Chapter Text
Yami walked out of his room feeling a little sheepish, and hungry, and in the need of a stiff drink, but he made his way over to Finral instead of seeking out the pleasures which let his mind go dull. The spatial mage was trying to hold a conversation with Gordon when Yami walked up. The attempt at conversation immediately stopped as both men looked up at their captain.
"So, um, when is this day you were telling me about?" Yami stared between them, unable to meet either of their eyes, but he did not miss the grin which erupted on Finral's face.
"I knew it." The younger man said with a whoop of triumph.
"Knew what?" Gordon mumbled, his dark eyes moving between the two.
"Blink or something, Gordon, you're creeping me out," Yami said around his cigarette.
"I knew you liked her. I mean, you had to. Who wouldn't? Especially after the journal and..." Finral's words were cut off with a croak.
"I figured I should at least apologize for what happened, for what you made happen." Yami released the spatial mage from the death grip he had on him. Finral's face drained of color as he waited for the captain's next verdict, but Yami only unfolded a sheet of paper and looked at it. In doing so, he tried to keep his face neutral, but he could not help the sigh which escaped his lips.
"Besides, you said it was tradition to reciprocate, right? So how am I supposed to do that?"
"Right, well the day is tomorrow and we don't have much time, especially if you want to have an even exchange." Finral started. Yami could see his mind working faster than he could follow as he took a seat at the table. He laid the paper he had held in his hand on the surface, folding it, hiding it.
"I guess that's what I want."
"You don't sound too sure, Yami."
"What do you have there, Captain?" Gordon asked barely above the sound of Vanessa snoring in the background. Yami glared at him and pulled the paper toward him protectively before he took a deep breath. Finral had been right all along; he did like her. He always had. As Finral had said, who wouldn't? Yami unfolded the sketch he had just finished and looked at it before laying it on the table for anyone to see.
"Captain, it's beautiful." The words were an exclamation from Gordon, meaning he could only just barely hear them enough to understand.
"Yami..." Finral looked from the drawing to his superior.
"I had no idea she could ever think of me as more than a scandalous comrade who only got his position because he was the protege of the new boss." Yami chuckled. "Though I guess that says more about me than her, huh? I can't believe I was so clueless all this time." He looked up at the two men staring back at him and took a long drag on the cigarette jutting out from his lips. "But don't expect much from this. It's an apology for you stealing her journal, Finral. Nothing else."
Gordon looked at Finral who looked back at him and shrugged.
"It was just because you wouldn't believe me when I said she liked you," Finral said to Yami before looking to Gordon to explain. "Can you believe it, Gordon? She gave him a homemade chocolate cake on Valentine's day and he didn't even know what that meant."
"That does sound like something the Captain would do," Gordon mumbled barely above the threshold of hearing.
"It makes me wonder though, how many other times she's tried to confess her feelings for him but he was too dense to pick up on it." Finral tapped his chin in thought and Yami wanted to rip the spatial mage's spine through his throat. Finral must have noticed the murderous intent in Yami's eyes as he cleared his throat and changed the topic.
"So, Yami, what kind of thing were you thinking of giving her?"
"I don't know. If I did, I wouldn't ask you."
"Chocolates are traditional, and I'm sure you will be able to find something in the shops if you go now."
"It's not enough." He admitted flatly. Since he had read the passage in her journal, since she had given him the cake in fact, he had not been able to shake the thought of her. He couldn't say it out loud, had not been able to give it voice, but he realized only now how much she had meant to him all this time.
Finral tapped his lips in thought before he called out for Charmy. The tiny woman poked her head up from behind a pile of grub on another table at the summons. Finral hurried over to her and they sat in a quiet conference for a short time before she let out a characteristic "La!" and summoned her sheep.
"Don't worry, Captain! We'll help you whip up something mummy!"
Yami took a slow deep breath on his cigarette.
"Who's worried?" But his voice seemed to indicate he was quite worried indeed.
***
"I don't think this is a good idea," Yami said with a tinge of anxiety creeping into his voice. His heart raced and his palms were sweaty. Had he been asked a few days ago if he would be able to confront her about her feelings, and address his own, he would have said it was no problem. But now? Now it was a problem.
"You'll be fine, Yami. You've talked to Charlotte hundreds of times." Finral patted him on the back.
"Yeah, but not like this."
