Chapter Text
[ 18:00 | 6PM ]
"Matters of safety, protection & completion."
canon: during tales of xillia 2
------
The moment Jude gained consciousness he instantly wished he hadn’t. He was in a world of pain the very moment he became aware of himself and his surroundings. It was overwhelming and Jude instantly felt vulnerable as a haze of confusion swept over him. In this much pain he didn’t dare move and not being able to move meant he was in worse shape than he thought. Immediately he tried to comb through his memories but there was nothing but blank space. He couldn't figure out how he'd gotten here.
Met with that dead end Jude next tried to figure out the best way to diagnose himself. What was hurting worse and where? Unfortunately the amount of pain made his brain foggier and clarity of thought slipped from his grasp again. Met with another dead end Jude's next instinct was to be frightened yet determined to sort this out. He dared to move his hand, just a little, as if searching for something to grab or was familiar. He became aware he was lying down on what felt like a very soft bed. His hand made it to the edge to confirm it.
"Hello?" he called weakly, barely audible, and his voice cracked. It felt like he hadn’t used it in awhile. He was so disoriented.
When there was no answer or any indication that anyone was anywhere near by Jude began to feel a little less alarmed. Clearly there wasn't any danger but the continued missing memories and confusion was worrisome. He slowly opened his eyes, wincing as the pain in his right side throbbed. He was greeted by darkness and recognized that he was in a familiar room. Yet the shadows and the moonlight made it all look very alien at the same time.
What the hell had happened?
Then a gentle hand touched his shoulder. "Jude?"
The touch made him flinch away and he nearly struck the offending hand with surprise but the voice was immediately recognizable. Sure enough, he searched and his eyes focused on Leia’s face. She looked worried and yet somehow happy.
Leia leaned away for a second and suddenly a soft light filled the room. Even though it was weak, Jude squinted and then turned his head away from the glow. It made his head ache even more than it already did. Actually his whole body ached and even lying in a bed didn't ease that. However now he could better see where he was. He was in the Sharilton manor. This was the room he often had when they stayed here.
"You’re awake," Leia sighed softly. "Thank goodness."
Jude turned to look at her finally, blinking bleary eyes. "Leia? What---"
"Ugh! Jeez, Jude! Do you have any idea how worried everyone was?! I can't believe you! I hope you're ready for a lecture because I swear--"
Jude groaned and dropped his head back on the pillow, lifting his hand to press his palm against his forehead. His headache was too severe for Leia's angry ranting. Mercifully his reaction made her stop but she continued to huff angrily, "Okay, well, maybe I'll wait until you're better but I bet Milla won't. She's really going to let you have for this you know."
He blinked his eyes open again. "Milla?" Hearing her name seemed to spark something back into his memory. Milla…
Jude sat bolt upright, something he instantly regretted when sharp pain stabbed through his body via his right side. He suppressed a yelp of pain and grimaced. He placed his hand over his side and realized the pain was localized where his ribs were. It didn't hurt enough to be broken… maybe he had bruised it?
Leia gave a frustrated groan. "Hey! Don't do that! You're going to make it worse!"
"Nevermind that, where is Milla? I remember now. She was… Is she okay? What happened?"
Leia gave him an irritated look but the worry in her expression was obvious. After a moment of glaring she relented and sighed, hanging her head. Her fingers needled together in her lap and Jude belatedly realized she was sitting on a chair at his bedside. She must've been taking care of him and he felt guilty he'd made her worry.
"You got hurt pretty badly back there, Jude. Those Exodus goons had those awful weapons…"
As she trailed off Jude could feel the memories slowly seeping back into his mind. He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Exodus. They'd set some kind of trap… They'd taken it as a task board request--him, Ludger, Elle, Milla, Leia and Alvin. It had been a set up and they had unleashed some version of spyrix weapons none of them had seen before. They had threatened that the weapons had the ability to totally annihilate a spirit by ripping all the mana from it in one shot--the great spirit Maxwell and the Four didn't even have a chance, they said.
"I don't really know if they could have done that," Leia was saying when Jude was dragged out from his thoughts, "but… we didn't want to risk it, right? Milla had no interest in running though. She wanted to destroy the weapons since it was potentially a threat but they fired right at her without any warning."
Jude dropped his hand to wave it at her dismissively. "Yeah. I remember. It's okay."
Leia glanced up, glaring again. "It is not okay! You gave me a heart attack, Jude! You don't even realize how badly you got hurt, do you? You've been asleep for three days! If I hadn't been able to help you, you…" Her voice started to crack and she looked away, trying for retain her anger but starting to fail in the face of how truly worried she'd been.
Jude felt even worse now and he glanced up at her, expression soft and sincere. "I'm sorry, Leia. I didn't mean to make you worry. I promise I'm fine."
She refused to look at him and huffed again, shoulders tensed. "I know that, dummy. Just… I can't believe how reckless you are lately. You threw yourself right in front of that thing..." She might have kept going but her GHS started to buzz in her pocket.
