Espoir Mansion

Jellal was completely silent, eyes wide listening to Haruka's words while taking small sips of the coffee. When Neo asked whether he wanted to go to Umano or not, Jellal couldn't answer right away. Something was stopping him, but what?

"I... need some time to think things over." After recovering his memory and acknowledging the defeat served out by the Reapers, Jellal needed to figure out how what he really truly wanted to do. He exited the room and stood beside the hallway window with his coffee mug warming his hands, but not enough to remove the chilling feeling that had coated him internally.

Neo was ready to move to Umano. He saw Haruto passed out but it seemed like Neo was always carrying people everywhere it seemed. He knew once the trio made it to Unamo they would be able to rest. Neo picked up Haruto and was ready to go but forgot someone..

Let me go check on Jellal.. hes been gone awhile

"What can I do from here...?" Jellal kept staring outside the window. He kept sipping from his mug trying to think of what might await him in the future. He took one last swig of his coffee with his eyes closed. Vicious gulping of the hot beverage being chugged down into his stomach. He slammed the mug on the windowsill, looking up to see Neo's reflection in the mirror staring at him.

"Perfect timing." he said while he launched out of his seat. "If you guys are ready to go, then I'll continue moving forward with you guys." he said while his attention diverted to a Haruto on Neo's back. "He's carrying him?" he thought, but he did remember Neo for being an individual carrying around a fight table like it was nothing. "I'm...not going to question it." Truth be told, he really wanted to question how on earth he got there, but it wasn't important enough at the moment.

Alright sounds good. Once we get to Umano ill take you and Haruto to the Medical Ward and we can get some rest after this long day.. Neo said

Neo then patted Jellal on the back and led the way to Umano.

Whenever the pinkette awoke again, she had no idea how long she had been asleep. Whether it be an hour or twenty-four, she felt a thousand times better. Well... maybe more like a hundred times better. As soon as Rosalia opened her eyes, she found herself sitting on the floor and using the couch as a pillow. The memories of the previous battle flooded back to her thoughts; Yukino (and Jessie) was gone... They were Deleted... She remembered the conversation between her, Seifer, Haruka, and Father Espoir, but right now, it seemed to be just herself and Seifer in the living room.

It would probably be better for Seifer's health to be laying in a bed, but as long as he was resting, it wasn't so bad. As for the female, sleeping while sitting on the floor wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. She got to her feet and stretched, yawning softly as to not wake her beloved who continued to sleep soundly. He definitely needed all the rest he could get...

In the meantime, she thought about Haruka, knowing he had quite the adventure ahead of him. If he was going to shoulder the mantle of the Resistance, he had a lot of controversy and doubt from the soldiers waiting for him. Who's to say there was even a Resistance left waiting for them in Umano? The medic sighed, and headed down the halls of the Espoir Mansion. It's been a while since she was last here, but one thing she remembered was finding Seifer's room. Which, by default, was her room. Her stuff had been moved here previously, and was thankful for it since it meant she had spare clothes to change out of.

But first, a shower. Seriously, she needed one. She also just didn't want to walk around dirty in the mansion... Climbing into the shower in Seifer's room, she let the hot water run down her frame. It relieved both stress from the war as well as washed away the grime. By the time she was done, she was like a new woman, and dressed in one of her older outfits. Rosalia could never have enough dresses, but given they were in a freaking war, she might as well put some pants on. Dark jeans hugged her hips nicely while sporting a casual, short-sleeve orange blouse. However, she couldn't just wear sneakers. She wore short boots with a two-inch heel.

Rosalia paused though, staring at herself in the mirror. She was never one to wear make-up, but she felt like something was missing. Her thoughts turned to Yukino, who wore a jacket of some sort before... Yukino-oneesama... I miss you..... We all do... Tears would not fall now though; she had to steel herself so she could be at her best for the battles to come. Unfortunately, she knew it would happen anyways if she remained by herself in the bedroom. She forced her feet to move, making her way now through the halls without any true destination. Just anywhere where she could be seen by other staff members so she didn't feel alone...

