with each love i cut loose i was never the same
Flora softens immediately beneath the small, familiar pressure of Soh’s shoulder against hers, the sharp little edges of her entrance easing as if they’ve been warmed between careful hands. Her smile shifts into something less performative and more real, still tired around the edges but easier now, and she lets herself sink down beside Soh properly, the airy skirt of her sundress settling over her knees while her gold jewellery gives a faint, delicate clink as her hand falls near her best friend’s. "Yeah," she says, with a laugh caught somewhere in the middle of a sigh, aqua eyes flicking toward the light as if the ceiling might have the audacity to confirm the hour. "And it’s only what, like noon?"
When the invitation to move comes, Flora rises with a breath that’s equal parts resignation and anticipation, because as much as she wants to melt into the couch and become one with the very expensive upholstery, there’s also the promise of privacy just down the hall, and gods, privacy feels like a luxury item these days. She doesn’t really register the way Soh reaches for her water beyond the ordinary motions of standing and gathering herself, but her fingers curl through Soh’s just the same, easy and automatic, her rings cool between them as she lets herself be tugged along toward the private room.
Once the door closes and the soft hush of the spa wraps around them properly, Flora exhales in a way she hadn’t quite managed in the lobby, as if the last bright pieces of the Doubletake can finally be slipped from her shoulders and left outside with the staff and the fruit water and everyone who might need the Queen of Torchline to make a decision. Here, with Soh, her face loosens all at once, the wryness giving way to something messier and more honest as she shakes her head, curls shifting against her cheeks. "It’s just always something, you know?" she says, and though she tries to make it sound light, there’s too much packed beneath the words, too many crates and ledgers and unfinished walls and names she can’t stop turning over in her mouth. "And there’s only one of me."
She laughs under her breath, but it comes out thin enough to fray. "I’ve been organizing shipments with the Gilded Market to get the Hanged Man rebuilt, and then Ronin and I decided to focus on soldier training, which is not my forte, obviously," Flora adds, brows lifting as she turns a pointed look toward Soh, because the idea of her standing around pretending to be thrilled about drills and formation work is almost funny enough to be worth the headache. Almost. "And with Ronin at home mostly with the newborns, it’s been kind of crazy to manage, and then I’ve also been stupidly wondering if the crime in the Fingers isn’t just because Jack’s been gone and maybe it would be better if he was back, especially with LongNight coming up, and..."
Her cheeks flush as the whole thing spills out in one long, breathless ribbon, each thought tripping over the next before she can make any of them prettier or less revealing, and Flora’s hand flutters once as if she might physically catch the sentence and shove it back into herself. Instead she just laughs, bright and helpless and a little too sharp at the edges, shaking her head like this is all part of the normal weather of being her and not a storm slowly chewing through the floorboard beneath her feet. "And that’s on top of trying to plan a wedding, so..." She lifts both hands in a small, theatrical little flourish, rings gleaming, smile widening into something practiced enough to pass if Soh doesn’t look too closely. "Anyway, this was an amazing idea, so thank you."
When the invitation to move comes, Flora rises with a breath that’s equal parts resignation and anticipation, because as much as she wants to melt into the couch and become one with the very expensive upholstery, there’s also the promise of privacy just down the hall, and gods, privacy feels like a luxury item these days. She doesn’t really register the way Soh reaches for her water beyond the ordinary motions of standing and gathering herself, but her fingers curl through Soh’s just the same, easy and automatic, her rings cool between them as she lets herself be tugged along toward the private room.
Once the door closes and the soft hush of the spa wraps around them properly, Flora exhales in a way she hadn’t quite managed in the lobby, as if the last bright pieces of the Doubletake can finally be slipped from her shoulders and left outside with the staff and the fruit water and everyone who might need the Queen of Torchline to make a decision. Here, with Soh, her face loosens all at once, the wryness giving way to something messier and more honest as she shakes her head, curls shifting against her cheeks. "It’s just always something, you know?" she says, and though she tries to make it sound light, there’s too much packed beneath the words, too many crates and ledgers and unfinished walls and names she can’t stop turning over in her mouth. "And there’s only one of me."
She laughs under her breath, but it comes out thin enough to fray. "I’ve been organizing shipments with the Gilded Market to get the Hanged Man rebuilt, and then Ronin and I decided to focus on soldier training, which is not my forte, obviously," Flora adds, brows lifting as she turns a pointed look toward Soh, because the idea of her standing around pretending to be thrilled about drills and formation work is almost funny enough to be worth the headache. Almost. "And with Ronin at home mostly with the newborns, it’s been kind of crazy to manage, and then I’ve also been stupidly wondering if the crime in the Fingers isn’t just because Jack’s been gone and maybe it would be better if he was back, especially with LongNight coming up, and..."
Her cheeks flush as the whole thing spills out in one long, breathless ribbon, each thought tripping over the next before she can make any of them prettier or less revealing, and Flora’s hand flutters once as if she might physically catch the sentence and shove it back into herself. Instead she just laughs, bright and helpless and a little too sharp at the edges, shaking her head like this is all part of the normal weather of being her and not a storm slowly chewing through the floorboard beneath her feet. "And that’s on top of trying to plan a wedding, so..." She lifts both hands in a small, theatrical little flourish, rings gleaming, smile widening into something practiced enough to pass if Soh doesn’t look too closely. "Anyway, this was an amazing idea, so thank you."
