Julian & Nico - Break

[x-staffofone.livejournal.com]

Nico and Julian talk, and Nico decides for both of them.

Backdated to Saturday 7

She had found him after searching for a little while, and sniffing out his energy signature. The fact she was already well acquainted with it was sickening to the girl, but there was little she could do now. Actually, she could only do one thing, and at the moment it felt like the hardest thing to do. Still, she had to, because she loved him. It was a crazy, crazy world. Seeing his back, Nico sighed under her breath.

"Julian?"

Her boyfriend had walked into the woods, trying to shrug off the chill to clear his head. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he'd been deemed well enough to leave the medlab but his mind was still a jumble of dark thoughts and moments of half-clarity. Julian looked up as he heard his name, frozen like a deer in the headlights as he saw the one person he really didn't want to see. "Hey," he muttered.

In all honesty, she could understand why he sounded like he did. She didn't like it one bit anyway, so she stopped right we she was, leaving a nice distance between them.

"I'm...glad you are okay", said as she kicked some snow.

Julian nodded, turning his attention to the ground at his feet. A moment of quiet passed between them in the wilderness, "How are...how are you doing?" he finally said.

Nico made an effort not to snap at him. Her. Her!? Still worrying about her. "I'm fine, I...that's what I'm built to do." She sounded obviously ashamed as she spoke. Looking back at the boy, she struggled with her words for a moment. "I hurt you, Julian. I hurt you a lot. I keep telling myself I can control it better, but I can't just pretend to test my luck with you." And awkward silence again.

"Nico, I," Julian was at a loss for words. "You didn't mean to, w-we just need to be more...careful."

"You could be dead." There, she said it. "We can hug, we can even kiss a little, but after that? It's not safe, never safe enough. I'm just an Untouchable in disguise when it comes to real contact. And because I care about you, I can't risk hurting you anymore." Her eyes were set intently on him, and she started to doubt she were strong enough to be the one that finished breaking his heart.

Julian looked up into her dark eyes, it looked like she hadn't slept much recently, "Just what are you saying, Nico?"

She had spend all her sleeping time crying, basically. She was going to hit the sack for the rest of the day. Crying, perhaps. "I am officially breaking up with you now, Julian Keller. No buts or ifs or anything." That said, she turned around and started walking again, only to realize she was already crying copiously. Again.

The young man's eye narrowed ever-so-slightly, as he raised his hand and contemplated raising an invisible wall in her path to stop her. But the cool breeze carried the sounds of her soft sobs to his ears and slowly, his hand lowered. Moments later he was again alone. Julian realized he wasn't breathing with a sharp intake of air, he fell to his knees, bits of water streaming down his cheeks as he held back the tears as best as he could.