Maybe the kitchen...

...

That's when she heard her Reality Bangle go off.

"All members of the Resistance, this is Haruka Nakahara speaking. The commander of the Resistance was deleted by Harbinger... my fiancee. This is a request from me: Please continue this fight. This war. I wish to see this through to the very end. Everyone willing to fight, report to the Umano slums, where the original HQ is. I'll be awaiting all who can make it. Thank you. I'll be briefing in approximately two hours."

Haruka-oniisan... Now smiling to herself like an idiot, she was just glad that Haruka seemed to be ready to take this one step further. This war wasn't over, even in these depressing times, and she was proud of him for it. He truly was a brother to her...

But what about Seifer? He wasn't going to make it. There was no way he would be able to do anything for a little while, let alone within the next two hours. Should she go ahead and listen to Haruka's briefing, then report back to the brunette at the mansion? Or what about her duties as a medic? Rosalia sighed again, finally entering the kitchen with a huff to make herself a sandwich. Or someone make one for her? She didn't know. She just wanted food before going to check in on Seifer.

Beatrice sighed as she had finished scrubbing the floor of a room when her Reality Bangle reacted, hearing the message of the deleted commander's fiance. She frowned as she looked at the bangle. The bangle Jessie had given her to fight. But could she? Could she even be useful with Jelly gone? No, she couldn't think like that. There was more than one way to serve than fighting and even then she could always find units to fight with her. Sure she could have kept fighting with the Battle Sisters but the maid felt they needed to mourn over Jelly's deletion for a while longer and she couldn't bear send them to battle with such a major loss to their battle strength. Making a decision, Beatrice finished what she was doing and went to the Slums as Haruto commanded. At this point, she would serve Haruto to the best of her ability, for Jessie, Jelly and Yukino.

After falling asleep, the brunette had another experience in the dark space... though this time he was sitting cross legged on a platform with unfamiliar knights before him. While asleep, he spoke with them... finding out that they were Royal Paladin... Seekers. Their conversation entailed what had happened in the last battle, and why they were currently here with him. It seemed this was Thing Saver... Praesul's doing. Standing up, the brunette extended his hand taking the Honest Seeker, Egbert's hand... accepting this alliance and giving them a place to go.

Soon after, the male awoke, eyes blurry... disoriented. He didn't remember falling asleep on the couch in the living room, but there was definitely something missing. "Rose?" he called for his fiance, his voice echoing softly in the empty room. ...No immediate answer as she might of not heard him.

He tried sitting up... "Ah, shit!" he hissed loudly, holding his side that had been impaled by a rebar pipe. Even with the wound sterilized and somehow regenerated... Probably Rosalia's doing, the pain was still there if he moved to quickly... like a phantom pain.

Rosalia mused to herself as she got two sandwiches from the kitchen, and some juice. She had to borrow a tray to carry it all, but hey, she'd return it later. There was plenty to go around. She almost debated on just eating in the kitchen and then carrying the spare to the living area, but it wasn't fun eating alone. Not at a time like this. It was probably a good thing she returned to the living area anyways, seeing that Seifer was awake and in pain. Maybe she should have grabbed some painkillers...

"Sorry Hun. I woke up a bit ago, so I did some walking around.." the pinkette explained as she walked around the couch. She placed the tray on the coffee table before sitting next to her fiancé, resting a hand over his own. "You okay?... Maybe I should start carrying around a jumbo-sized bottle of painkillers..." As a medic, she was learning more so on what exactly her affinity was able to do. It seemed to disinfect wounds, given Seifer wasn't dealing with an infection, but all it did otherwise was put everything back together. She doubted it could do something major like reattach a limb, though it only eased the pain of it for a short while. Like a dose of morphine that eventually has to wear off.

