I wanna drink cheap wine with you

we show off our different scarlet letters

"I don't think there's just one thing you're meant to do in life." Flora had seen her parents switch professions, alignments, and regions often enough to know better than to believe that there was only ever one path that they were all meant to walk down. "I bet you'd have been really happy as a vet, or a dozen other things." Calendar model, hand model, fitness influencer, lifestyle coach. "Besides, if you talk about it like that too long, karma is gonna step in and break both of your legs so that you'll have to find a new career." She adds, trying to mirror the levity that seemed to come to him so easily.

Contentedly releasing Koa's hand if only to wrap her arm around his waist, Flora tickles her fingers slightly up one of his sides. "Someone has been working out." She trills under her breath, before laughing at the thought of Koa having been Enzo's roadie, or a juggler. It helped lift the deep purple veil that wanted to settle against her bones, chilling her mood and trying to still her smile. "Mmmmmmmmmm." She hums adoringly, musically, her arm tightening around his waist as his lips press against the top of her head. "I like when you do that." A touch shyly said, Flora's smile is crooked to begin with as she peers up at Koa.

"You can one day? There's uhm...gonna be this thing that I can't really tell you about, but Enzo will be there." The thing of course being her mother's wedding, but until Sunjata had popped the question, Flora was doing her best to try and keep the whole thing a secret.

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

"I've already broken one," he informs her, shaking his left leg in demonstration. "And an arm, a couple times. Gotta say, it's been great having access to magic healers. No idea how we managed for so long." Sure, there had been healing items and the occasional Attuned, but being able to have a bone set as soon as it fractured? Game changing.

Koa's chest swells as Flora hums beneath him, the painful tightness of summer love thrumming in his heart. And who could blame the boy, really? It's stupidly easy to fall for Flora: she's as beautiful as she is cunning, a thief who became his Queen of Hearts. The hand not around her rises upwards, wine glass shifting to allow his fingers to tuck beneath her chin. "Then I'll keep doing it," he murmurs back, copper eyes hooded as they meet hers, before pressing a kiss to her lips as though to seal the oath.

"A thing?" Koa repeats, eyebrow raising questioningly. "You can tell me. I'm great with secrets, and I love things." They've turned down another pathway now, and ahead of them arcs a wooden bridge. A lazy stream flows happily below it, and from beyond the bank the tell-tale chattering of glotters can be heard.

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

we show off our different scarlet letters

"Really?" Looking quietly bemused, Flora's eyes drop from the hard line of the dragoon's jaw down to his leg, and then to his arm. "I can't imagine." Breaking bones or not having access to healing magic. Vai kept both she and Enzo relatively harm-free when they'd been growing up, and save for a few bumps and scrapes, unlike her twin, Flora had made it through life fairly easily. "You know, it's weird to learn things like that about you." She admits, nudging her hip softly against his. "Like...I feel like I know you, and then you say things like about how you wanted to be a vet or that you've broken bones, and it's just..." Beaming up at him before grabbing at her lower lip with her teeth to keep her smile from running away with her, the queen laughs. "...I like it, though." She says a good deal more softly. "I like learning things about you."

It's one of those moments; the ones where you take a mental picture Jim and Pam while at the same time desperately telling yourself to stay present so as not to miss a second of it. As her chin is lifted, Flora breathes in softly, the tail end of the air that slides over her tongue tasting of cinnamon, citrus, and woodsmoke before it's chased by the warm press of Koa's lips. Heat grips the muscles of her belly, making her tense and soften all over as she rises on her toes to press her mouth more firmly against his. It's over long before she wants it to be, and in the space he'd just been, Flora's sigh is as sweet as it is wonderfully frustrated.

Sinking back onto her heels, her cheeks flushed and her stomach alive with butterflies, Flora swallows and nods. "Okay, but you have to swear not to say anything."

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

"I get what you mean," Koa agrees with a laugh, his grip on her arm tightening. "I like it, too." In one sense, Flora has been in his life in one form or other stretching back years; Koa knows her on an intimate level, knows her history and her family, her body, her smell. And yet in many ways they are strangers, moons with unexplored dark sides to discover, forests of secrets hidden by the trees. It scares and excites him, knowing how much remains unknown - and daring to hope there will be a lifetime for him to learn it all.

