perhaps from a third perspective, one would think he handles her too roughly — so hostile, so annoyed at the sight of her here. clicking his tongue when she takes too long to answer, so aggressive. her neighbors had mentioned their concerns once or twice after a few noise complaints— jade was a quiet neighbor, so it was a cause for concern to see an assertive young man showing up in the middle of the night, banging on her door until she answered, pushing himself inside her apartment and spitting venomous things at first sight. but there’s no malice behind his actions, no real animosity. he might have grabbed her wrists, but he’s gentle when he lets go— tells her that worrying is unnecessary, stupid. though she doesn’t miss how quick he is to reassure her in his own way, mentioning that the cause of his wounds are from a recent match. she’s relieved to see he hadn’t been involved in some random scuffle, but she still worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “ i didn’t think you had one tonight.. ” she admits quietly, locking up the door as he passes by her and heads towards the couch. he’s unsteady, but able to make it to his usual spot. their usual spot. but not before shouting into the empty space that he’s here to stay for the night— that whoever is here can rot the rest of the evening away in their hiding spot. no one replies, as expected, because no one ever keeps her company at night like this. only you’re here. it’s only ever you. she thinks as his voice bounces off the walls, taking the opportunity to retrieve the first aid kit from underneath the sink in the bathroom, damp wash cloth in tow as she returns to the living room a heartbeat later. “ no one’s here. it’s just me and you. ” she reassures him softly, or at least tries to— finds her place by his side on the couch, close enough to touch, warmth from one another mingling. her hands busy themselves with the lock on the first aid kit before retrieving one of the many hair ties she keeps in there. “ i’m sorry. ” she apologizes the second he mentions her taking too long— stretching her frame up as his head tilts, running her hands through his locks and gently pushing the hair from his face so she can tie it and survey his injuries properly. “ .. i must have fallen asleep while editing, so i didn’t know what was happening. ” her hands linger for a second longer than necessary before she’s securing his bangs with the hair tie and pulling away slightly, sheepish with tinted cheeks at her admission. “ i .. was startled— erm, so it.. took me a second to realize what was going on. ”
it takes him TOO LONG to warm up to someone and jade, having been consistent in his life for a while, knows it too well as well. it’s both a CURSE and a BLESSING how well she knows him, how she just takes his blows and holds for the underlying kindness inside. alex knows way too well to hold himself out, throw knifes and blow slurs in all directions to avoid closeness, because those close are the ones who stab the hardest, but in those moments with jade, he felt almost whole, almost secure. everything snapped back into reality when he woke up, but the kind memories burned in his mind until it happened again. the quietness, the low lights, the way her gentle hands run through his messy locks to pull them out of his face; he wants more of that, he wants those gently fingers to run through his head some more “ SCARED ? stupid girl ... “ he mumbles, but still aware how scary she had must felt when he banged the door. even under the influence, he tries to pull himself out of it but again, before he could say anything else, the movement stopped, replaced by the damp, warm towel and he sighs out in frustration: it’s not this he wants, why is it so hard to understand ? still, his eyes remain shut and his movements to the minimum. it hurts, but maybe not as much as the actual match. his hand gently rubs against her leg, maybe reassuring her, maybe reassuring himself; he’s not sure.
“ YOU SERIOUSLY NEED TO START SLEEPING EARLIER. then i won’t have to do coffee in the morning for you. “ he really doesn’t mind, he really doesn’t. making small things for her pleases him, but he can’t let himself believe it. doing anything remotely nice just to be nice meant weakness and he wasn’t going back to it. jade could seem nice and sweet and maybe a little bit too naive, but he knows she could be pretending “ YEAH, it was to make my manager happy before we went on the trip. probably will have a few more matches on the road, but we’ll see. “ he keeps mumbling, keeping his hand on her leg and she gently tends for his wounds. he used to do this. now ? everything seemed broken. slowly and once more, his walls started to crumble slowly around her and he can’t help himself but let his arm gently surround her waist to pull her to his side “ IF I KNEW YOU’D BE UP, i would’ve invited you. alas. don’t edit so late ... it isn’t good for your schedule. “ he mumbles, tilting his head towards her and opening his fogged eyes to look at her “ CAN YOU DO THAT FOR ME ? ... silly ... woman, god. “
dededos
romaincrisis
yousharknotpass
theartofmadeline
titsay
stormborns
kaledo-art