The emotion that built within his chest at her agreement, at the smile on those red lips and the brightness of her eyes was one that he hardly recognized. It would have been novel in isolation to be able to feel genuinely pleased or happy that to have it in such intensity was all but overwhelming. It had him simply looking at her and unable to look away, thinking nothing of the wrongs and rights and complications inherent in who he or she or they might have been, what they knew of themselves and each other.
He understood that those long-caged feelings that were held then in his chest and felt as if they might burst out of him were his alone. Even had she remembered those few days so long ago, there had been nothing spoken other than that he could only have borne the weight of his sacrifice if he knew that she, Snow and the Pack were safe.
Still, though he was little more than a distant acquaintance to her, he could not help but hope. There had been too little hope for him.
"I'm the only lawman you know," he told her, taking a twist on his early words and allowing them to settle through him easy enough. Whatever else he might be and might have been, he thought he'd indulge in the warm glow of her respect for as long as it might last. "Even here, I just signed up for a job in security."
no subject
He understood that those long-caged feelings that were held then in his chest and felt as if they might burst out of him were his alone. Even had she remembered those few days so long ago, there had been nothing spoken other than that he could only have borne the weight of his sacrifice if he knew that she, Snow and the Pack were safe.
Still, though he was little more than a distant acquaintance to her, he could not help but hope. There had been too little hope for him.
"I'm the only lawman you know," he told her, taking a twist on his early words and allowing them to settle through him easy enough. Whatever else he might be and might have been, he thought he'd indulge in the warm glow of her respect for as long as it might last. "Even here, I just signed up for a job in security."