Compose Yourself

Swallowing, he smiled with a different sort of certainty as the sensation took form in his mind. The lurch in his chest took on a specific craving that he had not felt in ages, so to recognize it was much like seeing a friend after years apart. Worn, hair disheveled and cut in a way nearly managed, Étienne stared the feeling down with narrowed eyes until it clicked.

“Might I ask you something else?” He asked quietly, space between them minimal and yet it still felt too far away for what it called for.

“You just did, but yes,” Cassandra said with a smile that sat uneasily on her face. “What is it?”