[He feels her pushing away from him—not just physically but...emotionally as well. He could just let it go, it wouldn't be that unusual. It's not like he tried very hard to keep close connections until more recently, and it wouldn't be wrong for her to want some space. Yet because she's crying again, upset over...something again, he can't seem to let it go.
So before the hand that's on his chest is able to move away, his own covers it, stopping her from pulling away any further.]
Tifa.
[His voice is a low rumble as his other hand reaches back to lightly touch her face, making her look at him. Instead of responding to what she said, he just stares at her, his expression loosening a bit to something a little...worried. Uncertain.]
...I don't normally comfort people like this so I don't really know what I should do or what would be right for you. What I do know is... [That he doesn't like seeing her like this. That it bothers him more than it should and he doesn't know why. That he prefers when she's smiling and not trying to put up a front. That he wants to stop it but he has no idea how.] ...You don't need to hide it...at least not from me.
[Instead of saying his true thoughts, he pulls her back to him, his arms encircling her firmly so that she can't push away from him too easily.]
So just use me. I'll...be here for you.
[He wanted to say "always," but he knows far too well that he can't make that kind of promise. Not when no one knows when they could leave this place. Besides, that's probably too...heavy of a promise. Too "intimate." But at least this much—at least being there for her when she needs it for as long as he's able. He can do at least that much.
...No, he wants to be the one. To be the one that's with her when she's feeling so vulnerable and alone, to be the one to provide her comfort and the only one to see her like this. It's a strange feeling and he won't think about it right now...or rather, he already has an inkling of what it is and has been both unconsciously and consciously suppressing it. But right now that's what's currently pulsing through him the longer he holds her like this.
And the longer he holds her, the more his conviction to keep his usual distance wavers.]
no subject
So before the hand that's on his chest is able to move away, his own covers it, stopping her from pulling away any further.]
Tifa.
[His voice is a low rumble as his other hand reaches back to lightly touch her face, making her look at him. Instead of responding to what she said, he just stares at her, his expression loosening a bit to something a little...worried. Uncertain.]
...I don't normally comfort people like this so I don't really know what I should do or what would be right for you. What I do know is... [That he doesn't like seeing her like this. That it bothers him more than it should and he doesn't know why. That he prefers when she's smiling and not trying to put up a front. That he wants to stop it but he has no idea how.] ...You don't need to hide it...at least not from me.
[Instead of saying his true thoughts, he pulls her back to him, his arms encircling her firmly so that she can't push away from him too easily.]
So just use me. I'll...be here for you.
[He wanted to say "always," but he knows far too well that he can't make that kind of promise. Not when no one knows when they could leave this place. Besides, that's probably too...heavy of a promise. Too "intimate." But at least this much—at least being there for her when she needs it for as long as he's able. He can do at least that much.
...No, he wants to be the one. To be the one that's with her when she's feeling so vulnerable and alone, to be the one to provide her comfort and the only one to see her like this. It's a strange feeling and he won't think about it right now...or rather, he already has an inkling of what it is and has been both unconsciously and consciously suppressing it. But right now that's what's currently pulsing through him the longer he holds her like this.
And the longer he holds her, the more his conviction to keep his usual distance wavers.]