Zavien
He sincerely hopes there isn't a next time, but he's grateful nonetheless that they can agree to try better next time. After all, no one is perfect, and all they can do is try to be a better version of themselves than they were the day before.
A smile slips through the cracks at Kai's joking, coming easier without the weight of pretense or misunderstanding. If they can't eventually laugh at the pain, it will slowly consume them, and Zavien will be the first to admit he hasn't laughed about it much recently. He tries leaning into the feeling, his smile widening when he adds to 'shit's been a lot,' "Too much, if you ask me." Admittedly, it's been more than he's been able to handle on his own, and even now, he feels somewhat disjointed, listless. Soh and the baby help - and patching things up with Kai - but he won't deny that he's still unsettled, trying to find where he fits into the schematics of the world again.
When Kai mentions ice cream rather than violence, another piece of the wall crumbles between them. Zavien has to peel his fingers away from the guilt he holds, but when he does, he's embraced by the smile of a familiar face, grounded by the hand on his shoulder and the fragile bond that's being reformed. "Done."
[FIN]
A smile slips through the cracks at Kai's joking, coming easier without the weight of pretense or misunderstanding. If they can't eventually laugh at the pain, it will slowly consume them, and Zavien will be the first to admit he hasn't laughed about it much recently. He tries leaning into the feeling, his smile widening when he adds to 'shit's been a lot,' "Too much, if you ask me." Admittedly, it's been more than he's been able to handle on his own, and even now, he feels somewhat disjointed, listless. Soh and the baby help - and patching things up with Kai - but he won't deny that he's still unsettled, trying to find where he fits into the schematics of the world again.
When Kai mentions ice cream rather than violence, another piece of the wall crumbles between them. Zavien has to peel his fingers away from the guilt he holds, but when he does, he's embraced by the smile of a familiar face, grounded by the hand on his shoulder and the fragile bond that's being reformed. "Done."
[FIN]
We wear our scars as proof
that we are still alive.
