I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
The golden light is anything but metaphorical for Ronin, and as his gaze finds Remi and Aoife, the radiance that pulses out of him is enough to glitter against the surf beneath their feet, to catch in shimmers on seaglass and opalescent shells. "I just wish he knew it," he says quietly, smiling. "Not that I don't tell him, but I think I could always say it more." Especially now, standing on the precipice of a decade to look back upon, and the Knight sighs out a long breath; a silent vow to do better.
But then Vanya is speaking softly against his shoulder, and the surprise is enough to have that radiance flickering a touch sharper, a touch more uncertain. "I know," he whispers, glancing slowly down towards her, a sad smile touching to his lips. "The version of me that was up in those stars with you is the one you should hang onto though, Van," he tells her gently. "I'm not that man any more - I haven't been for a long time."
The iterations of him that came after were forged through scars and fire, through darkness and unspeakable acts, sometimes violent, oftentimes selfish. And whilst Vanya's love is preserved, Ronin's has grown, changed, bloomed in the places it's been allowed to take root, and he won't turn his back on it now for all the second chances in the world.
But then Vanya is speaking softly against his shoulder, and the surprise is enough to have that radiance flickering a touch sharper, a touch more uncertain. "I know," he whispers, glancing slowly down towards her, a sad smile touching to his lips. "The version of me that was up in those stars with you is the one you should hang onto though, Van," he tells her gently. "I'm not that man any more - I haven't been for a long time."
The iterations of him that came after were forged through scars and fire, through darkness and unspeakable acts, sometimes violent, oftentimes selfish. And whilst Vanya's love is preserved, Ronin's has grown, changed, bloomed in the places it's been allowed to take root, and he won't turn his back on it now for all the second chances in the world.
RONIN
