her hands across Rogue's back shifting as she settled one against his cheek, brushing his hair back from his face.

"... Rogue...?" Hora mumbled softly, the Shadow Dragon Slayer twitching slightly under her touch, a small grumble rising in the back of his throat as he snuggled a little closer into her lap, avoiding the hand trying to tug him into wakefulness. She smiled faintly, and a little sadly, her hand moving closer again and patting his cheek faintly, while her other moved to his shoulder, nudging him a bit more firmly.

"Rogue." Hora murmured again, her voice a little louder this time and he sighed heavily, his arms lying limply around her legs moving back up and twining around her. He shook his head faintly, burying his face against her stomach as he snuggled into her even closer, still resisting her gentle prodding. Hora felt her face heat up when he pulled himself and her closer together, her heart skipping a faintly flustered beat despite herself, but she let out a faintly amused breath all the same. "Hmm, I'm sorry I really don't want to wake you up..." She mumbled, leaning back a little and her hands holding either side of his face lightly, trying to tilt his head back from her to get a better look at his face. He grumbled lowly, red eyes fluttering open halfway and very bleary- but hey, he was sort of awake and listening, so that's a plus?

She drew her thumbs lightly over his cheeks, wiping away what moisture was still left from the crying, her eyes flashing for how warm he was under her touch, and what dark lines persisted under those glassy, tired eyes of his... And the feel of the raised skin of a scar running across the bridge of his nose she did not remember being there.

He still looks awful

She let out a quiet breath for the thought, her smile fading to nothing and her shoulders sinking too.

"I'll let you go back to sleep, I promise. But before that we should at least get off the floor." Hora murmured and he blinked slowly, his eyes narrowing slightly like he was trying to process what she said for a few seconds too long... And then when he did, his eyes went wide and he pushed herself up off her way, way too quickly. He almost stumbled too, but he was a little steadier this time around and got up into sitting on his heels just before her, his hands pressed against the floor in front of him to keep him upright while Hora's own hands hovered a little worriedly for how quickly he moved.

"... Slow down a little Rogue..." Hora mumbled tensely, but he didn't seem to hear the warning at all. He was staring, eyes going a little wider as they flicked up and down her person in rapidity, leaning into his hands and sucking in a shaky breath of air as he did it- shock and little bits on unease wiping away the exhaustion that had been there moments before. Hora paused at the look, Rogue swallowing hard as his eyes flicked away from her and then toward somewhere passed her, the Shadow Dragon Slayer growing a tad more panicked looking.

"O-Oh my, you're... you're out of bed...!" Rogue hissed, red eyes flashing and hands moving off the floor, hovering as he looked back to her, and Hora let out a breath, her face falling a little in exasperation.

"You just now noticed that?" She sighed, but he shook his head quickly,

"Y-You shouldn't be out of bed...!" Rogue stammered, his hands reaching out toward her shakily, but only barely brushing against her arms, red eyes gleaming like mad in the dim and grimacing. "A-Are you alright...?! How are you feeling...?! Are you feeling sick or... You didn't rip any of your wounds open getting up did you...? Are... Are you okay...?!" He hissed quickly, nerves rising ultra-fast. Hora let out a breath, her hands coming up lightly underneath is arms, stilling a little of the trembling they'd adopted and cutting the line of questions off.

"I'm alright." Hora hummed softly with a small shake of her head. "I didn't rip anything open either. There's not much left to rip open after Wendy and Sherria were in here." She assured, "And I don't feel sick really, just kinda tired, and sore..." She kept on, before training off a little, her eyes falling from him a moment while her hands underneath his arms fell too. Hora suddenly looked a little uneasy, and Rogue noticed the change all too quickly-

"... And I'm maybe a little dizzy, especially when I first got up. I kinda twisted my ankle..." Hora admitted quietly, the words making Rogue bristle and his face to fall, his hands on her arms stiffening slightly along with the rest of him. He swallowed hard, lips pulling into a tight line as his attention dropped from her face and toward her lap, his hands moving slowly away from her arms and hovering slightly above her knees for a moment.

"Let me see." He murmured softly and Hora hesitated half a second, before letting out a small sigh, and shifting slowly from sitting on her heels... And rather stiffly at that, which he noted immediately.

She leaned to her left, shifting most of her weight onto her hip as she pulled her legs from under her, and the small wince she let slip upon straightening even a little bit made him swallow hard. But she did it anyway, hesitantly so and gritting her teeth a little as she adjusted all the way, shifting her right foot forward a little to let him see as he'd asked, and Rogue frowned.

There were bruises already forming all around her ankle, pale black and blue that would surely deepen later on, and she was clearly stiff as hell and hurting when she extended it. His fingers brushed lightly over the skin, biting the inside of his cheek as he did it and delicately directing her to move it a little- and only a little, since she stiffened against him right away, and he wouldn't dare push it too far. It was bruised clearly, but it might also be sprained, and he wilted a little at it, red eyes flashing in the dim as he pulled his hands back slowly.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled tensely, Hora's eyes flashed at the apology.

"It's not your fault." Hora told him quickly, but he shook his head.

"The only reason you got up was because of the nightmare I was having, and you were trying to pull me out of it." He mumbled, "You did it trying to help me, Hora, so it is my fault." He told her, and Hora let out a sigh.

"It's not your fault you had a nightmare, and this isn't your fault either, I mean it. It's more on me than it is on you." She told him, tilting her head toward her ankle, before setting her hands atop her bent knee and her chin in them, smiling a little nervously. Rogue blinked at it, not looking sure if she meant that or if she was just trying to comfort him...?

Hora didn't linger long on it though, she just kept going;

"Besides, the only reason I'm even bringing it up is because I'm probably gonna need your help getting up... And maybe with a little more than that too. But for right now;" Hora went on, her smile softening a tad while she tilted her head ever so slightly, her eyes narrowing in concern and question. "You really don't look great, Rogue. So are you alright...?" She asked, and he paused, the small smile she had had moments before gone now as she watched him carefully. "You could barely sit up a bit ago, let alone actually seem to hear me for awhile... You really gave me a heart attack, ya know." She mumbled and he grimaced, his eyes falling again and nodding stiffly.

"... Yes, I'm sorry for worrying you, but I'm fine." He mumbled, Hora paused for a moment at the answer.

"... You sure...?" She murmured, and he smiled a little sadly, nodding one more time and a little less stiffly, his eyes trailing back up and glittering slightly in the dim.

"Hmm, I have a headache, and I'm a bit tired too, but I am okay now. It helps I've calmed down, and got a little more rest... As well as everything you said." He told her softly, "What you said, just... Thank you." He whispered and Hora nodded slightly,

"Of course." Hora breathed. Rogue nodded once, his eyes falling into his lap and shoulders sinking as his expression softened suddenly, a smile pulling at his lips that was so small, and yet so happy all at once.

"You starting to heal now and getting better also helps tremendously." He added softly, voice almost near as wispy as the smile, but just as happy.

Hora flushed slightly despite herself, pulling her chin off her hand and hiding her face halfway behind it and her knee while her heart skipped a beat, and a small twinge of fire started to rise deep in her chest as a wash of flusteredness hit her. She diverted her eyes, swallowing back at the sensation and biting the inside of her cheek a moment.

I'm gonna end up coughing if he does anymore of that... Shit

That's not going to help with me asking this next part

Hora bit the inside of her cheek a little harder, shaking her head at herself faintly and stuffing away as much of the surge of nervousness as she could... Which wasn't as much as she hoped, but the heat in her face went away enough she was sure it wasn't noticeable anymore.

Rogue looked up after a moment of the silence that had suddenly fallen, his smile fading to a look of realization when some of what she said before seemed to finally click all the way in his mind.

"Ah, I'll help you up of course." He murmured, quickly rounding back to why she'd mentioned her twisting her ankle 'at all', as she'd put it. Hora paused, her eyes trailing back toward him,

"... Will you be okay to?" She mumbled and he blinked, before nodding once.

"Yes." He murmured, shifting a little to sitting more on his heels while his hands met his knees a moment. Hora nodded slowly and only once after seemingly gauging the answer, a small breath escaping her while she pulled her chin away from being pressed into her knee and hand.

"Alright... But I was actually hoping to skip going back to bed for now." She murmured, her eyes falling from him again, almost nervously. Rogue blinked, his head tilting.

