Chapter Text
Giddy laughter filled the light-hearted air, intertwining and hiccupping in such a way that pulled at her heart; It broke through voices that sang, different octaves and pitches, but there, flittering through the quiet air of her quarters in the Tempest. A smile curled the corners of her full lips as a soft, off-key voice tried to sing through its giggles, the grin on a freckled face below enough to melt her in her very spot.
Kylie picked up the trodden beat, hands lacing together with much smaller ones as she started to lightly dance along. A step to and fro, followed by the twirl of dark, tightly-coiled hair as the younger girl spun in a quick circle with a gleeful giggle, made her chest feel heavy and full in only the best of ways before she finally started to sing along. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star -”
Sadhaana nearly screamed the words, coming out in a squeaked rush. “How I wonder what you are!”
“Exactly! That was perfect, Sadie.” Her face nearly cracked from how hard she was smiling, a swell in her heart making her feel light. It felt impossible, staring down at her violet-rich eyes that seemed to dance with joy, with things she couldn’t even begin to explain. It felt impossible to love something, or someone, so much. “Up above the world so high –“
“Like a diamond in the sky!”
The warmth of a wide, near-electric hand meeting her shoulder caught her attention, interrupting her train of thoughts and breaking her line in the song apart; A soft gasp escaped her as their steps promptly stilled, their intertwined hands falling, and she glanced over -
It nearly melted her, the sight of Jaal standing behind her.
The sheer happiness dancing across his soft features only made her smile grow impossibly more, a skip in the beat of her heart making the tell-tale sign of tears to prick at the corners of her eyes and a bubble to form in her throat. Virohaan fiddled in his arms, tiny, white-freckled legs kicking and bucking wild and free, before he rolled around to wrap his arms around his father’s neck in a fit of glee-filled squeals. Jaal looked tired, but happy, and that's all that mattered.
“Darling one,” a soft sigh broke his words, the deep timbre of his voice a welcome sound after weeks spent apart. Any ounce of exhaustion left him, visibly relaxing as he took in the sight of her, just as lovely and beautiful as the moment they'd first met on Aya; The look in her softened eyes made him feel impossibly warm, kissing away the remnant chills of time spent on Voeld. “How is –“
“Daddy!” Sadhaana’s glass-shattering screech broke through his words, bright, blue eyes sharply widening as the girl threw herself against his knees. Her arms wrapped around his hooked legs as tightly as her tiny body could possibly manage, violet eyes squeezing shut with a loud, overtly dramatic grunt of effort to show just how much she'd missed him.
He simply couldn’t contain his smile - He loved her so much.
A soft chuckle escaped him as he kneeled down, catching her as she climbed his legs to cling to his chest; Tiny hands dug into the back of his rofjinn, her signature registering with his through a steady thrum that soothed his frayed nerves, a feeling long-missed, and he sighed. “Sadie, my love - The light of my life, my beautiful, darling girl! I trust you’ve been behaving while I’ve been gone, yes?”
“Yes, yes! I always am!” It almost sounded as though she was about to cry, the crack in her voice enough to rip his heart in half. She pulled back just enough to reveal the slightest hint of tears staining her wide eyes as she sniffled. Oh, it hurt. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“And I, you.” The littlest bit of her pulling away from their tight hug allowed him purchase to lightly boop her wide, flat nose with the tip of his finger, catching her off-guard. Her expression flipped just like that, a gap-toothed smile lighting up her face in such a way that made him feel everything and anything good, all at once. “Impossibly more than you could ever imagine.”