A/N: Thank you for reading!

...-...

Josephine sat on the edge of their bed as she watched Kaitrith pack a light bag. She was going to take Nonni back to her clan and make sure that it had been Nonni's idea to 'retrieve' her, as she'd spat.

They'd never really talked about what it was that Kaitrith was giving up to be with Josephine. She knew that the clan had told her not to come back so long as they were together, but her love had made a point of immersing herself so completely in restoring her culture, keeping in communication with a few different clans to share the knowledge, if they would take it.

It hadn't felt like she was truly shunned.

Not until now.

Nonni had seemed like a sweet girl, though she'd glared rather defiantly at Josephine the moment she walked into the room, all but daring her to claim a right to keep Kaitrith by her side.

That would be absurd, of course.

As much as Josephine loved Kaitrith, if she ever decided that this was not the life for her, she would accept it. She loved Kaitrith too much to try to keep her anywhere against her will.

And it was the fear that perhaps she would grow weary of human customs and politics, of the stares from and whispers from others, that had her on edge as she watched Kaitrith pack.

Kaitrith hadn't noticed, mercifully enough. She was too busy cursing whoever might have put it in Nonni's head that she needed rescuing.

"I saved the whole damned world, didn't I?" She muttered as she crouched next to their dresser, hunting for something in the bottom drawer.

"And outsmarted a trickster God," Josephine added. She nearly got up to see how she could help, but Kaitrith had already waved her off twice.

At that, Kaitrith rocked back a bit, her typical frown in place. "That's the first time you've called my maiming myself outsmarting anyone."

With a tentative smile, Josephine motioned to her. "Did you not keep other things from him? Cripple his plans?"

Kaitrith merely let out a grunt, gathering everything she'd been searching for into a simple pouch.

Despite her resolve, Josephine wanted to beg Kaitrith not to leave. Something about it felt so horribly final. It felt like she was watching her love head off to face Corypheus again, ridiculous as that sounded. There was an uncertainty that nagged at the back of her mind, that Kaitrith wouldn't come back.

Which was ridiculous. They loved each other.

And yet, was it really fair for Josephine's culture to be the one they defaulted to? She knew the clan hadn't wanted her around, which had hurt somewhat, though she'd been able to understand. Watching the way Kaitrith toiled to preserve their history had made her understand.

However, that was a world she couldn't be a part of, and she respected that.

But that didn't mean she wanted to lose Kaitrith.

It was selfish, but Josephine would be lost without her.

When she realized that Kaitrith had begun to talk, she snapped out of her thoughts, quick mind piecing together the gist of what she'd missed.

"…it might take some time," Kaitrith was saying, annoyance in her tone, though it disappeared into something gentler as she smiled at Josephine and leaned forward to kiss her. "I'll try to be back in a week or two. I'll send word if something comes up, not that it will."

Josephine lost her composure at that, catching Kaitrith's face and kissing her hard and long. When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathless.

"I'll be waiting."

…-…

The smile Kaitrith had given her, the quiet beaming of the generally moody elf, had been enough to last Josephine through the first week. Whenever her doubts began to surface, she just thought of the look Kaitrith had given her, and those fears were banished.

However, as the second week crept along, she began to feel more and more at odds with herself.

When they had been part of the Inquisition, Kaitrith had sometimes been gone for a month or two at a time, so Josephine would have thought she could stand a week or so.

And yet by the tenth day she was ready to go looking for Kaitrith. She told herself that it was to make sure bandits had not overpowered the two elves or something equally horrible, though…

Josephine was a diplomat, not a fighter. Could she charm a bandit into letting a lover go?

Despite her siblings attempts to keep her distracted, she'd just about gone mad by the time the eleventh night rolled around.

However, as she was heading toward another sleepless night, there was a light knock on her door. When she turned, she found Kaitrith standing there, that smile she so loved in place.

Rushing over to her, she met Kaitrith a few paces into the room, wrapping her arms around her and peppering her with kisses—nose, cheeks, lips, everywhere.

Kaitrith let out a rare laugh at that, letting her pack fall to the ground and tugging Josephine closer to catch her lips and deepen their kiss. Fingers tangled in hair, and fingers traced over familiar forms before Kaitrith finally pulled away from her.

While Josephine had been ready to tease her or just keep kissing her, she paused when she saw the serious look that slipped over Kaitrith's face.

Instantly, trepidation replaced her joy.

Even so, Kaitrith held her gaze as she nodded toward her, a little awkwardly. "We need to talk."