Leia paused to answer it, flipping it open. "Oh, it's Alvin… I guess he and the others are coming back soon. Okay, I should probably tell everyone you're finally awake and that you're okay." She hopped to her feet and paused to give him one last hard stare. "Stay put, okay? Don't you dare get out of bed. You hear me? Don't you dare."
Jude just smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Yeah, sure."
She didn't look convinced but left anyway. Sitting in bed with the pain still throbbing through his body, Jude sighed. Three days… That was way too long to be out of contact with work, for one. For two that probably impeded on some of Ludger's progress too. He could only hope he hadn't been too much of a burden… though from the way Leia made it sound everyone was here in Sharilton waiting for his recovery. He felt bad about that too.
Always one to disobey Leia, Jude crawled painfully out of bed. He had definitely bruised his ribs all right. Thankfully only on one side but it was painful nevertheless. He'd been bandaged up by a doctor from the looks of it. His legs were unsteady too. Three days was too long to not be moving on them. He made his way to where his clothes were folded on a chair and slipped on his shirt, movements slow and painful. His ultimate goal was to find his GHS and call Balan to make sure things were okay at the facility.
The door abruptly opening startled him but Milla walking in stopped any further thoughts or actions. He turned toward her quickly. "Milla! You're okay!"
Milla looked somehow surprised to see him standing there, the expression subtle but noticeable. She took one look at him and frowned, hand on her hip. "You should be in bed."
He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm fine. If I really have been resting for three days then--hey!"
Milla moved briskly forward as he was talking, moving around behind him to push on his back and force him to walk back toward the bed. She forced him to sit back down on it which certainly didn't help his battered body any. He winced but complied least she apply any more force.
"That wasn't a request."
"Milla…"
She crossed her arms and from the look she was giving him Jude realized she was angry. An angry Milla was an intimidating Milla and Jude's shoulders slumped a little.
"I'm sorry… but I'm really glad you're okay," he said after a moment of silence.
"I'm fine and I would've been fine. There was no reason for you to have gotten hurt like this."
"If I hadn't gotten in the way that weapon could've really hurt you."
"There was no reason to believe their claim."
"There wasn't a reason not to believe it either."
Milla narrowed her eyes, clearly unhappy with his attempt to justify his reckless actions, but Jude felt unperturbed. He was feeling stubborn and regardless of whether or not she was mad he didn't regret it. His gaze dropped to his hands now folded in his lap. "I told you before. I don't want to see you get hurt, Milla. If I can prevent that then… I always will."
"I don't want to see you get hurt either."
To that Jude couldn't reply but he glanced up to meet her gaze. Her expression was soft. A frown tugged at her lips but her eyes were full of concern. He felt the familiar weight of guilt on his shoulders. He hadn't wanted to worry her like that but he couldn't take back what he said either. He'd seen her hurt before; once so badly that she'd lost her life. During those times he'd felt like he had lost a part of himself too. He never wanted to feel like that again. Sometimes it was hard enough thinking about when she had to return to the spirit realm. Thinking of her potentially dying again… no, he couldn't stand the thought.
"Don't do something like that again," Milla said in her usual authoritative tone. "Twice is two times too many."
Her words were again met with silence. This time Jude had to avert his gaze. He couldn't promise that. He'd throw himself in front of a bullet to protect her and that just wasn't going to change. Hearing her sigh Jude suspected she knew that too. She moved and sat down beside him on the bed. Her presence was immediately comforting and even the throbbing pain in his side seemed to dull as all his senses focused on her. She had a very calming effect on his body and mind that he couldn't explain.
"Jude, your life is important. It's important to your friends, your parents and to your mission. It's important to me. If you throw it away so carelessly you won't be doing anyone any good."
Jude hung his head. Leia wasn't kidding when she said Milla was going to let him have it. "I know that. It's not like I'm trying to get myself killed. I just…" He trailed off and felt heat rising in his cheeks in sudden embarrassment. I just wanted to keep you safe, he thought and felt a little foolish. It wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself but that wasn't the reason here. "W-Well… I'll try to be more careful."
Milla remained silent and Jude still felt too embarrassed to look up at her again. Everyone was probably going to lecture him for this one but Milla was the hardest to face. He didn't want to disappoint her. After a few moments sitting in semi-comfortable silence he felt Milla shift and her hands press against his shoulders. He didn't realize what she was doing until he felt himself slip backwards onto the mattress. She hovered over him with a small smile and Jude was sure his face resembled a tomato right about now.
"Um…"
"Get some rest, Jude."
Jude turned his head away slightly, flustered at her close proximity and… maybe also over the fact that he was lying in a bed with her kneeling over him. It looked a little, well…
"R-Right…"
Milla smiled, pleased with his compliance, and leaned forward. He felt her long hair brush against his face and neck and her pleasant scent overwhelmed him for a second. She brushed her lips softly against his forehead. It was a touch so brief Jude believed he might have dreamed it. Then she pulled away and slipped off the bed. He listened to the door shut softly behind her but didn't move. It was such a simple gesture and yet his heart was hammering against his chest and he felt his blush creeping up all the way to his ears now.
Sleep eluded him in the end but in that brief moment he'd felt a strange feeling of being right where he belonged.