Skip...?

"... I need a bath." Hora mumbled, her eyes down on her hand still atop her knee and not on him, "I feel gross, and after everything a bath is kinda sorely needed." She told him quietly, and Rogue paused half a second more, before nodding slightly.

"Alright, I understand that." He murmured, "I can go get Yukino to help you-" he started, but Hora shaking her head rather stiffly cut him off, her eyes snapping back up to him.

"No, please don't." Hora told him quickly, her eyes stuck on him for but a second at saying it, before they dodged away yet again. "It... It's like 2 in the morning, she's probably asleep, I don't wanna wake her up." She explained, Rogue's head tilting a little as she seemed to fidget, her eyes still away from him, and now suddenly looking even more nervous.

But why-?

"... I... I was actually hoping maybe you'd help me out instead...?" Hora mumbled quietly and at length- Rogue froze.

H-Him-?!

"-If you don't mind." She added in quickly, completely unaware of how still he'd gone, her eyes down on her hands as they started to wring together a bit nervously. "You don't have to, of course, not if it makes you too uncomfortable or anything... but... I would appreciate it, and honestly... You could probably use one too, yeah...?" She mumbled, shifting a little uncomfortably and eyes still down, while Rogue- whose face had already gone red at being ask if he could help- his face turned even more scarlet, a stuttering breath of air catching in his throat as he sucked it in.

"Y-You... Y-You really want m-my help...?!" He stammered out quickly, his voice much more breathless and even high-pitched than he intended, but he could not help himself. Because was he hearing what she saying right...?!

Surely not... R-Right...?!

"B-but... Are... Are you not worried about.. W-Well... W-would it not make you uncomfortable...?" He asked uncertainly and Hora bit the insides of her cheeks, her eyes shifting his way slowly, a small half-sigh, half-grumble escaping her.

"... I wouldn't be asking if it did... Plus it really wouldn't be all that different from you and everybody else did for me, because of all of this shit with Over-Drive, yeah...?" She mumbled lowly, shaking her head slightly as she looked away again- and despite her saying otherwise, she did blush a little. Rogue blinked, wide-eyed while her shoulders hunched a bit, "... You are making me feel weird for asking it at all now though..." She nearly whispered that part, and Rogue stiffened faintly for the comment, watching tensely as Hora seemed to pull in a little on herself, uncertainty clear as day in her face and posture.

He paused, still red-faced and with his heart still in the picked up, much too nervous pace it had adopted- but seeing her so quickly seem to almost regret asking it at all...? And to even sort of pull away from him too, even faintly...?

He hadn't meant to- shit

Rogue swallowed, hard, his stomach still churning and fluttering all at once, face on fire and flustered. His hovering hands came down stiffly on his knees, face tilting downward so his bangs hid his eyes for a moment, the Shadow Dragon Slayer nearly steaming from the head now as he nodded stiffly, and once.

"I... I'll h-help." He stammered softly, Hora jumped faintly for the sudden agreement. "It doesn't b-bother me, Hora. I'll help you with everything you need, always." Rogue told her softly and Hora glanced up quickly at it, her eyes gleaming in the dim while her heart skipped a tiny beat. Rogue sucked in a big breath of air and shook himself out a bit, glancing back up slowly and one hand coming up off his knee to press against his mouth as he cleared his throat (awkwardly), face still more than a little flushed and red eyes dancing nervously toward her for just a second. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it weird... You j-just caught me off guard..." He apologized quickly, trying his best to sound as calm and collected as possible- but his voice was still a little more high-pitched than he meant... And Hora couldn't help but smile faintly in amusement.

Rogue had always been a nervous person, and much more than most people realized. He was rather good at keeping up that cool and collected persona of his... But even still, he usually got pretty easily flustered, and very much so.

That's how he is... It's nice he's acting more like him now, and not all wound up and guilty.

"Thank you." Hora hummed softly, Rogue glancing back her way for the words, his face going a few shades redder for the smile she had now, before diverting his gaze yet again. For a moment he didn't move or say anything further, and Hora didn't either- she simply let silence settle between them while Rogue cleared his throat once more, seemingly trying so hard to collect himself again... He nodded a little and mostly to himself after he'd done so, his hand moving away from his chin and face once it was finally a more acceptable tinge of red to it. He shifted, pushing himself slowly back onto the balls of his feet, a hand finding the couch behind him to gain a little extra leverage and staying there a moment while he made sure he was steady enough, before cautiously pulling it back. His eyes found Hora and she blinked, the smile she'd been wearing faded now after having been watching him closely in case he seemed to get dizzy or anything- but he seemed relatively stable.

Rogue held his hands out toward her quietly, red eyes flashing in the dim as he hesitated for a second, his hands not all the way forward, before letting out a small breath. "Here." He mumbled softly, inching his hands forward the rest of the way and Hora went to reach out for him too- but faltered when Rogue suddenly stepped a single pace closer and he did not link their hands together as she expected he would.

No, he hooked one arm under her legs and the other behind her back, pulling her easily across the floor and all the way to him. Then just as easily as he did that he pulled her up, holding her against his chest bridal style and getting to his feet with little a word, Hora stiff in stunned silence in his arms and now with her face nearly as bright red as his had been minutes before. For half a second she couldn't even think, let alone react, her face feeling like a furnace and her heart skipping a beat in shock and flusterdness both... Before she sucked in a sharp breath of air and her hands pulled into her person nervously, shooting Rogue a glance.

"Y-You don't have to carry me, I would have been fine with you just giving me a hand up...!" She stammered quickly and he paused, blinking once and shoulders sinking slightly.

"You said you got dizzy getting up." Rogue mumbled, "And your ankle is hurting you too, Hora. This is easier." He told her and she paused, her mouth snapping shut- because he was right.

B-But shit, I wasn't expecting to be carried in..!

The faint burning in the base of her lungs sharpened a tad and she held her breath against it, her eyes darting off Rogue and nodding stiffly, her cheeks still near to scarlet despite herself.

Damn it get ahold of yourself, before you start coughing...!

"... R... Right..." She mumbled, her voice hushed, and Rogue paused half a second, before nodding slightly himself. He shifted, moving slowly across the dark confines of the room toward the bathroom door with Hora in his arms, the Devil Slayer still blushing even by the time they reached it, and Rogue's cheeks faintly dusted pink too... Which she was aware of, but not as aware as she was of the warmth of him against her, or the gentleness of his hands, or the way his scent was wrapping about her too-

Hora shut her eyes tight a moment as they moved, her hands pulled into her center and very much resisting the urge to hide her face in them.

Hora you've gotta calm down and get your shit together dumbass- this was your idea!

She bit down on her tongue, cracking her eyes open again and her hands coming up to hold her cheeks, the heat of them under her palms making her grumble internally.

Shit, this might have been a bad idea... But too late now.

The light coming on in the bathroom after Rogue nudged the switch with his shoulder made her shut her eyes again, tilting her head away from the roof to try and avoid the light. Her nose bumped against Rogue's shoulder as she did, Hora grumbling slightly under her breath at it- and Rogue felt much the same. The light stung his eyes badly and made his already slightly aching head hurt a little more, causing him to pause in his walking a moment to try and let the initial unpleasantness of it to fade... Before he nudged the door shut behind him and started slowly toward the edge of the (very large) tub in the room, and the same one she'd spent days in while Over-Drive had raged with fire.

Rogue drew up beside it, Hora blinking her eyes open slowly once he got there. He bent over a little, shifting her in his hands and slowly setting her down into sitting on the tub's edge. Hora mumbled a small 'thanks' as he pulled his hands away, her own falling on the tub edge and watching quietly for a moment as he busied himself with turning the water on and starting in on filling it, then pulling some supplies (bandages and stuff for afterward) and towels out to set them nearby.

Hora glanced from him and back toward the water after a minute, shifting slightly in her seat and pulling one knee up onto the edge with her, blinking slowly as she watched the water ripple in the tub basin.

Rogue paused beside her after a moment or two more, bending to turn the faucet off before glancing her way slowly, earning Hora's eyes off the water. He shifted, settling down into sitting on the tub edge beside her, their knees brushing as he nodded toward her hands. "Here, let me help you get these off." He murmured,

Hora reached her hands slowly toward him and let them fall into his, so he could start unwinding the bandages from around them, revealing the pink lines running across her palms where the flesh was still not quite healed. Rogue bit the inside of his cheek at the sight of it, red eyes stuck on the wounds for a few tense seconds, before he shut his eyes against it and shook his head, looking away as he bundled up the dirty bandages to throw them out.