He looked up at the building which housed the Blue Rose Knights. They stood on the outside of a garden hedge fence and stared through an arched gateway. The last time he had been here was to return her journal. On that day, his eyes had been opened at how she felt for him. Somehow learning everything he had known was a lie only made things more difficult. Joking with her before about how he felt had been easy since he assumed she could never feel the same way. No pressure. He would say something rude or crass, and she would insult him and they would go about their business.
But now, he didn't know what to expect.
"Maybe we should come back some other time? Or... or set something up in another location?"
Finral had started pushing him at this point, trying to get the meat slab of a man through the archway.
"Just go in there and give her the box, Yami," Finral grunted as the captain did not even budge from his efforts. "If it seems too hard, just remember you are here to apologize."
"Right. Apologize for your idiocy."
"Go." Finral moved to the gate having given up his effort to force the larger man through. He pointed toward the building while fixing his captain with a glare.
Yami looked at the box in his hands and took a deep breath. Just apologize, he told himself as he took the first step.
The garden was deserted. He had been able to tell from the other side of the hedge, but within the green space now felt eerie, as if eyes in the distance were watching him.
He tried not to seem too hurried, nor too reluctant, but the feeling of being watched made his skin crawl. Before long, he stood at the large double doors at the top of a small flight of stairs. He stared at the deep carvings on the wood as he summoned the will to knock.
"This doesn't have to be my problem right now." He muttered as he started to turn away from the door. Finral's glare burned him from across the garden and he turned back. He cradled the box against his chest and knocked on the door. "Maybe no one's home," he said to himself hopefully before the door cracked open. The young woman who answered the door was different than the one from before, but she wore the same expression of excitement when she saw him.
"Captain Yami? Are you looking for the Captain?"
"I, uh, yeah."
"Is that for her?" The girl's excitement grew more annoying with each passing moment.
"Now listen here..." Yami started letting his anger get the better of him.
"Yami?" Charlotte called from a staircase on the other side of the main hall. She was dressed in a light blue gown, similar to what she wore while in recovery after the possession.
Her hair hung loose and straight around her face. She looked tired even from the distance. "What are you doing here?"
"I have something for you." He held out the box. "I felt bad after I found out how your journal got in my room, and..."
"Come on then. I'm about to have some tea. Would you join me?"
She asked him, with no hesitation and no nervousness, and Yami nodded, wondering if he was seeing the true, honest version of Charlotte Roselei. She walked ahead of him through the building into the well-manicured garden in the back. The front of the building had been nice, but the back garden was expansive. Yami let out a low whistle as he took in the extensive field of green cut through with brilliant white stone paths. Charlotte led him to a small alcove grown over with creeping vines where a table sat paired with two chairs. The set up reminded him of the restaurant where they had shared a meal before, only this time it was more private.
"I didn't know the garden was so big." Yami peeked around the edge of the trellis on which the vines grew to take in the perfection and symmetry of the land.
"It's lovely, isn't it? I love sitting out here. It's a good place to think."
"Yeah, I bet it is." He pulled his attention back to the task at hand. Charlotte's gaze was focused on him, staring at him so their eyes met as he turned to her. She seemed washed out, ill. Even more so now that he saw her up close.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. It's been... a rough couple of days." Her soft smile seemed exhausted and worn.
"Then I won't keep you long." He reached out and opened the box top to reveal an exquisitely crafted white chocolate cake topped with a delicate blue rose made from hardened spun sugar. "I was told I should thank you for the cake the other day, and I wanted to apologize for my squad member's role in the appearance of your journal in my room."
She held his eyes the entire time he spoke, a feeling which made him shift slightly in his seat. But when she did finally look down into the box, Charlotte gasped. A small, elaborately decorated white cylindrical base sat topped with the most delicate looking rose she had ever seen. Something that looked like a string of pearls lined the sides of the object alternating in blue and white, and a line of gold scallops sat between each row of beads. The smell coming from the box was as divine as the object's appearance.
"This is beautiful, Yami. Thank you." She touched one of the petals on the rose as gently as she could, fearing it might crumble beneath a weight. Surprisingly, it held fast.
"It's the least I could do after everything."
The look Charlotte gave him was one of disbelief. He rubbed the back of his neck and tore his eyes from her face.
"I mean, aside from the journal issue and all, you helped me out the other day."
"What do you mean?" Charlotte closed the lid, her attention fully on him once more.
