Staring at his hand for a long moment, Katelynn couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps she were dreaming, if she would wake up in Destruction Worker’s home alone as she had been. A part of her was used to the solitude however much she hated it while another found herself feeling so at home with him, as if she had never left his side.
Finally the hand that had been upon his cheek slid down and into his palm, using him as a bit of a crutch to get up. She was still so tired from the rescue and slightly sore but this was much more important.
“…Thank you..” She told him sincerely, giving him a tearful smile as she was led into the apartment. “For being so understanding and wonderful…”
Jack gently led her into the apartment, and over to the big couch in the living room. With his arm around her waist – the most contact he dared have yet – he guided her to sit down.
“You don’t need to thank me,” he said gently, trying to keep from tearing up himself. “I know I haven’t always been there for you in the past, but I will be now. However you need me, I’m here. I promise.” Oh, he couldn’t keep from touching her any longer. He reached up and stroked his fingers through her messy brown hair, brushing some of it back from her face.
Her immediate reaction was to move her face to the right to hide the scar, putting her hand upon it as casually as possible as if becoming thoughtful. It was too much of a reminder of her atrocities. “It’s so selfish to expect that, Jack,” she whispered, curling into herself a bit. “Especially because I’ve failed you so much…I’ve promised to be careful, to make you happy and promised myself I wouldn’t hurt you anymore.”
Her eyes stung with tears, blinking them away. “No amount of being sorry can make up for it. Sometimes I can’t even imagine why you would still want me despite what you’ve said. I thought you deserved better. I wanted to become braver and stronger for you, to help the supers and prove a human could do what they could…”
Looking up at him shyly from behind her lashes, she flushed and continued, “But it just didn’t feel worth it without you. I was so torn between what I wanted and what I thought was right..”
Taking a gulp of air, her shoulders hunched together as she gripped the edges of the couch. “S-Sorry…rambled…”
He’d been trying to give her her space, only allowing himself little gestures and touches. But seeing her like this now was more than Jack could bear. Before Katelynn could move away, he slid his arms around her and pulled her into a warm, gentle hug.
“And my life doesn’t feel right without you either,” he insisted. “It’s not because of the future we’ve heard about. Us married, with a family … I’d like that, yes, but I don’t need it to happen. Katelynn … I just want you. I want to be with you, however our future turns out.”
He reached up and cupped her cheek, covering the scar with his blue hand. “What happened wasn’t your fault. But if you still feel like you need to make up for it … well, isn’t living a life with love the best way to do that? You p-punishing yourself isn’t going to change anything. But if you live your life well, and m-make people happy and do good for the world …” He hated how he stuttered, hated the hitch in his voice, hated how hard it was to express what he was trying to tell her. But he had to say it.
“I’m not perfect, Katelynn. Nobody is. B-but I’ve already become so much better since I’ve known you, and I’ve seen how you have too. Maybe we can still get better, together.” He gazed into her eyes, so close that he could have kissed her if he’d dared. “I want to try, at least."
Jack Maple 