[ She flinches, turns her head to hide from the wet trails on his face and to hide her own wet eyes, her whole body still faintly trembling. She pulls her arms in, withdraws. She won’t reach out again, she’s already taken more than she deserves from him.

He can’t lie to her outright and even in that, he’s better at this than her, because she lied to him for so long before she let him die. Fuck. Fuck. ]

...I’m sorry.

[ She flinches again. She needs to stop saying that. Repeating it over and over seems like a manipulation, even if it’s not, even if it’s true, even if it’s all she can muster. ]

I— you— we—

[ Fuck. Her head drops, face hidden behind her hair again, and she lets a couple of tears fall. She takes a deep breath. ]

You never did say it, huh. I just— I just hoped...

[ Stupid, really. Stupid and selfish. ]