[Fallen 4/4]Broken Pieces

|| A two day rest to somewhat heal her wounds from her visit with Aeron was necessary, but Chava didn't dare take any longer than two days before she left. As it is, she wanted to go right away, but her bruised body wouldn't let her do as much. Her wand having healed any broken bones she had, Chava wakes up that day and takes her bag, immediately setting out for the Dagger Manor. There was no doubt she was scared, horrifically so. Would Damien even accept an apology, even look at her? If he didn't, there wasn't anything she could do. She had messed up, very much so, and if Damien never forgave her she would know this was something she deserved. Nonetheless, she would try until she exhausted every effort, try as she could to convince him she was truly sorry and regretted her leaving. Chava walked her way to the Manor, not having the energy to apparate, and without wasting any time, knocks thrice upon Damien's door, biting her lip and taking a deep breath. She could only hope.

|| It was the day after he had spoken with his daughter. To some small degree, he'd regretted the pain he'd inflicted upon her, but at the same time, his anger at Chava was still as strong as was then. He hoped that one day he'd forget that woman, though he knew Lucedio had plans for her. He'd spent most of the day lounging around, as he wasn't needed anywhere. He wasn't going to the ministry anymore, nor did Lucedio need him for anything. A knock at the door arose him from his daze, and he pulled himself out of a plush chair, and made his way over to answer the door. Upon seeing who was knocking, his mood instantly soured, and there was a glint of red flashing from his eyes. "What the hell do you want?" He asked, fighting the urge to attack the woman here and now. He did, however, draw his wand aiming it at her. "Finish what you started, and leave."

|| Even though Chava expected something like this to happen, her eye still widen with shock, the familiar pang in her heart hurting much worse than ever before. Damien was angry, Enough to point his wand at her. It gave her no comfort that he couldn't hurt her- it was more the threat of it that really did it. "Damien," she whispers, taking another step forward instead of back. She wasn't afraid of Damien; she never was. What could he possibly do to her? "You're mad. But please hear me out." She would beg and plead if she had to, if even just to get an apology out. Whether he cared to accept it or not, she had to try. "I messed up, let me in, please." She looks up at him with wide and pleading eyes, no care in the world for his wand. She knew him, and knew how to get around him. Her wand was on her, and even despite her wrecked appearance, bruises coating her body, she was almost certain she could out magic Damien, if he tried to keep her away. But he couldn't hurt her, that much she knew. If he did, he would die, and that was the last thing she needed.

|| A snarl escapes his lips, before shaking his head at her. Why would he deign to give her that? She, who left him? He flicks his wand, casting a flippendo at her hoping to knock her away from him. "Absolutely not!" he sneered at her, stepping outside, closing the door behind him. It was a statement that his home would be closed off to her, that she was no longer allowed in. "Whatever you want to say, you can say it here." He knew Lucedio needed her for a plan of his, more specifically, Lucedio wanted to kill her himself, but he wasn't going to allow her to enter his house, or change his mind. He'd give her this one day to get away, and if he saw her again, he'd hand her over to Lucedio. "And then you can leave."*

|| Her eyes widen as she ducts out of the way of his spell, immediately rushing forward as if to touch him. And she does, lightly bringing her hand to his, where he held his wand. If that would do anything... She keeps her grip firm, but gentle. He wasn't going to let her inside, that much was obvious. But that wouldn't stop him from trying. "Damien," she hisses. Had he forgotten his swear long ago? Even if he did want to hurt her he couldn't, he couldn't. "You can't hurt me," she whispers by way of reminder, shaking her head. She keeps her hand on his, trying to fight the tears already streaming down her cheeks with no success. "Please, Damien, I'm sorry. You were right before, okay? I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have left..." She sniffles, wiping at her eyes and again moving closer to him. She'd get on her knees if she had to. "I fucked up and I'm sorry."

