Title: Make It Good
Fandom: 24
Characters: Michelle Dessler/Tony Almeida
Prompt: Hugs and Cuddles #18. First/Last
Word Count: 236
Rating: PG
Summary:Post Day 3. Michelle muses on something she needs, and she's not sure how to get it.
Author's Notes: Sorry this one got a little bit angsty. You'll also notice I skipped a few. Don't worry, I'll go back to them, I was just inspired for this one before the actual 8th prompt.
The first time she hugged him, her heart was pounding so hard, she'd been afraid it might cause her to lose consciousness. His arms had been warm, sturdy and strong as they held her up. They'd been fighting, at odds all day and yet he still held her up. He still made her feel like it might all be okay.
She missed that side of him now. She missed knowing she could lean into him and have his arms wind around her securely. She missed having him ward off the worry and the stress, and she missed knowing her arms did the same for him. Now when he hugged her, his arms went between uncomfortably stiff and limp with disinterest. It was how she remembered her brother hugging their grandmother's sister when she was growing up. It was a hug of obligation, not of love. Not a hug of need, of happiness. Not even of affection.
That needed to change. She needed to hug her husband, not a stranger. She needed to hold onto him and not let go. She needed to wrap her arms around the version of him who would hold onto her, too.
This hug would count, she decided. She would pull his arms around her and make him hold on tightly. She would make it last longer than the perfunctory squeeze. It would be a good hug.
It would be their last.