Fandom Anachronistic (closed with Victorianbooty)

[sumurset]

Nikola smiled gently at her, fighting back a wince when she touched his shoulder. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know he was still feeling raw.


This wasn't the first time the inventor had suffered an electric burn, but it was definitely the worst.


He sipped at the water before carefully setting it on the small table beside the bed.


Lafayette gently took hold of Tesla's hand. He chose not to speak.


Nikola, of course, squeezed the knight's hand, though his eyes were on the mage. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts.


"It is not your fault, Fi, you know that, don't you?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Not her fault.


She heard the words but couldn't bring herself to believe them, not truly, not right now. Maybe when Nikola was feeling better, when he was buzzing about his workshop as though nothing had happened, that was when she'd be able to tell herself that she hadn't caused it. But, until then, she'd swallow the blame.


She should have insisted they run more tests, should have taken extra care, more precautions.


But, no amount of thinking would undo what had been done.


"It is a...concept I am struggling with." She had to be honest, always honest. Reaching out, she brushed a stray bit of hair back from his forehead. "Truly, I am just- I am ecstatic you are alright. I suppose it is not all bad either, is it? Now I get to spend more time with one of my dearest friends."


That was it, she had found the positive spin she could put on this terrible situation.

 

[sumurset]

Nikola smiled--an expression to rival the sun itself. He chuckled, nodding, and reached forward to take her hand.


"I look forward to asking for your assistance, even outside of the laboratory."


Lafayette chuckled at that and gently let go of Nikola's hand. After placing a reassuring hand on Fi's shoulder, he withdrew and sat on a nearby chair.


"Now, enough with all this lovey-dovey nonsense. Would you all like to play a game? There are cards in the other room, you know." The Knight's voice piped up, finally; accent dripping form his words along with a cheerful tone. He was trying to lighten the mood, just as Fi had been.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

She liked his smile. It had been nightmarish thinking that she might not ever see it again, that such a bright young life would have been snuffed out like it hadn't even mattered. And yet, there he was, smiling at her, looking forward to the future and ready to get back into doing what he loved most.


She admired that.


She gently squeezed the scientist's hand, holding it as a reminder that things were alright.


"I think a game is exactly what we need, though you might have to teach me the basics, I fear I am not much of a card player." She turned her own smile to Lafayette, glad he had picked up on her desire to keep things light and friendly.


After everything that had happened, a game was exactly what they needed.

 

[sumurset]

"Ah, no worries, mademoiselle. It's very easy."


He smiled at her before getting up and sifting through the drawer beside Nikola's bed.


After a moment he pulled out a deck of cards. A simple deck, not meant for anything but games between friends.


Tossing it to Tesla--who picked it up off the bed where it had landed--Lafayette wandered a few beds down. When he returned, he was pushing along a short table. It was designed so it could be pushed up against the hospital beds, giving the patients a place to set their food when they ate (other than their laps).


He pushed it up against Tesla's bed, then, and plopped down on the mattress beside his friend's legs.


"Alright, what do you suppose we should play, hm?" He had taken the cards out of their little box, now, and was busying himself with shuffling them.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

The card game went well, not in the aspect that she had one, no, Fienelef had lost terribly every round, but it had been fun.


It was nice to see Nikola laugh, to hear him and Lafayette speak, the light chides and warm comments.


But, eventually, the hour ran late.


The cards were gathered and put away, the table pushed back to its home, and Fienelef bid Tesla goodnight as she stepped out of the medical wing and into the hall.


She could have hurried off to her room, but instead she waited, hands loosely clasped behind her back.


The card game still had her smiling, it had killed the looming silence and sorrow that had clung between her and the Frenchman after the accident.


And with that cleared, she had a question that loomed in the back of her throat.


But beyond that, maybe she just wanted to talk to him now that the shadow that had lingered was gone.

 

[sumurset]

Lafayette had definitely enjoyed himself. He had only won a few rounds, himself. Though he was quite good with cards, Tesla was a genius. Had them both out-witted and out-strategized before they had even laid out their hands.


After Fi had departed, Lafayette lingered for a few minutes longer; making certain his friend was comfortable before leaving as well.


When he nearly ran into the short woman, he had to catch himself from crying out in surprise.


"Mon dieu, Fienelef. I thought you had gone to bed."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

He jolted slightly and Fienelef couldn't help but five him an apologetic smile.


