[ Can't go back there. He realizes off the bat that she doesn't mean back inside the hospital's warmer interior. She means back home. Her voice is so soft; he feels what a hideous effort this whole night is for her, even as she pretends she isn't swimming around in misery, like Alice in her own tears. That she wants to take shelter in all sorts of unwise yet expeditious places (with all sorts of shady people) isn't astonishing. ]
[ It's not selfish. It's just another coping mechanism among the thousand. ]
[ Hei stays crouched near her, hands curled around her smaller ones. A beat passes and the look on his face slips to something contemplative; his eyes are in shadow, but his gaze stays steady on hers. He could take her to a cafe or a restaurant. Get her fed and warmed up. Or take her wandering through the City, so she'd get her mind off what she's going to do next, try to still her anxiety about the indeterminate future -- which will start in the morning and stretch on indefinitely, miserable and stressful and confusing. Or... ]
[ Or he can take her back to his flat. ]
[ Hei runs his tongue over his teeth, then stands, still holding her hands in his. He tugs at her to rise -- firm, but also coaxing. ] You don't have to. [ Another tug, ] Get up now. [ Whatever turn this night takes, he's determined to put Korra first, to try to turf out the words I and me. He's been thinking of them too much. He hopes to let them gather dust awhile. ]
⊕ march 15th, late evening
[ It's not selfish. It's just another coping mechanism among the thousand. ]
[ Hei stays crouched near her, hands curled around her smaller ones. A beat passes and the look on his face slips to something contemplative; his eyes are in shadow, but his gaze stays steady on hers. He could take her to a cafe or a restaurant. Get her fed and warmed up. Or take her wandering through the City, so she'd get her mind off what she's going to do next, try to still her anxiety about the indeterminate future -- which will start in the morning and stretch on indefinitely, miserable and stressful and confusing. Or... ]
[ Or he can take her back to his flat. ]
[ Hei runs his tongue over his teeth, then stands, still holding her hands in his. He tugs at her to rise -- firm, but also coaxing. ] You don't have to. [ Another tug, ] Get up now. [ Whatever turn this night takes, he's determined to put Korra first, to try to turf out the words I and me. He's been thinking of them too much. He hopes to let them gather dust awhile. ]