[The wiping of tears was fine. She leans into his hand as usual. It feels nice. Normal. As it should be. The lick, though. That gets a vaguely amused look of 'what the fuck?' before she allows herself to be pulled, going so far as to climb into his lap.
She curls herself into him as best as the couch will allow, head resting on his shoulder and her face pressed into his neck. She's not doing much holding in return, more in a mood to seek comfort and be comforted. Her arms are tucked between his chest and hers, fingers idly toying with his shirt. She's not really in the mood to talk about being dead, anymore. In fact, she's not really in the mood to say much at all. Well, save for a few things.]
Can you stay here with me until I head back to my apartment tomorrow? I woke up at the hospital and I thought it was the Shop for a second and it was really unsettling and now I can't stop thinking that I'm being followed.
[She's sure she isn't but that's a fuckton of bad memories to dredge up seconds after coming back to life. She finally notices his shirt and sits up, examining it and him, frowning.]
You're not going back there unless I can go with you. And if you go when I've gotta sleep you're so in the doghouse.
[He buries his nose in her shoulder, getting acquainted with the slight changes and just inhaling her in general; he missed her, enough that it scares him a little, and now that she's back he has exactly zero intentions of letting her out of his sight. Not for a while, anyway; he lost her twice already, he's really not looking for a third time.]
In the doghouse? Is that so? And what, exactly, does that entail? [It's not a smile on her face. Just a faint softening of features, a relaxation of her in general. Sort of. It's something, right? As minor as it is, it's progress.
She's still examining his shirt, wondering who the blood belonged to before looking at him again.]
Yes, but what unfortunate person did you take this out in?
You can't stay mad at me for long so there's no point figuring anything out.
[There's a slight lean into the nuzzling and a sigh. Always a sigh even if she doesn't need the air necessary to make the sound. It was all Ed, reacting to his behavior, slight as it had been. There's a kiss pressed into his cheek and arms easing around his shoulder but then she freezes and tenses slightly. Vincent, she's still unsure of. She's nice to, but she's just not sure what to think of him. It's the mostly that has her attention.]
[She sits up to look at him, still expressionless, just watching him as he speaks, only faintly amused that he was pissed. It's kind of a shock, as evident by the faint eyebrow twitch and he could probably smell that it surprised her.
And she accepts the answer for now. It's...not that she's entirely okay with it but she really doesn't care, either. She went through a lot in the last two days and all she wants is Ed. In almost any way she can get him.
There's another, softer sigh and she leans forward again, resting her forehead against his and it's tempting to close the distance, to press her lips against his but she hesitates, She wants to as evident by the subtle and hesitant tilt of her head but she's still adjusting and processing and she's not sure if that's as okay as she hopes.]
[That's okay, he'll close the distance himself. Careful and wary because she's acting like a cornered animal and he knows you need to be careful in those situations, but he's kissing her anyway, curling fingers into her shirt as if he's worried she'll be gone again if he doesn't.
He's glad she doesn't probe further, because his answer wouldn't have gotten any better; kind of difficult to care about the harm you inflict on people when it's no longer in your nature to see them as anything more than cattle.]
[There isn't much hesitation on Charlie's end once Ed's kissing her. It takes her a second or two but she's kissing him in return. Softly, carefully. Still a bit wary but she's missed him. So much. All she wanted was to be with him when she woke up but she was too afraid to return, as ridiculous as it sounds. She knows full well that Ed wouldn't let anything happen to her as long as he was around but this whole thing had set her back significantly. Old habits, like keeping to herself and keeping herself hidden had resurfaced.
But then the way he was so cautious with her, the way he held her and she read what he was worried about in just that...she suddenly wasn't sure who needed the most reassurance.
It was only a moment of broken contact so Charlie could shift the way she was seated, legs on either side of his lap and arms around his shoulder. She couldn't sit quite how she wanted on the couch, her knees were bent and her feet hung over the edge of the seat but that was fine. She returned her lips to his, less cautious and more sure of herself.
This was okay. Sort of. She could do this. Slowly but surely and things would return to normal eventually, right?]
[A scoot forward, as if he could sense her discomfort, and couch was abandoned for the extra space the floor provided. Fingertips traveled across wherever he could reach, reaffirming she was here, in one piece, and as she became more sure of things he deepened the kiss. Letting her ease into things, letting her dictate. If she was nervous about the death thing, about where it left them, he'd prove that it didn't matter. Sure, he'd liked her heat, liked feeling her pulse under the skin, but she was here, and that was all that really mattered in the end. They'd figure out the rest later.]
[This was familiar. A good kind of familiar. Not the best kind of familiar since the last time they did this it was after a day of Ed being human had come to an end but it had been comforting then and it was comforting now. There were subtle leans into his touch and a soft sigh the fingertips brought. She felt herself relaxing little by little, enough to return his deepened kiss in kind for a moment before pulling away slightly.
