The least of their worries was just about anything that surrounded them, and yet, Yujin was perfectly able to tell what it was that could bother Richard. To him, he was like an open book by now, one he'd studied time and time again, and yet, it had all fallen apart at the seams, the moment that he'd left him behind and dropped him like a hot potato, just to exact his thirst for revenge, or whatever it might be that ultimately led to his downfall. Now and then again, he surely thought about him, but then he disappeared from his mind, without a trace and so much as a goodbye, and Yujin had to cope with all of that, until nothing was left and all he could cope with was gone and destroyed by his quite ambitious realization that nothing was meant to last forever. However, even then he got what he wanted, much like any prince would, when he returned - changed, barely the same, but still as lovable as before. Their gazes had interlocked and fear was nothing that he harbored any longer - this Richard, whomever he may be, would be going nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "That's better sometimes, I guess ...", he mumbled and cuddled close. They were removed from the world, yet, still a part of it, and while they desperately clung to what little hope they had, they also had to come to the sticky realization that, whatever it was that plagued them, was merely a hurdle at this point; one they'd overcome, together.
Richard was mesmerizing, even beneath the shade of some thick curtains where no flickering flame would truly reach them - he left Yujin in awe and stole away all the words that would have fallen out of his mouth otherwise, all the words he'd damningly accepted as nothing more than fallible accusations, made to flatter oneself. "When you first came here? No, if anything, I doubt you laughed or smiled much. But I'm glad that's changed.", he lied through grit teeth. Not that he wasn't happy to see him smile more, or less, but most of what he remembered was a foggy swamp of many possibilities, and none of them were sorted into anything major, or a pattern he recognized. What else was there for him, if not to assume and try to lie? "Do you like it then because it reminds you of home, or because my eyes being blue means that I, too, would be something that could belong to you one day?", he chuckled. Yujin liked the thought and yet, wasn't sure if it was alright to accept a confession like that, for what it was. Was it supposed to flatter him? "I'd love for you to show me one day, regardless." Together they belonged, but yet weren't unstoppable. Rest was, what Richard required, and if he needed someone to watch over him while he did that, Yujin was the one that would be more than happy to give it to him for the rest of his lifetime, no matter how long it would take and no matter how hard he'd fall for him instead - none of this meant that he couldn't stay by his side until the end of time. "You're right. Green is a color you'd least expect here, given that we are literally living on floes of thick ice that will probably break off into the ocean if it ever thaws. But it never thaws in Silesse anyway." It was a far dream, from a world beyond this one, and while Yujin wouldn't mind leaving his homeland, he'd miss it, even if it was gone, wiped from the surface of everything. "Ah, yes. That makes sense ... in a sense. Would you prefer a ring over a necklace?" There was a bit of silence right after, but nothing that Yujin deemed horrid. "Richard ... I ... you don't have to apologize. You're here now, yes? I'm happy that you are. And I'll never let you go again."
Richard was mesmerizing, even beneath the shade of some thick curtains where no flickering flame would truly reach them - he left Yujin in awe and stole away all the words that would have fallen out of his mouth otherwise, all the words he'd damningly accepted as nothing more than fallible accusations, made to flatter oneself. "When you first came here? No, if anything, I doubt you laughed or smiled much. But I'm glad that's changed.", he lied through grit teeth. Not that he wasn't happy to see him smile more, or less, but most of what he remembered was a foggy swamp of many possibilities, and none of them were sorted into anything major, or a pattern he recognized. What else was there for him, if not to assume and try to lie? "Do you like it then because it reminds you of home, or because my eyes being blue means that I, too, would be something that could belong to you one day?", he chuckled. Yujin liked the thought and yet, wasn't sure if it was alright to accept a confession like that, for what it was. Was it supposed to flatter him? "I'd love for you to show me one day, regardless." Together they belonged, but yet weren't unstoppable. Rest was, what Richard required, and if he needed someone to watch over him while he did that, Yujin was the one that would be more than happy to give it to him for the rest of his lifetime, no matter how long it would take and no matter how hard he'd fall for him instead - none of this meant that he couldn't stay by his side until the end of time. "You're right. Green is a color you'd least expect here, given that we are literally living on floes of thick ice that will probably break off into the ocean if it ever thaws. But it never thaws in Silesse anyway." It was a far dream, from a world beyond this one, and while Yujin wouldn't mind leaving his homeland, he'd miss it, even if it was gone, wiped from the surface of everything. "Ah, yes. That makes sense ... in a sense. Would you prefer a ring over a necklace?" There was a bit of silence right after, but nothing that Yujin deemed horrid. "Richard ... I ... you don't have to apologize. You're here now, yes? I'm happy that you are. And I'll never let you go again."
Looking back, it maybe is like the toy carts you rode when you were a kid. But those toy carts could never go beyond the walls of the lawn. We want to follow the rugged concrete road beyond the wall. As we've grown, we've decided to leave behind the toy cart.