short but sweet
Everything stilled. The night air becoming colder by the minute fuels a strange calm, but your shivers showing that neither of you anticipated being out here this long. She clearly wasn’t comfortable but was trying - you could never fault her for that. She could be a real bitch, yeah, but it’s Sevika. She just has this power over you, she finds the cracks within you and fills them without ever realizing it, nor understanding the effects it has on you and your opinion of her.
A minute passed, not as heavy as some this evening but definitely not emanating a relaxing aura. “Yes” you spoke quietly, but were firm in your words. She slowly lets your wrist go, making a point of being gentle - she doesn’t hesitate with this action so you’re unsure if it’s instinctual or intentional. Your heart skips a beat. She looks down, not quite sure what to do now, when she speaks you can tell the confidence is not all natural, something only someone who knew her very well or rather paid extremely close attention to her would ever notice - you’re in the middle of these options it appears. Her eyes meet yours. “Sevika.” She says this firmly, after all she is stating a fact here. You catch a chuckle before it can leave your throat, you’re shocked by how out of character this is but you don't want to risk making her self conscious when she's clearly really trying to open up to you here. You mirror this with your name as she returns her hand to yours but instead of trying to keep you in place she shakes your hand - acknowledging you in a new way, an attempt to give you the credit you earned saving her life. “Now that we’re reacquainted, can we please get the fuck off the roof?” Sevika doesn’t wait for an answer, the protective grip returns to your wrist as she tugged you towards the window you’d both used to get on to the roof. The grip felt as though there was more to it than simple efficiency - was she concerned you would jump? Was she trying to keep you safe? You shook your head, dispelling the thoughts from your mind before you got hopeful, a motion she caught out of the corner of her eye but chose to ignore for now.
She jumped down from the window ledge, landing perfectly of course. All the years of training, fighting, and being on the run allowed her to physically navigate almost any situation. She turned with her arms out, was she expecting for you to jump into her arms? Almost any other circumstance you would have thought you died and went to heaven and happily jumped into her embrace. But this was reality, not one of your many fantasies that end in her arms sadly. Instead you decided to be a bit of a show off, launching yourself down you land almost silently with a type of grace that was uncommon in Zaun. This little display did what it intended to do, the surprise and almost proud expression on her face was almost worth not feeling her arms catch you. You stood up, your full height only level with her chest, and as you raised your eyes to meet hers you caught a flash of blue out of the corner of your eyes.
The few seconds of eye contact cut short by your favorite menace, and the bane of Sevika’s existence. Her tiny, warm hand wrapping around the same wrist Sevika’s cold, metal hand held moments ago. The care and gentle nature of the touch was the same though - dispelling yet another thought from your mind you turned your attention to the kid attached to you. You remember that you’d put her to bed not that long ago - why was she awake? You see an all too familiar look behind her eyes - panic, almost like she wasn’t really there. You bend down, swing your arms around her and pull her into you. You turn to Sevika, you give her a nod of appreciation but turn away and get down the hallway as fast as possible. “Hey, breathe kiddo, breathe. It’s ok you’re safe I’ve got you, I’m not going anywhere” your hands stroke up and down her back and rub her hair as you tighten your hold. Sevika watches you walk down the hallway - in awe of the speed in which you’d realized Jinx’s needs. Her heart beat faltered as she heard your voice drop to the kindest, softest pitch she’d ever heard. It was similar to the vague cloudy memories she had of her mom before she died, using the same gentle voice to comfort her after fights she no doubt started in her youth. As the warmth flooded her chest, much to her dismay, Sevika realized her life may be changing for the better - all thanks to your involvement. She glances down at her metal limb, already grateful for your sacrifices in keeping her alive she swears to herself she’ll repay this debt one way or another.