[ Safety, saving, protection. They speak in soft terms, idyllic and almost conspiratorial－ as if the things they whisper here are in danger of shattering if spoken too loud or in witness of less gentle, discerning eyes.
And it's nice, that he believes Aerith when she says that she can do these things for him. That she can hold him (a funny mental image, his bulk and charcoal edges tempered by her floral pastels, her thin arms) and give him the space and time to settle into this trust they've built. Not just through necessity, but through a slow dance of understanding.
He likes it, he thinks. Unworthy as he is.
So he nods, twists, and falls. Relents in every way, physical and emotional, the smile on his face as open and vulnerable as the creak of the mattress under them. He still has Aerith held close to his chest, but now they're horizontal on his bedsheets, two disparate but similar souls tangled together. ]
Watch over me, then. [ He laughs; it floats, warm and buoyant. ] Let's rest for a while.
[ Contradicting himself. She can't watch and nap at the same time. But Clive lets her figure out how she wants to manage that, as he nests closer with his arms around Aerith's shoulders, blue eyes shuttering with the smile lingering on relaxed lips.
He hasn't felt so pliant in ages. He drifts like that, and dreams only of flowers and emerald water, of Aerith's palm on his cheek. ]
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flamebrand) wrote2023-10-31 01:24 am
🎀💕!
And it's nice, that he believes Aerith when she says that she can do these things for him. That she can hold him (a funny mental image, his bulk and charcoal edges tempered by her floral pastels, her thin arms) and give him the space and time to settle into this trust they've built. Not just through necessity, but through a slow dance of understanding.
He likes it, he thinks. Unworthy as he is.
So he nods, twists, and falls. Relents in every way, physical and emotional, the smile on his face as open and vulnerable as the creak of the mattress under them. He still has Aerith held close to his chest, but now they're horizontal on his bedsheets, two disparate but similar souls tangled together. ]
Watch over me, then. [ He laughs; it floats, warm and buoyant. ] Let's rest for a while.
[ Contradicting himself. She can't watch and nap at the same time. But Clive lets her figure out how she wants to manage that, as he nests closer with his arms around Aerith's shoulders, blue eyes shuttering with the smile lingering on relaxed lips.
He hasn't felt so pliant in ages. He drifts like that, and dreams only of flowers and emerald water, of Aerith's palm on his cheek. ]