[ For a split-second, in Korra's deflated look, Hei sees the little girl he scolded in the Underground, all the wind taken out of her sails, all unaware of her future. For a moment he half-misses when she was that child. She was easy to handle then. As long as you offered food, piggybacks and smiles you could never be in the wrong with children. ]
[ In the next beat he brushes the idle thought off. Centers himself on the Now. Both his hands take hers in his, cupping around it so he can breathe quiet exhales. Not a particularly effective way of warming, but it is contact for contact's sake. He doesn't throw darts at a board in these moments. He maps every move out. The tenderness(?) isn't impulsive, much less accidental. He's testing the waters, seeing how far he can take this. ]
[ Once a vulture, always a vulture. He shakes it off. It would be easy to beastalize this as a ploy to take advantage of a vulnerable girl. And while it's true that it's on his mind, it's also true that he'd prefer to comfort her somehow, not add to her unhappiness. It's a want, soft-edged, not a cold and calculating need born out of pure self-benefit. ]
[ Rubbing a thumb over her knuckles, he says, ] Come off the roof. You'll catch a cold hanging out here.
⊕ march 15th, late evening
[ In the next beat he brushes the idle thought off. Centers himself on the Now. Both his hands take hers in his, cupping around it so he can breathe quiet exhales. Not a particularly effective way of warming, but it is contact for contact's sake. He doesn't throw darts at a board in these moments. He maps every move out. The tenderness(?) isn't impulsive, much less accidental. He's testing the waters, seeing how far he can take this. ]
[ Once a vulture, always a vulture. He shakes it off. It would be easy to beastalize this as a ploy to take advantage of a vulnerable girl. And while it's true that it's on his mind, it's also true that he'd prefer to comfort her somehow, not add to her unhappiness. It's a want, soft-edged, not a cold and calculating need born out of pure self-benefit. ]
[ Rubbing a thumb over her knuckles, he says, ] Come off the roof. You'll catch a cold hanging out here.