you swallowed my heart and fled, but I want it back now, baby
”You don’t know that Sunjata!” The outburst overlaps with Hotaru’s soft accusation. Because they hadn’t had the chance to try. They never would now, and Nate has absolutely no idea how things will go. Anything that he could even pretend to call control has been ripped from his hands and thrown to stars, scattered among those cold and shining fields.
”So what happens if the old gods lose this? What do you do then?” For a single crazed second, Nate’s head whips around, looking for the blood ring that he’d left on the counter, so he can ask what he really means silently. What do you want to happen? He doesn’t dare with that hateful constellation still spread over Sunjata’s chest,
Nate leans into the brush of words against his skin, his fluid rimmed eye focused on the inky black shape of Sunjata across the room. He considers quietly, leaning in to press his lips against Hotaru’s golden crown, his arms pulling around her more protectively. ”No.” The word drops with all the grace of a brick through ice, his tone rough, rumbling with anger. ”You don’t get to come home, drop... all of this on us, and then leave. You have to stay, and you have to be part of fixing it.” This time, Nate fights to keep his lip from curling, to keep his voice steady, though it’s very clear none of this comes from a place of forgiveness. He’s not going to be the spark that fans them all into a conflagration again. ”That’s love, Sunjata.”
A holographic hand appears again, just over Nate’s shoulder, it’s finger outstretched to stop any response that might come from the attuned. His focus turns away, just for a moment, so he can lean into Hotaru, words that are only just barely loud enough for her to catch dropping from his lips. ”Will you be okay, sweetheart?” With the decision he’s made, with all of this?
When he turns to look back up at Sunjata, there is more sorrow than anger in his gaze, though his face is stubbornly stony, his brows pulled tightly together and his mouth set i to a hard line. ”Don’t say a word. Just nod, okay?” Simple, short instructions. ”I still love you. You’re not leaving, we’re not leaving. You don’t get to ask us to forgive you. Ever.” There more, he's sure, demands and boundaries and other things he’s forgetting, but Nate is honeslty just proud of himself for staying together as much as he has.
”So what happens if the old gods lose this? What do you do then?” For a single crazed second, Nate’s head whips around, looking for the blood ring that he’d left on the counter, so he can ask what he really means silently. What do you want to happen? He doesn’t dare with that hateful constellation still spread over Sunjata’s chest,
Nate leans into the brush of words against his skin, his fluid rimmed eye focused on the inky black shape of Sunjata across the room. He considers quietly, leaning in to press his lips against Hotaru’s golden crown, his arms pulling around her more protectively. ”No.” The word drops with all the grace of a brick through ice, his tone rough, rumbling with anger. ”You don’t get to come home, drop... all of this on us, and then leave. You have to stay, and you have to be part of fixing it.” This time, Nate fights to keep his lip from curling, to keep his voice steady, though it’s very clear none of this comes from a place of forgiveness. He’s not going to be the spark that fans them all into a conflagration again. ”That’s love, Sunjata.”
A holographic hand appears again, just over Nate’s shoulder, it’s finger outstretched to stop any response that might come from the attuned. His focus turns away, just for a moment, so he can lean into Hotaru, words that are only just barely loud enough for her to catch dropping from his lips. ”Will you be okay, sweetheart?” With the decision he’s made, with all of this?
When he turns to look back up at Sunjata, there is more sorrow than anger in his gaze, though his face is stubbornly stony, his brows pulled tightly together and his mouth set i to a hard line. ”Don’t say a word. Just nod, okay?” Simple, short instructions. ”I still love you. You’re not leaving, we’re not leaving. You don’t get to ask us to forgive you. Ever.” There more, he's sure, demands and boundaries and other things he’s forgetting, but Nate is honeslty just proud of himself for staying together as much as he has.
NATE
