[ of course his fingers wander, gliding up along the curve of her cheekbones for a light massage against her hairline before it flutters downward once more to trace the line of her jaw, a light press beneath her chin to encourage that tilt of her head that lands their lips together, the kisses brief but sought out all the same. ]
Yeah? [ with a light smile, he catches her lips again, lazy but determined to keep her mouth close to his, the tickle of his short hairs brushing at her skin. ]
What happened? That asshole boyfriend of yours put you on a dry spell? [ it's him, the asshole boyfriend. though if there's been anything "dry", it's only because frequency for this kind of thing doesn't work so well in light of numerous children running around and constant threats looming over them.
and maybe he doesn't even think about it when he uses the word "boyfriend", such a normality to it despite how little they've relied on labels. ]
[ It's hard to picture an instance when she wouldn't have been driven to initiate this kind of contact between them β but there had been a BD (Before Dating) stage once, with her often not realizing the unconscious desire to incline herself in his direction until she'd caught herself doing it multiple times over, a tilt of hips that brought her further into his space or those moments when he'd covered her hand with his own to offer sentiment or reassurance or gratitude, depending on the day.
Now, they're firmly embedded in AD territory and she does it all sometimes without even thinking about it β and this time, it manifests in her peppering his mouth with a series of kisses until she's next door to laughing again, especially when he engages her closely enough to tickle her face with his beard, leaving her to try and squirm away in retreat. ]
You know I don't β have any complaints β in that department β oh my God, you hairy man, quit it β
[ She weakly swats at the exposure of his chest with the backs of her fingers, knowing she's responsible for initiating this in the first place but forever underestimating his tendency to escalate the terms of war between them, and finally props herself up to sitting over him, bearing her weight against a palm pressed along his side. ]
Yeah, he's kind of an asshole, but he's my asshole. [ Beat. ] Wait, that came out wrong.
[ these natural habits have definitely been a progression towards what they are now; where once upon a time he'd been reluctant to be anywhere in her space. he remembers that instance in that cold shower where her fingers had brush gently against his chin, a tender touch that had jolted an instinct in him to kiss her that first time. the act has been repeated countless times since then, finding her lips and lingering close as he does now.
the difference is it comes with a wider smile, a rarer occurrence overall from the more stoic man, and yet the expression taking no effort at all when she conjures it as she swats back at him to fight over those coarser hairs around his mouth.
but he even manages to bark a fair laugh with her unintended humor, rolling onto his back when she guides herself over him, a hand rising to cease the sound from his lips, despite the smile still given away in the crinkled lines by his eyes. ] Jesus Christ.
[ wynonna earp, always something.
but his fingers find the smooth length of her hair, stroking lightly, voice softer. ] But you're right. I am yours.
[ Oh, don't worry, Frank; Wynonna's snorting at herself after that remark, briefly steering her gaze downward with a duck of her chin, her shoulders shaking before she spots the telltale sign of his amusement in the wrinkles that form on either side of his eyes, that undeniable proof that she's managed to tickle his funny bone even with the unintended awkwardness of her phrasing.
But she finds his gaze with her own shortly after that, turning her cheek against the curve of her own shoulder, her smile fading somewhat while the prominent dimples in her features continue to persist; fondness replaces amusement more and more, as the strains of another song quietly fill the otherwise silence that falls over them between his soft admission and hers.
She precedes it with an extra breath, like she needs to gather that air within herself for what comes next; she can only focus on the repetitive glide of his fingers through the ends of her hair for so long when it feels like her heart is living in her throat, and the sentiment tumbles from her, like it's been dangling on the tip of her tongue and only needed the right set of circumstances to make her brave enough to say it. ]
Hey. [ Here goes nothing, right? Nothing, but also everything. ] I β I kinda love you.
[ maybe a part of him suspected there was a chance of it, and maybe he had simply mostly feared it, but even if he'd considered the slightest hint of that truth, it doesn't leave him any less surprised when the words suddenly slip free from her without so much of a warning.
whatever smile that had been there seems to vanish, replaced by parted lips that voice nothing for the extended seconds in which he merely stares up at her, eyes focused on hers as if he might somehow find a sign that either he hadn't heard correctly what she'd said or it was just another set of words to fall in line with her routine set of jokes.
but he knows exactly what he'd respond in turn, because he's known it, even if it'd be impossible to conjure up an exact start date, to know if he's felt it since she'd help him escape a literal grizzly life, or from the time he'd first slept at her side in her bed, or if it had already begun to manifest before he even set eyes on her as she told him of her love for Judy Garland. the when of it isn't important, especially not as she casts her eyes on him with uncertainty.
and those words, they haven't been spoken by him in quite some time, not for anyone but maria castle, too precious to use so freely, especially on account of how he knows he hasn't been so deserving to hear them.
but wynonna earp β she's it. she's everything.
yet when he opens his mouth again, to say exactly what he means to, the only thing that slips is, ] Shit.
