he draws over the oddly smoothed edges of a scar, center sternum. displacing his thumb with his palm on the wider section, nearly touching her ribs in silence. (happy birthday to lara croft!)
ＩＮＢＯＸ ＳＵＲＰＲＩＳＥＳ！ ( always accepting! ) › @promeheus ! ❤︎
Uncertainty roiled under the press of his thumb, harsh and incessant against the membranes. She’d left much to the wayside, she knew, insisting upon his patience for so long she wasn’t sure he still expected an answer. Attempting to reach for the words even so. Perhaps there was enough value in the effort to carry them through another week of this infernal ceasefire, or better yet, bring about the quarrel she knew was looming on the horizon. Get it over and done with before it had the chance to erode through a more substantial part of their bond.
❝I’m all right.❞ The words felt sobering somehow, lodging in her throat like acid. She remembered the days he’d spent at her bedside, the desperation in his eyes as her cognizance ebbed and flowed. The moments of clarity when she’d asked him to stay. She’d expected him to push for an early return even then, recognizing the worried edge to his voice whenever she’d demurred and cited her guilt over the cataclysms. What she hadn’t foreseen was his carefully curated resolve as she’d pushed for an additional month of charity work — the silent upset flittering across his face whenever she faltered or hesitated. Worry for her, slowly growing into something more wearing. ❝It doesn’t— …. It’s barely even sore.❞
Not the most convincing argument, but she had little else to offer. Her body was a mess of aches at this point, battered and bruised from the fight against Trinity and Cozumel’s reconstruction efforts. The salves helped enough to keep her boots on the ground, but wouldn’t quite untie the muscles in her lower back — what she needed for that, she would feel selfish to ask for. Inconsiderate, even. She could barely even stomach his tenderness now, so frightfully aware that she deserved none of it — and yet. ❝Would you … Can you keep your hand there? For a moment.❞ Her lungs seized, torn between breaching the distance and giving him room to breathe. ❝I miss you.❞