He paused before he finished all the way though, looking a little uncertain for a moment though he tried not to, and Hora blinked, her head tilting. After a small pause his eyes moved nervously off the bandages his hands were hovering over, before pulling them back in toward himself as he seemed to swallow. "Do you need any help with... the rest of the bandages...?" He asked softly, his eyes falling from her own and more toward her center for just a second, and Hora hesitated, before smiling a little nervously.

"Uhm... yeah, if you could." She murmured, the already nervous smile growing a little more embarrassed now as she seemed to let out a slightly exasperated sigh. "I'm actually gonna need your help taking my shirt off... I don't think I can lift my arms high enough to do it myself- tch." She mumbled, her left arm lifting slightly as she said it only to get about halfway up and she cut off in a wince, the wound across her ribs on that side pulling painfully with the movement. Rogue grimaced for it, nodding stiffly and his hands waving a little in a gesture to get her to quit.

"A-Alright, I understand... Please don't hurt yourself, Hora..." He stammered quickly and she lowered her arm a little, still smiling faintly, though a little apologetically this time.

"Right, sorry." She murmured and he let out a breath, his hands falling again and stalling a moment as his face went from concerned to embarrassed in no time at all when it sank in what helping her with her shirt actually meant.

His face went red all over again and Hora's shoulders sank slightly, her smile softening a little for the rather abrupt turn.

Again, such an easily flustered dude

Hora hummed a bit under her breath, turning from him to face the other way and casting a small glance over her shoulder.

"... Will this help?" She asked softly, Rogue flushing a little further in embarrassment, his face tilting downward to hide it from her- but nodding quickly anyway.

"... Y-Yes... Ah... I'm sorry... I don't mean to be so... uhm..."

Hora chuckled faintly under her breath, looking ahead again and shaking her head once.

"Breathe Rogue, it's fine."

He shifted behind her, sitting up a little straighter and moving into leaning on one knee on the tub's edge, his hands shaking slightly as he reached for the bottom of the shirt, and hesitated. She felt him lean over her a bit, his breath washing against the back of her neck and sending a shiver down her spine, which in turn made Hora blush slightly despite herself, and she forced herself a silent breath.

She heard Rogue swallow audibly, his hands shaking a little more before he started to lift the fabric slowly. Hora bit the inside of her cheek as she worked to thread her arms back out of the sleeves with Rogue's help, and all the way up over her head until it was off, leaving her with nothing but the bandages wrapped about her torso to cover up. Hora pulled her arms in toward herself a little, sitting quietly while Rogue did his best to stumble through getting the bandages unwound and all the way off, revealing the angry red line running across her ribs, and he did everything he could not to let his eyes linger too long on that, or the bare skin of her back facing him, or anything at all.

He bundled up the shirt and the bandages in his arms hastily, clearing his throat a little awkwardly and so quick to turn his back on her too, face still scarlet as can be and looking ready to pass out. Hora hugged herself slightly as he started toward the door, pausing briefly just beside it, the Shadow Dragon sweating up a storm and fidgeting.

"I-I'll be back with a change of clothes for you in a bit... U-Unless you need something else before I go...?" He stammered over his shoulder, eyes stuck down on the floor while Hora cast him her own small glance over her shoulder, smiling faintly.

"No, I'm okay." She hummed and he nodded stiffly, stepping up to the door and his hand reaching out for it... Only to stall just before reaching it.

Hora blinked, and then blinked again when his hand inched forward, then drew back, and he seemed to fidget in place for a heartbeat or two.

"... Are you alright..?" Hora asked softly, and he jumped at the sound of her voice, his hand snapping onto the doorknob it had avoided (and rather harshly too).

"I-I'm fine...!" He answered quickly, jerking the door open and almost skittering out of it, "I'll be back in a little Hora..!"

The door shut with a slightly muffled, slightly sharp tap- leaving Hora in silence in the bathroom and quite lost.

Oookay...?

She glanced away from the door, shaking her head and letting out a small sigh, deciding it better not to brood about it.

As opposed to the shirt, getting the rest of the way undressed wasn't near as difficult, and when she'd managed to strip all the way she nudged her clothes off the side before adjusting. She turned, pulling her knees up and over the tub edge before lowering her feet back down into the warm water- the bruising already accumulated on her ankle stinging slightly for the warmth, but it wasn't so bad. And it was definitely nothing compared to the sharp stinging pain that ignited when she lowered herself the rest of the way and submerged the wound running across her ribs entirely.

Hora grit her teeth against it, fighting back the wince of pain she almost let slip and stiff for a few heartbeats waiting for the initial intensity of it to whittle down into a throb. Once it did she let out a breath, moving her hands off the edge of the tub and lowering them too- which had the cuts on her hands burning a little too as she set them under the surface, but only for a moment.

Ahh, that wasn't that bad at all.... Way better than I expected actually.

Hora's eyes dropped halfway, a heavy (and somewhat relieved) sigh escaping her for the thought. She adjusted, sitting down all the way and propping her knees up slightly as she let herself sink into the water even further, and all the way until it reached just below her nose.

The water was warm, but not too much- Rogue probably purposely didn't make it much too hot just to be careful. She didn't mind it though, it was more than enough to just be in the water and be able to start getting all the grime and sweat and whatnot off... And the tiny bit of lessened weight and comforting embrace owed to the water was welcoming on her battered body, and mind.

Hora only let herself stay motionless for a few heartbeats before adjusting again, her hands trailing over her person and scrubbing slightly with her fingers in a first attempt to start and wear away some of sweat, leftover blood, etc. She was careful with doing it around the places her skin was still raw and broken, and even more so careful since she was trying not to make her hands bleed or anything. Once she'd scrubbed her skin down to a level she was okay with for now she paused, her eyes dropping all the way closed as her hands stalled, and she sank all the way into the tub, submerging her head under the water. She lifted her arms enough so she could run them through her hair and shake it all out- and rather firmly too, even despite the way her palms stung for doing it. She stopped with her hands and shook her head a few times for a little extra oomph with getting her hair thoroughly soaked through, before coming back up for air again.

She leaned back against the wall of the tub, her head bumping lightly against the top and edge as she pulled her knees in a little again. She brought her hands up in front of her and let out a small grumble to see thin, watery trails of red starting to seep up from some of the cuts.

Ugh, I gotta wash my hair at least, but using any soap is gonna sting like a bitch- and I'll probably end up making them bleed a lot more too... Damn it.

Hora's attention shifted off her hands and toward the tub edge near the faucet, trailing over a few bottles of shampoo, soap, and whatever else that Rogue had set out in his getting everything ready. Her nose twitched, taking a tentative sniff at the air to see if she could pick out anything specific from them- mostly as a way to gauge which might sting less on her cuts. But they all smelled like something that was gonna hurt and she grumbled a bit, eyes narrowed to slits as she read through some of the labels, chewing on the inside of her cheeks as she did.

"... Are you okay?"

Hora jumped faintly at the question, her head snapping left to see Rogue standing rather uncertainly near the door where she hadn't even heard him come back in, his arms full up with clothes now and fidgeting slightly. He fidgeted a little more once her eyes were on him again, looking unsure of himself and self-consciously hugging the clothes a little closer to his chest as his eyes darted quickly away from her and toward the floor.

"... You're glaring at those..." Rogue mumbled, Hora blinked, smiling a tad nervously and nodding quickly.

"Ah, sorry I didn't mean to." She hummed, "I'm fine, I was just trying to figure out which one will sting less on my hands is all." She explained, Rogue stiffening slightly for the explanation though his eyes didn't come off the floor even so. In fact he seemed all the more nervous, fidgeting a little more on his feet and almost... hesitant?

Hora's head tilted a little in question, her eyes narrowing at him as she slowly adjusted to face the bathtub edge and him a little more directly, her chin and mouth hidden behind the edge of it as her fingers curled over the top.

"... are you sure you're okay...?" She asked after a moment, and his fidgeting ceased entirely as he went rigid. "You're being really weird... and all fidgety..." She pointed out softly, dark blue eyes flashing as she shifted a little uneasily herself, shoulders hunching a tad. "... If you're really uncomfortable you don't have to force yourself to be in here, or help out or anything ya know..." She mumbled.

