#vasutia

sherry reached for his hand and lifted it to her lips, and as she let go of it, there was the faintest trace of her lipstick on his knuckles. she smiled. it was a nice, a peaceful evening. a light breeze was rustling in the curtains and dancing over her carpet, but it was quiet in zinnia, and sherry could not be happier about this. she was ready for quietude, for long evenings spent lounging on couches or, as it was today, on the floor with pillows and some white wine.

reaching for another piece of cheese, for another grape, she sighed quietly. maybe it was the first sign of her getting old wiser that she was far more content in the companionable silence they shared than she was in almost all other places. shifting on the pillow she was resting on, she reached for his other hand too, running her fingers over the familiar callouses that she had mapped out before.

@vasutia sent  →   “ no one wants to touch someone like me ”

at no point in her life, ur would have claimed that she possessed remarkable social skills, and she would still not tell such an outrageous lie. having grown up sheltered and having then spent much of her life on the study of magic, she was a little clumsy when it came to other people. a spell, she could take apart and harvest for parts; human emotion was a far greater riddle. but she would try, always, even when she knew that she was playing to her weaknesses as opposed her strengths right now. but if it was for the children . . .

‘ ‘ you aren’t always making it easy for people to care for you. ’ ’ she paused, refusing to take a walk down memory lane to illustrate her point. there was no need to tell lyon that he could be prickly and, on occasion, rude, because there was nothing to be gained there. ‘ ‘ i’m not saying it to be mean, you must know that, but you are ’ ’ she continued, allowing her hand to curl around his wrist, squeezing it gently. ‘ ‘ heaven knows i’ve been making it plenty difficult as well when i was not much younger than you. ’ ’

twenty years had passed since she had last sat face-to-face with her parents. twenty years since she had seen her siblings, since she had been home. isolation had been her flawed way of coping when her heart had been a ruin. it had neither numbed the pain nor cured it, but looking back, ur did wonder if she had mistaken the mere idea of healing for an absolution she had never asked for.

babe. babe are souls are compatible. babe. babe. we’re literally solmates. babe don’t leave me. babe. bAB 

fishing for compliments, was he? a smile grew on her face as she studied the side of his face, his sharp profile. she did have a weakness for him, and so she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, threading gloveless fingers through his. she so enjoyed the quiet, calm moments when they could allow themselves to take much needed rest.

letting her head rest on his shoulder, she exhaled softly. ‘ ‘  you are always quite charming, dearest, ’ ’  she mused as she shifted until she was content with her position. ‘ ‘ but your winning point? your hair. it looks so fluffy, almost like a cloud. ’ ’

‘ ‘ lyon --- ’ ’ she yelped, her cheeks blooming scarlet as she poked her finger gently into his shoulder. sherry knew her hands’ strength and she did not want to leave bruises. ‘ ‘ you lovely, beautiful, intelligent --- sap. ’ ’

three, five more steps and she halted, left forearm braced against the nearest wall. a familiar face, a sight that made her smile. why else would she have come here? why else would she have put herself through this? 

‘ ‘ ---lyon. ’ ’ 

for most of the evening, she had fluttered through the guildhall --- she had had tea with jura while he had played chess against eva, had joined the discussions about magical theory taking place in the solar  ( only to take her leave once adam had appeared, kora in tow, and a confident smirk on his lips )  and she had even played a party against jura when she had found him alone. she had lost  ( of course she had / chess had always been his game )  and she had strolled off, climbing up the stairs to wave at arwyn who had been chatting with both ooba and carolina. perhaps she should have felt fatigue by the time she had found lyon in the library, sitting by himself. vaguely, she had remembered that yuuka had come down almost an hour ago, clinging to a cup of coffee and rolling his eyes twice before settling down on his favourite spot, the spot no one else would ever take.

around lyon, she slowed down.  ( she always did. )  she sat down on one of the desks in the library, letting her legs swing back and forth as if she was a child again, as if she had not a single care in the world. their conversation was simple, a far cry away from the increasingly philosophical one in the solar, and she liked it. she liked not to have to weigh her words before speaking, she liked that there did not have to be a gap between what she thought and what she said because as clumsy and unrefined some thoughts were, she could trust lyon with them / trust him not to twist them around until they no longer meant what she wanted them to mean.

as she slowed, the world caught up with her --- and the exhaustion such a lively evening brought caught up with her, tearing viciously into her. maybe she should have stayed in motion a little longer, should have stayed on her feet instead of letting tiredness crashing into her. it did not matter, not truly; a dim smile was still a smile and she was awake as she tapped her fingers against her chin, her smile growing into something that might have graced a sphinx' face.

she thought it spoke volumes that there were few topics they could not discuss, few topics they would not walk towards. she had not thought that it would be marriage, today, but she still smiled, softer now. throughout the years of her life, she had thought about this --- concept at more than one occasion. of course she had; she had seen her generation grow from almost-children into responsible adults, had been on more than one wedding, even if she had never caught the bouquet. and, of course, she had been engaged.

( it was nothing she still thought about often, there was no question in this that awaited her answer and so, why should she keep prodding at it? it no longer held significance. )

she twisted the ring lyon had given her around her finger, always a little startled by how cold its gem was. it was a masterpiece, this was certain. a masterpiece that was not a promise, not quite. then, she sighed softly as she continued to regard lyon pensively.  ‘‘ marriage . . . it is not to be taken lightly, ’’ she said --- almost sagely, almost allowing herself to forget that she had mistaken it for something else.

she reached for his hand and pressed a gentle kiss into his palm. she was a romantic, this had never been up for debate. she was perhaps not the sort that was rendered starry-eyed by the mere mention of weddings --- mostly because she could tell how much work they were --- but she would have to lie if she said that she had never thought about it. about being married to someone she loved so much that her heart sometimes threatened to burst.

having known lyon as long as she had, she had grown used to his --- dramatics. after all, they were approaching the fifteenth anniversary of their acquaintance and absentmindedly, she wondered if a gift would be appropriate. maybe not. initially, theirs had been an alliance driven by . . . well, they had wanted to resurrect  ( and then kill )  a demon. as far as youthful folly went, this was . . . pretty far. certainly far enough to make her wonder if calling it youthful folly was the right thing to do.

never mind. this was likely not the best time for her to contemplate the mistakes of her youth. she stood and crossed the room, approaching her boyfriend with a light grin on her face. leaning towards lyon, she sighed quietly. ‘‘ lyon, love, ’’ she said gently as she tugged on his sleeve. ‘‘ i do not think that the world is becoming your enemy, just because you cannot beat jura in scrabble. ’’