#you once again somehow predicted the EXACT thing ive been thinking of all week i have had mel on the mind i love her

[planet4546b]

had a thought today. i would like to hear more about mel (and feel free to go off about other characters & relationships) <3

MELL mel mel mel my beloved <33 every character in s/n is a tragic hero in their own right but mel is ESPECIALLY a tragic hero she is so doomed by the narrative and she knows it it’s great.

mels technical role in the group is as a navigator - shes a cartographer, which in a world that changes as regularly as this one does, is an incredibly important (and difficult!) job. she’s been a cartographer (along with emily, they usually travel together) for something like 5 or 6 years, has risen through the cartographers guild (called section 37) pretty quickly and has really made a name for herself - and she loves being well known in this way as much as she loves actually getting out into the world and doing cartography. she sometimes pushes herself into dangerous situations (ESPECIALLY around dangerous quantum anomalies, lol) out of some mix of sheer curiosity, desire to gain acclaim, and some sort of much more inexplicable calling. more than anyone else in the group (sam included!) she's incredibly, incredibly determined to stop the end of the world, and wants to truly help people even if she often goes about it in a sort of odd way. shes also dealing with a truly insane amount of grief, imposter syndrome, decades of beef with the twin sister she spends all her time with, misplaced trust in authority figures, and a hero complex like you would not believe. WHILE bisexual. and also she kind of experiences all of time at the same time (??). im gonna talk more about character relationships under the cut because i simply love parallels and drama

interestingly enough, when you simplify their motivations down as much as possible, mel and sam actually have INCREDIBLY similar motivations (almost the exact same one, actually). this leads to a lot of tension between the two of them - but at the same time, mel has a weird penchant for trusting people she percieves as authority figures - and while sam is only like, a year older than her, sam has the right combination of understanding of the world pre-resonance (which mel is obsessed with), understanding of the coming calamity, and sheer confidence that means that mel puts a LOT of faith in her, basically immediately. when relationships start fracturing later in the story, its mel that feels most betrayed by late-game sam's actions.

mel and emily have an incredibly, incredibly complex relationship, based on years and years and years of sort of compiling issues that no one really deals with. twin sisters yk. they resent each other for a LOT of reasons (from mel's end, a short list of reasons she resents emily would be: she thinks emily hates her, she thinks everyone in the family likes emily better than her, she resents that emily doesn't take cartography as seriously as she does, she's jealous of emily for a handful of reasons, she still feels bad about a childhood accident where emily almost died and it was kind of her fault, and the list goes ON) but while they kind of hate each other, they also have to work together in an incredibly dangerous job and as a result they also trust each other with their lives. also theres this bit of station 11 where one of the characters is writing a letter to an old friend from his hometown and is like 'you and i are the only people with the memories of this place as it was, so im always going to be linked to you' and like. its a very different context but i think of that in the context of these two a lot too. theyre the only two people who could possibly understand each other but also they cant stand each other and im not exaggarating this tension ends up being sort of the single most important part of this story. wooooo. fucked up sibling relationships yay

mel and jackie have a really sort of funny relationships tbh they just hang out. like eventually when jackies past gets revealed mel gets pissed at them but until that its basically just this i frankly dont have much to say about it

also in the interlude/act 2/whatever mel gets a boyfriend named cyrus capila!! im still doing a lot of work on developing cy but this relationship, while pretty short lived, is really important for mels character and im excited about it so i had to mention it <33

[foxyotomelady]

For Your Safety pt 1 (3rd Spin-off) (JuminxReader)

Author’s notes:

So this one is happening some time after Epilogue. Zen's in relationship with Ayumi. 

Be aware of: slight angst, overprotective, possessive Jumin.

I have nothing more to say, lol.

Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Epiloque | 1st Spin-off | 2nd Spin-off |  3rd Spin-off pt 1 (You are here) | 3rd Spin-off pt 2 | 3rd Spin-off pt 3 |

Buy Me A Ko-Fi Have a nice reading!

It was a hard time this week. V suddenly announced that Rika is alive, and that she's boss of some religious organization. She has been manipulating and drugging many people, including Seven's brother. Rika was already taken to mental asylum, V promised that he'll take care of everything as he would not want the RFA to clean up his mess. But there was still one problem. Seven's brother was nowhere to be found. It occured that he was that "Unknown" person, who lead you to the RFA and you were already in danger once because of him.  Now it was happening all over again. Before Rika was taken to asylum, she declared that she will get her revenge on RFA by hurting you. V and Seven were after Saeran (Unknown) again and you were not safe until they caught him.

