maybe who we were then is shattered, but who we are in the end is what matters
The press of his lips against her temple helps steal away the tightness in her chest, and there is a vulnerable gratitude in her eyes as she manages a tiny smile back up at him. Brave or not, she does not relinquish his hand as he grabs the bread and she leads them to the couch. They sink into it in tandem with the familiarity of nearly two years of exactly this moment, and she tucks her legs up beneath her and lets her knees fall sideways halfway into his lap as she curls beneath his arm and rests her head on his shoulder.
Despite the comment she'd made, she would have forgotten the bread entirely if he had not put it into her hands preemptively. Something he had started doing after Enzo's death when she would only sit at the table and stare into nothingness; the only way to remind her to eat. Nibbling at the bread and enjoying the fresh, fluffy texture, Ru feels the pressure on her insides start to relent. With it comes space for words.
"Noah, Darkeye, Deimos and I went to investigate some missing merchants. We encountered lamplighters." Usually the luring sort with their songs and promises, these had not been nearly so benign. Hotaru could have resisted such a thing. "It made us all remember our worst memories and fears." She shudders, though it's far too warm in her house to warrant a chill, and her nails dig slightly into the bread as her eyes go far-away. "I thought it was getting better. I thought I was. But - they - everyone else was able to fight it, but I couldn't." A failure that had hurt as bad as those horrible visions. Noah may have only emerged from his own visions because of her own flooding the Attuned bond, but she has no way of knowing that. All she can feel is the shame and the horrible, aching loss that stings like a freshly picked scab.
Despite the comment she'd made, she would have forgotten the bread entirely if he had not put it into her hands preemptively. Something he had started doing after Enzo's death when she would only sit at the table and stare into nothingness; the only way to remind her to eat. Nibbling at the bread and enjoying the fresh, fluffy texture, Ru feels the pressure on her insides start to relent. With it comes space for words.
"Noah, Darkeye, Deimos and I went to investigate some missing merchants. We encountered lamplighters." Usually the luring sort with their songs and promises, these had not been nearly so benign. Hotaru could have resisted such a thing. "It made us all remember our worst memories and fears." She shudders, though it's far too warm in her house to warrant a chill, and her nails dig slightly into the bread as her eyes go far-away. "I thought it was getting better. I thought I was. But - they - everyone else was able to fight it, but I couldn't." A failure that had hurt as bad as those horrible visions. Noah may have only emerged from his own visions because of her own flooding the Attuned bond, but she has no way of knowing that. All she can feel is the shame and the horrible, aching loss that stings like a freshly picked scab.
