A warm meal and a quiet night

KIADA we are all just fighting to survive a world, where 'i miss you' doesn't mean I'm coming back. She pops the potato into her mouth after airing her question – letting her gaze linger along him as she waits for the reaction, the response. And it’s actually somewhat amusing, as is the blush that creeps along his neck and cheeks – and it causes her to swallow down the food a bit harder than before as she listens to the response. And it also sparks some sort of blush along her face as well – flushing the back of her neck and her own cheeks as she averts her gaze to her plate once more as if she’s debating which next bite would be best as she mulls over his answer. It does little to keep the soft, gentle smile from remaining on her face, the slight feeling of surprise and honesty that lingers within her that she tries to keep to herself. That he wants this time with her, that she’s something special when she really didn’t consider herself to be. But Chulane was special too, a sweet and kind Outlander that reminded her so much of Rixen that it almost hurt when she considers him again. Here’s to new memories, isn’t that what they had said before? So she manages to pierce another bit of food and line them up on her fork, her head remaining angled down toward the plate but her eyes lift to meet him as his question is posed back to her and she blinks a small amount – some uncharacteristically shyness crossing over her as she contemplates the answer. “I think you should have.” She agrees, trying to add in some of that humor and watching it fall short. “But I’m not exactly sure how to pay you back for this.” She adds a bit more honestly – all the kind things he’s done for her. How could that be repaid? Did it even need to be? Aside from her presence being enough? She supposes the better question that crosses her mind is whether or not she’s worth all of this, when he hardly seems to know her darker past, what causes her to edge and shift into that sharpened blade of a person she was when he’d found her after the palace had fallen. Had he noticed the shift? Did he care? Did she care anymore? and 'I love you' doesn't mean I'll stay...