It wasn't for a need to breathe at this point. That was gone. She could probably do that for hours and be fine. She just needed a minute, fingers running through Ed's hair as she just looked at him, a small smile on her face. She was feeling more sure of them, clearly, and this helped.]
I think I'm actually okay to go home.
[And she doesn't even have to say how she expects Ed to be there with her. She knows full well that's how it's going to happen.]
[Just for the entire trip? That's too short, in her opinion. But, out the door they go, Charlie leaning on Ed slightly. She's shaken, that much is obvious, but she's feeling better than how Ed found her a while ago. Not by much but it's significant enough to be obvious.]
I'm sorry for hanging up on you, by the way. That was rude and I should have told you right off when I came back.
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She curls herself into him as best as the couch will allow, head resting on his shoulder and her face pressed into his neck. She's not doing much holding in return, more in a mood to seek comfort and be comforted. Her arms are tucked between his chest and hers, fingers idly toying with his shirt. She's not really in the mood to talk about being dead, anymore. In fact, she's not really in the mood to say much at all. Well, save for a few things.]
Can you stay here with me until I head back to my apartment tomorrow? I woke up at the hospital and I thought it was the Shop for a second and it was really unsettling and now I can't stop thinking that I'm being followed.
[She's sure she isn't but that's a fuckton of bad memories to dredge up seconds after coming back to life. She finally notices his shirt and sits up, examining it and him, frowning.]
You're going to explain this, right?
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[He buries his nose in her shoulder, getting acquainted with the slight changes and just inhaling her in general; he missed her, enough that it scares him a little, and now that she's back he has exactly zero intentions of letting her out of his sight. Not for a while, anyway; he lost her twice already, he's really not looking for a third time.]
Sure.
I told you, it sucked when you were gone.
[Evasiveeeee.]
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She's still examining his shirt, wondering who the blood belonged to before looking at him again.]
Yes, but what unfortunate person did you take this out in?
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[A shrug, and a nuzzle; it's not important, McGee, really.]
People. I think it's mostly Vincent, but he's fine. Last I knew, anyway.
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[There's a slight lean into the nuzzling and a sigh. Always a sigh even if she doesn't need the air necessary to make the sound. It was all Ed, reacting to his behavior, slight as it had been. There's a kiss pressed into his cheek and arms easing around his shoulder but then she freezes and tenses slightly. Vincent, she's still unsure of. She's nice to, but she's just not sure what to think of him. It's the mostly that has her attention.]
Mostly Vincent?
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...I was pretty pissed off. I'm almost positive I didn't kill anybody though.
[...Yes, that's about as much of a reassuring answer as you're getting, McGee. Sorry.]
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And she accepts the answer for now. It's...not that she's entirely okay with it but she really doesn't care, either. She went through a lot in the last two days and all she wants is Ed. In almost any way she can get him.
There's another, softer sigh and she leans forward again, resting her forehead against his and it's tempting to close the distance, to press her lips against his but she hesitates, She wants to as evident by the subtle and hesitant tilt of her head but she's still adjusting and processing and she's not sure if that's as okay as she hopes.]
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He's glad she doesn't probe further, because his answer wouldn't have gotten any better; kind of difficult to care about the harm you inflict on people when it's no longer in your nature to see them as anything more than cattle.]
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But then the way he was so cautious with her, the way he held her and she read what he was worried about in just that...she suddenly wasn't sure who needed the most reassurance.
It was only a moment of broken contact so Charlie could shift the way she was seated, legs on either side of his lap and arms around his shoulder. She couldn't sit quite how she wanted on the couch, her knees were bent and her feet hung over the edge of the seat but that was fine. She returned her lips to his, less cautious and more sure of herself.
This was okay. Sort of. She could do this. Slowly but surely and things would return to normal eventually, right?]
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It wasn't for a need to breathe at this point. That was gone. She could probably do that for hours and be fine. She just needed a minute, fingers running through Ed's hair as she just looked at him, a small smile on her face. She was feeling more sure of them, clearly, and this helped.]
I think I'm actually okay to go home.
[And she doesn't even have to say how she expects Ed to be there with her. She knows full well that's how it's going to happen.]
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[Just a question, no subtle undertones, no hesitance. If she wanted to go she wanted to go, he just wanted to be sure she was sure.]
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[She stands carefully, disentangling herself from Ed and holding her hand out to him once she's steady on her feet.]
Get me home safe.
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But alright.
[He grabs the offered hand, pulls her to her feet and steps closer, into her space, and that's about where he'll stay for the entire trip.]
Let's go then.
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I'm sorry for hanging up on you, by the way. That was rude and I should have told you right off when I came back.