I'll rise up for you, for you, for you

Hotaru

Roses are red and I wish I could see them bloom
But all I see are orange hues

It’s tempting to let the conversation devolve into playful arguments about electricity and fire, but with Sunjata wrapped around her the way he is, she can’t stop her mind from going back and back and back to the question lying on her tongue. A question she has wrestled with for seasons now, that has only grown in strength the more she visits, the longer she stays. There are strings to tie and boxes to check, but the most important question is whether he wants her here - whether they’re ready for it.

Any fears or worries are dashed the moment the bond alights in a smear of sensory color, reassuring her before Sunjata has the time to find the proper words. He’s far from saying too much, but she can tell by the abruptness of his ending that he thinks he has, and it makes her hide a smile. “I worry less about privacy and more about space. It would be nice to have more space for ourselves, and more clear separation of work and home.” She’d had to do the same for herself in Halo. She’d moved houses after the war, but only after Sah had forced her to stop living in the Academy itself. “So, yes. I’d like our own home.” Something wholly new and solely theirs, with no memories but the ones they would make in the future.

“I would ask Evie or Sah if they would want to run the Academy, so it can still fulfill its purpose. And I would likely remain a student.” Tilting her head slightly, her forehead turns to rest against his jaw, and she closes her eyes to breathe in his scent. “But for as much as I love Halo, I miss you and Flora, and there is more outside her borders than within these days. And Enzo - he asked me to live. The Academy was my own mission, not what he asked of me.” One she still wants to thrive, but which also has the capability of growing beyond her now that she has planted the seeds. “And - though this might seem off topic - I wanted to propose that we could be bookable as a couple in the brothel. Nothing romantic, all of it behind doors for clients, but you expressed that you get many requests and often feel pressured. Would you be open to us only accepting as a pair?” Ru has only ever not worked for a brother because of her own power hungry dreams, but realistically she would likely do well. Perhaps it would help Sunjata feel he was doing more for Frey.

Now you’re stuck in my head and I wish I could sing the blues
But all I hear are orange tunes, and all I do is think of you