Author Note: None.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Dying Is Easy

"Is this supposed to be romantic?" Xavin asks, voice piqued with something between annoyance and amusement. The deckchair's only meant for one person, and it creaks dangerously as Karolina shifts sideways in Xavin's lap, resting her back against one armrest and swinging her legs up and over the other.

"Why else would I ask you to do it with me?" Karolina murmurs drowsily, tilting her head down onto Xavin's shoulder as she nestles closer. Xavin snorts, but there are fingers running gently through her hair, tucking wayward strands behind her ear, so Karolina knows the interruption's alright. The book now lying discarded on the ground won't be picked up, and a second chair won't be offered in a subtle request for her to move.

Karolina closes her eyes. The warmth of the sunset feels good on her skin as they sit together on the balcony, and when the sun finally goes down and the night turns cool, there's still Xavin behind her, warm and silent as she holds her close.

Karolina hears the feet of one of the cheap, plastic lawn chairs scrape quietly against the wooden floor of the balcony. She opens her eyes carefully, narrowing them against the sunset as she looks sideways. Nico's perched on the edge of her chair several feet away, arms crossed tight over her chest as she watches the ocean.

Karolina closes her eyes again and faces the sun, taking it in.

The pain, once sharp and almost overpowering, has faded to a dull, constant ache. It's not to say that she misses Xavin any less. The loneliness is still there, quietly stealing the joy out of her life instead of regularly reducing her to tears. She's getting used to it in a way, no matter how wrong it feels to think it.

Nico clears her throat, soft and tentative, but Karolina catches it, feeling annoyance and then anger curl the fingers of her hands into loose fists. This is her time to spend alone―really, to spend with Xavin, even if she isn't there.

So Karolina flies the deckchair―their deckchair―down from the balcony, settling it on the sand in front of the house, and Nico seems to get the message that she's not welcome. She doesn't try to follow, and Karolina blinks back tears as the sun goes down, nothing at her back except the stiff fabric of the deckchair.