All the shards we keep stepping on

Maea's hesitation was marked. Liam wasn't sure why he was surprised. After all, she'd rejected him that day on the skerry, after she'd almost drowned - gently, perhaps, but it had been a refusal all the same, of something that he had hesitated to put a name to at the time. Why should this be any different? The soldier looked away, something akin to hurt flashing in his hazel eyes. A part of him understood, though, and it was that part that took a deep breath. After all, hadn't he been hesitant about the Family at first? Hadn't he failed to see how beneficial being their Friend could be? Maea just needed time, time to realize that he was right in this. Time to decide, once and for all, to trust in him - even if she wouldn't trust in anything else. So he looked back up at her after a moment, nodding solemnly. "Of course. I understand." It was a decision that he would wait for her to make, confident that, after she had time to think, she would come to the right choice. His thumb brushed across the back of the hand he still held. "I won't rush you. Take the time you need." But gods, he hoped that it didn't take her long. Liam I am the patron saint of lost causes