whatisright | IC Inbox (Drift Fleet)

Of course. I will be waiting for you.

Thank you.

[ She makes her way to Justice's ship and when she arrives everything about her screams misery. Stepping off the shuttle, she glances around, desperately searching for Justice. ]

[Justice is waiting for her, as he promised. He can feel the misery radiating off of her, so thick and sticky that he can barely feel anything else. Leilani likes to be comforted with physical contact, so he doesn't hesitate before sliding his arms around her.]

What happened?

[ Her immediate reaction is an urge to grip him and not let go, so that’s what she does. Her heart is heavy and she presses her face into Justice’s chest. ]

Dorian is gone.

[She clings tightly, like she can just fold herself up in his arms. He pets her hair, trying to think of all the things that have made her feel better in the past.]

I am sorry. [He knows how important Dorian is to her. He doesn't know what to say, how to make it better, if there even is a way to do it. He does what he always does when he doesn't know what to do: ask.] What do you need?

[ She’s devestated and it shows. Waking up with a room the normal size and with no Dorian in sight had terrified her and when she had checked her communication device... That’s when she has cried and it had felt like hours, crawling out of bed to find Justice. ]

I... I don’t know. [ Breathing in, she squeezes Justice a little tighter. ] Can we lie down?

Yes. We can do that.

[He keeps his arms around her as he leads her to his room, like maybe he could shield her from her pain even though he knows it's all inside of her. Loyalty is in his room, batting at a new alien mouse toy he found her, and of course she's immediately rubbing against their legs even as Justice guides Leilani to lie down beside him on his narrow bed.

He doesn't know what to do, how to make her feel better, so he keeps petting her hair and keeping her close, hoping maybe that he will figure it out as he goes along. What he wouldn't give for a spirit of compassion right now.]

Thank you.

[ It's her feet moving automatically with Justice's guidance that gets her to his room; she's not entirely conscious of what she's doing. In a few days she'll be fine, she knows that, and the ache will settle down into something old and familiar, like a scar, but until then... She doesn't want to go back to the room she shared with Dorian, with his notes and his clothes littering the place, feeling the loss of him with his echoes still in place.

It's still awkward with the loss of her arm (and she needs her prosthetic, she knows that, she needs to stalk the planet until she can get something) but she feels as though she has no energy. All she can do is hold on to Justice like an anchor. ]

This is ridiculous, isn't it? I'm going to see him again as soon as I go home.

It is not ridiculous to be sad that you cannot see your friend.

Even if it were, it does not matter. You still feel it.

[He keeps petting her hair, trying to gently soothe her unhappiness. One arm is dedicated to holding her tightly while the other cards his fingers through her hair.]

[ It makes her breathe out a sharp, sad noise, her eyes filling with tears again. Sadness is a weight and she doesn't want to bear it - she doesn't like remembering how alone she feels, sometimes. Dorian in Tevinter, Bull with the Chargers, Varric in Kirkwall, Cole back in the Fade... Cassandra and Vivienne and Sera are so far away and... It hurts. She's so far from everyone she loves and, for a while, it was like nothing could separate her and Dorian.

Having him, having her best friend, at her side no matter what... It was an incredible gift, and she hurts. ]

I have to go back to our room and sort out his things, but I'm scared. It's like saying goodbye again.

You do not have to go immediately. You may stay here as long as you wish.

[They lived together for a month on the planet. He wouldn't mind her moving into his room in the Blameless.]

When you choose to return, I will help you.

I don’t - I won’t stay forever.

[ She has to go back; it’s her ship and she doesn’t want to be a burden to Justice. The idea of him getting frustrated with her or sick of her company hurts too. ]

I need to make sure his notes are stored and that his clothes are put away. I have his Birthright, but…

It does not have to be forever if you do not wish it.

[He gives her forehead a little kiss. She likes that sort of thing, so he hopes that she will find it soothing.]

Would you like me to be there while you do it?

I don't want to be trouble.

[ More than she already has been, she thinks, even if the kiss is soothing. She turns, tilting her head up so she can touch her forehead against Justice's. ]

Only if you've nothing better to do.

You are no trouble to me.

[He lets their foreheads rest together, continuing to card his fingers through her hair.]

Stay as long as you like.

Justice...

[ Her grip tightens, just a little, and when she laughs it's quiet and sad. ]

What if I want to stay forever?

Then do so.

[Justice doesn't fully understand the implications of what he's saying. All he knows is that he liked living with Leilani before, and he's okay with doing that again indefinitely.]

If that is what you wish, then do so.

[ Of course he doesn't realise what he's saying and Leilani doesn't take his word for it. She can stay for a night, at least, and slip away in the morning... With him knowing, of course, because he doesn't sleep. ]

If only it was always that easy.

I do not understand why it cannot be that easy now.

[This seems like another weird mortal thing he doesn't get. He wishes that he could do more to make her feel better, but it's hard when he doesn't understand everything going on in her head.]

Don't worry about it. Not right now.

[ She doesn't have the energy and all she does is curl around him, pressing close. ]

I'm just tired.

[He presses a kiss to her hair, never once pausing in his petting.]

You may sleep, if that is your wish. I will not leave.

You don't have to stay if there are more important things.

[ But she's curled around him now and she thinks it might be quite hard for him to escape. ]

You are most important to me right now.

[He'll just wrap his arms tightly around her so she can't escape either.]

IC Inbox (Drift Fleet)

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