A Little Time For Us

Haiku was so sweet to her. So devoted. Bowen needed that after having been treated so harshly for most of her life so far. The chocolate and snow brute was a breath of fresh air. As he sprawled out beside her, his words brought a soft chuckle from the copper and cream fae. Bowen gently lifted one of Haiku's big forelegs and rolled onto her back on the fur, draping that leg over her body and using the other as a headrest. Huge emerald eyes gazed up at the man lovingly and she raised one paw to gently cup his cheek. "Thank you for being so good to me, Hero." He really was her hero. He had saved her from self destruction just like he'd saved her from that woodchuck oh so long ago.

"There's something that I want to talk to you about, Hero." Bowen began somewhat hesitantly. Confessing certain things to him could change their entire relationship, and not in a good way. She felt the anxiety beating against the inside of her stomach like a trapped bird. Putting it off wouldn't keep the conversation from happening, so she just started talking. "My brother's girlfriend, Briar... she told me that Artorias was attracted to me. In love with me." The girl's gaze drifted to Haiku's face quickly just to see if she could figure out what he felt about it before continuing. "I was shocked and I avoided Art for a while, but not because I was disgusted with him."

Bowen took a big breath and curled in on herself a bit as though shielding her small body from whatever negative thoughts Haiku would have about her. "Haiku," she used his actual name for the first time since she'd returned. "I love Artorias. More than a sister should love her brother. He has a piece of my heart and he always will." Gods, this was so difficult! Bowen felt like he would throw her away from him at any moment, tell her she was disgusting, leave her here in the sand. "We slept together and plan to have as much of a relationship as we can manage."

The vulnerable fae looked away from the giant man above her. "Briar will always be first in his heart." Bowen and Artorias could never love one another fully and they had both accepted that. He would take Briar to mate and would love Bowen when time allowed. Bowen took another deep breath and her voice was a quiet whisper. "I'll never fully belong to him, because there's someone that's first in my heart as well." She didn't want to say it out loud. Not yet. Not until she knew whether or not he hated her. The seconds seemed like days as she waited for the man to respond.

"Speech"