[ if her words had thrown him off balance before, she might as well have ripped the floor out from underneath him with those. he balks, sucks in a sharp breath, and takes a single step back, when she says it. love. nobody but gamzee and kanaya has told him they love him, and gamzee's idea of a love confession is something more of a veiled threat -- and kanaya's, a method of self flagellation.
he's never heard it said so simply.
part of him wants to reject it, a knee-jerk response, because he doesn't deserve it, because she could take it back, because he could lose her again and this time she might not come back, there are a thousand reasons to throw it back in her face, or sidestep it, and keep shouting at her, go along as though she'd never said it.
instead of reacting the way his instincts prompt him to, though, in the end he responds with one, small word. ]
Why? [ quiet, vulnerable; he sounds very young. it isn't clear exactly what he's asking for an explanation for. ]
no subject
he's never heard it said so simply.
part of him wants to reject it, a knee-jerk response, because he doesn't deserve it, because she could take it back, because he could lose her again and this time she might not come back, there are a thousand reasons to throw it back in her face, or sidestep it, and keep shouting at her, go along as though she'd never said it.
instead of reacting the way his instincts prompt him to, though, in the end he responds with one, small word. ]
Why? [ quiet, vulnerable; he sounds very young. it isn't clear exactly what he's asking for an explanation for. ]