#lucaets

   whatever little resolve noctis had managed to gather in that strange, year-long interlude began to seep between his hands, as if it had always been beyond him. similarly, there's nothing that can contain her; like him, korin had always felt too much, to the point of redness and swelling. somehow, it warmed his heart. it disturbed his surface. a thing that's falling apart can't hope to build another crumbling thing, and yet, with the empty space his resolve left in his hands, noctis extends an arm to pull her for an embrace.  “  yeah, me neither. ”  the meek attempt at a laugh is betrayed by the dryness of his throat, and it leaves him as a sigh that hides in her hair.

@lucaets​​:    mistletoe :]  

mistletoe  //  selectively accepting

the prince is unsure whether or not his feline classmate is aware of her current predicament. malleus is sure however that regardless of any present awareness, kora would likely be startled by any advance from him. which unfortunately for her only acts as a motivator for the fae to move forward. 

for all intents & purposes malleus could go straight for the kill if he wanted. but he has a responsibility to maintain as the future king of valley of thorns. any explicit romantic display would likely start rumors among campus. but..he can still have a bit of fun can’t he? 

   onward onto the north’s cooler ground, ice that hardly gets to him, cloud makes it a point to walk behind them, just so. ever since… she died, it’s become his priority to widen the gap between the rest and himself, which isn’t really himself anymore. kora senses as much. senses that he doesn’t understand what he’s becoming. which is wrong, because this is what he’s always been.

   𝗌𝗁𝖾'𝗌 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗆𝖾. distantly, he thinks of her parents, and the rubber, and the bodies.

   there’s no intelligent way to speak about this.  “  …𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞,  ”  chemical hero, obscene and damaged. failed. he might as well just be honest about it; not much gets past korin anyway. his breath is visible, slow and staggering. this is about the body. a soldier’s pride, jenova’s extension. this has always been about the body———  “  i think it’s a person. not really me.  ”  𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. it no longers exists without going unnoticed. 

   there isn’t an intelligent way to speak about this, not one.  “  …𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧.  ”

   the  sob  shaking  past  the  monastery’s  cracks  killed  any  need  for  the  news  to  move  by  word  of  mouth. he’s  got  a  headache  brewing  when  he  hears  it. 

   sylvain  is  still  trying  to  make  sense  of  the  nausea  this  odd  sense  of,  tentatively  called,  grief  gives  him  when she  makes  a  dagger  of  words.  there’s  no  preamble,  either.  it’s  pointed  and  sharp  and  crafted  to  stab.  deep.  deeper.  his  mouth  parting  is  the  testament  he  is  feeling  it  sink. 

   of  course—  this  is  just  a  reminder  he’s  tainted  by  association.  he  could  break  into  a  fever  right  then  and  there,  under  her  darkening  scorn.  but  if  miklan  ever  did  something,  it’d  be  accustom  sylvain  to  being  blamed  for  something  that  isn’t  his  fault.  𝙝𝙚𝙧  𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣  𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩  𝙖𝙣𝙮  𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚  𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩  𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣  𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.  at  the  realization,  sylvain  has  to  look  away  from  her.  the  headache  is  worsening.  the  shock  of  the  parallel  brings  his  hand  to  the  nape  of  his  neck. 

   away—  he  has  to  get  the  hell  away.

   he  can’t  utter  the  truth.  not  even  when  it  counts.   ‘‘   i’m  sorry.  i  know you  don’t  believe  me,  but  i  really  do  mean it.   ’’ 

‘   huh?   i mean —    ’   she eyes him with suspicion.   sure, tooru has never completely led her astray but it’s hard not to spot the way his smile is just a bit too impish.   ‘   only sometimes ...   ’   but she relents ( hesitantly, still ) nonetheless.   giving her hand over and allowing him to lead her to whatever little scheme he cooked up.   the notion that maybe he just had something planned for her birthday never crossing her mind.   ‘   will you give me a hint, at least?   ’

       “   kora,  kora,  look !   ”   new enthusiasm springs forth with every shift of his gaze,  wide eyes going over the colorful stalls in no specific order.   tooru’s always loved festivals.   he tugs kora’s sleeve toward one particular stall when something extra interesting catches his eye,  a grin already curling on his lips.   “   they have mystery flavored taiyaki !   let’s share a set !!   ”