Redhawk Caldera If the whole wide world stops spinning

I should be asleep but she's writing herself at this point so...

At some point while she was holding him, Maia felt something in her shift.  It was indescribable, a light switched abruptly on within her chest, flooding it with warmth and outlining everything with vivid clarity. This was what love felt like.  There was nothing profound about anything either of them had said, no big gestures or loud confessions.  Yet somehow this moment, right here, was it.

She'd never felt as close to anyone but her sister as she did right here, Eljay pressed against her, her arms wrapped tight and her cheek pressed against the fur between his ears.  She held him steadily while he shook with wracking sobs, closed her eyes, and felt like her heart might burst from her chest. It was the weirdest and yet one of the most right and natural feelings she'd ever had.  After he quieted and remained where he was, for a long moment, she just wanted everything to freeze.  She wished they could just stay like this forever.

Then Eljay spoke, apologizing, telling her that it was something he remembered from a long time ago that had upset him.  Oh.  She felt his head move beneath hers, and reluctantly loosened her hold, though she didn't move away.  She wasn't ready quite yet, because when she did, she had to think about what all of this meant.  She was too blissfully aware of the absence of space between them, his fur warm and mingling with her own, to comprehend thinking about Wraen right now.

Do you want to talk about it? She asked softly.  Whatever it was, it had to be horrible, and Maia sensed that he'd been carrying it an extremely long time.

WC: 281