the water is sweet, darling

"When is the last time you ate?"

"Let me get you a glass of water."

"You can lay down in my bed if you need to."

"Don't cry, you're going to be fine."

"You're safe, I've got you."

"You're fever's too high, you're delirious."

"Sleep it off."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Here, vomit in this."

"You've been out for days. I was worried you were dead."

"When is the last time you slept?"

"How bad does your stomach hurt?"

"How long have you had that cough?"

"Hold on. You're too sick to go anywhere."

"I'll get you a blanket, you're going to be here for a while."

"Let's go home, you're too sick."

"I can do that, just go back to bed."

"Maybe you should go to the doctor."

His eyes crinkled a little and one of his hands slipped out of his pocket to lean against the front counter, his head tipping to the side as he watched her scuttle about the shop. “Y’know, as much as I can appreciate a competitive economy, I have to say that just isn’t fair. But then I’ve never been a particular fan of big name companies and brands… I’m a simple kinda guy. And I guess I’ve always felt I had more in common with the smaller Mom and Pops style stores, like this one.”

Harry just chuckld when he saw the look in her eyes a she turned to look at him, his arm moving so he could lean his elbow on the counter instead. “Wingardium leviosa isn’t a real spell — ol’ J.K. decided she wanted to create a world where it was much easier to be a wizard than the one we live in. Mostly because she was a squib herself. The characters in her book break almost every rule of magic that exists. Gandalf… he’s a little closer to reality. But if you’re looking for the closest fictional representation of wizards, I suggest reading Pratchett.”

"Well, they're not all bad. From a business perspective, they are simply driving commerce onwards. And people will always crave more for less, even if they are truly getting less for less." She shrugged a shoulder before realizing she was rambling and shook her head. "Sorry. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Business, as well as mathematics. I tend to babble if I'm allowed." She flashed a smile before putting the pot back and choosing to seat herself on a stool, hands carefully folded in her lap.

She was patient and while Levi understood that this was probably just good customer service at work, he appreciated it nonetheless. Levi chewed his lower lip, as he mulled over her suggestion. Go with what his gut told him huh? Well he already thought that the orange geraniums looked good so…

"I’ll take a mix of the red and orange geraniums. A small bouquet of probably ten stems." The colors were bright enough and if the connection to the cat’s paw nebula wasn’t made at least it would brighten up his colleague’s hospital ward.

             “—-And not at all good for the garden either, I’d assume,                which would certainly be a shame.” She paused, eyeing                a particularly beautiful row of brilliant blue flowers, hand                lifting to hover just short of touching it as she leaned in                to inhale the scent. “You are quite welcome. It certainly                shows—your hard work, I mean.” Sigyn smiled. “For a                 moment there, I almost thought myself in another place                entirely. A garden beside a palace, perhaps.” 

               ( Or, of course, quite literally the palace gardens. )

          "Of course not! Gardening is about patience and           perserverance," Krissy answered with a smile,           brushing away some of the soil to gently pull the           plant out of its home. "Too bad this one just couldn't           make it." With a sigh and a frown, she set it aside           before packing the soil back down into the hole. It           was out of season for her to plant anything now.           Might as well leave the space be.

   You never expect someone to pull away from you. Even when it happens often enough, and especially not so violently. The moment his hand touched her shoulder he realized he’d made a mistake. One he couldn’t just back track over as much as he wished he could. 

Whatever progress she might have been making at calming down seemed to shatter away. The woman slid to the floor and folded into herself. Pieces he’d been missing slipped into place as he remembered that the robber had grabbed a hold of her too. “I-I’m sorry.” He drew his hand back finally, brows furrowing in concern. 

His tone never altered, finding that same soothing evenness and sticking to it, despite the momentary derailment. Slowly, he took a step back giving her some more space, then crouched by the corner of the counter. “I won’t do it again, promise.” He said, giving her a smile, even though she probably couldn’t see it through her hands. At least she’d hear it in his voice. 

"Nope. You’re all that matters right now as far as I’m concerned." The city was doing fine for now, "I’m going to stay until I know you’re okay." 

She couldn't breathe.

And she knew it was in her head, and she knew all she had to do was to force herself to breathe and everything would fall back into place. But, it wasn't. She couldn't. She wasn't strong enough for that. Hearing the falter in his voice, however, made her chest ache. She didn't mean to react so violently. She didn't! It was instinctual. She couldn't help it. Years and years of this being how she lived, how she survived...

"I... I hardly matter in the scope of a superhero," she mumbled, but held no delusions that he couldn't hear her. After all, he was Superman, and she was just Kristina. The few friends she had she generally had to work really hard to maintain. (Except for Mat. He was always the exception.) Without realizing it, her concentration on her lack of worth in the schemes of heroes and villains had distracted her enough that the panic attack was subsiding before it even truly began.

"Believe me, I hope I’m not too! Well, you don’t look really, really sick. So, you now totally accept that trolls and superheroes exist right?" 

"Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re gonna get challenged to a battle royale by a troll anytime soon. Ohhh, correctamundo! I mean…they’d kinda have to not be fantasies. Or else I’d be a fantasy…which I really hope I’m not." 

"Oh! Yeah, no. That wasn’t a joke. And are people in costumes with super-powers fantasies too, cause if so…" 

"Uh—No. Not really. Wait, kidding about phooey or about the trolls?"