He could stay here all night and not complain. They couldn’t, he knew that. But the temptation was there. He could whisk her away somewhere – they might be able to duck out and no one notice.
But it wasn’t worth the risk of ruining her life, so maybe he should settle for this, her hand tracing a strand of his hair and her lips ghosting against his in a way he felt powerless to resist.
And it was almost enough. He could try and be a good person for once, and make this be enough for him.
“...I think it’ll be one,” Kris said, a happy new year, with a smile he didn’t think he’d ever had cause to smile before. Because there wasn’t any bitterness in it, no smug pretension, no – anything. He wasn’t trying to be something. Just bare feeling, and he didn’t care if she saw it. He didn’t care if she knew him. He liked her. He liked her a lot. She – made him happy. He still didn’t know how to tell her that. He hoped she knew. “Poppy.”
But it wasn’t worth the risk of ruining her life, so maybe he should settle for this, her hand tracing a strand of his hair and her lips ghosting against his in a way he felt powerless to resist.
And it was almost enough. He could try and be a good person for once, and make this be enough for him.
“...I think it’ll be one,” Kris said, a happy new year, with a smile he didn’t think he’d ever had cause to smile before. Because there wasn’t any bitterness in it, no smug pretension, no – anything. He wasn’t trying to be something. Just bare feeling, and he didn’t care if she saw it. He didn’t care if she knew him. He liked her. He liked her a lot. She – made him happy. He still didn’t know how to tell her that. He hoped she knew. “Poppy.”
