Leo is pretty sure this was, properly speaking, their first kiss. She'd broken up with him before
the gen two rebuild, back when she was clearly mechanical. She had an
articulated mouth and could form recognizable human expressions, but on
the artificial side of the
uncanny valley. She looked like a cute robot, rather than a pretty human
girl. By some unspoken mutual agreement, the pair had never properly
kissed, never pushed the illusion past its breaking point. Hugged, cuddled, shown awkward affection in a dozen ways, as
kids will do. Just not anything serious.
Today has been beyond words. The showdown in the cemetery, Leo's return to his normal body, the pain, the fear, the surprise of seeing an Alycia-like kid hanging around Jason's stuff (well, not surprised that there was some Alycia...), the moments in which it could have all gone wrong, and Harry, Charlotte, and Adam made it all go right. Seeing Jason like that, face to face, being unsure of what to say. Cleaning up the city made it easy, there was plenty to distract everyone.
And then, the mistletoe, the kiss, the moment, the sublime peace, the sudden sobbing, having Pneuma cradle him as pent-up tears erupted from the floodgates of his self-control. Hearing her join in as well, and wiping her shining eyes with his fingers. The feeling of relief, the weight lifting from both of them.
Leo doesn't think the pair of them have broken contact once since the kiss. Ever since then, she's been tracing the outline of his ears, or lightly scratching the back of his neck, or tracing circles through the fabric of his shirt. He's been massaging her neck, feeling the unique texture of the skin on her cheeks, running his fingers through her hair. One hand is enough to maintain contact, as he devotes the other to sending out a series of texts, emails, and tweets on his phone. She watches through lazy, half-closed eyes, whispering suggestions to him from time to time. Her breath is warm, and curiously minty, and comforting beyond all measure.
Today has been beyond words. The showdown in the cemetery, Leo's return to his normal body, the pain, the fear, the surprise of seeing an Alycia-like kid hanging around Jason's stuff (well, not surprised that there was some Alycia...), the moments in which it could have all gone wrong, and Harry, Charlotte, and Adam made it all go right. Seeing Jason like that, face to face, being unsure of what to say. Cleaning up the city made it easy, there was plenty to distract everyone.
And then, the mistletoe, the kiss, the moment, the sublime peace, the sudden sobbing, having Pneuma cradle him as pent-up tears erupted from the floodgates of his self-control. Hearing her join in as well, and wiping her shining eyes with his fingers. The feeling of relief, the weight lifting from both of them.
Leo doesn't think the pair of them have broken contact once since the kiss. Ever since then, she's been tracing the outline of his ears, or lightly scratching the back of his neck, or tracing circles through the fabric of his shirt. He's been massaging her neck, feeling the unique texture of the skin on her cheeks, running his fingers through her hair. One hand is enough to maintain contact, as he devotes the other to sending out a series of texts, emails, and tweets on his phone. She watches through lazy, half-closed eyes, whispering suggestions to him from time to time. Her breath is warm, and curiously minty, and comforting beyond all measure.