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(no subject)

Date & Time: backdated to September 2nd
Location: Unit 808
Characters: Chrono (

overclocking) and Mary Madgalene (

sawhatyoudidthere)
Summary: LOTS OF GROSS FEELINGS and demons pining outside of ~~ivory towers~~ apartments
Warnings: Possible talk of loss of life bc Chrono Crusade, will update as necessary

[It's been almost a full 24 hours since her arrival. Chrono tells himself (repeatedly, while forcing down meals, while lying uselessly awake all night, while putting himself through the motions of morning chores and training) that the best thing he could do for her is stay the hell away from her. He knows she doesn't remember the whole story, knows he's in an unfair position because he does—

He wonders if there would even be any point in discussing such things with a prophet.

But his resolve is as weak as his ability to fixate on anything but her, and he's standing before unit 808 before he really knows it, torn on what to do, what he should be doing. More important than the possible dissemination of information, he's— selfish. She's here, alive and whole, smiling that same enigmatic smile that made him want to carve all her secrets open 54 years ago. Perhaps what leads him to the apartment is his own selfish childishness.

He raises his hand, half-knocks once, before his courage promptly deserts him and his hand falters mid-way through the second knock. What is he doing?]

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[Perhaps unfortunately for Chrono, Mary had been sitting in the living room, reading a book to pass the time and keep her mind off things. It was so much easier to focus on a task at hand, whether they be simple words, or cleaning, or cooking. It was better to concentrate than allow her mind to wander aimlessly and halted anything else from taking hold.

The knock - or half knock as it were - cut the focus she had managed. It wasn't a tragedy, but she quickly set her book down and went to the door. Straightening her skirts and hair as she walked. She hadn't really planned for any visitors today, but her appearance was decent enough.]

Who is it?

[Even prophecy can't really be wasted for answering knocked on doors.]

[Even hearing her voice through the door is like a knife in his gut, twisting. There's a cowardly part of him that wants to turn tail and run, now, while he can. He pointedly ignores that part, and struggles to find his voice.]

It's— [False start, voice betrayal. Try again.]

It's Chrono.

[Well, why didn't you just say so! She'll open the door with a cheerful smile planted on her face.]

I hadn't expected you to visit. I'm sorry. Please, come in. Would you like anything?

[Already she sweeps toward the kitchen. He can manage to close a door, surely. Some water might do for now. She can always prepare some snacks if he's hungry. From the kitchen she'll call back to him,]

I'll just be a minute, make yourself at home!

[There's an almost comical moment where he's left in the doorway, one hand still aloft, mouth agape on some aborted word or other as she sweeps into the kitchen. Three seconds and he's already caught in her whirlwind.

Shakes it off and takes a few cautious steps into the apartment, closing the door behind him. He glances after her, uncertain.]

I'm fine. You don't need to go to any trouble, honestly...

I shouldn't have dropped by unexpectedly.

Don't be silly, it's perfectly fine.

[Within another moment she returns to the living area with two glasses of ice water in hand. It's less than she'd like to give, but she has hardly had the time to get settled and he'd likely fuss if she gave him anything more for now. With a smile she offers him the glass.]

Would you like to sit? I apologize, it isn't much. But if you're hungry, just let me know.

[He humors her by taking the glass without protest. (Suspects it won't be long at all before she's acquired a small variety of teas, for situations like this one.)]

It's okay. I've eaten. [He hasn't; food tastes like sand on his tongue, of late.]

I just thought I'd... [—Visit? Talk? Explain? Prostrate himself with apologies for things that haven't even come to pass, for her? It all sounds absurd, even in his own head, and he trails off into silence while he puzzles out how to finish that sentence.]

That you would come to talk? [Regardless of whether those were his intended words or not, it is her intention.]

To be honest, I wanted to speak with you as well. But I wasn't sure when would be the best time. So I'm glad you decided to stop by. [There's a short-lived, sad smile.] But first, what was it you wanted to talk about?

[Guests first, it's polite.]

[He wishes he hadn't taken the glass, because it makes it harder to fold his hands in his lap, wring them. He settles instead for rolling beads on condensation beneath his thumb. He opens his mouth to continue, but the words seem inadequate, so he closes it again. ... It's harder, for some reason, now that he's sitting here.

Haah, get it together.

Swallows, steels his courage. Looks her in the eye, finally.]

I need to know exactly what, and when, you remember—that last moment. As much as you can tell me.

[The question leaves a small frown where her usual smile would be. All of the worries and panic want to be dredged back up. She never found out if anything actually worked. She believes it will, and Chrono is sitting here in front of her, fifty-four years ahead, fifty-four years over and done with anything she can recall.

