[oh ... he was expecting more bluster along the same very entertaining vein she's been giving him, but her actual reaction turned out a lot more painfully relatable than he wants to admit.]
[maybe his own defensive instincts manifest a bit differently — he's more the type to keep his vulnerabilities clamped down under a lid of irony and a poker face — but he just might be able to understand how she feels. the panic, the raised hackles, the immediate move toward self-preservation, no matter what it takes. he understands it every single time he hears metal grinding.]
[Dave seems to have fucked this up. and for a moment, he just stands there stupidly, a hand still raised, trying to figure out how to fix it. nobody deserves to feel as rotten as he does.]
Fist bump. [he says finally, as if that would be an explanation she'd understand.]
Just a friendly greeting on my planet. Y'know, a formal way of introducing yourself. Like a handshake, but a lot cooler.
no subject
[maybe his own defensive instincts manifest a bit differently — he's more the type to keep his vulnerabilities clamped down under a lid of irony and a poker face — but he just might be able to understand how she feels. the panic, the raised hackles, the immediate move toward self-preservation, no matter what it takes. he understands it every single time he hears metal grinding.]
[Dave seems to have fucked this up. and for a moment, he just stands there stupidly, a hand still raised, trying to figure out how to fix it. nobody deserves to feel as rotten as he does.]
Fist bump. [he says finally, as if that would be an explanation she'd understand.]
Just a friendly greeting on my planet. Y'know, a formal way of introducing yourself. Like a handshake, but a lot cooler.