Percy's shoulder tenses under her touch; by instinct, he turns his face away. A moment later, silently calling himself a coward, he forces himself to look her in the eyes. Her face is blurry, but it's not incomprehensible, and what he can see of her expression seems...not unkind. His, meanwhile, is a squinty sort of embarrassment, but he's forcing himself not to shrink back from any of this.
He doesn't actually want to pull away, is the thing - or to leave, or to beg off debauching themselves once he no longer smells like his decaying cellmate. (She really does seem committed to the possibility of debauchery, after all.) If he's honest with himself, and at the moment that's a big ask, he wants nothing less than to reach for her hand and set it back on his shoulder. He wants the proof of her interest to radiate from her palm into his skin. He didn't realize how badly he wanted someone to touch him until someone did.
"I -" Keep starting sentences without knowing how to finish them. Try again, de Rolo. He draws in a breath, sharp and deliberate. "I'm not opposed to a...multisensory approach. But if you're interested, I'll make a proper visual study later, when I've got my glasses on again."
Dear God, it's a mystery how he manages to sound both forward and stuffy at the same time. But he really is trying.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2025-01-10 09:46 pm (UTC)He doesn't actually want to pull away, is the thing - or to leave, or to beg off debauching themselves once he no longer smells like his decaying cellmate. (She really does seem committed to the possibility of debauchery, after all.) If he's honest with himself, and at the moment that's a big ask, he wants nothing less than to reach for her hand and set it back on his shoulder. He wants the proof of her interest to radiate from her palm into his skin. He didn't realize how badly he wanted someone to touch him until someone did.
"I -" Keep starting sentences without knowing how to finish them. Try again, de Rolo. He draws in a breath, sharp and deliberate. "I'm not opposed to a...multisensory approach. But if you're interested, I'll make a proper visual study later, when I've got my glasses on again."
Dear God, it's a mystery how he manages to sound both forward and stuffy at the same time. But he really is trying.