[ She's crying, and trying to put on a brave face, all because some dirtbag didn't know how to treat a woman (or anyone) right.
John feels a familiar helplessness in his need to make it better, and the knowledge that he isn't sure that he can. ]
Ah, hell...
[ It's not what they usually do, it's certainly on the wrong side of the line he keeps trying to stay on the right side of, but he pulls her into his arms anyway to hold her. Maybe she doesn't really need it, but he does. ]
( While she's a little startled initially, that barely lasts a second. The gesture's a sweet one, regardless of how he maybe means it, and Mallaidh finds she's incapable of letting it be one sided.
Returning most embraces comes naturally to her; she's a very physical person, generally speaking, yet even still, it's surprising to her how easily she returns this particular one. John has of course had a wall up around her since they met, and she's gotten used to that. It's like they've been talking to one another from either side of it, occasionally seeing one another through the odd missing brick here and there.
This feels like they've wandered across a larger break in the wall, and by now, it feels right to linger there a bit, arms coming around a broad back as fingers softly curl into his shirt, still damp from the sea.
So sue her, she wants to enjoy this a bit before he realises what he's doing, and pushes her away to start filling the cracks back in. )
( That surprises her almost as much as the hug; of course, things have changed between them since their first, stormy meeting, but she never quite expected him to say something like that.
That's not to say she doesn't appreciate it, because she sincerely does. So much so that, when she finally pulls away, it's not completely. Just enough for the fingertips of one hand to come up to his jaw, barely touching him as she presses a small kiss to the opposite cheek. )
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sweetestheart) wrote2020-09-20 02:00 pm
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John feels a familiar helplessness in his need to make it better, and the knowledge that he isn't sure that he can. ]
Ah, hell...
[ It's not what they usually do, it's certainly on the wrong side of the line he keeps trying to stay on the right side of, but he pulls her into his arms anyway to hold her. Maybe she doesn't really need it, but he does. ]
no subject
( While she's a little startled initially, that barely lasts a second. The gesture's a sweet one, regardless of how he maybe means it, and Mallaidh finds she's incapable of letting it be one sided.
Returning most embraces comes naturally to her; she's a very physical person, generally speaking, yet even still, it's surprising to her how easily she returns this particular one. John has of course had a wall up around her since they met, and she's gotten used to that. It's like they've been talking to one another from either side of it, occasionally seeing one another through the odd missing brick here and there.
This feels like they've wandered across a larger break in the wall, and by now, it feels right to linger there a bit, arms coming around a broad back as fingers softly curl into his shirt, still damp from the sea.
So sue her, she wants to enjoy this a bit before he realises what he's doing, and pushes her away to start filling the cracks back in. )
no subject
[ He speaks in a low growl, his arms tightening around Mallaidh as if to shield her from anything that might try to hurt her. ]
no subject
( That surprises her almost as much as the hug; of course, things have changed between them since their first, stormy meeting, but she never quite expected him to say something like that.
That's not to say she doesn't appreciate it, because she sincerely does. So much so that, when she finally pulls away, it's not completely. Just enough for the fingertips of one hand to come up to his jaw, barely touching him as she presses a small kiss to the opposite cheek. )