Chaos and Calm

She did not flinch.

She did not shy away.

She met his gaze like the Annie he knew, the one who rolled her eyes at gods and drank her coffee like a battle cry.

He wanted to touch her.

So badly.

Just to be sure.

Just to make sure she was real.

She saw it in his face.

Did not say a single word. She did not have to.

She just lifted her hand and held it out to him across the table.

An offering.

A bridge.

Malvor snatched it like it was the only solid thing in the universe. He wrapped his hands around hers, thumbs stroking the back of her knuckles. His eyes fell closed, a broken exhale escaping as he held on.

She did not pull away.

Did not flinch.

Only said, steady as ever, "Malvor… there is more."

His eyes opened instantly. Sharp. Alert. Worried.

"More?"

She saw it in his face, panic already threatening.

She gave his hand a squeeze. "Not like that. Not more pain."

He waited.

"I gained something from each of them," she said quietly. "From Aerion… strength. Pure physical power. I can break stone now without trying. I can move faster than I ever have before. My muscles respond like a weapon being honed, not just used."

His brow furrowed.

"From Navir… intelligence. Processing power. Pattern recognition. The world feels like a system I can decode. I can see paths, probabilities. I am thinking in equations I don't even have names for yet. I can build things, Malvor. Ideas. Strategies. I can take a room apart and put it back together with my eyes."

He said nothing, just listened, the tension in his jaw growing.

"And from Ravina…"

She paused.

"…something primal. Physical. Her plants—they alter states. She left something in me that can numb pain. Heighten senses. Trigger adrenaline. I can flood a body with euphoria or paralyze it with a touch. It's chemical. It's real. It's in my blood now."

Malvor's brow creased, stunned.

Annie continued, voice cool and steady. "I haven't tested it fully yet. I want to. Gods help them, Malvor, I want to. I can feel it. Roots wrapping around nerves. The ability to make someone feel everything… or nothing at all."

He stared at her, heart pounding. "You've been processing that this whole time."

She nodded. "I didn't just survive what they did. I took from them. While they tried to leave their mark on me, I stole pieces of their power and made them mine. And I'm going to use it. Every scrap of it. Not just to hurt them. But to become untouchable."

His grip on her hand tightened, reverent.

Then, softly, he asked, "What about me?"

She blinked.

He clarified, "You said you got powers from them. What did you get from me?"

Annie tilted her head. Thoughtful. Unafraid.

"Chaos," she said. "But not the loud, storming kind. Control. Over my own chaos. I didn't even realize it until I felt theirs inside me. The violence. The hunger. The manipulation. And then I remembered how quiet I've been with you."

Malvor's breath caught.

"How still my mind got," she continued. "How… mine I felt. Even when I was furious. Even when you annoyed the hell out of me. I didn't spiral. I didn't shatter. I chose how I reacted. You didn't take my chaos away, you helped me wield it."

He stared at her, words tangled on the edge of his tongue.

She gave a faint, almost smile. "You gave me space. You gave me control. That's what I got from you. And it was everything I needed."

His thumb brushed her knuckles again. Gently. Worshipfully.

Annie sipped her coffee.

And for the first time in days, so did he.

And it finally tasted real.

Malvor sat in silence, the taste of the coffee lingering now. Bitter, dark, grounding. Her hand still in his, steady and warm.

But his thoughts were anything but.

They spiraled inward.

Through memory.

Through months of memory.

Her laugh. Her insults. The soft moments curled under a blanket, her fingers brushing his.

How she never flinched from his madness.

How she never recoiled from his power.

How she saw him.

The first time she rolled her eyes at one of his dramatic entrances.

The way she had made fun of his coat. Then worn it.

The way she had challenged him. Matched him. Changed everything.

She had settled the chaos in him without even trying. Where there had been sharp edges, she had brought calm. Where there had been fire, she had brought warmth. Joy. Understanding. Laughter.

And love.

His chest seized. His breathing slowed. His heart stopped.

Oh gods.

It was love.

Real. Terrifying. Undeniable.

She had never demanded it from him. Never asked for it. But she had given it. Quietly. Freely. Without strings.

Even when he flirted with Yara.

Even when he danced with her.

Gods, he would have done more. He wanted more.

But Annie?

Annie had not flinched.

She had been mature. Steady.

Secure in who she was, even if he did not know who he was.

And he had done nothing to deserve her.

The realization cracked him open.

Tears slipped down his cheeks before he could stop them. Not violent this time. Not furious.

Just quiet. Honest.

He did not sob like a god undone.

He sobbed like a man who had finally understood something too big to carry.

Annie looked up at him, saw it all.

And smiled.

Soft.

Knowing.

"Do we need to name it?" she asked gently.

He hesitated.

But then he nodded. Swallowed. His voice broke.

"Please. I do not deserve you."

She did not blink.

She just reached for him, her hand firm in his.

And then she blew him away.

"The best thing about unconditional love," she said, "is you never feel like you deserve it or can earn it. That is because it's given to you. Without conditions. Without exceptions. Without rules."

He stared at her, utterly undone.

"You can not buy it," she whispered. "You can not fake it. You can not win it. It is a free gift that I choose to give to you."

Then she leaned forward, eyes never leaving his.

"Malvor… loving you is as easy and natural as breathing."

The sob that broke from him then was not quiet.

It was everything.

And still, she did not flinch.

She just held his hand tighter.

Because Annie was NOT broken.

She was home.

And for the first time in his life, he understood:Home was not a place.It was a person.