is this the end of all the endings?
Flora laughs, the sound bubbling up light and bright as sunlight through the canopy. "No, it’s not like that at all," she says, grinning as she leans in close, voice dipping into something mock-menacing. "You’re way worse." The accusation comes wrapped in laughter, because gods, she means it lovingly, every chaotic, wonderful bit of it. As new as they still are, as golden and giddy as it feels between them, there hasn’t been a single time she’s minded saying an enthusiastic hello to Lil’ Kai, no matter the place or the hour. If the Sugartide weren’t moored so near—complete with a shower and an actual bed—she might be tempted to see if she couldn't collude with Lil Kai to try and preemptively stop any arguments Kaisel might have in their tracks.
When the spirits answer her whistle and the air stirs with a breeze thick enough to rustle fruit down from the trees, Flora can feel the disappointment rolling off him, almost as dense as the humidity around them. Her grin widens, eyes sparkling as she glances up at him. "We still have to juice all this fruit, remember?" Her lashes lower just a touch, gaze dark with mischief. "And we’ll need to be clean for that, so we don’t contaminate anything." The bounce of her eyebrows as she rolls onto her knees makes it painfully clear she means to test his focus on that part.
When Kaisel pulls off his shirt, Flora pauses mid-motion, lips parting slightly as her eyes trace the lines of him; skin slick and golden under the filtered light, muscles shifting with easy grace. It isn’t just the physical appeal of him, though it's never failed to steal her breath yet; it’s the way he can swing from ridiculous to responsible without ever losing the spark in his eyes. One moment he’s threatening her with jail time over merch, the next he’s quietly solving a problem. It hits her all at once, that warm, steady pulse of love beneath the laughter.
With a small, helpless sigh that comes out softer than she means it to, Flora nods. Instead of answering his offer, she just smiles; wide and bright and a little undone. "I love you," she says simply, the words slipping out with all the ease and certainty in the world as she deposits a handful of lemons into his shirt-bag.
When the spirits answer her whistle and the air stirs with a breeze thick enough to rustle fruit down from the trees, Flora can feel the disappointment rolling off him, almost as dense as the humidity around them. Her grin widens, eyes sparkling as she glances up at him. "We still have to juice all this fruit, remember?" Her lashes lower just a touch, gaze dark with mischief. "And we’ll need to be clean for that, so we don’t contaminate anything." The bounce of her eyebrows as she rolls onto her knees makes it painfully clear she means to test his focus on that part.
When Kaisel pulls off his shirt, Flora pauses mid-motion, lips parting slightly as her eyes trace the lines of him; skin slick and golden under the filtered light, muscles shifting with easy grace. It isn’t just the physical appeal of him, though it's never failed to steal her breath yet; it’s the way he can swing from ridiculous to responsible without ever losing the spark in his eyes. One moment he’s threatening her with jail time over merch, the next he’s quietly solving a problem. It hits her all at once, that warm, steady pulse of love beneath the laughter.
With a small, helpless sigh that comes out softer than she means it to, Flora nods. Instead of answering his offer, she just smiles; wide and bright and a little undone. "I love you," she says simply, the words slipping out with all the ease and certainty in the world as she deposits a handful of lemons into his shirt-bag.
my broken bones are mending
