responsibilities

There's all these secrets I can't keep
Like in my heart there's a hotel suite

Who needs proper greetings? They've said hello to each other over a hundred ways by now, and maybe an eighteen-year-old doesn't have a good grasp of the future but he's happy to find another thousand ways to do it. What's one missed opportunity?

His cheeks go a little pink, shy despite how many times she has reassured and complimented him over the course of both their friendship and relationship. "I know," he murmurs quietly, because he does. Jude has never doubted the fervor of Sohalia's love and admiration even when he wonders why and how it exists. But it doesn't change the fact that aside from her he's the equivalent of a ghost in this city, and her new role won't change that.

"You don't have to imagine that, I'm right here." And if he has any say in it he won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Lifting his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, he gently brushes his knuckles against the rosy color of her cheek. The shade makes it clear she's upset. He can tell. Just like he can tell when it's because she's sick or frustrated. "And you're everything to me. So you suddenly being a ruler won't change anything in my eyes." Laughing quietly, a little out-of-sorts still from the helter-skelter rush from Torchline to Stormbreak and the weight of the revelations she has shared, Jude shakes his head slightly. "I mean, aside from us having to re-evaluate our living situations and schedules now that you won't be able to visit as much." Which is, hilariously, a far more terrifying thought to Jude than her being a queen.

And you lived there so long
It's kinda strange, now you're gone

Jude