Not only could he see, but he could feel the pain reflected in her eyes, back at him as he made eye contact yet still tried to blink more tears away. It ached in the corners of his eyes, inside the edges of his nose to do so but he still tried to will himself to repair the wall that had come crashing down just now. He wasn't even sure what had caused it; it wasn't like Terra hadn't said something like that to him before. Sephiroth had always just smiled lightly but never really taken the words in very deeply and it seemed that this time Terra's words were like the spear that had finally shattered his resolve.
She couldn't know how long that had been coming; heck he wasn't even sure himself. For sure, when they came back from Flence things looked to be getting better with him...yet it seemed as always that something always leaped out from a corner he wasn't looking, to drag his once-proud confidence back to ground level.
It was all he could do but to lean in towards Terra as she moved in, without even another sound, to hold him. Her tiny hand and arm around his back felt warm and more comforting than he felt he even deserved; almost uncomfortably smothering on top of the thudding ache which had started to ripple through his middle in the wake of the utterly wretched way he was starting to feel. Thick black, soaked eyelashes crunched closed while he kept his head down but -after a moments hesitation- the grip of his hand around Terra's indicated where words and other actions couldn't. He needed something to hold onto, but the last thing he wanted was to drag Terra down with him.
Another, deeper sniff followed and his opposite hand came in to wipe stubborn wetness away from his face. One cheek and then the other was rubbed as Sephiroth fought to raise his head once more, he squinted his eyes and looked just at the back of his coat as it hung on the wall.
"I-" Sephiroth swallowed, needing to clear his throat where it had tightened. He didn't feel strong enough to look down at Terra, to chance the distress she easily saw across his expression to be shared again, so he spoke to the back of his coat. A moment of clarity stirred in his subconscious as he arrived at the only answer that he had left.
Also non-looper; Flower Shop/end of her day
She couldn't know how long that had been coming; heck he wasn't even sure himself. For sure, when they came back from Flence things looked to be getting better with him...yet it seemed as always that something always leaped out from a corner he wasn't looking, to drag his once-proud confidence back to ground level.
It was all he could do but to lean in towards Terra as she moved in, without even another sound, to hold him. Her tiny hand and arm around his back felt warm and more comforting than he felt he even deserved; almost uncomfortably smothering on top of the thudding ache which had started to ripple through his middle in the wake of the utterly wretched way he was starting to feel. Thick black, soaked eyelashes crunched closed while he kept his head down but -after a moments hesitation- the grip of his hand around Terra's indicated where words and other actions couldn't. He needed something to hold onto, but the last thing he wanted was to drag Terra down with him.
Another, deeper sniff followed and his opposite hand came in to wipe stubborn wetness away from his face. One cheek and then the other was rubbed as Sephiroth fought to raise his head once more, he squinted his eyes and looked just at the back of his coat as it hung on the wall.
"I-" Sephiroth swallowed, needing to clear his throat where it had tightened. He didn't feel strong enough to look down at Terra, to chance the distress she easily saw across his expression to be shared again, so he spoke to the back of his coat. A moment of clarity stirred in his subconscious as he arrived at the only answer that he had left.
"-I don't know how..."