((don’t worry about it broski, I understand))
He shrugged before sitting down next to her. “Better now that we’re out of there…” he mumbled. It really hadn’t been fun for him to be stuck in that room after he knew what had happened. But even now, he couldn’t feel much else besides an overwhelming emptiness.
Mia watched Simon a moment, her hand slipping to rest on his.
"That's good, at least…" She wasn't sure how to help, but she sat there next to Simon, silently offering her support.
Simon appreciated that she was there. Honestly even he didn’t know what he wanted her to do to help. He just knew he shouldn’t be alone right now. “When do you think Astral’s going to come looking for us?” He asked after a few minutes. The fact that Astral hadn’t done much besides briefly taking Mia put him on edge.
"I…" Mia trailed off. When would he? Usually, Astral wouldn't show any remorse, any changes at all. He was usually perfectly fine with doing things like this, so for him to give Simon this much space, even letting Simon hurt him, it was unbelievable.
"I don't know. He…" Mia shook her head. "This isn't the Astral I'm used to."
While that concept used to make him feel special, that Astral was different with him, now it just bothered him. He felt like Astral was trying to guilt him into forgiving him. And he really didn’t want to. He wanted to hate the man for what he’d done, and he was already struggling enough with that. He hadn’t told this to Mia, knowing she probably wouldn’t understand.
Mia looked away a moment, but she did move closer to Simon.
"I'll do everything I can to make sure he can't get to you," she said softly, giving Simon's hand a gentle squeeze. She needed to do that, for Simon's sake. She'd do everything she could go make sure he was taken care of, because she didn't trust him to do it himself at the time.
He nodded. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” He never wanted Astral within five feet of him ever again. “But please, don’t ever let him hurt you for my sake.” Mia was most definitely right in the assumption that he wouldn’t be taking care of himself on his own though.
"I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen, I promise." Mia leaned forward, hugging Simon. She rested her head on Simon's shoulder, holding him close a moment.
"I'm so sorry he tricked you into coming here…" After a moment, she pulled away.
“I-it’s okay…” he said softly, looking down at his hands. “Even if I hadn’t gone with Astral, I probably would’ve died that day anyway…” he admitted with a small shrug. He would’ve gone home just to get raped again, and then beaten within an inch of his life. So what’d it matter, anyway?
Mia took Simon's hands in her's again, shifting some on the bed to face him.
"I…" She took in a breath, moving closer again.
"Simon, y-you never deserved any of this…" She really did just wish he could have lived a happy life with Evan.
He shook his head. “You know I can’t believe that. I-if I’d just been smarter…none of this would’ve happened. Not even just with Astral. There are so many times where I’ve turned a blind eye to the red flags, because I just wanted someone to take care of me. So…no matter what you say..it is my fault. I’ve deserved everything that’s happened to me, I brought it all on myself.”
Mia didn't keep herself from moving forward to hug Simon again, pulling him close.
"Simon, it's never your fault for wanting someone to care for you… It's not your fault other people keep hurting you, a-and it's not bad you kept holding onto the hope someone would come along to actually do that f-for you…"
After a moment, Simon tentatively wrapped his arms around her. “It’s just…it’s hard for me to think the way you do about this. It just wasn’t the world I grew up in.”
Mia nodded just a bit, still holding onto Simon.
"I g-get that… But I am so sorry for all of it, Simon. If the people who hurt you never apologize to you, I will…"
“Yeah I doubt any of those assholes are ever going to apologize for what they put me through…so I appreciate you doing it in their place.” He let out a small sigh, still not pulling away from Mia, just wanting to be held.
Mia wasn't going to pull away from Simon, because she knew he needed it.
"I really am sorry… And I wish I knew how to help you b-better…"
“You’re doing a great job, Mia…thank you.” He reassured her. “Just you even being here is enough for me…really I mean it.” Simon finally felt comfortable enough to let go of her, laying down on the bed with a soft sigh, still staying close. It was significantly more comfortable than the floor, and he was grateful Mia had brought them here.
((Omg have I ever mentioned that Emile is literally short as hell. Like mans is 5’5??? So I think that’ll make him showing up even more interesting. Astral’s gonna get mildly threatened by this midget of a man XD))
(oh Lord-)
(That's a foot and seven inches difference)
(T i n y)
Mia let Simon lay down, nodding a bit as she wiped her wet eyes.
"O-okay, then…" She looked around the room once, not laying down. She hid it well, but she was terrified. Terrified that Astral would come bursting in and take Simon away like he had with her, that this time Astral wouldn't let them go.
((IKR HE’S SO SMOL LMAO))
((Astral could just like….throw him XD))
Simon looked up at her, a small look of concern appearing on his face. He gently reached out and took Mia’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He didn’t know what exactly she was worried about but he didn’t want her to be unhappy.
(punt his ass down to earth)
Mia offered a small smile to try to show that she was okay, moving to lay down next to Simon. She was still scared, but she'd manage. She'd dealt with this kind of fear before, after all, and she knew she'd fight to protect Simon as much as she had for her lover…
((Omg- XD))
((Astral you can’t punt the people that are basically Simon’s parents nooo))
Simon sighed softly. He was comfortable here but knew he couldn’t let himself drift off. He would still have nightmares regardless. He just hoped nothing more would happen to the two of them.
(watch him tho, no vagabonds in his palace-)
Mia let her eyes closed a moment. She'd gotten rest the night before, but just transformation from doll back to human was taking a while to adjust to. She hadn't needed to do these things for a long time, and hadn't either until Simon came into the palace. It seemed to be all catching up with her.
((Bruh noooooo lmaooooooo))
((also I has a question, just on technical stuff))
Simon stayed quiet, in case she actually would try to sleep. He didn’t want to disturb her if she did. Simon wanted her to take good care of herself, she was his friend after all, and he wanted the best for her.
(yeah?)
The woman opened her eyes again, looking over at Simon and offering a sweet little smile. She wanted to give him hope, even for a little while. There was some exhaustion on her face, but not enough to where she herself would be concerned. It was noteworthy, how both wanted the other to be taken care of, yet didn't care of they themselves were. I'm done way, it could either ensure they both were taken care of, or neither of them were.