All of this striked RFA members hard. You told Jumin that you'll understand if he wants to help his friend, but he opposed. He said he's leaving everything to V and Seven as he'd rather take care of you. And by "take care of you" he meant locking you up in his apartment... One day when you wanted to leave for some shopping, bodyguard just blocked your way, saying that Mr. Han instructed him not to let out you from his penthouse. You were furious at first, but you managed to calm down and called Jumin to ask him what is the meaning of this. He explained to you, in his monotone voice, that he's doing it for you to be safe. That was long and hard conversation but at last you promised to be understanding and that you'll endure it somehow for the peace of his mind. The exact same day when you entered the chat room: Jaehee Kang: Y/N are you alright?

You: Why are you asking?

Jaehee Kang: I'm sorry, I might overheard your conversation with Mr. Han. If I understand correctly you can't leave his penthouse?

Zen: WHAT

You: Oh, Zen, you're here too...

Zen: please explain us what is happening

Zen: This jerk locked you up in his apartment?

You: Um... kind of.

Zen: WHAT DO YOU MEAN KIND OF

You: I can't leave until V and Seven take care of this hacker situation

You: until they find Saeran, I mean

You: bodyguards won't let me out

Jaehee Kang: 

Zen: 

Zen: What is he thinking?!

You: He's just worried.

Zen: This is NOT NORMAL

Zen:

You: I think we must be more understanding

You: it's a hard time for him

You: it occured that his childhood friend has so many secrets, that he lied to him more than once...

Zen: I understand that but still

Zen: IT IS NOT NORMAL

Zen: Jaehee, can you talk some sense into him?

Jaehee Kang: I might try...

Jaehee Kang: but I doubt that I will succeed

Jaehee Kang:

You: guys, you don't need to be so worried

You: I'm safe here 

[Y/N has left the chat room] Some time passed and you got a call from Zen. He was just asking are you really okay or do you need something. You reassured him that you're perfectly fine and then you two talked for a moment about some unimportant matters. When you finished, you noticed that you have missed calls from Jumin. You called him back and he picked up right away. "Are you alright?" He asked with trembling voice. "Of course I'm," You answered taken aback. "Jumin, you need to calm down. I'm-" "Your line was busy for ten minutes straight. I thought Seven's brother hacked your phone." "I was just talking with Zen, honey. Calm down." "You were talking with Zen while I was worried sick about you and ready to call your bodyguard to check on you? What were you thinking?" His voice was cold, he was mad. "Jumin-" And he just hung up on you... This man! He was really something... You got bad feeling about all of this, so you logged in to the chat room and... Your predictions occurred to be truth. Jumin Han: Zen.

Zen: uh;; yes?

Jumin Han: Did you happen to talk with Y/N over the phone?

Zen: Yes. Is there something wrong?

Jumin Han: I was trying to reach her for 10 minutes and because of your little chat, I couldn't.

You: Jumin, it was only 10 minutes... And I called you back. There is no reason to make a fuss about it.

Jumin Han: I'm not making a fuss.

Zen: you ARE making a fuss dude ;;;;

Jumin Han: Y/N, you know you may be in danger. So I wish you won't talk over your phone with anybody. I want to be able to reach you anytime.

Jumin Han: Did I make myself clear?

Zen: Dude ;; Don't you think you're being too harsh with her?

Jumin Han: I'm not harsh. I am just worried.

You: I'm in your apartment, I have a bodyguard behind my door, so really Jumin... I'm safe. Please, calm down.

Zen: You locked her up in your penthause man. It's WEIRD, I don’t like it, but I also think she's perfectly safe.

Jumin Han: I don't need your opinion on this, Zen.

Jumin Han: but since you think she's safe in my apartment, why are you having a problem with her being lock up here? 

Jumin Han: Moreover, why did you even talk with her?

Zen: What? ;;;

Zen: Is there something wrong with that?

Jumin Han: Yes.

You: Jumin?

Zen: What? Why?

Jumin Han: You're in relationship with that Ayumi now, so could you leave Y/N alone?

Zen: WHAT THE HELL

Zen: What's that supposed to mean?

