i am the mace, the map, the fall and the high
There is a fragility to her now, written in the memories of their time apart. It’s both intriguing and devastating. He was not made for fragile creatures - not with the brutality written through every line of his own body. She would shatter against him, and he, beast that he is, would not try to stop her. Does she recognize that in the blood and dirt on his skin?
If she does, he can’t imagine how she would wish to stay. And he very much wishes her to stay.
Her lips curve into a whisper of a smile before she turns to find the gruesome picture of reality he represents. It is gone as quickly as it has come, leaving some small piece of him unaccountably disappointed. There is something saccharine in the fleeting curl of her lips that he has missed. But he does not think he is in a state to tease that smile back onto her lips. Not now. Not with blood and dirt painted so freely on bone in a testament of battle.
They are both haunted by their ghosts, though perhaps his are not quite what hers are. Where hers had driven fractures through her heart, his had driven him into foolhardiness. His had steeled his heart against the world rather than split it open for all to see. Would she be disappointed to know his ghosts have only made him harder and more reckless?
Her whisper of reassurance surprises him, though he should know by now to always be surprised by her. His own desires had driven these wounds into his skin, yet she offers to steal them away. He can do little more than smile at her assertion because it is true. It is always true. He would be okay.
She doesn’t shy from the gore splattered on his skin, and he does not try to stop her. His lips find the gentle curve of her neck just as hers find the crease of his armor. His touch whispers briefly, feather-light across her skin, though whether in reassurance or something much more dangerous, he’s not quite certain.
“If it will make you feel better,” he finally replies, eyes crinkling in his amusement as they find hers. “You shouldn’t worry too much about me though.” His amusement blooms into a grin, eyes dancing beneath the subtle glow of his mask. “I’m tougher than I look.”
reave
@Elliana