I'll drown eventually so don't save me
Whether Sunjata was responsible for her tears or not was beside the point. The important part was that she let them fall, let him pull her close, allowed herself this moment to do what she should have done in the days and weeks after they broke up. Dying and being pulled back from death had interrupted a process that might have been far less devastating if Maea had been able to grieve properly.
But she had not, and now here they were. Here she was. Burying her face into the shoulder of the first man she had ever loved, a mere vessel for emotions that always seemed a size too big. She didn't know how long she spent overflowing. Only noticed, gradually as the wrecking sobs subsided, that Sunjata's touch didn't quite burn her skin the way it used to. When the storm calmed into the occasional sniffle, it was the weight of Petronella on her lap that helped her move again. Gentle strokes from balled up knuckles turned into full bodied caresses when pale fingers unfurled. Contemplating the change in a sluggish, absent way - and what it might mean - until the young woman began to feel more like herself again.
"I see... you and Hotaru, huh." It was a late response, muffled and pinched as her nose was thoroughly blocked. Mulling over that little nugget, Maea found that she was surprisingly okay with the idea. "Good... that's good. You suit each other."
Gently untangling from the Flood, she offered him a watery smile that wasn't forced; the most relaxed and genuine expression she'd offered him in years. Pained, yes, and tired, raw and upset - but not with him.
But she had not, and now here they were. Here she was. Burying her face into the shoulder of the first man she had ever loved, a mere vessel for emotions that always seemed a size too big. She didn't know how long she spent overflowing. Only noticed, gradually as the wrecking sobs subsided, that Sunjata's touch didn't quite burn her skin the way it used to. When the storm calmed into the occasional sniffle, it was the weight of Petronella on her lap that helped her move again. Gentle strokes from balled up knuckles turned into full bodied caresses when pale fingers unfurled. Contemplating the change in a sluggish, absent way - and what it might mean - until the young woman began to feel more like herself again.
"I see... you and Hotaru, huh." It was a late response, muffled and pinched as her nose was thoroughly blocked. Mulling over that little nugget, Maea found that she was surprisingly okay with the idea. "Good... that's good. You suit each other."
Gently untangling from the Flood, she offered him a watery smile that wasn't forced; the most relaxed and genuine expression she'd offered him in years. Pained, yes, and tired, raw and upset - but not with him.
Maea
