Suki wasn't qualified for this.

Hell, she wasn't qualified for anything. It was an Imax and while she had been expecting some interesting stories to tell the judo squad about her new job, she hadn't expected one so weird so soon. No one had given her the what-to-do-when-you-find-someone-sobbing-over-their-empty-butter-soaked-popcorn-tray-half-an-hour-after-the-movie prep.

She took a few steps closer, trying to make some noise with her broom so he'd notice and stop crying. If he did notice he didn't care because he was still making just as much noise as before. Finally, she cleared her throat sharply and his head shot up.

His eyes fixed on her and they were quite blue, especially with the contrast of theirbloodshot whites. He immediately began scrubbing the heels off his hands into his eyes as if he could get rid of the evidence. As if she hadn't spent the last ten minutes watching him cry and trying to get him to notice her in an effort to salvage what was left of his and her dignity.

"Uh, I was just—"

"I know."

Her voice came out gentler than she had thought it would and she decided that was probably a very good thing. She took a few steps into the aisle and lowered herself into the seat beside him, leaning the broom in a gap between two seats.

"I wasn't crying."

She felt a corner of her lips twitch up with the impulse to smile and he glared. "Alright, tough guy. Let's just say you were crying—"

"I wasn't."

"But let's just pretend that you were." He scowled at her and she tried a smile one more time. "Hypothetically, why would you be crying?"

He looked away from her and leaned back into the cushioning of his seat, crossing his arms. Suki noticed muscle rippling as he did this and she wondered for what felt like the millionth how the entire situation came about. He didn't look like the type that usually went around acting vulnerable and crying in public. He seemed more like the type that made bets over how many cheeseburgers he could eat in under three minutes with his friends.

"This is a movie for kids and I wasn't crying—"

"Actually, just as many adults come in to see it as kids."

He squinted his eyes at her suspiciously. "You're lying."

"Am not. What reason would I have to lie to you?"

"To make me feel better."

"Who says I'm here to make you feel better?"

He fell silent at that and instantly Suki felt guilty. "I know you're not," he muttered.

"But let's just say I was," she hurried, before the guy could start sniffling again. "Let's say I was here to make you feel better. How would I go about that?"

He cast her a contemplative look and suddenly she felt like she was the vulnerable one.

"My mom died in a fire." She felt herself grow very still as she waited for him to continue. "She ran back into a building like that guy. She was looking for my sister. She'd already gotten out but my mom didn't know."

"I'm sorry."

He leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. Suki settled her hand on his back, not quite sure if there was any other way to show she was sorry. She couldn't really say anything else without sounding overbearing or presumptuous so she stayed silent, trying to offer support to some guy she didn't even know.

After a few moments he looked up at her. "Thanks," he said gruffly.

Suki lifted her hand from his back and offered yet another smile. At this rate her cheeks would start hurting. "No problem."

He stood and she stood as well. Goodness, was he over six feet—

"I kind of owe you for listening to that."

He scuffed his foot over the popcorn littered floor and it made Suki notice that while he was tall and fit, he was also lanky and probably pretty awkward if this encounter was any indicator. She cleared her throat, and tried not to think about stupid things like height differences and bicep tone—

"When do you get off?" She gaped at him and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh man, I'm sorry. You find me bawling and I dump all that on you and I still just did that—"

"I get off at seven." His eyes shot back to her. "You can stop by around seven fifteen. I'll be hungry then."

He grinned and Suki thought his face didn't look too bad all lit up. Not bad at all.

This was a fun little prompt! I really like the sukka pairing.