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Trevor meekly approached Hetty the day after Flower’s rescue, seeking her out in one of her favorite “gazing out the window” rooms. With no lead-in whatsoever, he plunged ahead. “Just tell me. Did I hurt you?” This thought had been plaguing him since Hetty had revealed her secret to the group. When he saw those raw-looking marks around her neck, he felt sick. Not because he found her repulsive, but with guilt over possibly causing her pain. It made him all the more grateful that he didn't sport any wounds from his own death. Just occasional heart palpitations.
Hetty snapped out of her thoughtful trance, whipping her head around toward him. “What? Hurt me?” The suggestion had come out of nowhere, it seemed! When would Trevor have had a chance to hurt her? She stood, framed in the light from the window, making a rather splendid portrait. Trevor gulped, struck speechless at the sight of her, then kept going.
“When I would…you know…” points around his own neck. “Kiss you there.”
“Oh!” Hetty exclaimed softly, looking surprised that he seemed to genuinely care. “No, Trevor, you didn’t hurt me. It felt nice to be kissed there, actually. Very nice. Soothing,” she recalled with an unguarded smile. His kisses had actually cooled the itchy friction burns on her skin. It had always felt so much better afterward.
“Oh! Good!” Trevor sounded truly relieved at that. Since Hetty had revealed her secret, he'd felt like a real jerk for a) not realizing or asking what the cord was, and b) possibly harming her by irritating her death wound. His body carriage relaxed considerably and he nodded. “So, like, did I kiss it all better?”
Hetty laughed lightly. “Do people still do that? Kiss a child’s injury to ‘make it better’?”
Trevor came closer with an easy smile. “Yeah. That’s still a thing. You guys did that, too?” No matter how long he'd been with the other ghosts, there always seemed to be something new to learn from them. How they were different, and how they were the same. It was always satisfying to find things out about them.
Hetty just nodded, now self-consciously rubbing her neck. “I’m sorry you had to see that, but now you know why I never showed you. I didn’t want to see your pity, or your disgust. I know it…didn’t improve my looks.”
“I care about more than your looks,” Trevor snorted, feeling a little insulted that she thought so little of him, but then he considered her past experiences. Even knowing that he wasn’t like the people she knew in life, those fears are hard to put aside. That shame. “I mean, we both know you're still smokin' hot, though. That was pretty clever of you to think to use the cord to save Flower.”
Hetty seemed grateful for the pivot of subject. She wasn't in the mood to be dodging his sympathy or fielding awkward remarks or questions. “Yes, I’m glad we could bring her back to safety, back home. It wasn't the same around here without her.”
Trevor looked shy, rocking back and forth on his feet. “So…would you like me to kiss your neck all better some more?”
Hetty nodded, taking his hand with a hopeful look. “Yes. Yes, I’d like that very much.” Bravely, she tugged down her high lace collar and unwound the yellow cord from around her neck once more, looking guilty and apologetic. As if she was waiting for him to change his mind and look revolted by her. Either by her scars, or just her weakness, her rash stupidity that led her to make such an awful decision...but Trevor merely watched. He took a loose hold on the cord, sliding it through his fingers. He only looked calmly interested in it. He wrapped it in a wide loop, thinking absurdly of a cowboy's lasso. Which turned into picturing Hetty as Wonder Woman, wielding her Lasso of Truth. He smiled at that. That was pretty hot. Then, he took Hetty's hand and drew her close, pulling her into his arms and he kissed the angry red marks around her pale neck. Hetty gasped sharply at first, it was a shock for there to be direct touch there at long last! She remembered that night when she pleaded with Isaac to kiss her nape. She'd actually forgotten about it then, in the throes of her suddenly awakened passion! Now Trevor was giving her what she'd wanted for so long. Those sweet, soft kisses! Oh! It felt better than she could have ever imagined, with no hindrance, no barrier between them. Trevor was gentle, reverent, tender. Hetty whimpered a short, impatient complaint, wanting more.
“Oh, I missed you,” she sighed, tilting her head back. Trevor touched and kissed all around her poor, abused neck, not once shrinking away as though she were repulsive, as though she were wrong. “I'm sorry, truly sorry for my actions that made you call it off between us. I just desperately wanted to escape, and was willing to use any means necessary. I wasn't thinking of you or Thorfinn, or how much it would hurt either of you. I was only thinking of escape. Like when I...did this,” she finished in a soft sob. Hetty sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve as tears started. “It seems that's my only solution for anything. To just...check out as quickly as I can. And of course, to make it worse, neither time even worked and I just ended up spoiling everything!”
Trevor had stopped his kissing during her confession, and just took her in with silent sympathy. “I think I understand better now. If I were in your shoes, I might've done the same thing. Seems kinda cruel when you think about it, a suicide victim having to stay as a ghost. Just unfair, if you ask me.”
Hetty shrugged, her eyes shimmering with the last of her tears. Trevor helpfully dabbed them away with his pocket square. “Thank you. Hmph. Who ever said life, or the afterlife, was meant to be fair? And what if I do eventually get sucked off and it turns out to be not what I wanted after all? I mean, I'd lose you again, and all the others...maybe forever. So, as much as I sometimes loathe this place...you all have helped to make it a home instead of a prison. Thank you.”
“I wish things had been better for you,” Trevor said. It helped to know that her selfish actions had roots elsewhere, that she had her reasons. They might not have been the best of reasons, but they were what Hetty had had to work with. “Look, I get why you did what you did. Both the Thor thing and...this,” he indicated the phone cord.“I wish you'd had better options. Better help. And I've missed you, too. Missed us.”
Hetty looked down, swishing her skirt idly with a thoughtful pout, then slowly dragged her gaze back up to him. A pink blush touched her cheek as she considered... “Would you be willing...to give me another chance?”
Trevor flashed her a smile and bounced a little on his heels. “Yeah, I would. In a heartbeat.”
“Our hearts don't really--”
“Figure of speech, Hetty. Work with me.”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “Right. Sorry. So...really? Even with all...this?” she gestured to the means of her own demise that Trevor still held carefully in his hand.
Trevor looked down at it and quirked an eyebrow. “We'll make it work. I have a good feeling about this.” He let go of the cord and it zipped back to its usual place, making Hetty momentarily flinch and clutch at her neck with a wince. Trevor cringed on her behalf. Had it been painful? He knew what to do. Once more, he leaned in. “Here. I'll kiss it all better.”
And he did.