[SE] where nature unmakes the boundary

VESPER

Vesper takes the cigarette without a word, the silver of his rings glinting as he reaches for it. He inhales slow, lets the smoke curl past his lips like shadows slipping back beneath the skin. Jack’s words linger in the space between them, quiet and sure, and though Vesper doesn’t answer right away, the subtle nod he gives carries the weight of understanding. Of agreement. Of something quietly grateful. "Yeah," he mutters finally, eyes on the horizon where Kaiholo creeps closer, the wind threading through his hair. "I’ll think on what you said about offense and defense before goin' to see Safrin."

He exhales smoke like a sigh, and then smirks, that familiar crooked edge returning as he steps away from the rail. "Off I fuck, then. Last thing I need’s a mop in my hand an’ Murphy yellin’ in my ear."

And with that, the demigod vanishes below deck in a swirl of cigarette smoke and trailing shadow, the quiet bond still flickering faint and warm in the back of Jack’s mind as The Ark sails on.

~FIN

wake me when it's over like a bad dream

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!