Don't mind me just being sappy

One would like to imagine that someone so near to death would look peaceful, but Starlight looked anything but. Her eyes were wide open as if looking straight up at some invisible torturer causing her continual amounts of unimaginable pain. Her limbs were tightened at askew angles and her whole body violently shook at random intervals.

Luna stood back, her own eyes wide at the scene and her hands over her agape mouth. She was unable to move and could only watch helplessly as the two healers rushed to the girl’s side.

“Starlight! Starlight!” Spirit screamed as she nearly slid down by her sister’s side. Tears streamed down her face as she held up her teal tinged hands and tried to direct the healing aura through her shakes. Not a moment later was Danielle, ever calm and collected, who quickly collected light into her staff to assist with the healing.

The fight with the menacing metal spider had moved on outside, away from the floor of the factory. Bloodrain and several of the others pushed the Dream Deferrer out, and the sounds of their battle could still be heard in the distance. Thankfully the robot had no interest in gloating over its kill.

Luna watched the healers, helpless. Even under the influence of the moon her healing was subpar. Each moment that passed made her feel more helpless, more guilt, more despair. Her head began to feel light and dizzy, and she nearly collapsed onto the cold metal flooring.

But an arm grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled Luna away.

“Come on,” he said.

Luna didn’t want to leave, but he was much larger than her, and she was in no mental state to have the will to resist. Kaj pulled her out into the hallway, so that Spirit and Danielle’s pleas were just a murmur. He turned Luna to face him and hugged her tightly.

Luna struggled to get out of his embrace, but Kaj wouldn’t let go. “I’m fine! It’s Starlight… she’s the one… she’s… Why?”

“You’re not okay.”

Kaj held her tighter. With her face and chest pressed against his, Luna could feel each unsteady breath Kaj tried to keep hidden. She slowly let herself relax into his arms and wrapped her own around his waist. She pressed her cheek into his shoulder and sobbed.

Luna had no idea how long she stood there like that. When her breathing began to normalize, she noticed that Kaj was gently stroking her back. A thought entered her mind. She moved her hands to his sides and pushed herself back.

“I… I’m sorry, I…”

Kaj froze. Luna was looking down at her feet, so she didn’t know what kind of stark horror came out in his expression.

“Before… I couldn’t… I didn’t want to choose… I’m sorry, I should have been more open with my feelings. I didn’t mean…”

She looked up into his eyes. They were red and wide. The corners of his mouth were pulled back, embracing for the emotional blow. She leaned up and placed her lips over his.

She felt Kaj tense on her touch, but a second later his muscles began to relax. However, he recoiled back and let out a pained laugh. All the bottled tension escaped at once, causing Kaj to double over. He let out a few more strained “ha”s and rubbed the palm of his hand into his eye to keep a new set of tears from forming. A few seconds later and he glanced back at Luna. She still held her hands out by his side, but now was unsure what to do with them. Kaj moved back closer to her, now somewhat able to control his breathing, and slowly brought his arms up to her face as if he were afraid that he had simply imagined her answer. Luna leaned in and kissed him again.