At that Rogue's eyes snapped up way too fast, and he shook his head just as fast too. "N-No..! It's not an issue Hora, I m-meant it, I'll help you, it's not t-too much or something I have to f-force myself to do!" He told her quickly and very shakily, which had Hora looking little convinced with any of what he said, her face falling slightly further behind the tub edge till he could barely see the tip of her nose anymore. Rogue faltered at it, stalling again for a second or two and looking almost guilty, before a heavy sigh escaped him and he suddenly sank into crouching on the balls of his feet, still hugging the clothes into him and head hanging.

"... I'm sorry... I'm not trying to make this so awkward..." Rogue apologized quietly, his voice muffled as he buried his face into his knees and the clothes both. Hora blinked, her eyes flashing as she watched him shake his head a little, black hair mussing up and tangling as he did it, and she heard him growl a few things under his breath that sounded like words, but she couldn't quite make them out. Well, most of them anyway- she did think she heard 'idiot' and 'quit' mixed in there somewhere, and it was definitely aimed at himself.

... but what is he...?

"Did... Were you actually serious about... what you said about me needing a bath too...?" Rogue mumbled after his short pause there, and much quieter than before when he'd tried to assure her and everything. Hora perked at the question, eyes widening slightly while Rogue cautiously lift his head off his knees, and just enough to peek passed them and toward her... most of his face was hidden from her view, but she need only see what little of it she did to notice just how hard he seemed to be blushing. And he went ten times redder as he mumbled out the next bit of his question;

"T-The way you said it... you... you sounded like you were suggesting we take one... together...?"

It was Hora's turn to hesitate now, the fiery-haired Mage blinking once before her eyes darted away from him sheepishly, a faint dusting of her own blush crawling over her cheeks.

Oh, that.

Hora swallowed back at the small twinge of an ache and flame that rose in her chest in an instant, before cautiously forcing herself a small breath afterward.

... Well... I guess no going back now...

"... uh... yeah." She started slowly, and Rogue went stiff as a board, eyes wide as hell and face bright crimson now. "... I mean you could use one, you look rough and you kinda smell like you haven't showered in a week... so I figured if you might already be helping me out, it might be easier to just get in too...? As long as that wasn't too weird or didn't make you feel too uncomfortable or anything... and there is lots of room in here, so we wouldn't be cramped or anything..." She explained softly, her eyes dropping closed and biting the insides of both cheeks. Rogue stared for a second or two, head nearly steaming now and mind whirling to try and keep up with the explanation and implications, and just about everything else in between.

He'd hadn't wanted to assume she actually meant anything by her comment of 'you could probably use one too' earlier, he honestly didn't think she actually did mean anything at first- that's what had caused him to halt before heading out to grab some clothes. Because why would he ever assume she meant that seriously? Like ever?

They'd never ever been in a situation where he'd be around while she bathed, or anywhere close to it before now. He'd never imagined such a situation would ever occur, and he hadn't expected it now, even if it made practical sense with her still being injured and very much on the mend. So to bump up from that first unimaginable situation to an even more unimaginable one like taking a bath together?

Rogue felt another wash of heat rush through every inch of him again, the Shadow dragon Slayer quickly burying his face back in his knees, holding his breath against it as his heart continued to pound even harder than it already was.

How was he supposed to even react to a suggestion like that? Hell not even just a suggestion, but an offer like that...?!

It... It wasn't that he really didn't want to- of course not. It was just so sudden, and out of nowhere, and super fast, close, out of the ordinary, and really really nerve-racking.

Taking a bath together... in the same tub... both of us... w-without any clothes on... in the same water, the same space... aaaaahhhhhhh...!

He buried his face in his knees hard enough his nose ached a little as it knocked against them, every inch of his person hot and burning more than it ever had with a heat of flusterdness and nerves he had never felt before.

How the hell as I supposed to respond to that...?!

S-Scratch that, w-what the hell am I supposed to do...?!

I already told her I'd help her, a-and I definitely meant that...! I want to help her, and the idea of taking a bath together isn't something I hate, I just feel like my heart's gonna give out...!

A-And what's with her all of a sudden...?! She's never brought up anything like this before...! So why now all of a sudden...?!

Rogue swallowed hard, peeking up passed his knees again back toward Hora. She was quiet still in the tub, she hadn't moved an inch nor opened her eyes again... and she was still blushing a little, but she looked more weary and even rueful now than she looked nervous or anything. Rogue blinked, his heart breaking it's fast pace for half a second as it twisted at the look.

This was out of nowhere, and really unusual between the two of them... but even if it had seemed impossible, and had never happened before, or been brought up- she did mean it.

She did mean to suggest and even offer that, and she'd already told him it wouldn't bother her, even if he didn't really understand why it wouldn't, or why it came up all of a sudden... and if she meant it, and even if he was a nervous wreck about it- he didn't not want to.

Rogue forced himself a deep breath, the Shadow Dragon Slayer stiffly standing up straight again before clearing the few steps between him and the tub edge. Hora glanced up as he did so, her head lifting slightly passed the tub's edge again as she watched Rogue come up and finally set the clothes down not far from where the towels were. Then he paused half a second more, before he dropped down slowly on to his knees just in front of her, the bath walls between them and Rogue still blushing rather hard- though he seemed to have calmed down and collected himself some regardless. He even managed for meet her gaze quite steadily, hands on his knees as he nodded stiffly, and just once.

"Alright." He told her, Hora's eyes went wide. "It would be just as easy if I get in too, plus I could use it... A-and it's not too weird, or too uncomfortable either. I don't mind, Hora, really... You just surprised me is all..." He mumbled softly, his head bowing a bit at the last part in what looked almost like he was trying to apologize.

Of which, the apology and the agreement had Hora's eyes gleaming, and her heart skipping a beat in no time at all- because he actually looked like he did mean that.

She couldn't help but smile slightly despite herself, nodding a little to him and shifting away a bit from where she was leaning against the tub wall. Her head tilted slightly to the side, dark blue eyes flashing.

"Would you like me to turn around?" Hora asked lightly and Rogue paused, before flushing a little more and nodding his head sheepishly once or twice.

"Y-yes, if you could... thank you."

Hora hummed a bit to herself and pulled her arms in toward her center before she turned her back on him, leaning into the the bathtub wall where the faucet and soaps were so he could get situated without her eyes on him. She set her chin down on the edge, eyes falling closed as she heard Rogue start to shuffle behind her a bit- and then eventually the water rippled as he stepped in, and she felt her heart pick up instantly... only to sigh silently when the water splashed a little when Rogue dropped himself into being submerged a little too quickly.

Understandable though, she could practically feel the heat coming off of him still from being all flustered and nervous.

"... U-Uhm... you can turn around now if you want to..." Rogue mumbled after a moment, and Hora obliged, turning just enough to glance at him over her shoulder, smiling faintly.

He'd kept a good amount of space between them even as he got in, his posture somewhat bent over a bit so the water- of which easily reached Hora's shoulders even if she sat up straight- was all the way up his chest to just below his collarbone instead. His eyes stayed glue to the water in front of him, cheeks still tinged red and stiff as a board- Hora let out a quiet breath for it.

He's such a nervous wreck... granted this is kinda nerve-wracking for me too, though I'm apparently much better at navigating it.

Her eyes fell from Rogue's still red face and down toward where the waterline was against his chest, her heart picking up again out of nowhere and her face flushing too. She quickly averted her eyes, holding her breath and grumbling internally.

... well, kinda better anyway.

It's not like I have much a choice, since I have to not get worked up too much- or otherwise risk Over-Drive acting up.

Her eyes moved from him and back toward the line of soaps in front of her, shaking her head slightly and moving a hand up out of the water to grab one.

So anyway, on that note- let's just try and get through this without coughing my lungs out, or either of us getting too worked up, hmm?

'... Hmmph, humans...' Lixue muttered flatly,

Shut up Lixue

"So... would you mind helping me out with this? Cause of my hands...?" Hora hummed, glancing over her shoulder toward Rogue again and holding the bottle up as she did. Rogue's red eyes moved up off the water's surface and toward her at the question, blinking once while Hora cast him a sheepish smile, her other hand moving up out of the water so her palm could face him- and subsequently the cuts running across her skin were in clear view. Rogue seemed to frown faintly for sight of them, before he nodded slowly.

