I already set the awkward bar pretty high. You're gonna have to try harder than that.
[Maybe if their tone is kept light enough and their face remains planted against Isabeau's shoulder, no one will ever realize the extent to which a simple request for a hug makes their face heat up. Belatedly, they nod into Isa's shirt.]
By which I mean yeah, it's okay.
[The question reminds him of Bonnie making sense of his boundaries with all their preteen experience and logic, pointedly announcing their hugs before diving in. A little goofy and awkward, yes, but...nice.
(He tries not to think about how that interaction never happened now. Even if things are good now, there's still a melancholy that comes with the thought of all the memories he doesn't share with anyone.)
That the question is asked at all, though... Siffrin had sort of hoped all the casual touching after everything earlier would be enough to signal to everyone that there had been a misunderstanding. Evidently, he wasn't so lucky. Which was fair – directly asking is certainly the best way to avoid further confusion – but it still makes Siffrin want to die a little to just have to spell it out directly. How embarrassing, to be a human who craves normal casual intimacy.]
I don't actually...dislike being touched. Just...not really used to it.
[Sure, he wouldn't really want any random strangers casually touching him, but his little family was a different matter. Now, anyway. Obviously, that level of comfort hadn't been there from the start. And he can't really blame any of them for trying to be considerate. It's not like they could have known when they passed that hidden threshold of comfort, or that he'd been stuck reliving the same interactions over and over until all he could do was overthink their distance.]
no subject
[Maybe if their tone is kept light enough and their face remains planted against Isabeau's shoulder, no one will ever realize the extent to which a simple request for a hug makes their face heat up. Belatedly, they nod into Isa's shirt.]
By which I mean yeah, it's okay.
[The question reminds him of Bonnie making sense of his boundaries with all their preteen experience and logic, pointedly announcing their hugs before diving in. A little goofy and awkward, yes, but...nice.
(He tries not to think about how that interaction never happened now. Even if things are good now, there's still a melancholy that comes with the thought of all the memories he doesn't share with anyone.)
That the question is asked at all, though... Siffrin had sort of hoped all the casual touching after everything earlier would be enough to signal to everyone that there had been a misunderstanding. Evidently, he wasn't so lucky. Which was fair – directly asking is certainly the best way to avoid further confusion – but it still makes Siffrin want to die a little to just have to spell it out directly. How embarrassing, to be a human who craves normal casual intimacy.]
I don't actually...dislike being touched. Just...not really used to it.
[Sure, he wouldn't really want any random strangers casually touching him, but his little family was a different matter. Now, anyway. Obviously, that level of comfort hadn't been there from the start. And he can't really blame any of them for trying to be considerate. It's not like they could have known when they passed that hidden threshold of comfort, or that he'd been stuck reliving the same interactions over and over until all he could do was overthink their distance.]