Mari nodded reassuringly, offering him a soft hum as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Just take it easy," she murmured gently. "Give her time, don’t try to make her feel better too quickly. She’ll just feel more rushed about it." Her words were calm, knowing that it wouldn't help anything. She didn’t know the girl all that well, but she understood that pushing someone to feel better too soon only added to the burden. She glanced at Sage for a moment, her gaze warm, before leaning in to place a soft kiss on his cheek. She was grateful that he cared so much, that he wanted to help.

"But Sage," she said quietly, her voice tender yet firm, "you don’t owe her anything." She paused for a beat, her hand moving to wrap gently around the back of his head, pulling him down with her onto the couch. "Don’t stress yourself out about it, okay?" she added with a small chuckle, her voice playful as she settled beside him. "If you do, I’ll just get just as worried about you."

Mari smiled lightly at him, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes that she couldn’t quite shake. She knew that Anya would soon take the throne, and it seemed like the weight of it all was starting to break her. Anya had always been strong... well, it seemed like that at least, but now, it sounded like the pressure was suffocating her. On top of that, her husband was trying so hard to help, yet it was clear that he was pushing himself to the edge, too. Mari felt the weight of it all pressing on her as she drew in a deep breath, burying her nose into his hair. "It’s not your job to try and fix everything," she murmured softly, her voice laced with both concern and exhaustion. She sighed heavily, feeling that familiar frustration bubble up. He had a habit of stepping in, trying to mend everything around him, especially when it came to others. She often found herself wishing he'd be just as relentless in fixing his own problems years ago. But as much as she knew he meant well, it was exhausting, and she wished he would just step back sometimes. After a moment, Mari closed her eyes, letting out a deep, heavy breath. "You wanna go get showered and to bed?" she suggested gently. "You’ll just end up overthinking everything if you stay like this." She was all too familiar with the way his mind worked, constantly turning over every detail, every problem, until it consumed him. She knew it was a cycle, one that would leave him drained and no closer to finding peace.

The woman nodded lightly as he took her hand and led her up the stairs. She did hope he'd leave it all alone for a little while... He could be a bit overbearing when he wanted to help. Hell, when she’d just given birth and gotten shot, he'd managed to work himself into a state where he actually thought she didn’t want to marry him. She still didn’t know how he arrived at that conclusion. She understood it was because he cared and wanted everything to be alright, but sometimes it was a bit much for both of them.

She squeezed his hand softly, a small smile playing on her lips as she moved to playfully swing their arms. "I could always knock you out if you wanted to save your sleeping tablets," she giggled, her voice light and teasing.