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He whispered, "Are you gonna be okay?"
She smiled a fraction. "I think so."
His hand reached up to cup her cheek. As always, she leaned into his touch, resting her face against his palm, and exhaled deeply.
Smiling at him, she grabbed the cloth she'd used to clean his forehead cut, dipped it in water, and cleaned the dried blood on his upper lip.
He stared at her again, imagining a world where he'd lost to Xavier, a world where he'd been killed, and the thought of having to leave Giselle at Xavier's mercy scared him witless.
His chest tightened.
Gulping down the lump rising in his throat at what could've happened, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer till his face rested under her chin. A lot of lines had been blurred between them, and he was past the point of caring.
She cloaked her arms around his head instantly. "Chris?"
His face scrunched in agony, and he gulped again to calm himself down. Kissing her neck, he held her tight till she melted into him.
"I'm s-sorry," he said against her skin.
"For what?" she said, her voice strained with emotions.
"For not b-better p-protecting you."
She sighed. "Youdidtell me to stay away from him."
His body shuddered. "You love him. I can't imagine how much it hurts. I wish I could've p-protected you from this p-pain. I don't know how, but I should've." His voice was muffled against her skin, and he wondered if she could hear him clearly.
She waited a moment. "Maybe."
He broke the embrace and looked up into her eyes, questioning.
She continued, "Maybe a part of me doesn't want him to suffer. He's been through so much... Even though he killed daddy, I don't want him to go through any more pain."
He looked down, devastated by the realization that she was still stuck with Xavier, and that she'd never love Chris back.
She held his face and made him look up at her. "This doesn't mean that I'm in love with him. I think I'd fallen out of love a long time ago."
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Good."
She gave him a small smile.
He continued, "Because have you heard his name? Xavier! Xavier? It seems like the name of a villain."
Slowly, her lips stretched into a grin as she recognized his speech from the day she was going to Petrichor, and he couldn't help reciprocating with a smile of his own.
"You knew all along," she said, a hint of humor in her tone.
"You should really listen to me, Elle. I'm very wisdomous."
She nodded mockingly. "Very. A bit too much, I'd say. Beautiful word choice, by the way. In fact, I think we should call you Chris-domous."
Chris rolled his eyes despite himself. This goofy side of hers was probably his favorite thing about her, yet annoying in the most endearing way.
She grinned in response. "I'm so funny."
He pursed his lips. "You need to stop trying to come up with a nickname for me. You suck at it."
She giggled and he wanted to soak in that sound. "I think my favorite has to be Ludi-Chris, though. It matches your personality."