Frightening him wasn't her goal, at least, not right then.


"Without saying goodnight to you? I am ashamed you think I would do such a thing."


The vaguely teasing tone, one that had been missing since Tesla had been injured, returned, blooming in her words.


"Ah, actually, I was hoping if you were not too terribly tired that we might have the chance to talk for a bit?"

 

[sumurset]

With a quiet chuckle, he held out a hand, gesturing down the hall; signalling they should walk and talk.


"I am always willing to talk with you, mademoiselle. What is it you need?"


He quirked a brow, comfortably holding his hands behind his back as they began walking towards the quarters.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

As he motioned that they should walk, Fienelef gave a nod and started off. She kept her pace easy, her own hands linking in front of her out of sheer force of habit at that point. There was a beat of silence as she considered her words, as she considered him.


Pursing her lips for a moment, she started.


"Before the accident, when we were all saying our goodbyes you said you wished to confess something, yes? I was simply wondering exactly what had been on your mind."


While Tesla had been touch and go she hadn't worried about it, but now that he seemed to be doing alright, her curiosity gnawed at her mind like a monstrous hunger.

 

[sumurset]

He'd nearly forgotten about that. Parting words were always spoken in desperation. Something had compelled him to say such a thing, but he wasn't sure he was ready to say it now. Not now that Fienelef would be staying longer.


To have her know, to have her not reciprocate--the discomfort that might linger between them would drive the Frenchman mad.


Clearing his throat, he tried to think how best to pose his words.


"I..." His face, for once, flushed. The marquis could not remember the last time his cheeks had reddened in the name of embarrassment.


Doing his best not to let her notice, he kept his face forward as he spoke; "You deserve to know, yes. Wishing to tell you one last thing before your departure, well.. The fact is yours, now."


He stopped walking, then, and turned to her. His expression was carefully controlled.


"Fienelef, I care for you. More deeply than I ever anticipated." Way to get that out of the way. Couldn't help but be blunt about it, such was the man's way, "Take that however you wish." His back straightened slightly as he awaited her response.


Thinking he may not have been clear, he quickly added, "Je suis en train de dire je t'aime," before rolling his lips in anticipation.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

When he stopped walking, she did the same. Her eyes watched his face, catching the color that had landed in his cheeks, the way he held himself. Perhaps she hadn't been expecting anything so serious, and yet, the air about them had shifted until it was colored with the somber emotion.


Her first instinct was to brush his words off as though they were nothing of grand importance. Of course he cared about her, they were friends, and that was what friends did.


It was his last sentence that jarred her into his frame of mind, correcting what she had misunderstood. Before she could begin to process what had seemingly come out of the blue, a soft 'oh' escaped her.


There was a beat in which she bit her lip, chewing on the flesh in an attempt to parse through what he had said.


"I...you are truly a man of passion, Lafayette, and it is something I admire and, perhaps, even envy. It is brave to love, though I am sure you are already well aware of that fact." She couldn't help but laugh a little, the sound airy as she shook her head, the disbelief giving way to the heavy weight of reality. "But even if I were as brave as you are, would it not just hurt more when I did leave?"

 

[sumurset]

"That... is why I had not spoken to you about it." He didn't appear to be nearly as amused by this as Fienelef did.


Lafayette shouldn't have been surprised. Not many women reciprocated things when he felt as such.


Of course.. he had only truly loved a person a handle of times in his life. At least in the romantic sense.


Most of his romantic escapades were purely for the physical benefits. Which, as most women would say, was horrible, but he couldn't help that deeper feelings were harder to come by for him.


Shoulders relaxing, he started walking again. Just as before, he tried not to look at her.


"I think it is best you know it, and we leave it at that, mm?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"If I could stay-," the words were out before Fienelef could really even figure out where she was going with the sentence. If she could, then what? Things would be better? Even if that was true there would be no point in saying it, in rubbing salt in that wound. If never did anything but cause more harm than good.


The rest of the sentence catching in her mouth, Fienelef watched him as her feet started to move once more, trailing a bit behind him rather than at his side like before.


"Thank you," she concluded, "for telling me I just...hope you do not take this as a rejection by anything other than circumstance."


That was what it truly was. If she were to boil all of his qualities down, Lafayette was a lovely man and she doubted anyone would deny that. The simple fact was that she was going to leave, and even if she didn't she was going to die, and ultimately he deserved better.


He deserved to be happy.