(ɔ ˘⌣˘)˘⌣˘ c)
Rorschach didn’t exactly thank her for the scarf. But the way he held it, silent and awkward and uncertain what to do as he stood there in front of her, Harley still rubbing a bit of sleep from her eyes...it was enough to make her smile.
She made room for him on the couch, where he sat down slowly and reluctantly, the scarf still in his gloved hands, dark blots swirling and flinching over his Face. Daniel had the good sense to stop offering him presents at Christmas time years ago, but Harley...in all ways that both charmed and disgusted him, she was relentless.
“Put it on,” she croaked softly, still weary with sleep, and Rorschach complied. It was simple white cloth, nothing glamorous or gaudy the way the blonde typically liked to adorn herself with. Because she’d thought of him. What he would want.
He stiffened when her head suddenly nestled against his shoulder, but didn’t pull away.
“Merry Christmas, Rory.”
She planted a little kiss against his cheek, and his gut twisted all the way up into his throat. Within a few moments, she was already fast asleep, the weight of her leaning into his side, and Rorschach was certain to break his own teeth if he didn’t ease off of how tightly he’d clenched them.
When he dared to look at her, he saw her face softened by sleep, peaceful and delicate and pale. Innocent...no matter everything in her history to the contrary.
His arm moved. He needed to leave. Retreat back into the sobering cold and away from her inviting warmth. But as he stirred, so did she, a little whimper in her throat as one of her slender arms moved across his chest, and sent his heart racing. As he settled back into the couch, still and silent again, he found his arm trapped, resting over her back, fingers curled into a tentative fist so not to touch the slope of her side.
An uncomfortable, desperate breath grumbled out of him. And finally, after several minutes of faltering, Rorschach relented to temptation, and allowed himself to uncoil his fingers, and rest them along the curve of her arm. Her head rising and falling with each anxious breath in his chest, he closed his eyes, both wondering when he could safely pull himself free of her, and distressed to find he didn’t want to.
