Comfort

Pine stormed down the corridor, her anxious footsteps clanging against the unstable metal tiles. She refused to take any weight off her bruised leg, but it only ended up making her stumble when a tile came loose, causing her to nearly crumple onto the unforgiving floor. Instead however she crumpled against a pair of sturdier arms, she caught the warm but not unpleasant smell of what she could only describe as sunshine...not unlike the smell of hot, baked pavement on a summer's day.

"You alright?" She hurriedly got her bearings, but her hazel eyes caught his, golden brown. They seemed to emit warmth, just like the rest of him. From his tanned, freckled skin to his golden curly locks, every part seemed to be saturated in sunlight. "-Fi-ne." She managed to choke out after she cleared her throat, pushing herself away to dust herself off. "Just fine." An awkward pause came after her statement before he spoke up softly. "..You sure?"

Test "John, I'm- I'm fine." She sighed, putting her hands down. "You don't seem fine-" "-Did you mean it??" She cut him off abruptly with her question, staring back at him. John seemed taken by surprise, looking up awkwardly. "..Mean..what?" "When you were telling me to get back up. You said you'd refuse to let me stay like that...you said you wouldn't go without me." John stopped, an embarrassed look crossing his face. "You heard that, then-?" "...Yeah, I kinda did."

"..Weeell it's- complicated- see-" He sighed, wringing his hands like he did every time he was embarrassed. Pine frowned, her hazel eyes darkening as he struggled to explain, his face reddening. "...No." She cut him off again, shaking her head. "No, I'm done with that. Peter was enough. Gage was enough." Her throat became hoarse and quickly turned to leave, whipping her ponytail back.

Test She stopped, feeling his hand grip against hers. "But I'm not Peter-" She glanced back at him, her expression pained at his raw honesty, his innocent hopefulness. "John, /no/. I'm /tired/ of this. This can't happen! I'm not a normal human, I'm a weird freak of nature-" "So am I!" He interrupted this time, grasping her other hand. She paused in surprise, her eyes widening. John sighed, his gaze averting to the floor.

"Look, you're not the only 'freak of nature' out there. ...Maybe the reason you're so tired is because you've just-- never had the right guy- right?" Pine tilted her head, her brow creased. "And what makes you think /you're/ right?" "You tell me." He offered weakly. "I'm just the guy who held onto you after you snapped at my dad- stayed out of the way when I thought you had what was best- and...I'm here right now.."

He had little time to finish his rambling; she already pressed her lips against his, melting into his warmth, tears pouring down her face.