Continuation from here [ x ] with @goosetave
"Duty demanded I leave you behind. My heart never did," Lune confessed softly, stating each word with careful thought and consideration, though her gaze never once waiver away from the campfire. It was easier to confess without looking at him, knowing that if she met those brilliant eyes of his, the words would have never left her tongue.
Despite the decisiveness of her words, a nervous tension lingered beneath them, betrayed by the way her fingers fidgeted amongst each other in search of relief.
Two years ago, after Sol gommaged, she had reverted to the habits she'd established at nineteen of isolating herself from the world, burying herself in work, and keeping everyone at arm's length. After all, what had she accomplished all that time? Each gommaged could have been prevented if she had not became distracted.
Though they were never official, she knew that she had hurt Gustave in the process. She had no right to confess these feelings as it was her own undoing. However, after the slaughter at the beach, it doesn't make sense to hold such feelings back anymore. Tomorrow will come, but no one knows if they will live to see it.
Her thoughts were pulled back to the present the moment his body settled next to hers, his fingers searched for her and wrapped around her fidgeting fingers, steadying them in his cool metallic hand. It was enough to ground her as her fingers tighten around his.
"I'm grateful you listened..." A light hearted tease slipped through, scooting closer as she leans against him. Her head gently rest upon his shoulder as she sighs softly, releasing the tenseness that she held felt.
"I..." She paused, only to swallow a breath. "I've missed these moments... A mistake that I've made entirely myself... that I've regretted now... for pushing people away, pushing you away. I only did what I thought was right then..." and it was the truth. It is too late to go back and reverse what she had done. She can only focus on the now.