She turned to face him. This was a moment she'd been waiting for god-knows-how-long... so, why did it feel so terrifyingly real all of a sudden? The last few days - weeks, maybe - felt like a dream. Like they were working towards something completely unimaginable and unrealistic. But he was here. And she didn't know what the fuck to do.
Her breath caught in her throat as she laid eyes on him and she was certain that even if she could find the words to say to him, she couldn't utter them. He seemed equally astounded, and she couldn't read his expression.
Frozen, he turned his bleary gaze to hers. She was taken aback by how red his eyes were, by the pain in them. But what shocked her the most was how hard and focused they were, given the circumstances. And he did, in fact, look mad. Oh, god.
He turned away from her with a scoff, forcing himself to sit down on the blood-red chaise lounge chair. Her stomach sank as she braced herself for what was to come next. I knew it. I knew he'd hate me. Omega only said all those things to ensure that I would go through with this. Terzo didn't know. He lied to me.
"Look- I know this must be jarring, and- and confusing but I-" She cut herself off, not sure what to say.
"What's jarring?" He demanded quietly, considering her. He looked her up and down, despite the fact that the action seemed to hurt him- emotionally, at least, from what she could tell. The look in his eyes, it was pure loathing.
"Well... being brought back. Being here," She explained, anxiously wringing her hands together. "I know it's confusing, I went through it myself. And I know you must be mad at me after I went behind your back like that- I was only doing what I thought would help, I was going to..."
She paused, swallowing thickly as she sat down on the other end of the chair, feeling suddenly lightheaded. "I was going to die anyway, and when I heard what Imperator was planning... I acted before thinking things through, and I'm sorry."
She ended her brief rant, refusing his gaze as she caught her breath. She shouldn't be this worked up, she shouldn't have told him this much this soon, but she physically couldn't stop herself.
"So," He cleared his throat as his voice strained as his eyebrows knitted together bitterly. "You did what Omega asked?"
Her shoulders sagged in mild relief as she nodded. "I did, he assured me that you knew of it."
"I did. I just..." Terzo paused, shaking his head before continuing in a tone of disbelief. "I'm here? And you're... here?"
She nodded again, finally meeting his eyes. This solidified something for him, as he finally let his guard drop. Without needing to be asked, she shifted closer, his hand coming to rest on top of hers.
"I'm sorry for what I did, it must all seem so pointless now."
He didn't say anything, drawing her closer with the hand he was holding as he carefully wrapped his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer - as much as he was physically able to as of now. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and let out a sigh, holding back tears as she melted into his touch.
"It doesn't matter now, cara," He breathed, sounding more tired than anything.
She nodded, swallowing thickly as she forced herself to speak. "I thought you hated me for a second there."
"Impossible. I could never," Terzo whispered into her hair before resting his head on her shoulders.
"Are you sure? I'd be mad at me-"
"We'll talk about it some other time," He hushed, pulling away to meet her eyes with his bloodshot ones. His mismatched eyes darted across her face as though he was trying to memorise every detail he possibly could. As uncomfortable as it made her feel, she couldn't blame him - she was doing the same to him.
