and then she'd say, 'it's okay, i got lost on the way, but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry'

[lucked]

Up until now, everything's been easy. As strange as it might be for most people to imagine, Claire Bennet's leap off the Compound has been the best thing that's happened to her yet on Tabula Rasa. Maybe it isn't the healthiest- after all, where the leap from the Compound was supposed to help her shed that mask, come face to face with all that fate'

Comments

[irisewiththesun]

It's been two weeks and the stitches are out now, the gash Seifer made healed as much as it will, leaving a long, angry scar that stretches across the top of Zuko's chest. Scarring is nothing new for him, and he's never been self-conscious about his face, so he's not about to start with this one. It's mostly hidden anyway, just a small section visible due to the v-neck t-shirt he's got on.

He definitely didn't think he'd be going back to the clinic this soon.

Zuko's got a scowl on his face when he walks in and stands at Claire's bedside, one that has nothing to do with his own recent experience and everything to do with how she's landed herself in here in the first place. "What were you thinking?" he says angrily, keeping his voice low and tightly controlled in an effort not to yell and get kicked out by a doctor.

[lucked]

There's a part of Claire that worries as soon as Zuko says those words. What were you thinking? It's a question that could just hint at Claire's stupidity, hanging so close to the edge of the Compound roof, where the slightest lack of care would indeed have her plummeting down, by choice or not. But something about it strikes Claire as a deeper inquiry, as one that hints at the choice in Claire's hands, the consciousness that she's approached all of that situation with. It makes the guilt turn over, over, and over again in her stomach as she sinks further into the bed with a soft gasp, because she's not so sure she's expected this from Zuko. He's always been kind, before

[irisewiththesun]

He just looks at her for a long moment, his jaw clenched, trying to figure out what his uncle would say right now but he can't think past what he'd like to call anger but what he knows is worry. "I don't buy it," he says finally, shaking his head. "You're not that careless."

He doesn't know what's going on - it's pretty hard to kill yourself from ten feet up, and Zuko is pretty sure that wasn't her intent - but something's up, and he can't figure out what.

[lucked]

Claire refuses to look away. His eyes, more brightly colored than she first realized, are fixed on her, and she refuses to turn herself away. Because that's a sign of weakness. That would give him more reason to worry. Maybe if she just makes it clear that she's fine, that nothing's wrong, that she'll get by without a problem at all, then he'll drop the topic before it gets to the matter of her former healing capabilities. What it all really meant for her, back home.

But he's already seeing through her lies, apparently. Claire pulls her arms to herself, tries to cross them over her chest before the sudden sting of pain keeps them at her sides after all. "Does it even matter? It was really late at night, and it just... happened, but it's not going to happen again," she insists. "Okay? I'm not going to go wandering on the Compound roof at night again."

[irisewiththesun]

For a second, Zuko wants to launch into a full-scale lecture, wants to tell her she's not getting up on so much as a footstool without him there. Wants to tell her that he's going to be keeping an eye on her once she gets out of here, to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid.

He doesn't, though.

Instead, he blows out a breath. He can't force her to tell him what's going on if she doesn't want to. "Look, just - if you're gonna go jumping from any more high places, at least let me show you how to do it correctly, okay?" He's at least partially joking.

[lucked]

Maybe it comes with a touch of guilt, but Claire can't even begin to express how relieved she is when Zuko puts the matter aside. She's self-aware enough to know that when people press, when people pester, that's when she digs her heels in and refuses to let go. Some amount of concern is okay, it's to be expected, but what Claire can't stand (no matter how dumb she's sometimes been) is when people start trying to control every action she takes. She's pretty sure it's a teenage thing. Maybe she'll grow out of it. For now, she's only aware enough to know that it's good when people sidestep that tendency of hers.

And she knows that this is the first time she's really managed to smile since the start of visiting hours. Maybe he's just humoring her.

It's still a touching gesture.

"Really?" she asks, a part of her absolutely thrilled by the thought. "You... could do that? I mean. Not that I even know if Eden's going to let me near anything high for a long time, but. I have to say, I think that'd be really cool."

[irisewiththesun]

He's half expecting more of a fight, more push back of some kind from Claire, and his eyebrow raises at her response. "Uh, yeah," he says, nodding. "You'd have to work your way back up to the Compound roof, but...yeah. I could teach you." It took Zuko himself a while to work up to that level of skill, but one thing they seem to have plenty of here is time. And now with Azula here, he wants to keep an even closer eye on the people he considers friends. Who knows what she'll try.

[lucked]

It's probably unfair that Claire latches onto this. But she needs something lighter, something to look forward to. Her experience has always been that trying to hold onto the past, it doesn't turn out so great. Holding grudges, harassing people for mistakes in the past, all it does is slow progress down, so when Zuko offers her an out, she clings desperately to it. Not to mention that all things considered, being able to leap around from heights sounds pretty awesome to her- like getting to pull a Tarzan around the jungle.

"It might take me a few weeks to fully recover," Claire admits first with a slight wince, trying to pass off the matter of injury as well as she can. "But... if you're still up for it then, I think that would be amazing. I used to do some tumbling and stuff for cheerleading, and I've really been wanting something active like that to do on the island. Don't get me wrong, I love my tap dancing class, but it's just not the same."

[irisewiththesun]

"I'll still be up for it," Zuko assures her. He moves to sit, finally, in the chair next to the bed. He has no idea what tap is; some kind of dancing, obviously, but nothing he's ever heard of. He hopes it isn't something people are expected to know how to do at parties. "You focus on healing, and once you're all better we'll get started on the basics, okay?"

[lucked]

He isn't pressing. He isn't pushing. There's just a soft support that Claire is getting from Zuko, and it's one of the most comforting things yet she's had while in the clinic. Maybe, she thinks silently to herself, maybe in the near future, there will come a time when Claire feels comfortable telling Zuko about her past. Comparatively, though, she hasn't known him that long, so she can't help but feel that the time isn't right quite yet, that there's reason to hold off while she gets to know him for him. Something that she should be able to better do now, Claire tells herself hopefully, now that she isn't so focused on the matter of what she is or what she can do. The smile tugging on her lips is faint, but the thing that's striking about it is that it isn't fading. Not for now