bound - avatar oc x oc

part 40

Akaia sat on the beach, sand pooled in her palm as the waves lapped gently at her feet.

The crusty feeling of dried mourning paint on her face irritated her, and she scrunched her nose at the sensation. Her hand clenched around the sand before slowly loosening, letting it slip through her fingers and fall back to the shore.

The sun rising over the horizon was a beautiful sight, one she had sat in awe of countless times before but now she barely acknowledged it. The recent events of her life cast a heavy shadow over the world around her. She used to find beauty in everything; now she felt only anger. Anger and sadness tangled together in her chest.

How could she live knowing her baby brother no longer existed? How could she ever be happy again, knowing he would never laugh, never cry, never smile, never hug her and tell her that he loved her?

Tears welled in her bloodshot eyes, already raw and aching from the countless tears she had shed over the past two days since waking.

She hadn't even been there for his funeral. She never got to say goodbye.

The eldest Sully wiped at her tears, her cheeks burning from the salt as it streaked down her face.

She had been avoiding her family and Mak'korro. She couldn't face them. Not like this.

Guilt crushed her chest. She should have saved him. She should have taken the bullet meant for him. It should have been her, not her sweet younger brother.

It was her fault. She had been too consumed with being selfish, too focused on herself, and now one of her family was gone.

Akaia threw the sand in her hand into the water with a low growl.

It disappeared beneath the surface instantly, swallowed by the tide as if it had never existed at all. The thought made her chest tighten painfully. That was how it felt, how he was gone. One moment there, solid and real, and the next nothing but memory.

Her shoulders began to tremble as a broken sound tore from her throat. She folded forward, curling in on herself as if she could somehow protect her heart from the ache ripping through it. Her fingers dug into the sand at her sides, nails biting into her palms as sobs finally overtook her. She cried until her chest burned, until her breathing came in sharp, uneven gasps, until even the ocean seemed too loud around her.

She didn't hear the soft footsteps behind her.

Mak'korro stopped several paces away, his chest tightening at the sight of her. She looked smaller somehow, folded into herself like a wounded animal, the sunrise painting her skin in gold she didn't seem to notice. He had searched for her since dawn, panic clawing at him when he realized she wasn't in the marui. Seeing her now—alone, breaking—hurt in a way he hadn't known was possible.

Slowly, carefully, he lowered himself into the sand beside her, close enough that she could feel his presence but not so close that it felt like pressure. For a long moment, he said nothing. He simply sat with her, eyes fixed on the horizon, giving her space to grieve in whatever way she needed.

When her sobs finally quieted into shuddering breaths, Mak'korro reached out, his fingers brushing her hand in a silent question.

Akaia flinched at first, then let her hand fall into his. The moment his fingers curled around hers, something inside her shattered completely. She turned into him with a broken cry, pressing her face into his chest as if anchoring herself to the only solid thing left in her world.

Mak'korro wrapped his arms around her without hesitation, pulling her close, one hand cradling the back of her head as she cried against him. He rested his forehead against hers, eyes closing as he held her, breathing her in, grounding her.

"I'm here," he murmured softly, his voice rough with emotion. "I'm not going anywhere."

Akaia clutched at him, her fingers fisting into the fabric at his chest, as if afraid that if she let go, he might disappear too.

—

Sorry this is a very short chapter.