Sam looked down at the wolf laying up against his side, their eyes looking up at his with concern and curiosity.
"It's been a long time since… since I cared for another person, the way I've come to care for you. And it can be just that; care…" he swallowed nervously, "I'm not sittin' here hopin' or expectin' it to be anything more, but… I want you to know that; that I care for you very much."
Tank sat up and back a bit, not much, but enough.
He looked away from them for a moment before bringing his eyes back to theirs, "My life feels better with you in it, and I'm grateful for that…"
"I care for you too, Sam…"
"Yeah?" His voice conveyed his happy surprise.
Tank nodded, smiling back, but then it faded.
Sam noticed the shift, "Darlin'?"
Their eyes jumped around; back and forth between Sam's two eyes, down at the floor or their hands, back up at Sam.
They kept their breathing steady, manually breathing in a simple rhythm.
Sam looked at their face, the unusually tense and nervous expression they held. He'd never seen them like this, not really.
They seemed to quickly grow more tense before their shoulders suddenly dropped and they leaned in closer.
Sam was about to speak, to ask what they were doing, but he was cut off by them putting a hand on the back of his neck and very lightly pulling him in to rest their forehead against his.
Tank closed their eyes and let out an almost weary sigh.
"I—" they hesitated, swallowing dryly, "I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to… care for you the way I should. The way you deserve."
Their hand ran down from the back of his head and down his arm, stopping to rest on top of his own hand, "I never really had a good example of this stuff either," they chuckled nervously, then their voice quieted, "so— I don't know if I can be what you want…"
His heart sank at their resigned tone, like they believed he'd just give up on them immediately.
He matched the pressure of Tank's head against his, leaning forward and carefully bringing his other hand up to their jaw.
"I don't expect you to know everything. I'm not expectin' you to be perfect either."
"We don't have to know what this is gonna be. For now, I'm just… glad to be near you. We can figure everything else out in time."
They let out the breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding, shaky as it was.
They move to nuzzle into his cheek with a sigh, "You deserve so much better than me, Sam…"
"Shhh… nonsense Darlin', " He nuzzles them back slightly.
They just huff in response to his words as their instincts crooned at his mirroring of their affectionate action.
The two slip back into their cuddled up position, Tank's head resting on Sam's chest.
They gaze up at him with a masked but deeply sceptical look, one that speaks true to their past and the pain that came with it.
But there's a sliver of hesitant hope as well. One that he wished to see grow stronger.
"Can I—" they hesitated, "can I kiss you?"
He let out a quick breath, a smile gracing his lips, "yeah"
