It was always a surprise to her that when he stood he was not taller. Which wasn't to say that Hephaestus wasn't a large man. He was. He still towered over Philotes. But she always expected him to be even taller, to have to look up further than she did when he was standing in front of her. And it had nothing at all to do with his physical limitations, or how they bent his body to make him shorter than his actual stature. It had everything, though, to do with how Lottie saw him in her mind.
To her, he was a mountain of a man; tall, broad and sure. Because that's how she saw his heart. Most of the time. Today had been, to say the least, very rough on her own heart. And while she wished that she could have brought some kind of resolution to the situation, that she could have fixed things for both of her friends, the intricacies of what had happened were just too complex and far too emotionally charged. This was not the end, not in Lottie's eyes. This was a beginning to the healing. She hoped.
One hand was lifted to gently touch the grizzled cheek of the god in front of her, and her eyes searched his for the longest moment. Friendship wasn't certain what she was looking for, exactly, but she knew it was not there. Some spark of... something... was missing. And perhaps wouldn't be back again for some time. Instead she could see that his brain was full of planning, he always got a bit of a faraway look when he was doing that. So the smile she gave him was a wistful one, showing the worry that was going to eat at her until she could figure out how to make all of this right. For both Harmonia and Hephaestus. She refused to believe there would be any other outcome.
“We're not done with this topic,” she warned him, because it was only fair that he knew she wouldn't be giving up. Not on Harmonia. And not on him. Never on him. “But it is not the end of our friendship, so you will have to do your best not to get too squished in whatever happens between you and Deimos. You still owe me some tea, I didn't really drink any today. So be careful. Please.”
Then she went up on tiptoe to buss a quick kiss against his jaw. Her mouth close to his ear, she took the opportunity to whisper, “And you are worth a hundred of them combined. Don't you ever forget that. Don't let it drag you down to their level. You're better than that, better than they are. Always have been.”