Song: Let Me Down Slowly by Alec Benjamin
(With adjustments to the lyrics to avoid so much repeating and better fit the characters in some spots)
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Characters: Nico and Garvin. Rest of GRAIN mentioned.
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Context: Just a silly little angsty thought of mine with Nico and his separation anxiety and abandonment issues paired with Garvin’s tendency to leave. Enjoy!
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Garvin, either after an argument or during a bad episode, putting on his trenchcoat and heading for the door as quietly as possible, referring to the polycule's apartment as a kingdom that he doesn't believe he deserves: “This night is cold in the ‘kingdom’…”
Nico, having woken up shortly before Garvin left, immediately worried but unsure how to approach without triggering him: “I can feel you fade away…”
Nico, tracing Garvin’s steps mentally: “From the kitchen to the bathroom sink and your steps keep me awake.”
Nico starting to panic as she imagines Garvin actually leaving, getting up quickly and rushing to grab Garvin's arm without thinking: “Don't cut me down, throw me out, leave me here to waste!”
Nico, realizing what he did and letting go quickly, eyes wide and tearful as he first begs Garvin to stay: “I once was a man with dignity and grace, now I'm slipping through the cracks of your cold embrace, so please, please…”
Nico, shifting into a more accepting state, now just asking that Garvin not leave without at least saying goodbye: “Could you find a way to let me down slowly? A little sympathy, I hope you can show me, if you wanna go then I'll be so lonely, so you're leaving, lovely, let me down slowly…”
Garvin, confused by Nico’s actions, feeling guilty but also in full belief that Nico and the others would be better off without him: “Let me go, go, let me go…”
Nico, still trying to convince Garvin to stay, but not trying to physically stop him at this point: “If you wanna go then I'll be so lonely, if you're leaving, lovely, let me down slowly…”
Nico, watching Garvin leave, aware in the back of his mind that he won't be gone forever, but unable to process rationally: “I hold on to little pieces of what we were, I know you're long gone, but take it easy because it hurts…”
Nico, falling into a state of desperate despair and sliding down the wall directly across from the door, refusing to move until Garvin comes back, even as the others begin to wake and discover them: “Don't cut me down, throw me out, leave me here to waste…”
Garvin, quite a ways away now, guilt absolutely eating him alive, but repeatedly telling himself this was the right thing since he's ‘only hurting them anyway and they probably hate him and don't want to show it due to pity’: “I never was a man of dignity or grace. Now I'm slipping through the cracks of your false embrace, so please, please… Could you find a way to let me go, lovely? A little sympathy, I wish you wouldn't show me…"
Nico, breaking down as the others begin to process what happened. Akira immediately goes out to track down Garvin while Revan and Ingall try to help Nico out. Nico is completely dissassociated from their attempts, her full attention on the door Garvin walked out of: “If you wanna go then I'll be so lonely, if you're leaving, my lovely, let me down slowly!”
Garvin: “Let me go, go, let me go!”
Nico: “Let me down, down, let me down! If you wanna go then I'll be so lonely!’
Garvin: “Please don't miss me, honey, you don't need me!”
Nico, unknowingly echoing Garvin, fully breaking down: “And I can't stop myself from falling! And I can't stop myself from falling down!”
Garvin, unknowingly echoing Nico, also breaking down: “And I can't stop myself from falling! And I can't stop myself from falling down!”
Nico, slowly coming back to the present as Revan and Ingall manage to get to him, recounting the events shakily: “Could you find a way to let me down slowly? A little sympathy, I hope you can show me…”
Garvin, startling a little as Akira manages to find him and eventually convinces him to talk a little: “I just need to go, I’m sure they won't be lonely.”
Nico: “If you're leaving, lovely, let me down slowly…”
Garvin: “Just let me go, go, let me go…”
Nico: “Let me down, down, let me down…’
Garvin, eventually admitting that he doesn't actually want to leave, but he feels like he's just hurting everyone constantly: “Don't wanna go, I'll be so lonely…”
Nico: “Don’t leave me, lovely, don't let me down slowly…”