"I uh.. got us some sandwiches and juice. Figured you'd need a lot of fluids to get back into shape."

The male who was still bent over and holding his side, perked up a bit at the voice of his beloved, managing to look up... giving a smile. "Maybe... Still feels like whatever stabbed me is still there. That's not normal is it?..." he laughed softly, wincing a bit as he did so before looking at the food. "You didn't have to... But thank you hun." his smile grew wider as he felt her hand against his... taking one of the sandwhiches, he bit into it lightly, shutting his eyes as he chewed. Even a simple sandwich never tasted so good as it did now, leaning his head against the pinkette's... just sitting with her. Might be because of blood loss to but oh well.

The medic frowned at the brunette's choice of words, knowing that it would be impossible for the rebar to actually still be stuck in him. She definitely should get some painkillers for him, or try using the "morphine" part of her ability so he could rest easier for a while? Well, as long as he could relax for the time being... "You need to eat and drink to restore some imbalances in your body. Just because I can stop the bleeding and close the injury without infection, it doesn't mean it's perfect..." Rosalia frowned. However, she didn't complain much more. She merely grabbed her own sandwich and ate slowly, chewing thoughtfully as she tried to relax with her fiancé. There was just.. so much going on in her mind. She wanted to bring an end to this war, but how? Not to mention Haruka's earlier message...

"You were probably asleep at the time, but Haruka-oniisan sent out a message on our Reality Bangles. He's trying to gather up the Resistance at Umano, and he'll be briefing them I guess in a bit. You shouldn't go because you're going to be recovering for a while..." She paused to take another bite without moving her head, simply because Seifer was leaning against her. "I could go I guess once you're settled down again, maybe in your room this time instead of the couch. Then I could come back and fill you in on the details."

He took another bite of the sandwich, relaxing with his fiance. When she mentioned however that she might have to leave for the speech, he shook his head, holding the sandwich in his mouth as he fiddled with the bangle on his wrist.

"Nah, shee?" he spoke through the sandwich as Haruka's voice came through speakers on the bangle. Well, so it seemed. Where were they exactly? In any case, he continued to munch on the sandwich until it was gone... getting lucky and only missing a few words from the speech.

"Well I'll be damned. Good on you Haruka." he was all smiles as he pulled out his phone to text his brother-in-law, just in case what he had to say could be heard through his bangle. That and it was a joke between them, and them alone.

'Look at you man. Went from making me my coffee, to leading an army. I'll make you some coffee next time. Won't be long until I'm out there with you guys. Be safe, alright?' he hit send, the message going to Haruka's phone before he put it away, turning to his fiance.

"Well, it looks like we get alone time for a while longer. ...I however, could really use a shower, and I'm not allowed to move by myself..." he frowned at that thought.

Tilting her head, Rosalia glanced at the bangle as Haruka's speech came through. Guess she didn't have to go after all, which was probably a good thing considering Seifer's current condition. So they ate quietly, listening to their brother-in-law speak. It wasn't as good as seeing and hearing it face-to-face with the rest of the Resistance, or at least however many people showed up, but it was good enough. By the end of it, the medic only shut her eyes in content, smiling softly as she finished her sandwich.

Seeing Seifer texting away, the pinkette sipped at her own juice until he spoke up again. In return, she only shrugged at his frown. "This is why I'm an emergency medic on the battlefield, your fianceé, and apparently now a bedside nurse," she teased. She didn't get up just yet though, grabbing the second glass of juice and offering it to the brunette. "Drink all of this first, then we can go shower." Not that she didn't take a shower earlier anywayssssss but oh well. It's been a while since she could just relax and take her time with anything. Seifer, however, wasn't going to get a shower without drinking the juice first. He really needed the fluids to help him recover. Only when he finished would the female get to her feet first and hold out both arms to help the male up.

