Work Text:
"So baby talk to me
Like lovers do
Walk with me
Like lovers do
Talk to me
Like lovers do
Here comes the rain again
Raining in my head like a tragedy
Tearing me apart like a new emotion
I want to breathe in the open wind
I want to kiss like lovers do
I want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you"
- Atrocity: Here Comes The Rain Again
.................................................................
"I never pictured myself dying like this."
Cecil turned his head and looked down at the human female he had been fighting aside since the reaper war began. For the first time since he had known her, the hopeful light in her eyes was gone.
"We will make it out, soldier. I can promise you that." He refused to give up hope.
"I always imagined... I'd die instantly in an explosion or a crash."
The entire area shook, the sound of a reaper over top of where they were covered in rubble and ruins. Cecil gently placed a hand on Faith's head when she started screaming in pain. The reaper causing the debris on top of her to vibrate and shift. Cecil had radioed for help but still had no luck in any arriving. He was able to escape, having nothing but an arm injury, but he refused to leave her behind. Feelings for her had developed into something more than just friendship but he was sure she would have shot him down if he had said anything about it.
The beam and other debris on top of her was too heavy for him to move alone. He had tried several times already, only to fail in freeing her.
"You need to leave, I'm not going to make it, sir." She cringed at the pain, blood slowly pooling beneath her head.
"I'm not leaving, you can forget it." Cecil gently tried smoothing the blood clotting in her hair where it was a gooey mess.
She closed her eyes, "The best thing you can do is put me out of my misery."
"Not going to happen."
Her voice was pitiful when it cracked, it was unnerving to him, "Please..."
"You go, I go. Remember?" He stroked her face, watching the tears as they left trails through the dirt and ash on her skin, "I'm not leaving you, soldier."
Cecil could see she was suffering, unable to take her pain away. Again, he forced his shoulder against the heavy ruins on top of her. Pure determination managed to shift it just a bit but it wasn't of any help.
"Stop-! Stop!" She screamed in pain.
He cursed under his breath. Cecil scanned the area for anything that could help him out with freeing her.
"I can't see how bad the damage to your body is under this piece of junk..."
"My head..."
"I know. Just hold on. You will make it, you are the toughest human I've ever known! If I didn't know better, I'd think you had some Turian in you." He said, in an attempt to comfort her, "If not a little bit of Krogan."
"I'm not tough... Not now."
"You are, soldier." He took in a deep breath, "A medical team will be here soon. I know for a fact you have a concussion, try not to fall asleep on me. Keep fighting."
"I'll try not to sleep."
"Keep talking to me, alright?"
"About what...?"
"How about your family?"
Faith shook her head, "They... They're gone. They're dead..."
Cecil went back to her side, "I... Didn't know, I'm sorry."
"My nephews and newborn niece, my sister and parents, all of my cousins... Killed by the reapers. I have no one... I'd be grateful if you just put a bullet in my brain and left me here!"
"No."
"Please..."
"I can't, I need you in my life. I... Want to be with you." He confessed.
Faith turned her head to him, "What?"
There was a great chance one or both of them would die here. If he didn't say it now, he would regret it for the rest of eternity, "I have feelings for you... I love you."
Well, she hadn't been expecting that at all. Her hand reached out and he took it in his.
"We're making it out of here, I swear to you." He was unsure of what would happen but he wanted to give her hope.
"At least... We got the mission done."
"As thorough as possible, considering the circumstances."
Everything became blurry and her hand went limp in his. A pained groan escaped her bloody lips, "Cecil... I'm... guh..."
"What is it?"
"Falling... Head... I don't think..." She wasn't making sense and her speech was starting to slur. Cecil knew this was not a good sign. Frantically, he made another attempt to contact anyone in the area. But he was interrupted when a heavy piece of debris landed on his already wounded arm. Smaller bits of rock fell behind it from the remains of the building. One hit Faith's arm over her omnitool, making her flinch.
