"Maybe we'll get that back one day," he replied thoughtfully. "We can hope." *** He frowned slightly, watching the sky. "It's okay. Thank you for helping me." *** She groaned, trying to catch him until she eventually tripped, letting out a small yell as she fell.
She paused, looking over at him with a small smile. "Yeah. We can hope." * * * She started, looking over at him suddenly. "Hey! I saved your life! I *squee!*ing called it!" * * * He looked back and slowed to a stop, approaching her cautiously. After a moment, he sat next to her and offered her the bear.
"Besides, we got this thing working." *** He paused before raising his arms. "Ughhhh! I hate that!" *** She was quiet before looking up with a grin as she took the bear. "It worked!"
She laughed brightly, sitting next to him. "That we did. With your glass breaking abilities and my general know-how of matching colored wires, we'll fix the world!" * * * She laughed deeply, the sound shocking coming from her. "Oh, that's wonderful. I never win these kinds of things with friends." * * * At her exclamation of triumph, he tackled her with the bear.
He grinned. "It's really that easy?" *** He looked over at her with a smile. "No more life-saving from here on out. I'd rather perish than lose that bet again." *** She burst out in laughter, falling back.
"Oh, yeah," she said affectionately, grinning at him. "We're all powerful, Jaz. Don't you know that?" * * * She turned her head to look at him, her smile wide and easy. "No problem. I'll just let you die next time." * * * He was laughing as well, the bear pressing against his face. "This is your own fault!"
"This will take no time, then," he teased, looking back out. *** He folded his arms playfully. "Hm.. Fine." *** She grinned up at him. "You're the one who took it and ran!"
"No time at all," she agreed, looking out across the landscape. * * * She rolled her eyes, turning her head to look at the stars again. "You're going to regret that." * * * "You threw it at me!"
He went quiet, his expression thoughtful. *** He looked up as well. "Psh.. No way. I'll be just fine." *** "I didn't expect you to run with it. Now I've skinned my elbow and I have the live with the fact that you'll forever be faster than me."
She watched across the fairegrounds, quietly happy, before she stood up. "Do you know how to dance, Jaz?" * * * She laughed slightly before sitting up. "Fine." * * * "Whatever shall you do?"
He looked up at her. "Dance..?" *** He took a breath. "I think I'm okay now." *** She observed him thoughtfully, her expression soft and thoughtful. "I'm not sure yet."
"Yeah," she said curiously, looking over at him before looking at the ground far below. "Dance." * * * She held her knees to her chest, observing him thoughtfully, her dark brown hair draping over her face. * * * He paused, noticing her expression, his eyes tracing her features. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
He looked uncertain. "No, not really. Do you?" *** He didn't seem to notice, resting his hands on his forehead. "We should set up camp at the car." *** She was quiet before sticking her tongue out and sitting up carefully. "Should we go put some of those toys in the car for the kids?"
She tilted her head thoughtfully before offering a hand, her palm up to him gently. Her hands were tiny, with thin fingers meant for pulling gears and wires. "I could teach you, if you want. But you can say no. It's just for fun." * * * She nodded slowly, standing up and offering a tattooed hand. Black line drawings of moons and planets curled around her fingers and disappeared under her sleeve. "Sure. Let's go." * * * He sat back, giving her a sunny, playful grin. "That sounds good. Which ones should we bring them?"
He took it, looking uncertain. "I won't do good.." *** He observed her tattoo thoughtfully, taking her hand and standing up. "How long did those take?" *** She stood, offering her hand. "Let's see our options."
She gave him a small smile, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry," she replied. "Neither will I. Step away from me?" * * * She glanced down at her hand tattoo, frowning. "This one is a sleeve," she said, gesturing to her shoulder, "so it goes all the way up my arm. When I did it, I had to keep stopping because my hand that I was tattooing with would start twitching, so it took quite a long time. I'd say it was about a full day of pure work spaced out over a week or so." * * * "Can I keep the bear?"
He tilted his head, doing so curiously. *** He looked surprised, observing it. "You did it yourself?" *** She grinned. "Sure."
"Good," she instructed. "Now step up close to me." * * * Her hazel eyes flickered up to him and she frowned. "Of course. Who else would do it?" * * * "Hell yes," he muttered to himself. "I will name him Balthazar."
"Good. Now, just do what I do," she said, looking up at him. "Okay?" * * * "No one else knows what I want," she said with a shrug. "And no one else knows my pain tolerance. So it just made sense to do it myself. The harder ones were on my ribs and stomach." * * * "It's a good name, no?"
