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Then he's running, each gallop shaking your bones with the same deep thunderous impact as the beating rhythm of your heart and soul. The seals. Wayne. Tabitha. It’s all so much, it’s too much-
Heavy panting warms the air in front of your face, momentum ebbs, flows, slows and footsteps stumble beneath you.
But all that matters is that he’s here. Reese is warm and alive and so much more comfortable in his own skin. He's here and you lo- you…
“Ugh… I feel a little sick.”
He sets you down, hands falling from your body to his knees, lending him purchase against shaky breaths that threaten to unbalance him. He looks... rough. Even paler than should be possible.
“Reese? Are you alright?”
He replies with a low moan, curling inward and bracing against a tree. You think he's settling okay, only watch him crash knee first into the ground with an almost imperceptible whimper. You reach forward, ready to touch, to console, to pet him gently, when his shoulders jerk and he heaves raggedly.
“Reese!”
You kneel down beside the shuddering man, unsurprised when nothing comes out but painful choked gags. You are surprised, however, to see tears dripping down his nose.
You hate being touched when you're so vulnerable, so hurt and sick, but with how Reese responded to your touch yesterday, and again just now in the woods…
Your hands begin to slide across his pilfered jacket, encompassing what of his broad chest you can grasp. It's not much, you never have much to offer, but this, you'll always have.
His next gasp stutters wetly, red eyes locked onto the limbs that proffer his one and only connection to the world.
“W-What if… none of this is real? It’s all just a dream? One I'll wake up from, still sick and weak and living beneath her.” He sobs.
“Sounds more like a nightmare.” You huff a breathy laugh. A facade. “Today's real. It's a scary one, but a real one. I promise.”
His cries ease back down to rough pants, tears dripping silently into the hard earth below. He blinks those moon shaped eyes closed, as if in reverence of the soil that it drinks up.
“Can’t be… nightmare with you. No one hugs me in those.”
Reese gulps as you continue wrapping arms around his shoulders. It's awkward, coming from his side, but no less comforting for both of you.
The last of his tears splash against your skin, shaky hands crawl up to wrap around your damp forearm, maximizing the amount of contact between you. His hands are still cold but where you feel his bare chest is warm and full of life, carrying the rhythm of his lungs and faint beat of his heart.
You feel him swallow around the lump in his throat. “Thank you. Thank you. You- this means more to me than you'll ever know.”
You press a kiss against the side of his head, hairs away from the tip of his pointy ear. Blush covers a shapely cheekbone, and a gentle smile molds around his long, sharp teeth. You take a loud deep breath, prompting him to follow suit.
“Feel real now?”
“Yes. Touch feels better than I imagined.”
You squeeze him tighter, rubbing his shoulder with one hand and his neck with the other. His eyes flutter closed with contentment, yellow irises replaced with a quiet rumble you interpret as a purr. You hum your comfort back.
You press another kiss, this one to his temple. Those cold hands around your arm wrap tighter, creasing the imprint of nails on your skin. The gentle sting is just as grounding for you as this hug is for him.
“Maybe… being myself isn’t so bad. So long as I have you by my side.” A request?
You smile too, and answer.
“Then you'll have me.”