maybe who we were then is shattered, but who we are in the end is what matters
It's clear the moment he takes her into his arms that he doesn't intend to let go anytime soon, and it soothes something uncharacteristically anxious and possessive that sits in her chest, spiky and insistent. That awful little ball finds its edges clipped and rounded into something less painful as Tal's hand finds her hair, and she tilts her head further into him like her strings have been cut.
"I could eat that entire loaf right now," she murmurs, lips half-pressed against his shoulder where she rests her cheek. But she is older now, wiser. Less guarded with her emotions around those who have earned the privilege. Hotaru knows she needs to talk about it eventually, and prolonging the inevitable only hurts worse. "But...an ear sounds good. Can we sit?" Halfheartedly lifting her head to glance at the couch by the hearth, she tries to grapple with the desire for closer cuddling warring with the realization she'll have to let him go for the few seconds it will take to get there.
"I could eat that entire loaf right now," she murmurs, lips half-pressed against his shoulder where she rests her cheek. But she is older now, wiser. Less guarded with her emotions around those who have earned the privilege. Hotaru knows she needs to talk about it eventually, and prolonging the inevitable only hurts worse. "But...an ear sounds good. Can we sit?" Halfheartedly lifting her head to glance at the couch by the hearth, she tries to grapple with the desire for closer cuddling warring with the realization she'll have to let him go for the few seconds it will take to get there.