Jumin Han: You know exactly what I mean.

You: Jumin, I think you're taking all of this the wrong way...

Zen: Yeah ;;; Man, what's gotten into you?

Jumin Han: Nothing has gotten into me.

Jumin Han: I just wish you could leave her alone.

Jumin Han: Especially when I'm not home.

Zen: the hell man

Jumin Han: Are you trying to win her back?

You: Jumin, you're being ridiculous now!

Zen: I just called her to check how she's doing

Zen: she's my friend

Zen: and you LOCKED HER UP IN YOUR APARTMENT 

Zen:

Zen: you kept saying that you are worried about her safety

Zen: but now you're worried that she'll leave you for me because you're busy working?

Zen: how ironic -_-

You: okay, that's enough

Zen: what, I'm just talking from experience

You: Could you two stop bringing this topic again?

You: I thought we get this over with.

Jumin Han: Zen, you just admitted you have a perfect opportunity to win her back.

Zen: WHAT

Zen: I NEVER SAID SUCH THING

Zen: Also let me remind you, I'm not the one who is known for stealing another man's girlfriend

You: OKAY THAT IS ENOUGH

You: YOU TWO BIG-BABIES

You: I LOST MY PATIENCE

You: ZEN

Zen: yes? ;;;;

You: STOP BRINGING OUR PAST, IT'S FREAKING UNNECESSARY

Zen: okay, sorry, but he started it

You: I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED IT

Zen: sorry ;; please don't kill me ;;;;

You: JUMIN 

Zen: he's silent now...

[707 has entered the chat room]

You: Seven, if you dare to even say something

You: I WILL MURDER YOU [707 has left the chat room]

You: JUMIN 

You: Zen loves Ayumi

You: And I LOVE YOU

You: SO STOP WITH THIS NONSENSE

You: I'm NOT GOING TO LEAVE YOU FOR ANYONE

You: Even if you're so ANNOYING LIKE THIS

You: Don't you DARE IGNORE ME

Jumin Han: I must take my leave.

Jumin Han: We'll talk about it when I'll be home.

[Jumin Han has left the chat room]

You: ......

Zen: I think you scared him off...

Zen: Not that I'm surprised... ;;;

Zen: but really what has gotten into him...

You: I think he's not thinking clearly right now...

You: sorry Zen

[Y/N has left the chat room] When Jumin finally arrived at home, you were waiting for him, sitting on your shared big bed, arms crossed. He met your eyes, then sighed with guilt and took off his jacket. "You are mad at me," He informed you. "Don't you say," You frowned, annoyed. "Care to explain what has gotten into you?" He approached you and went on his knee before you. You did not even have a chance to say something as he hugged you firmly, his arms wrapped your waist, his head layed on your hip. "I'm so terribly sorry, my love..." He whispered. Well, that's it with being angry at him. You really wanted to keep on being angry, scold him, but... you just couldn't. Instead, you started to caress his hair gently. "What is happening with you, Jumin?" You asked him softly. "I just... I'm so scared you'll betray me as V and Rika did." Your heart ached upon hearing this words. "Jumin... I would never batray you..." "I want to trust you. But I can't help but getting scared that you'd leave me or you'd get hurt." He ceatched his breath and you let him continue. "I thought I knew both of them... I suspected that there was something off with Rika, but I wouldn't suspect she can be this dark and cruel. I don't think I'll be able to forgive her. She's partly responsible for V's suffering, even if he's not without his own faults… She faked her own death, drugged Seven's brother... and most importantly, you are in danger again because of her... How am I supposed to forgive her?"

"She was important to you?"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter right now. Now you are the most important person in my whole world. And that's why I'm so scared... Since V was able to lying to me this whole time... Since I was so stupid to believe and trust both of them... what if this happen again?"

"Jumin... You can trust me, I promise. And you don't have any obligation to forgive anyone... even V."

"His betrayal hurts me the most," He admitted. "I still want him to be my friend, but... I may need some time to understand why he did all of this."

"Take your time. You deserve to be angry with them, you deserve not wanting to talk with them... There's nothing wrong with that. I'm sure V will understand. And that he will wait for your forgiveness. "

He did not answer. For a time, he just lay there, cuddled to you, and you still stroked his head. Then he took a deep breath and rose slowly. Improving his shirt and tie, he cleared his throat and turned his back to you. You could say he was embarrassed about how he opened up to you, but you knew it was a good thing.