[ As soon as the words leave her β not even voiced with any level of certainty, because obviously she has to couch them in a bit of fumbling too, big rarity in those feelings sincerely expressed for anyone whose name isn't Waverly Earp β she can't help but think she's really, truly done a bang-up job of stepping in it.
She's ruined the moment because of course she has, because anything less would signify a real change of form for the girl who considers herself a walking disaster on even her best days, because even when she's finally worked up the nerve beyond all other nerves to give a name to everything she's been feeling, she's picked the literal worst possible time to say it. He doesn't have to answer her for her to gauge, solely based on his best impression of a gaping fish, that she's screwed both of them by venturing that honesty; part of her isn't convinced there hadn't just been a freaking record scratch over the radio to add further insult as the final cherry on top of this mortifying sundae.
Maybe she can still salvage this somehow. Maybe she can blame the weed β the goddamn weed, her idea yet again β for causing her to say something she'd normally be too reluctant to let slip out. Who knows what's in this stuff? Maybe Chloe likes to spike her strain with a bit of truth-telling serum, the kind of shit you see in the movies, where people say all kinds of crazy things because they've been drugged.
But as the seconds tick past between her momentary lapse in judgment and his single syllable answer, she knows she doesn't have a leg to stand on in terms of blaming anyone but her own damn self, and in that moment all she can think about is trying to bypass it entirely; the first thing that comes to mind is trying to find her clothes, hastily rummaging around the mess of blankets with a weak laugh. ]
What? I meant, uh β I kinda love you...r abs. Really solid work you've been doing on your core lately. Thought you should know. [ She's definitely not meeting his eyes right now, half-muttering under her breath as she fishes around where he's still laying. Damn it, where'd she leave her underwear in all of this? ]
[ really, more of the fuck up here is on him, when his mouth suddenly forms the wrong sound from what he'd intended, the swear slipping as a mere instinctive reaction. because even that is partially honest, mostly on account of his believing he isn't deserving of whatever love she has for him, that he can't possibly be enough when he's mostly made of danger and disaster.
but they'd approach that conflict before, again and again, when he'd been covered in blood from head to toe and she never flinched away from him, even as he stood there strapped in that cursed vest. they'd seen each other's scars, lurked beneath the surface of their skins, and still come out with clenched tight hands. ]
No, shit, that's not β [ he bites hard at his lip, a sigh that's more representative of his own frustration with himself as she draws back to search about the truck for her clothes.
leaning to sit up, he runs his palm over his beard before he reaches out to lightly grasp her arm, halting her search. ] Hey, hey, hey. [ if he can get her attention, he slides over closer to her once more, close enough to slip his fingers across her jaw to direct her eyes to him.
he takes a breath, running his tongue across his lip as he tilts his head, eyes sincere in his gaze. ] I love you. There's no β there's no kinda to it. It's just ... I haven't β I haven't let myself ... feel that in a long time. I didn't even think I could anymore, y'know, I β I guess just didn't expect to say it half-naked in the back of your truck, but β [ he knits his brows, a light chuckle in his breath before he looks back to her, eyes managing to escape the earlier surprise to bear their more honest fondness. ] But I do. I love you.
[ They can get around to who takes first place in the Summer Fuck-up Olympics much later, probably; her thoughts are still racing around the idea of how she's going to spin this later on. She should blame the weed, definitely, that's the safest way to go here, especially because there's no telling how long this high will last and after they've both sobered up she can wave off any and all vulnerability as an unfortunate side effect. But she's definitely veering closer to that sober state now β funny how a rejection will do that to a girl β when he stills her with a gentle hand around her arm.
It's then that she realizes, for all the intense conversations they've had, he's never once handled her roughly, never gripped her too hard, never left a bruised imprint of fingers lingering on her skin after the fact and she's brought back to him with a deep furrow between her brows, a squint of focus that zeroes in on him before she attempts to smooth her features out into something more neutral. He always touches her carefully, his voice a low murmur now that reels her in from the anxiety that tries to barrel her ahead to a future point where they're not talking about this anymore, her latest in a long line of consistent screw-ups. ]
You β [ She presses her lips together, shuts up and lets him do the damn talking for once, but somewhere between her brain shortcircuiting and the beat when she finally comes back to her own body she manages to hear what he's saying, and the revelation that once again she'd just managed to catch him by surprise slowly begins to dawn on her.
