𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 ⟢ 𝘁. 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗶/𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶

𝟑𝟑: 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤

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𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐢

i should've known better.

i stand there, half-hidden in the shadows, watching as hawks kisses her. the sight alone makes my stomach turn. there it is, the thing i've been dreading but refusing to acknowledge all this time. bird boy, wings all fluffed up, thinking he's the hero in her story. the one to save her.

funny.

i used to be that person. touya. the one who thought i could save her, and maybe, she could save me too. but that was a long time ago, wasn't it? back when i still had a future, back when i was something other than the walking corpse i am now.

but now, this—this—was different. now i see it clearly. why she couldn't run away with me. why, when i asked her to leave it all behind, she hesitated. i thought it was the war, her family, or the heroes. i thought maybe she needed time.

but no. it's him. hawks.

the fucking golden boy. the one who's always been hovering around her, waiting. watching. i should've seen it coming, should've realized that he'd eventually swoop in the moment i turned my back. he's always been there, hasn't he? when i couldn't be. when i was too busy burning down everything in my path, too consumed by the flames to notice the way he was like a fucking vulture.

my hands curl into fists at my sides, and i can feel the familiar heat flickering under my skin. but i keep it contained. i'm not going to burn this whole place down. not yet, anyway.

but she told me she loved me.

she told me she was with me, that she chose me. right?

i fucking believed her.

the way she'd look at me, the way she touched me—i thought it was real. i thought she wanted something with me, something more than just stolen nights and whispered promises. we were supposed to be planning a future.

now i know why.

because even if she said she was with me, even if she said she loved me, he was always there. hawks was always lurking, waiting for his chance. and now, i'm watching as he takes it.

and the worst part?

she's not pulling away.

she's not stopping him. she's just standing there, like she doesn't know what to do. and that's when it clicks for me, that's when everything falls into place.

she was never going to leave with me.

no matter how many nights we spent together, no matter how much she said she loved me, she was never going to run away. not while bird boy was still in the picture. and now i get it. now i understand why she's been acting the way she has.