Procyon — Sender grabs Receiver’s hand before they can leave. (*evil laughter* the moment before the kiss)
Far away, where ships set sail from the harbor and others docked, it had been on this day that the paths of those who had accomplished greatness had diverged. Grandsome --- and terrible at the same time, in view of the war, whose shadows and traces lay in the debris of the old houses, the worn-out cobblestones, the pools of rain that descended on them like a benediction, a call for a new beginning after the widespread destruction.
He cast his eyes down to the ticket he was holding, a little slip of paper that would take him home, putting him on one of the ships that were leaving Marley's harbor and sea.
'Maybe I should slowly start packing my things… Yes … yes, that would be a start.' Vito told this to himself impassively, irises perpetually downcast, still pinned on the ticket without further comprehending and processing its contents any longer, just --- staring at it.
'Have I always been this tired?'
His gaze ultimately diverted from the document and drifted to a recovering Levi, at whose bedside he had stayed for the preceding weeks. The last time the two had been together was on Paradis, they had not participated in the war alongside each other. Everything he had become aware of… the explosion, the loss of his fingers… Hange.
Oh, Hange, how much Vito mourned her passing.
To essentially depart from the very last person Levi had known all these years, to whom he had developed such a profound affinity, he could not even allow himself to consider what this loss meant for him.
Low-hung, amber hues peeked at the scars, the stitches that would gradually heal… 'Levi. It is doubtlessly the most astonishing miracle of all that you are still alive ... I should go, I should prepare for my departure. Where's Solveig? I still have something to tell her. I have to… I --- huh?'
His train of thought stalled, interrupted by the unfamiliar pressure around his wrist, almost too firm to ignore. In his exhaustion and distant haze, Vito required a moment to even process it. He had been about to rise, to leave Levi to the rest he had earned and yet… something held him there, anchoring him in place before he could slip away. His hand? He was … awake.
Gradually his eyes widened, his thoughts quieting as awareness returned. A small breath of surprise left Vito's lips when he finally understood what had stopped him… Levi's hand held his wrist --- calloused, the skin roughened by years of fighting. Vito realized he had never been held by him before and for a fleeting moment he found himself wondering what it would feel like. Now he knew.
"Levi…" He murmured softly, a faint huff of breath escaping with the name. His amber eyes lowered toward him, now sitting upright, aware, and preventing him from leaving his side. He yielded to the hold, allowing himself to be guided back to Levi’s side, all while Vito's hands seemed to move on their own, gently closing around the other man's knuckles as he sat beside his captain on the bed once more, tired eyes lifting to meet the familiar silver gaze before him.
Vito, usually so talkative, struggled to find the words to explain what this farewell stirred in him, especially with no certainty of when he might return. Would Levi think the last person beside him was leaving as well? Had a single year been enough for Levi to consider that much of him? With no certainty of when he would return, the farewell felt heavier than expected.
He gazed at the other's face for a brief period, allowing a soothing familiarity to settle over his own as he consolidated his thoughts.
"You remember… back then?" Vito muttered calmly. "When we first met in the middle of the night, just to drink tea and talk. I know you don't typically… care for unnecessary sentimental speech. But for me… those were real moments of joy. No matter how much bite your words carried here and there."
A soft, low laugh caught him as he granted Levi’s hand a faint squeeze.
"I will hold onto those when I'm not here beside you anymore. You should know that … even if you might not see it that way, it meant a great deal to me. That you…"
The words faltered on his tongue. A lengthy, firm breath left him instead, as if he needed it to untangle thoughts that refused to shape themselves into sound. There was something restrained in his expression --- timid, almost like he was still holding back the part that mattered most. His free hand raised with slow, hesitant movement, fingertips brushed along Levi's cheekbone first, light enough to withdraw the moment it would be unwelcoming. He traced the line carefully, as though committing it to memory at last, before letting his palm settle fully against the side of his face.
His hand cupped him there, affectionate, sincere, holding him with a gentleness reserved for something fragile --- something precious.
"I don't carry any regrets about you… or the time I spent with you. It wasn't quite enough, and hardly anything in comparison to the years you have lost. I know where I stand, Levi."
The brunette leaned a little closer, sincerity weighing behind every word. His gaze moved between Levi's good eye and the blinded one, thumb carefully tracing along the stitched scar.
"I only find regret when I'm facing the unknown. There are things you deserve to know. Things I … I should have told you sooner." His voice diminished, nearly faltering as Vito inched closer and closer to the other man until they were merely a breath apart.
"So… please forgive me for that."
