Chapter 105: A Place to Belong
Silence surrounds them, Eirin could only hear the sound of her heart beating. It was until Shade decided to break the silence.
"What? Do you feel sorry for me because they kept calling me a demon?" Shade’s voice was muffled against her shoulder, a fragile whisper that lacked its usual bite.
Eirin gulped, a lump in her throat. "N-No, it’s just... you look like you’re about to cry. I’ll just—"
Before Eirin could let go, a sudden, desperate grip tightened around her from behind. Shade pulled her closer, his arms wrapping around her waist, his face resting heavily on her shoulder.
"No. Just stay like this for a little."
Eirin could feel Shade’s shoulders shaking, a subtle tremor that rippled through his strong frame. Her own arms tightened around him, and she began to pat his back gently, a comforting rhythm, a silent offering of solace. Who would ever expect that the formidable Shade Cromwell, notorious for being cold and nonchalant, for his impenetrable aloofness, was now openly weeping in Eirin’s arms?
’Something else probably happened?’ Eirin thought, her mind racing, trying to piece together the fragments of the day.
What could possibly make the strong, unyielding Shade Cromwell cry like this? What news could have shattered his composure? She continued to comfort the young man, hearing his soft sniffs, empathy blossoming in her chest, a silent promise to understand, and perhaps, to help him bear the unexpected weight of his hidden grief.
Eirin continued patting Shade’s back. The warmth of his body seeped through his uniform, a grounding presence against the cool stone of the library wall. She felt the last tremors of his silent sobs subside, a subtle lessening of the tension that had gripped him.
"Thanks," she heard the young man mutter, his voice still rough, but regaining a hint of its familiar cadence as he pulled away from the hug, the embrace lingering for a heartbeat longer than either of them might have expected. His eyes, when he finally lifted his gaze, were red-rimmed.
Feeling a sudden, awkward intimacy, a sense that she shouldn’t stare at his exposed vulnerability, Eirin shifted. She moved from kneeling in front of him to sitting beside him, leaving a small, deliberate distance between them. She rested her back against the ancient stone wall, feeling its cool solidity.
"I didn’t know you would let your guard down like that with me," she murmured, her voice soft, almost a whisper, directed more at the vast, silent space around them than at him.