No. Don't cry.
Sometimes, Alfendi forgot they were only human. Humans had emotions, something he forgot and since he did, he wasn't sure how to combat tears.
He had no other way of fixing her pain. Maybe though, he could lighten it.
Alfendi needed to make Lucy happy, keep her smiling, and stop those tears.
Stop crying, please.
Her pain was his and he wanted to stop it. So he comforted her as best he could. "Can you tell me who did it?"
Lucy dug her face into his chest, her breath shaky, her tears falling and her face pink.
Placid tried soothing her, rubbing her back and running his fingers through her soft hair. Potty, however, felt the need to curse out whatever was making her cry. She didn't to be hurt. Lucy was a kind person with a brave heart and soul.
Stop. You don't need this. You're a good person.
Trying to calm her, Alfendi closed his eyes and thought out what to say.
Don't cry.
"Was it someone we know?"
He knew she wouldn't answer. Her sobs were all she spoke and each one, coupled with her choked breathing and shaking, chipping away at his calm shell. "Did I do it?" He couldn't help thinking so. He had upset her before. The answer didn't come to him, so he snapped. "I swear I'll cut the tongue of whoever did it!"
He would find out who did it, what was wrong, and why. To end her pain and his own. "Tell me, Lucy. Please tell me what's wrong." Alfendi begged, Something in the recesses of his memory came back to him. The words of his father.
It's never a good thing to pry into the personal life of a lady.
While he hated to admit it, maybe Hershel was right for once.
He sighed, petting her head as she continued to cry. Well, he couldn't just leave her like this, could he? He needed to say something to make the sadness go away.
I need to know you'll be better.
"I…" What would he say? What did he want to say? He needed something simple. "I'm…" He wanted all her problems to disappear. His desire for her smile to return, for everything bad to disappear, was so great. "I…"
What would make Lucy stop?
"I love you, Lucy."
Immediately followed by "I'm sorry." He had to be sure that if it was his fault, he had made up for it.
Smile. Say something. Be happy. No more tears.
Alfendi felt like a confused child, unable to comfort the one he loved, merely because he didn't understand how she felt. He didn't know what was wrong.
He felt useless.
Hands gripped his red and blue shirt tighter, but the shaking slowed. Lucy's warm tears stopped landing on his shirt, stopped forming all together. She whimpered softly, every few minutes or so, but finally the pain dulled.
"There, there." He tried awkwardly to keep her like this, with no more tears.
Lucy mumbled something into his chest, and Alfendi could almost make it out. He blushed and a smile crept onto his lips.
"I love you too, Prof."
It was reassuring to know he did something right, at least, and the message was good, as well.