Title: as is
Rating: G
Fandom: Utawarerumono
Relationship: Karalau/Touka
Wordcount: 313
Short summary: They've heard the news of his return but they are in no rush to return.
They’ve heard the news now. They were some of the first to know, yet they have continued on living with no particular rush.
Maybe it’s because decades have passed since then. It’s not like either of them stopped believing in his return. They understood the situation as well as those who stayed behind. But perhaps a side effect of being away for so long… Or the fact that the two of them have been together alone for much longer than they had been with him…
It's not like they don’t love hm anymore. It’s just…different.
At least that’s how Touka sees it. She may not be the smartest or sharpest out there, but she feels confident enough in her read of Karalau. Karalau loved Hakuowlo because she enjoyed his reactions to her bullying, but Touka senses Karalau might enjoy bullying Touka even more. It’s not like Touka can help how easily she blushes, stammers, or fidgets at the slightest teasing. Perhaps it’s a side-effect of younger years spent training to quickly react to her opponent’s movements, or because Karalau has been the only one who has really gone after Touka in this way… Anyway, Touka has observed her former enemy for many years, a former enemy that became an ally and now is much, much more important to her…
(And, well, the way Touka can remember how Karalau feels against her with just a look from Karalau… She thinks she will never become desensitized…)
Perhaps Hakuowlo just needs to reappear before them to change the way things are currently, to shift how Touka feels inside. But in all honestly, Touka is in no rush to return to that. Things are good right now, and the news of his return feels more like the icing on top of a cake. So they will continue as is with nothing to complain about at all.