Elliot - [014]

[snapekillsedgar]

Who: Elliot, Leo, and WHOEVER
Where: Starting from Espoir and moving into the city if he has to.
Style: Either
Status: Open like a book!
Note: Elliot and Leo's thread will contain Pandora Hearts spoilers

Comments

[disruptstatice]

Some part of Leo knew that staying away was useless and wouldn't get him anywhere in the end, but he couldn't help but... do so anyway. Maybe it was partly a selfish act too; he just couldn't stand looking at Elliot right now, especially not in such a condition.

It felt like it tore him utterly apart.

That was, of course, not all of it, no. It really was the only thing he could think of as it was that would protect Elliot for sure. Because, so far, the only things that had really hurt him had all been because of Leo. No exceptions. And so... He figured he should just stay away.

Did he expect to actually get to? Well... No.

So maybe it was stupid to even try in the first place. So maybe it was mostly for his own selfish needs, and he was just using an excuse. He didn't know.

Either way... Did he expect to see Elliot quite so soon? No, no he did not. But perhaps he shouldn't be surprised to see Elliot wobbling around at the outskirts of the town, where it bordered to Espoir, because of course Elliot would try to move as soon as he

[snapekillsedgar]

Ohhh Leo should have expected this, for sure. After spending so long together, this wasn't the first time he'd tried to hide for a while, and Elliot never let him alone then either. Why should an injury keep from fulfilling from that tradition now

[disruptstatice]

..ow.

Leo stumbled back a little with a slight grunt and grabbed his jaw. Really, Elliot, getting all violent for no reason like that. Except he had a reason, though Leo wasn't sure he thought it was a good one for punching. But they probably had very different views on it; he wouldn't expect anything else. Ah well...

"Careful," he said and frowned lightly behind his bangs, ready to grab onto Elliot should he actually be on the way to fall. "I've... been around."

Obviously.

[snapekillsedgar]

It was a damn good moment for punching. He had no idea where Leo was for days, and had to stumble around town, probably with his sister on a warpath after him, just to try to figure out where he was. Plus, Elliot knew exactly why he had run off too, and he was just being stupid!

Screw being careful.

"Around?! You should have been with me!" Those words sounded so much like he was selfishly whining, but he really wasn't. If Leo was anyone else, he wouldn't have cared if he stuck with him when he was hurt or not.

[disruptstatice]

It did indeed sound like it was selfish whining, but Leo knew it wasn't. Hearing those words kind of hurt, though, because even after all that... Everything he had done... And Elliot knew that now, right? And still...

He probably didn't expect anything but Elliot still wanting to be with him, still wanting to have him near, but it hurt.

"I... I shouldn't... I can't..."

[snapekillsedgar]

"You can't what?!"

Elliot completely knew that he shouldn't be yelling right now. The person who should be apologizing and feeling guilty in this situation was him. He was the one who caused Leo to feel the way he doubtlessly was. The only problem right now was what Leo was doing in response to it.

"Did you think I wanted you to run off like that?!"

[disruptstatice]

"No!"

Leo definitely knew Elliot didn't want that, but that didn't help matters at all. It just made things worse. It just meant that no matter what he did, nothing would be good enough, but...

At least, if he stayed away, only his absence would do a little damage, and nothing else...

"But I shouldn't be near you. I'll just.. I'll just hurt you again. I'm sorry."

[snapekillsedgar]

As Leo spoke, Elliot's teeth grit together, trying to bite back his automatic desire to run forward, shake Leo and to shout at him never to think like that ever again.

"You never hurt me in the first place!"

That's right. No matter what Leo thought, he wasn't the one who had hurt Elliot in the slightest. All this time, he's just been doing everything he could to keep him alive. The blame never would lie with him, in Elliot's mind.

[disruptstatice]

...how could Elliot say that? How could it be anything but that way? Elliot had been happy, and then Leo had given him a Chain that he had no control over that would make him murder his own family that he loved so much. And that would lead to his death, and what led to him needing that Chain in the first place had just as much to do with Leo.

Because of him, that thing hurt Elliot. This whole thing started because of him.

"How can you say that?" he choked out, voice turning thick. "You remember now, right? You know what I... what I did."

[snapekillsedgar]

"I know what that Chain did. You saved my life!"

That was just the point. Leo hadn't hurt him, that thing, did.

In the end, Elliot didn't really care who started what. If Humpty Dumpty hadn't been so finicky in the first place, then none of this would have happened, but if he hadn't known Leo, then he would have died when he went to go save the children at the orphanage anyway.

[disruptstatice]

Leo rapidly shook his head. Saved? Temporarily, perhaps, but so much was ruined in return. It was just... Damn it.

"If I hadn't been there, it wouldn't have attacked you in the first place," he mumbled, tugged lightly at his hair with one hand. "It thought you were going to hurt me, so it-- I knew I shouldn't have--"

Gotten close...

But what use was it to discuss this? There was something more important now. "You should get back to the tent."

And with that, he reached for Elliot's arm.

[snapekillsedgar]

And that resulted in Elliot pulling his arm out of Leo's reach.

"Not yet."

He wasn't going to let this linger any more. Now Leo's feelings were out in the open, and Elliot didn't have to guess about them anymore. He knew that Leo was blaming himself. It was too much to hope that he would forget that any time soon, but something he could never do was watch his friend wallow in guilt when he had done nothing wrong.

"It killed those kids, even though you were nowhere near." Over the past few days, Elliot had the chance to think this through, thankfully. "Even if you weren't there, it would have happened anyway."

[disruptstatice]

"Elliot--!" There was something pleading in Leo's tone, and he cursed himself for it; Elliot wasn't supposed to see him like this. "You can't just walk around in this condition."

..avoiding the subject now? Hell yes. It was too raw, it hurt and he didn't want to. Thinking back on all of it to figure out what Elliot was saying? How to conquer it? Because, damn it, it was his fault-- He didn't want to do all that. He didn't want to think back on anything.

So he let those things fly over his head. He couldn't, he couldn't...

[snapekillsedgar]

"I made it here fine, didn't I? We're not going back 'till you listen to me."

Elliot was extremely aware, he couldn't keep this up for much longer. As 'fine' as he wanted to appear, he was hardly still able to keep on his feet. He had pushed himself hard enough simply finding Leo. He couldn't lose it after all of that just because he'd found him.

He knew the wound was still fresh. That was exactly why, he had to deal with it, before Leo let these idiotic ideas of blaming himself become something permanent.

[disruptstatice]

Yep, reaching for Elliot's arm again. "Don't be so stupid," he said, fighting back tears. Damn it, damn it. "Come on. Don't..."

Really, why did Elliot just keep doing all these things for him? Normally, it would have made him happy, because he was happy that he was so important to someone, that he had someone like that. But now... He barely felt like he could live with himself right now, so having Elliot who knew what happened now still insist to do these things, chase after him and not blame him and care for him.

It was unbearable.

And maybe that was a bit stupid and selfish, when Elliot probably wanted to do this? But he didn't deserve it, he really didn't, and that just made it so much harder. Why couldn't Elliot just...

[snapekillsedgar]

"No!" Stepping back and nearly stumbling, Elliot avoided his reach again. He couldn't let Leo drag him back yet. Not when he had that look on his face. No matter what Leo wanted right now, or what he thought he could bear, Elliot knew that this was important. If Leo didn't talk about it, his feelings would get that much worse. Besides, if they went back, it wasn't like they could finish this in front of Vanessa.

"It. Wasn't. Your. Fault."