"O-Of course."

He moved closer, slowly so and cautiously while Hora looked ahead again, waiting patiently for him to settle in just behind her. She felt his breath wash up against the back of her neck and she shut her eyes against it, while Rogue did his utmost to actually get close enough to work without being too close... and once he was he mumbled for her to hand the soap over, and she did in silence.

He was so gentle with it, his hands and fingers finding the top of her head so lightly it was like he was afraid to touch her at all- and the faintness and nearly ghostly sensation of the contact had shivers running up and down her spine on a repeat. She bit down on the insides of her cheeks for it, silent the whole while through him slowly working the shampoo into the multicolor strands of her hair, and Rogue was just as quiet as he did it too. At first his hands were a little fumbling and unsure, but after he got into the rhythm of it he found himself getting a little lost in the motion, and the feel of her hair gliding between his fingers and he gently pulled out knots and worked the soap in all the way.

His eyes flashed, the motion of his hands and fingers slowing to a halt after awhile and he had to pull himself out of the sort of trance he'd suddenly started to fall into. Rogue swallowed, shaking himself out slightly as his hands fell slowly from her hair and hovered just above her shoulders for half a second- intent on letting them actually make contact, but he hesitated, and quickly abandoned the idea.

Rogue pulled his hands back in toward himself and dropped them into the water instead, washing them free of the residual bits of soap before starting in on rising the soap out of her hair in small cupfuls of water... and if it was possible, Rogue ended up being even more gentle with this part than he had the first. Hora forced herself to stop holding her breath as he started with it, her eyes still closed as the water cascaded over her head in small bursts. She tilted her head back halfway through, sparing more water from falling over her face for a bit and allowing her eyes to open halfway, blinking slowly. Rogue's last bout of water came and went, stripping the soap entirely and straightening her hair with it, the multicolor strands smooth and glistening with a bright sheen it hadn't been afforded in way too long.

Hora let out a heavy and relieved sigh once Rogue came to a full stop, his hands failing to return to his work for a minute and she took that as queue he was done. She leaned back a bit more into him, tilting her head back all the way so she could see him above her as she did it, and he blinked in surprise as their eyes matched all of a sudden.

"Thank you." Hora smiled softly, Rogue flushed a little at it, nodding stiffly.

"Y-Yeah, of course." He mumbled.

Hora blinked, not moving to lean forward and away from him right off- which Rogue was very aware of. And the Shadow Dragon Slayer flushed a little more when Hora ended up leaning backwards into him just a little more, dark blue eyes glinting as she seemed to peer up at him for a heartbeat or two, before smiling faintly.

"Hmm, guess what?" She hummed out of nowhere, Rogue blinked.

"... Uh.. What...?" He mumbled breathlessly, and mostly reflexively too- he was a little more preoccupied with the way she leaned in so close he could feel her breath wash up against his face, and only barely aware of her hand moving up out the water to tap lightly against her nose and the scar running across it.

"We match now." She told him brightly, Rogue stiffened in surprise, red eyes flashing as her hand moved passed her own face and up toward his, her fingers brushing lightly across the fresh scar worn into his own face- and the one that did rather match hers almost perfectly. Hora's smile faded a little as she let her fingertips trail ever so lightly over the raised skin and across his cheek, for half a second her expression turning suddenly a little somber, before she seemed to shake it off. The brightness of her smile returned as she poked him lightly on the center of his forehead instead, and Rogue flushed a little more at the gesture, looking entirely unsure of it.

"I can't really return the favor for you and the soap, but I can dunk you to get your hair soaked if you'd like." Hora told him, her voice suddenly a little teasing, and Rogue swallowed, smiling nervously.

"Ah, no I think I got it, Hora." He mumbled quickly and she smirked a little, but shrugged and leaned forward again, her back to him once more and humming under her breath.

"Alright." She hummed, pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them as she cast him a small glance over her shoulder, smirking slightly. "But you better hurry up and do it, or I'll just dunk you anyway." She chuckled and he stiffened, looking a little more nervous all over again as she let out a sigh and looked ahead again. "You can't leave me being the only one soaking wet." She hummed lightly, her tone clearly teasing and Rogue paused for it, red eyes glinting.

She was trying her best to lighten the mood, clearly so. Though it wasn't just to lighten the mood- it was also her trying to put him a little more at ease too, cecause clearly he was still all stiff and uneasy. Exceptionally so actually, and she was doing her best to make him feel a little less like that... and maybe even her teasing like that was a subtle way for her to let him know he hadn't any reason to feel as nervous as he did, because she didn't feel that way herself.

(She did though, not that Rogue knew it or could tell mind you. Years of hiding how she really felt and all manner of other secrets made it much easier to hide her own flusteredness with the situation than she anticipated- though Hora was internally glad for that unexpected amount of self control and cool.)

Rogue swallowed, his eyes falling from Hora toward the water between them for a moment in stiff silence... before he forced himself a breath and nodded, doing his best to garner even half the composure Hora seemed to have right then.

Rogue pushed himself back a bit, turning slightly and sending ripples out through the water in his quake as he busied himself with turning away from facing Hora, so they were back to back now and with a fair distance between them again. Hora glanced back briefly as he moved, blue eyes glinting as he busied himself with letting his head go below the water, little bubbles popping on the surface the few heartbeats he was under. He came back up not long after though, hands running through his hair to push it back out of his face with a small sigh, and Hora looked away again with a silent sigh of her own.

... Hopefully the water will help with bringing his fever down a little, he was still really warm when I touched him a minute ago...

Hora sighed again at the thought, the hand she'd used to reach out toward Rogue's face and new scar coming up off her knee as she gave it a quiet look, tracing the tears in her palms as she did and following them up her arm toward where there still remained the raised flesh of lines from the wounds the Other Rogue had inflicted. They weren't near as noticeable as they had been the night she earned them, but they were still there, and she sorely hoped they would fade away completely with time. She certainly didn't need them leaving scars for Rogue to constantly be reminded by after this... Plus one big scar all up her right arm was plenty enough a reminder of one awful event, without having half a dozen more across both arms and chest being added to the mix.

Speaking of that awful event though... I do still have to talk to Gray, huh...?

Her shoulders hunched at the thought without her meaning for them to, her stomach knotting in no time too.

Shit... I have no idea what I'm even gonna say to him... Or how to start explaining any of it, or apologize...

Rogue paused, little bits of bubbles and soap dripping out of his hair with a last dunk under the water after washing it. He spared a glance back toward Hora, finding her rather stiff in place with hunched shoulders as she stared rather pensively at the tracks marked over her flesh... The scars left there by some other version of him.

His stomach curled for it, red eyes flashing as his lips pulled down at the corners a bit painfully. Even with her assurances otherwise, and her forgiveness for something she didn't even see him at fault for- a part of him was still guilty over it, and would likely forever be. And again, even if she said otherwise he would still be a little worried in some deep corner of his mind that maybe she did still feel a little uneasy toward the person whose hands had hurt her so.

Surely even if she meant it, she would still need time to fully feel as she said she did, right? Anybody would need time to work through being hurt as badly as that.

Rogue grit his teeth slightly, looking away from her again, head bowing and fingers digging into his knees.

"... I'm sorry, Hora..." Rogue mumbled tensely, breaking the bit of silence that had fallen between them and rather abruptly snapping Hora from her own thoughts. Her head turned around toward him in surprise, very lost with the sudden apology and her face clearly expressing so- but Rogue was turned away so he didn't see it, and he didn't really pause either.

"I... I know you don't blame me for what the Other did... Or think it was my fault, and I know you mean that... But... I'm still sorry regardless, that you were so hurt by...tch..." Rogue hissed, breaking himself off a bit tensely at the end. Hora blinked, eyes widening as she caught up quickly with the situation, and winced internally.

Aahhh, you shouldn't have been glaring at those stupid scars while you got lost in your own head, Hora you dumbass.

"Don't feel bad Rogue, you have nothing to feel sorry for, I swear." Hora assured the Shadow Dragon Slayer quickly after a shake of her head at herself. He stiffened against the words and she sighed silently, resisting the urge to mutter a few more curses toward herself, and doing her best to keep her voice calm and not at all bothered or anything. "I'm serious, it's not on you. And I wasn't actually even thinking about any of that just now anyway, my mind was somewhere else entirely. So please don't get all hung up on that, okay?" She hummed,

Yeah, cause I was actually brooding about what the hell I'm gonna say to Gray- but anyways...!

