Koh Comfort

[adifferentlife]

Her days at the hospital have been long since the faceless victims started arriving. With no idea what is causing it or how they can even breathe, it's been important to watch and record every moment of their time at the hospital. A task that has fallen to Sybil as a nurse's aide and even the other late term nursing students, in an attempt to relieve the burden on the nurses and doctors.

Still, she's not home much after dinner tonight, exhausted though she may be. Sybil had called Henri on a quick break, asking him to meet her at her apartment and to bring dinner if he might. All she wishes to do is to see him and curl up in his arms and hear that all will be well, even if it truly will not.

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[adifferentlife]

It's hard to change the trajectory of her thoughts, but she knows that he's right and she needs to. "What should we talk of then? Anything, please, tell me what you've been doing today, or yesterday, or something funny you've seen."

[jaimemieux]

Henri put his arm around Sybil, drawing her closer. “Well, I did make an odd discovery today. I found someone I knew in Paris in a history book. Raspail was his name - I cannot claim to have known him well, but we ran in similar circles, and I always admired him. He went on to make some significant medical advances. I was reading about cell theory, and there he was, staring back at me.” While nothing near the solution to the city’s current plague that he had been hoping to find, the discovery had been gratifying.

[adifferentlife]

"Really?" She looks to him curiously, wondering what that was like for him. Sybil knows that she'd read her own history with a mix of trepidation and wonder, dealing more in generalities than specifics. She'd no desire to learn her own future, and what she's heard from Thomas is a heavy enough weight. "Did you mind it?"

[jaimemieux]

“Not as much as I would have thought,” Combeferre confessed. “Perhaps if I had found a name I knew better, I would find myself more troubled…” But even as he said it, he wondered if that were true. Wouldn’t he love to hear of some happy future for Laigle or Bahorel, for Feuilly or Enjolras? Or would that only make their absence harder to bear?

Whatever the case, discovering Raspail’s name was a less significant matter, and perhaps that was what allowed Combeferre such uncomplicated pleasure. “Largely, I am glad to hear he accomplished so much, that he was able to continue work we had merely started.”

[adifferentlife]

"I've steered away from some things for much of the same reason. If I were to find something happened to my family, or someone I held dear? It would be more difficult than I care to think." She's had a few bites, and the food is wonderful, but truthfully, she's not all that hungry after a long day. Knowing she should have more, she picks at it, choosing pieces that appeal more than others. "Still, it's nice to know of the successes, isn't it, if somewhat odd?"

"Do you need to get home? I was thinking you might stay a while, I'd like the company." Sybil wants nothing more than to curl up close to him on the lounge and be reminded of the things that make her happy.

[jaimemieux]

“I am glad to stay for as long as you like,” Combeferre answered, his arm curving around her a little more firmly. “Even through the night, if you would allow it? I have nowhere else to be.” He had stayed with her more than once since that first time, and though their behavior had not always been chaste, he had been careful to keep his behavior within certain bounds. Now he was especially glad of how comfortable they had become together, if only because he knew he could offer this uncomplicated comfort.

[adifferentlife]

No matter how often he stayed, Sybil felt nervous in asking it of him. She hated to think she was suggesting things she as of yet hadn't been ready for, but she enjoyed the closeness and the comfort of his presence. Having him offer is a relief, and one she smiles at. "I would, thank you.I would like it very much."

[jaimemieux]

“No need for thanks, ma chere. You know I am always happy to be here.” Henri brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “Should we watch a film, perhaps, to keep your mind off other matters? Or would you prefer to talk?"

[adifferentlife]

Yet she always will thank him, never wanting him to think she's trying to take advantage or take him for granted. Sybil considers, deciding. "A movie. I should like a while to think of nothing important."

[jaimemieux]

“Bon.” Pulling himself away from her arms for now, Combeferre sought the small pile of films that had begun to gather next to Sybil’s television, bought from stores or borrowed from friends and co-workers, eager to assist in their cinematic education. Something light was needed on a night like this, a story without the weight of Casablanca, and Combeferre quickly found one that seemed well-suited to cheering Sybil up. “Roman Holiday,” he read, holding up one of the boxes. “Do you know of it?"

[adifferentlife]

"No," she admits, letting him look as she settles on the lounge with her wine nearby. "But I did love the time we visited Rome, even if it was 'filled with outrageous Italians'," she adds the last with a fond smile, remembering the Dowager Countess' words fondly.

[jaimemieux]

“I would be concerned if Rome was not full of Italians,” Combeferre observed with a chuckle. “Let us see what sort of trouble they find, then?” He slipped the disk into the machine and returned to the sofa, slipping his arm around Sybil as he did so.

[adifferentlife]

"My Grandmother would also complain that France was very full of the French," she answered teasingly, stretching to kiss him before settling against his side. "Something I've never minded at all."

[jaimemieux]

“I should introduce your grandmother to my friend Courfeyrac. He once traveled to London and was fond of saying it was a most depressing place, on account of the rain and the overabundance of Englishmen.” Combeferre squeezed her gently as the television screen filled with color and the film’s opening music began to play. “But I am glad to hear you hold much more leniency towards we French as a nation."

[adifferentlife]

She has to giggle at that, imagining the horror of those two having a conversation. "Made even more lenient through the Frenchmen of my acquaintance."

[jaimemieux]

Combeferre laughed and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “Then I have been a positive influence.” A pause. “I am glad to see you smile, cherie."

[adifferentlife]

It's such a change from when she first came into her rooms, and she's glad of it too. "I am as well. Thank you, my darling."