the brave move to look below and was amazed at the clear blue waters. With how high up we were, I was sure it would take a solid minute or two to reach the sparkling surface. Surely a drop that far wouldn't be survivable, which was making my heart beat like a drumming band against my chest.
Yet, I wouldn't deny the thrilling amazement I was currently experiencing; seeing my vision truly come together like we'd gone into the future or something.
"Was this what you saw?" Finnick quietly asked.
"Ya," I replied in astonishment. "This...was it. Only you had long hair."
"Hmm." He looked around. "Guess you Spell Traveled us here. It's nice to see it's real."
"I wish I knew where here was," I admitted.
"Does it matter?" Finnick inquired with a smirk as he squeezed my hand. "It's our secret oasis. It doesn't need a name."
He moved to face me, and I looked up to him while my arms moved to wrap around his waist. "What's really bothering you?" he whispered. "Bothering you enough to need to find some sort of salvation?"
This was the opportunity to share my buried anxieties over the matter, and yet I struggled like a lump was stuck in my throat. I wanted to say it, to at least let one of my men know what I was doing, yet my mind revolted against it.
"I...um..."
Why is this so hard? Why can't I just say it like I do with Aurora? I love my men. They support me in every obstacle in my life. Why can't I just face this? I'm not doing anything wrong, right?
Finnick's thumb brushed my cheek, the action tugging me out of my thoughts that were scrambling through my brain like wild butterflies fluttering through a thick forest. It took the movement of this thumb for me to realize I was crying, and he only widened his loving smile before he stabilized my head as he leaned down to kiss me.
The kiss wasn't like the other passionate ones. It was firm, like the feelings of emotional support that wrapped around me like a protective glove. Those sensations invited my heightened senses to acknowledge the flood of supportive energy flooding out of him.
There was not an inch of judgment or disgust even with my obvious conflicted struggle to accept his desire to help me. Though it revealed the anxiety building up regarding the matter, it also made me feel horrible for being unable to tell him what was choking me up.
"Red." his voice drifted into my mind while he maintained our lingering kiss. "Don't be afraid or sad. When you're ready to share, you know I'm always open to listening to you."
Why...why are you so damn kind?
He chuckled in my mind before he broke the kiss to look down at me.
"Brianne," he whispered. "Being kind is merely an objective. I think you sometimes forget I love you."
That made me blush while more tears ran down my wet cheeks.
"But...I shouldn't be struggling...to tell you." I was about to become a sobbing mess as I struggled to hold the tears back.
He lifted me further up with his levitating magic, so I had to look down at him while my arms rested on his shoulders.
"Red," he whispered. "If you're struggling to answer, it simply means that what you want to share is very important, and you're simply waiting for the right timing. There's nothing wrong with that, and I don't want you feeling pressured either."
"So...you don't hate me for it?"
"I'd never hate you, Brianne," he whispered. "The others wouldn't ever hate you either. We trust you, Bri. When you're ready to share something, we're ready to listen and support you."
He leaned up to kiss my chin as his eyes glimmered with hope.
"Like I said. When you're ready to share, we'll be right here to listen," he assured me. "Just don't push yourself too hard. Okay?"
I slowly nodded as my sobs left me. I sobbed into his shoulder as he hugged me tightly, the two of us floating in the silent haven. He let me cry, sob away my struggles I'd been quietly hiding from them.
He had a point. I had every intention of sharing with them when it felt right, but it wasn't the right time for some odd reason. I just had to figure out why.
What am I so afraid of?
We remained there for a long time, and I worried Finnick would exhaust his magic completely. "Finnick? We can go now."
"Nah," he whispered as he continued to hold me.