Flora
The sheet rustles softly as Kaisel settles in beside her, and gods, the way his arm fits around her like it belongs there sends a tremour straight through her chest. It isn’t lust this time—though the image of him groaning in the doorway still curls heat beneath her skin—it’s something quieter, something that settles deep. His palm on her belly, still faintly pruny, makes her hand slide over his without thinking, fingers splaying to match the shape of his.
The joke about never leaving the boat draws a grin from her despite everything, the corner of her mouth tugging up as she turns just enough to catch his eye. "We always have my invisibility ring," she murmurs, brushing her nose against his, "if one of us really needs to make a run for snacks."
But as he says he's all in, as simple and steady as anything, a deep and difficult ache knots in Flora's chest. It’s not that she doesn’t want it. It’s that she does. Her breath draws in sharply, and she twists fully toward him, pressing closer even as the words rise, thorny and tangled. "Kai," she says, quietly but clearly, "I need to take this slow."
She doesn’t pull away; in fact, she curls tighter against him, like she could soften the sting just by being near. Her forehead nudges his, and she sighs into the space between them. "Jack is...in Stormbreak right now, literally waiting for me to come back so we can try again." The words taste awful, honest and horribly sad, but they need to be said. "I need to talk to him." And gods just the thought of that conversation was enough to have her body stiffening against the tremble that wanted to wash over her like a wave.
Her voice wavers for just a second before she lifts her hand, smoothing his wet hair back from his forehead. Her thumb brushes his temple, and when her eyes meet his, they’re soft but serious. "I was crying over him this morning. We can't pretend like that didn't happen," she says, the quietest tremble in her voice. "And I don’t want to make you a rebound. I want this to be something real." Not something that started because Kaisel happened to be there when her entire world came crumbling down.
The joke about never leaving the boat draws a grin from her despite everything, the corner of her mouth tugging up as she turns just enough to catch his eye. "We always have my invisibility ring," she murmurs, brushing her nose against his, "if one of us really needs to make a run for snacks."
But as he says he's all in, as simple and steady as anything, a deep and difficult ache knots in Flora's chest. It’s not that she doesn’t want it. It’s that she does. Her breath draws in sharply, and she twists fully toward him, pressing closer even as the words rise, thorny and tangled. "Kai," she says, quietly but clearly, "I need to take this slow."
She doesn’t pull away; in fact, she curls tighter against him, like she could soften the sting just by being near. Her forehead nudges his, and she sighs into the space between them. "Jack is...in Stormbreak right now, literally waiting for me to come back so we can try again." The words taste awful, honest and horribly sad, but they need to be said. "I need to talk to him." And gods just the thought of that conversation was enough to have her body stiffening against the tremble that wanted to wash over her like a wave.
Her voice wavers for just a second before she lifts her hand, smoothing his wet hair back from his forehead. Her thumb brushes his temple, and when her eyes meet his, they’re soft but serious. "I was crying over him this morning. We can't pretend like that didn't happen," she says, the quietest tremble in her voice. "And I don’t want to make you a rebound. I want this to be something real." Not something that started because Kaisel happened to be there when her entire world came crumbling down.
I hope you're sweating the bigger stuff,
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in
finding some peace in an honest love
Hope you stop when you've had enough & throw the towel in
Code stolen from Queen Sky
