[ She interrupts, but he isn't listening. Well, he is — to himself, but not to her. He continues with I'll be fine, a reassurance that she thinks is hollow, meant to make her feel as though she owes him nothing. But she has never felt that way, has never felt obligated to him, regardless of whether he has the mental clarity to realize that for himself. ]
Ben. [ A repetition in the hope that it will command his attention, yank him out of his thoughts. As if silencing him before he can protest, she leans forward and closes her mouth over his, chaste and sweet. ] I want to be here with you.
[ Gathering the blanket he had abandoned, she tugs it down to throw over the both of them, curling closer into his side. ]
no subject
[ She interrupts, but he isn't listening. Well, he is — to himself, but not to her. He continues with I'll be fine, a reassurance that she thinks is hollow, meant to make her feel as though she owes him nothing. But she has never felt that way, has never felt obligated to him, regardless of whether he has the mental clarity to realize that for himself. ]
Ben. [ A repetition in the hope that it will command his attention, yank him out of his thoughts. As if silencing him before he can protest, she leans forward and closes her mouth over his, chaste and sweet. ] I want to be here with you.
[ Gathering the blanket he had abandoned, she tugs it down to throw over the both of them, curling closer into his side. ]
You're my friend, too.
[ More than that, if he'll have her. ]