"These don't bother me or anything, so don't worry about that either." Hora kept on, gesturing slightly toward the marks with a hand- though he still hadn't turned around. She faltered at it, because clearly she wasn't being very reassuring at all.

Hora swallowed, her hand falling a little as her gesturing stalled along with the rest of her. Her eyes fell away from Rogue and she turned away from him again too, a small sigh escaping her as her shoulders sank.

Shit, even after everything I said earlier, he's still not totally there on not blaming himself... of course not, but...

Hora frowned, her eyes dropping closed as her posture wilted a tad more.

"... Look, the thing with the Other guy... Well, it's kinda my fault that I got hit at all." Hora mumbled slowly after a pause, Rogue's eyes snapped open.

H-Her fault...?

"... I didn't... I wasn't really sure about mentioning it, because I don't want you taking it the wrong way Rogue... But after what happened with the Future Lucy getting... Killed... I had enough time to... To just do something- anything- after that, and when he went after me, but I... I couldn't do it." Hora mumbled, Rogue turning back her way slowly and blinking in surprise. Hora didn't turn his way again though, she just linked her arms around her knees and set her chin down atop them with a small sigh, dark blue eyes glinting.

"I know that probably doesn't make any sense to you, but that's what happened. Even after what he did, and knowing he was going to hurt me and try to kill me, and even though he was so different... I knew it was you, and I couldn't do it. I couldn't react, or fight back, or..." Hora told him softly, her voice trailing away with a heavy sigh as her eyes dropped closed a moment.

.:+:.

"... I... I am so happy... I got to see you guys... one last time..."

The Future Lucy's hand fell, smacking against the floor and into the puddle of blood underneath her, her body falling limp and heavy in the other Lucy's hold as one last breath shuddered passed her lips, and then nothing.

Hora couldn't move, she could only stare, her eyes breaking from the dying blonde and toward the bit of movement from the Future Rogue, the man turning toward her now for the first time and their eyes locked, his devoid of any light and hers still spilling in silent tears.

Lixue said something, his voice urgent and curt on her mind, but she couldn't make out the words. She was stuck still, staring into a face she didn't recognize and still the same one she knew so well- the one she'd known for years, seen through pain, and joy, and heartbreak, and loss, longing and fear... the same face from the same person who had been pleading for her to be okay, to not die, to trust him, to tell him what was wrong... pleading for her to... not go...

"... h...how could you... Rogue...?" Hora stammered breathlessly, he glowered, his fists blazing in Magic and eyes hard.

"Easily, even if she does not remember closing the Gate- she did. And she will still do so, no matter what... but now-"

He had cleared the space between himself and her in the blink of an eye, Hora stiffening and still glued to her spot as he came up just in front of her, Magic swirling around his hands wildly and teeth bared. Her eyes widened slowly, paralyzed still and not a single thought to move or retaliate moving across her mind, not even when rationally she knew something should have.

She had to do something, move, try to defend herself- she should have been livid, angry... she should have been ready to throw him across the room, burn him to ash for what he just did, get payback for it, retribution- he just killed Lucy, her friend, and it was unforgivable.

She should have swung out, reacted, tried to inflict some amount of pain- teach him a lesson, even. She told herself to, to fight back, to attack, but... But she couldn't.

She looked at him and knew it was Rogue and she couldn't do it

'MOVE!' Lixue snapped louder this time, a touch panicked, but it was much too late, Rogue was already swiping out, Magic blazing, steady, and deadset.

No hesitation, whatsoever

Natsu had moved finally, face twisted in rage and tears falling from his eyes- he moved, the instant Rogue did, he knew where his attention went next but like before- he was too slow... And worse even, he expected something from Hora, but he saw the look on her face and the rigidness of her body as she stood there, frozen, her expression filled with pain and disbelief, and heartbreak.

She was supposed to move, he expected her to- he was used to her fast reaction times, her almost impossible reaction times- but she did not move, and Natsu knew instantly she couldn't do it too.

And he was too slow, twice

"-Now to seal your fate as it was meant to be!"

"HORA!"

The Magic around the Future Rogue's hand condensed, his fingers bent and the shadows forming claws from every finger, long and wicked sharp. He swiped up, the claws slicing across her body in one quick motion, tearing through the flesh of her stomach, her ribs, her chest, both arms, and almost across her neck too- wearing scarlet lines through her body and blood splashing up into the air in five huge streams.

Hora stared, shaking and silent as fiery pain raced through every inch of her, the world shuddering to slow motion as she watched her blood stream passed her. Her flesh split as easily as paper, the Shadow Magic hissing and spinning as it tore through her- but hitched in more than a few places, though the movement of the attack didn't slow very much at all. The inky black Markings had moved even when her body hadn't, basic instinct for survival driving them forward to crawl across her skin and down her body and try to cover her in a thick layer of jet black. Something to try and guard against the wicked claws, to try and hold against it, keep her from being sliced apart too much. But they were not quick enough, not nearly enough- what little the Markings managed was to keep the claws from slicing her neck open completely, and in few places the skin was covered by the pitch black, the skin tore less than everywhere else- bit it tore regardless.

And all that blood

The pain didn't make a dent, not right away. She felt suspended, a storm of her own blood falling between herself and Rogue, their eyes locked still and time moving so, so slow. She saw his hand pull back, his Magic disappearing and getting ready to hit her again, and she could not move.

... He isn't... The Rogue... I know but...

... I still... Couldn't... Do it...

... He...

.:+:.

Hora's arms around her knees tightened as the memory came flooding back into the forefront of her mind, her shoulders hunching a little more despite herself and biting down hard on the inside of her cheeks. Rogue swallowed, red eyes glinting as she seemed to grow ever more rigid for a heartbeat or two there- but Hora was quick to force herself a big breath and shake herself out a little, a small grumble escaping her.

"... Even after all of it, and when he came at me I knew he was trying to kill me, but... I saw him, knew in some way that he was you once upon a time, and I couldn't bring myself to fight back or react. I couldn't do it, because I couldn't hurt you." Hora mumbled quietly, her shoulders sinking as she shook her head slightly at herself- and remained totally unaware of how Rogue kinda stopped breathing behind her.

Hora sighed again, her head tilting back as she shot the roof a slightly weary glare, "Hell, even after I got hurt I did manage to get between him and everyone else, because I had to try and protect them. But even then I still didn't want to hurt him- you- both of you... I don't know, it's crazy given him trying to kill me and everything else... but that is what ran through my head, and what kept me from dodging or whatever..." She mumbled, grimacing faintly. She sighed again and shifted, turning slowly back toward Rogue, dark blue eyes glinting. "I froze, and that's on me. It was my fault for not getting out of the way or trying to move Rogue, so please don't apologize or anything, okay...?" She murmured softly as she turned halfway back toward him, only to end up freezing, her eyes going wide and heart skipping a beat to see Rogue looking nearly on the verge of tears.

Hora bristled, her hands moving up quickly and waving at him in nervous rapidity, the Devil Slayer instantly sweating up a storm.

"W-Wait, I said I didn't mean- shit I told you I didn't want to mention it and you getting the wrong idea about it...!" Hora stammered, "I k-know you and him aren't the same person Rogue, I w-wasn't trying to imply you were or anything, I knew- eh, know you're two different people...! It was just in the moment I knew he had been you at some point before whatever awful happened to him that turned him down the wrong path, a-and whether he and you were the same any more didn't matter, it just mattered you were the same at one point and I... Well i-it turns out that for me it doesn't really matter if it was one version of you o-or the real you, because all versions of you are still you, even if only in some tiny way- but that tiny part is enough that it made me freeze, cause I'd never want to hurt you in anyway, even if the you I know isn't 100% you..!" She rambled off quickly, but Rogue just stayed utterly quiet, lips pulled into a thin line, absolutely motionless and still with little bits of moisture pecking at the corners of his eyes. Hora stalled, her hands doing the same in air before her as she sweat up even more of a storm.

Ah shit shit shit I am NOT explaining this well at all..!

