Redhawk Caldera run away with me now

Eljay's head quickly turned towards Maia when he heard her laugh and words. He hadn't even heard her approach at all, so lost in thoughts was he. She asked the dreaded question — what was he thinking — before settling down by his side. Eljay smiled and gently leaned against Maia. Days had passed and he was confident enough by all of her touches to him to gently reach out himself, now, no longer as afraid for sudden rejection (though it would probably take a lot more time for him to be fully confident in this).

Oh, uhm... he murmured, and he tried to think of how to explain what he'd been thinking about. A lot, I guess. He glanced out over the lake while leaning into Maia's touch and let out a sigh. The future, I guess, but I... I don't know how to say it without, uhm... Eljay frowned and he felt his breathing speed up as his throat tightened. A familiar feeling that he'd last felt this worse just before his full-blown panic attack in regards to Maia leaving the last time. I d-don't want to chase you away. His breathing remained rapid, though he managed to stop himself from hyperventilating, at least, in awaiting of her answer.

With Wiffle, things'd already been going very much towards the too-late-to-chase-her-away direction. They were having children together. With Maia, though... Everything was still on the table, laid out, and they hadn't really discussed what either of them wanted and what they were going to do. Not just in the next couple of months, but next year. Eljay didn't want to talk about it, knowing that it would scare Maia off if he started talking about having children and all that stuff. It wasn't fair to lay that on her.