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

[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."