sick of my small heart, made of steel

Hanako knew where to find him. With the ruckus of the pirate gathering just beyond their borders in the Willows, where else would Azure be? Hanako was quiet as she paced to his side, her shoulder settling against the bulk of his form as she leaned against his frame. It wasn't hard to wonder what they were celebrating, or rather what they wished a night full of revelry could wash away. And the fact they chose a territory right beside the Armada was no mistake, no simply a means of rubbing it in their faces. Like gravel pressing against a cut.

Once again she wasn't really sure what to say, or what to make of Azure's mood. She'd done the right thing in staying, it was for the best, but this whole affair was something she was eager to quickly usher from her mind. It had been a mess, complications and feelings stacked atop one another till Hanako was certain it would fall and crush her beneath the weight of it all. They could move past this, but not when Sparrow was so eager to make a spectacle of it all, as though pointing out what could have been if she'd only said yes. Communication of this nature had never been her forte, it was just so much easier to prance around the topic and give it a wide berth, but even Hanako knew it wasn't an option. Some things couldn't be left to shimmer, lest the water boiled over and burn those who'd strayed too close.

She tilted her head up, hoping to catch his eye before speaking.

"About what she said..." Hanako began, unwilling to say her name aloud. Like it was a curse. "You were right, I think you know me too well for your own good." All her weaknesses and vulnerabilities were plain for him to see, even when she was smiling and bright he knew how to make her tick. How to crack her open, if he wished.