Athena would rather have each piece of hair pulled off her body one at a time, have every opponent she's ever fought bite into her at once, and have her ears torn to shreds than hear her ear wife cry like this. The sound alone was enough to tear her a part. It physically hurt her from the inside out to see her wife breakdown like this. Amalia was supposed to be the happy, bouncy, vibrant one of the two of them. Athena had always thought that next to Amalia she was just a shadow. Everything paled in comparison to the beauty Amalia had inside and out. But here her beautiful girl was, pressed into her and sobbing her eyes out. Athena couldn't do anything but hold her close and try to contain all the pieces that Amalia had shattered into.
Finally after what seemed like a lifetime the crying died down and Athena let out a quiet, shuttering sigh as she let go of the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Several more moments of silence passed while she listened to Amalia try to catch her breath. Athena tipped her head so she could look down at her wife, but Amalia wouldn't look up at her. Finally her little woman spoke, but her question caught her completely off guard. A puzzled, confused look crossed her face. She honestly couldn't put two and two together to figure out who she was talking about till she went on to say that he gave her something she couldn't. Vereux. Her expression softened a bit with the realization. She wouldn't dare speak until Amalia had said everything she wanted to and all of her concerns were finally out in the open.
It felt nearly impossible to speak past the lump in her throat. To see Amalia like this broke her heart. She swallowed hard and fought the tears back as she tipped her muzzle down to gently kiss her wife's nose as she had so many times before. The gesture was so simple, but it was familiar and tender and actually managed to bring a small curve of a smile to her lips. "Amalia, my dear, I could never not love you... I love you with my entire being. You are my everything. You've seen me at my highest and my lowest, but no matter what happened you were what kept me going... No, you can't give me children, but I can't give you them either... She sighed and burried her muzzle in Amalia's scruff while she fought back the tears. Her voice was thick with them, but she wanted so badly to just comfort her wife and completely clear the air between them. "I don't love Vereux in the same way I love you. You are my missing piece and the glue that keeps me from falling apart. Vereux... he's my brother. I still love him in that way, but nothing more than that. You have no reason to be afraid, sweetheart. You can't get rid of me now."
She smiled a little and lifted her head so her gaze could find Amalia's with a soft sigh. "If it makes you feel any better, I've been so worried that I couldn't be enough for you either... Of course I would love to have more children, but I really wanted was to give you children and I can't..." She curled tighter around Amalia as the tears that had been collecting in her eyes rolled down into her fur. "I guess we can't have everything, huh? We can have wonderful sons and two adorable adopted daughters, a great home, your family that has been so kind to me and our sons despite everything, more love than we can ever possibly use up between the two of us... There had to be a catch."
