[He runs his thumb over her knuckle. If there wasn't a table between them he would scoop her up and kiss her right now, but he doesn't want to throw too much at her at once. They still have more to talk about. He knows there's more he needs to understand about her - about what being a clone entails, why she had to protect him from it like that. But looking at her face, he can see happiness, and he believes that she wants this.]
Huh. Well, that went better than I thought it would.
[At least, no worries that he's currently aware of and anticipating. He knows she's scared, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't concerned about how this is going to go. But he knows how he feels.]
We just need to talk about things. And not run away to De Chima to get drunk and feed the homeless.
[ She had a lot of time to think over Christmas, okay, especially after she called him and learned that he was out of town probably just to avoid running into her. ]
Oh my god, Sarah... ["You should have told me", he almost says, but he doesn't want to seem critical. He knows why she didn't.] I wish I'd known. I'm so sorry, that sucks.
[He threads his fingers through hers, listening aptly.]
You're allowed to be sad and miss her, okay? You don't have to rationalize it. I only met her a couple of times, but I know you care about her, and I'd be pretty gutted if I was in your position.
[Of course, putting himself in her shoes just makes him think of Ronny and Jerry, and he tries to imagine what Sarah would even think about them. They'd probably drive her crazy in under an hour.]
Well, one day you're gonna get out of here, and you'll see her again. Hope, remember?
[Except, there are a lot of implications there that he either doesn't know about or doesn't want to consider. But they can talk about those later, right? Right?
He pushes back in his chair a little, and gestures into the living room.]
[He can feel his heart thudding where her head rests - that heart that should have stopped beating before he ever met Sarah. Somewhere in another universe he's buried six feet under, but here he is living, across the stars. And of course there are nights when he wonders if this is just a dream, just some endless hallucination that comes after death. But he doesn't think he could make her up.]
[ She pulls one of his hands into her own, stroking his fingers lightly. This is nice. No worrying about getting called away to deal with something dangerous, no worrying that George's mood is going to shift, no worrying about how to explain this whole thing to Kira, just... relaxing. With her boyfriend. ]
[And feeling like he has permission now, he moves his free hand to gently tilt her head up from his chest. Still smiling, he leans down to finally kiss her.]
[Sliding his hands down to her waist, he slides and hoists her up onto his lap. There isn't any urgency to his motions, though. He just wants to hold her close, to be gentle and warm with her, to show her how much he cares. This is where his nerves slip away, and all he can think about is making Sarah feel safe and happy. That's all he wants.]
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