23rd Candid Photo

[pygmalion_perv]

[Well, it's been five days since Hachibe's horrible Christmas present drove him to attempted suicide.  Thankfully, America managed to get to him in time, and instead of bleeding out on the front lawn, he ended up in surgery at Mayfield's hospital.  He's been spending the past five days recovering, and is still confined to a bed in one of the rooms at the clinic, but he's at least allowed to have visitors and make phone calls now.  So here's Hachibe sounding a little weaker than usual but in much better shape than he was before.]

"Uh... hey, everyone.  It's Hachibe.  Sorry if I worried anyone before.  My Christmas present from the town was pretty bad, and I probably could've reacted a little better.  Looks like I'm gonna be stuck in the hospital for a while, though, so if anybody wants to come by and visit, they finally moved me out of the emergency ward.  I got my drone mom to bring over the Christmas presents I haven't handed out yet, too.  So, uh... Vietnam, Garnet, Chrome, Empress - your presents are here with me if you're interested."

Comments

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

The hospital? [What is this, she doesn't even] What happened...?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

"Oh, uh... nothing too bad."

[LIES AND FALSEHOODS]

LET'S PRETEND THIS ISN'T 5 MILLION YEARS LATE OKAY

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

'Too bad; still implies something 'somewhat bad' happened, Hachibe-san.

OKAY

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

Well... yeah.

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

[Good thing Chrome isn't the type to push.]

...What room are you in? I can come see you.

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

"Room 332."

((OOC: You can send Empress over if you want too, since he's also got her present here~))

ACTION

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

[She shows up roughly 20 minutes later and looks him over, before walking to the bedside]

...How are you feeling?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[As mentioned on the other thread, he's bandaged around the midsection and is on an IV. Other than that, he seems to be mending well.]

"I'm all right. I think I should be able to go home in a few days. I'll probably still need to take it easy, though."

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

[She doesn't sit, but she is pulling a small baggie of home-made chocolates out from a small bag at her shoulder]

Will these help you feel better?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[asjsddhdsf that is so cute Chrome oh my god]

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to eat them if they're for somebody else."

[He turns to glance at some gifts sitting on a nearby table.]

"Oh, your gift is over there, though."

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

No, it's fine. I made a lot, so... [She trails off and turns to look at the gifts.

Setting the chocolates down in Hachibe's lap, she starts rummaging through the gifts, picking hers' up. She hesitates, still feeling uncomfortable getting a gift, but decides it'd be more rude to refuse it.

So she begins to open it quietly]

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[Hachibe smiles, unwrapping one of the chocolates and popping it into his mouth. He smiles as Chrome unwraps her present. Inside she'll find a package of padded shoe inserts in her size.]

"I wanted to get you something, but I wasn't really sure what. I hope you can use them. They might make rolling around on those skates a little gentler on your feet while you're at work."

[mosorgans.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you. [She smiles slightly, tucking them under her arm]

I've been getting adjusted to them, but these will still help. Then I can avoid having to get piggy-back rides.

...Are the chocolates good?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[THAT ICON IS THE CUTEST THING EVER]

"Great, glad you like them! And yeah, the chocolates are pretty good too."

[lotuslife.livejournal.com]

[...]

What happened?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

Uh... I got a body part in the mail. I thought it belonged to a friend of mine, and that it was my fault she got hurt.

[lotuslife.livejournal.com]

But why were you in the hospital?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

The guilt was way too much. I couldn't deal with it.

[lotuslife.livejournal.com]

[huh.]

How foolish.

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

I know. I wasn't thinking straight.

[thelittlecanary.livejournal.com]

The hospital?! [ Dreadfully concerned white mage is dreadfully concerned! There's some noise in the background; the sound of her rifling through her drawers and closet for her coat, scarf, and mittens. She narrowly avoids becoming tangled up in the phone cord in her haste. ] I'll be right there, Hachibe!

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

"Garnet! Are you okay? Did you get anything weird for Christmas?"

[Just like Hachibe to be more concerned for her well-being than his own.]