| Damien rips his hand away from hers, growling at her again. She'd lost the right to such familiarity. "You made your decision, accept the ramifications of it." He snarled, moving his wand up, aiming it directly at her. In a regard she was right, he couldn't hurt her. Such was the vow he mistakenly made ages ago. To harm her would cause his own death, and that wasn't an option, "You're right. I can't harm you." He gave a shrug of his shoulders as if this didn't hinder him in the slightest, "But do you know what I can do?" He asked, a sadistic smirk taking over his features. "I can kill you. The killing curse is instant. Quite painless." His wand lowered slightly, remembering Lucedio's plan... would he be forgiven if he killed Chava himself? He couldn't be sure, "He doesn't want me killing you, wants to do it himself, but I'm sure I could get away with killing you myself. So now that you've apologized, leave."

|| No, Chava wasn't going to allow this. When he pulls his hand from hers, she brings it back, gently pressing his wand down to not point at her anymore. She wasn't even going to let Damien threaten her. She furrows her brows. Something wasn't right, not at all. This wasn't like Damien, he had never been like this towards her. Was he really that angry...? But no, something makes her pause. "You would never kill me, Damien," she says softly, giving him a gentle, but firm, look. Even if he was angry enough to kill her, never did she think Damien would stoop so low as the killing curse. He liked to have his fun with it, to torture before he killed. The killing curse was so... anticlimactic, especially for Damien. "You're not so low as that, I know you." She shakes her head, and freezes again as he mentions a 'he' that wanted to kill her. Though it made absolutely no sense, there was only one person it could be. Alarmed by this, she tugs him closer by his hand, looking him in the eye, as if searching for some real sign of him, like he wasn't there at all. "This isn't like you..." she whispers. "What happened to you while I was gone? You /hate/ him."

|| Of course she wasn't giving up, wasn't letting go. And it annoyed him to no end. If she wasn't letting go, he'd have to go to other measures. Killing her was out of the question, as it was his wand hand being kept. Without even thinking, at her words he moved his left hand to backhand her across the face, "DO NOT PRESUME TO TELL ME WHAT I WOULD OR WOULD NOT DO!" He'd never kill her? Hah. The only reason she wasn't dead right now was because he had wanted to give her time to leave, and never come back, "I could easily kill you," he snarled, inching closer, "I'd enjoy killing you. And if you can say I wouldn't, you clearly don't know me as well as you thought you did." He chuckles lightly at her question, backing off again, he'd at least answer the question before he did anything else. "He showed me how reasonable he could be. Unlike you."

|| The hit was unexpected entirely, and there was absolutely nothing Chava could do to stop it. Stumbling backwards, she clutches a hand to her cheek where it stings, and screams, but not at all because of any pain he caused. Rather because of what the hit meant for him. She was almost waited for something to happen, to pop up and just kill him, but... nothing happened. Damien was fine, despite his old Unbreakable vow to never intentionally hurt her. That last time Damien had acted like this... he hadn't been Damien. A million things immediately click in her mind at once, and immediately her wand slips out of her pocket, aiming to disarm Damien and then sending a spell to bind him together. "NO!" she screams, pressing her wand tip to his throat, digging in. "I know Damien, I love Damien, and this is not Damien. He WOULD NEVER KILL ME!" Chava snarls, and points her wand momentarily at the door, making to blast it open to pull him inside. This wasn't something she could let happen to the public eye, it would be bad for them both, he had to agree. When done, her wand moves to press back into his   neck. "Damien and Lucedio hate each other, and they always will. So tell me, who the fuck are you? Lucedio, again?"

| Damien backs out in laughter, mostly at relief of not turning up dead. So the vow no longer worked, did it? Oh, how he'd be making use of this. He flicks his wand upwards, deflecting the binding though allowing the woman to bring him inside the house. While he didn't want her to bring her filth into his house, he knew this was best a private conversation. "Oh, but my /dear/," he started mockingly, "I /am/ Damien." Did she seriously think he was someone else? Like they'd be able to get inside his house. "Or perhaps you don't remember? Allow me to remind you. You left in the middle of the night, leaving my wand, two rings, and the gem I /entrusted/ to you to guard, leaving it on the nightstand like some pathetic piece of jewelry." He flicked his wand casting another knockback jinx, followed by a cutting curse, merely to keep her away, "Lucedio and I bonded over our mutual hatred of you."

