It's beginning to look a lot like ...

He looked down at his tea, his brows slightly furrowed at one another. He had been the one to ask, if they should talk about it. But sitting here now, there was no words that was dying to leave him. Of course, there was many different ways that he could start. He could explain how he was still mourning and losing his wife had made him start using. He could explain that he might never be able to love anyone again. And that she deserved to be someone, that would love her. Unconditionally, without the troubles that came along, with having lost their significant other. Because Kieran had only ever been with one woman. It was a little funny when you looked it in retrospect. How he had given her the chance to figure out what she wanted, so he could do the same. Only to fall in love with one woman, get six kids and then just experience the world together as it stepped into a new time of age. Until she suddenly wasn’t there anymore.
It was what all his thoughts always flowed towards, her. Was that something she could live with? Could he? He let out a small sigh and looked up, giving her a sad smile.
“I would very much like to get to know you, but I don’t want it to be the bond that decided whether or not we should be together” he said, letting his fingers warm against the cup as he waited for her reply.

Antionette looked at his sad smile, listened to his words. One could argue if the choice they had taken back then had been good or bad, not that she would change anything that had let her to this moment. Because that choice as well had made her who she was to this day. "Then that is what we do," she replied firstly and took a deeper breath in. No, she didn't blame him for grieving, she would never rush someone in the process either. And she knew some days would be harder than others. Especially when you had only let one person in like that. Antionette had a few shares of a beam of feeling love, tasting it in some different places as well, it was how she had ended up losing Callie and Calla because their father had kidnapped them once they had been born. Experimented on them and told her they were dead and gone. It had taken years to recover the truth. Her heart knew plenty of darkness, but she also had done her best not to let it manifest. Maybe there was the fear of becoming like her mother if she wasn't careful enough. "I would like to get to know you as well," Antionette lifted the cup up, and blew a little in the cup, feeling the steam balance over her face before taking a small sip. "We have been our own people for longer than any other who happens to share the kind of bond we do, I think we will do just fine in making our own choices," she gave him a brighter smile. Now, she had not tried not to restrain herself from it. It was also rather odd, many witches and warlocks alike had tried to lose a mate, to experience the painful change of losing one because you didn't reach them in time. It was still one feeling she was happy not having experienced that pain. And she hoped she wouldn't.

His smile curled up, as she told him that was what they would do. He liked that she had always given him space. Because he had never had his brother’s flair with the women, he liked to take his time to figure them out. Understand what their thoughts were, and what they liked and didn’t like. Now one could argue that Kieran had been lucky with his first and only wife. Where Killian had been burned plenty of times, or things just hadn’t turned out the way he had hoped. Not that he couldn’t understand the need to have someone close, to have a family, and have a love for children. But where Killian kept making his own, Kieran just enjoyed the company of his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
He nodded; he was glad that she understood where he was coming from. That she too would like to get to know him, and that it was clear that they were other people than they had been the first time they had met. “Well then, here’s to getting to know one another” he raised his cup a little, before he took a small sip from it. He closed his eyes for a moment, as he let the scent and aroma of it form in his mouth and nose. It really was a good tea. “I could come back here, that is a lovely tea” he hummed, leaning a little back in his comfortable chair.