He rose to his feet with her hand in his, and once again took her into his arms. For all of the stormy emotions that troubled Henk, and had for some time now, that small assurance she offered him was enough to put his swaying mind steady, and he smiled at the sentiment.
"I know. And I know you will be too."
Noel was strong. He'd always seen her as the strongest. Though the foe that they faced now was perhaps stronger than all of them combined, somehow Henk wasn't worried in the slightest. He should have been terrified and yet the last traces of trepidation were wiped away by the pad of her finger as it ran across the rough skin of his face, observing yet another new line added to his growing collection of battle wounds.
In the way that only he could do, Henk opened his mouth to insert his foot once more. "Well, you said that you liked them, so I figured--"
She didn't give him a chance to finish, silencing his anxious lips with the presence of her own. His body went stiff, his breath catching in his chest for that fraction of a second she let it linger before pulling away.
It was brief. It was feather-light.
It was all that he needed to keep going.
His mouth hung slightly agape for a moment, and as he looked down at her it looked as though he might speak again, might taint yet another moment with a needless attempt at badinage. Instead, he let out a chuckle, looking down at the space between them for a moment before nodding his head.
There was a lot of work for both of them to do.
"Yes. Lead the way, Miss Schwarz."
"I know. And I know you will be too."
Noel was strong. He'd always seen her as the strongest. Though the foe that they faced now was perhaps stronger than all of them combined, somehow Henk wasn't worried in the slightest. He should have been terrified and yet the last traces of trepidation were wiped away by the pad of her finger as it ran across the rough skin of his face, observing yet another new line added to his growing collection of battle wounds.
In the way that only he could do, Henk opened his mouth to insert his foot once more. "Well, you said that you liked them, so I figured--"
She didn't give him a chance to finish, silencing his anxious lips with the presence of her own. His body went stiff, his breath catching in his chest for that fraction of a second she let it linger before pulling away.
It was brief. It was feather-light.
It was all that he needed to keep going.
His mouth hung slightly agape for a moment, and as he looked down at her it looked as though he might speak again, might taint yet another moment with a needless attempt at badinage. Instead, he let out a chuckle, looking down at the space between them for a moment before nodding his head.
There was a lot of work for both of them to do.
"Yes. Lead the way, Miss Schwarz."