Note: I like writing Augustus like this. Good guy Augustus is interesting.

It appeared his olive branch was not quite that. Much more... thorny, and he was reaping his reward; his migraines were not lessening with each gesture.

Augustus had returned her to her room, after finding her curled into a ball on the floor near the mess hall. She'd wandered away from her quarters, for some reason. He suspected it was boredom, and she'd become lost, leading to a minor episode of depression. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a sense like she had, having everything familiar became alien.

She ought to have someone to watch over her, but... she was damn near an adult. Augustus thought that it would be far worse than simple moodiness, if she were to be minded, and so he'd granted her her independence. It was his gift to her, given in lieu of knowing what else to do.

Similar to the gift he'd given James; but his had not been redeemed. Augustus expected that. Hadn't actually followed through on his end, in allowing the short window of time that James could use to take flight. The man was suspicious of him, and Augustus did not blame him for that. He, himself, disliked giving James a chance, under the circumstances of their acquaintance, but it was clear the man had no intrinsic value to the Enclave, while imprisoned.

Not if Augustus intended to strike back against President Eden. Which, as he reflected in his more lucid and less migraine-filled moments, was what he intended to do.

Without James' research―some nonsense about solubility, which Augustus couldn't comprehend at this moment in time―Eden would be thwarted temporarily. Perhaps the supercomputer would be put out long enough for Augustus to enact change. Any change, at this point, would be welcome.

And the girl―he corrected himself, a little too late. He must start treating her with more respect, and use her proper name.

Lillie couldn't follow James. It simply wasn't possible, even if her current condition wasn't what it was. Augustus made an agreement with himself that he would do what he could to keep her out of the way of harm, but he could not guarantee that he would succeed. Not with her negative reaction to his person, and the history between them.

She was a thorn in his side, digging into his skin and causing actual pain. He'd referred to her as that, many times before. But maybe she was the entire bush, wrapping herself around him and drawing blood. It certainly affected him with such magnitude.

Augustus found himself thinking about the gir―about Lillie in a way he'd never quite expected. When she was not expressing the hate that she had evinced for him, she was a different creature altogether. In fact, he found her... gentle, well-mannered, and moderately attractive, in a child-like way. He did not enjoy that. It was conflict that he was not trained to handle.

His own hate, misplaced onto her but redirected toward himself, had petered out after his gesture in the medical bay. When he realized they were not so different in their attitudes, fighting against what each perceived as a malevolent force. It was shameful that she considered him to be so.

But that was why he continued the small gestures of kindness. He was prepared for her reaction to his aid, the anger she showed at not knowing who he was. Couldn't quite bring himself to admit to her that it was he who tried to show affection. Too many years of abuse and pain inflicted onto her, by him. She would, understandably, react badly. He was disgusted with himself more than ever.

The sadness that he'd seen in her eyes, when he'd helped her back to her room... Not the anger he'd seen reflected back onto himself, mirrored by VIOLA. It was easier to see that, than it was to admit to himself his hatefulness. He hoped that he would never have to see his own hate, again.

In that vein, Augustus hoped that the girl would not find out that it was he who comforted her.

He spent the afternoon distracted by his thoughts, attempting to supervise the researchers in their effort to improve the verified issues in the last batch of Hellfire armors. He would have paid better attention if he'd not had the gi―Lillie, on his mind. Would not have missed an important error that the lead researcher made when transcribing specifications for Hellfire helmets.

As it was, he would spend the next few hours chasing that file around the base and correcting it at each terminal it had traveled to; a side-wide retraction would be more noticeable to Eden and he couldn't have the supercomputer noticing his error. Not right now. Not when Eden had been curiously silent to both Augustus and the g―to Lillie, for far too long.

Whatever Eden was doing, Augustus did not like its silence.

He made his way back to his quarters at the end of the day, sore and tired and wondering how much alcohol would be needed for him to pass out without a thought in his head. Unlike previous nights, he was sleepy enough on his own without the scotch to lull him. Perhaps he could sleep without any. That would be... well. It would be an improvement.

Augustus doubted very much that he'd be able to sleep easily. Eden did not need sleep and therefore Augustus must work twice as hard while awake, in order to keep up with it. He could feel the strain, on top of the constant migraines and this awkwardness with Lillie, a tower of stress that was destined to come crashing onto him sooner rather than later.

Augustus paused, about fifteen feet from the door of his quarters. A familiar huddled figure on the floor, rocking gently back and forth. He breathed in, deeply.

Perhaps he was wrong to not have her minded. How she'd managed to make her way through to this part of the bunker, he was not sure; she certainly didn't realize she was near his own room, because she would have not remained.

