Hotaru
Zeus has crafted you from clay and gold
It's a pain she shares, though hers is convoluted and filled with words never said, closure never received. It's also one she tries to keep as far from his awareness as possible because she knows how even the reminder of Enzo can bring her to her knees. It's not so different with Nate, but it's a more respectful comparison with Enzo, and she hates to remind him of it at all were it not for the honesty she keeps a white-knuckled grip on.
It's that honesty that beats like a heart under her words, lending conviction and chasing any doubt to the far corners of the earth. Smoke lingers, but he alone is clear in her eyes, and as he cups her face she stands with her feet solid on the earth below; unshakeable, dauntless, certain. Even the sweetness of his kiss - his gratitude - cannot distract her. And if even that cannot, then his objections have no hope of accomplishing it.
"You never would," she agrees, and there is a glint in her eyes that makes it clear she won't be budged on this. "Which is why it's a good thing I'm not asking your permission." The hand at his neck tightens slightly, and her free hand rises to cover his own on her cheek as her eyes flicker between both of his. "I know the odds of an ending that peaceful are low. I know I might not be here when the time comes for you to face that moment." Gods willing she will, but Hotaru is too much of a realist for such hopeful thinking. "But if I am? Even you can't stop me from going down with you." Her heart thrums with lightning, veins hot with the wild force of her conviction. "I love you," she echoes, because she will never not say it back, "and I won't let you face those demons alone. Not again." Never again. She had been useless, helpless, the day he and Shaju had gone over the cliff into the ocean. Mort will have to take her first before she stands by, impotent and passive, and watches her beloved suffer a second time.
Hand tightening over his, she offers a sorrowful smile. "You can't change my mind. Not on this, hart koning." Her smile goes lopsided in a way more befitting the Flood. "I only wish Frey had chosen any other weakness." It seems her visit to the deity's shrine will be more emotionally complex than she initially expected.
It's that honesty that beats like a heart under her words, lending conviction and chasing any doubt to the far corners of the earth. Smoke lingers, but he alone is clear in her eyes, and as he cups her face she stands with her feet solid on the earth below; unshakeable, dauntless, certain. Even the sweetness of his kiss - his gratitude - cannot distract her. And if even that cannot, then his objections have no hope of accomplishing it.
"You never would," she agrees, and there is a glint in her eyes that makes it clear she won't be budged on this. "Which is why it's a good thing I'm not asking your permission." The hand at his neck tightens slightly, and her free hand rises to cover his own on her cheek as her eyes flicker between both of his. "I know the odds of an ending that peaceful are low. I know I might not be here when the time comes for you to face that moment." Gods willing she will, but Hotaru is too much of a realist for such hopeful thinking. "But if I am? Even you can't stop me from going down with you." Her heart thrums with lightning, veins hot with the wild force of her conviction. "I love you," she echoes, because she will never not say it back, "and I won't let you face those demons alone. Not again." Never again. She had been useless, helpless, the day he and Shaju had gone over the cliff into the ocean. Mort will have to take her first before she stands by, impotent and passive, and watches her beloved suffer a second time.
Hand tightening over his, she offers a sorrowful smile. "You can't change my mind. Not on this, hart koning." Her smile goes lopsided in a way more befitting the Flood. "I only wish Frey had chosen any other weakness." It seems her visit to the deity's shrine will be more emotionally complex than she initially expected.
Such a lovely, pretty hand to hold - if you had the time