He grins as they continue toward the bridge, mischief laughing in his eyes. "Dragoon's honor," Koa swears with playful solemnity, wine-wielding hand held up in a salute. "Not a word." He's mentally speculating as to what this resurrection-resulting event might be as they step onto the first wooden plank - just in time for a flock of paper moths to flutter up before them, a snippets of poetry scrawled across their ashy, silver wings.

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

we show off our different scarlet letters

Was Flora at all philosophically inclined, or even poetically, she might realize that it was the lingering unknown between them that made Koa so wonderfully and wildly easy to fall in love with over and above his himbo charm. She could make up stories in her mind about the things they could see or do with one another regardless of his likes or dislikes; if she didn't know them, she couldn't be wrong about them. Filling in the shadowy details of his past with the soundtrack that best suited what she wanted him to be for her was all the easier when only the first few notes had been written down.

"I'll hang you up from the Needle myself if you tell." Flora warns, her aqua eyes flashing before she grins and lowers her voice. "Sunjata is going to propose to my mom." She whispers, just as the paper moths flit across their path. "And my dad is going to bring my brother back for it and for the wedding." She adds, stepping to the side so as not to disturb the strange dance that the ashen creatures seem to be caught up in. "He can do that, Remi I mean. Bring people back. Only for a few hours, but..." It wasn't enough, but for the few times she'd been able to see her twin again, it had been everything.

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

Koa shudders, not entirely in jest - he's seen people flayed on the needle, when it was still used for such things. But then the secret spills from her lips, and the Dragoon has to take a second to process how he should respond. "Wow... a wedding! That's great," he lands on, guided by her reaction and trying to subdue his own misgivings about the Flood. So what if he was pro-Dahlia in a way that, after talking to Everest, makes Koa hella sus? Weddings are fun, and Flora is happy, and theres more important things to focus on. "If you find yourself in need of a wedding date, I look pretty good in a suit..." He trails off with a playful wink, releasing his arm from around her as they maneuver past the moths.

Plus there's the other part, which has his eyes growing wide. "Wait, really? Anybody?" And maybe it's selfish, but gods if his thoughts don't flick to his mother, throat catching at the possibility of a way to see her again. "Are they really like... alive-alive? Or is it more of a ghost deal?"

They've reached the apex of the bridge, and now Koa stops to lean on the railing and give Flora a chance to take it in. Below a them stretches a green gully, punctuated by trees and the widening stream. Glotters chatter in the crystal water; a school of whisper fish swim beyond. It's as though a pocket of the Greatwood has been picked up and placed here, with great trees extending in a canopy above them that blocks out much of the sun. It's beautiful, and Koa gazes out on it with a smile of contentment, elbows on the rail. "What do you think?" he asks of Flora, turning a sunny smile her way. "Does it feel like home?"

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

we show off our different scarlet letters

"Is that so? Am I meant to just take your word for it, or...?" She raises her eyebrows. The last time she'd likely have seen the dragoon in a suit would have been the midwinter ball when she'd been animatedly trying not to notice him. "I might need some proof before committing to something like that." She adds, nudging him softly. Maybe for their second date they could go somewhere black tie, and she could judge the truth of his words for herself.

"Yep, and it's pretty alive-alive. I mean, you can touch them, and they can drink and eat, and..." She shrugs. Just before she was about to mention her plan to have someone take her brother's virginity on one of the occasions he was brought back to Caido, Flora realized too late something she should have been much more sensitive of to begin. "I can ask him about your mom, if you want? You and Noe could see her again if you don't think it would hurt too much? Or...he can receive messages too. I'm not really sure how that part works, other than that he goes quiet sometimes and just...hears voices from Mort's halls."

Coming to an abrupt stop as the Greatwood spills out around them, Flora nearly drops her glass of wine such is the sudden tremble in her fingers. "Oh my gods." Stepping forward and pulling out from under Koa's arm if only so that she could flit around the bridge unencumbered, Flora finds that she has to remind herself to breathe so strong is the feeling of Deja Vu settling around her. "It's like...if you took all the best bits and just.." Holding out her hands, she brings them together to indicate the ways in which this was a little slice of a far larger biome, all squished together.

Drawing back toward his side and beaming up at him, Flora points toward the river. "We used to live right by the StoneSong, back when it was called that, anyway." She explains. "Enzo, Mateo and I used to hunt for goldish. We'd follow the glotters, and they'd always lead us right to them."

