[He searches for eye contact, something to anchor him when his whole world is spinning, tilting away, as if it's all gone off-balance. As if it's all falling apart. Is that so wrong, though? If her plan works, then this is their very last moment together. Forever and always. The end]
I won't.
[The words come out as a whisper, shaky and unsteady. But he speaks the truth, evident in the clarity of his expression; he could not change her mind even if he wanted to, and he doesn't want to. He wishes desperately that none of this had to happen. That some other twist in their story might open up another option. But faced with the impossibility of that, he knows that this is her only path forward. That it must be done -- that it will be done, because he has seen it. That she cannot rest until she has done what she can. He hates it, hates it, and yet-- knows he cannot stop it.
Her eyes meet his at last, and he is overcome by the realization that he came here with no idea what to say.]
I--
[His voice sounds so small and uncertain. What can he say that could encompass everything? His thoughts, his feelings, everything he has ever wanted to say but didn't. He thought he had learned from his time with Mipha, and yet here he stands again, uselessly turning thoughts over in his mind. It is all too much.
Hesitantly, he lifts his other hand, cupping it to her cheek, fingers tangling in her hair. Each second seems to last hours, the space of a heartbeat drawn out in time, and he has never been very good at the words anyway, he has never needed them, but even this one small word, goodbye, suddenly feels too heavy and too minuscule all at once.
It's slow, the dawning realization that he will never be able to say it all. That words are not enough. Long ago, there were those who called her the heir to a throne of nothing, but they were wrong. The heart and soul of the hero, his life, his every moment, his very being -- she is the heir to all of it. Everything, everything, and it belongs to her. It has been hers since the moment light first shone upon their world, and long after all the stars die, it will still belong to her. And it's too big to describe, so he does what he always does: he uses his actions to express himself.
Hands still cupped around her cheeks, he leans forward, leans up --he forgets, sometimes, how tall she is, one of the millions of things he adores about her-- and gently presses a kiss to her lips.]
no subject
I won't.
[The words come out as a whisper, shaky and unsteady. But he speaks the truth, evident in the clarity of his expression; he could not change her mind even if he wanted to, and he doesn't want to. He wishes desperately that none of this had to happen. That some other twist in their story might open up another option. But faced with the impossibility of that, he knows that this is her only path forward. That it must be done -- that it will be done, because he has seen it. That she cannot rest until she has done what she can. He hates it, hates it, and yet-- knows he cannot stop it.
Her eyes meet his at last, and he is overcome by the realization that he came here with no idea what to say.]
I--
[His voice sounds so small and uncertain. What can he say that could encompass everything? His thoughts, his feelings, everything he has ever wanted to say but didn't. He thought he had learned from his time with Mipha, and yet here he stands again, uselessly turning thoughts over in his mind. It is all too much.
Hesitantly, he lifts his other hand, cupping it to her cheek, fingers tangling in her hair. Each second seems to last hours, the space of a heartbeat drawn out in time, and he has never been very good at the words anyway, he has never needed them, but even this one small word, goodbye, suddenly feels too heavy and too minuscule all at once.
It's slow, the dawning realization that he will never be able to say it all. That words are not enough. Long ago, there were those who called her the heir to a throne of nothing, but they were wrong. The heart and soul of the hero, his life, his every moment, his very being -- she is the heir to all of it. Everything, everything, and it belongs to her. It has been hers since the moment light first shone upon their world, and long after all the stars die, it will still belong to her. And it's too big to describe, so he does what he always does: he uses his actions to express himself.
Hands still cupped around her cheeks, he leans forward, leans up --he forgets, sometimes, how tall she is, one of the millions of things he adores about her-- and gently presses a kiss to her lips.]