[ The look on his face takes her off-guard more than anything in the conversation that has led to this moment. He looks guilty somehow, as if there's a part of him that's already doubting the things to which they both gave word. It makes her hesitate in the doorway for just a moment, a worried look passing over her face - she wants this, but she only wants this if he wants this too - before she steps into the room, steps taking her until she's barely a foot away from him, pushing the heaviest of her concerns aside.
She knows him well enough to know that if she made the wrong guess, if he didn't want her to come over, he would've told her. For someone like Cloud, it's easier to push people away than to draw them close, she knows that. So then... perhaps it's just a matter of him needing her to be the brave one. ]
Cloud?
[ Only now, up close like this, does she realize the strange arrangement of his hair, still damp and unkempt from his treatment of it post-shower; a hint of a smile forms on her lips as her fingers come up to stroke through it, gentle against the pale blonde strands, against the skin of his scalp. ]
I can see the wheels turning in your head, you know. Gil for your thoughts?
[ The last part is said with something of a cheeky smile. He is a mercenary, after all, even if now he's a friend first - and possibly something more than that. But it's a teasing expression that softens quickly enough, a telling gentleness in her eyes as they search his for answers. ]
If you can't do this, tell me, okay? I'll go back to my room and we never have to talk about it again.
[ She knows it's not what he wants. But she has to make sure he feels safe with her, that he doesn't feel pressured... the same way he worried about her feeling like she might owe him. ]
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She knows him well enough to know that if she made the wrong guess, if he didn't want her to come over, he would've told her. For someone like Cloud, it's easier to push people away than to draw them close, she knows that. So then... perhaps it's just a matter of him needing her to be the brave one. ]
Cloud?
[ Only now, up close like this, does she realize the strange arrangement of his hair, still damp and unkempt from his treatment of it post-shower; a hint of a smile forms on her lips as her fingers come up to stroke through it, gentle against the pale blonde strands, against the skin of his scalp. ]
I can see the wheels turning in your head, you know. Gil for your thoughts?
[ The last part is said with something of a cheeky smile. He is a mercenary, after all, even if now he's a friend first - and possibly something more than that. But it's a teasing expression that softens quickly enough, a telling gentleness in her eyes as they search his for answers. ]
If you can't do this, tell me, okay? I'll go back to my room and we never have to talk about it again.
[ She knows it's not what he wants. But she has to make sure he feels safe with her, that he doesn't feel pressured... the same way he worried about her feeling like she might owe him. ]