MAEA
Whether it was from the gentle stroke of his thumb or the softness of his tone, something eased within Maea that she hadn't been fully aware of. A tension, bracing for a storm that never broke, a tidal surge that never rose - a flood that wasn't there to rush in. That she didn't owe Liam anything, be it explanations or justification for the stunt that almost ended in disaster shouldn't be a revelation, yet it was. And she didn't know whether it was a symptom of how bad her one previous relationship had been or a sign of actual growth in herself that she was able to take comfort in the simplicity of what Liam was offering her right now. The profound trust that seemed to suggest he would remain whether she chose to share her thoughts with him or not.
She almost laughed out loud, a hiccuping jolt of realization of what terrifying emotions that stirred up in her. Things she'd given up on, things she'd been so afraid of looking for that even drowning felt easy in comparison - and lo and behold, now she was sitting face to face with both of them at the same time.
"Remember how I was saying I wanted to be harder to hit? So I asked Dygra to make me more flexible," she shared, heart fluttering as she very carefully shifted her arms to rest more comfortably atop his. Afraid to startle him, afraid that he'd let go - and perhaps also a bit afraid of what it would mean if he didn't. "She told me to put myself in different situations, where I'm afraid, uncomfortable, happy... This was the thing I could think of that scared me most."
For a moment, she questioned whether that was still true. Somehow, the idea of turning around to face Liam in this moment was just as terrifying, as she wasn't sure what she would or wouldn't see in his expression. What if there were emotions she wasn't ready to face? And... what if there weren't? Better to keep her gaze on the horizon for now, to count her breaths and trace the veins along the top of his hands so that the heat emanating from his skin didn't lure her to mistake kindness and camaraderie for... something else. However tempting it might be, he meant far too much to her to make foolish mistakes with.
She almost laughed out loud, a hiccuping jolt of realization of what terrifying emotions that stirred up in her. Things she'd given up on, things she'd been so afraid of looking for that even drowning felt easy in comparison - and lo and behold, now she was sitting face to face with both of them at the same time.
"Remember how I was saying I wanted to be harder to hit? So I asked Dygra to make me more flexible," she shared, heart fluttering as she very carefully shifted her arms to rest more comfortably atop his. Afraid to startle him, afraid that he'd let go - and perhaps also a bit afraid of what it would mean if he didn't. "She told me to put myself in different situations, where I'm afraid, uncomfortable, happy... This was the thing I could think of that scared me most."
For a moment, she questioned whether that was still true. Somehow, the idea of turning around to face Liam in this moment was just as terrifying, as she wasn't sure what she would or wouldn't see in his expression. What if there were emotions she wasn't ready to face? And... what if there weren't? Better to keep her gaze on the horizon for now, to count her breaths and trace the veins along the top of his hands so that the heat emanating from his skin didn't lure her to mistake kindness and camaraderie for... something else. However tempting it might be, he meant far too much to her to make foolish mistakes with.
Bleeding out for you
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
