#( THREAD 03. ┊ MIRAE & MATT; QUIET NIGHTS. )

[esotericdescent]

   ❝No,❞ Rae muttered against his shoulder. She shifted slightly and looped her arm through Matt's bent elbow, loosely holding onto him. Her eyes tracked the movement of his hand as he sketched. ❝I'm just ... comfortable ...❞ a hesitant pause followed before she let out a soft sigh and added, much more quietly, ❝... and I miss you.❞

   She didn't exactly sound tired, but something more akin to relaxed, at ease. What they were doing was undoubtedly the right thing to do and she was thankful that she'd finally managed to break through the barrier of manipulation and belief his grandfather had been building into his mind since he was a child. Regardless, it was difficult — not only because moments like these now felt like they were stolen fleetingly, but because Rae knew there was nothing she could do to protect him.

   Matt could take care of himself, she knew that, but ... she couldn't stop herself from worrying about him. Her Da had warned them both how difficult this would be — it meant the world to her that her parents were helping them and Rae didn't think they'd be able to handle this without them, but ... on the bright side, she'd begun to see a side of Matt that she'd only caught glimpses of before. The parts of him that he kept hidden in order to please and to survive his situation.

   She loved watching him draw, too. Rae had rarely gotten to actually just ... sit and watch him and, truly, he was indeed mesmerizing to watch. A small smile curled at her lips and she nuzzled into his shoulder just slightly. While her left arm was looped through his, her right hand rested idly against the inside of his elbow. ❝Have you ever used paints or anything? ❞ Maybe she was asking because she'd had a passing thought once or twice about how good his style of the setting sun over Ketterdam would look if he'd painted it. It'd look incredible with his other mediums too of course, but ...

@esotericdescent said: “[ relax ] sender rests their head on receiver's shoulder while they talk ( from Rae, but - idk if I'm jumping too far ahead lmfao just ... *clenches fist* so cute ..... )" {♚ x PROMPTS FOR COMFORTABLE INTIMACY ||  Accepting x}

 There was no doubt that he was doing the right thing. Now. Finally. And no matter how difficult, Matt was determined to pull through with it. There were several sacrifices he had to make along the way, but he was willing to make them all in an attempt to right the wrongs he had done. In an attempt to refuse to become the monster he had been raised to be.

 The hardest sacrifice, however, was not being able to see Rae as often as he was used to. Sneaking out had always been difficult, but Matt was under more scrutiny now than ever before. So their meetings were few and far between. Having temporarily dropped out of University, they were lucky if they got to see each other once a week, in the middle of the night, preferably on the rooftops of Ketterdam where no one else would be able to see them.

 Tonight was one of those nights. And, as though the Saints were on their side, the sky was clear and the weather mild. The chimney they were leaning against gave off a comfortable heat as they talked about anything and everything. Well… Everything, but all the things currently weighing heavily on his mind. There was a time and place for that, but tonight wasn’t it. He just wanted to enjoy the time he got to spend with her, and he had no intention of ruining it by bringing down the mood.

 In his lap, Matt had a small bone light, as well as the well-worn sketchbook he always carried on him in case he got a chance to use it. He’d been mindlessly sketching in it, but was focused enough that it took him a few seconds to realize that Rae had stopped talking. Just as he was about to turn his head to look at her, he felt a weight on his shoulder and froze in place. He didn’t have to see it to know it was her head. His heart skipped a couple of beats at that realization and, for several moments, he wasn’t sure what to do. In the end, he simply exhaled and continued drawing. For Saint’s sake, chill out. She’s your best friend. She's comfortable around you. Don't ruin it.

 “Are you tired? We can wrap it up for tonight, if you want.”