"Well, at the tavern, I'd had a pretty bad day. But when you came over with that cake, I don't know, it felt like my luck changed." He looked over to see her leaning on her hand, her elbow propped up on the table. She smiled at him softly. Her other hand lay flat on the table.
"Lost all your pay gambling again?" She had asked him the question numerous times before, but never like this. Her voice was wry, almost playful instead of the disapproval to which he was accustomed. He looked at her for a long moment, memorizing the tilt of her head and the slight upturn of her lips. If he had thought she was at her most beautiful in the tavern, he had been wrong. So very wrong. Something in the way she looked and spoke at this moment was more open, more genuine than she had ever seemed before. He wanted to capture the look forever. He wanted to see more over it.
His heart started racing as his eyes traveled over her face. Her hand was so close, halfway across the table, would be so easy to touch. He licked his lips as his focus landed back on the box between them.
"Yeah, well. Can't win 'em all, I guess."
She chuckled and his attention shot back to her face. He didn't think she could have gotten more beautiful, but she did. Her smile had widened, her cheeks grew flushed, bringing color back to her wan face. She tucked her hair behind her ear before meeting his eyes again. She wetted her lips. Her chest seemed to heave with every breath. She looked at the box once more.
"Would you?" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Would you share this with me?" Her voice shook slightly as she asked. Her eyes flicked toward him and then away again.
Did he want to? Absolutely. He licked his lips again, feeling a tingling in his skin. He placed his hand on the table next to hers, slightly touching. He couldn't help it, he wanted to lay his hand over hers, to wrap hers in his fingers. He wanted to pull her toward him across the table, to brush his fingers against her face and run them through her hair. He wanted to kiss her, and not for the first time, but now the desire was about to overwhelm him.
"Sure." His voice sounded rough, breathless in his ears.
Her cheeks reddened as they had so often when he talked to her, a response he now saw he had misread for years. He swallowed hard at the surprised, yet satisfied smile gracing her lips. Her hand brushed his, her smallest finger sliding over his skin as she stood up and pulled away.
"Let me go get some utensils then." She ran her finger around her ear, tucking strands of hair that had come free away from her face. Her fingers traced her jaw and down her neck slightly. His breath came faster as he watched the motion, and then how she nibbled on her bottom lip before she turned away. She glanced over her shoulder once as if checking to see he had not disappeared.
Yami took a deep breath and clenched his hands into fists. He exhaled slowly as he spread his fingers out on the table. He did so once more, and then twice, but the pounding of his heart in his chest would not slow. He looked toward the building to where she had gone, hoping to glimpse her for a moment without her knowing.
He swallowed hard.
"What the hell am I doing?" He asked himself under his breath. He reached for the pouch where he stored his cigarettes. He stood as he lit it and stepped out from the small alcove, pacing back and forth before the entrance. Being with her today had stirred something in him he hadn't felt in a while. With everything going on, he hadn't had much time for the more physical pleasures of life, even though he was no stranger to them. But this level of desire was an extreme he only vaguely remembered.
He could leave, he knew. Just disappear before she returned and everything could be forgotten. He took a deep inhale on his cigarette, closing his eyes as he pulled in the burning air. Her face, complete with the slight blush on her cheeks and the bright smile she gave him earlier immediately sprang to mind.
And then morphed into an imagined disappointment and then hardened resignation.
He drew in another deep breath before stubbing out the half-used cigarette. After ensuring it no longer burned, he tucked it back into the pouch from which it came. He could finish it later and he did not want to mar the beauty of the garden.
She returned shortly after he had retaken his seat, carrying a pair of plates, a knife, and two forks.
"I brought some plates too so we can cut it in half." Her cheeks were still red as she placed her burden on the table and sat down across from him.
Yami picked up a fork.
"Or, we could just dig in."
Her eyes widened as she met his with a gasp. She almost immediately licked her lips before biting the corner of her bottom lip. Something he had said shocked her.
"Are you sure?" She stammered, picking up the other fork.
"Why not? It seems a waste to dirty plates with a cake this small."
A relieved sounding chuckle and a smile on her lips. She shook her head slightly.
"Alright then. But this is too pretty to eat." Charlotte said as she picked up the knife and used it to pry the delicately constructed rose blossom from the top of the cake.