|| Annoyed that the man had somehow deflected her spells, Chava tried again. She still wasn't convinced this man was Damien, despite the fact he had tried to prove it himself. She was almost convinced it was Lucedio. Who else could know anything else like this? Angered, she took things physically, not bothered by it, as she didn't believe it Damien. She grips his wrist, trying to physically wrestle the wand from his hands, again trying to bind him with her own. She had to get answers from him somehow. The cutting curse hit across her cheek, and she squeaks, bringing her hand to her face again. "I don't believe you," she snarls, moving as if trying to physically break his wand in half. It was Damien's wand, which had originally been Lucedio's. What if Lucedio...? Afraid Damien could somehow be dead, or gone, she sends a ton of spells after the man, that he couldn't possibly deflect all. "You're wrong!" she screams. "Even before me Damien and Lucedio always despised each other!" She aims a cutting curse in return, raging, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO MY DAMIEN?!"

|| As Chava grappled towards him, grabbing at his wand, trying to remove it from his hands, Damien tried to stop this, by aiming a kick towards her shins. Her actions only caused him to get angrier at her, "And yet I know of your daughter, I remember how it took me three days to give you an answer... I remember all of these, and you still don't believe I am /actually/ Damien." he shook his head, elbowing her arms, trying to get her to relinquish her grasp on his wand. He didn't need her breaking it, and him having to get a new wand. "Yes, we did, and now we don't. People change." Spell after spell hit him, and his hands released their grip on his wand, as he tried to cover the wounds he'd gotten.

|| "Crucio." A red light jetted out of a wand having just now appeared from the shadows along with an owner holding it. The man was Lucedio, and minutes before he'd been alerted that what he'd done to Damien was slowly becoming undone. And because he didn't want that to happen, he made his way towards the Dagger Manor. Lucedio still hated Damien, and it was hard to pretend he didn't, but it was needed for his plan to work. "Ah, Chava. Glad you could join us." He grinned menacingly before turning his gaze onto Damien, "You did well in keeping her here, even if it is a bit early in my plan."

|| Absolutely nothing was making sense to Chava whatsoever. Everything he said... Damien would know, and only Damien would have known. So then why was he acting so unlike himself, and how was he able to hurt her without hurting himself? She was about to open her mouth to say something when the curse came, and she instantly ducks to the ground to try and avoid it. When she looks up to see who it was, the fear was clearly evident in her eyes. Lucedio was here. So the other man must have been Damien... But how? How was he able to do all that he had? The only solution she could come up with was Lucedio, who was standing before her. She looks between both brothers from the floor, pushing herself backwards. This could only mean one thing, and  Chava was painfully truthful, she was scared. Scared to die. Especially with Damien just... standing there, not caring, even smiling. Something wasn't right. She points her wand at Lucedio, her eyes narrowed with poorly concealed rage. "What the fuck did you do to Damien?" she repeats, knowing he had done something. He had to have... right?

|| At Damien's nod, Lucedio turned his gaze onto Chava. "What did I do to Damien?" Lucedio chuckled lightly, flicking his wand again, casting Crucio once more, "I'm sure he told you." He took several steps closer, before cackling aloud. As much as he loved causing her pain, it was far too early to kill her. No, he wanted to make sure she suffered before she died. "We bonded, and oh did we bond. 'She left me, and that gem. I hate her.'" he mimicked Damien's voice with a slight grin. Nothing of that sort happened, he just managed to get the information out of Damien. It proved quite useful, and he wanted to get his hands on that gem. It was just a shame that apparently Damien threw it away.

|| This next time the curse hits her, and Chava's back arches upwards as she tries not to scream. It was so much worse, already covered in bruises from two days ago with Aeron. That damn curse always hurt more than she liked to admit. When she has a chance to breathe, she whimpers, and points her wand at Lucedio, if only to try and send the same spell back after him, curse after curse, hoping to hit him. "I don't believe you," she cries, inching closer to Lucedio as she keeps trying to curse him. "You did something to him, I know you did. He wouldn't hate me, and no matter what happened he would never, EVER, join forces with you!" Her throat was raw, her voice almost hoarse, and she moves closer to Damien once more as almost an act of desperation, turning her back on Lucedio as if to touch Damien once more. "Damien, please, you wouldn't let me die..." she whispers.

