[The second she feels his arms lift and wrap around her, the waves of heat begin to slow and recede, and Tifa's shoulders rise and fall with the breath that she had been holding onto and waiting for, her body falling against his until all her weight rests on him, and although she seems more relaxed, her fingers curl tight against his back, nails digging into his skin where they leave small, red crescent shaped marks behind. But even if it hurts, even if he asks her to stop, she isn't sure that she'll be able to let go. She holds him like he might disappear if she doesn't do it with all her might, clings to him like her life depends on it... because that's what it feels like right now.
He speaks to her, his voice falling back into that gentle, sweet tenor in her ears, but she's crying quietly into his shoulder, trying to push all that fear aside so that it no longer keeps them apart. It feels like a wall that's still there, a barrier that she's trying to smash through with her body and the power of it pressing up to his so desperately that her legs threaten to give way underneath her.
Maybe he just needed to say it all. Maybe he heard her, listened, and understood that just as much as he needs her, she needs him too. And with him gone, it would only be a matter of time before Tifa suffered the same fate... and the one person who could free her from that torment wouldn't be there to reach out his hand and pull her from it.
Regardless of whether he had or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is that they had both said their piece. That they both know what the other is thinking and feeling... What had gone through his head at the time so that she can help him overcome those thoughts that will plague him in the nights to come.
She doesn't know how she will do it, but that can come later. Now that she understands, they can figure that out together. Even if it means more of this push and pull, she's willing to endure it for him. Willing to go to whatever lengths necessary until he can truly, undoubtedly believe that she still loves him, wants him, needs him...
Later... Tomorrow...
"I don't want to lose you."
Tifa tries to say something—to give him some word that she's listening and that she understands, but it all crumbles the moment her voice tries to leave her, turning into more sobs. She forces them out, and they're violent, shaking her whole body until she feels weak and frail, and until it starts to hurt, and she can't bear to cry anymore.
It's only then that she tries to speak again, but her voice is as feeble as her body feels, like glass that's on the verge of shattering.]
I can't lose you... please...
[Please don't believe these nightmares or the lies they try to tell him. Please don't fight this on his own. Please don't keep her away. Please don't let those terrible memories win.
Please don't leave her alone...
Please don't...]
...I love you, Eustace...
[The starflowers that had been suffocated by the war between the fire and the ice flicker with their dim lights, their petals quivering as they try to breathe life back into themselves again, and they reflect like stars that twinkle in Tifa's tearful eyes when she lifts her head to look at him.]
... Can I... [Her lips, swollen and red, part ever so slightly with a breath as she utters her question.] Can I kiss you?
[It might seem like such an odd request, but it's riddled with guilt and trembling with nervousness. She doesn't mean for it to push them back into those habits, and she understands what Eria's intentions were when the wolf placed herself between them, but right now...
Right now, she wants that closeness. She wants to bridge that gap they'd put between them so that it has no room to grow.
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He speaks to her, his voice falling back into that gentle, sweet tenor in her ears, but she's crying quietly into his shoulder, trying to push all that fear aside so that it no longer keeps them apart. It feels like a wall that's still there, a barrier that she's trying to smash through with her body and the power of it pressing up to his so desperately that her legs threaten to give way underneath her.
Maybe he just needed to say it all. Maybe he heard her, listened, and understood that just as much as he needs her, she needs him too. And with him gone, it would only be a matter of time before Tifa suffered the same fate... and the one person who could free her from that torment wouldn't be there to reach out his hand and pull her from it.
Regardless of whether he had or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is that they had both said their piece. That they both know what the other is thinking and feeling... What had gone through his head at the time so that she can help him overcome those thoughts that will plague him in the nights to come.
She doesn't know how she will do it, but that can come later. Now that she understands, they can figure that out together. Even if it means more of this push and pull, she's willing to endure it for him. Willing to go to whatever lengths necessary until he can truly, undoubtedly believe that she still loves him, wants him, needs him...
Later... Tomorrow...
"I don't want to lose you."
Tifa tries to say something—to give him some word that she's listening and that she understands, but it all crumbles the moment her voice tries to leave her, turning into more sobs. She forces them out, and they're violent, shaking her whole body until she feels weak and frail, and until it starts to hurt, and she can't bear to cry anymore.
It's only then that she tries to speak again, but her voice is as feeble as her body feels, like glass that's on the verge of shattering.]
I can't lose you... please...
[Please don't believe these nightmares or the lies they try to tell him. Please don't fight this on his own. Please don't keep her away. Please don't let those terrible memories win.
Please don't leave her alone...
Please don't...]
...I love you, Eustace...
[The starflowers that had been suffocated by the war between the fire and the ice flicker with their dim lights, their petals quivering as they try to breathe life back into themselves again, and they reflect like stars that twinkle in Tifa's tearful eyes when she lifts her head to look at him.]
... Can I... [Her lips, swollen and red, part ever so slightly with a breath as she utters her question.] Can I kiss you?
[It might seem like such an odd request, but it's riddled with guilt and trembling with nervousness. She doesn't mean for it to push them back into those habits, and she understands what Eria's intentions were when the wolf placed herself between them, but right now...
Right now, she wants that closeness. She wants to bridge that gap they'd put between them so that it has no room to grow.
But she needs to be sure that he wants the same.]