"You could though. I mean, it's all sugar." Yami stabbed his fork into the cake and pulled off a bit. As he brought it up he looked over at Charlotte and spun the fork around toward her. "Sorry, I should have let you get the first bite." He held the fork steady for her.
Charlotte looked at the cake and then at him with something akin to shock on her face before she leaned forward and took the bite of cake from his fork. As she closed her lips around the morsel, it's aroma and flavoring hit her palate. The taste was familiar, but also like nothing she had tasted before. Somehow it was both homey and refined. And the texture was delicate and light, still with the feeling of cake, but in a way which seemed to melt in her mouth. She could not help but close her eyes as she pulled away from the fork as she savored the bite.
"That good?" Yami's amused voice made her eyes fly open once more, just in time for him to stab the fork into the cake once more and take a bite of his own.
Charlotte covered her mouth with her hand and nodded.
"Yeah." She said once she felt her mouth was clear enough to talk. She used her fork to take another bite. Once she had recovered from the intensity of the cake tasting experience, Charlotte blushed as a realization struck her. Yami had fed her the first bite, and then proceeded to eat from the fork he had fed her with. He seemed to either not care, or to not realize what he had done. And he had done it for the second time, the first time was at the Star Festival which seemed like ages ago. Did this sort of indirect kiss not bother him? Did he even recognize it as such?
Charlotte scooped off another piece of cake and ate it as she watched him. She could not quite tell if there was something more meant by his visit today than just the apology he had explained, but she felt her instincts were pointing towards just that.
"So, when you brought back my journal, I found something stuck inside it. Something that hadn't been there before."
"Oh?" He said around a mouth full of cake, and Charlotte wondered if she preferred that to the cigarette or not.
"Yeah. It was a pretty nice drawing, but I have no idea why it was in my journal."
Yami looked up from the bite of cake he was about to put into his mouth and seemed every bit like a kid who had gotten caught with his hand in a candy jar.
"Well, it was a drawing of you, so..."
"Couldn't be," Charlotte said matter-of-factly before she took another bite.
"What?" He sat up straighter. "Why?"
"The woman in the drawing was too pretty. I'm not that pretty."
Yami put his fork down.
"Have you seen yourself? Because you are quite possibly the most beautiful woman in the entire kingdom. And that is an objective fact."
Charlotte blushed again. He thought she was beautiful? She had intended the questioning to be a way to trap him, to have him admit to something, but she wasn't quite sure what. Did he draw the picture? She couldn't come right out and ask.
"But the woman in the drawing, I don't know, she seemed to... glow somehow. I can't describe it."
"Well, I guess that's just how you seem to the person who drew it." His eyes were focused on her and his lips held a sort of pout she had never seen on his face before.
"Still, it is a beautiful picture, even if I don't believe it's me." She took another bite, resigned to never knowing for sure if he had drawn it or not.
"It looks just like you. I mean, I can't forget how you looked that day in the tavern, the light coloring to your cheeks as you brought me the cake... It's like it's seared into my mind." He stabbed out another bite of cake more angrily than she had thought necessary. "Putting it on paper was the only way I could think to keep you from haunting me." He said around a mouthful of food.
Charlotte froze and felt her heart racing, panicking over what she had thought she would never learn as it was so carelessly stated.
"Thank you," she said softly as the blush returned to her cheeks. "I... I never imagined you could draw so well." She nibbled at another bite of cake.
She glanced up at him only to find him staring at her. She quickly returned her attention to the now half-eaten dessert he had brought. She smiled softly as everything seemed to click into place.
"Yeah, well, I never thought you could write as you do." He said, his voice quiet. She looked up at him briefly once more as he stuffed another bite of cake into his mouth. Was she seeing things or did his face look flushed?
"Write like I...?" Charlotte furrowed her brow for a moment before realization dawned upon her. "You read my journal! You liar!"
She had thought she would be mad if it turned out he had discovered some of the thoughts she wanted to keep buried, but instead she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. She could never let him know that, however. What had he read, she wondered.
"Not all of it." He was on the defensive again. "I really sort of... stumbled upon some parts of it. Like how my name showed up there... quite a bit."
He looked up at her, and their eyes locked.
"I never imagined you could think like that, Charlotte." He licked his lips unconsciously as he gazed at her.
"What exactly did you read?" Her voice quivered from embarrassment and excitement.
Yami chuckled as he looked away. Charlotte could have sworn she saw a light blush on his cheeks once more.
