A/N: Hi guys! This is just a short something I wrote after Once Upon a Crime. I was quite stressed back then and I forgot about it, so I decided to publish it now. I just hope you enjoy the little piece :) Thanks for reading!
Handholding is supposed to be a simple thing. Something physically innocuous, hardly important when it happens between two long time friends. Almost the smallest physical contact you can have with someone, and yet for them, it means the world.
He's petrified, looking at their entwined appendixes as if he hadn't seen two hands before, his mother's 'One Woman's Act' forgotten for good. His heart is racing as is his mind, trying to figure out why on earth she decided to do that right then and there. He's not complaining, not at all, but he's intrigued, surprised, amazed.
He looks at her, trying to find a clue, something on her face that can tell him what's changed, but he can't find anything. She seems relaxed. He can tell she's having fun listening to his mother's attempt of a fairy tale. Her smile is pure and sincere and her body language shows no evidence of hiding herself. She's comfortable enough to smile openly. Comfortable enough to sit so close to him their legs are touching, even though there's enough room for ten more people on his huge couch. Comfortable enough to hold his hand, reassuring him, letting him know she's there with him.
He smiles and squeezes her hand a little, letting her know he's there for her too, in case she needs him. She turns her head to him, - her cheeks turning a pale shade of pink - she's smiling back and she doesn't let go of his hand. She looks… happy. Yeah, that's the word, happy, and beautiful, and in peace and… just extraordinary.
Her heart is racing. She's holding his hand, squeezing it every now and then and rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. She knows she's surprised him. She's felt him stiffen when she's taken his hand in hers and placed it a little closer to her leg. He's staring, but she's grown to love that 'creepy' habit of his. It used to annoy her until she understood it was a way of worship. Now she did it herself when he wasn't looking.
She's sure he hasn't noticed but his mother's face changed when she took his hand. The actress had smiled and had made a sign to Alexis to make the girl look their way. She knows they will have to talk before his two redheads submit him to a thorough interrogation. It's going to be tough, but she's almost ready. She needs to take these tiny steps in order to get there and she knows she'll be there soon, because she doesn't feel weird, she doesn't feel out of place, she just feels good. Very good.
She feels him squeezing her hand. A sign, she suspects, to let her know he's there. She turns to look at him and she can feel her cheeks blushing a little. She can see the question in his eyes. The fear that she may run when Martha's performance is over, but she shows him she won't. She smiles and doesn't let go of his hand, letting him know that this is where she wants to be and that he's the one she wants to be with. A promise of something more that's yet to come. Something they both have been longing for a long time. Truth. Trust. Love.
Please, let me know what you think about it. I'd love to know your opinion.