flora
Flora huffs out something that almost counts as a laugh when Kai tells her to shut up, the sound breaking unevenly against his chest as she shakes her head, curls brushing his shirt. It is a relief, that certainty of him, the way he dismisses her gratitude like it could never be misplaced, even if it still matters fiercely to her. Gods, it matters so much. She has needed people before, called for them, waited with her heart in her throat while silence answered back, and she cannot help the quiet insistence of it even now. "I always will, though," she mumbles into the fabric of his shirt, voice muffled and earnest. "I won’t ever take it for granted."
She does not see the shadows wheeling overhead, does not register the danger he clocks, only goes willingly when he turns her toward the stairs, clinging to him as they descend into the cooler belly of the Sugartide where Spice has done her quiet, diligent work to banish the heat as much as she's able. The heat eases its grip as they move below deck, and Flora keeps both arms looped around Kai's middle until they reach the bench by the kitchenette, where she finally lets herself sink down.
She draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms tight around her shins, folding in on herself like it might keep the worst of it contained. Her breathing stutters as she fights the sob climbing her throat, mind spinning too fast, too tangled, every version of the truth splintering the moment she tries to line it up into something coherent. How could she explain this? How could she give shape to months of grief and fear and unfinished hurt without bleeding all over the person she loved most?
Flora looks up at him then, eyes red and shining, expression small and mournful, and her voice comes out barely above a whisper. "I think I need to tell you something," she says, the words trembling under the weight of what they carry. Fresh tears spill over before she can stop them, sliding hot down her cheeks as a sob finally breaks loose in earnest now. "But I don’t know how."
She does not see the shadows wheeling overhead, does not register the danger he clocks, only goes willingly when he turns her toward the stairs, clinging to him as they descend into the cooler belly of the Sugartide where Spice has done her quiet, diligent work to banish the heat as much as she's able. The heat eases its grip as they move below deck, and Flora keeps both arms looped around Kai's middle until they reach the bench by the kitchenette, where she finally lets herself sink down.
She draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms tight around her shins, folding in on herself like it might keep the worst of it contained. Her breathing stutters as she fights the sob climbing her throat, mind spinning too fast, too tangled, every version of the truth splintering the moment she tries to line it up into something coherent. How could she explain this? How could she give shape to months of grief and fear and unfinished hurt without bleeding all over the person she loved most?
Flora looks up at him then, eyes red and shining, expression small and mournful, and her voice comes out barely above a whisper. "I think I need to tell you something," she says, the words trembling under the weight of what they carry. Fresh tears spill over before she can stop them, sliding hot down her cheeks as a sob finally breaks loose in earnest now. "But I don’t know how."
Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness
'Cause it's all over now, all out to sea
'Cause it's all over now, all out to sea