The male made a pouting face, though he caved. He couldn't win right now anyway, so he drank all of the juice in one go, sighing out slowly as he didn't take a breath between starting and finishing. "There. 'Es gone. Can we shower now?" he spoke to her, sticking his tongue out and taking her arms, trying his best to reduce the amount of weight she had to haul around.

Rosalia rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless when Seifer finished the juice. "Yush. Now we can go take a shower. And just because you're six-feet, however-many-pounds dead weight, don't be afraid to use me as a support. It's what I'm here for, baka," she huffed. Sure, he was a great deal taller than her, so one of her arms went around his torso to help stabilize him while they walked. He could probably use just her shoulder as a support, which was a slightly depressing thought.

Hey, at least they made it to their bedroom without falling, and moved into the connecting bathroom. "Do you need help getting undressed?~" the pinkette teased, already taking off her own clothes and putting them to the side. Hey, they were fresh clothes so she didn't want them to get wet and have to change again. Not like they haven't seen each other naked before, perverts...

The male grunted as he was sat down, glancing at her when she spoke. He'd already been bare and seen her bare so while his face flushed just a bit, he didn't seem embarrassed. At the mention of his own undressing however... "I... Think I can..." he mumbled, trying his shirt first. He got to just above his head when he flinched, the wound on his side had turned into a scar but it's evident that's what was hurting... And the scar on his chest only seemed to make the smaller one stick out more. How that worked? Seifer's skin tone.

Gritting his teeth, he managed to fight through the pain, slipping the shirt the rest of the way off and tossing it to the side, panting from the pain. Seriously this anemic shit needs to stop already. He was used to feeling weak but this was pissing him off. After a few moments of rest and letting the pain die down, he slipped the rest of his clothes off... thanking whatever higher power existed that this didn't hurt.

Rosalia wondered if her tease should have been a serious question. He really didn't look good. In the end, he at least got it all off okay. Now the main question was... did she have to wash his hair? There was no way she was going to reach, given their height difference, unless Seifer was sitting on the floor of the shower/bath. Well, she was just there to keep him standing, so she didn't have to do too much except maybe wash his back.

Without another moment wasted, the pinkette turned on the shower to a comfortable temperature, and made sure the male didn't slip while getting into the actual shower. "Just tell me if you need some help~" she grinned, clearly having a little too much fun with being the bedside nurse. What? They finally had a chance to relax, and she was just being the nice little medic-fianceé that she was.

He made a face making his way into the water, using the wall of the shower as a prop. "Why do I feel like one of those old people in a home?" he made a joke about it, but his current situation was close to it, he just wasn't old... sliding down into the water he just let it run over him sighing softly. "Could you get my back and hair at least? I can barely raise my arms to chest level without the pain." he wanted her near to, but he'd disguised it as a request for help this time. Even in this compromising situation, he just wanted her nearby to help him relax. It was as innocent as that.

"Hai hai, Ojii-san~" Rosalia snickered, using the term for grandpa obviously in a teasing tone. But she did as asked and stepped behind the male so that she could wash his hair and back. It was a good thing the shower was one of those with seat in it. Otherwise he would have to sit on the floor for her to even reach his head, let alone him having to stand up later... She started with his hair, lathering the shampoo into her hands before massaging his scalp with it. Given that he had short hair (or, at least shorter hair compared to her own), it really didn't take too long to wash it, even if it was rather dirty from the grime of the battlefield.

After rinsing it out, she snatched up a puffy shower loofah and body wash to get his back. During all of it, she was humming, though giggling occasionally would ruin the music. "Heh~ You know, people like to sing in the showers. You're not gonna sing for me?" she asked. Genuinely, she was interested in how the brunette could sing, but he sang well, so how he learned didn't really matter to her. Rosalia hadn't heard her fiancé sing since their date on the beach... "It's okay if you can't. Your abdomen hurts still, doesn't it?... I'll see if I can find some ibuprofen or something around the house..."

