[Payne]

Illya

Jester sensed the change in her mood and knew he'd said the wrong thing. She hadn't turned and walked away at least, but any progress he might have made was definitely at an end for tonight. Asche had once more retreated behind the icy walls of the castle she had built around her heart.

As she turned to leave, he heard her words, although they were barely louder than a whisper. In response, he said some of his own in a similarly low voice, making sure they were just loud enough for her to hear them. "Then I'll just have to wait until you are."

Jester stood in place for a moment, looking somewhat downcast, but he seemed to recover from it fairly quickly. "Allow me to walk you back to your place. It's getting late." He said as he caught up to Asche.

After he had dropped her off at her room and extinguished the flames he had sewn into the flowers, Jester stepped back down the stairs and towards the flat that Tear and Darien shared. He needed to ask if he could use the kitchens in the morning, and he doubted that disturbing them when he woke would be a good idea.

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Tear gave Darien a weak smile as he touched her face. It hurt her to know she'd made him feel bad, but she couldn't help herself about this. Unable to suppress the urge any longer, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. "No, I trust you. It's just..." She trailed off for a moment, thinking about not saying it, but she had told herself she would be open with him. So, she continued. "It's just that I've not had anything to call my own in a very long time. So, you'll have to forgive me if I don't react very well when I have to share it." She knew it was selfish of her, but this was one time that she couldn't lie to herself about her own feelings and just shrug it off like it was nothing.