flora
Hearing you’re right doesn’t land the way Flora expects it to. There’s no sense of victory in it at all, no spark of relief or satisfaction, just the quiet noticing of him easing, the tension slipping out of his shoulders, the tightness in his jaw loosening by degrees even if it hasn’t fully let go. She pulls in a breath that catches briefly at the top of her chest and lets it out again, head shaking as the fish on her head jiggles along with the motion. "I don’t think Danta actively wants more," she says, slower now. "I think it’s more like...being introduced to a really good dessert when you already have a sweet tooth." Her mouth tips slightly as she searches for the comparison. "You’d happily have it again if it showed up, sure, but you can also just as easily have something else, especially when it isn’t on the menu."
Her gaze lingers on Kai's smile as it falters and reforms, and she exhales before reaching for his hand, the sparkly orange hair tie on her wrist catching the light as her fingers curl around his. "I don’t really understand it either," she adds. "When Asta came over and we talked about the whole hallpass thing, I told him I could never. Not in a million years." She stills as he talks, listening, and when he says that being with anyone else feels wrong, a smile slips out before she can stop it, small and helpless. "Ditto."
Her shoulders lift and fall again, head tipping from side to side. "Relationships are hard," she says, a hint of doubt threading her voice despite herself. "Maybe that’s just what works best for them." Then she rises onto her toes and deliberately lets herself tip forward, bumping into him so her weight settles against his chest, her nose brushing his as she looks up. "I’m really sorry about how all of this made you feel," she says, nose wrinkling. "I never wanted you to hear about things from my past in a way that hurt you."
When his hand cuts through the air and drops back to his side, Flora huffs a breath that almost counts as a laugh and lifts her shoulders in a little shrug. Her grip tightens briefly around his fingers before she loosens it again. "I get why you did it," she says, quieter now, like she’s setting the words down instead of throwing them. "And since we don’t have any more proposals lined up, hopefully we never have to do this again."
As he reaches for her, she draws his hand back to her chest instead, fingers threading through his and holding on. "I appreciate you trying to make an effort with my friends. And that you were considerate enough to try and plan around Asta’s proposal." She lifts his hand and presses her mouth to his knuckles, holding it there for a breath before looking back up at him. "That means a lot to me."
Her gaze lingers on Kai's smile as it falters and reforms, and she exhales before reaching for his hand, the sparkly orange hair tie on her wrist catching the light as her fingers curl around his. "I don’t really understand it either," she adds. "When Asta came over and we talked about the whole hallpass thing, I told him I could never. Not in a million years." She stills as he talks, listening, and when he says that being with anyone else feels wrong, a smile slips out before she can stop it, small and helpless. "Ditto."
Her shoulders lift and fall again, head tipping from side to side. "Relationships are hard," she says, a hint of doubt threading her voice despite herself. "Maybe that’s just what works best for them." Then she rises onto her toes and deliberately lets herself tip forward, bumping into him so her weight settles against his chest, her nose brushing his as she looks up. "I’m really sorry about how all of this made you feel," she says, nose wrinkling. "I never wanted you to hear about things from my past in a way that hurt you."
When his hand cuts through the air and drops back to his side, Flora huffs a breath that almost counts as a laugh and lifts her shoulders in a little shrug. Her grip tightens briefly around his fingers before she loosens it again. "I get why you did it," she says, quieter now, like she’s setting the words down instead of throwing them. "And since we don’t have any more proposals lined up, hopefully we never have to do this again."
As he reaches for her, she draws his hand back to her chest instead, fingers threading through his and holding on. "I appreciate you trying to make an effort with my friends. And that you were considerate enough to try and plan around Asta’s proposal." She lifts his hand and presses her mouth to his knuckles, holding it there for a breath before looking back up at him. "That means a lot to me."
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
