Like he can resist that. There's so much unspoken intent in way he leans in to steal that kiss right off Beth's cheek that it's nothing short of shameful. At the same time, it's everything at once: he loves her and loves her and loves her, and then he has to laugh -- out loud and everything -- when Beth Junior mimics the tap to her own little cheek.
Yeah, she gets a kiss too. He may be a hell of a stubborn S.O.B., but deep down inside there's this part of him that just about no one gets to see. Jet saw it... maybe once or twice. Faye never did. Julia... well, she was a different story altogether. But Beth? She gets to know all about it, all about all of him.
"Kiss," says Junior with a little bit of delight. "Now peek-a-boo?"
He knew she was smart. "Soon, toughest kickboxer in the west. Soon." He kind of wonders how long it'll be until he can make the walk from here to downtown Paris or downtown to here without the cloak. He hopes that happens soon too. But first he's going to finish this cigarette, damn it, because it's been so long since he was able to just stand around and smoke one. He's... not a selfless person. He's never been a selfless person: there's a hell of a good personal reason behind all the things he does. Sometimes, over the course of the years, it's been no fear of death making all his decisions, or maybe even a little bit of a death wish doing it for him. Sometimes it's been apathy. Sometimes it's been wondering if it was all just a big fucking dream, and the more things he does, the more chance he has of waking up and figuring it out.
So yeah, staying out here with Beth and Junior instead of crawling through that small door and back into the bar isn't something he's doing out of the goodness of his heart; there are plenty of people who'll say he doesn't have any of that. The truth is he's here because it's where he wants to be. Because he's already lost the one person who meant more to him than anyone else in the world, and he had to lose her three fucking times and it never got any easier and... he's not doing it again. In fact, he'll do pretty much anything to keep from losing Beth.
When the cigarette's done and ground out underfoot, he nods to Junior. "Now it's time, cowgirl. Ready?" He gives his own Beth one more kiss -- on the lips this time -- before putting on that cloak again. That whole concept of things being both blessing and curse flits through his mind and threatens to lodge there before he reminds himself his favorite deadly sin is the sin of overanalysis.
"Spi all gone." Junior's pronouncement would be a lot more solemn if it wasn't followed by a huge yawn and the telltale heavy eyelids indicating it's probably nap time. It's just one of those things he'd convinced himself he'd never ever know about, but now takes as a matter of course.
"If it wouldn't look ridiculous, Slim, I'd push the carriage back."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-08-04 08:01 pm (UTC)Yeah, she gets a kiss too. He may be a hell of a stubborn S.O.B., but deep down inside there's this part of him that just about no one gets to see. Jet saw it... maybe once or twice. Faye never did. Julia... well, she was a different story altogether. But Beth? She gets to know all about it, all about all of him.
"Kiss," says Junior with a little bit of delight. "Now peek-a-boo?"
He knew she was smart. "Soon, toughest kickboxer in the west. Soon." He kind of wonders how long it'll be until he can make the walk from here to downtown Paris or downtown to here without the cloak. He hopes that happens soon too. But first he's going to finish this cigarette, damn it, because it's been so long since he was able to just stand around and smoke one. He's... not a selfless person. He's never been a selfless person: there's a hell of a good personal reason behind all the things he does. Sometimes, over the course of the years, it's been no fear of death making all his decisions, or maybe even a little bit of a death wish doing it for him. Sometimes it's been apathy. Sometimes it's been wondering if it was all just a big fucking dream, and the more things he does, the more chance he has of waking up and figuring it out.
So yeah, staying out here with Beth and Junior instead of crawling through that small door and back into the bar isn't something he's doing out of the goodness of his heart; there are plenty of people who'll say he doesn't have any of that. The truth is he's here because it's where he wants to be. Because he's already lost the one person who meant more to him than anyone else in the world, and he had to lose her three fucking times and it never got any easier and... he's not doing it again. In fact, he'll do pretty much anything to keep from losing Beth.
When the cigarette's done and ground out underfoot, he nods to Junior. "Now it's time, cowgirl. Ready?" He gives his own Beth one more kiss -- on the lips this time -- before putting on that cloak again. That whole concept of things being both blessing and curse flits through his mind and threatens to lodge there before he reminds himself his favorite deadly sin is the sin of overanalysis.
"Spi all gone." Junior's pronouncement would be a lot more solemn if it wasn't followed by a huge yawn and the telltale heavy eyelids indicating it's probably nap time. It's just one of those things he'd convinced himself he'd never ever know about, but now takes as a matter of course.
"If it wouldn't look ridiculous, Slim, I'd push the carriage back."
At least they have a carriage.