When Eryx whispered, "Yeah… I do," it was like a dam cracked inside Avanaya. Not a loud shatter, but a quiet, aching break. The kind that made her chest tighten and her throat sting. He had said it so softly, yet it echoed louder than anything else he'd ever told her. He needed her.
Not because she was useful. Not because the situation demanded it. But because he wanted her there.
She smiled even as her fingers shook, and gently patted his back, her hand gentle, almost reverent. It was meant to be comforting, but she was the one clinging to the moment. Clinging to him.
The tears, that gathered behind her eyes pleaded to be release. But she didn't let them fall. Not now. Not while Eryx still looked like he was holding himself together with threads far too frayed.
