Work Text:
Day 2: Separation Anxiety / Titans
It started with a touch on her wrist.
His slender fingers slowly wrapped around her wrist, the tips mapping the skin ever so gently as if memorizing the little details. When she looked up at his face, a small crease was formed in the middle of his eyes, which had a hint of small worry swirling in them, before it slowly dissolved into gentle relief.
Whenever she would ask, he would only say, “Nothing,” with a gentle smile before letting her go.
It took a week for her to realize he was looking for her pulse.
Next was her hair.
Gentle fingers caressed the silver strands absentmindedly. It seemed like he didn’t notice he was even doing it until March or Himeko pointed it out to him, then he would abruptly pull his hand away. But the moment they were alone, his fingers drew back to her hair, each digit carefully stroking thick strands as if smoothing out the knots.
Whenever she would ask, he would only look away and mumble a small “Sorry.”
She never did figure out why he’d do it.
Then, he started caressing her cheek.
A slow, tender caress of his knuckle against her slowly reddening cheek. Her wide golden eyes stared at his gentle turquoise ones that flickered between sadness and affection. For a few moments, it seemed like he was stuck in a trance, as if trying to memorize her features in his mind. Sometimes, she saw his eyes seeing something else, like a tragedy masked in her face.
Whenever she would ask, he would only stare at her for five more seconds before turning away with a small shake of his head.
She never got an answer, but she had an idea of what it was.
Finally, he was staying in her room more often now.
This was nothing unusual, as she had broken into his room multiple times whenever she had nightmares. Then he would accompany her back to her room and stay there until she fell asleep. His presence always comforted her in ways that made her heart race and stop at the same time.
But two weeks after they got back from Amphoreus, he started going to her room without her asking him to. There, a comfortable silence would fall between them. He would either sit by the kitchen island as he helped himself with some snacks or watch her play games on her phone or computer. Then, when she would decide to finally hit the sack, he’d sit by her side until she fell asleep.
His fingers slowly travelled from her wrist to her hair, then finally to her cheek. Sometimes he’d hum a small song or talk about their adventures together.
Before her eyes fully closed, they found his sleepy ones, struggling to keep awake as he kept her company. They held a long history of sadness and longing, unguarded as weariness overtook him.
Her hand caught his on her cheek before nuzzling into it, almost getting drunk on his ocean scent. Then,
“Dan Heng? What’s on your mind?”
Her mind dozed off before she could hear his answer. His muffled voice rang in her ears, unintelligible and yet she heard it clear as day in her heart.
“I found you.”