Augustus blinked tiredly at Lillie, then slowly removed his gloves. Another walk down the enclosed hallways might wear him out to the point of utter exhaustion. He would welcome that, if it meant a night's sleep unimpaired by alcohol.

He moved up to her, bending down and laying one hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to respond. Lillie ceased rocking, turned her head, and grabbed his hand, feeling his fingers. She jerked upward, nearly knocking her head into his own as she stood. Held his hand tightly, staring into the air, making the same determined face she made when she was about to run the obstacle course.

Augustus pressed his lips together, and began to pull Lillie away. His boots hit the metal walkway with soft steps, moving slowly so she wouldn't fall.

She fought him. She put her feet into the floor and gave resistance to his effort to remove her from the area. Augustus was immediately on edge, unsure of this new development, and turned back to her with a frown.

He hadn't anticipated her fighting him. Went to remove his hand from hers, prying her fingers from his own with a quick motion.

As soon as he had, she grabbed out at him and held onto his coat, pulling herself closer to him with wobbling steps. Augustus turned his head and breathed out, uncomfortable at her actions. She was certainly not making this peace effort of his, easy. He didn't want to push her away and risk her falling, hurting herself further. He was distancing himself from that, through his gestures.

"Who..." she said, patting her hand up his coat and onto his cheek, feeling the accumulated stubble of the day with trembling fingers. "Who are you?"

He frowned deeply and moved his hands up, intent to pull himself away from the girl. She was close enough to him in this moment that he could feel her newly-formed attributes brushing up against him. It reminded him without confusion that he was not dealing with an innocent child, but a flowering woman. And that, he also reminded himself, was why he had limited his interactions with her to mere hand-holding; so that it was not confused with something much more serious.

Lillie grabbed his face roughly, pulling him closer to her with more strength than he'd judged possible in her thin arms. She mashed her face into his, her lips moving over his nose and down onto his―Christ Almighty!

"No!" he said, firmly, pushing her back as carefully as he could. Good Lord! He had to quit, right now. This―idiocy, had gone entirely too far! He hadn't thought she would react like that. Ever!

Lillie's hands remained on his face, twitching once in surprise. Her eyes widened, slowly, her mouth parting and chin dropping. He heard her gasp, the breath catching and shaking in her throat, and she jerked away from him as if she had been burned. Augustus grabbed her forearm, before she fell onto the walkway, and she yelped.

The same reaction she had had when he let his anger go too far, and nearly struck her. As with the time on the course, Lillie's arm flew up over her head to shield herself from him. Her mouth bobbed up and down, her limb shivering under his hand. She started to cry, tears streaming from her face, and hiccuped loudly. His eyebrows drew together, and he slowly lowered her to the floor. Released her arm as soon as she was sitting on the walkway.

She immediately curled up into a ball and sobbed. His own estimation of his actions towards her had not been inaccurate. She was terrified of him. His gestures of comfort had not helped her attitude toward him; now, she was reeling in shock from discovering that she had very nearly kissed her most hated adversary.

"Lillie," he said, holding out his hands in a calming motion. Calm, on the outside. On the inside, he felt sick to his stomach with dread and some other intangible emotion he was not familiar with. "I assure you, I mean you no harm―"

"No―no―" she sobbed, trembling violently. "No!"

Augustus lowered his arms to his sides, watching her dissolve into the floor. A mess of yellow curls and bony spine, too-thin arms and legs struggling to curl herself further into a ball.

To keep him out. Christ. He'd broken her like a goddamn dog.

He didn't know what to do.

Without thinking, Augustus knelt on one knee, put an arm around her shoulder and threaded the other under her thighs when she lurched backward in horror. He immediately removed her from the floor, marching across the walk until he reached his doorway, and moved inside. Deposited her in a struggling tangle of arms and legs onto the floor, and turned to shut the door behind him. He faced the metal for a brief second, an urgent thought crossing his mind about safety.

Augustus drew his pistol, and aimed it at the intercom light. Without any hesitation, he shot it out, threw the pistol onto the cot, and knelt down to attend to Lillie.

She'd jerked in surprise at the gunshot, pushing herself across the floor and under his desk. He stared at her for a moment, seeing how worked up she was, the smears of mucus and tears across her face and arms, across the floor.

"I will not hurt you, Lillie," he said, with real conviction. "I promise."

Lillie doubled herself up and sobbed for what felt like an eternity to the exhausted man. He remained where he was, unmoving, as his knee began to lock into position and his back ached from tensity. Just how long was she going to cry?

Eventually her crying softened and slowed, her shivering gasps disappeared, and he hazarded a brief touch on her forearm. Lillie stared blankly into the air, her cheek smashed into the metal. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and went utterly still.

Her arm was cold under his touch. Augustus drew her out from under the desk, looking down at her, and sighed.

God help her. He had no idea what the hell he'd done.