Hora hissed, quickly turning all he way around to face him directly and leaning in toward him a little as she did, blue eyes flashing. "Damn it, I-I'm sorry, I'm really not saying you were, I just- I don't know how to explain this any better! I just don't want you to think any of it was your fault, me freezing, the other version of you doing any of that, o-or anything at all...!" Hora stammered, "It was on me, I'm the one that failed to react, it was my feelings that had me hesitate in the first place, a-and... and I don't care that those feelings or thoughts got me hurt at all either, by the way!" She kept on, and suddenly a touch firmly there at the end- so much so Rogue stiffened in surprise for it, blinking once.

Hora's hands fell from in front of her and back down into the water, her dark blue eyes glimmering as she leaned in a little more and the nervousness on her face suddenly became nearly as firm and steady as her voice had.

She'd avoided it earlier- all things tying into why she failed to fight back against the Other Rogue back at the Palace. It was a same reason why she thought about how, somewhere, somehow, and for some reason that Other Rogue had been hers before he had fallen. That same why he'd turned into what he had, and that sort of hope that she was right about what the reason for him changing so much, was what she had come up with... hope that maybe the reason why he was so torn up about any version of himself having hurt her was the very same reason she'd not been able to bring herself to hurting that Other Rogue even when her life was on the line.

Because if its that way for me, would it be too much to think it's the same for him?

Hora swallowed, her heart twisting a little at the repeat of the thought, though her expression didn't waver even for it, and nor did her steady gaze on Rogue either.

She wasn't sure if it was 'too much', and she hadn't had a chance to try and ask, or broach that particular subject and realization before when he'd been freaking out and a general mess. And he wasn't less of a mess now, since this whole bath thing had made him as even more a flustered and nervous wreck- but she was making it worse with her rambling and scrambling to make sure what she'd said and meant wasn't taken the wrong way... hell she was making it worse by this dancing around what she actually meant, and not actually voicing that why right out.

Hora's eyes flashed, nodding her head once and all to herself a she took in a deep breath, her eyes falling closed for half a second while she did- before she let the breath back out, blinking her eyes open to lock with Rogue's, steady and unwavering.

... Though even despite her being able to keep eye-contact with him, she couldn't quite keep her heart rate from picking up, or keep at bay the heat that she could feel creeping into her cheeks before she even started talking.

I'm already here, I've already done enough rambling, and if I don't just say it outright I am gonna end up making things even worse- so now might as well be the time to just come out and say it, yeah?

After all of this crazy, what's a little more crazy and unexpected thrown in?

Hora swallowed, resisting the urge to shake her head at herself.

Ah hell, I really really hope this doesn't make things worse-

"I don't regret that I froze and couldn't force myself to fight back. Not even when it got me hurt." Hora started in as steadily as could be, the rushed nervousness her voice had had in the midst of all her rambling gone entirely now and not apt to be coming back anytime soon. "I don't regret any of it, because all the craziness and going up against the Other you made me realize that I could never hurt you intentionally, and I would never want to because you're important to me." She murmured, her voice getting a touch softer at the end and a little slower too- though it was no less sincere.

Rogue blinked, eyes widening a tad more and heart skipping a beat on that last bit; 'you're important to me'

I'm...?

"I realize this is gonna kinda come out of nowhere for you, but it kinda came out of nowhere for me too during all the insanity." Hora murmured, "I told you I am not going anywhere, and that what happened with the Other you is not going to happen to you because I am never gonna leave. I will never leave you alone, and I will never let you fall that far, not as long as I am still here- I promise you that and I will keep it no matter what because of how important you are to me." She told him softly, her eyes falling from him for the first time and a bit of nervousness breaking across her face in place of being steady, and her cheeks reddened a little more too, which had Rogue's own face heating up in reaction to it- and at the whole subject and what she was saying in general, really.

Because was he actually following where she was going with this...?

"And that's why I feel so awful about worrying all of you so much too, and how terrible it must have been on all of you that I got so bad, and even... died... I know how badly it would hurt me if any of that happened to any of you guys, especially you... I really... I hate to think about what it must have been like for the Other Rogue in his timeline. I don't know if I'm right about it, or that me dying was one of the reasons he turned the way he did, but... even if it wasn't, it still must have been awful for him." Hora mumbled, her voice dropping a little, before she seemed to catch herself and glanced up toward Rogue again quickly. The sudden bit of unease for the words got instantly replaced with nervousness and even a little panic, a bit of her rushing from before flaring to life as she continued on in a little more of a rush next;

"B-But that being said, I'm not trying to assume it'd be the same way for you, or even if you feel that same way for me as I do for you- I just wanted to make sure you didn't get the wrong idea about why I wasn't able to fight back against the Other Rogue, or that I blamed you for it or anything..! None of it was your fault, and how I feel about you being related to it doesn't make it your responsibility or anything either, I just wanted to make it clear that's how I feel, a-and what I've realized I feel after all of this, and... And, uh..." Hora stammered quickly, before breaking off when she realized she'd just ended up doing exactly the same thing as she had before.

Rambling

Hora swallowed, gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes a little haughtily, her cheeks puffing up in frustration and nervousness all bundled into one big pile of sheer exasperation.

Damn it this should not be this hard, Hora.

You spent the last few months going against an entire Dark Guild alone, defeated a Demon of Zeref on your own, and then made it through all the crazy afterwards with the GMG, the Eclipse Gate, the Dragons, and the Possession Link combined- and you survived.

You've been dealing with literal insanity and managed it, so why is this so goddamn hard to just say...?!

She growled under her breath at the thought, her hands coming up out of the water slowly and forcing out a breath that sounded more like a huff.

Tch, you know what?

This is just gonna get even more weird and awkward and tense the longer I keep up, so might as well just say it- no explaining, no rambling, no nothing.

Just say it

CLAP

Rogue jumped, stiffening in shock against the sudden way in which Hora's hands smacked down against her cheeks, the Fire Devil Slayer forcing herself a big intake of air as her eyes shut against the stinging sensation for but a moment. Then her hands fell from her face and her eyes locked with Rogue's, steady, intent, and glinting with a million different emotions all at once- but one in particular.

One he had, briefly, thought he'd seen beforehand when she'd made him that vow never to leave- but he'd not been sure. He'd not really been in a headspace to process it, and he really wasn't sure if he could ever even imagine or believe that could be there.

So seeing that sort of impossible to believe thing there again... Well, his mouth started moving before his mind could tell him not to, or even really mull over what he was about to say. It ended up as a response to what that look in her eyes was, but more a sort of question too. It was like him voicing it aloud to check if he was right, and actually following this (or rather, recognizing and seeing this) correctly.

It was a question, and a response, even a repeat, while all at once it was also a statement and truth too- and it just came out.

"I love you."

Hora went rigid in an instant, her mouth snapping shut audibly and her face flushing a deep scarlet in no time when Rogue murmured the three words a little breathlessly, and out of nowhere.

She sucked in a startled breath of air that had been meant for words, nearly sputtering and choking on it, but she kept herself from starting into a coughing fit at least as well as she could manage... which wasn't very well. A cough did manage it's way passed her gritted teeth and she hunched a bit, her eyes shutting tight against it and a hand quickly moving to cover her mouth to stifle anymore and stop them escaping- though one or two more of those stifled coughs made her entire body hitch even so, which had Rogue instantly bristling and looking frantic as all hell.

"O-Oh no Hora I wasn't trying to- shit I'm sorry...!" He apologized quickly, but Hora just hissed a little, forcing out a breath instead of a choked-off cough, shaking her head furiously at both herself, and him.

Because fucking hell, are you kidding me...?!?!

"You idiot, you can't just derail someone else's confession like that!!" Hora snapped, and a tad hotly- though the heat behind it wasn't really out of anger, just mostly flusteredness on her part.

Rogue's sudden bout of being frantic stuttered to a standstill at the words though, his own face burning a deeper red that nearly outmatched Hora's own blush, the man stuttering instantly.

"W-Wait you... C-Confession...? Y-You mean that you... That you do... Too...?!" He stumbled out breathlessly and Hora grumbled internally, frowning and still red-faced as he struggled to even get the words out, all wide-eyed and looking nearly incredulous at the idea of that 'too'. Hora frowned some more, her cheeks reddening deeper and puffing up in embarrassment and frustration both.

