flora
Flora pauses, realization flickering across her face as she acknowledges—maybe reluctantly—that Kaisel isn’t entirely wrong. Her teasing, her playful accusations, they might just be fishing after all—but not from a place of vanity. No, it's more tangled than that, the quiet damage of having been discarded and unwanted, too many times.
She sighs quietly, gaze dropping to the glass in her hand, tracing absent circles through the condensation. She’s gotten far too used to Jack, to the silent, invisible hand of telepathy slipping effortlessly into her mind to decode things she doesn’t have to say aloud. It’s made her careless, reckless in expecting understanding from someone without access to her thoughts. And Kaisel—open, honest Kaisel, whose biggest crime so far has been being kind—deserves more clarity than she’s given.
"I—" She begins softly, words catching in a hesitation that's almost foreign to her. Her gaze stays fixed stubbornly on her water glass as she tries to find her footing. "You’re not exactly wrong," she admits slowly, lashes lifting just enough to steal a glance up at him through their golden fringe. "I probably was fishing a little, but—it’s not because I’m insecure, okay? At least, not the way you’re probably thinking." Or, who knows what he was thinking; she wasn't a telepath either.
Her lips press together briefly, frustrated with how inelegantly this is coming out. Flora huffs a quiet, resigned laugh, finally looking fully up at him, vulnerability raw in her aqua eyes. "Look, Kai, I know how I can be." Her free hand waves vaguely between them, illustrating the obvious: the easy flirtation, the shameless sexuality she wears like armour or invitation depending on the day. "And right now, I'm emotionally fucked up enough that all it takes is a few sweet words from you—especially after you literally swept me off my feet when all I wanted was a hug—and suddenly all I can think about is dragging you into my bedroom." Or her kitchen floor. Or right out on her upper deck.
A sly, knowing glance cuts across the table at him, heat sliding easily beneath the vulnerable honesty. Kaisel might be Koa’s cousin, but he’s also a nineteen-year-old boy, and she's pretty sure she knows which head he’d be thinking with if she outright asked him to fuck her. If she whispered his name and said she needed him.
But Flora’s gaze softens almost immediately, shifting into something gentler as she stretches out her hand toward his across the table, her palm open in silent request. "But I don't want to be something you regret," she says quietly, her voice firm but edged with a tremor of genuine concern. Her fingers curl slightly, waiting for his hand to meet hers. "Because looking back… everyone who’s been with me, Koa, Asta, Jack, they’ve all regretted it in the end." Her throat tightens painfully, a flicker of hurt surfacing despite her best efforts to smother it.
"I don’t think I can handle you looking at me the way they do. So—" her voice strengthens again, stubborn and determined, gaze meeting his directly, openly. "Whatever happens, or whatever it feels like, can we just promise it's harmless? 'cause in all honesty, I don't think I'm strong enough right now to be able to guess."
She sighs quietly, gaze dropping to the glass in her hand, tracing absent circles through the condensation. She’s gotten far too used to Jack, to the silent, invisible hand of telepathy slipping effortlessly into her mind to decode things she doesn’t have to say aloud. It’s made her careless, reckless in expecting understanding from someone without access to her thoughts. And Kaisel—open, honest Kaisel, whose biggest crime so far has been being kind—deserves more clarity than she’s given.
"I—" She begins softly, words catching in a hesitation that's almost foreign to her. Her gaze stays fixed stubbornly on her water glass as she tries to find her footing. "You’re not exactly wrong," she admits slowly, lashes lifting just enough to steal a glance up at him through their golden fringe. "I probably was fishing a little, but—it’s not because I’m insecure, okay? At least, not the way you’re probably thinking." Or, who knows what he was thinking; she wasn't a telepath either.
Her lips press together briefly, frustrated with how inelegantly this is coming out. Flora huffs a quiet, resigned laugh, finally looking fully up at him, vulnerability raw in her aqua eyes. "Look, Kai, I know how I can be." Her free hand waves vaguely between them, illustrating the obvious: the easy flirtation, the shameless sexuality she wears like armour or invitation depending on the day. "And right now, I'm emotionally fucked up enough that all it takes is a few sweet words from you—especially after you literally swept me off my feet when all I wanted was a hug—and suddenly all I can think about is dragging you into my bedroom." Or her kitchen floor. Or right out on her upper deck.
A sly, knowing glance cuts across the table at him, heat sliding easily beneath the vulnerable honesty. Kaisel might be Koa’s cousin, but he’s also a nineteen-year-old boy, and she's pretty sure she knows which head he’d be thinking with if she outright asked him to fuck her. If she whispered his name and said she needed him.
But Flora’s gaze softens almost immediately, shifting into something gentler as she stretches out her hand toward his across the table, her palm open in silent request. "But I don't want to be something you regret," she says quietly, her voice firm but edged with a tremor of genuine concern. Her fingers curl slightly, waiting for his hand to meet hers. "Because looking back… everyone who’s been with me, Koa, Asta, Jack, they’ve all regretted it in the end." Her throat tightens painfully, a flicker of hurt surfacing despite her best efforts to smother it.
"I don’t think I can handle you looking at me the way they do. So—" her voice strengthens again, stubborn and determined, gaze meeting his directly, openly. "Whatever happens, or whatever it feels like, can we just promise it's harmless? 'cause in all honesty, I don't think I'm strong enough right now to be able to guess."
I want to be when you fall on me like night
I wanna kill the lights
I wanna kill the lights