"Spirits..." Cecil radioed for help again, frantically tapping on his own omnitool.
Faith turned her head and looked at the Turian and realized she couldn't understand a word he was saying now, "Cecil..."
He looked at her and put a hand on her forehead, "I'm okay, you're okay."
Her eyes closed, her translator wasn't working. Cecil began to gently stroke her hair and speak softly to her in his native language. She must have dozed off, when her eyes opened, there was silence. Cecil had his forehead against hers, purring softly. Faith had to admit, it was such a comforting noise.
"Cee..."
"Faith..."
"We... Dead yet...?"
He answered but her translator was still broken.
"I don't... Understand..."
He looked at her curiously with a few more words.
"Translator... Must be broke..." At least she was talking a bit better but her speech was still slurred, "It's quiet..."
"Faith..." He said her name, it was the only thing she could understand.
A voice spoke over his omnitool, it was another Turian. Cecil responded, trying not to move his injured arm anymore than he had to. The sudden tone in his voice told her help must be on it's way. When she closed her eyes, she knew she wouldn't be able to open them again...
"Faith? Faith!" He checked her pulse and panicked, "Faith, don't do this!"
A medical team arrived just as he started CPR. Her lips were turning blue. All he could do was watch. The words 'traumatic cardiac arrest' came up more than a few times when the medics spoke.
"Faith..."
...
Cecil refused to leave Faith's side in the hospital. After his arm was operated on, he sat by her where she was on the hospital bed. At first she was hooked up to life support but was taken off once her body began to heal.
"She has a wedge fracture of the spine. The vertebral body has suffered a crushing injury."
"What?"
"The vertebral body is the block of bone that makes up the spinal column. Usually this takes eight to ten weeks to heal. Most cases, these injuries heal with nothing but rest, pain meds, and a back brace."
"And her head?"
The Asari nurse finished taking Faith's blood pressure and looked back to Cecil, "The brain injury doesn't require surgery. Though, I'm unsure when she will awaken. One of our Salarian doctors fixed her omnitool and translator in his spare time so she will understand everyone when she wakes up. After the condition she was in, I'm surprised she made it at all. She is very lucky."
The nurse left, leaving the two alone. Cecil took her hand in his, careful not to hurt her broken wrist anymore than it already was. He wanted her to wake up.
He ran his claws over his purple colony markings and sighed, "Faith, you know... When I first saw you, I was entranced by your beauty and strength. I never thought I'd find a human attractive."
Her hand twitched in his and his eyes widened. There were no other movements, no signs that she would actually wake up.
"I never expected you to be as strong as you were... Are... As strong as you are. It was beyond impressive, when you took on the harvesters. You alone defeated the thing, it was amazing... Not to mention the brute... One more hit would have finished me but you did not hesitate to jump in and take the blow for me. The biotics of yours, your style of fighting. It's almost as if you were dancing on the battlefield."
Cecil sighed.
"I never imagined the reason behind your determination to kill the creatures. Now that I know about your family... I just want you to know that I'm here. You're not alone... You'll never be alone again. I promise you that."
Her hand gripped his again and Cecil was shocked when her eyes started opening.
"...God?"
"No, Cecil... Sorry to disappoint."
"Cee... Did... Did you... Die too?"
"I'm alive." He put a hand on her chest, "And so are you."
"I hurt..." She gasped, "All over."
Cecil knew they had recently given her pain medications, any more and she'd overdose, "Try to relax. This is the worst it will ever be. There is only healing that can be done from here on out."
She whimpered when she moved her head to face him better. The pain making her dizzy. He moved so he was able to put his arm above her head and let her lean against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair.
"Can you... Turn off my translator and talk to me?"
He cocked his head sideways, thinking of how odd the request was but quickly realized what was going through her head.
Him holding her, speaking softly in his native language meant she was safe and alive. It was pure comfort to her.
"Of course."
He turned the translator off and began speaking to her, telling her of their future together. It didn't take her long to fall back into a deep sleep.