flora
The second his hand finds her leg, Flora moves to his side; fluid, instinctive, the kind of movement that doesn’t ask for permission because none is needed. She presses herself against him like a tide against warm rock, fitting snugly beneath the crook of his arm, breath pulling deep into her chest as she turns to look up at him.
His copper eyes glint in the shadowed glow of their fort, lit from without by the world and from within by every tiny plastic constellation he’s plastered across the ceiling like it could hold back all the darkness. He looks soft like this. Bright and quiet and kind, full of molten warmth and the kind of attention that doesn’t waver or drift.
She swallows, one hand reaching for his as the other trails a star slowly along the side of his ribcage, drawing light from the hush between them. "Enzo and I weren't planned, obviously," she says simply, voice low and sure, like she’s rehearsed the line enough times for it to sound like a fact and not a wound. "My mom came to one of Frey's shrines and found Remi there. She was going to pray, and Frey..." Her lips twitch upward in a dry little smile, amused despite the weight of the story. "They challenged them to a race. Said whoever came first won, and the prize was turning Hotaru into a hybrid."
She doesn’t look away from Kaisel, doesn’t let the absurdity or intimacy of it distract her from the truth that pulses underneath. "And if you can imagine, having sex in front of Frey is like, the fastest way to guarantee you'll get pregnant." She snorts softly, her lashes lowering with wry knowing. "But also kinda hard to turn down, especially if you see what you want to see, so.."
Her fingers find Kaisel's palm, turn it upward, and she starts tracing her own stars against his skin. Her voice stays calm, steady, even as it wanders into deeper waters. "Back then, my parents had an open marriage or whatever, but Ronin was still pissed when he found out. Remi was the Guardian of the Greatwood, and Hotaru ran there from Halo to have us, and—" she exhales, frowning as her hands still, "—Ronin lost it. Went full dragon. Destroyed, like, half the forest. Wouldn’t even look at us."
Her eyes flick up to him again, wide and ocean-bright even in the gloom. "He wouldn’t let us live with them, so we stayed with Vai. Remi visited when he could." Her brows lift pointedly, words laced with all the meaning she doesn’t have to say aloud. When he could hadn’t been enough.
And when the air feels too thick with old shadows, she exhales and cuts through it with a wrinkle of her nose, shifting just enough to peer up at him through lashes gone half-lidded with fondness. "You only think they smell like popcorn because you always burn yours." Her grin curves slow and wicked, the corners of it full of light again.
His copper eyes glint in the shadowed glow of their fort, lit from without by the world and from within by every tiny plastic constellation he’s plastered across the ceiling like it could hold back all the darkness. He looks soft like this. Bright and quiet and kind, full of molten warmth and the kind of attention that doesn’t waver or drift.
She swallows, one hand reaching for his as the other trails a star slowly along the side of his ribcage, drawing light from the hush between them. "Enzo and I weren't planned, obviously," she says simply, voice low and sure, like she’s rehearsed the line enough times for it to sound like a fact and not a wound. "My mom came to one of Frey's shrines and found Remi there. She was going to pray, and Frey..." Her lips twitch upward in a dry little smile, amused despite the weight of the story. "They challenged them to a race. Said whoever came first won, and the prize was turning Hotaru into a hybrid."
She doesn’t look away from Kaisel, doesn’t let the absurdity or intimacy of it distract her from the truth that pulses underneath. "And if you can imagine, having sex in front of Frey is like, the fastest way to guarantee you'll get pregnant." She snorts softly, her lashes lowering with wry knowing. "But also kinda hard to turn down, especially if you see what you want to see, so.."
Her fingers find Kaisel's palm, turn it upward, and she starts tracing her own stars against his skin. Her voice stays calm, steady, even as it wanders into deeper waters. "Back then, my parents had an open marriage or whatever, but Ronin was still pissed when he found out. Remi was the Guardian of the Greatwood, and Hotaru ran there from Halo to have us, and—" she exhales, frowning as her hands still, "—Ronin lost it. Went full dragon. Destroyed, like, half the forest. Wouldn’t even look at us."
Her eyes flick up to him again, wide and ocean-bright even in the gloom. "He wouldn’t let us live with them, so we stayed with Vai. Remi visited when he could." Her brows lift pointedly, words laced with all the meaning she doesn’t have to say aloud. When he could hadn’t been enough.
And when the air feels too thick with old shadows, she exhales and cuts through it with a wrinkle of her nose, shifting just enough to peer up at him through lashes gone half-lidded with fondness. "You only think they smell like popcorn because you always burn yours." Her grin curves slow and wicked, the corners of it full of light again.
you don't know that you're living til' you're carrying scars
you're either falling in love or falling apart
you're either falling in love or falling apart
