Speechless

V tried to control his disquiet. He had just managed to to stand upright after weeks of recovery and he'd coped rather well, he thought, with the awareness of having been unmasked, unconscious, and completely at another's mercy. The fact that the "other" had been the woman who loved him helped immensely, of course. Now, however, she was giving him some indefinable look that was making him distinctly self-conscious, revealed as he was in this situation.

As if reading his thoughts (though more likely reading his expression, came the rueful admission), Evey glanced away from him as she helped him steady himself. "I'm sorry, it's just..." She smiled almost shyly and shook her head.

"It's just...what?" He tried to keep his manner light, as though he had always conversed with Evey without benefit of his mask or accustomed uniform.

She looked up at him again with a self-deprecating smile. "It's silly, but... this is the first time I've been standing close to you when you didn't have your boots on. You're not quite so tall!" Her mirth faded, and then something in her expression made his heart begin to pound.. "It makes this easier..."

She stepped close on tiptoe, touching her lips to his.

Several heady seconds later, he remembered how to breathe again.

"...oh..."

And that was really all he could say about that.

~ Finis ~