𝗷𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 . ⤑ ‘ no regrets. ’ / @yearsgiven.
his thumb lightly g r a z e s over her cheek, still holding her face in his hands as they stand close in the dimly lit room. despite everything, he knew her words were t r u e . nothing had turned out the way they’d intended. everything messy and dramatic, filled with bad decisions and poorly timed words. however, he didn’t regret it either. how could he? as much as he may regret this right here, this moment ... he’d never regret everything else. even that night all those years ago where he’d pushed so hard for the truth. he’d never regret meeting her, l o v i n g her. no more than he could ever stop loving her. even as they stood here, their hands holding each other’s faces as if they can hold each other in this moment. in the moment, danny can’t help but wonder if maybe they could. even for just a little while longer. ‘ no regrets, ’ danny repeats back, his voice low with the emotional of it. his chest heavy, eyes burning.
there was a time where he’d make her pull away first, that he would have looked at their current situation as something that he could be happy in and that because she wanted something else ... then she had to pull back. but he knew better now. and they’d thought about it enough. they’d talked about it enough to know it w o u l d n ’ t . while going forward in life exactly like this would work for him ... it wasn’t a future she wanted. and they know that. and while he’d been prepared to give it to her anyways, would that have been fair to any of them? he’d never feel fully comfortable. she’d doubt. and willow ... well willow was the real reason he stood there with the bag of his few belongs he’d begun to keep in the harlow household. it would be confusing for her, and if they’d ever grown to resent each other ... they couldn’t do that to her. she’d had enough instability with august, the last thing danny wanted was for her to get that from them as well. he wants her to be h a p p y . he wants thea to be happy ... his own is less important. walking away now, allowing some preservation of their friendship ... it’ll hurt both of them. but he knows she’ll be better off. she’ll be able to find someone better. someone who can give her everything she wants, everything she needs.
his own heart, he doesn’t know. but he’d lost people before. and at least this was a c h o i c e , this was his own fault. he chose to break his own heart because he knew it was the right thing. wasn’t it. ‘ i ... ’ danny begins before pausing. the promise that he’ll never stop loving her burning on his tongue, but he can’t say that. it won’t be fair. instead he presses a soft kiss to her forehead before resting them together softly. ‘ i should go. ’ with only the slightest hint of reluctance, he pulls back his face, slowly pulling his hands away as well, unable to meet her eyes as he does so.