Damien chuckles lightly at her train of thought. If he was against her, if he hated her, if he joined Lucedio then something must be wrong with him. He found the very notion hilarious. He reached out while she was distracted with Lucedio, trying to snatch her wand out of her hand, "I do, and I have." When she moved over to him, almost begging, he takes a step back away from though her words cause him to clutch his head as the two sides of him begin fighting. Lucedio would kill Chava... but he wouldn't, it was too early. He needed to protect Chava... but why, he hated her, before finally everything subsided, "He's not going to kill you, not today."

|| For a short time Lucedio was worried that Damien would return to normal. He'd been quite hurried to brainwash Damien, and so it was very flawed. "Times change." He shook his head at Damien Damien's* words, though mostly it was towards Chava, "No, I won't. It's far too early for that." he turned his gaze towards Damien, smirking slightly, "Bind her. Perhaps in your basement." he tilted his head slightly before commenting, "I'm sure you've wanted her in your dungeon at some point or other." He quickly cast Petrificus Totalus to make Damien's job easier, before taking his leave of the house.

|| She was terrified Damien wouldn't listen to her, but something he did made her pause, and think, furrowing her brows at him. He clutches at his temples as if... fighting over something, as if lost, or confused, hurt somehow... Chava finds the energy to stand, and immediately spins on Lucedio, pointing a finger at him. "You did something to him," she snarls. "You fucked him up." She was about to lunge at him, when his wand went to cast a spell, and she quickly jumps to the side, pressing her back against the wall. Lucedio had left before she could do anything else, and she instantly moves back to Damien, holding a hand out to him without touching him. Would he listen to Lucedio's command? Could Chava maybe get through to him somehow, maybe even reverse whatever Lucedio had done to him? She had to try, she knew she had to. "Damien... please, you wouldn't do that to me," she states firmly, but at the same time she's practically whimpering, begging him to see her as Chava, the one he once loved, instead of just the woman who left him, whom he hated. "Damien."

| Damien nodded at his twin's commands, though letting the final comment by without a comment, before turning towards Chava. He growled slightly, before moving closer, reaching out to grab at her shoulder. He waved his hand casting a binding spell at her, though he knew with him being so close that she had time to stop his spell, or redirect it, "He did nothing to me." But did he? He had a large gap in his memory, could it be that Lucedio did something during that time? After a seconds deliberation, he decided that no, nothing had been done to him. He was perfectly fine no matter what Chava said, "You say I wouldn't, but did you ever really know me? You thought I was saving my reputation when you were taken to azkaban, so clearly not."

|| A flick of her wrists and she deflects the bindings. It gave Chava a small, minuscule bit of hope that Damien hadn't yet just forced her down to the basement, dispute him very much having the power to do so. She didn't stop the hand on her shoulder, taking it instead as an invitation to move closer, her hand reaching out to touch him again, this time gently brushing his cheek. "Lucedio had to have done something to you, because this is not you, I promise you that." She gives him a sad look, tipping his chin up so he was looking her in the eyes. No, something wasn't quite right in his eyes. But he should know her to be sincere. "I made a mistake. I was not mentally stable when I said what I said, and when I left you, and trust me, I regret it more than anything else." A tear runs down her cheek, and she brushes it away, before having something of an idea. She backs completely away from Damien, holding her arms up as if surrendering to him. She even drops her wand to the floor, to prove she wouldn't not fight. "If this is how you really feel... then hurt me, Damien. I won't stop you. Lucedio told you to do it, so do it. Hurt me."

|| At the touch he reaches up grabbing her wrist, before shoving it away. Again with the familiarity. It seemed she didn't realize just how much he hated her. He decided to remedy that, by raising his hand, "Crucio." It was his first time casting that curse, or rather his first time casting it of his own volition, and it felt good to cast. He reaches down grabbing at Chava's shoulder again pulling her up. "This is me. Get that into your head." He yanked her so she was next to him, before walking towards the basement. "You'll come to regret it more, trust me. He chuckled lightly at her. Surrendering? Not trying to stop him? What a fool. Though perhaps.... no. "Oh, don't worry. I will hurt you."

