(This is based in s5. I could not get over s5 e2, Old Wounds! Is Rayllum gonna come back in s6? Anyways, Callum and Rayla are in Katolis, pondering what they should do next. Fluff and angst. Word count: 994)
Callum flipped through the pages of the book, memorizing the poem.
"Do not ask why the ocean's blue,
Or why the tides their time do keep.
To love is simply to know this:
The tides are true as the ocean is deep."
Callum thought it was simply beautiful. All this stuff about water made him think of... Rayla. It had been around two weeks since she'd returned. He had tried to be angry, but he couldn't. She was right. Viren wasn't dead. Now, he just hoped things wouldn't get awkward. Callum knew, eventually, things might go back to the way they were when they entered Xadia. They'd been best friends. Funny how fast that can shatter.
Callum hadn't realized how long he'd spaced until he sensed somebody looming over his shoulder. He turned to see Soren. The crownguard stared at the open book, confused. "Glad I didn't become a poet," he muttered, sitting down next to Callum. "Can I... help you?"
Soren shrugged. "I'm bored." Callum sighed. "Don’t you have a job to do?" he asked. Soren shook his head. "No, Corvus is protecting Ezran today." Callum sighed. "What do you want?" Soren looked him in the eye. "How long do you intend to wait?" Callum was taken aback. "What?" Soren chuckled. "Come on, Step-mage. It's been two years, sure. And she may have broken your heart, but you can tell she wants to be with you." Callum glowered at the ignorant blonde. "That's none of your buisness."
Soren chuckled as he shook his head. "Think about it. I mean, she loves you. A lot." Callum flushed slightly. "She shouldn't have left. That's on her." Soren turned Callum to look at him by his shoulder. "You love her too, right?" Callum had to think about that. Eventually, he broke. "Yeah." Soren nodded. "Shouldn't that be all that matters?" Callum sighed. "I wish it were that simple," he chuckled.
Soren arched an eyebrow. "Relationships are weird," he concluded. "You think?"
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Nearby, Rayla stared hard at the coins. There they were. She hadn’t seen them in at least ten years, but they were right there. In her hands. Her parents. Lain and Tiadrin. And Runaan. She had them back. This gave her one thought. Did she ever really need to leave? Did she ever need to break his heart? She sighed. Bait put his paw over Rayla's hand and croaked. She looked at him. "What? You planning on croaking advice at me?" He grunted and looked away. "That's what I thought."
Somebody knocked on the door. Rayla hid the coins and shouted, "Who is it?" She heard a voice she knew all too well. "Hey? Rayla? I... I think I need to talk." Rayla looked at Bait, turning a light shade of pink. The tone of his voice sounded so... nervous. Like he would when he would all those years ago. When he tried to say 'I love you'. Tentative. As if he were... deciding whether or not to say something. Rayla finally responded. "Okay," she agreed, trying to sound as if she wasn't nervous. The last time he wanted to talk didn't go very well. She was still a little shaken.
"Can I come in?" Callum asked. Rayla sighed. Bait croaked as if to say, "Just get it over with." "Yeah," she responded.
The door swung inward. Callum stood there, seemingly scared to admit something. Rayla scooted over and patted the space next to her. Callum sat down. He wiped the sweat from his brow and began. "So, uh... Hi." Rayla breathed deeply. "Hey," she sighed. Callum gulped. "Rayla..." She glanced in his direction. Starting off a whole lot like last time. "Yeah?"
Callum tried so hard to speak. Eventually, he squeaked, "When you came back, I didn't know how to react. You had been gone for so long. I guess I had forgotten how it felt to see your face. Comforting. It felt like... like the old wounds you left... could slowly be healing." Rayla felt a wave of hope. "But then you came back. And that... it... it all just came flooding back. The Nexus, the letter. The tears." He seemed so close to crying. "But, Rayla, the fact that you were right, and I didn't know it? That makes it... so much easier to forgive you." Rayla waited for him to continue.
"At first, I think I just tried to find any, any reason to be angry. That was... that was a bad choice on my part," he chuckled. "That was cruel."
Rayla furrowed her brow. She tried to speak, but he wasn't done. "It’s stupid for me to be mad. I was being stupid. I don't know why I tried so hard to be angry under the circumstances. I focused on the fact that you left, and not that... that you came back! I was so happy, but so... upset. I was trying so, so hard to... I dunno. I guess... make you angry. Make you regret leaving. I was being a jerk. I've been being a jerk. Trying to be mad, instead of just... being happy. Focusing on the fact that you're here. But I think... I think I'm ready to forgive you." Rayla gasped.
Callum wrapped his arms around Rayla. She stood still in the quiet room. "Don’t screw it up again," he whimpered. Rayla tentatively hugged him back. Slowly, she managed to say, "I won't. I couldn't. I promise." Callum sniffled. He tried not to cry, he tried hard. But he couldn't. He sobbed into her shoulder remembering the last two years. Meeting Rayla, falling in love, falling out of it. The letter, the morning she left, the oblivious birthday party that followed. Everything that led to this very moment. Rayla hugged him a little tighter.
"It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going away."
Callum breathed shakily. "Okay." Rayla played with his coffee brown hair. "I'm so, so sorry," she whispered. Callum inhaled deeply. "I forgive you."
