[ At the scrape of her teeth, Hei's gasp comes out strangled; his eyes are half-shuttered, the stubby fan of lashes casting sulky shadows on his cheeks, and a vein at his left temple throbs, seeming to match the ache between his legs. ]
[ With effort, his clenched fingers ease their grip on the sheets. He reaches out as if to grab a handful of Korra's hair, but merely touches the promontory of her cheek with a tracing finger. It's not romantic, and nor is he, not really. But he can afford this. Softness, an open caring in a way that he isn't with other people, because there is every reason not to be. He's used to inverting himself inside-out like a sea-monster, everything tender hidden behind a nest of spikes and venom, and that's fine. That's the only defense he's often had, in order to keep himself intact. ]
[ But he doesn't need to do that here. There's truth, and then there's reality, and this is the easiest way to distill all his feelings about her down into a single touch -- unloaded and honest. ]
no subject
[ With effort, his clenched fingers ease their grip on the sheets. He reaches out as if to grab a handful of Korra's hair, but merely touches the promontory of her cheek with a tracing finger. It's not romantic, and nor is he, not really. But he can afford this. Softness, an open caring in a way that he isn't with other people, because there is every reason not to be. He's used to inverting himself inside-out like a sea-monster, everything tender hidden behind a nest of spikes and venom, and that's fine. That's the only defense he's often had, in order to keep himself intact. ]
[ But he doesn't need to do that here. There's truth, and then there's reality, and this is the easiest way to distill all his feelings about her down into a single touch -- unloaded and honest. ]