Welcome to Gaia! ::

Of all the things he could have asked her for, demanded even if he felt so inclined to, Sonia had only prepared herself for one of them.



Only half of who she was and yet the most valuable side of herself. With magic, she could fight for, and defend, Hylonome, Actaea, and Mizuki. His youma would be more effective at it but she was not without her own usefulness.

Her mind knew what he’d ask for even if her heart hoped for something else.

The girls were a primary concern and it would do him no favors if she abandoned the team. If she left completely Hylonome might follow suit. She hoped not, especially since it was never in her plan to leave entirely when moving her belongings out of his home.

Space was all she needed and yet- Sonia’s arms around him tightened slightly when he placed his hand against the back of her head and held her there instead of forcing her to look up at him.

She missed their banter. Or the sound of his incessant pencil tapping on the desk while Reed graded another stack of homework papers. Sonia missed making meals and having him taste test for her; finding different things he’d find palatable enough to maybe try again. His knowledge of plants meant she tried new things, specifically working with things that would have some natural health benefits, and although she had yet to give it to him, there was a jar of cherry blossom syrup she had made sitting on the countertop back home.

Going from too much to too little- there seemed to be no happy balance except for this moment.

For the last however many months she had been living with Reed, she had kept herself guarded. Long-sleeved shirts to hide her scars despite the humidity or heat. Shure they spoke of her family, went to their house a couple of times even, and he knew of her work. But beyond those things she didn’t open up much about things he never asked to know about. No random ‘when I was a kid…’ or ‘before I became a corrupt…’ Just as he hadn’t really opened up about his past to her either.

Her chest ached, and while Sonia didn’t outright sob, a steady stream of tears darkened his cotton shirt where she buried her face against his shoulder.

When he spoke, she felt her body go rigid. But her ears were met with soft-spoken words as if he were trying to be gentle with what he wanted to ask. She listened, feeling her heart wrench when he first invited her to stay with the team but that twisting ache dulled as he continued.

Each word was like a light tap with a jeweler's hammer against the glass wall she’d built around herself.



Her body trembled; something that could not be helped. Sonia knew that accepting his offer would open herself up to be disappointed if not hurt again and yet- She nodded.

For years all she wanted was to belong, to be a part of something more than just herself. To have someone she could trust, to rely upon in situations where her strength alone was not enough. Instead, over time, she had settled for being a tool. Passed around like a socket wrench; left to mend when rust covered or broken and otherwise ignored until she was needed for some new and dangerous mission.

She had come into this with the mentality that with his promotion all of what they had would end much as it did with her former General. Her in a prisoner-holding cell; a Sovereign on the other side deciding punishment because she had tried to kill the man that made her do things she was unprepared for. But she did not know all that Benitoite had done; the bills he had paid while she was in the hospital. Or that he sat in the stands in her earlier competitions as she tried to regain rank in the tournaments.

Even now she remained unaware of the thing he had done.

Prehnite, in her mind, was doomed from the beginning. When he stood outside her home ringing the doorbell. Reluctantly conscripted to being her overseer, unhappy to be there as much as she was unhappy to see him.

She fought with him, pushed buttons just so he’d reveal his true intentions or at the very least prove her assumptions were correct. But Reed- damn him to hell where Hades belonged… He defied her. Pushed back even, but never did he give up.

Even now-

“I’m sorry,” Her voice was barely above a hushed whisper against his chest. “I’m sorry, Reed.” Sonia’s body shuddered, barely able to hold back the sobs that threatened to ruin her completely.

The emotional whiplash she had subjected herself to was taking its toll.

From annoyance to antagonistically playful with their banter through text. Sonia wished more than anything that she could just keep the memories of his kind words and offerings and go back to when she found him standing under the merchants stall.

She could have done better- should have… But had things not gone sideways and downhill like they had then she would have continued going on living with these nagging thoughts full of doubts. As if everything was seen through a double pane glass window- close enough to see and hear to give the illusion of being a part of but still kept separated from things most precious to him.

Time and time again Sonia had tried to push Reed away and when that failed to work she did the running instead. Worked in secret and shadow, conscripting Amora into helping her pack things and bring them out to her car just to avoid confrontation. All because-

Because she thought it would be easier this way. Disappear when nobody was looking and fade into the backdrop of life while everyone was busy. Slip into the skin of who she was before the name Hatsya had ever met her ears and pretend magic didn’t exist.

Reed, however, was relentless.

More times than she could even count, Sonia pushed him, and he pushed back. When she pulled away, he dragged her a** right back while muttering some string of curse words in Spanish because she just didn’t understand him. A game of tug-of-war that had stemmed from her resentment from being put into this situation and had turned into something that she missed now that she was no longer living with him.

Mashing buttons like its a fidget toy just to get a reaction and yet- At the end of the day, his kind gesture in inviting her to join him here had led to all those stone and steel walls that Sonia had built around herself to come crumbling down into dust and debris.

She felt a fool from her emotional display. Hid her face against his tear-dampened shirt and held on in case he were to suddenly float away like the lanterns above them, leaving her to nothing but fading lights and knowledge that she had caused him to leave.

Reed’s arms tightened around her and she greedily pulled what comfort she could from them as she drew in calming breaths. The trembling ceased and then the tears soon after as she listened to the calmness of his voice while he spoke.

Talking had rarely been their strong suit but this felt very much needed.

Everything was laid out before him, her anger and frustrations, insecurities and doubts, the assumptions she made of him, and of this arrangement they’d found themselves entangled in. However, Reed did not shuffle his feet kicking them over, or pick them up to throw each back at her face as she knew would have been deserved. Instead, he stood there still as stone, considered each one carefully, and responded in kindness most underserving.

It took time for Sonia to find her voice again. But when she did, she spoke in hushed tones.“I will make you Churros later,” satiate his sweet tooth. “But I don’t want to go home yet-”

Courage was needed now more than ever as she tried to offer him an olive branch of her own.

“Can- can I ask for a redo, please?” quiet still as she made her request. “Can I meet you at the stall so that we can do this right and-” for a moment she fell silent feeling like she was asking far too much after publicly embarrassing him the way she did when dragging him through the crowd.

“I’d like to watch the lanterns with you, please.”

“Red please,” a color of fire. Appropriate, as she’s one who often brought ruin to all things good in her life, and Persephone is also a goddess of destruction. But life is born anew after fire ravages the land just as the seeds in the burning lantern would bring color and new growth to places the scattered seeds take root.

All comes full circle in the end.

Sonia watched Reed turn on his heel and walk back towards the stall, head held high as if nothing happened. She imagined the curious eyes upon him that he returns alone after being dragged away in a fit of fury by some outraged woman.

However, rather than feeling abandoned or lonely by his recent absence, Sonia felt a sense of renewal from this gift of a second chance. “Thank you,” She whispered to herself once he had walked past the treeline and could no longer be seen.