[attr="class","mimi"]the door closes behind her, the clicking sound akin to the glub glub sound of a goldeen. her bag makes a soft thud against the night table, while she moves to open the thicker layer of curtains separating them from the sun. a thin, light layer remains unchanged. the windows are huge, as is the room itself. the league does not tighten its belt when it comes to their officers' health, she's come to find over the past few days.

once she's satisfied with the lighting of the room, brighter but not blinding, mimi returns to lance's side. an armchair has been moved from across the room to right next to the bed.

he's asleep. has been every single time she's visited. mimi isn't used to seeing him so still, so silent. she watches over him for seconds, minutes, it all blurs into the next, the eternity that takes him to recover. she's pretty certain that by now she's committed to memory the sharp curve of his nose and the light wrinkles on his forehead. another byproduct of his time dealing with her, he'd probably say.

"when will you wake up, lance?" she mutters. his breathing isn't hard, and his heart beat is slow and calm. these are her only comfort.

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]even through closed eyes the sun is blinding. he considers opening his eyes then to vent his frustrations at the nurse. he almost does, if not for the light footsteps that continue to travel around the room. he's almost certain it's not a nurse, and only when the armchair is placed next to the bed does he realize who it is. her perfume gives her away.

seconds turn into minutes and he wonders how long she plans on sitting there. he never heard the familiar tap that comes from using a phone, so she must be watching him. has she just been watching him? he considers it, and the feeling that comes from it is not strange, not odd, but unfamiliar.

"what's the rush?" he mutters. finally, his eyes open, blurry for moments as they adjust to the lighting in the room. his head tilts, gaze falling onto her. "were you just watching me?" he knows she was but he decides to spare her the embarrassment.

Mimi Cheng

[attr="class","mimi"]oh for arceus's sake. mimi was so certain that the man was asleep, that his words scare her almost out of her seat. almost. it's a similar reaction to what one would see when a corpse moves.

"did i wake you up?" mimi asks slowly. for some reason, she suspects he's been awake for a while. she takes a deep breath, trying to compose herself, but the rose tinge on her cheeks refuses to leave. how embarrassing. "i've been waiting to scold you, obviously."

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]the rose tinge on her cheeks tells him enough. he stifles a chuckle and raises a hand to scratch at his jaw, covering the grin that creeps onto his features. it thins the moment he moves his hand away, thankfully.

"you did." he lies. he takes a moment to peer around at the room that's far too large for one person. oh, she's here to scold him? the thought has him laughing as he shifts on the bed, moving to sit further upright. "go on then."

Mimi Cheng

[attr="class","mimi"]mimi certainly doesn't need a cue to reprimand her friend for everything gone wrong during the pirate ambush, but having him actually give her a cue throws her off. she blinks. her countenance darkens. "why are you taking this so lightly?" she fights the urge to take the pillow from behind him and hit him with it. a pillow, she decides, is too soft to get the idea across.

"you have no idea how worried i was, coming here everyday and seeing you there. sometimes feverish, sometimes seeming fine, but never once awake." she'd had a lot of time to think during those visits. often, she'd end up thinking about ava before leaving the hospital. "anyway, sorry i woke you up."

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]the dip in her expression goes unnoticed, perhaps too tired to see how it darkens against his words. "hm?" and because of it, her words catch him off guard, throwing him for a loop. it leaves him confused, unsure of what to do, which is odd for him.

"wait. i'm sorry, mimi." her worry is surprising, unexpected, but appreciated. he has had to become familiar with having no one around to care for him that he had started to forget what it felt like. this is a nice reminder, he decides. "i didn't know you were worried."

Mimi Cheng

[attr="class","mimi"]it doesn't sit well with her to be told such a thing. of course she cares about him - they're friends. have been for decades. sure, they'd never been very vocal about the second side of their rivalry-slash-friendship, but any interaction they shared would show how close they really were. sometimes, much to their chagrin.

"don't get hurt again and we'll be good," she finally says. hardly plausible, she knows, given his line of work. still, if she could have her way, lance's health would definitely be one of the things she'd wish for.

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]"you know i can't make that promise." he refuses to offer false promises. he has always been honest and blunt, and this is is no different.

getting hurt is inevitable in his line of work. no matter how cautious and prepared he is, some things are always out of his control, that much he's come to learn. that much he's had to accept.

"but i'll try not to."

Mimi Cheng

[attr="class","mimi"]as much as it saddens her to admit, she does know she can't make him promise anything he knows he can't keep. "i understand," she says, defeated. "but there's something i want you to understand, too." even the deep breath she takes isn't enough to prepare her for what she says next. like with most challenges she's encountered in her life, she goes head first in.

"back then, i saw worry in your eyes." mimi still finds it a little uncomfortable to think about, much less talk about. she hasn't allowed such thoughts to roam her mind ever since... ever since he started dating ava, in fact. that's when she chose to step aside. "i don't know how you've been living your life this past year, but i'm the same. i don't want to lose you."

heart bare in front of her, she wants to at least look away to shield herself. she shouldn't be submitting a sick patient to this kind of talk.

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]mimi takes deep breaths when faced with something unfamiliar. something challenging. it's rare enough that it draws all of his attention towards her. what she says next is not what he's expecting to hear.

"of course i was worried."

why would he not be? despite the rivalry they share, she is arguably his closest friend. she always has been. her words pull him back to the incident, to the feeling of dread watching her dive back down after the pirates. he felt something similar before and it's frightening how close it feels. it's a feeling he should not entertain, and yet, he does:

"what are you saying, mimi?"

Mimi Cheng

[attr="class","mimi"]"i'm saying," she gulps a knot down her throat, "we've lost somebody very important to us, so we should be a little more mindful of what we're doing. i don't want to lose you. simple as that." not now that she's found him again. not ever, really.

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]the reminder is painful. but with it comes a level of acceptance. not much, but enough for now. he bites back his pride and says: "i don't want to lose you either."

Mimi Cheng

[attr="class","mimi"]are these tears that threaten to trickle down her face? she blinks rapidly to drive them away. it's not exactly what she wanted out of her outburst, but she'll take it. with a nod, she stands back up. she reaches for lance's wrist, offers him a heartfelt "thank you," then withdraws.

her bag sits still on the table next to them, a reminder of one more thing she's brought besides her overflowing emotions. "right, i brought you something you'll like." the bag opens, and out comes a bamboo basket. inside, a pair of steamed buns wait to be uncovered and eaten, but that's something he'd have to find out for himself. "i remember these were your favorite growing up," she adds with a small smile.

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS