But it had always been sort of different with them as they had been able to talk to each other from the moment they met in the volcano. Sometimes he still said the wrong thing and she would react but it was smoothed over quickly as they decided they appreciated blunt honesty over anything else.

And yet sometimes silence was appreciated as it gave her a moment to breathe through the tension and to push back the feeling of being rattled. Maybe it did the same for him, giving him a moment to process. At least until more memories played and this time they weren’t hers.

She felt her stomach drop with a nauseous surge as it played out before her. Not because of the gruesome nature as she had seen a lot of horrible things and terrible scenes. It was horrible because of what he had been put through as she could only imagine the pain. By the time the memories faded, she was pale and clenching her jaw as she looked up at him while he looked away much like she had.

She made a soft noise as she slipped from his side to climb up into his lap instead, stretching up to press her face against the side of his neck as she wrapped her arms around him as best she could just to hold on.