with each love i cut loose i was never the same
Flora laughs with immediate delight at Soh’s dramatic protest, the sound spilling bright and easy through the private room as she pulls the wine glass back from the poor, innocent couch with a wicked little grin and a bounce of her brows. As Soh starts to gush about Zavien, Flora leans into the couch with one shoulder tucked slightly toward her best friend, listening with a softened smile that doesn’t need to try nearly so hard. There’s something almost painfully lovely about watching Soh light up like this, silver gaze warmed through with adoration, every word carrying that helpless, bubbling brightness of someone who has found something good and still can’t quite believe she’s allowed to keep it. "I’m super happy for you, babe."
Then Soh says she has news, and Flora’s eyes widen at once, her lips already parting around the shape of a joke she’s so close to making that it nearly slips out on instinct—what, are you pregnant?—only for Sohalia to say exactly that, blunt and glowing and full of love, and for a single suspended second Flora can only stare.
Because they'd just started dating last season, but the surprise on Flora’s face lasts only as long as it takes for Soh’s excitement to wash over the room and make the whole thing unmistakably real. Then delight breaks through her expression like sunlight through clear water, bright and sudden and almost breathless, and she sets her glass aside before reaching forward to wrap her arms tightly around Soh.
"Oh my gods," Flora bursts, squeezing her best friend with all the careful enthusiasm of someone who has a dozen feelings trying to run through the same doorway at once. "Soh, oh my gods." She pulls back just enough to see her face, hands still lingering because letting go too quickly feels impossible, her grin widening as the details catch up to her in glittering fragments. "And Safrin told you?" The awe in her voice is immediate and unhidden, because Flora knows better than most what it means to have the goddess lean into the shape of someone’s future and name the miracle before anyone else can.
Her gaze flicks downward instinctively toward Soh’s stomach, which of course still looks flat to Flora, no visible sign yet of the tiny, impossible thing already rearranging her best friend’s entire world. When she looks back up, her smile is still there, but something in it gentles by a fraction, the bright edges softening into something more careful as she lowers her voice. "And you’re one hundred percent good with this?" she asks, not because she doubts the joy she’s just seen but because Soh deserves the question beneath the celebration, deserves to have every door in the room left open instead of being swept into everyone else’s idea of what she should want. Flora’s thumb brushes once against Soh’s hand. "Because you know I’d support you, whatever you decide to do."
Then Soh says she has news, and Flora’s eyes widen at once, her lips already parting around the shape of a joke she’s so close to making that it nearly slips out on instinct—what, are you pregnant?—only for Sohalia to say exactly that, blunt and glowing and full of love, and for a single suspended second Flora can only stare.
Because they'd just started dating last season, but the surprise on Flora’s face lasts only as long as it takes for Soh’s excitement to wash over the room and make the whole thing unmistakably real. Then delight breaks through her expression like sunlight through clear water, bright and sudden and almost breathless, and she sets her glass aside before reaching forward to wrap her arms tightly around Soh.
"Oh my gods," Flora bursts, squeezing her best friend with all the careful enthusiasm of someone who has a dozen feelings trying to run through the same doorway at once. "Soh, oh my gods." She pulls back just enough to see her face, hands still lingering because letting go too quickly feels impossible, her grin widening as the details catch up to her in glittering fragments. "And Safrin told you?" The awe in her voice is immediate and unhidden, because Flora knows better than most what it means to have the goddess lean into the shape of someone’s future and name the miracle before anyone else can.
Her gaze flicks downward instinctively toward Soh’s stomach, which of course still looks flat to Flora, no visible sign yet of the tiny, impossible thing already rearranging her best friend’s entire world. When she looks back up, her smile is still there, but something in it gentles by a fraction, the bright edges softening into something more careful as she lowers her voice. "And you’re one hundred percent good with this?" she asks, not because she doubts the joy she’s just seen but because Soh deserves the question beneath the celebration, deserves to have every door in the room left open instead of being swept into everyone else’s idea of what she should want. Flora’s thumb brushes once against Soh’s hand. "Because you know I’d support you, whatever you decide to do."
