Best-Laid Plans

R E M I Remi bit the inside of his lip hard enough to make himself wince as Sam's hand fell away and he watched Sam's posture shift. It was like an arrow of ice not through his heart, but through his ribcage and all the muscles before and behind.  This Remi had never had his heart broken before, but he'd suffered enough physical damage to know that the ricochet of pain was not just some metaphorical cartoon-heart like feeling of shattering red pieces. It was something real and overwhelming that made Remi want to kick himself and scream and pound the walls and then laugh it all away and press himself against Sam and say, of course you can kiss me. I have wanted you to all along. But instead of those things Remi merely stared down at their collective feet, feeling an idiot and a fool and a coward. With painstaking slowness, Remi's fingers gently reached forward, meaning to gently take Sam's. To not quite hold his hand, but just to let their fingers brush and then slowly overlap. It was such a small gesture in the big scheme of the bookmaker's proclamation of love, so unsatisfying compared to the kiss he'd asked for, but it was all the alchemist could do in the moment, so frozen by indecision and the unknown as he was. "I think Ronin plans to attack the creature soon..." Remi whispered through lips that once again had gone dry, making the words almost like a croak. So if there was ever a time to kiss you, perhaps goodbye or just for the first time, it is now. "We can talk more about our plans after?" Assuming I make it back. So much unsaid, and still Remi's eyes were keenly focused on the floor.