(Untitled)

[honest_johns]

Lilly and Alain enter, hand in hand. The door to his room closes softly behind them.

With the quiet click, Alain exhales, shoulders sagging just a little.

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[awesome_lilly]

Lilly slides her free arm around Alain's waist, looks up at him with concern she's not bothering to hide.

"I'm really sorry, 'lain. About... Susannah and Eddie."

[honest_johns]

His arms go around her.

"'s all right."

"This place is a waystation. We all know it. And... they might be back."

He's still holding Eddie's envelope in one hand.

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly nods.

"Yeah, I know. But... I know that doesn't make it any easier on the people who're left behind."

Lilly knows this very well. She's left people she loved behind, and watched them in the aftermath. She knows this very well indeed.

[honest_johns]

"I'll be all right."

He knows.

He doesn't want to think about the faint sense of dimness about Milliways. The way that glimpse of the path to the clearing is still whispering to his undermind, and the way everything seems less real after it. Not right now. Not yet.

Instead, he holds Lilly, and whatever else, her body against his is warm and solid and reassuringly real. The place is just slightly faded, these days, but the people aren't.

He lifts his empty hand, after a moment, to smooth her hair back from her face.

"How're you doing?"