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 Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:53 pm
ghosts
"Hey," said Gale, and he drew her hand towards his face and kissed her fingers. "I'll give it some serious thought, okay? I mean," he added, a little wryly, "I over think things, you know, but..."
His expression softened and he squeezed her hand, trying to figure out how best to convey to her that leaving his house wasn't not a possibility. "It has crossed my mind a few times," Gale admitted. "You know, with you here and me all the way out there by myself. I have thought before about...about taking a room here, so it's not...it's not completely out of the blue."
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:59 pm
tea time
He was breathless and dizzy, and Stormy was crying, but she was holding onto him tightly, and he could feel the emotions in her hands, in the way she looked at him, in the tone of her voice, in everything that was this moment here and now. Gale's arms slid around Stormy's waist and he pulled her against him, buried his face into the crook of her neck where it slid into her shoulder, and for a moment it seemed he was too overwhelmed to even speak.
He held her, his shoulders trembling, and his grip was like iron, but he didn't want to let go.
"I thought..." he whispered. "I mean, I knew, I knew, but..."
Gale trailed off, at a loss for words.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 8:24 pm
monsters inside me
"You did just fine," Stormy assured him, though her face fell. Scary. It was hard to imagine her as anything like that. Crazy, yes, whatever Gale said that was easy to see, but not scary...
She squeezed his fingers in return.
"Let's try to sleep it off."
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 8:29 pm
ghosts
Smiling, she leaned over and kissed him gently. "Overthink on it later, mi cariño. Right now, sleep."
While we still can.
She chose to focus on the fact that it had occurred to Gale already, which both surprised her and made her ridiculously pleased to hear, as she fell back on the pillows and curled up.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 8:51 pm
tea time
She wasn't much help, with her ruddy face and clogged throat and her sudden inability to string coherent words together past her previous apology. It was enough just to be able to breathe even though her chest was still tight with anxiety, still waiting for something to happen now that she broke her own cardinal rule. It wouldn't come today, but some day off in the future, she swore something was going to come and make her regret it.
But for the moment, she could feel bits and pieces of relief slowly seep into her shaking limbs. Two pieces of completely opposing truths had come out; now they wouldn't be eating at her from the inside out.
With a shuddering sigh, she stroked his hair and leaned her head against his, humming softly to show she heard him but didn't know what to say. Everything felt suspended in mid-air, and she couldn't tell if they were frozen mid-fall or just floating, nor did she want to find out just yet. However long Gale needed, she could wait.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 8:56 pm
ghosts
He touched her cheek again (because he seemed incapable of not touching her, as though every little brush of his fingers against her skin, her hand, her face, was a reminder that she was still here and that she was still breathing and still alive and still with him), Gale's eyes fluttering a little.
A soft hum escaped his throat, and he slid an arm around Stormy's waist and pulled her close, closing his eyes.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 8:58 pm
monsters inside me
He still felt like he hadn't, but her reassurance was appreciated nonetheless; and he hated that he'd made her look that way, as though she was crestfallen that he had been frightened. Not frightened of her, but of the terror and sadness in her eyes.
Gale laced their fingers together.
"You sure you don't need anything else?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:31 pm
tea time
He didn't know how long he'd held her, or how long they stayed there in silence, their arms around each other, their eyes probably stinging - Gale's from unshed tears, and Stormy's probably from all the tears she had already shed. It was one thing to know (and he had known, because even if she hadn't said it, she had shown him, and he had trusted her, trusted them); but it was an entirely different thing to actually hear it.
Her fingers were gentle in his hair. Gale pulled back, just enough that he could see her face, and he moved one hand to cradle her cheek tenderly.
"That's, er," he said, with a slightly watery laugh. "the first time anyone's ever...well, I mean, other than my parents, but..."
His thumb brushed beneath her eye, trying to wipe away some of the moisture.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:50 pm
monsters inside me
She wanted to say, No, but what came out was, "Time. Luck. Mercy." Things she doubted the spectre would give her. Even now she could feel a lingering sensation around her neck, like something hovered just beyond her limit of comprehension.
Or maybe she really needed to get a grip.
Slipping her fingers from his, she took his head and kissed first his brow, then his nose, and then finally his lips, her personal form of benediction and protection against what they couldn't hope to stop.
"And sleep."
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:19 pm
tea time
She hummed again and let him wipe her face, though it was futile; the tears had a new reason to keep coming.
Growing sheepish and self-conscious of her display, Stormy began to blush under his touch and swallowed thickly, half-wishing again that she could just melt away. Instead, she leaned a little forward and touched their foreheads, still stroking his hair, and forced herself to meet his gaze after a moment. It had always been admirable to her that Gale had such control over himself, but she could still see the glint of unshed tears and wondered if it was really good for him to hold back. She was starting to see the pros of letting some things go.
She gave him a shaky but affectionate smile, still incapable of finding her words, and then kissed him again, warm and teary still, to look for them, because she was sure he had stolen them somehow and she wouldn't stop until she found them again.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:55 pm
monsters inside me
He wanted to give her all of that, but he lacked the ability to do so, and it was painful. Gale's eyes watched her carefully as she stood there, his expression apprehensive; but her lips brushed over his forehead and the kisses were gentle. Gale's eyes fluttered a little as he drew her hand toward him, pressing his lips to the tips of her fingers.
"Sleep is good," he said softly. "And I'll be with you."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:58 pm
tea time
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't still thinking of what she had said; if the three simple words weren't held carefully inside of his thoughts like they were something precious to be remembered (which they were, they absolutely were). Here, with Stormy's forehead pressed against his, the feel of her hands, the warm and reassuring touch of her lips against his, Gale closed his eyes and something damp streaked down his cheek, first on the left, and then on the right.
He didn't seem to even realize that he'd failed in his attempts at not crying, his hands cradling Stormy's face tenderly, smoothing gentle and soft fingers along her jaw.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:16 pm
monsters inside me
"Goes without saying now," she said with a sleepy smile. She tapped a finger against his lips before gingerly crawling onto the bed, lying on her back rather than curling up for the moment. It was still a little too hot, so she stayed above the covers.
"Hope it isn't contagious..." Well it was a little late to be thinking that now, but still. "Try and get some sleep, Galestorm."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:58 pm
tea time
She sank deep into the kiss in her search, her mouth curling more and more into a smile until eventually Stormy couldn't stop herself. A soft chuckle was the first to come out, and then a second as she stroked his hair, and by the time the third came she had tilted her head so that they were still in touch but no longer quite kissing. She gave a few watery laughs for no reason, the way some people got giddy or punch drunk and suddenly thought everything was funny.
"I love you," she whispered, sniffling and smiling gently at the tears falling from his face. She cherished the rare opportunity to return the favor for once and wiped them away with her thumb, giving another shaky laugh. "I love you, Gale Gentry, a-and I'm so sorry about what you'll have to deal with in the future 'cause've it."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:04 pm
monsters inside me
Gale waited until she was settled before he sat down beside her on the bed. He didn't lay down just yet, but instead pulled one leg up and reached toward Stormy, trailing his fingers down the inside of her wrist, down her fingers, and back up again. They were absent gestures, idle movements, his touch light and not pressured.
"I wish I could give you good dreams," he told her softly, and then he squeezed her fingers lightly.
"You sleep first," Gale said gently. "I'll sleep in a bit."
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