For a moment or two, Ved hesitated. He was a little apprehensive of what was offered, scared even. Sitting beside someone, a complete stranger or a friend, wouldn’t have mattered much to him, but this was Maiken, his ex-girlfriend, who was once, and to a smaller extent still is, the love of his life, the flames of his forge. As if time moved slowly, he breathed out, his worries and concerns escaping from within through that sigh, turning to the offered seat beside her, blinked, and took the opportunity, gently, and carefully. He feared the risk this would do to his own sanity, to hers, but he couldn’t stop himself. In the end, demigod or not, his heart was still human, even if it was forged by Hephaestus himself. “Not really.”
“You’d think I would, like I thought you would, but I guess with everything that’s going on, it’s been a little hard to enjoy myself…” He offered her a smile in turn as he sat but it was a weak one, with his lips collapsing at the sight of her tears, at the scent of her, at the sound of her voice, at the warmth he thought he felt from her. It’s been a while since they broke up, and Ved, poor, stupid Ved, had spent all that time running away from the truth of the end, their end. Even through the darkness, he could still see her beauty, her kindness, the things that drew him to her, hook, line, and sinker. “I’m just here if you need to talk. With someone. About things.” Finally. “I mean, if you don’t want me to go, that is, I can keep you company. We don’t even have to talk if you don’t want to. I can’t be anywhere else anyway."
as her question hang between them, maiken keeps her eyes on ved. if she’d been fully sobered up, she wouldn’t have made the offer; her sobriety is often laced in her biggest strides of cowardice and avoidance. that’s what she’s been doing to ved since they broke up. total avoidance. when ved finally takes the seat beside her, she lets out a breath of her own.
then, finally, there’s an answer to her question. not really. she nods, albeit a bit awkwardly. “ i’ve been trying to, it’s just... hard to, i guess. ” maiken’s gaze then drops to the concrete under her feet. “ i usually hate being in one place for long, you know... i thought getting away from eonia would be good but-- ” she trails off with a half-hearted shrug. as ved speaks again and offers to talk, more emotions rush to the surface. whatever progress she made in diminishing her tears, it’s undone in an instant. it’s clear she’s frustrated with herself when she starts to wipe at her eyes again. “ i don’t want you to leave, i... gods, i’m sorry ved. ”