"It was rather intense. Something about me throwing you against a wall?"
Charlotte groaned. She had dreamed of him so many times, imagined him taking her not so much by force, but forcefully. Part of her was excited by the prospect. Everything about him screamed dominance and virality, at least to her anyway. She knew others were less attracted to such blatant physical displays. And since she had always taken charge of everything else, part of her longed for someone to take charge of her.
"You know, all you had to do was ask." He picked at the remains of the cake with his fork, unable to look at her. Charlotte propped her elbows on the table and leaned forward.
"I don't know. I think asking might defeat the purpose, maybe?"
A quick quirky smile touched his lips as he chuckled slightly.
"And if you don't then how am I supposed to know what you want?"
"Touche," Charlotte said with a sigh. She went after another piece of cake and chewed it in silence for a moment.
"So," Yami cleared his throat. "The cake in the tavern. Was it extra?"
Had he not figured it out yet?
"In the sense that we had more than we needed? Yes."
"But did you plan on it? Was it intentional? I guess that's what I'm asking."
Charlotte took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Yes. The entire thing was a set up just so I could give you a piece of cake."
He looked at her skeptically.
"I'm not sure if I should believe you."
"Well, what about this?" She waved her empty fork over the now nearly gone cake. "If all you wanted was to give a simple apology, you need not go through so much trouble."
"Yeah, well... Um... I really have nothing to say about that."
"So the apology was an excuse?"
Yami shrugged as he scraped some icing from the plate on which the remains of the cake sat.
"Well, not entirely. I do feel bad about the journal thing."
"You had already apologized for that."
"I guess I did, didn't I?"
"I've... I've never hated you, you know." Charlotte knocked the last piece of cake standing over and cut it in half with her fork. She left most of the icing on the plate. As she lifted it to her lips she looked up at Yami. His expression was filled with skepticism.
"I... I know that." But the tone in his voice made him seem uncertain. He reached in with his fork for the last bite of cake and scooped the remains of icing together into one large mound of sugar.
"So what does this mean?" Charlotte watched as he finished the sweet treat. She rested her chin on her fist. She felt emboldened by their shared experiences recently. Today would be the day, she told herself.
Yami took his time considering the answer as he practically licked the plate clean. What could he say? He knew what she had meant by the question. He knew what she wanted to know. What he did not know was quite how to say what he meant.
He liked her but had always looked at her as someone set above him. Her unattainability had made it easier to ignore his attraction to her. But now, on a few occasions, the pedestal in his mind upon which he had set her had started to crumble. He had been able to glimpse the real her, the genuine Charlotte beneath the posturing and reputation.
And he had been able to learn how insignificant their differences were. And he had learned how she felt for him.
He would be lying if what he had read in her journal hadn't been a boost to his esteem.
"I respect you Charlotte. I always have."
He looked her in her eyes and felt the desire rising within him once more.
"I... I never allowed myself to feel anything more. But I think I do. I'm just not sure what."
Charlotte closed her eyes as the corners of her lips turned upwards slightly. She stood up, feeling more bold and sure of her emotions than she had been since the moment she decided to confess her feelings to her squad. She rounded the table until she stood next to him, but still with an easy escape. She lay a hand on his cheek, feeling his skin warm and rough against her fingertips. His gaze had followed her. His eyes seemed to burn through her and his pulse raced as her finger drifted down onto his neck. She could kiss him, she knew as she stared at him so close. She should kiss him. She wanted to. But her resolve, so strong a moment ago, wavered as she looked at him. She felt herself lick her lips before sighing.
"I guess that will have to do." She withdrew, straightening, her hand falling to her side. She turned around as disappointment struck her. Disappointment in herself over getting her hopes up, and at failing, once more, to be truthful with what she wanted.
"Oh, and thanks for the cake." She said over her shoulder as she tried to make her escape after succumbing to her fears. "It was delicious."
***
Yami stared into her eyes--cerulean blue orbs which searched his face. She seemed to want something but had lost what it was along the way to ask. Her hand was warm against his cheek. He leaned into it. How long had it been since someone had touched him like this? His eyes flicked toward her lips as her tongue darted between them.
She was so close, he could almost taste her. He wanted to taste her, to kiss her lips. He figured they tasted like chocolate, given the flavoring of the cake, but she had a strong smell of vanilla he had not noticed before.
