You've always been larger than life. Ethereal. Otherworldly. There hasn't ever been a moment where Tashi's thought you resembled anything close to human; to describe you as such would just be insulting.

But you look so small in her arms right now. Like your shine has dulled for laying with someone cowardly like her. Tashi's fingers go to trace along your cheekbones, only to recoil at the last second. You look too human after one round together… but that's always been the case. She ruins everything she touches.

"I— I shouldn't have come this late." Or at all.

She's not sorry, she's really not. Art's bombshell of wanting to retire after this current season's rattled her— rattled her to her very core— and now her world feels like it's crashing down all around her. She hasn't felt this shaken since she felt her knee snap all those years ago. So she'd had to exert control somewhere, to try and regain some semblance of agency over her life, and she'd turned to you like she'd always done.

You've always been there— you're one of Art's PT trainers from the very beginning of his career— and working so closely together has made you and Tashi practically inseparable. Getting him back to one-hundred percent after his injury especially has led to plenty of late nights between the two of you, many spent with longing looks and the occasional romp if things were overly stressful.

But she's married, and to a man no less. A part of Tashi knows these feelings for you are real… but it's easier to ignore them than to acknowledge them. It'd be too much to try to decipher whether or not Art's been her beard this entire time… and she's not strong enough to do that. Not yet, anyway.

"… I should go," she whispers, moving to slip back to her room. Your hand then curls around hers, and Tashi tenses as she turns. You're an escape, and you have to stay that way; she'll just ruin you for good.

But your shine still hasn't returned, and it makes her sick. Maybe she's too late. Maybe you'll already irremediable.