No one has ever called her duck before. She doesn't hate it. He's the reason her Gala Hail Mary Pass worked at all, so he could probably call her a couple things before she would put her foot down.
She's working on that.
On the other side of the door, Vanya takes a breath that feels like her first in an hour. Now that she's safe, she can start identifying symptoms of the panic attack that was brewing: some numbness in her fingers, that little bit of tunnel vision. It's all seeping out and backing off before it can claim her.
"She's just doing what she thinks is best for the students," Vanya either intuits or rationalizes. She removes her arm from his with a little duck of her head and steps aside a touch.
"I'm not proud of... a-and you didn't have to -- I mean, I shouldn't have--" Oh no. Ffor a quick second, she feels like she's about to slip under another anxious current, but she takes a breath and thinks about what she wants to say.
"Thank you," she says, raising her head to look at him. The weird fear and guilt and shame back off because she's not alone. She risked rejection by asking for help and was rewarded by getting it.
Now, it occurs to her that she's just left the building with a stranger after dark when her siblings have no idea where she is, but she's not going to let panic grab her that way, either.
no subject
She's working on that.
On the other side of the door, Vanya takes a breath that feels like her first in an hour. Now that she's safe, she can start identifying symptoms of the panic attack that was brewing: some numbness in her fingers, that little bit of tunnel vision. It's all seeping out and backing off before it can claim her.
"She's just doing what she thinks is best for the students," Vanya either intuits or rationalizes. She removes her arm from his with a little duck of her head and steps aside a touch.
"I'm not proud of... a-and you didn't have to -- I mean, I shouldn't have--" Oh no. Ffor a quick second, she feels like she's about to slip under another anxious current, but she takes a breath and thinks about what she wants to say.
"Thank you," she says, raising her head to look at him. The weird fear and guilt and shame back off because she's not alone. She risked rejection by asking for help and was rewarded by getting it.
Now, it occurs to her that she's just left the building with a stranger after dark when her siblings have no idea where she is, but she's not going to let panic grab her that way, either.