She takes a seat close by and holds her glass steady in her lap. Somewhere between avoiding it with her finger tips because of the cold and trying to prevent the condensation from soaking onto her lap. Eventually she just decides to hold it firmly, regardless of the cold glass. Coasters would be another thing she'd need to go and purchase sometime soon.]

You had fought Aion. [You shouldn't have. But I'm glad you did.] He took your horns.

We fell and you were dying. [She realizes how broken her words must sound than their usual grace and ease. He's here and he's fine. She'll just remind herself of that and the next words come much easier. She'll meet his gaze with that misplaced determination she holds rolling back in.] I had to do something.

[If he notices the contrast, he doesn't let on. He'd grown accustomed to half-formed sentences, the longer they'd traveled together. The longer Pandaemonium had churned her mind inside out.]

The contract. [Says it with deliberate neutrality, and doesn't fool anyone at all.] Do you remember that?

[... Ah. He would have found out sooner or later, wouldn't he?

There's a long pause. Longer than there should be. For that moment she's simply blank and then as if the silence had never occurred she nods with certainty.]

Yes, I do.

[Nods to himself; that makes sense. One less thing he'll have to carry the burden of explaining.]

And- after that? [He supposes he knows the answer, based on the things she'd said yesterday. But he needs to know for sure.]

[Just as her nod was certain, so is her certainty when she shakes her head this time.]

After that, I came here.

[There's another pause to give her a moment to think. She'll take a small sip of the water and gently switch the glass into her other hand, her fingers were nearly numb from the cold.]

You don't need to tell me what happened, it's not necessary. [Her smile peeks out again, the frown dissolving. But it's a serious expression she holds. She won't be persuaded otherwise.] I'll find out for myself one day. It doesn't need to be today.

[Wishes he could leave it at that. Simple, to the point. But—]

There's just one thing. Something I think you deserve to know. [Suspects she can guess it already, but it needs to come from his mouth. He can't face her otherwise.]

[Just one thing? Well, can't really argue that...]

Yes?

[Swallows, thickly, and musters every ounce of courage he possesses. He won't be able to move forward until he does this.]

Your prophecy. [Needs to narrow it down-] The one you kept in your dreams. [Your prophecy.]

I fulfilled it.

[There's a warm smile on her face mixed with sympathy. The one who would take her life, the one who would kill her and cry as they did so. Chrono. As much as she hated it, and didn't want it by the end. It's good to know her one truth is just that: the truth.

Still cold from having held the glass of water, but dry, she'll put her free hand on his.]

I know. Thank you for telling me.

[He thinks she must be the only woman in the world who would thank him for such a thing. But then, she always was an utter oddity to him; even now, half a century later, he still can't figure her out.]

I think that's the least of what I owe you. [Doesn't shy away from her touch, simply blinking down at her hand atop his, like he cannot, for the life of him, understand.] You saved my life.

[For far too high a price. But if that knowledge offers any comfort to her at all, he doesn't mind saying it.]

[Of course it's a comfort. Even more so than just that, and it's evident on her face. It's nice to be more than just a seer of others' lives and actually make some impact for a change. And an impact she never thought she could have on anything. She was supposed to watch and never partake in life. It's odd in itself. When did that ever really change?]

I had to.

[It's a hard thing to explain; I had to. But it's honest and simple. With a gentle squeeze of his hand she'll let go, her smile holds however.]

You've changed, Chrono, haven't you?

[Fifty-four years would do that, certainly. But she's going to take a guess that it wasn't really time's effect at all.]

[I had to. Hard to explain- yes. It would be. No matter how many different ways he turns those three words over in his head, he can't make any sense of them. How could she possibly be obligated to save a life like his? Especially when she knew that doing so would mean her death, by some means or another.

He's as bereft of answers as his hand feels when she pulls away. He ignores that feeling, dutifully.]

Well... There's a person or two to blame for that.

[He's aware of what she's saying, in a distant sort of way. Knows he isn't the person who spirited her away from the Order all those years ago. 'Don't push your luck'— He can't even imagine uttering such things now, at least not to her. Cringes at the very memory of it.

Even so, she was never intimidated, never cowed. She saw through him with no trouble at all, and he's certain it's a skill she still possesses. Normally he'd feel splayed open and exposed, but instead it's... comforting, in a strange way. To have someone understand things without the need to explain. He's always been rubbish at explaining.

But... Rosette is something Mary may not have factored in. Even so, he wonders if this is yet another thing she'll see right through.]

[There's a short but warm laugh before she sips her water.]