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

Mouth having gone fully dry, at first Koa can only nod while emotions well inside his throat. "That would be... yeah. Even just hearing..." But then, what would Mahina say? Pride that he's followed her legacy, or disappointment with the man he's become? It's a terrifyingly complicated prospect, and Koa isn't sure he's ready to face it just yet.

Thankfully, he doesn't have to. The train of conversation is utterly derailed by Flora's delight in the Greatwood biome and its inhabitants. Huffing quiet laughter, he watches as she flits from sight to sight, fondness smoothing the edges of his mind.

He maneuvers behind her as she draws near, not wanting to obstruct her views as his arms snake round her waist. "I broke my arm in the Stonesong," Koa chuckles, peering over Flora's shoulder to to where the animals play. "Only time I've been to the Greatwood, actually. I wish I'd spent more time there, it's beautiful."

His cheeks resting on Flora's head, Koa's more than content to let his date take in the scenery. "We can stay here as long as you want. Dinner isn't for another hour."

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

we show off our different scarlet letters

"He'd do it for you, if I asked him." Flora says quickly, almost wishing she could pull the words back and erase the shadows that were still darkening Koa's eyes. It was a bittersweet power, this ability of Remi's, and while Flora was content never to let her heart fully heal in virtue of bringing Enzo back again and again, she couldn't imagine facing life knowing that she'd never see his face again, or hear his voice.

As Koa nears, the baby-fine hairs on the back of Flora's neck stand up, sending a slight shiver down her spine. A twin plume of fire responds in her belly, racing up the back of her throat as the dragoon wraps his arms around her waist; no doubt Koa will feel the hiccup of joy that Flora closes her lips around as her belly tenses and then softens. Tilting her head back and lifting her chin to peer mischievously up at him—no bats in the cave, well done Koa—the queen scrunches her nose, her smile growing crooked. "Glad we left you with a lasting memory." She chuckles, shifting back against him and crossing her arms under her breasts in order to settle her hands against his forearms. "Is it like this everywhere in here? Just...little slices of all over Caido?"

Falling silent for a moment, Flora closes her eyes and listens. It isn't the birdsong, the musical clamber rushing over the stones or even the wind through the leaves; instead the queen is listening to them. To the slow sound of Koa's breath against her hair, the thrum of his heartbeat against her back, the way she could hear him swallowing through her skull.

"Hey, guess what?"

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

"Yeah. It's designed to provide the ideal biome for the animals as they recover." Lena had explaind it to him, when he'd come to volunteer. It had always sparked awe in Koa, and pride that such a marvelous place existed in his home.

Again her forehead is proffered and again it is kissed, Koa unable to stop the smile that Flora will surely feel against her skin. It's like holding the sunset in his arms, like the first brush of summer on the last day of spring. Wonder blooms within him as he gazes at her, thrusting through the hairs on his arms, beating in the pluse of his throat. The silence that falls between them is deliciously comfortable; he can feel her breathing against his chest, a hurricane who's designed to settle in his arms.

Then it's broken by a question and Koa again smiles, arms tightening playfully around her slender waist. "What?"

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

we show off our different scarlet letters

'That's incredible.' She hums softly. It really is, and yet, for the awe-inspiring view, Flora is thoroughly and wonderfully distracted by the man at her back such that a unicorn could stroll through the clearing before her and she'd hardly do more than blink at it.

Tilting her chin all the way up before finding the angle too dizzy to maintain, Flora twists in Koa's embrace, wrapping both arms around his neck (while being mindful of her wine). "I like you." She whispers, aqua eyes shiny with youthful affection and amusement as they dance over the tanned architecture of his face. Just saying the words has her wanting to laugh and scream, to pull Koa over the railing so that they could go swim in the stream or perhaps to slink off toward some relatively mundane enclosure where she could peel him out of his clothing.

"That's all." Shrugging softly like it weren't no thang and her heart wasn't threatening to beat out of her chest, Flora's fingertips adjust the stem of the flower he'd put behind his ear as she lifts her gaze rather coquettishly up toward his.

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

He doesn't know what to expect as she turns around to face him. A joke? A story? A sloppy kiss? A boop to the nose?

