[Such a silly face. Sillier still, when she gives a little smoosh.]
More than a little. Give yourself some credit.
[Without him, she knows she would be a sorry shadow of the person she is now. She worries, somewhat, about what she'll become without him, but maybe if she keeps the memory of moments like these close to her heart, she'll be okay.]
[He's a clown. It's what won Maelle over so easily--Gustave never took himself too seriously. He loved to create and be imaginative and joke. Anything to make her laugh. She drops her hands to his shoulders, not wanting to pull them away entirely, as if he might disappear if she lets go again.]
All those times I was supposed to be helping her with the chores and you would sneak me off to your workshop.
How I hoped you would show even the slightest bit of interest in engineering.
[ She hadn't, but he took her with him anyway, simply because he knew she loved to be with him, even if she didn't understand and wasn't interested in what he was doing. ]
Showing you sketches for new designs... trying to teach you about mass balance...
[She did try. She paid attention, and while some of it made a little sense to her, it never took. She was never particularly good at anything but swordplay and getting from one end of the city to the other in record time.
A smile stays on her face as she looks at him, though it's soft around the edges.]
I know. I wish I got into it, too. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much.
[He didn't lack for apprentices.]
I'm glad we spent all that time together.
[Never enough, especially looking back, but she loved being with him and he loved being with her.]
We did get a lot of time together. All of my favorite days were with you. Every happy memory was because of you.
[He didn't need to try. Simply sitting quietly together, or listening to him talk to Emma about his day over dinner, or a walk down to the harbor on a sunny day--how loved she felt, how safe, even if Lumiere itself never felt right. He did.]
You'd never looked so unhappy with me as you did the day I told you I was going with. But... it was worth it. Every extra moment was worth it.
[No matter how horrific the end. She got more time with him. That's all that matters.]
[ He remembers it, or thinks he does. Maybe it's more that Maelle remembers it, and so he does, too: that afternoon in the Hanging Gardens, his shock, their argument. One corner of his lips flickers up into a small smile, and he reaches to put a hand on her arm, warm and firm and supportive. ]
But you have to go make some new memories now. The others, they need you. Just like I did.
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More than a little. Give yourself some credit.
[Without him, she knows she would be a sorry shadow of the person she is now. She worries, somewhat, about what she'll become without him, but maybe if she keeps the memory of moments like these close to her heart, she'll be okay.]
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Oh, don't worry, I give myself plenty of credit. Clearly it was me and not Emma who was the better role model.
[ Absolutely not. ]
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All those times I was supposed to be helping her with the chores and you would sneak me off to your workshop.
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[ She hadn't, but he took her with him anyway, simply because he knew she loved to be with him, even if she didn't understand and wasn't interested in what he was doing. ]
Showing you sketches for new designs... trying to teach you about mass balance...
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A smile stays on her face as she looks at him, though it's soft around the edges.]
I know. I wish I got into it, too. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much.
[He didn't lack for apprentices.]
I'm glad we spent all that time together.
[Never enough, especially looking back, but she loved being with him and he loved being with her.]
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[ The very idea feels like an utter impossibility. How could he be disappointed in Maelle simply being Maelle, when he loves her so much? ]
I only wish we'd taken you in sooner. But we got a lot of time together, didn't we? And I'm glad you came on the Expedition, in the end.
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[He didn't need to try. Simply sitting quietly together, or listening to him talk to Emma about his day over dinner, or a walk down to the harbor on a sunny day--how loved she felt, how safe, even if Lumiere itself never felt right. He did.]
You'd never looked so unhappy with me as you did the day I told you I was going with. But... it was worth it. Every extra moment was worth it.
[No matter how horrific the end. She got more time with him. That's all that matters.]
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[ He remembers it, or thinks he does. Maybe it's more that Maelle remembers it, and so he does, too: that afternoon in the Hanging Gardens, his shock, their argument. One corner of his lips flickers up into a small smile, and he reaches to put a hand on her arm, warm and firm and supportive. ]
But you have to go make some new memories now. The others, they need you. Just like I did.