@aurabless | continued
Mercury understands scars. He knows that they can be hidden, concealed underneath clothing and armor. He is aware that the deepest, most troublesome scars are not of the flesh. There’s something inspiring about the way Neo wears hers like a necklace--no attempt to disguise the alabaster grin that stretches across her skin. The action comes without thinking, the lifting of his fingers towards it like a famous painting he vaguely remembers. Only when that small hand captures his wrist in an unforgiving vice grip does he catch himself. Her fingers dig in, the unexpected strength of it agitating deep, ugly scars within him. He’s glad when she releases him; he only just manages not to squirm when her eyes travel down to the place where his flesh meets metal. Unbidden, his newly freed hand comes to rest on the vambrace that conceals vicious long-healed rends.
The offered message sheds what little light he needed to draw his conclusions, the majority of his understanding coming from her reaction. Yeah--he knows scars.
“How do you say this in sign language?”