Nope, just three words in a whispered voice, each as precious as a glittering jewel.

I like you.

It's not a declaration of love, but really that might be for the best. Because even this declaration of like has him feeling like the sun is in his chest, threatening to beat out through his skin and engulf them both in a roaring fire. I like you rings symphonic in his ears, sending the heat up through his neck and forcing his face into a goofy grin that threatens to fully eclipse all others. Like seriously, it puts past smiles to shame.

And Flora, if you think you can just shrug that off, you don't know Koa at all. "Oh, that's all? Well guess what?" While her hand finds the flower behind his ear his reach for her face, cupping her cheeks between calloused palms and bringing his mouth to hers.

And you know what? Fuck chaste kisses, fuck playing it slow: Koa's here for the real deal, for the heat and the passion and the taste of her tongue. The Dragoon may not be the best with words, but the boy knows how to use his body. His fingers curl around her neck as he pulls Flora in close, all of the things he's can't express aloud sung between their lips. It's a kiss that says I want you; I'm yours.

And: I think I love like you, too.

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu

we show off our different scarlet letters

It would be love if they let it. If she let it.

The worst part was, that Flora was starting to realize that for herself.

"Wh—" She starts to ask, her lips twisting into the sort of crooked and mischievous pout Koa so often drew out of her, but before her nose even started to wrinkle, his lips were on hers and he wasn't just kissing her, but kissing her.

The breath that shivers past her lips flows against her tongue and onto his as heat nips at her cheeks and fingers of incandescent light pulse inside of her belly. Her lips and tongue form all the words she desperately wanted to say to him, and it's only the barest shred of respect for the environment that they're in that Flora doesn't just drop her wine glass in order to plunge her fingers properly into his hair.

Koa, she wants to moan; a plea for more, for him to stop so that she could explain about Jack before things went too far and it felt like a betrayal, a demand that he never leaves her side, a promise to stay like this for always.

Tugging him gently against her that he might pin her against the railing of the bridge, Flora opts to breathlessly deepen their kiss one last time before she's forced to gasp for air against his mouth. This was when she should tell him. She could whisper Hey guess what? again, only to respond with an ever so slightly different answer. One that would change everything. With the young dragoon flush against her and the heat of his body and the press of his hands driving her utterly insane, it was hard to reconcile her feelings for the captain. How could she want someone who so clearly didn't want her back? Who acted like a few smiles and a handful of kind gestures done with no shortage of frustration could be called genuine affection? Especially when the man before her did want her the way she wanted to be wanted. The way she wanted to be loved, bumbling and stupid and young as he was (as they both were).

"Gods you've gotten good at that." Flora pants softly, not trusting the things which otherwise might be said if she allowed any amount of silence to linger between them.

I couldn't utter my love when it counted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

Koa doesn't know about Flora's inner turmoil; he's not a mind reader, after all. And while he may have his own things he's not said about Soh's return and his hopes and fears and the allegiance to Safrin and the new ambition stirred in his breast, none of that is anywhere near the forefront of his mind. Blame the way her fingers tug him deeper into the kiss; blame the blood that's left his head and pooled into his groin; blame his own naiveté for thinking they're on the same page, that what this means to her is what it means to him: I like you, I choose you, I want you alone.

So he takes the thing he wants so badly, following the trail of crumbs she leaves. Lean muscles push into Flora, pushing her back against the rail of the bridge. He lets his hands wander from her face down her body, the wine glass set on the wide stone railing to better allow him to explore. Koa is aware of each point of contact: her hands on his neck, her breasts against his chest, her thigh pressing between his legs, where desire tightens his pants. He's aware of just how short her dress is, his fingers skirting the point where the lacy hem gives way to silken skin.

Inevitably breathing becomes important, and their lips are made to part. "I could always use more practice," he chuckles huskily in response to Flora's compliment, eyes glowing copper beneath hooded lids as he gazes down on her rosy mouth, the lips like bruised flower petals begging for another kiss. It takes every ounce of his self control to keep from claiming that mouth again; instead he lets out a low groan, dropping his head onto her shoulder, his lips beside her ear. "Can I tell you a secret?" Koa asks, not waiting before moving on. "I would very much like to fuck you right now. Here, on this bridge. You make me crazy, Sunflower."

Koa

And I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted
Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

totally sniped from odd ilu