"You know... You should apologize to someone else," You suggested cautiously.

"Hm, who do you mean?" He looked at you with raised eyebrows.

You also raised your eyebrows, "Zen, of course."

Jumin sighed loudly, he certainly was not happy with this idea.

"Considering what happened between our three, you were very unfair to him," You judged eloquently.

"I know you're right," He still did not sound happy.

You laughed under your breath, "Come on, it will not hurt."

"I'm not so sure."

Then... Probably for the first time you had the opportunity to listen to how Jumin calls to Zen. Has it ever happened before? What's more, he really apologized, though he did it with great resistance and little skill. You only regretted that you couldn’t hear Zen's reaction because he was extremely quiet.

How did we end up on Jumin's route again?  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[calenheniel]

Avowal | sequel to Denial

Frozen | Hans x Elsa | Romance, Angst | Oneshot | K+

Two years later, and shame still plagues his every step.

He can walk unfettered around the palace of the Isles, the gardens, and even out so far as the surrounding town��but the rumors and gossip and laughter of the courtiers and common people follow him everywhere he goes.

There is no escape from it, even in dreams.

Sequel to Denial

Author's Note: Years later, I decided that the story of Denial remained incomplete. This is dedicated to everyone who has feelings left unexpressed, and with things left unsaid.

FF.Net | AO3 | Wattpad

Avowal

I.

Two years later, and shame still plagues his every step.

He can walk unfettered around the palace of the Isles, the gardens, and even out so far as the surrounding town—but the rumors and gossip and laughter of the courtiers and common people follow him everywhere he goes.

There is no escape from it, even in dreams.

Mocking remarks and laughter are nothing new to him - he's suffered the same all throughout his childhood, and most of his adult life - but the nature of them since his return from Arendelle seem even more poisonous than before.

How many times would the Queen have her way with you? And her sister, the Princess? I imagine they both must've had a go.

How did it feel to finally plunge your sword into those icy depths?

I suppose she must have discarded of you when she got bored. If only you'd been a better lover, she might've kept you around a bit longer!

At first, hearing such comments nearly makes him laugh; if any of them knew how far from the truth their suppositions were, what a shock they might suffer! After months pass in this manner, however, he realizes that telling said truth would only make things worse for him.

After all, was it more humiliating to have been the sexual plaything to a renowned frigid beauty, or to have been a willing prisoner who rejected her advances, and could make no great claims to have bedded the wondrous and terrible Snow Queen? At least by not denying the former version of events, he could hold onto some part of his old reputation as a terrible seducer. With the latter, he would likely be regarded as some kind of idiotic monk, or worse—impotent.

And so he languishes in idle pleasures to pass the time, barred from further naval service or any active role at court, traipsing from one gambling parlor to another. Sometimes, he even dares to venture out amongst the commoners, standing in the back of a theater for a drunken puppet show or sliding into the dark corners of taverns with a pint of cheap ale. These escapades, however, are usually brief, cut short by his fellow patrons’ recognition of his face and misdeeds (followed by their coarse and unbridled laughter).

When all else fails to entertain him (or when he runs out of money), he reads - endlessly, relentlessly - but no book holds his attention for long, and he is inevitably drawn back into morose brooding over his many failures.

It is on one such day spent alternating between reading and reflecting in his quiet, dusty spot in the old stacks of the palace library, that he learns (by way of eavesdropping on a tryst between two courtiers) of the Snow Queen’s upcoming visit to the Isles.

It is to be the first since his attempted coup, and the significance of the event is not lost on him; he wonders at how his older brother, the king, might try to keep him out of sight and sound of the visiting monarch, or at the new rumors and cackles that are sure to haunt him in the days and weeks ahead.

She’s come back for a taste of the young prince, has she? For old time’s sake.

He is filled with bitter hatred for her at the thought, and cannot stomach seeing that weak, pathetic creature again, even if only in passing glances from the shadows.

He recalls her fixation on him, her futile attempts at intimacy, her hesitation—and with each memory, his resentment grows.

Two years later, and she still won’t let him be.

II.

It’s the day before her arrival in the Isles, and it’s even worse than he imagined.

There is no corner of the palace to which he can retreat, no tavern, theater, or parlor accessible to him, where he does not feel the eyes of every courtier and commoner upon him. His own quarters are his only solace, and there he rests on his bed with a great frown stitched onto his lips.

There is endless chatter about what might happen should the two run into one another during her visit—a possibility which, to him, seems unlikely after receiving a predictably stern warning from the king to stay away.

He has no intention, of course, to disobey his brother. In spite of his old penchant for drama, he has no desire to see the Snow Queen again, nor to let her have the upper hand in any way over him in person.

But she’s already won, he thinks, and scowls. To deny that would be a fool’s errand; whatever pleasure he might have extracted from dealing out small cruelties to her in the past, he knows they are worth nothing in the bigger scheme of things. In his pitiful current existence, he recognizes that he does not have the freedom - nor the impulse - to taunt and bait her as freely as he once did.

And yet—

He shakes his head at the stray thought. He cannot imagine that she has changed all that much in the two years since he left her kingdom—not someone like her, who has lived such an austere and controlled life for so long, and who had only just begun to explore the extent of her powers in the brief time he spent in her custody.

Not someone, he thinks, who couldn’t even bring herself to touch me.

Besides, he does not think that he has changed much since then, either. Outside of an ever-growing number of gambling debts he will never repay, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the Northern Isles from his countless hours in the library, he feels the same as ever. (Although perhaps a bit more glum and resigned than before.)

Nonetheless, there is an irrepressible curiosity about her that has always been there, and which remains unstifled by his denials and pretend nonchalance. It has grown with each passing moment since the day he learned of her visit, and now it threatens to upset the fragile peace he has made with his quiet, unhappy life.

He wonders if seeing her again will finally break it.

III.

What are you doing?

He hears her asking him that question again, if only in his mind; he is even sat in the same position, draped across a chaise in his room with a book, as he was when she first asked it.

He shuts the tome abruptly at the memory, though he was not much engrossed in it to begin with. There is no quiet to be found even in his own room, as she is everywhere—and nowhere.

Where has your ambition gone?

He rises from the chaise in a tumult, nearly knocking it over as he snaps open his closet doors, red-faced. The Snow Queen has been in the Isles for a week already, attending meetings, fetes and dinners thrown in her honor, touring the ports, and entertaining the commoners with displays of her ice magic. He’s watched it all from various vantage points around the palace, ignoring the warning looks of his insufferable brothers and their equally dreadful wives when they catch sight of him skulking.

Despite his previous disinclination, he cannot help himself; he wants to, no, has to see her.

You didn’t know me then, and you certainly don’t know me now.

He wonders at that seething little remark as he rifles through his clothes, running his hands over old suits without purpose or feeling for their former significance. He remembers her so differently from the way she looks to him now: determined, confident, even bold in her gait and approach, inspiring awe and obsequious speeches from his relations.

It is strange, he thinks, to see her as a stranger; it feels wrong, somehow, that she should transform into this new person beyond his understanding, and beyond his reach.

Perhaps I didn’t know her after all, he muses, though it is hard to tell from so far away who she is or isn’t anymore—what is real, and what is performance.

There is only one way to find out, but he has avoided doing it. He prefers the cold embrace of the shadows, their anonymity, their familiarity; he has only ever known disappointment when he has tried to step out of them. To let her see him, and to see her again, in the light…

His hand pauses atop a pair of gloves - similar to, although not the same as, the ones he used to wear - and an old, familiar sensation of comfort courses through him at their texture. As he runs his fingers over them, he recalls the redness in her cheeks and the dusky glow in her blue eyes when he drew near.

A grim smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

Or perhaps I do.

IV.

It’s an unusually chilly October afternoon when they are reunited - or, more accurately, when she requests to see him again - and he isn’t informed of the exact hour, minute, or second that he should expect her to call on him.

That doesn’t stop him from restless speculation, though.

It isn’t lost on him that in the exact moment he’d finally made up his mind to face her, she had called for him herself. It leaves him wondering at her motives, and at what he might expect: harsh remonstrances? Retribution for his callous indifference towards her? Perhaps, he thinks, she has negotiated with his brother for him to finally be duly punished for his crimes against her and her country, and instead of her, he would be met with the palace guard carting him off to the dungeons.

This possibility, among many others, crosses his mind in the silence of the king’s study, where she has asked to meet with him, alone. He paces the floors as if in a trance, his hands knotted together behind his back and his shoulders taut, missing their old epaulettes.

“Hans.”

Her voice cuts through the stale air, and he stops. His shoulders lower as he turns towards her, and he fights the urge to bow.

“Elsa.”

She is close, now—closer than he can ever remember her being, even though she is still on the other side of the room, the doors to the study closing behind her.

He swallows a grimace, plastering on a smug look. “You’ve come to see me.”

She takes a few steps towards him, and it takes every bit of his strength to stand in place. “Yes,” she says, “I’ve come to see you.”

Her stride is as purposeful and powerful as he observed from afar in the previous days, but up close, there is something in her expression that unsettles him… something that he can’t define or grasp.

(Something that inspires his old feelings of spite.)

“And I suppose you’ve come to gawk, then?” he asks. “To see what remains of your former prisoner? Or is ‘ward’ the more appropriate term?” His face twists as his fingers curl into fists behind him, and he approaches her with deliberate, menacing languor. When he comes to a halt, he is close enough to see the twinge of pink coloring her cheekbones, rising above the freckles dotting her skin, and he drops his voice to a low baritone.

“Or perhaps there’s something else you want?”

Her eyes lift to greet his gaze, and his breath hitches in his throat.

“Hans,” she says again, “please.”

Her voice is gentler this time, with a plaintive note he doesn’t recognize. It takes him aback, and in the silence that follows, their eyes remain locked.

He notices that something in them again that he doesn’t understand, and as he scans her expression over and over again, his heart races at the unexpectedness and suddenness of their proximity.

(Of their intimacy.)

His skin crawls at the thought. “So what is it, Elsa? What could you possibly want from me now?” He sneers at her. “And don’t bother asking for an apology. You clearly don’t need one from me,” he remarks, looking her up and down for effect. “Not anymore.”

“I don’t want an apology.”

His back stiffens at her immediate, effortless reply, and his hands lock at his sides.

“I—”

She pauses, looking away, and the pink in her cheeks turns to red as her breath catches and releases. He watches her in silence, surprising himself; he is rarely a man without words.

“I don’t want an apology,” she repeats, her eyes softening as she regards him. “Rather, I… I came here - asked you to come here today - to say the opposite.”

His chest tightens. “The opposite?” he manages after a moment, feeling absurd.

She gives a slight nod. “Yes. To say that I—I’m sorry, Hans.” Her breath comes out as a shudder. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t honest with you. About why I kept you in Arendelle, why I sought your company, why…”

She trails off, unable to look at him, and his face grows hot. “You’re sorry,” he repeats, not understanding—never understanding, it seems.

She reaches down into a pocket in her dress, and pulls out a pair of gloves - the very same gloves, he realizes, that he left behind for her in Arendelle - and the sight of them causes a chill to run down his spine.

With some hesitation, she places them on a small table nearby, and then removes her own, one by one, and lays them atop his. Her gaze lingers there for a moment, and then she’s looking at him again.

“I loved you,” she says, blinking back tears. “I didn’t understand it then, but now…”

She reaches out for his hands, frozen at his sides, and brings them to her lips, bowing her head to place a kiss atop each of them. When she exhales, she releases a relieved sigh that rolls across his skin in waves, and then she lifts her head, releasing his hands from hers.

A small smile flits across her face even as her lip quivers, and in that moment, he is moved by her beauty in a way that he hasn’t been since he saw her on the North Mountain.

“Goodbye, Hans.”

He starts at the parting words, unready for them, still lost in the morass of her confession—and then she is gone, like ice retreating from spring, the outline of her back glimmering with a strange light as the doors close behind her.

When he is alone again, he wonders if she had ever really been there at all.

I’m sorry.

The back of his hands are tingling, his skin still warm from her lips, and he knows.

I loved you.

He takes a step back, then two, then three, until he bumps into a table - the same one upon which she placed his gloves, as well as her own - and stops.

His fingers tremble as they touch the gloves, one by one. He cannot help but notice how ragged and discolored his are in comparison to hers, which remain as vibrant and bold a blue as when he first beheld her.

I didn’t understand it then, but now…

He remembers the breathless, reverent way she held his gloves in her hands - as if every stain and tear along their seams were precious jewels - and he chokes as his fists curl around them, his knuckles turning white.

Six years later, and he’s finally let her touch him.