"Of course I do, what the hell else did you think I was going to say? Or that I've even been trying to say this whole time?" She grumbled a little, and Rogue looked like he nearly stopped breathing for it- but Hora kept on. "All of this craziness and everything made me realize how important you are to me. And in realizing that, it made me realize how I actually feel about you. That's what I was trying to get at- what I was trying to say before..." Hora mumbled, her voice trailing off with a slightly disgruntled breath as her cheeks puffed up a little more. She shook her head a little, her eyes dropping from Rogue entirely for a moment,

... before he totally beat me to it- shit.

She swallowed, her chest tightening suddenly on the thought and amping up what heat and heaviness that had flared with those three words of his, and was definitely getting progressively worse.

... tch... damn it... so much for not getting all worked up...

Rogue blinked, some of the shock wearing off again as Hora went quiet all of a sudden, the Shadow Dragon Slayer's red eyes gleaming as he watched the embarrassment wash over her face, paired with little bits of frustration that almost looked like... pouting.

Pouting, definitely all wound up, blushing hard as hell, and almost fidgeting now too as she glared daggers down at the water and not at him... His heart skipped a beat at it, and the edges of his lips pulled upward at the corners despite himself too. It wasn't at all appropriate in that moment- but her looking like that?

It was cute as hell... even her rambling from before and everything else about her being a nervous wreck was cute in a way too- despite some of the unpleasant topics woven in.

Rogue smiled faintly for a second, eyes gleaming and his own blush letting up a few degrees as he shifted where he was.

Hell... He could not help, nor stop himself for a second time around.

His body moved all it's own, the whirling thoughts and emotions stilling so easily for just a second, his hands reaching out to grab gentle hold of her face, cutting the distance between them to absolutely nothing in seconds- it just happened.

Hora barely had time to register the fact his hands had caught her in their grasp before he'd forced her face up, his own suddenly just in front of her and the rest of him closer than it had been three seconds ago- before she felt his breath wash up against her face for but a second, and then his lips met hers not a heartbeat later. She stiffened against it out of surprise for half a second afterward, before her mind quickly caught up with it all, and she melted into the kiss without a single thought to it.

It was warm, and new, foreign and strange- it was something that before now had never crossed either their minds to risk, try, or do. Things between them had always been close, a closeness and comfort owed to friends and family they had been for as long as they had- but never this close.

They'd touched each other before, with a hand held out, a hug, a brush of a shoulder- but never anything like this.

Never this, never in a million years, and never had a thing like this had ever even been considered- but even so, right then and actually doing it, it was so strangely familiar, and so right.

Impossibly right- and even more impossibly there seemed to be some section of both their souls that suddenly filled with the same gentle warmth of their pressed together lips. A space in both of them they had never known had been empty before now, and in that moment a space they couldn't imagine they'd ever managed to live with being unfilled.

All the words, apologies, rambling, and everything still left not quite said up until that moment felt wrapped up into one by the kiss- all of that filling that unknown empty space in their centers every millisecond the contact lasted... and it felt like years before either of them made a move to pull back and catch their breath.

Hora was the one to prompt it, though more out of necessity, and not a want- she didn't really want to let it end at all, actually. But Over-Drive was not about to let that keep going without throwing a wrench in the whole moment..... It was actually lucky enough it lasted as long as it already had.

But her heart had basically jumped into her throat for the kiss, and her emotions were all whirling and on a high- a good high, but a high nonetheless. And she knew where a high like that of any kind was gonna lead all too quickly.

Her hands came up and grabbed around his wrists, lightly coaxing him to release the grip of his hands cupping either side of her face. Rogue obliged to the silent gesture without any resistance to it, their lips parting again as he pulled back from her and Hora did the same- but the both of them moved only enough to put just a few centimeters between them again, and little else. A shaky breath left Hora once they did, her eyes gleaming as she cracked them open halfway and cut the breath off shortly after, holding it and swallowing hard as she let her head tilt forward so her forehead bumped lightly against his chest, the top of her head just under his chin. Rogue blinked in surprise, stalling for half a second with Hora's hands still wrapped about his wrists and looking a little lost- before a little bit of the pleasant haze of the moment wore off, and he realized she wasn't breathing at all.

He swallowed at it, eyes flashing and looking instantly a little on edge, his hands in her hold shifting slightly as he unconsciously reached out and let them fall on her shoulders apprehensively.

"Hora, are you okay..?" He asked quickly, his breath ruffling the strands of hair on the top of her head that had already started to dry. Hora nodded stiffly in reply to it, though she didn't lift her head off his chest as she did, or move at all really. She stayed right where she was and even leaned a little more heavily into him, the weight of her hands around his wrists growing a little heavier as she let them slide down his arms and stop at the crook of his elbows instead. Rogue heard her take in a shallow breath of air after a moment,

"... Y... yeah... I'm okay..." Hora whispered in reply, her voice bordering on raspy suddenly and he frowned at it, though she didn't pause. Instead she swallowed rather audibly, shaking her head slightly and ruffling her bangs against his chest as she did, another shaky breath escaping her in what sounded like a sigh... and sort of a slightly bemused one at that.

"Heh... that was... great actually... and I'm totally good with you doing it... and doing it again if you want... but maybe... in a bit...? I'd really hate to end up... coughing my lungs out... in the middle of one... or at all..." She mumbled breathlessly, before she took in another breath of air that sounded a little too raspy for Rogue's liking, and Hora's too. She seemed to grumble a bit for it, but she managed not to end up coughing even so and she sighed a little, her shoulders sinking a little under his hands in a bit of weariness and exasperation now. "... sorry... Over-Drive is a real mood-killer..." She mumbled, a sort of exasperated and joking tone working it's way in to her voice suddenly.

Rogue blinked at it, the sound of that sort of light hint in her voice making him relax a little and unwind from the tension that had wedged itself into the tail end of the whole moment. He let out a sigh himself, his eyes dropping closed and his head tilting forward to bury his chin and nose into the top of her head, the scent of the shampoo he'd rinsed from the multicolor strands mixing with her scent hitting his senses in an even more calming way than her voice had.

"A little." Rogue replied quietly, pausing half a second as if he was choosing his words, and then going on;

"... I... I would like to do it again, Hora." Rogue admitted a touch sheepishly, his voice dropping a little and Hora felt her heart skip a beat at the confirmation. Rogue swallowed, pausing half a second more before shifting, his hands gliding lightly over her shoulders and slowly over her back instead, pulling her a little more into him and more into a hug- and Hora didn't protest, though it did make her cheeks burn a little hotter when their chests ended up pressed together pretty tightly. Rogue blushed more too, but that didn't stop him, he just pulled her all the way into him, holding her tightly and gently in his embrace. "I do, but I don't want you to end up coughing either, or getting too worked up, so... So this will have to do for now, okay..?" He nearly whispered that part, his voice hushed and so shaky from nerves and all else.

Hora's eyes gleamed at the words and the gesture both though, her expression softening as her heart ached in several ways all at once, while her answer to that question from before got answered in no uncertain terms;

Apparently it was not too much to think it's the same for him, if it's that way for me.

Hora let out a small breath, her lips pulling upward in a small smile at the thought, still blushing slightly as she nuzzled her face a little further into his chest. She could easily hear the slightly elevated rhythm of his heart against her ear as she did, her own most definitely mirroring the pace- but she ignored that and sank into the so pleasant sensation that came when his oh so familiar scent flooded her nose all anew, and in a way that had never been so intoxicating before.

His scent, the one she knew so well and always would- the one that was his, as it always had been, and always would be as long as she had a say in it. Where she would always be there, right with him, and he would always be him.

My Rogue

Hora smiled a little softer, her hands moving to curl around his back and return the embrace, nodding once.

"Works for me."

.:+:.

Heyo! Are you guys ready?!

CAUSE HERE WE GOOOOO!!

Haha, this is it! I have the story all written out, so from here on out- ya'll are getting a new chapter every week until it's all done! Yay!!

And to start it off- LOOK AT THAT FLUFF GUYS! QwQ

Gosh it was nice to write something a lil more lighthearted after so much angst, I do hope you enjoyed it! We have plenty more interactions and things to go as we head to the end, I so hope you look forward to it! :D

Thank you all so much for sticking with me this long- and thank you for sticking to the end too! I know it's been a long time coming, and you've all been waiting so patiently for the big reveal! It is coming, I promise!

Anyhoo, thank you all again! I will see you next week!

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