Gob’s heart skipped a beat‒‒‒‒ forgot, for a single moment, how to beat, and left him without a pulse until it realized its mistake and resumed its pace. And he was left dizzy in the aftermath, because surely that must be why he found it so hard to breathe.
❝ You, you mean that ? ❞ he was ringing his hands. He’d been so afraid ; the moment the words, ❛ you’re important to me, ❜ had left his mouth, he’d felt a chill as if he was letting a piece of himself be exposed, or taking it out and giving it to her, only to see what she’d do with it.
He didn’t want Nova to be repulsed by him. Everyone was repulsed by him. But she wasn’t the same as ❛ everyone‒‒‒‒ ❜ she was special, she was kind to him when she didn’t have to be, she was… oh, she was more than such a simple Ghoul had the words for ( hard to call himself a man, these days ; he’d quite forgotten how, he was so used to being called everything but ). He just hadn’t been able to resist saying what he really meant this time, in the moment, when it seemed like she needed to hear it and goodness knew he needed to say it, risk though it was.
But she wasn’t repulsed by him. And that shook him right down to the bone.
❝ It’s OK, just‒‒‒‒ don’t worry about it. Really, you don’t know how much that means to me, I’m, I’m happy to be your friend, ❞ he said earnestly, completely ; no matter what else he might think of at night, might secretly wish for, he was. It wasn’t just the fact that she was the only person who’d have him‒‒‒‒ it was that there was a reason she did, same as she’d said. That she was such an amazing person. That she knew what it was like. They were in the same boat, alone there, and neither of them had the paddles, but they kept on floating anyway, and it was because they had each other. ❝ I’m lucky to have you, um… to have met you. No matter what, even if I’m stuck in this dump th’ rest of my life then, well, I’m glad that I met you. ❞
Nova couldn’t help but notice the tightness in her chest, an emotion she couldn’t quite place tugging at her heart. It was a funny feeling. It didn’t really match anything she’d felt before - but that wasn’t to say she disliked it. Her head dipped slightly to the side, a smile growing across her lips and eyes soft with appreciation.
She’d never trusted Lady Luck. Trusting fate alone had never done her well - except for with Gob. It was chance that the two had met, that they had crossed paths. And without him, she wasn’t sure where she’d have gone. Nowhere good, that much she knew.
“ That... Means a lot t’ me too, Gob. ”
The bottle was pushed to the side, and Nova brushed bangs away from her eyes.
“ It’s just that- I mean, I’m not gonna come out an’ say that I never had any friends. That’d be a lie. I had ‘em, once,” she tapped a finger on the surface subconsciously, eyes drifting down towards the counter top, “ But they’re all gone, now.”
She paused, looking up again, to meet Gob’s gaze. She didn’t talk about her past, not a lot, at least. Nova preferred to learn about other people. And besides, she already got enough weird looks for being the local hooker, she’d only get more if they knew how she’d spent her childhood, and the people she’d associated with. But she felt that, maybe, a little explanation was owed. He’d told her so much about him, already.
“ That Wilks kid, and me, I guess - we’re the only ones from Grayditch that are still alive. All the people I used to know, my friends, my parents... They’re all dead now, and for a while there, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Took every bit of self-control I had not to just drink myself to sleep every night, when I got the news. But at some point it kinda made me realize how lucky I really was. I’ve got you - and you’re one of the best people I’ve ever met. So... I guess that I’m lucky to have met you, too. ”
