âââ after everything, he doesnât expect guilt. he doesnât want it, either. the way she avoids his eyes, even as brief as it is, twists something in his chest fiercely in a way that takes his breath away in an unpleasant absence. itâs wrong. itâs simply wrong. heâs searching her words, her face, her eyes, trying to find any answers to his questions and instead comes back with his own desperation at full force. it sounds like a needy âwhere have you been?â when he pays attention to it and he doesnât know what to do with it. and here they are, just dancing. â you too. â itâs the truth. the years treated her more than kindly, and itâs almost enough reason for the way heâs just staring at her shamelessly like she might just dissolve where sheâs holding her. heâs heard people, some kind and not, try to tell him sorry for his injury. itâd taken him so long to recover, and people coaxing him back after he had all said around the same thing. heâd hated it then because he could feel the insincerity. her apology, on the other hand, hurts worse than the bullet. â letâs not â â he begins. she was right about one thing. they couldnât talk here, in the open, surrounded by people. â donât. please. â heâs shut himself down for so long and in a few words, katharinaâs left him to a stilted mess, raw and messy. so he pulls her in, an easy thing, barely at all, just because he can and sheâs here, and everything he could prepare flies from his mind. if he dips his head from this position, even a little, theyâd be touching foreheads.Â
all these years of training and training to be better so katarina would never hurt anyone ever again. these few years of her, being an agent and acting like one, unlike how she used to be. she is sharper but never sharp enough to face anything like this. she frowned when he shut her down but that was rather expected. it was followed by her nodding slowly. why would anyone still carry their personal things to formal work event? and how could he open up when she was still wearing up her walls? his hand that reeled her in just feels like something, itâs both comforting and stinging at the same time. after the whole incident, kay was scolded, to put it lightly, by her mentor and agent who in the first place put her up on that mission. but she understood and sheâd went through hell again if she could ever stop that from happening. shamelessly, she only accepted and pulled herself closer to him, closer to his chest, where she used to seek for comfort. itâs better to not speak. itâs better to just be present there and just as she looked at him to remind him that she was there, alive, alright, and relieved to see him. and maybe a little closer, closer, she wanted to see him up close and maybe get lost in his eyes, wondering what he was thinking. ânathan....â she called softly. then she abruptly stopped, leaving her lips open as she was about to speak but decided not to. iâve been well and iâd hate to say that to your face. defeated, she looked down. closing her eyes and hummed to the song playing, trying to distract herself with something else than her heavy chest.