catharsis
Mega-Synthia is upset. Emily reaches out in a way that’s natural to her- and realizes she may have needed that comfort too.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Emily said, placing a hand on Mega-Synthia’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. The clone flinched, and Emily took her hand away. “Oh, do you not want to be touched, or-“
“NO,” Mega-Synthia said loudly, and then took a breath. “No, Emily, I just wasn’t expecting it. You… may do that.” She quickly looked away. “Or don’t. I don’t care.”
Somehow, Emily felt like she did care. She put her hand back, and this time, almost imperceptibly, Mega-Synthia relaxed. Encouraged, she put her arm around her and started talking to her softly.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said. “You’re going to get through this. I know you will.” She was saying it as much to herself as she was to her… enemy? Friend? At this point, “associate” was probably more accurate.
They stayed like that for a while, and eventually Emily grew quiet. Now that she thought about it, it had been a while since she’d been this physically close with another human. Too long, really. Even though the person she was holding was a villainous clone, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief that she was actually able to do so.
Mega-Synthia broke the silence. “Emily?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t hate this.”
Emily couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t either.”