He listened to her speak, reaching back behind him to pinch her backside for the tease. "I'd sing yeah, but right now I just don't feel up to it. And yeah you're right, my side hurts to much..." he shut his eyes as his hair was washed. This felt nice. Weird, since he normally didn't like having things done for him... but nice. That being said, he leaned back a bit, his shoulders meeting her stomach and his head nestled nicely between her chest, his eyes shutting as he relaxed. "...I'm honestly glad you didn't have to go to the speech. As much as I love my new brother-in-law, and as much as they might need you... Right now, I just. ...I don't want to be alone..." he sighed, trying not to be depressed, but he really couldn't go anywhere without support. That sucked.

The pinkette yelped at the pinch, instantly swatting at his hand with a huff. As she continued washing him though, the male leaned back against her own frame. Rosalia's cheeks lit up, but otherwise she seemed okay with the fact... save that she couldn't finish washing his back now. She sighed softly and, for a moment, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her chin resting on top of his head. "Well, you're not alone, so don't be so merpy. You'll be back on your own two feet soon enough... Then you'll probably jump head first into the next battle like always," she pointed out, her fingers drawing circles on his chest. Well, not much she could do about that; it was just how Seifer fought his battles. His emotions always ran high when it came to loved ones in danger, and this war that really, really needed to end.

They couldn't do much about that last part yet, however, so Rosalia shrugged and pushed the male back into sitting in an upright position. While washing his back, she knew that the future that they wished for just wasn't going to come true, at least not all of it with Yukino now gone... But, they still had to fight. They promised Haruka... "The Resistance needs both of us... For now, there's no Reapers in sight, so just try to recover as quickly as possible. Then we can both be ready for what's to come... Haruka-oniisan is going to need us..." Until then, hopefully their brother-in-law could handle the Resistance on his own while Seifer recovered completely.

He pouted when he was pushed back up, just getting comfortable, but oh well... Sighing softly, he let her continue, shutting his eyes again. "...To be honest, when has anyone actually needed me?" he asked suddenly, not looking back. "I mean, you're going to be my wife, so of course you need me... But, when has anyone in the Resistance needed me? We've got enough warriors, and unlike you I can't heal. So what makes me so different?" he started depressing himself. Shower time with lover was supposed to be fun! Stop it!

Rosalia didn't answer at first, frowning while Seifer didn't bother looking at her. Truth be told, she didn't know what to say. She had been in two Reaper battles since she returned, and one of them was them losing Yukino. All in all, was there even a hope for humanity anymore? "We need everyone's assistance against the Reapers, against Harbinger... Everyone's effort counts. You, Darren, Noel, Neo, Bashiro, Aoi, Mitsuki... We need everyone, but Haruka needs us the most. We're his family... They're all our family... We lost Oneesama already, so we have to be there to make sure we don't lose anyone else... And hey, you're not the only one who can't heal. I'm pretty sure I stole all of that fun stuff for myself."

She took a deep breath, sighing softly as she finished with washing her lover's back and hair. She offered him the loofah so he could scrub maybe the rest of himself, while the pinkette leaned against one of the shower walls. "Would you rather give up now, leave Haruka and the others to fight for humanity while you go hide in the closest hole?... For at least one session, you were taught by Oneesama to use that sword of yours. While it, or your emotions, got the best of you in the last battle, didn't you swear that you would be just as strong as her one day? To maybe surpass her?... It's that sort of unique strength that everyone is going to need for what's to come..."

"But I can't do it." he sighed, accepting the loofah and scrubbing the rest of himself, letting the water rinse it away. "I've never been strong enough to actually win." he didn't actually mean winning in fights, or anything. It wasn't literal. It was more that he was always on the receiving end of things, his luck had always been absolutely terrible. He'd been in the most comas out of anyone in the resistance. He'd lost no matter how hard he tried, failing to do what he needed to, so that others didn't have to do it.

