07-25-2016, 10:41 PM
I love the way Tiernan touches the people he loves, the unrestrained affection in the brush of lips against skin, the warmth of his embrace. It’s always been like that, and it’s always made me feel so at ease with him, so comfortable and comforted and close. I’ve missed that. Oh, I get cuddles from my grandbabies, even from my kids when I’m lucky. But it’s not the same as a friend’s embrace, and I’ve so few of those left these days.
Still, there’s a difference in the way he touches me, an intimacy that’s different from what I have with other friends, but different too from what I had with Nocturnal. That was fire burning bright every time I saw her, every time I touched her, every time I so much as thought about her. Wildfire raging unchecked, burning hot and fast and bright. This is something quieter, warm and soft and gentle. A cozy glow that lights up my chest.
That lovely brogue of his, speaking familiar syllables I don’t need to know the meaning of to know that they are endearments, helps bring the smile back to my face after thinking about old sorrows. His laugh does even more, chasing away the last of it and leaving delight in its wake.
“I spent a long time wandering too,” I confess, “and not all of it so lovely. Oh, the last while before I returned, that was spent in a jungle not too unlike the one here, exploring some of my more complicated gifts with people who shared aspects of them. Before that...well. It was a dark time for me.” Shadows at the edge of my vision, darkness haunting my dreams, and a vague suspicion that it wasn’t the last dark time in my life. “I suppose I’ve had a lot of that, and I doubt it’s over yet, especially being back here. Still.”
I look into the rich brown depths of his eyes, and that warm happy glow in my chest brightens just a little. “My gut told me it was time to be here too. Just like it told me to stay put instead of wandering off with my family just now.” Is it silly that I already miss the warmth of his skin? So I sidle up to him and tuck myself up against his side, brushing my cheek against the smooth expanse of his neck. “ And I’m damn glad it did.”
Still, there’s a difference in the way he touches me, an intimacy that’s different from what I have with other friends, but different too from what I had with Nocturnal. That was fire burning bright every time I saw her, every time I touched her, every time I so much as thought about her. Wildfire raging unchecked, burning hot and fast and bright. This is something quieter, warm and soft and gentle. A cozy glow that lights up my chest.
That lovely brogue of his, speaking familiar syllables I don’t need to know the meaning of to know that they are endearments, helps bring the smile back to my face after thinking about old sorrows. His laugh does even more, chasing away the last of it and leaving delight in its wake.
“I spent a long time wandering too,” I confess, “and not all of it so lovely. Oh, the last while before I returned, that was spent in a jungle not too unlike the one here, exploring some of my more complicated gifts with people who shared aspects of them. Before that...well. It was a dark time for me.” Shadows at the edge of my vision, darkness haunting my dreams, and a vague suspicion that it wasn’t the last dark time in my life. “I suppose I’ve had a lot of that, and I doubt it’s over yet, especially being back here. Still.”
I look into the rich brown depths of his eyes, and that warm happy glow in my chest brightens just a little. “My gut told me it was time to be here too. Just like it told me to stay put instead of wandering off with my family just now.” Is it silly that I already miss the warmth of his skin? So I sidle up to him and tuck myself up against his side, brushing my cheek against the smooth expanse of his neck. “ And I’m damn glad it did.”