“imperfection”

｡ ₊°༺ :heart: ༻°₊ ｡

“Say, I heard Miss Fujiwara and Lady Diamandis were inseparable at last night’s gala. Not once did they dance with any of their male suitors!”

“They must be very good friends.”

｡ ₊°༺ :heart: ༻°₊ ｡

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:cloud: 🕊

“You always match them to your outfits,” Athena mused. “But I have never asked.”

“… Asked what?”

“Why you wear them.”

Ruri looked away.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Athena added. “I simply wish to understand you better.”

There was a long silence. Ruri’s voice, when it came, was soft.

“… My eye… has always been weak. Since birth, and all throughout my formative years. It only worsened from there. Presently, I have essentially no use for it.”

Athena stayed quiet, giving her space. Her dear friend appeared contemplative, conflicted – as if acknowledging emotions long buried beneath her disciplined exterior. Athena, ever observant, had an idea of what those emotions could entail.

“… Any flaw, visible or not, becomes part of the family name.” Ruri toyed with the edge of the silk patch, fingertips brushing its hem. “Nobody stated it outright… but I could feel it. The shame. The worry I would be ‘less desirable’ someday. Less presentable.”

Inadequacy.

Athena’s brow furrowed. She spoke up once again, her voice gentle yet firm in its conviction. “But it doesn’t make you less. Not in the slightest.”

Ruri didn’t respond – her gaze averted.

Athena reached out, gently cupping her chin to tilt Ruri’s face toward her. Her thumb brushed just beneath the patch.

“May I?”

Ruri hesitated, visibly torn, but then gave the faintest nod in response.

Athena carefully undid the fastenings, removing the eyepatch with the grace of someone handling a relic. Beneath it, Ruri’s right eye was slightly clouded, pale where the iris had once been dark. It was beautiful in a way Athena hadn’t expected.

Vulnerable. Human.

Slowly, she leaned in, brushing her lips against Ruri’s temple, just above her newly-exposed eye.

“You don’t have to hide anything from me.”

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