[He lets out a choked gasp, blinking tears out of his eyes as he turns to meet hers. He hadn't even noticed her come in.
Dammit, how stupid, he thinks, but it's like a whisper in the back of his head compared to the shout it usually is when he fucking embarrasses himself in front of someone. There are some things that social mortification just can't stand up to. Reality filters into his head like maple syrup moving through cheesecloth or something, slow and thick and dense, one thought after the other:
It's that girl from before. She's here. I'm seeing things. I'm here in the colony . . .
His embarrassment wars with his relief for another, quicker moment, but eventually he turns his wrist in hers so he can grab onto her wrist too. Screw being humiliated. That'll come in a few minutes. Right now, it's all he can do to focus on being alive.]
—I'mmm, I'm, here. I . . .
[The slow drift back down to reality isn't the best for his verbal skills.]
no subject
Dammit, how stupid, he thinks, but it's like a whisper in the back of his head compared to the shout it usually is when he fucking embarrasses himself in front of someone. There are some things that social mortification just can't stand up to. Reality filters into his head like maple syrup moving through cheesecloth or something, slow and thick and dense, one thought after the other:
It's that girl from before. She's here. I'm seeing things. I'm here in the colony . . .
His embarrassment wars with his relief for another, quicker moment, but eventually he turns his wrist in hers so he can grab onto her wrist too. Screw being humiliated. That'll come in a few minutes. Right now, it's all he can do to focus on being alive.]
—I'mmm, I'm, here. I . . .
[The slow drift back down to reality isn't the best for his verbal skills.]