[ The little line of concentration looks nice on him. It's so different from the cocky, devil-may-care attitude he shows the rest of the world, this desire to get one little thing right. It feels less like pressure, more like how holding a hand is probably supposed to feel. He's thinking about it. He cares. He wants to get it right.
So when Krouse says it's okay, Noelle believes him. She nods once, quick and sharp, then tucks some hair behind her ears to give her hands something to do. She doesn't feel the need to hold herself together as much, and that's nice. It's a weight off. A lightness of being, like the wind gently weaving through her hair.
That Krouse tells her that she's warm only helps his case. That's not a lie. She's glad it's only warm, and not the feverish feeling she felt during the fight.
Noelle steals a look at the river. She thinks about the ice rink, and tries to remember what it felt like to be cold. She never thought she'd miss it.
She isn't paying attention to her face, either. There's a little smile on it, when Noelle gets lost in memory, and the smile stays when she comes back. She won't laugh at Krouse's blushing, but it's a near thing. ]
Yeah.
[ That's not the important part of her memory. The important part is Marissa, holding one of her hands through thick winter mittens, trying to teach Noelle how to do a skating trick, and only laughing a little bit when Noelle landed flat on her ass. She hangs onto that sound as tight as she can, one that she hasn't heard in years, and won't hear ever again. ]
Mars and I used to go.
[ He probably doesn't want to talk about her. The logical part of Noelle doesn't want to, either. The heart Marissa burned up does. The last person Noelle ever got to see, and her mask hid her face. Like it was just Sundancer there, and Noelle didn't even get to say goodbye. ]
no subject
So when Krouse says it's okay, Noelle believes him. She nods once, quick and sharp, then tucks some hair behind her ears to give her hands something to do. She doesn't feel the need to hold herself together as much, and that's nice. It's a weight off. A lightness of being, like the wind gently weaving through her hair.
That Krouse tells her that she's warm only helps his case. That's not a lie. She's glad it's only warm, and not the feverish feeling she felt during the fight.
Noelle steals a look at the river. She thinks about the ice rink, and tries to remember what it felt like to be cold. She never thought she'd miss it.
She isn't paying attention to her face, either. There's a little smile on it, when Noelle gets lost in memory, and the smile stays when she comes back. She won't laugh at Krouse's blushing, but it's a near thing. ]
Yeah.
[ That's not the important part of her memory. The important part is Marissa, holding one of her hands through thick winter mittens, trying to teach Noelle how to do a skating trick, and only laughing a little bit when Noelle landed flat on her ass. She hangs onto that sound as tight as she can, one that she hasn't heard in years, and won't hear ever again. ]
Mars and I used to go.
[ He probably doesn't want to talk about her. The logical part of Noelle doesn't want to, either. The heart Marissa burned up does. The last person Noelle ever got to see, and her mask hid her face. Like it was just Sundancer there, and Noelle didn't even get to say goodbye. ]