These are beautiful, she says, and he feels his own little jolt of exhaled relief.
“Ah, good; I didn’t exactly know what would make the sewing supplies good or not, but I figured fine dwarven crafts meant they knew what they were on about.”
Their bed is a scattering of miscellany, his own presents sitting next to them, and as Gwenaëlle clutches the kit to her chest he instinctively reaches up and traces the edge of her cheek. Her jawbone has healed enough that he can touch her again; he hasn’t exactly needed to handle her with kid gloves, but he still does. He’s still careful around her, and until a moment ago with that small ember sparking, there hasn’t been much heat to their gestures these days. A metaphorical wound under wraps, still healing.
But as she talks about the watch, he considers how to explain this, working through the thought process aloud. It isn’t something he’s had to consider much with a girlfriend before, but:
“It’s not ho-hum,” Stephen says. “It’s, I don’t know. The fact that you listened. You paid attention.” They’ve been doing that for each other this whole time. “And I was perhaps a little bit worried that this one wasn’t very exciting for you either, that it would just look like more work,”
her fingers splayed across the sewing kit,
“but at the end of the day, it felt right. You fixed my cloak. I saw you working on that camo jacket for Clarisse. I wanted to get you something that you needed, and could make use of, and would hold up well, and that would actually make an impact on your day and reflect the way you spend your time. Your house is already filled with beautiful things; you hardly need more. You can’t do anything with, I don’t know, flowers or a necklace. And this,” the pocketwatch, “is beautiful but it also has a function.
“I don’t know where I’m going with this. Bottom line: I truly appreciate the gift, is what I’m trying to say.”
no subject
“Ah, good; I didn’t exactly know what would make the sewing supplies good or not, but I figured fine dwarven crafts meant they knew what they were on about.”
Their bed is a scattering of miscellany, his own presents sitting next to them, and as Gwenaëlle clutches the kit to her chest he instinctively reaches up and traces the edge of her cheek. Her jawbone has healed enough that he can touch her again; he hasn’t exactly needed to handle her with kid gloves, but he still does. He’s still careful around her, and until a moment ago with that small ember sparking, there hasn’t been much heat to their gestures these days. A metaphorical wound under wraps, still healing.
But as she talks about the watch, he considers how to explain this, working through the thought process aloud. It isn’t something he’s had to consider much with a girlfriend before, but:
“It’s not ho-hum,” Stephen says. “It’s, I don’t know. The fact that you listened. You paid attention.” They’ve been doing that for each other this whole time. “And I was perhaps a little bit worried that this one wasn’t very exciting for you either, that it would just look like more work,”
her fingers splayed across the sewing kit,
“but at the end of the day, it felt right. You fixed my cloak. I saw you working on that camo jacket for Clarisse. I wanted to get you something that you needed, and could make use of, and would hold up well, and that would actually make an impact on your day and reflect the way you spend your time. Your house is already filled with beautiful things; you hardly need more. You can’t do anything with, I don’t know, flowers or a necklace. And this,” the pocketwatch, “is beautiful but it also has a function.
“I don’t know where I’m going with this. Bottom line: I truly appreciate the gift, is what I’m trying to say.”