【 ❈ 𝔹ℝ𝔸𝔻𝕃𝔼𝕐。】

          hazel orbs flickered && averted–set upon herculean
          task. lip drawn tight. thin brows knitted together ( &
          pondering. ) perhaps words such as those had been
          forlorn? sad? unlikely. overthinking it, not everything 
          had an answer. things made sense that way. package
          delivered —– task COMPLETE  ; hubris took hold
          & back before her, hybrid stood. palms set to rub
          at roughed flesh && ease any abrasion. 

                    “when you say it like that
                    it sounds funny, you know?”

          fingers coiled tight around forearm && soon relaxed.
          extremity set to push glasses from divine visage. orbs
          peering & studying. quick motion ( and ) grace, brought
          soft fist to contact with her shoulder. light–with care
          / not to cause harm. 

                    “you can depend on me. now,
                    how many more boxes
                    are there anyways?”

        The  fist  that  gestured  so  cordially  against  her broad shoulder
        felt almost like a foreign comfort of searing sunlight;  his warmth
        banishing  the institutional chill that seemed to have rooted itself
        into  her  very  core,  successfully  defrosting a fraction of ice that
        encased  her  rancor  heart.  Bradley’s  hand  was undeniably soft,
        almost divine-like     - a hand that heals, comforts, & protects.
        It  was  such  a  patent  contrary to Yukina’s rugged palms  ( ones 
        that  embellished  by  semblance  of  scars,  each  harboring  their 
        own indelible history. )

                         You can depend on me.* 

          ❝ Brad… ❞  she croaked tenderly, resurrecting a voice that had long
          since been locked away.  ❝ You are done for today. ❞  And with that,  
          she  smiled  in that  curious  way  of  hers  ━-  mirth tugging at her
          placid lips in a manner that seemed almost ill-practiced.