[ Of course that wasn't enough. It never is unless it really, really hurts.
For a beat, John lets the distance hang and the crush of breathlessness take them both. He's waiting, implicitly, for Asriel to take his hand again; he's waiting for grudging permission to continue whatever they're doing here. But Asriel just sets his jaw, and John thinks, oh. They could die of stubbornness. That tracks.
God breaks first. ]
Well. [ He flexes his hand awkwardly in Asriel's, drawing attention to what he really doesn't need to. ] Solid effort.
[ Time to get literal, he could say, but he suspects Asriel would unbutton his shirt without blinking and they wouldn't be any better off. He honestly respects it. ]
no subject
For a beat, John lets the distance hang and the crush of breathlessness take them both. He's waiting, implicitly, for Asriel to take his hand again; he's waiting for grudging permission to continue whatever they're doing here. But Asriel just sets his jaw, and John thinks, oh. They could die of stubbornness. That tracks.
God breaks first. ]
Well. [ He flexes his hand awkwardly in Asriel's, drawing attention to what he really doesn't need to. ] Solid effort.
[ Time to get literal, he could say, but he suspects Asriel would unbutton his shirt without blinking and they wouldn't be any better off. He honestly respects it. ]