when hope and peace begin to fray
Know that daybreak is not far away
There is always the potential for him to leave her hanging, to tease and exert his own mischief against hers in a battle of playful wills she’ll never tire of, but today he seems inclined to permit her the kiss she desires. It’s a lingering thing, and what had been an easy stretch onto her toes becomes a sinking of her body into his, tethered only by their intertwined hands captured between them. And if she’s a little dazed and starry eyed when he pulls away, well…that’s the outcome he should’ve expected. “I suppose,” she murmurs, as if the fake airs she was intending to put on hold any weight compared to her breathless tone and distraction.Know that daybreak is not far away
Unfortunately, they aren’t permitted to linger in such fond and selfish airs. She doesn’t need to be Attuned to tell that the topic brings up a maelstrom of complicated emotions, and though they weren’t hurrying by any means, she slows their pace all the same so that they might have more time to work through whatever he was wrestling with.
Squeezing his hand, she smiles softly at him. “You have nothing to apologize for.” To be concerned about her own workload is an act of love, all other thoughts about Hotaru’s departure aside. “It’s okay to be conflicted. You disapprove of Sunjata, but you want her to be happy. You’ve seen her be hurt, but you trust that she’s strong. And you’ve always had her near at hand in Halo, but now she desires to leave - all of them stand against each other.” He had told her of some of it over the years, especially since she’d had to become informed on why Frey’s demigod was exiled, but Evie can’t pretend to understand the intricacies of all of it. And certainly not the depths of his relationship with Hotaru and all he might be losing with her absence and distance. “You can talk to me about it. Even just getting it out is helpful.” A sentiment he has surely heard from her hundreds of times at this point given how truly she believes it.
Evergreen
