A Matter of Some Importance
She’s over it, she tells herself. It was a silly little thing, she says to the part of her that won’t listen. She says it again, and again, and again, and maybe actually starts to believe it, too. She says it before bed, a mantra to keep away phantoms in her dreams. It is the unspoken prayer when she opens her eyes. Today, please let it be over today. Just let it end. There are more important things…
But then, there are moments, when he gets just a little too close, or the light catches him just so-
And all at once, her breath leaves her. She is struck in the moment, frozen in place, her feet clinging to the ground as though she fall off its surface in the next instant. He’s just leaning over her to get a better glimpse at the map, does he know he’s breathing on her neck? He’s only checking his equipment, does he really need to pose? He’s not posing, of course, but it sure as hell seems like it to her.
She closes her eyes, tight, for just a moment. Collects herself. Stop it. Stop. One deep breath, maybe two, as quiet as can be. No one will notice, or at least, no one will say. It can’t have escaped all of them that the brawler was wrestling with more than just the garden variety of world-ending angst. Oh right, the world is ending, isn’t it? Gosh, she thinks, you’d think that that would factor a little bit more into your ridiculous fantasies. Maybe bring you back to reality. Back to the important matters at hand.
But then there he is again. Talking to Nanaki, or just sitting by himself, deep in thought (as usual). Her chest is tight,and she tries not to stare. Pulls her eyes away, try as they might to linger. Despite that, or perhaps in spite of it, a small smile tugs at her lips as she turns away.
Then again, maybe, just maybe… there isn’t anything more important. Then again, maybe he’s the most important damn thing in her whole universe.