paradisa | THE RIVER

[Those are tiny little arms, the Rex snarls slowing as they near the cave, it's too narrow for her to get in, she turns to snap at Carolina again, pain in the ass lady]

[Carolina can't exactly physically stop the dinosaur with her own weight, but being pulled along by the rope ~~unless she was unsuccessful and I misread that comment~~ is enough to keep her own momentum going. She lets go of the rope and goes down into a baseball slide and tries to slide right underneath Mama T and into the cave.]

[Once she's inside, York grabs her arm and hauls Carolina over to a more protected area inside the cave. He wants to shake her and yell at her for putting herself into danger. He wants to tell her he's never been more terrified as when the T-Rex rushed him, except when she put herself in harm's way. He wants to tell her she's a goddamned idiot for not bringing or using her firearms against a giant predator lizard.

Instead he just presses her up against the wall and kisses her fiercely.]

[Carolina doesn't wince at the grip on his arm, her adrenaline pushing any fear away in that moment, and any pain from the "road rash" she would be sporting. Then she's pressed against the wall and she feels his lips on hers. It's a familiar feeling, natural from god knows how many times they made out before she disappeared from the Castle. For a few seconds, she hungrily kisses back, mentally noting how good his lips feel against hers.

Before realizing that his lips are against hers this is not okay and tries to shove him off forcibly. If she's successful, she'll also spout off a] What the hell is wrong with you.

[For a moment there he had just forgotten that she hated him--though, to be fair, it seems like she had forgotten about it, too. He will get shoved away, though, and he takes a couple breaths before answering.]

I could ask you the same--you ran at a dinosaur! What the hell?

[Carolina furrows her eyebrows at him, frowning further. It would be easier to be fully pissed off if she weren't thinking about just how she wanted to tear off his clothes and work off some stress in 30 minutes, 20 if the adrenaline kept up.] You froze in front of a dinosaur. What the hell else was I supposed to do!

[Because spoiler alert she doesn't want you dead, York.]

[Odd, they seem to be having the same problem. What is it about near-death experiences that always makes a guy want to shove a beautiful lady up against the wall and have his way with her?]

I--this isn't about me! I would've been--

[He tries to say he would have been fine, but even York can't put that lie past his lips. Clearly the best reaction after getting chewed on by a dinosaur a few years ago is to freeze in your tracks as another one is chasing you now.

Stupid large predators.]

You could have been killed. I can't--

And letting yourself die is better? [She stares at him incredulously, his no-stop low self-esteem not making it any easier to just be pissed. If they were together, she could have kissed him again, could have reminded him that she wanted him here, to reassure that he was worth something, anything.

But she knows she can't do that.] What the fuck is wrong with you!

[Well, there's a question that has about a million possible answers, though in this case it's a pretty simple one of 'PTSD flashback'.]

I wasn't trying to let myself die! I was trying to distract it so you could get away.

[You know. After the whole freezing in his tracks thing.]

Distractions are usually moving. [Carolina continues to frown over at him, still angry ~~and concerned and wanting to push him up against a wall~~.] You froze.

[York winces at that. Yeah. Yeah, he froze. Not the best reaction to a T-Rex running at him with open jaws, and he knows it. So he can't really refute that part.]

...That doesn't mean you had to throw yourself at it.

So I could watch you get eaten instead. [She outright glares at him now, her anger now boiling again, like it always seemed to when she was around him.]

[He's tempted to reply that she'd probably just like having him out of her hair for two weeks, but then--she had kissed him back, at least for a little while.]

I would have moved.

After it started chewing you up. [It's a good think he doesn't mention that or she would be punching him right now.]

[He frowns.]

Look, that's--kind of what happened last time these things were around. It made me freak out, okay?

[Her glare lessens marginally in intensity for a brief second or two. If nothing else, Maine's attack had made it much easier to sympathize with PTSD. She didn't want him reliving being chewed up, either physically or mentally.] Which is why I ran at a dinosaur.

[She tries to explain a bit more softly to him just why she did what she did.]

[York bites his lip, suddenly looking a lot more vulnerable than a moment ago. Maybe it wasn't a half-buried deathwish on her part? Maybe--no, she would have done the same for anyone. His expression returns to a careful neutral.]

Don't get so close to them. We have guns for a reason.

[When he goes back to scolding her, her glare returns.] Don't stop moving when a giant dinosaur is about to eat you and I won't have to.

[He gets a tiny smile at that. Just a little one.]

Wasn't like it was intentional, you know.

[She knows that, certainly. She knows just how she reacts when she gets close to cliffs, or if anyone reaches toward her throat, or the nightmares she still had despite her best efforts to ~~cuddle them away with Jack's panda~~ work through them.

Some substantial heat is removed from her voice and gaze.] Doesn't matter. Don't do it.

Well, if it'll keep you away from them....

[Seriously, that almost scared him worse than the sight of impending reptilian death.]

[Well that surprises her, but she does what she can to hide it. Part of the reason she'd ragequit the Castle was the assumption that he would go running back to Texas.]

It will. [Neutrally, if a little cautious.]

[Sometimes assumptions can just make a donkey out of everybody. York looks entirely serious as he nods back.]

I'll try, then. And, well.

Thanks. For saving my life.

[She nods in acknowledgment before adding quietly, very low and very serious, making sure they're the only ones who can hear it.] I promised I would, Rick.

[#nope

York turns around quickly so his expression is hidden, but his voice is soft in return as he starts to walk away a little deeper into the cave.]

People don't keep promises. Not to me.

no subject

no subject

let me know if this isn't ok

hduuu

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject