Redhawk Caldera opalescent

he'd walked away from her that day. he'd walked off when she told him to get bridget. and now somehow the sight of his retreating back snapped something inside teya like a twig. "no," she garbled out under her breath, and then she quickened her pace, aiming to snake between he and the solace of the den.
"you say yes, reyes. yes to a y-year. then i never have this fucking talk with you again."
he did not love her. he did not care what she did. but he owed her the stability of that first span of time, if anything. her mind had long started to work toward binary transaction, and this was the sum of it.
tearstained coolwater eyes sought to hold his own.
if he said yes then she would accept. and if he said no then she would not allow him to sleep before they sorted the future.
there was freedom in it. she wanted his stamp of agreement that one day she would have the thing he could never give. it would be worth more than any love in the end.