my bones are caving in

It's in the stars
it's been written in the scars on our hearts

He felt like a bit of a dickhead for laughing, but then, it was a bit of a laugh-or-else-you'll-cry time. At least his method of coping was to laugh, instead of lash out with anger or malice - they all knew how well that went.

He checks her hand closely, brows frowning and lips pursing as he carefully assessed the damage. He hoped she hadn't fractured the fourth or fifth metacarpals - such injuries were common in boxers who punched with poor technique. But then, he also had faith that the woman he loved could kick arse without injuring herself. "Let me know if a particular area hurts more than the rest," he instructed as he brought his other hand up to very gently palpate hers, to explore and poke and prod, to ensure the bones beneath the surface bruising were not damaged as well.

Satisfied that she had not sustained serious injury, he lifted her fingers to his lips for a feather-light kiss, before smiling and letting her have her hand back. She had already washed it, and while it might need icing to help with the swelling, in Halo, a cold water wash every hour or so worked almost as well. "As a member of the cabinet, I'm probably meant to disapprove of all this more. But… I don't think I can summon the effort."

He stretched his arms upwards, before falling back onto their bed, bunching up a blanket behind his head so he could view her still. Idly, because she was within his reach, he let a hand gently run along her back, across her shoulder blades.

A small frown pulled at his features again, as conversation inevitably returned to that subject. It was something he was keen to never talk about again, but he knew he'd have to. May as well get it over with. "Did he have anything new to say?" Lord knows they had heard a lot of it before, though the boy's latest narrative of all outlanders are evil and determined to bring ruin to Halo was a relative fresh spin on the otherwise repetitive woe is me talk.

That we're not broken just bent
and we can learn to love again

CHULANE