|| In his state, she fully expected him to hurt her, and that's what he did. Nor did Chava try to stifle any sounds of pain, as his curse hit her, and she gasps, screaming and collapsing to her knees. The spell had been used plenty on her, even just that day, but somehow it was far worse coming from Damien, whom she loved dearly... But she had to try to get through to him somehow, and the only time he had shown any sort of reluctance was after Lucedio had hurt her. So if Damien hurt her as well... She doesn't fight him as he picks her back up, even following along with him to the basement, right by his side. When they arrive, she even holds her wrists out to him, looking him dead in the eye. "I know you're in there Damien, and I will find you..." Quickly, so he couldn't stop her, she rushes forward and kisses the man's cheek, then lingering by his ear. "You don't want to hurt me," she whispers. "But go ahead,hurt me, hear me scream and know that's because of the pain you're inflicting on the one you love." Her words are blunt, no longer caring to be too gentle. She would keep trying to save him, even if it killed her in the process.

|| At the extended wrists, he grabbed each, and placed them in the chains that came from the ceiling. How naive of her to allow herself to be harmed to try and 'bring him back'. He was already here, after all. At her words, and at the kiss she planted on his cheek, he backhanded her, "There's nothing you could say to 'bring me back'. I'm right here, after all." He chuckles lightly drawing a dagger from his hip. "But, hey, at least you get a first-hand experience of my tortures." he smirked at her, moving to slice the dagger along her arm. Her words cause him to growl and move the dagger to her throat, "I don't love you. Not anymore." That wasn't true, wasn't it. Sure she left him, sure he was devastated, but he didn't hate her. He snarled aloud, before the dagger fell from his hand, clattering against the ground. No, he /hated/ her. But why? He staggered back slightly trying to resolve the conflict going on his mind.

|| She didn't make a sound as the blade sliced through her skin, other than a very audible wince, her face screwing up with pain. But was that the worst he could do? He didn't seem too anxious to continue. And when he drops his dagger, moving backwards, Chava desperately wanted to rush towards him, but held back by the very chains he put her in. She shakes away thoughts of Azkaban, figuring NOW was a better time than anything else to bring out the best she had. But how? "Damien, Damien, I need you to listen to me," she calls out, the blood dripping down her arm. This was certainly one situation she never before thought she would find herself in, and yet here she was. "Damien, you of all people can't hurt me. Don't you remember how much you hated when people would hurt me?" She urges this point, trying to piece together specific points in time. Jog his memory, try and bring those memories back to him, the one she loved. "Don't you remember when Lucedio tortured me, brought me to the brink of death because he knew you loved me. Remember how angry you were that he had even touched me? You despise that man, you can't pretend otherwise." She shakes her head, trying to think of more, looking at him the entire time, gauging his reactions to her words carefully. "What about when that random creep kidnapped me and tried to hit on me, remember how angry you were then? Possessive, killing the man because he dared touch me. It didn't even have to be violent, you /killed/ him, Damien." By this point tears were running freely down her cheeks, her voice going softer and softer as she tried to talk to him, convince him. If this didn't work, she didn't know what would, and Chava would be ruined. She would make it her personal duty to take revenge on Lucedio and destroy him for what he had done to Damien, make him sorry for it before she killed him... She tugs on the chains around her wrists, her entire body in pain, in flames, from all it had taken in the last week. She was littered in cuts and bruises. "Remember when I had my first intentional kill, and just afterwards you told me you loved me, while I was still covered in blood?" She gestures weakly at her arm where he had cut her, where the blood was still dripping. "You don't want me covered in my own blood. Right?" She chokes on a sob, pleading, begging with him. What more could she say? "Please, Damien, remember who I really am to you, don't let Lucedio get to you. I love you." She stops there, breathing slowly, watching him. Please, please...

