Title: Sight Unseen
Fandom: Foyle's War
Characters: Paul Milner
Word Count: 328
Rating: PG
Summary: "He is fascinated by the parts of her he doesn't see."
The sight of a stocking-clad knee as she climbs out of the car. The glimpse of a delicate wrist when she pulls off her driving gloves. His heart skips a beat and he can't seem to stop himself from wanting to reach out, to touch her.
He takes every opportunity to touch her. A pat on the shoulder, a guiding hand at her back, a thrilling kiss to the cheek when they meet socially. But never anything that might be construed as more than friendly, brotherly. Everything strictly above board.
He is fascinated by the parts of her he doesn't see. Like her knees and wrists. But most of all, he loves her neck. The hollow of her neck, caught between two perfectly balanced collar bones, can only, he thinks, have been designed to torture him. He hates the new utility dresses that she wears to dances, with their high collars that cover almost as much as her uniform. She has some dresses though, from before the war, with low, unfashionable necklines. She doesn't wear them much, not wanting to be ridiculed by the Hasting girls for her old clothes. Jane had laughed at one of Sam's dresses, not to her face, but at home, after they'd been to a dance. It had been his favourite dress, the blue one, the first one he'd ever seen her wear. He thought Jane was just being spiteful then but maybe, just maybe, she was jealous, recognizing his attraction before even he was aware of it.
Never, not even when he first came home to Jane, has he been more conscious of his physical failings. What she must see when she looks at him. Small close-set eyes. Big Dumbo ears. But, worse of all, that tell-all hitch in his step. And at night, an unsightly stump, shiny with scar tissue, red from the friction of his prosthetic.
It's what's underneath their clothing that counts. In her case, perfection. In his, defection.