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Tweak says, "I am profoundly annoying!"

Clio | Κλειω (ephemerist) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2021-02-20 14:33:00

Entry tags:

clio, lucifer, michael, saint patrick, will stutely

WHO: Clio, Will Stutely, Lucifer
WHEN: Saturday Evening
WHERE: A restaurant
WHAT: Just some fun Lucifer times
WARNINGS: Lucifer - Sexual assault, rape threats, allusions to torture, violence, threats in general, everything is awful

It wasn't often Clio and Will went out these days, and Clio had spontaneously suggested they go on a date because they were Ellaless. They had headed out with the idea of dinner and a movie, though they had barely had a chance to look at their menus before their date was ruined entirely.

Clio felt him before she saw him. She had gone from perusing her menu to staring at Will in shock. "Will-" she hissed under her breath, her face white as a sheet, "we have to go, he's-"

Even as she was halfway out of her chair, she felt his fingers wrap all the way around her arm, and she froze-

"Professor Femouz, it is you! It's so wonderful to see you," Lucifer said, grinning widely at her. He sat her back down, his hand still on her arm as he sat beside her in a vacant chair. "I thought I saw you come in here and I wanted to come catch up! So who's this?" he said, turning to look at Will.

Clio, still frozen, tried to tell Will to run, but the words stuck in her throat. She knew Lucifer didn't need a weapon to kill every single person in this restaurant, and he just might if she tried anything. So she stared at him, fear etched into her features, her heart pounding so fast she felt like she might faint.

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ephemerist
2021-02-21 12:29 am UTC (link)

"He was trying to burn me-" she sobbed. "Trying to burn my-" Clio knew where Lucifer's hand had been heading. Anyone who had seen the damn burn mark knew where Lucifer's hand had been heading. And if Michael hadn't shown up just in time, the only thing Clio would have had to protect her was a knife to Lucifer's hand. And who was to say that wouldn't just make him do it...more?

Patrick, who hadn't heard the incredibly rapey overtones, looked sickened. "What?!"

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sly_stutely
2021-02-21 12:57 am UTC (link)

Will felt about as sick as Patrick looked; the full horror of it was still crashing over him. "He made us sit there," he said, still holding Clio tight. "While he— touched her—"

Lucifer hadn't made them do anything, that was the worst of it. They'd been free to move at any time. Will could have grabbed his own knife from the table, he could have grabbed Clio and run, he could have taken a swing at the Devil's jaw.

He would have died, every time. Everyone in the restaurant would have died. Clio would have died, or worse.

He knew that. He'd not needed Clio to tell him. He knew that the freedom had been an illusion, that inaction had been the only action.

But his monkey brain – or perhaps his primal story, the spark of hero at his heart spurred him to take a stand – still bucked at the wrongness of it.

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ephemerist
2021-02-21 01:05 am UTC (link)

Patrick swore under his breath in Irish. "Clio, can- may I hug you?" he asked, because he always asked, and that was precisely why Clio felt so safe around him. Clio nodded, and she extricated herself from Will so Patrick could wrap his arms around her. "You're safe now, hmm? And we'll look out for you. That angel in there might love you more than he loves anyone," Patrick said, and Clio sort of cry-laughed into his shoulder.

Patrick gradually let her go, and he glanced towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna go help Michael. Make sure he isn't just asleep on the floor in there. Call out if you need us, okay?"

Once they were alone, Clio sat up and she turned towards Will. "That was Lucifer," she said, wiping at her eyes. "We got off easy."

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sly_stutely
2021-02-21 02:04 am UTC (link)

We got off easy. That was another knife in his ribs, a reminder not only of what they'd escaped, but of what she had been subjected to in the past – the reason the very mention of Lucifer was enough to make her breath hitch and the blood drain from her face. Will was seized by the need to wrap her in his arms again, to hold her close and not let go. Instead, he reached out and cupped her cheek, caressing it softly with his thumb. "What can I do?" he asked. "What d'you need from me? Right now?"

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	ephemerist 2021-02-21 02:10 am UTC (link)
	The only thing Clio wanted, was for Will to hold her. She sort of crawled right into his lap, curling up against his chest. "Just this," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry you had to- When he had me? He made me watch. Made me watch while he hurt people. Killed them. A few he said I could try to save so I tried, but of course I couldn't-" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2021-02-21 02:55 am UTC (link)

He hadn't known that. She'd never said— she— god.

Will didn't need to imagine. He knew it from experience. Pain was bad. Pain— when wielded by a seasoned torturer, pain could take you out of your body, out of your own head, till you were ready to say anything, do anything just to make it stop. But being forced to watch others in pain, and knowing they were hurting on your account—

(The thump of a first aid kit landing on the floor beside him. The slam of a cell door. A flash of red hair, and the knowledge that Marian had traded her safety for his. The white-hot agony in Clio's eyes, her breath catching with the effort of not screaming, all the while he sat frozen—)

Will's arms were around her, one hand stroking her hair with utmost gentleness. "You still tried," he said, his voice quiet. "You tried to save 'em even with the Devil at your back. Cos that's who you are, sweeting. You're kind and good and brave. You were so brave tonight. It was you, you prayed to Michael, didn't you? That's what brought him. You saved all those people. You saved me. You saved yourself."

