tucker:
it’s UNEXPECTED – the gesture, the words – there’s NO WAY to recall the LAST time someone touched him so GENTLY , let alone EMBRACED him. the surprise manifests in STIFFENING spine, halted breathing – & then he’s near MELTING into it, instinct kicking in. arms wrap TENTATIVELY ( if a bit shyly ) round torso, forehead pressed to shoulder. a MOMENT to breathe, to RECOVER chipper facade ; ❛ it’s – NO … . don’t worry about it.❜ wash MEANS well enough – tucker knows that much by NOW . & then comes silent laughter, SUBTLEST tremble of shoulders ( this is all so sentimental ; they’re soldiers for christ’s sake ) – smile resettles ‘pon features, stepping OUT of embrace. ( & if the sudden cold makes him miss wash’s proximity … well … )
“ i won’t until you look me in the eye and tell me it’ll be okay. “ but he won’t let go, it’s too soon, he can’t, he won’t, so he’ll settle for just burying his face in the crook of tucker’s neck, for a soft sigh, and the tension easing out of his frame little by little. there’s a word for this, he thinks, something to call this feeling and something to call tucker, something that he knows he can always look to and always return to. something like a home. ( do you know, tucker? you’re all i know. ) tucker’s the first to move, though, and it leaves washington feeling somewhat emptier, but he’ll respect it and move away a beat after him. “ tell me more about her, about georgia. i love seeing you so ... excited. “ and it won’t quell the smile on his face for a second, not for ever, not ever. ( you’re all i know, you’re all i know. )
