#don't want to draw a sword so imagine it's discarded to the side or he dropped it or something (rip)

[dearclem]

Kage had learned to be careful with his words, especially when they meant something; it was part of why the script he had continued to remain unfinished. Part of why he couldn’t give that blanket response that maybe anyone else in this town would have. A double edged sword, because it was that inability perhaps that lent itself towards the words she whispered back to him: ‘you’re my favourite person too.’ A shared truth like that, it cut through him in a beautiful, painful way because he hated the tears and the sadness that had brought them to this point, yet he could not imagine a better feeling than her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, their hearts drawn together, beating. Dammit if she didn’t make him feel something. It was a twinge in his heart that Kage had to elbow aside, neither time nor headspace to give any of that sentiment weight. What he needed was that grounding feeling of her fingers through his and the tug forward towards their bit of normalcy. Their friendship wasn’t something to be tested on a momentary feeling in the midst of... of what was clearly a charged moment. “I’ve already told you, I’ve got no intention of going anywhere. So I’m here so long as you’ll have me... even if you choose to put on House of Wax.” As the couch now sat behind them, Kage fell into it, their connection hands drawing her down with him, their proximity never wavering despite the length of cushion on offer. “If it’s still horror on the menu that is. Believe it or not I can deviate if needed. Little Miss Sunshine is one of my favorites, have I ever told you that?”

what if i want you forever? the words clog in her throat, too afraid to share the weight of them. everything happening within their shared space now had been birthed from the vulnerability brought about by grief and she knows she can't trust it; she refuses to. having him by her side the way they are now is already more than she deserves. clem's thumb begins tracing its usual figure 8 above the web space of his own before she turns to him, faux shock lining her tear stained features, ❝ the 1953 version is a fantastic movie, thank you very much, and i think you owe vincent price an apology for your blatant disrespect. ❞ it quickly melts into a soft smile, and the way her body finally begins to release some of its tension isn't lost on clem. if she were with anyone else, she doesn't think she'd begin to relax as quickly as she has.

her head tilts, flipping through shared memories before she shakes her head, ❝ i don't believe you've shared that tidbit of information with me, but i'll have to keep that in mind. ❞ she decides to share something of her own, ❝ one of my favourite non-horror movies is spawn---well, no, i guess that's still horror-esque. jurassic park? mulan? ❞ she uses her free hand to gesture towards the remote she discarded earlier, now out of her reach, ❝ yeah, i think mulan's my final answer. i've seen it so many times that i know the entire movie verbatim. ❞ she wears a mask of pride, ❝ i could even put on a whole one-woman broadway show of it for you, right here in my living room. ❞ a beat and she wrinkles her nose, ❝ except that's embarrassing, so why don't we just go with little miss sunshine? maybe it won't make me cry this time. ❞