yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about
His shout hits her like a thrown stone, and Flora flinches instinctively, not because she’s afraid of him but because her body is still strung tight with leftover adrenaline and Kaisel, for all his volume and bravado, rarely yells. The sound of it cracks through her like lightning, and she recognizes the rising swell beneath it instantly, knows hysteria when she feels it gathering; she’s hosted enough of it herself to spot the tide before it crests.
One moment she’s at the wheel, the next she’s in front of him, palms lifting to cradle his cheeks, fingers warm against the tension there. Her thumbs press lightly at the hinge of his jaw as if she can physically anchor him back into himself, and her aqua eyes lock onto his copper ones, bright and steady and intent on holding. "Hey," she says softly, voice low but firm, the way you’d speak to someone standing too close to a ledge. "That’s never gonna happen, okay?" Her brows lift emphatically, a silent underline to the promise, and she draws in a breath that trembles despite her efforts to smooth it. The shiver passes through her shoulders like a ripple through shallow water before she steels against it, refusing to let it carry her away.
"I know Jack well enough," she continues, quieter now, coaxing rather than arguing, "to know he needed to tack on some nonsense to make himself feel better." Her mouth softens at one corner, not mocking, just certain. "I went onto his ship married, with the upper hand. Of course he was going to demand something dramatic so he didn’t feel small." She leans closer as she says it, rising onto her toes so her forehead almost brushes his again, their breaths mingling in the warm night air. "And you know what?" Her eyes search his, not challenging but resolute. "It doesn’t matter."
Her hands slide slightly, thumbs stroking lightly along his cheekbones. "Because I trust you. More than anything. Whatever he needed to add to feel like he wasn’t losing, it’s worth it. because it's never going to happen. And it keeps our friends and family safe." She brushes her nose gently against his, a small affectionate nudge, before lowering back onto her heels. "And if you’re worried," she adds, softer now, almost teasing to ease the sharp edge of his panic, "we can always go to Frey and have some magical gag put in your mouth that stops you from telling." A faint sigh escapes her, fond and adoring all at once. "But I don’t think we need to."
One moment she’s at the wheel, the next she’s in front of him, palms lifting to cradle his cheeks, fingers warm against the tension there. Her thumbs press lightly at the hinge of his jaw as if she can physically anchor him back into himself, and her aqua eyes lock onto his copper ones, bright and steady and intent on holding. "Hey," she says softly, voice low but firm, the way you’d speak to someone standing too close to a ledge. "That’s never gonna happen, okay?" Her brows lift emphatically, a silent underline to the promise, and she draws in a breath that trembles despite her efforts to smooth it. The shiver passes through her shoulders like a ripple through shallow water before she steels against it, refusing to let it carry her away.
"I know Jack well enough," she continues, quieter now, coaxing rather than arguing, "to know he needed to tack on some nonsense to make himself feel better." Her mouth softens at one corner, not mocking, just certain. "I went onto his ship married, with the upper hand. Of course he was going to demand something dramatic so he didn’t feel small." She leans closer as she says it, rising onto her toes so her forehead almost brushes his again, their breaths mingling in the warm night air. "And you know what?" Her eyes search his, not challenging but resolute. "It doesn’t matter."
Her hands slide slightly, thumbs stroking lightly along his cheekbones. "Because I trust you. More than anything. Whatever he needed to add to feel like he wasn’t losing, it’s worth it. because it's never going to happen. And it keeps our friends and family safe." She brushes her nose gently against his, a small affectionate nudge, before lowering back onto her heels. "And if you’re worried," she adds, softer now, almost teasing to ease the sharp edge of his panic, "we can always go to Frey and have some magical gag put in your mouth that stops you from telling." A faint sigh escapes her, fond and adoring all at once. "But I don’t think we need to."
real big things I still gotta figure out
