It surprises him, despite everything. The surge of her emotions, for one, but the mere fact that she's letting him do this. That she's putting her arms around him and just resting against him, as she settles into the pleasant feeling of being held.
He sighs softly and pillows his chin on the top of her head, thumb rubbing small circles into the bare skin of her shoulder. He is suddenly intensely glad for the year he's spent here, for the time that's allowed him to become the kind of man who can do this.
It's like a gift, honestly, and she never had anyone to teach her that refusing a gift was considered rude but she knows it all the same. She knows she wouldn't ever want to really reject this, something so simple and sweet as a hug that exists for no other reason than to show he's there for her in a way no one ever has been before.
When the hug goes on, she finds she's okay with that. Her hands bunch up in his jacket and she closes her eyes and really lets it all sink in, committing this to memory just like she had the way he'd been touching her hand.
This is undoubtedly better, she thinks absently, and when he sighs she echoes him and lets herself relax into him even more. She's been so tired lately, all of the stress and fear have run her down and given her nightmares of her own, and this is the first time she's felt real peace in weeks.
He's more than happy to stay like that for a few long, long minutes. He closes his own eyes when he hears her sigh and feels her relax. He isn't sure whether it's the empathy, whatever's inside him, that's doing it, but he feels peace coming from her.
And he did that. There's a sudden tightness in his chest, and he pulls her just a little bit closer as he tries to breathe through it. He wasn't made to bring anyone peace, but she found the part inside of him that still can, and has laid it open and bare.
Eventually, the position puts a crick in his back, and he just-- very briefly tightens their embrace, before shifting. "I should go," he says, his voice soft, like anything louder will break the spell.
She doesn't try to cling to him, isn't even really sad when the moment is clearly coming to an end, not when it meant so much while it was real, when they were in the middle of it. When he shifts her arms slip down easily but she has the memory of him pulling her tight to him to keep it from being hard to let him go.
"When this flood has passed, we'll go to the deck and I'll show you how that works," she says, her voice heavy with the desire to sleep very soon and incredibly, incredibly soft because of it. All of the things that kept her from looking that way are gone now, she's relaxed and her face is clear of worry and she feels good more than anything else. "We can throw things off the side of the ship and you can try to shoot them."
He laughs softly, brushing his knuckles over her shoulder as he stands up and stretches. He can see how sleepy she is, and feel it besides, so he just walks over to the table, takes the bowcaster and makes for the door.
"Thank you," he says, once more, and even he isn't sure what he's thanking her for the most.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2016-04-22 07:36 am (UTC)He sighs softly and pillows his chin on the top of her head, thumb rubbing small circles into the bare skin of her shoulder. He is suddenly intensely glad for the year he's spent here, for the time that's allowed him to become the kind of man who can do this.
no subject
Date: 2016-04-22 07:54 am (UTC)When the hug goes on, she finds she's okay with that. Her hands bunch up in his jacket and she closes her eyes and really lets it all sink in, committing this to memory just like she had the way he'd been touching her hand.
This is undoubtedly better, she thinks absently, and when he sighs she echoes him and lets herself relax into him even more. She's been so tired lately, all of the stress and fear have run her down and given her nightmares of her own, and this is the first time she's felt real peace in weeks.
no subject
Date: 2016-04-22 08:08 am (UTC)And he did that. There's a sudden tightness in his chest, and he pulls her just a little bit closer as he tries to breathe through it. He wasn't made to bring anyone peace, but she found the part inside of him that still can, and has laid it open and bare.
Eventually, the position puts a crick in his back, and he just-- very briefly tightens their embrace, before shifting. "I should go," he says, his voice soft, like anything louder will break the spell.
no subject
Date: 2016-04-22 08:21 am (UTC)"When this flood has passed, we'll go to the deck and I'll show you how that works," she says, her voice heavy with the desire to sleep very soon and incredibly, incredibly soft because of it. All of the things that kept her from looking that way are gone now, she's relaxed and her face is clear of worry and she feels good more than anything else. "We can throw things off the side of the ship and you can try to shoot them."
no subject
Date: 2016-04-22 08:51 am (UTC)"Thank you," he says, once more, and even he isn't sure what he's thanking her for the most.