[She says it lightly enough that it could be true, but there's a gentle brush of her thumb as she clears his tears away too, the touch careful but fleeting, a silent acknowledgement of the pain he must be feeling without calling it out or forcing him to face it.
The saddest part of this is that it isn't the first time she's experienced this kind of reaction to someone taking the time to take care of them. During her time in the fire lands her group had spent a large amount of time caring for the sick and the dying and she herself had helped to wash and feed them, desperate to do anything to lift the burden of her father's lax rule. So much had fallen apart, but she had learned she was good at comforting hurting people. That it felt good to do it.
She takes her time to get every trace of red off him, even the little bit that settled in his hair, and when she's done, she clicks her tongue in pretend concern.]
Oh, there's some on your back too.
[This is a lie, an excuse to put her arms around his shoulders and hug him, very very gently. They still don't know each other very well at all but she's never been very good at seeing someone in obvious pain and doing nothing about it.]
no subject
[She says it lightly enough that it could be true, but there's a gentle brush of her thumb as she clears his tears away too, the touch careful but fleeting, a silent acknowledgement of the pain he must be feeling without calling it out or forcing him to face it.
The saddest part of this is that it isn't the first time she's experienced this kind of reaction to someone taking the time to take care of them. During her time in the fire lands her group had spent a large amount of time caring for the sick and the dying and she herself had helped to wash and feed them, desperate to do anything to lift the burden of her father's lax rule. So much had fallen apart, but she had learned she was good at comforting hurting people. That it felt good to do it.
She takes her time to get every trace of red off him, even the little bit that settled in his hair, and when she's done, she clicks her tongue in pretend concern.]
Oh, there's some on your back too.
[This is a lie, an excuse to put her arms around his shoulders and hug him, very very gently. They still don't know each other very well at all but she's never been very good at seeing someone in obvious pain and doing nothing about it.]