"Well, I'm glad you two are happy," he said. "I think you're very good for her. You balance each other out."
"We do? I didn't notice that. Haven't really given it much thought," he said, tilting his head slightly.
Phos nodded thoughtfully, his hand rubbing his chin. "I think so," he said eventually. "You two make each other lighter. Both of you become less stern, less serious."
He smiled lightly as he thought of her, subconsciously tapping the table. "That makes me happy to hear. I hope I make her happy." He looked up, suddenly remembering something. "Yesterday you said her dreams might have been caused by something."
His brow furrowed for a moment before his face relaxed. "Oh. Right. I was just thinking. She said her nightmares started coming back right after your first mission; right after you got shot." He shrugged. "Perhaps it's triggered by harm to people she cares about."
"Hm." He looked at his hands in contemplation. "I understand, but I'd hate to be the reason she having those types of nightmares again."
"You can't help it," Phos said with a shrug. "It's her brain, not yours." He nodded behind Francis. "Speak of the devil." Poppy walked towards them. Her gaze was weary, and she was frowning slightly, although she brightened when she met Francis' eyes. Curly locks of hair had sprung free from her ponytail where she had tugged at them as she had considered various problems. Her goggles had made slight indents in her skin, and she pulled them off her head and tucked them in her pocket as she rejoined the two of them. "Hello again," she said. She glanced backwards at the scene she had left behind. "I think I fixed it."
He stood up, smiling at her. "Oh, good. At least that's over with now," he said, smoothing down some of the stray strands of hair. "I'm glad you're back."
She gave him an almost shy smile and pecked his cheek. "Glad to be back," she said. She turned to Phos and raised a sympathetic brow. "How about you, Phos? Feeling better?" Phos grumbled slightly and said nothing.
Francis sighed, frowning. "I'm sure it will all be fine, Phos. Like I said before, everyone makes mistakes."
"It will all be fine," Poppy repeated, with a small sideways glance at Francis. "It's not even that big of a deal. Those cabinets needed to be cleaned anyway. There was a lot of chemicals in there that we really didn't need." Phos waved his hand at them vaguely. "Don't worry about me, you two," he said, almost resigned. "I'll be alright. Go. Get out of here while you can."
"You too," he mumbled, resting his head on his hands. Poppy frowned as they walked away from him. "I'm a little worried about him," she said quietly. "He's acting weird."
"He said he was afraid they wouldn't let him work after this, and that he was scared he was losing his mind," he said, his tone low.
She stopped short as they left the lab. "Are you serious?" she asked, turning to face him. "The poor guy. He shouldn't be scared. Everyone absolutely adores him."
She paused, and her brow furrowed. "I mean, I suppose I could run a scan," she began. Then she shook her head, and when she spoke again, there seemed to be an undercurrent of panic in her voice that she seemed to be desperately trying to repress. "But, I mean, he just made a mistake, right? People make mistakes. He's probably fine... right?" She looked up at Francis and met his gaze, her eyes watching him as if she were afraid of his answer.
Francis hesitated. "That's what I said. Slipping up one time is likely to happen, so I'm sure it was nothing bad." (ELUUNA DON'T YOU DARE TEAR THIS FAMILY APART)
She hesitated, clearly conflicted, and then she slipped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. "Okay," she said quietly. "Okay." (LOL. I won't do it if you don't want me to. I'm just leaving that gate open.)
He soothingly stroked her hair. "It'll be okay." (Just go with whatever you're planning, I won't seriously be angry, but I will leave this angry face: >:C)