|| Two hands clutch at the owner's forehead, as he collapses against the wall behind him. Heavy, struggling breaths, escaped his lips as Damien tried desperately to keep himself in check. Where was this coming from? Why was his head feeling like someone cleaved it in two. He struggled to hear what Chava was saying. Remember when Lucedio tortured her? Why? For a few moments, Damien struggled with that question before remembering how he had stopped Lucedio from casting a killing curse on her. 'YOU'RE. NOT. KILLING. /HER/' he had shouted. For but a moment he got lost in that moment, before a new memory came through. 'You're going to harm her' Lucedio stood over him, wand in hand, a picture of Chava hovering in front of him. 'Absolutely not.' Damien sneered back at him, fighting against the binds Lucedio had him in, before screaming out in pain as the cruciatus was cast at him. Damien kept screaming, until he realized he was in the Dagger Manor basement. He gasped out for air before shaking his head, trying to figure out where that imagery came from. He looked up at Chava as if she was doing something to him, catching the continuation of her speech. What creep? He remembered how she snuck out of the house, despite her injuries only to be snatched up by a second rate wizard. 'DON'T. TOUCH. WHAT. IS. /MINE/!' He had shouted out. The day ended with him killing the man, repeatedly stabbing him before causing the body to explode. And just like before a new memory flashed into his mind. 'As far as you'll be concerned, I'll be your ally. In reality, you will /obey/ me.' Once again Lucedio was standing over him in the same room, though this time, Lucedio was invading his mind, trying to force his commands into Damien's mind. 'Never' This time however, Lucedio attacked his mind and he screamed out again 'Let's try that again.' When Damien opened his eyes again, he was back in the basement again. Were these memories from that missing week? It seemed like it. He turned his gaze towards Chava, his eyes harrowed before shaking his head. "NO! NO MORE!" He couldn't continue like this. He couldn't relive these false memories, yet once again, despite his shouting, he was asked to remember something else. The girl she'd brought back had asked Chava to end it. To kill him, when he'd brought up the dagger in her hand towards his heart. He smiled instinctively as he remembered the words she shouted, 'YOU THINK I'M GONNA KILL SOMEONE I LOVE FOR A WEE CUNT LIKE YOU?' before stabbing the girl right in the chest. His memory shifted as he remembered what he said later. 'I've never exactly been a victim before, but I wouldn't mind being your victim at any time' At the time it had been a joke, but it had come to be something more. He would throw himself in harm's way if it mean she wouldn't be harmed, even if it was her who harmed him. "I love you." he remembered, unknowingly actually saying it, before another memory shifted into place. 'You'll harm her?' 'Yes' 'And you'll obey me?' 'Yes'. Lucedio stood before him smiling, though he was no longer bound. 'I suppose that'll have to do. I don't have enough time to make sure it's foolproof. Obliviate.' He twisted back a sudden throbbing pain going through his mind, before falling fully to his side. Lucedio had messed with his mind. His eyes glance across the room taking in Chava as if seeing her for the first time since he'd broken her out of Azkaban. His eyes narrow at the cut on her arm, before realizing that she was in pain, her arms wrapped in chains. He'd done this. No matter whether or not Lucedio messed with his mind or not, he'd caused her pain. He'd harmed her, and he'd have to suffer knowing that. He waved his hand at the chains, casting an unlocking charm at them, never getting up from the floor, "I'm sorry."

|| Watching him struggle within himself was a terrible sight to see, had it not confirmed Chava's suspicions. Lucedio must've done something to Damien's brain, and now he was here, and he seemed to be getting better. Her frown remains, tears drying, until those three little words suddenly find themselves coming out of his lips, and she couldn't help but smile. Not much longer, and when he looked at her, she finally saw Damien. A pained Damien, but still truly him nonetheless. The chains are released, but he doesn't move. Why? Chava collapses to the floor,  coughing, before crawling over to Damien, sitting next to him. She stares at him for a few moments, almost afraid. He had hurt her. What if it happened again? But no... the look in his eyes was genuine. Without hesitating now, she grips his shirt in her hands and tugs the man to her, unable to help but collapse onto him, shaking slightly. Nothing had even been more terrifying than that. "Damien...?" she whispers with a whimper. "You're back...?

