I think I can manage being collateral damage
Normally Everest wasn't the sort of man to go out of his way to attend a party that he'd only been tangentially invited to, but after Vox had mentioned to him that Isla would surely be there, the aviator had offered to pilot the first skyship headed toward the Grounds in order to surprise her.
Letting someone take his coat, Everest adjusted the cuff of his jacket, making sure the deep indigo of his suit wasn't creasing and stepped inside. Danta had gone all out, as expected, and as he caught sight of the Maverick, Ever inclined his head in a silent greeting as he flashed the other man a polite smile.
And that was when he saw her.
Isla stood at the bar, a vision in deep forest green, her hair a cascade of gold in the firelight. There was a time that Ever would have thought the phrase she took my breath away was merely a flowery bit of exaggeration, but after finding himself sipping in a surprised breath, he might have been inclined to reconsider.
Crossing the room with the quiet confidence of a man with a handful of predators lingering in his bones, it wasn’t until he was close enough to catch the scent of her—something warm, something familiar—that he reached out, hands finding her waist, fitting perfectly as if they’d never left. He didn’t pull her into him so much as mould himself around her, his body a whisper of pressure against her back, his breath warm against the curve of her neck.
"Gods how I've missed you." His lips brushed the place just below her ear, his voice low, meant only for her. I love you, was what he really meant, but it came out in the way his fingers flexed at her sides, the way he exhaled slowly like he’d been holding his breath since she left.
Letting someone take his coat, Everest adjusted the cuff of his jacket, making sure the deep indigo of his suit wasn't creasing and stepped inside. Danta had gone all out, as expected, and as he caught sight of the Maverick, Ever inclined his head in a silent greeting as he flashed the other man a polite smile.
And that was when he saw her.
Isla stood at the bar, a vision in deep forest green, her hair a cascade of gold in the firelight. There was a time that Ever would have thought the phrase she took my breath away was merely a flowery bit of exaggeration, but after finding himself sipping in a surprised breath, he might have been inclined to reconsider.
Crossing the room with the quiet confidence of a man with a handful of predators lingering in his bones, it wasn’t until he was close enough to catch the scent of her—something warm, something familiar—that he reached out, hands finding her waist, fitting perfectly as if they’d never left. He didn’t pull her into him so much as mould himself around her, his body a whisper of pressure against her back, his breath warm against the curve of her neck.
"Gods how I've missed you." His lips brushed the place just below her ear, his voice low, meant only for her. I love you, was what he really meant, but it came out in the way his fingers flexed at her sides, the way he exhaled slowly like he’d been holding his breath since she left.
Even if I had to lose you to know you I'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
