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Brush… brush… brush…
Hot, hot skin against cool, green scales.
Every second step, every pause, Gideon’s hand brushes against his and Kremy feels insane. There’s nowhere to look (certainly not at Gid) and there’s nowhere to go but where they’re headed.
There was a time this… hand-brushing wouldn’t have meant anything.
Well, Kremy would like to think that, but he knows it’s not true.
He knows, he knew the second he set eyes on that scrawny firecracker of a man that he would stay with him for the rest of his days. Baron, help him… He never thought he’d fall this far into the hole. And, yet. Here he is. Willingly trapped in the depths, with no escape, looking up at a red sky that burns brighter than the Hells. Oh, how he wishes to touch that flame, be consumed by it, burn in it forever and ever and… Kremy shakes his head, jostling the thoughts back into their little box at the back of his mind, and focuses again on the road ahead.
Brush… brush…
Ah, Hells. Kremy slows his steps, scuffing his shoes in the dirt. Totally, definitely, probably not letting Gideon get a bit ahead so he can catch a peek of—
“Krem?”
“Huh?”
Gideon grins, flames licking at his cheeks and temples. He reaches out his hand, manacle clinking and gleaming in the sunlight.
“Why’d ya stop, man? We got places to be.”
“Uh—” Kremy shakes his head again. Adjusts his hat. Damn sun’s getting to him… “Thought there was somethin’ in my shoe, s’all, Gid.” He grins, wide and sharp, praying to the Baron that nothing shows in his eyes (not that it ever does, but insurance is always a good idea).
“Heh. All right. C’mon then, boss-man.”
And then—
Then—
The calloused grip of Gideon’s hot hand encloses around Kremy’s, intertwining their fingers and squeezing gently.
“Gid, wha--?”
“Just so ya don’t get lost, Kremy. Been a bit distracted today, huh?” He turns and winks and squeezes Kremy’s hand again, starting to almost drag him along.
Well. Kremy Lecroux has never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he just holds on, tight, and lets Gideon hurry him along the ride.