[thelittlecanary.livejournal.com]

Y-yes, I'm fine. [ She sounds absolutely baffled by the question, and slightly annoyed that he chooses now of all times to be worried for her. There's a pause while she slips her coat on. ]

And I didn't, thankfully. [She wants to ask just what he received that was awful enough to land him in the hospital, but deems it a question that should be asked in person. ]

How were you hurt?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[There's the sound of a long breathy sigh before he speaks.]

"...I'll tell you about it when you get here."

[He sounds really ashamed.]

[thelittlecanary.livejournal.com]

Alright. [ She furrows her brow, not missing the note of shame in his voice. ]

I'll be there soon. [ She hangs up the phone and quickly slips her mittens on, flinging the scarf around her neck as she hurries out the front door.

Twenty minutes later, there's a polite knock upon the door to his hospital room before Garnet lets herself in and approaches his bedside. She takes his condition in silently as she seats herself and sandwiches his hand between two woolen gloves. ] What happened to you?...

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[Poor Hachibe is so ashamed that he can't even bear to look her in the eye right now. Instead, he just clutches her hands tightly and hangs his head as he tries to fight back tears.]

"I... I tried to kill myself."

[thelittlecanary.livejournal.com]

... [ She releases his hand, but only to peel her gloves away. Once they're discarded, she takes it up again, giving it a squeeze. Despite having been shielded from the icy weather outside, her fingers are chilled. ]

Why? [ Though she tries not to sound upset, her voice trembles slightly. ]

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[He doesn't even seem to care about the cold. He's holding onto Garnet's hands like a lifeline at this point. Just the feeling of someone caring about him like this is immensely comforting to Hachibe at this point.]

"...My Christmas present. I got some body parts in the mail, and I thought they belonged to a friend of mine. My first thought was that they'd mutilated her because of my stupid, selfish Christmas wish, and that the whole thing was my fault. I didn't even think about how it might just be a trick of the town or anything. All I remember was how guilty I felt over it."

[kindlichekaiser.livejournal.com]

[SHE IS THERE IN RECORD TIME, avoiding looking at the Drones and carrying her own presents for Hachibe!

Empress moves into the room, expression worried] Are you alright, Hachibe...?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[He's pretty heavily bandaged around the midsection, and there's an IV feeding into his wrist, but at least he's awake. He smiles brightly as Empress walks in.]

"I'm all right now. America saved me before I bled out."

[kindlichekaiser.livejournal.com]

[She frowns, biting her lower lip and staring quietly at the bandages. She moves to hide bedside and takes a careful seat on the edge]

What happened...?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

"Nothing you need to worry about, okay?"

[He reaches over to hold her hand.]

"I just got a bad Christmas present."

[kindlichekaiser.livejournal.com]

[Empress smiles lightly and gives his hand a gentle squeeze]

Looks like everyone's presents aren't what they expected... [She sighs a little and glances towards the door, wincing when a drone nurse comes through.

She quickly turns her attention back to Hachibe] I brought you a better present, hopefully. Is this a good time to give it?

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

"Sure! Yours is over there on the table too if you want it."

[He smiles, keeping hold of her hand. It's the small comforts right now.]

[kindlichekaiser.livejournal.com]

[She lets go of his hand to fish out her gifts from her bag--a scarf and a hat, both kind of lumpy looking and there are some holes here and there but she tried okay? SHE MADE IT FROM THE HEART!

She hands them over, unwrapped because she couldn't figure out how to wrap it, and goes to investigate her own gift] I hope you like it. It might be a little big...

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

"You made this for me? With your own two hands?"

[OH GOD SO HAPPY]

"I love it! I'll wear them every day!"

[Inside Empress' gift, she will find a storebought pair of pink mittens.]

[kindlichekaiser.livejournal.com]

[She looks utterly delighted] They're so cute!

[SHE PUTS THEM ON IMMEDIATELY] They'll be perfect for this cold; thank you Hachibe!

[HER HACHIBE HAVE A HUG]

[pygmalion-perv.livejournal.com]

[Yay! He hugs back, smiling.]

"Winter can be really rough on the hands, but if you wear these and make sure to moisturize with that lotion I got you before, they'll be as soft as ever."