[ Despite the lightness of her words, something judders behind Hei's ribcage. He exhales, trying to force it down. What is this thing going on inside him that can so knock him off his pins, make him feel so dopey and sneezy and whatever the hell the other seven dwarves are. It's never been his way to mourn senselessly over what's lost. But this is different. This isn't lost time -- it is stolen. In its wake, the sorrow is deep and excruciating. One year for him, three for her, and what a waste they have been -- of each other, and of love, which is the most unpardonable waste there is. ]
[ Love and time, he's learning, are the only two things in all the world and all of life that can never be bought, but only spent. ]
[ He watches her hand drift up, then down, a small, perfect clutch of dark roseate fingers. He wants to reach out, to touch her. But strain and sadness make knots of his muscles, while his own hands make loose fists of themselves at his sides. ]
Let's see what you've learnt, then.
[ He rises slowly, feeling, in a brief flicker of memory, like he's a teenager again, walking next to UB001, wanting to absorb every iota of her attention, playing it Contractor-cool even as his stomach does an antic jig with distress. ]
no subject
[ Love and time, he's learning, are the only two things in all the world and all of life that can never be bought, but only spent. ]
[ He watches her hand drift up, then down, a small, perfect clutch of dark roseate fingers. He wants to reach out, to touch her. But strain and sadness make knots of his muscles, while his own hands make loose fists of themselves at his sides. ]
Let's see what you've learnt, then.
[ He rises slowly, feeling, in a brief flicker of memory, like he's a teenager again, walking next to UB001, wanting to absorb every iota of her attention, playing it Contractor-cool even as his stomach does an antic jig with distress. ]