[ He hadn't noticed until now that Steve hasn't said his name. Now that he hears it, he can feel its absence in hindsight. It's like the last wall of disbelief, the last guarded fear, finally came tumbling down. It means this was the right call, he made the right move for once.
Beneath it all, a quiet hum of approval.
He's no expert at this empathy bond thing. This is only the third time he's done it (earlier accident aside), which granted might make for two more than Steve. In any case, he isn't desensitized to the strange and inexplicable feeling of someone else's emotion flowing into him.
You can know logically how someone feels about you, but you can never know know. Not until now. He wasn't insecure about it, wasn't afraid the feeling wasn't mutual, but actually knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt when all the same things are reflected back at him in equal measure, practically identical?
Feels like it takes things a little farther than words ever really could. It's beyond gratifying, it's... Screwed up as this place may be, all the bad that's come of it, it's at least given him something invaluable. It's a little bit of a feedback loop, it's almost overwhelming - feeling each other and being overrun by side-feelings over those feelings.
He's a closed off individual. He doesn't let himself get emotional. This is a hell of a lot more than he's used to. His calm starts faltering, but rather than pulling back he does what Steve didn't let himself do and he squeezes their hands a little more tightly. ]
You and me.
[ A steady echo from earlier, quiet and controlled. Til the end, just like before. Just like always. Twelve years old in an alley, sixteen on a fire escape, twenty five in a war. Now.
This is not something you gotta worry about messing up. Goddamn, stop filtering and trust whatever you wanna say. ]
no subject
Beneath it all, a quiet hum of approval.
He's no expert at this empathy bond thing. This is only the third time he's done it (earlier accident aside), which granted might make for two more than Steve. In any case, he isn't desensitized to the strange and inexplicable feeling of someone else's emotion flowing into him.
You can know logically how someone feels about you, but you can never know know. Not until now. He wasn't insecure about it, wasn't afraid the feeling wasn't mutual, but actually knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt when all the same things are reflected back at him in equal measure, practically identical?
Feels like it takes things a little farther than words ever really could. It's beyond gratifying, it's... Screwed up as this place may be, all the bad that's come of it, it's at least given him something invaluable. It's a little bit of a feedback loop, it's almost overwhelming - feeling each other and being overrun by side-feelings over those feelings.
He's a closed off individual. He doesn't let himself get emotional. This is a hell of a lot more than he's used to. His calm starts faltering, but rather than pulling back he does what Steve didn't let himself do and he squeezes their hands a little more tightly. ]
You and me.
[ A steady echo from earlier, quiet and controlled. Til the end, just like before. Just like always. Twelve years old in an alley, sixteen on a fire escape, twenty five in a war. Now.
This is not something you gotta worry about messing up. Goddamn, stop filtering and trust whatever you wanna say. ]
Understand?