And then she just feels completely ridiculous about it all, hunching her shoulders in a brief shrug as she looks down to where her fingers are twisting the fabric of her tank top in her lap. ] Yeah, well, I'm whole-naked, so. [ It's not a competition, Wynonna. ]
Um, okay. So we're on the same page, then, with that. The part where β you know, I love you, and you love me, and that's all out there now. [ She releases the breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding in, finally peeking up at him with a subtle lift of her chin. ] In the open. No takebacks.
Well, you and I combined makes us half-naked, so the point still stands. [ and despite any brief awkwardness, he could still manage to tease her despite it all, a hint of slyness in both his voice and expression, with a half smile that gradually spreads a little more with each passing second.
but they are on the same page now, the words echoing out free on both their ends without any further filter, and even now he can possibly conjure up a few reasons why it isn't necessarily a good thing, that there's plenty wrong in them only getting deeper and deeper into this thing they've accidentally stumbled into, but either the weed now faint in his system or the softness in her gaze is enough to shelf those worries for the night. ]
Yeah. No takebacks. [ his thumb tucks down over her chin, a gentle stroke before he coaxes her to lean in with him, seeking her lips for a soft kiss. ] Can't take back what you said about my abs now, either.
Okay, details. [ She pretends to scoff but there's a smile in it, a slowly spreading thing that belies her relief with it all β because she had been worried, that feeling forging a pit deep down in her stomach even against the drugs' relaxing effects, anxious that maybe once she put that out there between them he wouldn't feel the same. It hadn't even occurred to her that this is something he either hasn't let himself consider until now or genuinely hadn't believed he was capable of feeling, and now that she knows it for truth she definitely feels a little silly about the whole thing.
It might be a bad idea, the way so many of hers can be, especially when they don't know what tomorrow has in store or any number of days beyond tonight, and she doesn't necessarily need anything to change now that it's out in the open β but if they are on a ticking clock, she's realizing she doesn't want to regret not saying it until it's too late. She has too much guilt to want to risk adding to that number here. ]
Oh, I wasn't planning on it. You've still got great muscle definition. [ She murmurs the words shortly before his mouth finds hers, her chuckle half-lost in the kisses they proceed to exchange. ]
[ she smiles and it offers him an affectionate feeling in turn, an ease through the very core of him at merely watching the soft stretch of her lips and the press of the dimples along either cheek. he hadn't thought much of any of it for the first several weeks he'd seen it again and again, but he knows the reasons for that is more on his refusal than the capability of their effect.
there was a time in which he'd been nothing but rude to her, trying to wave her off as just a regular nuisance here in this town, just another one of many obstacles that had kept him here when he wanted nothing more but to escape.
maybe it's because he hadn't expected someone to snatch his heart up the way maria had that he'd gradually let his guard down, allowed wynonna to dig into the very caves of his chest and plant herself into permanence there, working through all his weaknesses and vulnerabilities until it was impossible to be everything that he was without having her right there with all of it.
humming against her mouth, he doesn't stray far from prolonging small kisses into a constant stream of them, fingers holding a light hold along her jaw as he keeps her close. ] Hope you ain't just using me for my body now.
[ Never let it be said that Wynonna doesn't know how to take a hint; okay, she definitely doesn't know how to take a hint, because the hints Frank had thrown her way during the first couple weeks of their acquaintance could be referred to less as suggestions and more like sledgehammers. But his insistence on putting this town behind him had soon become a running joke they'd both drawn on, especially as the chances of him actually leaving had begun to shrink more and more.
And whether it was the workings of this place continually trying to throw them together, her genuine curiosity about him leading her to want to get to know him better, or his diminishing reluctance to turn her away, they'd swung into each other's orbit over and over again until they'd been forced to accept what might have been unacceptable in any other circumstance but this one.
She likes to joke that he's stuck with her now, but it's not like she really did that much to try to get away from him either β and while she's worked her way in past his walls, he'd accomplished the same on his end, witnessing her at her most exposed and choosing to stay regardless.
She doesn't say anything at all for a while, mostly because he really knows how to distract her with those kisses, damn it; she manages to grin before her mouth finds his again, a soft drifting that she finally punctuates with a retort. ] No, I would never do a thing like that.
