❝ 𝒊 . . . 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 , ❞ comes a shallower - sounding breath , slow and measured on the outside whilst her insides flutter at the faintest brush of fingertips against her damp skin. at first this had all seemed so silly , though she’d been willing to play along for the sake of a respite — and partly because she has always loved a good story — but with every passing day it grows easier to speak as they must , and to behave like it , too. that in and of itself is a refreshingly new sort of inevitability , a kind of comfort from these strangers she’s come to appreciate and even almost expect. the real world isn’t so careful and composed as this , much less considerate — something else she might’ve been starved of. that , or she’s secretly always been a repressed victorian maiden at heart , a bare ankle or a second spent holding hands enough to do her in — though she seriously doubts that. a repressed maiden wouldn’t toe the line like she does now , wouldn’t lean in just so as if chasing his warmth.
❝ i am no lady. ❞ she ends finally. i’m no one. yet here , there’s a chance to write her story anew , even if it is only for a short little while. ❝ that is , i believe just miss tachi is — well , more correct. but thank you , for your concern. i believe my , ah , shooting partner must have met with some misfortune in this storm too , when he went ahead of me. or i should be flattered that he trusts me enough to find my own way back in a strange place. ❞ she’d seen the sharpness in hux’s eyes , however , the fury at being shown up by some nobody. it more than makes up for the slight that this is , which will be perceived by everybody but likely most vocally by his mother. rey fiddles with a seam on his coat collar , which she tugs closer around herself , letting it swallow her up in the best of ways. ❝ but it’s not so strange you should feel any obligation to stay with me , really. though it seems you were better dressed for this than i , so that’s lucky. ❞ and yet even as she means to dismiss him , she doesn’t offer the coat back. she may be slightly stalling. ❝ aren’t you quite cold now ? ❞
it’s strange , being here with the now - esteemed lady : by now, she’s probably the talk of the manor, but right here & now? it’s so easy to forget that they’re playing parts, or that time is a notion he needs to be concerned with, layers of sensibility & expectation hanging heavy over his head. he should not be here with her, but he’s always been a bit of a rebel, hasn’t he? still, they toe a dangerous line --- & instinctively, breath catches at her proximity as cold & heat paint his ears & face pink. the way miss tachi’s breath catches does not escape his notice, & the way his traitorous body gravitates towards hers, seeking warmth, is something ben’s all too aware of.
❝ if you’ll allow me to be candid, you’ve always struck me as a lady --- and an impressive one at that --- but i would also be.... what’s the word --- foolish to ignore your wishes, miss. ❞ the twinkle in golden-brown eyes is hard to ignore as she recounts the rather childish reaction in being bested. ❝ nevertheless, in the continued interest of being candid, well --- insecure men like him hate being bested. it seems fitting, i suppose, that in some mad dash to hold onto his crumbling, shattered ego, lord hux became blind to everything that wasn’t immediately about him. ❞ by regency standards, it’s improper how close they are & how he speaks to her --- heart fluttering against his ribs as bare fingertips fiddle absently with his cuffs & try to distract from how he slowly gravitates a bit closer to her, always by fractions, prepared to halt at her wishes. ( but it’s not unpleasant, he realizes, heart hammering as she’s practically swallowed by his coat & cheeks bloom deeper. not in the slightest. )
❝ it’s lucky that i had the sense to grab it for my rounds --- i must confess, i wasn’t expecting the rain, but i like to be prepared. & truly it’s no trouble at all, miss --- i can escort you back to the premises, or you can dismiss me whenever you’d like. ❞ a small hum escapes him, eyes flitting over to rey once more wit h a warm smile on his face, just for her. ❝ pardon me for being a tad bold for my station, but i’d gladly brave the cold if it meant you didn’t catch ill, miss tachi. ❞
tangentwithtanner
titsay
stormborns
ellievsbear
blakekathryn