[The funny thing is, she doesn't stop to think for a minute that it's anything but that that's where he is. She has no fear of him luring her anywhere, has no hesitation when she hums an assent and disconnects, to run over and to him.
She knocks, and when he answers, she'll be standing there, without an arm, not really breathing.]
[He opens the door and his cheek is a bruised, painful mess, eye swollen shut, his skin littered with wounds from Rosethorn's attack. He looks like he's been grieving, he looks like he's been lost.
He wants to forgive her, but if he reaches out first he'll feel like a fool, but that's what she does to him. He wants her back.]
[There's a moment where she thinks she's going to be all right, and then her face quite suddenly crumples, and she has to lift her arms fast to hide her expression, against one palm and her forearm, as she fails at every attempt to play it cool, stepping forwards and for the safety of his shoulder.]
[Oh god. The sheer difference between the woman he'd seem a few days ago and the one standing in front of him now is so breathtaking, he can't even try to see that aggression in her anymore. He gently takes her hand and pries it away from her face before he pulls her in, in and into the privacy of his cabin.]
Ssh, now, love-- hush, you're alright. [He talks to her as if she's a spooked horse, but he doesn't know how else to handle her when she's like this.]
[He moves his head so he can press a light kiss to her palm, shaking his head incrementally. He can already not imagine not forgiving her: he has already, even if it's hard to think back on her anger.]
You had her in your head. I forgive you- there was nothing to forgive you for.
[He wraps both arms back around her for a squeeze, and then he pulls her over to the sofa, all plush and warm, so they can lean against each other despite their exhaustion.]
[She falls down with him, unceremoniously, against one another leg a house of cards collapsing. Her ear ends on on his leg, her knee pressed somewhere near his kidneys, as she curls up with her feet wedged in against the back of the sofa.]
I just can't figure out why. [He rests his hand on her head, brushing his fingers through the bristle of her hair. To think that he thought they wouldn't have this anymore, that he imagined she honestly hated him.]
You know, I'm not much for romance, or the dramas between men and women, but I have a very particular feeling about my hair. I think if I kept it long, I could have more men, but as I keep it short, I can have more of the men that I want.
[She says, with a little of the self-assuredness that makes her just who she is. And for that matter, smiling up at him;]
A woman is the very most complimentary thing I could call someone, Shelby.
What kind of men would you want? [He rubs her scalp again, smiling- he understood it for what it was. He just doesn't think the way she does out of instinct, has to work at it.]
The men I want in my bed from now on will be men who see a strong woman and feel an impulse to be near her, and not to knock her down, to make themselves feel stronger. It will please me, not cost me, and I won't cost them. I don't think one person can heal one another, but I think two thoughtful people can make each other momentarily happy. You don't need to sleep together for that.
No. Even if I could find one, the rest of the War Boys know how men are with women. If they perceive me to be under him I'll end up-
Well. I'd have to be firmer in my authority than I ever see myself being, as well as trusting him with my life for even a casual touch. This part of me, it gets left here. But I'm more at peace with that than I expected to be, since I never thought I'd find it to begin with.
Have you had someone, here? Have you wanted anyone like that? [He this is he would have known the answer to the former, but he's not sure about the latter. He hopes, for her, that she'll have that before she goes back to a place where her gender will define her so sharply again.]
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She knocks, and when he answers, she'll be standing there, without an arm, not really breathing.]
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He wants to forgive her, but if he reaches out first he'll feel like a fool, but that's what she does to him. He wants her back.]
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Ssh, now, love-- hush, you're alright. [He talks to her as if she's a spooked horse, but he doesn't know how else to handle her when she's like this.]
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[She points out, when she can manage to get a breath, and straighten up, resting her palm softly against the clean line of his jaw.]
You're so important to me, and I treated you so horribly.
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You had her in your head. I forgive you- there was nothing to forgive you for.
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[She says, again, and leans in and kisses his cheek- again, the unhurt one.]
I wanted so badly to be there for you.
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I don't know why she did it, but I- I'm sorry.
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It must have been about you.
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I'll talk to her. I'll tell you what she says. But you- you should go see the organic for that face.
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I thought-- I couldn't, without you.
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[She promises, turning a bit to look up at him.]
I'm sure of it.
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I love you. You know that, yeah?
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I love you too.
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Because I hear me face is an asset, so I'd like to keep it intact as much as possible.
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[She agrees, with a twitch of a smile.]
You're prettier than me.
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I could take offense to that, you know.
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[She says, with a little of the self-assuredness that makes her just who she is. And for that matter, smiling up at him;]
A woman is the very most complimentary thing I could call someone, Shelby.
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[She says, with a little sigh.]
No. Even if I could find one, the rest of the War Boys know how men are with women. If they perceive me to be under him I'll end up-
Well. I'd have to be firmer in my authority than I ever see myself being, as well as trusting him with my life for even a casual touch. This part of me, it gets left here. But I'm more at peace with that than I expected to be, since I never thought I'd find it to begin with.
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[She says, with a faint smile.]
Maybe some day. I bet you, Lark and Max will have an eye on him.
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