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Yeah? [ with a light smile, he catches her lips again, lazy but determined to keep her mouth close to his, the tickle of his short hairs brushing at her skin. ]
What happened? That asshole boyfriend of yours put you on a dry spell? [ it's him, the asshole boyfriend. though if there's been anything "dry", it's only because frequency for this kind of thing doesn't work so well in light of numerous children running around and constant threats looming over them.
and maybe he doesn't even think about it when he uses the word "boyfriend", such a normality to it despite how little they've relied on labels. ]
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Now, they're firmly embedded in AD territory and she does it all sometimes without even thinking about it β and this time, it manifests in her peppering his mouth with a series of kisses until she's next door to laughing again, especially when he engages her closely enough to tickle her face with his beard, leaving her to try and squirm away in retreat. ]
You know I don't β have any complaints β in that department β oh my God, you hairy man, quit it β
[ She weakly swats at the exposure of his chest with the backs of her fingers, knowing she's responsible for initiating this in the first place but forever underestimating his tendency to escalate the terms of war between them, and finally props herself up to sitting over him, bearing her weight against a palm pressed along his side. ]
Yeah, he's kind of an asshole, but he's my asshole. [ Beat. ] Wait, that came out wrong.
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the difference is it comes with a wider smile, a rarer occurrence overall from the more stoic man, and yet the expression taking no effort at all when she conjures it as she swats back at him to fight over those coarser hairs around his mouth.
but he even manages to bark a fair laugh with her unintended humor, rolling onto his back when she guides herself over him, a hand rising to cease the sound from his lips, despite the smile still given away in the crinkled lines by his eyes. ] Jesus Christ.
[ wynonna earp, always something.
but his fingers find the smooth length of her hair, stroking lightly, voice softer. ] But you're right. I am yours.
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But she finds his gaze with her own shortly after that, turning her cheek against the curve of her own shoulder, her smile fading somewhat while the prominent dimples in her features continue to persist; fondness replaces amusement more and more, as the strains of another song quietly fill the otherwise silence that falls over them between his soft admission and hers.
She precedes it with an extra breath, like she needs to gather that air within herself for what comes next; she can only focus on the repetitive glide of his fingers through the ends of her hair for so long when it feels like her heart is living in her throat, and the sentiment tumbles from her, like it's been dangling on the tip of her tongue and only needed the right set of circumstances to make her brave enough to say it. ]
Hey. [ Here goes nothing, right? Nothing, but also everything. ] I β I kinda love you.
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whatever smile that had been there seems to vanish, replaced by parted lips that voice nothing for the extended seconds in which he merely stares up at her, eyes focused on hers as if he might somehow find a sign that either he hadn't heard correctly what she'd said or it was just another set of words to fall in line with her routine set of jokes.
but he knows exactly what he'd respond in turn, because he's known it, even if it'd be impossible to conjure up an exact start date, to know if he's felt it since she'd help him escape a literal grizzly life, or from the time he'd first slept at her side in her bed, or if it had already begun to manifest before he even set eyes on her as she told him of her love for Judy Garland. the when of it isn't important, especially not as she casts her eyes on him with uncertainty.
and those words, they haven't been spoken by him in quite some time, not for anyone but maria castle, too precious to use so freely, especially on account of how he knows he hasn't been so deserving to hear them.
but wynonna earp β she's it. she's everything.
yet when he opens his mouth again, to say exactly what he means to, the only thing that slips is, ] Shit.
action;
She's ruined the moment because of course she has, because anything less would signify a real change of form for the girl who considers herself a walking disaster on even her best days, because even when she's finally worked up the nerve beyond all other nerves to give a name to everything she's been feeling, she's picked the literal worst possible time to say it. He doesn't have to answer her for her to gauge, solely based on his best impression of a gaping fish, that she's screwed both of them by venturing that honesty; part of her isn't convinced there hadn't just been a freaking record scratch over the radio to add further insult as the final cherry on top of this mortifying sundae.
Maybe she can still salvage this somehow. Maybe she can blame the weed β the goddamn weed, her idea yet again β for causing her to say something she'd normally be too reluctant to let slip out. Who knows what's in this stuff? Maybe Chloe likes to spike her strain with a bit of truth-telling serum, the kind of shit you see in the movies, where people say all kinds of crazy things because they've been drugged.
But as the seconds tick past between her momentary lapse in judgment and his single syllable answer, she knows she doesn't have a leg to stand on in terms of blaming anyone but her own damn self, and in that moment all she can think about is trying to bypass it entirely; the first thing that comes to mind is trying to find her clothes, hastily rummaging around the mess of blankets with a weak laugh. ]
What? I meant, uh β I kinda love you...r abs. Really solid work you've been doing on your core lately. Thought you should know. [ She's definitely not meeting his eyes right now, half-muttering under her breath as she fishes around where he's still laying. Damn it, where'd she leave her underwear in all of this? ]
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but they'd approach that conflict before, again and again, when he'd been covered in blood from head to toe and she never flinched away from him, even as he stood there strapped in that cursed vest. they'd seen each other's scars, lurked beneath the surface of their skins, and still come out with clenched tight hands. ]
No, shit, that's not β [ he bites hard at his lip, a sigh that's more representative of his own frustration with himself as she draws back to search about the truck for her clothes.
