[ She leans in to kiss him, and Hei makes a clasp of his arms to keep her close. Part of him is unsure if it's surface affection, just a ploy to ensure she doesn't skitter away -- or if it's the quietly desperate need for a simple press of her warmth against his. He can't sense any real anxiety kicking up her pulse: her eyes, glinting up at his, are clear and bright, shaded only by a sense of caution. She's probably picked up the undercurrents vibrating in the wake of Asami's departure. She's pieced two and two together. Now she's trying to determine how he feels about it. ]
[ Hei wishes he could give her a simple answer. Any other man would be stewing with anger and resentment. But he doesn't feel entitled to any of those emotions. He was gone for three years. He has no right to interrogate or threaten or throw tantrums -- even as a bone-deep, feral part of him can envisage leaping after everyone she's been involved with, beating them to a pulp, snarling Mine, mine, mine. ]
[ He tells that part, viciously, to shut up. ]
[ The look he gives Korra is soft, but somehow assessing. As if taking both their emotional temperature. Then, with a little indrawn breath, he gathers her closer, letting his forehead rest gently against hers for a moment. Watches their hair tangle at the tips, warmth seeping and growing everywhere they touch, melting his concerns down to nothing but a cold hard little kernel. But it's bothersome, all the same. Like that stupid story of the princess and the pea. ]
[ Softly, ]
I want to know if you're okay with this. Having me back. Because you don't have to do this out of some obligation.
[ Worries he's voiced before, but which need to be alleviated. The sheen of his return may wear off in time. Korra may start feeling as if he's in the way, unnecessary, her feelings for him cooling from embers to effigies as days pass and clarity encroaches. ]
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Date: 2014-12-31 03:31 am (UTC)[ Hei wishes he could give her a simple answer. Any other man would be stewing with anger and resentment. But he doesn't feel entitled to any of those emotions. He was gone for three years. He has no right to interrogate or threaten or throw tantrums -- even as a bone-deep, feral part of him can envisage leaping after everyone she's been involved with, beating them to a pulp, snarling Mine, mine, mine. ]
[ He tells that part, viciously, to shut up. ]
[ The look he gives Korra is soft, but somehow assessing. As if taking both their emotional temperature. Then, with a little indrawn breath, he gathers her closer, letting his forehead rest gently against hers for a moment. Watches their hair tangle at the tips, warmth seeping and growing everywhere they touch, melting his concerns down to nothing but a cold hard little kernel. But it's bothersome, all the same. Like that stupid story of the princess and the pea. ]
[ Softly, ]
I want to know if you're okay with this. Having me back. Because you don't have to do this out of some obligation.
[ Worries he's voiced before, but which need to be alleviated. The sheen of his return may wear off in time. Korra may start feeling as if he's in the way, unnecessary, her feelings for him cooling from embers to effigies as days pass and clarity encroaches. ]