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>Give Bug Man a big fat friendly kiss on the mouth
Crack a cold one? A cold <span class="mu-i">what</span>? Madrigal's grinning down at you like she expects you to know what to do next. You're not sure you followed any of what she said. You can talk to people? But what if they ask you things you don't want to answer?
Gil, ever-faithful, sees your consternation. "I think she wants to sit down, right? Lottie? Take a breather?"
"Sure," you mumble. "Yeah."
Madrigal nods approvingly. "Sounds like a plan. I'll tell people to clear out. Give me a shout if you need me, 'kay? Not literally. I'll probably be nearby. If I'm not, ask Monty."
"Or me," Pat says.
"Or her, yeah. Pat knows what's up. I think she had something to ask you...?"
"I can wait." Pat grips her wrists. "Go sit down."
"We'll see you in a little bit, then," Gil says. "Uh, thanks for everything, really, Madrigal. You didn't have to—"
"Yeah, yeah. I fucking well did have to, but that's life. At least it got exploded. See you later, you two."
And then Madrigal has turned and waded back into the crowd, and Pat without comment has followed, and nobody is looking at you but Gil, whose hands are in his pockets. "Can you walk okay?"
"I'm a heroine," you say, concentrating, "of course—"
"Here! I gotcha!" Gil catches your arm as you teeter. "You've been through a lot... I mean, I assume you've been through a lot. I can only imagine. Um, how's— is this okay?" He's lifting your arm and placing it gingerly over his shoulder. "Just for support."
You rub your fingertips against the suede of his jacket. "...Yeah..."
"Okay! Ace! We don't have to go very far, just out of the way of everybody. I don't want to be stared at. C'mon."
He walks/drags you some ways, then stops, looks around, and squats down. He pats the ground in front of him, and you collapse to your knees right there.
"Hey, there we go. Looking good. How are you feeling?"
A complex question. You roll it around in your mouth. "You saved my..."
"Not really," Gil says. "I think you would've been fine without us, like they said. I just couldn't stand the wait. Ha-ha. You know how to wig me out, Lottie."
"You're lying." You feel sure of it. "I would've died! I thought I was going to— I thought— I was all screwed up at the end, thinking I was going to— <span class="mu-i">I</span> was wigged out, not you. I was thinking all this horrible stuff, all negative, and I wasn't being heroic at all, and you came in and—"
"Of course you were wigged out. You went and exploded yourself." You're not sure you like how lightly Gil is treating this. "I was glad you weren't taking it in stride, because you— I mean— you <span class="mu-i">exploded</span> yourself. You were just acting human."
"And not what?"
"Lottie..."
"Human and not what?" You dig your thumbnail into your finger. "And not like a scary monster trying to kill you?"
"That's not what I was going to say," Gil says. "But since you said it, I mean... yeah. That was a plus."
(1/2)