leaning to sit up, he runs his palm over his beard before he reaches out to lightly grasp her arm, halting her search. ] Hey, hey, hey. [ if he can get her attention, he slides over closer to her once more, close enough to slip his fingers across her jaw to direct her eyes to him.
he takes a breath, running his tongue across his lip as he tilts his head, eyes sincere in his gaze. ] I love you. There's no β there's no kinda to it. It's just ... I haven't β I haven't let myself ... feel that in a long time. I didn't even think I could anymore, y'know, I β I guess just didn't expect to say it half-naked in the back of your truck, but β [ he knits his brows, a light chuckle in his breath before he looks back to her, eyes managing to escape the earlier surprise to bear their more honest fondness. ] But I do. I love you.
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It's then that she realizes, for all the intense conversations they've had, he's never once handled her roughly, never gripped her too hard, never left a bruised imprint of fingers lingering on her skin after the fact and she's brought back to him with a deep furrow between her brows, a squint of focus that zeroes in on him before she attempts to smooth her features out into something more neutral. He always touches her carefully, his voice a low murmur now that reels her in from the anxiety that tries to barrel her ahead to a future point where they're not talking about this anymore, her latest in a long line of consistent screw-ups. ]
You β [ She presses her lips together, shuts up and lets him do the damn talking for once, but somewhere between her brain shortcircuiting and the beat when she finally comes back to her own body she manages to hear what he's saying, and the revelation that once again she'd just managed to catch him by surprise slowly begins to dawn on her.
And then she just feels completely ridiculous about it all, hunching her shoulders in a brief shrug as she looks down to where her fingers are twisting the fabric of her tank top in her lap. ] Yeah, well, I'm whole-naked, so. [ It's not a competition, Wynonna. ]
Um, okay. So we're on the same page, then, with that. The part where β you know, I love you, and you love me, and that's all out there now. [ She releases the breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding in, finally peeking up at him with a subtle lift of her chin. ] In the open. No takebacks.
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but they are on the same page now, the words echoing out free on both their ends without any further filter, and even now he can possibly conjure up a few reasons why it isn't necessarily a good thing, that there's plenty wrong in them only getting deeper and deeper into this thing they've accidentally stumbled into, but either the weed now faint in his system or the softness in her gaze is enough to shelf those worries for the night. ]
Yeah. No takebacks. [ his thumb tucks down over her chin, a gentle stroke before he coaxes her to lean in with him, seeking her lips for a soft kiss. ] Can't take back what you said about my abs now, either.
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It might be a bad idea, the way so many of hers can be, especially when they don't know what tomorrow has in store or any number of days beyond tonight, and she doesn't necessarily need anything to change now that it's out in the open β but if they are on a ticking clock, she's realizing she doesn't want to regret not saying it until it's too late. She has too much guilt to want to risk adding to that number here. ]
Oh, I wasn't planning on it. You've still got great muscle definition. [ She murmurs the words shortly before his mouth finds hers, her chuckle half-lost in the kisses they proceed to exchange. ]
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there was a time in which he'd been nothing but rude to her, trying to wave her off as just a regular nuisance here in this town, just another one of many obstacles that had kept him here when he wanted nothing more but to escape.
maybe it's because he hadn't expected someone to snatch his heart up the way maria had that he'd gradually let his guard down, allowed wynonna to dig into the very caves of his chest and plant herself into permanence there, working through all his weaknesses and vulnerabilities until it was impossible to be everything that he was without having her right there with all of it.
humming against her mouth, he doesn't stray far from prolonging small kisses into a constant stream of them, fingers holding a light hold along her jaw as he keeps her close. ] Hope you ain't just using me for my body now.
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And whether it was the workings of this place continually trying to throw them together, her genuine curiosity about him leading her to want to get to know him better, or his diminishing reluctance to turn her away, they'd swung into each other's orbit over and over again until they'd been forced to accept what might have been unacceptable in any other circumstance but this one.
She likes to joke that he's stuck with her now, but it's not like she really did that much to try to get away from him either β and while she's worked her way in past his walls, he'd accomplished the same on his end, witnessing her at her most exposed and choosing to stay regardless.
She doesn't say anything at all for a while, mostly because he really knows how to distract her with those kisses, damn it; she manages to grin before her mouth finds his again, a soft drifting that she finally punctuates with a retort. ] No, I would never do a thing like that.