He shut his eyes, still letting the water fall down over him. "When you left this last time, I tried... I tried so hard to move on. You would of wanted me to be happy I thought, so I tried... For the sake of your memory but, I just couldn't. I loved you to much, and the hole it left in my heart was just... Far to large..." he was silent for a bit longer, then sighed. "I was Reversed again, fought on Harbinger's side... Because I wasn't strong enough, I couldn't be strong enough. ...Eventually..." he hesitated at this next part... waiting a long while before opening his mouth again.

"I'm from another timeline, as you already know. But I didn't come here like anyone else it seemed. I ended up possessing the body of this timeline's Seifer, and... He lost his chance at life because of it." he paused again, pursing his lips together. He was a horrible human being. "Or so I thought I guess... We split into two consciousnesses, me the darker half... the "Reverse", and him... The Light I guess..." he sighed. This probably wasn't making any sense.

"We were still the same person though, shared the same feelings, so together we agreed... Without you, there was no living. It wasn't... Life. ...Together we agreed to let ourselves fade away. ...And yet, here I am. I was to weak to even die." he bit his lip for a moment, before looking back at the one light left in his life, one eye blue, the other red. It was only like that for a moment before shifting back to violent... but it was still evident. His eyes went downcast then he sighed. "I'm sorry... I'm just... scared. Scared I'll lose you again, that I'm to weak to protect you. ...And right now, I can't even stand on my own."

The mention about being reversed again was something she remembered him explaining during their lunch date. Not that he specifically fought for Harbinger, which was shocker enough, but it was what came after that she was surprised about.

Seifer wasn't.. from this timeline?... Wait, when did he tell her this? Thinking about it, Mirai mentioned something about another timeline as well... But, she wasn't around to know about the Seeds... So, he was Seifer, and yet not Seifer?... Was this timeline's Seifer the one she first met? The one that got her into vanguard? Or was this this the same one? Her head started pounding at the thought, not exactly sure which idea to consider the truth.

...

In the end though, she just had to accept one fact: this man she was in the shower with was the love of her life. With a deep breath, the female hugged the male from behind, shutting her eyes as she rest her head against his. "I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to not disappear... I don't know what happened, but I'm not going to vanish on you again, okay?..." Pause, deep breath, and sigh. "It would be a lie if I said I wasn't scared too... I'm terrified of Harbinger and all of Deletors... I want nothing than to just wish them away, or to hide in the deepest hole possible until everything just vanishes under our feet..."

Her voice had started to crack, while a few tears mixed with the water that washed over them. "I-i remember not how I was Deleted, or how I was really brought back, but it was just an empty void. Absolute nothingness... and I almost found comfort in it... Though nothing good happened, nothing bad could happen either... Right now, I can only imagine us losing to Harbinger. Even though Yukino was able to hurt her, how are we supposed to do the same? As much as I don't want to lose anyone, I can't do anything to save them from that ultimate fate..."

This was definitely not helping, but it was the truth. It was a thought that always harbored at the edge of her thoughts. How were anyone supposed to win against this and actually have a future they could look forward to? Even if there was no future, she didn't want to be alone in the present. "Right now, all we can do is rest, recover, and push forward again... If we want to be stronger, then we have to work for it somehow..."

The male listened to what she said, hearing the nihilism in her words but, he knew she wasn't a nihilist. Feeling her skin against his again, he relaxed, holding her hands gently with his. He continued to listen before reaching over, turning off the water. "I love you." it definitely wasn't the actual response needed but, right now he just... wanted to be with her. Turning slightly he kissed her upper arm and shoulder. "Let's just go on to bed. We can think of things together, to push forward tomorrow." he meant bed now. Didn't matter if they were naked or not. Naked was fine to be honest, wet however, not so much. They needed to dry off. STruggling to stand, he managed again, this time standing without the prop... shambling out of the shower to get a towel to dry off with.