[Kaede is still a little squishy, it's true. Mostly bony and pointy and sinewy, though. But where all those held-back emotions were percolating away in her chest was very soft, and so usually very well protected and armored until she forgot what any of them were supposed to feel like.
Around Shinichi, she didn't feel like she needed to hold that armor so close. He wouldn't spring to attack some fleeting weakness in her demeanor, he'd just make a little worried frown, or...or that wobbly smile.
So she wasn't prepared when he mentioned where to sit on the sled, or how. The sound of the metal runners gliding over the snow was only a passing detail to distract herself with. The rest of Kaede's mind was distracted by the Warm Thing's fluster, and how nice it was to hear Shinichi laugh.]
Uh-
[Set a bit off balance, her response was embarrassingly close to an awkward stammer.]
R-right.
[Shinichi didn't see that, right. Or hear. Surely he wasn't a witness or anything even though she was saying this right next to him. Kaede carried on straightaway as if her ears weren't feeling unusually warm, kneeling on the sled the same way Shinichi had. And she held onto his shoulders, like he asked, fingers curled tight on the young man's jacket.]
Like this?
[Kaede's voice still hadn't fully recovered, sounding quiet and almost uncertain.]
no subject
Around Shinichi, she didn't feel like she needed to hold that armor so close. He wouldn't spring to attack some fleeting weakness in her demeanor, he'd just make a little worried frown, or...or that wobbly smile.
So she wasn't prepared when he mentioned where to sit on the sled, or how. The sound of the metal runners gliding over the snow was only a passing detail to distract herself with. The rest of Kaede's mind was distracted by the Warm Thing's fluster, and how nice it was to hear Shinichi laugh.]
Uh-
[Set a bit off balance, her response was embarrassingly close to an awkward stammer.]
R-right.
[Shinichi didn't see that, right. Or hear. Surely he wasn't a witness or anything even though she was saying this right next to him. Kaede carried on straightaway as if her ears weren't feeling unusually warm, kneeling on the sled the same way Shinichi had. And she held onto his shoulders, like he asked, fingers curled tight on the young man's jacket.]
Like this?
[Kaede's voice still hadn't fully recovered, sounding quiet and almost uncertain.]