She draws that kiss out, hand gentle against his cheek and lips moving slow and soft over his. It feels like it's been months since they did this when it's only been weeks, but it's warm and gentle and it's not the kind of kiss that has to stop because her body is too unwell to keep going, to be pushed any more than a few sweet kisses.
When he pulls back her eyes are alert and warm instead of drooping with exhaustion, there's a hint of pink in her cheeks instead of paleness, and her lips are just a little red from their kissing instead of blue. More than anything, she just looks happy and his expression is one that matches hers almost exactly. She takes his hand, leads him over to the sofa so they can sit.
"Did you go to see Alfie yet?" He asks her when they're settled in. He's
pulled her up against him, still used to wanting to give her his body
heat-- but it's comfortable too.
It's very comfortable and once they're settled, Rey has curled herself right up on the couch against his side.
"I went there first," she says, because of course she did. Partly because she wants to give Alfie that kind of support, make sure he knows he will come first in emergencies, but also partly because now she has the excuse to stay here, right here, until some other crisis pops up.
"He seemed upset when you were in your coma," she tells him, and her voice sounds incredibly fond when she says it. Of course, there were other factors to his bad mood that day, but Tommy being out of commission had absolutely had an effect on him. "He probably feels like he still owes you a punch or two for that."
It is a surprise, but less because she thinks he should know he's a pleasant person to be around and more because it seems like it's made him uncomfortable.
She knows the both of them take getting used to, there's not much pleasant about either of them on the surface, but at his core Tommy is a good man. Still, if he's uncomfortable she won't find it hard to change the subject for him.
"That is very true." She agrees gravely, smoothing her hand along his cheek. "And your ego is not the size of a mountain at all."
"A very reasonably sized hill," he agrees, shifting to kiss the palm of her hand and smiling against her skin. God, it's good to have her back-- it's so good to see her healthy and happy, the way he knows her.
It comes out abruptly, sudden enough that she surprises herself with how easy it is to say, but before now the only time she'd ever said it to him had been when she was sick, half asleep, with a body that looked like it was closer to dying than making it through the next few weeks.
Saying it now, it feels different. Filled with promise instead of trying to escape something terrible, something that lets them look toward that future they had so easily started to plan out. It's better, this time, and she smiles at him in a way she doesn't for anyone else.
This time, he grins just as wide, but he hasn't just come out of a two-week coma, she isn't shivering up against him. He puts his hands on her cheeks and smooths his thumbs over her cheekbones, and rests their foreheads together.
"I love you too. I never thought I'd meet a woman like you-- I had to come all the way here to do it." And he's honestly amazed by that, that it happened to him.
She feels a certain amount of pride, honestly, for being the woman that was able to help Tommy move on from his past. She knows he's happier now, she and everyone else on the Barge can see it, and she doesn't mind the idea that she was a part of why that is. He was able to put his faith in her, to trust that she wouldn't hurt him like he had been before, and learning to be the sort of person who could do that hasn't been easy.
It's taken months, and now it's fallen into place so perfectly it's like they really were just waiting to come here to find each other.
"I think that's why, even when things have been terrible here, I haven't been able to say I hate being here." She admits, and even the gesture of bumping her nose against his is so foreign a concept that when she does it now, it feels silly and a little dumb and something she has to do anyway because she just likes him that much. "For everything that has gone wrong, it gave me the chance to meet you. It's all been worth it."
"You have awful taste, but I won't talk you out of it," he jokes weakly, leaning in to press their lips together again. He wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into a half-hug, just resting together as he lets himself bask in this feeling, this happiness.
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When he pulls back her eyes are alert and warm instead of drooping with exhaustion, there's a hint of pink in her cheeks instead of paleness, and her lips are just a little red from their kissing instead of blue. More than anything, she just looks happy and his expression is one that matches hers almost exactly. She takes his hand, leads him over to the sofa so they can sit.
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"Did you go to see Alfie yet?" He asks her when they're settled in. He's pulled her up against him, still used to wanting to give her his body heat-- but it's comfortable too.
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"I went there first," she says, because of course she did. Partly because she wants to give Alfie that kind of support, make sure he knows he will come first in emergencies, but also partly because now she has the excuse to stay here, right here, until some other crisis pops up.
"Did you go see him too?"
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"I can't wait to ask him about it. I'm sure he missed me."
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And that's a powder keg just waiting to explode if Tommy brings up that day in a way that doesn't sit right for Alfie.
More important, though, is that sweet fleeting kiss he gives her. She smiles up at him, catches his chin and pulls him down for a more direct kiss.
"It wasn't just him that missed you. There are a lot of people who care about you."
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"I'm a very charming sort of man," he says, at a loss for anything else to say.
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She knows the both of them take getting used to, there's not much pleasant about either of them on the surface, but at his core Tommy is a good man. Still, if he's uncomfortable she won't find it hard to change the subject for him.
"That is very true." She agrees gravely, smoothing her hand along his cheek. "And your ego is not the size of a mountain at all."
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It comes out abruptly, sudden enough that she surprises herself with how easy it is to say, but before now the only time she'd ever said it to him had been when she was sick, half asleep, with a body that looked like it was closer to dying than making it through the next few weeks.
Saying it now, it feels different. Filled with promise instead of trying to escape something terrible, something that lets them look toward that future they had so easily started to plan out. It's better, this time, and she smiles at him in a way she doesn't for anyone else.
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"I love you too. I never thought I'd meet a woman like you-- I had to come all the way here to do it." And he's honestly amazed by that, that it happened to him.
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It's taken months, and now it's fallen into place so perfectly it's like they really were just waiting to come here to find each other.
"I think that's why, even when things have been terrible here, I haven't been able to say I hate being here." She admits, and even the gesture of bumping her nose against his is so foreign a concept that when she does it now, it feels silly and a little dumb and something she has to do anyway because she just likes him that much. "For everything that has gone wrong, it gave me the chance to meet you. It's all been worth it."
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