Rosette is a good person. I'm happy for you, and I'm glad she's been with you. I believe she had said the two of you were partners?

[It's a good thing, truly. Chrono would be the kind of person to need something like that. He always seemed so loyal to Aion. It was never his fault those loyalties frayed. In a lot of ways, it was hers'. But these loyalties were different than that. It was a different feeling she received from the two of them, it was good and warm. Nothing of demand. It made her happy to see, and relieved.]

Yeah... [It's still an odd word to use—partners. But it's a word they use because nothing else seems to fit. "Friends"? Definitely, but that doesn't even scratch the surface. "Contractors"? That's no one's business but theirs, and makes his skin crawl besides.

Mary isn't wrong; Aion was something like that to him, once. There might have been genuine warmth and trust there, before Mary met either of them.

But where he referred to Aion as his master, Rosette is his partner.]

She's impulsive, and an idiot, and makes awful decisions most of the time... So I really couldn't leave her alone. [Falters for a moment, feeling suddenly foolish.] A-Anyway...

We work together for the Order, that's all.

[She tilts her head with a curl of a smile.]

Oh, is that all?

[She'll allow the question to sit a moment as she sips her water again. 'That's all' is rarely ever all of it. But she won't press the matter any further and gently glides the topic along.] Regardless, I'm glad the both of you have each other, even here. There are many present without anything or anyone familiar to them. It's good that it isn't always the case.

[He forces some of the fluster down, nodding. He's aware, acutely so, of how lucky he is.]

I know... I think about it a lot. [Not just how fortunate he is—but how easily that good fortune might be snatched away. Stories of people being sent home, dying... Those same fears have haunted him with regards to Mary since the day before. Her being here is almost too good for him to imagine... he keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.]

... I'm glad you aren't alone here, either. [Even if it's just someone like me, on his tongue but not voiced. He's learned a thing or two in 54 years.]

[She smiles to him, but it's unfortunately meek in comparison to what she may usually manage.]

Chrono, there's something I should tell you.

[She wonders if he knows simply by the wavering tone of her voice. That would make matters easier for her, at least in explaining. But how would they fair for him this time? She'll wait patiently for his approval for the shift in topic, her focus simply being on keeping her own composure. It's likely he's said what he intended to, but she won't be so rude as to assume.]

[He can guess, of course. The time she's from, her lapse the day before, the uncharacteristic stress that sits about her eyes. He still sees these things often enough in his nightmares to forget what they look like when faced with them in person.]

I know. [Quietly, words carefully chosen.] I knew as soon as you told me what you remember.

[She nods to his words. In part, she's relieved she doesn't need to explain. It gives her the strength now, to look him in the eyes when she speaks.]

What will you do?

Fight her.

[No hesitation, this time. It was his answer 54 years ago, and it's his answer now.] Fight her, with you. So that you don't have to do it alone.

[One of his greatest regrets—among many—is how powerless he'd been through her entire struggle. If they'd made it to the Order in time, would it have made a difference? He'll never know, now; all that matters is his efforts were insufficient.

They won't be, this time.]

I don't- I don't really understand much, but... Aion... he wouldn't have done the things he did if he didn't believe there were good reasons. He was afraid of her, and I've rarely ever seen Aion afraid. [It's why they can't take this lightly, or ignore it; he's seen himself what Pandaemonium can do, and Mary is suffering, too.] So afraid they he wouldn't even stop to think of other solutions.

But here, we can. No matter how scary it is.

[It's a hopeful thought, one that she expected from him. Fighting against Pandemonium. But can things truly differ and change simply by being in a different place? They would change nothing in the end. This was borrowed time, surely. Risky borrowed time. But nothing of that seemed appropriate to say. He was likely well aware of the eventual end.

Still, his words are encouraging. She nods in agreement. Her question is calm though with genuine interest. She can assume, but for now she won't.]

How will we fight her?

[We. He likes the sound of it.]

There are people here with amazing abilities. Exorcists, mages, wizards... they can do things I've never even heard of in our world.

In... my own time, [hesitates for a moment, because isn't that odd to say?] I was taking you back to the Order. We thought they might have the expertise to help. I honestly believe the same is true of this place; someone will know what to do.

[She looks seemingly reassured, even though she's far from it. But she won't hesitate in front of him. He has enough to worry about than trying to convince her of possibilities. Still, she may need to consider alternatives.]

Are you already familiar with many here who may help?

Not 'many', but...

I've met demon slayers, people who can heal by magic, people who can touch minds... I know who to talk to, at least.

[ It's hope. More hope than he'd had 54 years ago. ]

We'll beat her this time. I'm sure of it.

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