| Damien inched away from her afraid, not of her, but of himself. He'd harmed her. Who's to say he wouldn't do it again. Granted, now the vow was fully in effect again, but he was afraid of harming her nonetheless. "No..." He cries out trying to pull himself from her grasp. "Don't. I... harmed you." He pressed his hand against the wall, pulling himself off of the ground. It was best if, like long ago, he locked himself away from everyone else. Although then it was because of his fear of Lucedio possessing him, now it was fear of himself. "I'm back, but… am I really?"

|| The look on her face instantly crumbles when he keeps moving away from her, wanting so desperately to reach out and hold him close to her, after all this time of not being able to do so. The pain on her face was evident, and she moves closer to him once more, though this time not touching him, if he didn't want her to. "Damien... please..." she whispers. "It's not your fault, and I don't blame you..." She sighs deeply, and tries to hide a wince, holding her bloodied arm behind her back. "You didn't really do it. That's why the vow didn't take effect.  Please, just..." She chokes on her words, trying not to cry again. "I deserved you being mad at me, anyway. I hurt /you/, and I made a stupid, stupid mistake..." She holds her unharmed hand out to him, offering it to him, and only praying he would take it. "I need you, Damien. I am so, so sorry."

|| He reaches out, grabbing onto her hand. He wanted very much to give up, to hide away, to never let anyone get close again, but he knew he would just be causing more pain both to her, and to himself. No, he wouldn't run away again. Didn't he say that much once to Lucedio? That he was done running? "I can't help but blame myself. If I had held out longer, fought harder..." he shook his head. It wouldn't do to dwell on that. "I know it wasn't /me/, but it was still me." He pulled her closer, trying to garner comfort from the act. He shook his head at head at her, "You aren't the one who needs to apologize."

Chava sighs in relief when he takes her hand, and pulls her closer, immediately taking the opportunity. She slips one arm around his torso, and the other hand brushes his cheek, her forehead resting on his temple. "Shh, don't blame yourself," she whispers, closing her eyes briefly, having missed just being this close to him. He made her feel more sane than she had been in a long time. "Please, let me apologise. I hurt you, and it really was me. A mentally unstable and unreasonable me, but still me, and I... left you..." her voice trails off, hating herself even repeating what she had done. "I tried to convince myself I didn't love you, but I was wrong. I /need/ you..." Chava presses a feather soft kiss to his cheek, ignoring her tears. She tightens her grip on him, unable to help herself. She was simply beyond relieved that the Damien that had hurt her wasn't the real Damien. This one was, and there was no way she could let him go now, and not ever again. This would never happen again. But only if... only if he accepted her back. "I need you. I love you. And I still want to be with you... if  you'd ever let me again, if you could ever forgive me..."

|Damien presses his forehead against hers, sighing slightly, though he knew he would continue to suffer the fact that he'd harmed her. Whether or not Chava wanted it or not, he would blame himself. While Lucedio caused it, he wasn't strong enough to stop Lucedio from messing with his mind. Wasn't strong enough to fight it off, wasn't strong enough to... He sighed again. What use was there in going over things that were in the past. He could never change them now, neither could Chava. They could only hope to learn for the future. "We both have things we're going to regret. We can't change that." he shook his head slightly at that, his mind remembering the rings Chava had stolen. He could finally see the appeal to marriage. It took losing her for him to realize that. There was something about being tied to someone you love, even if only for a short time. Perhaps one day... "If you can forgive me, than I can forgive you."

|| Taking a deep breath, Chava smiles genuinely, something she hadn't done in a very long time. Her fingers still brushing against his cheek, she tugs him gentle closer to her, utterly thankful for the man in front of her, and filled with relief and happiness beyond compare that she could somehow have another shot with him, even after everything. Despite the past two weeks, and even the month before that in Azkaban, Chava was happy, happy with him now. "I already forgave you," she whispers, before hooking her finger under his chin and tugging  him closer, at long last capturing his lips with hers, pressing a gentle kiss on him. "Thank you so much..." she mumbles, dropping her head onto his shoulder. Eventually, everything would go to hell again, but at least for now, everything was okay.