you call me reckless, I call it art

champagne, cocaine, gasoline; and most things in between

"Oh, if you would not mind," he says of lending the Sugartide for the journey. "You should keep your compass for queenly emergencies, or shopping trips. Besides, it will be nice to make the journey - I only ever used to really fly up and down from Stormbreak, so this across business is exciting." It isn't really, but Mateo is an expert in making his own fun, and so if he says it's exciting, it probably will be. And besides, his sister is right in that he's still looking for distractions from the hole in the sky where home used to be, but overall? He's actually doing quite well, and it's in large part thanks to Flora.

"You will have your report, don't you worry," he tells her with a grin. "I will even make sure I count the seconds so we can see if your prediction is right. But, ugh. I suppose this means I cannot have several more mimosas this morning, though I may stay in just this." He gestures to the sarong. "And I suppose I should get going before it gets too hot out. Ew, I am starting to hate being a good brother again already."

flora

Flora listens as Mateo talks, especially the way he can insist that something is exciting until it becomes true, the way he turns loss into theatre and keeps moving before the ache can settle too deeply. There’s something fiercely tender in the way she looks at him then, softened by her sunglasses but unmistakable in the tilt of her mouth. She leans across the narrow space between their chairs and presses a kiss to his cheek. "You’ve always been a good brother," she tells him, and there’s no teasing in it this time. Yes, they’ve fought. They’ve disagreed. They’ve circled each other with sharp words and sharper pride. But even at her most impossible, he never wanted anything but the best for her.

She pulls back with a lighter smile, unwilling to let the moment grow too heavy in the sun. Rising in one smooth motion, she sets her hat more firmly on her head and holds both hands out to him, fingers adorned and gleaming. "Come on," she says, wiggling her hands impatiently. "Let’s go see what clothes I have on the Sugartide so we can see what you need to pack."

~FIN

The rumors are terrible and cruel
But honey, most of them are true

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!