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Striking blue eyes.
Like nebulae, Lance thinks. His body is sprawled across the roof, his unfocused eyes taking in the blurry stars. They’re so far and so few, compared to the girl he once held, the ethereal princess with supernovas in her touch and galaxies in her smile.
Like glaciers, Sokka remembers. His boat rocks on short, choppy waves, and land is nowhere to be seen. The ocean is dark, the snow is white, and his eyes are rimmed with red. There’s no one with him. No one but Yue, perhaps, watching from behind the clouds.
Deep brown skin.
Allura curled into him, his hand on her cheek.
Allura’s tears reflecting dim light, making her seem metallic.
Allura’s marks glowing, bathing her dark skin in bright pink light.
Yue under his arm, carefree in the open air.
Yue’s smile crinkling the skin around her mouth, her eyes.
Yue’s beauty, even in the red of a lifeless, extinguished moon.
Bright white hair.
Like strands of silver. Lance reaches forward absently, as if about to stroke her hair. His hand finds nothing but dandelion seeds floating hopelessly in the still air (white, yes, but not the right kind, never the right kind). His fist falls to rest on his torso, somehow hollow and impossibly heavy at once. One of the seeds brushes his chin, but he finds himself unable to smile.
Like it was woven of starlight, Sokka muses. He sees traces of the color in whitecaps on the water. But there is only one source of light bright enough to match his love, and for as long as he’s been on the ocean, it has been hidden by the clouds. It might be a sign for him to move on. But the ancient spirits exist to be worshipped, so Sokka devotes himself to them. To her.
He prays, and he prays.
A creased forehead.
Because of her duty, they think. It’s a sharp thought, an angry one, but it is quick to melt. Emotions don’t last long these days, not since the fighting ended and the silence began.
Because of the war. Was it worth it? They reach for warmth, but they find cold stone and damp wood instead.
Because of me. They curl into themselves. The thought comes often, but it seems to hurt more and more every time.
The memory of Allura’s touch is more bitter than sweet. She only held me for my sake.
The memory of Yue’s gentle smile brings guilt, but no pleasure. I didn’t deserve her.
Their sighs are cut short by a burst of light in the dark of the sky.
In Lance’s watery vision, it seems to distort into two glowing eyes.
From Sokka’s view at the bow of his ship, it gleams like the moon.
Seconds later, the light is gone. Lance shifts on the heels of his hands, his hair mussed by a sudden breeze. Sokka slumps onto a glistening railing, curls darkened in the powerful sea spray.
Two ordinary humans alone in the dark.
They cry the tears of broken men.