[se] chasing the rapture

Deimos The stone was warm and emblazoned in his hand, and his eyes continued to peruse, to study it, to admire the shape and masonry. His heart orchestrated a crescendo, a symphony, of delight that he was uniformly unfamiliar with, a delicate, tremulous wave he wasn’t quite sure how to handle or explain, but unknown and foreign just the same. Was it contentment? Happiness? Jubilation? He lifted his eyes again when her shyness was cast, when the story of how she’d come to find the rock delved into the surroundings – and the slightest, superior look crossed his face again, cheeks dimpling in impish decree and degrees. “I am very fond of that day.” The warrior watched the scattering of a rosy hue mark her features – utterly amused to witness the play of emotions along her face, could shake his head in wonder at her mixture of audacity, coyness, and then reserve. Then his gaze swam back to the delighted calf, who’d managed to claim his hair again, his other hand, now free of his gift, scratching at one of the starwhale’s fins. “Thank you,” he supplied in return for the coos, croons, and benedictions, the wry smile still embedded there. His present was not so carefully divested: he chuckled as the impatience became unearthed and rampant, heart puncturing, piercing, and pervading in his chest as he waited for her reaction. The Reaper wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but listened to her surprise, to her gasp, with calm precision, even if his emotions were mercurial and divided on where they should stand – the speechless airs growing into more apprehension without the clarity, the veracity, clinging to any emotion or response. Then her face lifted, and he exhaled, loosened the tentative breath, his smile more indulgent as her rejoinder wasn’t lost in the discomfort of an unwanted bestowal: blue and black conspiring amidst the intonations. “I am glad,” which was just a precursor to the relief spreading through him, the lightest smirk dabbling back into his features, expressions ranging in affection, adoration, and other tangible clarities. “You are welcome.” Welcome to have it, welcome to have him, welcome to have anything was a drumming mark in his mind, saved for another day, another moment. Out of sight and out of mind Make everything alright So let the sky and sea collide Just not in our lifetime