#their hands

Me: Oh, nothing.

The nothing in question:

ELAIN—

And I wondered if she preferred to have torn and sweaty hands, if the dirt and cuts were proof of her labor. Her joy.

Elain had come into the house, her right palm bleeding […] if she had been wearing the enchanted gloves Lucien had gotten her last Solstice, nothing would have pierced them at all.

AZRIEL—

He silently handed Nyx to Azriel, who winced at the transfer of this most delicate little creature to his scarred hands.

She had no idea he’d done unspeakable things that sullied his hands far beyond his scars.

THEIR HANDS TOGETHER—

I couldn’t tell if she was looking at his blue Siphon or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed “Beautiful.”

Is2g, Elriel needs a scene where they’re lying side by side, comparing hands. Scars. Experiences. Eventually realizing their hands are the ultimate signs of endurance and strength.

Elain will look at her ordinary garden hands through his eyes & see how they are certainly not useless.

Azriel will look at his crimson charred hands through her eyes & see how they can be gentle too.

Oh, the beauty of these two and their hands.