Hanne

[nola_joshlyman]

Diego had to stop putting it off. He had a bunch of Hanne's mail that he needed to give her. And he knew he should do it now, because she was seeing someone else and was in love, and so what was the point of holding onto her mail or asking her to drop by? He had to shift his thinking, again, into a new era of Hanne and Diego. An era in which there wasn't a Hanne and Diego.

So it was late morning when Diego went by Hanne's new apartment with the mail in one hand, following a different resident into the building. He knocked on the door, steeling himself for seeing Hanne again for the first time, knowing now that she had moved on.

Comments

[nola_joshlyman]

Diego held up a hand, painted. “Don’t — just let me go.”

And so he turned and walked way, putting his empty, restless hands into his pockets, leaving the building and re-entering the world. The world that kept moving, even though he was stuck in the same place.

[nola_yvaine]

Hanne closed the apartment door, then turned and leaned back against it. She closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths before she realized she was still holding the mail he'd brought. God, what a stupid little thing to cause so much pain. She tossed it aside, most of it ending up in a nearby corner. Just. Breathe.

[nola_tristan]

Max came over to the door, gently touching Hanne's arm. "Hey."

[nola_yvaine]

Hanne took another breath, opened her eyes. "I'm sorry."

[nola_tristan]

Max shook his head, moving to embrace her. “It’s not your fault."

[nola_yvaine]

"But it had to be hard to see." She wrapped her arms around him, dropped a kiss on his shoulder. "That's not how I wanted that to happen, you and him meeting." Not that they'd really met, just crashed momentarily into each other's lives.

[nola_tristan]

“It was really hard to watch,” Max agreed, but for a few reasons. “That really upset you. He didn’t make a good first impression with me, I have to say."

[nola_yvaine]

Diego was the kind of person who grew on you, Hanne thought but didn't say; she wasn't going to justify her ex-love to her current one. Things were messy enough as it was. "That's the worst it's been since we broke up."

[nola_tristan]

“How can I help? Do you need space?” Please don’t let her need space.

[nola_yvaine]

Her fingers curled into his back, holding him tighter. "No. Not unless you need it. I don't want any space except for the kind we live in as stars."

[nola_tristan]

“I don’t want space either,” Max promised, keeping their embrace tight and close. “I just want to be with you."

[nola_yvaine]

"Good, because that's exactly what you're getting: me, all the time, for the rest of forever."

[nola_tristan]

“Do you still want pancakes?” Max asked, hopeful.

[nola_yvaine]

"Yes." She was starving and it would be stupid to let good pancake batter go to waste. "But kiss me first, please. Your kisses are very restorative."

[nola_tristan]

Max grinned, and if his kisses were restorative, then she needed a good one. He swept her up anew, dipped her in his arms, and kissed her heartily.

[nola_yvaine]

It was impossible to stay upset when she felt like she was on the cover of a romance novel, being kissed by the handsome and perfect hero. Hanne laughed happily as she was dipped and kissed back with a brightness that he had absolutely restored.

[nola_tristan]

“There’s my Yvaine.” Sometimes, she still shone like a star, and it filled him with light. “My love.”

[nola_yvaine]

Being loved by Max felt like being one of those cracked vases that had been repaired with gold and made more beautiful for it. "Always yours," she promised.

[nola_tristan]

“And I’m always yours. Let’s make some pancakes and then let’s have sex,” Max suggested.

[nola_yvaine]

"God, yes," she agreed, kissing him again. All it took was the suggestion for her voice to have a thread of need in it.

[nola_tristan]

Max grinned. He heard Hanne loud and clear. “But we really do have to finish the pancakes first.”

[nola_yvaine]

Hanne walked backwards towards the kitchen, hands on his hips to pull him with her. "Yes, sustenance is important. Also, syrup."

[nola_tristan]

Max laughed, comfortable to be led. “And chocolate chips. Don’t forget those.”

[nola_yvaine]

"Such a greedy boy," she taunted with a grin, leaning in for a brief, teasing kiss before she let go of him in favor of the bowl of batter.

[nola_tristan]

“But I’m so cute,” Max countered, and Hanne could let him go, but he was going to have to lean in and steal another kiss while she held the batter.