[He was the strongest of his own era and she the brightest of hers. He fought God and won; she fought the devil and escaped with her life. He wandered the world in his madness and she combed the earth in search of an end to it. They're too alike for his tastes and she's too insightful, too good at stripping him down and humiliating him simply by being herself—too adept at simply bearing the hurt and carrying on anyway. His had destroyed him.
She's getting up and there's that urge to flee again. She's letting go of his hands and he almost pleads no, don't but it's much too late for that, for many things. He doesn't want to suffer or to be alone or to be here at all, frankly, though this disappears as well when arms slip around him and pull him in. There's no heavy armor to get in the way or prickly layers to refuse her. He just accepts it, and this time, she hasn't made a mistake.
This time, her hand is taken to his face and his lips turn to its palm and it is near reverent, his reply, his answer to those words.]
I will remember.
[No longer I want to, but I will. No hidden motive, just raw desire. This is something Hermione can have for herself. This is something she's earned. This is real.]
I will hang on your wall so you may look at me often. Remember that, too. I was good—I was.
[A good king, a good man, a lost cause. This is for the best.]
no subject
She's getting up and there's that urge to flee again. She's letting go of his hands and he almost pleads no, don't but it's much too late for that, for many things. He doesn't want to suffer or to be alone or to be here at all, frankly, though this disappears as well when arms slip around him and pull him in. There's no heavy armor to get in the way or prickly layers to refuse her. He just accepts it, and this time, she hasn't made a mistake.
This time, her hand is taken to his face and his lips turn to its palm and it is near reverent, his reply, his answer to those words.]
I will remember.
[No longer I want to, but I will. No hidden motive, just raw desire. This is something Hermione can have for herself. This is something she's earned. This is real.]
I will hang on your wall so you may look at me often. Remember that, too. I was good—I was.
[A good king, a good man, a lost cause. This is for the best.]