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ephemerist
2021-02-21 03:00 am UTC (link)

"I'm history and I can't forget. I can remember it perfectly. Crystal clear in my mind, like it's happening now," she admitted sadly. "I did try. I tried so hard." Will was right about her praying to Michael though. "It doesn't always work for me-" she admitted. "I'm not Christian. But Michael- I've known him for so long. He can hear me even though most of the others can't." Patrick could these days as well. "I was desperate. Thank everything he got there in time."

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sly_stutely
2021-02-21 05:07 am UTC (link)

"It was smart," Will said, still stroking her hair. "Some quick thinking. It din' even occur to me."

(It should have, though. The number of saints he knew, the stories he'd heard. And he was Christian – not an especially observant one, but he'd been baptised, that counted, right? Any fool knows the first thing you do when you see the Devil is pray to God for mercy. But all he'd had room for were fears for his goddess.)

"I'm sorry," he added. "That he hurt you again. I'm sorry I couldn't stop it."

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	ephemerist 2021-02-21 08:56 am UTC (link)
	Clio chewed on her lip and then she admitted, "and I am just so relieved he didn't kill you. Will? I have to admit something and you might not like it. I- If he was going to try to take you, I was going to trade myself. I don't want to lose you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2021-02-21 09:46 am UTC (link)

Again, Will felt that intense surge of love and fear intermingled. It didn't escape him, the magnitude of what she was saying. Lucifer was the thing she feared most in the world. His torture had raked indelible scars across her body, her memory; trauma that might never fully heal. And she'd been fully prepared to give herself up to him, knowing she'd be in for far worse... for Will. Broken, miserable, muddle-headed Will.

It felt like a punch to the gut and a tight embrace all bundled up into a single instant. It sucked the breath from him and brought the hot sting of salt to his eyes. I don't want to lose you.

He leaned his forehead against hers gently. "I'd never want you to do that. Never." His voice was heavy, but it held no admonition. He didn't – he could never – blame her for wanting to protect somebody, nor could he ask her to stand idly by when he wouldn't. He just hated that it might ever have come to that. Hated that she might suffer for his sake. "Though, since... since we're being honest," he admitted, "if the tables were flipped... I'd do the same. I don't want to lose you, either."

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	ephemerist 2021-02-21 10:37 am UTC (link)
	The smile she gave him was tired and fond. "We are both ridiculous," she whispered. She leaned in to kiss him gently, lingering close even after the kiss ended. "I wish you could live here with me." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2021-02-21 11:07 am UTC (link)

"So do I," Will breathed against her lips, almost a sigh. He knew most of the problem was in his head. (If you wanted to be technical about it, the entire problem was in his head.) He'd lived here for a couple of weeks after he'd been let out of hospital, and it had been... wonderful. He hadn't wanted it to end, and maybe it hadn't needed to. But the fear still woke him in his bed, the feel of cold prison walls pressing in on him, of being carved out of the story and forgotten, and there were some nights he still couldn't sleep soundly without the reassurance of a Sherwood presence at the edge of his senses, a firm barrier between him and oblivion.

"But," he added, breaking the sentence to brush her lips with another kiss, "I can stay this week. And... there's all them videos. Much keeps texting 'em to me, there's heaps now. I mean... it's all gotta help, right?"

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	ephemerist 2021-02-21 11:11 am UTC (link)
	"Thank you," Clio whispered, kissing him a third time. "I would like that. And yes, the videos! He sends them to me too! I wrote some ballads for it. 'Discovered' ballads, you see? About you and Wat and Arthur and everyone else. They have to help." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sly_stutely 2021-02-22 08:48 am UTC (link)
	That drew a soft brush of a smile. "I saw," Will said. "You nailed 'em, too. Even took me a minute to realise I din' recognise the words." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ephemerist 2021-02-22 08:59 am UTC (link)
	Clio blushed a little and she sighed, trying to let some of the tension flow out of her, but it was difficult. "I think they're in there trying to find something to cook, but I'm not really hungry. I might- I might try to sleep?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sly_stutely 2021-02-22 10:46 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah," Will sighed. He'd been clammed when they'd sat down in the restaurant, but in the face of Lucifer his appetite had shrivelled and died. "Bed sounds... yeah. I'll come with you." He doubted he'd sleep, but he didn't want to be parted from her just now. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ephemerist
2021-02-23 04:44 am UTC (link)

They were probably going to wake in the middle of the night, ravenous, but they could deal with that then. "We should let them know," she said, rising from the sofa with a wince of pain. Gods the wound still hurt. Michael had done his best, but it was still a huge burn on her inner thigh.

She walked with Will into the kitchen and held up her hands because Patrick and Michael seemed to be in a tizzy. "We're- we just kind of want to sleep, but don't- Please don't leave?"

"Wild horses," Patrick said, quirking a smile at her. Clio felt a rush of affection for him - her ex, willing to stay here to protect her while she went to sleep in the arms of another man. Patrick was truly one of her dearest friends.

"I will patrol the perimeter. Once I have consumed a cookie," Michael said, and Clio let out a small chuckle.

"Gods I love the both of you so much. Thank you."

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