[His only initial response is a small nod. He's glad someone is faring well in this strange place, but as usual he can't quite relate. It isn't so easy to forget the monsters of his world when he was one of them, and carries that with him, even here. But he isn't about to bring her down with such ideas -- a resolution that she would appear to agree with.]
There is nothing to forgive. We all mourn and move on in our own ways. I am truly happy for you, Angel. I hope you live a long, happy life here, and I am glad to have met you and to be your friend. It means a great deal to me. [It may not seem like much, with them having only just met, but Anders had figured himself a lost cause at this point as far as friendship goes.]
[Anders words, kind as they were, rubbed her in an unexpected and very wrong sort of way. There was nothing wrong with what he said in particular, only that the sentiment of a long and happy life feeling so... foreign to her. She'd considered the many implications of her apparent rise from the grave, but she'd barely had the time to consider the permanence of her situation.]
[Strange as it all was, Angel managed a shaky, slightly sad smile.]
At the very least, let us hope it is longer than my last.
[Shaking away the last of her sorrow, Angel did what she could to perk up her smile. She reached over, placing a hand over his. It was an intimate gesture, but it felt right in the moment.]
Your friendship means much to me as well. I am only sorry that I cannot ease your own struggles in the way you have eased some of my own. You deserve that, I am sure.
[He can't even begin to imagine when exactly Angel was ripped from her world. She barely looks adolescent to him, but a sense for this sort of thing leads him to the conclusion that she is probably older than she seems, and her body doesn't realize it.
Her touch is gentle; so much so that it's almost unpleasant. It's certainly unfamiliar enough to be bizarre, especially coming from someone he's only just getting to know, but in the end, he welcomes it. This place seems to be bringing to light a desperate thirst for companionship he hadn't even realized he spent most of his life missing.]
I don't expect anything in return. Please don't feel obligated.
[There isn't even argument in his tone, although it's a bit difficult to hold his tongue on the matter of what he deserves. Giving selflessly has simply become second nature.]
You don't understand. [She sighed, fingers squeezing gently against his.] So few people have done right by me in the past. I want to be able to properly celebrate those who do.
[Only one person from the troupe that had "saved" her had come to this world. She'd done what she could to convey her gratitude, but the idea of the five others who had saved her from that hell going unthanked...]
[She would just have to do all she could in order to make up for that.]
So please, you're only helping me by asking for a hand. I promise.
No, I suppose I don't. Still, I don't ask for anything but your friendship, if you are willing to share it.
[He gives a light shrug, turning his hand to hold hers carefully in return. Even Pinsy's attention is drawn, and she, too, bats at their hands with her paw, to Anders' amusement.]
At any rate, I can't think of anything I need at the moment. [At least, nothing that another person could give him.]
[Angel joins him in her laughter, before withdrawing her hand. While the embrace wasn't uncomfortable for her, she wasn't sure she could say the same for him. And given her earlier insistence, she didn't want to overstay her welcome or make him any more uneasy than she already had.]
Should you think of anything, you'll let me know though, right?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brokencode) wrote2016-08-22 05:17 am
no subject
There is nothing to forgive. We all mourn and move on in our own ways. I am truly happy for you, Angel. I hope you live a long, happy life here, and I am glad to have met you and to be your friend. It means a great deal to me. [It may not seem like much, with them having only just met, but Anders had figured himself a lost cause at this point as far as friendship goes.]
no subject
[Strange as it all was, Angel managed a shaky, slightly sad smile.]
At the very least, let us hope it is longer than my last.
[Shaking away the last of her sorrow, Angel did what she could to perk up her smile. She reached over, placing a hand over his. It was an intimate gesture, but it felt right in the moment.]
Your friendship means much to me as well. I am only sorry that I cannot ease your own struggles in the way you have eased some of my own. You deserve that, I am sure.
no subject
Her touch is gentle; so much so that it's almost unpleasant. It's certainly unfamiliar enough to be bizarre, especially coming from someone he's only just getting to know, but in the end, he welcomes it. This place seems to be bringing to light a desperate thirst for companionship he hadn't even realized he spent most of his life missing.]
I don't expect anything in return. Please don't feel obligated.
[There isn't even argument in his tone, although it's a bit difficult to hold his tongue on the matter of what he deserves. Giving selflessly has simply become second nature.]
no subject
[Only one person from the troupe that had "saved" her had come to this world. She'd done what she could to convey her gratitude, but the idea of the five others who had saved her from that hell going unthanked...]
[She would just have to do all she could in order to make up for that.]
So please, you're only helping me by asking for a hand. I promise.
no subject
[He gives a light shrug, turning his hand to hold hers carefully in return. Even Pinsy's attention is drawn, and she, too, bats at their hands with her paw, to Anders' amusement.]
At any rate, I can't think of anything I need at the moment. [At least, nothing that another person could give him.]
no subject
Should you think of anything, you'll let me know though, right?
no subject
Of course. And I hope you will do the same, naturally.