A/N : Implied spoilers. Huge ones. I have the feeling that they're both a bit OOC... oh well. :/ Do tell me if you see a mistake somewhere, I aim to improve.
Disclaimer : Not mine. If it was, Ion would get more screen time, and he wouldn't... he wouldn't... ;-;
It was her turn to stand watch, so here she was, sitting on the ground in the middle of the night, left alone with her thoughts.
If anyone asked, the tears in her eyes were because she was staring into the fire.
She kept thinking about how they had forgiven Spinoza so easily, and that if they did, then maybe, just maybe...
No. Trust was something so fragile, so easily broken. They were wrong to trust him. They were wrong.
"Anise?" She heard movement from her right and looked to see Ion standing up and coming towards her. She turned back to the fire. Of all people to wake up now, why him?
"Anise, are you all right?"
"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" There she went again, being much too exuberant. He'd know something was wrong.
"There are tears in your eyes." Damn him. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? If he wasn't always so nice, it wouldn't hurt as much...
Don't think about that now.
If she did, she'd probably really start crying.
"... It's because I'm staring into the fire. I'm fine, really!" He didn't look convinced. Unsurprisingly.
"Anise, if there's something wrong, you can tell me. I'm your friend... right?"
"Of course you are!" But can you really say I'm yours? "Don't ever doubt it." She hesitated. She could tell him part of the truth... "I was thinking about Spinoza and how you all decided to trust him after what he did."
"Oh. I see. Well, I know what he did was awful... but he really looked repentant. Actually..." It was his turn to hesitate. "I'm a bit surprised that you're so vehement about not trusting him. It doesn't seem like you."
She scowled. "Traitors shouldn't be forgiven. Once someone betrays you, you can't ever be sure they won't betray you again. They should be shunned. They should be punished."
He frowned and tried to look her in the eyes. "Do you really believe so?"
She paused, and when she spoke, it was in a uncharacteristically small voice. "... I need to believe so." Maybe then it wouldn't hurt as much when she would be shunned, when she would be punished.
He frowned again. He knew there was more to it, but she knew he wouldn't pry. Instead, he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her an awkward hug. "All right... but if you want to tell me something, anything, I'll listen."
She hugged him back. "I know you will. Thanks, Ion."
"You're welcome." Surprising both of them, he leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. He pulled away, both of them blushing. Her cheek was tingling. "Er... um, good night."
He stood up and went back to sleep. She watched him go.
Ion, you trusting fool.
A single tear fell down her cheek, washing away the tingling feeling.