And once more, Kaleb returned. This time, he was truly there. Mostly. It was the younger one, the one who still had a fire lit in his soul, the one with the scar on his forehead instead of over his eye. But it was Kaleb, in Anya's room, sitting behind the bed, head in his hands, silent, as if thinking. Didn't even notice the door open, just stayed quiet, muttering to himself in a regretful tone.
Anya pauses, her eyes widening as she stares at him. She can feel her heartbeat in her throat, almost choking her as her blood runs cold.
He hadn't noticed her. It'd be easy to run and pretent she never saw him, that the notes never existed, that old wounds didn't get reopened.
No, she'd never run. That was a scary thought, but it was the truth.
"Kaleb?" She finally asks, her voice meek and hesitant, only just loud enough to get his attention, the door shutting behind her
A pause. Kaleb stopped dead at the sound of Anya's voice. Slowly, his head rose up, posture straightening.
"...s-sorry about intruding, I just... needed vaguely familiar surroundings to center myself..."
Kaleb didn't stand up, simply remaining where he was, trying to hide the fact he was flustered about being caught off-guard.
"Dont- you don't have to apologise" anya takes a deep breath, looking around the room like she expects something to be off, to reveal that this isn't happening
"You're... you're actually alive"
"I am. As alive as I can be after multiple deaths, at least... to tell the truth, I've been alive a while... when I... first showed up, I think I... left the wrong impression. The impression I... well, he, "died"... oh, god, I think I'm already throwing away my shot by pulling out that nonsense again... I should just... go."
"No!" Anya quickly says, taking a step forward
"I don't want you to leave! I never want you to leave! Can't you understand that?!"
Kaleb paused, looking over his shoulder, before turning fully to Anya, slowly rising back to his feet. His eyes looked wet, clearly he had been crying.
"...a-are you serious? Even after death and disappearance... you're willing to give me a second chance?"
There was a hint of fear, of paranoia. Was this too good to be true? Was Anya simply trying to make him not feel bad? For once in his new life, Kaleb felt something he hadn't felt in ages. Fear.
"Second chance, third chance, I don't care! How many times have we run in circles through this whole situation?! Get it through your thick head that the only one for me is you! Only you, no matter what you do, no matter what happens! Even if you disappear or piss me off or, God forbid, die again! It's only you!"
Kaleb nodded, wiping tears out of his eyes. His form flickered into static, moving in the blink of an eye. Anya was manually turned so when Kaleb returned to physicality, and tackled her into a massive hug, the momentum would launch them both onto her bed instead of the floor.
"I'm sorry... I'm a fuckin' moron... on one silver lining, I doubt I will die again... I may have found the answer to one of life's big mysteries and... well, let's just say I'm even less of this world now..."
Anya chokes on her words, her sobs just laying dormant in her chest, years of unshed tears stuck in her eyes as she tightly clings to him with all the grip she can muster, willing him never to disappear.
"Jesus, Kaleb-" she sobs out, burying her face in his shoulder. There are a million things she wants to say, but nothing sounds right. She wants to yell at him, hit him for leaving, beg him to stay; but nothing sounds right.
Though it doesn't have to. Not right now.
Right now doesn't have to be messy or perfect.
It just is.
