A PURE HEART

iv

he sits on her bed, his back leaning against the headboard, arms wrapped tightly around his knees.

"you don't have to be ashamed of your arm, james," she says and her soft voice echoes through his mind. the flowers he has bought her last week still rest in a vase on her night stand.

"i'm not ashamed," he retorts, a little harsher than he intends. his metal hand curls into a fist as he is once again reminded of everything that arm has everdone.

he looks away when her brown eyes search for his blue ones. she places her delicate fingers under his stubbled chin, forcing him to look her in the eye. her amber coloured eyes suck him into their abyss, giving him a sense of home.

"do you think your son will have eyes as beautiful as yours?" she asks, the corners of her mouth twitching up, curling into a smirk. his formerly tense expression turns into confusion. he can't tell if she's joking.

"my son?" he asks quietly.

"or your daughter. i don't know yet," she clarifies and leans her head against his shoulder. her hand moves to his shoulder, feeling the cold metal underneath the fabric of his shirt.

"you're joking," he says and without being able to prevent it, the corners of his mouth curl up into a big smile.

her smirk turns into a smile to match his and she shakes her head, feeling genuinely relieved. she doesn't know much about him, he isn't much of a talker but she knows that he is scared, she has known it ever since that day at the airport. when he trusted her to care for him when he didn't even trust himself.

his smile makes her want to cry because for the first time since she knows him, he seems genuinely happy. and he is happy, even if this new possibility scares him more than anything else.