He kept telling himself he didn't know why he stayed. Why he was here. Why he didn't leave. Maybe it was because he had nothing else. Maybe it was because of what was here. But probably because he had nothing else.
He had nothing here.
There was something different with her tonight, though. She hadn't even noticed him watching her for this long, from this distance. She was normally better atuned to when he was looking at her. Or seemed to be, based on how quickly she would turn and stare right back with that deadly dare in her narrowed eyes. More like a don't you dare think about it but that kinda counted too, he figured.
He frowned, leaning against a wall of cliff on one of the higher levels, watching her and idly chewing on a strand of who-knows-what. He was fuckin' bored, hadn't he mentioned that a time or two?
She damn well bolted. Slipped so swiftly into one of those shallow caves, and he straighted with a deeper frown. He searched the direction she'd come from, but he'd been staring right at her for how long now? And he confirmed that nothing was chasing her, hunting her down like he was a little afraid something might some day. Maybe that was why he was still here...
Nah.
He followed at a casual pace, keeping silent. By the time he got down to ground level and stood at the doorway of her little nook it had begun raining, the sky dark with storm. For a long moment he only stood there, looking down at her with streams of water slipping down over his body, washing the blood off. It pattered softly on his armor, and the thunder was still yet a good ways off and gentle.
Lightning flashed and lit behind him, shined brightly over her for just long enough that he was able to get a clear view cemented into his memory. Of this image he never wanted to see again.
Then he stepped forward, lowered himself at her side without a word. He shifted to get comfortable, reached over her to tug her in against him whether she liked it or not. With a firm nudge, he tipped her face towards him to examine her, silently cursing that she'd managed to hurt herself even that little bit. A scrape across her cheek from the sharp rock wall. He'd probably get the blame for it tomorrow.
It didn't stop him from cleaning it with a careful tongue anyway.
She was sort of a hopeless girl in ways she'd never admit and he'd never tell.
She wouldn't feel like talking, he was pretty sure. And this was going to be one of those times where they pretended it never happened. They'd done that before on their crazy adventure, did she remember. So he held her in silence, because silence is easier to pretend it hadn't happened. No memories of a conversation. He listened to the rainfall, drowning out the rest of the world for a time, for a night. He counted the seconds between the lightning and the following thunder.
He held her against a steady heart beat.
One she already knew.
But they'd never tell.
we're slaves to any semblance of touch
Lord, we should quit but we love it too much
