She was happy, with just that. A welcome spot amongst his family, as he was in hers. It may not have been closure, but it was something more than just letting it hang. She allowed herself to smile a little more, her gaze drifting to Orek and Dink. She was, admittedly, not surprised at the outcome. Laura had wanted to arrest Gorman, and sometimes she felt like she was the only one who remembered that.
She didn't say anything to them, Orek seemed dejected enough over that woman, he did not need her commentary.
Besides she was having a good conversation with Gareth, which called to her attention much more than anything else did. "And you." She commented, firmly, fingers reaching up before she hesitated briefly. It was hard to tell if it was because she thought better of it, or because they were in company, but seeing the others distracted she let her fingers touch the scarred skin of his face. "If you come back with another one of these I might not be able to leave you alone." It was a tease, though her words belied an evident worry.
There were never any promises of anyone making it back.
Gareth stretched, interlacing his fingers and pushing them outwards, bending his fingers backwards. "Guess I'd better get ready." He smiled, his excitement at getting to do something large, something truly gigantic, evident on his face. "I'll be sure to take eyes off you," he promised. "But I'll be stuck here, so you've got to be careful. Understand? Don't take him lightly. We don't know what's really going on here and things could go from bad to worse before you know it."
And then she touched him. Before his absence from the group, Gareth would have flinched away from her hand, or perhaps closed his eyes tight. He wouldn't have been able to so much as look at her.
Now he met her gaze, eyes locked and full of compassion. He reached up and pressed her hand to his face, accepting and encouraging it. "No guarantees," he agreed. "So--"
And Gareth's other hand slid around the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. Brief, easy for the rest of the group to miss. Their lips were only touching for a second, but to Gareth it felt like a lot longer. It had been a long time coming.
Everything she was seemed to soften, so much at that moment, including the look in her eyes. The kiss was brief, but she could still feel his lips against hers long after he had pulled back. So many different things seemed to make so much more sense now. The feeling in her chest among others. She nodded, and for a few seconds, she was at a loss for words. Finally, a smile touched her lips, the soft, chilled pad of her thumb lightly caressing his cheek.
"Now you must be safe." She spoke softer, more intimately, a secret between the two of them before she forced herself to withdraw her hand. She didn't want to be caught standing there, staring up at him longingly with her hand on his face. There were important matters to attend to, and this wasn't the distraction their team needed. "Because I intend to return that back to you, upon our return."
They shared a moment more of closeness, of long-awaited intimacy, both of them perhaps finally coming to put a name to how they felt when they looked at each other. It would have been obvious to others in their situation--and maybe was obvious to those around them--but neither were what you might consider particularly mature in these matters. No, Winter was famously naive and although Gareth was worldly he himself was clueless about matters of love. But it seemed a great deal had changed.
He drank in the sight of her so soft and so warm, and he thought it was the sweetest thing he had ever seen.
"I can't wait," he said honestly. "Come back soon." The look he gave her was the kind a drowning man might give to a plank of wood that owed him a kiss.
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She didn't say anything to them, Orek seemed dejected enough over that woman, he did not need her commentary.
Besides she was having a good conversation with Gareth, which called to her attention much more than anything else did. "And you." She commented, firmly, fingers reaching up before she hesitated briefly. It was hard to tell if it was because she thought better of it, or because they were in company, but seeing the others distracted she let her fingers touch the scarred skin of his face. "If you come back with another one of these I might not be able to leave you alone." It was a tease, though her words belied an evident worry.
There were never any promises of anyone making it back.
no subject
And then she touched him.
Before his absence from the group, Gareth would have flinched away from her hand, or perhaps closed his eyes tight. He wouldn't have been able to so much as look at her.
Now he met her gaze, eyes locked and full of compassion. He reached up and pressed her hand to his face, accepting and encouraging it. "No guarantees," he agreed. "So--"
And Gareth's other hand slid around the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. Brief, easy for the rest of the group to miss. Their lips were only touching for a second, but to Gareth it felt like a lot longer. It had been a long time coming.
"Just in case," he murmured, and shrugged.
no subject
"Now you must be safe." She spoke softer, more intimately, a secret between the two of them before she forced herself to withdraw her hand. She didn't want to be caught standing there, staring up at him longingly with her hand on his face. There were important matters to attend to, and this wasn't the distraction their team needed. "Because I intend to return that back to you, upon our return."
no subject
He drank in the sight of her so soft and so warm, and he thought it was the sweetest thing he had ever seen.
"I can't wait," he said honestly.
"Come back soon."
The look he gave her was the kind a drowning man might give to a plank of wood that owed him a kiss.