ways you said ‘i love you’. / in awe, the first time you realised it.
her knees are wrapped around a tree branch as she crawls upside down along it, head hanging to watch over him as he draws beneath her.
each scratch of his pencil details another line of her face, the soft shades of her blushing cheeks causing him as much strife as they did enjoyment. eraser shavings are littered by his feet and stuck to his fingers before long, turning the slant between his eyebrows into a crease that will remain there for some time.
nug drops down beside him, head cocked to the side in childish wonder. taking some of the rubber from the now-fuzzy page and rolling it absently between her fingers, she asks; “what’s wrong?”
“can’t get your mouth right,” shane huffs in response, tearing the page from the sketchbook and squashing it between his hands. nug watches with a small frown, pulling up grass by the fistfuls to play with.
“why does it matter so much?” her voice is small and piping, so innocent that he winces. he’s got some notion of why the curve of her cheek is so vital to him, why that specific glimmer in her eye can take him hours to sketch correctly -- it’s only when she asks him that the pieces fall into place.
“’cause i love you.” it’s deadpan, first of all, a blunt answer to her inquiry. then, he blinks, a tiny smile blooming on his face. “i love you.” gentler, void of his sharp edges, he turns to her, watches her blink in stunned, unconvinced silence. without letting her respond, he says it again, full of realisation and amazement. “i love you.”