He blinked his eyes slowly, only to open them once more as she was backing away from him. She thanked him for the cake and turned to leave. Her steps were quick, beating a hasty retreat as if she feared something.
But she was gone, disappearing down the path before Yami realized it. And she was getting farther away by the moment as he stood up, his awareness finally catching up with his sudden lonely state. He stepped out to the path down which she was walking at a fast pace. Each second he watched her, the distance between them grew. And with each step she took from him, Yami grew more certain he never wanted that distance between them again.
He took off like a shot after her. Closing the distance in only a few seconds and cursing himself for the sudden burst of speed and its ill effect on his long-abused lungs, he grabbed at her arm. He stopped her and spun her around. Before either of them could react, he pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was nothing like he had ever thought of giving her. It was ungainly and awkward in its suddenness. She stood stiffly, shocked in his arms.
Bad idea, he thought, until she kissed him back, placing her hands against his chest and shifting her head just a touch to better meet his lips. She pressed her lips against his once, twice, and then a third time before he answered, his arms tightening around her back.
Time seemed to slow until she pulled away from him, panting. He pressed his forehead against hers as he fought to control his breathing. Slowly he opened his eyes only to see her eyes were still closed, and her face was flushed. He brushed his fingers against her cheek before kissing her again. Her hands slipped their way up his chest and over his shoulders. One hand circled his neck and her fingers slid through his hair as she hungrily devoured his kisses.
A whoop of excitement from the distance startled them, and they sprung apart. But only for a moment to look around. The rustling of leaves and the scattering of stones along the pathway gave them pause, but their visual inspection of the area turned up nothing suspicious.
"You think we're being watched?" Charlotte's grip on his shoulder tightened. Yami brushed her hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek until she looked back at him.
"Undoubtedly." He said before capturing her lips once more with a series of soft light kisses which made her tremble within his grip.
"You don't think we should stop?" she said between kisses, her voice quivering.
"No." The light kisses grew more demanding and passionate. He wanted her. He didn't care who might see. He wanted her now. She was all he could think about--the taste of her, the feel of her. He needed more of her. His lips drifted toward her jaw and neck. She gasped as he pulled her tightly against him. Or maybe it was from the gentle nip he took at her neck? His entire being was filled with her, teetering on the edge of collapse. He wanted to be inside her.
"Captain!" A voice called from the entrance to the garden. A male voice, he registered after a moment. He let out an angry grunt as he forced himself from her.
"What." He growled, and Finral took a step back and stared at him with wide, fearful eyes.
"Um, we need to get back home. We're leaving for the Heart Kingdom tomorrow, and..."
Yami closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.
Why had he waited so long? Why had he been so clueless for so long?
He looked down at the top of Charlotte's head as she tightened her hold on his waist and pressed her forehead into his chest. Her entire body shook, though he was still sorting out whether it was desire or embarrassment which caused it.
"You're going to the Heart Kingdom?" She whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Her voice seemed unbearably sad.
"Hell no. Some of my people are though." He matched her tone of voice.
She sighed against him, relaxing a bit.
"Oh. Well. Maybe we can see each other again?" Breathless was the only way he could describe her voice. She squeezed at his waist, pulling her hips closer to his, even as she leaned back to look at his face.
"Yeah. I'd like that."
"Tomorrow?" She raised her eyebrows hopefully. "I mean if it's not too soon." She added with haste as a blush colored her cheeks. Yami brushed her bangs off of her forehead and planted a kiss there.
"Yeah. Though maybe someplace a little more private would be in order?"
She tried to hide the excited smile threatening to erupt on her face. She chewed on her bottom lip as she kept glancing away from him and then back again. She brushed her hands over his chest.
"You have any ideas where?"
"I'm sure I'll think of something." He gave her a slow, deep kiss filled with promise and desire. He ignored for a moment Finral's insistent calls for their departure, savoring every bit of her. And he would continue to do so, he knew, as long as he could.
He didn't want to stop kissing her, but eventually, she pushed him away, lightly, but insistently. He could see reluctance on her face.
"You should go. Your squad needs you."
Her eyes, far more truthfully than any words, said that she needed him too.
Reluctantly he pulled his arms back from her until they were once more two beings. She was right. And he would make good on his promise to find a way to see her soon. He needed to because already the world felt colder without her in his arms.