Filed to story: Penny and Navy Brother Asher
He steps in close between my knees, and suddenly the air between is in to tight, cos hot, ton heavy.
I can’t not notice him the way his shat clings to the sharp cut of his shoulders and chest, the way the muscles in his arms shift easily under his skin as he mines, the way he smells- not just soap and clean laundry, but something darker underneath, like amber and smoke and rain.
I think of how he looked earlier-standing in my domway-grey sweatpants
I low on his hips, white shirt plastered against a body that locked cared
And standing here now, inches from him, breathing him in, Trealize something bone-deep:
This man could destroy ampone at with
Not violence.
With sheer gravity
With the way he pulls the air out of a room without even trying.
With the way he makes it impossible to look anywhere else,
And me!
I’d never stand a chance,
I force melf to focus as he rummages through the first aid kit under the sink, pulling out supplies with quick, efficient movements.
“Hold stall,” he says, nice low enough to rattle loose something deep inside ne
He tears open an alcohol swab and dabs it against the cut on my cheek
I wince, sucking in a sharp breath.
He doesn’t apologize just steadies me with one brood hand at the base of my jaw, thumb skimming lightly under my chin, fingers warm and rough and careful
“Princess,” be mutters under his breath, shaking his head in that experated way that somehow don’t feel cold at all.
He spreads antibiotic cream gently along the scratch, his touch featherlight now, almost reverent
Trying to distract myself from the way my heart is trying to hammer its way through my ribs, I ask, “Did you learn this in the Navy?”
He nods once, concentrating on the tiny wound
“Basic first aids mandatory.”
I ham, not trusting my voice to do anything cobert.
The house groam under another blast of wind.
A second later, a thunderclap aloud it feels like it splits the sky in two crashes right overhead.
I flinch hard – involuntary, stupid and his hand athes out again, gripping my thigh just above the knee to steady me.
His palm prises against hare skin, rough and warm and solid, branding me with the tact
Penny
He pulls back almost immediately, but it’s too late.
The touch lingers – electric, searing, alive, I catch a glimpse of his dark eyes before he looks away.
I’m breathing too fast, pulse rabbiting in my throat.
“I can’t wait for this storm to be over, I mutter, forcing a shaky laugh.
He just nuds, packing away the first aid supplies like nothing happened
We move back to the living room a little too quickly, like we’re both pretending that didn’t happen,
Bedrog onto the couch again, sprawling back like how it
“You going to bed?” I ask, sinking onto the far end. shakes his head
I pick up the remote, twirling it between my fingers.
“Wanna watch something?
I scroll through options and
Exactly what I need.
I curl up at my enl a hundred times before – safe, brainles, easy dùng the hem of the 1-shirt over my ban letting the dumb jokes and laugh tracks the silence.
Asher doesn’t say anything.
But he’s there solid, warm, steady.
And slowly – slowly – the fear in my chest starts to loosen its claws. om heavier a
( with each minute.
My eyelids germ
I scroll aimlessly through my phone, the light of the screen washing my face pale in the dark.
Notifications, texts, dumb beadlines,
Maching important
Nothing real
I glance sideway.
And step
Penny is curled up on the fe end of the couch, knees tucked tight to her chest, her dare relaxed in sleep.
The blanket I threw over her is half falling off, her bare legs afetched out next to me, smonth and pale in the dim light from the TV.
She lasted maybe two minutes after starting the movie.
Typical
And somehow – somehow the’s even more beautiful like this.
Soft, unguarded
Fragile in a way she never shows when she’s awake, laughing and joking and milling her eyes at the world
I drap hand down my face, forcing myself to look away.
Her bare legs brush lightly against my thigh every time she shifts, and it’s goddamn corture.
I’d rather be back overseas, adrenaline spiking and bullets flying, than sitting here trying to be a goddamn mank while she curled up next to me wear nothing but my clothes
My hand twitches, hovering for a a second some deep, reckless part of me wanting to reach out and brush a strand of hair from her forehead. trace the soft curve of her check, shove it down.
Hard
Another crack of thunder shakes the house.
And Penny bolts upright with a gasp wild, dissipated
She scrambles backward, hands clawing at the coach, looking for something sold to grab onto
The lights are off I’d killed the cater to make it easier to watch the TV and in the sadden pitch black, she panies bander. in forward fast, teaching for het,
“Hey,” I say sharply Penny. It’s mor
But she don’t hear ne.
Or doem’ registr
She lets out a small, broken scream, failing blindly, pushing at my chest like I’m just another shadow trying in het ber
Fuck, I mutter, catching her waists to keep her fam hurting henc
Her whole body is trembling – not just shivering from cold, but shaking in that deep, my that h has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with fear.
What the hell happened to to herz
Who hurt her bad enough to leave this kind of scar?
My phone buzes against the couch cushion
Dad testing kay down there?
Everything okay
I thumb back a quick reply with one hand, still holding Penny steady with the other.