maybe who we were then is shattered, but who we are in the end is what matters
It's like a warped mirror, but she doesn't need the silence of his side of the bond to know that what they're feeling on the inside couldn't be more different. Whether out of self-defense or respect, Hotaru keeps her own side of the Attuned bond equally shuttered. It had been their saving grace once; Sunjata able to share emotions more readily than words. A bridge that had helped them rebuild and find new ways to understand each other after the first explosive end, where Hotaru hadn't had the ability to feel his emotions until it was much too late. She can't help but wonder if they relied on it too heavily. Had they learned and grown enough while leaning on the bond like a crutch? Or had they excused away the necessity because they'd found a solution they had both believed to be permanent?
Perhaps now is when she finds out.
She turns aside to allow him to make his own offering, though she doesn't step away given he'd been the one to decide how close to get. Putting the power in his hands again and again in a desperate bid to prove her devotion is greater than her desire for equality. Even if more than one person has expressed gentle disapproval of that approach even in the short time they've been apart.
Looking at him - even just looking - is so painful it makes her throat seize. At least it allows him to speak while she tries to silence the cracking noises radiating up her chest and into her ears. "I told you I would wait," she replies simply, voice subdued. He'd given her no idea on how else to fix things; until he makes a decision about the two of them, it's all she can do. 'Owe' is a word she has forcefully kept herself from using, but she doesn't fully disagree despite how she has tried to purge herself of any negativity that might push him further away. So she simply tilts her chin down in a half-nod of agreement. Silent and receptive of whatever he has to say.
More waiting. At least it's something she's capable of doing, no matter how long it takes.
Perhaps now is when she finds out.
She turns aside to allow him to make his own offering, though she doesn't step away given he'd been the one to decide how close to get. Putting the power in his hands again and again in a desperate bid to prove her devotion is greater than her desire for equality. Even if more than one person has expressed gentle disapproval of that approach even in the short time they've been apart.
Looking at him - even just looking - is so painful it makes her throat seize. At least it allows him to speak while she tries to silence the cracking noises radiating up her chest and into her ears. "I told you I would wait," she replies simply, voice subdued. He'd given her no idea on how else to fix things; until he makes a decision about the two of them, it's all she can do. 'Owe' is a word she has forcefully kept herself from using, but she doesn't fully disagree despite how she has tried to purge herself of any negativity that might push him further away. So she simply tilts her chin down in a half-nod of agreement. Silent and receptive of whatever he has to say.
More waiting. At least it's something she's capable of doing, no matter how long it takes.
