“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.” Han laughs correctly. “Meow. Right.”

(Pretty girls [i]love[/i] kittens. A kitten could lay their head in a pretty girl's lap all day. She’d dress them in pretty ribbons and brush their fur until it shone with love. She’d scratch behind their ears and never get tired of telling them how they were the cutest kitty in the whole wide world and she’s so [i]happy[/i] to have you. She’d seal her words with precious little kisses on their cute little heads, until the effort of being awake was too much for them, and they’d drift off to the loveliest sleep…)

Her breath fills her chest to bursting and still takes in more. She gulps down the rain-kissed scent of flowers, and maybe if she holds onto it tight enough the next taste won’t be fainter. Or, maybe the dregs that are left will make her remember, and it’ll be just like the first all over again. She needs the help. She thought she could never forget her mouth, and yet, could she picture it, beneath that stupid veil? When the smile reached Lotus’ eyes, did she see anything more than torn fabric and wishes? She won’t even remember her eyes for much longer. Not when she’s got to see her skipping and dancing and laughing through the rain, twirling the umbrella over her shoulder. While visions of stars dance and fade after every blink, and before long the tingling handprint on her chest will follow, just as her bare shoulder is little more than cool and damp. Even when her heart beats so hot and loudly, and she. She just.

She catches Lotus mid-twirl. And pulls her in nice and parallel. One straight line of dragon and priestess. “You’re alright, bud.” One squeeze. One. Then she lets go, her fingers trailing only briefly across her back. “You’re alright.”

Dead wrong, too. But it was…nice. Being overestimated. Just this once.