「 closed starter 」 tomas and xochitl @mcnstercus
HE HADN’T MEANT TO SEE HER. that's not true. all he wanted to do was see her. but he also told himself he’d stay away, that some ghosts deserved to stay ghosts — especially to her. but then there she was. xochitl. alive. radiant. untouched by the years that buried him. the sound of her laugh carried through the street, soft and familiar enough to knock the air out of his chest. the world tilted; for a second, the veil between before and after thinned, and he was alive again, sneaking through palace halls, tasting salt and starlight on her lips. tomas froze halfway across the square. every instinct screamed to turn back — to let her keep her peace, to not drag her into whatever half-life he was living now — but his feet didn’t listen. his pulse stuttered, hands curling at his sides. “ xochi, ” he said finally, her name b r e a k i n g from him like a confession. it felt too real, too alive, the way it fit in his mouth after all this time. he swallowed hard, voice rough as gravel. “ guess i’m worse at staying gone than i thought. ”